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Chapter Text

knuckles had been guarding the master emerald when a random robot suddenly appeared on the island

Knuckles suspected it was supposed to be a tails replica

Only it was as big as the tower of Pisa

But its paint wasn't compete in parts

And his ears were missing

"Heh, Eggmans getting cheap, at least I won't feel guilty turning this thing into scrap" knuckles laughed

The battle was intense

It sprayed poisonous gas from it's tails

Not to mention in had literal diamonds on its fists

Which even when knuckles avoided the blows the best he could they were still able to stick into his head and jaw

Causing his stamina and strength to weaken

But after an hour or so knuckles soon landed the final punch causing the robot to shut down in crackling electricity

Grunting and gasping in pain he pushed the robot of his island, sending it crashing into the sea

Turning back to where a group of chaos were gathered in worry

"Don't worry...I just...need to lie down..for a while" he gasped, falling to the floor, his blood leaking out slowly and his eyes shut tight in pain

The chaos gather around their protector, trying to wake knuckles up, but it was no use

In their secret language they nodded to each other in agreement

Using all their might they lifted the injured guardian of the floor and to where his friends would be

Meanwhile else where

"Thanks for invite us for tea miss vanilla" sonic thanked, biting into a newly baked cake

"You're very welcome Mr sonic, it's the least I could do for helping cream with her flower collection" vanilla said happily

While sonic and vanilla talked tails was explaining to cream and cheese about his new invention

"And that's basically how it works" as he finished explaining

Cream and cheese clapped her hands in applause

When cheese stopped instantly and flew straight to the front door

"Cheese?" Cream asked as she followed her chao friend

"Chao, chao, chao" he repeated pointing at the door

Worried cream opened the door to see what cheese was so shaken up about

And when she opened the door she instantly knew why

"Mama!" She exclaimed

Vanilla shot straight up walking fast to where her daughter was shouting in distress

Tails and sonic followed close

"Cream what's wro-" she asked before seeing what was at the door

A chao group holding an injured echidna

His eyes were swollen

He had a lump on his head

And his leg looked out of place

"Knuckles" shouted sonic as ran to the group

"What happened to him!" Cried tails coming to sonics side

"Now not the time to be asking questions, we must get him some help quickly, place him on the couch and I'll get the first aid kit" vanilla instructed

Her new persona caught them of guard but like she said it wasn't the time

Instead they did exactly as they were told

"Cream please go play outside while we patch up me knuckles" vanilla said as she came to knuckles side as sonic placed him on the couch

"Will mr knuckles be ok" cream asked worriedly, tears being to form

Vanilla smiled

"He will be, now please go and play" she said sweetly

And while cream went outside vanilla got to work

"His head will need ice and his legs will need a cast" she said as she analysed knuckles state

She conveniently had an x-ray machine at her home, and using it she could see that knuckles leg was broken

"I'll get the ice" tails said, turning away to the kitchen before vanillas voice called him out to stop

"Not until we get his leg in place, he is already showing fever so we need to do it quickly" she said

"What do you want us to do ?" Sonic asked worriedly

He had a feeling of what vanilla would say, and he did not want to do it to his friend/brother

"You two will need to hold him down while I crack it back into place and set it" she said

Tails and sonic did as instructed

And knew instantly when she cracked knuckles leg

His eyes shot open wide

And screamed bloody murder

They had to use all their will to stop knuckles powerful arms and one leg

It killed tails and sonic to do this to one of their closest friends, but they knew it had to be done, no matter how pain wrenching it was

Knuckles eyes slowly drifted back to sleep

His body seemed much more relaxed which was a good sign

"He will need to rest his leg for about 2 months" she said, getting a wet cloth while tails fetched the ice, sonic staying by knuckles side

"Well that's going to be difficult, especially since of who the patient is" sonic laughed grabbing the cloth and placing it on knuckles head

"Indeed but you must advise him, or else he will get worse" she said

Knuckles groaned

He was waking up

"Hey buddy" sonic said comfortingly

Knuckles held his head in pain

"Where-" he mumbled

"Vanilla's house, we patched you up, you were in really bad shape" tails answered, trying to save knuckles the trouble

"How-" he asked again

"The chao brought you here, but you need to tell us how you ended up that way" sonic answered, his voice was sweet but stern, obviously worried for his friends safety

"Giant...robot..poison...diamonds...the master emerald" he mumbled, but the last sentence he said with extreme urgency

He made a move to get up, but moving his leg made him stop in his tracks and grunt in pain

"Easy knux, you're legs pretty bad, you have to stay of it for 2 months" he said placing a hand on knuckles shoulder in sympathy, moving his body back into the resting position

"But...the master-" he panted in worry

"We'll get there soon, but for now you need to rest, when you feeling better me and tails will join you on angle island" he said reassuringly

"I don't need a baby sitter" he grunted as he unknowingly slowly layers back onto the couch

"I know, what you need is good friends to make sure you don't do anything stupid" he laughed

Knuckles gave out a small smile before his body finally collapsed back into slumber

"You know it's not going to be easy, especially with that temper of his" chuckled tails

"Yeah but that's what makes him, him" he laughed

"I will help anyway I can" vanilla said happily

And with that they prepared some grapes for when the patient would wake

Just like vanilla had said

Knuckles would be ok

They would make sure of that

Chapter Text

requested by Bloodyruby

knuckles sighed with boredom

although protecting the master emerald was his top priority and the most honourable and respectful job any echidna could dream to have

doesn't mean it wasn't boring

he lay against the shrines steps with the master emerald behind him, watching as the days went by

he wouldn't have minded in the past, that it was all he needed to do to uphold the echidna legacy

but that was before he met sonic and friends

among them being the chaotix's

in-fact he was the one that brought them together, saving them from eggmans traps one by one

he was a member of the chaotix's

but guarding the master emerald had always been his top priority

thus the group continued without him

as he remembered all the good times he shared with them he felt his chest pang with longing

he had barely seen them since the latest sonic fiasco

(the guys always finding a way to get into trouble) knuckles thought to himself with a huff

but that didn't distract himself with the feeling of loss he was having

"you seem troubled" a familiar voice said behind him

knuckles turned around to see the ghost of Tikal looking at him with a face of sympathy

Tikal and chaos would sometimes come from the master emerald, their souls now flickering from the limbo of the emerald but also the mortal realm

"no, I'm fine" knuckles responded with a hint of surprise

Tikal mainly came out to give him guidance, reassurance but also another figure to talk to, to not feel so alone anymore

she was connected to him just like how knuckles was connected to the master emerald

she could feel what he was feeling emotionally

and that's how she knew the young echidna was lying

"missing your friends is nothing to be ashamed of" she continued sweetly

knuckles sighed, Tikal could read him like an open book, so he thought there was no point in hiding his feelings

"it's not like it has been years or anything, it's just....it's been a long time since I've had like a normal chat, just to see what's been going on with them" knuckles admitted

Tikal simply smiled

"then you should go and meet with them, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you" Tikal encouraged

to this knuckles slightly panicked, getting up from the steps and looked at the ghost with hesitation

"but I need to guard you and the master emerald, what if there's another intruder or an attack or-" knuckles began to ramble before being interrupted with a squirt of water to the face

chaos had decided to join the party

"we will be fine knuckles, if there's any trouble you'll be able to sense it" Tikal reassured, though trying to cover her laughter as the poor echidna wiped the water from his muzzle and squeezed it from his dreadlocks with a grumble and yell

but although mad about droplets of water dripping from his head, his heart pinged with excitement

"ok, but if anything happens I'll be straight back" knuckles declared before walking of to the edge of the island, jumping of and gliding to visit his friends

whilst Tikal and chaos simply waved as they saw knuckles leave, both wanting the best for the red headed echidna

yes he was the guardian but he was also a 17 year old cub, he deserved to have freedom and friends, especially since he had gone 17 years without them

once knuckles had arrived to the chaotixs house, vector gave him a bone crushing hug, charmy landed upon his head refusing to let go and espio welcomed him to come inside, giving the echidna a hug of his own when vector finally released him

the other members of the chaotixs were even being called over for a proper chaotix party

even though a few meters away from the emerald and the guardian

Tikal and chaos could feel knuckles's joy throughout the entirety of angel island

Chapter Text

requested by Bloodyruby12

there were many sounds that knuckles was well acquainted with on his island

the sound of leaves that rustled in the wind

the sound of the droplets from the waterfall splashing on the rocks

and the sound of birds that screeched and chirped early in the morning

however, crying behind a boulder in the forest terrain was not one of them

knuckles who was simply walking around his island to make sure the flora and fauna was up to standard

stopped at hearing the hysterical and heartbreaking sobs

suspicious knuckles went to investigate

he braced himself for an attack in case they were luring him into a false sense of security

only what he saw made him drop his defence instantly

Amy Rose

his closest friend

his unbiological sister

was sobbing her heart out with her head in her arms in the curled up position

"Amy?" he asked in shock, causing the pink hedgehog to stifle her crying

"hi knuckles, sorry for crying on your island...I just needed to get away" Amy explained through sobs although she didn't meet him in the eyes

in these few rare moments, knuckles would be silent

he proceeded to sit down to the usual harmer wielding hot head and held her close

"you take all the time you need, once your ready I'll be here to listen" knuckles whispered

this allowed Amy to let the flood gates open

she cried hard and let it all out as knuckles held her close in support

once Amy was was fresh out of tears, she decided it was time to give the echidna the reason behind her crying

"I met up with my parents today" Amy began

knuckles listened and gave her his full attention

"It's been so long since I've seen them, I'm...I'm not who I was the last time we met up"

"they...I was...I was Adam when they last saw me...I thought..it was time for them to meet Amy..to meet...me...the real me..and...they....they didn't want to meet...they...they didn't want anything to do with her....they said to never come back..and..and that only Adam was allowed back into their home...but...Adam...he's gone...so...either way...I'm never going to see my family again" Amy explained

Amy cried even harder

but knuckles knew exactly what he needed to do

the echidna held the pink hedgehog so close it knocked the wind out of her

"Amy, I want you to listen closely to me now" knuckles began

but before Amy could even answer knuckles said what he needed to say

"you will meet your family again because me and sonic and all of our friends, they are your real family, a family doesn't always mean biological, because if a group of people can't accept the most amazing, wonderful and caring person in their lives, then they don't deserve you. I don't know who this Adam is, but I know you, you are Amy rose, the toughest most determined girl I've ever met, growing up and getting to know one another for these past few years has been one of the highlights in my entire life. I've always thought of you as my sister and my family, so please, never stop being who you are, because I love Amy rose, I love you and I would be devastated to lose you to some random no good horrible, mean people that don't even know you, so never change, not for them, not for anybody, you are you, whoever you decide to be, because no matter what, I will always love you"

knuckles finished with a deep breath as he let his eyes release tears

Amy was in shock

not by how caring knuckles was

but by just how much he valued her

the two always had a secret sibling bond

but it was only at this moment did they fully talk about it

"...I love you to brother" Amy cried as the two held onto each other for comfort

that only siblings could provide

Chapter Text

Requested by nooneinparticular342

Knuckles sat upon his shrine, doing his most important job that any echidna would be fortunate to have, protecting the master emerald. Although he wouldn't say he does not, not like his job, he would admit it t could get quite boring sometimes, but being the last echidna of his tribe, it was his sacred duty that he would die to do

Crack

The sound of a twig being broken took knuckles out of his thoughts and caused his head to turn and his body into a fighting position, readying his spikes to strike

"Well hello to you too knuki," said a sweet seductive voice

Which to knuckles annoyance, he recognised

"What do you want rouge" knuckles sighed, still not putting his spikes away

"Oh nothing, just looking around, the trees are quite beautiful this time of year" rouge sighed happily, coming closer to the echidna

"There are trees elsewhere, "knuckles said, he knew rouge quite well now, she used sweet talk to get anything she wanted, but knuckles weren't in the mood to play her games, nor was he that gullible anymore

"Aww, are you not happy to see me," she said poking her face to her cheek in sad wonder

"Enough, I know you're here to try and get the master emerald AGAIN, but like always it's not going to happen," knuckles said angrily

"Ok ok, jeez, don't get your spikes in a spin, what I really came for is you" rouge sighed, slightly cursing his straightforwardness

"And why're that" knuckles questioned, was it another mission or was it just her trying to trick him

"Sonics throwing a party for bonfire night," she said

This made knuckles drop his hands slightly, not because he was actually being invited to things but because he had no idea what a "bonfire night" was

"So, are you coming," rouge asked excitedly, hoping he would do it

Knuckles gave one last look to the master emerald, one night of fun wouldn't be too bad, he usually left it a little longer when he went hunting for treasure, plus he was able to sense if it was in danger quite far away now, although it wasn't ideal

"Fine, but this better not be a trick" knuckles agreed/warned

Rouge face was filled with delight, a real delight

"Great, it's at sonics house at 5, don't be late," she said as she flew away, she gave one last look towards the red echidna, boy he has no idea of what was going to happen tonight

according to tails clock that he had given knuckles so he could properly tell the time instead of just staring at the sun, he decided to head off, giving one last look at the master emerald and then jumping off the edge of his island, gliding towards sonics house

It didn't take long as it was along the beach, although sonic didn't like the water, he loved the sun and the space to run

Knuckles was about to knock on the door before it was instantly yanked by a person from the other side

"Knuckles! About time!" Yelled the host himself, sonic looked really excited for some reason but knuckles weren't allowed the time to think as he was pulled in and the door shut behind him

"I know rouge said you were coming, but I didn't actually think you would leave your fortress of solitude" laughed sonic as he hooked his arm over knuckles' neck

"Yeah, I was curious as to what a bonfire night was" knuckles replied happily

Silence

"What ?!" Exclaimed sonic unhooking his arm and standing in front of the confused echidna

"How do you-oh yeah, I guess it makes sense" mumbled sonic, lowering his voice into a whisper
Knuckles didn't know if he was talking to him or himself

"Anyway, I'll fill you in when we set it up, for now just come in with the others" sonic said showing his red friend in

Everyone was there, the chaotixs, the team rose obviously team sonic and rouge but even surprisingly shadow the hedgehog

Knuckles knew how antisocial and edgy he could be, so it was surprising to see him of all mobians at not only a party

but the fact that he was in sonic the hedgehog's house, his arch-rival and constant annoyance, thus confusing his mind he decided to find out himself,

there was no harm in just asking

besides, he had just trained before coming to the party, so he was ready if he wanted to fight

As he walked over he saw that shadow noticed him, he...smiled?

when did shadow, thee shadow the hedgehog smile?

especially at someone he hardly knew

knuckles began pondering if this was a trap, rouge being happy he came without trying anything funny, sonic appearing out of thin air when he JUST arrived and now shadow was smiling, but without realising he now stood face to face with the hedgehog himself

"Hello guardian" shadow greeted, a grin still upon his face

"Uh, h, hi shadow" knuckles stuttered, why did he stutter, why was he overthinking this

