Chapter 5 – True Colours
The battle raged on as Shadow and Knuckles went head to head with each other. Knuckles tried his hardest to lay a hit on Shadow, but the hedgehog dodged his attacks much more quickly than Sonic. Nevertheless, there was more of a mutual respect between the two as they were greatly impressed by their speed and strength.
"I must say, Knuckles, you certainly have sharpened your fighting style over the years," said Shadow.
"Heh, thanks," said Knuckles. "And you are no slouch yourself, Shadow. Of course, you've always prided yourself on your strength and speed."
"Indeed, I do," replied Shadow. "I'm telling you, I'm powerful enough to knock out to the other side of the forest."
Knuckles snorted. "Yeah, sure, but I'm much more durable and mastered my martial arts through years of rigorous training! Less talk, more fighting!"
"Just when I thought you were giving up," said Shadow, feeling very pleased that the echidna was still eager to fight. "Come on!"
After their brief conversation, Shadow and Knuckles fought each other once again. But no matter how much he tried, Knuckles was unable to land a hit on Shadow, who quickly took control of the battle. He grabbed both of Knuckles' fists, holding him back. The two pushed forwards and backwards in the hopes of overpowering each other. Knuckles continued to persist, but it soon became his biggest mistake as Shadow seized the opportunity to punch him repeatedly in the stomach and then kick him high up into the air. He then gave chase as he leapt from tree to tree reaching the top, and judging his moment as he saw Knuckles crashing to the ground, he took a huge leap and stomped him on back, causing a more violent impact.
The dust settled in time, and Knuckles was planted headfirst in the dirt. Shadow then proceeded to pluck him out from the leg. He smirked as he saw his opponent heavily bruised from the force of the crash, but Knuckles was far from beaten. In the blink of an eye, he surprised Shadow by punching him in the face, which made him release the echidna from his grasp. Panting heavily, he struggled to get up.
Shadow wiped a smudge off his face, feeling rather angry. "That was a cheap shot!" he hissed.
"Well, look who's talking," retorted Knuckles. "I would have said the same with that attack you did to me!"
"How about we wrap this up with our strongest attack?" suggested Shadow.
"You're on!" declared Knuckles.
But just as they were about to finish off their bout, they heard a strange sound, followed by unexpected tremors. Something was coming close.
"What's that?" Knuckles and Shadow wondered.
The answer was Eggman, and he was flying his Eggmobile to the battlefield, carrying the Master Emerald from underneath. He was also accompanied by Sharkinator.
"Bravo Knuckles!" applauded Eggman. "You have fought well against my nemesis, and I certainly could have made you my…" But Eggman paused when he noticed Shadow in Sonic's place. "Wait a minute, you're Shadow!" he said in a state of shock.
"Eggman, what are you doing here?" asked Knuckles. "And why do you have the Master Emerald?"
"I will need it for my dastardly plot," replied Eggman. "You certainly have made it all too easy, my friend, and I must thank you for that."
Knuckles felt puzzled. "Hold on a second, Eggman!" he shouted. "We have made a deal! You promised that you won't be doing anything underhanded while I was going to put a stop to Sonic's shenanigans!"
Eggman grinned maliciously. "I am changing the deal, pray that I don't change any further," he said, and he turned to his Robot Master. "Sharkinator, will you dispose of those two?"
"With pleasure, doctor," said Sharkinator and he readied his laser blasters to open fire on Knuckles and Shadow.
"I knew Eggman preyed on your gullibility yet again, Knuckles," said Shadow. "You should have learned this by now that you can't trust a power-hungry megalomaniacal scumbag like him!"
Knuckles did not answer. He was redder than he was, and he clenched his fists furiously. "That two-faced… dirty… conniving… sneaky… swindling… double-crossing… ugly… son of a bitch!" he spluttered through his gritted teeth. "He has lied to me for the last time!"
"At last you realised Eggman's true colours," said a voice.
"Sonic!" exclaimed Knuckles. "You're back!"
Sure enough, Sonic, Blaze, Tails, and the dragons arrived just in time.
"Hmph, you have recovered fast," said Shadow.
"Thanks for buying the time I needed to regain my strength, Shadow," said Sonic. "Now we shall be ready to put a stop to Eggman."
"Well, well, look who came back," sneered Eggman. "I could have sworn that Knuckles has taken care of you, Sonic, but now I see that he has failed. No matter, Sharkinator will incinerate you all!"
"That's because you set him up, like you always do, Egghead," Sonic answered back. "And we're not going to be intimated by that shark robot of yours!"
"Is that right?" snorted Eggman. "Perhaps maybe his barrage of attacks will make you realise just how terrifying he can be!"
Sharkinator swooped downward, and began perforating the battlefield with multiple rounds of laser blasts, sending everyone scurrying and ducking to avoid getting hit.
"We've got to stop that Robot Master," said Cynder.
"Yes, but he has gotten us in a bind," replied Draco.
"Let me take care of those two, you guys!" shouted Knuckles. "I have a score to settle with Eggman!"
"Wait, Knuckles!" called Tails.
But Knuckles raced through the laser blasts and leapt up towards Sharkinator.
Eggman noticed him. "It's Knuckles!" he growled. "Sharkinator, incapacitate that worm!"
Sharkinator stopped firing and focused on Knuckles, who came flying upward with his fist ready to strike. In response, the robot lowered his head and charged towards Knuckles, resulting in a head-on collision. Knuckles the Echidna was sent sailing to the ground, and he crashed into a tree unconscious. Eggman laughed maniacally as he watched contemptuously at the sight of his fallen foe.
Author's Note: At last Knuckles realises Eggman's treachery and tries to help out, even though he failed. The end of the battle is near!