Sonic performed a flaming homing attack on the mid-air Metal knocking him down. Metal hit the side of the ship and with some struggle leaned his back against it. Sonic landed in front of him. Metal looked up, his body was badly damaged "The emeralds are getting away" "And you're not going anywhere" "Of course not. I'm already there. You'll catch on. But first, you might need to catch Knuckles". Sonic spin-dashed through him breaking his body apart before rolling out and flying up.
Knuckles landed onto a field facing a city. His eyes were glowing cyan, and he was acting feral. He looked back the way he came and snarled before jumping towards the city.
Sonic flew towards the city "News or footage. Keyword, Knuckles or Red Echidna". Video feeds are shown through is lenses. He sees footage of Knuckles rampaging through the city as civilians flee "Rouge, I could really use a lullaby" "That's not gonna happen. The whole team is down. You got no back up here" he heard Whisper say. Sonic paused then "I'm calling in the Werehog". His lenses showed a satellite which launched an object. He flew towards a city when a large machine flew next to him. A hatch opened and a black power ring emitting a strange aura came out and was absorbed into his body. The machine then launched something that flew ahead as Sonic's body started to transform.
Knuckles was tearing apart cars as soldiers fired at him. He kicked a van that hit two men. He was about to attack a third, but a metal pillar landed in front of him. More pillars surrounded him and released bolts of electricity stopping him. The pillars formed a cage around him. The soldiers surrounded the cage as civilians ran. When they heard a pounding sound. The cage suddenly sunk through the ground. The soldiers watched anxiously when Knuckles suddenly burst out of the ground behind them. He turned to face Sonic who landed a short distance from him. Sonic now had longer more muscular arms, he no longer wore gloves and his hands now had sharp claws. His fur was now a very dark blue and he now had fangs "Alright, everybody, stand down!" his voice was now deeper and gravely. Knuckles growled; Sonic raised his hand calmly "Will you listen to me? That kid is messing with your mind. You're stronger than him. You're smarter than him. Come on, Knucklehead". Knuckles roared and charged at him "Right, right. Don't call you Knucklehead".
Knuckles punches him back; Sonic digs his claws into the ground to stop himself. He flew forward and grabbed Knuckles by the face "Okay!". He pushes Knuckles against the ground, but he was then kicked away. Sonic's arm stretches and he punches Knuckles in the face. Knuckles grabs a street light post and whacks Sonic. He lands on the ground and Knuckles lands on his back "Uh, in the back? Dick move, Knux". Sonic reaches out and grabs a building and pulls himself away from Knuckles. Sonic could feel his power quickly draining "Give me another one!". They face each other and try to throw a punch but they ended up hitting each other's fists. The shockwave shatters glass around them. Another Werehog ring absorbs through Sonic's back bringing his power to full strength. He throws Knuckles on his back. Sonic holds out his right hand and it repeatedly stretches back and forth punching Knuckles quickly and repeatedly in the face "Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!". Knuckles grabs his hand stopping him. Sonic flew up taking Knuckles with him "Okay, buddy, we're gonna get you out of town". Knuckles punches him making him go off course "Not that way, not that way!". They crash into the second floor of a shopping centre near a lift "Come on, Knucklehead! You gotta work with me".
Knuckles kicked him into a lift full of people. The lift fell out towards the ground. Sonic stretch his arm forward and grabbed the top of the lift "Everybody, out!". They all ran as Knuckles charged at him. Sonic moved out of the way and pushed Knuckles down to the bottom floor. "Going down!" Sonic swung the lift over him and hit it down on Knuckles. Before he could recover Sonic flew down and punched Knuckles directly in the jaw. Knuckles turned back around snarling and spit out some blood. Sonic stared back with a nervous expression "I'm sorry" his voice broke. Sonic was thrown back outside onto the side of another building. Sonic flew them both upwards as they traded blows. Sonic knew he didn't have much time left; he saw a nearby construction sight. His lenses scanned them "All clear" "How quickly can we buy this building?". Sonic flew them over the building. Sonic's body started to produce a light blue aura. He then punched Knuckles with all his strength downward onto the building. The entire tower collapses. Once the smoke clears Knuckles bursts through the rubble, he now had his normal eyes, but he was still feral. He scanned the surrounding area and saw injured dust covered civilians running from him. The saddened Knuckle then saw armed soldiers approaching. His furious face returns, he was about to attack but Sonic appeared and punched him in the side of the head.
At night the Tornado flew through the cloudy sky. Knuckles was lying in the middle of the room, sweating and breathing heavily. Shadow sat nearby watching him. Razor was pacing at the back of the plane anxiously. Rouge was sitting in a chair staring into thin air while Whisper was piloting. Sonic back in his normal form was listening to Topaz on the radio "There's been no official call for Knuckles' arrest but it's in the air". Knuckles heard this and it made him look even worse. Sonic sighed "The Hedgehog Relief Foundation?" "Already on the scene. How's the team" "Everyone's… We took a hit. We'll shake it off". Topaz nodded "Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here" "So, run and hide?" "Until we can find Metal, I don't have a lot else to offer". Sonic sighed "Neither do we". He turned the screen off and went over to Whisper "You wanna switch out?" "No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out". Sonic didn't understand "Few hours from where?" "A safe house".