Alternate Mobius…
"At times like this, I'm glad I don't feel nauseous," Amy noted, as she stood on the rooftop next to Knuckles, Khan, and Espio. "Uh, no offense, Khan."
"None taken," Khan's eyes darted towards the streets below. "Though given the situation we're in now, I just might be."
"What is this place, anyway?" Amy asked curiously.
"This is Station Square… sort of," Knuckles guessed. "The city looks exactly the same, but it feels… different somehow."
"Let's try to focus," Espio suggested. "We know that we were somehow transported. That leaves us with two options. Either this is a different dimension, or an alternate future where the bomb detonated."
"Like the Moebius incident, right?" Amy asked cheerfully. "I remember the time when the Anti-Amy tried to squash us into pancakes." She shrugged upon remembering that day.
"Whether this is a temporal displacement or an alternate world, we need answers," Khan stated. "I'll go to the Dragon Kingdom and access the archives. If this is an altered timeline, we might find a record of the triggering event there."
Espio stroked his chin, "Assuming there's a Dragon Kingdom."
Amy smiled, "It's worth investigating a big mission, right?"
Khan smiled back, "Right."
"You check it out, then," Knuckles said. "I'll search Station Square City Hall for any clues. Stay low. I'll be back ASAP."
Station Square City Hall
After digging through tight security with his spiked fists, Knuckles emerged from the ground and carefully treaded the hallway. As the red echidna continued pondering the possibilities, he was suddenly distracted by a loud scream coming from a nearby room. As well as familiar voices.
"Pretty tough, are ya?" a feminine voice snorted.
"I ain't afraid of ya..." a male voice replied.
"Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes," a second female voice echoed. One Knuckles definitely recognized.
"Julie-Su?" Knuckles asked. "Bunnie? Fang?"
When Knuckles opened the door, he gasped softly. Fang was there, strapped to a metal slab, but his long canine tooth was gone, and he sports white hair, indicating he's about five years older. Not only that, he didn't have his Stetson hat, and he was wearing a full-body black latex suit.
Bunnie and Julie-Su were there as well, but Knuckles was quick to notice they seemed to have changed their appearance. Bunnie is still wearing her hat, but her cybernetics had spread throughout her arms, legs, and body, and they are colored red and black. Her shoulders are outfitted by tubes channeling red energy through her body, and there was a red cyber eye implant on her right eye. Julie-Su, on the other hand, was wearing a costume of dark purple which exposed her legs and was fitted with a cape covered in feathers, and her skin is colored dark pink instead of light pink. At the very least, her old cybernetics remained the same.
"This is your last chance to accept the High Councilor's amnesty, Fang," Julie-Su said, waving an electrocuting technique from her right hand. Knuckles was surprised that Julie-Su was able to channel electricity from her hand. It might have something to do with her new look.
"Get re-educated in your boot camp?" Fang scoffed. "Be a puppet? Like you?"
Julie-Su didn't respond as she continued torturing him with her electric spell.
Bunnie added, "The boss is bein' generous. Ah wouldn't be. Most of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix died in New Mobotropolis five years ago."
Fang protested, "I had nothin' to do with it…"
Bunnie scowled, "Doesn't matter. You're still on the wrong side of the law."
Fang turned to Julie-Su with a growl, "Tell this to your boss…" With that, he spat in her face. Julie-Su simply zapped Fang, who cried in pain.
Knuckles decided he'd seen enough and quickly threw a punch at his girlfriend (though he didn't want to admit it), releasing Fang from torture. "Is this how things work?" he frowned as Julie-Su and Bunnie spotted him.
"So you're red again?" Bunnie raised an eyebrow.
"Something's not right…" Julie-Su pointed out. "He's Knuckles, but still…"
Knuckles warned, "I don't know if you're the real Julie-Su or not, but you'd have to stand down, if you know what's good for you!"
Bunnie nodded, "Yep. He's definitely not our Knuckles."
"Still, can you feel the pain he's had for the last five years?" Julie-Su said with an evil smirk, something Knuckles had never seen from his girlfriend before. "I don't."
