Chapter 1: This Island Hedgehog

In many tales, there is tell of a hedgehog that saves the day by defeating the nefarious Dr. Eggman. In many of these tales, he has a collection of friends who help him out in some way, ranging from the small two tailed fox boy, Tails, to the most unlikely of allies like Sage. But one character who rarely gets mentioned is Knuckles the Echidna, the lone resident of Angel Island and guardian of the Master Emerald. Though a huge asset to Sonic and his adventures, Knuckles mostly spends time watching over the Master Emerald. In one universe, however, he was given a story all to his own. A story regarding his past and his people's history. A history involving techno-loving echidnas, traditions and hypocrisies, and a mission in which he was destined to accomplish… initially. However, one question must be asked… What if Knuckles… was born a girl?

Starring:

Sonic the Hedgehog - The Hero

Miles "Tails" Prower - The Sidekick

Dr. Ivo Robotnik - Evil Dictator

Guardian of the Floating Island

*In the skies above Mobius, a lone floating island lurks, its shadow encompassing a wide radius over the ocean. A biplane, piloted by Miles Prower, Tails as he's frequently called, and ridden by Sonic the Hedgehog, who stood on the top of the biplane's upper set of wings, began to approach the floating island after having detected their age old nemesis' hovercraft.*

Tails: "Now that's something you don't see everyday, Sonic!"

Sonic: "You're right, Tails! We fly out looking for Robotnik's hovercraft and we find an island in the sky!"

Tails: "What do you suppose is keeping it from falling?"

Sonic: "Probably a Chaos Emerald. Of course that's only a theory. Still, that's the most logical explanation! Maybe we should check it out!"

*As Tails flies the plane to attempt a landing, a figure watches from the foliage at the duo of heroes approach the island.*

Figure: "Ahh… A couple of unwanted guests! Time to roll out the unwelcome mat!"

*As the heroes near the island, a sudden missile launches and slams into the plane's wing, knocking the plane off balance.*

Tails: "Talk about direct hits…!"

Sonic: "Yeah! Right on target with a rocket! What a way to greet a couple of tourists! LET'S BAIL!"

*As Sonic and Tails abandon the plane, the two tailed fox immediately grabs Sonic, slowing their descent towards the island.*

Sonic: "This is 'plane' crazy!"

Tails: "Who'd want to shoot down a couple of swell guys like us?"

Sonic: "Need you ask?... This smells rotten with a capital "R"! R as in Robotnik!"

*Just as their biplane crashes, the duo make landfall on the floating island. Sonic and Tails look on at their destroyed home, a bit frustrated that their only ride back to Knothole got destroyed.*

Sonic: "So much for our ticket home!"

Tails: "Is this any way to run an airline? I hate these unscheduled stops!"

*The duo then make their way towards the jungle of the island, Sonic looking ready to give a piece of his mind to the manager or owner, with Tails flying behind him.*

Tails: "So what do we do now, Sonic?"

Sonic: "Find out if the natives are restless, I guess! Maybe they can point us to the nearest travel agent and book passage on the next flight to Knothole Forest!"

*The figure from before continues to spy on the heroes, hiding their presence as Sonic and Tails run toward their next big trap.*

Figure: "Neither of you are going anywhere, except down… AND OUT!"

*Sonic and Tails stop short of a flamethrower nearly cooking the former, surprising the blue hedgehog as he yells out.*

Sonic: "INCOMING! I've heard of warm receptions, but this is ridiculous!"

*A round robot makes itself known, a single "eye" firing off flames as it propels bombs all over the surrounding area. It fires off another blast of fire at the heroes as it approaches.*

Tails: "It's an assaulting batter blimp! We'd better duck and cover!"

*As they try to make an escape, the robot fires off another blast towards Sonic, but this one gets deflected by a sudden barrier from the blue hedgehog, which surprises even him.*

Sonic: "HOLY 16-BIT GRAPHICS! I think I've just been covered by some sort of energy shield! No telling how long the effect will last! Better get our feet wet while we're still able! Hit the drink, Tails!"

Tails: "But it isn't even Saturday Night!"

*The heroes immediately dive into the water, avoiding another blast of fire as they did. As they sank beneath the waves, the duo find themselves in a set of underwater ruins, getting caught in the currents as they get carried against their will.*

Sonic: "At this rate we may never see Sunday Morning! My bright, shiny new shield's fizzled out! And there's never a plumber around when you really need one!"

Tails: "Is this what they mean by "go with the flow"?"

*Sonic grips a pole, but his hand slips, causing him and Tails to burst through the ruin walls. He tried once more with the next pole, but the suction was far too strong for him.*

Sonic: "It's no use! We can't fight the suction any longer! We're going down the drain!"

