Chapter Twenty-Five:

A Vision of Darkness in The Master Emerald


On the floating island in the sky far away from civilization, Knuckles the Echidna sat upon the altar by the Master Emerald, guarding it from harm alongside his counterparts; Boom Knuckles, LEGO Knuckles and Knuckles' own past self, Classic Knuckles. It didn't feel long since they drove off the menacing Demon King Doom, they all knew trouble was out there.

Since Doom had been driven off, not too many enemy forces had popped by the island and attempted to take the Master Emerald, mostly thanks to Knuckles and his counterparts' efforts.

Luckily for the red echidna, a certain bald doctor didn't make an appearance and blindside Knuckles enough to take the giant green gem. However, he was still prepared, so were his counterparts, even if of them was a bit of a nitwit.

"Man, I bet you didn't know some folks have complained about me not guarding any gemstones." Boom Knuckles told the small, but gruff, red echidna, "I don't even understand what my fans are talking about sometimes, especially when people make odd comments about me being 'short' or looking ridiculous."

"You don't look that ridiculous." Knuckles told Boom Knuckles, "I think you look great. Honestly, people like a strong guy, and some women can be into big boys."

"Did ya ever think about hitting the gym?" Boom Knuckles asked with a smug grin, he flexed his shoulders, "I'm tellin' ya, nothing screams more cool than mus'cools!"

"Nice joke, but we don't need to be burly when we're already tough." Classic Knuckles quipped.

Knuckles then frowned and held up his hand. "Stop, both of you!" He said, "I can hear the Master Emerald, I... think it wants to tell us something."

The red echidna stood up, having been sitting firmly for the past many hours, and approached the Master Emerald, seeing that it was glowing somewhat intensely. The green aura around it had brightened and the giant green gem was thrumming with great power. Knuckles stopped, standing a few inches from it as Classic Knuckles stood with him while Boom Knuckles stood next to him.

Boom Knuckles stared at the Master Emerald, squinting his eyes as though he were accessing a pair of binoculars or viewing lenses that he didn't have in his hands, and Classic Knuckles took a step forward, reaching out his hand at the exact instance that Knuckles was doing so.

For his whole life, Knuckles had guarded the Master Emerald and had been around it long enough to form a connection with it and feel the Emerald's power. Classic Knuckles almost had the same experience as his older self, despite having yet to endure the events that Knuckles had experienced involving the Master Emerald.

"Hey, there's somethin' strange inside that gem, should I smash it?" Boom Knuckles asked.

"No." Knuckles said firmly, "There's something that it's trying to show us and tell us about. Let it... Wait, what the...?"

"That looks like Robotnik!" Classic Knuckles exclaimed.

"It resembles Eggman..." Knuckles muttered, "But... Hold on, what is that?!"

A dark light began to glow within the Master Emerald, an image took form, showing a dark-colored Chaos Emerald-looking gemstone that gleamed with a black power as a tall, mustached man held it in his hands. Both red echidnas watched, all feeling uneasy, and then a new image appeared as more ominous glowing filled the Master Emerald.

"That doesn't look good." Boom Knuckles said bewildered.

"It isn't..." Knuckles said, his eyes widened, "It's..."

"It's some sort of monster!" Classic Knuckles exclaimed.

Knuckles and his counterparts gasped with shock, their eyes widening, and resisted the urge to scream as a monstrous figure with a familiar orange mustache formed within the Master Emerald and opened its maw, letting off a faint roar, and then, a new image appeared as it showed the mysterious entity ravaging a world.

'No...' Knuckles thought, eyes wide with dread. The image in the Master Emerald was becoming clearer and, in a matter of seconds, the red guardian was seeing a glimpse of the world and many others under the heel of the monstrous Eggman-like entity.

"Oh shit!" Boom Knuckles exclaimed, "Not only is that thing connected to Eggman because of that mustache, it's... an extra-dimensional ravager-conqueror?"

"And that emerald its using is not one of the Chaos Emeralds nor is it a corrupted Master Emerald." Classic Knuckles quipped.

Just then, the monster vanished and two beings appeared. One was Eggman in a black cape and armor, one of Eggman's variants anyway, and the other was a cone-headed man with black-red eyes and a robotic arm wearing a red-black bodysuit with yellow linings and a yellow cape.

"Two of Eggman's other selves are involved?!" Knuckles exclaimed, the visions in the Master Emerald vanished seconds later, "Whatever else is happening, the situation is about to become more dangerous."

"I didn't see enough of it, but it sounds like it didn't look too good." LEGO Knuckles remarked.

"We gotta warn Sonic!" Knuckles punched his fist into his hand, "There's no time to lose, Eggman's alliance with his alternate counterparts, his past self and their descendant Eggman Nega is about to produce a massive Eggman monster that will conquer and decimate the multiverse. Two of Eggman's alternate selves are involved and that black emerald is the key somehow!"

"We're leaving the Master Emerald unguarded..." Classic Knuckles pointed out.

"...and that means someone is gonna have to stay behind to guard it, just in case if Eggman sends his forces to steal it." Knuckles nodded.

"I'll guard it!" LEGO Knuckles offered.

Boom Knuckles raised a hand, "I should probably call Amy and Sticks, tell 'em that things are about to get further outta hand and that thing we saw in the Master Emerald just now brings to mind a monster from a dream that Sticks was talking about having. Man, she's going to love this."

"Do what you have to do." Knuckles told his burly counterpart, "Then we gotta move."

"Uh, one thing first..."

"What?"

Boom Knuckles gave the other three red echidnas a regretful look on his face, one that was full of shame. "I can't glide."