It was a particularly stormy day in Station Square. Rain was falling down in buckets all around, thunder rolling and lightning cracking across the sky. Windows shook from the force of the wind and some trees were almost bent over. Inside the safety of the Kent House, Sonic and his friends were gathered in the living room, hunkering down to wait for the storm to blow over. Helen, Cream and Cheese were there for another round of babysitting, and Knuckles and Kat had come over just for the heck of it. As everyone else sat on the couches playing card games and such, Sonic stood by one of the living room windows. His arms were crossed and his expression was one of pure loathing.
"If there's one thing I hate more than water, it's water falling from the sky. That's just an insult to injury."
"Oh come on, Sonic," Kat called out. "Rains not that bad."
The sky decided that was the time to let another blinding flash of lightning illuminate the darkened sky, a massive crack of thunder following almost immediately after. Everyone flinched at the noise, Cream burying her face in Helen's shirt from fear.
"Okay, I'll admit this storm is pretty bad, but normally rain's a good thing," Kat amended.
Sonic shrugged, then came over and plopped himself on the couch with Amy and Knuckles.
"Nothing makes a rainy day better than a nice cup of hot cocoa," Ella declared, coming in with several cups.
Everyone took a cup, Ella even providing a mug with a straw for Cheese. The chao happily plopped onto the table, drinking from the straw. Everyone else happily drank theirs, but Cream remained morose and nervous.
"I wish the storm would go away," Cream commented. "It's scary."
"It's okay, Cream," Helen promised, wrapping her arms around the rabbit. "We're safe in here. Nothing bad is gonna happen."
Just then, there was another crack of lightning and another roll of thunder. The lights suddenly died, plunging the entire house into darkness. Cream screamed, dropping her cocoa as she cried into Helen's shirt again, clinging to her. Amy let out a cry of her own.
"Sonic, hold me!" she cried, wrapping her arms around the person next to her.
Kat and Keith immediately grabbed their phones, turning on the flashlights so the group had some light. It was revealed that the person Amy had grabbed was not Sonic, but Knuckles instead. She yelped in shock, pushing Knuckles away from her and off the couch. He went face first onto the rug, growling indignantly.
"Is everyone alright?" Tanaka asked, coming into the room with a set of lit candles on a tray.
"We're alright Mr. Tanaka," Keith reassured.
"Most of us, anyway," Knuckles remarked.
Tanaka set the candles on the table, providing the room with enough light that the teens could stow their phones again.
"Well now what do we do?" Tails asked. "It could take some time before the power comes back on."
Keith thought for a moment, then an idea hit him.
"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we all go around and tell stories. When I was little, my mom always told me stories when I got scared at night."
"That sounds like a great idea," Cream commended, Cheese chirping in agreement.
"Question is, what kind of stories should we tell?" Kat wondered.
"It can be anything," Keith replied. "Real stuff that happened, stuff we make up, whatever."
"I think I've got a story!" Tails volunteered.
"This should be good," Amy remarked. "What's the story?"
Tails grinned, glancing over at Sonic.
"It's the story of how Sonic and I became friends."
"Now that's a great story!" Sonic declared.
Tails sat up straight, beginning his story.
"A few years ago, when Robotnik first began his conquest of Mobius, his first attack was on Mobotropolis. He took over the city, flooding it with his robots and driving the citizens out. Because of this, all Mobians began to fear and hate technology, and being an aspiring inventor, I was not exactly… well liked."
…
"Hey! Knock it off!"
Tails was being held up by the tails by a young badger as a young porcupine held up a small device the fox had been working on.
"You know that machines aren't allowed here!" the porcupine snapped.
"But I made it to help us!" Tails insisted.
"Machines can't help anyone!" the badger shouted, giving Tails a hard shake. "What other tech do you have? Are you spying on us for Robotnik?!"
"What?! No! I'm not!"
"Liar!" the porcupine shouted, dropping the small device and preparing to smash it beneath his foot. "Let's teach this spy a lesson!"
"Please don't!" Tails cried, bracing himself.
