Knuckles and Thrash's clashing fists briefly upset the ground around them.
Echidna and Tasmanian Devil pushed each other back greatly from the force, causing their feet to make trenches in the dirt. For the briefest of moments, Knuckles made sure that the Master Emerald was safe and stable. He sighed as he realized that both were true and accounted for regarding it's status.
Now then, time to move this just a bit farther away. Something in the back of his mind told him to throw the fight, let the fool get his hits him, and let him leave on his own accord. And Knuckles did entertain that idea. If nothing else, it could be shorter than an actual fight breaking out between them.
Then Thrash tried to smash the Master Emerald into pieces for 'curiosity', and Knuckles knew he could never fully take his eyes off of this guy until he was completely out of commission or off the island.
Both is good, for they get the intentions fulfilled. Whichever order is faster, he'll take with a smile.
Though right now he wasn't smiling. Only grunting with irritation.
He couldn't just get another peaceful, uneventful day guarding the Master Emerald. No. Nope. This fool has to come up here AGAIN and pick a fight with him out of spite blown away out of proportion. Dissuading him from continuing on failed every single time, despite Knuckles' hopes that he'll eventually get the hint and back off.
Force will do, then.
He stepped towards Thrash and harshly punched him right in his chest, causing him to be pushed even further back, the dirt parting around him. "Always comin' up here and picking a fight. Disturbing my peace to spite me. I would be perfectly fine and happy with leaving you alone and never having to see or think about you ever again!"
"Too bad I can't do the same." Thrash chuckled as he swung both fists upwards in a hammer swing, smashing into Knuckles' jaw and making him stumble a bit. "Besides, fine and happy? Can't really let ya be either of those things." He raised his arms with a smirk. "Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do with your time!"
"Tch." Knuckles growled viciously, rubbing his chin and spitting into the ground. "I could say the same to you. Your name is fitting. You keep coming up here to get thrashed. You consider that a good use of your time?"
Thrash glared harshly at him, and Knuckles glared right back.
They jumped forth and clashed fists again, the shockwave booming outwards and sending even more chunks of dirt around them. No question about it from that one, he had to push this away from the Master Emerald. He clenched his other fist and decked the devil in the face, forcefully pushing him back once again. Then he swiftly dashed forward and landed a vicious uppercut to his chin, sending him hurtling into the air.
Following up, with Thrash attempting to readjust himself, Knuckles managed to jump just high enough to meet with him, and launching a forceful punch to his gut, sending him careening into the ground and crashing into it, cratering it greatly. Knuckles walked up to the crater while cracking his namesakes, fully aware that didn't knock Thrash out. But his mounting feeling of irritation will make getting to that point rather fruitful. Once the dust cleared, he could see Thrash laying on his back.
Then he smirked.
Knuckles' eyes widened as he was sent flying by one of Thrash's more destructive abilities: A powerful sonic howl.
Knuckles growled as he hurriedly placed his hands over his ears while landing on his feet, skidding across the ground, clenching his eyes closed him brief agony as he could hear the sonic scream devastating the area around him. He knew that this wouldn't end well, as Thrash would use this opportunity to sucker punch him when his hearing was endangered.
He was proven correct as Thrash took the brief opportunity to rush right up and shoulder charge him, winding him and sending him up slightly. Except it didn't end there, for Thrash kept charging. He shoulder charged through several trees, a large boulder, even through a statue of two. That got a bit of a reaction out of him mid-charge, as he grabbed him and attempted to get him to forcefully stop, lowering and digging his heels into the ground, trenching it with his feet. With an angry growl, he eventually did manage to stop Thrash's charge. Though that just left him open to getting a haymaker a across the head. Sent flying a few feet, he landed on his front in a heap, groaning and attempting to push himself up again.
Thrash didn't grant him the opportunity, for Knuckles could immediately-and regrettably-hear yet another sonic scream that ruptured the ground in-between them, a powerful shockwave managing to send Knuckles flying even further away, obliterating nearly everything else in the way of the attack, lifting trees out of the ground and causing many nearby Mobini to retreat out of terror. Knuckles ended up rag-dolling across the ground, before again landing in a heap, coughing and now covered in numerous cuts and bruises from the battle.
He slowly rolled into his back, only for Thrash to appear, stomping onto his chest. The force caused Knuckles to cough coarsely, snarling as he quickly grabbed Thrash by the ankle and pushed him off. He was back on his feet and leapt forward, smashing his fist into the tasmanian devil's nose. The bigger creature howled, this time not empowered, grabbing his nose with a snark of his own. Knuckles didn't waste time charging rushing forward with his namesakes knocking together. Thrash recovered just quickly enough to take a swift swing at him, with Knuckles ducking right under it and then landing a smashing uppercut right up his jaw. He was lifted off the air from the blow again, but this time he landed a few feet away, in his feet. Thrash clicked his tongue, rubbing his chin as Knuckles glared at him from afar.
