Killing Sonic before centering a story on him? I think not! I do not lie. Or do I?

Metal: Stop taking and start writing. Killing him is my job.

M.H.: Who the heck asked you? Disclaimer now.

Metal: Ownership of Sonic and anything related to the character belongs to Sega.

M.H: Let's get his going!

Metal: *facepalm* You left out the 't' fool.

M.H.: Oh snap! Let's get this going!

Metal: Idiot…

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I'm home?

-l-

There was nothing, nothing but a white light all around. Is this the afterlife? No he was falling. Faster and faster, he fell to earth at an alarming speed. Looking down below he could see his landing point; a bed of jagged rocks ready to impale him. He tried to glide forward, but his power had already faded. All he could do now was close his eyes, and wait for the lethal impact.

With gasp he woke up. Sonic rubbed his head as he recovered from the terrible dream. Sitting up he checked the area. The scenery told him that he was on the far northwest corner of South Island. If that was indeed the case, then he was about fifty miles from his place.

"Hey at least I didn't land in the ocean." he said with relief. It must have been a near thing too, considering how close he was to the coast.

At first he made plans to head straight home, but since most of his friends thought he was dead, he figured he might as well pay them all a visit. The closest place to him now was Angel Island, assuming that Knuckles hadn't left for the sky yet. Hoping he was still in time, Sonic took off in a cloud of dust.

He sped around the more densely populated regions. Depending on how long he had been out, the whole island might be shell-shocked to see him still alive. The hero knew he couldn't escape the crowds once they started to surround him. Pushing aside the obvious, Sonic had spotted Angel Island. Oddly enough, it seemed to be 'parked' in a different place from before. With any luck, the others might be there for Knuckles' send off.

"That would make my job easy. I could let everyone know I'm okay at once." the hero mused. This thought did remind him of something. What happened to Eggman? The last thing he remembered the overweight doctor was tossed into the vastness of space. This did not bode well, as the insane genius had a knack for surviving the worst situations. The only thing that eased his mind was the clear blue sky. It served as a testament to their victory, since the Egg Station was no longer casting its long shadow. At least that would keep the oval-shaped madman away for the time being.

Finally he arrived on Angel Island. Sonic took a quick look around, but noticed two critical things were missing: A very hard to miss emerald, and the guardian of the said object. Sonic raced up where the emerald altar should be. To his surprise, it was in horrible shape. Admittedly, the altar had been located in a ruined temple to begin with, but this place seemed so…dilapidated. Ivy was growing all over the sacred altar, and most of the steps were smashed or caved in.

"What…what happened here?" Sonic wondered aloud. Even though he was not the designated guardian, it hurt him to see the place so run down. It was like heading over to a friend's house, only to find it boarded up and rotting away.

"What brings you to the Derelict Ruins young one?" a voice asked him out of nowhere. Spinning around in surprise, Sonic found himself face to face with an old echidna woman. She wore simple tribal clothing with intricate designs sewn in. Beads adorned her somewhat un-kept spines. All in all, she looked to be a wizened old sage, or perhaps a seer of sorts. What truly shocked Sonic was not her appearance, it was her very existence. He had always thought that Knuckles was the last of his kind.

Not wanting to seem rude, Sonic gave an awkward bow before speaking "I'm sorry for disturbing you ma'am. I thought this was the altar of the Master Emerald." the old woman's face gave a look of thoughtfulness at his statement.

"Amazing that a young boy like you would remember such an old piece of lore." she began with a sigh "Yes, eons ago this was the sacred shine of the Master Emerald. But it has been over a thousand years since it was lost to us. Now this place is just a cold, dark reminder of things long gone."

Sonic felt his stomach turn. Was this woman crazy? Just two days ago he and Knuckles left the island to go fight Eggman. Or had more time passed than that? Sonic didn't want to ask, but he managed to force out another question "Ma'am do you know an echidna by the name of Knuckles? Is he still alive?"

"Knuckles? Hmm…" she seemed to be thinking hard. Sonic, fearing the answer would come out negative, held his breath until she answered "Oh yes! I remember him now. Of course he's alive my boy."

Sonic let out deep exhale. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought "Do you know where he is now?" he lacked much of his former apprehension.

"I would stay far away from him if I were you." the woman warned "He's a bloodthirsty criminal, that one." Sonic's fear returned in an instant. Sure, Knuckles had a bad temper sometimes, but bloodthirsty and a criminal? No way. Something told him they were talking about a completely different person.

