Episode 6: Dark Knuckles
Just now, Glittering Sparkle uses the power of her Dark Chaos Emerald on the Purple Chaos Emerald, and free Knuckles from inside. However, Knuckles is wearing a strange armor and his fur and eyes are different colors. Sun can tell that there something evil around Knuckles and is looking at them with an evil glare.
Sun asks, shocked, "Wha-what has she done?!"
"It can't be… how she…" Sonic asks.
"It must have been that Dark Chaos Emerald. She used its power to do that to Knuckles, but what's with the strange outfit," Sun asks.
"You're not familiar with it, but we are," Sally says.
"What do you mean?" Sun asks.
Sonic nervously says, "It's kind of a long story."
Before Sun can ask, Julie-Su steps forward with a blaster in her hand. Sun looks to notice tears coming out of Julie-Su's eyes.
"Julie-Su… are you okay?" Sun nervously asks.
"No…" Julie-Su says.
Then points her blaster at Glittering Sparkle, "I'm not!"
Before Sun can react Julie-Su fires her blaster at Glittering Sparkle. Glittering Sparkle holds her hand out and repels the attack. Julie-Su growls in anger and continues to fire. Glittering Sparkle continues to repel her attacks with a protective shield from her hand. Soon, Julie-Su's gun clicks without firing, meaning it's out of ammo.
Sun panics, "Stop Julie-Su! Why are you so upset?!"
"Well uh, you see Sun…" Mighty nervously says.
Before Mighty can say anything, something tackles him to the ground. Sun, Sonic, and the others quickly turn their heads to see Knuckles has Mighty slammed to the ground.
Mighty struggles as he screams, "Knuckles, stop!"
"I got him," Sonic says, and spin dashes Knuckles on his back.
Knuckles angrily glares at Sonic as the hedgehog lands on his feet.
"Come on Knuckles, you know you want to go through that again. Remember what happened last time," Sonic says.
Knuckles creates Chaos energy from his hands and fire thunder of Chaos Energy at Sonic. Sun uses her new speed to get in front of Sonic. Then creates a fire wall to repel the attack.
Sun asks, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the save, but this is dangerous. You need to get out of here," Sonic says.
"How come? I faced magic problems, evil creatures, and help reform a lot of people back in my home world. I think I can help Knuckles," Sun says.
"But this isn't the same Knuckles that we know," Sonic says.
"What do you mean?" Sun asks.
Glittering Sparkle yawns, and says, "Enough of all this talking. Your friend is under my control now, so he has to do what I say."
Then commands, "Knuckles, take down Sun and her foolish friends!"
Knuckles stands up and creates Chaos Energy from his hands.
Sally shouts, "Everyone scatter!"
Everyone begins to move out of the way as Knuckles fire Chaos Energy at them. Charmy, Saffron, and Ray dodge and fly around the sky. Everyone does their best to dodge away from the Chaos Energy. Some of thunder and lighting of Chaos Energy almost strike the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix. Sun uses her fire powers to repel the attacks. Sadly, one hits the ground, causing Sun to fall on the ground.
Espio turns to Sun and asks, "Are you alright?"
"I think so. I never knew Knuckles is strong," Sun says, slowly sitting up.
"Well Knuckles is one of the strongest out of all of us. I wonder what that girl, Glittering Sparkle did to him," Espio says.
"It's that dark Chaos Emerald. It's attached to her chest and is able to use its power. I think something is wrong with her," Sun says.
"Other than her attitude towards you," Vector replies.
Charmy screams, "Can we worry about it letter?! Knuckles is coming right at us!"
The group turn their heads to see Knuckles is flying right towards them and has the headguard and faceplate on.
"Here he comes!" Vector panics.
Everyone dodges out of the way and fall to the ground.
Vector sighs, "That was too close."
"This is worse than what happened last time!" Charmy panics.
Sun asks, "Guys, what are you talking about? Are you saying this happened before?"
Sally sighs, "Well, it's a long story. The truth is, this isn't the first time Knuckles has been brainwashed and transformed into that."
"You mean this happened before?" Sun asks.
"I'm afraid so," A metallic voice says.
Sun and the others turn their heads to see Dimitri walking towards them with his dreadlocks.
Sun asks, "Is that why Julie-Su was so upset at Glittering Sparkle? Because someone has done this to Knuckles before."
"I'm afraid so, child. I'm afraid it gravely affected both Julie-Su and Knuckles," Dimitri says.
"What happened?" Sun asks.
"Well Sun, you see…" Sally says.
