Fractured Frequency

by sarilleny

They have known each other as enemies, rivals, and eventually companions, but over time even the best of friends can forget that which brought them together. When a strange situation arises that may threaten Angel Island and its Guardian, can Sonic convince the echidna to trust in a friendship that was once strong, or will Knuckles insist on dealing with the situation alone.

7. Vacillation

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

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Fractured Frequency | Vacillation

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"Have you changed your mind?"

Sonic was standing atop the last rolling hill that overlooked the desolate depths of Robotropolis. It really was a striking view. The city stretched on for miles, from the foot of the slope before them, to the distant horizon, and then beyond. Once, many years ago it had been a bustling hub of civilization. Metropolis.

To his left Knuckles stood looking out over the city, likely reacquainting with his own local demons. Sonic thought it was odd that after so many years, and more missions than he could count, the place still held such an ominous presence for them both. Even now with a vast majority of its buildings and structures in some state of disrepair, it facilitated the sort of eerily discontented mood that hovered at the back of his thoughts.

"You doubt me?"

"Not at all. Wanted to give you the option. That's all."

"I see... No. I have not changed my mind. Where do we start?"

"The manufacturing warehouses on the lower west side. Let's see if we can find anything like that drone device."

Knuckles who was still frowning at him, seemed to find that acceptable. He nodded once, then started moving towards the wall below.

"Wait." Sonic commanded. Knuckles paused, and turned to face him, then Sonic continued. "When we go in there I need you to be straightforward with me. Yeah? Can you promise me that Knuckles? Any hint of that headache, or even if you just feel something is off, you let me know. Okay?" For once, and much to Sonic's relief, the guardian didn't waste any time considering an answer.

"I promise I'll tell you Sonic. I'm not exactly looking to find my unfortunate end here."

"You won't. Not on my watch," Sonic assured, with a pat him on the shoulder. "And Knuckles, we stick together, alright?"

"Yeah. Alright. Can't see any reason to disagree with that."

"Good. let's go."

—

Knuckles walked instep with Sonic as they navigated to the old manufacturing quarter where Dr. Robotnik once mass produced many of his nefarious creations. He was only vaguely familiar with the area; the majority of his past expeditions led him further inward on the city, closer to the heart of Dr. Robotnik's central base and command hub. He was sure he'd traversed the general locale once or twice, but he wasn't well versed in that particular stretch like Sonic.

Around a corner at the next alley, a massive structure came into view. "This is the manufacturing hub?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah. Let's find a place to break in."

The complex was situated on one of the city's main byways. Knuckles recognized it as one that led directly into the city center. Off in the distance he could make out it's domed silhouette. A spectacular chunk of its glassy hull was missing, another sign of the widespread disrepair.

While Knuckles paused in inspection of the area, Sonic had made his way to an entry way ahead. He was messing with the electronic key pad to little success it seemed. "Hey, come here a sec," he called in at hush volume.

Knuckles joined him promptly. "What's wrong with it?"

"Keypad is busted. Any chance you can force it open?"

It was a double sliding style door. "Yeah. Hold on."

Knuckles let his fingers slide over the door seam, grasped a lip in either direction, and applied force. He met some resistance, pushed a little harder, and managed to break it open.

"Nicely done Red. Okay, watch it in here. Last time I came around these parts some of the security turrets were still active."

Inside, the warehouse was a jungle of massive assembly machines. Sonic entered first, signaling for Knuckles to hold his position a moment. Sonic disappeared from view, and reappeared across the space at the far wall. He paused a moment, then vanished once more. He reappeared near the center of the building behind some of the equipment. After jumping around wildly a bit—Knuckles assumed he was trying to trigger the turrets—Sonic flashed back to the entrance.

"Seems clear. Let's head in, but stay alert. You know how Eggsy likes to make an entrance."

"Ugh. Yeah." Knuckles said with a roll of the eyes.

Walking through the space, it seemed a forgotten wreck. Robotic arms hung from above, frozen over conveyor belts; their unfinished components were scattered along the lines and on the ground. Some were small indiscernible pieces, but others were reminiscent of the arms, legs and hulls of various badnik models.

The pair spent the better part of the next hour searching that building and the subsequent line of warehouses in the district. The fifth in the line had had power and active security, which they disabled in short order. In the eighth building Knuckles discovered a bin full of half dome shaped hulls reminiscent of the device. There were a number of different sizes, but they found no true match, while combing through the pile.

Conversation had trickled to a minimum somewhere along the route, though for once it wasn't a strained silence between the two. They worked their way systematically through each building in a familiar rhythm. Their complimenting speed and strength easily guided them through the few locked doors, debris, and securities that arose throughout the area.

After cross checking eleven or twelve warehouses—he was losing track—Knuckles began to doubt the point of their excursion. He'd certainly resigned himself from the idea that they'd uncover something in that sector. Everything there was long dysfunctional and rusting.

A faint sensation drew attention to itself at the edge of his awareness. Knuckles paused his search through a random junk bin. He chucked the peripheral he was holding back into the pile, then turned, scanning the room. He spotted Sonic unloading a separate bin in a far corner, and proceeded in that direction, pondering absently whether it was worthwhile to continue their search. What were they even looking for? He'd thought they might find a duplicate device, but the idea began to feel silly as they surveyed the area. Once in range, he voiced his concern to Sonic.

"This is pointless. We're just wasting our time picking through this junk."

"What, you suddenly have something better to do?" Sonic said, glancing over his shoulder with a sort of bemused look.

"No," Knuckles sighed. He paused considering how to elaborate. "I think... I'm pretty sure Tails has started his testing. I felt a... well, an unusual sensation from the Emerald."

"Really? This far away?" Sonic asked, full attention now poised on Knuckles.

Knuckles nodded.

"You can feel that specific change even here in the city?"

"I mean, the distortion here isn't what it used to be, but yes. I'd feel it even if the distortion were stronger. It's just like I described the other day."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Well... what did it feel like? Pain? Danger? Should we leave?"

"It's... not exactly any of those. It feels like pressure. Resistance. I'm not sure how else to explain it other than, that the Emerald doesn't like it."

"Hmm. And you?"

"I feel fine if that's what you're asking. There must be a limit to the range."

Sonic frowned, seemingly focused on something else. "You aren't feeling any negative effects?"

"No?" Knuckles said, tone taking the upswing of a question. He was unsure what Sonic was alluding to.

"Okay, here's a question for you then, What do you... experience here in Robotropolis?" Sonic asked, gears clearly churning his thoughts.

"In what way? The energy signatures?"

"Yeah, I guess so... Okay, hear me out... I forgot to ask you about this yesterday, but it just gave me half of an idea... Remember when we were sitting at the shrine the other morning? Do you think that presence you felt for just a moment was the device? Could it have cloaked its presence or something?"

Knuckles pondered the line of thought for a moment. "It is possible I suppose, but... it shouldn't really matter what it was. I've never come across one of Eggman's bots that didn't have a presence. There's always a signature in the energy source."

"And yet you couldn't explain what it was you felt."

"That's not..." Knuckles began to argue, but stopped. "No... actually, maybe you're right... if it was... Could it have been affecting me already then?" He asked looking up at Sonic. "My head had been pounding for hours. If that really is a sign of the device's effect on me, it might have been... I don't know... blocking my ability to sense it, or something like that."

"It does seem plausible, give the situation." Sonic agreed.

"All this time. Who knows what might have..." Knuckles shook his head in frustration.

"I'd actually take it as a good sign Knuckles. All that effort to block your guardian senses, and you were able to break through it, even without the knowledge that it was happening. That's incredible."

"Oh," Knuckles said, taken aback at the praise. "I guess so."

"I'm serious about that Knux, but it brings me back to my question about Robotropolis. You... how was it that you described, you prioritize these energy signatures constantly, right?" Sonic asked, beginning to pace in a languid circle. "You filter out peripheral signals. It's just a... subconscious act? So, I guess I'm just curious what would happen if you didn't. What if you stopped? What exactly could you, or couldn't you detect here?"

Knuckles struggled a bit with how to respond. "Well... uh, it's not something... I guess I'm not sure entirely. It's not something I've done since the first time I came here. Actually, that's not even true. I didn't really have a lot of control over how to manage the different auras and signals back then. I had to learn very quickly how to control it." He paused trying to regroup his thoughts. "It's probably not a question of whether I can, rather, whether I should."

"Okay. That makes sense. Do you see where I am going with this though? Let me take a step back and ask this. Is it your direct link to the Emerald that tells you that Tails is testing right now? Or is it your individual ability as a Guardian to detect... for lack of a better explanation, to detect anything?"

"They are one in the same Sonic."

"Are they? Because the drone had a huge effect on you, but essentially left the Emerald unaffected, didn't it? Okay, wait... before you answer that. I'm really not trying to get into distant theoreticals... I guess what I'm really asking is, at this distance can you feel out and detect that drone from here without suffering it's effects?"

Knuckles was finally getting a clear sense of what Sonic was attempting to clarify. If he could identify the drone's unique signature without being affected by it, then it might be possible to locate a duplicate signature there within the city.

It was an interesting proposal, perhaps mostly because Sonic was suggesting it. Again he was unsure how to reply. The thought of releasing himself to the full weight of the aura spectrum in Robotropolis provoked a degree of anxiety. It would be a heavy burden; regardless, Knuckles held fairly high confidence that he could in fact navigate the task.

"Talk to me bud. I can see you're thinking it through." Sonic began again, no longer pacing, but facing him directly. "You said it's a question of whether you should do it. What are the reservations? Is it always questionable? Or is it because we are here in the city. Or the type of aura. ...I mean, I've seen you do it, but you almost never talk about how Knux."

Knuckles took a breath trying to organize his thoughts. It was true he rarely gave voice to the depths of the ability. It was something he just did. A second nature in every sense.

"Well... it's not entirely subconscious." He began. "It's a balance game on both ends. Off the island I keep my connection to the Emerald dampened in a way too, because leaving it is like... it leaves a void. It's a shift from hyper-familiarity about everything around me, to hyperawareness of the foreign. And being in a place like this with so many... artificial signals, well, I can't afford not to keep it under control."

Sonic listened attentively as Knuckles spoke, and seemed to ruminate over how to respond. "I think... I never really gave much consideration to how immense your range could be with this ability. I'm not about to push you given our current circumstances. That said, all this brings me to

another question. What if blocking your ability to detect something specific was the goal of that device, and blackouts were just a random side effect? Sonic asked, tone indicating curiosity. "If it was the means to an end. What would the end in that scenario be?"

"I don't know Sonic. Who would want anything from me other than the Master Emerald anyway? Most of the world doesn't even know that I, or my race ever existed."

"Okay, yes, that's true. On the other hand, we're not necessarily worried about the whole world, are we? I'm just thinking... It strikes me as in-line with Eggman's M.O. to maybe..." He waved out a hand, searching for his next words, "hide something from you, if he knew you could detect it. I mean... is that something he might know?" Sonic asked cautiously. "The... depth, we'll say, of this ability."

"Well if he didn't know before, he obviously will now," Knuckles snapped, aggravated that he'd gotten distracted about their whereabouts through the discussion."

