"Hi honey, I'm home." Rouge said as she walked in the door.
"Huh wha-! Oh...hi Rouge.!" Knuckles said in a tired voice.
"Are you OK, sweetie?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired. The TVs all set up though. I managed to get all the cable channels. There's more movie channels than I originally thought." He said, walking up the stairs to head to bed.
"OK, I'll head up later."
Knuckles laid down in his bed and drifted away into oblivion.
An hour later, Knuckles awoke, needing to use the bathroom. He got out of his bed and walked down the stairs to use the lavatory. As he walked down, he saw Rouge with a bowl of popcorn in her arms. "What're you watching?" Knuckles asked Rouge, but no response came from her. He shrugged it off as her being to interested in the movie. As he entered the bathroom he found he was unable to lift up the toilet seat. Knuckles became scared at this beginning to think it was just a dream. He then headed back up the stairs to find his body lying in the bed.
Knuckles fell back in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"ROUGE!" Knuckles yelled, but to yet was only met with another silence. In the distance, Amy heard this scream and headed over to Knuckles' house. Knuckles walked around his body, not knowing what to do. "Did I... die?" Knuckles thought out loud. His attention was shortly drawn to his window, as he saw a light pink hedgehog enter his window.
"Hi Knuckles!" Amy said in a peppy voice.
"Amy, am I dead?" Knuckles said in a worrying tone.
"No, Knuckles, you are not dead." Amy said in a demeaning tone.
"Well don't get mad at me, I don't know what's happening!"
"It's OK Knuckles, your experiencing an OBE, out of body experience. Some people choose when to have them, others don't."
"Wow, but can I still go back into my body?"
"Yes, just lie down in the stance you fell asleep in whilst in or over your body. But don't go yet,
I want to show you something."
And with that Amy grabbed Knuckles' hand and they began to fly.
"Whoa, we're flying!" Knuckles exclaimed.
They flew over many rolling waves and houses until they reached their destination.
"Wait, what about Silver, what's he doing?" Knuckles asked Amy.
"Don't worry, he's just watching that interview on Bean's show with Sonic and Eggman."
"But he's only seven, what if he needs you? Don't you worry about him being alone?"
"It's OK Knuckles, he'll be able to wake me up if he needs anything. Anyway, we're here now."
They approached Angel Island's Sky Sanctuary, where the Master Emerald resided. Knuckles was amazed at what he saw. There were spirits of Chao that inhabited the area, some were playing, others were sleeping, and some were gathered by the Master Emerald. As Knuckles got closer, he managed to make out the outline of an orange echidna and aquatic blue creature. The echidna took notice of Knuckles and waved at him.
"Hello Knuckles. It's been a while since I've seen you!" Tikal the Echidna said.
"Hi Tikal. It's good to see you too. Why can you be seen in that form?" a curious Knuckles asked.
"The Master Emerald is what causes us to still live on in spirit form, so we are always like this. Sometimes we can go into our normal bodies, but mostly we stay like this and watch over everyone on these three islands."
"Whoa, interesting."
"C'mon Knuckles!" Amy said grabbing his arm and flying away.
Tikal waved goodbye and began cradling a Chao in her arms. Knuckles looked at amy with an angry look.
"Amy, why would you do that!" Knuckles yelled at Amy.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to see Sonic in person for his interview. You can go home if you want"
"Oh, sorry Amy. I'll head back into my body, then."
"OK Knuckles, bye!" Amy said as she waved goodbye, heading off to see Sonic.