Before, anyone can say anything, Knuckles flies over then and fire Chaos Energy directly at them. Sun quickly grabs Dimitri and every one moves out of the way. Sun rolls on the ground while holding Dimitri in her arms.
Sun sits up and looks down at the head, "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Thank you," Dimitri says.
Glittering Sparkle angrily says, "Alright Goody Goody, I think it's time for you to hand over those Chaos Emeralds or else… I'll have Knuckles destroy your friends."
Sun gasps in shock to hear this.
"So what will it be?" Glittering Sparkle asks with a smirk.
Sun is shocked to hear Glittering Sparkle saying something so terrible. She wants to protect her friends, but she knows that she promises to free the others trapped in the Chaos Emeralds.
Glittering Sparkle says, "I'm waiting."
Just then, Mighty, Espio, Vector, and Sonic pounce on Glittering Sparkle and falls to the ground. With that, she drops the Chaos Emerald.
Sonic grabs the Emerald and hurries back to Sun and Dimitri.
Sally calls out, "Sonic! Get Sun and Dimitri away from here! Hurry as fast as you can!"
"What?! I can't leave you!" Sun says, upset.
"I don't think we have much of a choice," Sonic says.
Sun grits her teeth. She doesn't want to leave her friends, but she feels that she doesn't have a choice.
Sun nods her head, and says, "Alright."
Sonic holds Sun and Dimitri in his arms and runs off to take them somewhere safe. Glittering Sparkle then uses her powers to knock the others off of her. She then notices Sonic taking Sun into the forest.
"Why you meddling freaks!" Glittering Sparkle says in anger.
Then shouts, "Knuckles go after Sun now! Capture her!"
Knuckles then flies through the forest to capture Sun, Sonic, and Dimitri.
Glittering Sparkle steps forward and emits electricity from her hands, "I'll teal with these pest."
She then fires her Chaos Energy at the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix.
Sonic continues to speed through the forest as fast as he can. Sonic then notices a small cave close by.
Sonic hurries to the cave and says, "Sun. you and Dimitri hide in here. I'll lead him off."
"Make sure Glittering Sparkle doesn't get the emerald again," Sonic add, giving Sun the purple emerald.
Sun sadly nods her head without saying a word. She then hurries inside the cave, taking Dimitri inside.
Sonic shouts, "Hey Knucklehead… Catch me if you can!"
Sonic then speeds away from the cave leaving Sun and Dimitri inside. Knuckles flies past the cave to chase after the hedgehog. Sun looks to see Knuckles chasing Sonic into the forest.
"Oh Sonic, please be alright," Sun thinks, worriedly.
In the forest, Sonic continues to speed away from Knuckles who is flying at him. Knuckles fire Chaos Energy, but they end up hitting the trees and the bushes.
Sonic shouts, "Hey Chuckles! Is that all you got?! Eggman's robots shoots better than you!"
Dark Knuckles grits his teeth in anger and fires multiple Chaos Spears at Sonic. One of them manages to hit is leg and falls to the ground. Sonic groans to see the injury on his leg. Before he can reach, Sonic becomes paralyzed as he is surrounded by Chaos Energy. Sonic is lifted in the air and grits his teeth to see Knuckles holding him with an evil grin on his face.
He struggles and shouts, "Let… me go!"
Knuckles grins evilly and teleports himself away from the area to take him to Glittering Sparkle and to take care of the other intruders.
In the cave, Sun and Dimitri are still in hiding. Sun comes out to see that Knuckles and Sonic aren't around.
"I don't like this, Dimitri," sun says.
She then sits down and holds Dimitri with her hands, "I don't want to run and hide from him. I need to find a way to save him."
"I know, child. However, you must understand that sometimes remaining hidden is the only way to insure victor," Dimitri says.
"If you don't mind me asking, why was Julie-Su so upset at Glittering Sparkle. Why was everyone so nervous about what Knuckles has become," Sun asks.
Dimitri sighs, "It's a difficult subject, but you have the right to know. It's a long story, but I hope you don't allow it to take it too much to heart."
Sun nods her head in reply.
Meanwhile, Sally and the others are tired out and some are injured. Glittering Sparkle has been sparring with the other. Glittering Sparkle sternly stares at the group of fighters. Then turns her head to see Knuckles having Sonic.
"Hmm. I see you have the hedgehog, but where is the girl?" Glittering Sparkle sternly asks.
Knuckles then drops Sonic to the ground, "The girl has eluded me."
"Well, at least we have the hedgehog. Dr. Eggman will be pleased to have them. Besides," Glittering Sparkle says.
She evilly smirks, "Knowing Sun, she'll go running to them and save the day."
