Finally the heat wave went away! Now I can start saving up on electric bills again hehe but then again the house has central AC with green status.
Alright hello once again folks and boy I can't believe this is already this far yet nowhere near the end lol. Here's a fresh one to extend it further and hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or locations. They belong to Sega.
Chapter 15: Searching
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"Dreams don't betray us…"
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"When we lose ourselves, that's when we lose our dreams…"
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"It's not that dreams don't come true…"
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"We just give up on them…"
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Knuckles woke up instantly. Darkness remained in his vision yet he feels his eyelids not covering his nonvisible violet orbs. The red echidna also felt a rough dirt surface below him, indicating that he had fallen asleep.
Getting up he turned around to see faint beams of sunlight poke through the cave entrance he was in. He turned again and adjusted his vision to see the others that were deeper into the cave. The Shinjin Warriors remained fast asleep along with the Gaia Phoenix covering them with one of its colorful wings. The feathers on it glowed faintly in which it wasn't too bright to disrupt their slumber. Knuckles smiled at this knowing that they were safe.
'I'm glad nothing happened last night, but I don't remember falling asleep.' he thought as he slowly got up, stretching his limbs. 'I should be aware. I watched the fire without looking at anything else and a second later… it's already morning.' His thoughts pondered on this while he walked slowly towards the cave entrance, black shoes lightly scraping the dirt below him yet he was careful not to cause too much sound.
The cool breeze blew past his crimson fur as Knuckles felt the post-storm weather outside. The sun's rays peaked through the still cloudy sky with no sign of rain or even drizzle. His eyes saw several plants and trees glimmering with the morning dew that shined upon their surface, several drops of water falling off their leaves and petals. The sounds of birds and other animals radiated within the forest they were in but they were small chirps and growls which indicated that they won't be a threat to him or the others.
Even then they were highly trained fighters so they can hold out their own against predators or hostile animals that come at them.
Knuckles walked further into the forest, feeling more of the breeze pass through his body and face as he raised his hood to cover up. Violet eyes watched the green fauna with the ground almost covered in it, having to raise his legs up a bit to navigate through. The red echidna has not traversed this part of the forest last night, but seeing it look peaceful and majestic like this did bring back a few memories during his time at Angel Island.
When he was truly alone.
No outsiders coming to bother him.
Peace and tranquility were the only things around him.
Just nature and whatever food he can gather.
Performing his duty in solitude…
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'Yeah I'm getting off-topic here.' Knuckles shook his head with a growl in the end. He kept on trekking through as he brushed aside wet bushes and shrubs to continue forward. The forest had no clear path so he mainly went straight, and fortunately he had a great sense of direction so getting back wouldn't be difficult in on itself.
"I'm sure glad we got this far into the high mountains. If I came here without having to worry about Chun-nan's faith I would've been one step closer to finding out my real purpose." Knuckles whispered to himself. His dark clothing started becoming damp the more he weaved through the plants but for the red echidna he didn't mind it. He stood out in intense rain before so something like this is no issue.
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"…what the…?"
Something caught Knuckles' eye the more he walked forward. His gaze caught a strange lump formation covered in moss with several stoned bricks around it. The lump looked like it was manmade as well.
Knuckles increased his pace further to see what it was and luckily it didn't take that much to get there. The area around was also a clearing which only had grass on the floor, several types of flowers surrounding it as well. His gaze however was focused on the strange formation.
And for good reason as he saw some markings upon its surface that were hidden under the moss.
Along with sensing a strange energy from within.
"What is this…" he said to himself. Knuckles raised his hand up and brushed aside bits of the moss. A piece of a drawing revealed itself to him and his eyes widened, raising his other hand and fervently brushing off all the moss quickly.
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Several words were shown to him that he couldn't read, coming from a foreign language that was unknown to him. Several parts of it were etched off most likely due to time wearing them down, but the ones he could see were still mysterious to him.
The drawing itself was more mysterious… as it was carved into the stone, showing an egg surrounded by seven hieroglyphic symbols. Above the egg rested a larger symbol with several lines running down towards the egg. His gaze focused more on the egg…
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At its center, it had a crescent shaped mark on its surface.
"It's just like… mine." Knuckles looked down at his chest, his fingers tracing the mark he had ever since birth. "What does this mean…" he whispered.
He raised his hand again to touch the surface of it.
WHOOSH!
Knuckles pulled back instantly in surprise. The etchings began glowing a bright cyan color as the red echidna can sense even more energy pouring out of it. A gentle glow surrounded the rock formation which began spreading out towards the ground, turning the green grass into the same vibrant hue.
Violet eyes watched in awe as Knuckles took this all in. The flowers that were still enclosed began to bud just as this energy hit them, several flame-like whisps brushing off its stems and petals. The glow pulsed throughout the area as Knuckles saw them go through several other trees further away and go up distant mountains that he can see from afar.
Suddenly a small bright light entered his peripheral vision as he turned his head. He watched the center of the clearing.
And saw a small orb of light floating there. Not moving.
'This is… it has the same energy… as the Master Emerald…' Knuckles thought in wonder. He cautiously walked closer to it, feeling its faint light touch his red fur and the comfortable warmth it emitted. It almost felt…
'It's as if… it knows what I want…'
The red echidna stopped a few inches away from the ball of light, deep purple orbs looking at it in awe. He felt the need to reach out for it, but in doing so he also felt as if that would be a mistake.
It's as if he knows what it'll do next.
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"H-HUH?!"
Knuckles gasped as the crescent mark on his chest began to glow as well. He was startled by the light appearing on his upper body even though it was covered by the black muscle shirt, but apparently it was bright enough that he can see through it.
