"Your highness, we've just recieved word from Knothole."
"Oh dear, yes... what's their status?"
"Three residential homes and the local clinic suffered severe damage from the incident. But fortunately, injuries were kept to a bare minimum and no casualties were reported. Many had volunteered to offer the victims shelter as well, and we have dismissed repairs on the town for tomorrow."
The aged king sighed in relief, having been paralyzed in shock just a few hours back. It had taken them all completely by surprise, and consequently, he was not able to send any kind of protection to the people of Knothole... though he knew full well that the freedom fighters could handle it and they did, it still wasn't very kingly of him to be aware of such an attack from the nefarious doctor Eggman only when it was already over. "Very well... carry on."
"Yes, your highness." The very large and intimidating chipmunk bowed, deciding not to tell him about the angry red echidna who constantly complained about added protection for jinxed kids and left the royal chamber.
"Don't worry Max, everything turned out ok." The queen whispered, placing a caring hand on his shoulders when his grim expression didn't leave with the bodyguard.
"I know, Alicia... it's just, I should have seen it coming." The king shook his head, and the queen pushed her thumbs against the lower sides of his neck in a simple yet meaningful massage. "I'm sorry, dear."
"Now now, I'm sure no one blames you for what happened... if we really must point fingers then it would undoubtedly be on that dreadful doctor."
"Yes... you're right. As always." Max smiled for the first time that day. "Robotnik would be six feet under by now, had our places been switched... and I wouldn't blame him. I'd dig a hole and jump in myself if I knew that the calm and calculated queen Alicia was my enemy."
"Ha, ha, ha. Oh, by the way, Sally went to Knothole a few minutes ago, in case you're wondering."
"She must be tired... having to govern the kingdom of acorn alone whenever we went on leave, and we'd only recently returned from our second one, after all."
"That's true... she needs some rest."
o-----
Twilight had spread across the village, and just about everyone was spending the last few hours of the day indoors--even those who had lost their homes. If there was one thing that the battle hardened people of Knothole had to brag about, it was an uncanny sense of hospitality for their fellow neighbors. It was a well known fact that no matter how desperate things in Knothole got, everyone still had the pleasure of looking forward to a good night's rest. Could it perhaps work its magic on an echidna that had nightmares nearly every night?
"U-ungh...!" A cold sweat dropped from Izzy's forehead, his body twitching and shuddering violently. Almost as if on cue, a towel doused in warm water was placed on his forehead, a slender hand carefully wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Calm down honey, just calm down... I'm with ya..." Bunnie whispered as softly as she could, hoping to whatever God was up there that he could hear her. It plain terrified the yellow rabbit to see the pain etched in his face. "please..."
"No... gah... help..." There was already a thin layer of moisture on Izzy's body, as the nightmare seemed to get worse. "dead... they're all... dead..."
Bunnie couldn't take it anymore. Choking back tears, the rabbit lifted his upper body from the bed and securely placed both her arms around him, desperately attempting to protect Izzy from what she could not see. "Please... just be safe, please...!"
In what could only be described as miraculous, Izzy's spasms actually did slow to a stop.
Silence hailed for that curious moment as Bunnie subconsciously held her breath, wondering what had happened. Before she knew it, two shaky hands lifted up and to her utter surprise--went around her waist and returned the hug in the earnest.
Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter 2; 'Angel Island'. "Pain pays the income for every precious thing."
She really didn't know how long they stayed like that but... it didn't matter. Never in he life had felt so comfortable, so right. And finally hearing the disturbed echidna sigh in what she assumed was one of relaxation, made her heart scream in complete happiness. For what felt like an eternity Bunnie had forgotten about everything, all her pains and tears... the whole world was gone, it all accumulated to her and Izzy, extracting comfort from one another.
And then there was Tails... everything else followed right after.
"Ah, so he's awake..." The light brown fox was confused at first to see them in that awkward position, but the kind look never left his face. "are you both okay?"
"I'm fine Tails..." Bunnie answered, her non-cybernetic arm gently pressing against the echidna's back in a circular motion. It was then that she noticed how soft his furred skin felt. "heya... feeling better now?"
Izzy slowly opened his eyes as they reluctantly let go, revealing irises of an incredible emerald green hue. It glew for a little while but soon reverted back to its silver state. He felt the hair on his back stand and for some totally unmentionable reason, he couldn't stop looking at her. 'Beautiful...'
"Uhm... Izzy?"
"Huh?" The green echidna blinked a few times and--realizing that he was staring, immediately looked the other way, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "Y-yes, I'm okay..."
An unreadable emotion flashed through Bunnie's eyes before she started giggling. "I swear, you are the cutest thing I've ever seen."
The echidna remained quiet but had what looked to be an embarrassed pout on his reddish face.
Bunnie fought the urge to squeal and pinch Izzy's cheeks as Tails just looked on in bewildered amazement. "Have you two known each other long...?"
"Nah... we met this mornin'."