"Can I help you with anything?" the shadow asked, tilting his head to the left

"Huh, oh yeah, I was gonna ask why are you here," knuckles asked, though he felt he should have probably rephrased it a bit better

"And why do you ask that, am I not permitted to do so," the shadow asked, slight annoyance in his tone

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that, it's just, um, you always seemed quite, uh, unsociable and quite edgy, not to mention you don't really like sonic, so I fail to see why you of all people would be in "fakers" home" knuckles finished, his chest feeling much lighter as he explained the truth, he always held honesty high, as well as pride and determination, so even if shadow took it the wrong way he would be happy to just be himself

"Well you got me there, it's just that after being asleep for so long and although I want to know more of my true past, I want to see how our culture acts, what makes it worth protecting and even though I do hate faker I am willing to learn" shadow finished

Knuckles was astonished, he wasn't expecting such an honest answer, it was to him, inspiring

"That's a good reason as any, and with the whole culture thing, I guess you and me are in the same boat" laughed knuckles

There was a small moment of silence before shadow asked "And why is that"

"Oh well, as you know I've been on angel Island all my life, my parents and my whole tribe left me as a child so I only know as much from old scrolls and scripture, nobody really to talk to, I only knew the basics and, that's why I probably don't know as much as I should" knuckles laughed sheepishly, a light blush on his muzzle

"well, I think your right about us being in the same boat" smiled shadow

Making knuckles confused and a blush growing brighter by the second

Silence

It wasn't until this moment did the two realise the others were listening

Knuckles face was almost as red as his coat while shadow just snared at them, telling them to mind their own business

That's when sonic came back into view (him being outside setting out the fireworks)

"Ok the fireworks are set, when your ready come outside and we can start" sonic said with a smile, although he could sense the tension in the air

One by one did everyone come outside, vector, cream, cheese, Charmy and vanilla in one pile, Espio, blaze and silver in another, and Amy with tails and sonic

this left rouge, shadow and knuckles the last group

"Are you guys ready?" asked sonic excitedly as he lit a firework

It is shot into the sky in a blaze of glory, spreading its colour of purple and turquoise into the night sky

Shadow had to admit the sight was something to behold, he wasn't used to seeing such beauty

though he guesses that wasn't true, there was always one other thing, but this was a close second

it was loud but he was used to it, been shooting for all his remembered past

he was so caught up in it he almost missed the tugging sensation on his arm

the guardian had wrapped both his arms onto shadows and was staring down at the ground, his body shaking slightly

Shadow was about to ask what on earth was the echidna doing, ready to yank his arm away,

only to realise what was the problem was

as knuckles had said before he wasn't used to all these new celebrations, and unlike shadow he wasn't used to these loud noises

not knowing what to do in this circumstance he latched onto shadow as to not draw attention

as if he acted out in fight motion his "friends" would be sure as to make fun of him and thus hurt his pride, which he held very high in standards

He was scared but did his best to hide it

That's what shadow admired so much about the guardian

his unlimited amount of bravery, not to mention he did nothing for the sake of money like rouge or glory like a faker, he just did what needed to be done, he doesn't ask for anything in return, the only thing he takes in is pride that he did the right thing, that's what made him even more beautiful than these fireworks

"Um is he ok" rouge laughed slightly, pointing at his crush

"No, he just feels off, we'll be inside if you need us," the shadow said as he took the shaking echidna and himself inside

Before this whole episode began he, rouge and faker devised a plan to get knuckles to fall in love with shadow

they both knew he liked the guardian and both wanted to help him out, stating that they would be the most badass couple they had ever seen and that they were both perfect together

but now shadow was feeling regret, it wasn't right to trick him to come

shadow felt bad for giving a stupid smug grin as he saw him walking towards him, and he hated how now his beloved was in such a rare scared state, still wrapped around him as he didn't know that it was all staged, from now on he wouldn't do anything as jerky as this ever again

"Heh, sorry about this" knuckles began, making shadow look down to the echidna

"You must think I'm pretty weak" he sighed, making shadow feel even worse

"No, no of course not, as you said you are not used to such things, therefore I cannot judge you" shadow tried to reassure

Only for another firework to go off

a much louder one that caused knuckles to now jump into shadow and press his muzzle into his chest fur

Knuckles being so afraid he didn't realise what state he was in while shadow was trying not to scream, both of shock and happiness

(Dammit, why did he have to be so cute!) shadow cursed internally

Knuckles finally shaking off the fear and looked up to a very surprising shadow

the echidna immediately jumped off him, embarrassment covering all over his body

"I, I'm so sorry shadow, I didn't mean. I. I wasn't" knuckles stuttered, being confused about his own actions and trying to apologise to a very silent shadow

(Oh man, I've messed up big time, what was I even doing, his fur, it felt safe and warm and soft and, wait WHAT AM I SAYING) knuckles cursed internally

Without word shadow began walking towards knuckles, his eyes, unreadable

Knuckles began backing away, constantly apologising for what happened, his gloves in the way in case he decided to attack

He soon realised that shadow backed him into a Corner

"Wait, it's sonics house, I don't want to start something and get yelled at and made to clean it up, especially if it's sonic, shadow please I'm sorry, just say something" knuckles rapidly explained, fear appearing in his violet eyes

Only shadows eyes weren't full of rage, they were full of lust

Without word shadow quickly grabbed knuckles mittened gloves and pressed his mouth to the echidna's lips

Knuckles was flabbergasted

shadow

Shadow the hedgehog was KISSING HIM

After all

what he saw of him

he was kissing him

he thought of attacking him, anything to make it stop, but for only one thought kept coming to his mind

(Do I want this to stop?)

The sensation, he had never felt anything like this ever in his life, shadows lips feeling like heaven against his own

slowly his eyes began to close and his own lips began to follow the same motion

Shadow was internally shouting at himself

what on earth was he doing?

he just began kissing his crush without any warning

he felt the echidna tense up

he knew his eyes were still open

he readied himself for a punch to the jaw

a kick to the unknown

but it never came

instead, he felt the lips that he was kissing slowly but definitely trying to follow the same motion

he was enjoying this

his crush

knuckles the echidna

the guardian of the master emerald was enjoying kissing him

he couldn't tell how long this had been going on for, he wished it would never end, but he knew he had to

Shadow pulled his lips away from knuckles and as he opened his eyes, he saw that knuckles were doing so as well

What on earth would behave to say after this?

Knuckles felt shadow pull away, although he did enjoy it, he knew that it had to end soon

He stared into his ruby but bloody red coloured eyes and asked

"Was that good?"

Shadow went completely silence before shouting

"Are you serious, I just full-on kissed you and that's all you ask, no, why did you kiss me or, anything"

"I'm a little surprised yes, but it's my first time so I just want to check" knuckles laughed slightly

"Wow, ok first this is how I can tell your faker's friend and second yes, you were amazing" shadow stated

Knuckles felt his muzzle bright up again, he felt a smile come on as-well and soon he found himself laughing up a storm

Shadow was confused, why was he laughing, was it so comedically bad it deserved its own laughing track (though he did have to admit his laugh was just heavenly)

"What so funny" he finally asked

"You, why of all people would you choose somebody as gullible and ill-tempered to kiss, heck if I wasn't high on shock and joy I would be yelling up a storm instead of laughing" knuckles admitted, laughter coming down now

Shadow was at the shock,

why would knuckles speak so little of himself?

shadow blamed faker and the other

they always teased him about his gullibility and a bit of his little knowledge of some stuff

he was smart, very smart, but they never saw this, they only saw him for his mistakes and only called on him for missions, not once did they ever just come up to just ask how he was, besides rouge, though she always tried to get something in return for it, he himself would have done it, but his quest for answers and missions from G.U.N always kept him busy

"Don't talk about yourself like that, you have more potential in you than anyone will ever know" shadow stated to the echidna, although his voice was true he saw that his love was slowly falling asleep, shock and adrenaline finally ending

Shadow could only sigh, though he had a smile strapped onto his face

"Hey shadow, the others went away now, and...wait what happened in here," sonic asked as he reappeared to come back in to see a smiling shadow and an asleep knuckles

"Oh please tell me you didn't-" sonic began, his voice filled with disgust and worry

"No we did not, we began having lip contact and that's all" shadow stated as he walked towards knuckles' limp body, picking it up and carrying him bridal style

"Oh thank chaos, but seriously, that's great, so you two are a thing now?" Sonic started with big relief and finished with excitement and curiosity

"Actually no, we just began kissing, I started but he didn't pull away, he asked if it was good, I said yes, he began laughing, I asked why then he started to talk badly about himself, I tried saying it wasn't true but he then began falling asleep and well, here we are now" shadow proclaimed

Silence

Sonic began pondering

"knuckles didn't pull away so he enjoyed it, but with the whole talking bad about himself, we need to talk to him about it in the morning"sonic explained, shadow nodding

"You can put him in the spare room for tonight, it just started raining and I also want to talk to him first thing in the morning" sonic explained as he showed shadow the extra room

"Should I stay here or come back tomorrow?" the shadow asked as he placed the sleeping echidna onto the bed

(He's not even that heavy and he's so adorable when he's asleep) shadow quickly thought to himself

Sonic was also doing some thinking of his own

knuckles were one of his dearest friends, he was a close as a brother to him, scratch that he was a brother to him as far as he was concerned, and although it is something between him and shadow, it's always good to talk to someone you trust about these things as well, he wasn't exactly good in this department, but he kinda knew this stuff probably better than both of them anyway

"I think it's best if I talk to him first, can you come back, say 3-ish" sonic asked shadow with a hopeful smile

Shadow didn't like the idea of sonic talking to knuckles about this first, but he knew it was probably good to let him have some space away from each other for a bit, to let it all sink in

"I'll be here" shadow said before getting out his signature green chaos emerald and chaos controlling out of the house and back to his apartment, quickly talking of his shoes, socks gloves and wrist bands and getting into bed

His dreams plaguing his mind of all the bad and good outcomes of what would happen at sonics house at 3-ish

Chapter Text

requested by HufflepuffHorizon

Sonic knew all his friends purest forms

"purest forms" is given by the gods to a mobian who possesses a rare and powerful gift

another form that best pictures their soul

sonic himself was a symbolic form of wind and lightning, the shape of the hedgehog would stay the same but his quills would grow longer and darker, rising to the sky to attract the sky's elements. symbols of lightning tattooed on his skin and his eyes would fill with clouds

but with his friends, each one was different to best represent their personalities

his little brother tails had a metallic form. not robotic per say but still had those elements, his height would rise slightly and he grew three more pairs of tails, his white fur would be coated with metal which he could control to expand to create a barrier between his enemies, he was still able to fly with his tails all of which possessed a power of each own that represented a tool of a mechanic

his (girl)friend Amy had a natural form. her red dress would become large rose petals, along with her hair growing longer to the reach her back, her red headband would become a crown of flowers and her eyes would be a symbol of green hellebore flowers. her yellow bracelets would turn into golden daylily's that would release a sweet and southing scent when she was truly happy. her piko piko hammer would be decorated with a variety of flowers and thorns, when landing after a mighty swing it would spread and create flowers on the surface, depending on how hard the impact the wider it would spread

for a true form to be revealed many requirements were needed to activate it

the form is used when a mobians original form is not enough to fight

but with the help of the seven Chaos Emeralds, this was not needed

chaos emeralds provided the super forms that were powerful and easy to access when collecting all 7

but the pure form needed to be built over time, actions needed to be deemed worthy by the gods to access this form

the form still took time to be built and took all mind, body and soul

body needed to be at full capacity

mind needed to be clear and focused

and the soul had to be pure and determined

But there was still one, who forms he had yet to see

knuckles the echidna

a worthy rival but a more worthy friend

sonic and knuckles were still on the rocks of their friendship, but there was no doubt it was there

but little did sonic know that his friends Island had more truth then he thought

sonic, tails, Amy were once again fighting against the likes of Eggman

but things were not looking in their favour

Eggman was taking no prisoners

Sonic had planned to use the Chao's Emeralds to defeat the evil man

but before he could go super, a robot he had just spin dashed came crashing down, not giving him chance to use the emeralds as he had to run to get away

he had barely escaped but he had dropped the emeralds, to where they fell into the battlegrounds to be lost within the scraps

sonic's legs were trapped under the robot's debris

"sonic!" his friends called out in worry

tails came over to help free his brother whilst Amy was tackling the robots that were getting close,

too close

"Hoho, give it up you pests, there is no hope for you now" Eggman laughed

but little did he know how wrong he was

Knuckles could sense a disturbance within the chaos emeralds

he had sensed a great surge grow to all a sudden stop dead in its tracks

(somethings up) knuckles thought to himself in worry

he knew that whenever all the 7 chaos emeralds, sonic was always close by

and that usually meant a battle was taking place

looking back to the master emerald he asked it to see what was going on

the M.E showed a version of his friends in a battle, sonic trapped and tails and Amy barely able to hold up

he was shocked and angry

but he reminded himself to keep calm

he knew what he had to do

a glow formed around him, but not one of the M.E

"I, I can't move it!" tails cried as he tried all his might to free sonic, but it was no use

"it's ok tails! just get out of here, you too Amy!" sonic said determinedly

but they refused

"we're not leaving you!" Amy shouted

at that moment she began to glow, a sign that she was ready to transform

but like her friends she wasn't

focused, she was panicked and fearful for her friends, and she wasn't at full strength, barely able to keep herself sanding with how tired she was

Eggman's robots used this opportunity to trap them where they stood, using their metallic claws to grab them and hold them high into the air

"no one to save you this time" Eggman taunted

just before 2 large Emerald shards pierced through the two robots chests, killing them and their engines

"Huh?! What the-?!" Eggman asked in shock as his two captives fell to the floor, their faces showing the same shock as his own

But he wasn't able to finish as a speeding flying shape appeared in front of them

Everyone was at a gasp

A red-figure with white feathered wings had appeared to save them

"Your reign of tyranny ends here Eggman" the being stated

That voice, those purple eyes

There was no doubt about it

"Knuckles!" His friends shouted in awe and shock

Their friend had stayed the same height and same colours, but much more was added to his attire

The first most noticeable factor was the giant pair of white feathered wings, both of which were 3 meters wide, the ends having sharp tips of emeralds

His hair was much longer, it was flowing but it would have reached the floor if he were, along with his head being adorned in white wraps and emeralds

His knuckles like his wings were now decorated with 2 pairs of shard emerald shards

And the final piece of the art was his eyes

Vibrant purple gems that seemed to radiate with power and purines

"Oh, is that so?!" Eggman asked in smugness, but the fear in his voice was evident

Eggman made a move to signal his robots to move

But knuckles landed straight to the ground and punched the floor with his fist

At once the ground pulsated with power

Each robot was impaled with shards of emeralds knocking them out instantly

"Yes" knuckles stated with a small smile before flying up once more, bringing the emeralds up with him and sending them into the centre of Eggman's eggcarier