Suddenly, the device disappeared in a flash before the porcupine's foot dropped down on it. The porcupine looked down to see it missing.
"Hey, what's going on?" He asked.
"I was about to ask you the same question."
Everyone looked up to see, of all people, Sonic the Hedgehog leaning against a tree and tossing the small device to himself.
"So, you guys mind telling me why you're picking on that kid?"
"He was messing with machines!" the badger defended. "He's a spy for Robotnik!"
"No, I'm not!" Tails pleaded. "I was trying to build a defense field to short out any robots that tried to pass through it!"
"Really?" Sonic let out, looking at the device. "You know… something like that might come in handy around here."
"But it's a machine!" The porcupine insisted. "Machines are nothing but bad news!"
"We didn't think so before Eggman came barreling into town," Sonic reminded.
"But… but..." the badger looked as if he had just been betrayed. "You should be on our side, Sonic! After what happened to-!"
"Look! I get you're afraid. But going after a kid just because he likes to build stuff doesn't make you a hero. If anything, it makes you as big a bully as Eggman."
"Hey!" the porcupine let out, approaching him. "That's a low blow, Sonic."
"No, this is."
He rushed towards the porcupine and double kicked him into a tree, causing him to crash into it as he doubled over struggling to breath. The hedgehog then turned to the badger, crossing his arms.
"Unless you want to join your friend, I suggest you let him go and beat it."
The badger instantly dropped Tails and ran off, leaving Sonic to walk over to Tails and offer him a hand up.
"You ok, kid?" he asked.
Tails looked up towards Sonic, staring in awe.
"I am now… how did you do that?"
Sonic shrugged.
"I've always been able to do that. Never really thought much on the how. "
Tails took the hand and Sonic pulled him back to his feet before giving him the device back.
"So, you really built this thing?"
"Yeah, I like to tinker and invent. It's just…. Something I've always liked to do." His face drops a bit. "Nobody really appreciates it these days though…"
Sonic looked at Tails in sympathy, then he put a hand on the fox's back.
"You got any other gadgets like this?" he asked.
Tails' eyes lit up.
…
"After that, I took Sonic back to my workshop," Tails continued. "I showed him all of the inventions I'd come up with, and some of the blueprints I'd drawn up. This included the prints for the original Tornado."
Cream was starry eyed at the story, but Kat let out a yawn.
"No offense Tails, but his story isn't exactly the most riveting of tales."
Sonic just chuckled in response.
"Oh, don't worry. It gets better."
…
At Tails' workshop, Sonic and Tails were going through the various designs and inventions Tails had come up with over the years.
"Gotta say kid, this is some pretty cool stuff." Sonic commended.
"Thanks. I'm glad there's someone that's able to-"
Just then, there was a rapid knocking on the door to the workshop. Tails rushed over and opened it, revealing a pig in the doorway.
"Is Sonic the Hedgehog here?"
"Who's askin?" Sonic asked, speeding up to the doorway.
"Sonic! Dr. Robotnik is here! He was last seen heading to the Chemical Plant on the far side of town!"
"Eggman? Here? For how long?!"
"He just arrived."
"Gives me a little time. Later kid, I gotta get to work!"
Sonic then sped off, with Tails left in his dust.
"Wait!" He called out, running after Sonic. "Hold on! I can help you!"
"Forget it kid," the pig warned. "No one can match Sonic's speed. He's long gone."
Ignoring the pig, Tails tried running after Sonic. Unused to running very hard, Tails quickly ran out of stamina. As he continued moving, his twin tails were flapping around, unintentionally spinning behind him. This created a brief burst of speed that launched him forward, much to his surprise. Looking behind him in surprise, he examined his tails before getting an idea. Focusing as hard as he could, he began spinning his tails like a turbine. He then took off like a shot, hoping to reach Sonic in time.
…
At the Chemical Plant, Sonic made his way inside, leaping off various platforms and running along the blue and gold pipes littered throughout the building. As he kept running along, he came across a few Buzz Bombers above him, trying to shoot him down. Sonic leapt out of the way as the shots before leaping up and shooting into a homing attack to take out each badnik in succession. He then quickly came out of his ball form to avoid the blaster attacks of Swatbots, prompting him to dash forward to plow into one before spin dashing through the others in rapid succession. He finally came to a stop, in time to hear a slow clap fill the air. He looked around and saw the Eggmobile slowly descending with Robotnik inside, slow clapping as he did.
