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 | Echo
The morning found Sonic climbing the steps of the majestic Master Emerald Shrine. It was cool and a bit windy as usual, per the island's high altitude. At the halfway mark he stopped and closed his eyes, enjoying how the breeze brushed over his skin and through his quills. His thoughts shifted towards how to approach the inevitable situation at hand.
At the uppermost terrace, he felt the soft light and warm aura of the Master Emerald. Its pale glow was accented by a field of light cast by the Sun's first rays, which had just begun to peak over distant the horizon. A distorted red figure was also visible through the gem's many facets. A step to the right revealed Knuckles to his view.
Knuckles was seated, legs dangling over the back edge of the shrine, presumably watching the sunrise. He was undoubtedly also aware of Sonic's presence, so Sonic didn't bother to announce himself. Instead he simply took a seat alongside the guardian. They watched the sun rise in silence, both enjoying the fantastically vast view, and the calming lull of the Master Emerald behind them.
The sun was well above the horizon before Knuckles finally broke the silence.
"Still here I see." He said.
Inside Sonic cringed. This was going to be just as bad as he was expecting. Possibly worse.
With a sigh he asked, "Are you so eager to have me leave?" It was a struggle not to sound bitter.
"Have you found some reason to stay? To constantly annoy me perhaps?"
Sonic rolled his eyes. Whatever progress they'd made towards being civil the night before had evaporated with his ill timed comment.
"Yeah, well maybe I didn't ask to be here, either. Did you think of that?" Sonic spat back, frustration setting in.
"Oh, finally! That's the first thing you've said that actually makes sense! By all means then Sonic, see yourself out. I have work to do." Knuckles began to stand up, before continuing. "Oh, and tell Tails, I don't care what he's working on, I don't have time to babysit you just because you're bored! "
He turned to leave, but was halted by a tug at the wrist. "Sit back down."
Knuckles looked at the hand holding him in place, and then straight into Sonic's eyes. "Let go," he spoke viciously.
Sonic sighed and tried again. "Please sit down, Knux." "Get your damn hands off me before I-."
"NO," Sonic cut in. "You can spew all the insults and threats you want Knuckles. I'm not leaving. Now sit down."
Knuckles appeared slightly taken aback at this response. He looked at Sonic inquisitively, as though he didn't believe the hedgehog's words. "Why?" he asked after a moment.
Sonic thought about this for a while. The answer seemed rather obvious to him, but he obliged the question anyway.
"I know you well enough to know when something is wrong, Knuckles." He watched his friend closely as he spoke, and saw dissatisfaction with the answer. He continued. "So you don't want to talk about it. Fine. We can pretend it's not there; we can even pretend everything is good between us, but you can't expect me to just leave, if we are going to play it that way."
He let go of Knuckles' wrist, and waited for his reaction.
Knuckles seemed reluctant still, to accept Sonic's request. His arm dropped back to his side, and he continued to scrutinize the Sonic with a less than friendly stare.
"Would it really cost you so much to sit down for a few minutes?" Sonic asked wearily.
"For what? So we can pretend to be chummy?"
"I had something better in mind actually."
"Well, I don't have time to waste on your stupid games."
"AND JUST WHAT, PLEASE SHARE, ON THIS DAMN DESERTED ROCK IS SO IMPORTANT!?" Sonic yelled, losing his calm. "You keep saying you have work to do. More important things to do, but I don't see it. So enlighten me please! Just where are you so desperate to run off to? What are you gonna do? Set a trap? Dig a ditch? Stare at the Master Emerald all day maybe? There isn't anybody here forcing you to run around like a crazy person while you're injured! I don't see any imminent threat. So, what the hell is your problem?"
"SO YOU THINK WHAT I DO IS INSIGNIFICANT!?" Knuckles roared back. "Maybe I should just drop everything and be an aimless runner like you! NO RESPONSIBILITY. NO DISCIPLINE! Just do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it! When it's convenient for me! That sounds great! Why should I care what happens to the island or the Emerald! It's just one big stupid rock, right! RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK, ISN'T IT!?"
"WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I THINK! Does it? No matter if I'm trying to help you! Is that really what it's come to? Are our differences so great that you can't even stand the sight of me? Because I used to think it was the ways that we were DIFFERENT that made us a GOOD TEAM!"
"Yeah," Knuckles scoffed viciously. "I used to think that too... Things change."
Sonic was taken aback by Knuckles' words. They were so bitter and full of resentment. He could see in Knuckles' eyes that there was something else behind that thought. Something intense. The thing that had torn them apart. And Sonic realized in that moment, that he didn't at all comprehend the magnitude of what that thing was.
—
On the surface Sonic's words had ignited his rage; the short fuse that exploded in anger, and resentment. As it burned away though, it unearthed something else. Something that Knuckles had hidden away beneath the rage, because he didn't want to remember; a dark emptiness within. But the furious flame would fizzle out, he knew, and he was already standing so close to the edge of a pit of despair.