"Oh." Tails hung his head, his small mouth curving down slightly. How high did a fox's intelligence quotient have to be to understand things like this? "I've got some info about your sickness, mister Izzy... I managed to take some samples after Knuckles got me out of the rubble when that robot destroyed my home."
"Really?" Izzy asked, all of his attention now centered at the fox that seemed to look just as old as Walt. "But... how? If your home was levelled, then your laboratory must have been, too..."
"My lab was in the basement, so when my house fell, I was pretty much safe since I was studying something at the time--but even if my lab remained operational, it wouldn't have helped much." Tails smiled sheepishly and continued. "So instead I took the tornado, flew over to Central City and used miss Rouge's pass to gain access to the central lab again... the results I found were pretty disturbing."
"Disturbing as in... bad?" Bunnie asked, worried about Izzy's current condition.
"I don't know, actually... you see when I put the dense vapor in the test tubes, it didn't explain anything... pictures just started fluctuating in the screen. Pictures of Angel Island. And then the computer broke again." Tails sighed. "I really hope you're not another ancient weapon of destruction that Eggman is after, Izzy..."
"Errr... I hope not." Izzy scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little. "But I doubt it... I was raised like a normal kid, more or less."
"Oh... do you have a family?" Tails asked, more than a little curious as to what answer he was going to give. Nearly a year before, he thought Knuckles was the last of his kind... but then Julie-su came, and then a whole bunch of them along with the ancient city of Echidnapolis... Tikal didn't count because she had already passed away. He had to admit though, Izzy looked different.
"Used to." Izzy's shoulders slumped at his answer, causing concerned glances from both Tails and Bunnie. "It has nothing to do with echidnas though... anyways, what's angel isla--wait... it wouldn't happen to be floating, would it...?"
"Yeah! How'd you know?" Tails asked, deciding not to bring up the family subject with the green echidna until they've been acquainted a little more. 'He seems pretty defensive about it...'
"My dreams sometimes show me a floating island... actually it feels a lot more like I'm falling off of it. Does it mean anything?"
"Well what do you know... talk about super coincidence." Tails' smile grew wider, ready to explain. "Knuckles may know something about the markings on your chest, but he was still going to check up on the history books that he acquired from Echidnapolis. Before he left though, he told me to bring you to that very island when you come to... so how about it? Feeling well enough to take a trip to the sky?"
"When can we leave?" Izzy nearly yelled in excitement. How many years has he spent trying in vain to convince himself that his past wasn't important? Now he was finally going to know about his biological parents, or relatives... he might even be able to meet them. And his sickness, perhaps it has a purpose after all. 'Purpose... that sounds so foreign to me.'
"Now, actually... flying at night's always a treat."
Izzy felt his heart racing. They could go right now! "I don't really need to pack since all I brought looks to be in order here and... where's Walt?"
"No need to worry about him honey, Mina and Amy's been taking care of him while you were asleep and I'll make sure he has a clean little place to go home to." Bunnie smiled, a little bothered that he'd have to leave so quickly but understanding, anyway... and they'd gotten off on such a good start too.
"Huh?" Izzy looked at her, and she almost missed the spark of innocence in his eyes. "You're not coming?"
"I uhm... I'm sorry, Izzy, but I can't..." Bunnie tried her best to smile, but now she really wanted to go. "The tornado's a two person plane."
"Ah... all right." Izzy whispered, unable to hide his disappointment. There was just something about her that made him feel attached in a way...
"Sorry about that... but maybe I'll tinker around with the propulsion systems and make it a three person plane next time, is that ok?" Tails was already at the door.
"Is everything ready? Just give me the word and I'll prep the tornado for immediate launch."
"Yeah, everything's ready... we can go anytime."
"Good! I'll see you in my garage then."
The door made a creaking sound, and then a dull metallic thud told them that it was closed. For a while the two sat in awkward silence, their thoughts the only thing trying to keep them from feeling wierd. Bunnie was thinking about the trip, and what would happen. Izzy was pretty much thinking the same thing. And, that was probably why it wasn't working.
"So... ya really don't know much about yourself?" Bunnie muttered, breaking the ice that was starting to form.
"Well, heheh, not really." Izzy replied, feeling a little less jumpy. "I know everything about myself growing up, I just don't know how, why or where I was born. It's really been bothering me, but at least now I get to know."
"Yep, I think ya deserve that in the very least. But you'll be staying here at least a week after you get back, right?" The rabbit asked, unaware that she was already getting anxious. Izzy's gentle smile returned, accompanied by a nod. "Maybe we can do something about your nightmares."
"I'd really like that. For now though..." Izzy brought his arms up, embarrassment written all over his face. "one for the road?"
Bunnie immediately realized what he meant and with a quick motion gave him a longer, more heartfelt hug.
The echidna didn't understand how this helped him, but her first hug woke him from his nightmare so fast and gently that it was astonishing. Besides, he was starting to enjoy it. Holding her a little tighter in the final few seconds, Izzy let go; his eyes showing genuine peace and security. "Thanks, I needed that."
