Chapter 20: Cracking the Knucklehead (Part 2)
"Wow, this is amazing, Tails!" Helen exclaimed from her designated seat at the back of the Tornado 2, peering out of the glass casing protecting her from the wind. The young girl was provided with the breathtaking view of the mountains comprising Silver Valley, as well as the lakes, forests, and fields peppered throughout. "The pictures online don't do this place justice."
"Yeah, it's amazing, all right!" Tails replied from the cockpit, itching the base of his nose. "We have the entire afternoon to explore too!"
"Will we be able to pick lots of flowers?" Cream asked from the middle seats, Cheese sitting between her ears and Amy next to the young bunny.
"Of course, Cream!" Tails replied. Cream nearly squeaked in excitement, followed by the enthusiastic "chao, chao!" from Cheese.
"Even though I spoiled the surprise for Sonic," Amy said, "I'm sure he'll love the flowers I'll pick for him! Cream, can you help me create a bouquet?"
"Yes, Miss Amy," she replied with an enthusiastic nod and a wide smile, turning to Bokkun to her other side. "Bokky here can help too!"
"Yep!" The messenger robot replied, a slight blush appearing across his face as he ran a hand behind his head.
"We're here, guys!" Tails lowered the altitude of his plane, homing in on a natural landing strip. The party oof'ed as the plane's landing gear made contact with the grass, and once the aircraft arrived at a complete stop, the orange kitsune opened the protective glass shield, allowing the party to exit. Amy jumped out with grace, landing perfectly on her feet with bent legs, while Cream dropped slowly to the ground, using her ears to slow the descent. Tails merely jumped, opting not to use his rotary namesakes to cushion the fall, while Bokkun used his jetpack to land safely. Finally, with a press of a button, Helen's wheelchair was lowered to the ground thanks to the recently installed handicap accessible elevator on the side of the plane.
Jumping up and activating his namesakes, the orange fox took to the sky to survey the immediate area. Shielding his eyes from the sun with his gloved hand, the fox pointed to the north. "There's a field of flowers just down this path!" He returned to the ground and approached Helen. "You want me to push you?"
"I'm fine," Helen replied as she gripped the wheels of her chair and rolled herself forward. She sighed heavily. "It's nice to get out of civilization, you know? I definitely need more green in my life."
"Nothing like fresh air on a bright, sunny day!" Tails replied to her side as Cream, Cheese, Amy, and Bokkun followed close behind. "I may enjoy locking myself away in the workshop for days on end, but even I need to take a break, and today's that kind of da—" The fox was interrupted by a bleeping sound coming from between his namesakes. Reaching in, he pulled out his Miles Electric.
"What's going on?" Amy asked over the orange kitsune's shoulder.
"A Chaos Emerald…" Tails sat on the ground and placed his tablet on his lap. Cracking his knuckles, the fox got to work pinpointing the location of the mystical gem.
"A Chaos Emerald?" Cream replied, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Precisely." Tails' eyes were glued to his screen. "But this doesn't make any sense. The Chaos Emerald detector programmed into my Miles Electric relied on the unique energy frequencies emitted by the Master Emerald to operate properly."
"The Master Emerald's all the way back on Mobius, though," Amy replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you sure your device isn't broken?"
"I'm…not sure…" Tails replied as he typed at a greater speed. "I ran some diagnostics, and there don't appear to be any issues from what I can gather." With a sigh, the young fox pulled himself off the ground and dusted the dirt from his namesakes. "There are two possibilities: either my detector is malfunctioning, or it's able to detect the frequency of the Master Emerald across dimensions."
"Is that even possible?" Helen asked, tilting her head in curiosity as well.
"I don't know…" Tails itched the base of his chin in thought. "Interdimensional physics isn't my strong suit. Maybe we created a link, or, perhaps, a bridge between Mobius and Earth when we were transported here, allowing the Master Emerald's frequency to emit here, too…or maybe it was always like this? More study will be required before I can formulate a proper conclusion." The orange kitsune spun around and started walking the trail. "But first, I want to scout ahead to see if it's a false positive."
"But what about the flowers?" Cream asked, her voice slightly shaky.