Knuckles turned away from Sonic, and retreated to the opposite side of the Master Emerald while trying to steady his breath. 'Keep it together,' he hissed mentally. The last thing he needed was to confirm Sonic's suspicions. He raised a hand to his left temple, trying to massage away a headache that had increased tenfold since the hedgehog's arrival. It was making it difficult to concentrate. When Knuckles began to feel slightly faint, he gave into the urge to sit, settling on the top step of the shrine. He'd actually intended to storm away, but this would have to do. He really felt awful, and didn't quite trust himself to walk down the stairs. 'What is wrong with me?,' he found himself asking, though the answer was not entirely unclear. He'd hardly slept again. Somewhere in the wee hours of morning he'd come here to the shrine trying to clear his head. It hadn't been working even before Sonic's arrival. It wasn't just lack of sleep though. Physically he was exhausted as well. He'd been pushing himself, eager to keep up his regular routine despite the sprained ankle and the strain of working around it was wearing on him.
Knuckles dropped his head into one hand, weary with frustration.
Sonic wasn't even the issue. Not entirely, anyway. Knuckles did realize that he was being unnecessarily harsh towards the hedgehog; however, knowledge of that fault didn't mean he was ready to be friendly either. Sonic was just another layer of complication that he could do without in his life at the moment.
Sonic had always had a knack for putting Knuckles on edge. It wasn't even intentional much of the time, just a trait of their polar personalities. Knuckles sighed at that, and thought back to what Sonic had just said, 'the ways that we were different.' Just as quickly, though, he closed off that train of thought. There was too much there. Too many things that he didn't feel like he could deal with at the moment. Not on top of everything else. And not when Sonic didn't even't remember.
No, that pain was better left tucked away.
"Knuckles...?" Sonic asked in a cautionary tone, disrupting the silence that had fallen between them.
The urge to leave surfaced again, but he pushed it away. He didn't respond, either, waiting instead for Sonic to continue.
"Look, that's not..." Sonic trailed off. A moment passed before he began again. "I didn't mean to say that. Or... well... It didn't come out the way I meant it. I don't think that what you do, or that this place is insignificant. I wasn't trying to say that at all."
Knuckles found a small amount of amusement in listening to Sonic stumble through his thoughts; he sounded genuinely apologetic. Knuckles supposed he should return the sentiment, but was comfortably beyond caring at the moment.
He listened as Sonic went on. "I just want us to be friends again. I'm tired of the fighting. Aren't you? I miss all the fun we used to have, and I think you do, too."
That set off another red flag in Knuckles' mind. Hadn't he just said he didn't want to go there. Or thought it. Or whatever! His comfortable indifference was quickly slipping away. He could feel Sonic's eyes on his back as he continued to speak.
"Anyway, I just thought... well, you seem... stressed, and I thought maybe we could do something fun like we used to. A chance to get your mind off things. And if you have other things you need to get done, that's fine. Just let me help. We'll get it done together."
"And what if I just want you to leave me alone," Knuckles snapped, no longer able to bear the sentiment. He turned with a scowl.
Sonic met his gaze, a regretful expression on his face. It was some time before he replied, though his eyes never left Knuckles. "I can't do that... at least... not in the way you want me to."
—
Across the shrine, Sonic hung his head. That last comment stung a bit. Maybe he should have expected it, but it still bothered him.
The morning had been a complete failure up to this point. He was only making things worse. 'Well,' he thought, 'might as well go down swinging at this point.'
"Come on, Knux. Throw me a bone here. I'm practically groveling." He waited. No response.
"Ok," he continued, "let me do you one better. I'll leave you alone. Just tell me what you needed to get done today, and I'll take care of it. That's fair, right? More than fair really. You can't possibly say no to that."
He paused. Silence again. When he glanced over his shoulder, he was surprised to see Knuckles standing.
"So what? Are you just ignore—"
Sonic was cut off abruptly when Knuckles unexpectedly held up a hand and shushed him.
"Knuckles, wha—"
"Sonic, shut up!" Knuckles whispered back harshly.
Sonic watched as the guardian's eyes slid shut. For a few seconds everything was still. When he opened his eyes again, his expression changed to a frown. He turned in place then, and stretched out one hand to the Master Emerald, eyes closing yet again.
Sonic stood then as well, careful not to distract Knuckles. He knew that stance. Knuckles was using the Emerald to search for another presence on the island. He waited patiently at Knuckles side, thoughts jumping to various conclusions, and preparing himself until the guardian opened his eyes again many moments later. When Knuckles turned to meet Sonic's gaze, the frown was still in place, but he looked confused too.
"What's up, Knux?"
Knuckles hesitated before replying, "I don't know. It's nothing."
"Hey, don't give me that," Sonic warned offensively. He'd had enough of that game.
"No," Knuckles insisted. "I mean it. I... I thought I felt something... A presence. Just for a second, but... it's nothing. There's nothing there."
"Are you sure?" Sonic asked as he observed his friend.
"Yes, I'm sure." Knuckles snapped back.
The response seemed genuine enough. Knuckles seemed startled more than anything. Sonic couldn't help but wonder, though.
"Knuckles, has this happened before? Recently I mean?"
"No. Why?" Knuckles said, raising a hand to his temples again.
"So... you're not expecting anyone, or any danger... or something else?"
Knuckles looked up, understanding Sonic's full meaning.
"No, Sonic. No. It was just a mistake, ok. I'm just... I don't know... I'm just tired. OK."
"Ok," Sonic conceded, hands coming up in defense. Still, something felt off. Sonic had never known the guardian's intuitive senses to be wrong before.
