Manic pushed up the fake stone tile. The tunnel had led them into the kitchen pantry. He lowered it back down to look back down at everyone down in the tunnel with them. "We come out in the pantry here," Manic reported. Knuckles came down from another spot nearby. "The other exit comes out in the armory," he said, "I think it gives me an idea though. Let me go through the armory. I'll make a lot of noise for you, maybe even punch the bitch in the face while I'm at it. While I do that, you guys sneak through the castle and see if you can find him in any of the rooms." Everyone looked a bit uneasy, but eventually Sonia stepped forward and put both hands on the warrior's shoulders. "Punch her twice for me ok," she said a sharp smile on her face. Knuckles returned it with one of his own.
The echidna shoved his way up through the tile. He glanced about the armory before gripping a polearm and charging out the door barreling into a passing patrol. They fell to the floor and he left them where they fell so they would sound the alarm for him. It was fun to knock down the guards as he went down the hall to the feast hall where he could hear the frightened clambering of nobles. Knuckles fists whirled as he cut through the wall. Aleena stood there surrounded by her little sheep, but he only had eyes for the figure of blue with emerald eyes that lit up with a look of awe at the sight of him. "Hey there my estrela cadente," he said as Sonic seemed ready to cry. The world around him faded as he broke from his mother to launch himself at the echidna. It was pure reflex honed from years on the road with him that allowed him to catch the hedgehog. Their foreheads pressed together the world silent for this one short moment where all was right with the world, where Sonic was smiling that cocky smirk, and where the most important thing to him was safe in his arms. "Are you here," he whispered, hands running over Knuckles face marvelling at the fire that had returned and the passive strength had been tamed to the old coiled presence of a contained predator, "Are you really here?" Knuckles merely pressed his face closer, "I'm really here meu estrela. I'm here."
The moment was finally shattered by the sound of people pouring into the room. The two glanced over to see the nobles cowering behind a wall of armed men. "Well my luzente estrela cadente," Knuckles taking a step away from Sonic's arms to hold out a hand to him, "I may be a bit rusty now but may I have this dance with you." Sonic laughed a bit wetly but placed his hand in Knuckles larger one, "Well well such forwardness from a roadie. I guess I can make an exception for you big red." Knuckles laughed and in one swift motion he swung Sonic around him so the speedster could kick the nearest guard and land lightly on his feet just after the echidna pounded the ground hard with his fists sending many flying. Their fighting really was like a dance and Sonic had never realized how much he missed fighting this way instead of throwing himself at bots to tear them apart.
Not a single movement between the two of them was wasted as Knuckles twirled Sonic to take out guards whilst acting as a shield from the heavier attacks his tougher skin could block. Sonic danced on heads as Knuckles tore up the floor, the debris making a path for the speedster as he passed over his mother. She was furious as her guards easily fell to the two warriors as Knuckles deftly caught the speedster just as the last guard fell with a horrible moan. "Hate to just dance and run mother," Sonic teased, "But we should get going." Knuckles set him down so Sonic could grip him at the waist and speed them off. They weren't out of the woods yet as the old defenses Robotnik had installed started to close them in. Sonic felt rising panic before the sound of a familiar X-gear came near a window. "Well bro lets go," Manic urged and the pair dove for him, escaping to the beautiful sound of Aleena's frustrated screams.
Amy was never more confused as when Knuckles seemed to boost his intelligence by just ripping a glowing rock from the wall. Not only that, but the royal siblings knew him. They knew him really well to know how to talk to him in that gentle way Sonic would when Knuckles truly couldn't remember or complete simple tasks. "Ok," Sticks hissed, as they crept through the castle barely catching the noises of Knuckles rampage, "I can't take it anymore. How do you know Knuckles of all people?" The two royals stopped and stared at one another. Sonia waved Manic onward. "Go on," she insisted, "I'll watch the tunnel exit with them. Call if you run into trouble." Manic looked reluctant but hugged his sister and hurried deep into the castle as Sonia led them back through the tunnels explaining on the trudge back.
It feels like forever ago really. It was when Sonic, Manic, and I were really getting deep into the rebellion when we heard Robotnik was chasing the old legend of Angel island and the chaos emeralds. Of course we had to go and stop him. Sleet and Dingo, Robotnik's most trusted bounty hunters beat us to the island by only a few minutes but it was long enough to meet the island's only mobian resident and appointed guardian, Knuckles, the last echidna. They tricked him into thinking the three of us were the true enemy. Manic and I don't exactly know what happened after an attack from knuckles buried us underground, but when we came back Sonic had wrapped that red warrior around his speedy blue finger. We ended up saving the island from falling out of the sky by keeping the stone Knux was guarding, the master emerald, safe underground.
I think we spent a week on the island trying to convince Knuckles to join the rebellion. We really weren't sure we had gotten through to him when he just showed up, lifted the heavy equipment Manic had been struggling with, and asked if we could use a look on Sonic's face when he said that. I thought his face would split like a coconut, he was smiling so hard. Knuckles was the muscle of the rebellion and a cool head for strategy after so long with only the old echidna books of war to read. The rebellion loved him, but I am sure Sonic loved him most. Knuckles followed him like some sort of knight of old, always ready to leap to his defense and Sonic hung on his every word when knuckles talked of the old freedoms his tribe could recall before the war with Robotnik began. I would find them sitting together in free moments with Knuckles teaching Sonic old folk songs. He was there when we found mom, and during the celebrations of Robotnik's fall, I am positive he pushed at least five people over in his rush to remain Sonic's dance partner all night long.
