As of March 2021 All existing chapters (1-8 ) have been remastered for spelling, grammar, and some other minor issues. Hopefully this will improve the experience. - Sarilleny

Fractured Frequency | Façade

It was nearing dusk when the pair, walking in tandem, arrived back at the island cottage.

Inside, Sonic busied himself by taking a seat at the lacewood kitchen table, to rummage through his backpack. Meanwhile Knuckles made his way to the stone basin sink where he carefully removed his gloves, then proceeded to wash his hands. Looking over his shoulder he turned to Sonic.

"You hungry?" he asked

"Hmm," Sonic replied distractedly, while still rummaging. "Found it!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a plastic bag full of snacks. "Oh, what did you say Knux?"

"Are you hungry?" Knuckles said again, while pulling his gloves back on. "I could make something..."

Sonic smirked at him sheepishly, "Nah, brought my own treats."

It was no secret that they didn't share tastes in cuisine. While Sonic tore into a bag of chili cheese chips, Knuckles propped himself up, taking a seat on the counter. He grabbed a ripe mango out of a bowl fruit placed next to him on the counter.

"So, what's going on? You have new info on Robotnik or something?" Knuckles asked.

He gave the mango a quick rub down on the fur of his arm, and then took a big bite, redirecting his attention to Sonic.

"Na, he's still playing dead. Tails said he hasn't picked up any readings in Robotropolis since you and I were there last. I think the kid is still holding out hope that Eggman is actually gone, but I don't buy it. I mean you saw the base. It's destroyed. I don't think he can live with that. No, he's off scheming some new master plan or building some new ridiculous device. That's my bet."

"Yeah, but what else is new? The guy has always been a crazy sack of bolts." The echidna replied.

"Don't you and I know it," said Sonic, exuding something between exasperation and laughter.

Leaning back in his chair to muse for a moment, and with a mouth full of chips, Sonic thought back to their last foray in Robotropolis. He was relieved that their second mentioning of the matter this evening had proceeded more smoothly. Consequently, when Knuckles spoke again, it caught him off guard.

"So, is this about the emerald transfer?" Knuckles asked, curious. In their tumultuous meeting, Sonic had never clarified his reason for coming.

"What? Oh...um you could say that I guess," Sonic evaded. "It's no big deal. I'll tell you about it later." He was not quite ready to divulge his motive; especially since realizing that his prior expectations about this trip to the island, and the situation he was entering had been plainly wrong. He stifled a sigh, pushing that line of thought away, to be examined later.

Meanwhile, Knuckles frowned at the dismissive answer, aware that the subject was being avoided. He didn't push the issue though. Honestly, he felt too tired to have a discussion about whatever it was anyway. Better to attempt sleep while it might still be obtainable, he reasoned. He'd suffered through too many sleepless nights this week already.

He took one last bite, finishing off the mango, then hopped down from the counter, and tossed the core into a compost bin to his right.

"Hey Sonic," he called, startling the hedgehog out of some tangent train of thought. Once he gained the hedgehogs attention, he continued. "I think I'm just gonna turn in."

With a yawn he added, "early morning tomorrow, you know? I don't mind if you stay up or whatever..."

"What!? Aww, but I just got here Knux!" Sonic interrupted, looking dejected. "You can't leave me hanging now." As he spoke, Sonic noticed the echidna's better mood seemed to be waning; he only received an annoyed glare in reply. "OK, OK, fine," he conceded. "Go to bed, but not until you open this." Sonic picked up the small white box that he'd placed on the table earlier, and set it on the opposite end of the table, closest to Knuckles.

Knuckles eyed the box suspiciously. "What is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you! Just open it!"

As Sonic waited patiently, he mused at how eagerly the echidna desired to avoid this suggestion.

Knuckles stalled a bit longer. Why was Sonic so insistent on divulging its contents? When he could think of no excuse to avoid it, he stepped forward. Placing a hand on each side, his gloves met a cardboard surface. With a small amount of pressure, he pulled upwards allowing the top half of the carton to slide up. As the lid freed itself from the base, Knuckles peeked inside, wary of what scheme Sonic was leading him into.

To his surprise, it was nothing he could have anticipated. The box held a cake.

The fine torte was decadently decorated with a white cream that laced its form in lattice fashion. Atop it was embellished with raspberries, and sprinkled with white chocolate shavings.

Knuckles' eyebrow rose as a question grew among his immediate thoughts. He looked up at Sonic who now bore a ridiculous looking grin. "You got me a cake?"