Julie-Su waved her hands with electricity as Knuckles found himself restrained by magical crimson bands. He groaned as he struggled to break free.
"She knows how to use magic, too?" Knuckles said to himself.
"After we're done with Fang, how 'bout the three of us have a lil' chat with the High Councilor?" Bunnie offered.
"Not… gonna… happen!" Knuckles groaned, and with all his might, he broke free of Julie-Su's restraints, knocking the two back.
"Enough! Whoever you are…" Julie-Su said. "You're under arrest!"
STAGE 1: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. JULIE-SU (REGIME)
Knuckles began with a punch to Julie-Su's face. Julie-Su groaned in pain, but got back up and used her newly acquired magic – telekinesis – to throw a gas tank at Knuckles. The tank hits him in the face, sending him back a bit. Julie-Su moved in for the kill, but Knuckles was quick to notice a giant cylinder hanging above them. Knuckles leaped up and grabbed the cylinder, pushing it forward, and smashing Julie-Su backwards. Julie-Su recovered, but Knuckles sped to her, flipping her up into the air and repeatedly air-juggling her with a series of punches. After a hundred punches, Knuckles concluded his air combo by doing a double-handed hammer fist and smash Julie-Su to the ground on impact. Julie-Su tried to stand, only to fall unconscious. After the battle, Knuckles looked at Julie-Su's bad state with regret in his eyes.
"Sorry, Julie-Su," Knuckles apologized. He then confronted Bunnie, who just got up. He added, "Guess I won't be getting any more lip from my girl. Now who's this High Councilor? The one who's turned you into a second-rate thug?"
Bunnie gritted her teeth, "Ah'll show YOU second-rate…"
"Talk. You. Now," Knuckles demanded.
"Okay," Bunnie nodded. "Let's talk about the mess o' trouble you're in…" With that, she shoots Knuckles in the gut with her arm cannon, sending him back a few feet. She added, "And how Ah'm gonna knock your head sideways."
STAGE 2: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. BUNNIE RABBOT (REGIME)
Knuckles sped towards Bunnie with a glide and punched her seven times, the last punch directly to the gut. Bunnie gasped for air, allowing Knuckles to jump up a few feet and slam Bunnie's shoulders, knocking her to the ground. Knuckles then grabbed Bunnie by the legs and spun her around before throwing her away. He prepared to grab her again, but this time, Bunnie was ready and she activated her rocket boots. She fired a series of laser blasts, then a flurry of punches and kicks, injuring Knuckles. She threw him to the ground and proceeded to stomp on his head multiple times. Fortunately, Knuckles withheld plenty of strong adversaries, especially his arch-nemesis Enerjak. Because of his connectivity with the Chaos Force, he avoided having his head turned into mush. But it still hurts.
Before Knuckles could react, Bunnie grabbed his right leg and threw him over her head, slamming him to the opposite side of the floor. She threw him in the opposite direction and slammed him into the floor again. Finally, Bunnie picked him up, slammed his back over her kneecap, and finished off with two arm cannons with a combined blast. The red Echidna groaned in pain, but it would take more than that to put this crimson crusader down. Bunnie prepared to punch him again, but Knuckles blocked and pushed her away.
"You're goin' down, sugar!" Bunnie declared, pointing her index finger at him.
"Not today, rabbit!" Knuckles retorted.
The two ran towards each other and clashed each other's fists. Knuckles won the feat of strength and Bunnie was sent flying back. Knuckles then delivered a series of quick blows before Bunnie finally fell in exhaustion.
Knuckles pulled away and smiled, "My head's still on straight."
He walked over to Fang, breaking his restraints with his fists.
"Scumbag… You shoulda killed me…" Fang groaned. Knuckles went over to help him, but he flung his hand away. "Get off me!"
"Look, I'm not with them," Knuckles reasoned honestly.
"Whoever you are, they know you now," Fang frowned. "They've got your scent. They'll catch ya, and you have the stones to refuse their amnesty, even when you're working for the big guy."