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. You said it yourself. This sector is dead. And you know very well we'd have been attacked by more than just turrets if it weren't true. Nothing is gonna surveil us out here."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

"You didn't answer the question." Sonic pointed out.

"What would I detect that Tails wouldn't see on his scanners too?"

"Knuckles."

"I'm not sure Sonic." Knuckles said, frustration growing. "No, he wouldn't know." he said curtly. "Not as much as I told you. My connection to the Master Emerald is common knowledge, but beyond that? No, I never explained it to him."

"See? Smarter than you look."

"Oh. DO. Shut up."

Sonic just smirked back at him.

"So what now Sonic?" Knuckles asked, increasingly exasperated. "Weren't you supposed to radio in with Tails at some point during the experiment?"

"Technically yes. Actually, eh..." Sonic shrugged, feigning indifference. "Tails isn't going to fret about it. I'm sure he is so wrapped up in his calculations, and predictions right now, I'd be surprised if he remembers at all. Plus, I told him I'd radio in if we need him to shut down or something."

"I see. You really thought this spontaneous excursion through I guess."

"It was a split second choice, honestly, but you know me, I'm excellent with quick deliberation."

Knuckles rolled his eyes "That's a paradox. Deliberation by definition is long and careful thought."

"Ooh. Big words. You're the one who said it was well thought through. I just achieve long and careful faster than regular folk." With a grin Sonic added, "You can't deny my greatness."

"That, or your vanity." Knuckles brushed off annoyed. "Seriously, now what?

"Now, one more question. Back on the island, does anything ever break through your barrier? Not from inside its boundaries, but, from the surface. Like, are there any events that, you know, get your attention unexpectedly?"

"You. When you're near by, at full speed. Definitely when you go Super. Shadow too, though he doesn't frequent the vicinity much.

"Oh," Sonic replied. He clearly hadn't expected that answer.

"I wasn't lying when I said your energy signature is massive Sonic. Beyond that there are moments, incidents. Generally, it has to be a large discharge of energy. For example, that time you blew up most of Robotropolis; that and several of Robotnik's carrier class ships. And certain entities like Black Doom. Chaos probably, though that was a different type of situation. The energy output has to be of a certain caliber. "

"How have we never talked about this before? I feel like this could have been super helpful to know."

"Just because I can feel an energy signature doesn't mean I know exactly what it is. It depends on if I've encountered it before, or something similar. It's not as groundbreaking as you are making it out to be. Yes, it is a connection that is always there, but I have to limit it to... to, not get overwhelmed by it. I know it sounds like this huge thing, but I've also been doing it so long, it's just... automatic I guess."

"Always in balance."

"Yeah. Back home I can let it swing far to one side of the scale, because I belong there, and because the island is so far removed from everything, but out here, especially here," Knuckles said motioning to their surroundings, "tipping the scale in the other direction... I'm not sure how long I could open myself to that amount of interference without suffering some effects."

"I'm not sure where we go from here then. Speculation or not, we don't have much else to go on."

"Why not? Why are we just speculating?" Knuckles asked, unsatisfied with that conclusion. "What about the data we collected last mission. I know we didn't retrieve the archives on the island that I was looking for before you crashed the whole central command center, but what else was in there? Surely there must have been some information of value? I thought the whole reason behind that mission was that Tails had picked up some activity in the parts of the city. Why aren't we revisiting that data? Or searching there? If Dr. Robotnik really is scheming, there might have been signs."

"We looked Knuckles. There wasn't anything unexpected in the files we retrieved. Just redundant systems. The data showed most of the city performing on emergency back-up systems, or at minimum capacity. Nothing to indicate that Eggman has been active here. And Tails already set up a program to review the data for anything we might have missed, yesterday while you were resting."

"Well, what about the Freedom Fighter network then? Why aren't we talking with our other contacts? If nothing is happening in this damned city then there must be other news, or something, somewhere!"

"The Chaotix have been on the channels making contact since yesterday. I'm sorry, I thought I told you. Mighty said this morning they'd heard back from about a third of them so far. Nothing to go on yet. I promise, Everyone, every resource has been mobilized. If the answer is somewhere else Knuckles we'll find it. And I didn't mean to put you on edge with the speculating."

Knuckles felt he was somewhere between rage and exhaustion again. All he wanted was to be back on his island. He wished to follow the thread pulling him home, back to his island and the Master Emerald, to close the void his absence left. Without thinking he asked. "Are we just wasting our time here Sonic?"

Sonic sighed before asking in return, "do you feel like you're wasting your time?" He seemed slightly aggravated with the question.

Knuckles knew he was letting his own frustration get the better of him. He decidedly chose not to answer.

Recognizing this Sonic went on "I know it's frustrating Knux. If you have a better idea, or theory I'm all ears. And I won't fault you if you don't want to push this aura ability thing, but beyond that I don't know what else to tell you. We're already here. I don't really have any other crazy tricks I can pull for you right now."

Knuckles could feel the hostility coming off that last statement. Perhaps he should apologize, but a streak of wayward resentment kept him silent. The weight of his own situation remained a dark cloud hovering over his thoughts.

He sighed, and let it go without deeper inspection, shifting instead back to their speculations. There was something compelling about the questions of how or why his ability was being blocked. He did want answers, but for some reason he truly could not define, a lump of anxiety remained at the idea of dropping his barriers just then. Was it a promise of answers, or more questions? Or perhaps something else? He didn't know, so he did nothing, much to his own self loathing. He remained silent.

Sonic, who had been waiting for a response, seemed to accept the silence. He sighed again, and then said, "Let's just keep moving." Frustration was still evident in his voice. "It's a big city. Worst case scenario we find nothing and head back tonight knowing we can scratch it off the threat list. Alright?"

Knuckles looked away, eyes set on the wall behind Sonic and nodded. It was something. It was better than doing nothing.

So they continued further into the city.

—

They'd barely spoken since leaving the warehouses.

Inwardly Sonic cursed himself for letting his wayward frustration show before. It should have been easy to wave away, but it remained difficult—he was still hung up on questions from the night before. Every memory seemed to be a question now. What resentment did Knuckles harbor against him? How long had it been there? And the Chaotix—Knuckles had acted so strange around them. Was he pushing everyone away? Did the Chaotix know something Sonic didn't?

Every question further tightened a knot of tension within him. It was a burden he didn't often carry. Optimism, carefree days, humor, that was his usual way of things. He took every opportunity to live in the moment, but this—this feeling he couldn't out run.

Why hadn't he noticed these things sooner?

Sonic had an answer to the last question—he hadn't actually noticed at all. Knuckles had let that closely guarded trinket slip. "Everyone left." The words kept echoing through his thoughts. He hoped selfishly the city would provide an opportunity to broach the matter in a friendly manner. He'd extended a branch by choosing to come, but would Knuckles ever meet him halfway?

The ever spinning web of questions had been painting a shadow over his mood since morning, and would do worse if it continued to spiral. He would have to say something eventually. Could he ask Knuckles outright? 'No'. That would be worse. 'Absolutely worse.' Perhaps a moment would present itself though.

"SONIC."

He blinked, and looked up at Knuckles who stood waiting impatiently.

Sonic allowed one discreetly long deep breath, before shining a bright deflecting grin at Knuckles. "Sorry. Just think through... the situation."

Nearly two hours later the pair worked in a joint effort to clear a path through a partially blocked corridor, which led into the subterranean levels of the base. They had already attempted to access the site from several other entry points, but found them either deadbolt sealed, or inaccessible due to obstruction and damage.

To fill the stale flow of conversation, Sonic had begun recounting old tales in sensationalized fashion, of long past excursions through the city.

"So, by that point Tails had hacked into the carrier's mainframe, and was trying to disengage the weapons systems, as well as to find a way to ground it permanently. Meanwhile, I had four of the six engines out of commission, and was closing in on the last two. Problem was neither of us knew Eggman still had the ship wired into the city's energy grid and was powering the charge with a Chaos Emerald. That was about the point that everything went haywire. Between Eggman's attempt to remote launch, and Tails' meddling..."

Sonic stopped mid sentence, deciding it had become pointless. He was fairly certain Knuckles hadn't been listening for the last ten minutes or so.

"You've been awfully quiet over there Red. Anything you wanna get off your chest?"

At first he wasn't sure if Knuckles had heard him.

"Not really."

"Okay..." Sonic decided to try something else. "So... What was up with Vector today? He seemed super put off this afternoon. Did you notice that?"

Knuckles directed a sideways glance at him, and held a long pause before speaking. "Nope. Can't say that I did."

"Really? It seemed pretty overt to me."

Knuckles held the pause again. "My thoughts were on other things Sonic," he said curtly, and continued, "like being forced to leave the island."

"Okay, okay." Sonic conceded, noting it was bad to let Knuckles retreat from conversation for so long. He had a tendency to let his thoughts wander to dark places.

In an attempt to steer their dialogue somewhere lighter Sonic shifted gears. "You know, this has been annoying me like crazy since yesterday. We really need to come up with a name for that thing other than that device."

Knuckles looked at him in a way that implied something like 'I really don't care,' but he eventually replied "We should've asked Tails."

"Yeah, probably. How about Mem Bot for now." Sonic suggested playfully.

"Mem Bot? That's about as creative as Moto Bug."

"Hey don't compare it to that lunatic. Besides, all we know for sure is that it affects your memory so..."

"I could do without the constant reminder."

"So I guess Blackout Bot is off the table too?" Sonic added cheekily. "Well fine then. You come up with a name Mr. Picky."

"Oh, whatever Sonic. Just abbreviate it or something. Call it... the... M. B. D."

"M.B.D. huh? Okay... That works for the moment I suppose. Now is that M.B. for Mem Bot, or Memory Blackout?"

"Oh, for crying out loud Sonic. Really? Can you focus, please?" Knuckles snapped.

"Chill buddy. Just trying to lighten the mood. You get snippy when you're tense."

"I do not."

"My point." Sonic replied smugly.

"Grrr. You're the one making me tense, you jerk." Knuckles snapped in aggravation.

"Huh... yeah. Trust me, I've noticed."

—

It wasn't lost on Knuckles how the humor was suddenly gone from Sonic's voice—tension in the corridor, suddenly rose twofold.

He almost felt bad catching a glimpse of the scowl Sonic was trying to hide. Knuckles waited, feeling out the moment, his own anger caught somewhere between reluctance to start a fight in their current surroundings, and slight bewilderment over Sonic's sudden uncharacteristic shift in disposition.

Sonic went back to adjusting the debris in the hall, though with more force than necessary. Knuckles, unsure what to say, continued to observe until a particularly, stubbornly, wedged panel halted Sonic's progress. Closing the distance between them, he took hold of the obstruction next to Sonic, and together they forced it free, and moved it out of the way.

Their eyes met thent. It was a brief exchange, but something passed between them unspoken. 'Oh... He remembered,' a voice supplied from elsewhere.

Perceptually Knuckles knew it to be his own inner voice. It surprised him regardless. The matter of fact, surety with which the realization dawned, left him momentarily lost.

And maybe Sonic saw it in that moment too, but neither dared speak it just then. Sonic looked away, let out a long out sigh, and then the moment was over.

"Well, I think we can squeeze through here now," Sonic suggested, already pushing his way through the tight space.

Knuckles followed suit, without protest.