"We can still look for flowers, Cream," Tails replied, "but I'd like to make a quick trip to the waypoint. How about everyone picks flowers while I check out the signal?"
"Sounds fine with me!" Amy replied with a thumbs up. Cream and Bokkun nodded as well.
"Actually…" The party turned to Helen. "Tails…can I come with you too?"
"Sure!" Tails replied. "The path beyond the flower patch gets a bit bumpier, though. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes, I'll be fine," Helen replied with a nod of determination. "Although I'll probably accept your earlier offer to push me."
Not five minutes after Tails and Helen departed from Amy, Cream, and Bokkun did the path start growing less stable, with large slopes and rocks. Helen could manage on her own in a pinch, but Tails was more than happy to assist the young girl.
"You can be my eyes," Tails said as he pushed Helen up a steep hill.
"You're almost at the top," she replied.
Reaching the hill's peak, Tails stopped to catch his breath before pulling his Miles Electric from his namesakes once more. "According to the waypoint, we are only a few dozen yards away! In fact…" Tails slowly pushed Helen down the hill, gripping onto the handlebars tightly as they slowly made their way to the base. "I believe it's in this bush!" Sure enough, after blindly reaching his arm into the shrubbery, he felt the unmistakable, mystical energy of the gem coursing through his fingertips the moment he made contact. Slowly pulling out the emerald, the red gem glowed in his gloved palm. Helen watched in awe.
"This is…beautiful. No words…can describe it…"
"Do you wanna hold it, Helen?" The young fox presented the girl with the mystical gem.
"I…ummm…sure…" She carefully reached for the emerald, clasping it firmly between her palms and bringing it to her lap. "It's warm...and feels…almost alive."
"There's much to learn about these gems," Tails replied. "If I could study them for a month straight, I would, but we generally only gather them in one place when we need Super Sonic or if Eggman stole them all. Having all seven on-hand is dangerous to say the least."
"With the red emerald, that means we have three!" Helen noted. "One more step to everyone returning home."
"Yep!" Tails replied with a thumbs up. "Of course, replicating the Chaos Control that brought us to Earth will be a challenge. The sheer number of calculations to ensure it doesn't send us somewhere else, or to, like, the deep vacuum of space, will be tedious. Chuck could help with this!"
"I'm sure he would be more than delighted!" Helen replied with a bright smile. "You know, this is the most fun Grandpa has had in a long time. I think having a prodigy like yourself around keeps his mind sharp."
"Oh really?" Tails asked playfully. "Well…what if us leaving Earth wasn't the end? What if…we figure out how to truly bridge our two worlds, allowing us to come and go as we please?"
"I'm sure Chuck would love that! I know I would." Helen replied, giving the young fox a thumbs up. The arm motion, however, brushed the Chaos Emerald from her knee, rolling to the grass below.
"I got it." Tails reached down to pick up the mystical gem, but moments before his gloved fingers made contact, a set of metallic hands plucked it from the grass, startling the young fox.
"Excellent! Dr. Eggman will be so proud of me!" Peering at the uninvited guest, they found Decoe gloating with the red Chaos Emerald proudly in his metallic hand.
"He will be proud of me as well," Bocoe added as he stepped out of a nearby bush. "After all, it was I who tracked these two thieves down."
"Hey, give that back!" Tails yelled, pulling himself up and balling his hands into fists.
"Not a chance," Decoe replied. "In fact…" The robot pressed a button on his arm, retracting a monitor. "Dr. Eggman! You're not going to believe this! I found a Chaos Emerald!"
"And I helped!" Bocoe added from his side as brother showed the evil doctor the shimmering emerald.
"Wooahhooohoohooo, absolutely marvelous! Bring it back here at once."
"No, stop!" Tails protested.
"Ah, if it isn't Sonic's little pup! I have a new buddy of my own that, well…let's just say he has a bit of a vendetta against you." The display on the robot's arm immediately shifted to Chris, patched it from the Thorndyke estate.
"Miles Prower!" Chris bellowed with hatred dripping from his lips. "You will pay for disgracing the Thorndyke name! Eggman and I will conquer the world and make you and your friends our slaves! Your fate will be worse than death. Mwaaahahahahah!" The young boy's maniacal laughter screeched through the small, internal speakers in Decoe's arm.
