Visit From The Future
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic Crew but I do own the kids.
A/N: Re-edited
Chapter 4 – Do I Look Like Dr. Phil?
Knuckles house
As we all know Rouge was last seen or read chasing Knuckles off Angel Island, leaving the kids alone to do what they please...
"Knikatu! Why are you going through dad's stuff?" Crystal yelled at him while he was going through a chest full of Knuckles' old/other junk/stuff. They were in the attic; they had found the cord that hung from the ceiling. As soon as Knikatu found it, he went on a hunch and started to ransack the place.
It was a very dusty area. Quite a few boxes of junk, torn shoes, books, and useless junk Tails made for him but that it broke down or he had no care for. They were stacked on top of each other in a sloppy way. It was a complete mess like most attics. It had the image and feel of being ignored for years.
"I'm trying to see if he has anything that will get him to tell mom the truth...what the? Hmm I wonder who this is, Crystal do you know who this is?" Knikatu held up a picture of Knuckles, Sonic, Amy, and a pink female echidna. Knikatu pointed to the female echidna, it seemed to be a normal picture between friends. Sonic was lying down reading a magazine with models, Amy was smiling waving energetically for the camera. Knuckles as trying to cover his face with his glove but the distance of the shot and the angle still caught most of his face. The unrecognizable figure about the same height as their father, but there were some striking stand out parts of her.
Her right arm seemed metallic; her dreadlocks had a few with cuffs. Some were linked while some of the others seemed whole metal. She had big bangs hanging forward on her head and on her left side there was single quill hanging wrapped tightly in white fabric. Surely a person with this look would be memorable or at least mentioned a couple of times. Knikatu looked at her face, she was giggling while eating a pastry, probably cake. He titled his head, sifting through his memories.
Crystal narrowed her eyes getting a better look, "No, I've never seen her before."
Knikatu got up off his knees, "Let's ask dad when he gets back—Ah-ha! There it is just was I looking for!" Knikatu pulled out a CD case on top of a box. "I always knew dad hid some of his CDs up here! Let's see what's he got—hmm? Mix-tapes…self studio, really?" Knikatu stared at the plain discs and read the simple labeling.
Crystal rolled her eyes; "If dad catches you with his CDs he'll—" She groaned.
"—no he won't. Because he hasn't said to me 'Knikatu you are not allowed to go through my stuff with out my permission'" He mocked his father from that one day in the future.
Crystal rolled her eyes again. She was related to an idiot. "Let's go before we get in trouble. We aren't even supposed to be messing with things in this time. We need to find a way home before we mess things up really bad."
"Look we're stranded, we trying to help dad and mom," Knikatu turned grunted as he lifted the floorboard that had the ladder that led down, "Tails is on it, we've got nothing to do, and as long as we keep within our families, we should be fine…besides if we screwed something so bad wouldn't we disappear or not be here with the others not having a memory of the other person because we, in the past messed up and that person no longer exist so they didn't come along?"
Crystal stopped and stared wide eyed at her brother, "Wait…how is it that you understand that concept but you're failing math?"
"Cause my teacher is a big fat hawk who can't seem to speak English clearly," Her brother rolled his eyes, "Who hires a French hawk to teach math in public school, on top of that she writes in chicken scratches! I can't read her damn numbers! That's unfit learning conditions!" He waved his arms in aggravation.
His sister put her hands on her hips, "Mom is right, you're so full of crap!"
Crystal crouched to lift the ladder as they heard a pounding on the door. Both Rouge and Knuckles had keys to the house and this was the upper floor with no locks. So who was knocking?
The small winged bat-child dropped the ladder with a shriek when the door was kicked opened by Sonic, literally. "Where is your dad?" The azure playboy was out of breath.
"I don't know." Knikatu answer while giving a shrug.
"You scared the heck outta me Sonic!" Crystal shouted in anger.
"Okay listen to me and listen good, I want you guys, with Mac and Katie to go hide in the attic—Hey is that our CD?"
Knikatu rolled his eyes at Sonic's short attention span. "Ahem!" He cleared his throat.
Sonic chuckled and focus on his fear, "Oh yea! Look we got problems. Just do as I say. Go hide in the attic because Julie-Su and Sally are in town and they are going to come over sooner or later. They cannot and I repeat CANNOT see you guys!"
Crystal and Knikatu look at each other then back at Sonic, "Who and who?" Crystal asked. As common as one name was and rarity that the other name was, they never knew anyone by them.
"Never mind right now just go hide!" Sonic called for Mac and Katie and pushed them up the attic. "Get up here now! C'mon, c'mon, all hell is gonna break lose if you guys get spotted." He pushed his future offspring forcibly to move faster as the two teens walked in the direction of the ladder, still clueless.