"Welcome, hedgehog. It took you longer to get here than I thought it would."
"Nice to feel wanted, Eggman. I'd ask what you're doing in a dump like this, but honestly, it seems like your kind of hang out."
"As a matter of fact I came here looking for chemical components for my latest inventions. Since you're here though, I plan on doubling my spoils."
A missile then shot out from the Eggmobile, passing right by Sonic and hitting a row of containers on the back wall. The containers exploded open, releasing some kind of pink liquid out onto the plant floor. The liquid slowly started rising up, prompting Robotnik to make his getaway.
"See ya around, Sonic!"
"Hey, get back here!"
Sonic tried leaping towards him but he just missed. As Sonic fell towards the ground, he grabbed onto a nearby pipe and spun upwards, landing on a platform. Sonic ran across the platform, keeping an eye on the rising liquid below in dread. He then leapt up onto a platform and bounced from one to another, hoping to make it to the roof. However, as he landed on one platform, it gave way and collapsed, causing Sonic to fall towards the liquid below. As he did, Tails came out of one of the doors and sped towards the edge of the platform, seeing Sonic fall.
"Sonic!" Tails let out, leaping towards Sonic and reached towards his hand.
He grabbed his hand and prepared to fall with Sonic as well, but found himself standing still. Sonic looked up and saw Tails holding his hand while hovering in the air. His tails were spinning rapidly, almost like helicopter blades.
"Kid… you're flying?"
Tails cracked an eye open, glancing at his own tails.
"I'm flying?! I didn't know I could do that!"
"Guess you really learn new things in a time of crisis."
"Guess so."
Tails then carried Sonic upwards towards the roof of the plant, setting him down before landing himself.
"You alright?" the fox asked.
"I am now, thanks to you. Y'know, I don't think I ever got your name."
"It's Miles. Miles Prower. But everyone just calls me Tails."
"Nice to meet you Tails," Sonic replied, holding out his hand.
Tails happily took it, the two forming a bond that would last for years to come.
…
"And ever since, the two of us have been the best of friends," Tails concluded.
Everyone was listening along, and Kat gave a nod.
"Alright, I take back what I said. That was pretty cool."
Amy looked at Tails in surprise.
"You saved Sonic when you first met? For me, I was the one being saved."
"Really?" Keith asked. "What happened?"
Amy began blushing in embarrassment, twirling some of her quills with her finger.
"Well, it's kinda embarrassing. You see, I used to have a massive crush on Sonic-"
"Used to?" Knuckles jeered.
He was suddenly smacked on the back of the head with Amy's hammer. He went flying off the couch as she set her hammer down where he had been sitting.
"As I was saying, I used to have a massive crush on Sonic. Some girls like movie stars or pop idols, but for me, it was Sonic..."
…
Amy stood on a chair in her room, hanging up a large poster with Sonic's image on it. It was one of many that filled her room. Once she finished hanging it up, she stepped back, letting out a dreamy sigh.
"He's so cool…" she let out. "How I wish I could meet him one day..."
She then turned towards a large map that dominated a wall. It was covered in blue thumb tacks with a string connecting each one. There were stacks of newspapers next to her, each one telling a different story about Sonic.
"The problem is he never stays in one place for too long. He never stops running… and no matter how hard I try, I can never catch him…"
As she let out another sigh, she turned towards the newspapers, sifting through them. She read each and every headline, almost all of them being about Sonic beating Robotnik, or Eggman as the media had decided to dub him. She went wide-eyed, lowering the paper.
"So that's it," She realized. "If I want to find Sonic, I have to find Eggman."
She dropped the paper, jumping to her feet with a grin.
"And unlike Sonic, he can't outrun me! This will be a piece of cake!"
She starting running for the door.
"Just you wait, Sonic! Your future wife is on her way!"
