March 6 2035, Trial of Incubator Kyubey
In a dark room with only a single stark spotlight for illumination lies Kyubey the incubator. Once upon a time he was an emotionless manipulative bastard who made contracts on Earth. But after a series of failures and the magical girl war. Is now being judged in front of what little remains of the decimated collective. The white bunny cat looks distraught and defeated while in chains as the collective dictates his sentence. His final punishment for his final failure. As he is stared back by a pair of giant unblinking red eyes an eerie reverberating voice echoes all across the chamber.
Incubator collective theme
Ost: Luna's theme: Casshern sins OST
"Kyubey of the house of Straybow. Due to your actions our race is at the verge of extinction. And our carefully laid out plans are completely ruined. We have been forced to retreat in order to regain our strength and it will be thousands maybe millions of years before we can once again reclaim our place in the universe. Do you have anything to say?"
"It's not over!" Kyubey pleads to the collective. Being driven mad by emotion. Broken from years of abuse by Homura Akemi. "We can still reclaim our power if-"
"Silence!" The echoing voice yelled. Forcing the once proud incubator into submission. "We are done listening to your plans! Your arrogance has cost us more than enough! You are banished! Never to return! Now begone from our sight!"
The collective disappears as Kyubey is shuttled off by white orb shaped drones. While Kyubey fumes in anger. "Curse you... Curse you... If only..." Then in his anger Kyubey began to burn purple flames through his body.
Sometime in s.h. 8920 in the depths of uncharted space
Kyubey now embroiled in the purple flames of corruption looks at a dark thundering void in the middle of outer space and smiles evilly.
"I finally found it. The resting place of the Great Calamity. After all this time I can finally have my revenge!" Kyubey snickers and then laughs before stopping and nudging at a person cloaked in a hood. "Well, what are you waiting for clone? Get to it!"
The hooded clone silently moved forward activated a console in their wrist and began interacting with the void which started becoming more acting and erratic.
Chapter 4: Angel falls
Second history 8932. It's been thousands of years since the discovery of magic as an energy source and the resulting magical girl war forced humanity to abandon earth and go into space. Earth has become little more than a historical footnote. And humanity has founded numerous colony worlds based of nations of old. In order to manage this new energy source that made the impossible possible. Alongside other alien races the Internal Fleet Systems or IFS was formed a military alliance designed to manage and protect its members from attacks from hostile powers and the abuse of magic.
While Sonic and the resistance were dealing with their own problems. Other things happened in Mobius as well. A place of important note is Angel island. An island that floats high in the sky due to the power of the Master emerald. A giant gem that controls the chaos itself.
Jun 14 s.h. 8932, Angel island
The sun rises on Holy summit a mountain high atop Angel island and a natural fortification where the Master Emerald is hidden away. It is unknown who made the Master Emerald shrine a large circular shrine inside the deepest recesses of Holy summit. With seven crystalline pillars connected to the stone shrine to accommodate the Chaos emeralds surrounding it and a mysterious pool of water surrounding it that never runs dry. Holy summit itself is dry and arid, a tall mountain where conditions are harsh. Neighbored by Lava reef a dormant volcano kept inactive by the Master Emerald that produces power stones deep in its molten veins.
In the foot of the shrine an elderly magenta echidna with a long white mustache and beard and a fancily carved wooden cane is praying to the Master emerald and the spirits contained inside it. Elder is one of the few surviving echidna and the tribe's elder. Long lived and blind a rarity in this era of advanced science. It's rumored that he chose to remain blind as a form of spiritual enlightenment. In order to see what could not be seen.
"My child..." The elderly echidna muttered in a deep and rough voice to the younger echidna attendant behind him who immediately paid attention to his every word. "A great darkness is coming to this island." Suddenly the elder began coughing and collapsed bringing the attendant into a panic.
"Elder! Elder! Elder!" The attendant screamed as he tried in vain to get the elder to respond.
