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"Nope, sorry, haven't seen any of those around here."
"Thanks anyways," Knuckles said, though he was much less than grateful.
The red echidna was looking for the shattered pieces of the Master Emerald yet again. While guarding it a few nights back, something bizarre had happened and the planet had cracked like an egg. What emerged from the cracks was far beyond anything that Knuckles had ever seen, having multiple tentacles and spanning taller than the highest mountain on the island. Luckily, the monster hadn't risen close to Angel Island.
Unfortunately, the monster evaporated into a massive cloud of purple smoke and covered the sky. Smaller monsters dropped from it and immediately surrounded him and the Master Emerald shrine. He defended the emerald bravely but within an hour, hundreds of monsters overtook him. Not wanting the emerald to fall into their clutches, Knuckles shattered it and caused the island to fall into the water. The pieces of the Master Emerald were scattered throughout the world.
Now it was his duty to find and retrieve the pieces so that the emerald would be restored and Angel Island would float once again.
His search had taken him to a small village in Mazuri. He could sense that a piece was here, yet he could not pinpoint its exact location. He tried asking the locals, but they didn't seem to know what he was talking about.
Knuckles leaned on a tree and looked at the sky as the sun began to set. The view of the sun-baked land was gorgeous, yet he hardly noticed. He had made little progress today and the sense of failure was putting him in more of a sour mood than usual. That and the fact that monsters would show up again like they seemed to do every night since that giant creature appeared.
A howl echoed through the air and startled Knuckles out of his moody attitude. It sounded like a combination of a wolf's howl and something else, though the locals didn't say anything about there being wolves in the area. Whatever it was, it sounded close.
Knuckles stood up and was about to investigate when he sensed that someone or something was behind him. He turned with fists raised to confront it but a purple cloud of smoke flew at his face and everything went black.
“Are you alright, Sonic?”
He lifted his head and looked at Chip, who was flying in front of him. He had just finished transforming into his werehog form and he was now laying on the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Do you want some chocolate? It might make you feel better.”
The werehog shook his head and stood up. “Between now and the day I met you, I think I’ve had all the chocolate that I can handle.”
“But you can never have too much chocolate,” Chip said as he flew in a circle, “I’ve eaten tons, yet I just can’t get enough of-”
The werehog covered Chip’s mouth and shushed him when he began to protest. His wolf-like ears had picked up footsteps coming towards them.
A man from the nearby village was running towards them, looking scared and constantly looking behind him. Once he got to them, he stumbled, sending a cloud of dust into their faces.
“Thank goodness I finally found you two!” he said as he kneeled over for a breath, “The village….it’s being attacked!”
“Again?” Chip said.
Sonic punched into his hand. “Has Eggman come back to see how well I fight at night?”
The man shook his head quickly. “It is worst. He’s short, red, and angry. And strong!”
He frowned, confused by the man’s description. That sounded a lot like his friend Knuckles, but he was on another continent protecting the Master Emerald on Angel Island. Even if he had taken a break, he wouldn’t go this far away from the emerald. “Did he have dreadlocks?”
“Yeah. And he kept asking about an emerald. I think he called it the Master Em-”
He didn’t even wait for him to finish. He threw the man onto his back and ran on all fours towards the village with Chip flying behind him.
“Do you know who he’s talking about?” Chip asked as he pushed the man forwards so that he wouldn’t go flying off of WereSonic’s back.
“I hope not.”
Those hopes were crushed once they got to the village. There were gaping holes in the sides of several huts, doors had been knocked off of their henges, stores had been completely destroyed with their items scattered in the dirt, and villagers were running frantically in all directions. Some villagers laid unconscious on the ground.
And standing in the middle of all of the chaos, fists clenched, was Knuckles the Echidna.
“Where is it?!” he yelled as he tore off a support stick from one of the huts and threw it at a crowd of villagers. Luckily, it missed them and hit another hut instead. “I know you have it!”
“Knuckles!” Sonic yelled as he stopped in front of him, “Are you out of your mind? These people have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Out of my way, beast!”
“Knux, I know it doesn’t look like it, but it’s me, Sonic. You know, blue, spiky hair, usually gets on your nerves-”
Knuckle’s fists came at him before he was able to finish and he had to roll to the side to avoid his lethal hits. “I have no words for you, monster. You and your kind are the reason I’m here!”