Mystic Forest
The forest was usually warm and humid, but it was different once up in the mountains of this area. Weather was cold normally up high and nearing the season of winter the temperature was low constantly and dropped viciously into freezing any anytime. Mother Nature had her way with these mountains. Rouge thought that flying to a high height would help her keep up but Knuckles proved he was willing to jump-climb to any height. That made it difficult to fly with him. Flying upwards in the cold was a draining maneuver. Sweet or annoying, he didn't care. Pressure was something he didn't like and home was full of it and friends were the source of it.
He grunted as he pulled him self up. Looking back he noticed she wasn't there, hopefully she was fine. He threw down his pack, and threw wood into a pile. He let out a sigh as the wind howled with a quick gust. Knuckles then heard the foot taps, at least she was okay. Scratched a match across his knuckle when the wind died, throwing it into the wood pile.
It was a brutal cold, how could he just stand it? He didn't have to wear clothing to cover himself but even with her clothing she was freezing. "Why won't you t-talk to me?" Rouge yelled she kept rubbing her arms to keep warm. Her voice shivered with the air's cold bite.
Knuckles just sat in front of a small fire he was able to start. "Just go away okay?" He mumbled.
"Why Knuckles? What did I do that made you mad?"
"Well let's see you come in to my home take my bed," The tone of voice hardened, "Take the couch and I'm force to sleep outside in the cold." He grabbed his forehead, lowering his voice, "On top of that I found out from my future 'kids' that I'm gonna die in the future and you wonder why I'm mad?" He looked down as the thought remained in his head
He waited a few minutes for Rouge to answer but nothing...just the howling of the icy wind. He looked up in her direction and saw her leaning back against a tree, her eyes closed. He scrabbled to his knees and then jumped to his feet racing towards her. "Aw damn it!" He sighed, "As much as I'd like to, I can't let her freeze out here!" He lifted her body and jogged toward the ledge, out here she had no chance. It was going to hit well below zero soon, he was used to it. She wasn't.
Angel Island
Sally and Julie-Su were already at Knuckles' house waiting for him and the kids were upstairs in the attic doing who knows what. Sonic was sitting across from Sally on one couch. Julie-Su stood up and walked around the living, pacing slowly. He wasn't home but Sonic was inside? She knew something was different. He never let anyone in his home alone. Everyone jerked in movement when the door crackled. When it burst open, everyone recognized the red figure but the white furred shapely figure he carried on his shoulder raised a couple of looks. He rushed past everyone, assuming the pink on side of his view was Amy.
Upstairs the kids were keeping themselves occupied.
"Dude where'd you find this?" Mac asked Knikatu.
"In the chest my dad keeps up here."
"My dad was in that I know that was his voice!" Mac said aloud, Knikatu covered his mouth quickly.
"Shut up!" The white echidna whispered, "Do want us to get caught with this? It's hidden for a reason!"
She could hear it. It was faint but it was there.
"Did you hear that?" Sally said, Sonic heard it and knew what it was it was Mac.
"Hear what?" Sonic blinked blankly as he answered back.
Knuckles came out of his room letting out a growl as Julie-Su followed him, "I was bringing her in from the cold!" Sonic sighed with relief. That commotion was the saving grace of talking anymore.
She followed him with a mildly mad look on her face, "Why?" Julie-Su asked crossing her arms.
"Well she is a friend of mine, just like you." He turned around as he stopped, "I'm not gonna let her freeze to death, I would have done the same thing for you!" He raised his voice a bit.
"There it is again! I'm positive I heard music up stairs!" Sally stood up and looked up at the ceiling for an entrance. She pointed up as Julie-Su walked over.
Sonic walked over to Knuckles and whispered to him, "We can't let them go up there; I hid Mac, Katie, Crystal and Knikatu up there!"
Knuckles' eyes widen with shock, "You what?" He yelled getting everyone's attention.
"Who what?" Julie-Su asked turning her head from her conversation with Sally.
"Nothing, just don't go upstairs in to attic!" Sonic said.
Knuckles smacked his face, "Now they're definitely gonna go up there..."
Sally found the cord that let the ladder steps drop. Sonic ran in front of the steps trying to block the way; no use they move him out of the way.
They climbed to the top of the ladder, "Knuckles why are there four kids in you're attic?" Julie-Su asked coming closer to them.
"I don't know I've never seen them before." He said trying to idiotically cover up the truth; Julie-Su took a closer look at them. Her mouth could have dropped through the floor. The four children remained silent and motionless. The stared back between their fathers and the other women in the room, Sally noticed the colors. Along with similar looks, she pieced it in her mind, though it didn't make sense.
"If you've never seen them before then why do they have the guardian symbol that only you have!"