He continued to watch Knuckles, as he seemed momentarily lost in his thoughts. He'd raised a hand to the Master Emerald again, though not in the deliberate way as before. It seemed almost absent minded this time. Knuckles did look quite tired, and Sonic supposed it wasn't beyond him to make the occasional mistake.
Focusing back on his own thoughts, Sonic stifled a sigh. His plan of talking things out with Knuckles wasn't yielding any progress. In fact it had probably set them back a few steps considering Knuckles' overall attitude towards him throughout it. Maybe what they needed was a course of action, quite literally, rather than another exchange of words. With that thought, an idea began to blossom. He opened his mouth to share, but caught himself and paused when he looked up and took in his friend's appearance. Knuckles still wore an uneasy expression. Dark circles under his eyes exaggerated the state to one of exhaustion. He noticed the faded bruises too, and realized that he was getting ahead of himself, even if just slightly. There was no need to rush.
It was quite apparent to Sonic that whatever was bothering Knuckles was enough of a distraction to throw him off point. Although Knuckles probably couldn't bring himself to admit it, a friend was exactly what he needed at the moment, if only it to remind him of the simple things. So Sonic filed away the new plan for more immediate needs. He could save the fun for later.
He closed the distance between them, lightly touching Knuckles on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey," he said gently, "have you eaten anything today?"
Knuckles, startled out of his thoughts, pondered about this for a moment before nodding left to right.
"Yeah, thought so. Come on. I think I can hear that cake calling for us." He took the guardians hand, and began leading him towards the steps.
A smile came to Sonic's face, when Knuckles wordlessly followed him down. 'Finally,' he thought to himself, 'no resistance.'
—
Breakfast somehow managed to turn into a rather pleasant affair, consisting of birthday cake, an impressive array of island nuts and fruits, and other preserves that even Sonic had become fond of over the years. The pair managed to avoid further argument, most likely due their ravenous appetites. Sonic spent the entire time recounting various mainland events of the past few months, in attempt to drown out the awkward silence that otherwise filled the room. Although Knuckles seemed only to listen with partial attention, Sonic was glad to see the look of unease had subsided.
"Anyway, it took him about two week to get it up and running again. It's pretty cool, though. The, um... turbo, um... Z45... 54... or whatever-he-calls-them boosters are crazy fast! Mind you," Sonic paused, holding up a hand, "not me fast, but I gotta give the kid props. I was impressed."
"And then in December we had this massive snow storm. Like, we were actually snowed in for a whole day! You're pretty lucky the greater island area only gets that cold every few years. Wish I could pick and choose my seasons. Afterwards, once we dug our way out, we had good fun with sledding and snowmen, and such."
Sonic looked up gauging his companion across the table.
"And then right after that I decide I'm not gonna travel anymore. M' kinda over it. Especially, when Spring hits. I just wanna stay home, and I don't know, try gardening or something. Maybe I'll grow turnips. And maybe potato—"
"—Wait. What?" Knuckles interrupted, looking baffled.
"Just messin." Sonic said with a smirk. "Didn't think you were listening."
"I... Sorry. It's just this headache. It's... distracting. What were you going on about before?" Knuckles asked.
"Well," Sonic began again exaggeratedly. "Now that I have your full attention, I was thinking… I have an idea."
"An idea?" Knuckles repeated exasperatedly. "Okay... Are you going to share it?"
"Yes, jeez, excuse a guy for trying a little build up." Sonic whined back. "Anyway, you ready?"
"Yes, Sonic. Just spit it out."
Sensing he finally had Knuckles' interest as well, Sonic obliged him. "Let's have a race!" he shared excitedly."
"A race?" Knuckles repeated. It clearly was not what he'd expected. "Seriously? That's what you're bugging me for now?"
"Oh, come on. Don't act like you don't want to. I saw that look. So what do ya say? You in?
Knuckles brooded for a while, before answering. "It wouldn't be a fair game." Then pointed to his ankle.
Not the answer Sonic had been expecting. Refusal he'd been ready for. He felt a pang of guilt. He'd forgotten momentarily about Knuckles' injury. Fortunately, his cause wasn't completely derailed by the misstep. Knuckles had actually misinterpreted his meaning.
"True. A race on foot would probably be unfair for a couple of reasons, though I'll remind you, you do have home field advantage. Actually though, I was suggesting an extreme gear race."
To that he received a raised eyebrow in reply. Sonic was thankful it wasn't an instant refusal. Instead Knuckles seemed to give it some thought. This however made it even more annoying when Knuckles replied with an uninterested, "No," again.
"Why! Come on, Knux! I know you just considered it! How long has it been since you've pulled out your board? I know you want to, so why in chaos not!"
"Because," Knuckles said rolling his eyes, "not only would you lose, it will end with me having to pull you out of another security blockade or something, and that just means more work for me."
"Well aren't we confident." Sonic mocked back. It was his turn to be annoyed now.
The incident Knuckles slyly referred to, was one of Sonic's more embarrassing memories. It happened around four years ago, but Knuckles liked to poke fun at him for it. He'd gone out for a run one morning on the island, and accidentally got caught in a rope trap. It took almost an hour before Knuckles came searching for him. The most embarrassing part of the whole thing was that the trap had left him hanging right above one of the island's deep mountain feed streams. He'd been so petrified by the pool, that he didn't even try to free himself. He just hung there waiting, and praying his foot wouldn't come loose.
