~Knuckles and Isabella~
(Disclaimer: I do not own the Knuckles TV series or any of the characters, all credit goes to Paramount. Please support the official release).
Chapter 1: The Young Warriors
Our story begins with Knuckles, who was running to a training field. Knuckles passed the start sign and dodged several obstacles. He grabbed a log and blocked several arrows from shooting him with it. He ran across a tightrope and threw the log away.
He then picked up a boulder, and sped past a wooden Goal Plate, showing a drawing of him smiling while raising his fist. He ran to the edge of the mountain, where he began punching the boulder.
Hey, Sonic here! I know what you're thinking, "What type of maniac wakes up at dawn to punch boulders?" I'll tell you who. My good pal, Knuckles the Echidna.
It all began on the Mushroom Planet, where old Knucks got tricked into helping the very evil and very filthy Doctor Mustache escape. He came to Earth in search of a magic emerald and picked a fight with my big sis Penelope and moi, which went very badly for him, by the way.
Eventually, we punched out our differences and teamed up to defeat Robotnik's giant robot and recovered the Master Emerald, hence saving the universe. Hooray, and you're welcome! And then, Knuckles, Tails, and I became friends and roommates!
And then our big sis finally came home from college, got married to this awesome dude and then had the most adorable little girl in the world: our niece, Isabella, whom we all adore and spoil by the way. And I'm totally her favorite uncle!
Anyways, with all the hero stuff out of the way, Knuckles' only mission is to relax and enjoy Earth, which might be harder than it sounds.
"Ha! A new record!", said Knuckles as he smashed the boulder and completed the training course. Knuckles then looked to see that the Wachowski's house was "under attack", though in reality a construction crew was there to fix the damage to the house.
"House Wachowski is under attack!", said Knuckles as he quickly ran to the house, he then stopped and buried himself underground.
He carefully came up from the ground, and then kidnapped the first worker, dragging him into the bushes. One of the workers noticed something, but turned back to see nobody. He then turned around to resume working before he immediately spotted Knuckles, who was angrily looking at him.
He shot at Knuckles with a drill attachment out of fear, but Knuckles caught it in his gloves without even flinching. "Pitiful", he said as he threw the attachment away, and ran towards the worker.
A third worker, who was busy, jumped when the second worker appeared in front of him, hanging upside down. Horrified, the third worker tried to run away, but Knuckles then grabbed a shovel, broke it into two, and threw it to the third worker.
As a result, the third worker was pinned to the house's wall with the shovel parts close to his sides, nearly stabbing him. Hearing the ruckus, Maddie came out from house, and saw the third worker attached to the wall.
"Whoa! What's going on?", she said
"What kinda job is this, Mrs. Wachowski?!", shouted the third worker.
Maddie helped the third worker off of the wall, while the first worker was untying the second. "Did you call us up to fix your house so you could... hunt us for sport?!", said the third worker.
Maddie tried to deescalate the situation, "No, no, no, no, no. I could see why it might look like that, but one of our kids gets a little--"
"Your kid did this?", shouted the worker, cutting Maddie off.
"He's a...really big kid, with a huge imagination. Thinks he's a warrior. Always training, questing, as well as stalking, hunting, and occasionally terrorizing. You know how kids are at that age", said Maddie as she tried to downplay the situation.
"You'll be hearing from our lawyer!", said the worker before he turned to leave.
"I'm so sorry", said Maddie.
The workers loaded their gear into the truck as they were beginning to leave. Maddie sighed with exasperation before noticing some Doritos on the ground. She picked a Dorito up and inspected it.
"What?", she whispered.
She noticed the Doritos forming a trail to a tree, where Knuckles was sitting under. He had stolen a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos from a lunchbox the workers have left behind and was eating several chips, laughing in victory.
"Victory is mine, and never has it tasted so sweet. One day, I hope to visit this Cool Ranch of Doritos and bask in all of its splendor", he said before noticing Maddie and holding the bag out to her, "Chip?"
"I'm good", said Maddie.
Knuckles shrugged as he continued to eat the Doritos. Maddie stood there watching in disappointment as the workers finally left. Sonic and Tails walked over as they had been watching from the backyard the whole time.
"Oh, boy. Poor guys. That's the fourth crew this month. But, I have to say, Knuckles is in incredible shape. Do you think he's more cardio or weight-focused? It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. He looks fantastic", said Sonic.
