Chapter 19: Cracking the Knucklehead (Part 1)
"My name…is Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna…and I'm sitting here in Station Square's community park in the dead of night, having refused the warmth and comfort of Helen's home. Man, do I miss my cabin…"
The red echidna was sitting cross legged in the grass, his eyes closed and his mind deep in thought.
"So far I am no closer to finding any Chaos Emeralds, or any way off this planet. The Master Emerald lay unguarded, keeping Angel Island afloat but unprotected against any threats. I should be thankful the two biggest threats to the Master Emerald are here on Earth…Eggman and Rouge." The echidna peered up at the moon above, partially obscured by the clouds, light pollution only allowing him to see a few of the stars.
"Rouge…what's her angle in all this? She goes from being a jewel thief to a government spy? This doesn't add up at all…" Knuckles rubbed his forehead in frustration. "In any case, I need to hunt for food tomorrow. I'm not going to be dependent on humans to keep me nourished, although…" He peered down at what can only be described as his only Earthly possession: an unopened can of grape soda. "Tails said the drinks on Earth taste good…and I am thirsty…" Peering around, as if desiring to perform a sacrilegious act in private, the echidna picked up the can, used the spiky end of his knuckle to pull the tab up, and took a sip.
His face lit up.
"This is great! It doesn't beat real grapes, but it'll do." Knuckles proceeded to gulp down the entire can before crushing it against his forehead and throwing it at the nearest recycling bin. Unfortunately, the can hit the rim of the bin but didn't fall inside, so cursing to himself, he approached the receptacle to finish the job.
"Guess I should head back to camp…" Leaving the park, Knuckles traveled west, ignoring the prying eyes of pedestrians, hoping to take a long snooze in the nearby forest before returning to his Chaos Emerald search the next morning. "I should touch base with Sonic at Helen's place, too…see if they've been able to track down any emeralds..."
As the red echidna made his way down the sidewalk, a limousine pulled up to his side. Out from one of the passenger doors came a man dressed in a business suit, with hair slicked back and muscles larger than average, the latter fact Knuckles identified immediately.
"Knuckles the Echidna?" The man opened his door wider, signaling him to enter.
"Yeah, who are you?" Knuckles replied, standing still and on his guard.
"That's not important," he replied as he gestured his arm into the car, "all you need to know is we've been sent here to retrieve you."
"I may live in the wilderness," Knuckles replied as he crossed his arms, "but even I know not to just enter a stranger's car. What are you going to do, promise me candy? Now, if you excuse me…"
"You're looking for the Chaos Emeralds, are you not?"
"What's that to you?"
"My boss has some information you may find rather…interesting."
"Okay, then spill it!" Knuckles bashed his fists together.
"Not here," he replied. "He wants to see you in person."
"If he wants to share anything with me, he can visit my camp." Knuckles started to stomp away with a huff.
"Don't you want to return to the Master Emerald?"
Knuckles stopped in his tracks, pondering his options.
What do I have got to lose? I have no leads, and the guy doesn't look like much of a challenge. I could leave whenever I want if their info is useless…
"Fine…" Knuckles turned around and approached the limo, entering through the door left ajar by the suited man. "Just don't waste my time."
"Oh, trust me, Knuckles," he replied as he sat across from him in the spacious vehicle, "after you meet my employer, you'll have wished you complied sooner."
"Yeah, right." Knuckles folded his arms and placed one leg over the other, studying the half-dozen others in the vehicle dressed like their apparent leader.
The trip didn't take long. The tinted windows made it hard to see where they were going, but when they got out of the car, Knuckles found himself away from the bustle of Station Square, on the edge of the city and in the parking lot of an ocean front. He was led to a small, shaded venue with tables, generally booked for party reservations but unused at this time of night. Knuckles could hear a conversation coming from their destination as they got closer.
"These tables are absolutely filthy. Why don't they have janitors cleaning these at least once per hour?" The young boy scoffed as he snapped his fingers. "Tanaka, fetch me my chair from the supply truck."
"Yes, Mr. Thorndyke." As the butler ran off, Chris' smirk widened as he noticed Knuckles and his henchmen approaching close by. When they arrived, Knuckles folded his arms and leaned against a table.