"NOOO" he screamed as the egg carrier exploded, sending him flying into the sky

But they had more pressing matters

Knuckles once more used his wings to fly over to his friends, to where sonic simply stared in awe as the angel flew to free him from his prison, limiting the husk of his legs like it was a piece of paper and tossed it to the other side

"And as usual I have to bail you out of your messes" Knuckles sighed as he helped sonic up back on his feet

It was a miracle that his legs weren't broken due to the pressure

"As expected from our guardian angel" sonic smirked

Knuckles simply rolled his eyes, just before he felt himself retransform back to his original form

Unfortunately, the true form takes a lot out of a mobian, especially an extremely powerful one

So it was no surprise that knuckles came crashing down to the earth in sheer exhaustion

"Let's get back to the island to rest" tails suggested, coming to help sonic who thanks to the robot still caused some severe bruising whilst Amy came to help knuckles

"Your form is so beautiful" Amy simply stated as they made their way back to tails plane

After that day, the guardian had another nickname, simply "angel" (as well as "guardian angel")

But there was something more than simply his look that was awe-striking

The knowledge that knuckles had trusted them enough to show them his form

As a true form would also only be accessed if true trust was built between those that they were protecting

Chapter Text

requested by dancingpygmypuff

" ok I think I finally got it right" Tail's proclaimed excitedly, holding a yellow tablet-like device in hands, holding it up with a look of satisfaction replacing the looks of frustration he had only a few seconds before

he remembered the last time he had used the device

everyone was fighting over what time in the future they wanted to go to

And with one wrong move, they pressed the activation button and were sent 11 years in the past

after their trip the device had blown up inside, so it appeared well on the outside, but inside, it was a mess

Tails still believed there could be a use for it and decided to fix it

now it should be more durable, being able to go to and thro in time without the fear of the device frying up once more

"now let's see if this works," Tails said to himself as he began to put in a random date and destination

"hey tails" sonic shouted, announcing himself as he entered the lab

unfortunately, this scared the fox and caused him to fumble with the device

and once again pressed the activation button accidentally

a bright light filled the room once more

(Angel island 12 years ago)

both figures fell from the sky and onto lush emerald green with a thud

"Ugh, what happened?" Groaned Sonic asked rubbing his head in pain

"Seems like we travelled in time....again," tails said awkwardly as sonics eyes widened in shock

"tails! I thought we learnt the lesson of time travel" sonic said with a sigh an anime like sweat drop forming on his head

to this tails simply laughed sheepishly

"Alright, where have you taken us this time ?" sonic asked

(Angel island 12 years ago)

tails and sonic simply looked at one another

"that means-" tails began but the excited yet evil smirk on sonic's

without a word sonic began running towards the emeralds shrine, tails close on his tail

and as they got closer, they saw exactly what they were hoping for

a little knux was at the shrine, short dreadlocks, big innocent purple eyes and was surprisingly short for a child his age (4)

"heh, who knew big bad red was such a little cutie" sonic laughed, making sure tails took a picture

knuckles seemed to be playing with the loose ends of grass near the shrine, a look of boredom that was soon turning into worry

"....sonic, do you think that-" tails began before the blue blur began to run around the island

"no doubt about it" sonic whispered sadly as he returned to the foxes side

sonic and tails forgot just how young knuckles had lost everything, forgetting that he was just a kid, barely out of his puggle stage

as time went on knuckles began to pace, as if he was waiting for something...or someone

"where are they, they always come back around now," the little knuckles said out loud

dread filled the room

"please no" sonic whispered in fear

"Please don't be the day that I think it is"

time carried on and knuckles face seemed the picture of scared

the sun was setting and it was getting darker

"dad!....mum!....Anyone?!" knuckles called out from the shrine

but he was only met with silence

looking from the emerald to the forest, he decided to search for himself

"wait! knuckles!" sonic tried, he knew what the child was going to find out and he couldn't bear it

but the child simply ran through him

like he wasn't there

"what the" sonic began, but tails filled him in

"he can't see or hear us" tails informed

"but, but last time they could hear us" sonic questioned

"I...I made some modifications, so we can venture without the fear of distributing the future" tails finished

all they could do was watch as their de-aged friend searched frantically around his island

calling out members of his tribes names in fear and confusion

sonic and tails simply ran behind him

it was soon beginning to rain but knuckles weren't giving up the search

but the rain had caused the mud to become wet, soft and slippery

with one wrong step knuckles had slipped onto the earth, head straight into a large stone and causing a bruise on his head

tears were already building

but after being covered and sitting in wet mud, head, chest and chin hurting after the fall

added onto not knowing where all his tribe, his friends, his family were, all alone in dark woods with heavy rain

it was no surprise that the child cried his heart out, sobbing uncontrollably as he crawled into himself

"mum!....dad!...I...I want...I want my mum and dad!" he cried in demand, litres of tears flowing from his eyes

sonic and tails couldn't stop themselves from crying themselves, to hear of his tale was one thing

but to see it, to see the sheer pain and fear that he felt that night, was....they had no words

sonic simply walked over and tried his best to hug the little echidna

he couldn't hold him properly, he could see how his body phased through the little echidna but sonic didn't care

"I'm so sorry bud" sonic simply whispered with tears falling down his cheeks

he knew he couldn't hear him, but it was all he could do

"...we should get back," tails said sadly

sonic simply nodded but made no move to get out of the ghostly hug

tails typed on his tablet and with another flash of light

They disappeared

And reappeared back to where it all started

sonic and tails said nothing, not knowing what to say

only for a very familiar figure to come inside

"ah, there you guys are, Amy's been....you two ok" knuckles began to rant, seeming to be frustrated before seeing the looks on their faces

tails and sonic knew there still must be tear marks on their faces, and could defiantly tell they were looking at the echidna with shock and sadness

"heh, nothing wrong bud, just...watch an extremely sad movie" sonic lied, putting on a fake smile

"o,k well, Amy's hosting a party and is threatening anyone who tries to say no, so if you see some hammer marks don't read to much into it" knuckles explained

knuckles were expecting a snarky comeback or a childish laugh

but a sudden hug from the hedgehog and fox was nothing he was expecting

sonic and tails knew knuckles was confused, his body going rigid in their embrace was a clear sign

but watching a scene like that, to know what their friend had gone through, they couldn't help it

"give us a moment and we'll meet you there," sonic said as he and tails detached from the hug

"but-" knuckles began to question before his communicator began to ring

"knuckles! have you found sonic or tails yet!" the shrill voice of Amy echoing through the room

"see ya later I guess," knuckles said, confusion never leaving from his body, he knew something was up but Amy was getting impatient, so he would ask about it later, right now he had to deal with a hot-tempered hammer happy hedgehog

when knuckles shut the door both the fox and blue blur let out a sigh

"sonic, should we tell him?" tails asked

sonic knew what his little brother was asking, to tell the 16-year-old knuckles of what they had witnessed, to know what their friend had gone through

but sonic shook his head

"we've got a party to attend, we'll do it later, ok, for now, let's just let him enjoy himself" sonic answered

tails nodded in agreement and was soon on his brothers tail to said party

but not before putting the device in the bin

after seeing what he saw, he never wanted to mess with time ever again

Chapter Text

requested by bleachword

knuckles couldn't help but ignore the nagging thoughts that swirled in his mind

even though he tried to enjoy the party (that he was forced to attend by a certain pink hedgehog and white bat)

helping himself to the fruit platter

the events just before he arrived, finding his friends crying their eyes out and how they looked at him when he found them

it just didn't sit well with him at all

and although sonic and tails arrived seemingly happy and well....they were still acting suspiciously

out of the corner of his eye, he could see them smile and joke, but when no one was looking they would sigh and look to the floor

this had to stop now, it was messing with his head and regardless of how he acted, he really did care for his friends

finishing his final grape he went over to the yellow fox and blue hedgehog

"hey knux how can-" sonic began with his usual smile

but with one look of those serious purple eyes, sonic knew it was time to be serious

"We should talk somewhere more private" tails whispered as he caught on that it was time to talk

stealthy the three excused themselves to an empty room

"ok what's going on with you two" Knuckles immediately began, not even waiting for the door to fully shut

sonic and tails stuttered on their words, not really sure how to go about telling your best friend you witnessed one of the most heartbreaking and vulnerable moments in his life

"Seriously, I find you both crying your hearts out and you don't have a reason why?" knuckles continued to question

"it's...we, saw something.. a few years ago" tails began

"you guys were playing with time travel again?!" knuckles accused

"not my idea let me just add" sonic quickly added

"right, but what happened?!" knuckles asked with a little growl, annoyed they hadn't learnt from their mistakes

"We...saw what happened on, angel island" tails admitted, looking between knuckles, sonic and the floor

....

"what, what's that supposed to mean?!" knuckles asked, getting defensive

tails stuttered uncomfortably before sonic cut in for him

"tails created a time machine that transported us to angel island and well.....we..we saw what happened when you..became the last echidna" sonic explained

"This...no this better be a joke, tell me your joking!" knuckles ordered, stuttered himself

the echidna was starting to hyperventilate, memories of the pain and fear beginning to come back in full swing

but the two simply looked at him sympathy

"Knuckles" tails began before the echidna interrupted him

"no! stop looking at me like that! stop lying! just, just...stop it!" knuckles continued to shout angrily, not wanting to believe a word they said, waving his knuckles angrily as to fight invisible forces of

"knuckles, we're not lying, we'd never joke about something like this" sonic explained as he grabbed for his mittens to stop them

"We didn't mean to see that, and there's no way we can understand what you went through, but if you wanna talk-" tails began before the echidna cut him off

"what's there to talk about if you already saw, a 4-year-old child thinking your family was coming back for you but they didn't!? thinking it was a normal day until you found out you were all alone, crying out for your parents only for them to never return! what else did you see huh? me trying to figure out how to survive with only the scrolls of your tribe left, knowing that the only thing left of your civilisation was the master emerald" knuckles shouted angrily while trying to yank his hands away from the blue blur, but sonic held on until he let it all out

"believing that if you protected it and became a great guardian that...that maybe...just maybe...they would be proud, even less likely it was just a test of loyalty...and one day...they would come back" knuckles finished as his fire soon extinguished

leaving a shaking quivering mess of an echidna who missed his tribe, sinking to the floor and dropping his head to the floor, trying to hide his face from the world, sonic letting go of his hands

"buddy" sonic whispered sadly as kneeled to the floor, next to the echidna wanting nothing more than to comfort him

knuckles wanted to seem strong, but years and years of grief and traumatic memories rolling around in the brain do not simply go away, so instead of fighting for once, he simply accepted the embrace

"we're really sorry knuckles, we didn't

"I know... I'm not mad at you guys...it's just...I felt so angry and alone for so long..and I do still, it doesn't go away....but at least now, it's less..." knuckles whispered

sonic and tails simply nodded, hugging the echidna tighter

not knowing they were being eavesdropped

Chapter Text

shadows ears lowered in sadness

the dark hedgehog didn't mean to eavesdrop

but the entire team sonic cast was acting odd all night

the faker and his brother kept staring at the crimson guardian with so much.... pity?

it was just odd

sonic was never one to show condolences with echidna, they would always banter with one another

and even so, shadow deemed the guardian with higher respect than to give such looks

yes gullible at times and sure he defiantly had a temper on him

the being proved worthy of his title

he gave anything and everything of himself into his duties, both as a guardian of the master emerald but also a protector for his friends

taking the physical pain so they didn't have to and never once accepted praise on his part

but he also suffered mental pain too

they both did

losing the ones that raised them and being sent forth to carry out promises that they didn't know the true meaning of until it was too late

regardless of his past, he was one of the purest souls he had come close to,

he did all in the name of good and no matter how bad the opponent he was willing to give them a second chance

many saw this as foolish, shadow included at first

but soon it became a trait shadow came to admire deeply

those eyes screamed such emotions of justice, passion and so much more

but as shadow spied on the conversation of the echidna's traumatic past

there was no telling what those eyes were thinking

they were blank, a dark abyss of pain and anguish filled memories

tears leaking out of those orbs, a strong sign of how much it deeply hurt him

the echidna was a proud and strong creature, never one to cry and shadow never thought he needed to be protected

but as those tears continued to drop shadow had to do all he could to hold himself back

a wave of protectiveness instinct almost drowning him, burning his lungs with the guilt he hadn't felt in so long

shadow tried to walk away, he couldn't let the echidna see him like this, he had to compose himself before meeting head-on

which seemed sooner than he predicted

footsteps broke shadow out of his trance, seemed the trio were finished and were beginning to rejoin the party

"chaos control" Shadow whispered before he was found out, teleporting himself away and appearing outside of the house

Shadow allowed himself to breathe, to calm himself down

that was his plan at least before the front door opened

looking to his right he saw the last figure he wanted to see at that moment

"I'll catch up with you guys later, just going to have some fresh air" Knuckles voice stated as he walked out of the house

the relaxed face shadow had seen on knuckles face as he was talking to his friends suddenly dropped to an extremely serious one as he shut the door

leaving only the guardian and the ultimate life form

the echidna was one of the very few figures that caused shadow to become a little wary when their face becomes stern

"what were you doing spying on us shadow?" Knuckles began, calmly but dangerously, coming closer to the fences where shadow was currently leaning on

"how do you know I was spying on you?" Shadow asked with the same level of calmness

it was a stupid question, but sometimes when you have no answer or an answer you would rather die than reveal, the best thing to do is answer a question with a question

"don't play dumb with me, you know I can detect chaos energy, and I felt it constantly when I was with sonic and tails, especially when we were leaving, I knew it had to be you, but I have to ask as it seems unlike you to stick your noes in such personal problems" Knuckles huffed as he crossed his arms, doing his best to stay calm and not yell, as that would alert the others, and the guardian wanted this just to be between him and the dark hedgehog

"very well, to answer your question I was suspicious of you and your teammate's behaviour" Shadow stated and sighed with fake boredom

but the honesty brought the echidna to a halt

it wasn't easy to extract the truth out of the dark hedgehog after all

but he shook it off to continue with the conversation

"didn't think you cared for him so much shadow" Knuckles joked before he received a clobber to his head

"ow! what was that for?!" Knuckles asked angrily, meeting the hedgehogs stern gaze whilst holding his head

"it was not him that my concerns lay" Shadow growled, appalled that the guardian would think he'd care that much for his faker

but knuckles wasn't going to let him go that easy

for the previous attack, the red echidna jumped at him and tackled shadow to the ground for revenge

"then who? me?! because if so then I don't need your sympathy!" Knuckles growled

Shadow simply looked up to the guardian as he pinned himself down to the grassy floor

"your right, but....for once, I am not in control of my own emotions" Shadow admitted as he looked into those angry passionate eyes, fighting with the angel wasn't going to solve this problem, so Shadow simply sighed and calmed himself down

"what do you mean by that?" Knuckles asked with confusion, not believing the dark hedgehog was giving up so easily