"To tell you the truth... I did too." Bunnie smiled, feeling just as thankful as he was. For the first time she was feeling something she had never truly felt before--and with a stranger of all people! Even with Antoine D'Coolette, her relationship; though healthy, felt empty and insecure... she watched as the green, attractive echidna stood and stretched, then offered her a hand. Bunnie smirked and stood by herself earning a small grin from Izzy. "Come on... I'll show you where Tails' house is."
A high-pitched sneeze came from the two-tailed fox's snout as he blew the dust away from a copy of the world map he managed to salvage. Angel Island had passed by Knothole a week ago, so through a well thought-out equation that took him about fifteen seconds, he concluded that the island--if Knuckles hadn't used the master emerald to move anywhere other than its default course, would undoubtedly be far enough from the equator. Not that he was complaining, since the weather wasn't exactly cool there. "Hmm... if this was... yeah... subtract a few degrees... longhitude should be approximately... all right!"
"Are we ready to go?"
"GAH!" Tails yelled in horror, taken by complete surprise. Clutching his furry chest, he turned an angry pout to Izzy and Bunnie, who was trying to hold in her laughter. "Heeey, that was mean."
"Don't look so bummed out hon, it's not his fault... sometimes, you don't see him walking, but he is." Bunnie reassured, and Izzy nodded to reinforce the statement.
"It's like our eyes play tricks on us."
"Really?" Tails' anger was replaced by fascination. "But how can that be? That isn't possible, at least, I think it isn't..."
"I honestly don't know... My walking speed is average at best. But so many people have been surprised that I'm starting to think it isn't coincidence." Izzy shrugged, looking at Bunnie. "But you saw me walking towards him, right?"
"Yep, freaky huh?"
"Hmmm... It could have something to do with our peripheral vision that reacts to the energy flowing inside you, but that's unheard of... we'll probably learn more from that when we get to Knuckles." Tails took a small black remote from his newly made desk and pressed a button. "Speaking of Knuckles, let's hit the sky!"
Miles' garage doors opened to reveal a high-maintenance jet plane, with all the works that any plane obsessed fox could possibly put on. Or at least anything a book obsessed echidna could think of. With a shapely form and a gorgeous paint job that had the word 'Tornado Four' on both sides, one would never in a million years suspect that it was all done by a young, highly intelligent fox. "Whoa... this is one awesome aero dynamic machine. I'm not much for heavy technology, but the way it looks seem to fit the two seats so well."
"You're more observant than you let on... yep, this plane was really just made for two passengers, since the weight is distributed perfectly." Tails flew over to the front seat and started the engines, the plane humming to a relaxed start. "Hop on."
"Ok then, let's get this over with." Izzy climbed up to the back seat using the steel steps that were made just for that very purpose. "How far away is Angel Island?"
"Five hundred miles south east... it should take us about forty to fifty minutes to reach."
"Have a safe trip boys, and say hi to Knuckles for me." Bunnie waved at Tails, and snuck a wink over to Izzy, who smiled gingerly back. "Don't worry about Walt again, by the way."
"Will do, Bunnie. Tell Sonic to visit Angel Island in case he gets here before we do!" Tails had to raise his voice as the plane's rumbling was getting too loud. The rabbit confirmed with a two-finger salute, and used her cybernetic leg jets to hover away from the Tornado's improvised runway. Tails slowly pushed the lever forward as it started to gain more speed, and then pulled the steering stick with considerable force--in mere seconds they'd already flown straight out of Knothole.
"Bunnie!" A pink hedgehog came running towards the rabbit in question at an insane speed, and stopped right in front of her just as quickly. "Was that the Tornado? Did Sonic run off with Tails again?"
"Naw, Sonic hasn't returned yet Amy. Tails just brought Izzy to see Knuckles on Angel Island."
"Izzy who?--Oooh, the green echidna that did a number on that huge robot earlier!" Amy sighed, a concerned frown on her face. "I wish Sonic would just come home already... I hope he hasn't gone off on another one of his adventures again."
"Don't worry about that sis. Sonic ain't the type to break promises."
In the other side of the world, a blue hedgehog who appeared to be in a very, very delicate situation concerning a chaos emerald, a frantic nail-biting Eggman and a bottomless pit, sneezed. "Uh-oh, not good--whoooaaaaaa!..."
"Yeah, you're right... maybe I should make Sonic seal our inevitable marriage with an old fashioned pinky promise, just to be sure! I swear, sometimes that hedgehog is too stubborn for his own good."
Bunnie simply rolled her eyes in faint amusement. Maybe being stubborn was a species thing...
Thirty minutes just seemed to fly by, and Tails was already navigating through the sea, having passed above the forests and the thinning coastline. "Doing good back there?"
Izzy was caught in a trance. Nightfall had already replaced the bleak darkness of twilight with an unbelievable amount of sheer unprecedented beauty. He could see the moon straight through the cloudless sky, letting loose its silver rain upon the world. He could see the stars, plentiful and bright; like a spectacular parade filled with attractive awe-inspiring lights. And if that wasn't enough, the reflection below mimicked everything beautiful from above! It was all just, breathtaking... magical. A space between two skies.
