Chapter Six: If it Hurts
"ATTACK!" I screamed. Charmy went in for the first lunge. The Beast roared at him. Charmy halted, terrified. "Charmy, GO!" The bee shook his head and flew higher. He hurled himself near the base of the neck. The Beast screamed and reared up. "NOW!" The rest of the team went in for the full scale attack. I didn't pay attention to anyone but myself. I figured they could handle themselves better than I could. I ran underneath the creature, shivering as memories of my first battle with it flooded my head.
Stop it, Knuckles! I thought bitterly. This is a new round, a new fight, a new day! Now get ready to fight, big guy! I sighed, trying to push my old fears out of my head. I punched upward. I smiled, feeling the satisfaction of feeling my hand hit it's target. "Take that!" I yelled. I punched much harder. "That one was for Tails!" I screamed, moving out from underneath the monster. I went for a square in the face punch and once again felt my hand hit home. "That one was for Sonic!" I then lifted my hand very high and ran beneath the Beast. My knuckles raked the belly of the monster. "That one was for the Master Emerald!"
The Beast screamed in pain again. I smiled. Yes! This was working! That monster was going where it belonged! It was heading back to the Under World. At the end of my run, I ran strait into Vector.
"Knuckles!" He yelled. "This is going better than I thought it would be! But don't worry, I understand why this monster beat you the first time.
"Good Vector! I'm glad this is going as well as you say!" I said happily. "How's Charmy doing?"
"I think he's still stinging like there's no tomorrow!" Vector said with a smile.
"That's great, Vector! We'd better get back to fighting, or this thing will never go down!"
Vector nodded in agreement and I ran back underneath the Beast. It was going great! We were winning. This monster had the odds against it. Five to one! It didn't have a chance! I figured if it went the way it was going for the rest of the fight, I could get home before sundown! The thought gave me strength. Home long enough to get a good night's sleep! I knew I still had the Master Emerald to find, but it was still in one piece, as far as I knew. It shouldn't be too hard to find!
"Knuckles, MOVE!" I looked up. All my day dreaming had sent me right in front of the Beast. I didn't have time to move, and if I did, I wouldn't have been able to make my own feet move. Nerves were going to be the death of me one day, but I never figured it would be today! The teeth were coming down on me. I could see my self being torn apart by those massive teeth. I close my eyes and waited for the end. . .
The next thing I new, I was flying through the air. I opened my eyes. There was a flash of green fur as we hit the ground. I screamed. I landed on my injured arm. I looked at Ceaira. "Are you crazy, Knuckles!" She yelled. "You could have been killed! You are no use dead!"
I sighed. "I know. I let my mind get away from me." She nodded and ran back to the Beast.
"Knuckles, are you okay?"
I turned around. "Yeah, Espio, I'm fine. My arm's just bleeding again, nothing big."
"Knux, she just attacked you!"
I stared at him. He was going to far with this. "She just saved my life, Espio! I'm incredibly grateful!"
"No, she attacked you, Knuckles!"
I thought about our flight. Yes, we could have landed differently, but even I knew how it feels to lose control while dodging an attack. "Your crazy, man!"
"Knuckles, she went for you! I'm telling you, she's trying to kill you!"
"Kill me! Espio, you have gone off the deep end!"
"FINE!" And he was gone.
I shrugged and ran back into the battle. What did that jerk take me for? I may be gullible, but this was crossing the line!
I thought it was going great, until I felt it. The power of the Master Emerald! But it wasn't aiding me, it was aiding the Beast! How? It was getting was stronger!
I heard a scream. "Charmy!" I ran to Vector. He was holding Charmy's limp form. I looked at him. His helmet was cracked beyond repair. "I have to get him away from here! Can you, Espio and Ceaira man the fort?"
I nodded. "Go Vector." He nodded and ran. That had to have been the biggest mistake of my life.
I fought my heart out, but with every swing, I was getting weaker. Blood flowed from my re-opened wounds. I was losing it too fast. My vision was fading, very slowly. My head was light and I was getting dizzy, but I still fought. No amount of pain could make me undetermined to destroy this monster.
The fight was hopeless and I knew it. Ceaira was weakening. Espio wasn't going as fast and he kept reappearing here and there. I stumbled. There was a hand on my shoulder to hold me up. "Knuckles, we have to go, now! I saw Charmy! We're going to die out here. Sound the retreat." It was Espio.
"NO! I will win this fight!"
He spun me around so he was facing the Beast. He slapped me. "Is it worth it!"
"Espio, I have to finish it off now! We aren't certain we can get away! We have to. . ." I trailed off when I saw the look in his eyes. It was a mix of fear, anger and nausea. He was staring past me at the Beast. I then remembered Ceaira was still fighting.
I gulped and turned around. I was terrified at what I'd see. The scene had to be pretty bad for Espio to get that dazed by it. What my eye beheld that day ripped my very heart in two.