Both of them were silent for a moment, breathing heavily as their injuries were accumulating. But neither were all that severely winded. Not even close.
Knuckles, for a moment, took a breath to calm down.
"Knock it off already, Thrash. I don't want this battle extending further to mess up the island."
The tasmanian devil narrowed his eyes at that, before he scoffed. "Hmph. You expect me to just drop it all and never look back? It's never gonna happen. Right back at ya, I told you before and I'll tell you again." He pointed his green gloved hand forward. "After what the echidnas did to the tasmanian devils, heartlessly experimenting on them and turning them into feral, unintelligible Devil Dogs, your kind don't deserve any kind of mercy. Not even peace of mind."
"That was years ago! We're both the only ones left of our kinds, Thrash! Neither of us were even born when it happened, so it's useless!"
"Yeah. Funny thing about that." Thrash huffed. "I did think about just leaving you be since we're both the last of our kind...but I found myself believing that's not enough anymore. Despite that, I'm just not happy with how things are. Being on the same world as you, no matter how far away from each other we are...I can't stand it." He swiped his arm and rushed forward, his whiffing by a dodging Knuckles. "So I've already decided to keep hounding you, making your life just as miserable as mine!"
Knuckles growled as he threw a punch of his own, which was caught and pushed out of the way. "This is stupid, Thrash! Constantly picking a fight to ensure I'll never be at peace?! That's never going to help!"
"But it'll be something!" Thrash pounced forward, and the two of them clashed punches again, rupturing the ground around them from the impact. "By the way, I'm not that much of a brute. I did a bit of homework, with some help. I got the gist of it, at least."
"Urk...!"
"At some point, one group of you echidnas got whisked away into another dimension one day, when they were about to conquer the world, and are probably trapped there forever." Thrash threw another punch, and Knuckles again parried it, gritting his teeth in the meanwhile. "And the other, from your tribe. They nearly got completely wiped out by some god of destruction of sorts after angering it, and the remnants of you were left to die out over the centuries, leaving only you. And for both cases, I just gotta say..."
Thrash smirked.
"Serves them right."
Something in Knuckles snapped.
A vein pulsing in his head and his fangs baring, Knuckles grabbed Thrash by the wrist and yanked him forward, and smashing a ruthless fist into his face while he was off-balanced. He growled as he quickly attempted to swing at Knuckles, only for the latter to catch the fist and again slam his own into his gut, knocking him across the ground.
"You want a feud that badly?! FINE!"
Knuckles leapt forward and slammed his fist upside Thrash's head, briefly disorienting him. He growled and smashed an uppercut up Knuckles chin, then furiously sent him flying with another one of his shockwave roars.
The blast of sound sent Knuckles skidding across the ground again, though this time he stood against it, with his arms crossed in front of him in an 'X' form. He memorized Thrash's pattern in this regard, and immediately leapt forward with a haymaker across his cheek when he rushed in believing Knuckles was too disoriented.
Thrash held his head, his skull rattling for a few moments. Knuckles charged forth and tackled him, smashing both his fists into his foe's stomach multiple times, then another forceful punch to his temple sent him rolling across the ground in a heap. Thrash attempted yet another shockwave shriek, but was immediately cut off by Knuckles socking him in the jaw, stopping the attack before he could even start it.
Knuckles brought both his fists together and slammed them right in the center of Thrash's chest, sending him skidding far back once again. Snarling ever the while, Thrash got back up again and sent another shockwave shriek Knuckles' way, pushing him back a great deal. Snarling through his fangs, Knuckles endured the shockwave as he raised his fist high into the air, before slamming it into the ground.
There was an immediate tremor at the moment of impact, and it was enough to disrupt and distract Thrash, as well as nearly make him lose his footing. He was confused and dizzied from how harsh the tremor was, and attempted to get back up on his feet. Then he looked ahead of him and noticed Knuckles wasn't there.
His eyes wide as he looked up, Knuckles hurtling towards him with a fist reared back. Still shaky, he tried his best to meet it with his own, despite the gut feeling that it would be a terrible idea. Knuckles moved just slightly enough midair for Thrash's fist to graze his cheek, and for his own to slam right into his face, one more time.
The impact was harsher than all the ones before, causing a large shockwave that picked up a truly massive spray of dust and dirt to erupt upwards in a spike, before dispersing all around the area they were in. The tremors continued for a solid seven seconds, before it eventually passed.
The dust cleared, and Knuckles was standing over the laid out Thrash, who could only groan in pain, his face looking quite bruised and bloodied. He was still conscious, but it was clear he couldn't fight anymore.
Thrash coughed slightly, before turning his head so his eyes can meet Knuckles' eyes.
"Heh...guess you won this one. But ya know what? It still doesn't change anything." Thrash smiled. "Cause we're still in the same place. You and I. We'll always be alone. Better keep an eye open. I might surprise you one of these days."
