Sonic crept down from Donut Lord's workbench into his garage. "I'm in. With minimal damage to Donut Lord's property." He reached into his bag and pulled out a ring. "Here we go. It didn't work out on Earth, but that's okay! You're going to a safe world. A nice, safe world filled with mushrooms—mushrooms that, since Knuckles is gone, will be your only friends. That sounds awful, I can't do this! I—I can't just leave Knuckles alone with those government dudes! I don't want this to be like Longclaw all over again!"
"...of course, if I try to rescue him and get captured as well, his sacrifice will be for nothing. You have to do this, there's no other option!"
Sonic drew a deep breath and prepared to throw the ring but was interrupted by Tom slamming open the door. "S.F.P.D., pending background check, PAWS IN THE AIR—"
He noticed Sonic.
"...Uh...Meow?"
"...AAAAAAAAAAA"
"AAAAAAAAAAA"
It had been half an hour since the plane landed. Knuckles had no idea where he was, but at least he got away from the doctor. He was sitting in an alley, wondering what the heck to do now.
Knuckles glanced up. He spotted a trash can, and hanging out of it was a purple hoodie with one sleeve torn off.
Knuckles stood up and walked over, examining the hoodie. "Hmm. This could help me blend in." He pulled it out of the can and sniffed it. It didn't smell too bad. The one sleeve might attract too much attention, though. He considered for a moment, then ripped it clean off. He slipped it over his shoulders. Looking down, he saw it didn't fit very well. The hoodie went down to his knees. Still, it was the best he had.
Before leaving the alley, he pulled the beaded necklace out from under the hoodie and pulled the hood over his head. He paused for only a moment before joining the people on the sidewalk.
He walked without really having any idea of where he was going. He paid careful attention to signs, trying to figure out where in the world he was. He wasn't even sure he was still in America. You can't exactly walk up to someone and say, "excuse me, what country am I in?"
Someone tapped Knuckles' shoulder. He turned around. It was a man in a white t-shirt, with a friendly smile. "Are you lost?"
Knuckles thought for a moment. he was about to reply when the man said, "Do you need help finding your parents?"
"...Huh?" Knuckles was fourteen. He was pretty sure that was old enough to take a walk by yourself.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I can help."
It finally clicked. Between the purple hoodie that fit him more like a dress, the necklace, his height, and two dreadlocks he now realized were sticking out from the hood, passersby thought he was a little girl! Knuckles was shocked and slightly offended. He stood there, staring at the man for some time. Then, he ran away.
He was sure the man who offered to help him was extremely confused, by either his suddenly running off or the deep voice coming from what he thought was a child. However, he still had bigger problems.
Knuckles eventually ended up in the suburbs. He sat down by a tree to catch his breath, removing the hood. "I should probably find a new cave or something," he said to himself. He held the beads of his necklace in his hand and was surprised to realize he was a little lonely.
The door of a nearby house opened, and a woman came out.
"I'm going to go take a walk," she yelled into the house, closing the door. Knuckles hoped she wouldn't notice him, but he had no such luck.
"Oh!"
"Uh." Knuckles wasn't sure what to say to her.
"Wait..." The woman inspected him. "I saw you on the plane when I was flying here!"
Knuckles saw she was indeed the woman who he saw through the window of the plane. He stood up. "Yes, you did."
"...Who exactly are you? Actually, what are you?"
"I am an Echidna warrior."
The woman shook her head. "Are you sure? Echidnas are way shorter, and usually walk on all fours. Plus, they don't like fighting. When threatened the curl into a ball and let their quills fend off predators."
Knuckles rolled his eyes. "I am an echidna, just a mobian echidna, from another planet."
The woman was shocked. "Okay. Alien. Wow." Pause. "Do you hear that?"
Knuckles looked behind him, and gasped. The doctor's drones were descending toward him. "I guess they realized I escaped!"
"Who's they?!"
Knuckles leapt into action. He pounded one of them, turning when a drone shot at him and missed. The woman simply dashed behind a tree.
At first, Knuckles had the upper hand, but eventually, the drones began pushing him back. He growled. "There's too many of them!"
The woman peeked out from behind the tree. She realized she couldn't just do nothing while this strange creature was fighting for his life. She had an idea. She ran off to the driveway of the house she'd come out of.
Knuckles' back bumped into a wall. He was cornered. He gritted his teeth, unsure of how he was going to get out of this one. Then, a car pulled out of the driveway. The window rolled down, and the woman leaned out of it. "Get in!"
Knuckles jumped on one of the drones, then jumped to another. Knuckles used this tactic to get past the horde of drones and ran to the car, jumping into the open window.
"Buckle up!"
"Do what?"
The woman grabbed his seatbelt and buckled it in, then began backing out of the driveway.
"Whatever you're doing, please do it fast."
The car turned onto the road and drove away. The drones gave chase, but ultimately were too slow.
Knuckles turned to the woman. "Thank you for your aid, but who are you?"
"I'm Maddie. A veterinarian. What's your name?"
"I am Knuckles, probably last of my kind and fierce warrior."
Maddie sighed. "I don't think I can take you back to my sister's place. She doesn't even like my husband, no way is she gonna let you stay with her. Where's your home?"
Knuckles straightened his back a little. "An echidna warrior has no home. Although, I did stay in a cave in a place called Green Hills for seven years."
Maddie looked thoughtful. "Green Hills... the one in Montana?"
"I think so." Knuckles had heard Sonic mention they were in Montana one time.
"Huh. That's where I come from. Were you on the outside of the plane the entire time?"
"No." Knuckles sighed. "It's a long story."
He told her about being captured, escaping off the plane, and the disguise that made people think he was a girl.
Maddie took a moment to process this. "So, your friend left the planet?"
Knuckles nodded. "With his powers, he should have had no trouble finding somewhere safe to use his ring."
"Ring?"
"You think of where you want to go, throw is, and it becomes a portal there."
Maddie said, "Convenient." She glanced at the time on the clock. "Do you want to grab something to eat? It's about dinnertime."
"I'm fine. I shouldn't be seen anyway; I really need to find somewhere to stay."
Maddie thought for a moment. "Well, when me and my husband find an apartment we like, maybe you could stay with us until you find a more permanent situation? I'd have to ask him first, but..."
Knuckles shook his head. "I think I've caused you enough trouble."
"I think it was actually the government guys causing problems," she said. "Plus, I don't think they'd look in other people's houses."
Knuckles was tempted, but said, "No. I don't want you sticking your neck out for me."
"Suit yourself." Maddie pulled into the parking lot of a diner. "I'm pretty hungry. Do you want to come in, or wait in the car?"