"All right, Thorndyke, turn it down like…five notches, will ya?" Eggman's face appeared on the feed once more. "If Chris' tantrum served anything, it was the perfect distraction."
"Distraction from what?" Tails asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"This."
Decoe was startled as a grapple hand yoinked the red Chaos Emerald away from him. Above was Eggman and his Egg Mobile floating several feet above.
"Wooahhooohoohooo! Didn't think I'd be this close, didn't you?" Tails growled under his breath as Eggman's bellowing laughter echoed across the valley. "I'm well on my way to building up my collection again! Just six more until I can finally conquer this pathetic little planet!"
"Don't count on that, Eggbreath!" Flicking his namesakes, the Miles Electric flew out, allowing the young fox to grab the tablet. Like a stylus, Tails pulled a small zapper pistol from the body of the computer, swiftly taking aim and shooting at Eggman's wrist.
"Yeoowww!" The evil doctor dropped the gem as he nursed his sore wrist.
"Got it!" Tails exclaimed as he scooped up the gem and started running back to the Tornado 2, pushing Helen's wheelchair in the process.
"What are you waiting for!? Go catch that fox!" Eggman barked to his metallic assistants.
"Yes, Doctor!" They replied simultaneously before starting the chase.
Normally fast, especially with the assistance of his rotary namesakes, he lacked much of his speed thanks to the added responsibility of keeping Helen safe. He did manage to push the young girl up the steep hill, however, but just as they reached the top, and just as the fox gave Helen one final push…
"Extendo-arm, activate!" Bocoe yelled as he stretched his arm. Nearly reaching the orange kitsune, something else collided with the young fox, sending him rolling into the tall grass adjacent to the path. Tails opened his eyes.
"Hiya, bud! Long time, no see!"
Earlier:
Knuckles the Echidna was sitting on a boulder near the cliff of one of the many mountainous plateaus dotting Silver Valley. Crossing one leg over the other, and grumbling under his breath, he watched as the sun shifted in the afternoon sky.
"What's taking that hedgehog so long? He should've been here by now…" Peering across the horizon, the red echidna couldn't help but feel invigorated, and a little at ease, at the sight and smell of the outdoors. He was so calm, in fact, that a butterfly landed on the tip of his knuckles, the insect perched on the pointy end without any trace of fear. Cracking a small smile, he shifted his arm slightly to get a better view of the butterfly, but an unwelcomed, albeit unsurprising, gust of wind from behind forced the defenseless insect to fly away.
Grumbling once more, the red echidna stood up and turned around to find Sonic standing nonchalantly, eyes closed with a flower near his nose.
"Hey there, Knucklehead," Sonic said, a smirk across his muzzle.
"For being the fastest thing alive, you took your sweet time getting here," Knuckles replied, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, well, I stopped n' enjoyed the scenery!" Sonic took another sniff of his flower. "This planet's way past cool; it's nice here! You'd like this world too if you weren't such a party pooper!"
Grinding his teeth as a vein appeared across his forehead, the red echidna stepped toward the blue hedgehog. "Enough talk, let's go!"
"Oh, relaaaax, will ya? We have all afternoon to duke it out, buddy boy!"
The red echidna brought his fist to the blue hedgehog's face, the spike on his glove touching the tip of Sonic's nose. "I'm not your buddy, and don't forget it!" He stepped back and raised both of his fists, throwing practice punches like a boxer preparing for a match. "Now put 'em up! I didn't come here to sniff the flowers!"
"That's your loss, Knucklehead," Sonic took one final whiff of the flower before throwing it in the air, the wind blowing it off the mountainside and to the forest below, "but if you'd rather get clobbered by me, I'll bite."
Knuckles scoffed. "First you steal the Chaos Emeralds, and now you're spouting nonsense? Wait until I teach you a lesson."
"Wait…steal?" Sonic tilted his head in confusion. "What the heck are you talking about? Your brain's even slower than your fee—" The blue hedgehog was cut off by Knuckles' fist colliding with the side of his muzzle, sending him off the side of the plateau. Not falling too far, however, Sonic landed in the bushy branch of a tall tree on a lower plateau.