“No, Sonic is just in his Mr. Monster Guy form,” Chip said.
Knuckles didn’t hear him and kept punching at the werehog. Sonic jumped back and then grabbed hold of Knuckles’s fists. He pushed against him and even in his werehog form, Sonic was having trouble holding him still.
“Listen to me, Hothead,” Sonic said through his teeth, “I have no idea what’s gotten into you, but I can’t let you go around attacking people and their homes. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if that’s what it-”
“Sonic, his head!” Chip cried out.
“What-” WereSonic didn’t finish because Knuckles slipped out of his grip and punched at his face. Luckily, he was able to block the attack with his fist. He rolled away and then straightened up.
He tried to jump on top of Knuckles and restrain him, but the echidna rolled out of the way and Sonic felt a heel connect with the back of his head as he slid by.
“Right, I’m not as fast,” he whispered as he rubbed his new injury, “And we might be matched in strength. But I can beat him when it comes to range.”
Knuckles ran at him again. This time instead of blocking, the werehog dodged out of the way again and stretched his arm out to the nearest tree. He rocketed towards the tree just in time to miss a spiked glove.
Knuckles yelled in frustration. “Get back here, you coward!”
Now up on a high branch, Sonic turned and waited for the embodiment of rage to run at the tree. When he tried to climb up, he stretched his arms and punched at him. He hit him a few times, even scratched him once on the arm, but nothing he knew he wouldn’t recover from. He just wanted to slow him down.
“Talk to me, Knux. What happened to the Master Emerald?”
“Don’t mock me, creature!”
“I’m not! It’s really Sonic!”
Knuckles was halfway up the tree now. He wasn’t even blocking the hits anymore, he was just taking them! “Don’t take me for a fool.”
Sonic stopped attacking. He knew his friend was a tank, but he didn’t usually just let himself get tenderized during a fight. His voice also sounded feral. Maybe if he proved who he was, Knuckles would calm down. “Hey, don’t try to come up here. I have the high ground!... Really, nothing? I thought Tails watched that movie with you.”
Knuckles didn’t seem to care and tried to climb up to the branch he was on.
Sonic quickly reached for him and pinned his arms against his chest with his back to the trunk. “It’s. Me! We met when Eggman tricked you into working with him. I know your favorite food is grapes. I know that you can’t stand the city because all the lights and sounds bother you.” He was straining to keep Knuckles still, but he had to get through to him. “Heck, I know you talk to the Master Emerald because you’re lonely.”
Knuckles didn’t stop straining, but he was looking at him more directly.
“You know how I know that? Because I’ve been around you.”
“...Sonic?”
“Yeah, you got it!” Finally! But then, why was Knuckles still fighting against him? He wanted to let him go, but something told him not to.
“Sonic, he’s like those people from Spagonia!” Chip yelled to him.
At first, Sonic was going to kindly ask Chip to shut up, but then he saw what Chip was talking about. Purple smoke coming from the top of Knuckles’s head.
There had been a group of people in Spagonia who had acted strangely, and only by Chip taking pictures of them did they figure out that those people had been taken over by Dark Gaia’s minions. And they had purple smoke coming from their heads too!
“Chip, get your camera ready!”
Chip nodded and took out the polaroid camera that he had found earlier in their adventures. One flash from this and the minion taking over Knuckles would have to come out.
The echidna, or at least the monster in him, didn’t seem to like that idea and opened his mouth into a snarl. He barred his teeth, then bit Sonic’s hand. The werehog yelled out and instinctively pulled his hands back. There were now gashes in the back of his hand.
He tried not to get angry because he knew his friend wasn’t in his right mind, but his bleeding hand and Knuckles running at him were not making it any easier.
“Die, you cowardice trickster!”
He’d bruise him just a little.
He punched forward, making Knuckles jump back. He caught him by the chest mid-air and slammed him back into the trunk. He retracted his arm quickly, not wanting to get bit again, and punched with his other hand. Knuckles caught the punch and held on when he retracted his arm back. Sonic blocked the punch, then slammed both of his fists into Knuckles’s chest, making the echidna crash into the branch they were both standing on.
It swayed up and down once before it cracked through the middle. They both slid, then fell off of the branch, landed on their feet, and crouched, ready to fight.
“What’s going on!?”
Chip turned to the person next to him and was surprised to see Sonic’s fox friend. “Tails! Boy, am I happy to see you.”
