Chapter 5 Plus: Knock, knock, it's Knuckles!

Welcome back to chapter 5! I know I've said it so many times, but I doubt this chapter will need much change. Aside from removing my past self from it and a few tweaks here and there. Anyway, enjoy!

Two days after Sonic got the Skyline Scarf.

Over the next two days, Queen Flare had remodelled the abandoned warehouse on Raceway Island into Skyline HQ. She had created Team Skyline so that Sonic would have back-up just in case something happened to Sonic. So far it was just Sonic and Tails. Tails was flying around the HQ looking at all the features of the place.

"Wow! This place is amazing. There's so much space here!" Sonic was staring at the large computer that stood to the right of the runway hanger.

"Agreed. …Hey Tails." Tails flew down to Sonic.

"What's up?"

"Thanks." Tails raised an eyebrow.

"What for?"

"Nine years ago, I lost my parents to the island that fell into the cloud abyss. The one that had been attacked by the Cloud Dragon?"

"Yeah, I know of that. Wow. That must have been hard on you."

"It… Yeah. It was. Anyway, I didn't talk to anyone. I basically disappeared off everyone's radar. I would occasionally come out to get food and all, but even then, I would knock over stalls while running around and eventually, the townsfolk managed to corner me. It was about then when I met Eggman."

"Eggman? Who's Eggman?" Sonic glanced away from the computer.

"The guy that attacked the island the other day." Tails gasped almost comically. Sonic explained to Tails what happened that day six years ago. Tails was amazed by the time he'd finished.

"So you know "Eggman" from way back when?"

"Yeah. Too bad we're on opposing sides." Tails grinned.

"Don't worry about it too much." He paused. "So… What are you thanking me for?"

"Right! Sorry. My point was that I'm thanking you for helping me realise that there's more to life than hiding out behind the scenes. You told me that I should be-"

"Don't hurt yourself. I get it. No problem." Tails grinned. "So you haven't been off this island in a while."

"No. not since I lost Mom and Dad."

"Well. Let's go explore for a bit then!"

Tails ran over to a tarp in the hanger that was covering something. He uncovered it to reveal a red biplane.

"This is the Tornado. I built it myself!" He said proudly. Sonic marvelled the plane. He was impressed.

"Wow! This is awesome! You made this!?"

"Yep! Wanna take it for a spin?"

"You bet!" He said.

Tails rolled the plane onto the runway outside. He started it up and the plane spluttered to a start. Tails gestured to the passenger seat behind him. Sonic nodded and jumped up. Though he didn't jump in the seat. He jumped up to the back of the plane near the back fin. Tails looked at him funnily.

"Uh. Isn't it smarter to sit in the seat?" Sonic shook his head.

"No. I prefer to fly free. No sitting while flying for me."

"If you say so. I might make something to keep you on the Tornado when we get back then. Just… don't fall off."

"Sure!

The Tornado took off into the open air and headed for a new adventure.

…

The Tornado flew through a fluffy cloud and further out into the open sky. Sonic crouched on the wing as Tails laughed.

"Sure you don't want to jump in the seat?"

"I'm sure! Even if I fall, I trust you enough to catch me again."

"Wow. I'm so honoured."

"Quit the snark kid." There was a ping from the Tornado before a map jumped up in Tails' face. He scanned it.

"Huh. That island isn't supposed to be there." He pointed to a distant island to their right. Sonic grinned.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's investigate!" Tails rolled his eyes.

"Ok. Give me a sec."

Tails aimed the Tornado to land on the island. There was a slight turbulence, but he managed to land the Tornado down perfectly in a large clearing. Sonic jumped off the Tornado and landed on the ground. He looked around.

"This island doesn't seem to have much in the way of people Tails." Tails laughed.

"We need to go deeper in to find anything. So head over to the Stage Gate." He pointed over to a neon blue gate that led deeper into the forest. Sonic looked at Tails as if he was crazy.

"Tails. This isn't a video game you know." Tails laughed again.

"Yeah. I know. But BlueTornado3275 wants it to be!"

"Tails. You just broke the fourth wall."

