Chapter 6: Knock, Knock, Cape Cod
Note:
text – time, previous events (as known as memories) and sound effects.
text – inside monologue, thoughts, and memories.
text – voice from communicator
A red echidna named Knuckles was walking through a deep forest. He was heading in an unknown direction. 2 days have passed since he found himself in a forest unknown to him. As he walked, he was deep in thought and tense for some reason. Soon we hear him talking to himself to calm down a little and remind himself who he is:
I am Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald and the last of my kind. I lived my entire life on Angel Island alone. When I was a child, I always asked myself the question: are there other echidnas in this world like me? But why was I interested? Is it because I lived alone, and I always wanted someone who was there for me? 8 years ago, my relatives went somewhere to fight enemies, but they did not return. Maybe because I lost my clan and was left alone, I began to wonder if there were other echidnas in this world? Over time, I stopped being interested in this and accepted my destiny as the guardian of the Master Emerald and Angel Island. I lived like this every day...Until Dr. Eggman arrived on my island. His spaceship fell into the Angel Island volcano from orbit. He deceived me, and like a fool I believed him and attacked innocent people. This is how I met Sonic and Tails. Although I was angry at Eggman after this incident, part of me wants to thank Eggman for the fact that it was because of his lies that I met very good friends that day... Even though I behaved so inhospitably. Sonic has always been a good guy...But sometimes it seems to me that he is like a magnet attracting trouble to my island and to me...!
Knuckles stopped at that word and clenched his fist angrily before punching the tree bark.
"Curse you, Sonic!" Knuckles growled. "Why is it that every time something bad happens, you always drag me into it?!"
In memories...
Knuckles was resting near the Master Emerald with a white Chaos Emerald in his right hand at the shrine on Angel Island. At first glance, it seems that he is sleeping, although in fact he was resting with his eyes closed. Everything was calm until Knuckles heard a strange sound, like a rumble. He opened his eyes and turned his head towards the sound. There was no one, but the red echidna suspected something was wrong. He stood up with the emerald in his hand and, reaching the edge of the sanctuary, looked down. Then at this place, he heard someone approaching him behind his back. He turned his head and saw something red approaching him. Knuckles quickly moved to the other side, allowing the red something to fly past him. A red something landed on the grass. When the red echidna looked at him, he recognized him...
"METAL KNUCLES!?" Knuckles shouted, recognizing him as his double.
Metal Knuckles walked towards him quickly and menacingly. Knuckles avoided his attack. His metal counterpart landed a few meters away from him. Realizing that he had to somehow protect the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emerald from Metal Knuckles, the red echidna decided to fight with the emerald in his hand. A battle took place between him and his double. Knuckles punched him and turned into a spin dash if necessary. Metal Knuckles, in turn, attacked him with his claws and moved quickly. So the battle continued until the red double struck Knuckles with his claws. The red echidna flew away from him, dropping the Chaos Emerald in the process. Metal Knuckles grabbed the emerald and flew away.
"STOP!" Knuckles shouted as he came to his senses and stood up to chase after his counterpart, stopping at the edge of the shrine. "DO NOT DARE!"
But Metal Knuckles was no longer in his sight.
"Crap!" he growled and ran out of the sanctuary somewhere.
Soon he returns with a bag with a warp ring on his belt. He returned to the sanctuary, and he threw one warp ring, while thinking about where the white emerald was located, and entered the activated portal ring.
End of memories...
"The main thing," said the red echidna, "I still have a bag with warp rings with me."
He looked at the bag on his belt.
"I need to figure out how to find the way back home," Knuckles quietly spoke to himself. "If I don't come by this time, the Master Emerald will be kidnapped or fall into the wrong hands." Why did I even leave the Master Emerald in first place?! Calm down Knuckles, first I need to know where I am now. I've been walking through this forest for two days already. Two days…"
When he realized this, he screamed loudly and angrily into the sky. After that, he quickly moved on, now angry, and disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Somewhere…
At the camp "Ahoy Cape Cod" (ACC for short), children, especially teenagers, were having fun and doing their own thing. It was an ordinary American children's camp. Since it was evening, some sat around the fire and told each other horror stories, life stories, or various stories to have fun. Others just walked around and chatted cheerfully with their friends and acquaintances. Everyone was minding their own business and there were smiles on their faces except one. Around the corner of one of the houses, a blonde stood with folded hands. The girl was wearing a pink T-shirt, blue trousers, and white sneakers. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She looked with contempt at the children who were having a good time. She introduced a monologue inside herself, as red echidna did earlier:
I'm Gloria Pinkvile, daughter of famous fashion designer Darcia Pinkvile, who ended up here in this stupid camp. These two months were terrible. First Julia Woods embarrassed me in front of everyone, then my "girlfriends" dumped me and sent me here. Why is Julia so cheerful all this time?! Is it all because of her new friends?! No matter how much I try to lower her, she is still at the top! Why is that?!