"That's nice." Knuckles deadpanned, truly not in the headspace to drag this out further, "By the way, whoever keeps helping you get up here, tell them to knock it off, or I'll deal with them myself, and beat you down even worse than today." He declared, holding out his hand. "Now go be alone somewhere else. And stay there, if you value your health."
The Master Emerald, began glowing slightly from the distance, and Knuckle's connection to it strengthened greatly as he called upon it's power. As such, he focused around Thrash, glaring right at him as he chanted two words:
"Chaos Control."
In a green flash, Thrash was warped away, off of Angel Island and off to who cares where. Knuckles wasn't particularly caring of his destination, he just wanted him gone. After going through this entire brawl to make sure he stayed still and let Knuckles focus on gathering the energy and sending him away, it was worth a bit of pain. Plus, he had once again proven that he didn't need his Chaos powers to take him down.
It was strange, though.
Chaos Control. His overall ability to use Chaos Energy.
He doesn't remember when exactly he's learned of these terms, or when he's learned to be able to tap into the second and use the first. Especially since he feels naturally connected to the second. Perhaps it lies within the memories he can't recall past ten years old? Or perhaps it was simply instinctual?
Well, he supposed it didn't matter. It got the job done, and that's all that he cared about in the end. And a small bit of him felt quite accomplished for having beat Thrash only with his own physical prowess. He didn't feel like wasting the energy on the likes of him, unless it was to send him away.
With that, Knuckles made his way back to the Master Emerald, relieved that nothing much was damaged. With a sigh, he simply turned around and sits on the steps, folding his arms.
"Nothing's changed, huh?" Knuckles muttered. "That's fine. I've known no other life but this one, anyway. I don't think I'm meant for any other life. This is my duty, my fate." He hummed, before solemnly closing his eyes. "I've already accepted it. I'll always be alone."
'...No, Knuckles. Not always. Not for long.'
"Huh?! Who's there?!" Knuckles sharply turned around, only to see nothing and no one there. Blinking, he grumbled slightly before turning around and folding his arms again. "Tch, Thrash had better not have messed with my hearing with his stupid screaming..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "It feels like I'm getting warmer..."
Little did he know, a faded, ghostly image of a young girl, an echidna like himself, had appeared silently in his presence, and had gently slid her arms around him in a hug that he could not physically feel, and doesn't really know of her presence. She's purposely keeping herself unnoticeable, for the time for them to directly and properly acknowledge each other's existence has not yet come. But even so, she couldn't stop herself from doing this, embracing a fellow member of her clan and comforting him, even if he couldn't sense exactly what she was.
She could sense it. She just had to be patient for a little while longer. Then, for better, and unfortunately also for worse, fate can and will be altered.
But, that doesn't mean that in the here and now, she could stop herself from crying for him.
Sally took a deep breath, then quietly sighed, as a gentle spray of water careened right over her. She briefly shook her head while her hands briefly ran through her hair.
One would say that bathing directly under a waterfall wouldn't be very practical, and she'd agree with the sentiment. She was quite tough enough to somewhat stand under the water pressure of this waterfall, but it was a little bit uncomfortable. So good thing that Nicole, helpful as she was, formed several digital platforms shaped in a way that allowed the falling water to more comfortably shower upon herself and the company provided.
"Somethin' on yer mind, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked as she was standing nearby, and also underneath the falling water. She had quite a bit more care in managing her hair, humming delightfully to herself. She offered to do Sally's, but she politely declined.
"Not much worth mentioning, if that's what you mean." Sally briefly gazed outwards, towards the greenery up ahead of her, letting the water fall upon her, which did nothing to hinder her eyes sparkling. The calm and quiet times like this where she can simply appreciate the visage that her home can give. The luscious trees, the green grass and leaves. And the feeling of the wind.
For some reason, she slightly hung onto the last bit. She always did somewhat like the feeling of the wind breezing through her hair. Something about the gentle winds made her feel so cozy, especially on a nice and sunny, cloudless day. It's sometimes the simple and mundane things that really keep her spirits up.
"If it weren't worth mentioning, would ya really be thinkin' about it?" Bunnie briefly questioned with a smile and a shrug. Being able to see Bunnie up close was something of an enigma sometimes. Because sometimes, if one paid attention, one could definitely see the cybernetic aspect being a part of her. The whirring and turning of tears could sometimes be heard every time she used her powers. It must have been strange, being fully organic to a degree her still having some degree of cybernetic ability.
Technology was quite amazing. Now of only it and nature could better work in harmony, rather than one trying to overcome or destroy the other...
"Probably not. But sometimes random thoughts just come up and you can't really stop them. It's just a thing that happens."
"Yea, someone as focused as you would probably be bothered by random thoughts outta nowhere." Bunnie gently nudged her with an elbow. "Maybe loosin' up a bit? Yah can't be a leadah' of the Freedom Fighters if you look like yer on the verge of 'buggin' out. Too much focus and yer perspective becomes narrower than a dark tunnel. Few ways to go when yer' in a tunnel. Don't wanna be crashin', now. No ma'am."
