(TRIGGER WARNING: If you or someone you love has been dealing with depression, guilt or
anxiety/panic disorders talk to a
trusted friend, loved one or a licensed therapist IMMEDIATELY!
Thanks, now on with the story)
Knuckle Meets Head
Episode 2: Shooting Through The Walls Of Heartache
Was there more floor or echidna at this point? Knuckles the Echidna wouldn't have
known the answer to that question, neither would he have cared. He knew that last time he was
grounded, he was called by the ghost of his former chief Pachacamac to
train the local deputy Wade Wipple and refine him into the ultimate warrior on a journey that
took them through Idaho down to Reno, Nevada on a warrior's quest of friendship and inner
strength that led to Wade winning a bowling championship, but that's another story.
Now, after having ran away from his first punishment, he decided that he would return to
the dreaded "floor of shame" and face the rest of his punishment with an even steelier
focus to regain his honor in
his newfound tribe, even if it meant lying there for 2 weeks instead of one.
"Great Chief Pachacamac. I need to finish my punishment I have failed to uphold with
honor! Nrgh! Please heal this ailment in my stomach so I can endure this… RAGH… trial of
two Earth weeks and resume my new… ARGH!" If he can get past this sudden abdominal
pain and migraine first. In reality, even if he wasn't grounded and had the full health to go on any
adventure right now, he had no desire to.
Just then, Knuckles winced at the creaking sound of the door opening. He thought he
could see multiple brown dots come towards him. He quickly covered his ears as his spine
slowly reverberated as each step threatened to split all his nerves apart before everything finally
faded to black.
He didn't know what to think next. But he didn't know why he didn't see anything after
that. Was he not supposed to go up to the great battlefield in the sky? Then why wasn't there
at least a warrior's feast awaiting him in the land of his tribe? Where were the melodious blasts
of the ram's horns? The children feasting on clusters of grapes and bushels of apples, while
frolicking and chanting out battle cries of old? Not that Knuckles wouldn't have been satisfied if
he merely received a warm, tender, real embrace from his father one last time; but at least
Wade ended up at his bowling grounds with an utterly strange Earth song and dance number.
So why did he not see anything at all, even though he still somehow feel himself inside his own
body?
Did word of his dishonor spread throughout the realms of beyond and barr him from
reuniting with those he cared most deeply about? Was his questing truly over? He longed to be
back on the wooden floor of his quarters. Back to at least tell his new High Chief, Maddie, that
he honors and cherishes her before he passed on; unlike his father was unable to do for him
before he was murdered in battle.
"-nuckles! Wake up…" Knuckles heard a voice call out to him, but couldn't move to
hear it. It was then he remembered what this feeling was. One he only experienced once before
when he neared defeat in a battle against The Buyer, his most evil nemesis to date yet. Where
he was both awake and asleep, trapped within his own body and helpless to move due to the
physical pain he suffered.
Last time he felt this feeling, he was eager to arise and defeat the Buyer with the
strength of his heart and a burning desire to defend his home. This time, he felt
no reason or desire to. After all, when he returned to the Wachowski tribe, was he still not an
exile? Was he not supposed to be enduring punishment?
Although he paid no heed to it during their initial… "negotiations" (if one would call them
that), he saw a combination of anger and disappointment in Maddie's eyes and crossed arms.
He went to the room he shared with his friends
and laid down on what he dubbed "the floor of shame" because he learned that apparently,
regardless of intent "make yourself at home" does NOT mean making others feel less at theirs.
You still need to ask permission before making a throne out of someone's
car or converting the living area into a battlefield.
Back then, the floor felt rough, bumpy and seemed to reek of heartache
and sorrows. Now it felt more like the mattress he slept on in Reno. Comfy, luxuriously soft,
melting into a warm hug from a loved one… who would want to wake up to another chance for
a shred of honor surrounded by ravenous wolves bearing shame drooling with guilt when one
could rest in the welcoming embraces of guilt and shame?
Just then, a scent somehow flooded in his soul. A strong, salty scent. Like a metal ball
out of a cannon, Knuckles screamed as he was shot awake and back to consciousness. "What
devilish abomination was that?!" he shouted.
"Hey hey, Knuckles, it's ok. Just take a deep breath, ok? You're home, you're at our
house and you're still alive. Drink up." The voice Knuckles heard sounded friendly, familiar yet
concerned. He turned to see the High Chieftess Maddie put a small yellow bowl on his lap. The
heat from the bottom of the bowl burned against his skin slightly. "Whoa, you ok?" Maddie
asked. Knuckles looked around the kitchen, trying to regain his bearings until he took the bowl
of broth and gulped it down.