"We are one of the same guardian....we both have lost so much and must uphold the legacy that is much easier said than done, we do this alone with no hope of others feeling our pain....but hearing your story.....I can't help but feel connected to you" Shadow admitted shamefully

both were quiet for a long time until knuckles finally broke the silence with a low sad chuckle. finally sitting up and helping shadow to sit up with him

"it can be lonely can't it...you never would wish it on anyone you knew...but, having someone who kinda shares the knowledge of this type of pain...it's selfishly comforting" Knuckles admitted sadly, looking away

Shadow simply nodded, finding himself sitting next to the echidna that their arms were touching

it was unusual but nice

the two suddenly turned their attention to the sky, a shooting star catching their attention

"Does this pain ever stop?" Shadow simply asked whilst being memorized by the beautiful night's display

"There are days where I've distracted myself enough...but it never truly leaves, but...sometimes that's good...because-" Knuckles began to explain, also being captivated by the spectacular show before shadow finished the sentence

"It shows that you'll never forget them, or where you come from"

Knuckles looked to the dark hedgehog who also turned to the guardian

both shared a sad smile of understanding before the two continued to watch the stars fly across the sky, happy to share the experience

and for once, never be truly alone as they held hands on the emerald green grass

Chapter Text

Requested by Anonymous

knuckles felt completely exhausted

after the whole drama of destroying the master emerald to keep it safe from Eggman, finding all the hiding shards and putting them back together, he believed he deserved a good rest for just a little while

plus this gave knuckles a chance to allow his body to deplete in energy as he had stored most of the master emeralds energy inside himself after the incident

it had caused him to even glow a bright shade of green, but luckily it was returning to his more vibrant red

but with how his purple eyes still held a green shine to them it would take a while until it was all out of his system

in this state, he also seemed to be linked closer than usual to the emerald, similar in a way to Tikal and chaos, but not as intensely, he could hear Tikal and Chao's which was nice but sometimes they didn't want to talk, and he was ok with that, having people in his head was an odd sensation anyway and he was happy to get a little alone time before-

something was moving to the island

his senses were heightened more than usual, being able to detect anything abnormal within a 500-foot radius distance compared to his usual 300 feet

"KNUCKLES!" the voice of tails screamed above as the sight of a red aeroplane came closer

with a growl and gritted teeth he eyed the plane holding two pests ( best friends he would consider family) in the sky coming towards his island

"what do they want now?!" Knuckles internally questioned as they came closer

as they got closer they began to land

luckily Knuckles had created a stone replica of a plane landing area so as not to destroy any of his islands ecosystems

the two exited the plane and ran towards the red echidna

"what do you want?" Knuckles grumbled as the two stood directly in front of the guardian

"well someone woke on the wrong side of the bed" the blue blur smirked

but tails simply hit him on the arm as he got back to the topic of their arrival

"we're here to warn you that it seems Eggman may be planning to use the master emerald for something big" Tails explained worriedly

"what's this big thing? Knuckles asked curiously

"We're not sure, but all we know is that you need to move the M.E before he comes to take it" Sonic replied

"well it can't leave the island, it and we are still trying to return the chaos's energy back to normal, it is in no condition to be transported" Knuckles stated finally

"oh yeah, thought you were glowing, but I thought that was because of your sunny attitude," Sonic said with a grin, pointing to eyes with another smirk

"zip it hedgehog, but even if we did move it, it would cause my island to crash one more and Eggman will suspect that we were onto him" Knuckles pointed out

"but Eggman will know it's still on the island" tails added with ponder

"then I guess we'll need to keep it hidden somewhere so he can't take it" Sonic stated, not seeing another solution

"But how?! it's a massive rock with a massive energy signal!" tails exclaimed, gesturing to the massive gem in the process

"well...is there any way we can maybe, decrease the power perhaps Eggman's detectors won't be to track it ?" Sonic questioned although he was running out of ideas

"decrease" Tails questioned out loud before an idea popped into his head

"maybe, on short notice...knuckles can you shrink it?" Tails stuttered jaggedly as he tried to piece his thoughts together

"shrink it?" knuckles uttered with slight hesitation

"Yeah, that way it's more contained and unable to be detected on scanners so easily, and I'm only asking because I know you did it before" Tails explained

"well yes but I don't like doing it when I've absorbed its energy too recently,", " Knuckles grumbled quietly

"well it's either that or Eggman detecting your shiny rock and taking it, AGAIN" Sonic stated but as Knuckles raised a warning fist not to go there, sonic quickly stood down, knowing he hit a nerve that wasn't meant to be hit

lowering his glove the echidna looked to the emerald before sighing

"ok, let's go to my hut, we can keep it there with my other treasures, it's the most secure" Knuckles muttered as he picked up the M.E and headed off,

"be glad rouge wasn't here to hear that"the blue blur commented as he and yellow kitsune followed close if not next with his footsteps

"I am utterly grateful she is not here at all" Knuckles admitted as he shared a laugh of his own

as they arrived it was clear as day that the little hidey-hole was mainly only for storing his treasures, there was a little bed to the side but he admitted he would only use that when the storms on the island get too hard to manage

he would never bring the master emerald there full willingly because it was meant to always be in the centre, it was the most prized possession on the island and it had always been the centre ever since he was a puggle, ever since the beginning of his clan. he would only move it if necessary and only for a few days as the island could have horrible consequences if it wasn't in the middle for too long, the energy not being able to flow properly and could lead the island tilting or just not providing the island with the nutrients that the island had a life of for years

that's why once Eggman is gone after this "master plan" he would quickly place it back to where it belonged

and he prayed that it wouldn't be for too long, knowing exactly what will happen when he will now have to decrease its size

(all the things I do for this emerald) knuckles grumbled to himself

"I think Eggman is heading off, I've been tracking him ever since we overheard his plans and he's been detected coming to the island" Tails informed as he showed the two his tracking watch received with faces of awe

"good thing we hid the tornado with its cloaking device before we left" Sonic chuckled as he turned his attention back to knuckles

"All alright knux, do your thing" sonic announced with his signature thumbs up

"Right, so I have to absorb an equal share if not more than half due to how its energy would need to be contained, so don't be surprised or DARE LAUGH with the outcome" Knuckles warned as his muzzle turned a shade of red

"Why would we-" they began to question before a shining bright light entered the cave, as knuckles raised his hands

the emerald shined brightly as knuckles requested his command

the light got brighter and brighter that sonic and tails had to look away to shield their eyes

but as the light dampened and the two mobians looked back, they saw the master emerald had become small, not as small as a chaos emerald, just a few inches taller it would seem

but that wasn't the most shocking sight

knuckles were gone

"knuckles?" they questioned as they looked around for their echidna friend

"down here" a little gruff voice answered back

the fox and hedgehog looked back down to the emerald, only to see something walking from behind it

their red friend was there, only the size of a chaos emerald, he had finally absorbed more of the M.E's energy as it was like he was radioactive with the glow, but not enough to cause his fur to turn green apparently

"wha-How" Tails began to utter in complete confusion as he knelt down to inspect his friend's new statute

meanwhile, the speed demon was doing all he could to stop his laughter from bursting from his mouth

not that it lasted long as he crashed to the ground crying in joy

knuckles rolled his eyes as he did all he could to contain his anger

"as I said, I am linked very closely to the M.E so whatever happens to it, I also share its state" Knuckles explained, although Tails did smirk at the higher pitch of his now tiny friend

"don't you start!" knuckles yelled, only to cause tails laughter to grow and sonics going into shrieking

"oh, this is too perfect!" Sonic continued as he rolled on the ground

knuckles had enough and ran to where sonic was lying on the floor and before the hedgehog could even react, he felt a hard pressure against his nose

"gah!" Sonic yelled in pain

seemed even though tiny, he still had his intense power, must be result of absorbing the M.E's chaos

"you done? or do you need another" Knuckles warned

"relax, just having some fun with big bad red" sonic smirked as he began to get up, but as he got up knuckles was surprised to find himself also being lifted into the air, being swept off his feet and was now being held within the blue blurs grasp

"Yeah not a chance" Knuckles grumbled as he glided of sonic's hands and landed perfectly in tails outspread palm

"ok, so it seems Eggman is getting closer and so we and especially knuckles should get as far away from the emerald" tails stated as he looked once more at his watch, balancing the echidna in his left palm like a toy figure

"wait, you share the energy now, if not a little more, so if you're both on the island it could mean that he has a better chance of finding it" sonic asked as they stepped out of the hut, ensuring it was well camouflaged

"what are you saying," Knuckles asked as he was placed on the ground

"that perhaps, you leave and the master emerald stays-" Sonic began before a yell was erupted and scared the birds

"WHAT?!" the screechy scream asked as sonic and tails rubbed their ears from the noise

"YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE IT UNPROTECTED WHEN IT'S AT ITS MOST VULNERABLE" knuckles continued to yell from his friends blasphemy

"couldn't hurt, plus it could throw Eggman of, maybe trick the massive IQ man" sonic continued only for tails to interrupt

"it is a good idea sonic but I have to agree with knuckles" tails stated, making the two mobians look in surprise

" he'll see us leaving with how close he is now and with how knuckles are storing the majority of the energy it would be important for him to say as we do not want the island to suffer, and if Eggman gets too close we're just here to ensure that it doesn't leave the island" tails explained

Knuckles was overjoyed that someone was finally seeing it from his perspective, an added bonus that it was the little fox that always went along with sonic's plans, it did make him proud to see him interject with his beliefs

sonic seemed a little unsure about it, wanting to keep his friend safe, he knew knuckles was strong but in this delicate predicament and his new state he couldn't help but feel a bit protective of the echidna, but he knew he and even his little buddy weren't budging and had good points, they would have to think of a different solution

"ok fine, but we'll have to keep you both on different sides of the island, if we stay here egghead has a better chance of finding it" sonic sighed in agreement

"that's good enough for me" knuckles stated happily

"Alright, I'm going to keep an eye on Eggman's position from here, I'll meet you both later tails explained as he tilted his hands onto sonic's making knuckles slide into sonics palms

"and don't worry, I have your and knuckles signal on my tablet, and you have mine on your watch, but as you can guess knuckle's chaos signal is stronger than the master emeralds so I suggest you keep moving to keep Eggman on his toes and hopefully eventually he'll give up, we know how patient he is" tails continued to ensure the two figures he had thought of everything

and with that, the blue blur and red riot left the little hideaway, allowing the yellow kitsune to stay with the master emerald and entrusting him to keep it safe for the time being

"anywhere, in particular, you want to go knux?" sonic asked holding knuckles to eye level

knuckles pondered on where would be the best area to hold down the base

"There are a few grape bushes on the other side of my island, It's a nice secluded area with plenty of trees to possibly block out Eggman's detectors" knuckles suggested

"sounds good, alright, hold on" Sonic declared as he began to run

as he sped he ensured to keep knuckles held with a firm grip with both hands, holding him close to his chest too to ensure the little echidna wasn't going to go flying

and in just a few moments they were exactly where they wanted to be

"you good knucks?" sonic questioned as he lessened his grip

"d, dizzy" knuckles admitted as he grabbed his head, his dreadlocks stuck back to the hedgehog's chest

sonic merely chuckled as he felt his tiny friend collapse in his palm (must seem much faster at that size) sonic thought to himself as he walked slowly to the bushes, plucking the fruit from its stems

"here bud got ya some grapes" sonic said as he held out a grape for the echidna

"thanks " knuckles said happily as his dizziness dissipated and began devouring the fruit

"guess being small comes with perks, that could probably last you-" sonic began before the echidna interrupted him

"more!" Knuckles declared as he rubbed grape juice off his muzzle

"a few seconds..." sonic finished sheepishly as he simply looked in surprise

"must be the extra chaos energy in my body, need to refuel to maintain it" Knuckles stated as he finished his 15th grape

"or you just have an obsession" Sonic chuckled

"either way, I'm enjoying my grapes" Knuckles shrugged

"well you should probably give it a rest, don't want you to overload your stomach, especially if there's a chance we'll have to be doing some running, and we should probably get a move on, Eggman isn't going to stay in one place" sonic suggested as he picked the last of the grapes and decided to get a move on, allowing the little echinda to have a final grape as he sat and enjoyed the ride

"any news from tails?" knuckles asked, continuing to rub the grape juice from his muzzle, although by this point it was practically stained purple

"hasn't said anything yet, but he'll know where to find us, he always does" sonic replied, quickly glancing at his watch, no messages of late

however, their walk was cut by a familiar woosh

and in just a distance knuckles were no longer in sonic's palm

"wha! knuckles ?" sonic asked with surprise, confused to what had happened, looking to the floor in case he dropped him he saw nothing, but looking up

"hiya boys" a seductive voice greeted

rouge the bat, in the air holding a very confused yet flustered echidna in her hand as she used the other to wave hello to the blue blur

"rouge! what are you doing here?" sonic asked with curiosity and shock

"oh, just flew up to say hi, saw Eggman around but no lovely emeralds to steal" Rouge explained with mock sadness

"But then I was greeted with your little two-tailed friend who helpfully explained everything, and I knew I just had to see my favourite little echidna" Rouge continued, directing her attention to figure in her hand and using her other hand's finger to gently pat knuckles head

"knock it off" Knuckles tried to command, wafting her gloves away and trying to glide back down to sonic, not that Rouge was going to let that happen, simply flying to the floor where she successfully caught the echidna back into her clutches

"he's even cuter fun-sized" Rouge commented with a chuckle as she continued to play/annoy the flustered echidna

sonic would have agreed before his watch alerted him of an incoming call

it was tails

"tails! everything ok?" sonic asked with alert

"is the master emerald safe?" Knuckles interjected as rouge allowed a break of banter and flew the two to sonic's watch

"it's fine, it's you that needs to be worried about, Eggman's coming in your direction at top speed!" tails informed and warned

and just as tails finished his sentence, the shadowy figure of the Eggman was seen flying above them, obviously spotting them and getting closer

sonic began looking for a hiding spot to take knuckles but was stopped by the actions of rouge taking out a...chaos emerald! and hiding it behind her back along with the little echidna

"what are you-" sonic tried to whisper before he was shushed by the bat

the wind of Eggman's drone whipped their faces as Eggman was now faced to face with the two

"sonic, what an unpleasant surprise" Eggman greeted rudely

"same to you egg breath" sonic replied, meeting his tone

"enough chit chat, where's your gullible little friend knuckles?! I know he and the master emerald are here somewhere, so you better tell me now!" Eggman asked as he searched the area, but no sign of the echidna from his position

"knuckles? master emerald? sorry doc but your too late to the party, those two are long gone" rouge shrugged with disappointment

"false! the islands still standing and I've detected all the chaos emeralds highest power to this location" egg man laughed as he pointed a finger accusingly

"oh fine, you caught us" rouge sighed with defeat

Sonic internally panicked as he saw rouge begin to hold out her hands, only to be immediately change to relief as she simply held out a red chaos emerald instead of his tiny friend, yes a chaos emerald was important but to sonic, knuckles was simply more valuable