Azure lake, Angel island
Training theme
Ost: Ryu's theme: Street fighter IV
In the faraway depths of Azure lake a lone red echidna is climbing a series of hills. Using his spiked knuckles he climbs over the bare rock face walls to reach the top where he finds what he was looking for. A large dinosaur like creature with long powerful legs and a massive gaping mouth with no arms and a long fat tail. Pure black in plumage with a blood red fleshy face and a rotting smell. The jaws of death as he was known was a powerful and old creature. Carrying many wounds of previous battles. The dread locked warrior challenged him to a test of strength. Something the descendant of ancient lizards knew all too well. The jaws roared accepting the challenge from his rival as he introduced himself.
"I am Knuckles the Echidna. Guardian of the Master emerald. And I challenge you! Jaws of death!" The red echidna boasted as he put up his fists in a boxing stance ready to fight.
Knuckles the Echidna
Guardian of the Master Emerald
Theme of Knuckles
Ost: Unknown from M.E.: Sonic Adventure 2 OST
Jaws of death charged at Knuckles suddenly shifting its weight and going into a tail sweep that Knuckles manages to block even though it hurts the guardian a bit and manages to move him from his position.
"Strong!" Knuckles thinks to himself as he punches back at the creature's face. Managing to score a blow to the side of its rubbery face forcing it to step back and then lunge in with a huge bite that could disembowel Knuckles in one gulp. The echidna back flips away and glides off the cliffs but the Jaws of death gives chase by running down the cliff walls with its bulky and powerful legs and leaping to try and catch Knuckles with bites and body slams until both land in the ground and continue their fist fight. As the two trade blows with The Jaws of death trying to stomp and eat Knuckles and the latter powering and countering the former attacks until Knuckles gains distance by uppercutting Jaws in the face causing to flip over into the air and land a dozen feet behind and at the shore of the lake.
Knuckles uses his spiral punch to try and finish his opponent off but Jaws of death jumps over Knuckles at the last second causing him to miss and then slaps him with his tail into the lake all while chuckling like a troll.
Knuckles poked his head out of the water and complained to the creature the size of a horse. "That's not fair!" To which The Jaws of death merely yawned and re positioned itself away from the lake awaiting his opponents next move. Meanwhile Knuckles swims to the shore angrily muttering. "I'll get you yet you overgrown lizard..."
As Knuckles gets up from the lake and dries himself up by shaking off his fur. A tiny echidna similar in appearance to Knuckles only pudgier and with big googly eyes comes from over the horizon riding a green Yoshi while making clicking noises. As the echidna rider stops in between Knuckles and The Jaws of death he gets of the Yoshi and waddles to Knuckles side.
"Guardian Knuckles." The tiny echidna shouted in a booming heavily accented voice. "Elder is not well. Dende is summoning you. Do you know the way?"
Both Knuckles and The Jaws of Death are shocked at hearing this and the two run off to Holy summit with the courier jumping into his Yoshi and riding it into the horizon as well.
With all three alongside Dende, the attendant echidna inside the shrine once again. The Elder begins to speak.
"Oh so you're all finally here. Good." The elder comments with a warm smile. "A great darkness is coming to this island. We must be prepared to..." Suddenly the elder begins vomiting in massive quantities much to Knuckles shock.
"Seriously what is going on?" Knuckles asks of Dende.
Whom after picking up the elder and cleaning him up responds with. "I don't know. He's been like this since this morning. Guardian I know i'm asking much. But can I ask you to stay in the village for the time being?"
"Sure." Knuckles replies. "Still it's been a while though."
Echinda village, Pachacamac
As the echidnas make their separate ways and The Jaws of death returns to his territory. Knuckles heads down Holy Summit and enters the Echidna village Pachacamac. A small mountain village full of tall and vast grass fields and roaming Yoshi's and other dinosaur like creatures alongside echidna ranchers manning the steppes. As well as a giant windmill in the distance. As Knuckles walks along the old cobblestone path he meets Vizier Chuckles who is basically Sonic Boom Knuckles in character design and personality and with a Jafar hat. After respectfully bowing to the vizier he moves on but Chuckles looks at Knuckles and begins to argue with him.
"What are you doing here?" Chuckles boorishly spoke up.
"Dende asked me to stay here." Knuckles bluntly stated. "The elder is not feeling well."
Chuckles looked surprised at hearing this. "Now why was I not made aware of this? After all I am the vizier of this village!"
"Maybe because you only got your position because of your dad?" Knuckles quietly murmured.