"Do you think the house is ever gonna get fixed? Living room is getting pretty cold at night with that giant hole in the wall", said Tails.
Just then, Maddie approached the two of them. "Boys, we need to talk about our little red barbarian friend. I could use some backup", she said.
"Knuckles is just having a little trouble adjusting to his new home. It wasn't easy for me to understand this planet at first, either", said Sonic.
Maddie gave him a knowing look, "When did you start getting so wise?", she asked.
Sonic smirked, "I read a lot of cereal boxes. Also, I had a family that was patient enough to let me figure things out, so we have to do the same with Knuckles. Let me talk to him when the time is right", he said.
Maddie smiled, "Alright, Sonic", she then looked up at the roof, "But in the meantime, do you mind asking him to get our dog off the roof?"
Sonic and Tails followed Maddie's gaze as they turned around to see Knuckles was on the roof, holding a hockey stick and talking to Ozzy.
"Concentrate, wolf. An attack can come from anywhere at any time. You must have steely focus. Steelier. Steelier... Steelier... Steelier!", Knuckles said though all Ozzy did was stare at him.
"You know what? I think now is a good time for that talk", said Sonic.
"Yeah, I think so too", said Maddie.
Sonic and Tails both headed up towards the roof, "Come on, Ozzy! Here, boy!", called out Tails. Ozzy turned around and followed the young fox off of the roof, leaving Sonic alone with Knuckles.
"Hey, big guy. Mind if I join you?", Sonic said to Knuckles before looking at the scenery, "Man, this place is beautiful, huh?"
"No", said Knuckles.
"What? Really? You don't think Green Hills is a beautiful place to live?", asked Sonic.
"No"
"Not even a little?"
Knuckles paused for a moment before answering with another "No".
Sonic then approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Really look around, and tell me you don't think this is--"
"No"
Sonic groan in frustration, "Okay, fine! We'll circle back to this later", he then moved to sit on the roof with Knuckles joining him, "It's time we had a talk. You know, hedgehog to echidna. Listen, moving to a new world was tough for me at first, too. But trust me. This planet is special. It's your home now".
Knuckles looked at him, "An Echidna warrior has no home. I only remain on Earth because I made a vow to you, Penelope and the fox. One I intend to keep", he said.
"Hey, I respect that. But we won. Robotnik's gone, and there's no new battle to fight. No new quests to embark on. Which means, for the first time, you can take a break from being a warrior. And Earth is the perfect place to do that. So relax, get comfortable and make yourself at home here", said Sonic.
Knuckles pondered for a moment, "Perhaps you are right, hedgehog. Allow me to meditate on your words of wisdom", he said.
"Perfect", said Sonic as he stood up, "My work here is done. I'm gonna do...fun things".
As Sonic walked off the roof, Knuckles sat alone and meditated, thinking about what Sonic had told him. He then opened his eyes as he came to a realization, "Yes. I shall make myself at home", he said.
[Time Skip]
The next morning, Maddie was in the kitchen finishing up making breakfast. She then picked up the plates and carried them to the dining room table.
"Boys! Breakfast is ready!", she called out.
When Maddie entered the dining room, she was stunned by what she saw. At the head of the table was Knuckles, sitting on a throne like chair made from bits and pieces of all sorts of things, including metal pipes and old deer antlers.
"Good morning, Pretzel Woman", said Knuckles.
Maddie was dumbstruck, "Morning, Knuckles. Is that an iron throne at our breakfast table?", she said.
Just then, Sonic and Tails came down for breakfast.
"Good morning", said Sonic before he suddenly gasped in shock at the sight of Knuckles, "What is that?"
"It is merely the seat that designates my role as family champion. If you wish to claim it, you must simply defeat me in a ritual battle of trial by combat", explained Knuckles.
Tails laughed nervously, "What do you mean "trial by combat"?", he asked.
"Come, fox. I will show you", Knuckles smirked as he led them to the living room, "I heeded the hedgehog's advice, and made myself at home!"
The others looked to see that Knuckles had transformed the living room into a sort of battle ground/ancient fighting pit, complete with a gong for signaling the beginning and end of a battle.
Everyone was completely awestruck by the sight.
"Wow! Love what you've done with the place, Knucks. It's very, um, Conan chic", said Sonic as he gingerly poked one of the wooden spikes sticking up from the floor.