Once on the other side, a wide opening hung at the far end of the hall, in the form of an exposed elevator shaft. With its doors missing, and walls blackened with soot, it looked quite ominous. Sonic was already standing at its edge.

"It's a ways down, maybe... fifteen, twenty floors to the bottom. I'll just ping-pong down myself, if you think you can manage climbing down the wall normally." Sonic said, motioning towards Knuckles' ankle.

"Yeah, that's fine." Knuckles assured quickly, still hung up on the realization of moments ago. "Cool." Sonic replied curtly already in spring down the shaft.

Knuckles watched Sonic bound wall to wall, then out of sight into the darkness below. He stayed frozen in place a while longer considering what action, if any, he should take over the revelation. It was quickly shifting his perspective of the past days. Sonic's actions suddenly held an entirely new meaning to him.

Knuckles also quickly came to the decision that he had no desire to deal with any of it. His thoughts were already saturated with a dozen other anxieties, piques of rage, and self doubts. After conceding his duty to follow Sonic's lead yesterday, after the blackouts, the device, the endless speculation, and too many other reasons, he absolutely did not want to summon forth the fortitude required to pick this fight.

'Not now. Don't do this now. It'll make everything worse. Just don't. You'll just make it worse. You always make everything worse...'

"KNUCKLES? Knuckles... Knuckles?" An echo of Sonic's voice carried up the shaft. "YOU STILL UP THERE…up there… up there? YOU COMING DOWN... coming down... coming down?"

It was enough to stir Knuckles out of suspension. He stepped up to the edge, eyed a spot lower down on the far wall of the shaft, and leapt in. His spikes penetrated the weakened metal with ease, slowing his descent to a steady slide, then a stop, and then he continued down at a controlled pace, through the levels until he touched down at the bottom.

Sonic's voice cut through the dark from somewhere at his back, curt but insistent. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," Knuckles urged as he walked out of the shaft, and tried to get his bearings within the dark hanger. He could just make out Sonic's silhouette a few paces away. Beyond that, the darkness stretched deep into the space. There were a handful of orange lights, the back-up emergency kind, dim and flickering, but they did little for the clarity.

There was one massive structure situated just left of center, one of Robotnik's ships, though he wasn't sure which. It appeared damaged; there were tears in the metal where some explosion must have burst out, forming gashes in the hull.

"What exactly were you expecting to find down here?" Knuckles asked.

"Just checking that nothing has changed." Sonic said without turning back towards him. "Also, you haven't offered any other suggestions. You're just judging mine, so if you still think this is pointless, we can just as well leave." He finally turned to face Knuckles then.

"I was just asking," Knuckles said honestly, hoping to diffuse the tension.

"Just asking. Of course. That's perfect. Well, if you care to listen, no, we won't find anything operational in this hanger, but there is a chance the adjacent facilities were less damaged. Or they may have been repaired. I don't know. He used to rebuild this stuff in weeks, with that army of production robots and machines. If Eggman were goi...

"Ping-ping!"

A chime emanating from Sonic's rucksack cut him off mid sentence.

"Ugh, that'll be Tails," Sonic grumbled, already reaching back to retrieve the handset from his bag.

He pulled it out, and \\tapped the receive button. "Heeeyyy little bro, what's up," he asked masking most of the tension in his voice.

"Sonic hey! I'm getting some weird readings up here. Is Knuckles around?"

"Yeah, he's right here. Go ahead. He can hear you."

"Oh good!"

Sonic let out a juvenile huff, then shoved the comm into Knuckles' hand, and sauntered away a short distance.

From the comm came a shuffle, and then an extended pause. After a few seconds of silence Knuckles decided to speak up.

"Tails?"

"Yeah! Here. Sorry. Just checking a blip in the readings. Sorry. Anyway, um, honestly, these readings are not what I was expecting... I just wanted to check in. Is everything alright on your end? No ongoing effects?" Tails asked with a hint of lingering concern.

"No, Sonic is right. I'm fine." Knuckles glanced up at the hedgehog as he said it. Sonic had drifted a few steps away, and tuned a shoulder, ignoring the conversation.

Knuckles allowed a tiny inward sigh, and continued with Tails. "Whatever happened before on the island, I must be out of range of its effect now. Though, the Master Emerald is feeling rather... vexed, with the process. What exactly did you mean by weird readings? Tell me it's not some new problem to add to the list?"

"Uh...No," Tails began slowly. "No, nothing new. The thing is... I haven't, um, no, my readings have all been null. It's like the device isn't putting out a signal at all. But... It's... Actually, I'm sorry, I have to ask, what was that you just said about the emerald? It's feeling vexed, you said?

What exactly do you mean by that?"

Knuckles could tell by his distracted tone, Tails was navigating several tangents of a new idea on the spot.

"Um, well, it just doesn't like the testing you are doing. Something about that device I guess. It's really on edge. Is there something specific I can help with?"

"There is a level to this that I am missing." Tails muttered somewhat to himself. Then he asked, "Knuckles, how is it exactly that you know what the Emerald is feeling? "

"I'm linked to it. I can always feel it." Knuckles replied, distantly wondering about the significance of the topic's resurgence.

"Of course, I know that Knuckles," Tails said hurriedly, then backtracked. "Sorry, but I suppose what I meant was how? How do you connect to it? I ask because I am currently tracking the Emerald's unique energy signature and output, its luminous efficacy, and even just its temperature. I'm also adjusting for potential Chaos instability fluctuations, though that 's unlikely with the Master Emerald. Unfortunately I haven't decoded the drone's programming yet, but my scanners are sweeping for any open comm lines Eggman is known to use, and monitoring an array of digital communication technologies. And... well, you get the point. All that, and more and somehow my readings show no significant data. Nothing more than a basic electronic device would present. Meanwhile you are blowing me out of the water, sensing fluctuations from hundreds of miles away. So there is something else. Something I'm not accounting for, or don't understand. Maybe, in fact, probably, it's something only you can do Knuckles. I just have to figure out how to see it."

"It sounds like you're saying you need me to come back so you can test an active subject."

"No!" Tails exclaimed over the line.

Knuckles could picture the worried look on his face, and suppressed a chuckle, despite his disappointment.

"Not if we don't have to Knuckles. Give me a little more time with this idea, and with breaking the code. Though if you hav—"

The rest of Tails' thought was garbled when the comm was suddenly snatched from Knuckles' hand.

"Tails, I need to borrow Knuckles for a few," Sonic interrupted. "We'll call you back." He clicked the 'end' button, cutting off the transmission .

"Hey! What do you think yo...mmmhmhm hmherrr."

Sonic slapped a hand over Knuckles' mouth, suffocating the protest, and dragged him back towards the nearest wall.

Look," Sonic whispered tersely. He pointed up to a distant corner of the structure with his free hand.

It took Knuckles a moment to spot the movement. Three or four levels up was an exposed area where sections of the wall were torn away. A marching line of several robots were walking in secession, trailed by three floating drones. It was difficult to be certain from a distance, but their similarity to the M.B.D. drone was compelling.

Sonic let go and stepped back when he was sure Knuckles had seen it.

"What do you think?" Sonic whispered.

"I think it looks like a trap."

"Well I was talking about the drones, but thanks for stating the obvious. Of course it's a trap. Everything here is a trap."

"Then why are we whispering?" Knuckles asked, still hushed.

"Hmm. Fairpoint Knucklehead."

The robots had already crossed out of view, begging the question of whether to follow.

"I don't know Knux. It's almost too convenient, but this is what we came for right?" He paused a breath, then said "It's your call."

Knuckles teetered on the edge of indecision. He almost wished Sonic hadn't offered him the choice. He already knew he wouldn't say no, no matter the questionable nature of that decision. He could list a hundred reasons why they should walk away, but he pushed them out of his mind.

"Let's go."

—

They made quick work of platforming up to the break in the wall, to enter the exposed hall. The scene was clear once they arrived. The hallway was dim, but it seemed the lights grew in brightness, and the surrounding damage lessened slightly around a distant corner.

"I'm gonna give this a once-over," Sonic said. "Be right back."

Knuckles nodded and watched him disappear as a blue streak around the corner. He continued in the same direction as Sonic, paying attention to smaller details along the way that Sonic was likely to miss, like whether every door was locked or if any vent panels showed evidence of tampering. Though unlikely to reveal much, it wouldn't hurt to be thorough.

He had just turned the corner when an alarming feeling took hold. Knuckles whipped around struck by an overwhelming sensation from the Master Emerald. It surged and faded faster than he could fully interpret and he was left staring idly down an empty hallway.

"Whatcha starin at?"

Sonic's silent return nearly sent him to the floor in surprise.

"Uh... you okay Knux? This isn't exactly a good time to let down your guard."

Knuckles pushed off of the wall where he'd caught himself. "I'm fine. The Master Emerald did something strange just now."

"Strange how? Do we need to go?"

Knuckles tried to recall the feeling. It was so fleeting. There was something about it, just out of reach. A warning? A memory? It almost felt like it was pulling for him. He couldn't place it. He sighed and turned to Sonic. "I really don't know. I think maybe it's just Tails' testing again. We should probably keep moving."

"Are you sure? The last time something like this happened, it didn't end too well, and we already know there is some sort of drone flying around here."

A valid point, Knuckles had to agree, but nothing about the energy led him to believe it indicated danger, which only deepened the mystery. He was reluctant to turn back without stronger evidence.

"We're too close to stop now aren't we? Tails is no closer to any answer with everything he's tracking. This is our only lead."

"Alright. If that's how you feel. The corridors here are clear. There was a long passage that I didn't cross though. I think it connects to the next hanger. That group we saw must have gone through already. Let's hurry up."

Sonic waited for him to start running, and matched his speed, pulling ahead just a little ways to navigate the way.

As they ran, Knuckles couldn't get his mind off of the emerald sensation. He kept trying to place it's meaning. Was it trying to show him something?

Some place in the city with answers maybe?

It didn't take long to cross through to the adjacent hanger facility. Sonic slowed their pace back down to a walk so they could survey the last stretch, checking each hall along the way. With no developments, they descended another empty elevator shaft, to return to the subterranean ground level. Everything appeared similarly in order below as well, until they reached the hanger itself. Sonic who was a few steps ahead of him stopped at the entry passage, kind of chuckled, and then said over his shoulder, "guess we finally found the party." Knuckles raised a questioning brow, but caught sight of what Sonic was referring to a moment later.

The hanger was well lit, with significantly less damage than the last, and housed another one of Robotnik's massive ships. What drew him more fervently though was the marching formation block robots—looked like forty to fifty at first glance. They were larger and quite round. Egg Pawns, his memory supplied from some ancient encounter. It was the first large grouping of badniks the pair had seen.

Not all of the Pawns were in formation. A few were moving about individually—with what purpose he was not sure. High above the grouping one of the drones hovered motionless. Knuckles couldn't see any signs of the other two they'd spotted before.

"Let's take 'em down." Sonic said, with new excitement in his voice. "I'll get started with these dumb bots, and find out what this mess is about." he said, indicating towards the Egg Pawns, with a sportive grin. "See if you can get any read on that drone up there. Watch your back though. Yeah? This won't take long."