"The big guy?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow.
"Think about it," Fang elaborated. "Who's the one guy crazy enough to keep guys like them in line?" Knuckles pondered, but seeing as he couldn't answer in the first few minutes, Fang answered for him, "The Big Blue, perhaps?"
"The Big what?" Knuckles questioned.
Before he could answer, Knuckles's communicator rang. "Knuckles, are you there? Knuckles!" Amy's voice called.
"Amy?" Knuckles asked, "What is it?"
"You gotta get down here, right away! Metal Sonic's here, and he's attacking a lot of people near the station!"
"Metal Sonic?!" Knuckles exclaimed, but there was no response. "All right, Fang. You and I are gonna take a little trip…" He turned around, only to find Fang was gone. Knuckles briefly considered going after him, but if Metal Sonic was there, Knuckles knew he had to help.
Station Square
Street Near the Train Station
Amy Rose had faced many duplicates of Sonic before, but this one she encountered is the most weirdest. This Metal Sonic shares some distinctive traits with his original form, but has a number of differences. His head has five long quills rather than three, white stripes and markings around his eyes, his ear color is red, and his nose color is black. He also possesses more pronounced body armor, with black and curved shoulder plates, large gauntlets and leg armor with pointy knee caps that has white outlines, a plate covering his pelvis and elf-like shoes. He also sports a spiky belt with a black cape that protrudes out of the back of his waist.
Amy was using her hammer to deflect several of Metal Sonic's laser blasts, only to be caught by a large torrent of lightning that lifted her in the air. Espio tried to shoot his kunai, only to destroy them with an invisible barrier, releasing a powerful shockwave that pushed him to a wall.
"I'll be happy to see Espio the Chameleon die again," Metal Sonic laughed as he channeled a large, powerful orb and sent it towards Espio. Before the blast could connect, Knuckles intercepted the ball and smashed it away with his right fist, and his left fist hits Metal Sonic in the face, forcing him to drop Amy.
Metal Sonic looked where the attacks came from, "Amy Rose, Espio the Chameleon, and now Knuckles the Echidna. Three worthy adversaries to terminate, and more data to copy."
He concentrated and suddenly, his right hand turned into a torrent of large, deadly, electric-powered tentacles. He sent them towards Knuckles, who simply destroyed the tentacles with his fists. Knuckles held the last tentacle, pulled it along with Metal Sonic towards him, and punched the robot in the face.
"Sorry to keep the party waiting, Metal Sonic!" Knuckles smirked.
"It's Neo Metal Sonic now," the robot corrected. "Indeed, I was created for the sole purpose of destroying my loathsome copy, Sonic the Hedgehog. But the One-Planet Government was generous enough to increase my power. With their help, I transformed my body and combined your data with the power of Chaos, increasing my strength ten-fold. No enemies can possibly withstand me."
"So serving Eggman wasn't enough?" Knuckles asked.
Neo Metal Sonic explained, "The One-Planet Government is similar to my creator's Eggman Empire. An alliance between Mobians and robots was logical. So for now, I tolerate fleshlings. Even Sonic the Hedgehog."
"What?" Knuckles asked confused.
"As do all who wish to live," Neo Metal Sonic added.
STAGE 3: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. NEO METAL SONIC (REGIME)
Knuckles backed up from Neo Metal Sonic as he dashed towards him. However, Knuckles was lulling him into a false sense of security, and this resulted in Knuckles countering by hitting the machine with a series of quick blows from his spiked fists, knocking Neo Metal Sonic back. The last punch sent Neo Metal Sonic crashing into a wall on the opposite end of the street. Neo Metal Sonic quickly recovered, but Knuckles threw a lamp post he grabbed from the street and swung it, sending him flying. Neo Metal Sonic flew back and spun his leg around, sending Knuckles to the ground as he punched a Chaos Fist into his gut. Knuckles caught the next punch and pulled back, punching him hard again. Knuckles then pumped himself up and unleashed a hundred-fist technique, decimating Neo Metal Sonic with a rain of punches. The last punch was incredibly powerful enough to subdue Sonic's robotic duplicate.