"Owww...now that's gonna leave a mark," Sonic complained as he rubbed his cheek. Peering up, he gasped as Knuckles descended toward him with surprising speed. Dodging the echidna's shoe, the might of Knuckles' strike destroyed the branch. Launching himself off the tree trunk moments later, Knuckles glided down to the ground, where Sonic was catching his breath.
"Since when do you play dirty, Knucklehead?" Sonic asked as he rubbed his cheek once more.
"You shouldn't have left your guard down," Knuckles replied. "If you don't want another helping of my Knuckle Sandwich, you'll turn over the Chaos Emeralds you stole."
"You're not making any sense," Sonic said as he pulled the green and blue gems from his quills, glistening in the afternoon sun. "I never stole these emeralds, Knuckles."
"Don't play games," Knuckles angrily cried as he ran toward the blue hedgehog once more. Sonic stuffed the emeralds back into his quills, allowing more than enough time to dodge the echidna's fist and retaliate with a sweeping kick, sending Knuckles into the side of the mountain, his head fully encased in rock. Placing his palms and feet on the rock, he pulled himself out from the side of the mountain, falling to the ground below.
"If you want these Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said with a smirk, "you're gonna have to catch me first." Turning around, he smacked his rear end before twisting around once more, sticking out his tongue and pulling one eyelid down with his finger. "You'll never catch me, though, because you're too slow."
"That's it!" I've had it up to here with you, hedgehog!" Knuckles pulled himself up and watched as Sonic disappeared into the thick forest. Flames growing in the echidna's eyes, he spun his arms so rapidly they appeared like spinning wheels to the untrained eye. "Ora ora ora ora ora!" Sonic ran away as Knuckles carelessly blasted through the trees, his spinning arms shredding their trunks apart on contact.
"Don't you care about the environment?" Sonic asked as he effortlessly dodged each tree as ran toward yet another edge of a mountainous plateau.
"Don't change the subject, you thief!" Knuckles retorted. "Quit running away, and the trees will be spared!"
"Maybe I would if you weren't being such an aaaaaaaa—" The blue hedgehog fell off the plateau, this time entering spherical form and rolling down the side of the mountain.
"Oh no you don't!" Knuckles chased after him, running down the side of the mountain and throwing a punch toward the blue sphere. Leaving his spherical form, Sonic reflected the punch with his palm as he ran backwards.
The two exchanged punches as they made their way down the mountain. To any bystander, the fight would've appeared to be a flashing, red and blue lightshow.
"You…pulling…your punches?" Sonic asked between jabs and dodges.
"I was just…thinking the…same…THING!" With a final punch, Knuckles landed a blow to Sonic's muzzle once more, launching the blue hedgehog into a pool of water below.
"Ahhhh! Someone help me! I can't swim!" Sonic flailed his arms in the shallow water before realizing the depth of the pond was only a foot. "Hehe, looks like I fell in the kiddie pool!" He ran a wet, gloved hand through his quills in embarrassment.
Knuckles slowly stepped toward Sonic, the water failing to hinder his strides.
"Welp, gotta go!" Jumping out of the water, and quickly shaking himself off, Sonic hopped off this plateau, skiing down the rocky side like a snowboarder before reaching the grassy base of this particular mountain.
"Quit running, you coward!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"Silly Knucklehead," Sonic replied as he spun around in a patch of tall grass, easily deflecting the echidna's punch with his palm. "You think I'm running because I'm scared?" The blue hedgehog grinned as he punched the red echidna's muzzle, sending him to the ground. "I'm running because it's fun!"
"Oh yeah?" Knuckles replied as he pulled himself up, wiping some blood from his mouth. "You won't be entertained after I deal my ultimate blow!"
"Bring it!" Sonic braced himself, entering into a defensive stance and putting his arms up like a shield as the red echidna's fist came hurling at him. Protected from any real damage, the force of the impact still sent Sonic careening through the tall grass, but instead of landing on the ground, he collided with what felt like a fluffy pillow.
Opening his eyes, the blue hedgehog found a confused, disoriented orange fox below him, the two surrounded by grass taller than themselves.
"Hiya, bud! Long time, no see!" Sonic said as he pulled himself up, offering the confused kitsune a supportive hand.