"I don't know?" Knuckles chuckled nervously. Julie-Su narrowed her eyes in return at him.
"Uh, dad? What's going on?" The Knikatu asked.
Julie-Su looked at Knuckles "Dad? Mind explaining that?"
"Sonic who are those two?" Sally asked pointing Katie and Mac.
"I have no idea." Sonic responded Sally crossed her arms.
"Really?"
Rouge came up the stairs slowly; Then it hit Julie-Su; she looked at Knikatu and Crystal and looked at Knuckles and then at Rouge. They were the children of Knuckles and Rouge, they both of their appearances.
"You had children with her!" Julie-Su yelled.
"What? No!" Knuckles defended himself no further.
"Then why do they look like you and her?" There was silence that seemed to last for hours, "Well I'm waiting for an answer!" Julie-Su demanded.
Knuckles sighed, "Okay here's the truth, these kids are mine but they're from the future and supposedly I died when they were at a younger age and they came back in time to fix it so I don't died...but just the red and white are mine, the blue and blue/pink one belong Sonic and Amy..."
"Great...now I'm in for it." Sonic said nervously looking at a blank faced Sally.
"You're kidding…" Julie-Su couldn't believe it. How could he say this, unless it was true?
"Yep!" Mac smiled as he backed Knuckles' statement up, "He ain't lying," That didn't help things out though.
"Then that means that you must have broken up with me..." Sally mutter quietly.
"You're going out with her? Dad I thought you always loved mom?" Katie asked aloud. Sally frowned slightly when she said that.
"Well you see the thing is...umm—a little help here!" Sonic asked Knuckles, but he was staring at Julie-Su, who looked so hurt.
Julie-Su just couldn't believe it. She had no future with the echidna she knew since a young age and was madly in love with. The pink mobian looked at the two kids that belong to him and Rouge. She backed up until she needed to face the ladder leading down. She jumped down the opening and started jogging out of sight. The echidna started moving faster as she opened the door quickly and left the house. Outside she ran as she made sure know one was watching her cry as well.
Her feet took as far as she could until she just stopped. At the edge of lake she just collapsed. Julie-Su just couldn't get it out of her head that he would have kids with Rouge. She always wanted to be with him, closer then just the friend he wants her to be.
Knuckles walked after her to make sure she was okay, He called out her name a couple times but she wouldn't answer. The red guardian moved brush and tree limbs out of his way as he searched. "Man why does this shit have to happen to me? C'mon Julie-Su where are you?" He kept yelling that until he saw her on her knees. As he came closer he heard her crying.
"Hey are you okay?" He asked knowing the answer would be 'no'.
She answered him with sarcasm bleeding through whimpers, "Oh yea I'm fine, I just found out the person I care about the most, is gonna have children with the one woman who I despise..." Knuckles kneeled down and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Look, I know this maybe upsetting to you but I just don't feel the same feelings for you that you do for me." He paused hoping he wouldn't have to go on, "I've know you since I was little and you're like family. It's just that…I don't feel like…like I want to be that way with you." Knuckles said trying to stop her tears from falling but this wasn't being said right, if it could be at all.
"Yes, but you've never taken it into consideration! How would you know if you would feel weird being with me? We've never even given it a try, we've never!" Julie-Su took his hand hoping for something.
"I'm sorry, but I can't—I just can't!" Knuckles look at her and asked, "Why do you want this anyway?"
Julie-Su looked away and looked into the water, "It start as a crush when we were younger but it grew into this and I've realized this how I really feel and to be with you is what I want." She reached out her gloved hand and placed a finger in the water causing slow ripples to form and wave out. "You're the only one who treats me like person," She looked at her arm, the metallic shell mocking her evilly.
Knuckles had by now taken a seat next to her. She stared at him while he was in a deep thought. Without word she leaned over and turned his head, came closer to his face. He was a bit confused as to what she was doing, that is until she kissed him which is when he pulled away faster than Sonic would if Amy was trying to kiss him.
"What are you doing?" He asked outraged, demanding an answer.
"Nothing...I guess I have my answer. Nothing can happen between us..." She said softly, his harden look soften.
"I'm sorry but I can't...to tell you the truth I just want us to be friends like we always been."
Julie-Su rose to her feet "That's going to be hard Knuckles, very hard..." She walked away as he rose to his feet.
"I'm sorry..." He said again. She motioned her hand almost as she didn't care for his words anymore. Silently she walked away, wiping her eyes.
He began to ask himself where his lines of love and friendship began and ended. Who was right and what was wrong. Why wouldn't it work out right and why someone had to be hurt in the end? Is the love worth the cost of a friendship? Why does it all fall apart during the better times? Who deserved to be happy, her, him, Rouge…anyone?