"....is this supposed to be a joke," egg man asked sarcastically, bringing the blue blur out of his thoughts

"Check it doctor" rouge stated as she began to fly around Eggman

And to the bald man's fury the detector that he was using was only detecting the energy of the chaos emerald, and that was all

To make it worse the island stated to shake, which Eggman had to take as rouge telling the truth

"Drat!" eggman grumbled, but not before swiping at the chaos emerald making rouge dramatically fly back with her hand to her chest

"Now eggy, didn't your mother tell you how to treat a lady" rouge asked with fake offence

But Eggman ignored her and redirected his attention to the blue blur

"Don't think I'm going to give up so easily hedgehog, ill find that echidna and that stupid emerald with or without your help" egg man declared

"Then you better get going, red's a trooper and could be all the way to the Himalayas by now" sonic grinned

Eggman growled as he flew back with defeat, complaints of how his detector was defective and broken as it failed to get a true pinpoint on the master emerald and would need to be increased

Sonic and rouge sighed in relief as the fat man was soon was far out of sight, rogue almost instantly chuckiling to relieve tension

"Alright, tell me how you just did that, where did find the chaos emerald so fast!" sonic immediately began to question

"Oh honey, I would never give eggman a real chaos emerald, I just had an identical looking one on me because....well, I'm just a glutton to glimmer" rouge admitted sheepishly

"Wait wait wait, it was a fake" sonic asked with surprise

"yeah, with knuckles hiding behind it gave the impression that it was real and other than that energy signal and with how the island began to shake, Eggman took the bait" rouge explained with a proud look

"right but...wait...where is knuckles ?" sonic asked with confusion

But was even more shocked to see as the white bat reach into her chest and pull out a...sonic couldn't even read the echinda's expression as he remerged, out of her cleavage

sonic couldn't help but blush and quickly looked away

knuckles weren't responding, was as red as tomato eyes closed in embarrassment and seemed to be twitching in shock also

"it was the only place before Eggman quickly swiped it out of my grip" Rouge answered with no care in the world, perhaps a little blush but other then that nothing

"well at least it'll get rid of Eggman long enough to see what he's up too" sonic coughed as he took his friend out of the bat's grip, the poor thing unable to speak

"let's get back to tails, the shrinking was only temporary so we don't know how long the island's going to hold" sonic declared as he began running to the secret base, the blue blur secretly telling tails to be out before they arrive, knowing how rouge may take it as a chance of a vulnerable position to take as much shining glimmering splendours she could

"guys! you all you ok" tails asked as the trio met up with the twin-tailed fox

"all good, how was it on your side ?" sonic asked with brotherly concern

"there were some rumbles and he did approach close but luckily he didn't suspect a thing, the islands natural energy seemed to be enough to cover it up" Tails explained reasuringly

"Good to hear" sonic responded with relief as he went to mess up his little brothers hair

tails took a look at knuckles who seemed to be slowly be recovering his blush attack, looking at sonic for an explanation but like chaos the hedgehog was going to retale that story, instead taking the attention of him to ask more questions such as "How far away is he?"

"far enough to get things back to normal" tails said with affirmative

"What a relief" knuckles sighed as he stood up in the hedgehogs palm, ready for everything to get back to how it should be, although was quickly sat back down as the island shook once more

"aww, does that mean knucky can't stay like this, I could just put him in a glass jar and take him home" Rouge cooed sadly, sonic unconciously holding the little echidna closer to him, the look in her eyes showing true determination of her wishes

"unfortunately not" sonic said sheepishly

"1 that is never going to happen!" Knuckles yelled as his muzzle almost returned to the brightest red again before finishing his statement with a "and 2 What do you mean by "unfortunately" this is the best news I've had all day!"

this got a laugh out of the three as sonic began to enclose the echidna with his hands once more

"You heard the little man, tails you got the M.E?" Sonic declared as he stamped his feet impatiently

"Got it sonic" tails said as he fished it out of his tails

and so Sonic began to run, rouge and tails on his heels

once they arrived knuckles placed onto the stony surface and given the miniature master emerald

The three contained their laughter as the tiny echinda excitedly held the gem above his head and ran to the middle of the centre and back to give the M.E and himself to regrow

Repeating the ritual the bright light returned

But as they looked back they now saw a much larger gem, along with a normal-sized teen echidna, who seemed to be a bit shaky on his feet

He would have fallen to the floor if not for the three figures noticing he was a little uneasy and went to help support him, quickly helping him to sit on the steps of the shrine, the echidnas energy completely deflaiting, regardless of the glow arur ammiting from his body

knuckles groaned as he found it hard to stay awake

"easy bud, we'll take it from here, you just rest" Sonic reasured as he helped to put the echinda in a comfortable position, knowing he was going to drop at anymoment

"right, just keep me updated alright...and be sure batgirl goes with you too" knuckles mumbled sleepily

"come now knuxie, I'm not that cruel, besides, what's the fun, if you cant, come chasing after me?" Rouge said with a playful coo

But knuckles didn't acknowledge her teasing as he eventually fell into slumber

Sonic merely smiled as he and the others three decided to leave the island to give the echidna a chance to rest and fully transfer the master emeralds power back into the original large gem, which meant to do that he had to be close and allow his body to rest

over the next few days, he had received many intermissions with the other members of team sonic, to make sure the echidna was doing alright and to keep him posted

he was even surprised to a full basket of grapes and other fruits by no other than rouge, who seemed also as concerned to the echidnas state, he didn't even flinch as she approached, and she understood that he had to give his energy into the master emerald but she couldn't help it, she didn't try anything which was also surprising, it was a nice change, but he knew soon as everything was back to normal they would all continue as was, guess he would have to enjoy it as much as he could as he snacked on his 120th grape of the day....maybe sonic was right about his obsession

Chapter Text

Requested by Alphawolf00001

Tails the fox, looked at the tablet in his hands and sighed,

in the window, he reflected on the ruined and broken surroundings behind the glass surface. He had always loved dark Mobius with its broken trees, buildings, It was a place that encouraged his tendency to feel in power and control, especially as he and his big brother sonic the hedgehog had overthrown the old king that was the pitiful doctor Robotnik

speaking of his brother, he seemed to have joined with his observation of the world around him smirking as lightning teased the birds, making tails flinch ever slightly, not that sonic commented however

but as much as the two loved their rule in this dystopia, the two couldn't help but share an internal feeling of boredom, they had conquered all and were feared by all and as much as that was exciting, it could become lonely, the two had each other yes and would kill anyone who dared to take them apart...but even then you needed more interaction

they had been wanting to have a third member in their party for a while, a brother of sorts, just to add more to the fun mostly

a cooling piano played in the background as two powerful beings finally met eyes

"these people, so weak, cowering so easily, none of these makes good members, heck, they aren't even fun to torment anymore, they just let it happen" Sonic commented with a sigh of disappointment

"cheer up sonic, we will find someone, but your impatience gets in the way of my progress, perhaps go terrorize some orphans while I do some more searching" tails assured although with slight agitation, his brother although strong, could be so whiney sometimes

"very funny, but I have more class than that" Sonic scoffed as he tussled his brother's smart hair before running around in their dark castle, sitting in his designated throne before continuing "all I'm saying is that sometimes to find the best, you need to find themselves yourself"

"all the best have stories behind them and that's exactly what I'm trying to find!" tails said whilst waving his tablet in his face, his agitation simply growing

"they're stories because they not real or deeds were so cruel they were executed for their actions, if you want to find a true villain then let's go find one, this band of scared misfits aren't going anywhere, besides the more we prolong, the more we will become bored and the more we will get on each other's nerves" sonic reasoned whilst trying to encourage his ideas

"Alright, alright, I hear you, we'll try your method" tails sighed as he finally gave in to his brother's desires

"knew you would see it my way little brother" sonic grinned as the lightning grew and grew

and with that, they were off

they could hear the citizens praising joy when they declared they were leaving for a while, to which the two were very excited to punish them for when they come back

for most of their journey, there wasn't much for them to deem a worthy 3rd brother in arms

most of the people knew the famous duo and ran for the hills, which was always fun to run with and torment

overall it was good for fresh air

but after the 5th day, they were beginning to come to the middle of nowhere and their determination started to waver

they were getting at a point to leave before they heard whistling in the distance

curious overtook their bodies as they ventured further into the fields

The whistling grew louder and louder until they were faced to face with a farm, a fuzzy red-figure ploughing the crops, the main source of the whistling

sonic was about to go over to the figure before being pulled back by the fox

"Sonic wait" tails whispered urgently

"Why" sonic questioned with confusion

"If this guy is who I think he is then we've just struck gold!" tails exclaimed as he struggled to keep his voice quiet

Making sure the mobian was still doing his farm work tails showed sonic his tablet

Looking closer, some head swinging from technology

"No way!" sonic said as it was his turn to be fully surprised

"I know!" tails added eagerly

"can't be, he's a hidden legend, no way is out here just ploughing, he must be here for a reason" sonic reasoned, sensing a trap

but that's exactly why he could be out here for

from the information, he read this legend was well known for traps

"wait, wasn't there cases of abductions out around these parts" sonic quickly added as he recalled the gossip of some stupid civilians relatives that tried to escape, never to be heard from again

it was overdramatic and so no one believed, but what if it was true?!

"well there's no harm in talking, especially with the intentions were out here for" tails shrugged

and so the two walked further

"Hello there!" the two shouted as they announced their presence

The red figure paused as he looked over his shoulder

but unlike the many other individuals encountered on their travel, the red figure made no face of fear in fact for a quick second he looked surprised, only to seem delighted, a grin appearing on his face

the two saw this and decided to play along, after all, that was part of the fun-

"howdy travellers, you two lost or something?" the figure greeted as he spat out a piece of "Farmers Gum" and bowed his cowboy hat in hello

"Nah, just having a little walk in the countryside" sonic lied

"well you ain't gonna see anything around here other than my humble little farm, animal carcases and plants" the figure explained as he leaned against his fence, the only barrier between him and the two devils

"odd place to be farming then" tails stated

"I'm good at it, sides, I like the space, no one bothering me" the figure replied with a peaceful smile

"really? because we've been hearing rumours around this place, and many people passing through....only to be never seen again" sonic commented, slanted cunning eyes as he examined the individual

"they get well on their way, what can I tell you" the cowboy shrugged with a laugh

only to be interrupted by a series of thudding heard from behind and a new figure to enter the scene, a woman had just exited the farm, screaming bloody murder as she was visibly dripping with blood with a broken arm that still had a set of handcuffs on

the three simply watched with pity

"ugh, but some are just too dramatic" the farmer groaned as he walked to see where the woman was heading

"when they make noises like that, it's better to just put them out of their misery" he finished as he slammed the ground, sending a line of rocks to follow the woman only for a large sharp piece of land to impale her, ceasing her screams

"good, those whines were starting to get irritating" tails said with relief as he relaxed his sensitive ears

"you're telling me, I have to deal with this all the time, it's very frustrating sometimes" the red individual agreed, pulling his hat down slightly

"all the time? so this your job? being what I can only assume as a slave trader" sonic stated with slight disappointment, not wanting to believe that's all a legend was reduced to

"correct, member of an Underground Railroad, I help to transport slaves to the north, for now at least, something to keep busy, especially with how there's nothing to do around here, but then again, that's all the thanks to you two" the figure explained, only to grin devilishly at the duo

"ah so you do know who we are" tails exclaimed with slight excitement

"but of course, the duo of destruction, putting this world under ruins and control the majority of the city, growing further and further, I do have to say, your work is something to behold, if I didn't recognise you two instantly I would have invited you inside for something I would have said was "tea" the cowboy laughed with slight admiration

"well that's flattering, especially from someone of your status" sonic started with a growing smirk, getting closer to the red figures face

"knuckles the echidna, the snake beneath the rows of flowers, the dictionary definition of misleading, stronger than 10000 men his size, and from the example you just gave us, the rumours are true"

to this, the echidna showed his sharp teeth with a sinister yet playful smile, seemed he was hiding those pretty pearls for a while

"Well then, now we've broken the 4th wall, what can I really do for you, I know you ain't here for a stack of carrots and peas... nor a body of meat from an inbred hillbilly, " Knuckles said, the last sentence said with an indication to the woman who's blood was still watering the ground

"we're looking for a brother in arms, and we believe you would make the perfect fit" tails explained

"is that so? and what makes me so much better than the rest of the underworld" knuckles asked with humbleness

"for one, you're crafty, you know what you're doing when setting those traps, verbal and physical and you have no rumours for what you do to those slaves, you don't seem the person to truly want any profit from the situation, simply going for your own sick entertainment...that we can respect" sonic explained as he looked to his brother who was full-heartedly agreeing

"so, what do you say, you want to join our dynamic, make more misery than simply selling slaves" sonic finished as he pulled out his hand to shake

"I would love to see buildings crumble under my hand once more, so I agree full-heartedly" knuckles agreed as he shook the hedgehog's hand, even just using 5% of his strength, sonic couldn't help but grit his teeth at the stronghold

"perfect" the duo simultaneously laughed

Mobius never have stood a chance

Chapter Text

requested by Amazingmagicgames12

"no one is coming child, stop expecting someone to appear, you're alone"

These were the first words the calm but commanding voice ever said to the 4-year-old echidna

The very same day he discovered there was no one waiting for him for when he awoke from his nap

No one physical at least

This new voice was cruel in the little echidna's mind

That it was a mean liar and knuckles demanded that it show their face, shouting that they were a bully and coward

Sure he was young and his training had bearly begun, but he already knew the basics and put his mittens up to fight

no presence made themselves visible, but the voice refused to stop

this resulted in many fruitless arguments and tantrums, usually ending with the echidna crying or going over and over the island in the hopes that the voice wasn't telling the truth

only to return to a cruel voice over and over again

knuckles had grown a disdain to the voice over the years

it seemed to grow stronger when near the master emerald that he learned the voice must be coming from it

which meant unfortunately he could never get too far

after all, he had sworn an oath to protect it, to try and make his family proud, wherever they were

"you are alone, just give up" the voice rehearsed

"would you just shut up! I've told you I accepted your words, so how about you stop reminding me!" knuckles shouted once more

"because I can sense that you still don't believe" the voice stated

"its called having hope you insufferable demon!" knuckles reasoned tiredly

"hope is nothing but empty words" the voice uttered finally

But to both, the voices and knuckles surprise

it was wrong

This soon turned into the tale of how he was tricked by the villainous dr Robotnik, but in term friended sonic the hedgehog and the other blue blurs friends

He wouldn't admit it but Knuckles held these memories close to his heart, along with the new relationships

It had given him the satisfaction of keeping hope within oneself

But the voice was much less displeased

For as much as the voice loved to tell how isolated the echidna was

It just as much hated when the red mobian wandered too far from the M.E and the way the echidna's mind pondered the thought of leaving the island