"S-Sonic? What are you doing here?" Tails asked as he rubbed his head before realizing something was missing. "Oh no, the red Chaos Emerald."
"The red emerald?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, I found it with my detector!" Tails replied as he dropped to his knees, crawling around in search of the gem.
"I thought you couldn't use it on Earth?" Sonic raised a finger to his chin in thought.
"I don't understand it either!" Tails replied before finally finding the gem in a pool of mud. His knees and hands were caked in the brown sludge as he stood up, holding the red gem proudly in his palm. This Chaos Emerald caused a similar reaction to the green and blue gems tucked away in Sonic's quills, making the hedgehog's back glow as well.
"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled as he found his way to the brotherly duo through the bushes. "It's time you give back those emeralds!"
"Like I said, Knuckles," Sonic replied, "I never stole them. We took 'em back from Dr. Eggman. Shouldn't you be working with us to prevent him from getting the emeralds like he did last time?"
"I, ummm…" Knuckles stammered as he ran a hand through his dreadlocks.
"Let me guess…" Sonic brought his hands to his hips. "You let the good doctor trick you again, didn't you?"
"I, well…" Knuckles pulled the newspaper clipping Eggman previously shared with him from his dreadlocks. "It's not like that. Didn't you say you wanted to stay on Earth forever?"
"Huh?" Sonic grabbed the clipping from Knuckles' hand and read it. "No, Knuckles. I didn't say any of this, although that last bit about how you stink and need a bath was pretty funny!" The blue hedgehog approached the echidna, took a whiff, and chuckled, earning an unamused stare from his echidna counterpart. "Yep! This part of the story was true!"
"The newspaper material appears authentic," Tails replied as he ran a gloveless finger across the article before pulling his dirty glove back over his hand. "Then again, he is working with Chris, and his parents do own the presses. He used actual newspaper material to make this extra convincing."
"I'm sure Knuckles would've been convinced by a story printed on toilet paper," Sonic replied with a grin.
"Hey, shut up!" Knuckles replied with a blush. "So I got carried away…I just…it just seemed believable, you know?"
"Knuckles…" The blue hedgehog placed a hand on the red echidna's shoulder. "I enjoy this planet, don't get me wrong, but keeping everyone else here against their will? Stopping Cream from reuniting with her mother? That wouldn't be right…"
"Yeah…" Knuckles turned away. "I know you love adventure…I let Eggman cloud my judgment, using my longing for home to make me feel guilty." The red echidna turned to Sonic. "I'm…sorry."
"No worries, Knucklehead!" The blue hedgehog gave his red counterpart a noogie, rubbing his knuckles across his scalp. "Let's just talk things out next time, okay?"
"You got it," Knuckles replied with a thumbs up.
"Not to interrupt your reconciliation," Tails said, "but I'm pretty sure Decoe and Bocoe were chasing me and Helen when I found the red Chaos Emerald."
"The red Chaos Emerald?" Knuckles asked.
"Decoe and Bocoe?" Sonic added. "And…Helen!?"
"Yeah…" Tails brought a finger to his chin. "I'm guessing you flung me from the path so quickly that they totally missed us! But…if they were heading in that direction…" The orange kitsune pointed south. "…and if Helen isn't with us…that must mean…"
"AAAAAAAA!"
"Helen!" Sonic and Tails exclaimed before running to save the human girl, followed close behind by Knuckles.
"Wooahhooohoohooo!" Eggman exclaimed as he gloated from his Egg Mobile, floating above a large robot trapping Helen inside its inner-glass casing, a drill on its underside and two large, spider-like legs on either side of the large, purple machine. "My latest robot, E-47 Pumpty, now has your friend captive! I am, of course, willing to let her go in exchange for the Chaos Emeralds you stole from me."
"Not a chance," Amy replied, wielding her Piko Piko Hammer with her legs bent in anticipation for an impending showdown. "Let Helen go at once!"
"Yeah!" Cream added, her hands on her hips in defiance.
"Chao, chao!" added Cheese from atop their master's head.