Sonic decidedly pushed the memory away. He wasn't ready to give in yet.
"I think that's a pretty lame excuse for someone who is so sure they are going to win."
"Whatever Sonic. I have other things to do anyway."
"Show me the new security layout."
When Knuckles simply gave him a skeptical look, he continued to push.
"I'm serious. Show me the map. If I still screw up after that, it'll free you of any responsibility. Unless you think sharing the grid it will hurt your advantage..." Sonic smirked. He knew he had him with that one.
"Uhh, fine! You're on," came a grumbled reply. Knuckles let out a heavily exasperated sigh as he began to stand up, and Sonic was sure he heard a mumbled, "annoying hedgehog" under his breath too.
"Hey, where are you headed now?" Sonic asked.
"To get the damn maps! Are you coming or not?"
"Oh, right." Sonic replied, and sprung to his feet.
With Knuckles' back to him, Sonic smiled triumphantly. Finally some real progress.
Knuckles set about rummaging through the living room, looking for the maps. After checking a cabinet on the south wall, he walked around the sofa to a bookcase nestled in the far corner and quickly began to scan down through the shelves.
"Why don't you make yourself useful and help." Knuckles disappeared back into his bedroom for a brief spell then.
"Sure. Ok." Sonic replied, while scanning the other living room bookshelf. "What do they look like?" he called out.
"You know the ones. Big scrolls. Very old, remember?" Knuckles called back.
"Hmm, yeah sorta." He feigned searching a bit, then called out to Knuckles again. "Soooo, we're not just stalling to get out of doing this right?"
There was a slight pause, then an exasperated, "What? No, Sonic." Shortly thereafter, he reappeared, heading towards a storage chest, when he suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Damn it. I forgot, Mighty still has them," he said more to himself that to Sonic.
This caught Sonic's attention. "Mighty? Why does Mighty have your island maps?" he asked, turning to face Knuckles. "And why do we need them again? In case you forgot, I know my way around the island." After a moment he added, "We're totally just stalling, aren't we?"
"Oh, shut up, Sonic. We're not stalling." Knuckles snapped back. "You don't know the new security grid. Mighty and I were working on a whole series of layouts for different scenarios and what not. Some of them are already up, but we were still working on others when they left, and I forgot to ask him to leave the maps here. I don't think he really meant to take them." Knuckles explained. "Anyway, I'll have to get another set from the library."
"Ooor," Sonic started in a sing-songy voice, "you could just tell me what to watch out for, instead of..." He paused then, reexamining what Knuckles had just said.
Knuckles looked up impatiently. "Instead of what?"
"At the, where, did you just say?"
Knuckles looked up confused. "What?"
"Where did you say you need to go? The library? Knuckles, I highly doubt any library in Mobius will have a map of Angel Island," said the hedgehog matter-of-factly. "Well," He added as an afterthought. "Maybe, Robotropolis, but even that is a stretch these days."
"Yeah, I would hope not, Sonic." Knuckles deadpanned. "I meant my library, here."
Sonic was thrown by that statement. "Uhh, your library? Since when do you have a library?"
"Since always. You've just never been there."
Sonic frowned and cocked his head to the side. "Ok. Soo..." He trailed off hoping for more of an explanation.
Knuckles in turn didn't offer one, waiting instead for Sonic to elaborate his apparent concern. After a lengthy pause however, he rolled his eyes and left Sonic standing there, disappearing into his bedroom, and disregarding the unfinished conversation. When he was just inside the door he paused and called over his shoulder. "You just gonna stand around there? Your spare board is in the guest closet. Let's go."
Sonic couldn't help but smirk again. No doubt this was building up to be an interesting day.
—
Around the time that the sun reached its peak in the sky, and morning shadows disappeared, Sonic and Knuckles were nearing the end of the path that led to the Marble Garden ruins.
They strolled along at a leisurely pace, each with extreme gear in hand, enjoying the pleasant weather that graced the island even in late January. Neither of them had forgotten the unpleasantries of that morning, but by some tacit agreement, they'd set it aside for the time being, respectively with their own reasons.
In keeping with the unspoken truce, they attempted to fill the spaces with lighter conversation.
"So," Sonic began. "Remind me again why we absolutely need these maps." Sonic asked.
"I told you, Sonic. You don't know the current security layout."
"So. It's not like I'm gonna hit anything in the air! This is a waste of time. Let's just get this race started!"
"Actually, you might with the new grid. So no." Knuckles replied, exasperated with Sonic's impatience. "Besides, I didn't think you'd be so keen on testing that theory again. Remember last time?"
"Oh, give it a rest! That happened on time!" Sonic complained. He decided it might be better just to change the subject.
"Sooo, what is this library of yours like?"
"It's full of books." Knuckles provided curtly.
"You don't say? How enlightening." Sonic replied, unamused. "Why is it so secretive," he asked, throwing air quotes around the last word.
"It's not a secret." Knuckles answered simply.
"But you never told me about it."
"It never came up."
"And how is that not a secret?"
"It just isn't, ok!"
Sonic muddled over this for a bit before asking defensively, "So, do the Chaotix know about it then?"
Knuckles sighed inwardly, as though he'd hoped that question wouldn't come up. "Does it really matter?"
