Chapter 3: Prey meets Predator
"Sonic…Look" Knuckles said to the blue wonder covering the tree's bruised spot with a leaf Band-Aid. Sonic then stood up and faced the caste. What he saw was a large gap of land that was rowed by trees. A path that led to an enormous medieval-style fortress that looked like it could scrape the very sky. Skyscraper. How funny. It looked to be newly constructed, made up of grayish bricks that formed the immense shape of the structure, that looked like they haven't ages a decade. The towers that pointed upwards were numerous and tall, that had black tops roofs and windows swirling around them. The two were also able to see weird shaped object precariously placed on the edges of the gray wall that surrounded the castle. Knuckles guessed that they were gargoyles, which were used in old medieval times to symbolized demons and devils, and to occasionally scare off anyone stupid enough to think they were real. The castle structure even shined and glistened in the afternoon sun as if it had a holy aura about it. Both the warriors' jaws dropped at the beautiful castle, taking an occasional step towards it.
"Think it's real?" Sonic asked Knuckles still mesmerized at the great fortress. Knuckles stuttered in amazement, "No…it can't be." The wind began picking up; blowing from their backs like the castle was giving them a soothing greeting. The two looked back for one second to find that the gapped trail was still stretching down for more than a mile, leading to an opening that showed the towering mountains.
"How far have we travel exactly?" asked Sonic again, but still with no answer from Knuckles. Instead, Knuckles began walking down the wide trail and tried to make out what was on the other side. "I think there's a lake down there," Knuckles said trying to focus on his direction, "or maybe a river or something." Sonic looked into the same direction as Knuckles and realized that he could smell fresh water. And the wind did a good job carrying the richer aromas of that area. "Yeah…and there are flowers too." After sampling the sweet smells of the distant lake, Sonic turned back to the castle, gazing at it once more. "But I think we should check out that place first. Whaddya think Knuckles?" Once Knuckles heard his name, he snapped out of the fresh scents of the wind and faced the castle as well. "Yeah…it would be a good idea to see who owns this land. If anyone lives there, we can ask them if they heard any explosions last night." Sonic nodded. To be seeing such a magnificent castle, someone must live in it, someone really rich. Sonic was already trying to picture what kind of person the owner would look like, maybe an old man with a huge retirement fund, or an extremely famous rock star. Over a hundred different thoughts and ideas were zooming through Sonic's imagination.
"You think we might be able to have a tour inside it?" Sonic asked wit a wondering smile. Knuckles walked up to Sonic and looked at his face. He really wanted to check out that castle, not only because it's suspicious, but also because he was curious about it. "Uhh…don't get too cocky Sonic," Knuckles advised the eager hedgehog," This isn't Disney Land." "I know that!" Sonic said, "I just want to see what's inside it!" Sonic then started running down the road to the shining castle. "Sonic! Wait!" Knuckles yelled out running behind Sonic. Knuckles knew how eager Sonic was to check the place out. He himself wanted to look around, but he never counted on just barging in without the slightest thought of what to do…if they were trespassing.
"Sonic! Wait you idiot! We can't just rush this! We need a plan!" Knuckles shouted to Sonic still on a course for the castle. After he told him to stop, he did. He came to a screeching halt in a matter of seconds, giving Knuckles time to catch up. Once he did, he gave Sonic a huge slug to the head. "Oww!" Sonic yelled covering his head.
"Next time why don't you wait before doing something you dope!" Knuckles yelled, but Sonic kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. "Hey! I'm talking to you Sonic! Speak up!" Knuckles yelled again, but was stopped by Sonic's hand holding his muzzle shut. Knuckles pulled the hand away and asked, "Hey! What the hell!?" Sonic then slapped his face to look to their front, and there stood a tall figure standing up with his arms folded across his chest.
The person looked to be like Sonic and Knuckles, looking to be from the same origin and world, but was a foot taller and had brown fur that spiked up like needles. His hair was combed all the way to his back, long and also spiky, with two large bangs hanging in the front. His nose, like any other wolf-like creature, was big and stuck out in front, and his eyes were of a bright yellow.
The cloths he wore were as odd as he was, a tight black vest with no sleeves and a turtleneck covering the bottom part of his face, which was held together by a zipper in the front. He also wore some large black gloves covering his hands all the way to his lower elbows, looking to have straps that tighten on the wrists. Knuckles saw them as fighting gloves, perfect for smacking a guy's face in without leaving a scratch on your hands. On his lower body he wore a pair of black denim jeans fastened with a leather belt, which looked suitable for traveling, but also looked cumbersome for running, at least that's what Sonic thought. The shoes however, looked to be designed for traction and scaling landscapes and nothing else. It would be no surprise if they were exceptional running shoes as well. They seemed like a nice pair, one that Sonic might be interested in wearing. And lastly, the person had a long red scarf that hung from around his turtleneck to the grassy ground he stood on. The guy then began walking a few steps closer to the two heroes, dragging the scarf behind him. The trail it leaves completely flattens the well cut grass.
"Why, What's happenin' mates?" Said the creature with a strine accent, cracking a friendly smile. The guy was standing right in front of them in the dead center of the trail, which made the two heroes very nervous, still they tried to keep their composure nonetheless. "Ey? Why you lookin' like a bunch a fruits? Don't tell me you're scared of me." Sonic looked towards Knuckles, not knowing what to expect. Never in the hedgehog's life has he seen a dog like that, let alone dress like some fighter from the future. When Sonic looked at Knuckles he noticed that he was facing right at him. He wasn't even trying to notice Sonic as he asked him, "Hey, Knuckles. What's up?" Knuckles' teeth grinded onto each other, his fists balled up to the point of bleeding. Looks like Knuckles know who or what this guy is.