Tails shifted his position to look behind, and let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry Izzy, you'll get used to it."
Izzy continued to stare upwards. Never in his whole life had he seen such majesty, and never in his life did he not want to feel the same way as he first saw it. "Maybe... but I don't think I want to."
"Hmmm... Izzy, you write?"
"Yeah, how did you guess?"
"It shows." Tails smiled and went back to looking onwards. "Hey... what's that?"
"What?" Izzy squinted his view and saw a small dot, straight ahead. "It looks like... what the... what's with all the waterfalls, is that Angel Island?"
"Huh? Waterfalls?" Tails rummaged around his seat and removed a small telescope, using it to view the dot a little clearer. "Ah, waterfalls... that's Angel Island all right."
"Oh, I see."
"Hold on--how'd you spot the waterfalls without using some kind of scope?" Tails looked behind again to see Izzy shrugging. "I mean, that thing is just a dot from here!"
"No idea..."
"Those are some really good eyes you've got!"
"Errr... thank you."
"Would you mind if I plucked them out and ran some tests when we get back?" Tails noted the expression of pure horror on Izzy's face and started laughing uncontrollably. "I was just kidding, silly!"
The echidna gave him a wierd look.
"Hey, you didn't actually think I was gonna do that, did you?"
"Hmmm...you 'do' look kinda suspicious, in a mad scientist way."
"Huh?" Tails' face distorted to a sad, insecure look. "I do?..."
Izzy sighed, a sudden fatherly instinct taking him over. Miles reminded him of Walt in so many ways... it just seemed to have an odd effect on him. "Heheh, I never could resist that kind of look... just kidding. Silly."
"Okay..."
"No Tails, really."
Tails' frown ceased to exist and an easy, friendlier feeling fell upon them as they neared the mystical floating island. It wouldn't be long now.
Meanwhile, straight across the two within Angel Island, the red echidna known as Knuckles placed an ancient looking book on his make shift bed and took a deep breath. He could feel it. A haunting kind of aura, uncannily resembling that of the master emerald's. They were coming.
"Hey... are you all right?" A soft voice came from behind him.
"Yeah, Julie. I'm fine." Knuckles replied, turning to see a purple haired pink furred echidna with small parts of her body replaced by cybernetics. "I just don't think that what the book was saying could even be possible... not in this case anyway."
"The emerald's capable of ripping time and space... it may be wierd, but that's the only logical explanation for Izzy's condition. That was his name, right?"
"Yeah... I guess."
"Knuckles, what's bothering you?" Julie-su took a few steps closer, her eyes darting around his body for any bruises or wounds. "Are you all right...?"
The red echidna nodded, albeit a little unenthusiastically, closing his eyes meditatively. After a deep breath, he opened it to see Julie-su staring straight back at him, a disapproving expression on her face. "Can't you for once, be wrong about something?"
"Hey Knux, come'ere."
Knuckles arched a furred eyebrow at the strange tone of his best friend, but obeyed anyway. "What's wrong?"
His curiosity was instantly killed on the spot when Julie-su leaned forward, her lips meeting his. The kiss finished in less than a second, but that didn't stop Knuckles' eyes from growing wide as saucers.
"That should keep your mind off of things for a while." Julie-su giggled in tightly controlled nervousness as Knuckles numbly touched his lips. The two considered each other as best friends but their relationship had in fact gone much deeper, and the odd thing was they didn't even mind it. 'Our first kiss... gutsy move there, Julie girl.'
Knuckles snapped out of it, but there was still a sense of bewilderment--he had to agree that whatever he was worrying about seemed to be erased from his mind. He was about to say something when the whistling of a plane engine started making itself too obvious not to hear. It was then that Knuckles realized what had actually happened and a huge blush made him red all over; as if he wasn't red enough. "Did... did you just..."
"I... I guess I did." Julie-su answered, also realizing her affectionate deed just then. She soon started glowing red too. "Uhm... I... hey, is that Tails' plane I hear?"
"Y-yeah." Knuckles subconsciously thanked the pink echidna for the well-timed excuse, but was a little disappointed all the same. "Let's go greet'em."
"Now Tails, I have all the faith in you being able to land the tornado safely... just one question though." Izzy held onto his seatbelt for dear life. "Why does it look like we're going to nose dive onto the ground?"
"Don't worry, I've tested this kind of landing out before, I just wanted to see if it would work the second time." Was the reply of the two-tailed fox, trying to ignore Izzy's baffled look that suddenly materialized in his mind. Snapping open a safety lock, he flicked the little switches inside, pressed a yellow button and pushed a lever down in record speed. The Tornado's thrusters then began to invert itself, and their descent soon slowed down. Pressing another set of buttons that Izzy didn't quite understand and didn't really bother to memorize, the plane's nose folded into a much flatter surface, and another strong looking object came out from underneath it. As the Tornado finally went to a stop, they were hanging vertically from an otherwise, stable position. Tails beamed with pride, looking back at the green echidna. "This allows the plane to land in surfaces that have no runways... I actually originally planned it flat on it's belly about a month ago, but the wings of the Tornado would hit the ground because of its x shape in fly mode; so I made it like this!"
