Chapter 4: Just Like Old Times
I have the best job in the world, the red echidna thought to himself as he laid at the foot of the Master Emerald's shrine on Angel Island. All day long I can just lay around doing whatever I please. All I have to do is protect one huge gem that pretty much nobody but me is strong enough to carry. I mean, what is somebody going to do, sneak up in a helicopter and tow it away while I'm napping? Ha! Knuckles smirked confidently to himself. It seems strange that I had to prove myself to be the toughest echidna in existence just to get such a laid-back job, but, hey, I'm not complaining.
Knuckles pondered that last thought for a while. Well, now that I think about it, I guess I am the only echidna left in existence, at least as far as anybody knows. So, does that mean I'm only the strongest by default? he doubted for only a moment. ...Nah! They don't come any tougher than me! Even if more of my kind were still around, like in those visions Tikal showed me, I'm sure I'd beat 'em all! Knuckles puffed out his chest in pride.
Still, it'd be nice to have someone to talk to for a change. It's not that I don't take my job seriously, but Sonic and those guys get to travel around and have fun all the time exploring this different world while I'm still stuck here where I've always been. Plus, it can get a bit lonely up here on a floating island all to myself every day. Ugh, Sonic would never let me hear the end of it if he knew what I was thinking right now, Knuckles stood up and shook his head.
Knuckles sighed. His tough-guy reputation and deep devotion to duty didn't allow him to share his complaints with anyone but himself. But just because he never let it show didn't mean the red echidna didn't struggle with loneliness at times. Let's just see where Angel Island will be floating over next, Knuckles tried to distract himself.
He rushed through the small forest surrounding the shrine until he came to the edge of Angel Island. From there, Knuckles looked out at the continent below and tried to pick out any landmarks he could use to identify the wandering island's location. "Where's that atlas Chris gave me?" Knuckles grumbled to himself, searching until he found the large book in a hedge nearby where he kept it. "Ah, here we are. Let's see... Strange looking buildings... A big wall..." he continued to mumble as Knuckles thumbed through the pages. "Oh, here it is! China! Wow, it's been a long time since Angel Island wandered all the way over here. In fact, the last time was, uhh... was..." Knuckles rubbed his chin as he tried to remember.
Finally it all came back to him. Oh yeah! I was exploring some kind of ruins and ended up rescuing Hawk! Then we got kidnapped, escaped, he gave me the shovel claws... Oh, and then who could forget that crazy three-way running fight over the red Chaos Emerald between us, Rouge, and Eggman's assassin bot. I wonder how Hawk is doing now? It's been a while since I saw him, and I did promise to come visit someday...
Knuckles stopped to ponder this idea for a minute. He could use his influence with the Master Emerald to halt Angel Island's movement for a while. Then, while it was hovering in place somewhere safe enough that no one could reach it, Knuckles could glide down for a quick visit. He doubted anyone would disturb the Master Emerald while he was gone. The last time anyone had shown any interest in it at all was the whole debacle on Space Colony Ark. Since then, not even Eggman had tried to steal it. And Knuckles knew that Rouge, the only other major threat to the Master Emerald, was working for G.U.N. now on the other side of the world. So, even unguarded for just a little while, it should be safe enough...
No! No! No! Why am I even thinking about doing this? Knuckles growled at himself as he clenched his fists. What kind of guardian just leaves his post completely unprotected? And for what? To go see a friend because he's lonely? I'm better than this! I can...! Can...! Knuckles cast his gaze repeatedly towards the Master Emerald's shrine and back towards the landscape slowly passing by below. I suppose I can spare just one short trip, he finally decided with a sigh.
It sure has been a long time, Knuckles reminisced seeing the rundown streets and street corner vendors of a small Chinese city. This place doesn't seem to have changed a bit, though. It all looks the same as when Hawk and I... Knuckles was suddenly interrupted from his memories as a slightly heavyset man in a white collared shirt and khaki pants stepped out in front of him.
"Well, well, well... If it ain't Knuckles himself! Haven't seen you around here in ages, have we?" the man disturbingly laughed.