…
"Future wife?!" Kat let out
Amy blushed harder, grabbing a pillow off the couch and holding it in her arms.
"I was a kid, okay?! I was going through a phase..."
"Was?" Knuckles remarked. "I'd say there are phases to that phase."
Amy's hammer collided with his face, knocking him off the couch yet again.
"Anyway!" Amy let out, returning to the story. "Like I said, I was young and not very bright. I was utterly obsessed and it led me to do something really, really stupid."
"What did you do, Amy?" helen asked.
"She walked right into the Scrap Brain Zone," Sonic answered.
…
Amy was beginning to have doubts about her plan as she began sneaking past the trap riddled area that was the Scrap Brain Zone. Robotnik was known to frequent the area, as it was a treasure trove of scrap metal for his robots. Regardless, she steeled herself, determined to see this through. She continued forward, keeping an eye out for either Robotnik or Sonic. As she rounded one of the hundreds of piles of trash, a platoon of tall, navy blue robots began marching around the corner. The instant they laid optic sensors on her, they immediately moved to surround her.
"Identify yourself or be eliminated."
Now Amy was seriously regretting her choices. She tried to run, but was instantly grabbed by the back of her dress. One immediately began contacting Robotnik on a built in communicator.
"Dr. Robotnik, we have detained a trespasser in sector 9. Your orders?"
"Bring the intruder here to me."
"No!" Amy cried, kicking and trying to free herself. "This wasn't supposed to go like this! Sonic! Help me!"
The Swatbots then marched off, carrying Amy the entire way.
…
Hidden deep in the heart of the Scrap Brain Zone, a secret base for Robotnik laid nestled in one of the scrap piles. Sitting on a large, metal throne, Robotnik lounged with some food as the robots brought Amy in. She was thrown to the ground, where she landed with a light thud. She looked up, letting out a gulp before forcing herself to appear calm and unafraid.
"Don't you know how to treat a lady?" Amy told them, getting to her feet.
"Apologies my dear," Robotnik spoke. "They're not programmed for etiquette. Now then, who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Amy Rose, and I'm here looking for Sonic."
"Really? And why might that be?"
"Because Sonic is everything to me. We're soulmates, destined to be together til the end of time!"
"My, you have quite the dream there. At the very least, you'll make an interesting hostage."
"What?!" Amy let out, suddenly becoming fearful.
"It's simple my dear. If you're telling the truth, then you're the perfect leverage to use against Sonic. Losing you will greatly drop his morale and make him that much easier to capture. If you're lying… well, he is a hero after all. He'll still try to save your delusional little butt."
Amy is frozen with fear as the Swatbots grab her and take her away.
…
"Man, that has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard anyone do," Keith commented. "I mean, waltzing right into Eggman's base? What were you thinking?"
"That's what I said," Sonic piped up.
"I'm assuming since Amy's not dead, you went to save her?" Kat spoke up.
"Yeah. I received a message from Bokkun, back during the days he would carry around mini TVs instead of his exploding tablets. He told me he was about to destroy my 'soulmate' and if I wanted to rescue her, I needed to get to the Scrap Brain Zone. After outrunning Bokkun and his explosion, I rushed to help, and to have a few words with said 'soulmate'."
…
In the Scrap Brain Zone, Amy was tied up and being led to a massive machine Robotnik dubbed, the Roboticizer. She was shoved inside, the door slamming shut and sealing her inside. She looked around in fear, beginning to cry.
"Machine ready to Roboticize, sir!" Orbot reported.
"I suppose Sonic decided not to show," Robotnik replied dismissively. "Oh well. Begin Robotizacion!"
As Robotnik's finger was about to press the button, several explosions rang out, causing Robotnik to grin. Suddenly, the door to the room got blown off its hinges, landing on the ground as Sonic entered the room.
"Sonic!" Amy shouted in joyous relief.
"Looks like I was wrong," Robotnik revelled.
"Let the girl go, Eggman!" Sonic demanded.
"All in good time my speedy little friend. But first, I have some new combat robots ready, and I've just been dying to test them!"