Soon she felt her eyes become wet.
No, Glory, no! Don't you dare to cry! Gloria said in her mind to herself. Tears are for weaklings, as my mother told me. Wait...Oh, yes, that's right...My mother doesn't treat me the way Julie's parents treat her. She has something that I never had: her parents, for example, could support her in difficult situations, spend time with her and the like. And my mother...? Only to scold me even for the slightest mistakes and teach me to be superior...Even these days she is too busy to spend even the slightest time with me. All she does is shopping in expensive clothing stores or going to restaurants with friends. I hate her and Julia...I'd rather go into the forest. I don't want to be seen as a weakling.
With these thoughts, she left the camp into the forest so that no one would see her face with wet eyes.
In the forest…
Gloria walked along the path and bowed her head, she continued to enter into an internal dialogue, trying to calm herself down. But her thoughts were confused and turned into mush.
Heck, the blonde thought. I'm so confused…
She continued to walk with her head down until she noticed something glowing in the bushes.
What is this? Gloria thought and turned to the bushes before she approached them.
She pushed aside the branches of the bushes with her hands and found a stone that was unusual for her. It looked like an emerald, but it was white.
Strange, she thought, taking the emerald in her hands, and examining it. This stone looks like an emerald, but it is white. I know that stones that are white are diamonds, topazes, and pearls. But emerald is white? This is the first time I've seen this.
Gloria looked at the emerald until she felt someone looking at her. The blonde turned and saw no one, but she still had that feeling.
Okay, Gloria, don't panic, she thought to herself. You can't panic in such stupid situations. These are your hallucinations.
But she was already scared to such an extent that she began to move backwards. The blonde backed away until she bumped into something or someone.
"Excuse me, miss," a voice suddenly said from behind her, causing her to slowly and reluctantly turn around to see Knuckles looking at her.
"Um...W-what..." the blonde said with fear in her voice.
"Forgive me if I scared you," the red echidna said again. "I urgently need this emerald..."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Gloria's screams of horror could be heard throughout the forest. The blonde turned sharply and ran in fear in another direction.
"STOP!" Knuckles shouted after her. "I NEED THIS EMERALD!"
He ran after her. They both ran through the forest. The blonde felt like a rabbit being hunted by a coyote. Thoughts ran quickly and randomly through her head. Who or what is this? Why does he need this "emerald"?
Gloria continued to run until she tripped her foot on a branch and fell. She sat up and rubbed her knee.
"Oh..." she said before she raised her head.
She saw Knuckles approaching her with his fist raised.
Oh no… the blonde thought, closing her eyes in fear.
She heard Knuckles' approaching steps, but suddenly, Gloria heard someone else's approaching steps that were behind her.
Not the second one... she thought in fear.
KIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAA
The blonde heard how this strange creature hit not her, but someone else. Gloria opened her eyes and turned around. She saw another strange creature that looked like a red echidna, but unlike it, it seemed to be a robotic version of it and had a black scalar with green eyes.
What just happened... she thought and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Knuckles, who was looking at her.
After a second of silence, he spoke:
"Why are you sitting? Give up the emerald and run away from here while you still have the strength!"
"Who are you?" Gloria asked him.
"I'll answer later," Knuckles replied.
"I need answers now," the blonde said. "What is happening now and why do you need the stone?!"
"Chaos Emerald," the red echidna snorted, correcting her. "Damn it, you're as stubborn as Julie!"
"What?" asked a puzzled Gloria. "Do you know her...GIAHHH?!"
Just as she was about to finish her question, a strange robot grabbed her and directed her to a local tree. He pressed Gloria against a tree and looked at her threateningly.
"I told you to give me the emerald and get out of here!" Knuckles shouted at her.
Okay... - she thought, while looking at the red robot. Persuaded...
As soon as she tried to throw the emerald up to the red echidna with her free hand, the robot took it from her hands and let her go. The blonde freed herself and fell to her knees. Having received what he needed, the robot activated its engine and wanted to fly away, when...