"Maybe." Sonic replied, sounding pouty.
"Fine. Yes. Sort of... They know there is a place I sometimes visit down here. Mighty knows it's a library."
"So, they've never been there?"
"No, they haven't. Satisfied now?"
"I guess," Sonic answered, sounding anything but.
They continued along quietly for a while then as they reached the first stray pillars of the Marble Gardens ruins. Sonic was always struck by the faded grandeur of the place, with its steep hills and massive structures. It gave one that sense that in their time, the Echidnas had been a race to be reckoned with.
Another five minutes along the path brought them to a familiar rock face. At first glance it looked like nothing more than an exposed bit of earth worn down over time. There were mossy boulders and debris strewn about its foundation, unruly vines hanging from above, and a few more stray stone pillars. Nothing particularly interesting to the untrained eye, however, closer inspection revealed a carefully disguised opening between the rock-face and boulder.
Sonic had been there many times before, and was rather surprised to find himself there again now. He had been expecting to be brought to some place entirely new. The tunnel beyond, was part of a vast network that stretched across the island, connecting the different zones. While he'd paused to ponder this, Knuckles had already passed the entry way, so he hurried along to catch up.
Past the collapsed crevice that led inside, the narrow tunnel took on an entirely different feel. It was dark, cool, and their footsteps echoed. Just inside Sonic leaned his board against the wall next to Knuckles' and continued on in. A short distance further along he found Knuckles, knelt at a rusty hinged chest in a small cove. From it he pulled a torch and a bit of flint. It only took him a moment to set it alight and then they continued on.
Wracking his memories, Sonic couldn't recall anything that would indicate a library within the cavernous expanse. While he knew he hadn't explored the full length of the winding tunnel network, he's seen enough. Probably more than anyone else living today, save Knuckles, himself, and maybe Tails. His patience ran out, and he broached the subject again.
"Can't believe you never told me about this place." He said, voice echoing throughout the tunnel.
"Sonic, you've been in the tunnels plenty of times." Knuckles said, sounding rather annoyed. "We've even come through this entrance before."
"Yeah, that's the point! I have been here before, but I didn't know you had a super secret library hidden down here. Are you seriously going to tell me that in all the time we've known each other, you just forgot to mention it? Not cool, man."
When Knuckles paused, and suddenly turned, Sonic nearly plowed into him.
"Sonic, I wasn't hiding it from you. I just... didn't really think you'd be all that interested." With a sigh he added, "And, it's sort of... private, I guess."
"Really, Knux?" Sonic chided sarcastically, "You own an island. Do you really need a secret hideout, too?"
Knuckles didn't reply, rather turned away with a hint of dejection, and continued along the path without comment.
It was at that late moment that Sonic realized that his humor might have been in bad taste just then. He skittered ahead a few steps to catch up.
"Hey, you know I'm just teasing, right?" he offered, "it's... surprising. That's all. I mean, I used to stay here for weeks at a time, remember? I guess I kinda thought I'd seen all the significant things there are to see."
"You have," Knuckles insisted, frustration still evident in his voice. Though after a moment's thought added, "well, most of them, anyway."
Sonic was curious what Knuckles meant by that, but decided it was better to drop the matter. He followed silently as Knuckles led them deeper into the caves.
As they continued through the dimly lit passage, the conversation fell silent once again. They walked on for a while, passing through several familiar junctions which led to Lava Reef Zone and Hydrocity. Another path further along led to the massive subterranean structure at the center of the island known as Hidden Palace Zone; a chamber that was also designed to house the Master Emerald.
After some time they entered a spacious chamber where the path seemed to split off in several directions. It was unfamiliar to Sonic. Knuckles led them to a passage on the left that appeared to be sealed by a massive door. It was difficult to see in the faded light, but Sonic could make out some faded markings carved into it. Knuckles walked up to it, and placed a hand over the ancient scratchings much like he'd done with the Emerald at the shine earlier that morning. The markings came alive in a greenish glow under his touch, and then with a waning grunt the door rolled to the side revealing a deep passage.
Knuckles stepped inside and motioned for Sonic to follow. As they entered Sonic noticed a steep incline, and sensed that they were descending quite far into the island's depths. He also noticed how well preserved this particular expanse of tunnel was. Many of the tunnels he had traversed in the past were semi-collapsed, strewn with broken pillars and faded murals. This passage was different. Its ceiling rose high as they moved onwards causing the light from the single torch to dispersed dimly. This made it difficult to see the detail, but even so, Sonic could see the intricate designs that cascaded along the upper edges of the walls. Painted with purples and blues mostly, the geometric patterns wove in and out, accented occasionally by a crescent shape that looked suspiciously familiar.
"Knuckles, did this place... it had something to do with the Guardians, didn't it?"
"Hmm, not explicitly. I think the crest is more of a symbol of protection here. That's what you're referring to, right?" He asked, glancing upwards.
"Yeah. I thought you said it was the symbol of the Guardians."
"It is. Though I'm not sure which came first really, the guardians born marked with that symbol or the symbols itself. It's ancient, and sacred. Even the legends are unclear about it."