The other nodded excitedly. "Yeah! It's for your birthday, you know. I mean, I know it's not today. It's a little late, but it still counts right?"

"Oh," was all Knuckles managed in response at first. His gaze shifted to the cake, then back to Sonic. "Um, thanks Sonic," He offered, feeling incredibly awkward. "This is uh... I've never had one before..."

"Wait, What? What do you mean you've never eaten cake before! Seriously?" Sonic asked. "You're kidding, right? I mean I'm pretty sure I saw you eat some at Tails' birthday party..."

"No, Blue." Knuckles interrupted Sonic's rambling. "That's not what I meant. Of course I've had cake. I meant I've never..." His gaze turned downcast before continuing. "never had a birthday cake before."

"Oh..." replied Sonic suddenly, understanding the obvious reason. Growing up alone and all. "Right, well... hey, it's never too late to start," he offered with a smile. "You want to have a piece now?"

Despite desiring nothing more than to crawl into bed at the moment, Knuckles replied with a positive nod. He wasn't sure if it was guilt, or gratitude on his conscience that forced the decision. "Sure," he added, hoping to hide a weary sigh under his words. "I'll grab some plates, hold on."

Sonic seemed to remain oblivious to this, overly pleased with his surprise at the moment.

After retrieving an assortment of mismatched dishes and silverware, Knuckles handed Sonic a large knife. Sonic cut two large slices, and then the pair moved to the seating area in the living room.

Taking a seat in one of the wicker armchairs, Knuckles asked, "What flavor is it?"

"It's a vanilla shortcake, with raspberry cream filling. It's gonna be sooo tasty, Knux. I'm sure you'll love it!" Sonic replied as he plopped himself down on the adjacent green sofa.

Knuckles couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at Sonic's enthusiasm. He sounded like a five year old. "I take it you've tried it before?"

"Well no... It's from this new bakery that just opened up in Station Square. Everything they make looks so delicious, and this was the best looking one. I just couldn't resist!"

"I see," said Knuckles. Taking a large bite, he was delighted by how delicious the morsel tasted. "This is really good," he praised, mouth still full.

"Mmm, I know!" Sonic enthused.

The room settled partial into silence as they both focused on enjoying the treat. It wasn't until they finished that one of them spoke again.

"By the way, it's not late," Knuckles stated matter-of-factly. He'd been too surprised to mention it earlier, but remembering again now, he felt he should enlighten Sonic.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" asked Sonic.

"The cake," Knuckles replied, "it's not late. My birthday is next week."

Sonic stared at him, looking awfully perplexed. "Uh...I knew that," he said with false confidence.

Knuckles passed him an incredulous look in reply. "Really, then what day is it?" he asked.

Sonic stared at him dumbfounded. 'Next week?' he thought, trying desperately to remember what this day's date was. "I thought... uh... I mean... isn't it on the twenty-second?"

"Hmm, you really don't keep track of dates do you?" Knuckles remarked in a sardonic tone.

"What, like you do?"

"Yes, I do. Today is the twenty-fifth ."

"Well..." Sonic retorted, "at least I got the month right!"

The echidna scoffed at him. "My birthday is on the second."

"Of next month?" Sonic asked, voice sounding small, and ears laying back in embarrassment.

Knuckles nodded.

"...Oh," Sonic replied, a blush now brushing his cheeks as well. "Um, sorry about that..."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll make a point of forgetting yours too."

If he hadn't been facing Knuckles at the time, Sonic might have missed the humor in that statement. The smirk on the echidna's face rather than his tone gave it away though. Sonic smirked back at him. "Well, just know that I expect to receive a gift by August at the latest!" he declared in response.

"August hmm? Well if you can wait that long, I suppose I'll come up with something," the echidna said.

"Ha! So you do know when my birthday is!"

"Don't flatter yourself." Knuckles shot back, sounding rather nonchalant. "Just so happens it falls on an Echidnan holiday. Luck coincidence for you I suppose..."

"What? Wait, why haven't you ever told me about this before? There's a holiday on my birthday! What for?" asked a bemused Sonic.

"It marks the end of the Celebration of Rain."

Sonic considered this, and responded after a moment's thought, "...Bullshit."

"No really. It was a big deal," Knuckles teased with a flat sort of enthusiasm.

"Whatever. Your sarcasm doesn't impress me. Besides who would want to celebrate stupid rain anyway."

"Still the animosity towards all things wet I see..." said Knuckles with exasperation. "We really need to teach you how to swim..."