Just then, two massive doors opened behind Sonic, prompting him to look behind him and see two massive robots with cyclops eyes and tank treads in lieu of feet. Sonic quickly dashed towards them as powerful lasers shot out of their eyes, prompting Sonic to dodge and weave around them. Unfortunately, he was too busy dodging fire to try and attack back. As he moved in closer, one of the robots massive fists knocked him back, sending him tumbling across the room before landing on his feet and skidding to a stop. He barely had time to recover before the two opened fire on him again, prompting him to keep running.
Seeing her hero struggling, Amy started banging on the sides of the roboticizer, throwing herself into the glass. She did this over and over again, trying to draw their attention.
"Hey!" She shouted. "Over here! Look at me, you pieces of junk!"
One of the robots turned towards her, giving Sonic a much needed opening. He dashed towards the robot as the second one was still shooting at him, leaping onto it so the first robot would shoot the second. Sonic quickly leapt off as it did, causing the second robot's head to explode before tumbling over, shattering the glass dome of the Roboticizer. As Sonic soared through the air, the first robot tried shooting at him again, only to hit various parts of the ceiling. This caused it to begin to collapse. As Sonic landed behind the robot, it turned to try and shoot at him, only for a large chunk of the ceiling to fall on it, crushing it. Seeing that his base was on the verge of destruction, Robotnik decided to make a hasty retreat, Orbot and Cubot following after. Sonic meanwhile dashed over to Amy, picking her up and running out with her as the base began collapsing around them. The instant Sonic made it outside, the whole base fell apart, leaving only another massive pile of junk for the zone.
Sonic ran Amy to a nearby clearing outside the zone before setting her down. Instantly she wrapped her arms around him gratefully.
"My hero!" She let out. "I knew you'd come to save me Sonic. I still can't believe-"
"Hey, lay off!" Sonic snapped, shoving her off. "In case you forgot, you nearly got roboticized and I nearly got my tail scorched because of you! What were you thinking, going after Eggman like that?!"
Amy was absolutely stunned by this.
"I- I just… We're destined to-"
"I don't believe in destiny! I believe people are responsible for their own actions, and what you did today was the most reckless and irresponsible thing I've ever heard of!"
Amy just stood there, almost in tears.
"I just… I just wanted to meet you… It's all I've ever wanted..."
Sonic saw the tears building up in her eyes, causing him to sigh in frustration.
"Look… I'm sorry for yelling. I didn't mean to lay it on that hard. But you have to understand, the stuff I do is dangerous. If anyone followed me into it unprepared, they could get seriously hurt. I've already lost too much because of Eggman."
Amy gave a small nod.
"Also, I'm not some hero. I'm just a guy trying to do the right thing. I'm not someone to idolize and I'm definitely nobody's soulmate."
"You're a hero to me," Amy told him as he started walking off.
"Maybe you should worry about being your own hero," Sonic suggested before running off.
…
"So, that's what I did. I stopped obsessing over Sonic and started working on becoming my own hero. I got my first piko piko hammer, starting learning to fight, and the next time I met Sonic, it was as a fellow fighter."
"And yet you're still crushing hard on the guy," Kat pointed out.
"Yeah, but not as a hero, as my friend. It's less of an obsession and more like a genuine relationship."
"A one sided one," Knuckles quipped.
This time, Knuckles ducked before the hammer hit him, causing Amy to lose balance and fall off the couch. Knuckles just smirked, reclaiming his seat on the couch as Amy looked up at him scowling. As he sat, Keith turned to him.
"So Knuckles, how did you meet Sonic for the first time?"
Sonic suddenly let out a snort, covering his mouth. Tails also began giggling, hiding behind his tails as he doubled over with laughter. Knuckles just crossed his arms, glaring at them both.
"Oh yeah, that…" Knuckles recalled. "The day my life was ruined."
…
On the floating landmass known as Angel Island, Knuckles rested at the feet of the shrine of the Master Emerald. He had a strand of grass in his mouth, idly chewing on it as he laid back and enjoyed the solitude. All of a sudden, his peace was broken by the sound of explosions overhead. He looked up and saw a massive ship up in flames, heading down towards the peak of Red Mountain. It landed with a loud crash, smoke billowing from it. His eyes narrowing, Knuckles spat out the grass and went to investigate.
