Chapter 35: Heart of Hearts
Sonic looked at Knuckles' dead body and shook his head, trying to deny it. He couldn't believe that one of his friends was dead! This was all Galbatorix's fault; he had caused Knuckles' death and worse, stole the Chaos Emeralds! The dragon growled angrily and let out a loud snarl. He started shaking in anger and suddenly a dark purple aura surrounded him. His scales turned black and his eyes turned a pure white.
GALBATORIX! He roared at the top of his lungs.
Saphira, Eragon and Tails backed up instantly. The Dragon Rider, along with Saphira, was wondering what was going on. Tails just growled, having seen this transformation before.
Saphira looked at the orange dragon. What is this? How did Sonic do that?
This is his Dark form, Tails told her. He usually turns into it when he's extremely angry, like he is now. The only way for him to turn back would be for him to calm down. I wouldn't advise it, though; he's extremely violent in this form and is angered easily. Just let him release his anger and he'll calm down on his own.
The female dragon nodded and looked at Sonic, who was still roaring. He turned to looked at her, and she gasped when she saw the pupiless eyes. Saphira hesitated and slowly walked up to him, wondering what he would do.
Are you okay? She asked the dragon.
Sonic growled, showing his sharp fangs. No, I'm not. I'm extremely pissed off right now! First Galbatorix takes the Chaos Emeralds, and then he kills Knuckles! I'm going to kill him!
You don't really mean that...do you?
The now-black dragon chuckled. Who knows? Maybe I will kill Galbatorix. It'll be worth it for all the pain he's caused!
Tails sighed in exasperation, wondering how long this was going to go on. He looked up when he heard Sonic roar and saw the black dragon flap his wings and take off into the air, presumably flying to another part of the island.
Sonic, come back! Saphira yelled. She looked at Tails. We have to go after him!
The orange dragon shook his head. He'll come back on his own; just let him calm down. He looked at the body of Knuckles, a tear running down his snout. Still, I am upset about Knuckles' death too. He didn't deserve it. If only things had turned out differently...
A gleam caught Tails' eye and he looked closer to Knuckles' body. He was shocked to see a large red gem in front of Knuckles' snout covered with saliva; the red dragon must have spit it out. Suddenly, the gem glowed and Knuckles' body vanished. Tails growled in surprise and picked it up, wiping the saliva off of it. He turned to Eragon and handed it to him.
Do you know what this is? Tails asked.
Eragon looked at the large gem and gasped. "That's an Eldunari; a dragon's heart of hearts! It allows dead dragons to transfer their consciousness inside it. They are extremely powerful."
Tails growled. You mean to tell me that gem is Knuckles? So technically, he's not dead?
Eragon nodded. Suddenly the gem glowed and started floating. A few seconds later, a voice could be heard.
Where...where am I? What happened?
Knuckles, can you hear me? Tails asked.
The Eldunari glowed again. Yes, Knuckles' voice said. I can hear you. Galbatorix killed me, so I disgorged my Eldunari and transformed into it. Where is Sonic?
He flew off somewhere; he'll be back soon.
Knuckles' Eldunari was silent for a minute. Then it gave off a bright glow. The Chaos Emeralds! Knuckles said. I can sense them; that evil king, Galbatorix, has them!
Tails nodded. We're planning to get them back, Knuckles. Don't you worry. We'll finish this once and for all. He stopped talking for a minute and heard a roar in this distance. He looked up to see Sonic, back to normal. It looks like Sonic's back, Tails said. Let's go see him; he'll be in for quite a surprise.
The Eldunari glowed brightly and floated in the air, following Tails. The orange dragon grinned as he noticed it float after him. Even as a dragon, Knuckles was full of surprises. Now it was time to see what he could do as an Eldunari.