The orb of light reacted to it by pulsing several times… and started floating towards a random direction.
"H-Hey…" Knuckles whispered as he followed the light. The red echidna kept a good distance away, his eyes never leaving it. The glow remained on his chest and he continued following the orb.
His mind was scattered on all this, but the main thought in it was to follow it and not debate on it. The orb flew through another section of the forest with the red echidna following it, a moderate pace in which Knuckles had no trouble.
The orb made several turns through the green woodlands as Knuckles steadily followed it. The glow on his chest remained constant, his peripheral vision constantly picking up the white illumination that came off of it. At times it would pulse like the orb and at times it would dim and glow bright at random intervals.
All this confused Knuckles but he remained silent, simply following the mysterious sphere as it traversed the forest with ease. Luckily for him he memorized the path he walked and knew where he came from so if he needs to head back, he'd know where to go.
Knuckles' vision saw another clearing ahead, the orb slowly going faster towards it. It steadily picked up pace to the point that the red echidna himself had to do a light jog. He didn't debate on it, merely going with it in which his mindset was solely focused on the fact that this strange light knows him well of what he wants.
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Another gasp came out of the echidna upon reaching the clearing. Violet eyes widened in surprise with mouth agape.
Up ahead of him was the source of his astonishment: a small yet ancient wall filled with the same hieroglyphics that he couldn't make out. However that wasn't the main focus as it was what was shown on the wall. The orb itself led him here and upon reaching the wall did it imbue itself into a small opening at the left. Its glow faded within but in return did the markings on the wall began to slowly illuminate.
Knuckles walked closer to the stone barrier, his expression remaining in wonder. He scanned the first part of the wall and noticed something: the same egg as the one he saw before was on it as well with the same crescent on it as well.
'What is this telling me…?' he wondered. His eyes slowly followed the glow which brightened up more of the wall to reveal the rest. Knuckles looked at another drawing which had something different: a picture of a baby echidna surrounded by seven diamond shaped symbols.
"Don't tell me… the Chaos Emeralds?"
His mark pulsed brighter at what he said, apparently agreeing with his answer. Knuckles looked at his mark for a second then looked back at the wall. More of the scriptures were revealed and the third drawing was shown: the echidna was now but a small child, sitting in front of a larger diamond shaped symbol.
"Is this… me? Who… knows of my life?" he whispered. He raised a hand to touch the drawing and felt the same energy as before. His expression saddened a bit starting to know that this wall told of his past. However…
"But what does this all mean? I do not know anything…" Knuckles' eyes widened in shock. "… I don't remember my younger years…"
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"…destiny…"
"GAH!" Knuckles instantly clutched his head in agony. His eyes clenched tightly with teeth gritting against one another. Just that thought gave him tremendous pain.
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"He… the chosen…"
"AAAH!" the red echidna fell to his knees, surging pain coursing through his body. He did not know the mark on his chest glowed brighter and pulsed faster.
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"…this sickness…"
"WHAT SICKNESS?!" he shouted to no one as it echoed in the clearing. Several birds in the distance flew away in fright yet he continued to growl in pain.
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"L… you…"
Violet eyes shot wide open to the world once again.
"H-Hu-Wha?" Knuckles randomly spoke.
His pain instantly left the moment he thought of that phrase. It was incomplete, but for some reason it soothed him enormously.
"W-What was that last one…" he breathed out. Knuckles slowly lifted himself panting a bit; apparently the experience left him slightly winded. He slowly breathed in and out to calm himself as he looked down to see the mark still glowing, yet it returned to its normal steady state.
"Just… what were those words trying to tell me? Sickness? What sickness? Destiny?" Knuckles questioned himself. "Whatever it was, I can't remember much of it anymore."
The red echidna strayed away from the thoughts and looked back at the wall. The fourth and final drawing was shown: the picture of what is supposedly Knuckles is seen standing in front of another echidna. The other looked very different as they had an aura surrounding them and looked a lot older than he did. They appeared to have tribal clothing on them with several jeweled accessories on them along with a wooden cane that held an emerald at the top. The elderly echidna pointed the cane towards the representation of Knuckles, a sketch that mimics a glow coming off of it towards the younger one.
"Who's that?" Knuckles said in wonder. "I've never seen them before, not even in the visions I had where I saw that echidna girl and the tribesmen when I retrieved the red Chaos Emerald and Master Emerald fragments."
His eyes turned more towards the right.
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"Wha…?"
Unfortunately, the wall ended there.
"That's it?" Knuckles said softly. He raised his gloved hand on the wall again, feeling its energy once more with his fingers running across the drawing of himself and the elderly echidna.
"So this ruin tells of my life… that I was destined to be a guardian?... but who is that echidna with the staff? What do they have to do with me?"
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"What is my actual meaning?"
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BOOM!
A large explosion was heard and felt as Knuckles quickly turned in reflex. He looked at the direction where he came from, noticing smoke rising high into the air with a yellow glow in the distance. His expression turned angry, looking back towards the wall.
"I may not know much of my life yet… but I do know that I have to keep my family safe." and just like that Knuckles took off at high speeds, a red streak mixed with crimson lightning.
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A fog began emerging in the air that covered the clearing, the wall glowing brighter as well.
Followed by a ghostly apparition that materialized.
Holding the same cane with an emerald in their hand.
"He… has returned…" a female voice said in the air.
Seconds later, the apparition disappeared.
End of Chapter 15
And there you go! Looks like there may be some interesting backstory to Knuckles besides the one seen in Sonic Adventure.
Just what parts of his past are missing? Is there more to that wall than it shows? Who was that apparition?
Stay tuned to find out more! ^u^/