Sally looked briefly at Bunnie for a moment, shaking her head with a smile. "You make it sound so easy."
"Maybe. Sometimes it is, sometimes it takes some practice. What ya gotta take most from it, is ya have to be flexible." Bunnie chuckled. "In mind, not in body. Although that can be pretty useful, too..."
"Bunnie." Sally deadpanned.
"A flexible body can do a lotta interesting thangs, ya know!"
"Bunnie."
"Ah'm just sayin'! Yah definitely got the flexible part down!"
"BUNNIE."
"What? Was it somethin' ah said?" Bunnie gasped with a hand over her mouth, though actual regret was still completely non-existent. Sally's eye visibly twitched at her audacity, though it quickly dissipated as she allowed herself to chuckle because of it as well. "Now ya see? Don't you feel better gettin' a laugh?"
"Laughing at your relentless teasing of me. Yes, I'm truly making progress."
"Ah, that's good! Keep that sass up, Sally-girl! A supah strong will and a sharp tongue are pretty powerful together!"
"Ugh."
"Sally Bunnie seems to be toying with you. Quite a bit." Nicole pointed out matter-of-factly, her physical form also sitting under the waterfall. Since she wasn't currently on a mission, she tended to switch to more casual wear she was comfortable in during a mundane setting. Thus, she usually went with a single shoulder, purple wrap dress, one that hugged her form for a bit until it flared out around her knees. "She takes your reactions as an accomplishment."
"Thanks, Nicole. How could you tell?"
"You look and feel quite flustered, Sally. That was the goal. She succeeded with flying colors."
Sally groaned while placing her face in her palms. These two. They tended to be quite a handful, for different reasons. Bunnie's was far more deliberate. Though she had a feeling that Nicole would be learning that quite quickly. Then she'd be double teamed by her best friends. That wouldn't do well in the long run, it seems.
"Alright. With idle chatter outta the way, let's get to the meat of things." Bunnie sighed soothingly as she briefly tilted one of the platforms as more water descended upon her. "Why dontcha' tell dear Bunnie and Nicole what's eatin' at ya, hm?"
Sally looked towards the both of them, before she sighed and rubbed her arm. "The next couple of missions are going to be critical. And that means they're going to be risky. A lot more risky than usual. In such a way that I don't feel content with anyone venturing off on their own." She briefly looked to the side. "I can't help but think that our chances of pulling this off aren't very high. This is too important for us to mess up or misstep too badly, so I guess I having a bit of last second anxiety."
"Pfft. Shoot, Sally-girl! Is that all?" Bunnie nearly chuckled. "Ah do believe we're all quite used to danger by this point. Quite a lot of it. So a little more as we're reaching the big game? That ain't gonna bother me. And it shouldn't bother you, either. At least, not as much as you might let it." Bunnie folded her arms. "So what makes yah think we're gonna start cowerin' in fear when we might be so close? No way, Sally. Cold feet ain't gonna stop this here Bunnie!"
"Bunnie is correct about one thing, Sally. Dreading what's to come isn't going to make dealing with it any easier. You'll end up quite unfocused." Nicole added while briefly levitating around her. "Try not to place so much on your own shoulders when you don't have to, especially not for something this important. You're the one who leads the Knothole Freedom Fighters. A whole team is ready to help and lighten your burden for this."
Sally looked briefly towards Nicole, eyes lighting a little bit. "I suppose so. Still. I'm usually good at working under pressure, but there's so much riding on these next few missions, with some of them being simultaneous. I'm afraid that at a critical point, I'm not going to be able to think through a proper call on something. Not to mention if there isn't an explicitly good path forward at all..."
"As Nicole here said, that's why you're leadin' a team, Sally." Bunnie lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "You've got more than one noggin around, for the times when the smart ones that always has the answer, don't have the answer. Helps to have someone with a different view of things that another doesn't have. It can lead to some pleasant surprises!"
Nicole and Bunnie being so supportive, with Bunnie in particular being quite bubbly, eventually managed to get through Sally's cloud of worry. She slowly managed a soft smile, nodding. "I think I'll be alright. It's like you both said. If these next objectives are really going to be as important as they might be, it's all the more reason that I have to stay focused and get us all to accomplish them. I'd rather not hold anyone back with all this anxiety."
"There we are. We'll succeed in these endeavors together." Nicole gently supported, while Bunnie flashed a smile.
"You just do whateva you can, Sally-girl. Trust us, we'll do our best to follow yer lead. You're our leadah for a reason. And as always, we'll be workin' together to help folks, bust some Badniks and kick some serious baddie be-hind!" Bunnie slowly smirked. "And speakin' of be-hinds..."
"Bunnie please no-" Sally whined in exasperation. Too late, for Bunnie already spun on a heel and jabbed a thumb to her shapely backside, cotton fluff tail briefly wiggling, and even lighting up a bit like a nightlight due to her bionics.