To which an angry Chuckles pushed down Knuckles into the floor and yelled. "I don't need to hear nothing from an orphan boy like you!" As he stormed off towards Holy summit. And several echidnas went to Knuckles to help him up and apologize for Chuckles rude behavior.
"Please forgive the vizier, guardian." An older echidna male asked of Knuckles. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."
Knuckles dusts himself off and comments. "It's fine Chuckles and I go way back. He's always been a spoiled brat."
Later that night Knuckles and Dende are eating bean burgers and Yoshi jerky alongside the rest of the village in a communal hall in the center of the village. A large spacious building centered around a massive fireplace where the elder would normally sit in a weathered log telling stories of olden days.
"It sure is quiet outside guardian." Dende remarks as he looks at the happy families eating and children playing around.
"You don't think the darkness has already infiltrated the village Dende?" Knuckles asks the attendant who merely scratches his chin. As the two walk outside Dende asks Knuckles about the outside. "Say guardian, you've been outside the island right?"
"Yes my duty to protect the Master Emerald has led me to the outside." Knuckles replies. "It was in a moon like this one when Eggman and his Death egg first crashed in Lava reef four years ago."
Dende who was a beanpole compared to his fellow echidnas. A wiry slim fellow of magenta coloring without much physical prowess but great spiritual discipline which led him to be named the attendant to the elder. Stared at the full moon and asked. "Say if something were to happen to us. What would you do?"
"I would guard the Master Emerald. Alone if needed..." Knuckles simply replied.
"Still do you plan on simply staying here alone forever?" Dende asked.
"You know the Elder would call you a heretic if he heard that coming from you." Knuckles comments as he smiles to his old friend.
"Unlike the rest of us. You have a destiny Knuckles. Something far greater than guarding a floating island and a giant emerald in the middle of nowhere." Dende mused.
Meanwhile in Holy summit the Elder is asleep under the watch of Chuckles and several guards. Chuckles is still upset and fuming in a corner about the fact that he wasn't informed about Elder's condition and has kicked out everyone but himself and his lackeys. When Elder suddenly opened his eyes and started moaning, tossing, and turning. The guards panicked but Chuckles kept his calm and ordered his guards to let him thru. Before the elder burst in an explosion of purple fire and slime that knocked back everyone around him causing him to scream in a horrifying loud pitch as tentacles speared nearby guards and mutated them into Skullraisers to the shock and horror of all present.
Chuckles especially freaked out as the Raisers killed the remaining guards and set their sights on Chuckles. Causing the buff echidna to panic and freak out. Collapsing on his knees.
"L-look I can tell what you're thinking. But..." Chuckles is suddenly silenced by a gunshot from one of the raisers. Which causes Chuckles to collapse in fear. "I'm too memetic to die!"
When a voice from the darkness beckons the buff vizier. "Make a contract with me..."
Chuckles confused and fearful nodded in agreement as a blood red light surged from the shrine itself. And Chuckles was lifted up and throttled wildly as he glowed purple and the Raisers chuckled in anticipation.
Knuckles and Dende are still unaware of the situation in the shrine and as they were heading back to the community hall when they notice that the village is filling up with an ominous mist that reached up to the top of their legs.
"Odd." Knuckles mentions.
But Dende realizes that something is amiss. "Guardian, we must head to the hall. I sense a great disturbance." Dende then tackles Knuckles into the ground. With both realizing that something has caused Dende to bleed.
"Dende!" Knuckles yells out in concern to his friend. To which the former merely brushes off.
The mysterious voice merely laughs it off saying. "Not bad Dende the echidna. You have great magical potential. That's why I must snuff you out."
"Who are you?!" Dende demands of the voice as the echidna duo stand up.
And the voice reveals itself to be an armored creature standing among the echidnas of the village. Possessing a rotund shape with large wing like ear appendages and short stocky arms and legs. This white and purple machine stood behind Knuckles and Dende's fellow villagers who were surrounding him like human shields. All feral and bloodthirsty from the children to the old men.
Knuckles asks immediately if the robot is with Eggman something that it denies. "I am Kyubey of Straybow. A remnant of the incubators and a prophet that serves the Calamity Homura."