It honestly took Knuckles a while to recognize the face, but the deep chuckle suddenly brought it all back to the red echidna's mind. "You! You're the mob boss that kidnapped me and Hawk! And tried to serve us all that terrible prison food!"
"Wha'dya know, boys? He actually remembers us!" the man chuckled again as Knuckles slowly found himself surrounded by thugs, no less than ten. "I've been waiting for a long time for you to show up, bub! I'm gonna make you pay for making a fool out of me; escaping with my prisoner and my treasure!"
"Are you still mad about Hawk and I escaping your prison cell and grabbing the chaos emerald before you could?" Knuckles smiled as he recognized the glare that the older man gave him. "Well, I may still be mad that you locked us up in the first place!" Knuckles said as he folded his arms across his chest defiantly.
"Then I guess it's personal," retorted the familiar boss, snapping his fingers once. "Get him guys! I want him pulverized!"
All ten men rushed at Knuckles at once. Knuckles assumed a defensive stance and waited for the attackers to get into range, undaunted by the unfair numbers of ten to one odds. Rather than attack when they were close enough, however, Knuckles simply ducked and rolled out of the center of the rapidly closing circle at the last second. All the men simply collided together in a heap where he had once stood.
"Come on! Don't tell me you've waited all this time for revenge and this is all you got, old man!" taunted Knuckles.
"Rrrr...! Quit fooling around and get him!" the aging boss shouted to his men.
Suddenly, Knuckles found himself surrounded again by the men, only this time they had knives drawn. Whoa! They actually mean business this time! Knuckles warned himself. One man quickly lunged forward from the circle and slashed his knife at the level of Knuckles' throat. Knuckles easily defeated the strike to his jugular with a quick step backwards and countered by grabbing the assailant's wrist, twisting it until the man lost his grip on his knife, and finally hurling the man over his shoulder into another attacker behind him. A loud scream from his victim told Knuckles that he was now only out-manned 9 to 1.
Right, I forgot that humans aren't as resilient as us Mobians are, Knuckles thought as he wondered if he'd done permanent damage to that man's wrist. If he was feeling sorry for the man, though, Knuckles didn't let it show outwardly. He grinned as the other men stared in disbelief at the ease of Knuckles' devastating counter attack. These men are definitely not professionals. I have them spooked!
"Hyaahhhh!" shouted one of the remaining men as he foolishly announced his attack. Knuckles sidestepped a flurry of stabs to the chest and retaliated with a lightning-fast uppercut. His fist collided with the man's jaw, emitting a sickening noise of breaking bones. The man instantly slumped down onto the street from the one hit KO.
Dang, too rough again? I'm only trying to defend myself, not rack up a body count! Knuckles grew frustrated with this fight. It was very difficult for him to pull his punches when surrounded by goons that were trying to kill him. If they keep coming one at a time, maybe I can restrain myself so I don't accidentally kill anybody...
As if the remaining men could read minds, his assailants closed the circle by taking a couple more steps forward in a coordinated group. A quick movement by the man to Knuckles' ten o'clock position spurred the echidna into a dodge to the right. The attack was only a feint, however, and now the man that Knuckles had turned his back to took advantage of the echidna's distraction. With a swift backhanded slash, the man laid open a large diagonal gash in Knuckles' exposed backside from his left shoulder to his right mid-torso.
"Aaaahhhh!" shouted out Knuckles at the pain of having his back laid open by the sharp knife. He realized too late that he had seriously underestimated his remaining eight to one disadvantage, and he'd payed the price for his overconfidence. Seeing the moment of weakness in the otherwise invincible echidna, all the other men advanced rapidly with their knives ready.
"You think that one cut is enough to stop me?" hollered Knuckles in a rage, "Think again!" He quickly spun into a red whirlwind of punches, jabs, kicks, and thrusts as the men began their attack en masse. His aggressive assault beat back several attackers immediately, all of them knocked out cold. Those who escaped his initial punishment were engaged individually and pummeled mercilessly. One man took a powerful kick full force to the stomach and coughed up blood. Another unlucky soul was nailed in the hip by a mighty punch and crumpled to the pavement, paralyzed at least temporarily from the waist down. The two final men were KO'd by Knuckles smashing their two skulls together, which probably did less harm than if he'd punched them both in the same area.