"Yeah right. Who needs to swim when you're fast enough to run on water!" Sonic replied confidently.

Knuckles just rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself..."

Sonic mimicked the gesture in return. "Oh, that reminds me though, I saw Rouge a while back. She said something about trying to do a treasure hunt with you."

"Oh, um yeah, we went a couple months ago." Knuckles replied off handedly, as though trying not to bring more attention to the subject.

Sonic's eyebrow rose at that. It was a bit of a relief to know Knuckles hadn't completely shut himself out of their circle of friends. He was about to tease the guardian about spending time with their dear gem thief turned friend, when Knuckles continued.

"Wasn't really my kind treasure though. She did tell me this great story about you and your date with Amy." He added slyly.

"WHAT! That's not fair." Sonic exclaimed. "Rouge swore she wouldn't tell!"

"And you believed her?"

"Psh...well, yeah. She's a super spy. She's supposed to be good with secrets."

"Yeah, she is, but it's also gotta be worthwhile enough to keep. She likes to play games."

"Well I suppose that was my mistake. Anyway, I don't know what she told you, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter. Amy basically kidnapped me."

"Kidnaped you? Come on now," Knuckles said skeptically.

"Blackmailed? He tried. "Ok yeah, yeah, honestly, it was all in good fun. She scored a reservation to some fancy new restaurant that opened near her place, but it was for their couples night. I owed her a favor, so… Actually, I'm quite sure Amy was more excited about the expensive dinner than actually having me there at all. It was good, but that kind of stuff just isn't my style. Other than that, we had fun." Sonic explained.

"Still," Knuckles smirked, "Good to know someone out there is getting the upper hand on you."

"Yeah, yeah. Real funny." Sonic deadpanned. "Almost as good as when she pranked me under mistletoe. And by that, I mean not a funny joke at all."

Knuckles frowned in confusion. "When was that?"

"Oh... I forgot you didn't make it to our christmas party this year. Long story. I'd rather not recall. Anyway, everyone missed you ya know. I even still have a few presents for you back home. One from Cream, another from Amy and one from Tails and I. Sorry I should have brought them. I totally forgot."

Knuckles brushed off the comment with a shrug, and it caused Sonic to pause in question. He was tempted to ask Knuckles why he hadn't come—he'd never gotten an straight answer—but decided against it, feeling it might come out sounding confrontational. Instead he continued, choosing to metaphorically waltz around the subject.

"The Chaotix asked about you a lot that night too. Especially Mighty and Espio. Haven't yo... they been keeping in touch with you?"

Knuckles who was now busying himself with a loose string on a pillow at his side, seemed reluctant to answer. "Oh, uh, yeah. They have..."

Sonic didn't miss how Knuckles looked away awkwardly as he answered. Nor the quick change in subject that followed.

"So what's going on in Station Square? Did Tails ever figure out why sections of the power grid were shutting down?" the echidna asked.

It took Sonic a moment to reply as he took note of the segue. "Um... he told you about that? I didn't realize."

"He mentioned it off hand."

"Right. Well I think he and the team he's helping have gotten it partially stabilized. Last time I asked he went rambling on about how there was a lot more he needed to do. You know how he is. When he starts talking his engineering, mechanic, kid wizidery, I lose track of the conversation."

"Yeah, I hear ya," replied Knuckles

"Not much beyond that. The weather sucks during this time of year, so I haven't been getting many runs in. Every time I try to sit down to watch some TV, the power goes out again, and well, Tails is no fun when he's working. All around, it has been pretty boring."

"I see. You're bored so you decided to come torment me? That's great," Knuckles scoffed.

"Hey! I brought you cake! Besides, apparently somebody needs to be checking up on yo—" Sonic paused realizing his faux pas mid sentence. Unfortunately it was a moment too late. Knuckles' causal expression had faded into one of disdain. "Red... I didn't mean..."

"Save it," Knuckles replied curtly, looking away.

But his defensiveness set Sonic off. "Well, it's not like it's not the truth! There's something you're not telling me Knux. I can tell."

Violet eyes narrowed in back on the hedgehog, and then Knuckles suddenly stood, abandoning the wicker chair.

"Look Sonic, I don't want to do this right now."

"Knuckles..."

"I'm going to bed," replied Knuckles in a tone that implied it was the end of the conversation. "You can stay in the other room." He then walked to the other end of the living room, and disappeared behind his door.