Maddie was beside herself, "Nope! This is not happening. We are not turning our living room into some kind of gladiator fighting pit", she said.
"Warrior fighting pit", Knuckles corrected.
"Whatever! And wh-what is Ozzy doing here?", said Maddie as she gestures to Ozzy who was wearing a fake Viking helmet.
"Ozzy has bravely volunteered for the first match by challenging his greatest enemy", said Knuckles.
"Enemy? What enemy?", asked Maddie.
Knuckles rang the gong, and then the door of a small alcove began to open up, revealing a man in a blue uniform holding a spiked baseball bat.
Maddie stared completely shocked and horrified, "Is that our mailman?!", she shouted.
"Please! I just wanna go home!", pleaded the mailman.
"I am so sorry", Maddie said to the mailman before he ran off. Then she turned to face Knuckles, "That's it. Get down right now! You are grounded!"
Knuckles was dumbstruck as he climbed off his makeshift battle tower, "How dare you. In the name of Great Chief Pachacamac, I swear you will regret the day you--"
"Excuse me?!", Maddie said incredulously.
Sonic approached Knuckles, "Knucks...buddy, slow your roll. You do not want to make Maddie even more mad than she already is right now. Trust me", he said as Tails nodded in agreement.
Knuckles let out a soft growl, "Very well, Pretzel Woman. I will accept my grounding...with honor", he said as he slowly walked upstairs to his room.
Maddie then looked down at her wrist watch with exasperation, "Great. I'm gonna be late for work", she said.
"Uh, Maddie? We may have another issue. It looks like Knuckles built part of his throne out of...our car", said Tails as he held up a muffler.
Maddie was even more dumbfounded than before as she could feel herself getting a migraine, "Our car...oh, gosh. Okay, um, Tom is out of town. Maybe Wade will pick me up", she said.
She took out her cellphone but before she could call Wade, she heard the sound of a car honking outside. Maddie walked outside with Sonic and Tails to see who was there, it turned out that Penelope had come over with her husband and daughter.
Isabella, who was now eight years old, hopped out of the car. "Grandma Maddie! Uncle Sonic! Uncle Tails!", she shouted excitedly as she raced over to hug her alien uncles. Penelope and Michaelangelo then stepped out of the care, the former of whom walking over to hug her mother.
"Hey, Mom! How's it going? How's everyone doing?", said Penelope.
"As well as we could be. So, what brings you guys here?", said Maddie as she watched Sonic and Tails bring Isabella inside to play.
"We were gonna leave Isabella here for today while we head over to Olympia, Washington to get everything ready", said Michaelangelo.
"What do you mean?", asked Maddie.
"Well, in three days, the city of Olympia is hosting the National Junior Karate Tournament. It's a competition where kids between the ages of eight and fourteen compete for the chance to win a huge trophy.
"Isabella is in the karate club at here school and begged us to let her compete, so we're gonna head up there first to book our hotel room and get all settled before we come back to pick her up for the tournament", explained Penelope.
Maddie chuckled, "She begged you?", she asked.
Michaelangelo scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah... Isabella wasn't so competitive before, but that changed when a new girl joined the karate club. A girl by the name of Blair, it seems Isabella has developed a rivalry with this girl. And so now she's determined to beat her in the tournament", he said.
Maddie looked down at her watch again, "Um... I'm gonna be late for work and the car is out of commission, do you guys think you can drop me off on your way out of state?", she said.
"Sure, Mom. Isabella already has her things with her, so we're ready to leave. Hop in the car and we'll give you a ride to work before we head out", said Penelope.
[Time Skip]
Meanwhile upstairs, Knuckles laid on the floor of his, Sonic and Tails' room, staring listlessly up at the window on the ceiling. He sighed in defeat.
Just then, Sonic began swinging around above him on their tire swing.
"Hey, buddy. How's it going?", he asked.
"Leave me be, hedgehog. I took your advice. And now, I lay banished on the floor of shame, with nothing to do but plot my revenge. Against you", said Knuckles.
Sonic leapt off the swing and landed on the red bean bag chair, "Whoa-ho-ho-ho! Lighten up, big guy. You know you've been grounded before, right? And being grounded isn't that bad. I lived in a cave for seven years. You can survive a few days in an attic.
"Look at all these great options you have. Like..."