"Have ya been takin' care ah yours like ah did mine, Sally-girl? Bein' so athletic and all?"
"Bunnie why..."
"Is this a type of bonding activity?" Nicole wondered with a curious smile. "Can I participate?"
"Nicole! Don't encourage her-!"
"Why sure thing!"
"Ugh..."
It soon turned it a rather proud demonstration of Bunnie's figure, while she compared herself to Nicole's. Nicole, for her part, giggled into her hand at the demonstration, while Sally couldn't help but facepalm, as they both did the same to her, standing side by side with her while laughing. She won't crack a smile and laugh at their antics. She refused. By her name as a royal princess of the House of Acorn, she will. Not. Laugh!
She laughed.
Despite all her mental protests, she burst out laughing.
Darn it all.
"How's it comin' on those blueprints, guys?" Sonic called down to Rotor and Tails, who were doing a bit of sketching in regards to the blueprints of their special project.
"They're progressing deeply enough." Tails responded with a pencil on his ear. "It's all well and good if we go for a visual redesign if there's one that doesn't exactly stand out."
"But no matter what, those final three components we need are a must have, if we're gonna make this work." Rotor declared. "We can go over the deeper details once we meet back with the others on our plans of approaching this whole thing. But for now, we're simply mapping out several things regarding what this is gonna have."
"And you haven't begin actually building it, right?"
"Not a chance." Tails shook his head. "It'll get spotted where we are now, and that's not an option we can take, until we can retake the Acorn Kingdom. Only then will we be able to begin construction without much worries." His ears lowered slightly. "Which is kind of a big thing to say, considering we haven't done it yet. And it obviously it's not going to be as easy as we make it sound..."
Sonic walked up to him and placed a hand on his head, gently ruffling his fur. "That's fine. We don't need easy. We just need possible. And so long as it's possible, it can be done. No matter how hard it is."
"I wish I shared some of that optimism of yours, Sonic." Antoine sighed, briefly coming in with a salute. "Bonjour mon amies!"
"Hey, Antoine! Just in time! We're ahead talking about Tails and Rotor's special project!" Sonic greeted with a wave, Antoine coming over to the table as Sonic slung an arm around his shoulder. "Tails in particular is really pumped about it, and they hadn't even started putting it together yet."
"I get to name it when it's done!" Tails beamed brightly.
"Oh? It means that much to you? Whatever may it be?" Antoine blinked as Tails spreads the blueprints out a bit more. "That...is quite ambitious of you, is it not? We are not even in a position for you to even begin to start building such a thing!"
"That's exactly why I need those three parts. Everything else we can gather on our own time, but the three components I'm thinking of are critical." Rotor hummed. "And of course, the parts we need are in enemy territory...then again, it's not like we don't steak a bunch of stuff from them anyway." Rotor shrugged it off.
"They won't be needing it more than we do, anyway! With enough effort and planning, we'll be able to steal the components we need while getting our missions done, right under their noses!" Tails raised his hand. Antoine simply stated at him.
"...I do not believe I expected the eagerness of theft to come out of the mouth of a ten year old going on eleven." Antoine deadpanned, before opening his arms with a smile. "And yet, here we are! Within the throes of...whatever this may be!"
"Pfft. Don't worry about it. It's only a big deal if ya get caught." Sonic waved it off.
"Your status as a role model is becoming more and more questionable." Antoine shook his head. "Nevermind that. Tails, Rotor. Perhaps your general outline of your project is still in the middle of detailing, but those three components are white important, no? Out of curiosity, what exactly are you intending to build? Say we manage to succeed in our endeavors. We will, obviously! But just for the sake of as I said, curiosity."
Rotor and Tails eagerly looked at each other, before looking to Antoine with sparkling eyes. "A flying mobile base!"
Antoine blinked. "Pardon?"
"Think of it, Antoine. Once we free the Acorn Kingdom, there's still gonna be plenty of things to face out there. Plenty of dangerous things. Some of us have been thinking ahead after this particular portion is over and done with." Sonic folded his arms. The beginning of this caused Antoine pause.
"You? Thinking ahead? I nearly laughed."
"Hey, come on! Sure I don't do it often, but often ain't never!"
"Ah yes. Always moving swiftly forward, rarely checking both ways or making sure you don't trip on something. Which sometimes ends with your foot in your mouth."
Sonic blinked. "...Okay, I can't completely dispute all of that. Honestly, I can't." Yes, Sonic does wipe out occasionally when he loses his focus.
Wiping out at the speed Sonic goes is painful.
"Moving swiftly on. What might this potential mobile base provide?"
"It's meant to serve as an aerial base capable of aerial combat, and be able to help us move across the world easier." Tails briefly pointed at the blueprints again. "Much of it is already mapped out. A bridge, a meeting room, engine room, simulation room, a spa, elevator, and all that isn't even getting into the weapon system-"
"Woah woah, pardon me again." Antoine raised a hand, stopping Tails excited tirade in it's tracks. "Spa?"