"Cool... so how do I get down?"
Miles snapped off his seatbelt and used his two tails to fly over to Izzy, bringing him very safely down on floating ground. "See? Got it all covered."
"Heheh, it actually makes sense since you're the only one that knows how to fly this thing... your IQ definitely lives up to its reputation."
"Thanks!"
Izzy chuckled. "But what if the passenger is too heavy for you to carry?"
"H-huh? I... I..." Tails' eyes widened; immediately entering a crazy calculating stupor. How could he have missed that? "errr... how... uhm... what if... no..."
"Hey now, it was a joke! Nothing to get riled up about... you okay? Hey!" Izzy tried to explain, but it was no use. For something as sweet as the art of flawless, a true perfectionist still saw it as a potential problem, joke or no. But Izzy doubted that Tails was even listening to him, anyway.
"Oi." A deep voice echoed throughout the small gathering of trees, startling Izzy. It was as if the island itself called his attention.
Looking around, he spotted two dark figures walking towards him; the night's shadowed beauty aiding their subtle appearances. Having decided that he had no idea on what exactly to do, he looked back at Tails who seemed to be playing some test-run scenarios over and over in his overly used head. Sensing no hostility from either Tails or the strangers, Izzy shrugged it off and went over to meet the two figures, who'd already stopped a few feet away. He could see them perfectly now. "Uhm, hello. Knuckles, and..."
"Hey there! My name's Julie-su; but you don't really need to say the su part." Julie-su smiled, then quickly glanced at her red companion. "Hey Knux, he's kinda cute."
"Huh?" Knuckles stared at the pink echidna in hurt confusion.
"You're too gullible, sweets... he's still cute though, kinda like a girl."
"...whatever." Shaking his head and not even wanting to think about being jealous, Knuckles lifted a gloved hand, offering the traditional shake to the green echidna. "Welcome."
"Thanks."
Izzy leaned forward, gratefully taking the polite gesture, and Knuckles' eyes widened for a split second. He could feel it; that same surge he felt when his fingertips touched the master emerald... he could sense its raw, undivided power in the strange echidna--yet felt that it was barred from leaving his body. Could the book really be referring to this? It certainly didn't leave any questions unanswered...
"I've got it!" Tails yelled all of a sudden, surprising Julie-su especially. "Next time, it'll be perfe--oh, you guys are already here!"
"Uh, yeah, we've been here for a while already." Julie-su wondered how it was possible not to have noticed a hand waving in front of your face for ten seconds. "Be a little more aware next time, 'kay? Never know when an evil gerbil might come bite you. I mean, rabies really stinks."
Tails shuddered at the thought. Rabies was a bad, bad, baaad disease. It almost ruled out the generic fiction and of evil gerbils. "Not a good joke, nu-uh."
"Heheh, it could happen." The pink echidna returned her gaze to the older boys, who seemed to be already engrossed in conversation.
"So let me get this straight. You know my origins, but you have to be sure by 'fighting' me first?" Izzy asked, genuinely surprised. But something inside expected that... in a way. It could be natural instinct; he was an echidna after all.
"Yes." Knuckles nodded, being very frank about it. "I'm sorry, but it is probably the only way I can know for sure. If it makes you feel better, then perhaps I can explain the markings on your chest on our way."
"Hrm."
"Knuckles, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tails asked, getting more and more worried by the second. Knuckles was incredibly strong... he wasn't that slow either. Sonic could beat him in a one on one fight, but that was still an if. Sonic may be faster and a little more clever, but Knuckles was a genius when it came to fighting. It was too bad that his anger ruined his focus at times, but that couldn't be helped either. Anger was connected to pride, and pride was connected to confidence, and confidence unfortunately, 'was' focus.
Izzy, on the other hand... he didn't really know. But Tails assumed that he knew what he was getting into. He has yet to see an echidna that wasn't good at fighting, anyway.
Julie-su was dead quiet. What was this all about? Knuckles didn't--
"Come on, let's go." The red echidna motioned, pointing towards the master emerald's former altar that could be seen towering in the east. "You'll fall behind."
"Y-yeah." Julie-su nodded, running towards her confusing friend and the others.
"So, are you going to explain to me what these white markings on my chest are for yet?" Izzy asked, a little concerned about agreeing to this confrontation. Fighting was not something he did everyday; not even occasionally, much less be challenged to one. But he wasn't totally against it, nearly seventy five percent of the books he'd read had fight scenes, and nearly all of them have exhilirated him in one way or another... in fact, confronting an opponent in a physical show of skill and power came so naturally to him that he couldn't help but instinctively exercise during his free time. It was also one of the reasons why he enjoyed teaching Walt. "And if it isn't too much trouble, can you please tell me the reason why I look so different compared to you two?"