“What's going on, Chip?” Tails repeated, “Why are Sonic and Knuckles fighting like this? And where did Knuckles come from?”
“That red guy tore the village apart because he's being controlled by a Gaia monster and Sonic is trying to stop him.”
“Can't you flash him with your camera?”
“Oh, right! Hang on, Sonic!”
“Be careful!”
He flew a few feet away from the fight and aimed his camera. He clicked the button and there was a flash, but Knuckles had turned around during the fight to where he wasn’t facing the camera anymore. “Come on, hold still.” He flew around and tried to get a better shot, but both Knuckles and Sonic were not making it easy. They were throwing punching and dodging constantly and he wondered if Knuckles was avoiding the flash on purpose. “Sonic, hold him still!”
He didn’t seem to be listening. Wait, did he try to bite Knuckles?
“Sonic!” He clicked the button again but caught the wrong person with the flash.
The echidna took advantage of Sonic being momentarily blinded and kicked him in the chest.
He wasn’t sure if was from being blinded or from having the air knocked out of him, but his head cleared long enough for him to hear Chip calling him. Get him in front of the camera. That’s what he needed to do.
When the white light cleared, he saw Chip flying around Knuckles like a mosquito, both distracting him and trying to hit him in the eyes with the flash. Sonic jumped back into the fight and threw some punches, just enough to get Knuckles’s attention and enough for Chip to get out of harm’s way.
But instead of flying away, Chip flew behind him. He quickly realized the little guy had a plan. He kept blocking Knuckles’s attacks until he was sure Chip was ready. Then he ducked under the next punch and rolled out of the way. Chip pressed the button….and heard a click. Northing. The camera was out.
Chip was so stunned that he didn’t notice Knuckles’s fist coming straight toward him. Fortunately for him, Sonic did and rammed right into Knuckles’s chest, sending them both crashing to the ground. Chip flew out of the way so he wouldn't get hit, and went back over to Tails.
“My camera is out of film!” Chip said as he opened the camera up, “Do you have any by chance?”
“No, I’m sorry… Wait, are you sure it's the flashing light that causes the monsters to leave their hosts?”
“I think so. Why?”
“I have an idea,” Tails said as he started flying away, “But I'll have to get something from my plane first!”
About the same time, Sonic was circling Knuckles. He had come up with an idea of his own; if they couldn't get the Gaia minion out, knock Knuckles out.
The werehog leaped, already knowing that Knuckles would dodge it. He stuck his foot out and tripped the echidna, sending him falling to the ground. His next move would have been to punch his lights out, but dirt was thrown at his face. By the time he cleared his eyes, there was a hole in the ground, and Knuckles was gone.
He backed up. He knew Knuckles was somewhere underground, digging his way towards him. And as he expected, the echidna erupted from the ground with his fist leading. Sonic reacted quickly, but not quick enough. He was clipped in the chin and was sent stumbling back. He barely dodged Knuckles punching straight down and had to block another kick to the chest.
Then, Knuckles did something weird. He grabbed Sonic’s arms and started to pry them away from each other. How was he this strong?! He tried shaking him off, throwing him, swinging him around, and then just started slamming him into the ground over and over. He was still hanging on somehow!
At this point, the worry was starting to set in again. He was hoping to knock him out quickly, not stamp his face into the ground twenty times. He brought his arms forward again and tried to pull free. Knuckles’s grip was loosening. If he could hit him one good time, maybe if he could punch him again…
He head-butted him. Knuckles the Echidna head-butted him in the face. That was just enough to make him feel better about knocking his lights out. But he didn’t get the chance to.
In an explosion of pain and lights, Sonic was hit with the echidna’s spiked fist square in his face. The werehog spun a few times, then fell to his knees. To everyone’s dismay, he toppled the rest of the way to the ground.
Knuckles glared at the crowd. He wanted to see the terrified faces of the villagers as they realized that no one would save them. As he panned around, he made a critical mistake.
He looked right at Tails’s tablet when the flash went off. He stumbled back as purple smoke hissed from him. Then he went limp and fell next to Sonic as the smoke took the form of a Dark Gaia Titan.
The beast roared and the villagers scattered in all directions. Tails and Chip were the only ones left standing in the clearing and it looked like they were the only ones who could stop it.
“You do have another plan, right Tails?” Chip said as he cowered behind the fox.
