Sonic 4: The Movie (totally leaked, definetly not fanmade)

by Lord_Hobart

Summary:

Knuckles lost his whole tribe many years ago. But now, he's begining to realize they aren't as dead as he previously thought.

Amy Rose was raised by Echidnas after discovering their new secret village. Now she has to pass one last test to become a full warrior: bring something back from their old home. But she's set her sights much higher than a simple trinket.

Or

Amy drags Knuckles home to his people and his two annoying little brothers with him. As they embark on their quest they face horrifying dangers and learn more about each other and themselves.

Can be read without reading the "Pre-Quills" I wrote but those are Canon to this universe.

*Updates Thursdays*

Notes:

Content warnings will be at the begining of chapters. Please note that there is blood and gore in some chapters as well as violence and implied character death.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Anything written in bold is said in the Echidnian Language. Therefore, only characters who speak that language can understand and vise versa.

The translator works like a text to speech, relaying information after it hears it meaning that there is a delay.

Chapter 1: A Stranger

Getting ambushed by crazy evil robots was not on his camping bucket list, but here he was, surrounded. This was totally the plot of the second star wars movie, that one Tom only barely tolerated.

He tried to think of something snarky to say. Maybe 'What am I a tin can magnet?' or something about toasters. He couldn't find this voice and instead braced himself, ready for a fight.

Just then, a fast movie object plowed through the enemies, dancing in a graceful circle. It took him a second to realize it was a ginormous hammer. Welding it was an ominous cloaked figure. If Sonic had family backing him up, he might crack an Obi Wan joke.

Then the hood was lifted and Sonic was met with the face of other hedgehog. She was pink with cat-like blue eyes, a fine red dress, and big golden wrist cuffs. His jaw dropped to the floor like a scene from the mask. He could almost feel Jim Carey's spirit coursing through his veins.

The pink hedgehog gave him a respectful nod and descended the mound of metal scraps to meet him.

"Um... thank you."

Maybe that was pathetic. It probably was, but he really couldn't think of anything appropriate to say. The girl stated at him blankly, then tilted her head I mild confusion. As if she was trying to evaluate what he's just said.

"I-" she started, but she soon cut herself off. Her voice was low. "None... C'mon L'nguage."

The words were vaguely English. Probably intentionally so, she was trying her best to imitate English. Maybe she'd just crash landed here and was trying to get home, or maybe she'd been tracking down those freaky clone droids. Either way, she'd saved him, or at very least kept him from injury. He tried to think of some way to help her in return.

"Follow me." Sonic ushered. He hoped Tails' translation device might provide more answers.

The pink hedgehog seemed to understand as Sonic threw a ring into the air. He manifested near the campsite.

The girl shook her head violently as she pointed the the portal.

Sonic frowned. "The ring? It's fine." He reasured. "Promise."

It didn't seem to work. She retracted her hammer into a small tube, which was super freaking cool, and planted her feet firmly. She wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm taking you to see my family." Sonic tried to explain.

The girl didn't seem to get it at first, then a Realization dawned on her, "Your Tribe? "

Sonic squinted in an attempt to unravel the word. For some reason it sounded familiar. "My... tribe? Yes." Sonic answered, nodding.

The hedgehog considered a moment. She pointed to the portal and said, "No."

She didn't seem to like the ring. Sonic sighed. He hated wasting one, but hey, what was he going to do? Force her through?

"Okay, no ring." Sonic said, letting it disperse. "But, you need to trust me on this."

Thr girl didn't understand and Sonic felt a little bad about it. He held out his hand. She looked at it, and then at him. Then, she took it.

"Okay, I'll need to carry you." Sonic said. He knew she couldn't understand, but hopefully she would trust him more if he still made an effort.

He lifted her into his arms. She seemed stiff at first, and Sonic was a little worried she's absolutely pummel him, but as soon as he broke into a sprint, she calmed.

Within a few minutes, they were back at camp. Sonic set her down and raced around to find the others.

"Tom! Maddie!" He called, in his best there-is-definitely-nothing-wrong voice.

Tails brushed through the undergrowth first. "Sonic! We were worried when you-"

The portal closed and Tails was met with the sight of an unfamiliar face. "Who's that?"

Sonic shrugged. "I'm not sure. She doesn't speak English. I was hoping you could help me out."

Sonic fell into step with Tails and the new hedgehog trailed behind, war hammer on her shoulder like Mary Poppin's umbrella.

Maddie and Tom were waiting by the fire, a scarlet color painting the sky to match the light of the blaze.

Tom's face shifted from stressed to relaxed the moment his eyes locked with Sonic's. He'd obviously been worried when Tails and Knuckles got back without their bluest brother.

Maddie's eyes imediantly snapped to the newcomer, alert in her motherly way. "Sonic, you've brought a friend."

Shock instantly stole Tom and Sonic tried to act nonchalant. "Yeah, I did."

Tails went to get his translator, excited to put it to good use. Sonic began to try to explain the situation.

"So, I overshot the finish line a wee little bit." Here he chuckled and was given two very unimpressed stares. He began to gesture wildly.

"Then there were these robots all around me like clone wars! And then BOOM! Hammer girl." He explained, as if it clarified anything at all.

Maddie put on a pleasant smile. "Thank you for helping Sonic. Though I doubt Hammer girl is your name." Maddie said.

The pink hedgehog just kept a very blank stare.

"She can't understand us." Sonic explained.

"Hopefully I can fix that!" Tails said, bounding up in skips.

Tom nodded. "Your translator. Good thinking, Tails."

"Thanks dad. Anyway, this should detect her speech and tell us what she's speaking. Then, it'll translate for us." Tails explained.

The device was held right up by the girl's mouth and she sniffed it curiously. Sonic thought her mannerisms felt oddly familiar.

"Go on, speak." Tails offered, talking into the box and then offering it back to the girl.

"I'm Amy Rose." She said. "Apologies, but I don't speak the Common Language."

The device began loading. Tails rocked back in forth in excitement, eager to see his improved invention work. "I have over 18,000 languages programed," He said, "Any currently spoken language is in there."

A strange beep came from the machine. Tails frowned and looked at the screen. Something alien lit up his features: confusion.

"I'm guessing this isn't one of those 'over 18,000 languages.'" Sonic guessed.

Tails shook his head. "It isn't. But if I can cross reference the syntax, tone, and inflections with the data base of the ones I do have, I should be able to estimate the approximate region of the dialect and maybe find a sister language. It might be similar enough to get some ideas across."

Sonic was lost, and Tom looked lost as well. Maddie nodded, though. Somehow, she understood that all. Tails began typing away at the box.

The pink hedgehog waited patiently. She seemed to be looking around.

Maddie leaned down to her, trying her best to sound kind, even if the girl couldn't understand her. "We'll figure this out, hon. Promise."

Knuckles appeared from the surrounding woods a moment later. "I've had no luck in finding- oh, Sonic. You've returned."

Suddenly, the pink hedgehog began to vibrate with what Sonic assumed was excitement and ran towards the Echidna.

"Wha- back creature! I am an Echidna warrior!" Knuckles shouted fending her off with a flailing arm.

"Be careful! She's harmless!" Maddie called.

"Well... not entirely." Sonic added, thinking back to the crushed bots.

"You are who I've been searching for! At least, I think? You're Knuckles, son of Wynmacher, right??" The Pink Hedgehog asked.

Knuckles went pale and lept back from her as though he'd touched fire. He ended up slamming into a tree.

"Woah! Knuckles!" Sonic sped over and helped him up. "What's the matter?"

"She- how..." Knuckles began. "You speak this language?"

The campsite went quiet. Even Tails stopped typing. Sonic knew that Knuckles very rarely used Echidnian words. But he'd heard the occasional one. This language was definetly his, and the hedgehog girl was speaking it!

"Yes. I realize this must be confusing for you. I am Amy Rose. Apprentice to Chief Kneecapeon Mace of the house of Le. It's lovely to meet you. " The Pink hedgehog said.

Knuckles took one last shuttering breath and felt backward. Sonic just barely caught him before he hit the ground unconscious.

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Knuckles felt the world spin around him as he came to. For a moment he though it was a horrible dream until he woke up to see the pink hedgehog sitting around the campfire with his family.

Knuckles tried to get up quickly, but Maddie stopped him. "Just calm down, baby. Deep breaths."

"Sorry if I scared you." The female hedgehog -Amy Rose, she'd said her name was- apologized.

"I was not scared, merely-!" Knuckles cleared his throat. "You surprised me is all. I wasn't scared."

Miss Rose didn't seem convinced.

"Excuse me, Sonic the hedgehog here, WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?"

Knuckles sighed. "This is Amy Rose. She speaks Echidnian and is claiming relation to my people."

"Wait, wait, wait. Pump the brakes. I thought you were the last Echidna?" Sonic said.

"I am. Which is why she is clearly lying." Knuckles explained.

Tails cut in. "Are you sure? According to my translator, you're both speaking the same dialect of language."

"A trick, likely." Said Knuckles.

"Hon, maybe you should give her a chance to explain herself." Maddie said.

Knuckles huffed but turned back to Amy Rose. "My people were killed by Owls. Tell me how you know my language."

Tails suddenly interupted. "I got the translator working on Echidnian! It should translate well for us now. Just let me know of there are any bugs."

The words he said were turned into Echidnian. Amy smiled. She took the device to vocalize to the whole group. Her words were changed into the common language.

"The warriors of your tribe went after a threat on the island, an Owl named Longclaw."

Sonic cringed. Tom set a hand on his shoulder, trying his best to comfort him.

"They manage to eliminate her, but she called reinforcements."

Sonic gasped in shock. The others seemed surprised as well. Knuckles did not.

He spoke in the common language and let the translator do the heavy lifting. "I know this part of the story. I lived it. The owls attacked and I ran to find the warriors. They were slain when I got there. The village was doomed."

"The Owls attacked your village? After your warriors had left?" Sonic asked, horror finding his eyes.

Knuckles didn't look Sonic in the face.

"You didn't tell me!" The blue hedgehogs voice suddenly rose. He was yelling now. "How could you keep that from me?!"

"Sonic, calm down. We can talk this over." Tom tried.

"I did what I thought would keep the peace. You seemed happy, why burden you with it?" Knuckles admitted.

"Burden me!?" Sonic practically screeched.

"Boys! Enough! Let's let our guest finish." Maddie scolded.

Knuckles imediantly backed off. Sonic was fuming but stayed quiet. Amy continued.

"Some warriors survived Longclaw and ran back to the village. They found it destroyed. They overtook the remaining Owls. There were only a handful of survivors from the village. All in all, less than three dozen Echidna remained. They counted the bodies, but couldn't find yours."

"So what? Ten years later they send some common hedgehog to find me? I find it hard to believe they wouldn't search for me themselves." Knuckles spat.

"They found bones in the stomach of an Owl. All these years they thought it was you. But it wasn't!"

"They... what?!" Sonic actually looked sick.

Knuckles frowned. Tails decided to fill in. "Owls have been know to eat the lesser species. Mostly mice and tenrecs. It's not far fetched to assume that one could have-"

"Tails, please stop. We get your point." Maddie interjected.

Amy ignored the cacophony and focused on the Echidna in front of her. "Knuckles, I heard about you on my Warrior's Quest. Chief Kneecapeon told me I needed to bring back something from our old village. I chose to bring back you."

Notes:

*EDIT* a realized Amy using a ring created a plot hole later on, so I edited that scene. (August 14th, 2025) edit starts with "The girl shook her head violently" and ends with Sonic calling out to Tom and Maddie.