"Honestly, I don't know. It could be something out of birth... not really my style to question logic, but I don't question the unexplainable either." Knuckles replied, absent-mindedly staring at the spiked, white gloves that covered his hands as they neared the master emerald's altar. He hoped that the echidna was at least strong enough to handle one punch; being proven wrong with a serious injury was not something anyone should take for granted... but there was no other way. Knuckles needed to throw it as hard as he possibly could so that he knew immediately if the unusual looking Izzy could take it. And if he couldn't well, at least the fight didn't have to drag on and ultimately lead to the crippling of his green furred kin--something he probably wouldn't be able to endure being guilty of. "As for the marks, it represents your tribe--it's a lot like a country's emblem, or national flag."
"Ah... I guess it's a little bit like I imagined it was." Izzy said with a kind, faint smile, unknowingly forcing Knuckles to have second thoughts on what he had planned to do. As far as the fight was concerned, Izzy wasn't really expecting a surprise attack or anything, but the pit of his stomach was telling him otherwise. Not that it burdened him, an extra sheet of caution never hurt anyway... and it felt quite natural for him to assume so. But at least from the look on his face, the red echidna's mood didn't seem like it held any degree of contempt. "So what clan am I part of?"
"Not sure, but if those markings are what I think they are, then you come from a very very old family--ancient even... not that it's possible, but like I said, I keep my mind open to unreal things too."
"I see." Izzy nodded, satisfied for now. After what seemed like an eternity, the four were finally climbing the last set of marble steps before reaching the altar, when the green echidna felt an uncomfortable hue emanating from Knuckles as he gestured for Julie-su and Tails to stay behind. Truth be told the former didn't take it very well and let out a worried pout as they reached the top, almost making Izzy blush as his gaze happened upon her vividly expressive face. She was drop-dead attractive, that much was certain. But it was not a sight he was able to enjoy for long as he felt his right side begin to tense, pulling him back to reality and the complicated matter at hand. He was used to following his gut instincts, but the unreal strength that the feeling gave off disturbed him... he'd never felt so warned in his life. That and the harmless demeanor Knuckles appeared to show gave him conflicting emotions, pretty much leaving him vulnerable and unable to concentrate.
He never had a chance to see the sudden wave of red that splashed onto his face, the guttural connection releasing an echo that scattered throughout the night sky.
"What was that?" Tails looked towards the direction of the sound, but the final set of steps paired with the overwhelming height of the tower obstructed his view. Readying himself to fly, Miles was about to jump when a gentle hand that clutched his put the fox's plan to an abrupt halt, and the look on Julie-su's eyes removed whatever worry was plaguing him. He trusted Knuckles... and whatever it was they were doing up there was necessary... he hoped. "Oh boy..."
A grunt of pain escaped Izzy's lips as he fell awkwardly to the floor, his body skidding on the ground like a rag doll before finally stopping on his stomach. For a good three seconds the initial shock was fresh, and his right cheek was an entire mess of feeling. He had no idea what'd just happened, but when his surprise died down--and the pain cranked up--his only guess was that his new 'friend's' elbow was given a crash course with his face... it made Izzy shudder to think of what his condition might be had it been Knuckles' spiked glove. But he didn't have time to explore the thought further as the dreaded sound of heavy footsteps was nearing its destination, and a dose of fear shot through his spine; right before it was replaced by controlled fury.
Yes... this was the feeling. When his elbow gave Izzy that staggering blow (he'd have to apologize later), it felt exactly like he had hit the master emerald. Now, the only question that needed to be answered was if the green echidna was capable of demonstrating the emerald's power. Oh, right. He needed to punch him hard too. 'Damnit... I hope this doesn't kill you Izzy...'
The crumpled echidna's eyes widened as he caught sight of the blurred shoe in his peripheral vision; Knuckles was going to kick his stomach! And what's worse was that he could do absolutely nothing about it, having spent too much time thinking about how the heck he managed to get into this mess. Without a doubt, this one was going to hurt a lot. But there was at least one defensive measure he could apply... and that was to exhale as much as he could. Given the current situation, hissing out a breath was a good way to reduce the pain and more importantly, it killed the chance of getting the wind knocked out of him. It was sooner than he expected when the thunderous kick landed, sending a very sharp pain that was dulled by the fact that no air was in Izzy's lungs at the time--a thoughtful tactic that didn't go by unnoticed by his attacker. Nevertheless, the massive strength behind Knuckles' leg sent him two feet off the ground and nearly six feet away from where he'd lain.
A tiny, proud smile curled upon the red echidna's pursed lips as he delivered the kick, noticing Izzy's intriguing knowledge of a physical bout... that or he was just really lucky. Either way, he got through with only half of the intended damage. What surprised Knuckles the most though, was that his opponent managed to land on his knees, even having the strength to push himself up right after... but he was hurting. Try as the strange echidna might to hide it, Knuckles still expertly noted his rattled condition. "Hm. Not bad."