*Sonic starts to feel the oxygen in his lungs start to run out, causing him to start to lose his vision. His grip fails him as he let's go of the pole.*

Sonic: "Blacking out… Looks like we're… sunk…"

*Some time later, Sonic soon regains consciousness. But he finds himself and Tails in a black room, pitch darkness all around them. He begins to shout into the void.*

Sonic: "HEY! Who turned out the lights!?"

*A "click" sound is heard as a spotlight is turned on. Sonic and Tails could at least see a little better, but they still had no idea where they were relative to the rest of the island.*

Sonic: "That's better! Now for the $64,000 question! Where are we?"

Voice: "Exactly where I want you to be!"

*Sonic's ears twitch. This wasn't the voice of the obese lord of oil guzzling dictatorship that he and Tails are familiar with. It was certainly not friendly though. What the two could recognize was that it was feminine.*

Sonic: "That's not the voice we all know and despise!"

Tails: "Then… Who is it?"

*A pair of green high heels enter the spotlight, notable spikes at the front front of the shoes that looked like it could hurt if Sonic came in contact with them. Yellow, leg high socks followed trailing up until they stopped at the thighs. A pair of yellow shorts, covering the bottom portion of a bright green leotard. As more of the figure was revealed to the duo, the two saw red fur, with a sideways crescent moon-like mark above the chest. Fingerless gloves covering each four fingered hand, which were cracked as the girl figure was fully under the spotlight. Tan muzzle, and very long dreadlocks tied up into a ponytail while glaring black eyes stared daggers into Sonic. A red female echidna, and certainly not a friendly type.*

Echidna: "That's the first intelligent question I've heard all day! Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Kicks the Echidna - the E-kick-na if you want! The last of the echidna and the guardian of this island! My pal Robotnik told me how you guys planned on taking over my island! We don't take kindly to trespassers on the Floating Island but we hate would-be thieves even worse!"

*As the heroes are confronted by their assailant, Kicks the Echidna, an obese cyborg-like bald man in a red outfit and yellow cape looks on through a monitor, with a long nosed mostly bald assistant beside him.*

Robotnik: "Excellent! Everything is going according to plan! While that dope of a dupe deals with my most hated enemy, we shall abscond with the Chaos Emerald keeping this island afloat. And use its energies to recharge my crippled hovercraft!"

Snively: "Oooh, you're so evil, doctor! Playing the echidna against the hedgehog was a stroke of genius!"

Robotnik: "I know, Snively, I know!"

*On the screen, Robotnik sees Kicks approach Sonic, looking ready to interrogate him.*

Robotnik: "This is the part I really like!"

Kicks: "Alright, spill! What are you two doing on my island!? If you've come for this island's precious and closely guarded treasure, so help me…"

Sonic: "Chill, lady! We were looking for Robotnik who we thought may have landed here!"

Tails: "Yeah! You even told us that he is here and that he's your pal!"

Kicks: "Yeah, well, he warned me of you two coming here to steal my island's Chaos Emerald. And normally, I'd kick thieves like you out of here! But I'm a fair echidna."

*Kicks moves away from the duo, crossing her arms as she continues to glare at them.*

Kicks: "Get out of my life and off my island in peace, or I'll kick you off in pieces! You've got ten minutes before I come gunnin' for ya!"

*Sonic and Tails gulp at the threat before they are tossed out of the cave they were stuck in. After being tossed, they started making a run for it, but not to leave.*

Tails: "Geez… She was inviting."

Sonic: "Yeah, inviting like 'ol Robotnik! Let's juice, Tails! We've got to prove our innocence in ten minutes or less!"

*As Kicks was walking to take care of her own business, she heard shouting from an intercom. It was Robotnik, who had seen her interrogation and wasn't too happy with the end result.*

Robotnik: "Kicks! Is your brain as tiny as the insects you devour!? Those two are jewel thieves, not Freedom Fighters like me!"

Kicks: "Stop twisting your mustache with your yelling! You take care of your business while I take care of mine!"

*With that, Kicks breaks communication, much to Robotnik's frustration, slamming his hands on the monitor's controls.*

Robotnik: "Oh, I hate free will! The echidna has left me with little choice! Time to move up the countdown to blast-off!"

*Robotnik then leaves to go check on his worker Swatbot, which was working on hovercraft for the doctor.*

Robotnik: "Swatbot XL-5, has that curmudgeonly crustrean Crabmeat returned with my new power source!?"

Swatbot: "Yes, Lord Robotnik. He approaches even as we speak!"

*Crabmeat enters the room, carrying the green jewel that acts as the power source on the island on a fluffy pillow. He presents the Chaos Emerald to Robotnik, who looks evilly pleased.*

Crabmeat: "Your Chaos Emerald, m'lord!"

