I was going to finish the current story-arc that's based on the events of Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckes in this chapter, but considering how long it is I'm planning to resolve it in the next chapter.

Chapter 14: Truth

Chuck reached the dock Nik said he was going to meet him at by the time the sun went down. He looked back and was relieved to see that Sonny and the others had stopped following him. As he waited for Nik to show up, Chuck pondered over the things Sonny told him.

I'm not sure which is more ridiculous, Chuck thought. A shady man who claims he wants the gemstones to stop Dr. Robotnik or Sonny telling me that he has some kind of alter-ego who saved South Island from Dr. Robotnik's clutches. At this point, I don't know who to trust. Maybe I'll get some answers soon.

Eventually, he got tired of standing and leaned against one of the posts on the dock. Below him the waves lapped against the wharf in a soothing and rhythmic pattern that made Chuck sleepy. But before he had the chance to fall asleep, Chuck heard a strange humming sound that came from the ocean. He looked past the pier and noticed a circular vehicle that was making its way across the water without touching its surface. A dome made of tinted glass covered the top of this circular vehicle, making it difficult for Chuck to see who the driver was. Once the vehicle reached the dock, it continued to hover as a speaker was turned on. From it, a familiar voice boomed.

"Well, hello, Chuck. I didn't expect you to get here first," Nik said over the speaker. "Do you have all the gemstones?"

"They're all right here," Chuck said, showing the briefcase.

"Excellent."

Then suddenly, Chuck felt something heavy and metallic hit him on the back of the head.

###

When Chuck came to, he found himself lying at the foot of a circular ruin with stone steps leading up to a altar surrounded by seven pillars where the seven Chaos Emeralds floated. At the center of the altar was a large green gemstone that glowed unusually bright and it was there that a lone figure stood with his arms crossed. He looked like Chuck, but his hair was longer, his pupils were slanted, his fists were larger despite being covered by boxing gloves, and he sported a zigzag tail.

"What happened?" Chuck asked rubbing his head.

"You were knocked out, kid," said the Chuck-lookalike. "And so you ended up here."

"Where's here?" Chuck stood up and looked around. Apart from the altar, the area was covered in grass. Beyond that, all Chuck saw was gray mist.

"Your mind," the Chuck-lookalike replied as he descended the stairs.

"So what are you supposed to be? Myself?"

The Chuck-lookalike groaned. "I'm not you. I just happen to look like you for the time being."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Well, I don't know myself!" The Chuck-lookalike snapped. "One day, I woke up here in this form and I don't remember much. All I know is that my name is Knuckles the Echidna and it's my job to protect the Master Emerald at all costs."

"What's the Master Emerald?"

"It's that big gemstone up there," Knuckles said as he waved his gloved hand at the green gem at the top of the stairs. "It controls the seven Chaos Emeralds you collected, though I took over occasionally to set up traps."

"You took over my body? Is that why I've had occasional memory lapses?"

Reluctantly, Knuckles nodded. "Yes, but I didn't like doing it. I tried to talk to you, but nothing came back in response."

"So how am I able to talk to you now when I couldn't before?"

"I don't know. Maybe whatever knocked you out hit your head hard enough to knock down the mental barrier that kept my presence separate from yours."

"Possibly, but why did you set up traps?"

"To prevent others from getting to the Chaos Emeralds before we did."

"Who said anything about 'we'? I don't like the idea of a spirit-like being possessing my mind and causing me to forget things, so go back to wherever you came from!"

"I would've left your mind in a heartbeat, but I can't."

Chuck felt his hands go numb. "What do you mean?"

"I've tried to leave, but nothing's worked."

"All right, then," Chuck said as he clenched his fists. "If you can't leave, then I'll make you."

Knuckles looked down at Chuck's fists then he positioned his own in a fighting gesture. "Bring it on."

So the two fought for several minutes, punching and kicking each other at their full capacity. While Knuckles was stronger in terms of strength and expertise, Chuck was able to hold his own and kept fighting despite the odds against him. Eventually, they tired themselves out and collapsed onto the ground.

"Hey, Chuck," Knuckles said panting.

"Yeah," Chuck replied weakly.

"You're not too bad."

"Only because you're a worthy opponent." Chuck caught his breath and said, "So does this mean I'm stuck with you?"