Meanwhile, Dimitri has finished explaining everything that has happened and what Sonic and the others have told him and what they have gone through, especially Knuckles. Sun is in shock.
"I… I don't believe it. I can't believe Knuckles went through something so horrible," Sun says, still in shock.
"I know it is shocking, but it is the truth," Dimitri says.
Sun saddens and says, "And yet… it's understandable. Julie-Su was upset because she almost lost the man she loved because like Glittering Sparkle… this Dr. Finitevus corrupted Knuckles and turned him into a being bent to his ideal. At the end… Knuckles has lost his father because of all this and your kind were sent off the island."
She soon shed tears, "All the pain Knuckles had from before… and now this…"
Sun stands up and says, "I need to help him."
"How do you suppose you do that?" Dimitri asks.
"I don't know, but I have to do something," Sun says.
She then picks up Dimitri, "And you need to come with me."
Sun then uses the charm from her bracelet and super speeds She continues to hold the Chaos Emeralds in bag and keeps it safe. Back at the altar, Sonic and the others are trapped in some kind of bubble that prevents them from leaving. Sonic and the others are awake and sternly glare at Glittering Sparkle.
Sonic angrily says, "You won't get away from this!"
"I think I will, Sonic. As soon as Sun comes over to save you, she is going to wish she never send us to this world," Glittering Sparkle says.
"You're twisted, and not just because of the dark powers of the Dark Chaos Emerald! Sun has done nothing to you! She was just being herself!" Sally angrily says.
"That's right. Sun is a better person than you can ever be, because she cares about others while you only cared about being yourself and wanting to become popular," Cream angrily says.
"Chao Chao!" Cheese angrily agrees.
Cream then says, "Even though she gets involved in situations that aren't her own, Sun continues to help others. That's why everyone at her school and in Equestria admire her. All of her friends told me of all the people and creatures she helped, all who she cared. Despite those who wants to bring her down, she does what she can to help others. That's the reason why everyone loved Sun, because Sun has a heart of gold. That is why she can use the Chaos Emeralds' true power! Something that you can never understand."
"Oh really. Then where is Sun now. Where is your so called princess?" Glittering Sparkle remarks.
"I'm right here!" Sun's voice comes out.
Everyone turns to the altar of the Master Emerald. Walking from behind of the ruin is Sun. Dimitri is behind and has Sun's bag with the emeralds. Sun holds the blue, green, and purple Chaos Emerald in her hands.
"Hello Glittering Sparkle… I hope I didn't keep you waiting," Sun says.
"Well Sun, either you are very brave or a complete fool. I was going to have Knuckles come after you, but you saved me the trouble of sending him," Glittering Sparkle says.
Sun sternly says, "Glittering Sparkle, I'm giving you one more chance, stop all of this. And let Knuckles go!"
"Why should I? Even without the emerald, I can still control him. And it's time for you to meet your downfall," Glittering Sparkle angrily says.
Then commands, "Knuckles! Destroy her!"
Knuckles then begins to fly in the air and speeds over to attack Sun. Sun then places the Purple Chaos Emerald in her pocket and still holds the blue and green one. She clutches them in her hands and also uses the powers of her new charm. Sun then super speeds as fast as she can.
Sun thinks gritting her teeth, "Now… let's see how the training Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Wire Wolf gave me pays off."
Knuckles then brings out her fist and his claws to attack Sun. Sun moves back at top speed as Knuckles rapidly tries to punch her. Sun then jumps up and then kicks Knuckles on the back of the head. Before she can strike again, Knuckles dodges and rapidly gives Sun punches in the face. Sun then uses her speed to run through the forest and Knuckles gives her hot pursuit. Sun then runs up a tall mountain and Knuckles flies after her. Sun then activates her geode to make her wings, ears, and extended tail appear. Then flies in the air. Knuckle flies and grabs Sun. Soon, they both fight against each other as neither one of them is giving an inch.
At the altar, Glittering Sparkle and the mobians trapped in the bubble sees Sun and Knuckles fighting in the sky. Sun uses her fire powers at Knuckles while Knuckles uses his Chaos thunder. Sun and Knuckles dodge each other's attacks.
Sun thinks, "I never realized Knuckles is this strong. He can even give Applejack a run for her money."
Before she can reach, Knuckles then punches Sun in her stomach. Then slams her fist on Sun's back sending her crashing to the ground next to the Master Emerald.
Sonic and the others exclaim, "SUN!"
The smoke clears to see Sun is laying on the ground and her body is in terrible pain. Sonic and the others gasp in shock while Glittering Sparkle evilly smirks to see Sun has been beaten really badly. Knuckles lands on the ground close to Glittering Sparkle and the others.