Chapter 2: A Decision

Summary:

Knuckles is faced with a choice.

Notes:

Reminder: Anything in bold is in Echidian. That means that Amy's sections have a lot of bold since she only understands things in bold. Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails only understand things in normal lettering. Knuckles is currently the only characters able to understand both languages.
CW: Implied past child death

"Wait, you're not taking Knuckles anywhere!" Sonic suddenly shouted. Scrambling up off the log he'd been sitting on to stand in front of Amy.

"But, he should be home, with his people. Mace will be so happy to see him!" Amy exclaimed.

Knuckles felt rage swell on the pit of his stomach. Mace had only ever been that to a few people. Knuckles, Lara-Le, and Blade. Never would anybody in the village dare to refer to him by such an intimate shortened name.

"That's the chief, right? Why would he be so happy?" Tom asked.

Knuckles didn't want this strange woman to reveal his entire past. He was seizing control of this. Now.

"Kneecapeon Mace. Son of Wynmacher. My older brother." Knuckles explained.

"How many siblings did you have?!?!" Sonic asked.

A burning sensation lit up behind Knuckles' eyes. "Just the three."

"The three...?" Maddie asked, not aware that Knuckles had had any.

Knuckles looked down, trying his best to bite his swirling emotions. "Just Kneecapeon and the twins but they all fell to the Owls."

Tails gasped. "You said the twins died of natural causes!"

"Unless head injuries are natural..." Amy quipted.

"Silence!" Knuckles shouted in a booming voice.

Suddenly, the noise died down to nothing. Nobody wanted to be the one to speak next. It was obvious that Knuckles was trying his best not to break something. Amy looked hurt, Knuckles didn't care. He just saw red.

"Why do you insist on revealing every aspect of my past?! Did it occur to you that I did not want that?" Knuckles asked.

Amy fiddled with her hands. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Just go!" Knuckles yelled, pointing towards the setting sun.

Amy bowed slightly and handed Tails his translator back. She then left into the woods.

"Knuckles-" Maddie began.

"Don't!" Said Knuckles, holding up a hand. "I'm going for a walk."

He really needed to blow off some steam.

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Tails hated it when people fought, especially his family. Knuckles had left for a walk, Sonic was sulking, and the tight voices of his parents arguing outside only added to his persistent headache. Tails' decision to step away from camp was easy to make. He didn't bother to tell anyone, they wouldn't notice he was gone.

He walked quietly into the tree-line.

It wasn't difficult to find a log to sit on. However, it was going to be difficult to unravel his emotions.

Tails considered himself to be knowledgeable about history. He didn't spend all his time with it, but he researched enough to know the basic history of many species. However, he'd never heard about the Owl's attack on the Echidnian Village.

With both species extinct, it made sense that the battle was never discussed. But every Battleground left things. Bodies, weapons, and if you dug deep enough, motives. Had nobody cared to write about the Owl bodies found in the echidnian camp or the dozens of dead civilians? He knew historians visited on occasion. Why would they leave out the true end of the story?

In every book he read and every website he searched the Owls were the heros of the universe. They overpowered the evil Echidnas and sent them into hiding. Years later, the Echidnas tracked down Longclaw and killed her.

That was the tale. No matter where he looked, the Owls were good and the Echidnas were evil. There was a saying here on Earth, something Maddie said about human history when Tails became confused. 'History is written by the victors'. He supposed that must be true outside of Earth as well. When had an Echidna lived long enough to tell their side of the story?

Besides, there was the whole 'lesser species' thing. It had been decided a long time ago that certain kinds of mobians were inferior to others. Any species that wasn't as 'evolved'. Those without the modern technology of the time were considered unintelligent. That included many species: Mice, Tenrecs, Echidnas, Wolves, Armadillos, Dingoes, Crocodiles, along with some others.

But now, it didn't seem right. Reading anything about Echidnas had felt wrong. Opening up a book and hearing the authors constantly refer to them in an animalizing way...

"The Echidna is a beast of Mobian origin, specifically discovered on Angel Island. It's easily recognizable by it's large front claws and it's long head spikes."

How had he ever agreed with the classifications of Mobian species? That some were less intelligent and deserved to be treated differently because of it? It had been difficult to break out of that frame of mind when he first arrived, but he was infinitely glad he did.

While his feelings towards Echidnas and Owls shifted to be more neutral, he found this new information to be startling. It seemed to have just been a war, but destroying an unarmed village? Taking the lives of children? The Owls seemed a lot worse than Tails had initially thought.

"Hello."

Tails' attention snapped to the pink hedgehog that had begun to walk towards him. For a moment, he was about to question her, but then he remembered their language barrier. So, he dug in his bag to fish out the translator and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I got a bit carried away, didn't I?" Amy said.

Tails nodded.

Amy sighed. "Chief Kneecapeon has told me stories about all of them. Lara-Le, Wynmacher, the twins... but most of all, Knuckles. They were close. Mace... he just misses him so much. I was so glad his suffering might finally be over..."

"Still, telling us Knuckles' secrets and making him relive all those horrible memories isn't okay. Knuckles was really hurt by that." Tails stated, crossing his arms.

Amy sat down next to the fox, playing with her hands again. She seemed fidgety.

"I realize that now. I'd like to make up for it. I'd also like to invite you all to the Echidnian Village. We don't usually allow outsiders, but I'm sure Chief Kneecapeon would make an exception for the allies of his long lost brother." Amy said.

Tails couldn't hold back his intrigue. Seeing the village of a species that was supposed to be extinct would be super awesome. And maybe, he could put out some correct information on Mobian forums. Stuff about their way of life that made them seem more sentient and less savage.

"I'd love to see the village. But, only if Knuckles wants to." Tails said.

Amy looked relieved. She smiled down at the little fox. "I should apologize to him."

"That would be good!" Tails exclaimed. "I'm sure he'll forgive you. He actually has a very patient and caring demeanor when you get to know him." Tails explained.

Amy did not seem convinced, but Tails tried his best to look confident. He then stood up and grabbed her hand. "Let's go back to camp. Knuckles should be getting back soon."

He started towards the camp, dragging her behind him.

"Wait, you're never told me your name." Said Amy.

He kept running, but tilted his head around to flash her a smile.

"I'm Miles Prowler, but everyone just calls me Tails!"

☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎

Amy tried her best to keep her excitement in as she followed the Fox kit back to their camp. Though she had been hearing for years about Mace's old family, it had only been recently that he'd become so open about Knuckles.

It was only a few months ago that Remington had come back with the news that there may be another Echidna out there. Mace had rejected the idea entirely even when Amy had tried to encourage him to investigate. As soon as she was sent on her Warrior's Quest, she decided she'd do it herself.

Now she was on her way! She'd found Mace's long lost brother and was going to return him home where he belonged! However, there was a bit of a problem.

Knuckles had grown an attachment to these aliens. While Amy didn't want to cause them any distress, she knew that separating Knuckles from them might lead to fighting. For now, the best thing she could do was to bring the lost Echidna home and hope his brother could convince him to leave these creatures.

"Alright! We made it back! Lemme go find my family." Tails said. Amy was glad he'd made this translation device. It would make their conversations later a lot easier to handle.

A few moments later, Tails had brought back the non-Echidnas of his family. They finished their introductions. Then, Amy was able to explain her plan of taking them all to see the Echidna Tribe.

"So, you aren't planning on taking Knuckles away?" Sonic asked.

"No. While it is my hope Knuckles comes to live with his people, I understand if he chooses to stay here. Either way, the tribe and him should reconnect. Even if he doesn't want to stay forever, just knowing he's okay will be enough for them." Amy explained.

"While I'd love to go, I'm not sure Tom is up for it. Maybe, we should sit this one out." Maddie said.

"Aw, Maddie! I'm fine. I just got a broken arm!" Tom exclaimed.

Maddie lifted and eyebrow and fixed him with a sharp stare. Tom gulped.

"On second thought, maybe this can be a space alien only adventure."

Sonic smirked. "Well, I'd love to go! It'll be nice to meet Knuckles' folks! Especially his brother. I'm dying to hear some embarrassing childhood stories."

Amy giggled. This blue hedgehog really was hilarious.

"You have returned."

Amy turned around. Knuckles had appeared again from the brush. He seemed less angry now. Amy hoped he'd accept her apology and agree to go with her. Only one way to find out.

"I have. And... I'd like to apologize. I was so excited to meet you that I skimmed over horrific events from your past in an attempt to get to what I perceived as a solution. I realize that I revealed what you wished to stay hidden and didn't give the proper weight to the story I was telling. I understand your frustration. However, I must again ask that you accompany me to the new homeland of the Echidna." Amy said.

There was a moment of silence. Piercing violet eyes met her green ones. An unsteady breeze upset her skirt. The Echidna sighed.

"I accept your apology, but I cannot leave my new allies -my family- to pursue those I have already lost. You may tell them of me if you wish, but I cannot leave one family for another. I have duties here. I am happy, finally. I will not risk that to rekindle what was already burnt out a decade ago." Knuckles explained.

Amy's face fell. She balled her hands into fists and tried to bite back her tears. After all she went through to get here, after all the hours Mace cried over him, after every prayer to the ancestors, how could he do this? How could he reject his people? The ones who raised and loved him? How could he refuse an invitation to see his blood relatives?

"Knux, you should think this through. Amy promised that Tails and I could come with you. And you don't have to stay, we could just visit." Sonic said.

"My decision is final. You will not convince me otherwise." Knuckles declared.

Amy couldn't take it. Something in her just snapped.

"You selfish, arrogant jerk! "

Knuckles was taken aback, but she wasn't done. She was giving him a piece of her mind.

"I traveled weeks just to find you, and now you won't even come home for a visit?! Your people are the kindest and most generous I have ever met and you're willing to discard them? They raised you! They loved you! They still love you! I would give anything to meet my family. I'm giving you the chance to see yours again and you're just throwing it away!?"

Amy was huffing, completely out of breath. She didn't care anymore. This was all too much. She could feel the tears on her face. She hated that. She wasn't sad, she was furious.

"I-I..you don't understand!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"I understand that you're being ungrateful!" Amy yelled.

Knuckles was uncomfortable. Good, he deserved to be. His eyes revealed an emotional turbulence as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Amy just waited.

"They would not accept me back.."

Amy paused her tirade. Something deeply empathetic curled into her. She let her expression soften to match.

"They will ." Amy said, gently but sure.

"They shouldn't."

"Knuckles! Don't be so hard on yourself." Sonic interjected.

"If Amy says they will, then they will." Tails added.

"And if they don't, you can just come home with us." Said Sonic. "But you'll never know if you don't try."

Knuckles looked around the clearing into the faces of his new tribe. Many emotions crossed his face. Amy held her breath.

He faced her, eyes shining one clear emotion: resolve.

"I accept your invitation. I will accompany you."

Notes:

Trying to update weekly on Wednesdays/Thursdays. We'll see how long that lasts.

As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated. Thank you for reading and have a great rest of your day/night :)

Chapter 3: The Begining

Summary:

The journey begins!

No content warnings. This is mostly fluff and brotherly interactions.

Notes:

Mace is a character better characterized in my Sonic Pre-quills. But I hope this gets his dynamic with Knuckles across well. As I've said before, I want people to be able to read this without ever touching the Pre-Quills.

Knuckles didn't sleep that night. His mind was crowded with the faces of ghosts and the impossible decisions ahead.

The next morning, they went home to pack. By that afternoon, after a brief and awkward goodbye with the Wachowskis, they had begun their journey.