The hall began to level out as they neared a bend. Ahead Sonic could see a doorway on the left. When they approached the door he saw that the path to the right continued on, though to where, he could not tell. It was shrouded in darkness. Sonic followed to the doorway, as entered, and Knuckles lit some sconces on the wall to light the room. Sonic had expected to be awed by grandeur. Instead he found himself at a cramped little space. Its perimeter was lined with bookshelves full of withered looking manuscripts. There was a desk at the right wall cluttered with texts as well. Many of them lay open, while others had little markers sandwiched between the pages. In the center of the desk lay what appeared to be a journal. It looked fairly new, and he could see that a modern pen rested in its seam, next to a page only half complete.
"Are you going to come in?"
It was only then that Sonic realized he was still standing in the doorway.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I just... It's not what I expected."
"No?" Knuckles asked, absentmindedly, as he searched around for something amongst the stacks strewn about the desk.
"It's kinda small." Sonic replied.
"Well these are just my books." Knuckles said as he snatched up what Sonic thought might be a key, and walked over to a cabinet in the corner. "The actual library is further below. It's much larger."
"Oh." Sonic said, not sure what to make of the statement. "Um, can I look around?"
There was a slight hesitation in Knuckles' step before he turned. "Yeah, just be careful, ok? Some of these books are fragile."
"Of course." Sonic agreed.
Knuckles turned back then, and began to rummage through the cabinet. After a bit of searching he emerged with one large roll of paper. "Damn. I just have a terrain map here. I need to grab a full set from below to take back to the house. I'll be right back, Ok?"
"Yeah, sure," Sonic assured, "I'll just wait here."
After Knuckles hurried away, Sonic made his way to the far wall, examining a shelf that caught his interest. In it lay a row of books with golden cloth bound spines—a set most likely— with identical title markings, and runes that he assumed referred to the individual volumes. The next shelf down was full of old dusty scrolls. They were undoubtedly ancient, and Sonic felt wary of even breathing near them, let alone touching, afraid they might crumble. Instead he wandered further along the wall, scanning up and down the shelves. When the words, 'ATLAS: Mobius' randomly caught his eye, he was surprised to have found something he could comprehend in the collection of old texts. Examining further, the shelf held a dozen or so titles he could read. 'ATLAS: Mobius,' 'Mobius: A Concise History' 'All about Chao,' 'The Legend and Mystery of Babylon,' and the list went on. He pulled 'Mysteries of Mobius' off the shelf, noticing it had some bookmarked pages like the stacks that lay on the desk. He flipped to one of the tabs and found it pointed to an underlined passage.
It read: "What remains of the Echidna race, is only found in the ruins of other civilizations past. Few concrete records exist, but there are mentions of dealings with other cultures. In particular, these documents often allude to the fabled treasures the Echidnas were believed to hold."
A bit further down the page, Sonic noticed a scribble in note. He scanned down to investigate.
"...over 200 years since their last sighting. This has raised many questions about their mysterious disappearance. Records indicate they may have lived on a tropical island far out in the southern sea. Many have searched for such a location, with little success. It is believed that..."
Next to the crossed out line, Knuckles had penciled in, "Not bad for a bunch of idiots."
Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. He'd love to see the face of the author if ever they caught sight of Knuckles. He closed up the book, replaced it on the shelf and continued down the wall. Curiosity got the better of him then and he turned towards the desk across the room. What other snarky comments was Knuckles leaving in random history books?
He crossed over to the table, and took in the disarray. Books and papers were scattered everywhere. He reached for the journal at center, but paused, wondering if maybe he should let it be. It could be something private; it could be something that Knuckles wouldn't want him to see; but then, wasn't that exactly what he was looking for? Carefully he shifted away some loose pages that lay atop one corner, and picked it up. Right away he recognized the Knuckles' handwriting; it looked just like the bit he'd seen in the book of mysteries. The page was only filled half way, and every fifth line or so, had a number;
30,455;
30,460;
30,465,
and so on in the margins. Flipping back a few pages he saw this was true for the entire journal.
As he flipped forwards again the book tipped a little, and the pen that had been acting as a place marker toppled out onto the table. When he reached to pick it up, he noticed a much larger and much older manuscript, sitting open in the place where he had taken the journal. The clutter had obscured it from view before. It was written in Echidnan script, and had a colorful drawing of what looked like Mushroom Hill Zone on one page. Intrigued, he set away the journal, and moved the papers and other books around the manuscript. When the space looked clear enough, he carefully closed the manuscript to get a look at the cover. It too was illustrated with an incredible image of Angel Island. It was so accurately detailed, exactly like the view he knew from flying to the island on the Tornado. 'But how did they—' he began to wonder, before he nearly slapped a hand to his forehead. These were Echidnas. Of course they knew what the island looked like from the sky!
He opened the manuscript again to a different page, and began to thumb through it. It really was a beautiful book. The script appeared to be cursive, with various letters and symbols interlocking. There was an illustration on the left page of each spread, and sometimes even full page pictures. Sonic flipped through the pages carefully, until he came to a place where the book's spine was worn more than the rest, as though it had been repeatedly opened to that section. It was another full page image, with a small bit of text at the bottom right corner.