Sun groans as she is having trouble feeling her body from being beaten by Knuckles. Sun places her hand on the Master Emerald and struggles to stand up.
"I… I need… to save Knuckles… but… but how?" Sun thinks to herself and falls to her knees.
Suddenly, the Master Emerald begins to glow.
"What? What's happening?" Sun thinks.
The glow of the Master Emerald catches everyone's attention, even Knuckles and Glittering Sparkle. Glittering Sparkle is shocked to see it glowing green light. Just then, Tikal appears besides Sun's side. Then someone else appears in front of Sun, but looks transparent.
The one in front of her is an echidna, male to be exact. He has red fur, purple eyes, white beard and eyebrows, and a white crest on his chest. He is wearing white spiked gloves, some tribal clothes and brown boots. The echidna turns around to see Sun sitting on the ground. Sun is shocked to see the echidna in front of her.
Sonic looks to where Sun is and is in shock, "No way! It can't be!"
Everyone stares at the two echidna in shock, especially the male one. To them, they haven't seen him in a long time.
Still shocked, Julie-Su softly says, "Locke?"
Sun continues to stare at the new echidna before her. Tikal places her hand on Sun's shoulder. Sun turns her head to see Tikal having a calm smile on her face. Sun then turns to the new echidna, who Julie-Su calls Locke. He then reaches his hand out to Sun. Sun slowly lifts her hand up and takes his hand. Then Locke helps Sun stands on her feet, and then, places Sun's hand on the Master Emerald.
Tikal says, "Sun… place the Knuckles' Chaos Emerald on the Master Emerald."
Sun nods her head and uses her other hand to take the purple Chaos Emerald from her pocket Then she places the purple Chaos Emerald on the Master Emerald. Then Locke has Sun places her other hand on the Master Emerald.
Sun asks, "Does this mean you both are going to help me?"
Locke and Tikal nod their heads in reply. They both take different sides of the Master Emerald and place their hands on it.
"Right. I understand what we need to do… it's the only way to save Knuckles," Sun says.
Sun, Locke, and Tikal then focus on the Master Emerald. Just then, the Master Emerald begins to glow as the purple glows and emits purple electricity.
Locke simply closes his eyes and thinks, "Knuckles… my son."
Sonic and the others are still shocked to see what is happening.
"I can't believe it. It's really Locke…" Sally says.
"But… but how?" Espio asks.
"I thought Locke was gone forever," Julie-Su says, stunned.
"It is impossible," Antoine adds.
Sonic says, "I think I know what's going on…"
Sally and the others look at Sonic.
"I think Locke must have ended up with the same fate as Tikal. He sacrificed his own body and become part of the Master Emerald. And now… sensing Knuckles is in need… he decided to aid us," Sonic suspects.
"It seems logical, but will it work?" Sally asks.
"I hope so, for Knuckles sake," Sonic says.
Sun, Locke, and Tikal focus their energy on the Master Emerald and using it on the Chaos Emerald.
Glittering Sparkle angrily says, "I have enough of this… Knuckles… destroy them now."
Knuckles follows Glittering Sparkle's commands and flies towards the Master Emerald. However, something repels Knuckles and knocks him to the ground.
"What?!" Glittering Sparkle exclaims.
Sun, Locke, and Tikal become surrounded by Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald.
Soon all three chant, "The servers are the Seven Chaos…"
Suddenly, Knuckles begins to feel pain and clutches his head.
"Chaos is Power enriched by the heart…" The three chant.
Knuckles falls to his knees and his body begins to glow dark purple with electricity.
"The Servers existed to unify the Chaos!" The three chant.
Suddenly, Knuckles' begins to change to bright green and the armor begins to disappear.
"With these powers… free the one possessed by the dark negative energy… give him the life he once had…" The three chant.
Just then, the purple Chaos Emerald that is emitting the dark energy disappears in the blink of an eye. Then the purple Chaos Emerald shoots out bright purple energy and hits Knuckles. The light becomes bright and is blinding the area.
Glittering Sparkle shields her eyes and says, "No! This is not going well at all! I'm so out of here!"
Glittering Sparkle teleports herself away from the area. Knuckles body continues to glow purple. Soon the light disappears, and Knuckles is back to his original self and free from the Chaos Emerald. Knuckles soon collapsed to the ground and remains unconscious.
Julie-Su runs to him as she panics, "Knuckles!"