Knuckles hadn't finished saying, "Okay," before Sonic vanished from sight and reappeared in front of the formation of robots, already mouthing off to get their attention. Knuckles wasn't sure whether to roll his eyes, or be concerned that Sonic was miffed at him enough to ease his watchful guard. He put it out of his mind instead, and took aim at the high floating drone, as he recalled Tails' comments on lack of data. It was a light effort to reach out to it experimentally to seek its energy signature. He felt it hovering there like a gentle hum. Just a blip in the sea of surrounding energies. He'd been hoping for more, and so with intention and before more contentious deliberation could convince him otherwise he released a layer of his mental barrier, to delve deeper.

Wisps of energy came alive around him. It wasn't a drastic thing—just an awareness expanded. The drone's signature however remained largely unchanged, and left Knuckles debating the wisdom in pushing further. A glance towards the fray of robots revealed Sonic bouncing about, downing botniks left and right. Blast fire shot out in every direction as a large faction of the Egg Pawns tried to swarm him with little success.

It seemed Knuckles had been spotted as well. A smaller pack of the robots were closing in on him at speed. Rather than waiting for their attack, Knuckles charged them downing two with a destructive punch, right off the bat. He slid and ducked around to dodge a wave of blaster fire from the next Pawn, then pulled its legs out from under it, and drove his spikes into its core. Three more followed close behind, blasters already shooting. He rolled clear of the blast fire then did a spin dash straight into one nearing on the left. As it crashed to the ground, he used his momentum to dive straight into the chest of the next one. Knuckles grabbed its head, and tore it clear off the pudgy mechanical torso, sending it to the floor.

Knuckles rolled away once more, already scanning for the third Pawn, when the same Master Emerald sensation from before lit up around him like a lightning strike. He was momentarily stunned by its intensity which seemed to have grown since the last instance. The brief distraction earned him a physical blow to the back, that sent him sprawling to the floor. He only narrowly rolled clear of a blast aimed at his face. Instead, it caught the end of a quill near his cheek, singeing the tip. It stung, but was the catalyst he needed to pull out of his momentary lapse.

He was up and dodging blast fire from the last two pawns in the next moment. He charged one, sending a fist clear through its torso—a quick end—then seized and swung its body into the last bot, with such force, that both were torn apart.

With his space finally clear, he let everything fall away.

He wanted to hear, feel, see what the emerald was trying to show him. It called to him. The sensation was lingering this time, and he was compelled to follow. He started walking—crossed out into the hall seeking it, and let the sensation flood his senses even more—it pulled him along— verged on mesmerizing the way it flowed and blossomed in strength. There was a question behind it. Something wildly familiar, and just out of reach. And then just as suddenly it began to ebb once more, fading gracefully the way it emerged.

He was fraught for a moment, but the lingering essence was enough to follow. It led him through the corridors, winding a path that sought due north—to the center of Robotropolis. He followed it until there was no path left to take—a dead end in the facility. It was a hall lined with rooms, but no way forward.

His eyes fell closed; without a thought's hesitation he began releasing carefully placed mental barriers, one layer at a time. If he couldn't chase it physically, he'd follow the aura.

His focus shifted to the ethereal energy driven plane. With the first barrier torn down fully, the greater energies of Robotropolis came alight in his mind. They were only a tiny glimmer compared to the strength he remembered. With the next barrier down, another wave of energies joined—the surrounding apparatuses: systems, machinery, robots of every sort. He gave them no attention. He focused on the trail of light that called for him to follow straight into the center of the city. Another wall ripped away. He followed it, and could feel the energy curling around him once more, as though it was attracted to him, as much as he to it.

It was almost within his grasp then. He reached out desperately trying to seize it, until a massive energy exploded into the space behind at his back and struck him down.

Knuckles hit the floor hard, skidding a few paces, before he rolled instinctively and crouched into a defensive stance.

"WHAT THE HELL KNUCKLES?"

His instinct to strike back was overpowered in part by his desperate attempt not to lose sight of the extinguishing light, and secondly by the fact that it was Sonic standing across from him. It wasn't a shock—he'd felt the signature clearly enough.

He was reeling from the blow, and with his mental blocks discarded, the sea of digital energies surrounding him felt like a pressure that could not go unnoticed.

"GET UP AND LOOK AT ME."

Knuckles pushed up to his elbows and knees, head tucked, eyes closed, and tried desperately to cling to the last trace of fleeting energy. He wanted to examine it, to understand—why was it pulling at him so—but it had gone out of reach—extinguished.

He couldn't decide whether to yell at Sonic, or to examine the experience, or figure out how to shutter the barrage of signals which felt more like an assault without the distraction of that phantom energy.

Sonic left him no room to work it out. The hedgehog closed the space between them, yanked him up by the arm, and shoved him against the nearest wall.

"WHAT THE HELL IS IT? WHAT AREN'T YOU TELLING ME?" he spat.

It drew Knuckles' focus back in very quickly. Sonic's anger had grown tenfold from what it was before, it seemed. He met Sonic's eyes trying to catch up, and work out which thing exactly he was raging at. What did Sonic think he was hiding?

"I HAD ONE REQUEST KNUCKLES. ONE—we stick together, and you tell me anything that changes. Why is that so hard!"

"Hold on Sonic. Can you just give me a second to figure out what..."

"NO. I really can't. This was a mistake. We should go."

"Suddenly now you want to go? When we're finally close to real answers!?"

"What answers Knuckles!? Maybe if I had any idea what was going on with you! We really shouldn't have come here."

"Well this was your reckless idea wasn't it? What's the point if we aren't going to look for answers?"

"Dammit Knuckles. Stop calling me reckless. You're here aren't you? I gave you a choice, and you came. And if we're really gonna talk about being reckless, we can start with your little disappearing act!"

"Maybe I would have bothered to tell you if you weren't more interested in wrecking a bunch of robots because you're bored, or mad, or whatever!"

"Oh right! Just ignore the part where I'm bending over backwards for you and you're throwing it back in my face. You should be thanking me! We'd be sitting at home twiddling our thumbs right now if not for this little stunt—which you haven't thanked me for by the way, and which I am seriously starting to regret. But NO. You didn't want to leave home. You wanted answers. I tried to help, and here you are ignoring even my basest request. But sure. I'm so reckless. That's why we're here, isn't it?"

"Don't," Knuckles said. "Just shut up."

"You know, I thought maybe this would be good. Good for you, and good for us. Guess I was wrong."

"I said shut up."

"So that's how it is then? You're just gonna shut me out again. You think I still don't know why you're angry?"

Several moments and emotions flashed faster than Knuckles could process them—of months gone by, and a question he wanted to run from—it settled as a mounting pressure at the back of his throat.

"I'm not sure that you do Sonic."

"Yeah Knuckles? Really? That's great. Just great. Why don't you tell me exactly what I don't know. Come on! Maybe for once in your life you could talk to me like I'm someone you who actually trust. Let's go! What is it?" Sonic crossed his arms in a typical pose, and tapped his foot impatiently. "I'm waiting... Here's an idea. How about we start with the Chaotix."

A beat passed between them as the both stared, deadlocked. Then Knuckles spoke, with measured calm.

"Ask yourself Sonic. Are you VERY certain you want to do this here? Right now?"

—

Sonic wanted to rage at Knuckles for turning it back on him. He wanted to yell, and scream, and punch the Guardian in his smug face for not fighting back. And that was part of the problem wasn't it? Knuckles wasn't really being smug, or underhanded, or spiteful at all.

Sonic's tunnel vision was fading quickly. He knew he was wrong to push further, but the question just slipped out.

"Why won't you just tell me where I screwed it up?"

Knuckles, who was still watching him, flinched at the question, like it took a great deal of effort not to react fully.

They both stood frozen, across from each other, waiting. The silence stretched on and on—too long.

And then Knuckles turned his back, and walked a few steps away, up towards the nearest door. "Dammit Knuckles. Why do you make it so hard!"

The guardian paused when he reached the doorway, lingering there with one hand on it's open frame.

"Because I don't know the answer Sonic." He looked over his shoulder for just a moment. "I really don't know if it's you, or..." but he disappeared into the next room.

"What the hell does that mean!?" Sonic muttered below his breath. His urge to punch something grew stronger.

Dragging his palms over his face, he tried to deliberately force the frustration away. All of it was wrong. He could not continue this way—should never have exploded like that. He needed to fix it now.

A tiny burst of energy shot him over to the door frame where Knuckles stood before. The echidna was now at the far wall, arms outstretched against a counter computer panel, head hung low.

'Dammit Sonic.' he chided this rate he really was going to succeed at destroying their friendship.

—

Across the room, Knuckles' temples pounded with strain as he struggled to shutter his mental barriers, amidst the waves of emotion and circumstance. He reached out back toward home to his distant once more emerald, and passingly wondered about the energy that had so captivated him. With only minutes gone by the experience felt like a blur; with distance, he recognized how reckless it had been to follow that call unaided. Still wildly unsatisfied by its mystery, he cast it all away—perhaps it would receive later inspection, but he couldn't bear the weight of all things just then.

"Knuckles, we've gotta stop this." Sonic spoke from somewhere behind.

Knuckles felt his whole body slump with a weak exhaustive sigh. Of course there could be no end to his trials. Doubt claimed him, as he recalled Rouge's words from that morning—the words about Sonic first, and then, as an afterthought the part about not doing anything reckless. He did actually have the power to right all of this. Sonic was trying so hard to fix it, and make amends. That was what Knuckles wanted, wasn't it? True, the hedgehog's tone and timing were abysmal, but the intention— he meant well at least. Why was it so difficult then to accept Sonic's gesture?

"I can't do it on my own Knux."

Because he didn't know how to reconcile a breach of faith, Knuckles wondered. Or because, he was afraid if he examined it too closely—'maybe it was all my fault.'

"I need you to meet m..."

A jerk of movement in his peripheral, caused Knuckles to glance up where Sonic stood in the doorway. As the silhouette behind the hedgehog registered, and the words of warning formed with painfully slow comprehension, Knuckles knew he was already too late.

The laser like blast hit Sonic square in his right shoulder from severely close proximity. The hedgehog yelped as the force of it tossed him across the room. He hit the ground hard, tumbled a few times, then slid till he hit the wall.

Knuckles dove down to his side before a full second passed. "SONIC!"

Sonic released a pained groaned in return.

He gathered up his friend as quickly, and carefully as he could, then made a quick dash for the cover at the nearest console, narrowly dodging the next blasts. He sat Sonic upright, and then turned him to check the wound. It was large, and covered most of the right shoulder blade. There was blood, but mostly just a deep burn.

"Knux... errr hhh, Get out of... here." Sonic's strained voice spoke into his chest.

"Oh, shut up you idiot. I'm not leaving you." He snapped back. "It's not that bad. Give it a minute. You'll be fine." Knuckles repositioned then. He pulled off Sonic's partially singed pack, and then helped him to lean with his uninjured left shoulder against the console. "DON'T MOVE." He instructed.

"Knux... Go."

Knuckles ignored it. He peeked over the console and narrowly missed a blast to the face. He got a good look at their attackers though. They carried 101β marks on the breastplate, and he recognized them as a part of the prevalent E-series—one of Robotnik's more able creations, though still a lesser threat. Handling just two of them would be anyway. A third green robot was mostly blocked from view.