"It was the ladies' idea. Guess which one voted most strongly for it." Rotor smiled, and Antoine coughed into his fist while looking away. "There's another reason why we're holding out on building it right away. This ain't just gonna be a aerial base and a battleship, it's also gonna be a home away from home. And we want it to be at its best while accommodating as many people comfortably as we can, so we're asking for a bit of ideas from our current numbers while we're still in the planning stage. At the moment, the upper limit in terms of an entire crew, is twenty-four. Modifications can be made later. As we said, were still in the prepping stage. This can change at any time depending on how things work out before we truly get started."
"And say that we eventually finish these preparations of yours. What might we be doing with it if we do finish it?"
"Oh, there will be plenty of time to discuss that, dude. But lemme assure ya, Sal's been thinking ahead a little bit, in regards to what she wants to accomplish. You could say that she has ambitions." Sonic lightly rolled his arm. "That being said, she's putting a pin on that discussion for now, because those intentions are useless if she can't free her own Kingdom, first. She doesn't wanna get too far ahead of herself."
"I see." Antoine hummed, rubbing his chin. "The Princess has quite a bit on her mind, it seems."
"You have no idea." Sonic agreed. "But it's gonna be fine. We all promised her that we would help her free the Acorn Kingdom, and we're gonna keep that promise. Once we get past that part, then we can worry more about what comes afterwards. It's good to look towards the future and all, but first you actually have to survive the stuff being thrown at you in the present." Sonic briefly turned his head. "Yeah, that's usually what the present is for. Gotta make sure that there is future to, and leave as little regrets in the past as possible."
Antoine sighed, lightly scratching his head. "I see what you are saying. You're right. I suppose we still have plenty of the work to be done. And if it's linked to our next few objectives, then so's the better. In any case, I have no desire to let Sally down." He briefly clenched a fist. "Indeed! We will be facing down even more dangers soon! Surely those of increasing intensities! We will most certainly be placing our lines on the line and battling powerful enemies! And Sonic! There is one thing I'd like you to do for me in the middle of it all!"
"What's that?"
Antoine clapped a hand on Sonic's shoulder and looked him in the eyes with the most serious eyes he could muster at the moment. "Talk me out of it."
Sonic, Rotor, and Tails stared flatly at him.
"...What?"
"Never change, Antoine. Never change." Sonic chuckled, patting his shoulder in return before moving past him. "Oh? And by the way, asking me of all people to talk you out of danger? The guy who specifically seeks it out?" He briefly turns with his arms spread out. "C'mon, man! You oughta know better than that!"
"Tch, I suppose I do." Antoine shook his head. What was he thinking, asking Sonic of all people to talk him out of danger? With that in mind, he slowly turned towards Rotor and Tails, his arms raised with a smile. "How abou-"
"Don't even think about it." Rotor deadpanned without even looking up from the blueprints.
"Not a chance." Tails responded just as blandly, very absorbed into his detailing.
"Oui, such a quick response! It appears I am, how they say, the outvoted. Oh, how the lack of any mercy in this regard breaks my fragile heart..."
And at that, Sonic couldn't help but laugh aloud, completely uncaring of Antoine shooting him an annoyed glare with his arms folded. Rotor and Tails we're still quite unmerciful, mostly just focusing on their work. Seriously, where in the world did he get friends like these? And why was it that he really wouldn't have them any other way?
Eh, no matter. After all, just how tough could these next missions be?
...He feels like he just jinxed it.
Curses.
Everyone eventually met back up to base, with Longclaw and Rosie overseeing them and making sure they were sell accounted for and well fed. At least with what they were able to fix up. The young ones tend to get hungry quite quickly with how active they are, so they always make sure to be prepared.
Sally was obviously up first and ready for everyone, lightly sliding into her closed blue vest, wearing a black crop top underneath, which matched her black skintight shorts. The combination left her with her ta underbelly visible. Aforementioned closed blue vest went with her azure blue boots, and blue rings around her wrist to signify her Ring Blades. All of which matched with her blue eyes.
Sonic for one, has many a time approved of her having so much blue on her. She rolled her eyes at that one more than once.
Bunnie, after freshening up, wore a neon pink top with a brown jacket and matching cowboy hat, as well as her belt around her denim shorts. Her hair, which grew to shoulder-length then down to her waist, as well as having several tufts on front, tying some it it back with a ponytail. She briefly tilted her hat up with an enthusiastic smile, her hair briefly flowing with the coming breeze.
Antoine nearly got lost at the sight, for which Sonic playfully clapped his back to bring him back to focus. He ended up coughing and looking away, a slight tint on his cheeks.
Nicole, seeing that it's mission time, had switched attires. A purple shoulderless, sleeveless dress with black and white split tails, a white trim, with golden brooch with a purple gem. There were also black pants, black and white gloves with purple cuffs, and black shoes that has white cuffs with a small golden brooch with a purple gem, white toes and black soles. She currently carried her console in her hands.