"So, you're the informant I was told about?"
"Why yes," Chris replied, as well as someone else you know quite well." Dr. Eggman stepped out of the shadows, making his presence known to the red echidna.
"Dr. Eggman?" Knuckles gasped. "What are you doing here?" He furrowed his brow and raised his fists in anticipation of a brawl.
"Now, now, Knuckles, no need for violence," Eggman replied with a smirk of his own. "But if you want to take your anger out on someone, it should be Sonic."
"Oh yeah?" Knuckles loosened his fists.
"Oh, you haven't heard?" Eggman threw a newspaper at the red echidna, who caught the cover page but let the others slip from his grasp, soon blowing away in the wind. Peering down, he started to read the frontpage story:
Sonic the Hedgehog, former captive who is now working with the government in their ongoing efforts to capture Dr. Eggman, has declared his intentions to stay on Earth.
"What can I say," Sonic said to us in an exclusive interview, "it's nice here, ya know? The scenery is neat, much better than that boring hunk of rock where I came from, so I'll just live here for now on."
He later clarified that he still intends to cooperate with federal authorities in attempting to apprehend Dr. Eggman, who was transported to Earth alongside Sonic amidst mysterious conditions, but he does not intend to return to his home planet. He also said his friend Knuckles should "get a life" and "stop obsessing over a big stupid rock" and needs to "take a bath because he stinks."
"Want to know the worst part?" Eggman asked. "He's hoarding all the Chaos Emeralds to prevent us from leaving! I don't want to be stuck on Earth forever, and I'm sure you want to get back to the Master Emerald as soon as possible."
Knuckles crushed the newspaper in his hands. "That fiend. Who does he think he is?!"
"That's what I'm saying," Eggman agreed. "Unfortunately, I can't retrieve the emeralds alone. You and I will need to work together to get Sonic to cooperate…by any means necessary."
Knuckles pondered this thought as he massaged his chin. "Wait a minute…how do I know this isn't a trick?"
"You saw the news story, right?" Eggman asked with an evil grin. "And besides, at a time like this, we need to come together for…shared interests! I want to build the Eggman Empire on Mobius, and you want to get back to Angel Island…so what do you say…partner?" The human scientist approached the red echidna and extended an arm out, an open palm welcoming him to seal the deal.
"I don't like it, and you've lied to me before, but this time feels different…okay, Eggman, we've got a deal." The two shook hands, an act which was cut short by the sound of a stack of documents dropping to the floor between them by multiple suited men.
"Knuckles the Echidna," Chris interrupted as he sipped a Capri Sun on his reclining chair, "to solidify this deal, we need 493 signatures from you."
"Who is this, your subordinate?" Knuckles chuckled.
"No, you ignorant buffoon!" Chris retorted loudly. "I happen to be Mr. Thorndyke, the heir to the Thorndyke financial empire! Now, can we skip the pleasantries, or can you get to signing?"
"No way," Knuckles replied. "I'm going to march on over to Helen's place right now and get back the emeralds he's hoarding for himself." As he turned to leave, he was stopped by Eggman's gloved hand on his shoulder.
"You don't need to sign anything, but we need to plan things out strategically."
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked. "I knock his skull in and leave with the Chaos Emeralds. What's so difficult about that?"
"Aren't you forgetting about Sonic's friends?" Eggman asked as he massaged his mustache. "You go charging in, and you'd need to face Tails, Amy, Cream, and that turncoat Bokkun all at once!"
"I can take them all down with one hand tied behind my back, just watch!" The red echidna threw some air punches as if he were a boxer psyching himself up for a match.
"You're going to need more than gumption if we are going to take back the Chaos Emeralds. Thankfully, I've come prepared…"
"That's our queue," Decoe said as he joined Bocoe in delivering a small television bomb, placing it on the table across from Knuckles.
"Here is the plan." Eggman gestured to the T.V. "You will record a message for Sonic to meet you in the mountains tomorrow afternoon. Challenge him to a one-on-one brawl. He would never turn that down. Once you defeat him, you can claim the Chaos Emeralds for Team Eggma—I mean, Team Knuckles!"
