Chapter Eighteen:
Doom Comes for the Master Emerald
Knowing Eggman, and the threat posed by his alliance with the others, Knuckles headed back to his home island to guard the Master Emerald.
He couldn't let it remain unguarded, not with the Eggman Alliance at large.
When Sonic, Tails, and their counterparts were heading off to Westopolis to confront Eggman's forces, Knuckles remembered his duty to the Master Emerald and headed back to the Floating Island to resume his duties. He managed to pass off some notes to the others as he was departing, and Shadow, despite being a gruff grim anti-hero, gladly teleported Knuckles to the island.
Thankfully, the Shrine was untouched, and the Master Emerald hadn't been taken while Knuckles was off smashing robots in Furtree Village. However, he couldn't help but shake the ominous feeling; Eggman's forces could be lurking here, waiting to strike.
Each minute, every hour on the hour, Knuckles patrolled the area around the Emerald altar, keeping alert for Badniks. Luckily, there were none in sight. Then, a suspicion hit him.
He dove into the bushes, and found a robotic camera. Knuckles smashed it, and threw it off the island.
No doubt, Eggman had sent his toys to the island. Unfortunately for him, Knuckles was on the case.
"I've been guarding this giant green gem for years..." Knuckles told himself, "...and nothing is going to change my priority. I'm still going to help Sonic, when his sorry tail end needs it, but the Master Emerald is not going to be left unguarded. I can't be in multiple places at once, maybe, if I had variants here, just like Sonic, the job could be easier."
And then, he frowned.
"WHO'S OUT THERE?!" The red echidna shouted.
No answer, just the wind.
'Getting paranoid, aren't you, Knucklehead?' Knuckles thought to himself.
Just then, a cold chill shot up his back, and he turned around, seeing an ominous hooded figure looming over the shrine. Knuckles stood straight, clenching his fists defensively as the dark figure looked down upon him with frightening red and black eyes.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" He yelled.
The figure threw back his hood, revealing a dark-purple face with slightly red-colored hair. He looked human, but those eyes made it clear that he certainly was it.
"Wait, Sonic mentioned you at some point." Knuckles quipped, "Are you... the Erazor Djinn?"
"Am I the 'Erazor Djinn'?" Erazor Djinn remarked, "Oh, yes. I am, and you remind me of someone from the... realm of the Arabian Nights. You look like..."
"Sinbad the Sailor?" Knuckles retorted, "Sonic said he looked like me."
"But instead of sailing, you're... guarding this gemstone." Erazor mused.
"It's my sworn duty, to protect it from punks like you, and it can neutralize the power of the Seven Chaos Emeralds."
"The Chaos Emeralds..." Erazor repeated, "Are they... akin to the Seven World Rings?"
"Do you remember Sonic?" Knuckles asked.
"Ah, Sonic... The hedgehog who gives Doctor Eggman all the headaches in the world. How can I not be aware of him; he exists in every universe, and every timeline, always giving someone like me trouble and thwarting my destiny to claim the power I seek and rule the world. He is unforgettable, in every timeline, and every universe."
"How did you escape the Lamp?"
"Lamp?" Erazor laughed, "Nothing can keep the universe's doom sealed for long, not even some pathetic lamp."
Knuckles growled. "Okay, and I'm starting to realize that YOU are not the Erazor Djinn. The Master Emerald's telling me you're lying, that you don't have the experience as the genie Sonic faced. So, WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Amusing that you mistake me for a genie, now you figure out the truth." The malevolent being's eyes gleamed red; "I am the Demon King... Doom. And I am here for the Master Emerald, the source of power that keeps your island afloat in the sky. And you say it can neutralize the seven Chaos Emeralds, our task just got easier..."
"HEY!"
Knuckles turned, spotting a tall, muscular red-colored fellow coming up the altar, his arms and legs covered in bandages. And, as Knuckles noted, he looked just like... him! No way; it couldn't be.
Boom Knuckles crossed his arms, glaring at Doom with a fierce look. "You want to take that big green rock, you want to steal it from Knuckles..." he said, "You're gonna have to go through... Knuckles, the big (and kinda dumb) hero of the island."
The burly echidna leaped at Doom and punched him in the face, knocking him off the altar. Knuckles turned, and his eyes widened, as he saw a small red echidna with black eyes step out from behind the Master Emerald. He couldn't believe it! Since Classic Sonic, Classic Eggman, and Classic Tails were here, why couldn't Classic Knuckles be here too?
Classic Knuckles flashed a thumbs up at Knuckles, who then looked at Boom Knuckles, who flashed him a smug grin and a wink. The three Knuckles' then looked at Doom, who snarled, baring fangs while his eyes gleamed with fury.
"Knuckles #2, Knuckles #3!" Knuckles declared, "Let's kick this chump off the island!"
"I'm not leaving WITHOUT THE CONTROLLER OF THE SEVEN CHAOS!" Doom thundered, drawing a sword from a hidden scabbard, "THE MASTER EMERALD WILL ENSURE OUR VICTORIOUS CONQUEST OF THE MULTIVERSE ITSELF!"
The three Knuckles leaped of the altar, and ran towards Doom while Boom Knuckles whooped with glee. They ganged up on the towering Erazor Djinn-look alike, and Knuckles punched him in the jaw. Boom Knuckles leaped in and delivered a hard punch across the Demon King's shoulder, then Classic Knuckles did a spin-dash and struck him in the legs.
Doom yelled, and swung his sword at the trio, but all three of them ducked and dodged; a narrow close call.
Both echidnas stood straight, and attacked at once, hitting their foe where it hurt. And then, a red ball smacked Doom in the head and landed, unfolding to reveal a living LEGO version of Knuckles. This left the guardian and his counterparts in stunned amazement.
"Whoa..." Boom Knuckles quipped, "I look so good in LEGO form."
"Not the time to gawk, LET'S KICK THAT BIG UGLY NUT OFF THE ISLAND!" Knuckles yelled.
Lego Knuckles grinned, Classic and Boom Knuckles nodded. And then, the four Knuckles ran towards Doom, ducked his sword once more, and then pummeled him hard. They let the Demon King have it, hitting him hard. And then, Boom Knuckles picked him up with all the muscle power he had, and threw the villain off the edge of the island.
Knuckles high-fived his counterpart, and headed back to the Master Emerald altar, just as he saw a pair of Swatbots surrounding it. Knuckles took action, and smashed up the robots to smithereens. Egg Pawns appeared, and Knuckles took out a few while Classic Knuckles, Boom Knuckles, and LEGO Knuckles smashed up the rest of the robots with him.
Just then, Boom Knuckles threw a punch in Knuckles' direction, and he ducked quickly. He heard something smash, then he turned, and saw a fly-shaped robot lay in pieces in front of him.
"Fly-Bot." Boom Knuckles explained, "Eggman uses them to spy on us now and then."
He stared at the broken spy robot, then he looked around the island, checking to see if there were other robots coming. When he saw nothing, the coast was clear. Knuckles nodded to his counterparts; a job well-done. And then, he invited them to guard the Master Emerald with him...