"Insufficient data… Unable to continue… Function ceased…" Neo Metal Sonic said in monotone, who collapsed and ceased to function.
Knuckles stated, "I'm resisting arrest… again." He went over to Amy and helped her up, "You okay?"
"Knuckles!" Amy gasped.
Knuckles spun around to see what his friend was talking about. Then his face widened with fear at the new arrival landing near them. Knuckles immediately recognized the mysterious figure…
"ENERJAK!" Knuckles screamed. It was the same malevolent Chaos demigod that tried to conquer Mobius at it was eons past… and Knuckles's worst enemy. He led the Dark Legion of Echidnas in his bid for world conquest, only to be defeated by Hyper Knuckles, who used Dimitri's Chaos Syphon to destroy him and covert his godlike powers into energy to feed the Master Emerald. Sometime later, Dr. Finitevus researched into bringing Enerjak back to life as a means to purge the world, and by planting a powerful dark hex on the Master Emerald, he manipulated Knuckles into touching it, and Enerjak's return came quickly. The Knuckles-turned Enerjak was a puppet enforced by Finitevus's will, forced to wreak havoc on Mobius on his behalf. That is, until Super Sonic came along and purged the evil that changed him into the Chaos demigod.
That incident was something Knuckles wanted to forget more than ever, and he wanted to get away from his dark past. However, it unexpectedly finds him again when the Chaos demigod stood in front of him.
"Correct, Knuckles the Echidna," Enerjak declared. "It is I, Enerjak, God of Chaos. And I have returned to create a world free of corruption, a world free of pain and suffering."
Amy exclaimed, "Whoa! So Knuckles is working with Metal Sonic now?"
Knuckles gritted his teeth, "I don't know why you're here, or where you came from, but you don't belong here!" He ran towards Enerjak with a thunderous battle cry, but with the swish of his hand, the Chaos demigod swatted him away with tremendous Chaos Energy.
"Knuckles!" Amy cried.
Enerjak chuckled amusingly, "Such bravado for a red echidna! You remind me…" Unexpectedly, he took off the mask concealing his face, "…of when I was you."
When Knuckles slowly recovered, Enerjak's revealed identity confirmed his worst fears; it was him! It was another version of Knuckles the Echidna who assumed the mantle of Enerjak.
"Oh, and by the way, did someone call my name?" the alternate Knuckles asked.
"YOU'RE ENERJAK?!" Mainstream Knuckles demanded.
"Finitevus was right," Alternate Knuckles responded. "Being a Chaos demigod is a much more better way of living, as opposed to being an simple red Echidna."
"How could you?" Knuckles asked angrily. "You allowed yourself to be Enerjak, this monster of a freak of nature?!"
Alternate Knuckles nodded, "Only this time, of my own free will. We used the same hex Finitevus placed on the Master Emerald, and through various experimentations, the transformation was quick. Turning into Enerjak again, I'm using my powers for a new purpose. To help the One-Planet Government bring peace, order, and justice to all of Mobius."
Mainstream Knuckles scoffed, "By become a pawn again? So, that's how it's been. You ditched your responsibilities as a Guardian and wore a mask. The persona of cowardice."
Knuckles flung a series of fists at his alternate self, but Enerjak was able to block them all and shove him away.
"I'm still about order, like the Guardians," Alternate Knuckles stated as he wore his mask again.
While Amy moves out of the way to help Espio, Enerjak noticed this and managed to attack her with a wave of Chaos Energy, breaking his showdown with his duplicate for a while. Knuckles punched his alternate self in the face, backing him down.
"I'm sure the Guardians will be proud of you to see you wearing the clothes of their worst enemy," Knuckles spoke sarcastically. "Your dad, your mom, Remington, Archimedes, your whole kind…"
Enerjak deadpanned, "Sanctimony's easy if you know what—"
"Save it!" Knuckles told his duplicate. "Time to knock some sense into me!"