"Oh no!"

-Looks around franticly-

"How do I fix it?"

-Sonic face palms-

"You can't! It's a figure of speech. It's when…"

"I'll look up how to repair it when we get back. Just go to the Stage Gate."

-Sonic sighs before running through the gate-

Angel Island Zone… START!

Sonic rushed through the forest. Whilst running through, he spotted several robots patrolling the area. They were quick work to destroy but the fact that they were here, meant an unwelcome guest was here too. That was worrying him.

He raced up a fallen tree before jumping through a large blue ring and landing in a large space that was crawling with robots and aggravated wildlife. Combat Phase was in play.

"This again? This isn't a video game!"

With his speed restricted, Sonic had to rely on his combat skills, which at this stage, are pretty low.

"Are you ignoring me? This isn't-"

I KNOW! SHUT UP AND FIGHT THE DAMN ROBOTS WILL YOU? Crikey Sonic. Let me do my job!

Where was I? Right! Sonic made quick work of the hostility in the area-

"All except you…"

Do you want to get to Eggman or not? If you do, LET ME DO MY JOB!

Sonic rolled his eyes before finding the way out of the Combat Area. Unfortunately, it was up on a large ledge he couldn't double jump to. If only there was a way to get a third jump in.

"Shut up and give me the Triple Jump Bracelet."

Oh for F* #'s sake. Fine. Take it.

Sonic grinned in triumph.

Triple Jump Bracelet- this bracelet allows you to jump three times. First jump: normal. Second Jump: single flip. Third jump: twirl in the air.

Heading back to the wall, Sonic triple jumped up and over it and spin-dashed down the dirt track

Soon he found a clearing. As he screeched to a stop he saw a new Egg Carrier floating in the sky above him. It was large in size and there was way too much red. He watched a robot lower into the clearing to a shrine. Eggman was standing in front of a large green gem that was at the top of the shrine. Sonic took a deep breath and jumped over to Eggman.

"Hey Eggman! Long-time no see!" he saw Eggman jump, banging his head on the robot that had come down. He cursed to himself before turning to Sonic.

"Indeed. But this time, I won't let you steal form me!"

"What? I didn't-"

"There! He's the one who wants to steal the Master Emerald!"

"What? What are you talking…?"

He felt someone punch him in the face. He flew across the clearing and crashed into a tree. He got up and saw him.

-Cue character theme.-

He was a red echidna. He had white gloves with black claws on them, purple eyes, yellow shoes with green tongue and a white crest on his chest.

"So, you're the one that wants to steal the Master Emerald huh. Not the type of thief I was expecting." He seemed smug.

"What! Thief! Who are you calling a thief?"

"I'm calling you a thief. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah. Majorly."

Sonic launched himself at the echidna, hitting him at full force. He stumbled back and once recovered, charged at Sonic. The two started to fight. Comically if I might add. It was just a dust cloud with a limb occasionally poking out of it. After a moment the echidna finally got Sonic pinned down to the ground. He chuckled.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Sonic gasped for air.

"I ain't no thief!"

"Prove it!" Sonic rolled his eyes before noticing the giant green gem gone from the shrine.

"Hey, uh, your gem's missing."

"Likely story!"

"No seriously! Look!"

The echidna looked over to the shrine to discover that the Master Emerald was indeed missing.

"What!" He jumped off Sonic and looked up to see the Egg Carrier pulling away from the island. A note fluttered down to the two. The echidna grabbed it and quickly skimmed over it. From the look on his face, the note must have been mocking him because he roared with rage and ripped it to shreds.

"EGGMAN!" Sonic got up and brushed some dirt off himself.

"Believe me now Knucklehead? He's the real villain." He stretched himself out, a popping noise coming from his back. He jumped on the spot and began to warm himself up. "Now, are you coming to kick his butt or what?" The echidna looked at him with a sigh.

"That seems only fair. Sorry about that."

"Ah. No biggie. Truce?" The echidna grinned.

"Sure. The name's Knuckles by the way."

"Sonic. My buddy's got a plane we can use to catch up to him. Let's head to that."