Sonic zipped away and returned with entire collection of comic books.
"Comic books!"
Then he zipped over to a turn table and started playing music.
"Music!"
Then, Sonic had acquired a VR headset and controllers.
"Video games! They have come a long way since the '90s", said Sonic as he strapped the VR headset to Knuckles' head.
"AH! Where have you sent me?!", Knuckles shouted in alarm.
Then Sonic brought over a tripod with a recording light and camera, dancing in front of it.
"And viral dance videos! See what I mean? Use the time to relax. You'll be out there warrior-ing before you know it. Okay, good talk", said Sonic as he left the room.
Knuckles sighed as he removed the VR headset from his head, "The hedgehog could not possibly understand", he said as he stood up and looked up at the window on the ceiling, "O wise Echidna elders. I seek your guidance in my hour of need. Please, send me a sign".
When he was met with silence, Knuckles began to walk away with a dejected expression on his face. But then, a mysterious apparition appeared behind him on the red bean bag chair, hold the Wachowski family photo album.
"Aww, isn't that cute? They took her to Disneyland..."
Knuckles suddenly turned around, arming himself with a rubber chicken.
"ASSASSIN!", he shouted.
"Relax, Knuckles. It's me", said the apparition as they lowered the photo album, revealing themselves to be an elderly male echidna.
Knuckles was shocked, "Chief Pachacamac?", he asked.
The other echidna, Pachacamac, stood up from the bean bag chair to approach Knuckles. "It's good to see you, my boy. Now, put down the rubber chicken and give your old chief a--"
Pachacamac was cut off as when he went to hug Knuckles, he phased through him and fell through the floor, crashing into things on the way down. After a few seconds, he floated back upstairs to the room.
"Oh, right. I'm a ghost...", he said.
"Thank goodness you're here. I have completed my quest and found the Master Emerald. But with my work complete, what becomes of me?", said Knuckles.
"Knuckles! Your quest is not complete. It's only begun! You are the last of the Echidnas! And so, the legacy of our people is in your hands", said Pachacamac.
Knuckles bowed respectfully, "Guide me, O Great Chief", he said.
Pachacamac placed a hand on Knuckles' shoulder, "I want you to train an apprentice in the ways of the Echidna! Teach them our customs. Show them our traditions. And soon, our tribe will grow again", he said.
"But where will I find such a student?", asked Knuckles.
"Right here", said Pachacamac as he opened the Wachowski family photo album and pointed at a picture taken during Isabella's eighth birthday party.
"My niece, Isabella? She is no warrior, she is but a young child", said Knuckles.
"So were you when we first met. She may be young, but she's special and has potential. She seeks to compete in a Tournament of Champions in a mystical place called...Olympia, Washington!", said Pachacamac.
"Tournament of Champions. There is much glory to be found in such a contest!", said Knuckles.
Pachacamac then began floating away, "Train her as a warrior! The fate of the Echidna rests in your hands!", he said as he disappeared.
Knuckles looked up with a hopeful smile, "I won't let you down", he said.
[Time Skip]
Downstairs, Isabella was in the living room having a pretend tea party with her stuffed animals, a rabbit and a turtle.
"Mrs. Bunny, will you please pass the scones to Mr. Turtle?", she said. She picked up the rabbit doll and made it pass a plate of imaginary scones over to the turtle doll. But just then, the rabbit doll was gently taken out of her hands by a familiar person.
"My young niece, this is no time to be playing with stuffed hand cloths"
Isabella gasped happily, "Uncle Knuckles!", she stood up and gave him a hug, "Whatcha doing here?"
Knuckles dropped the bunny doll onto the floor, "Isabella, you seek to compete in the upcoming Tournament of Champions in Olympia, Washington. I will take you there. This tournament is my destiny", he said.
Isabella looked down sadly, "I thought it was my destiny too, but...now I'm not so sure", she said.
"How? You were bested by a sworn enemy in trial by combat?", asked Knuckles.
"Something like that. There's this girl in my karate club, her name's Blair. She's so much bigger, taller and stronger than me even though we're the same age. She's already an orange belt while I'm still a yellow belt!
"Oh, uh, the colors of the belts in karate represent your fighter status. Anyway, every time Blair beats me, she makes fun of me for being a little pipsqueak! Now we're rivals and I wanna take her down in the tournament but...I don't know if I can", said Isabella.