"Wait, wait for it to cool…!" She warned, but it was too late. He gulped the whole
thing down, no problem.
"Ah, that was most delectab… agh!" His compliments got cut short by a throbbing
throughout his head. Maddie rushed over to his side with an ice pack and gently placed it on
his head.
"OH-WAAAAAAAAAGH! GET THAT OFF MY HEAD!" He
yelled, as he scampered off the table and hid behind a cabinet, only for his throbbing head to
expose his hiding by causing another painful moan to escape his mouth. He then tried to
scamper away towards the back door, but the pain limited his movements and forced him to
be cornered a few feet away from it. He then saw those dots again. Brown dots that, this time,
came together for a clearer picture. "HIGH CHIEFTESS OF THE WACHOWSKI TRIBE!
PLEASE DO NOT DISOWN ME, I BEG OF YOU! I MEANT NOT TO ESCAPE THE FLOOR
OF SHAME AS I DID BEFORE! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT INTO YOUR DINING
HALL! I SWEAR TO YOU BY PACHACAMAC I… ARRGGH!"
Tears welled up in Maddie's eyes as she saw the great echidna warrior continuously
attempt to roll into a ball, the pain in his head forcing him back out each time. "Knuckles,
sweetie, it's ok…" she hushed.
"HOW IS THIS O… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Knuckles screamed. He
couldn't and didn't want to think of anything else. The pain in his head was unbearable and the
guilt of his heart was unlivable. Both he and his options were exhausted as he finally
relinquished himself to sleep, with only a few noises flooding his head before being out like a
light.
When he finally came back to consciousness, he felt a light bounce off his closed eyes
as he slowly started to wake up. He put a gloved hand towards the top of his head. No migraine.
He put a hand to his stomach, it was full. Save for a piece of paper that he found on top of it. He
grabbed it and read the contents.
"Dear Knuckles,
Tails told Tom and I what happened. How you exiled yourself to your room right after you
came home because you wanted to 're-earn your honor amongst this tribe.'"
"I thought I heard the hedgehog and the fox for a moment. I thought I told them both
NOT to say anything until the 2 Earth weeks have passed!" He groaned, as he continued
reading.
"Sonic tried to stop him, but he changed his mind when he saw you on
the counter. A lot of people apologize when they do something wrong, but not everyone takes
responsibility and try to make things right. You are doing both, and taking responsibility for what
you've done is truly honorable. Come find me when you wake up.
Feel better soon.
–Maddie.
P.S. Never, EVER starve yourself or put either one of us through any pain like that EVER
again!"
"What is this 'P.S.' she is speaking of?" Knuckles put a glove to his chin, and then felt a
rumbling in the pit of his stomach. "Very well then. Grapes first, then learning more about this
'P.S.'."
He then went to the fridge, and was surprised to find not grapes, but a note on top of an
empty plastic grape tin.
"Meet me in the front yard for more grapes.
–Maddie"
"Wait? Did Maddie eat all the grapes and leave none for me?" As Knuckles pondered
this, he sprinted to the front door, threw it open and quickly surveyed the yard before walking
down the driveway. "Now, if I were grapes, then where would I…" he stopped as he felt a small
object squished underneath his right shoe. He lifted his foot off the shoe and it was revealed to
be a small green grape. He then looked at the ground and saw a small trail of grapes.
A curious grunt escaped his lips as he followed the trail, eating every grape as he went.
Eating and eating, until he looked up to see a sight that took him back a ways. There was not
one, not two but at least 10 plastic cartons of luscious green grapes. All underneath a very
familiar looking tree. But what caught his eye the most was who sat underneath the tree with
grapes in tow.
"There you are." Maddie sighed in relief. "Wanna talk over some grapes?"
So, I know what you're thinking… this talk between Knuckles and Maddie almost seems
like the fair play of turnabout. How's this conversation gonna go down? How's she gonna handle
the news of Knuckles's self-inflicted punishment? Would their friendship be reconciled? Will
Knuckles finally get his grapes? And most important… HOW ARE WE GETTING THIS
CHAPTER BEFORE THE SONIC MOVIE 3 TRAILER?! Ok, that last one was a joke. Be
patient, everyone. Let Sega and Paramount cook. And thanks for being patient as I've continued
to deal with my mental health. All those questions and more will be answered next time.
Until then…
Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying!
–LoveandEdify