—

Still seated at the couch, Sonic let out a long sigh. "Real nice Sonic. You really handled that well," he muttered to himself.

While he had never been someone known to hold back his words, that was a conversation he hadn't intended on revisiting until tomorrow. It just sort of slipped out. Still, Knuckles' reaction let him know there was definitely something else going on.

Slouching on the armrest, he let his forehead rest in his palm. A frustrated breath followed. Guilt was scratching at his senses. It had been there ever since he'd noticed Knuckles' injury earlier.

To say he'd made a mistake might be an understatement at this point. 'If it wasn't for Tails,' he thought. It was his brother who had convinced him—or rather forced him really —to make the trip up to Angel Island. The fox noticed that something was off about Knuckles' demeanor when they'd spoken a week ago, while coordinating the transfer of two Chaos Emeralds to the island for secure holding. When Tails came to speak to him about it, Sonic was ashamed now to admit that he'd completely brushed it off. As he recalled the conversation, Sonic wondered what had been influencing his own demeanor.

—

"Sonic?"

"Hey lil' bro, what's up?"

"Well, you spoke with Knuckles a few days ago right?"

"Uh, well sometime last week, but yeah. Why?"

"Well, it's just...I think maybe something is wrong. When I talked to him yesterday, he seemed, I don't know... Like something was bothering him. I was curious if you noticed that too."

"Um, not really Tails. I noticed he was kinda being a jerk when I talked to him, but that's nothing new. He's got an attitude about everything. I wouldn't worry about it."

Sonic remembered how Tails had looked at him with that concerned expression. "I think maybe you should go visit him Sonic."

He had been about to give a list of reasons why he thought that was a bad idea, but didn't get a chance to respond.

"And before you say no—it's going to rain here all weekend; Angel Island almost always has great weather; you've been complaining about being bored for days; you're making it really hard for me to get any work done on this power grid issue; and it's almost February. I know you've wanted to get something from that new bakery that just opened. Here's your chance"

Clearly the kid had given this some thought before approaching him. Sonic found himself hard pressed for an excuse after that reasoning.

"Oh alright! I'll go, but if he shuts the door in my face you're picking me up in the Tornado lil' bro."

—

Now, sitting alone in the living room, Sonic got the sense that he was the real jerk in the situation. He'd always prided himself on being loyal and protective of his friends. When had he become so callous? Had things really changed between them so much?

'Yes,' he thought to himself.

There was a moment, earlier in the forest, when he first saw the bandage wrapped around the guardian's ankle. It stole his attention away from their petty quarrel, and instead, coupled with the memory of the young fox's words, brought him to a damning realization. Something was seriously awry with his friend, in a way he couldn't quite define. It had been for months, maybe longer.

Little changes, discrepancies; had he been ignoring them? Their interactions had been so explosiveof late. As though a latent hostility had grown between them. He didn't even know how it started. They didn't spend time together, unless out of necessity. Almost every conversation ended in argument. Sometimes Sonic felt like he didn't even know the guardian anymore.

Rivaling Sonic's feeling of guilt over the situation was doubt. Knuckles was an excellent climber. He'd seen the guardian scale walls, as easily as one might ascend a ladder. Imagining that he'd slipped was like Sonic suffering a clumsy fall while running. It just didn't happen. There had to be more to it.

Perhaps most troubling of all was that despite their strained relationship, Knuckles had let him stay; he'd even behaved cordially for a bit. 'Why?' Even at the best of times between them, Knuckles was a loner. There were some things he'd always chosen to shoulder on his own. So why the sudden change of heart? Had Sonic's sudden realization and resulting monologue in the forest spurred something within the guardian? Was it a plea for help? 'Unlikely,' he dismissed. Maybe Sonic's words appealed to the echidna's better judgment? 'Maybe.' his thoughts echoed.

What was it that he was missing?

Those few minutes before, where they were just joking and teasing had been so refreshing. The tension between them momentarily forgotten. He wasn't sure if Knuckles had even noticed it, but they had somehow fallen into their typical banter routine. It felt good. That was the Knuckles who was his best friend. The one he hadn't seen in months.

Sonic let out another long sigh, shaking his head. He'd needed answers. An uneasy feeling in his gut told him there was something else at work here. Why the guardian wouldn't just share it with him he didn't know. He had no doubt that Knuckles would fight him on this every step of the way, but he was up for the challenge. Besides, even as the best of friends they had been known to butt heads, and he knew exactly how to push Knuckles' buttons. If there was a secret to uncover he'd find it.