Knuckles still didn't trust the Pink Hedgehog, but even if she was telling the truth, there was a lot to consider. He didn't know whether or not his tribe would accept him back after he had left them. Especially for leaving the dead and not completing the proper burial rites.

Then, there was his new family to consider and whether or not the tribe would approve of him living with non-Echidna. Even if his tribe accepted both him and the others, he would still have to make a decision in the end. He couldn't rightfully live in two places at once. But how could he choose?

"-ello? Earth to Clifford." Sonic said, waving a hand in front of Knuckles' eyes.

Knuckles shoved the hedgehog away and glared at him. Sonic just chuckled and put his hand behind his head, whistling innocently.

"Would you two cut it out." Tails said, giving an unimpressed stare he definetly learned from Maddie.

"Chill, little man. I was only teasing." Sonic said, shrugging it off.

"Yeah, well don't tease Knuckles too much or I'll have to carry you home in a body bag." Tails gave a signature Sonic smirk. Sometimes, Knuckles wondered if Tails was part chameleon.

"Aww, come on! Stop teaming up on me!" Sonic squeaked.

"You sound like a wee puggle. Perhaps you'd like me to carry you the rest of the way." Knuckles said, placing his hand on his hips.

"You guys are so mean!" Sonic said, voice cracking.

Tails chuckled. "Only Sonic the hedgehog can hit an octave that high."

Sonic gasped and clutched his chest. "Knuckles! You've taught Tails your sass! You're a horrible influence!"

"Me? You're lack of intelligence is more likely to stunt the fox's growth. My mannerisms will only strengthen him." Knuckles stated.

Sonic then tackled Knuckles. The latter let out a snort of indignation before snapping at the hedgehog. The two rolled around in the dirt for a while before ending up sitting upright. They then proceeded to smack each other with their hands.

"Perhaps we should focus on the path ahead." Amy's translator chimed in.

It was this moment that Knuckles realized it had been activated the whole time. He was a bit embarrassed realizing that she likely heard their sibling squabble. Instead of dwelling on it, Knuckles picked himself up and brushed himself off.

"Please, Miss Rose. Lead the way." Knuckles said.

After a quick delay from her listening to the translator, she nodded and continued on. Even though Sonic continued to provoke him, Knuckles did an honorable job at ignoring him.

"Ughhh! Can someone tell me why we're walking again? Can't we just, you know, use a ring?" Sonic lamented.

"Sonic, Amy told us already! The village has a spell cast over it. We can't use a ring to get there!" Tails said, letting out an exasperated sign.

Sonic shook his head. "I know that. But like, why can't we teleport closer? We're just gonna what? Walk through the American wilderness?"

"Sonic, a Warrior's Quest is a rite of passage. Amy Rose cannot use any rings or vehicles on her journey. She must walk it on foot." Knuckles explained.

"Right, right. But like, how do you travel to different planets and stuff without rings?" Sonic asked.

Amy smiled. "There are other ways to travel."

She stopped them by an old hallowed tree. Tails and Sonic looked confused. Knuckles suddenly got excited. He'd heard tell of an ancient network of secret portals the Echidnas uses in the dark days. When they were being hunted, they'd use these portals to escape and find new homes. Most worlds had at least one hidden, often in the woods. Warriors had been using them to complete off-world Quests ever since.

"We're using Tree Portals!" Knuckles exclaimed, practically vibrating.

"Tree what now?! That's a thing?!" Sonic asked.

"Yes, Tree Portals are real. But they only activate at night. We'll have to wait a couple more hours." Amy explained.

"We should make a plan. If you tell me where this goes, I can make sure we're prepared for whatever's on the other side." Tails explained.

Amy nodded, "I'll tell you about all the worlds."

The two then began a very fast, very boring conversation. Knuckles decided to sit down on a stump to wait for nightfall. In moments, his eyelids began to feel heavy. Knuckles tried to shake himself awake. However, only a few minutes later, he was drooping again. The world began to shift before him.

Suddenly, he was three again. Just a little ball of red fuzz and anger.

Knuckles flattened himself to the ground, hiding in the poppy patch. The red flowers did an excellent job at concealing his small form. In front of him, the similar crimson shape of his brother stood.

"Knuckles! Where are you? Lara-Le says it's time for dinner!"

Knuckles inched forward, eyes on his brother. Just a moment more.

"Knuckles?"

At that moment, Mace turned toward the poppies and Knuckles made his move. He jumped as he screeched a battle cry. Mace gasped and tried to dodge but it was too late. Knuckles had him by the dreads and was biting him furiously.

Mace screamed, running around wildly.

"Get off! Knuckles stop! What is wrong with you?!?"

Mace started hitting his face on the ground hoping to get the small Echidna off of him.

A soft laugh filled the air as a maroon Echidna came forward. It was Blade. He was the same age as Mace, born of completely seperate houses on the same day. It was such an astounding coincidence. As a result, the two had been friends since the very begining. Knuckles didn't like Blade though, Mace always acted differently around him.

"Mace, hold still. Let me." Blade said, reaching forward to grab a hold of Knuckles.

The little Echidna made an attempt to bite his brother's friend, but was unsuccessful. Blade simply cradled Knuckles in his arms. He made an exasperated huff. He hated being treated like a baby.

"I- uh- sorry." Mace said, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing.

Knuckles gagged. This was disgusting.

"No need to apologize. Remmington does this sort of thing all the time. It's just something Puggles do." Blade responded.

Knuckles pushed against Blade's chest. The latter scrambled to hold onto him as the young Echidna went tumbling out of his arms and onto the grass.

For a moment, the three just looked at each other, the older ones starring and the young one sitting where he fell on his tailbone.

Suddenly, Knuckles broke out into sobs.

"Hey, Knuckles. Calm down. It's okay." Mace said, coming forward and kneeling beside his younger brother.

Mace wiped Knuckles' tears and scooped him into his arms. "Shh, it's okay. You're fine."

The older brother rocked the younger a bit. He really wanted Knuckles to stop crying.

"Aw, you're such a good brother." Blade said.

Mace blushed again. "It's nothing! Really."

"Mace! Get over here now! Dinner is getting cold!" Lara-Le shouted in the distance.

"I'd better go." He said, flustered.

Blade laughed. "Me too. Otherwise my dad's going to halt my training."

"Really? I forgot how strict he was."

"Oh he isn't all that bad. Just old-fashioned."

"Right, but he halts your training all the time!"

"That's the worst of it. Besides, I don't mind spending time with Remmington."

"That's nice. Your little brother isn't as annoying as mine, though."

Knuckles kicked Mace in the side. Hard.

"Kneecapeon Mace! Your mother asked you twice! Don't make her ask you again!" Wynmacher's voice carried louder than Lara-Le's. Still, Mace and Knuckles knew to fear their mother more than their father. She'd punish them before he would.

"Coming!" Mace called. "Bye Blade, see you later!"

As Mace turned to go, Knuckles adjusted in his arms so he could look over his shoulder. Blade gave him a little wave. Knuckles stuck out his tongue in return. Though Knuckles still didn't talk, he found ways to get his feelings across. Unfortunately, Blade just chuckled. Apparently, he didn't find Knuckles threatening.

Knuckles pouted the whole way home and all the way through dinner. Nobody bugged him though. In fact, his mother found it absolutely adorable.

Sometimes, Knuckles hated being the baby in the family.

"-just like a little red baby." Sonic said. Knuckles didn't catch that first part.

He did gain enough consciousness to smack Sonic upside the head.

"Hey!"

"Ha, you deserved that." Quipt the fox.

"Sorry to interupt, but the portal is opening." Amy interjected.

The trio turned to the tree, Knuckles now fully awake. Nothing happened. Well, at least, nothing visual. In fact, Knuckles wouldn't have notice a change at all if not for his ability to attuned to chaos energy. Around them, the air grew heavy. Every quill on Knuckles' neck stood up.

"Perfect! Let's go! If we hurry, we can make through two more worlds before dawn!" Amy cheered.

She suddenly jumped into the hollowed space of the tree. The other mobians stared for a moment, trying to take it in. Suddenly, Amy's head popped back through.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Oh yeah!" Sonic pumped his fist into the air as he raced into the tree.

Knuckles ushered Tails in, giving him reassurance. Lastly, he took a look behind him at the woods. He mouthed a silent goodbye to Earth in case he didn't return. Then, he followed his brothers, praying to the Ancients this wasn't some sort of elaborate trap.

Notes:

Weekly updates still going strong :)

As always comments and Kudos appreciated. If you have a question about anything, feel free to ask! I always try to reply in a timely manner.

Chapter 4: A Loss

Summary:

The crew journey to their first land, but Tails notices something is... off.

WARNING: There is a lot of gore in this chapter. For full CW's check the begining notes.

Notes:

CW: Depictions of corpses, mentions of blood, decomposing bodies, horror elements, death

The gorgeous pink haze of the sky was far from what Tails expected when he'd jumped into a tree. In fact, the world that greeted him was nowhere near as scary as Amy had made it sound in their strategy discussion.

Pale blue sand, shiny pink sky, orange water. A lonely purple cloud covered the cyan crescent of a faraway moon. Buried in the sand was an array of delicate wildflowers in pastel colors. A soft, warm breeze drifted in from the horizonline of the ocean. A deep, rich sent like honey and vanilla permeated the air. The sounds of waves lapping at the shore and the soft rustle of cotton-candy-colored trees were the only sounds here besides the rhythmic crunching of eight feet on sand.

"Stick close to me. We need to get the the other portal before dawn. Nobody who spends the day here survives." Amy said.

"Right, so that's not ominous. Not at all." Sonic said, sarcastically, thinly veiling his nervousness.

She took off in a light sprint. Sonic and Knuckles followed easily. Tails had to admit he was feeling winded quickly. He was then reminded that he usually didn't walk places. He was more of a flying guy.

"Amy, is it okay if I fly?" Tails called.

"I mean, if you can." Amy said, looking back at bit confused, as if her translator had gotten something wrong.

After a quick takeoff, Tails found himself keeping up much easier. However, something instantly felt very wrong the second he was in the air. He heard the gutteral sound of a raven's croak.

"Your power of flight is unexpected but welcomed! We can utilize that if needed!" Amy exclaimed.

Tails was only a few feet above his friends, but he felt as though they were getting further and further from him. The world below seemed fuzzy...

"So, what is this place?" Sonic asked.

Despite being conscious, the blue hedgehog hadn't paid any attention to the strategy meeting Amy had given earlier. That was to be expected. Sonic always had a short attention span.

"It's not known. Sages say it holds horrible energy. Even though it looks like paradise, it destroys all things that stay past dawn." Amy explained.

"And sages are wizards, right?" Sonic questioned.

Amy sighed. "Sages are soreceresses, healers, and story tellers. They hold many roles. They are not simply magic wielders."

Sonic nodded along as if he understood. Tails almost laughed. But the trees caught his eye. One seemed to be swaying but the one beside it did not. It was as if wind had decided not to effect that tree.

"Tails! You good buddy?" Sonic called.

Tails realized he had been hovering in place. He quickly shook his head to clear his mind and gave Sonic a thumbs up. But he felt there was something here he wasn't seeing. None of the others seem affected, though. Maybe what everyone else said was true. His past made him paranoid.

He heard the sound of the raven in the distance. It chilled him, but birds were a good sign. A sign there were resources here. Tails let out a deep breath. He needed to calm down.

Just then, the raven's trill cut through the air. Tails whipped around. Then, nothing.

