"Listen Cream, I'm not going to give you another airplane ride, okay? Hey, don't go and give me the pouty-eyed look, because it's not going to work...okay, okay, but this is the last one. Seven times is just too much." I sighed, shaking my head.
"Yay! Throw me really high up this time Knuckles!" Cream said, jumping up and down ecstatically.
"Okay, just settle down, will you?" I groaned. I picked up Cream and spun her around by the arms. I let go of her and she soared high into the air.
"WEEEE!" she squealed with delight, laughing on the way up. She then flapped her large ears, and then glided back down to the ground, "Thanks Knuckles!" she said with a hug, then ran over to Amy.
"Hey Sonic, what time is it!" I growled, growing impatient. How long did it take for the emeralds to recover from only about seven minutes of usage?
"Oh...about eleven twenty, give or take a few minutes...why, you getting bored?" Sonic taunted, grinning.
"As a matter of fact, yes, I am! I'm not one for the whole 'hurry up and wait routine' you know." I retorted at Sonic.
I walked over to the shade of a nearby tree. Shadow was sitting under it, sprawled out with his head resting over his arms. He opened one eye and nodded, then closed it again, "Don't worry, the emeralds will be ready for use soon enough." he said.
"Well that's good, at least someone around here is useful." I said, taking a seat on the ground next to him.
"You got to learn to control that temper of yours Knuckles...having anger in you while using Chaos control will drain you of your power alot faster than it normally would." Shadow added.
"Are you saying I have a temper" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, not to be rude, but it's...not breaking news to any of us..." he replied with a shrug.
"Hmmm...I guess you do have a point. I'll try and calm down. I just don't like waiting for three hours with next to nothing to do." I said.
Shadow got up and looked at the large crater that Tails had created earlier, "Truly amazing...he's definitely something..." he said with a thoughtful look.
I laughed a little, "What, you saying you couldn't have done that?"
"Sure I could have done it...but Tails had something in him that made him seem more...more..." he drifted off in search of the right word.
"...More powerful?" I suggested.
"I guess. At the same time though, he's still weaker than Sonic and me..." Shadow finished, then walked over the others.
"That made no sense..." I said to myself. I sat there for a while, thinking about Shadow's words. If he was saying that Tails was possibly the most powerful fighter on the planet (if you could even call him a fighter), then it could mean some big changes for Sonic and Shadow in protecting the planet.
"Hey Knux, you ready?" I heard Sonic call to me.
"It's about time!" I answered, and walked over to where the group was standing.
All the emeralds lay in a circle as before, they were pulsing with renewed vitality. I sensed their power, and stepped into the center of the circle they formed.
"It's on you Knuckles, whenever you're ready." Sonic said with a nod.
I nodded in reply, and began to take in the power of the emeralds. I noticed the emeralds lift off the ground; they did so faster than they had done with Tails. Probably because I had more experience around the emeralds than Tails did. They began to spin around me, and I soon felt a wind pick up.
"You have it Knuckles, just continue what you're doing." I heard Shadow say.
The emeralds halted in the air suddenly. In a bright flash, they entered my body, and a rush of massive energy went through me. The ground began to crack and crumble around me. I lifted off the ground, and another bright flash burst from my body. A powerful wave of energy knocked over the others, except for Sonic, Shadow, and Vector who managed to stay on their own two feet.
"Allright Knuckles!" I heard Vector yell. I must have closed my eyes from the light, because I only saw black. I opened them, and saw the others getting up, staring in awe.
I looked into the reflection of one of Amy's windows, and nearly jumped back in surprise. A yellow-haired, ruby-eyed echidna stared back at me.
"Whoa...not bad looking if I do say so myself." I commented with a grin. I then noticed my dredlocks pointed upward near the ends. I tried to imagine Rouge's reaction if she saw me.
"Geez Knuckles, you did alot better than I had expected for the first time," Sonic grinned, "Nice hair by the way."
"Heh, well, I am the guardian of the Master emerald...would you expect less?" I responded.
