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In hindsight, Knuckles should have known better. Good things rarely sought him out. He’d just been so happy to see another echidna.
A lunar eclipse seemed a strange time to do an echidna ritual. Any tradition that did not star the Master Emerald favored the moon. But Finitevus had pointed out that Knuckles was too young to remember their traditions clearly. He said the same when Knuckles couldn’t remember this particular coming-of-age ritual.
Knuckles knew little about them other than that he’d missed some. He had no father to give him a waist-wrap when he was becoming an adult, no mother to gift him a tiputa to protect his heart in battle, no chief to mark his victories with quill bindings. He had earned none of the things that an echidna his age should have. Finitevus offered to perform one ceremony for him and he’d been so hungry for any morsel of what he should have had that he’d taken the poison readily.
Knuckles struggled against the energy chains that bound him to Finitevus’ make-shift altar. They glowed with a strange blackness that absorbed all the light around it. His powers hissed and fizzled out whenever they touched the chains. He couldn’t pull away.
“Why are you doing this?!”
“Because I already tried before. I ruined myself.”
Knuckles was forced to clench his eyes shut as Finitevus painted blood down his face. It was a grim mockery of the white paints his people wore into battle. He opened his eyes again to glare into Finitevus’ as he paused, consideringly.
“I mean, I’m better in every way than I was before. But I can’t host a being of chaos energy now. But you can! You were born with powers our people have never seen. It’s almost like you were made for this.”
He grinned down at Knuckles and Knuckles’ insides squirmed. Just a few hours ago he’d been so eager to make this traitor look so proud.
“You don’t need to do this,” Knuckles reasoned. He grimaced as Finitevus resumed his painting, moving down one arm, then the other. Knuckles’ words came faster the more Finitevus worked on him. “Our people don’t need this. There’s no one left to help! It’s only us now. We can protect ourselves!”
“Help?!” Finitevus barked out a laugh. “Hah! I would destroy the echidna myself if they hadn’t destroyed themselves first.”
“Wha…” That stopped Knuckles cold. Why was Finitevus trying to call down the echidna’s most terrifying protector if he didn’t want to protect them? “Why?” He asked.
That leer again. “To destroy everything else.”
Knuckles stared at him as he set the blood down and picked up a second bowl. “You… You’re mad.”
Finitevus shrugged. “I told you…” He dragged his fingers through the bowl and raised his hand, his glove covered in black ash. “I ruined myself.” He ran the soot over Knuckles’ chest, blacking out the crescent of white fur. He smiled at Knuckles’ hammering heart under his hand. “And now it’s your turn.”
“Okay. Nope!”
There was a flash of blue lightning and suddenly Finitevus was gone. Then Sonic was by his side and struggling with the chains.
“I know you said this guy was gonna help you connect to your culture, but are living sacrifices part of your culture?! Cause I might need to be problematic for a sec–”
“He’s as strong as I am!” Knuckles warned.
“Wha–”
Sonic was blasted away with one punch. Finitevus followed after him and the two vanished out of Knuckles’ sightline. He struggled with the chains again. He had to get away. He had to undo what Finitevus had started and then help Sonic.
“Any other helpful tips?” Sonic leapt over him.
“Don’t let the black lightning touch you!”
Said lightning arced over Knuckles’ body. Sonic yelped. Finitevus vaulted over Knuckles and the two vanished from sight once more.
Suddenly tiny hands were grabbing at his wrist and he looked down to see Tails inspecting the chains. “What are these even made of?” He asked. “There’s no lock to pick!”
“I don’t know!” Knuckles tensed every muscle in his body and tried to break the chains, but the black cuffs drained the strength from him. “They cancel out my power.”
Tom came skidding up beside them. “C’mon–”
“We got a problem!” Tails said, tugging on the chains.
“Knuckles! Are you okay?” Maddie appeared at his side looking understandably disturbed.
Knuckles was as glad to see them as he was ashamed. Sonic had warned him Finitevus had the bad vibes. Tails had presented the logical argument that if Finitevus was so good, why wasn’t he part of Knuckles’ tribe before they were wiped out? Tom and Maddie had barely hidden their distrust, demanding Knuckles be home by ‘curfew’ and discouraging them from spending the entire day together. How Knuckles had resented them! But they’d been right. And now they would be forced to witness the consequence of his blind trust.
Because Knuckles could feel the magic taking hold. There was something moving, twisting beneath his skin under the bloody sigils. His chest burned so hot and sudden that he couldn’t stop himself from crying out. He clenched his eyes shut, jerking back like he could pull himself away from his own body.
“Knuckles? Knuckles, honey, what’s wrong?”
The blackened mark on his chest was alive with pain. Thousands of little fingers wriggled into him. Somehow he knew that even if he escaped this, the mark would never wash away.
“It burns…!” He growled.
“Knuckles?” Tom demanded. “Did he give you something?”
Knuckles’ eyes snapped open. He looked up into the sky and saw the moon blotted out. How fitting for this ritual, meant to undo an echidna.
The writhing thing beneath his skin suddenly moved with purpose.
Knuckles thrashed and bucked. “Get out! Get it out!” He snarled. He yanked on the chains.
“It’s too late now!” Finitevus crowed.
“Where do you think you’re–”
“Knuckles, what did he give you?”
“I don’t think it’s drugs, Tom–”
“Knuckles, you have to hold still–”
Knuckles heard their words, but he couldn’t listen. There was something in him, crawling up his body from the inside. He flailed, desperate. He had to get it out! If only he had his hands, he would claw it out!
“Knuckles–”
“Breathe–”
“Woah!”
Black spots filled his vision. “It’s in my eyes!” He cried, clenching them closed like he might crush the thing inside. But that didn’t help; it just made his eyes sting.
“Let me see, Knuckles–” Gently firm fingers gripped his face and peeled back his eyelid.
Could they see it slithering around inside his eyeball? It could see them .
“Oh shit ,” someone said.
And then it curled itself around. “No!” Knuckles yanked away, but the thing just came with him.
He knew the instant it entered his mind. He felt its teeth on him and screamed. “ Battam !” he cried for his father–where was Father? He couldn’t remember–there was something crawling through his memories! His past vanished faster than he could remember what was forgotten.
He clenched his teeth, tears squeezed from thorn-stung eyes. There were so many voices around him. But he couldn’t make sense–he scrambled for words, trying to grab the right ones before they’re were taken from him:
“It’s eating me!” He howled, helpless. “It’s eating me!”
And then his words were gone and he could only scream and writhe. The thing rolled around inside him, unbothered. It swelled, growing fat off of him, crushing him. He felt teeth on his soul.
He couldn’t remember where he–
Who were these people?
He had to–!
What was…?
Stop…