Ch.6: Future Vision

When the purple light vanished, Knuckles looked at where he and Dusk were. The earth was jagged and scarred. Rivers of lava cut through the earth, hissing like writhing snakes. And not a soul was seen alive.

"Where are we?" said Knuckles.

Dusk looked around, just as confused as Knuckles. This world they were in didn't look anything like the park they left behind, yet Dusk felt as if he knew it somehow. Dusk was soon broken out of his thoughts by an angry Knuckles.

"Where did you take us?" said Knuckles.

"I don't know" said Dusk, pulling out the purple chaos emerald " I just wanted to get us far away from that Shadow character, and this jewel granted my wish,"

"A Chaos Emerald" said Knuckles, looking at the jewel " where did you find this?"

"While we were searching for a birthday present," said Dusk.

Knuckles stood, taking this information in for a minute, before he decided to speak again.

"Well" said Knuckles, looking at Dusk " do you think you can do it again? Return us to our time?"

"I'll try," said Dusk.

But before the hedgehog could concentrate his will to send them home, a familiar yell cut through the air, making both Dusk and Knuckles jump in shock. Quickly, the two friends ran to the edge of the cliff, their eyes widening in surprise at what they saw.

Running across the ruined buildings, about ten yards away, were another Dusk and Knuckles. The other Knuckles looked steamed, while the other Dusk had a nasty grin on his face like he was enjoying the chase.

"Mephiles!" shouted the other Knuckles.

"Mephiles?" the real Knuckles thought " isn't that what Shadow called Dusk right before we left? Can that hedgehog the other me is chasing really be him?"

"Haha!" laughed the other Dusk, looking at the echidna running behind him " old friendships die hard don't they Knuckles? Rest assured, I won't go easy on you this time,"

"The feeling's mutual!" growled the other Knuckles, lunging at Dusk.

From their ledge, Knuckles and Dusk watched in horror as their counterparts fought. Neither side giving in, all their moves dangerous and deadly. This would be a fight to the very end.

After numerous exchanges of kicks and blows, the other Dusk and Knuckles had finally managed to drag their battle to the roof on one of the ruined buildings. Both opponents were extremely tired from their fight, and their chests heaved for air.

"I thought...we were...friends Dusk," the other Knuckles, managed to say.

Those were the last words he ever got to say before the other Dusk stabbed him through the heart with the Chaos Javelian. Once the other Knuckles body lay dead on the ground, the other Dusk approached his former friend, and said the five coldest words Knuckles had ever heard.

"I was never your friend,"

From their ledge, Dusk and Knuckles stood in silence. The scene that had played out before them still haunted their minds. Was this really their future?

"I want to go home now," said Dusk to the purple chaos emerald.

With that said, a purple glow once again consumed both Dusk and Knuckles. When it vanished, the two were back in the present, on Angel Island.

From the sounds of silence inside the cabin, near the alter, Knuckles could tell that the Chaotix had not come home yet from their case. He was glad. After what he just saw, he needed time to think.

Dusk didn't follow Knuckles inside and just sat on the shrine stairs, staring at his chaos emerald, and wondering about the vision he and Knuckles had saw. He didn't want to kill Knuckles in the future.

The echidna had taken him in and healed his injuries. He had treated him like a friend and let him meet his inner circle. Heck, he trusted Dusk with the secret of his job. The poor guy was the last of his kind. If he died, who else would take over the job of watching the Master Emerald?

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Dusk's mind. Grinning, he looked evily at the Chaos Emerald he held in his hand. He had an idea how to change the future, and he intended to enact it.