"Tails! Come on!" Sonic called again, as if he hadn't heard the sound.

Tails didn't move this time. Something was definetly wrong here. He could feel himself shaking.

He faltered in the air, falling a bit. He tried to correct himself but still ended up on his knees on the blue sands of the beach.

"Fox!" Knuckles yelled.

His companions rushed forward to check on him. Sonic sat next to him and set a hand on his back.

"Deep breaths, Tails. Just relax. I'm here. It's okay " Sonic reassured.

Tails was panicking. He tried his best to follow Sonic's advise and breath, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. A coppery scent hit his nose. His mind was screaming at him to run.

Knuckles took a seat on the other side of Tails, using a new strategy. "Fox, describe something you can feel."

Tails reached down. "S-sand. And... the flowers."

They were beneath him, hundreds of small flowers. Watching him like eyes, stems curling around his fingers like snakes. Clouds of pollen billowed up. The scent, the perfume in the air, it was all the flowers. This was all the flowers.

"Miles. Tell me what you can smell." Knuckles offered again.

Tails looked past his brother to the sea. Beneath the scent of the flowers there was another. Like the rust of his workshop. Deep and almost warm. Old like a mother eaten coat. Stale like meaty leftovers.

Tails stood. "I smell blood."

Silence. As though the breeze halted at the mention of it.

"What?" Sonic asked, breathless.

Tails rushed to the ocean. The second the spray hit him he was sure. It wasn't water. It was much too thick. Almost like jam.

He was up to his knees in it. Now, away from the flowers, he smelled it fully. It gagged him, choked him. Fishy and pungent and old. A smell like a rotting tree or the soggy leaves of a autumn storm. Like concrete and methane and puke.

Knuckles had rushed in after him and immediantly stumbled out. Their eyes locked in a shared look of horror. Tails hadn't been wrong.

This whole ocean was blood.

But not just blood.

It was everything. A sludge of decomposing corspes. Beneath him was the crunch of bones. Nerves strung around his feet like seaweed. Chunks of flesh brushed past him bobbing like fishing lures. An eyeball starred him down from the murky depths. Organs were spewed about, indistinguishable from each other. What was a brain and what was a heart when it had stewed in the hot sun for days or months or years.

So many parts of so many bodies.

This wasn't a beach, it was a graveyard.

"What is wrong?" Amy asked. Her and Sonic entirely confused.

Knuckles looked between them, breathing heavy and standing on the shore. He couldn't say it.

"Knuckles. What's happening?!" Sonic shouted. He was panicked now too, not understanding the danger but feeling what his brothers were feeling.

"That is not water." Knuckles said.

The hedgehogs looked to the ocean Tails was standing in.

"Tails. Get out of there now." Knuckles said, too calmly.

He didn't want to go back to the false paradise. Because out here, Tails could see island for what it truly was, and it was horrifying.

The treeline was a mass of tall rotten logs covered in an ivy of wildflowers. The same ones that choked the beach. Their stems wrapping around small animals. The sand was matted with bones and feathers. The sky was a deep red. The moon a single violent orb of orange light. Every flower of the beach turned to Tails. Something growled. The people on the beach couldn't hear it.

It had been the flowers all along. Their powder not only covered scents, but made them hallucinate this paradise. And the flowers were killing everything here.

"Come here now!" Knuckles shouted. He was shaking.

Sonic turned to Tails with a look of stress and fear. He was no idea what was happening. Tails should tell him, but something stopped him. He felt the sand give way beneath him. Almost as if the water was getting deeper on it's own.

It a moment, the island disappeared and all he saw was red. It filled his eyes, his nose, his throat. It burned like fire and chilled him to the bone. He thrashed against the of the water's force, trying to escape to no avail. Faster than he though possible, he was dragged down to the depths by a swirling whirlpool.

His screams did nothing but form bubbles, more foam in an endless display of gore. His heart beat so fast, he swore it was going to rip itself from his chest. His tears joined the ocean as he realized he'd just be another nameless piece of this carnage.

He was doomed. God he was stupid.

☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●

It was frustrating to watch Tails descend into a panic and then Knuckles following close behind. Then the big idiot had said the water wasn't water. Sonic was freaking out completely unsure of what the hell he was talking about.

Then it was a standoff as Knuckles tried to get Tails to come to shore. Sonic couldn't go in, he couldn't swim. He couldn't risk it. Amy was just confused.

Then Tails disappeared under the waves.

"Tails!" Sonic screamed, rushing into the water.

Knuckles grabbed his shoulder roughly and threw him to the dry sand, running in himself.

The scent of blood hit Sonic's nose. A shiver crawled up his spine. Amy seemed to make the connection at that moment too.

They were alone on the beach, starring at the water- no, blood- and hoping Knuckles would breach the surface with Tails at any moment.

It had been a while hadn't it?

Tears began to sting Sonic's eyes.

"Fourty five seconds." Amy said.

Sonic locked eyes with her.

"They have two minutes. It's been less than one." She offered.

It should've helped. It didn't. They were running out of time.

"We should assist." Amy said.

Sonic bit back a sob. "I can't swim."

Amy gave him only a passing glance as she extended her hammer. "Then stay here."

Sonic stood up, hoping to change her mind. Then, he was yanked backwards.

"AHHH!" He screamed as a vine had wrapped around his waist.

Amy raced forward, swinging her hammer. However, another tendril shot from the forest and grabbed her as well. Her hammer hit the sand as she struggled in it's grasp. In a wink the two were dragged from the beach, kicking and yelling, into the Forrest.

Sonic looked at the beach one last time and prayed Tails and Knuckles would be okay. Then, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and the world faded away into darkness.

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Knuckles dove in after Tails without a second thought.

The blood was cold. It made sense. It had to have been here for some time. Not like it had been when it had come from little Ang- No! He shook his head and opened his eyes. It was hard to see in blood. Nearly impossible, but just ahead he saw the form of Tails moving fast away from him.

He pushed forward.

The blood burned his eyes. He remembered how burning smelled. The owl that had broken into his home. He had burned it! He shook his head again.

This was water. He was swimming in water and Tails was drowning. He needed to focus.

Tails saw him. For a moment, there was hope. The fox extended a flailing hand. Knuckles reached for it.

Their finger brushed, but a force pulled Tails forwards. Their hands slipped from each other. Knuckles carried on. Deeper and deeper. He felt his lungs crack and threaten to break. He watched Tail's eyes close. The bubbles stopped coming from his mouth. Still, he pushed on. He needed to get him. He couldn't disrespect the burial rites again.

A strong current began to drag him with the Fox. He had failed. Failed to keep his little brother safe once again. This was his penance. He let himself be carried into the abyss.

Then, he was thrown. He felt himself wash up on the shore.

Even the current was repulsed by him. Who wouldn't be? A dishonorable and weak echidna warrior. He hadn't even tried to fight it.

His heart ached. He could not imagine how he was going to tell his companions of Tails' death. However, they did not come to assist him. Perhaps they knew.

Knuckles wiped the blood from his eyes and looked down the beach for them. However, his companions were not there. In fact, he was on the beach alone. He then noticed the hammer laying on the shore and the trails of kicked up sand heading to the treeline.

His friends hadn't left. They'd been taken.

Knuckles looked towards the blood ocean and bowed slightly. "I will come back for you, Tails." He promised.

He had failed too many siblings. He would not fail Sonic.

Notes:

Oof, sorry. This is probably one of the toughest chapters in terms of content. It should get easier from here. I promise, this is hurt/COMFORT. We'll see some of that second part later.

Chapter 5: A Mistake

Summary:

A short flashback of Tails' life in an orphanage, Knuckles' perilous encounter with a terrifying plant creature, and a secret third thing.

Notes:

CW: Mild gore/mentions of past scenes, themes of death, violence

"Miles! What did I say about bringing your inventions inside?! " Madame Rosie yelled.

The kit looked down. His fur had been burnt by the explosion of his invention. So had several meals worth of rations.

"Really. What am I going to do with you?" Madame Rosie asked herself, resting her head in her hands.

"I'm close this time! To figuring out this machine, I mean. It'll help you cook so you don't have to do so much." Tails explained.

"And what will it cook after you've exploded half out rations?" Madame Rosie asked with a bitter tone.

It was an exaggeration. It really wasn't that bad.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help." He choked out. He didn't want to cry here. Only babies cried. He was six. He wasn't a baby anymore.

"Oh dear, you're bleeding." Madame Rosie said, grabbing his arm in her hands.

It had hurt but Tails hadn't noticed it was bleeding. This was the first time he'd remembered bleeding like this. He'd seen a papercut or two, but this was a wound.

Madame Rosie spent the rest of the evening stitching him up and telling him how she appreciated him. Really, it was nice.

Part of Tails wanted it to last forever. But it didn't. There was the accident...

He really missed her sometimes. Even if she only really loved him for a moment. It had been the most wonderful moment of his life.

☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■☆■

Knuckles' rescue mission for Sonic and Miss Rose went arguably worse than his rescue mission for Tails. He'd been captured by the vines the second he stepped foot in the forest. Now, he and the others were strung up by their ankles from trees, upside down.

Sonic was unconscious. Amy was frustrated. Knuckles could feel the vines dampening his power.

In this forest clearing was a large plant with a pod that beat like a heart. Every vine and flower stem connected to it. This was the monster of the island. The one Tails had discovered in subtlety before the others noticed anything was amiss. Now he was gone and Knuckles hung, waiting for death.

"Ugh. Ow." Sonic groaned, coming to. Knuckles knew what was coming next. He felt emotion swell in his throat.

Sonic took a second to get his bearings. Then he asked in a confused voice, "Knuckles?"

Knuckles did not meet his eye. He was a coward.

"Where's Tails?" Sonic asked.

"I... it was... I couldn't..." Knuckles couldn't form it.

Amy decided to finish it. She had guessed it an hour ago when Knuckles had first been captured. "It was too late. You tried your best."

"What!?! No." Sonic let out a chuckle. "Knuckles wouldn't let Tails die. He's super strong. He probably left him on the beach. Right, Knuckles?"

Knuckles didn't answer

"Knuckles?"

He sighed. "There was a strange current. He was dead before I could reach him. I failed to recover the body."

Sonic didn't reply right away.

"You... you didn't save him?" Sonic asked, darkly.

"I know, I failed. I apologize." Knuckles replied. It ate him though. He'd felt this same shame about failing his Tribe for years. Now he'd done it again. History repeating itself.

"You...apologize? Knuckles, Tails was our- my brother! How could you?!" Sonic shouted.

The plant beast stirred.

"Keep your voice down. This thing is going to kill us." Amy whisper-shouted.

"Let it!" Sonic barked, loudly. "Just like you let Tails die!"

"Sonic!" Amy snapped.

The vines surrounding the monster began to twist as it awoke. A deep growl emanated from it's throat. The strange, beating capsule opened to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

It reached a vine towards the group, imediantly reaching for Sonic.

"Sonic!" Knucnles shouted, trying to wiggle loose of the vines.

"Don't act like you care." Sonic shot back at him as the vine wrapped around him and took him towards the carnivorous plant. Sonic was limp with resolution.

"No! Take me instead!" Knuckles shouted, trying his best to break free. It was no use.

The plant lifted Sonic above it's jaws and, in a swift motion, released him into it's gullet.

"No!!" Knuckles screamed. His voice was raw now. Tears spilled freely. His head spun with the weight of his blood.

It's jaws snapped shut and Sonic was gone.