"Knu..."

Knuckles drowned out the protest. He made a dive for the next console over. Better to lead the fight away—back into the hallway if possible. He turned back and eyed a spot where the last blasts had hit on the wall behind him. Their blasters were more powerful than the Egg Pawns'. Not enough to kill—at point-blank range though—the hit they'ed taken on Sonic was severe. 'Should have figured we'd draw attention.' Across the room the blast still left a deep impact, so he knew he'd have to be swift to charge them. He'd need to do it without taking damage.

Knuckles peeked around the barrier once more. Two Betas in the doorway now. The other badnik behind. He pulled back, and crawled to the other side. One long deep breath, then he swung out, and charged.

The Betas refocused their aim on him. He dodged. There were only about ten paces between them. He dodged again, then ducked into a deflective spin. A moment before impact he untucked, vaulted up with the forward momentum, and dug his claws upwards tearing through the metal chest casings of both Betas.

Sparks flew off the metal beasts as they careened backwards into the hallway from the force of his blow. The power core on one went out instantly, and it fell lifeless to the ground. The other Beta spared no time mourning its companion. It swung one massive blaster arm at Knuckles' head. Knuckles ducked and maneuvered to grab it at the base of its shoulder, then swung the whole bot around just in time to shield himself against the swinging bladed arms of the third bot, which attacked from his right. It's name eluded him presently, though he'd encounter the like, several times before. It was a strange creature built with the likeness of a praying mantis, tall, slender, with scythes in place of arms.

The Mantis bot swung for him again, almost hacking clear through the torso of Knuckles' struggling Beta shield. Before it could dislodge its scythe, Knuckles threw all his weight into the tangled mess of robots, pinning them hard against the opposite wall. He slammed his spikes into the Mantis head, crushing it in on itself. The blow caused its remaining free scythe to begin flailing wildly, as the bot suffered a catastrophic failure.

Knuckles dodged the scythe as best he could while still struggling with the sparking Beta still wedged between them. When the shock of a sharp knick at his shoulder set him off kilter, he released his hold and fell backwards. The bots nearly crashed down on top of him, but he reacted quickly, rolling away. From a few paces distance, he watched the tangled bots damage each other into final disrepair.

A sigh of relief almost escaped him, but hitched in his throat when a laser blast shot past him, so close he felt a slight singe on his cheek. A breath later Knuckles turned in time to see Sonic barrel towards another Egg Pawn, which had appeared at the connecting hallway's entrance—it was viciously destroyed with one devastating spin dash.

Knuckles pulled himself up quickly, and crossed the space to join Sonic who looked a little shaky. "Sonic are you—"

Ignoring the sparking Pawn remains at his feet, Sonic turned, flashed away for a fragment of a second, and then reappeared directly in Knuckles' path, and slammed him back into the wall—the second time in a short span of minutes.

"What the HELL was that!?" Sonic demanded angrily.

Knuckles, momentarily stunned, wasn't sure what Sonic was asking. When his mouth caught up to his brain he asked "What... what are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

"That's it. We're done. We're leaving."

"Excuse me? What exactly do you think is happening here Sonic? I just saved you."

"I told you to get out of here!"

"Wha..." Knuckles stared, at a loss. "Are you...

"You gave me your word, you would follow my lead!"

It was so ridiculous Knuckles almost couldn't respond. "Wha... wow... I can't believe this is still happening right now."

"Then let me be more clear Knuckles. If I tell you to go, you leave. YOU RUN. You get the hell out! That was the deal we made."

"Did they hit your head too Sonic, because you sound crazy right now. You were shot. Not me." He argued, trying to reason Sonic's outrage back down. "I would never just abandon you like that!"

"THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A TRAP YOU IDIOT!

"That was part of the deal Sonic! We knew it going in. And leaving you isn't what I agreed too. We said stick together. You're suggesting the exact opposite."

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO IS AT RISK!" Sonic yelled back.

"And if it were a trap just HOW do you think I would FIX ANYTHING by trying to get away BY MYSELF!?" Knuckles countered still in disbelief.

"That's NOT the point." Sonic said defiantly.

Knuckles' carefully checked calm snapped at that point. "Man get OFF me! Are you listening to yourself Sonic!? Why don't you get off your self-righteous power trip, and admit to YOURSELF that we didn't come here for MY sake. We came here so you could settle your damn GUILTY CONSCIENCE!"

Sonic visibly flinched at hearing that, but didn't look away. His next words were strained.

"...And what Knuckles? I know it's true, but apparently... I've gotta be... here, halfway gone, injured, and screaming at you, before you'll acknowledge it. I... don't know how to fix this—us—if... if you don't give me a chance."

Knuckles forcefully pushed Sonic back then, unpinning himself from the wall.

He regretted it a moment later when Sonic stumbled back a few steps, and gasped, doubling over in pain from the burn at his shoulder.

"Dammit Sonic." He said moving to the hedgehog's side. "Let me see."

"I'm fine," Sonic bit back sharply.

Knuckles ignored him; he slid an arm under Sonic's left side anyway holding him firm, and then checked the wound.

"Well, you're not dying hedgehog, but you didn't do yourself any favors with that spin dash either. You got anything useful in that pack of yours? Something I can wrap this with?"

"We don't have time. You know just as well as I do, if there are any other active units down here, they'll swarm us any minute."

"Okay... When I said you're not dying. I lied. You tore this open a lot worse taking down that Pawn. It's bleeding more, so just humor me here for a minute while I wrap it, and then we'll get the hell out of here."

"Grrr. I hate you sometimes." Sonic growled.

"Yeah. Me too Sonic. So am I going to have to tear up your pack, or...?"

"There's probably a wrap in there." Sonic ground out, between clenched teeth. "Just hurry up!"

"Wait here."

Knuckles quickly ran back to the other room, and found the backpack lying behind the console. He snatched it up, and began rummaging through its content as he ran back. He had the bandage in hand by the time he reached Sonic, and made quick work of cautiously, but tightly wrapping his shoulder. When he was satisfied with the compression, he tied it off.

"So good news, you're back to, not dying, again." Knuckles said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe take your own advice, aboutless recklessand all. Now what's the easiest way out of here?"

Sonic glared at him, but ignored the jab. He glanced around staring through the walls as he considered where to go. "We could go back the way we came but it's kind of a crap route. Back down to the first hanger and going up again through the shaft—that'll be kinda rough."

"Can you hang on while I climb up, with that shoulder," Knuckles asked. Sonic gave a noncommittal shrug to avoid answering.

"Isn't there anything else then?"

"There might be a way through the ventilation shafts."

"That sounds exceedingly more complicated." Knuckles said, not hiding his exasperation.

There could be entrance to the pneumatic tubes somewhere around here. That could get us..."

"We don't have time to search high and low for an entrance!" Knuckles cut in. "Have you seen one anywhere around here? You're bleeding. We need something now. Isn't there another route?"

Sonic released a guttural sound in frustration. "Well sure Knuckles. There are a million ways through here, but I can't tell you from this end which other routes are collapsed up top! I'm all for winging it, but you'll have to forgive me if I bleed out while you're digging the way through."

"At this rate you'll just bleed out while you're snarking," Knuckles snapped back, but he made note of the fact the Sonic had actually acknowledged his injury, thought indirectly, twice in the last thirty seconds,—an exceedingly rare admission for the hedgehog, and sign he must be in considerable pain.

Sonic continued, "oh, good. My reputation will remain intact. Look we can't just stand around here."

"Then what about the hangers? They must open up to the surface somehow right?"

"That's a dead end too. The hangers all have like five or six massive retractable bulkheads before you get back to the surface. One every five floors or so. I doubt if they are even still operational. No way we'd get them all open and get out without trouble."

"Can't we just find the stairs somewhere round here?"

"Are you kidding? Eggman doesn't build stairs. You won't find any in anything he built himself. He barely even walks on his own! Let's just find the nearest elevator shaft and I'll make the best of it."

"Fine. If that's all we've got. Back the way we came or..."

"No, let's keep moving. There should be another lift at the opposite end down there. That last Egg Pawn came from the hanger we just left. I'm willing to bet he's not the only one still creeping around."

"Alright. Let's go." Knuckles agreed. He moved to support Sonic, but the hedgehog pulled away. "It's not my legs for chaos sake. I'm fine. I can walk on my own. It's just... stingy."

Knuckles eyed the shoulder precariously, but conceded. "Fine. Just try not to move that one too much."

"Yeah. Yeah..."

They made off down the hall, and then broke off towards the central most portion of the city, moving as quickly and carefully as the situation allowed.

Sonic directed the route as they traveled through the maze of corridors. After crossing through a lengthy passage to the next sector, Sonic spoke up.

"Okay, we're almost there. It's at the other end of this section."

"Good." Knuckles replied. "You still doing alright," he asked, out of concern.

"Fantastic Knuckles." Sonic grumbled back.

They made a few more turns and then entered a sizable domed room. It appeared to be a cross section where several hallways met, though some were sealed. There was also a slightly raised recess near the back which housed the elevators they'd been hoping for—two in fact. There were two entrances opposite each other on the left and right wall of the recess. Sonic made his way to a freestanding console in the room and started tapping away on the panel. "Cross your fingers. With some luck, one of these might actually work."

Knuckles watched Sonic, as he fiddled around with the system, hmm-ing and sighing in frustration when it didn't respond as he had hoped right away. He muttered something like, "Where's Tails when you need him." under his breath. Knuckles didn't comment. It took another minute before Sonic finally cheered with success.

"Yes! Okay. It's online. Just gotta... Wait. That's not right," he said frowning down at something on the screen. "Hey, can you check that door over there?" Sonic asked, pointing at the left Elevator. "Is it sealed?"

"One sec..." Knuckles trailed off as he jogged in its direction.

Sonic continued speaking as Knuckles moved. "It looks like there's a—"

-shhtt-

It was just a whisper—a wave, and when Knuckles turned back, Sonic was gone, replaced by a glowing white wall between them.

"Wha... Sonic!" Knuckles charged immediately at the flat energy field, tossing his full weight against it. Nothing. No budge at all. It was as solid as the steel walls of the building, and completely opaque.

"SONIC! Sonic can you hear me?" Knuckles tried instead, slamming his fists against the wall. "Sonic!"

He waited. Again, nothing. Reaching out mentally, he tried to detect Sonic's energy signature, but the forcefield—composed of some foreign energy, was flooding senses. Everything felt distant. He could sense only the wall itself—nothing immediately beyond it. His mind roared in frustration. 'Dammit! This is not good. It is really... No,' He told himself. 'Don't let it be bad. Sonic can handle himself. Even injured. He'll be okay out there. Just hurry up, and do something to fix it.'

"Sonic! If you can hear me. I'm going to find another way aroun..." -Woooosh-

He almost missed the gentle sound. Behind him.

A set of metallic gliding doors opened.

The familiar presence hit Knuckles' senses like a physical blow, and left an icy shudder at the pit of his stomach. It left his every muscle frozen.

"Why KNUCKLES! My DEAR OLD FRIEND." The deep wiry voice bellowed. "I'm so pleased you've come to visit. It's been ever so long."