As he looked around at his handiwork, Knuckles saw ten men all strewn about the alleyway. A few where attempting to limp or crawl away, a couple were still screaming in pain, and the rest were out cold in the middle of the road. Every single one of Knuckles' defeated assailants would need medical attention of some sort. I may have overdone it just a little with that last part, Knuckles realized as his rage cooled to allow him a pang of guilt for the brutally mauled bodies all around him.
"No one makes a fool of me!" yelled the mob boss as he stared slack-jawed at his best men all mutilated in the street. He drew a loaded pistol in his right hand and aimed directly at Knuckles' head. It all happened so fast. At the same time his finger tightened around the trigger, an unknown voice suddenly shouted out. Milliseconds later, a heavy chuck of brick hit the old mobster's face from the side, and, at the exact same time, a gunshot rang out and echoed through the street.
Knuckles grunted in pain as he ground his teeth from the stinging of the alcohol on his bare wound. Luckily, the large diagonal gash was superficial only; no muscles or other important parts of his body had been sliced. A strip of gauze bandage was quickly fastened to the entire length of the now dressed wound, and Knuckles was permitted to turn back around to face his Good Samaritan.
It was none other than the very person he had come here originally to find, Hawk. Knuckles noted how Hawk was still slightly rotund and a head taller than him like the last time they met. Knuckles had seen enough humans at this point to realize that still made Hawk a bit short from the average man, though. They shared a kindred love for treasure hunting that had forged into a strong friendship that Knuckles knew he could count on, and today was living proof of that. "Heh, I guess that I owe you one now, right?" Knuckles mentioned to his old buddy.
"No way, Knuckles! You see, now we're even," replied Hawk. "I heard the commotion in the street and snuck up to have a peek, and boy was I surprised to see you there! I wanted to help, but you seemed to have things under control... mostly," the man grimaced as his eyes traced briefly to the long bandage on Knuckles' back. "But then that guy pulled a gun and... I mean, you're tough and all, but you're not Sonic who could just outrun a bullet."
"Should I be taking this as a compliment or an insult?" Knuckles folded his arms as he complained.
"No, no! Sorry, I just meant that I knew you needed my help!" Hawk waved his hands in front of him as he clarified his statement. "I'm just lucky that brick knocked his aim off right as he shot at you. I had no idea it would actually knock him completely out cold, too."
"Guess you just don't know your own strength, buddy," Knuckles smirked in reply. "Too bad you didn't have any bricks to throw to save yourself that first time I met you. Remember? In that ruined temple?"
"Gee, Knuckles, you had to bring that up again?" Hawk looked embarrassed as he recalled the crazy events. "I'm not sure how useful bricks would have been against that falling ceiling trap. But against that crazy bat or the weird ninja robot thingy... maybe?"
"With your arm, I doubt you could hit either of them," Knuckles teased with a grin. "But, hey, at least you managed to clobber that big mob boss like we both wanted to ever since we escaped his dungeon."
"Eh heh, yeah, he's been giving me a lot of trouble ever since that whole debacle," Hawk revealed with a satisfied smirk. "I've had to lay pretty low so his goons couldn't find me and, well, pretty much do what they just tried to do to you."
"You've been on the run this whole time?" Knuckles was shocked to hear this news. "Hawk, you should have said something! If I'd have known they were after you, I could've..."
"I know, I know. It's not your fault, Knuckles. Besides, it's hard to get a hold of someone that lives on a flying island with no means of communication," Hawk tried to downplay Knuckles' guilt. "The important thing is that they're dealt with now, so I don't have to keep hiding anymore."
"Now I just wish that I'd visited you again sooner. Sorry pal," Knuckles still felt like a terrible friend, leaving a partner in danger like that for so long.