"Isabella, I am a warrior. I can train you in the ways of the Echidna. Teach you every form of lethal combat. Show you the secrets to all my strength", said Knuckles.
Isabella's eyes lit up, "Then I can use that to challenge Blair in the karate tournament, take her down and prove I'm the real champion!", she said excitedly.
Knuckles smiled, "Yes. If you take me with you on this quest to Olympia, I will make you a true warrior! As the great Echidna Chief Pachacamac did for me", he said.
"Pachacamac? Sounds like a rejected Pac-Man character name...", said Isabella.
"Our destiny awaits, my young niece. Do we have a family alliance?", said Knuckles.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Isabella's mind. "Wait a minute... didn't I hear from Uncle Sonic and Uncle Tails that Grandma Maddie grounded you? There's no way you're allowed to leave home, right?", she said.
"One cannot ground an Echidna warrior...for an Echidna warrior has no home", replied Knuckles.
Isabella was silent for a moment before responding, "Okay, seems legit. Let's go, I've already got my things pack for when my parents pick me up tomorrow but I know a way we can get to Olympia on our own", she said.
She and Knuckles went outside as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a white and cyan cube. Isabella pushed a button on it and set it down on the ground.
Then, the cube opened up and began changing its shape. It grew and expanded until it resembled a robotic wasp that was white with cyan markings; it was large, almost twice the size of a bear. It also had two rubberhose arms, four pincer legs, black eyes and a large set propeller wings.
"Oh, it is E.B. 2", said Knuckles.
"Oh, you call him that too? Anyway, he can get us to Olympia. E.B. 2, change into travel mode!", said Isabella.
E.B. 2.0 began to transform into a vehicle mode, resembling a go kart with a passenger compartment big enough to fit Isabella and Knuckles. They both climbed inside as a protective shatterproof glass dome came over them, then E.B. 2.0 began to drive off, heading to the highway to drive to Olympia, Washington.
"Alright! The warrior training road trip is officially official", said Isabella excitedly, "So...you have any hobbies, Uncle Knuckles?"
"Honor", said Knuckles.
"Um, honor is more of a virtue than a hobby"
"Victory"
"Okay, let me ask a different question: what do you like to do for fun?"
"Vengeance"
"Uh, that sounds kinda scary. I was thinking more like reading or drawing or that yoga stuff grownups do or maybe music"
"Yes. The hedgehog spoke of this Earth music. Tell me, what is it?"
Isabella paused for a moment, "oh, well, see I can't just explain what music is, Uncle Knuckles. You have to experience it for yourself. Here, I'll do that right now", she said.
She took out her cellphone and connected the Bluetooth to E.B. 2.0's wireless radio, then she opened Spotify and scrolled through her favorite songs playlist. Then, Isabella put on the song "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber.
"Yeah, now this is a great song! I love it!", she said as she began to sing along with the lyrics.
Isabella: "See, I never thought that I could walk through fire (eh)
I never thought that I could take the burn (eh)
I never had the strength to take it higher (eh)
Until I reached the point of no return (eh)
And there's just no turning back (back)
When your heart's under attack (attack)
Gonna give everything I have
It's my destiny"
Knuckles was surprised by the words of the song, as they seemed to describe a warrior's struggles and journey.
Isabella: "I will never say never, I will fight
I will fight 'til forever, to make it right
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, up, up
And never say never
Ne-never say never
Ne-never say never
Ne-never say never
Never say it, never, never say it"
"This is a song for warriors, for champions! Yes! I think I am beginning to enjoy this Earth music", said Knuckles.
Isabella smiled, "I knew would like it! Sing along with me, Uncle Knuckles!", she said.
Knuckles smiled as he joined in to sing along.
Isabella and Knuckles: "I never thought that I could feel this power (eh)
I never thought that I could feel this free (eh)
I'm strong enough to climb the highest tower (yeah)
And I'm fast enough to run across the sea (oh, oh)
'Cause there's just no turning back (oh no)
When your heart's under attack (oh no)
Gonna give everything I have
'Cause this is my destiny
I will never say never, I will fight (never say never)
I will fight 'til forever, to make it right
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up, up, up
And never say never"
The two sang together as E.B. 2.0 drove them down the long stretch road heading for Olympia, Washington. Their journey together as uncle and niece had just begun.
[End of Chapter 1]