…
After scaling the height of the mountain, he came across the ship and began punching his way inside.
"Hello!" Knuckles called out, moving through the debris. "Is anyone in here?!"
He could hear the sounds of someone up ahead. He approached the sounds, which soon proved to be the sound of a rather large man with a ridiculous mustache attempting to pull himself free of some rubble. Moving fast, Knuckles effortlessly lifted the rubble, allowing the man to crawl free. Once he was clear, Knuckles dropped the rubble and checked on the man.
"Are you alright?" Knuckles asked.
"Yes… I believe so." The man then looked Knuckles over, his eyes going wide behind his cracked glasses. "You're… an Echidna..."
"Yeah, I am. The last one too…"
"Then… you're the fabled Guardian of the Master Emerald… and I've actually made it to Angel Island..."
"You've heard of the Master Emerald? Why are you here?"
The man paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, then began talking once more.
"I'm here to warn you. There's someone coming for the Master Emerald, someone who will stop at nothing to get it."
"What?! Who?"
"His name is Sonic the Hedgehog. He's a vile, sadistic character who seeks to use the Emerald's power to rule all of Mobius! He's always had a special connection to the Chaos Emeralds, and I fear that power went to his head. He believes that he should rule over everything, and anyone who stands in his way is destroyed without mercy!
Knuckles' face hardened in response.
"I can't believe anyone would stoop that low. Well, he won't get the Master Emerald without a fight!"
"Please, be careful! He's the fastest being on the planet and he has a two-tailed fox as his stooge. They'll try and trick you with lies and honeyed words, but you must not fall for them! Otherwise, you'll play right into their hands."
"Thanks for the heads up. Stay here, you should be safe. I'll come back when this Sonic character is finished."
Knuckles then took off the mountain, on the hunt for a hedgehog.
…
By this point, Sonic was laughing so hard he had fallen off the couch. Tails was giggling up a storm behind his tails, bent over from laughing so much.
"Wow Knuckles, I can't believe you actually fell for all that!" Sonic cackled.
"Oh, give me a break!" Knuckles replied. "I never met the guy before. I never would've trusted him if I knew who he really was."
"We know, we know," Tails assured him. "Still, the idea of you being that innocent and starry eyed is just…"
He started laughing again. Knuckles grumbled in frustration. Kat patted him on the head.
"Ignore them," she told them. "Just tell us what happens next."
"Right. Well around this time, Sonic and Tails made their way to the island…"
…
Knuckles looked through the brush, staring out at the two latest visitors to Angel Island.
"So this is where Eggman crashed down," the blue one noted. "We better find him fast."
"Hang on, I'm picking up a serious energy reading," the orange creature with two tails spoke up. "It's almost like a Chaos Emerald, only much more powerful."
"More powerful than a Chaos Emerald? Is that even possible?"
"Only one way to find out. Let's follow the signal."
The two took off into the woods, much to Knuckles' fury. He quickly rushed to intercept them, coming out of the brush and standing in their path. The blue one tried skidding to a stop, only for Knuckles to punch him in the face and send him careening into the orange one, both of them falling to the ground.
"Just where do you think you're going?" Knuckles snarled.
"Whoa..." the orange one let out. "An Echidna… I didn't think there were any left."
"Well, you thought wrong, kid. Now, which one of you is Sonic?"
"That would be me." Sonic leapt up to his feet. "Now mind sharing who you're supposed to be?"
"I'm Knuckles, Guardian of the Master Emerald, and if there's one thing I hate, it's thieves!."
"Thieves? What are you-"
Before Sonic could finish, Knuckles threw another punch his way, prompting him to leap out of the way.
"Alright pal! You wanna fight, you got one!"
Sonic then ran towards Knuckles and tried kicking him in the head, prompting Knuckles to duck before returning a punch of his own. Sonic fell back and landed on his hands before springing up backwards and onto his feet again. Knuckles ran towards him and threw one punch after another at Sonic, prompting him to dodge every single one of them.