"I don't care about teams," the red echidna replied with a scoff, "all I care about is getting home."
"You and me both," Eggman replied as he snapped his fingers. "Decoe, Bocoe: start recording. You can edit it later before delivering our special message to Sonic."
"Yes, sir!" The two replied as they pulled a tripod and a camera from their hammerspace. They proceeded to put the camera in place, reducing the height of the tripod to meet Knuckles' height.
"You may begin when you are ready, Knuckles," Bocoe said.
Knuckles cleared his throat and looked into the camera eye. Decoe zoomed in on the echidna's eyes for dramatic effect.
"Sonic! I'm sick of all your selfish stunts! This time you've gone too fa—" The echidna was interrupted by the sound of snoring coming from Chris' direction. Peering over at the young kid, his jaw dropped at the sight of him sleeping in his recliner, the footrest pulled up and his hands on his belly, a snot bubble growing and shrinking with his breathing.
"Chris, wake up!" Eggman yelled, causing the young boy to jump in fright, tipping backward over the recliner and falling to the ground below.
"Ewwwww, is this dirt? Gross, gross, gross, gross, ewwwwwww! Tanaka, fetch me my hand sanitizer!"
"At once, Mr. Thorndyke!" The butler retrieved the small bottle from his pocket and squirted a decent amount into the open palm of the rich kid's hands. He proceeded to rub it in, cursing under his breath before sitting back down again.
"Remind me to burn these clothes when I get home," Chris muttered. Tanaka took note of Chris' command in his smart phone.
"Why do I put up with this?" Eggman asked himself.
"Because you have no other options?" Decoe replied.
"And because Chris took you in when your base was destroyed?" Bocoe added.
"Just shut up and record, you buckets of scrap heap!" Eggman commanded.
"Y-yes, sir!" The two replied as they prepared to redo the take.
"Aaaaand, action!"
"Sonic! I'm sick of all your selfish stunts! This time you've goo-buuuuuurp." Knuckles blushed as he covered his mouth. "Sorry, must've been the soda I had earlier.
Eggman facepalmed. "This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"
In the week following Sonic and friends' collaborative mission with Topaz and Rouge, where they managed to blow up Eggman's headquarters and secure Bokkun as an alley, the party decided to take things easy for a while; Helen had her studies to catch up on, and Cream wanted to give Bokkun a chance to relax and get better acquainted with his friends after getting rescued from Eggman's island.
While Tails heeded the advice of Chuck to use this opportunity to enjoy himself and relax before planning the search again for the next Chaos Emerald, and finding out more about the whereabouts of Dr. Eggman and Chris Thorndyke, his new accomplice and financier, the orange kitsune eventually returned to his old habits: working endlessly to make progress on whichever gadget or contraption tickled his fancy at that particular moment. When confronted about his workaholic nature, Tails reassured the elder scientist that keeping his mind and body occupied on his projects was a form of relaxation and that sitting around and doing nothing would actually make him anxious. Sure, he did manage to capture all the available monsters in that game he borrowed from Helen, but he wanted to do something more…so Chuck, obliging his Mobian counterpart, introduced him to his lab…if one could call it that.
Situated on the outskirts of Station Square, and bordering the mountains, the old barn was spacious enough for the retired scientist to work on projects of his own, such as building a new car to replace the one wrecked previously by Dr. Eggman and Missile Wrist. It was here Tails was able to begin work on tuning up the Tornado 2, and after a few days of nonstop work, he had some exciting news.
Chuck was sitting in a rocking chair just outside the barn, smoking what appeared to be a cigarette but producing a fouler, skunk-like odor, as he watched Cream and Bokkun playing tag in the grassy clearing separating the barn from the nearby dirt road, corn fields surrounding the remaining perimeter of Chuck's land. Sonic, meanwhile, was basking in the sun, sleeping on the roof with his hands propping up his head and Amy cuddled to his side.
"Chuck, Chuck!" Tails ran out of the large, open barn door, grease stains covering the orange kitsune's fur.
"What is it, Tails?" Chuck asked before taking another drag.