The scene was quite elaborate. It depicted a vast bit of the island's landscape, with the mountains cutting through the center of the page. In the foreground of the right page, tiny ranks of Echidnas were drawn in formation. They appeared to be marching towards the edge of the island. The most intriguing part was in the foreground of the left page, which depicted the Master Emerald glowing atop the shrine, and a Guardian kneeling before it, with one hand stretched out, touching its surface. Sonic was overcome with a strange sense of déjà vu at seeing this, because the guardian figure held a striking resemblance to Knuckles. On his chest he bore the same crescent symbol, and his fur was drawn in the same bright red color, but there were some clear differences as well. The guardian in the picture had a bulkier build and looked taller. He wore no shoes, and had strange paint markings on his face. Even more peculiar was that half of his body was not fully drawn in, giving an effect as though he was fading away.
An exaggerated sigh at the doorway caught Sonic's attention and he looked up.
"You see Sonic, this is why I can't take you anywhere. I told you not to touch anything."
To Sonic's surprise, Knuckles didn't actually sound angry, rather mildly exasperated.
"Actually, Red, you only said to be careful," Sonic countered.
"No, I said... " He trailed off as he entered the room. He was holding a bundle of scrolls, which he set down and leant against the wall. "Well... maybe I said that, but it wasn't an open invitation to mess with the things on my desk. Those stacks were organized! I'm going to have to go through and re-check everything now! And you lost the page I was working on. Great." Knuckles reached for the manuscript, but Sonic stopped him.
"Wait!" he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. It just looked interesting. What is this, anyway?" he asked, pointing to the manuscript. "What exactly are you doing here?"
For the second time that day, Knuckles paused and observed him strangely, as though Sonic continuously contradicted his expectations. "It's... a book of Echidnan legends. You know, like for kids. It..." He sounded slightly embarrassed as he continued, "it was my favorite book when I was younger."
"What's it about? Why is the guardian only half drawn in, and what's with the massive army?"
Knuckles glanced at what Sonic was referring to. "It's the story of Knoton," He answered. "He was one of the earliest Guardians. He made―"
"―Wait. Knoton?" Sonic interrupted. "Is that an Echidnan thing? Do all names Echidnan names start with K... er, N sounds? Man, that would be exhausting to remember! Knuckles, Knoton..."
Knuckles replied with an utterly exasperated roll of the eyes. "Are you done? Where do you come up with this stuff? No, they did not all have names starting with the same letter. Remember Tikal? Pachacamac?"
"Oh, yeah. I did forget them for a moment," Sonic remarked thoughtfully.
When Knuckles was satisfied with Sonic's attention level he went on. "Knoton is... was legendary. His sacrifice was known to all of my people."
"Back then Angel Island wasn't a floating isle nor was its location a secret. The Echidnas were a powerful tribe well known throughout the Mobius. Their command of the Emerald's powers, and the Council of Guardians who wielded it were viewed as a force to be respected. Despite this, it also made them a target. They were betrayed by a group of allies who joined together to invade and claim the island for their own.
When the conflict came to a head, the Echidnas faced terrible odds. Their forces were severely outnumbered, even with the guardian council leading the force. They prepared for the worst.
So faced with the unthinkable, Knoton did something that was equally unimaginable. He used the Master Emerald to shield the island against the oncoming attack. He sent it away to a location where it would not face that danger again. In doing so, he spared the remaining armies, and saved the citizens."
"So he raised the island for the first time then?" Sonic asked, cutting in again.
"Presumably. There are other legends. Too many to be sure."
Sonic's eyes swept across the page, observing with a new understanding. His gaze drifted back to the Guardian Knoton at center spread. "What was the sacrifice?" He asked thoughtfully. "I mean, I always kinda thought that the Master Emerald naturally made the island float."
"Uh... well," Knuckles began thinking it over. "I guess I sort of gave you the short version. Despite the impressive looking armies drawn here, they were terribly outnumbered, as I explained. I don't think they expected to make it through; although, they were willing to die trying. Knoton was supposed to stand amongst the Council of Guardians as they lead the charge, but something stopped him. Some believe his connection to the Emerald was different; it was stronger somehow than the other Guardians. The legend says that he heard the Emerald calling out to him just as the battle was about to dawn so he went to the shrine instead. What happened there between them is uncertain. Some of the Guardian scrolls even consider it a forbidden act, but as this version writes it, they believe he connected with the heart of the Emerald, and literally became one with its power. His body faded away then, and he was never seen again. At least... that's how it's written."
"Wow. Do you believe that?" Sonic asked, still studying the drawing. When Knuckles didn't respond right away he looked up to find Knuckles appearing slightly abashed.
"I'm sorry." Sonic conceded quickly raising his hands in surrender. "That was very prying. My bad. You don't have to..."
"I do." Knuckles said quietly, as he thoughtfully examined the intricate spread as well. Silence hung between them for a while then.
Feeling the need to change the subject, Sonic searched around the room for anything else to comment about. His eyes fell upon the journal from before that lay open on the table. The handwriting was hard to make out at this distance, but he was able to read a few of the lines. The name 'Knoton,' in particular stood out to him now, and with it realization dawned.
"Oh. You're... are you translating this?"
Knuckles, who had taken to straightening some of the stray papers on his desk looked up. "Hmm? Oh. Yes."
"Oh, wow. I didn't know that you... That must be really difficult. Have you ever shown any of these to Tails? You know he loves historic stuff like..." He paused when Knuckles gave him the, 'you need to stop talking' look.
"What?"