"Pardon us sir," said Knuckles to the wolf, Sonic looking at his friend in confusion. "You see. We were just passing by this woodland with no intent of harming it, until we came across that castle there." The bug guy's head tilted, his arms folded around his chest. "Oh? You mean that castle? That's true, it's a bit difficult to miss, that big bugger of a fort. A beauty ain't it?" Knuckles nodded and said, "Yes it is. We were hoping to meet the caretaker of that place, to better understand its radiance." Sonic couldn't believe how smart Knuckles was sounding. Since when did he acquire words like "radiant" and "pardon"? He never ever said pardon once, at least not to Sonic's knowledge. What the hell's he doing? Are they going to serve tea now?
"Ahh! I see how you'd want to get a tour of the castle so badly. You look eager for a bit of mystery aren't ya?" The guy said. "So how about it? Can you let us pass?" Knuckles asked keeping his eyes on him. Then the tall brute began scratching his chin and humming, as if he was trying to come up with an answer. Then he came out with, "Hmmm……….You sure you'd want that?" Knuckles' fists constricted even more. Sonic just looked at both of them talking, not having a word to bring up. "Well Yeah. Why would you wanna ask if we were sure? Are you the guy that owns the place?" The guy's eyes widened a bit after Knuckles' words. Then he mumbled a few of his own, "Well, at this rate it SHOULD be mine."
Then the guy's arms unfolded and he maintained a calmer, friendlier stance. "The name's Spyke. Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire at your service." He then bows as if for royalty. What the hell? Just a second ago he was tough and threatening, now he's acting like a goofball. Sonic just decided to go with it. "Well, since we're getting all fancy with the titles, my name is Sonic the Hedgehog." Knuckles then spoke up, "And I'm Knuckles. I'm just a mole."
Say what? Sonic looked at Knuckles as if he just cursed out at the president. What gives? Knuckles isn't a mole. Sonic then tried to remind Knuckles, "Uhh…Knucklehead? You're not a" Then Sonic was interrupted by Knuckles the self-proclaimed mole. For some reason, Knuckles wanted to keep his new identity. "We're just ordinary guys wanting to check out something they wanted to see since they were kids. So, how about it Spyke? Will you cut us some slack?" The wolf began to think hard, rubbing his chin even more, looking around as he made a decision. Knuckles' teeth were still grinding, but were hidden by his lips. Sonic knew how Knuckles was feeling. The red echidna, or mole, was unsure of Spyke. The character looked like trouble. You don't need to be a specialist to figure that out, but something else made Knuckles more nervous about the guy. In Knuckles' eyes, he can tell that Spyke was hunting for something. The first thing that came to Knuckles' mind that the wolf might be looking for were the emeralds. He felt that they were in danger yet again, and that Spyke was that danger. Sonic wasn't able to realize fully what Knuckles felt, but he knew far well to expect anything.
"Oh yea…Uhh…you see that's a bit of a sticky wicket for ya." The wolf chuckled a little as he broke out the bad news. Sonic and Knuckles perked up to listen. "You see, I can't let ya just prance right in. That castle…isn't the kinda place to check out." Knuckles' right fist shook violently, "Wait! Why not?" Spyke shook his head, "Remember what I said bout bein' a ghost hunter? Well I am a ghost hunter, and that castle up yonder, is haunted."
"Bologna!!" Knuckles screamed. He was showing signs of stress and tried to sober back up from it. "I mean…I don't believe in ghosts. I think it's all just a bunch of bologna." Spyke just let out a loud humph of laughter for a respond and shook his head again, and then folding his arms again. "You really want to see that castle huh? Even if it will tear you to shreds with fear." Spyke chuckled even more. Sonic began to get nervous as well. "Tell ya what. I'll give you blokes a chance to the goal." Sonic became very nervous. Not another race. I still haven't recovered from that last one. Come on man, I don't need this! Sonic's nerves were easy to notice, but Knuckles was still focused on Spyke.
"All you have to do is run past me. If I'm not able to stop you in time, go on ahead to the castle. Keep in mind that I warned you punks…" After that last line, Spyke was considered to Knuckles an enemy to both him and Sonic. Although the blue hedgehog was relieved that it wasn't a race. So…all they had to do was run past him. To Knuckles it sounded like an invitation to hell and back, but to Sonic, it sounded like Spyke was underestimating them. In an instant, his confidence came back one last time, and he was ready to give it his all. "Fine then! I'll accept your challenge Mr. Ghost hunter Extraordinaire! Here I come!!"
"Sonic! Wait!!" Knuckles yelled. Spyke then sported a vile grin with sharp fangs, and let out a growl. "Come at me!" Yelled the unmasked monster. With that, Sonic wasted no time getting past him. In Sonic's mind, he already pictured himself passing up Spyke without any trouble, leading to a new victory, but no sooner has he bolted past the wolf from a 20 foot distance, he was stopped in his tracks so immediate that he almost thought his eyes were going to pop out. Then, after blocking the hedgehog's head with both his hands, Spyke said with a raspy and horrifying voice, "You Fail Hedgehog."