"Come see for yourself," Tails replied with a wide smile as he waved the elder scientist into the barn. Chuck got up from his chair, stretched his arms, and placed the joint in a cigarette cup sitting next to his rocker.
"Tada!" Tails gestured to the immaculate, shiny plane resting in the center of the barn. Various parts, tools, and paint buckets were strewn along the hay-covered floor, and Helen was studying the blueprints nearby, trying to absorb as much of Tails' teachings as she could.
"Very impressive," Chuck replied as he placed his hands in his lab coat pocket. "The fact you tuned up the engine, made all your repairs, and gave it a fresh coat of paint in only a few days is remarkable given what little supplies I had to offer."
"That's not all," Tails added as he pulled at Chuck's arm, nearly dragging him near the rear of the plane. The fox pulled a remote from his namesakes and pressed a button. Chuck's jaw dropped as a portion of the plane's side retracted into the rest of the plane's body, revealing an open elevator. "I made the passenger seat handicap accessible! We can finally take Helen out for a ride!"
"Yay!" She cheered from the side. "I've always wanted to ride in a plane, and I'll be able to join you on your adventures now!"
"Shall we try it out?" Tails asked the young girl, who enthusiastically and swiftly nodded her head in response.
"I trust your mechanical prowess, Tails," Chuck said as he folded his arms, "but given how fast you built this add-on, I'm not so sure we should test it just yet."
"How else are we going to know it works?" Tails asked as he tilted his head. "I constructed the elevator and measured the seat precisely to Helen's specifications, and the only way we'll know if it's going to work is if she tries it herself."
"I'll be fine, grandpa," Helen added as she rolled to his side, handed him the blueprints, and backed into the elevator. "Ready when you are, Tails!"
"Okay!" With another press of the button, the elevator's platform locked the chair's wheels in place before slowly rising. The platform spun as it reached the top, eventually securing Helen in the back row automatically.
"Truly marvelous," Chuck noted as he rested his fingers below his chin. "I suppose you'll be wanting to go for a test run, huh?"
"Yep!" Helen replied from above, admiring the high view. "Tails and I want to check out Silver Valley."
"It's not too far from here," Tails added as he raised a finger to the air, his namesakes fluttering from behind, "and there are ample clearing spots to land safely."
"Can we come, too?"
The party turned to Cream and Cheese, Bokkun following from behind, still a bit nervous but ultimately getting more comfortable with his new friends by the day.
"Amy showed us Silver Valley on her phone the other day. We could pick so many flowers for Helen's parents!" The young bunny squealed in delight. "And Bokkun and Cheese can help, too!"
"Chao, chao!" Cheese agreed, twirling around the bunny with a wide smile across their face.
"I can't wait!" Bokkun said. "I'm sure they will love it!"
"I'm coming, too!"
The party once more turned to the entrance to reveal Amy, having slid down the side of the barn's roof to land gracefully on the ground below. "I wanna pick some flowers for Sonic! Don't tell him, though…" Amy lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's gonna be a surprise."
"Ya know I can hear you, right?" Sonic called from the rooftop, still resting above.
"Oh, oooops…" Amy chuckled nervously as she ran a hand behind her head, a large sweat drop forming along her brow.
"I'd love some flowers, though!" Sonic continued, peeking his head down to get an upside-down view of his friends in the barn.
"You want to come with, Sonic?" Tails asked as he gestured to the Tornado 2. "There's enough room for all of us!"
"I'll pass this time, lil' bro," Sonic replied as he pulled himself up and crawled to his designated resting spot on the roof. "I've been to Silver Valley loads of times already. I'll let you all enjoy the scenery while I catch up on my Zs."
"Fair enough." Tails turned to the elder scientist. "Chuck, you want to join us?"
"Nahh, I'm good," he said. "I was fixin' to take a nap myself."
"Okay, so that means…" Tails counted out the ones who'd be joining them on this adventure. "I'll be in the passenger seat, Helen will be in her spot, and Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Bokkun will sit in the middle. It'll be a tight squeeze…I should probably build something a bit bigger eventually…" The young fox used his rotary namesakes to fly up to the pilot's seat.