"For the time being," Knuckles replied as he got up.

"Well, if that's the case," Chuck tried to get up, but his legs were too weak. "Then we'll need to lay down some rules."

"Like what?" Knuckles asked as he walked over to Chuck.

"Like only possessing my mind if I need your help, and in exchange I'll find the Master Emerald for you."

"Deal," Knuckles said, and helped Chuck up.

There was a flash of light and Chuck was suddenly awake. He found himself tied to a palm-tree near a beach on an island that was partially lit by a pale moon that was coming up on the eastern horizon. In front of him, a small campfire illuminated a large man wearing a yellow and red tailed coat roasting a marshmallow. Chuck took a good look at the man, and suddenly recognized him.

"Dr. Robotnik," Chuck exclaimed. "Where's Nik?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious to you?" Dr. Robotnik said casually. "I was Nik the entire time."

"I thought you were in prison."

"I escaped, dear boy, and made this island my new base of operations."

"I don't believe you. If you had escaped, G. U. N. would've alerted every single nearby island including South Island."

"Oh, but they have."

Chuck blinked.

"I've merely been interfering with their broadcasts so that the warnings didn't reach the islands." Dr. Robotnik took the marshmallow out of the fire and started eating it. "As for why I was able to keep seeing you on South Island without getting caught, it was made possible by a simple teleportation device I invented while I was imprisoned."

In the firelight, Dr. Robotnik showed a watch-shaped object on his wrist with various nobs and buttons attached to it.

"I see," Chuck said, trying to hide the anger in his voice. "You didn't want to draw too much attention to yourself after escaping prison, so you tricked me into obtaining the Chaos Emeralds for you and got the Chaotix Detectives involved as a means to make my job easier."

"Who told you the gemstones I asked you to obtain are called Chaos Emeralds?" Dr. Robotnik asked.

"A close friend of mine," Chuck fibbed.

"Then you must be referring to Sonny. After all, it was that alter-ego of his who hid the Chaos Emeralds from me."

"Alter-ego? You mean The Blue Blur?"

"Yes, but that's just what G. U. N. calls him. His real name is Sonic, and it was he who got me imprisoned in the first place!"

So Sonny was telling the truth, Chuck thought.

"But now that I have all the Chaos Emeralds, all I need is the Master Emerald and my plan for revenge and world domination will be complete!"

The sound of jets caused Chuck and Dr. Robotnik to look towards the sky. In the moonlight, a dark silhouette came flying downward and then it landed in front of the campfire. It was a metallic blue android that resembled Sonny but with spikes for hair, electric red eyes, and no mouth.

"Welcome back, Metal Sonic," Dr. Robotnik said gleefully. "Have you located the altar?"

The blue android nodded.

"Then lead the way. I'll bring our 'guest' along."

After that, the blue android known as Metal Sonic hovered in the air and waited as Dr. Robotnik carefully untied Chuck. Once he was free, Chuck punched Dr. Robotnik in the face and ran towards the dark forest. Metal Sonic immediately reacted and proceeded to fly after Chuck when Dr. Robotnik suddenly called him back. This allowed Chuck to hide in the thick foliage until he came to a waterfall on a raised level of ground.

"I know this place," Knuckles said appearing next to Chuck as an apparition. "This is Angel Island, my home."

"But how could it be?" Chuck said bewildered. "My parents told me this place hasn't been inhabited by anyone in four thousand years."

"Then maybe I'm…" Knuckles shook his head.

"You're what?"

"I was just thinking that maybe I'm…the ghost of one of your ancestors. That would explain why we look alike and why I'm inside your mind."

"But what about your tail and abnormally large fists?"

"Hmm, you got me there," Knuckles said examining his gloved hands. "I don't think your ancestors had such features based on the stories your parents told you, so it's possible that I wasn't human before taking on this form."

"How do you know about my parents' stories?"

"Our minds are one, kid. I have access to your memories and I'm sure you'll have access to mine."

"Will you stop calling me 'kid'? It's Chuck."

Taken aback, Knuckles folded his arms. "All right, Chuck, what if I told you that I know where the Master Emerald is?"

Chuck's eyes widened. "The Master Emerald is here?"