I pounded my fists together, and the ground around me shook and cracked further. This power was like nothing I ever felt before. I felt...invincible. I knew I wasn't though. I was still made of flesh and blood, and death could still occur with me. I had to remind myself of that for a second.
"Okay Knuckles, show us a blast of Chaos energy." said Shadow.
"No problem." I looked up to the sky, and formed a ball of energy in my palm almost instantly,"CHAOS CONTROL!"
I threw the ball with all my might, and it soared at record-breaking speed. I clenched the fist I threw with, and the speeding ball exploded, lighting up the sky.
I looked at the others. Shadow's eyebrow twitched slightly, Tails was mouthing something while watching the lightshow, Sonic gulped nervously, and the others stared at my in astonishment. I thought I heard Amy say something like '...well Sonic could easily do better...' but I didn't hear clearly.
"Um...okay, I guess you're a quick learner. That's good," Sonic said, scratching his head,"Now, are you fast enough?"
Without another word I zipped behind Sonic, back in front of him, then onto the roof of Amy's house in less than three seconds,"Well, what's your opinion?"
"Show off..." Sonic grumbled.
I flexed my arms, and was satisfied with the results. I never felt so powerful before; it was starting to scare me.
"The Chaos emeralds lead to the destruction of my ancestors...I vow to never abuse their power. It could end the planet's existence if any of us did." I said to Sonic, Tails, and Shadow.
"Don't worry Knux, none of us are intent on destroying the planet." Sonic reassured.
I looked at the three of them, even Shadow had an honest look; he wasn't going to go sadistic and destroy all of civilization. I only wondered if he would ever discover his past someday.
"...We should make a pact between the four of us...what do you guys say?" I asked.
Tails nodded, and Sonic and Shadow put their hands in a wrist-lock hand grip. I and Tails joined them. I channeled my power into them. The Chaos emeralds' energy soon was flowing through the four of us. I was eventually looking at Super Sonic, Super Shadow, and Super Tails.
"As protectors of the planet...no, of the galaxy, we swear to never abuse the powers of the Master emerald, or the the seven Chaos emeralds," Sonic spoke. We all formed a single ball of Chaos energy in the center of our circle, "Should this vow be broken for any non-drastic or desperate need, we will remove the abuser's right of using the emeralds," he then looked at each of us,"Agreed?"
"Agreed." we said in unison.
"Then from here on out, we will honor our pact between the four of us." Sonic finished. The ball of energy flew off into the sky, and exploded, showering all of us in specks of light.
We all went back to normal shortly after, "Whoa, since when were you a professional speaker?" I laughed, referring to Sonic's speech he made for the pact.
"Tch, I'm not even sure where that came from." Sonic laughed with a shrug.
"Maybe I should have done the speech, that way it would be seen as a believable event that actually happened." Tails joked to Sonic. We all laughed, even Shadow did a little.
"Sonic! Oh, that was so beautiful! We heard the whole speech, it was like a story right out of the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was so romantic." Amy said, running into Sonic's arms, which willingly accepted her.
Sonic then turned to me,"Who was King Arthur?"
We had a late lunch, then Shadow and I teleported back with Chaos control to Angel Island, the red and purple emeralds in tow. Rouge was sitting on the stone alter, looking in a mirror at herself admiringly. She then turned to me and Shadow.
"Knuckles, Shadow! I was getting lonely," Rouge said with a pouting face. I smiled at her and picked her up in my arms, "Whoa, what's this all about?" she asked with a grin.
"What, can't I hold my favorite jewel hunter?" I joked.
"Yes, and it better only be me that you hold." she laughed, and kissed me on the cheek.
Yep, things were starting to look good for us.
end of chap.9 Now, I realize that Knuckles is actually a bright pink when he transforms in the games...but hey, yellow seems befitting for the others, so why not him? It will probably be a few days before I get the next chapter up, but don't worry, it will be worth the wait. Thanks for reading!