Knuckles watched the pod begin to pulse again like a heart. It was eating him. Rage filled Knuckles, but the restraints were draining any power he had left in him to fight.

He cursed himself for accepting this journey. They'd all come here to help him and now, his brothers were dead. He and his ally would soon follow.

How could he have been so selfish?

He thought of Tom and Maddie waiting for their return. Would they think they had abandoned them? Would they come looking? How long would they wait before they accepted that their family was gone? It had taken Knuckles so many years. He hoped it took them less.

He let out a shuttery breath and closed his eyes.

He hoped death would take him quickly, but he knew he didn't deserve it to.

□★□★□★□★□★□★□★□★□★□★

He heard waves. Distantly, he smelled blood. Now, though, the scent of salt far overpowered it. The ground beneath him was damp as was his fur. His lungs ached.

Suddenly, Tails lunched upright coughing and sputtering water.

He'd really thought he was done for after inhaling all that water- blood. It had all been blood. A sea of it. Visceral gore, chunked flesh, flayed limbs, eyeballs, intestines, a stew of rotted life. A mass grave of filthy, desecrated corpses.

"Breathe little kit."

Tails shot his head up to view the speaker. Before him stood the strangest creature Tails had ever seen. It seemed like a fox but it's fur was an odd shade. Tails couldn't tell what color it was because it was so dark. He could, however, see its strange snake tails. There were two of them, side by side.

"Who... who are you?" Tails asked. He was terrified. He had no clue where he was or who this was. Everything was dark and horrifying sort of reddish tint.

"Oh dear, where to start?" The creature spoke. It was a strange voice. Not feminine or masculine. Just medium.

"I'm your parent and you are a Chilla." It said.

Tails just a stared for a moment.

"A... a what?" Tails asked. He was still seated on the ground while the creature stood before him.

"A Chilla. It's like a fox, but a bit different. You see, we Chillas send our young to the shore to grow. But, around your tenth birthday, you return and complete your metamorphasis!" The creature cheered with a happy smile. It had very sharp fangs.

Tails gulped. "Look, I think you might have made some kind of mistake. It's not a Chilla, I'm a fox."

"Your mimicry would have you think that. But the two tails give it away." The Chilla said.

Tails had no idea what was happening. This had to be some kind of strange and horrific dream.

"I'd guess you just turned ten. I'm right, aren't I? That's the age you return home!" It said, very excited.

But Tails wasn't ten yet. He still had more than three months till then. He was still just nine.

"I'm not. I'll still be nine for a little while." Tails tried.

This caught the beast's attention. It frowned at him.

"But it has to be soon, right? Otherwise the second tail wouldn't have grown in." It said.

Grown in?

"I was born with two tails." He said.

A thick silence fell over them.

"Really?" It asked.

"Yes. I've had it since birth." Tails swore.

"Then... I think I've made a horrible mistake." The Chilla said.

It sat on the ground and sighed, putting its head into its hands. Tails tried not to let his fear show. It was still several paces from him. After a while of hearing it mumble to itself, Tails took one scoot closer. Then, he waited.

When nothing happened he got even closer.

Now the creature and him were a few feet apart. Finally, it lifted it's head.

"I apologize for this. It seems you really are just a fox. I was wondering why you had no scales." The Chilla chuckled dryly.

Silence, again. Tails realized he still had no idea where he was or why it was so dark. His eyes had been adjusting, but he could still only make out stones. He must be in some kind of cave.

"Um... where are we, exactly?" Tails asked. Now that they'd established they weren't related, he was a bit scared it would eat him.

The Chilla facepamled. "Of course, how rude of me! Welcome to my den."

The creature lifted it's arms to show off the place. As if on cue, small mushrooms lit up the rocky floor. Tails eyes widened as he viewed the room.

Around him was a bubble of water. It was more clear, but faint tinges of red could still be seen. More water than blood. Small drips of it splashed down every now and again. The floor extended into the water. The ghosts of thick kelp could be seen in the distance like a haunting apparition.

The floor itself had few furnishings. Fish bones were thrown around in heaps. Nearby was a nest of seaweed. Half started kelp weavings and strange fishbone carvings littered the ground.

"We Chillas have the ability to control the tides, to a degree. We make dens when we leave our parents and keep them for our whole lives." The Chilla explained.

Tails didn't know how to feel in this moment. Suddenly, he thought of the horrors of what was above him right now. Possibly hundreds of feet overhead were the scraps of dead bodies. Tails shivered.

"You must be freezing down here! I can take you back to shore right away. I apologize for the mix-up." The Chilla said, coming to place a hand on Tails' shoulder.

Tails looked up at it. He was suddenly very curious to know more about Chillas. He'd have to look it up when he got back to shore.

"It's no problem. Sorry your child still isn't back." Tails said.

He then remembered the sludge above him and thought if maybe, this Chilla's child was long dead.

"I'm sure they will be soon. These things take time I suppose." The Chilla explained.

Tails felt he should tell it about the carnage above them, but he didn't. Maybe it was cause he was a coward or maybe he was saving it's feelings. Tails really had no clue.

"Well, now to get you to the surface! Sorry I can't follow you, Chilla rules." It chirped.

In a flick of its wrist, Tails was absorbed into the water barrier and propelled backwards. The further up he got, the redder the water became, the more blood soaked through his fur yet again. By the time he reached the shore, he was dripping in coppery slime.

So Tails sat, hacking up salt water and blood onto the sand. With the amount of blood in his nose, the pollen of the flowers had no effect.

Part of him was glad to see the island for what it was, to remain undeceived. Another part wished he didn't have to look at all the broken little pieces of nature and life scattered and discarded of like meaningless garbage.

Tails looked down the beach to find no one. A terrifying thought grabbed Tails. His family had left him to continue their quest. They didn't want to take a liability like him along. In fact, they were probably happy to be rid of him. Without him they could travel much faster. It was logic and statistics. Tails needed more breaks and contributed less to field work than the others...

No! Tails thought as he shook his head.

He was certain that Knuckles had followed him into the sea. The Echidna had cared. It was more probable that the trio had thought Tails was dead and his body lost in the ocean. They'd have no reason to stay back.

But a gleam of metal caught his eye. Tails stood up to see what it was. Further down the beach he spotted it. Amy's hammer.

She wouldn't have just left it. A sudden loud voice in the distance caught his attention. Tails picked up the hammer and retracted it as he went to investigate.

The loud voices continued as Tails entered the woods. Suddenly there was a scream.

"Sonic!"

It was low and deep. Clearly Knuckles.

Tails ran forward.

More talking, a sound like a rustle of leaves, Tails' own footsteps on the ground.

Tails ran through a million plans in his head in seconds.

He had a laser gun. That might help. Or his anti-gravity pad.

"No!" Knuckles screamed. His voice had cracked. It seemed raw.

He didn't have time for plans. Tails threw his backpack off one should and grabbed the nearest thing he could.

He broke into a clearing.

In only three seconds, he released his weapon.

Notes:

I wouldn't kill off Tails this early in the story. He's my favorite.

Chillas are also known as South American Gray Foxes. I based them off the legend of the Nguruvilu, a fox-like creature with a snake tails. They have some strange ability over water depth. However, I thought I deviated from the original folklore too much to claim the creature to be a Nguruvilu, so I went with a fox that is native to the area the legend comes from.

As far as the importance to the story, Chillas are only mildly relevant. You'll learn more about them and their role in society in this story and how that impacts the past. I'm planning to add a Chilla as a secondary character later on, but this would be in the 6th installment of the series (This is installment 1 of possibly like 8), so it's unlikely we'll ever get there.

Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Don't be afraid to ask a question or point out any mistakes.

Chapter 6: A Rescue

Summary:

It's a race against time to save Sonic. CW's in pre-chapter notes, important announcement in post-chapter notes.

Notes:

CW: (Mild spoilers) Temporary character death, mentioned blood, light mentioned animal gore, mild plant gore (?), CPR (kinda), dissociation

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or expertly trained. The method of first aid used in this chapter is not a valid source of reliable information. In fact, many professionals advise otherwise. Do not attempt to use any of the first aid tactics described in this chapter or any others in real life.

Knuckles heard footsteps. His eyes opened before he realized it. His vision was blurry from hanging upside down, but he caught a glimpse of red.

Suddenly, the sound of a projectile filled the air. Knuckles felt the vine holding him snap and he fell to the ground with a thud. Pain exploded in his head, but he got up anyway.

Next to him, Amy Rose did the same. The projectile then lodged itself into the bottom of the pulsating plant pod.

The plant let out a horrifying screech of agony. Knuckles tried not to think of the owl from all those years ago.

The projectile, a boomerang, was lodged into it's base, between its roots and its mouth. Knuckles untangled his foot, hoping there was still time to save Sonic. The boomerang suddenly launched backwards at his head. Knuckles dodged. A geyser of water rushed out, spraying him until he was soaked.

The plant deflated before him, wilting into a sad pile. Knuckles rushed forward and began to tear it open.

It felt more like animal flesh than that of a plant. It tore off in chunks like cooked chicken. The inner liquid an odd yellowish-green.

He became gentler when he saw Sonic's face. Soaking wet, covered in juices. He was warm. Knuckles tried to decide if that meant he was alive. Another set of hands joined him. Smaller. Blood staining them.

Knuckles paused and looked across from him. The shape of a fox sat on the grass, slippery hands peeling back what they could, trying to get to the precious life inside.

It was Tails.

He reeked of death and yet, here he was. Alive. Completely coated in maroon.

Wide blue eyes met his purple ones.

"Knuckles! Snap out of it, we have to save Sonic!" Tails yelled.

The noise caused his head to throb. He ignored it in favor of the task at hand.

After what felt like ages, Sonic was dragged from the capsule.

"Sonic!" Tails called. The fox grabbed his wrist, desperately searching for a pulse.

Tails sighed in relief. "He's alive."

Knuckles grabbed the Hedgehog's shoulders and began to shake him. It didn't wake him.

"He's not breathing!" Tails shouted.

Knuckles focused. "Tell me if his pulse leaves."

Tails nodded.

Knuckles quickly removed his gloves. He felt Maddie at his shoulder, remembered the lessons she'd insisted on giving them all after Tom's injury. Comprehensive CPR and first response training.

He placed a palm on Sonic's forhead and used his other hand to open his mouth and pull his jaw away from his spine, opening the airway. He did a quick press to his stomach to ensure that whatever was stopping his breathing would not dislodge easily. When Sonic did not breath, Knuckles knew he'd have to give life-saving breaths.

He leaned down to breathe for his brother. A quick check indicated that his lungs had inflated. Knuckles did this routine a few more times and counted six slow counts between. Tails kept his hand firmly on Sonic's wrist, making sure his pulse was still there.

It took less than a minute for the hedgehog to begin sputtering. Knuckles grabbed Sonic into a sitting position. The latter began hacking up water. Knuckles kept holding him. Tails had let go, relaxing dramatically.

The trio sat for a while like that. Breathing. Processing.

Everything seemed offset. It was all wrong.

"Knuckles?" Sonic finally said, looking up from where his head had tipped down.

Knuckles didn't reply. His vision went blurry with tears.

Sonic wasn't fairing much better.

"I- I'm sorry." The hedgehog said. "You tried to save Tails. I was useless and... and I blamed you. I just... I..."

Sonic broke down, then, falling into him own lap. Knuckles failed to comfort him, he was completely beside himself as well. He knew he should be ensuring the enemy was gone. Right now, they were vulnerable to attack. But Knuckles just held Sonic. He couldn't bring himself to do anything else.