"Like I said, Knuckles, everything turned out all right, so there's no hard feelings," Hawk simply smiled at the downcast echidna. "In fact, you came back at a perfect time! I just found something important you'll probably want to keep safe with you." At that, Hawk casually tossed a small brown sack to Knuckles.
Knuckles easily snatched the roughly-sewn bag from the air. He gave Hawk a curious glance as the tiny sack felt light for its size, but something inside clearly took up most of the bag regardless. The red echidna untied the string at the top and stared in amazement at the bright red glittering object inside. "No way! This is...!"
"I guess you're not the only successful emerald hunter in the world now, huh?" Hawk laughed at Knuckles' shocked expression. "I found that in the middle of the jungle on a recent expedition. I was sure you'd probably need it back, so I held on to it for you."
"I can't believe it! The same red Chaos Emerald from when we first met... What are the odds?" Knuckles chuckled as he removed the emerald from the sack it had been concealed in and turned it over in his white-gloved hands. It was almost like he couldn't believe it was really here in front of him, but there was no mistaking the appearance of a Chaos Emerald.
"That's exactly what I thought when I found it!" Hawk laughed at Knuckles' dumbstruck expression. "Go on, buddy, it's yours."
"Last time you only agreed to give this to me because I saved your life, remember? This time you're just handing it over after saving mine?" Knuckles quickly pointed out.
"I saved you from a gun. You saved me from the whole gang ran by the man holding the gun. The way I see it, I still owe you more," Hawk reasoned, and it was hard for Knuckles to come up with any way of refuting his logic. "Besides, all I can do with it is try to sell it, which will probably get Eggman's attention and he'd come steal it from me again. I'm better off letting you have it."
"Heh, fair enough then," Knuckles returned the emerald to its small pouch and gave Hawk a firm handshake of gratitude. "Say I did want to pay you back sometime, though? Or just visit again? You got any ideas for another adventure we could take together?"
Hawk's face lit up in excitement at Knuckles' question. "I was really hoping you would ask, actually! See, I just started researching this new artifact... the world's oldest map!"
"A map?" Knuckles seemed confused. "Aren't maps supposed to point at treasure, not be the treasure?"
"Of course, Knuckles! It's said there's a landmass on this map that doesn't appear on any other maps after it. It could be the lost island of Meracia!" Hawk enthusiastically explained.
"Meracia, huh? Never heard of it," Knuckles simply shrugged.
"Legends suggest it was an ancient civilization with highly advanced technology for its time, but something happened that caused the entire island to sink into the sea. Imagine if we could actually find the location of Meracia and prove it really exists!" Hawk pumped his fists in excitement.
"Heh, sounds kinda fishy to me, but if you don't mind me hanging around..." Knuckles smirked at how eager Hawk was.
"YES! Oh, thank you, thank you, Knuckles!" Hawk literally leaped in joy as a huge smile beamed on his face. "There's still a lot of research and collaboration with a museum in the U.S. to deal with, though, so it might be a few weeks before anything's ready to go search."
"Just let me know when and where and I'll be there," Knuckles promised with a grin of his own.
"Thanks again, Knuckles! I know it can't be easy for you to leave Angel Island and the Master Emerald unattended like this, but your friendship means a lot to me," Hawk shook hands with the echidna again.
"Yeah, to me too. Now... Wait, what did you say?" Knuckles suddenly felt like he'd been jolted awake from a dream as he remembered his abandoned duty for the first time all day.
"Um, that I appreciated you spending all day with me instead of..." Hawk started to repeat, but never got to finish.
"All day?!" Knuckles panicked and raced to the closest window. Outside it was a gorgeous evening sunset full of orange hues against a red sun on the horizon. And silhouetted against the setting sun was a large flying island slowly moving away from the city, much to Knuckles' horror. "No, no, no! It was supposed to wait for me! I'M COMING MASTER EMERALD!" the appalled guardian leapt from the second floor window and immediately gave chase, gliding through the air as he shouted futilely for Angel Island to stop.
Hawk just laughed to himself as he watched Knuckles quickly disappear into the sunset in pursuit of his runaway island. "He sure is a great friend, that Knuckles. Maybe next time I should get him a watch?"