"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." He said, seeming ill at ease.
"But... These are incredible. How many have you translated? In fact... Wait, scratch that." Sonic said, cutting himself off. "How did you translate them? Nobody speaks Echidnan anymore."
Knuckles replied with a cynical raise of an eyebrow.
"I mean YES, I know you do, Knuckles. Don't give me that look. I meant how did you learn it?"
Knuckles' expression changed from cynical to puzzled then. "I've always known Echidnan." he replied like it was the simplest thing one could imagine.
Sonic stepped over the obvious discrepancy in that answer, and tried asking the question another way. "So, Mobian was your second language then?"
Knuckles' brow crinkled in confusion. "No... I... I'm not really sure what you mean," he said, uncertain.
"How did you learn Mobian growing up here all alone?" Sonic asked more directly.
"Sonic, I've always been able to speak Mobian, and Echidnan, and High Babylonian." Knuckles replied. "My people just spoke many languages. I've always known them just like you've always known Mobian. I don't understand why that's difficult to comprehend."
"High Babaloni―Are you kidding me right now?" Sonic asked, with incredulity. "I don't even know how to begin to address that. So, basically... you..." Sonic had to pause momentarily then to wrap his head around the implication of that statement, and to decide whether Knuckles was just messing with him. "So you're saying you never had to learn how to read?"
"Uh... no?" Knuckles said, sounding uncertain. "Is that not normal?"
"Err, no. It's not, Knuckles. Most people learn things like that from their parents or school."
"Oh," was all Knuckles could offer in reply.
They both knew he hadn't known parents or family. It was likely he didn't truly have an answer to that question.
Sonic sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry. I keep doing that. I didn't mean to pry. It's just that I'm surprised. I guess I did know you could speak and read Echidnan at least, but I never really considered how before. Wouldn't have pegged you for a writer, either..."
"I don't really... I mean my stuff... It's not much, Sonic. Mostly just translating really old stuff." "Well it's more than I do." Sonic offered with a smile.
Knuckles went back to straightening things around his desk. He closed the delicate book and set it aside, then turned around back to face Sonic.
"Alright," Knuckles said "Now let's get this over with." He grabbed the map scrolls and started laying them out.
"Yes please! I haven't even been out for a run today. I'm ready for some speed."
It took a good twenty minutes for Knuckles to cover the general security grid, and all the points he wanted Sonic to avoid or be aware of. Following that they took to laying out a route together.
It was decided that they would start from the tunnel entrance at the ruins above. They would charge for Lava Reef zone, making a pass over the magma fields before diving down into the caverns. From there they would follow the tunnels to the far end of Mushroom Hill which brushed the island's edge. Cutting back towards the island's center, they would race through the mushroom forest until they reached Hydrocity on the lower tier of Angle Island's central terrace, before a final push up the mountain side, ending at the Red Mountain lookout.
The trek back up the tunnels passed more quickly than the journey down in Sonic's opinion. At the top of the steep passage that had taken them down to the library, Knuckles paused and let Sonic pass. He then proceeded to reseal the massive entryway behind them once more.
A few minutes further along the path brought Sonic to the realization that he never would have found this place on his own. Nobody would. That thought prompted Sonic to broach one last perplexing issue.
"Knux, why'd you bring me down here?"
Knuckles turned on him with a look that clearly asked, 'Are you dense?'
"Obviously, we came for the maps, or did your speedy brain bypass that point."
"Yeah, the maps, I know but... well, you say this place isn't a secret, but... "
"Yeah, I told you Mighty knows about it." Knuckles raised a hand to his face and let it slide down, showing his agitation. "Ugh, seriously, Sonic. Why does it even matter?"
"But he's never been down here, right? And nobody else knows. Really, how does that not constitute a secret?"
Knuckles looked ready to pummel Sonic at that point, but Sonic raised his hands in surrender to halt him. "Hold on. Look, I'm just saying... thank you. Ok? That's all. Thanks for showing me. I mean, you could have made me wait outside, and you didn't, so thank you."
Knuckles looked surprised at that, but recovered quickly. "Psh," he scoffed. "As if you would actually wait outside."
There was a smirk behind the comment.
"Come on now. Let's keep moving."
TBC
Echo : to be reminiscent of : REPEAT, IMITATE
NOTES
You guys though I was never coming back, right? I don't blame you. It's been way too long. I don't want to give you a bunch of excuses. I'm here with a new chapter (yay!) and I'm moving on to work on the next one. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it. It's the longest one yet! Contextually it picks up shortly after the last chapter so if it's been a while, you may want to reread a bit.
Ok I'll Leave it at that for now. Look for a bit more at the end. Enjoy!
――
Well there you have it.
I have to give a huge shout out & thank you to my two dear friends, Levi and Rachiel. Levi for always inspiring me to write, and write better and more. And Rachiel for literally sending hours beta reading, proofing, and discussing these chapters with me. Thank you so much!
Few more things about the chapter. I know a lot of it is still mysterious with many unanswered questions. That'll take a turn around Ch 5/6. Just hang in there. If you have questions or comments please leave a review! I love getting feedback, and clearly it's been a while so it would be greatly appreciated! Not gonna lie. The next chapter is gonna take a while. I do have a nice chunk written, but there is a lot more to add. Please bear with me!
Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!