"Good idea. Lead the way."

Several wrong turns and several face palms later.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were flying in the Tornado after Eggman. Sonic grinned.

"I can't wait to crash another Egg Carrier. I can imagine Eggman's face too." Tails rolled his eyes.

"Almost there. As soon as you can, jump onto the airship. Try to find a way in from the outside!" He called out. They nodded. As they flew over the Egg Carrier, Sonic and Knuckles jumped off the Tornado and onto the Egg Carrier. Several robots popped up out of hatches, ready to take any intruders down. They got one look at the pair and were banging on the hatch doors to let them back in. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"They sure reflect the image of Eggman don't they?" Knuckles nodded. Once the robots were defeated Knuckles broke a hole in the roof. The pair jumped through and into the corridor.

"I can sense the Master Emerald to my left. Let's go that way." Sonic nodded and they ran through the pathways. Soon they stood in front of a re-enforced door. Knuckles punched it down easily.

Eggman stood there, about to touch the emerald. He cringed when the door caved in.

"You know, there's a key code for a reason!"

"Oh. Sorry, didn't get that memo."

Eggman sighed with annoyance before turning to his left, as if to talk to someone. But there was no one there, so he turned to face the pair.

"It's too bad that you didn't join me Knuckles. I could have used someone of your strength in my army. Now I'm going to have to get rid of the both of you!" He pressed a button on the control panel and several powerful looking robots fell from holes in the ceiling. They landed in a circle around Sonic and Knuckles.

"Wow. Not fighting today. That's a first." Sonic said rudely. He was about to ram the robots when he was stopped by Knuckles.

"Hold on Sonic. I've got this one." Knuckles then jumped toward the first robot to smack it to the ground.

But he didn't. Instead he vaulted over it and hit the wall feet first on the other side of the Master Emerald. He launched off the wall back toward Sonic, collecting the large gem on the way. Once he hit the ground he yelled...

"Chaos Blast!"

"Oh no." Eggman muttered.

...

Tails was flying around the Egg Carrier in the Tornado, looking for some sign of either Sonic or Knuckles. Imagine his surprise when the whole thing blew up.

"What the heck!? Sonic! Knuckles!"

"Yeah?" Tails' head swivelled around to see Sonic and Knuckles sitting behind him. Knuckles was now wearing a gold bracelet with a glowing gem in it.

"What? B-b-but the airship just blew up! How did you-"

"Kid. It's called Chaos Blast and Chaos Control for a reason." Sonic laughed at Tails gawking face.

"Ok Tails. I think that's enough adventuring for one day. Take us home."

Later.

Sonic and Knuckles clinked glasses at the lemonade stand at Skyline HQ. Tails was tinkering with the Tornado. Sonic was talking to Knuckles.

"So. How'd you like that? We took down Eggman again and we even have time to grab lemonade after it."

"Yeah, it was cool." He looked around Skyline HQ. "Nice place you got here. Much better than my shack back on Angel Island. So you guys are a team right. Have you got any more members other than you two?" Sonic looked around.

"Do you see anyone else here?" He gestured around him. "We only just started up today." Sonic grinned.

"But… we could use someone of your strength her in Team Skyline. You get a free place to stay, free food AND you get to (Most likely.) kick Eggman's butt every day. And did I mention free food?" Knuckles laughed heartily.

"Sure. I'd be much more fun than sitting around on an island, guarding a rock all day." Sonic's ear flicked.

"That reminds me, what happened to the Master Emerald? One minute it was in your hand, the next it wasn't." Knuckles raised his left arm and showed him the bracelet.

"I just shrunk it down into this bracelet. I can use its power anytime, anywhere when it's like this."

"Huh. Nifty. Anyway, let's go out the back and do some paperwork..." Knuckles and Tails gave him with a weird look.

"What?"

"We have paperwork?" Sonic laughed.

"Nah. Just kidding." He stuck out a hand.

"Welcome to Team Skyline Knucklehead."

And with that, chapter 5 is rewritten. Can't wait for the next one. See you then!