After seeing everyone gathered, Sally took a breath before beginning. "Alright, now that everyone's here, we can get down to business. Because I know that some of you are eager to set out right away." She shot a glance towards Sonic, who did indeed look a bit giddy. "Now then, our next set of objectives is quite crucial, as we'll be crippling major facets of support for the enemy in Mobotropolis. Not only that, but in these three locations we're targeting, the components that Tails and Rotor need to begin their projects are there as well."
"Is that so? How handy." Sonic sniffed while rubbing his nose. "Of course, that just means that they're gonna be even harder to get to. They're pretty much the prizes to beating the big bosses there, which is our actual mission."
"That is one way to put it." Nicole confirmed, holding out her hand as a holographic imagery of the target areas showed up before everyone. "We are in need of three remaining components, as said. The first one, the Shield Generator, will be in Metropolis. Conversely, this is also where the strongest and more numerous enemy forces are held, due to producing the most Badniks on Westside Island." Nicole turned to Sonic and Bunnie. "Tails will be accompanying you two there."
"Whazzat? Me and Bunnie? Takin' on who knows how many Badniks in a city full of facilities that produce more Badniks?" Sonic blinked.
Bunnie gasped, a hand over her mouth. "Oh my stars, Sugah Hog! This is quite unfair, isn't it? You and little ole' me teamin' up? They don't stand a chance!" She finished with a smirk, and the two of them high fived.
"Hey! Don't forget about me! I'm going too!" Tails folded his arms with a huff.
Bunnie smiled slyly at this, as she slides over and pulls Tails into a hug. "Why ah would neva forget about you, Tails! You are way too important!" She was super while cheerily nuzzling her cheek with his, briefly causing him to somewhat panic with a blush.
"I take it back. Forget about me, forget about me!"
"When yer such a cute wittle critter? Ah think not!" Bunnie playfully sang, lightly kissing Tails' cheek, which made his blush even worse as she relentlessly cuddled him. She was very much acting like a teasing, affectionate older sister at the moment.
"Sonic helllllp..."
"No thanks." Sonic raised his hands in surrender. "Bunnie wants to cuddle something cute, I'm nowhere near stupid enough to try and stop her, dude." Tails was embarrassed and distraught at blatantly being left at Bunnie's mercy, and even more when he very clearly heard the sound of Sally snickering. It continued until Bunnie found it within her heart to ease up, Tails ending up looking even more embarrassed.
"M-Moving swiflhehe onwards...*ahem*." Sally cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "Moving on. The next part that the guys need is an engine. As in, one that's capable of utilizing Power Ring energy that can power their project. Nicole managed to detect one in Emerald Hill. Which, fittingly enough, is where another one of our targets are going to be. I'll be taking Nicole, Rotor and Antoine with me there. Either way, Nicole will keep us all posted and connected."
"Are we not going to make a third team to get the third part?" Antoine questioned, with respect.
"It's a component for some of the armaments. It'll be in the Chemical Plant, with several tough enemies there, too." Rotor relayed quickly, as he knows what Sally is going to say.
"This is already going to be dangerous and risky enough. I don't want us spreading ourselves too thin." Sally shook her head. "No. Once we completed our objectives in our respective areas, as well as get the parts we need, we return straight back to Knothole to regroup and recuperate. I don't want us trying to force ourselves to retrieve the third component when we're exhausted." Sally firmly placed her hands on the table, very subtly shooting Sonic a look. "I mean it. As soon as you can, when you're able to complete your objectives, and even if you find yourselves unable to this time, we are to return to Knothole safely. Don't make me worry about you all more than needed. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" Was the collective agreement.
Sally gently nodded. "Okay. When ready, we'll head out as soon as we can." As everyone began moving out and packing their equipment, Sally made her way over to Sonic and Tails. She placed a gentle kiss on Sonic's cheek, and then a sweet one on Tails' forehead, "Don't overdo it, you two."
"Being a worrywart isn't gonna do you much good, Sal. We got this covered." Sonic smiled as he and Tails both gave her a hug.
"We'll be fine, Sally. Promise!" Tails sincerely swore to her.
"Unexpected things can happen at any time. But, I suppose I'll have to make do with this, if I'm to focus on my own job. Best of luck." Sally reluctantly lets them go, as the duo briefly fist pumped.
"Let's roll, Tails!"
"Yeah!"
The duo raced off, with Sonic speeding away and Tails closely following via flying. Bunnie was about to join them, when she sees Sally send her a look. "Have their backs, Bunnie. We both know how Sonic can get. And Tails takes after him more than he realizes. For good and for bad."
"Oh, Ah know how rowdy and rough the boys can get, Sally-girl. Trust me, ah'll do what ah can to rein em' in when needed." Bunnie smirked as she tilted her hat downwards. "And ah'll be even rowdier and ROUGHER towards anyone dumb enough to hurt them with me around." She then smiled sweetly, glowing lines soon appearing around her legs, and she waved cheerily while holding onto her hat. "Toodles!" With that, Bunnie rushed off after the two boys, letting out an excited holler.