Izzy's only reply was a deep, calming breath that fueled his focus, his mind now prepared to deliver and recieve punishment. Getting the picture, Knuckles couldn't help but smile even wider as he stepped into a fighting stance himself, his bent figure a little more inclined to aggresive attacks than a well-distributed defense. Izzy, also quite observant in nature, found this to be an ideal stance because of their distance... it also meant that Knuckles would most likely go for another offensive break. Once again, not many counter-defense options, if there were any at all. 'He's way too strong... if I don't turn this fight around and quick, I'm not going to last five minutes into this thing... use your head Izzy, think! Wait...'
"Eh?" Knuckles almost questioned himself out loud at the green echidna's suicidal decision of leaping towards him, positioning his left fist as if he was readying to give a strengthened hook. He certainly wasn't expecting Izzy to be so aggresive after the tremendous kick he gave, but in a way he was impressed by it. He had a lot of guts to try coming back strong after taking such a hard shot... it was almost like he was reading Knuckles' mind. Having obtained a heightened respect for Izzy, Knuckles decided to take the attack head on and deliver an unpredictable strategy himself. "Show me what you've got!"
Izzy on the other hand felt awkward and nervous when he saw Knuckles prepare to deliver one of those infamous earth-shattering punches that he'd read so much about. The best scenario would probably be a collision of both their fists, and the best outcome would be Izzy breaking his wrist, if not every bone in his left hand. Whilst the worst scenario, well... he didn't want to think about it, but if he were to guess, he still wouldn't be able to because it'd most likely be censored for vulgar content. Being completely negative about it wasn't going to help though; he had already passed the point of no return. 'Focus! Make this the strongest punch you've ever had to throw... concentrate...' "Hyaaa!"
"Going through with it eh? How's this!" Knuckles yelled, right before he pressed on his heels at the last second, side-stepping to his right with alarming speed. All along he had planned to snatch Izzy's arm as it passed through, and then use the force that he applied from the missed punch to tackle him down to the ground. From there Knuckles would be able mount him and deliver a punch that held all of his strength... then and only then, would he know for sure if Izzy could handle it.
He took no notice the green, vaporous aura that was escaping the aggresor's fist as he moved out of the way...
'W-what the--oh no!' Izzy tried to stop the punch, but he'd put so much strength and mind-power on it that his arm refused to go any other way but straight. Consequently, Knuckles was able to dodge his fist without any trouble and, for a dull split-second, looked as though the fight had just reached its climactic ending for Izzy... but that was when it happened.
Knuckles, completely ignoring the green substance that Izzy's fist left trailing behind it, was taken aback by the sudden burning sensation his eyes felt when it came in contact with the vapor. In no time at all the pain grew close to unbearable, and Knuckles had no choice but to abort his plans and put all of his present attention on the startling dillema. With his hands covering his face, Izzy was just as surprised to see him suddenly put his guard down like that. 'My eyes, what the--what on Mobius just happened?'
But Izzy was a very sharp thinker... and before Knuckles even knew his opponent was beginning a new attack, Izzy quickly shifted as much force as he could on his fist, causing his arm to make a wild swing and in effect jerked his entire body along with it in a three hundred and sixty degree turn. Without stopping, the green echidna drove his left knee into Knuckles' ribs with all of his might, causing a colission of flesh and bone so great that the ground and the air around them vibrated with the sickening thud. And to top it all off the peace-loving birds that felt the shockwave began flapping away as fast as they could, delivering an effect that had both Tails and Julie-Su holding their breaths in worry.
"Tails, I... maybe you should go check..."
"A-are you kidding? I'm getting too old for this..."
Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter Two, Epilogue...
"NO, I do NOT want to talk about it. Stop pestering me!" Sonic snarled in the intercom, wanting very much to kill himself just so he could fly over to where his nemesis was and beat the living egg out of him... literally. It really bothered him, how he could see this entire situation slowly becoming helpless, and that soon he'd really have to confess something he would never share with anyone, ever... to 'Eggman' of all people. It was leaving a horrendously bad taste in his mouth and he just knew that Eggman was aware of that... since why the hell would he bug him about his love life if he didn't?
"Oh, but I insist!" Came the evil, cocky voice that Sonic hated so much; that annoying, unnerving voice that seemed like it would rip through his existence if he gave it the chance. It was ironic though, how much he enjoyed hearing that voice whenever the doctor was screaming obscenities after getting his fat butt beaten by the fastest thing alive for the umpteenth time. In fact, how many times he was beaten didn't even matter to Sonic anymore, he lost count a long time ago. "What's the matter hedgehog? You don't have any interest in girls? Don't tell me the grass is greener on the other side--"
"Shut up!"
"Oho! Struck a nerve, have I?" Eggman could hear the blue hedgehog growl from his communicator, and oh was he enjoying himself. He always did like torturing people in awkward moments. Especially when he was holding all the cards. In fact it was a lot less than what he could say about Sonic's 'little' problem. He had the lives of his friends in his greedy hands... and with the simple, push of a button, that'd be all she wrote for the freedom fighters. But not yet. He wanted to relish every single moment before finally destroying his life in one fell swoop. "Hahaha, well you know me Sonic, once I strike a nerve, I start plucking!"