Julie-Su sits on her knees and picks him up. Julie-Su begins to shed tears as she can feel Knuckles breathing, causing her to smile. She then hugs him and has her close to his head. At the altar, the Master Emerald and the purple Chaos Emerald stops glowing. Then a small purple orb comes out of it and travels to Sun's new bracelet. The orb changes into a silhouette of a red echidna. Turns to see Julie-Su and the others gathered around Knuckles, and smiles to see them happy that their friend is alright.
Unknown to Sun and the others, they are being spied on by someone hiding in the bushes close by and has seen the whole thing. The being is an echidna that is covered by a black cloak that has a white star in a yellow circle on it. His fur is white with yellow eyes surrounded by red rims, and has a yellow diamond on his forehead.
The white echidna is intrigued to what he has seen, every detail of the fight, especially Sun is able to use the Chaos Emerald and the Master Emerald. He then reveals his hand that is bandaged up and tosses a gold ring to the ground and it enlarges. He then walks through it and the ring disappears.
Meanwhile, in Dr. Eggman's lab, Glittering Sparkle teleports back and is anything but pleased about her failure to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds.
Eggman asks, "So, how did it go?"
"Horrible that what! That stupid Sun has stopped me and know this guy named Knuckles is free from the purple Chaos Emerald!" Glittering Sparkle angrily says.
"I'm guessing the plan didn't go well," Cubot says.
"That what she said," Orbot says.
"That Sun somehow used the Master Emerald against me and that's how she is able to free Knuckles," Glittering Sparkle says.
Eggman says, "Even though your mission failed, we managed to learn a bit more about Sun and her powers. Even her potential."
"I guess so. What should we do now?" Glittering Sparkle asks.
"For now. Return to your room and rest. You look worn out," Eggman says.
Glittering Sparkle sighs, "You don't need to tell me twice. I'm exhausted."
Glittering Sparkle then walks out of the room and the door closes behind her.
Orbot turns to Eggman asks, "Dr. Eggman, are you sure we can trust Glittering Sparkle?"
"Why wouldn't we. Let's not forget I have plans after we gather the emerald. That girl will become more help than she believes," Eggman says.
"Yes, but… have you uh, notice something strange about her?" Orbot asks.
"I don't have time to deal with her odd behavior! Now get back to work!" Eggman angrily says.
"Yes sir!" Orbot and Cubot panics and hurry to do some work.
Eggman groans annoyed at her robotic minions.
Sometime later, Knuckles is sleeping on the couch in the Sky Patrol. He soon opens his eyes and turns his head to see a familiar face. A transparent hand places his hand on Knuckle's forehead and softly rubs it.
He then hears a familiar voice, "Knuckles…"
"D-dad?" Knuckles mutters.
The next moment, Locke, who has been in front of Knuckles, disappears into thin air. Walking into the room, Sun holds a small bowl of water with a small towel in her hand. She sees Locke's spirit disappears into thin air as she walks to the couch where Knuckles is sleeping. Sun places the bowl on the table and top some of the towel in the water. Then wrings it out. Sun then kneels down and wipes the cloth on Knuckles' forehead.
Knuckles eyes are half open to see Sun's face.
"Who… who are you?" Knuckles mutters.
"My name is Sun. It's nice to meet you," Sun says.
Knuckles moves a little and attempts to get up, but Sun places her hand on his shoulder and places him back down.
"It's okay. You're okay now. You just rest and I'll take care of you," Sun says.
"Where… where are…" Knuckles asks.
"Don't worry, I… I know everything that has happened. I'm sure your friends will be glad to see you," Sun says.
Suddenly, Sonic's voice comes up, "Yo Sun, you okay there?"
Sun turns her head to see Sonic and Julie-Su walking into the room.
"Sonic. Julie-Su," Sun says with a calm smile.
She stands up and says, "You're just in time. Knuckles is awake."
Julie-Su is the first to hurry over to see Knuckles with his eyes halfway open. She kneels down so she can allow him to see her face.
"Ju-Julie-Su," Knuckles mumbles and then shows a calm smile on his face.
"Knuckles, you're okay," Julie-Su says with tears coming out from her eyes and shows a smile on her face.
Julie-Su places her hand on Knuckles' forehead and rubs it. Knuckles is able to reach his hand out and places it on Julie-Su's other hand.
"I'm glad you're back Knuckles," Julie-Su says.
Knuckles softly smiles, and says, "Me too."
Sonic and Sun watch as Julie-Su and Knuckles are having a happy reunion. Sun then looks at her bracelet to see the new charm she has. However, she turns to see Knuckles and Julie-Su are happy to see each other again after so long. She knows that they deserve to be back together again.