Resolved with his thoughts for the time being, he decided to get some sleep as well. As he stood from the sofa, he picked up the two plates off the coffee table. He walked back into the kitchen, deposited them in the sink, and then made his way to the spare room.

Just as he was about to close the door, he heard a large bang come from inside Knuckles' room. For a moment he wondered whether he should go check on his friend, but decided against it. Knuckles made it pretty clear he didn't want to deal with him right then. With that last melancholy thought, he closed the door and went to bed.

—

Knuckles shut the door behind himself, and let his back slide down against it to the floor. 'Stupid hedgehog.' he thought. 'Can't he ever keep his mouth shut?'

He cringed, dropping his head into his hands. He was so tired, but his mind was racing now. For a while he just sat there, trying to calm his thoughts.

Sonic didn't know how much he had unsettled the guardian with their argument in the forest. Maybe he was overreacting though. He was sure Sonic meant well, but it was hard enough sorting things out on his own. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. It was clear the hedgehog suspected there was more going on, but... 'Is there more?' Knuckles asked himself unsure.

He felt a wave of anxiety, as the weight of everything he'd been contemplating over the last few weeks washed over him. Was everything that had happened just an accident? Had he just been following a path of carelessness; or, was it careless of him to dismiss the situation as a strange coincidence. 'I don't know anymore.'

In a surge of anger at his own confusion, he balled his hand into a fist, and slammed into the floorboards. The strike echoed throughout the room. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to the ceiling. A muffled shuffling sound and a click reached his ears from outside of his door. He supposed it must be Sonic going into the other bedroom.

'Sonic...' What was it about the things the hedgehog had said earlier, that put Knuckles so on edge? He wasn't sure. Despite Sonic's conclusion, Knuckles hadn't deliberately avoided mentioning his injury, nor the incident, which led to it.

Sonic's first call had been a full week after the ravine incident. Meanwhile, Knuckles was back on his feet and doing most of his normal routine after only two days. It hadn't been easy, but he had been rather determined.

The truth was that if any decision about discussing the topic of the injury or incident were to have been made, it would have been more likely that he'd have made a deliberate decision to tell Sonic, rather than to deliberately not tell him. The fact that he had done neither was just a testament to his innermost nature. He hadn't been trying to hide anything from Sonic at the time. It just didn't occur to him to say anything about it, because he was so used to having to depend on himself. For years, it had been that way.

'So why do I still feel like I've done something wrong?' He questioned himself. And despite his desire to deny it, he already had an answer.

He wasn't lying to himself in claiming it hadn't occurred to him to mention anything to Sonic when they spoke, but after what his blue friend has said during their argument, earlier in the forest, about "taking the risk," and dealing with things on his own, Knuckles was beginning to feel doubtful about every decision he'd made over the past three weeks.

'And I still can't remember,' He berated himself.

In all truth he'd been tearing himself up about it since the incident. He couldn't remember anything before the point when he'd awoken on the ledge, ten feet down the ravine. He didn't know how he ended up down there, and even worse, he didn't know what might have happened on his island while he was passed out.

On the second day, as soon as he could take a step on his ankle without collapsing in pain, he'd scoured the island for signs of anything unusual. He'd felt vulnerable, bruised and injured as he was; yet still, just as Sonic pointed out, he hadn't contacted anyone. If something serious had happened then... But, after searching the island he found nothing out of place, so he assumed he'd just slipped up. Surely he'd bumped his head when he'd fallen, and that would have caused the memory loss. But there was one thing he couldn't justify. One piece of information he'd tried again and again to find a logical explanation for, and it nearly terrified him he still had no answer.

Five days before the ravine incident, he'd awoken on the ground near the Lava Reef Zone. He had no idea how he'd gotten there, or what he'd been doing hours before.

That was the first time he'd blacked out.

TBC

Façade : an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality

NOTES

You ready? This one is a bit of a roller coaster.

—

Sorry about the delay! I know I said this chapter would come out pretty quickly, but when I went back and read what I had already written I realized most of it needed to be rewritten. All around the chapter went from three pages to about twelve. Hope you enjoyed it!

As for the next chapter, it might take a while too. A large chunk of has yet to be written. In the meantime please review! Your feedback is very motivating!

To my fantastic beta reader Awdures thank you again! You always have such nice things to say, on top of keeping my grammar in check! You rock!

Ch 1 reviewers, Speedy1236, Spidesmi, and craZ4knux, Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this next bit!

- Sarilleny