I really thought through all the fighting that all of us had earned our happy ending. Then mother showed her true colors. When she heard we had befriended the last echidna, she all but demanded we take her to him. At first, Sonic was happy to bring her there. He wanted to show Knuckles and the island off. However, she didn't care all that much about the island's rare and beautiful flora or fauna. She only cared about the emeralds Knuckles guarded and their power. He refused though. Knuckles didn't take kindly to her calling him a savage or her demands for him to turn over all land and knowledge to her. He told her she wasn't his queen and he would bow to no one. She really didn't like that. Then she did something terrible. We knew of our power of harmony. We knew it could suggest things to people, change landscapes, and empower our allies. That day though, we discovered just how dark it could become. Mother warped our harmony into a tune we had never heard. Hell I don't even remember the chords to it anymore, but when we finally stopped singing she had.
Sonia stopped her story having to press a fist to her mouth, her eyes shining with tears. Amy stepped forward to hug her. "I'm sorry," she said hoarsely, "Honestly I don't deserve to cry about this." "What are you talking about," Amy said her inner counselor coming out, "everyone deserves to" Sonia cut her off, "No you don't understand. Our mother may have been the one to erase all of Knuckle's memories and cloud his head so much he would never be the same, but Manic and I abandoned him. I couldn't even look at him afterwards. He went from a proud warrior to needing help eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and it was just so much. Sonic though, he became Knuckles caretaker. He helped him relearn so many things. Sonic was so patient and we just left him alone. We couldn't help and I knew it was so hard on him. I could hear it sometimes when he'd forget the walls weren't very thick." She wiped her face frantically.
Amy took her hands gently. "Sonia," she said ever so gently, "It was hard on all of you. You deserve to feel sad in your own way. Taking care of someone like you said Sonic has been is never easy. I doubt that if you had tried that you would have been any help at all. I know that neither Sonic or Knuckles will ever think less of you." Sonia looked doubtful but she didn't have time to argue further as Manic flew by with Knuckles and Sonic clinging to his X-gear. Sonia ran to the getaway car and cranked it. When everyone was inside, Amy could hardly recognize Sonic. He glowed with a happiness she had never seen before as Knuckles caught him from his drop off the X-gear bridal style. Sonic playfully threw his arms around Knuckles neck with a giggle, "My hero." They sped off into the night to a soundtrack of Aleena's rage and Sonic's glee.
Sonic had never been so happy than right now as he sat next to Knuckles on the bed the four of them had to share all those years ago. He had Knuckles back finally. They would all defeat Aleena together just like when they fought Robotnik. Sonic didn't see the bags rapidly growing beneath Knuckles eyes. He didn't see Knuckles slide an emerald from his quills to glance at dangerously pulsing glow before tucking it away again. He was lost in a happy daze. They arrived at the old base and Sonic hugged his old friend Cyrus. He opened his mouth to happily tell him about Knuckles when said echidna stepped forward. Now Sonic could see the tiredness in Knuckles stance. "Cyrus," Knuckles asked struggling with the words, "You happen to to to um KEEP keep um the box, tube thing from my island I left here." Cyrus nodded looking at Knuckles sadly.
Sonic rushed to the echidna as he swayed. He helped him sit nearby. "What," Sonic asked desperately pushing now sweat quills from Knuckles face almost frantic his hands shaking, "Knuckles what is going on?" The warrior looked pained but showed him the emerald. "Chaos isn't god like," he explained, "The emerald I found could only hold off the spell for so long so Im" "NO," Sonic shouted before whirling away from Knuckles. He now stood straight as a board, his hand over his mouth for several deep breaths. When he turned back to him, he was calmer but was wearing a mask that Knuckles could barely recall seeing at the times when Sonic was going through a bad day and couldn't bring himself to try to do any of his attempts to help Knuckles remember.
"No you can't," Sonic breathed, his hands trembling still as he tried to clench them on the warrior's shoulders, "You can't just come back to me then leave again. I don't know if I can do this again. Please, please, please, there has to be some way to help you stave it off a bit longer. I can, I can.." He brought out his guitar but his hands were shaking too much to play. Knuckles took them in his own. Sonic's hands were tiny compared to his and he could just feel the small calluses on the tips of the blue blur's fingers from all his playing through both of their gloves. "I am so sorry I have to leave you all over again," he said, bringing one of those hands up to rest against the side of his face. Sonic let out a tiny sob, his emerald eyes shining.
"I want you to know something before I go though," he said glancing behind Sonic where Cyrus stood at the ready with a containment vessel for the emerald, "I may not remember it well but I know you stuck by me everyday since your mother showed who she really is. You are kinder and stronger than she will ever know and I have never been prouder to know you." He let go of the hand he wasn't holding to his face to reach up and gently wipe aside the tears coming down out of eyes greener that the master emerald could ever hope to be. "I truly have always loved you Sonic the hedgehog." With those last words, his body went limp. Cyrus hurriedly contained the emerald that fell from the echidna's lap while Sonic caught the hand before it could fully fall from where it was against his face. He turned into it so he could fool himself for a bit longer. "You stupid jerk," he mumbled into it, knowing the sleeping warrior wouldn't hear him, "you didn't even wait for me to say it back."
Well sorry it took so long to get on. Work started back up and I'm so happy to be getting out of the house again. I'll try to make an update schedule. Please review!