"Sonic, it's okay." Tails offered. He was a foot or so away, still covered in blood.

The Hedgehog sat up, violently. Knuckles had to release him to avoid a skull to his chin. Sonic turned to the Fox.

"Sorry I scared you." Tails said.

Sonic tackled him immediantly.

"You stupid jerk! I thought you died!" He yelled.

"You're squashing me!" Tails yelped.

Knuckles couldn't share this moment. Instead, he observed it as though it were a painting. A scene in a museum perhaps. His brothers embracing after equal near-death experiences.

But this was wrong.

To be joyful after such a horrific event. They should be upset. They should be angry with him for bringing them to their near-doom. Knuckles had failed and yet they were celebrating their lives.

What a horriable injustice this was.

Knuckles knew at this moment, he could never ask his brothers to continue this quest. It was over now. Knuckles would bring his brothers home. The only question left to answer was if he should stay home with them.

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Losing Tails had shattered Sonic. Having him back was more enough to fix him, though. Holding his little brother in his arms was like holding a miracle. Like holding a piece of the sun itself.

Tails was very unhappy about being squashed.

"Sorry, Tails, I just... I love you so much!" Sonic practically sobbed. He tried to ignore the rotting scent and the thick layer of liquid encasing his little brother.

Tails let out a tired sigh as though he wasn't the reason for Sonic's outburst.

"I know." Tails deadpanned.

"That is Knuckles level sass, right Knux?" Sonic said, sitting up and looking back to his elder brother.

Knuckles looked at them both with the strangest expression. It was distant, like he was dissociating, but not blank. Instead, there was a tinge of a grimace, like he was in pain. Sonic realized he might be and rushed forward to make sure he was okay.

"Knuckles, you aren't hurt, are you?" Sonic asked.

The Echidna sat on low knees. His eyes stayed glued to the spot his brothers were previously. He didn't seem to have tracked their movement at all. Sonic sat up on his knees, Tails standing beside him.

"Knux, can you hear me?" Sonic asked, placing his hands on Knuckles' shoulders.

Knuckles eyes snapped to his. He made a strangled noise, as if trying to speak and failing.

"Hey. We're fine now! There's no need to worry." Tails said, a reassuring smile plastered on his face.

Knuckles still didn't speak. Sonic knew he grew quiet on occasion. If he was overwhelmed or stressed or really for any reason. Bouts of silence were not uncommon. But this was different.

Knuckles collapsed into them. Sonic barely caught him. Fear caught in his chest. Was Knuckles hurt? Did he he inhale too much water trying to save Tails? Was he having an attack of some kind?

Knuckles began to make a choking sound. It was higher than his talking voice. Sonic was debating doing the heimlich until he realized what was happening.

Knuckles was sobbing.

His eyes weren't just wet. He wasn't just crying. He had abadoned his tough-guy attitude. He was fully exposing his emotions. It felt wrong, alien, to see his brother this raw, this... vulnerable.

Knuckles was many things, but never soft, not like this.

Sonic just held him. Tails was crying now too. All three of them were. Sonic tried his best to stop, someone had to be composed.

Losing his little brother had nearly killed him. Knuckles had almost lost both of his younger brothers. And with what Sonic knew, the twin siblings Knuckles lost in his home's invasion, it was no wonder he was taking this badly.

Sonic rubbed circles on Knuckles' back like Tom did on his. Tails just snuggled up close to Knuckles, trying to calm him.

The sun, a bright pink, had begun to rise. A strange lavender overtook the sky. It would be hours now before they could go through the tree portal. But he supposed there was no danger here with the plant monster killed.

Except for whatever was going on in the ocean. Sonic had assumed that the plant's killing of animals had caused the ocean to become severed limb soup. However, that didn't explain the sudden strong currents that had snatched Tails under the waves, nor how he'd survived being underwater so long.

"Tails," Sonic started, "What happened with you?"

The Fox broke apart from the others. Knuckles had been gradually quieting down, but now seemed to go silent. He was curious as well, even if he couldn't voice it. The three sat in an awkward triangle shape.

"I'm not exactly sure. I met a new kind of creature. I'd like to do some sleuthing online so I can understand what happened before I tell you. I promise it wasn't bad. Just, very interesting." Tails said.

Knuckles held out a hand and took Tails' face in it. Gently, he tried wiping away some blood. Tails frowned.

"I'm not sure that'll work." Tails conveyed.

Sonic touched his own wet fur. It wasn't sticky. It seemed the inside of the plant was full of filtered water It collected from the corpse stew.

Sonic got up and checked. Sure enough, there was lots of water in the leftover pieces of the capsule.

"Tails, you can wash up with this." Sonic offered.

Tails scrunched his nose. "Is that safe?"

"It's just water, I think." Sonic replied.

Knuckles stood and grabbed Tails' hands, leading him to the dead bulb. He reached in his waterproof bag, one he only carried for this quest, and pulled out a cloth.

After wetting it, he began to slowly clean the Fox's fur.

"I'll set up camp." Sonic asserted.

His brothers, both covered in blood, kept washing while Sonic grabbed the lightweight, compact tent from Tails' backpack. Technically, some of the blood had gotten on Sonic as well, but he'd worry about that later.

Then, Amy came up to him. He almost forgot she was here. Like that live action Green Lantern movie from 2011.

The translator once again did the heavy lifting of the conversation. Really, Sonic had to learn Echidnian. But, then again, he didn't know whether or not Knuckles would be sticking around long enought to teach it to him. Even then, there was the matter of what they'd done to Longclaw-

"I am sorry for today's events. I hope you are your brother are doing well." Amy said.

"Me and both of my brothers are doing much better now that it's all over." Sonic said. He tried not to be rude but wanted to make it apparent to her. Knuckles was family. She didn't change that.

"Right. I suppose we're setting up camp for the day." Amy stated. It wasn't a question, and they both knew that.

Sonic sighed. "Yeah, I'm gonna need some beauty sleep before I can go any further. I mean, look at these wrinkles. Stress does awful things to one's complexion." He joked, winking at Amy.

Her eyes suddenly grew very wide. Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Are you good or...?"

"I am fine! I will set up my camp over there!" Amy said, much louder than necessary as she trotted to the other end of the clearing.

Setting up the tent took a very short amount of time. It was quite spacious, built with enough room for all three of them, sleeping bags and all. Sonic also set those up and began checking for dinner rations.

For the next hour, he tried to keep himself busy. That way, he wouldn't have to think about what this whole journey was about. Specifically, who he was going to see.

Just because Knuckles wanted to reconnect with his murderous family didn't mean Sonic had to like it. But, learning what he knew about the Owls' attack on his village, Sonic realized they might deserve some leeway. So, just this once, he would go and extend peace. For Knuckles. For his brother.

He tried not to think about Longclaw.

Notes:

Maddie had them all CPR certified after the events of the third movie. Girlie was not taking chances lol.

Important announcement:
When I started posting, I had three chapters done. I'd finished them so quickly that I thought a chapter a week would be easy. I was wrong. I've lost a chapter buffer. With classes starting now and other school activities, I don't think I'll be able to write a chapter a week. So, I'm going on a one month Hiatus to prevent burnout and make a new chapter buffer. I'll upload the next chapter on October 1st.

Thank you for understanding.

Chapter 7: A Long Day

Summary:

*Quick Note* all language in Knuckles' flashbacks is implied to be Echidnian.

TW: Blood, Flashbacks. Mentioned: child death, genecide, phsyical altercation. Implied: spousal abuse/alienation

Notes:

I'm back :)

Updates will be back to weekly for now. Another hiatus is possible as school is my top priority, but I'll try my best to update regularly (Thursdays)

Quick disclaimer, sorry for the long section about Chillas. They really aren't a super big part of the story, I just have OC's and like yapping.

A scarlet light painted the horizon. The orange glow of sunset was fading into twilight. The trill of large crickets reverberated off the mud walls of the village homes.

Knuckles shook a bag of shells. The sound calmed him. He did this a lot. Gently, he let the shells fall into a heap on the ground. Then, he began to sort them into colored piles. Soon, he'd put them in color order. Then, he'd arrange them in a proper gradient.

It was his favorite activity, especially on warm summer days like this. He inhaled deeply, smelling fresh leaves, honey, and the distant salt of the sea. He was reminded of the shore. It was his favorite place.

He wondered if this summer Mace would take him to the reef. He'd taught him to swim last summer and promised he'd take him out further soon.

"Knuckles, come inside!" Lara-Le called, warmly.

Knuckles pouted. He hated when people interupted his sorting. He grabbed up all his shells and stuck them into his bag.

He made his way into the house, quietly. Lara-Le was sitting by the fire on a sleeping mat. Her back was to him.

"Yes, mother?" He asked, coming up to her.

She silently padded the space next to her. Knuckles sat down. She was gazing down to her stomach. Knuckles glanced down at it as well, perplexed by her behavior.

Then he saw it, movement. A head suddenly popped out of Lara-Le's pouch.

Knuckles gasped and shot backwards in surprise. His mother laughed.

Knuckles got closer again to see the puggle that had emerged. It was a deep red with a strange tuft or brownish hair. Suddenly, it sneezed. Knuckles shot back again.

Lara-Le hadn't stop giggling.

"Now, there's no need to be scared." She said, huffing for breaths.

"I'm not! It just surprised me." Knuckles huffed.

"Sure." Lara-Le said, unconvinced.

She grabbed the puggle from out of her pouch.

"What are you doing?" Knuckles asked, his head tilted.

"She's ready to come out, so I'm taking her out." She explained.

Lara-Le smiled down at him. "Would you like to hold her?"

Knuckles' eyes grew big.

"Can I?" He whispered, like it was a secret.

Lara-Le chuckled. "Of course you can."

The baby was placed in Knuckles arms. He tried his best to copy the cradling hold his mother had just done. Suddenly, the puggle opened its eyes.

They were bright green, like Lara-Le's. Like the leaves now. The color of life.

Something warm blossomed in Knuckles' chest. She was so little, but so beautiful.

"Look at you. You're such a good brother." Lara-Le cooed.

Knuckles smiled down at the puggle. "You think so?"

His mother placed an arm around his shoulders and held him in a half-hug. "I know so."

Blood stained his ungloved hands. The cloth was soaked. He tried to get Tails clean, but it was hard to touch it. It seemed to burn him.

His brother's blue eyes started up at him.

Big, bright green eyes. A giggle. A babble that sounded vaguely like his name.

"Knuckles, are you alright?" Tails asked. He was still filthy.

Knuckles just shook his head. He felt words in his throat that refused to be said. It was straining his vocal cords to keep them in, but he didn't have to air to voice them.

"Let me help." Tails said.

Knuckles recoiled at the sound. It was too close and too loud.

The Fox grabbed the cloth and soaked it in the plant juice. He then began rubbing the blood from Knuckles' hands.

It was still there. Crimson. He heard Angel-Le's scream. The scream she let out before she was crushed. .

"Talk to me." Tails offered. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Visions flashed. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping to erase them. He couldn't say what he saw to Tails. It wasn't right to burden him.

"Look at me." Tails demanded. He grabbed Knuckles' face and looked into his eyes. He tilted his face directly into the sun.

Knuckles made a hiss of pain. He wondered if the sun had always been that bright.

"Concussion. Definetly." Tails muttered.

Knuckles was rubbing his eyes now, trying to soothe them.

Tails went to grab some medication. He came back with two different bottles.

"Alright, does your head hurt at all?"

Knuckles nodded. Tails opened the first container to give him two pills.