“Uh, I was hoping that the monster would be smaller,” Tails said as he backed away.
The titan banged its giant club against the ground and advanced toward them. Tails and Chip backed up until they bumped into a tree trunk.
“Hey, Bam Bam!” Sonic’s voice said from behind the titan. It turned and he was standing in the clearing. A nasty bruise was forming on his cheek but his fists were up and he was ready to fight. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” The titan roared and stomped toward him. The werehog just smiled. “I guess you could fight me, too.”
“And that’s what happened,” Tails said as he finished retelling the night’s events to Knuckles.
After Sonic defeated the Gaia Titan, Knuckles was taken to a hut and placed in a bed. He woke up an hour later sore, groggy, and unaware of what happened.
“No way,” Knuckles said, more to himself than to the fox sitting on the edge of the bed, “I tore apart a whole village. Those people must be terrified of me.”
“Some are. Some want you punished,” Tails said quietly, “But there are a few that believe you aren’t to be blamed since you were being controlled by a monster.”
Knuckles shook his head and sighed. “That doesn’t change anything. I let that thing get a hold of me and everyone paid for it. If you and Sonic hadn’t stopped me….there’s no telling what I would have done to those villagers.” Speaking of the blue blur, he was still trying to wrap his head around Sonic’s new werewolf….hog form. “When is Sonic going to come in and tease me?”
“He’s debating on whether or not to let you see him in his current state,” Tails said as he scratched his head, “People tend to act weird when they see him like that.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
The fox snickered and stood. “I’ll let him know that you want to see him.”
Tails left and after a hushed conversation with someone outside, he came back in with someone trailing behind him.
It was Sonic, holding an ice pack up to his cheek. Or at least, Knuckles hoped it was Sonic and not another monster loose in the village. He was darker, taller, muscular, and meaner looking than any transformation the echidna had seen the hedgehog go through. And when Sonic tried to put Knuckles at ease with a nervous smile, all the echidna saw was two rows of sharp teeth meant to shed and kill.
“Dammit, Sonic, what did you do to yourself now?” Knuckles said when he finally found the nerve to speak.
“Never a dull moment,” the werehog said, “It’s a long story. I didn’t bruise you up too badly, did I?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? If Tails told me right, I knocked you out.”
“T-that was because I didn’t want to hurt you,” he said as his face went red. It was the truth, yet anyone could tell that Sonic’s big ego had been deflated. “If that had been a real fight, I would have won.”
“Hey, guys!” a little flying creature called as it flew into the room, “The villagers decided not to stone your friend, whatever that means.”
“There were very few people talking about that,” Tails quickly corrected, “And we wouldn’t have let them do that regardless of what they decided.”
“Well, I have to make things right somehow,” Knuckles said, “Even if I was being controlled, I have to make up for my actions.”
“Actually, I have the perfect way to do that,” Sonic said, “If you’re willing to agree to it.”
Three weeks later, Sonic, Tails, and Chip returned to Mazuri for a quick visit.
“There’s only one more continent and then the world will be restored,” Chip explained to the village leader.
“Yeah, and maybe things will get back to normal,” Tails said, “Speaking of which, it looks as though the village is close to being rebuilt.”
“Your red friend is the one to thank for that,” the village leader said with a smile, “During the day, he works as hard as anyone, and at night, he guards the village against Dark Gaia’s demons.”
“Geez, when does this guy sleep?” Sonic said, “If he isn’t guarding the Master Emerald, he’s guarding something or someone else.”
“Don’t worry about that.” the leader laughed, “Some of the elders finally got him to take a much-needed rest.”
“As for the Master Emerald,” Tails said, “We’ve already found pieces of that for him. Once he’s done here and Dark Gaia is defeated, we can help find the rest of it and restore the Master Emerald back on Angel Island.”
“Speaking of which, we found one of those pieces nearby the Gaia temple a week ago,” the leader said, “We gave it to Knuckles and told him that he could leave. He insisted on staying and fixing all of the damage he caused. He is a very respectable guardian.”
“Sure,” Sonic said, “I wouldn’t want to come between him and anything he’s guarding.”
Sonic would never willingly admit this to anyone, but he had been glad that Tails had stopped the fight between him and Knuckles. Even if he had gotten back up, Knuckles would have most likely won that fight. But no one had to know about that. In fact, this was one boss fight he didn’t want talked about.