"You won't get the Chaos Emerald, you scrapped BADNIK!" Knuckles shouted in rage and hit him on the head with his fist.
The robot turned to him and looked at him. While he was looking at the red echidna, Gloria snatched the white emerald from his hands.
"What are you doing?!" Knuckles shouted as he saw the blonde take the white emerald.
"Hey, you stupid robot!" she said to Metal Knuckles. "If you want to get this stone, then you will have to catch me!"
"Chaos Emerald!" Knuckles corrected her again, but she had already run away from them along the forest path.
The red doppelgänger wanted to chase after her, but Knuckles stood in front of him, blocking him from passing.
"Only over my corpse." he growled and prepared his fists for battle.
Metal Knuckles, seeing that Knuckles was on his way, in turn readied his claws. They both stood there for a minute before they walked towards each other, starting the fight.
Meanwhile with Gloria...
The blonde continued to run along the path with the emerald in her hand. She arrived at the field and stopped, breathing heavily.
It's gone, she said with relief, before she thought about it. How does he know Julia? Could it be that during the time she disappeared, she managed to become acquainted with this strange creature? When I get back to Boston, I'm going to specifically ask that redheaded girl how the heck she knows that mole?!
Just as she finished her thought, the blonde heard someone or something approaching her. Gloria turned her head and saw Metal Knuckles approaching her.
"Not again..." she whispered and immediately ran.
But the red robot was quickly approaching her. A minute later, he was five meters away from her. Gloria felt that she no longer had the strength to run further.
I'm finished... the blonde thought before she heard someone hit the robot again.
She turned to see the same red echidna who had injuries. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Metal Knuckles was almost broken. Knuckles' red counterpart had one of his eyes knocked out and had mutilations and damage to his body. But the red double was still on his feet. He began to slowly approach the two of them. Gloria trembled in fear as Knuckles showed his fists to hit his doppelganger one more time. But suddenly…
Metal Knuckles, can you hear me?
Hearing the voice in his head, Metal Knuckles raised his claw to his head.
Now return to our base. We need you for one thing. Even if you are doing something now, quit it. You'll get back to it soon.
Heeding the order, he lowered his claw. He first looked menacingly at Knuckles, then at Gloria along with the emerald, then his engine started and with its help he flew away from the field at high speed.
Knuckles and Gloria stared after him in silence before the red echidna turned to the blonde. He walked up to her, sat on his knees, and looked into her eyes.
"Can I take the Chaos Emerald?" he asked her.
Another minute passed in silence until Gloria stood abruptly and looked at him with her hands on her hips.
"First I need answers to questions," she told him. "Who are you and why do you need this "Chaos Emerald", as you call it?"
"This stone is called the Chaos Emerald," answered the red echidna. "And my name is Knuckles the Echidna."
"Are you an echidna?!" Gloria was surprised when she heard Knuckles' answer. "I thought you were some kind of mole."
"I'm an echidna, not a mole," said Knuckles.
"I already understand," she said, rolling her eyes. "You said earlier that you know Julia Woods, right?"
"Yes," the echidna confirmed. "She and Sonic, Amy and Tails once arrived on my island."
"Your island?" Gloria asked. "Can you tell me more?"
"This will be a long explanation..." said Knuckles and began to tell the blonde.
After the explanation...
"...We need the Chaos Emeralds to get back to our world," Knuckles finished.
Gloria, who was listening to him, already understood where Julia had disappeared to during this time. This made her hate the red-haired girl even more since Julie had spent time in recent months unlike her.
"I hate her," Gloria said in a whisper.
"What did you say?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyebrow.
The blonde realized that she had said too much, which is why her eyes became wider.
"You said you hate Julie?" asked the red echidna. "Are you at odds?"
"Yeah," Gloria said honestly.
"And why are you at enmity with her?" Knuckles asked. "Is this something personal?"
"What do you know about me!" the blonde snorted. "This redhead has everything: a family who spends all the time with her, friends who will never betray her... I have none of this."
"How is there nothing?" Knuckles asked, a little puzzled. "Do you have parents and relatives?"
"My mother and aunt," answered Gloria. "My mother is very famous in the design clothing field, and my aunt, Charlotte Feast, is a boxer in the local boxing club."
Knuckles thought for a while until he asked a question:
"Your mom doesn't pay attention to you?"
"Yeah," answered the blonde. "Even when she has time to spend with me. She usually leaves me at home and goes for a walk and meets different men. In this way I was appeared. I never knew my father. I always knew that I was an unwanted child and sometimes I wish I had never existed. This is also the reason why I hate Julia."