"Do you feel sick?"

Knuckles shook his head.

Tails set the other bottle aside. "No need for that, then."

Knuckles swallowed the pills he was offered. He'd begun to feel stuffy. He wanted to sleep.

The twins were next to him, swaddled in fabric. He kissed their forheads. He had tucked them in.

It took a moment to realize that Tails was studying him.

"Something else is bothering you." Tails insisted.

Knuckles frowned. "No."

He'd managed to speak, which was much better than earlier. Still, it was hard. It felt unnatural.

"Knuckles, it'll feel better just to say." Tails stated.

"When we're home." Knuckles offered, hoping he'd let it go.

Tails sighed and put a hand on his hip, in Maddie fashion. "That won't be for a while. Possibly weeks. I'm not sure if-"

"We will leave at dusk." Knuckles interupted.

Tails was stunned to silence.

"We are not fit for this journey. We should turn back." Knuckles said.

"No. Knuckles..." Tails tried.

The Echidna wasn't having it. "You and Sonic almost died. I won't have you risking your life for my relationships."

"It wasn't all that bad..." he started.

"I won't lose anyone else!" Knuckles yelled.

Tails seemed shocked by his sudden outburst. Knuckles was shocked at how angry he was.

"I'm... I'm right here Knuckles." Tails promised.

A moment passed without either boy talking. Knuckled breathed loudly. Tails tried holding his hand to comfort him. It didn't work.

The village was burning now. Dark clouds billowing into the sky. And Knuckles turned his back to his dying people, and ran.

"I let them down. And now, I have let you down." Knuckles said, a sob cracking his voice.

"You didn't. I'm fine. Really." Tails said.

Quiet again. Knuckles should walk away to sulk in peace.

"I think we should keep going." Tails said, after what felt like ages.

Knuckles tried to argue, Tails held up a finger to shush him.

"Firstly, I wasn't in any danger. Secondly, Sonic was only in danger because the two of us were occupied. Thirdly, the other worlds aren't this bad. And lastly, we'll know to be more careful now. There's no reason to worry." Tails explained.

Knuckles sighed. "I will, regardless of your reassurance."

"And that's okay. But right now, I say we keep going. And because you have brain trauma and can't think properly, you're opinion isn't valid." Tails sassed.

It was hard to argue with Tails in Maddie-mode. But the image of losing his brothers in all this was too much. He pushed again.

"My injury is all the more reason to turn back. Perhaps we can wait to make this journey until we are better equipped."

Tails frowned at him.

"Knuckles, you need this." He said.

The Echidna was shocked. "What?" He didn't want to need anything from his brothers.

Tails sighed too deep. Like Tom standing up despite a crick in his spine.

"You've been... distant. You do this thing that's like... dozing off? I guess that's the best way to describe it. You get super quiet and your eyes go far away. Me and Sonic think that if you see your family again, it'll help." Tails explained.

Knuckles had no idea he'd been doing that. His confusion must have been written on his face, because Tails fixed him with a look of pity.

Knuckles' head throbbed in pain. He clutched his skull in his hands. Tails set a supportive hand on his shoulder and gave him a moment.

"You should sleep some of that concussion off." Tails suggested.

Knuckles didn't answer, he just stood and made his way to the tent Sonic had set up. He walked past the Hedgehog without greeting and collasped onto a pile on the floor.

His head swam between memories of fresh grape jam and burning flesh. Soon, a wave like static overtook him and he found sleep.

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Tails scrubbed the last of the blood from his fur just as the sun reached it's highest point. He let out an exaughsted sign. That had taken way too long.

Tails realized the time. He hadn't slept in over a full day, unless being forced unconcious from water inhalation counted. Tails supposed it didn't.

Tails made his way over to the tent. Sonic was outside of it. He was sitting up, but his head had fallen forward. A loud snore told Tails he was out cold. He still had crusted blood on his quills from where Tails had hugged him.

The fox ignored it and decided to go inside. Knuckles was also asleep. That was for the best. New medical advice encouraged lots of rest and sleep after concussions to minimize the effects. Hopefully the rest combined with his healing factor would have Knuckles on his feet again soon.

Tails shouldered his backback off onto the floor. He stretched once and curled into a ball next to his red brother. But he found himself thinking back to the Chilla from earlier.

It had fangs and scales, two snake tails, Fox like features on it's head and face...

Tails had never heard of a creature like that. Then, again, he'd heard his whole life about the curse of having twin tails. That children like that hurt their families and disappeared. Perhaps, there was some correlation.

The fox huffed and got up. He reached over to grab his Miles Electric, a device he'd made to help his access the internet even when he had no service. He typed the word "Chilla" into his search engine.

What came up was a bunch of recipes for a type of food. Tails became frustrated. He tried again typing "Chilla Fox". What came up was a specific species of fox. It was native to a certain region of the South American continent of Earth. At least he knew it was real.

Eventually he found forums on two tailed fox curses. He'd looked them up before, but the scary images had always made him click away. That and not wanting to compare himself to monsters.

Now he found one that seemed reliable: A news article from many years ago by a freelance journalist. It was dated to be twenty years old, but the genuine writing of someone wanting to deliver news trumped over the "horror enthusiasts" talking about these stories while doing skincare.

The article read as follows:

April 27th, 2002

I'm here in Shellside Village. It's a warm place, even in early spring. Nestled between the mountains of Western Mobius, Shellside Village is bordered to the West by the South Sea and to the East by the Acorn Forest. It's a secluded town inhabited almost exclusively by Red Foxes. It's nearly a hundred miles from my home in Knothole Village, and the journey isn't easy. That is to say, the Village is not used to visitors.

When I first arrived, I was unsure what to expect. Reports of a two tailed monster child had reached my circle of reporters and journalists. Many thought it was a hoax, others thought it was paranormal. I don't believe in the latter, but I gave the witnesses the benefit of the doubt and made the journey here. Now, I can say that I believe in the monster of Shellside.

I interviewed Petunia Lane, a quiet woman with shaking hands. She told me everything I am going to recount to you.

Petunia and her husband Geronimo were an older couple. They had been many years without children. But one day, while walking on the beach, they encountered a child. It was strangely formless. With gray fur and gray eyes. Petunia, overjoyed with the opportunity, convinced her husband to take in the kit.

They gave it a name, Artemis. Slowly, it became more like them. Specifically, more like Petunia. Its ears took her tufts of brown, its fur turned her shade of orange. The other villagers I spoke to began to suspect it was an affair baby Petunia had covered well.

Then, one day in early March, it began to grow a second tail. Petunia described it to me as "snake-like". Then, fur began to disappear from its other tail. Eventually, it became a monster. Two scaled snake tails, a forked tounge, long fangs, longer claws.

Villagers became fearful, but Petunia loved her supposed child all the same. Then, earlier this month, the beast attacked. It caught Petunia in the kitchen as she was preparing dinner for it. Savagely, it bit her neck and drained her blood. Then, it vanished into the ocean mists and never returned.

Today, as I sit with Petunia, the fang marks are still visable. Though they have healed nicely, her mind is worse for wear.

According to her husband, she retains delusions about the monster being her child. In the conversations I have had with her, it is apparent that she misses the beast. She even says that she allowed it to attack her and that she views the experience positively.

Her husband is keeping her inside, hoping that being away from beach will clear her mind. But it seems more drastic measures may be needed to cure her.

In the meantime, the beast left a curse upon their home. When Pentunia cries, rain descends on the house. I have viewed this experience three times already, though I have stayed less than a week. Just yesterday, a faucet broke during one of her tantrums.

Geronimo told me she never had any abilities before the attack. He believes the monster placed a hex on her while drinking her blood.

Last night, I was thrown out of their house by the husband, as Petunia became angry for the way I was writing about her "daughter".

Truly, the effects of the beast of Shellside are evident. This is no hoax, nor a ghoul from a childhood story. There is something amoung us, with twin tails and a thirst for blood.

This was Clarence Pine, citizen of Knothole Village, signing off on this story.

Tails shivered. The way he wrote about the twin tailed monster made him uncomfortable. But the description seemed to align with the Chilla he'd met earlier. Still, he had a hard time believing that kind creature he met could be related to this vampiric curse-casting one.

There were a lot of dots that needed connecting. It seemed that Chillas sent their kits ashore to be raised by other families. But then they grew an extra tail and attacked their caregivers at 10? Something didn't seem to add up, but Tails didn't have the time to figure all that out now. He was on a mission.

He put away his Miles Electric. Then, he heard Amy's voice from outside. The electronic translator sent her message through.

"Can I come in?"

"Yes, you can." Tails replied.

After hearing the translation, Amy entered the tent. She looked around for a moment. Tails realized it was unlikely she'd ever seen a bright yellow tent like this before.

"Can I help you with anything?" Tails asked.

"I was just wondered if you might have seen my hammer. It wasn't on the beach." Amy said.

Tails nearly facepalmed. He reached in his backpack to pull out the retractable hammer.

"I grabbed it before coming here. I'm so sorry." He said, face red with embarrassment.

Amy smiled. "It's alright. Thank you for getting it for me."

Tails smiled back at her. He liked how nice she was. Even if she was a little rash, she apologized whenever she made a mistake. When it came to his hard headed brothers, they had a tendency to do the exact opposite. So, Tails could respect that in Amy. In fact, there were a lot of things that Tails could respect about her.

He began to realize how little he actually knew about her. It made him feel kind of bad.

"So, how exactly did you meet the Echidna?" Tails asked.

Amy fixed him with a look of suspicion. "Why do you ask that?"

"I just think we don't know each other that well." Tails explained.

Amy thought about it for a moment. "I'll tell you later. When the others are conscious."

"Okay." Tails answered. And awkward silence fell over them.

"So, is there anything you want to know about us?" Tails asked.

"Well, I am a bit curious about how you all ended up living on Earth together." Amy said.

"Right, well, so..." Tails paused. Longclaw was probably not a good topic for someone raised by Echidnas. "Sonic's mentor had to sent him away to protect him. She sent him to Earth. Seven years go by. Then, Sonic let's out this massive charge of energy. That gets my attention, but also the attention of all these military guys. So, this evil guy, Robotnik comes to steal Sonic for lab testing..."

Tails began to recount the adventures of the last three years of their lives, tiptoeing around any mention of Longclaw or Owls. He kept it vauge. He didn't need Amy distrustimg Sonic. It was bad enough taking Sonic right into an Echidna camp. Tails decided to think about those implications later.

"It sounds like you've been busy." Amy said, she seemed genuinely shocked by the story.

"What about you? Training to be an Echidna Warrior must be exciting." Tails offered.

Amy sighed. "Not really. I've been training as long as I can remember. This quest is the most exciting thing I've ever done."

Tails shrank a bit, disappointed. "Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure it'll be more exciting once your a warrior."

Amy held back a grimace. "Right. It'll all be... better."

Tails could tell she was keeping something, but he decided not to pry. Instead, he stood up and made his way to the door. "I'm going to make something to eat. Want anything?"

Amy shrugged. "Sure. You should probably make some for the others. We'll be needing to leave soon."

Tails frowned. Had it really been that long? A step outside proved that it had, in fact, been that long. The sun teetered on the horizon. It would be dusk soon.

Tails sighed. It was going to be a long day. But the next world was apparently a civilized one. Tails quietly hoped they could find an inn to sleep in. Maybe, they could have a well cooked meal. Tonight, it was cans of beans heated by a fire. Delicious.

Notes:

Hi! I've decided to start updating Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. Next chapter will be on the 9th! Thanks so much for reading.