Sally sighed in their direction, before turning to Nicole, Rotor and Antoine. "We'd better get moving as well. Emerald Hill it is."
"At once, Sally." Nicole nodded, as she digitized herself, and phased back into her console. Sally picked her up in the meanwhile, as Rotor and Antoine began following her lead.
"This might be a big step forward for us. We gotta be sure we don't mess it up." Rotor noted with a clenching fist. "Even if we don't get the parts we need right away, reducing enemy control over these territories is far more important. So we should focus on that primarily."
"Why of course." Antoine nodded while having a hand on his blade, eyes narrowed. "The last thing I intend to do is allow this to end in a failure. Not so long as I can draw my sword." He then chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course, it wouldn't be such a loss if I didn't have to at all! Haha!"
"Circumstances will almost certainly necessitate the use of your weapon." NICOLE beeped matter-of-factly. Antoine looked blankly at the console, with Sally smiling and shrugging smugly.
"Nicole has spoken, Antoine."
"...That she has..." Antoine narrowed his eyes, with Rotor chuckling.
They all soon we're on the move, with Longclaw and Rosie seeing them go. Once they were out of earshot, the latter turned to the former. "Are you sure you don't want to go with them? You see them all off with as great a worry as I, especially for Sonic. Except you're far more of a warrior. A retired one perhaps, but that doesn't mean you suddenly don't know how to fight."
"Very true." Longclaw sighed. "But I must remain here in Knothole. To protect the safe haven for many who have none in these trying times, on this island. And for those young ones to always come back to a place to rest. I have faith in their ability, as concerned to the soul that I am."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed." Longclaw declared seriously. "So long that I protect Knothole, no malevolent being shall defile it."
Rosie hummed, before she walked up and tugged her sing with a smile. "A noble duty to have. But you can't really perform it on an empty belly, can you? Come on now, the young ones are energized for their new expeditions. Let's get you the same way so you can keep up the good work here."
Longclaw turned to the Woodchuck, warmed by her nurturing smile. She returned it slowly. "Of course."
Geoffrey St. John slowly strolled into a dark room. He sighed tiredly, not really in the mood for this. But what could be do?
He tapped his staff on the ground twice, before several crystals manifested in front of him, and several silhouettes appeared within them, responding to him.
"King Naugus has ordered me to deal with a certain...problem, that's been growing more and more out of hand. Now, he's still within the middle of planning how he's going to completely secure his rule, so I need you all to do your jobs as well, and eliminate these obstacles before they become too much to ignore." Geoffrey clenched his fists. "Let's make one thing clear. Your failures are going to be on you. Aside from one, one other person here, he doesn't care a single digit about any of you. He'll drop you without so much as a blink. So I suggest you get started and make sure he doesn't have a reason to do just that. Trust me, this is for your own good."
"...Why should I take orders from you, boy?" One deep, and annoyingly defiant voice, talked back to him from one of the crystals, red and black eyes glaring at him. The skunk shot him an unimpressed stare.
"You wanna lose your other arm to Naugus? All I need to do is to say the word." Geoffrey deadpanned, and the figure nearly yelped with unrestrained terror. "Didn't think so. The rest of you, get to it. Do whatever it takes. Aid will be by your side, but it won't be my fault if you squander it." With that, he tapped his staff, and the crystals receded back into the ground. All aside from the one with the voice that spoke back at him. "You should know better than to bark when you don't have the bite to back it up."
"Tch..." The figure snarled. "The hedgehog. I will deal with him. No one else."
"Whatever gets you to cooperate, go for it." Geoffrey waved off, before turning around and beginning to leave, allowing the crystal to disperse without another word, and he left the room.
He closed the door behind him, looked out for a while with a deep and relaxed sigh, feeling quite confident and proud for maintaining such an imposing atmosphere in front of his audience.
Then a single stray thought went to Hershey and him holding hands and smiling together.
That's all it took for his confidence to shatter.
That's all it took for him to crumple to the ground, his hair overshadowing his eyes, his back against the wall and hands on his head.
That's all it took for silent tears to begin leaving his eyes.
Thrash pushed one button too many. Knuckles does NOT approve.
Knothole Freedom Fighters relax and plan before heading out.
Geoffrey gives out some orders, then breaks down crying.
...
Carrying on.
Also yes, Knuckles is very much capable of using Chaos Energy in the Archie Comics. Chaos Control being one of the bigger ones. Though he had the Master Emerald help him with this instance.
Again, I won't be taking every aspect of most Sonic media. Just quite a bit of each to tell this particular story. I'll try to demonstrate that more as I go on.
...
But seriously though, Archie Knuckles might be the strongest Knuckles of all the Sonic medias. It's really crazy.