A distinct memory the echidna had was when he was 8

He had grown tired of being isolated and believed that his clan was in danger, gathering his belongings in a satchel of the essentials and preparing himself to go and search

But of course, the voice intervened

"what are you doing child?" the voice asked as it watched from afar

"I'm going to search for my clan!" knuckles said as a matter of factly

"oh is that so? What would make this search different than the other failed ones ?" it said with a tone that knuckles knew was pedantic

"because this time I'm going to search of the island!" knuckles declared

The voice was silent for a few seconds

That was before a series of mocking laughter filled the void

Knuckles couldn't help but shrink into himself

"what utter foolishness, come now child, you aren't capable of such a thing, you are far too young and small and weak" the voice mocked

"then why do you need me to protect you then huh?" Knuckles combated

"because unfortunately you are all that remains, and with that, you wouldn't wish to let down your ancestors by abandoning all that they tried to protect are you?" the voice ushered

"I won't be letting them down because I will find them" Knuckles argued determinedly, walking to the edge of the island with so much confidence

just before he felt something wrap around his torso

"YOU WILL NOT LEAVE!" the voice screamed as the little echidna was brought back to the shrine by a shining green chain that wrapped around the small cub

"Stop it! Let me go!" knuckles had cried with fear, the little echidna tried desperately to fight but it was fruitless, the chains squeezing him tightly never had the voice ever sounded so angry

He was brought closer and closer until his face was pressed against the M.E

And that's when he saw it

A being whose shape that looked very similar to a parasaurolophus, its body purple yet seemed quite like liquid too, poisonousness even, it had 4 sets of yellow no pupil eyes and no mouth with two long sharp claws, used to grab the echidna's muzzle as he was pulled inside the master emerald

The poor echidna cried and screamed in terror at the sight, a monster that would fill his nightmares as the thing looked at him angrily

"You are under my rule child! You are to stay here and never leave! I have already given you so much freedom! Do not make me restrict it!" the being seethed

tears continued to flow down his face knuckles nodded rapidly

instantly it seemed that the being calmed down, releasing the echidna of the chaos powered chains and took to look at him with a calm face

the echidna stumbled in his steps as he tried to run, only to be held in shock and landed hard on the steps of the shrine

"I am slightly sorry child, but you needed discipline, clearly I had not been clear of the rules" the being said with a commanding but still apologetic tone, as the figure's body disappeared within the emerald once more

"wh, who are you?" knuckles asked with fear as he slowly got up from the steps shakily

"your mortal mind would not understand what my true name is, but a similar name that you can refer me to is Harmony" the voice answered with a cooling tone

From then Knuckles hatred of the figure now named "Harmony" grew into fear

First witnessing what it could do if he went against its wishes, it was no wonder that knuckles never dared try something like that again

But that once more connected with more current events

Now that knuckles was involved with saving the world, it meant that knuckles was constantly being asked to help out

And of course, Harmony didn't like it but understood if Eggman or any other villian attacked, it meant the island, the M.E and itself would be in danger

So Knuckles was allowed to leave, only for the sake of protecting the island further,

Knuckles felt such relief as the voice no longer tormented his mind, for the first time in so long, he felt free

not it lasted long, he had to always return to the emptiness that was his home

This cycle continued for quite a while

And knuckles soon discovered that he wanted more in life

he had more questions, had more requests

It mainly began with the incident with breaking the master emerald, where chaos and Tikal were released, and yet, Harmony remained

Knuckles tried to ask his many questions, only for the second outburst he had been able to cause happen

"DO NOT SPEAK THEIR NAMES!!!" Harmony shrieked

so knuckles stopped asking, the memory of when he was 5 plaguing his mind

Knuckles did try to speak with the two but were disappointingly always responded with Harmony whose rage further grew

It was confusing to the young echidna

Harmony was able to speak and interact with the outside world but never able to leave the master emerald whilst chaos and Tikal seemed the opposite

There were no mentions of Harmony in the flashbacks he had whilst putting the pieces of the M.E together

It made no sense

He wanted answers

He hated being kept in the shadows

He tried to see what the ancient scrolls said about the being but not a word was uttered about it

And knuckles soon that fear of the spirit grew into distrust

One he knew Harmony could sense

Not that it seemed to care too much, as long as the echidna did as he said he would allow him to do whatever he did

But with how the echidna's needs and wants grew with the interactions of the other individuals on the world below, it shouldn't have come as such a surprise that knuckles decided that he would finally do something for himself

He had grown such strong friends and relationships that he wanted to spend more time with them, to celebrate with them, to learn more from them to no longer be so nieve and be able to experience more of what life had to offer

"I know what you're planning child, I advise you to reconsider, you remember what happened last time" Harmony warned

"last time I was still in my puggle stage, I am much stronger now, physically, mentally and spiritually" Knuckles argued as he turned his back to the M.E

"is that so?" Harmony asked with a chuckle

"you know my sensing of chaos energy is strong enough to detect it anywhere in the world, so if I sense something's wrong, I can always come back" Knuckles tried to reason

"what if you were too late, like last time?" Harmony guilt tripped

"I've learnt from my experiences-" Knuckles began, only Harmony didn't seem to care for what the echidna had to say

"you would have failed in your duty, your oath to your ancestors, does that have so much less worth than spending time with your "friends" I have been so patient with you child, allowing you to gallivant out, but this is an unnecessary trip, therefore I can not allow-" Harmony lectured

"NO!" Knuckles shouted

"...No?" Harmony asked with disbelief

"I've dedicated nearly all my life to protect and preserve this island, never once have I asked for something simply for myself, I have proven that no force on this world or any other will stop my dedication to preserve my peoples legacy, but don't I deserve to be happy?! I NEVER ASKED TO BE THE LAST! IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT I LONG FOR CONNECTIONS! WHY MUST I BE PUNISHED?!?" Knuckles shouted and screamed with all his heart

....

"Oh child" Harmony cooed slowly

"you've been wanting to get that off your chest for years now hmm" it continued as its chains once more wrapped around the echidna

"all that longing and wishing...that is why I never wanted you to leave from the start"

knuckles tried to fight, but just like last time, it was too strong as he was once more brought to the M.E, seemingly to open to fully enclose the echidna inside

"but I can help, I can make you stay, cleanse you of all these useless thoughts"

Harmony's monstrous body visible once more, much bigger and taller then knuckles himself as it grabbed the echidnas arm to pull him closer to it

"and forever you shall stay, as this is your purpose, you need no more"

it tried to pull him close into a protective embrace, but knuckles was able to get in a good punch as he...swam? within the Master Emerald and began to bang on the emeralds structure, doing all he could to escape

(this can't be happening!") knuckles screamed, his voice other than inside his mind he could not hear

But the Harmony could

(oh but it is, just give up, no one is coming, just like before, no friends, no clan, only you, and me) Harmony's voice ringed as he once more pulled knuckles into its hold

Knuckles proceeded his punches and before he was fully pulled back in he was able to make a crack

and a small piece of the emerald dropped outside and lay upon the shrines rocky surface

"no more of that, come now, you must be tired child, just give in and let me do this for you, I am the only one you can trust" Harmony soothed as knuckles gloves were entrapped by harmony's large claws

unfortunately, the echidna was right about Harmony being poisonous, the closer he was the more he felt sick, weak and tired, breathing was becoming difficult

Harmony had finally done it, he had the guardian completely under its will, yes still a fighter, but by keeping him within the master emerald, he will have full control of his will

only for its attention to be caught by an outside source

That little piece of emerald was picked up by a Chao, the Chao's loved knuckles and seemed to wonder where the guardian was

"bring it back here little Chao," Harmony said soothingly, wanting the piece returned as soon as possible

Only for a new softer, kinder but urgent voice to come from the small gem

"do not trust them! Bring the guardians friends to us! It is the only way to save him" the voice of Tikal warned and commanded urgently

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Harmony screamed, holding the echidna closer

The little chao looked from the shard to the guardian within the master emerald

Unlike the other 3 spirits, knuckles could be seen inside the gem, quills flowing as if he were floating, worse, as though he was drowning

The little Chao looked in fear but only took a moment to fly off with the little piece of emerald

"YOU FOOL!" Harmony shouted after the chao

Not that it mattered

Harmony would keep the guardian from escaping

"Chao Chao Chao!" the Chao screamed as it searched for one of the guardian's friends

and just as he looked desperately

it ran into the very being he was foraging for

"Woah, hey little guy, what's up?" Sonic the hedgehog asked with concern as he saw the little Chao screaming its head off

"Chao Chao Chao!" it yelled as it gave sonic the little emerald shard

"huh? what's" sonic began to question only for Tikals voice to interrupt him

"There is no time, hurry sonic, the guardian's in danger, come to angel island immediately!" she pleaded

shock overflowed the blue blurs body, so many questions! what?! what's wrong with angel island ?! knuckles! is knuckles ok ?!

luckily his body had much faster reflexes than his mind as he subconsciously reached into his quills to retrieve a warp ring to angel island

sonic entered the island's atmosphere with a rush

"Knuckles!" sonic instantly began to shout

no answer was heard from the red guardian

"the master emerald!" Tikal's voice instructed

and with just one look at the gem, sonic was too stunned to speak

his closest friend, seemingly trapped in the giant rock he was tasked in guarding, unconscious and seemingly floating in the gem's odd liquid inside

"KNUCKLES!" Sonic screamed once more as he spread to the M.E

"How did this happen?! Knuckles! can you hear me?!" Sonic questioned as he banged the emeralds walls

"he cannot hear you, place the shard back into the master emerald, I will be able to bring you in, but beware, there is a being that is keeping him in there" Tikal warned

"I don't care, whatever happening it's not good, and I'm not leaving my friend in there" Sonic declared as he placed the small shard back into the emerald

and in a flash, he felt himself being pulled inside

Sonic was overwhelmed with a sense of weightlessness

His quills lifted instantly as he took in the green breathable yet water like atmosphere

Only this beautiful green serene world was ruined by the unnerving presence of a large purple figure

One that was holding an unconscious echidna in his chest

"this does not concern you mortal!" the being stated, wasting no time in introductions

"I think it does when one of my closest friends is being held hostage by a weird purple water spider thing, seriously just pick one or two" Sonic replied with his usual sonic charm

"enough! You have no idea what you're dealing with or the reasons why this must happen, the guardian wanted to leave, I will never let that happen, there must always be someone to protect this emerald and island, by keeping him here unless there is a threat it will keep him under my rule" explained with a growl

"do you hear yourself, you're a dictator! and I if knuckles had ever mentioned me, you know will not tolerate such actions and behaviour!" Sonic declared, his happy go attitude rapidly fading

"and what do you plan to do about it?" Harmony taunted

"we plan on stopping your rule, and give knuckles a chance at freedom!" Tikal stated as she and chaos joined sonic at his side, surprising the hedgehog slightly but was overall thankful he wouldn't have to do it alone, especially as this atmosphere would make it hard to run

And with that, the battle began

Tikal was the same size as sonic but Chaos himself was massive, just as big as Harmony which turned into a large fight as chaos was able to take on Harmony's weight, Tikal being able to fly/float to distract and annoy Harmony, the large purple monster swatting at her, giving sonic enough time to scoop the red echidna out of its grip

"NO!" it screamed as sonic held knuckles close with a better and more comforting embrace

and finally away from the poison, he was able to gain consciousness

"sonic?" knuckles mumbled, eyes still closed tight with discomfort

"I got ya bud" sonic assured as he held the echidna in a firm but gentle bride style hold

"we're getting you out of here, Tikal said you needed some help, and clearly she was underestimating" Sonic continued as he kept an eye on the battle

groaning knuckles finally took the time to take in his surroundings, his eyes from sonic onto the fight and directly linking eyes to his personal demon, who also seemed to be keeping an eye on him, just like it always did

"child! don't you dare try to leave! you are nothing out there! in here you are-" Harmony began to yell, only this allowed chaos to get a critical punch to Harmony, making the purple beast drop to its knees

but it was not Chaos that got the final blow

steadily knuckles squirmed out of sonics hold and determinedly and angrily screamed his last words to Harmony

"I've had enough of listening to you, all my life you've reminded me how alone and worthless I am, but now you can see for yourself how wrong you are, that's why you're so angry, that I cant be swayed by your false words anymore, I'm done! and so are you! I refuse to listen and cower under your rules ANYMORE!"

Knuckles was rushing towards the Harmony, his fist growing and growing in power as he made a powerful, earth-shattering impact against Harmony's figure, a blinding white and red light filling the void as Harmony screamed in agony

when knuckles and sonic re-opened their eyes they were no longer within the pocket dimension of the master emerald but out on the angel island

the two had a bit of a hard time getting their eyes back to normal light, but that didn't stop each other from coming together, to ensure they were ok

there were no signs of damage other than some bruising on the echidna due to the chains holds, as well as the clear amount of energy the red riot used had taken a lot out of him as he struggled to breathe slightly

"you going to be ok knux?" Sonic asked worriedly, knowing it took a lot to take knuckles down

"he will be fine sonic, he simply requires rest and peace" the voice of Tikal answered for him

"Tikal?" Knuckles groaned in confusion

"It is me, now that Harmony is no longer present I can speak freely" Tikals voice continued, although her figure couldn't be seen

"so Harmony's finally gone?" Knuckles continued to question, his strength slowly regaining

"I am not quite sure, the only reason why Harmony was created was due to all the anguish and hatred our clan v had built over the years, it was not in the scriptures because he was created once the disappearance had occurred, he was not an external being but more of an internal, that is why he was unable to come out, that was why you needed to defeat him from within the emerald, I can not sense them, now that there is no more hatred to build themselves up upon I do not believe he will become as strong as they were before, but it is linked to the echidna clan, so it is all up to knuckles and his future" Tikal explained, but after her monologue, no more words were uttered, both due to the hedgehogs and echidnas bafflement, but they believed Tikal and chaos was once more going into their own space of paradise in the master emerald, seemingly that only when knuckles need help once more they shall come back to give guidance

"Well that explains some things" Knuckles sighed as he leaned his head against the master emerald, finally feeling comfortable to do so, a nice and calming warmth from the gem rather than the toxic energy he felt if he got too close

"I have some questions but clearly I'll let them slide until your better, speaking of, how are you feeling," Sonic asked, his confusion very evident but he could ignore it for now

" I, don't know, on one side I'm so relieved that I cant hear Harmony anymore, no longer reminding me of my loneliness and...all that, but at the same time, it sounds so quiet" Knuckles explained with a smile of relief

"well we'll be sure to make sure you'll relish in those moments because you know us, we never allow you peace" Sonic stated as he sat down next to the echidna

knuckles smiled as he turned to the hedgehog, and surprisingly to the blue blur enclosed the space with a warm embrace

"you tell this to anyone and the wall gets a new hedgehog shaped hole in it" Knuckles warned, earning a chuckle from sonic as the shock dissolved into acceptance, he always knew big red was a softie but knew simply to let it happen when he showed it