"Oh, and who is that?" Eggman asked, pointing toward the small robot hiding behind the young bunny. "Bokkun, you traitor. Come out and face me like a real machine." Out came the messenger robot, his legs trembling. "And to think I spent hours building you, developing a unique living/robot hybrid entity, only for you to abandon your creator. You're useless." This brought tears to the robot's eyes.
"Hey, Bokky," Cream placed her hand on the robot's shoulder. "You don't need to put up with Eggman's bullying anymore. Remember, he is no longer in control of you." This earned a slight nod from Bokkun, who dried his tears with his metallic arm.
"Are you making kids cry again, Egghead?"
The party turned to Sonic, who emerged from the tall grass surrounding the flower patch, followed by Tails and Knuckles.
"Looks like you're a bit late, rodent!" Eggman replied. "But as you can see, I have your little friend captured in my robot! I can give her up in exchange for all three of the Chaos Emeralds currently in your possession, or is the life of this human not worth it to you?"
"Uhhhh, Eggy?" Sonic placed his hands on his hips as he impatiently tapped his foot.
"What is it?"
"Your robot is empty." The blue hedgehog pointed a finger toward Pumpty.
"WHAAAAT!?" Eggman lowered his altitude, finding the robot devoid of his human captive.
"Helen, you're safe!" Tails exclaimed, running toward the young girl who had just returned to the party, giving her a hug from her side.
"But how did you escape?" Amy asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"I…" She pulled a tool from the pocket of her wheelchair. "I…used my screwdriver. I unscrewed the hinge from the door and then rolled out. The landing wasn't too tough either…" Helen pointed to the wheels of her chair and her feet, both full of mud. "I'm all dirty now, but it helped break my fall."
"I'm just glad you're okay!" Tails continued, releasing the young girl from his embrace and turning to Sonic and Knuckles. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"Ah yeah, now this is happenin'!" Sonic replied.
"What are you plotting now, you vermin?" Eggman asked before turning to Pumpty. "Destroy these pests on the double!"
Grabbing hold of Sonic's ankles, Tails let Knuckles grab his ankles as well, spinning the brotherly duo followed by a menacing throw, sending the two hurtling toward the robot like a multi-colored projectile. Shortly before impact, Sonic curled into a ball, and a last-minute kick from the orange kitsune served to enhance Sonic's lethality.
Within milliseconds, a hedgehog-sized hole appeared through the robot's core. Glowing white, the party took cover moments before Pumpty exploded.
"And now for Eggman!" Amy pulled out her hammer once more before hopping up, grabbing hold of Cream's ankles as she flew him toward the stunned doctor. With a fling of her legs, Amy was propelled away from the young bunny, and with a devastating swing, Eggman was launched into the sky.
"I'm blasting off agaaaaaain! Cuuuuurse thaaaaat heeeeedgehooooog!" As Eggman disappeared into the sky, a sparkle signified his departure.
"Wait up, Doctor!" Decoe and Bocoe cried as they ran in his general direction, leaving the party, and the smoldering robot, alone in the flower patch.
"Good work, team!" Sonic congratulated with a thumbs up, earning a cheer from the rest of the party.
"But…the flowers," Cream gestured toward the flower patch, a large portion destroyed by the robot.
"I'll tell ya what," Amy replied. "Let's come back here soon and plant some new flowers. What do you say?"
"That'd be lovely!" The young bunny replied.
"Chao, chao!"
"Then it's a date!" Tails added. "But first, I gotta text Topaz so her team can extract the remnants of the Eggman robot. I'm sure they could put his tech to good use…" As Tails pulled out his cell phone, issued to him by the United States government similar to Rouge's smartphone, Amy cleared her throat and turned her attention to the blue hedgehog.
"Hey Sonic, I, ummm…" She pulled a bouquet from behind her back. "I…hope you like these, Sonikku."
Sonic's eyes glistened as he slowly studied the flowers. He took a sniff of them as well.
"Amy, these flowers are beautiful…reminds me of a certain Rose I know…" He gave the pink hedgehog a wink, causing her to blush profusely.
"Sonic, I….ohhhhh…" She fell to the ground, caught last second by the blue hedgehog.
"I guess she can't handle my new romantic side, huh?"
The party laughed as they prepared for the journey back to the Tornado 2.