—

Outside the barrier, Sonic was, for once in his life, at a complete loss of what to do. Knuckles was standing mere inches from him. Sonic could see his friend there against the wall; they were nearly touching, but Knuckles was staring right through him as though he were invisible. Knuckles couldn't see through the barrier from his side. Likewise all sound was blocked, but Sonic could read the guardian's lips. He could see the desperate worry his friend directed at him through the forcefield too.

It was a bit excruciating to watch.

It became worse though a moment later; there was a shift at the opposite end of the room. Knuckles hadn't seen yet, how the doors slowly slid apart. The man who stepped out.

A beat passed.

Sonic wasn't surprised. There had always been a possibility it would go this way; regardless, he hadn't been quite prepared for the flash of all-consuming panic that claimed Knuckles' eyes only inches across the barrier. It was a millisecond at most, when it flashed, but left Sonic deeply unsettled too.

At that moment he knew they wouldn't come out of it unscathed. Whatever was coming, it would cut deep.

He could only watch.

—

Knuckles willfully forced the next breath into his lungs. He held it a beat too long, and then turned to meet the mad doctor head on.

"Dr. Robotnik." He spat it out like an insult. The mad man was standing about ten paces away, at the raised back end of the room, with an infuriating smirk on his face. He looked the same as ever, his absurd oval shape on a pedestal of stick-like legs, dressed in another version of the ridiculous red and yellow tailcoat suit, with the trademark mustache under that bulbous nose to frame his disconcertingly bright sneer.

"Why the scowl old boy?" Robotnik asked cordially, a smile growing. "Aren't you pleased to see an old friend. I thought you might be happy for a chance to catch up. It's been so long, hasn't it, since we've had a good chat?"

"Spare me. I'm not interested in your lies Robotnik." Knuckles had little hope it would quiet the man.

"Oh? But I have nothing but truths for you today, dear Guardian."

Knuckles thought to himself, he would give a lot just then, to have Sonic at his side in this encounter. Sonic who could ever play the game, who could dash about spewing nonsensical insults at the madman, disarming the villain in word, spirit, and more.

Knuckles knew he was playing at a disadvantage. He'd need to take control of the conversation. If he could direct it to something impersonal it would be fine. Maybe, he could steer it off course long enough for an opening of some sort. 'Maybe Sonic—no,' if anything, he just hoped Sonic was safe there outside the barrier.

"You've been gone a long time Robotnik."

"Yes well, that nasty little companion of yours saw it fit to destroy my beautiful city. So many creations lost. Such a pity, such a waste."

"Your city?" Knuckles scoffed. "That's rich. Did you forget that you stole it? That you invaded a peaceful city, and turned it into this metallic monstrosity?"

"Now Knuckles," Robotnik began, still smiling. "It's impolite to speak of things you know nothingabout."

"Huh. Spoken like a true psychopath."

"You wound me old friend," Robotnik retorted. Annoyance seemed to linger on the statement; Knuckles suspected it was all for show. The doctor took a few measured steps toward him then. "Come now, is it really necessary to spoil this reunion with such unpleasantries?"

Knuckles countered by moving away from the forcefield barrier towards the right side of the room. 'Just keep him talking.' his thoughts echoed.

"No one has seen you in over two years, Robotnik. Don't tell me you've just been waiting here in the wreckage all this time. It looks like a trash heap more than ever. Did you finally lose interest in tormenting the world, or did you just get tired of losing?"

"Oh, quite the contrary Knuckles. I've been waiting for you."

'Crap.' That was a misstep.

"Well now you mustn't think me obsessive Guardian, it's just that I've been ever so eager to thank you for an old favor," Robotic continued. "You see, I'd almost forgotten about it, but with my city in a state as it is, I've had time to devote to other... passions if you will. You know, you have always been my favorite dear Knuckles. That blue rodent is such a pest. Always destroying my magnificent creations, but you... no, you are different little guardian. So malleable. So delightfully entertaining to play with."

Robotnik eyed him as he spoke, and Knuckles squirmed under the scrutiny of the man's depraved stare.

"I'm no one's play thing Robotnik." They were circling still, slowly.

"Oh no! Of course not my dear guardian. You. You think. You read. You value history and culture. You must realize I too appreciate such things. Don't you recall what a pleasure it was in those early days of our friendship? Our conversations of grand histories, great treasures, and energies unfathomable? Honestly I can't imagine how you've ever been able to get on with that bullish blue oaf. He knows nothing of culture."

"His name is Sonic." Knuckles countered. He took it as a small victory, at how Robotnik lost composure briefly hearing the name spoken. "And I find it hard to believe that you have any true appreciation for culture. All you do is destroy it."

"Do you think so? I would tell you how I reclaim great treasures. I give them new magnificent life with my creations!"

"And how many days was it, remind me, after we first met that you set my island a blaze, and tried to kill me Robotnik?"

"A regrettable misunderstanding. Another event tarnished by that blue heathen!"

"Oh, shut up already. I told you. I'm not interested in hearing your deranged lies."

"Well, maybe just a story then, my friend? You know you look quite tired. Haven't you been sleeping well?" The man sneered in just such a way.

Knowing.

It snapped something within Knuckles. The all trepidation forgotten, he crossed the distance in an instant. He charged Robotnik, knocked him backwards and caused the taller man to stumble back. Knuckles seized him by the collar then and wrenched the man down to his level.

"WHAT. THE. HELL. DID. YOU. DO?" Rage burned at his core. It was alarming. He only just managed to stop himself from planting a fist in the mad man's face.

"My, my, aren't we impassioned." Robotnik cooed delightfully.

Knuckles brought his free hand up, and pressed his spikes forcefully into the soft flesh at Robotnik's throat.

"SPEAK. NOW."

"Alright! Alright!" The doctor conceded. "Ever the brash pet aren't you?"

"NOW Robotnik, or I swear to Chaos I will—"

"—Very well my friend." Robotnik answered calmly.

"I am NOT your friend." Knuckles growled between clenched teeth.

"Oh? But I do think so Knuckles. It is why I have been so eager to thank you, you see. You have given me a great treasure in your friendship. A glorious gift!"

"STOP with the riddles!" Knuckles demanded.

"It's no riddle my dear boy, but it surprises me, guardian that you would forget. No matter. I remember it quite fondly. You bestowed a gift upon me, a true treasure. It was shortly after we first met. Don't you recall?"

"What? I never gave you anyth—"

"The Echidnovian, I believe it is called."

Knuckles' mouth lingered open, unspoken words lost. The book.

He had given Robotnik the book. As a token of friendship, years, and years ago, during that first encounter, before he had known better. Before he knew the true meaning of friendship, or of betrayal.

He was shocked. He'd truly forgotten it. At the back of his mind he felt a growing shame at ever having been so naive.

Even so, a regrettable misstep it was, The Echidnovian was a sacred text of ancient and forbidden energy arts, and as such was written in Echidnan. Knuckles was the only soul alive who could read it, and even then it required his studied effort to make out the antiquated dialects. Surely it was not possible. Inconceivable that... Absolutely without reason...

"And with such an endearing dedication. I've memorized it. 'To Doctor Ivo Robotnik, May we celebrate and exchange the joys of friendship. —Knuckles.' No Q's or Z's in there mind you, but I managed to work out the discrepancy."

"No... No that's not... it's not possible."

"Now don't be silly guardian. It was more than generous of you to inscribe it twice as you did in each of your tongues. And I ever so do enjoy an intellectual challenge. The two missing letters added months to my struggle! And of course that was only a starting point."

Knuckles wasn't sure when he had released his grasp on the man, but Dr. Robotnik was towering over him once more. His sneer spoke of total victory, and Knuckles though it might strike him down. He couldn't think. Couldn't move. He was defeated.

—

The view through the barrier held Sonic hostage with icy dread.

He wanted to scream at Knuckles. To tell him to run. To attack. To cover his ears and not listen. That had ever his downfall. The listening.

There was a reason why Sonic never let that mad man finish a full thought before dropping a joke or insult. Eggman had a way with words, as much as he did with machines. If you let him speak you ran the risk of being charmed by machiavellian words. Impossible arguments that had no real meaning, but could make you doubt your own name.

But Sonic could only watch.

—

Robotnik's sneer grew very slowly into a bright and wide toothy smile.

"What is this now?" He asked quizzically. "I thought surely you'd revel with me in reminiscing Knuckles, old friend."

'Impossible. Impossible.' A broken record on his thoughts.

When Robotnik unexpectedly took a step toward him, Knuckles found himself stumbling back to get away, five, six steps, until the wall at his back halted the retreat.

"You seem unwell little guardian. Have I disturbed you? Didn't you like my story?" Step . Step .

Knuckles registered faintly that his hands were shaking. He could hear Robotnik's words, but only just under the blaring rush of blood in his ears. Every thought was panic; disaster; despair.

Step. Step. The towering man drew closer.

"The great knowledge you've bestowed me, I treasure it you must know."

He' d given it away. Everything—everything he was meant to protect.

Step. Step.

"Let me say this Guardian. If ever there was a doubt before, you are indeed a true friend Knuckles to I, Dr. Robotnik! NOW, I have only one truth left to share."

When Robotnik seized him by the throat, Knuckles thought maybe he would just end there. Perhaps he would cease to be, and be spared the vast atrocity of it. The fingers around his neck tightened sharply, more, and more until he felt his consciousness threatened. Robotnik leaned in close on his right—the wiry mustache brushed grossly against Knuckles' cheek, and then Dr. Robotnik whispered his last curse.

"I am going to kill every one of your wretched little friends, dear Knuckles, with your emerald. While. You. Sleep."

—

Sonic screamed, and threw himself at the forcefield again and again. His shoulder burned with it. Blood smeared streakily over the wall with his repeated rounds. He was sure he'd bled through the bandage, but it was nothing to him. He'd tried again, and again, and again; the wall did not falter.

He was going to watch his best friend die ten paces away—had delivered him to death.

The dead-bolted exit behind him was severely dented in from his blows. He'd attempted every panel in the room. There was no escape. There was nothing he could do. He was powerless to stop it.

Beyond the field, Eggman was leaning over a petrified Knuckles. The villain spoke things sinister to the guardians ears.

Eggman man righted himself then. He stared down at the suffocating Echidna a few seconds, then turned. Eggman looked over his shoulder; his eyes pierced the energy field, willfully staring Sonic down. The doctor enjoyed a visible chuckle, and a crooked sneer grew on his features.

Sonic could do nothing .

With his free arm Eggman reeled back and drove a fist viciously into Knuckles' center. Knuckles' eyes flexed wide in distress, then the hand at his throat flicked him away like a rag, and he collapsed into a heap on the floor.

The mad man turned and walked casually away; a maddening bounce flavoring his step. Back at the door where he arrived, he walked out without pause as the energy field parted at the sliding entrance way, and then he was gone from sight.

Not a second later, Sonic tumbled through the energy field that had held him back. There was nothing where it had been.

It was a dare to follow, he knew, but there was no choice.

Sonic flashed to where Knuckles lay doubled over. He reached over to right him, but was startled when a blaring siren overpowered the room.

'That Bastard. He would.' The thought peaked, but he released it immediately. Only this—Knuckles—was important.

"KNUCKLES."