Amy was the next Mobian to enter the plane; she crawled up and sat on the right side of the middle row. Cream flew in with her flappy ears, and Bokkun sat next to her, flying up with his jetpack. Cheese was situated on the bunny's shoulder. The pink hedgehog glared at the messenger robot as Cream held his hand. Needless to say, Amy's stare made the poor robot nervous.
"Why is your palm so sweaty, Bokky?" Cream asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," Bokkun replied with a sigh, shifting his attention to the waving human below.
"Have a safe trip!" Chuck called from below as Tails started the engine.
"We will!" Tails reassured, waving at the elder scientist as he drove the plane out of the barn, using the path between the structure and the road as a runway to gain momentum. Shortly before reaching the road, the kitsune pulled back on his yoke, allowing the plane to go airborne.
With a smile, Chuck returned to his rocking chair, took another long drag of his joint, and closed his eyes. After what only felt like a few moments, however, he was awakened by the presence of two unexpected guests.
"Hey, I've heard of you," Chuck said as rocked in his chair, "you're those Eggman robots…Decoe and Bocoe, right?"
"Yes," Decoe replied, sweat dripping from his forehead as he helped Bocoe carry a yellow CRTV.
"We have a special message for Sonic the Hedgehog," Bocoe added.
"We had a difficult time tracking you down, so tell us Sonic's location, or else Eggman will hear about it!" Decoe declared.
"Hey, what's up, fellas!" Sonic peered down at the two robots while waving a hand, his other keeping him secure above the barn door.
"Normally we have Bokkun deliver these messages," Bocoe replied, "but since he abandoned his master, we've been left doing double duty!"
"Why won't the Doctor just give us a break?" Decoe complained as the two placed the television on the ground.
"You know, you could always join our side, too," Sonic offered before dropping to the ground below. "I'm sure Bokkun would be happy to be with his big brothers again."
"I could use some extra hands in my lab," Chuck added. "I couldn't pay you, but you wouldn't be worked to the metallic bone."
"Not a chance," Decoe and Bocoe replied as they defiantly shook their heads. "Although…" Decoe pondered. "It would be nice not to be worked to death."
"Yeah, and the benefits are abysmal," Bocoe added.
"More like nonexistent." Decoe clarified.
"If you like being ordered around all day," Sonic placed his hands on his hips with a smirk, "it's none of my business to interfere. Now let's watch this video already." The blue hedgehog pressed the red button on the television, falling back in surprise at the sight of Knuckles, the camera zoomed in on his menacing eyes.
"Sonic! I'm sick of all of your selfish stunts! This time, you've gone too far! I'm challenging you to a showdown! Meet me at Silver Valley at 12 PM sharp. Don't be late!"
Knuckles' image faded away, replaced with Eggman's logo flickering on the television screen as well as the voice of the evil doctor himself.
"This message was brought to you by the Eggman Empire, which is not responsible for its contents… except this part! Wooahhooohoohooo!"
Seconds before the television bomb exploded, the blue hedgehog spindashed the TV away, colliding with Decoe and Bocoe, the resulting explosion cartoonishly blasting them off over the horizon.
"That knucklehead got himself tricked by Eggman again, huh?" Sonic asked as he rubbed the base of his nose.
"This happen often?" Chuck asked from his chair, still rocking throughout the entire exchange.
"More or less," Sonic replied with a shrug. "Some days, Knuckles can be ridiculously easy to trick while other days he is super cautious. Eggman knows how to manipulate him, though…probably guilt tripping him over the Master Emerald."
"Welp," Sonic continued as he stretched his arms and legs. "Don't wanna keep Knuckles waitin'!" The blue hedgehog slammed one fist against the palm of his opposing hand. "If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get!"
"Remember, Helen and the rest are in Silver Valley right now. Try not to drag my granddaughter into this kerfuffle."
"You have my word, doc," Sonic replied as he wagged his finger. "Helen's safety will be my top priority. Now, if you excuse me, I've got an enchilada to fry!" The blue hedgehog charged a spindash, speeding down the path in a blink of an eye, leaving Chuck alone with the chirping birds, the late morning sunshine, and the light, pleasant breeze.
"Boy this is my kind of day," Chuck said to himself as he took another puff and slouched back in his chair.