"Of course," Knuckles said as he floated to the right of the waterfall while Chuck followed behind. "Why else would Dr. Eggman make this place his base of operations? He's obviously looking for the Master Emerald."

"Eggman? I thought his name was Dr. Robotnik."

"That's the name of the 'spirit' that's possessing the man you call Dr. Robotnik. I sensed him the minute Dr. Robotnik appeared in the school fitness room."

"So there are more beings like you?"

"It seems so, though I'm not sure how they got here or how many there are. I know Sonic, the one who's possessing your friend Sonny, Amy and Tails who possess Sonny's friends Amelia and Miles, and Dr. Eggman, though it's possible that the Chaotix Detectives might have spirits in them as well based on the things that kid said."

"You mean Charles? But he was joking."

"Then why did Espen tell him to shut up?"

"Because he wasn't helping the situation?"

"No, there was some other reason behind Espen's action but I can't exactly prove it."

###

After several hours of traveling, Chuck finally came to the altar he saw in his mind. The eastern horizon was becoming brighter, and birds were starting to sing. Several feet from the altar stood a large stone tablet with writing carved into it. Chuck examined the tablet closely and tried to read the words but they were written in an unfamiliar language.

"'When the seven servers of Chaos unite, the Master Emerald will reveal itself to the one who is descended from our people'," Knuckles said, reading the tablet's words out loud.

"You can read this?" Chuck exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's the ancient language of my tribe," Knuckles responded.

"Then maybe there is some credibility to you being my ancestor," Chuck muttered to himself. He looked at the tablet again. "What does it mean?"

"Well, 'the seven servers of Chaos' must refer to the Chaos Emeralds and 'one who is descended from our people' obviously refers to someone who is a descendant of the people who originally lived here."

"That's why Dr. Robotnik tricked me into helping him," Chuck realized. "He had read this tablet and figured that if he could find someone who was descended from the people who lived on Angel Island to collect the Chaos Emeralds for him, the Master Emerald would appear before him and allow him to take it more easily. So he looked around and found me, an orphan whose parents were descended from the surviving members of the Angel Island tribe after a major disaster wiped most of them out four thousand years ago. He led me to believe that Sonny was lying so that I would do what he asked without question. I'm such an idiot."

"What's done is done," Knuckles said solemnly. "At least we got to the altar first, so there's a chance that we'll—

The roof the altar cracked as Metal Sonic landed on top of it. He was now emitting a bright yellow glow from his new metallic gold coloring with the seven Chaos Emeralds floating around him. Then behind Chuck appeared the circular hovercraft with Dr. Robotnik/Eggman laughing maniacally.

"It's been fun chasing you around the island, Chuck," Dr. Robotnik/Eggman said. "But our little game of tag ends now."

"Not so fast, Dr. Eggman!"

A blue ball suddenly appeared and hit the front half of the hovercraft, causing it to tip forward. Fortunately, Dr. Eggman managed to steady the vehicle in time before he fell out. Then the blue ball uncurled itself in midair and landed in front of Chuck, revealing it to be Sonic.

"Hey, Chuck," Sonic said cheerfully. "You finally got around to talking with Knuckles?"

Chuck nodded, though he was still in awe. "But how did you get here?"

"Sonny and his friends followed you to the dock, though they made sure you didn't see them. They saw Metal Sonic hit you on the back of the head while Dr. Eggman dragged you onto his Egg Mobile and fly away. After that, Miles used this method he came up with to communicate with spirits like myself more easily in order to become Tails so that he could fly me over the water. He tracked Dr. Eggman using a Chaos Emerald tracking device Miles made, though this one was battery-operated, and we eventually ended up here."

"Yeah, that's fine and all, Sonic, but Dr. Eggman's getting away!"

Sonic turned around and saw Dr. Eggman flying off in his Egg Mobile. "Oh, no you don't!"

Before Chuck could protest, Sonic dashed off to pursue the Egg Mobile. Meanwhile, Metal Sonic hovered down from the roof of the altar and flew towards Chuck. A red aura suddenly surrounded Chuck, and from it emerged Knuckles who punched Metal Sonic so hard that the Chaos Emeralds broke from their circular formation and scattered everywhere.

"If you want to go after Sonic," Knuckles said, standing over the fallen Metal Sonic. "Then you'll have to get past me."

To be continued…