"Can't hit what you can't touch!"
Upon hearing that, Knuckles had an idea. He stopped trying to hit Sonic and just punched the ground between them, tearing up a massive chunk and tossing it at Sonic.
"Thanks for the idea!"
Sonic barely managed to dodge the rock hurled at him as he rolled on the ground. As he got back up, Knuckles continued tearing up pieces of the ground and tossing them at Sonic, forcing the blue blur to keep moving and dodging. Finally, Sonic leapt up to one of the oncoming rocks and spin dashed it right back at Knuckles. He easily punched through it, shattering it to pieces as Sonic shot down at him. Knuckles quickly grabbed him by the foot and spun him around repeatedly, throwing him into a nearby tree. Sonic hit the tree hard as Knuckles charged at him again, prompting Sonic to move out of the way just as Knuckles punched through it. Sonic skidded along the ground as Knuckles stared him down.
"I can do this all day, hedgehog."
"So can I, knucklehead."
Before the fight could continue, the entire island began to shake. Both combatants were caught off guard, and Knuckles turned white.
"Angel Island… it's falling!"
"How?" Sonic asked. "What was keeping it floating before?"
"The Master Emerald… if the island is falling, then-"
Panic overtaking him, Knuckles rushed back towards the temple where the Emerald rested. Behind him, he could hear Sonic and his two-tailed friend rushing to follow.
…
After running through the forest for what felt like an hour, the trio eventually reached the clearing where the Alter of the Emeralds was located. Once they got there, they saw Robotnik in his Eggmobile, a metal claw wrapped around the Master Emerald.
"Eggman!" Sonic shouted.
"The Master Emerald!" Knuckles cried out. "What are you doing with it?!"
"So sorry my friend," Robotnik replied. "But I needed a power source for my ship and your shiny Emerald was the perfect choice. Thanks for everything, suckers!"
Robotnik then started taking off, Knuckles jumping up and trying to grab onto the Emerald.
"You're not taking my people's treasure! I won't let you!"
"Hey, get off my ride!"
Robotnik hit a button, sending out an energy blast that hit Knuckles and knocked him off the Emerald. Knuckles hit the ground hard as Sonic and Tails ran over to him.
"You alright?" Tails asked.
"No, I'm not!" Knuckles shouted. "That- that- thief! Just stole the Master Emerald! He tricked me, and he stole it! I had one job, and it was to safeguard the Emerald, and I failed!"
"Eh, it's not your fault," Sonic reassured. "Eggman's just tricky that way."
"Besides, if Eggman needs the Emerald to power his ship, he couldn't have gone far," Tails reasoned. "We just need to find it."
Knuckles perked up, remembering his first encounter with Robotnik.
"I know where his ship is. Come on, we can get there by cutting through the Sky Sanctuary!"
Knuckles instantly took off, with Sonic and Tails following close behind.
…
"Man, you must've been kicking yourself after that one," Keith remarked.
"More than you can imagine..." Knuckles muttered. "You see, as far back as I can remember, I'd been living on that island, always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that could harm it. I don't know why I was given this job, only that I was destined to be there... forever. Having the Emerald taken from me… it was like losing a piece of who I am."
"Wow..." Kat let out. "I never realized just how important it was to you. I mean, I knew it was sacred and all that, but this… no wonder you've been so eager to get home."
"Yeah," Knuckles replied. "Well… anyway, the three of us were hot on the trail of Eggman, making our way through an area the ancients called the Sky Sanctuary."
…
The Sky Sanctuary was a cesspool of ancient ruins scattered in the sky above Angel Island. Normally, it was considered sacred ground that only Knuckles was allowed to enter. However, given the circumstances, and a buttload of desperation, Knuckles made an exception. The three of them made their way past the massive towers and pillars as they kept getting higher and higher.
"We have to hurry," Sonic insisted. "I don't know what Eggman wants with that Emerald, but it can't be good."
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Knuckles replied.