"Were you jealous of her?" Knuckles asked.
Gloria fell silent. She always knew that when she looked at Julia, she felt insignificant compared to her and sometimes wanted to take everything that the red-haired girl had for herself. She didn't even know that she was jealous of Julia, but she couldn't admit it because of her pride.
"I understand that your life is quite difficult," Knuckles began. "But this is not a reason to humiliate others."
The girl looked at Knuckles with a surprised look.
"Julia had a problem with her family when she was in our world," the red echidna began. "She felt like her family paid more attention to her brother than to her." It was her dissatisfaction with this relationship that became the reason why she ended up in our world. But probably thanks to Sonic, Tails and others, she was able to understand that her family would take care of her no matter what. But your situation is different. You were jealous of Julia because she had good things in life unlike you. Have you ever told someone about your life?"
"No one," Gloria answered. "Even to my aunt. We rarely communicate anyway. I didn't want to sully not only my mother's reputation, but mine as well."
"Envy, pride and fear," said Knuckles. "It's normal to feel such emotions, but you shouldn't use them for evil. It only makes you worse and more unhappy. To be honest, I was jealous of someone myself. Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest creature on our planet and my friend. He can run around the world, looking for adventures along the way, and not worry about anything. On the other hand, I'm stuck with my responsibility to protect the Master Emerald on my home island. I don't complain that I have such a difficult responsibility, because I understand that sooner or later this catastrophe from the past will repeat itself. I can talk about this later. Sometimes I just wish I could be as free as Sonic. But despite this, I am quite strict about myself and my behavior, and sometimes it's worth acting wisely. Gloria, remember some things that may be useful to you in your life. First, if you want to apologize to Julia for treating her this way, do it not only in words, but also in actions. Second, never let your negative emotions take over you and cloud your mind. And thirdly, and most importantly, know how to stand up for yourself and defend your opinions. And fourthly, sometimes ask someone for help if you need it."
Gloria fell silent, thinking about what she had heard. A moment of silence passed until she asked the red echidna.
"Knuckles, will you teach me how to fight like you?"
"For what?" Knuckles asked curiously.
"To fight like you," Gloria answered with a hint of shame in her voice. "For example, for protection. I will not use this to harm anyone."
"You're ashamed, aren't you?" asked the red echidna with sarcasm.
"Very," Gloria answered, and her face turned red with shame.
"I see," Knuckles said with a smile. "You still know how to feel guilt, and that's good. This will allow you to learn to take responsibility for your actions and improve. Although she is a little careful with guilt because it can be as dangerous as a bomb. But if you want, I will train you and tell you how to learn self-control."
"Thank you, Knuckles," Gloria said with her most honest smile before she asked. "How will you look for the Chaos Emeralds?"
"With the help of warp rings," Knuckles answered.
"What is this?" she asked.
Knuckles took out a gold ring from his bag and showed it to Gloria.
"These are special rings that serve as portals," answered the red echidna. "In order to move to the place where you want to go, you need to think about this place, after which you throw the ring. That ring expands in size. But you need to remember that their number is limited, and you need to be quite careful with this."
"Listen, Knuckles," the blonde turned to him. "Can I join you in search of the Chaos Emeralds?"
At this point Knuckles paused for a moment before he answered.
"You can. But promise that you will not interfere with our mission."
The blonde nodded her head.
"Okay," said the echidna and stood up. "But you probably need to go back to where you came from."
"Exactly!" Gloria exclaimed and began to get up. "Thank you for reminding me. Wait a minute, my camp ends the day after tomorrow!"
"Great," said the red echidna. "Tomorrow we are meeting here to discuss our plans for the future."
"Okay," Gloria said with a smile, as her soul felt much calmer. "Till tomorrow!"
She waved at him before she walked towards the forest path to head back to camp. Knuckles looked after her and smiled.
"Just like Julia and...Me," he thought and turned in the other direction to go into the forest and find a place to hibernate.
Next time...Honey the Cat vs. Mrs. Pinkville!
If you have questions about Gloria or her personality portrayed in the original Sonic Realization and in this chapter, write in the comments.
P.S: I'm sorry that I was our for a few months to publish this chapter. I was busy with writing Sonic and Tails in Mega Man X3 manga and publishing the chapters of the fanfic on the same time. I hope you understand. Wish you Merry Christmas and New Year!