"love ya too knux, but seriously, visit whenever you want, we enjoy spending time with you and you never have to feel guilty about that" Sonic reassured as the two parted from the hug

"it's gonna take some time for that, but I'm definitely going to get out more, and not just for saving the world, but actually get the chance to see it," Knuckles said hopefully as he stared in the distance, the wind flowing in his quills

"and I'll happily show you the best parts" Sonic promised as he followed the echidna's direction and simply sighed in peace,

and for the first time in so long, knuckles was looking forward to his future, now not knowing what to expect, and he was fully looking forward to the surprises that lay ahead, for him and the new experiences he would share with his friends

Chapter Text

Requested by Ayame_tana

the sun shone brightly over the horizon of angel island

to anyone, this would be nothing but a spectacular gift of the day, a sign of summer continuing strong

one individual who had to endure the strong blinding beams however had to differ

knuckles disliked if not hated the bright lights of the sun, much preferring to be in the shade if not burrowing into the ground, what could he say, he preferred comfy darkness to the strenuous blinding rays

that and with how hot it made the island feel

he was already a hot head and the sunlight did not help to cool that down, in fact, it seemed to make it worse,

things got on his nerves much easier even the little things

regardless he had a duty to the master emerald so like normal, he had to grin and bare it

occasionally when it did get too hot and irritated his skin, he would go for a quick dip into the ponds water, luckily there was one close by

so when the shrines stone surface started to burn his backside he decided to go for a quick swim

that was before he was stopped by a sense of a stranger

or, an unwelcome stranger within the tree

"what do you want rouge?" Knuckles grumbled as he placed his face into his hand, not in the mood to get himself into an argument

"oh nothing, just thought I'd come and visit my favourite echidna" the seductive voice answered back as the trees began to rustle before revealing an alluring white bat with a mischievous look in her eyes, the leaves dancing as they fell with her

"I'm the only-" knuckles began to argue before he saw the white bat come closer into his personal bubble, her smile growing seemingly

"What are you-" knuckles began to yell defensively before he felt something being placed on his muzzle

suddenly everything around him seemed much darker with a dark brown tone to them

the light no longer seems so bright and strenuous to the eye

"w, what happened!?" Knuckles asked with surprise looking around his settings the brown tinge following, panicking slightly, what had she done to him?!

rouge couldn't help but chuckle at the knuckle's actions with the newest introduction to modern sun protection eyewear

"they're called sunglasses, they'll help to protect your vision against the suns rays, so you can stop straining your beautiful eyes" Rouge explained as she tapped the sunglasses the echidna now wore

knuckles blushed but did not call out the fact rouge called his eyes beautiful, instead, he reached up to the glasses, taking them off and seeing the world light return back to the normal eye-blinding sunlight

in an instant, he decided to keep the bat's gift on, his eyes being able to relax with them on, to which he couldn't help but feel grateful for

"thank you but...why did you get me them...what do you want?" Knuckles began to thank bashfully not before remembering who exactly was gifting him, and instantly growing suspicious of the reasons, knowing rouge for long enough suspected that she wanted an exchange, and no matter how relaxed he instantly he felt with the new "sunglasses" would give the master emerald for them

"now how's that gratitude ?" rouge scoffed but couldn't help but smile weakly, she guessed she did have this coming with how their previous encounters went

"I know how much you dislike strong sunlight and with how bright it is today, I thought you'd like it and I promise, the only thing I'm looking for as a reward is a smile on your face" Rouge explained softly,

turning away a little....was that a little pink growing on her cheeks the would have echidna noticed if it were not making double flips at what he just heard

she just wanted to do something nice for him, for the sake of being nice?

she had even remembered something about him that he didn't like and wanted to help him

this added to a warm feeling in his chest, not like how her taunts and quips made him feel hot with embarrassment and fluster

it was nice, it was confusing but it felt nice

"thank you rouge, I appreciate it" knuckles whispered with a small smile

"no problem knuxi" rouge winked as she was about to fly off before the echidna called out to her

"wait!"

rouge looked back at the echidna in surprise

"um, before you head off I was going to the pond to cool down and then grab some grapes for lunch, would you like to join?" Knuckles offered

the echidna couldn't believe what he just said!

he just offered the usual flirty jewel thriving annoyance of his life of a woman to stay and enjoy his sacred pool and favourite fruit?!

rouge's face smiled but fell down sadly

"sorry red, I've got a mission this afternoon I have to get to G.U.N in around 10 minutes, maybe next time" Rouge sighed sadly, actually looking disappointed with her commitment

"sure, next time" Knuckles agreed, a little disappointed feeling washing away the pleasant feeling that was previously there

as he watched her fly of his mind seemed to speed up on him

why was he upset about her leaving?! usually, he'd be overjoyed!

these confusing fluttering questions seemed to rush into his mind over time

why did he want to see her again?!

when did he start wishing she came around more ?!

why did he feel so warm and safe when thinking about her?!

when did...

when did he start developing a crush on Rouge on the bat?!

he had really done it hadn't he

he had really fallen for that batty woman

she came to the island, he invited her to stay for simple tasks such as grape picking, swimming like they had agreed to "next time" and even just talking

and every time she left, he wished she'd stay for longer

chaos he had even allowed rouge touch the master emerald without complaint, well maybe a little but not as much as before

and in return, she'd come back with items that could help improve his living, fluffy warm blankets, new foods to try (not meats as the last time sonic encouraged him to try he had reacted so SO very badly, so he stayed a pescetarian) he tried this new thing called dark chocolate caramels, super sweet and sticky but tasty, not as tasty as his fruits though

the caramel was extremely messy, earning the bats thumb wiping the sweet gently away from the echidna's cheek, his face practically matched his quills at that interaction, rouges laugh as sweet as the treat, luring and captivating like a mermaids-

gah! this was what he was on about! he couldn't stop his mind from wondering to these memories

he needed advice

or at least to tell someone about this

now mobians would think this person would be sonic the hedgehog, deemed his "closest friend", yeah, fat chance

he'd NEVER live it down

so instead he went to another group of friends he could always count on

"FOR THE LAST TIME I TOLD YOU TO- KNUCKLES! " the excited voice of vector the crocodile beamed at the sight of the echidna, the grumbles behind the door changing in tune in relief that it wasn't another door to door salesmen

"Hello to you too vector" knuckles smirked at the crocs shocked face

"knuckles! how ya been buddy?" Vector asked, regaining his calmer but still excited voice, clearly glad to see him

"um, good I guess, I came here with a question" Knuckles admitted

Vector seemed to be once more surprised by that response but opened the door fully to allow the echidna to come in

"well you came to the right place bud!" vector stated proudly as he followed the echidna into his own home, leading him into the living room where the other two chaotixs were

"We know all, see all, hear all!" Vector continued, seemingly to get in the echidna's face to enforce these facts

"well one of us does, do not put him off with your weirdness" espio chided as he pushed the croc away who simply chuckled sheepishly

"glad to see you again guardian " espio continued, giving the echidna a rare smile

"knuckles!" charmy screened happily as he landed upon the red head's head

"glad to see you both too, and it's knuckles esp" Knuckles couldn't help but chuckle as he patted the bee and responded to the chameleon

"Regardless, what do you wish to ask" espio carried on with an eye roll but his smile sticking

"um, well, it's a...personal question" Knuckles admitted as he grabbed the little bee and threw him high to give him momentum to start flying

"oh, do tell" Vector encouraged with a surprised but intrigued voice

"very well, uh, well, you guys know I'm not very good at understanding my emotion" Knuckles started awkwardly, thinking how much easier it was thinking of talking instead of actually doing it

"other than your anger" Charmy stated

"right, um but recently, I've been developing a new feeling, towards-" Knuckles tried to continue, the interruptions not helping his confidence levels at all

"get to the point!" Charmy and vector yelled boredly

"ok I think I have a crush on rouge!" Knuckles blurted out, the pressure of the main "problem" too much in his head

....

"crush like you mean love?! GROSS" Charmy asked with shock and disgust

"Now I didn't say I-" Knuckles tried to defend before he felt himself being pulled up into a bone-crushing hug, being swung back and forth like a rag doll as tears of joy rained upon his head

"I can't believe it, my little buddies finally got a crush, it's almost too much to bear" the crocodile bawled as the echidna desperately tried to escape the hold, which was fruitless, to begin with

"Congratulations on your newly developed feelings knuckles, but to say rouge, that is both a surprise and not" Espio concurred out loud

"Yeah, like don't you hate her or something, with how she always tries to steal the master emerald?" Charmy added with confusion

"I don't get it either but she's been coming over more regularly, she hasn't tried to steal from me and we mainly give each other gifts and talk, talking like she is truly interested in what I have to say, it's nice and what used to annoy me before don't seem as bad anymore"

simply listening to how happy rouge seemed to have made the founder of the chaotixs, the smitten look in the echidna's eyes and the bashful smile upon his muzzle was all the chaotixs needed to see that his emotions were true

"This is the best news I've heard in so long, I have never been so happy for you" vector continued to cry, the hold becoming tighter which knuckles was slowly finding it harder to breath

"Relax your grip vector, but I too am pleased, we only wish for the best for your knuckles and we are glad you have found something to do that" espio congratulated calmly as he vector eased his hold

"so, are you going to tell her?" charmy asked curiously, still sickened by the idea of love due to his immaturity, but as his family, happy knuckles was happy

"Tell her what?" knuckles asked a little defensively, knowing what charmy was talking about, he hadn't thought of the second part of the "procedure"

"come on bud, you know exactly what we mean, are you going to tell her that you have the hots for her" vector chuckled as he placed the echidna back on the floor

"the hots?" knuckles questioned actually confused

"proclaiming your feelings" espio stated

"ah, um, I don't think I'm there just yet" Knuckles stated sheepishly

"don't give us that, you're head over heels for that bat, I can tell, how you plan to woo the broad

knuckles may not have known what "broad" meant but he heard the word "woo" plenty to know it meant to try to gain the love of someone but when Amy explained it more in detail it was meant especially with a view to marriage, and he was definitely not ready for that

"vector no! I am nowhere near to ask someone for marriage, and clearly not ready to even consider courting-" Knuckles yelled with shock and embarrassment

"court?! what are you 50-" charmy began to laugh, only this earnt a slap upon the bee's head

"silence you, it's a noble and gentlemen like way to ask a woman for her partnership, but we are not wishing for you to do anything until you are ready, find your feet and please keep us updated, personally I do not care for love lives, but I do wish to know how you are feeling" espio politely requested, forever being the voice of reason to which the echidna would always be grateful for

"I will, I mainly came here because you three are the closest and friends I've known other than sonic and tails, but I knew they wouldn't take it seriously" knuckles explained

"well duh buddy, you always come to us with this stuff, don't need to explain it" vector reassured

"Thanks, well with that I think I'll be heading off" Knuckles thanked before seeing the time, it was getting late and he didn't like to leave the M.E for longer than needed

"you sure you don't want to have some honey pancakes or play a game?" Charmy asked, disappointed that the red mobians visit was so quick

"no can do, have to get back to the master emerald" Knuckles answered as he began walking to the door

"and your girlfriend" vector and charmy said as they pretended to swoon, placing their weights against the echidna and causing him to stop

"she's not my girlfriend!" Knuckles screamed as another blush grew on his muzzle

"come now, he chose us so we would not bother him with this, be seeing you soon knuckles" espio stated as he shooed the bee away and opened the door

"Yeah, see you guys later" Knuckles waved with a chuckle and cough, getting over his fluster with relief of telling them of this big secret, slightly helping his chest feel lighter

as the echidna closed the door on himself vector crashed to the floor in joy

"I'm so proud, he's come so far!" the crocodile continued to bawl

the two other members just looked with a tired face, very much used to the crocodile emotional state

only for the crocs tears to instantly stop and himself stand tall and proud

"and we will help him in his quest for love" vector declared to the sky

"great..it's another one of these episodes" charmy groaned

"Indeed, vector, need I remind you of the last time you intervened with a friends "love life" Espio stated in the hopes to avoid this path that still gave him nightmares

"yeah but it worked didn't it," Vector asked as to prove his point

"not because of us! because we left for them to discover it for themselves" espio argued pointing at the crocodile accusingly

"but it's knux, I can't just NOT help" vector continued to argue, but it was coming off more desperate

"It will not end well, if not add further embarrassment for you so you can count both charmy and myself out of this ploy" espio stated in a way that said "and that's final", crossing his arms and turning his back, the bee following his lead, mimicking his movements

the crocodile looked at the two and gave a sigh, one that mislead you to believe he had given up

"your right espio" vector began with fake sadness

the chameleon did not like that tone, not one bit

"I guess if I can't help our red friend with his developed crush, I could always find someone ELSE to "HELP" Vector explained putting clear evidence on his words and crouching down to the chameleon's eye level before continuing with a

"say haven't I seen you making googly eyes at a certain silv-" the croc almost said with intrigue before being interrupted with a very unusually panicked and frantic chameleon

"you know! maybe I was being rash, those two would make a nice couple, they balance each other help and it's for our closest friend so I, I've decided I'll join" espio ranted with a newly developing blush, rapidly walking away from the smirking croc who's grin merely grew, before redirecting his look to the little bee

"I haven't got anything else going on" the bee chuckled sheepishly as he flew a few meters away from the plotting reptile

"perfect," the crocodile said, if not so evily

the plan (to vector) was very simple

when the two were together vector and espio whisk the two apart, espio would keep the echidna busy saying by throwing pebbles at the echidna so he would investigate, then vector would come in to give would whisper what an amazing guy's knuckles were and convince her to give him a chance, when knuckles think it was nothing charmy will drop a rose into the echidna's hand just before rouge sees him, then they would play romantic music and release a bunch of white doves and for the grand finale espio would push the echidna close to giving him the perfect opportunity to confess

to give him credit it was better than rouge simply dropping a handkerchief

but it was still ridiculous

"ok everyone, into position!" vector declared as he finished explaining his master plan by a nearby bush

espio grumbled but turned invisible anyways and headed off to the two where they were simply sitting at the alter and talking

the chameleon felt terrible about having to disturb it but it was the only way to stop the crocodile from targeting himself

only he didn't count on the fact that the echidna already knew they were here

thanks to the connection to the master emerald knuckles was able to tell exactly who was on his island, and where they were, not exactly able to pinpoint but able to sense around where they were

the echidna just wanted to spend time with rouge and let them be, after all, they do come up to enjoy the sights so if they keep it like that then he didn't have to leave

only for a familiar breeze brushed past the echidna's fur, there hadn't been any wind as of yet so he knew exactly what it could be

grabbing the wind he was not so surprised to find he was holding an invisible force

"excuse me for one moment, I need to do something," Knuckles said through gritted teeth, doing his best to keep his fake smile up