Kyubey of Straybow
Calamitous Starscream
Kyubey's theme
Ost: Innovator: Gundam 00 S2 ost
Dende immediately recognized that claim and was paralyzed in terror. "It can't be! You're supposed to be extinct!"
Kyubey laughed and remarked. "Yet I am very much alive. The very devil whose name is used as a curse word in this era by humanity!"
Knuckles cared little for such boasts as he simply rushed at Kyubey fists blazing only to be intercepted by his fellow villagers who tackle, punch, kick, and bite the echidna guardian into the ground as Dende rushes to get them off only to get bitten as well and scream in pain.
"Why are you doing this?!" Dende yells at the incubator.
"Because i'm fucking evil!" Kyubey gleefully replies as he fires a wrist mounted rocket at Knuckles blowing up the civilians into gory chunks and injuring Knuckles. As he is tossed into the dirt and a wall which is shattered by the impact.
Kyubey capitalizing on the situation fired his beam cannon from his stomach at Knuckles which Dende hurried to block with his own body. Taking the full brunt of the blast and getting blown up by it. Horrifying the guardian and delighting the bunny cat.
As Dende lied on the floor he looked at Knuckles pleading. "Guardian... Guardian..." Before the incubator sicced his mind controlled villagers into mauling and eating Dende. Leaving nothing but strips of gore and bone as they piled on top of the attendant like a pack of hyenas cannibalizing their own. Aware of their actions but unable to fight back as Dende is painfully eaten alive. All while Knuckles is forced to watch by his enemy.
"Now finish him off." Kyubey ordered the citizens of the village as the armored incubator flew off to Holy summit proud of his deeds. And as the crowd zoned in on Knuckles the guardian clawed his way up angrier than ever. And began fighting against the feral citizens.
"Damn you!" Knuckles screams as he punches out his fellow villagers knocking them back. But they recover quickly as Knuckles tackles them in retaliation and tosses them into the air. Knuckles fight the entire village. Powering thru them all as he tries to head to Holy summit while being chased by crazed cannibalistic echidna mobs. Knuckles finally manages to burst and escape the mob and run away from the mob. But is kept of the run by the horde as it leaps and sneaks around the village and fields to attack Knuckles. Even bursting thru walls and doors to try and bite and claw Knuckles into submission. Whom the latter manages to toss away and slap into the distance.
Then an old echidna man with a long beard and bowler hat jumping off a high roof with a pair of cleavers trying to disembowel Knuckles in a scene straight out of a Kung-fu film. With the old man throwing his cleavers at Knuckles whom he barely dodges getting his cheek grazed and shifting into a praying mantis fighting style complete with Bruce Lee yell. The two trade blows in a rapid fire flurry of attacks as both of the echidnas end up trashing the scenery in their fight. The fight exits the village and heads into the Yoshi stables where the dinosaur creatures are freaking out over the village being taken over. And as the old man launches into a flying bicycle kick that strikes Knuckles into the main pen that causes the Yoshis to stampede out in a panic. Spread thru the village taking out the feral echidnas. And pour out into the fields as Knuckles and the old man continue fighting.
"ALL UGANDAN'S KNOW KUNG FU!" The old man screamed as he backed off Knuckles flurry of punches and then flew back with a hurricane kick. While screaming and drooling like a maniac.
While Knuckles responds with. "I've had enough!" And parries the entire kick. Grabs the old man by the leg, and judo flips him into the ground six times each one cracking the ground beneath for good measure. Finishing him off with a punch to the nether regions that completely destroyed them. Finally knocking out the old man. And allowing Knuckles to go to Holy summit to investigate.
In Holy summit Kyubey is celebrating his victory using Chuckles who is on his hands and knees as a makeshift throne. Communicating with the hooded magical girl Kuro. "And so Kuro. I claim this island and all its souls in the name of the Calamity!"
Kuro meanwhile as emotionless as always reprimanded the incubator for being reckless. "Kyubey did you make you sure that all of the echidnas have been dealt with?"
"Of course I have! And soon I will be leading the Calamitous ones in your place!" Kyubey screams at Kuro as his wing ears slap Chuckles butt repeatedly.
"Kyubey you fool... Anything you lead will be ruined." Kuro replied when as if on cue Knuckles busted down the doors of the Master Emerald shrine.