"Well I must be going lad. You should return to your home soon. It looks like it's going to rain." she kindly advised.

Sonic nodded without a single word. His mind reeled at all the things that she just told him. Was this the same time he grew up in? Was it even the same world? Well he knew it had to be the same world, as he was on Angel Island. Perhaps he was in the future? However, the villages he passed along the way looked the same as they had the day he left. If a thousand years had indeed passed, then why was everything the same?

It was times like this that Sonic resented thinking too much. Realizing what the old echidna was saying about the rain, he ran full speed for home. Assuming he still had one, that is. Along the way he passed straight though one of the villages. With the sky so dark, Sonic knew he could easily scope the place out without anyone noticing his presence. Darting silently past the simple homes and outdoor grocers, he kept his eyes peeled for anything he didn't recognize.

However, nothing had changed. Even some of the places he visited as a child were still standing. Unless the whole island had missed the massive technological jump completely, it was the same place in time. With more questions than he had before, the hedgehog left the village behind in gust of wind. Someone had to have the answers he was looking for.

"Great." he said with eyes on the sky "I'm going to be soaked before I reach any cover." picking up the pace, he was still deep in thought. So much so that by the time his eyes met the road, he saw a figure in his path. Unable to stop fast enough, he crashed into the person and the two tumbled to the ground.

Sonic was quick to ask if they were okay, but all he received was a caustic remark "Better watch who you bump into next time moron. I'm not exactly in a good mood."

At any other time Sonic would've been taken aback by the attitude, if he hadn't recognized the voice, that is.

"Knuckles! Man it's good to see you!" he said holding out his hand only to have it rudely swatted away "What's eating ya? Dude it's me, Sonic!"

"Sonic…" the echidna spoke quietly "As in Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Who else? Oh man you have no idea how glad I am to-" his sentence was cut off by a jaw-breaking punch. As Sonic staggered back, holding his mouth in pain, he stared at his friend in disbelief "What the heck was that for?"

The fierce echidna connected with another punch to his chest. Sonic was stunned for a second, but quickly countered with a roundhouse kick throwing Knuckles back. With a growl the guardian hailed a flurry of punches in return, each one aiming to kill. Sonic was more upset than he was nervous. He had fought with Knuckles many times, but neither had any intention of killing one another. Sonic tried to talk to him, but every word he said only seemed to anger the echidna further. It shocked him to see so much hate in his friend's eyes. Understanding that he had no choice, Sonic fought back. Trying hard to not cause serious injury, the cobalt hero spent most of his time dodging, hoping to wear his buddy down. Knuckles was pulverizing everything his fist struck, but it was indeed costing him a large amount of energy. The fiery red echidna then decided make the fight more interesting, by tossing immense rocks at his former friend. Now it was truly a battle for blood. Sonic hadn't felt this tense since Eggman threatened to kill Tails in front of his very eyes. Determined to get Knuckles to come to his senses, Sonic curled up into a ball while revving up. Knuckles jumped at him with fists ablaze. He was unable to reach the hedgehog in time to stop his spinning strike. However, he did manage to catch the whirling hero with his mitts. Pushing hard against each other, it seemed that no one would win the shoving match. Sonic then jarred his whole body into the ground, allowing him to get friction. With a burst of speed, he smacked the echidna once. Looping in a circular pattern he clipped him a second time. Finally at the apex of his second loop, Sonic stopped his body mid-air, and preformed a painful homing strike to Knuckles' head. The echidna slipped back and fell to the ground, dizzy from Sonic's attacks. Once again Sonic ran forward to offer help, but was only warded off.

"Stay back!" Knuckles yelled "If you have any shred of mercy, just finish me off!"

Sonic's face twisted into a mix of anger and sadness "Just stop already! I don't want to hurt you red. We're friends, right?" he asked hopefully, but all he got back was bitter laughter.

"Me? Your friend? Are you brain dead, or just stupid? I would never be your ally Sonic the Hedgehog!" Knuckles held up his clenched fist "As long as you live I'll hunt you down!"

"Why?" Sonic asked in grief "What's the matter with you?"

"The question is…" Knuckles said while getting up to walk away "…what's the matter with you, Sonic." with that the pained echidna left his sight.

"Knuckles!" Sonic called, but there was no answer. With a heavy heart, Sonic just stood in place. A loud thunderclap could be heard overhead, and a few seconds later, the rain began to fall.

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End of Chapter Two

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Sad day for Sonic. It won't stay this way, I promise. It's just a dramatic way to introduce the 'new' Knuckles.

Until next time.