He lifted the guardian by the shoulders, and helped him to stay there. Knuckles was still choking and wheezing for breath from the blow.

"Hey Knux buddy. You alright? I got you okay. We're gonna get out of here right now."

Knuckles refused to meet his eyes—or maybe, hardly even registered that Sonic was there at his side. Sonic wasn't sure. He just shook, and gasped for breath with a hollow haunt in his eyes.

Sonic knew he couldn't wait long. He grasped one of his friends' trembling hands. "KNUCKLES... You are stronger than this. I don't care what he said. You hear me? You are going to stand up, and walk out of this room now. Okay? You have to get up RIGHT NOW." "KNUCK—"

"FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT," a pleasant feminine voice announced, cutting through the blaring siren from some overhead speaker.

"Knuckles, whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"I've ruined everything..."

Sonic's breath caught for a moment. He felt as though he could be pulled into despair from those words alone. Deep regret filled him for having come. He'd delivered Knuckles to this fate.

A moment longer, and Sonic forcedly abandoned that line of thought. He could not afford it. He'd narrowly escaped the self-destruct protocol once before—knew there was no bluff. They couldn't delay any longer.

Sonic stood, and then heaved Knuckles up to his feet. Sonic's own eyes watered at the harsh strain it put on his shoulder. He was thankful for the small mercy that, once up Knuckles stood on his own, even if shakily. He pulled Knuckles awkwardly along over to the elevator doors.

A glance at the elevator showed the landing door was still sealed. Sonic felt the pit of his stomach drop out. There was something off before, when he'd asked Knuckles to check the door. He was afraid to check his suspicion, but flashed over to the read console anyway, then reappeared next to Knuckles. The lift cab was present and should have been open. He approached it, reaching for the seam, and tried to dig in with his fingers to force it apart. The effort strained his shoulder enough to send pained tears streaming down his cheeks. It was useless. In frustration Sonic pulled back, then slammed against the door with his razor spin but again it didn't budge.

They were sealed out. No amount of his speed could set them free.

"Knux... Knuckles I can't get us through here. I need your help to break through this door." Nothing.

Sonic returned to Knuckles' side and grabbed him forcefully by the arms, then gave him a hard jerk. "Damn it Knuckles! What the hell did he say to you! Snap out of it! I need your help!"

With another absent response Sonic pressed their foreheads together desperately. "PLEASE! I need to know you are hearing me."

Knuckles just went on staring into nothing with a broken expression. "Knuckles, come on!"

Knuckles did not move from the spot where he'd sunk to his knees, and Sonic wracked his brain on how to get through to him.

"Knuckles... I haven't left. Do you understand me? I'm in this with you."

Knuckles looked up at him then, and Sonic could tell that the echidna was surely hearing his words for the first time since the force field dropped.

Sonic took a breath and started over calmly. "Knuckles, you are in shock or something right now. Do you understand me? You're in shock, and I don't know what that bastard said to you, but I promise... Are you... LOOK AT ME. I SWEAR to you, whatever it is, we'll deal with it, OKAY? I've got your back on this. I swear, we WILL fix it. But LITERALLY, none of this will matter if we don't get out of the building in the next... minutes. Please. I need your help. I can't get the door open by myself. OKAY? Can we just..."

Knuckles took a shaky breath, and nodded once.

"Okay. Thank you. Thank you." He helped Knuckles up, and they moved to the center of the double sliding landing door. The crease at its seam offered no lip, so Knuckles wedged his right hand claws into the space for leverage. He wiggled and pried in with his other hand until he had a solid grasp, and forced the panels outward through brute-strength until they stuttered a small width apart, about equal to his fist. He repositioned, grasped the edge of each side, and then with considerable strain forced the doors open the remaining way.

"No, no, no, no..." Sonic couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a second interior door belonging to the lift cab, the exterior of which was charred and blackened. He ran a hand down where the center he seam should have been. It was sealed—literally melted shut.

He turned and looked at Knuckles who looked just as surprised. Knuckles met his eyes and just whispered, "I'm sorry."

"NO. No. Don't you dare give up on me now Knuckles."

"FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY SECONDS REMAINING TO SELF DESTRUCT. " The bright electronic voice announced overhead again, through the siren.

He turned back to Knuckles. "Break it down. Break down the door." But Knuckles had already sunk back to his knees.

Sonic turned and scanned the room frantically for anything else—anything that might get them out. There were seven exits—three open hallways, four sealed. Could they find another way? They hadn't hit lockdown yet, but would there be enough time? His eyes finally landed on the opposite elevator shaft.

"Knuckles, the other shaft. Break down the other one. You can climb out at least! I'll... I... can probably make it up too!"

If Knuckles heard him he gave no indication. Desperate, Sonic just dropped into another spin dash and tried slamming the door, two, then three times, but he already knew it was useless. The effort only left him dizzy, and lightheaded, and wondering how much blood he'd lost. He turned back to Knuckles, and slid down the door, and lastly thought that blood loss wasn't going to matter anymore.

"DAMMIT... Knux... Knuckles...I'm sorry. I don't... I can't—"

A loud metallic creek from around the recess corner interrupted him. It was enough of a stir that even Knuckles looked up again.

Sonic leaned over the and peaked around the edge expecting maybe to see the doors sealing. Instead, Metal Sonic stood there.

It took him about three seconds to go from blank shock to a defensive position—a snail pace by his standard. Metal spoke before he was fully up.

"Follow me now if you want to live."

Sonic went on staring while the comprehension of what was said dawned slowly. "NOW you stupid mammal, unless you wish to die in fire!"

That was enough to snap him into action. He was already at Knuckles' side heaving him up, and half dragging him along. "KNUCKLES. We are going to run. Okay? I just need you to move your feet. I'll do the rest. Or glide if you have to. Okay Okay?"

Sonic couldn't wait for a coherent response—that Knuckles was up and moving would have to be enough. And he took no moment to consider if Metal—an unquestionable enemy—was intent on misleading them. He already knew they were without options. Should fate bid them any mercy, this was it.

Metal had already turned back and was flying down the hall from which he had appeared. Sonic was gaining on him quickly but intent on keeping Knuckles upright and close. They cleared a long passageway that led from the domed cross section, and into another area. There was hardly any light—just a few flickering bulbs, and the yellow glow from Metal's core to guide them. As they turned corners and drove deeper into the darkness, Sonic began to worry that they weren't ascending yet. Seconds, minutes were passing by. He's already forgotten what the last count left them with. Four hundred seconds? How much was that? Five minutes maybe? What now? Hard as he tried he couldn't remember from the only other self destruct sequence he'd run through, the order of things. When would the blast doors activate? At five? At three?

They passed through a dark empty hanger, different than the first they'd entered, he thought—though he wasn't sure. They crossed out of it, then into a large connecting cargo bay, from what he could make out in the dark, and finally came to a stop at a far wall.

Knuckles crashed into him as they slowed, and together they tumbled to the floor. Metal paid the pair no mind. Using what could only be described as a finger torch he ignited a blue flame and appeared to be burning through a wall panel. Sonic watched mesmerized for a long moment as Metal cut what would be a large rectangle through the wall. A question of whether Metal had always had that tool, or if it was some extraneous new upgrade crossed his mind. When he came out of that thought, Sonic feared he might be nearing a dangerous amount of blood loss. Surprisingly Knuckles was already standing behind him. He offered out a hand and then heaved Sonic up his feet.

"Are you—." Sonic began.

"THREE HUNDRED SECONDS REMAINING TO SELF DESTRUCT."

When the voice finished Metal barked at them. "IN HERE. NOW."

He turned back to the robot, and saw with the panel removed, Metal had exposed a maintenance hatch to the pneumatic tubes. The robot didn't wait for them, and disappeared into the shoot and out of sight. Sonic didn't waste a moment either. He grabbed Knuckles, dragged him forward, and largely forced him into the shoot, and followed immediately after.

The tunnel shot them straight up at incredible speed for about ten seconds. There was another connecting hatch that halted the accent for a moment, then they shot up again. One more hatch there after, and then they were spit out above, in what Sonic guessed was the surface ground floor. Neither he nor Knuckles managed a graceful landing out of the shoot, but they scrambled up anyway. A quick glance around revealed Metal at a far doorway, sporting an impatient glare.

Sonic grabbed Knuckles by a wrist, and started in the robot's direction. Metal was in flight away again before they reached him. As they ran, Sonic scanned for any familiar sign—something to find a bearing on their location. They cleared two wings of the facility, before he found it in the form of a wide open plaza. These massive structures only existed near the city center. It gave him pause. Their direction was wrong. This way led further into the city—or at least not out of it.

"Metal! Where are you taking us?"

Metal turned only his head the full hundred and eighty degrees to face them, while continuing forward in flight. He glared without responding.

"Answer me!"

"Run faster," The robot dismissed.

"The city's perimeter is that way!"Sonic argued harshly.

"Go that way and you die."

"ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SECONDS REMAINING TO SELF DESTRUCT."

"Why!" Sonic demanded, despite following.

The robot didn't respond immediately, instead going forward a way, and facing his head forward again. After a few seconds he spoke loudly. "In the last self-destruct invocation only a portion of the ordinances were activated. We are going to a location where they did detonate, so perhaps you won't die."

The weight of that hit Sonic hard. There had been a fleeting last hope in his mind that the self- destruct could activate, but not detonate a second time. If Metal was right, they were gravely positioned.

"Why are you helping us," he called ahead.

"Insolent mammal! Do you want to talk or live? RUN FASTER!" Metal's boosters flared, and he sped on down the plaza far ahead of them.

Sonic watched him fly off, and pushed his own speed faster, but could tell Knuckles was struggling to keep pace. They were nearing the opposite end of the structure. Metal disappeared into a corridor ahead. Sonic counted their pace as they neared the entrance—about six seconds behind. They crossed into the hall, and then the blaring voice overhead spoke once more.

"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SECONDS REMAINING TO SELF DESTRUCT.

INITIATING LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL."

The sound of several metal clangs, and a barking alert sound filled the space from ahead and behind. At the opposite end of the hall, he saw Metal shoot the hallway door, blowing it clear off. The robot disappeared out the building, just as the secondary blast door began to descend.

Sonic reached for another level of speed, well beyond what he knew Knuckles could match. They were too far behind—the door was descending too fast. He crossed the space in seconds, but could see it was already too low to clear at a run. As they neared in on the door, Sonic reeled back and then flung Knuckles forward with all his waning strength, yelling, "ROLL!" Instinctually the guardian took the cue, and cleared the door. Sonic was a step behind. He fell into a tight curl as soon as Knuckles' wrist left his hand, and followed out on his trail, just before the heavy seal slammed hard to the pavement.

It was a struggle to right himself again out of the roll. He pushed up, in attempt to keep moving, but tripped gracelessly. He fell hard. The world spun, and he knew for sure he had reached a point of exertion over injury that could not be sustained. Sonic looked up. He couldn't see Metal anymore. They were outside, surrounded by tall buildings and structures. The ones that only towered deep in the Robotropolis—it left him no hope of clearing the city's perimeter in an outright run. Not like this. Not with Knuckles.