"don't take too long" rouge winked as the echidna left still holding the air, luckily his large hands made it look like there was nothing amiss

turning to a hidden group of trees the echidna channelled a control and breath to prepare himself for what he hoped was a good explanation for tonight's hassle

"all right espio, spill" knuckles growled

at this point the said chameleon became un-invisible

"first of all, I just want to say I did not want to do this at all" espio began defensively under knuckles unamused gaze

"espio" knuckles repeated warningly

"vector got too over in his head again, he roped me and charmy into helping you with rouge's relationship" espio spat out

"ugh, of course, he did, why did I think telling him was a good idea, I should have known he would do something like this" Knuckles groaned tiredly

"I apologise for our disruptions" espio apologised lowly, feeling ashamed of himself

"It's fine esp, can't be mad at you when I know the real culprit is the vector" knuckles sighed, he knew espio would never do anything like this unless he was made to but that meant he wasn't going to be easy on the main culprit

"yes, speaking of, you may want to get back to rouge" espio continued sheepishly

"...why?" knuckles asked suspiciously

"because he's talking to her right now" espio announced

"WHAT?!" Knuckles yelled in shock

to the chameleon's true words, the large reptile was indeed there and whispering behind the master emerald, and speaking to his crush

"and he's just an amazing kid like you know, loyal and kind and-" knuckles heard vector whisper, describing him to the amused looking bat who seemed to know that the voice was not in her head

"vector!" knuckles yelled as he ran to the crocodile

and before what was happening the green giant came tumbling down from the master emerald and to the floor

"knux, buddy, pal, I was just talking about you" vector chuckled sheepishly as he laid against the green grass with an irritated looking echidna from above

"were you now?" Knuckles growled warningly

"he was, and I have to say it was very adorable" rouge snicked

"adorable?" all figures asked as they all came from their hiding areas

"Indeed, he was just re-stating what an amazing boyfriend you would be," rouge continued as her grin grew with amusement

"h, he what," knuckles asked with more shock

"I didn't say that!" vector shouted defensively, keeping an eye on the wavering two spiked hands that seemed to be getting closer to his face

"hehe, you may as well have" rouge very unhelpfully added

knuckles face couldn't get any more red, confusion embarrassment and rage overflowing in his head as he was unable to comprehend what to deal with first

"ok sweetie, I'll make this easier on you, I think you've earnt it" rouge sighed sweetly as she flew to the echidna's side, all eyes on her

"what are you-" knuckles began to ask before he felt his hands being pulled into her own

"knuckles, I've enjoyed being with you and spending all this amazing time with you, and I am asking if would you like to be in a proper relationship with me" rouge announced with a bashful blush of her own

"I, I," Knuckles began only for his words to once more fail him, so instead he decided to simply nod his head in agreement

"glad to make it official" rouge smiled as she placed a reassuring hand under the echidna's chin, placing a kiss on his muzzle

while the two shared a long-awaited embrace the two were lifted up into a bone-crushing hug

"I am so happy for you two, I told you it would work espio!" vector yelled as he swung the two new couples side to side

"yes and if you want to allow that to continue please let them go and let us leave before you get thrown off the island" espio begged as he noticed the growing rage in the bat and echidna's faces

luckily vector had finally listened as he looked at these faces, and placed the two down

"of course, I'll let you two be" vector chuckled, avoiding another fist to the stomach

"ugh, I'm sorry about-" Knuckles began to apologise before his lips were interrupted by the bats pressing against hers

"let's get back to our date" rouge simply whispered as she pulled the echidna behind and back to the shrine, the smitten echidna having no disagreement about it

"See, told ya my plan would work like there was any doubt" vector whispered as he tried once more to get a sneak peek behind the bushed

to which the small bee and chameleon merely rolled their eyes as they dragged their leader back home

"I'll say it again, too much swamp water as a baby" charmy huffed

to which the chameleon couldn't help but agree

Chapter Text

Requested by anonymus

"eyy knucklehead!" Sonic yelled as he dropped onto the grass of the angel

bored he decided to go mess with the echidna, and always knew where to find him

on the stairs grumpy with his arms crossed

however the echidna didn't respond, but that was per usual

"aww come on buddy, what's got ya down? rouge steal the ME again" Sonic continued to joke, coming close to sit with the echidna, only for the red mobian to stand up and took a step away for a distance

now sonic couldn't help but notice that, he liked his space but he wasn't usually this morbid about it

"leave sonic" Knuckles whispered

Sonic stood up, fully facing the echidna, the cockiness in his attitude dropping lightly

"Why should I?" sonic asked

"Because I want you to leave, I am done with you, all of you" Knuckles explained with a straight face

"us? what do you mean?" Sonic questioned, the humour in his voice completely disappearing, not understanding where this was coming from

"I don't want to see any of you again, so please get off my island" Knuckles said, not backing down

"where's this coming from?!" Sonic demanded

"past experience, all leading to up to the point where I can't take it anymore" the guardian explained emotionally

"don't you think you're being dramatic" Sonic sighed, unable to have his carefree attitude completely disappearing

that seemed to cause the echidna to be finished with the conversation

"Just leave!" the echidna demanded as he pointed over his island

sonic was now starting to panic

"you call me stupid, call me these names and laugh in my face, only care about me when you want something from me, and I am done being used" Knuckles whispered tearfully

"no knux please, I don't want you to be mad at us, just tell us how to fix it" sonic begged

a moment and a cold breeze flew before the echidna answered the hedgehog's question for the very last time

"get off my island and never come back"

sonics heart could be heard breaking

"knuckles, come on, I'm not going anywhere, nothing too broken, we can-" Sonic trembled

but knuckles simply ignored the hedgehog and walked away

....

"Hey! stop, talk to me!" sonic demanded angrily

every day he would come to the island just to pester the echidna

but the guardian never mutter a word

"knuckles! you can't ignore me forever"

"you can't ignore us forever, what about tails, Amy, rouge! the chaotixs! stop being so stupid and see how much we need you"

but the echidna continued silent

he knew if he got into a fight with the blue hedgehog he'd most likely express his feelings and allow him back in

allowing him to push him further, and he was too tired to deal with all that drama

"Please knuckles, please don't shut me out, you're my closest friend, even closer, I, I can't" sonic begged, now on his feet as he clung to the echidna

all the others had given up years ago, but sonic would always come back

but every time Knuckles merely looked away and didn't utter a word

the only sound was sonics crying in the distance

Chapter Text

Requested by Anonymous

"sonic? that you?" Knuckles asked as he came across the still unusual sight of a werehog roaming in the park

"oh hey there knucklehead" sonic said as he also spotted the other

"still sporting the scruffy look?" the echidna commented snarkily as the two walked close to one another, it was still so weird to see the hedgehog taller than him, not used to it as other than a few of his friends the others were usually shorter, it was like if your little brother grows taller then you, it felt almost illegal

"Still better looking than you" Sonic joked cheekily as he didn't help the echidna's mood by patting his head condescendingly

Knuckles decided not to retort, not in the mood to fight

"What you doing down here anyways?" Sonic asked curiously

"The chaotixs invited me for a reunion, just heading back now" Knuckles answered as he indicated the food he was bringing back to his home

and to the hedgehog, it smelt amazing, too much so

it had been a while since he ate, and in this new body it took a lot to fill his stomach

his primal mind taking over as he suddenly lunged to the food

Knuckles reflexes acting quickly as he moved the food away

only for his arm to get in the way

"HEY!" knuckles stated as he felt the fangs settle into his arm

it didn't hurt too much, especially with how much he could endure, but it still stung

"ah, I'm sorry I didn't mean to" wearsonic quickly apologised as he just realised what he did, shocked as his senses returned

"It's fine, but you gotta learn to control yourself when you're in that form" Knuckles complained as his arm bled

sonic spat out the blood, feeling sick at his action before removing his glove and putting it around the echidna's arm, despite the complaints of not needing a bandage

despite knuckles understanding, he never wished to hurt his friends, it was one of his worst fears come to life

"Hey, it's fine I'm-" Knuckles continued, with a bit more care, seeing how shaken the hedgehog truly was

only for the arm to suddenly explode in pain

"GAH!" knuckles gasped, holding his arm tightly

"knuckles?" Sonic asked with shock and weary, watching in confusion as the echidna grunted in pain, huddling to the ground

"what's wrong?" Sonic tried to ask, only for knuckles to thrash on the floor as his eyes snapped open

sonic stepped back as he watched the guardian grow bigger in form

his fur growing longer, the fur on his wrist becoming white and fluffy, claws and teeth growing sharper, his signature knuckles completely destroying his mittens, and oddly enough the lego studs on his shoes became spikey

it truly was something to behold

it was terrifying as it was amazing

a loud howl was the finishing touch as knuckles completed his transformation

"um, knuckles?" Sonic asked with worry, unsure of Knuckles' mentality, after all, sonic became like this due to Eggman's machine gone wrong, knuckles had been bitten, so there could be changes

but knuckles simply stared as his hands, travelling to the rest of his body and moved to a close river to see what he couldn't

seeing what he had become, shakey and filled with confusion

"w, what happened to me?!" Knuckles asked with fear

"you turned into a were...echidna ?" Sonic answered wearily, using humour to cover his awkwardness

only this brought attention to the blue blur, and his actions and caused the new werechidna to grow angry, snarling as he grabbed sonic's chest fur, lifting him into the air

"you bit me! you turned me into this! HOW DO YOU REVERSE THIS?!" Knuckles exclaimed loudly

Sonic couldn't help but feel his fight or flight instincts flare, he knew knuckles wouldn't intentionally hurt him, but this new form was unsettling threatening

"I don't know, I and chip are still finding a cure" sonic answered as he fought in the grip

the rage subsided lightly as seeing the fearful look in sonics eyes, merely growling before dropping the warehog back to the ground

"how close are you to finding one?" Knuckles asked irritably

"we're not sure, we've got some clues but-" sonic tried to explain before knuckles cut him off with a "then let's get going" as he began walking off

"Knuckles stop, you can't just storm off like this, you need to calm down" Sonic stated as he didn't allow the red beast from going to far and putting himself in his path

"I AM CALM!" Knuckles roared, destroying that statement completely

"Look I'm sorry this happened and I swear we're gonna find a cure but if you go rushing into town like a big angry monster then the public's not going to take it well" Sonic declared

"what do I care about the public?" Knuckles grumbled

"police, G.U.N etc, I know you're not used to an authority other than your own but trust me, if they get on our case it's going to take us longer to get back to normal" Sonic continued seriously

Knuckles took these words into consideration, knowing how the people of sonics world were, having heard stories from Rouge about her time in G.U.N and how finicky they could be, especially with the shadow, sonic, faker incident

"ok fine, but can we just get going, I don't want to be like this any longer than needed" Knuckles huffed as he agreed to take a breath and try to calm down

"it's not all bad, I mean you look pretty good like that, and look on the bright side, you turn back in the morning," Sonic said trying to be uplifting before knuckles halted in his steps

"If you want me to calm down you will shut up until morning" Knuckles threatened

"understood" Sonic grinned sheepishly as the two continued

knuckles quickly scooping his leftover food and eating them in one gulp, all while staring at the hedgehog which the wearhog saw was fair karma

Chapter Text

Requested by Anonymous

"Shadow"

the dark hedgehog blinked back to reality and out of his internal monologue

after the recent battle with the Eggman, he was taking time to simply take a breather before the usual "banter" with sonic or rouge

yet unusually it was neither that was trying to get his attention

instead, it was the guardian of the master emerald, knuckles the echidna

waiting patiently for a response

"what do you want?" Shadow asked grumpily as he knew his peace had finished

"if you aren't busy I was hoping you could come to my island, I wish to show you something" the guardian requested

this peaked shadows interest

the echidna was very secretive of the island, those even with permission were allowed little to no wandering out of his eyesight

Knuckles didn't wait for a response, knowing if the hedgehog came or didn't was his choice and left him to think it over, yet to his surprise, the hedgehog was quicker to join his side

"This had better be worth it guardian" shadow stated boredly, even though he hadn't had anything else planned

...

using a warp ring the two were teleported straight up, and the echidna continued to march forward with the hedgehog following curiously

the two continued past the shrine, past the trees and towards a tall mountain, not enough to gather snow but still quite chilly

Shadow started to grow weary as the environment of sunny green that he was used to seeing became barren, the ground's dirt became hard and stone

matching the scene he saw in front of him

numbers and numbers of smooth stone poking out of the ground with chizzled words

"What is this place?" Shadow asked, almost fearing the answer

"my ancestors grave sight" the echidna stated darkly

Shadow knew it was coming, yet he couldn't help but be thrown off by how blunt of an answer it was

he was no stranger to death, having witnessed and committed it

but hearing the subject from knuckles of all mobians wasn't something he expected to hear

he was rough and angry, be knew he was possibly one the purest souls he had met regardless of his past, he talked with great pride about being an echidna and such, and everyone knew that he was the last one to uphold their legacy,

but he never talked about their demise

and suddenly he was here being told of such a tragic time in his life

and was choosing to tell him of it

but why?

as if he had read his mind the echidna took a deep breath and faced the shadow

"when they all died I fell into a deep well, I needed a way to mourn and grieve so I could have some sort of closure" Knuckles began before moving forward

knowing he had to follow the hedgehog did his best to remove his gaze from the makeshift tombstones, knowing it was rude to simply stare, yet there were so many it was very hard to do so

but when he did pull his attention away he found a new and just as shocking sight

a table with a newly picked bunch of flowers and a picture of-

"what is this" Shadow asked shakily as the picture of his long-deceased sister figure

"It's a memorial" Knuckles answered

the hedgehog didn't know how to respond, was he supposed to be angry? to be seen as a sad sack who needed sympathy? was the echidna mocking him? was-

"losing those who are close to you is one of the hardest things a mobian could go through, it festers in the mind and for me, I didn't know how I was to comprehend what happened, but I found honouring who they were, their memories to me and what they were to me allowed me closure, so they could be put to rest and little by little, the days don't feel as daunting, never truly forgotten but a little better" Knuckles explained with a bittersweet tone

Shadow brushed his hand along the picture frame

no feeling of hatred, perhaps a little sadness

but overall

grateful

grateful that he was trusted enough to be told of the echidna's lost

and grateful that someone had gone out of their way simply to help make him feel better

holding the picture tightly as he looked at the echidna with a nod

"thank you guardian" Shadow thanked as he began to sit and pay tribute to his loved one

"no problem shadow" Knuckles stated with a smile, walking to his ancestor's graves, muttering a few words before leaving, allowing the hedgehog to mourn

taking satisfaction in giving the hedgehog a let out that he desperately needed

Chapter Text

Hello

I think I'm going to end this book here

I just haven't had fun with writing this book, especially with some drama with a requester I had in the past

Knuckles will always be one of my faves, but I don't think I can continue this book or put my full energy into it

May change in the future but I think I can guarantee it will not be a request book like now

Regardless, thank you all for reading and giving me these amazing ideas, couldn't have done it without you.