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of massive engines firing up. They all turned, seeing Robotnik's ship rising up off the ground.
"Not good…." Sonic muttered. "Tails! Can you get us up there?!"
"Not a problem!" Tails replied, starting to fly off the ground.
Sonic grabbed hold of his hands as the two took off towards the ship. Knuckles just leapt into the air, gliding after the two. Sonic and Tails landed on top of the ship while Knuckles clinged to the side, punching a hole so that he could get inside.
"Direct, isn't he?" Sonic commented.
"That's for sure," Tails agreed.
…
Inside, Knuckles smashed through every badnik and Swatbot in sight, making his way to where the Master Emerald was being stored. He finally smashed through one of the doors, revealing the Master Emerald in some kind of containment field.
"Finally!" Knuckles let out, running towards the Emerald.
Before he could reach it though, something large came out and smacked him aside. He hit a wall, sliding down before flopping onto the ground. Picking himself up, he found himself staring down a large, mechanical version of Dr. Robotnik. It was twice the size of the Emerald, and easily three times as wide.
"Welcome aboard, Knuckles," Robotnik greeted from inside the mech. "I hope you found the accommodations to your liking."
"I want the Master Emerald back! Give it to me now, or else!"
"Hmm, let me think…. NOT A CHANCE!"
The mech fired several rockets at Knuckles, prompting him to leap out of the way. He leapt onto the wall and ran along it, avoiding the mech's constant fire. He tried leaping towards the mech to punch it, but it just shot out a hand, grabbing him. The mech kept crushing Knuckles, determined to squeeze the life out of him. Just then, Sonic shot out of nowhere, spin dashing through the mech's hand, severing it as it and Knuckles fell to the ground.
"Nice try, Eggman!" Sonic remarked.
Knuckles coughed, picking himself up off the ground.
"You sure took your sweet time," he snapped.
"Figured you had it handled. Sorry for thinking you were capable."
Knuckles just growled in response.
"Nice of you to join us, Sonic," Robotnik greeted. "However, I'm a little busy squashing this red pest. Come back later and it'll be your turn."
"Sorry doc," Sonic commented. "But my patience is about the size of your success rate. Nonexistent."
Sonic then charged at the mech, dodging around the constant missiles as he charged from above. While Robotnik was distracted by Sonic's attacks, Knuckles sprinted forward and punched out one of the mech's legs, causing it to wobble as Sonic spin dashed the head, causing it to explode. The mech tumbled towards the Master Emerald, prompting Knuckles to run towards it and tear it out of its containment seconds before the mech crashed down.
"I've got the Master Emerald!" Knuckles shouted. "Time to bail!"
The ship started crashing down as everyone began bailing out. Knuckles smashed through one of the walls, everyone escaping onto the Sky Sanctuary as the mobile egg base began falling into the ocean.
"You ok, Knuckles?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah… thanks…" Knuckles muttered. "Now both of you get off my island! Now!"
"Yeesh, you try to help some people. Come on Tails, let's bail."
With that, the two left, leaving Knuckles alone with the Master Emerald once more.
…
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with them, or anyone else ever again. However, these two just kept showing up on my island, bringing trouble whenever they did. They've made my life beyond complicated and have disturbed the sanctity of Angel Island more times than I can count.
"And saved it as many times, I might add," Sonic reminded. "You're welcome."
"Whatever. The sooner we find the last two Chaos Emeralds, the better."
"That's not nice!" Cream insisted. "Mr. Sonic was only trying to stop Dr. Eggman! You have no right to be so mean!"
Knuckles growled, curling into himself. Kat ruffled his fur again.
"Well I'm kinda glad Sonic showed up on your island. If he hadn't, we never would have met."
"... yeah, I guess."
A small smile managed to make its way onto Knuckles' face. Kat smiled back, then she pulled him into a noogie.
"Now enough of this sappiness!" she declared. "It's getting too chummy in here!"
Knuckles just shoved her off before playfully tackling her to the ground. He began attempting to give her a noogie, his superior strength balancing out with her superior size. As they tousled, everyone just laughed, enjoying themselves and the company they kept.