Knuckles was staggering to his feet and a few steps ahead. Sonic ignored every call of strain and weakness on his body. He pushed up, stumbled the few steps over to Knuckles, made eye contact, took his wrist and started running.

As soon they were moving, he realized he wasn't sure of their direction; it was too late to redirect though. To his relief Metal flew out from a behind far building on the left in the next moment. The robot sped in their direction. Seconds before he reached them, he raised an arm, charged a blaster and shot. Sonic ducked down sending Knuckles tumbling with him again.

Somewhere overhead the polite voice spoke once more, echoing from several directions "SIXTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT... to self destruct... to self destruct... self destruct... destruct."

Sonic only realized a moment later that Metal's blast hadn't been directed at them. A pack of the E- class robots was streaming in from the opposite direction. Metal was trading fire, destroying several with each blast.

This time it was Knuckles who pulled him up, and away from the distraction of the fight. "Sonic." His voice was strained and urgent.

"Metal!" Sonic called out, once upright. "Where now?"

"You worthless creature!" Metal spat back, without turning to look at them."That way." He pointed in the direction he'd flown from. "Beyond the bridge."

Sonic looked back scanning the narrow horizon beyond the thruway for a bridge. He gave Knuckles a slight tug, and started moving again, despite not yet having it in sight.

"THIRTY SECONDS TO SELF DESTRUCT ... to self destruct... to self destruct... self destruct... destruct. "

"Knuckles GLIDE!" He called, without looking back. He felt Knuckles' fist clenched around his own wrist, and his push for lift.

Sonic reached inward; he forced his mind clear of all but for the spark of wild energy that drove him—speed.

The world around him blurred.

His vision was a barrel searching for a target. Sound was a vacuum.

There was only speed.

Time ceased to be—until it returned.

"TEN SECONDS REMAINING." "NINE."

"EIGHT."

"SEVEN."

"SIX."

"FIVE."

"FOUR—"

—

A long high-pitched tone sounded, then, from somewhere deep within the central hub a resonant tone bellowed out. In the next second, a blast wave rolled over them with pressure that crushed like a wall.

A step in front of Knuckles, Sonic—who still had an iron grip on his wrist, and was essentially pulling and half dragging him along at unduplicatable speed while Knuckles tried to stay airborne—dropped hard on the pavement, at the three second count. The violent forward force of it slammed Knuckles down head first to the ground. There was impact, pain, and the wild jerk of momentum as he skidded and rolled, brutally across asphalt. His vision jolted white, reeling from the force of impact. Before his motion stopped he registered another blast distantly, at the edge of awareness—it crackled with the furious sound of explosive flames, again and again, rumbling like a train ever closer.

Many seconds passed before he regained the facility to form full thought. It was a struggle to move. Pain was mounting. In his state of delayed motor response, a feeling begged that he must move—a distant warning. The sound of explosions from every direction deafened. Through force of will he painfully felt out his limbs. Gently he tried to move his head, until he was able to shake it back and forth slightly—an attempt to regain himself, and his sense of urgency. The explosions grew nearer, rattling the ground. Another rang out wildly behind them, and then from their right, behind an adjacent building, an explosion sent a heat wave over them, just ahead of a massive dark smoke cloud.

It took long seconds before the smoke passed enough to see clearly. He forced himself to roll over, and get up to his knees. Looking up and around, he realized Sonic was lying motionless far behind him. Metal Sonic was out of his line of sight, but there was a sound near—he could hear the unmistakable hum of the robots thrusters shifting about somewhere ahead

Knuckles struggled to stand—his limbs were unsteady. He shuffled over to Sonic as quickly as he was able. "Sonic." Just as he reached Sonic, a shocking crash from behind sent him stumbling to the ground. He turned to see dust and debris coming off of a near building wall. Metal Sonic fell from a crater in the wall there a moment later, but landed in a neat crouch. His blasters flared, and then he shot off once more, and disappeared back around the corner of a perpendicular byway. Moments passed as Knuckles stared stunned at the place where Metal had disappeared. Somewhat distantly he could hear the thrusters still firing and some terrible artificial screech.

He came back to himself as he realized Sonic still had not answered or stirred behind him. Knuckles crawled next to the hedgehog, and placed a hand at his neck searching for a pulse. Wave of dread hit him as the first beat made him wait excruciatingly long—it did come, and was followed by a steady, if slow rhythm.

Knuckles collapsed over Sonic, searching for a clear sense of what to do next. Sonic's backpack was gone. That left no comm. No way to call for help. Explosions were still rattling the city, though somewhat slower now. He began to gather up Sonic in his arms. Staying still was no option. A glance in either direction on their thruway revealed smoke, and fire, and destruction all around. He'd find a way through. He had to.

Knuckle began to push himself up carefully cradling Sonic, when movement flashed around the perpendicular corner again. Metal Sonic came skidding around the corner, on foot—one thruster seemed to be sparking violently from his back—the robot's path was a straight line towards them. No more than two steps behind Metal, a massive metallic beast—like a titan version of the Mantis bot before, followed at speed. A glowing purple gem at its core—a Chaos Emerald—shined spectacularly drawing Knuckles' attention for a moment, like a moth to flame.

"Move or die Guardian!"

It snapped him out of whatever held him. He scrambled—dove out of the way, because the pair of metallic beasts were almost on top of him. He turned mid-air landing hard on his back, and curled around Sonic to shelter the hedgehog's unconscious form from impact. His impact was jolting, but Knuckles forced his eyes open to track the titan Mantis' next move.

Metal crossed the spot where Knuckles stood moments before. The robot surged forward with a thrust boost, then dug into the ground feet first in a twist that turned into a surprise reverse lunge. He latched onto the titan's torso, scaled up, until even with its core, and plunged his long clawed fist in, to seize the Chaos Emerald. The Mantis erupted in wild beastly screech as sparks flew out of its center.

Knuckles wasn't sure whether to feel relief or dread at the gem's change of hand.

Metal—who was still clinging to the titan—cackled a victorious howl. He launched himself off in reverse; however, in victory he seemed to miscalculate the single thruster dismount. He careened to the left, a degree too close, as the Mantis caught him in a devastating slice. The purple emerald dislodged from his grip, went through the air, and landed somewhere on the opposite side of the road. When the robot pair shifted, Knuckles saw Metal stir—there was a deep gash across his left side. His left arm, nearly severed, was hanging only by a rogue wire. Metal rolled away in time to avoid an end- bringing blow, but was flicked away towards Knuckles a moment later, before fully righting himself. He skidded across the ground to a point only paces away from Knuckles. Despite his disrepair, Metal rolled at the last moment, and grained his footing in a crouch.

Knuckles who again had been pulled into the spectacle of viewing unfolding events, was alarmed to see the Mantis turn its sight on their location. Metal held his position, but spun his head around again—though jerkily—at Knuckles. "What are you doing, imbecile? The frequency is in shift!" His thruster flared again then, and he charged headlong at the titan as it charged towards them.

Stunned, Knuckles took cautious steps back, and away as he tried to decipher that statement. The two robots collided; they careened towards Knuckles from the weight of the larger one's momentum, so he had to dodge away once more. He'd nearly have made it away, if not for a flailing Mantis limb that struck him in the back, and sent him into a hard dive. He managed only to shift his shoulder under himself enough to take the blunt of the blow, and spare Sonic's limp from the impact, but couldn't hold on as the impact forced them both to tumble and roll apart.

Knuckles push himself up in time to witness a perfectly timed scythe catch Metal. He watched in horror as it tore at the previous gash, and sliced him clear in half.

For a moment everything was still. The titan observed the remains of its prey—sparks flew off of Metal's broken form—then it turned and looked right at Knuckles.

Fearing he'd never get the Sonic in time, who lay several paces away, Knuckles jumped up, and charged, praying desperately that he could lead it far away enough to keep Sonic safe. It turned to meet him fully, scythes at the ready. Knuckles knew he would have to be infallible to survive. He pushed for as much speed as he could muster, and watched the scythes reel and swing. He jumped clearing one, then again, and once more to latch onto its chest like Metal before him. The titan beast couldn't reach inward enough to strike him down, so instead it flailed about wildly. He scaled up to its head, landing several damaging blows along the way. The titan spun wildly, all the while trying to dislodge him—thankfully veering off, opposite Sonic's direction. Just as Knuckles was about to jump and glide off the beast's shoulder to lead it further away, someone shouted from below.

"Guardia—tzzst!"

It startled him. Knuckles lost his solid grip, but managed to recover enough to push off the titans back. A quick glide dropped him at part of Metals remains—his head only—it was somehow still functioning.

"The fre—tzzst—ncy is in shift!—tzzst—the emerald. Us—tzzst—it no—tzzst!"

Knuckles heard the command, but somehow the words were foreign. He picked up the robot head.

His comprehension felt slow, as his eyes shot across the space to where the gem lay. "Get the—tzzst-merald!"

"I am not a chaos manipulator! That emerald will not work for me!" He tried to explain to the sparking head.

"Just do -tzzst- it you idiot guar-tzzst-ian! Now. DO IT NOW! Unless you want to -tzzst-...ie!"

The words were lost as Knuckles dove clear of a massive scythe. He rolled and pushed into a run towards the Chaos Emerald, with Metal's head in tow.

He was nearly there when the titan leapt from behind clear over him, and landed opposite the gem. His momentum was too much to do anything but continue, so Knuckles dove for the emerald. He curled around it then rolled through the titan's limbs narrowly clearing scythes again. He scrambled up and around, and had to dive away as the beast swung for death once more.

With the purple emerald in one hand, and Metal Sonic's malfunctioning head tucked under his other arm, Knuckles dove, and rolled back in the direction of Sonic's unconscious form. Lacking enough momentum to complete the stretch, Knuckles pushed up back into a run. He felt an awful snap in his strained ankle at the force of it—he only remained upright by sheer desperation of will to outlive the next moments.

The titan Mantis rattled Knuckles' every step with tremors as it raced behind him. Muffled obscenities streamed from the robotic head at his chest.

He landed hard, sliding the last inches towards the blue heap ahead. 'Sonic!' His fist latched onto something soft.

His opposite hand shot up.

The deadly blades descended down.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

And then there was nothing.

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TBC

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Vacillation : to sway through lack of equilibrium : to waver in mind, will, or feeling

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NOTES

Hold on to your rings! I'm back with a new chapter! Oh man, you guys... I really didn't mean for it to take two years again. Please accept my sincerest apology by way of this 18,000+ word chapter. I could write you an additional 1000 words on why it took so long, but I'll spare you. (Short version is, I moved across an ocean, I have a one year old, and this story is so dense. In general just ... life happens.) Thanks for sticking with me anyway! Few more notes at the end. Now onto the story. This one's a wild ride.

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Thank you so much for reading! This chapter really was a trip. Some parts just wrote themselves, while others took very focused effort. I've probably mentioned this, but there is clearly no single Sonic universe I'm pulling from anymore. I tend to lean towards the game canon, but frequently realize I'm pulling inspiration from the comics, SatAM, Sonic X, Wiki research, and whatever else I come up with. That's all I can think of for now. I've been editing and prepping this file all day. Come at me with your questions & thoughts though!

Reviews mean the world, and brighten my days. I love to hear from & chat with you all! If you send me a message or review I will absolutely respond.

~Sarilleny