Knuckles' Spark – Chapter 6: Quick Thinking

Lightning was looking around the place again. "It's been some time, huh, Doc?" he said, to a framed picture of another car.

This was one that was quite special to him. Not long after he'd started rookie racing, one night, he'd gotten stranded on the highway. Having no headlights, he'd ended up in a small town near Radiator Springs, where he'd found love, friendship, and a mentor like no other. The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, he'd call himself.

He wished he'd lived in those times longer. Nobody had expected him to go that soon, from this world. But at least he still had all the people who knew him, and friends to support him. Everyone was affected in some way by it, but together, they overcame it.

That's not to say nothing good happened afterwards. They'd had tons more fun and adventures, with spies and races, trainees and weddings, all of which had been a blast. He and Mater, alongside his many friends, were at the front and centre of these. But that didn't mean he didn't miss Doc Hudson.

In fact, he wished he had him now, because he needed him even more than ever.

Knuckles was completely lost as to how to get back home. The mechanics had tried everything they could to help him, but nothing had work. A few notable mentions, like a mechanical hula hoop, and a speed portal, had been close to working, but failed at the last second. It seemed hopeless.

Nothing was working and Knuckles was considering giving up. He'd seen him slightly disheartened before, but never like this. But then again, he seemed to have no concern. Like he had no reason to leave and go back to his home. Why didn't he keep trying? It was like he preferred being here more, or he didn't see the point in trying again.

That wasn't exactly how Lightning had thought of him when he'd first met him. He looked like the kind of person who wouldn't give up without a fight. A really long and arduous fight, at that.

He was staring at the screen above the treadmill in the training room, occasionally racing his hand out to go on it, but retracting it for some reason.

Lightning drove up to the echidna, and waited beside him. If he took notice of the car, Knuckles was doing a good job not acknowledging his presence. So, gently, the car tried to talk to him.

"Hey, Knuckles, you all right?"

The echidna turned around in shock. He thought he was all alone, so seeing Lightning next to him, just standing (or sitting. Knuckles couldn't tell.) was unnerving. The shock vanished from his face as it was replaced simultaneously with sadness.

"No, as a matter of fact. I'm just worried," he muttered. Looking up, he opened his mouth, but then closed it again. Then he said, "Can I ask you something? Have you ever felt like you're missing a part of you? Like it's there but you just can't… reach it?"

The racer thought for a second before replying, truthfully, "Well, yeah. Sometimes I have, but… I've always had my friends to help me. Maybe you could ask yours? You friends, I mean."

Knuckles shook his head violently and let out a groan, which made Lightning back away in confusion. "That's the problem! I can't remember anything about them!" He thumped his fist on the treadmill, causing it to spark. But he didn't notice.

However, a vibrating on his fist did make him aware of what he'd done. After apologising again, and opening the message Silver had sent, Lightning started thinking again.

He couldn't help but feel sadness and sympathy at his loss of memory, especially as it concerned his friends. How could anyone live alone? He had once, but life was better with friends, and that much was pretty clear. If only he could find a way to help him…

And that was when he heard about the light in the sky that the bird was talking to Knuckles about. He had an idea.

After the hologram dissipated, Lightning told him of an idea he had. The echidna told him to lead the way, lacking any confidence of leaving. But all of that changed when they reached the back of the centre, at a pit which had a giant fan built in. It was blowing upwards.

"You think this could help?"

All confidence that had been lost was brought back within the second, as he said, "Of course! This is perfect!"

Knuckles jumped in the pit and McQueen drove over to the control panel. But before he could touch anything, a rumbling became audible. He turned around, and scanned the horizon for the sound's source. He could see a patch of land across the road start to become grey, and it seemed to be travelling towards the pair. Lightning gasped and quickly turned on the machine, dialling it up to maximum power. The grey was inching closer to him, and Knuckles looked down to see the car backing away from the machine.

"WHOOOOAAAAAAAA!" shouted Knuckles, as he flew up fifty feet in the air. He just about saw the grey light above, and started gliding to keep the momentum going. He was almost there… almost… almost… He stuck his fist out, as down below, Lightning saw the two forces collide, and in a bright flash of white, fade from the world. Just as everything went dark.

But just before the collision, the echidna had remembered something important. His friends. Lightning may not have realised, but he'd helped him remember one key thing about his friends; that, no matter what, they would do anything for him. And that gave Knuckles and his purposes more reason to exist. He had to get back home now.

A/N: This is all a bit short for a few people out there, I suppose. I still think it's a great amount, but if you think it could use a bit more story dialogue or description or such, please leave a review and let me know! I'm trying to be a little more lengthy in my next part. UPDATE: Please go onto my profile for my rough roadmap of 2025.