Robotnik: "Well done, Crabmeat! It's true what they say, with great genius comes great power!"

*With the Chaos Emerald in hand, Robotnik lets out an evil chuckle.*

Robotnik: "At last! All the forces of the universe in one bright, shiny, green jewel! I pity the hedgehog who messes with me now!"

*Meanwhile, Tails and Sonic traverse the jungle, Sonic swinging on a vine while Tails of course flies.*

Tails: "This Tarzan stuff is for the birds, not for foxes!"

Sonic: "Or hedgehogs!"

Tails: "We know we're innocent, Sonic, but how do we prove it?"

Sonic: "We're not going to, Tails! If things run true to form, Robotnik will do it for us!"

*As Sonic flies off the vine into a sprint, Kicks, who was trailing behind, looks on at the persistence of the heroes, gritting her teeth angrily.*

Kicks: "Figures. I give them a fair chance to leave and they don't take it. And worse, they're heading straight for the Chaos Emerald! I need to beat them to it!"

*She immediately jumps into a nearby hole, taking a shortcut towards the location of the Chaos Emerald.*

Kicks: "Through here, I should be able to reach-"

*As soon as Kicks pops out, she finds the Chaos Emerald missing, causing her to come to a screeching halt.*

Kicks: "THE CHAOS EMERALD! It isn't there anymore!"

*Sonic and Tails arrive in time to see Kicks starting to figure things out.*

Kicks: "I was played like a fiddle! That Robotnik was keeping me distracted while he stole the Emerald! Nobody - and I do mean NOBODY - makes a fool out of me and gets away with it! You two, take me to him!"

*On Robotnik's hovercraft, Robotnik and his minions were finishing up launching preparations as the obese dictator held the jewel in his grasp.*

Swatbot: "All aboard! Next stop - Robotropolis!"

Crabmeat: "Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed! The Emerald has done its work well, your lordship!"

Robotnik: "Splendid! Ready to move out! Yes! We'd best hang on to this bauble… No telling when we may need it-"

*As Robotnik was finishing his gloating, staring at his prize, it suddenly vanishes in a speedy instant out of his hand.*

Robotnik: "AGAIN!?"

*Robotnik turns to find Sonic, tossing the Chaos Emerald up and down, and Kicks together, the echidna looking none too happy about being tricked.*

Sonic: "Looking for this, Robo-butt? Well, look no further."

Kicks: "Me and the hedgehog came to an understanding. And we understand that you're a jerk!"

*Robotnik glares at the two before calling for his Swatbots, which gather behind him.*

Robotnik: "Get them! Get them NOW!"

*The robots charge at Sonic and Kicks, but in mere seconds were torn apart by the combined force of the duo. The two share a high five once the Swatbots were scrap-bots.*

Sonic: "Nice job!"

Kicks: "You too!"

*Tails walks in, looking at the scrap parts before turning to the duo.*

Tails: "Uh, guys… Where's Robotnik?"

*Once Tails asks, the hovercraft starts to move, alerting the trio.*

Sonic: "The engines!"

Kicks: "We're moving!"

*Sonic, Tails, and Kicks hop out of Robotnik's hovercraft just as it was preparing to take off with them.*

Tails: "Rats! This is still no way to run an airline!"

Kicks: "Is it always like this with you guys?"

Sonic: "Every day, all the time!"

*Once they were out, Robotnik made his escape, his hovercraft… bouncing off the island and onto the ocean, becoming more of a bouncercraft instead.*

Robotnik: "You may have won this round, hedgehog! But I'll get you yet! And that echidna Kicks, too!"

*Once Robotnik was booted off the island, Kicks led Sonic and Tails back to where they initially landed.*

Sonic: "Good riddance to bad rubbish! Speaking of things that been trashed-"

Tails: "What about our plane?"

Kicks: "Funny you should ask…"

*Kicks reveals the pieces of the biplane the duo arrived on, in pieces but in a fixable state.*

Kicks: "While you guys were still asleep from your unexpected swim, I was busy "picking up the pieces"!"

Sonic: "Great! I love puzzles! Especially once they've been put back together!"

*Sonic starts to rebuild the biplane, using his speed to reconstruct it in only a few seconds. Once he's done, he lets out a 'Ta da!' before he and Tails ride off the island, Kicks waving them off.*

Kicks: "That hedgehog's one palooka that will keep running. Still… I have a funny feeling that I haven't seen the last of him and his pal."

Who is Kicks the Echidna? Is she friend or foe? And what sort of hijinks will she be invited to next? Want to see more? Wait until next time on Archie Sonic - Kicks the Echidna! Same hedgehog time, same hedgehog channel!