"Damnit Eggman! I got the third emerald! Now would you just leave me alone for five seconds?" The blue hedgehog shook slightly as he applied a hydrogenated medicinal liquid on his right arm, which right now sported a long tender cut just below his shoulder. It was bad enough that the edge he had fallen off earlier caused this, but Eggman wasn't helping at all... heck, since when was there an instance in which that round piece of grease helped anyway? "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Yes. That's the beauty of it!" Eggman's voice cackled through the intercom, proceeding to rack Sonic's brain with its alternate high-pitch and low-pitch sounds.
The hedgehog's furry eyebrow twitched. "Well then, if you're not interested in any of them, then you wouldn't mind if I did them in right now, would you?"
"W-what?"
"I'm afraid our little conversation can have some pretty heavy consequences... consequences of which, I don't think you can handle. But maybe I'm underestimating you... all right then! Who do you want to go first? Ah, perhaps Princess Sally Acorn? From what my scanners have picked up in the past few months, it appears that you two have cut off due to relationship troubles, so why not?" His sattelite monitor showed Sonic pale very visibly, and he mentally gave himself a pat on the back. Eggman knew how much they meant to him, but he wanted to know exactly 'who' was it that held his heart.
"Don't... you... dare... you slime ball!" Sonic's eyes glinted green murder, his gloves almost ripping at the extreme pressure that his clenched fists were unknowingly putting on it. Sally was without a doubt, one of the most important things in his life. If anything ever happened to her...
Eggman could feel Sonic's intense hatred pulse and seethe even though he was all the way up in space... this was just too good to be true. "Touchy touchy... fine then, how about contestant number two, the feisty Bunnie Rabbot? Conveniently her bio console's just two steps from where I am so just say the word and I'll happily oblige!"
"Listen up you piece of trash! If you think for even a second that your threats are going to stop me then you're dead wrong, if you keep it up I swear I'm going to destroy these emeralds and--"
"Ah, I see, it's settled then! Amy goes first."
Silence.
'Finally... I've struck oil.' "Is that a yes please?" Eggman's grin threatened to rip his face in half, a dozen hundred diabolic ideas already running through his mind.
He never thought the annoying little girl had that effect on Sonic... he was merely testing the waters. But in a completely off way, they were actually quite compatible for each other; a loud, arrogant pest for an equally irritating one. "Well? Speak up my obnoxious rival of a runt!"
"Don't hurt her." Sonic couldn't bear to look in the intercom. He had no idea that Amy was involved too...
"Eh?"
"I'll do what you want damnit! Just don't hurt her! Are you happy now?"
"Oh my... this definitely doesn't sound like you at all!" The doctor's laugh boomed across space and the cave Sonic was in, and the hedgehog shook in a highly volatile mix of embarrassment, worry, and unbelievable anger. In fact, Eggman would never admit it, but even he himself was a little nervous about his nemesis' change of character. As much as he was in denial, the truth was he had never really won against the blue hedgehog, and there were many occurences in which he cheated death only because of Sonic's goody goody attitude... not that he appreciated it in any way--he hated being pitied, it was partly the reason why he wanted to rule over mobius. Though on a more positive note, he was now aware of Amy being a tad bit above the rest when it came to Sonic's interests... and as important as that information was, part of him was still dying to claw through Sonic's nerves, whilst his more rational side was telling him that pursuing the subject further might only make his oh so perfect plan backfire. And--obviously being very experienced in the art of a failed attempt--he wisely chose the latter. "Hmmm... unfortunately, we'll have to continue this conversation at another time. My chaos scanners have located the fourth emerald somewhere underneath Westopolis--it's too out of range to track precisely, so you're on your own."
"...It doesn't matter. Consider it found." Sonic muttered, tying a knot around his cut using the red handkerchief that Amy had given him for luck a year back. Patched up and ready to get out of this monster of a cave, a small sigh escaped his lips before it was replaced by a low growl, his feet anxious to get back to running again. 'Just you wait Eggman... you're going to get what's coming to ya.'
His determination never leaving him, all Sonic needed was a split second to disappear.
o-----
Author's Notes: And chapter two is done :)! Hope everyone liked it. Chapter three'll completely explain Izzy's past for the moment, and will also focus a little bit more on Bunnie, Walt and the rest of the gang back in Knothole. As for those that were observant enough to wonder about how old everyone is in my fic, this story happens a year after everything... so Sonic is seventeen, Tails is nine, Knuckles is eighteen, and Eggman is sixty one (I don't really think anyone cares about that, but I just wanted to point it out :P). Eggman's hold mysterious hold over Sonic's friends comes to light in the next chapter as well :).
On a side note, Espio, Cream and Rouge fans; stay tuned for appearances... heck I might even throw Shadow in early, if I get enough reviews :).