STAGE 4: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA VS. ENERJAK (REGIME)
"There!" Enerjak shouted, firing a beam of Chaos Energy. Fortunately, Knuckles was able to avoid the blast with a dodge roll. Knuckles threw a punch towards his Enerjak-self, who grabbed his arm, threw him back, and stunned him with his Thunder Arrow attack. Enerjak dashed into Knuckles, punched him multiple times, grabbed him by the neck, and fired an energy blast, sending his duplicate flying. Knuckles groaned as his alternate self laughed proudly, seeing his Mainstream self in pain.
"Man, he's tough! He's me in this world, but he's Enerjak," Knuckles thought to himself. "If only I'm Hyper Knuckles, I'll easily destroy him… I'll just have to knock him out for now. It's risky, but it's worth a try!" His eyes directed towards his evil self, "Okay, Enerjak-me. Let's go."
Knuckles jumped up, dug underground with his spiked fists, and emerged from the ground with a strong uppercut to Enerjak's chin, taking off his mask. Knuckles took his chance to punch Enerjak three times with all his might. Before Enerjak could retaliate, Knuckles punched him into a gas tank which exploded and sent Enerjak flying into a series of buildings before he landed on a rooftop after hitting a water tank. Knuckles climbed up there and delivered a swift combo punch to his alternate self's face, before Enerjak broke the combo. It was then that Knuckles noticed something.
"Do I smell something bad from your suit?" Knuckles asked.
"Shut your mouth!" Enerjak yelled.
The two flew at each other before Knuckles was able to punch Enerjak back. Before he could get up, Knuckles punched his opposite self into the opposite building. Enerjak attempted to recover, but a wrecking ball flung by, crushing Enerjak as he fell onto the track of the train station below. Before he could do anything else, Enerjak heard a noise and looked to see a train coming.
"Oh, sh—" Enerjak muttered before the train collided with his body, sending him off the tracks and flying into a neon billboard, exploding on impact. The destruction of the neon billboard seemed strong enough to render Enerjak unconscious… for now. Knuckles jumped down to the street where Amy and Espio stood. He smiled and removed sweat from his face, masking his uneasiness.
"Well, that was surreal," Knuckles stated. "I didn't even transform into Hyper Knuckles for this fight." He then scoffed, "I bet in this world, Enerjak's power was weak."
"This is getting stranger and stranger," Amy said as she and Espio joined Knuckles.
"I agree," Espio nodded. "You were the Chaos demigod when Finitevus warped your mind."
"Yeah," Knuckles agreed with Espio. "All this Chaos is really tough on the eyes, even for me."
The group heard sirens coming from afar.
"We need to move," Espio suggested. The three fled the scene into a nearby alleyway.
"On the run from the cops…" Amy pouted. "Aren't there any good guys around here?"
As they turned a corner, they saw a familiar figure. It was the figure of a black hedgehog, but he was battle-scarred, wrapped in bandages, and his right eye is concealed by an eye patch. It seemed like he himself had been through five years of conflict, turmoil, and pandemonium.
"There just might be," Espio stated.
Mobius Prime…
Freedom Fighter HQ
Sonic and Sally entered Freedom Fighter HQ's computer room where Tails, Rotor, Bunnie, and Nicole were working with holographic images doing various equations.
"Hey, guys!" Sonic greeted his fellow Freedom Fighters. "Just came back after doing the city a big cleaning. All in a day's work!"
"Still got nothing, Nicole?" Sally asked.
Nicole explained, "The energy signature from King Fredrick Airfield doesn't match anything in the database. Why don't I use my nanites to vibrate at the same frequency as the energy signature?"
"Beats me," Tails shrugged. "We don't know if they went somewhere dangerous."
"Or if they went anywhere at all," Rotor added. "Nicole may be right; it's too risky."
"Well, that's just great," Sonic sighed. "If only I was fast enough to catch them in the first place…"
"It's okay, Sonic," Sally assured with a smile, putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "They're our friends, and we can't just leave them behind. We'll find them. We have to."