Chapter Two: Knuckles' Signal
Meanwhile at Angel Island, Knuckles was sitting at the altar, doing what he does best. Which is the task he has been doing most of his life, guarding the Master Emerald. Knuckles sat there meditating, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
"Another day, and another night with the same old story. Me sitting here, guarding the Master Emerald. Because if I don't do it, who else will?" Knuckles thought.
Knuckles then stood up from his spot, and turned to look into the Master Emerald. He wiped away any smudges or corrosion on it, and after he was done, he looked deep into it again.
"But at the same time, is there more to life than just doing this all the time? Like, can I live a normal every day life, without worrying that this would be captured every day of the year?" Knuckles wondered.
Knuckles then made his way towards the edge of the Island, and looked into the horizon. He breathes slowly, but heavily. So much was on his mind at the moment.
"Like, if I could what I needed or wanted to, would things have been different? Would I have been a different person? Would I have met somebody, and maybe even start a family? Would I even be capable of a life like that?" Knuckles wondered.
.
(Knuckles singing)
One day this bridge is going to break
One day the world shall stand still
This sky shall fall, the earth will shake
There's just too much a heart could take
.
Knuckles then turns around, and makes his way towards the Master Emerald. As soon as he got to the top of the altar, he looks at his reflection on the Master Emerald. He sighs heavily.
.
(Knuckles singing)
This is a wake up call
How many times before we lose it all
We're like a cannon ball, breaking walls
This is a wake up call
Before there's no one else to catch our fall
But we can change it all
If we want to
.
Knuckles then turns away from the Master Emerald, and looks up at the stars in the sky. As he looks closely, it forms into the shape of echidna children playing with one another, playing with toys, and other stuff.
.
(Knuckles singing)
Sometimes life is too insane
Sometimes we've no idea what to feel
Does Chaos help us when we pray?
Or do we face this all alone?
All alone
.
He then looks at a pillar, and glides towards it, and climbs on top of it. As soon as he got to the top of it, he then took a closer look at the stars. He then sees two adult echidnas embrace lovingly. He sees a male echidna, and it looks exactly like him. As for the female, he could only see the back side of her.
"That woman! What are the stars trying to tell me here? Children? Me, and a woman? An echidna woman?!" Knuckles exclaimed in confusion.
Knuckles then shook off, and looked downwards to the ground of the island.
"No matter. It could just be a hallucination. It is not possible, as my echidna tribe have been gone for as long as I remember." Knuckles thought.
But what if the stars did mean something?
.
(Knuckles singing)
This is a wake up call
How many times before we lose it all
We're like a cannon ball, breaking walls
This is a wake up call
Before there's no one else to catch our fall
But we can change it all
If we want to
.
Knuckles keeps looking at the stars. The star that looks like him, while he was embracing this mystery woman. And the children started singing.
.
(Knuckles singing, star children vocalizing)
If we want to
If we want to
If we want to
.
Knuckles then jumps off the pillar, and looks into the Master Emerald, with a confused look on his face.
.
(Knuckles singing)
This is a wake up call
How many times before we lose it all?
.
Suddenly, Knuckles heard a sound in the distance, and turned his head to see what it was.
"What was that?!" Knuckles thought.
He looked into the horizon, and saw that it was an explosion from a rocket, and the smoke formed into the shape of the Master Emerald. Knuckles knew what this meant, and he even saw the Tornado flying towards Angel Island.
"It's Sonic and Tails! What are these guys doing here? It must be important, because why else would Tails set off the signal?" Knuckles wondered.
He walked towards the edge of the island, and jumps off it, and glides towards the Tornado.
.
(Knuckles singing, star children improvising)
This is a wake up call
Before there's no one else to catch our fall
But we can change it all
(If we want to)
.
If we want to
(If we want to)
If we want to
This is our wake up call
And we can change it all
If we want to
(If we want to)
If we want to
(If we want to)
.
This is our wake up call
And we can change it all
If you want to
.
He was gliding for a short while, and when the Tornado was close enough, he dropped into the back seat where Tails was sitting.
"Knuckles! Glad you can join the party!" Sonic greeted.
"Great seeing you guys too. But what is this all about? What has happened, and what is going on?" Knuckles asked concerned.
"Well, to cut the long story short, Infinite is back, and he has captured both Amy and Cream. And me and Sonic are gathering the team to help find, and stop him for good!" Tails explained.
Knuckles gasped in surprise.
"Infinite is back?! But how, and why would he capture Amy and Cream?" Knuckles asked.
"We have no idea, Knuckles, but he has to be found, and stopped, right now!" Sonic stated.
"OK, how?" Knuckles asked.
"Well, I have also called Shadow as well. We are gonna need a lot of help, and we believe that our best chance is collecting the Chaos Emeralds." Tails explained.
"OK, we get the Emeralds first, then we'll deal with Infinite!" Knuckles snarled.
"Now you're talking!" Sonic stated with support.
"And we will nail this son of a bitch, if it is the last thing we ever do! Now we need to get Shadow!" Tails warned.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and proceeded with their adventure. They were in a hurry to find Shadow, but the question is, even if they do manage to collect the Emeralds, will it be enough to beat Infinite?