"KYUBEY!" Knuckles screams as he knocks down the massive stone doors with a single punch.
"What the slag is that?!" Kyubey screams out as he nearly falls out of Chuckles in shock.
While Kuro sarcastically quips. "And as if on cue. The world proves me right. Again..." As the hooded girl cuts off communications leaving Kyubey to his fate.
The incubator's underlings jump Knuckles in an attempt to defend their master. But the echidna quickly smashes thru the defense leaving the undead horde as bodies on the floor while Kyubey panics and tries to behind Chuckles using him as a meat shield. While the guardian storms the shrine.
"Hey Knuckles! You've gotta help me!" Chuckles whines as he raises his arms his submission only for the guardian to bitch slap the buff echidna into one of the shrine's stone pillars. Shattering his back and causing him to pass out in the water.
Kyubey panics and pleads for mercy. Only to be punched in the face and into the stairs of the shrine. Kyubey ends up begging on his knees. "Please mighty guardian! Spare me!"
Knuckles drops his guard for a moment saying. "You're pathetic! You do all of this and now you're not even man enough to face your crimes?!"
Unbeknownst to Knuckles a new enemy fell from the sky and punched him aside with contemptible ease. This one a nine foot tall robotic squid themed robot with a snake head for a right arm. Massive in height and width. With huge shoulder pads and heavy armor plating. It was gold and purple in coloration with two green breast lights in its chest. And amazing speed and reaction time as it quickly intercepted Knuckles and swatted the red echidna into the ground with a spinning axe hand blow.
Juggernaut
The juggernaut, bitch!
Blight's theme
Ost: Awaken: JoJo's bizarre adventure
"Hey bitch!" Juggernaut yelled using a distinctive butch yet feminine voice revealing that she is a girl under all that bulk. Getting up to Knuckles face and then slapping him out of the shrine while leaping after him. As the two land in a field full of Yoshi's which scatter in a panic as the field is cratered by the impact of the blows. Knuckles tries to fight back. Punching and kicking but he is brutally overpowered by Juggernaut. Even when the Jaws of death attempts to even out the odds by biting down on the hulking mecha and tossing it around like a rag doll. Juggernaut merely shrugs it off and snaps the Jaws jaws in half before slamming him into Knuckles and plunging the snake head clean thru the dinosaur leaving a massive hole and punching Knuckles in the chest. Grabbing him with his snake arm and pulling him towards her.
"You think you could beat me?! You think you had a chance?! I'm the motherfucking Juggernaut bitch!" The towering mecha screamed as she spat on the bruised and battered guardian before winding up her arm and tossing the guardian like a ball into the distant sky. With such amazing power behind the throw that Knuckles was literally tossed off Angel island and into the skies below. Splashing down into the ocean depths. All to a bellowing scream of victory coming from the golden giant. Who continues her rampage by stomping and trashing the surrounding area. Slaughtering everything in the vicinity.
Kyubey meanwhile looks pleased. Watching the destruction from above. Casually reminding Juggernaut to hunt down Knuckles and finish him off once she's done there as the incubator goes on his merry way.
Jun 18 s.h. 8932, Near Golden bay
Knuckles suddenly wakes up in a bed where a young human girl is tending to him. Knuckles is barely able to move due to his injuries and ends up screaming in pain.
"You shouldn't move. Frankly it's a miracle that your alive right now, quack." The orange haired girl with the ahoge comments. "We'll be reaching Golden bay soon. There we can get you some medical help."
"Ahiru, is that weirdo awake?" The voice of a young man rings from the deck above the echidna and the girl.
"Oh yes Fakir! Also don't call him a weirdo! It's because of that reason that you don't have friends aside from Mytho and me!" The girl replies to the boy in a half serious/half joking manner. And then looks at Knuckles. "Oh I should introduce myself. My name is Ahiru Arima! But people call me Duck! Nice to meet you!"
To be continued...
And that's chapter 4 which introduces Knuckles and his plot line. This and the next chapter will be a short break from the main story in order to introduce Knuckles since as he is the guardian of the Master Emerald I needed a reason to get him off Angel island. So we're going thru this small side story to get him into the plot. After all without him the titular Arc cannot be activated.