Chapter 8: An Encounter

Summary:

Back to the plot! (Kinda)

CW: Non-graphic Violence, reference to concussion.

Cans of plain beans weren't bad, but they'd be much better on chili dogs. At least, in Sonic's opinion. But it was nice to feel full and get some rest after the disaster that was yesterday.

After eating, the group set off. Sonic had slept well, but sitting up against the ten had hurt his back horriably. He finally understood how Batman felt after he lost his fight with Bane. Man he loved the 2000's Batman trilogy.

They reached the next portal relatively quickly. Aparently, the next world was a remote village. Sonic just hoped it was giving Smurfs and not Midsommar.

When they made it through the tree portal, then Village wasn't in sight.

"It's about a half a day's walk. Or... night, I suppose." Amy said.

"Great." Sonic huffed. When he inhaled again, something got in his throat. "Bleh!"

"Sheep's Wood. It produces a thick, wool-like bud that begins to fall in the warm months. It's similar to Earth's Cotton Wood trees, but at least three times worse." Tails explained, he stopped his ramble to yawn.

Sonic made a face and leaned over to whisper to Knuckles, "Yeash, someone needs a nap."

Knuckles didn't respond. He'd been quiet since he woke. Tails said he had a concussion, so Sonic decided not to bother him any more.

Speaking of the Fox, Tails looked exaughsted. He recognized the sign of an all nighter. Really, it was a bit more than that. How long had it been since they left? 36 hours?

But, despite his drooping eyes, Tails kept up well. He managed to fly, but Sonic kept an eye on him to make sure he wouldn't crash. Amy kept a jogging pace, well jogging for super speedy space aliens. Really, it was more of a brisk walk to Sonic, but he digresses.

They were several hours into the journey when Amy suggested they stop for a break next to a stream. It was a peaceful scene with two full moons above a deep ebony sky dotted with millions of stars.

"This is a great spot, Amy!" Sonic said, brushing the fluff off of a smooth stone and sitting. Tails just sat next to him without a further comment. Knuckles made for the water and splashed some onto his face. His eyes had been scrunched in pain and Sonic supposed his concussion must be acting up.

The blue Hedgehog began rummaging through Knuckles' bag, the one he'd been carrying all night since he was such a good brother. He pulled out some bread and cheese along with a baggie of trail mix Maddie had packed them.

"Knux, come have some of this." Sonic said.

The Echidna huffed, but sat on the grass next to the Stone and took a chunk of bread and another of cheese. He passed on the nuts in the trail mix, but accepted the raisins.

Tails had passed out next to Sonic, so the older boy decided to wrap his food in a napkin so he could have it later. Sonic ate his portion and then turned to Amy.

"Did you have anything to eat?" He asked. While he didn't want to share his food, he definetly wasn't about to let her go hungry.

"Yes." She replied, taking out a few strips of brown food.

Sonic decided it must be some kind of jerky. He had to admit, some beef jerky did sound nice about now. They sat for another half hour before Amy told them they had to keep going.

Sonic gave Knuckles his bag and decided he would carry Tails for a little while and let him sleep. The trio walked through the forest and eventually made their way to a field. Wildflowers stretched in every direction, disappearing into the inky blackness of night.

Sonic could see the village lights in the distance and felt a wave of relief. Maybe he could convince the others to stay in an inn for the day. After the events of the previous one, they could sure use it.

That's when he heard it, a mechanical whirl in the the distance. He was tackled by Knuckles just in time to dodge and red laser shooting out of the dark.

Tails awoke and began flailing. The trio quickly separated. Amy had joined them now, looking in the direction of the attack. Coming out of the shadows were dozens of Robotnic Sonics. Robo-Sonics if you will.

"What are those?!" Knuckles asked.

It suddenly occurred to Sonic that he'd never told his brothers about the freaky clone-bot thing.

"Uh... they're robots?" Sonic tried, awkwardly.

Knuckles sent him a death glare. A look that definetly said 'If these things don't kill you, I will'.

Sonic gulped and jumped into battle, trying not to thing about how he was getting verbally smacked down later.

"What's happening?!" Tails squeaked. He was rubbing his eyes and looking around, bewildered.

"We're being attacked. Stay behind me." Knuckles said. Sonic thought he could've been a little gentler, then he had to dodge another laser.

Tails ducked behind Knuckles as the Echidna took a defensive stance. Sonic decided he'd have to go on the offese. Amy went whizzing past him with her hammer.

She plowed through six bots by herself. Sonic raced to join her. He tried punching a robot.

"Ow!" He yelped, shaking his hand. That hurt a lot.

Just as another bot aimed to shoot him, he lunched forward, redirecting the gun towards the first bot. When it went off, the first bot was destroyed. Sonic then flipped the second bot over and stomped on it's head.

The bot grabbed his leg with its free hand and threw him into a tree. While Sonic began sitting up, winded, the robot aimed again.

Amy hit it just in time, Laser shooting a mere inches from Sonic's head as the bot was smashed into the ground.

"Ah!" Tails yelled.

Sonic's eyes snapped back that way to see the Fox surrounded by clones, Knuckles nowhere in sight. He got up in an instant and rushed towards him.

He kicked a few of them before he realized he was just bruising his shins. So, he grabbed Tails and took him away. Now, a safe distance from the main fight, he set the kit down in some bushes. They were covered in white fluff that helped him blend in better.

"You'll be safe here, just stay hidden." Sonic said.

His hand was grabbed before he could take off.

"Sonic, they have a weak spot." Tails said.

Sonic looked back of the kit who was holding onto his wrist. "What? How do you figure that?"

"On their chest, there's an exaughst fan. The battery must be behind it. But, even if you don't destroy the battery, tampering with the fans will cause the robots to overheat. That could cause their hardware to blow out or catch fire." Tails explained.

Sonic smiled. That gave him an idea.

"Thanks, Tails. We've got it from here." Sonic said. Tails let go of his arms and smiled back.

In a flash, Sonic was back on the battlefield.

Knuckles was being restrained. Amy was trying her best to take down robots, but was having problems with the sheer number of them.

"Hey, robots! It's me!" Sonic yelled. He sort of hoped their shared look wasn't a coincidence. Luckily, the robots did turn to him. It seemed his guess was right, they were more interested in him than his friends.

"Well, if you fakers want to be me so bad, just try to keep up." Sonic said, smirking. He hoped he seemed more confident than he was.

He took off towards the woods. The bots followed. Sonic was sure Amy and Knuckles could handle any that were left behind.

Suddenly, trees whizzed by him. He was weaving between the white foliage. It almost seemed like winter.

He saw a bot out of the corner of his eye and sped up his pace.

"Oh come on, my oven preheats faster than you run." Sonic mocked.

He ducked from a laser and chuckled. Maybe, he'd hit a nerve with that. He kind of doubted they had feelings, though.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. The bots behind him stopped as well. They were clumped together, which meant now was his chance. Sonic began running laps around them.

In the blink of an eye a tornado of Sheep's Wood appeared around them. In seconds, it began clogging their fans. Unfortunately, there were no cool imediant explosions.

Sonic began running back to the others, the bots trailing behind him. For a moment he was worried Tails had been wrong. But that wasn't the case.

One by one, the bots overheated and their systems failed. Some just dropped, others caught fire. In moments, they were all down.

"Good work Sonic." He said to himself. Then, he ran a few paces over and said, "Why thank you, Sonic."

He would have continued this routine for a bit, but something else caught his attention. The Sheep's Wood on the ground had caught fire from the bots. Sonic spent the next few minutes cursing and stomping out fires.

Then, he went to find Tails. He decided to check the bush where he'd left him.

"Hey bud, you there?" He asked as he bent towards to the leaves. Parting the branches, he saw the fox slumped over. He worried for a moment until he heard a quiet snore.

Sonic laughed a bit when he realized his little brother had managed to fall asleep in the middle of a dangerous battle. Still, he was careful not to wake him. Instead, he gently picked him up to carry him back to the others, balancing him a in a piggy back.

The battlefield was a mess. Bots littered the once-beautiful field leaving it a tangled mess of crushed flowers and metal parts.

Knuckles was huffing and cradling his head. Sonic winced for him. He knew concussions were no fun. He couldn't imagine having to fight after getting one. He started to worry that maybe the Echidna's condition had worsened.

Amy was even more shocking to him though. She had seemed quiet, disconnected. Maybe she was shy, maybe just awkward, but the pink Hedgehog had a way of disappearing into the background. Now, however, she was furiously hitting a pile of what used to be a bot with her hammer. Pure rage was plastered on her face.

"I think you got him." Sonic pointed out.

The other hedgehog whipped around to face him. Her face lit up in embarrassment as she threw her hammer down. "I-I was just..." she said.

"I get it. But, let's try focusing on finding a place to sleep. I think we could all use it." Sonic offered.

"But, the portal. It'll be closing soon." Amy pointed out.

"True, but we'd have to high tail it to get there on time, right? How about we just stop in this village for the rest for the rest of the night and into tommorow?" Sonic asked.

Amy shook her head. "Absolutely not. They would never accept an Echidna." She pointed to Knuckles.

He'd been listening however. He grumbled and reached into his bag. He pulled out a thin blanket and with just a few folds, fashioned it into a hooded cape.

He said nothing, but began walking towards the village. Sonic chirpped a quick note and followed behind him, a bounce in his step at the prospect of having an actual bed.

"This is a bad idea!" Amy called. Her robotic translator had trouble carrying the distance.

"Oh, come on, Ames. It'll be fine." Sonic said.

The girl froze for a moment, then she followed without complaint.

And so, four weary travelers walked into town just before sunrise and checked into a room in the inn. It felt like the begining of a cool DnD campaign.

The room itself wasn't too small. It had two beds, a changing partition, a chest, a coat hook, a cushioned bench, and a dresser. There weren't any mirrors nor any indoor plumbing. There was apparently an outhouse behind the inn and a bucket in the corner. That sent a shiver down Sonic's spine.

Sonic tucked Tails into the further bed. Knuckles collapsed next to him. Sonic moved the changing partition. Between the beds.

"You can have the other one." Sonic said.

"No. You paid for the inn. I'll sleep on the bench." She insisted.

"No, as our guest and the only lady, you deserve the bed." Sonic explained.

"So girls need to sleep in beds? Are you implying I'm weaker than you?" Amy shot back.

Heat warmed his face. Oh wow, he sounded like a misogynistic asshole, didn't he? Sonic quickly waved his hands. " No, no! I wasn't saying that at all!"

Amy just chuckled. "I'm only joking. I'll take the bed. Thank you."

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the cushioned bench next to his brothers' bed.

He laid down, cocooned with a blanket from Tails' bag. The memories of the night flooded back to him as he began to drift off to sleep. Breakfast at dusk, infinite walking, lunch by the stream, those robots...

A sudden thought came to him. Someone had to build those robots. Someone who knew what he looked like. But, who would have the resources and abilities to do that? And why? Who was targeting him and his family, and why now while the world was at peace? The thought stuck with him for a while, rolling around in his mind like a pearl in the palm of his hand.

Sleep did come, eventually.

Notes:

Thank you guys again for reading! I'm honestly really enjoying writing this again, I think the hiatus really helped! Reminder, updates have changed to Thursdays! Have a great day/night awesome human!

Chapter 9: An Errand

Summary:

No TW's for this chapter. Some lighthearted fluff.

Reminder: Anything in quotations in normal font is the "common language" (which is English) and Amy can't understand it. If it's bolded, it's Echidian or translated into that via translator (The language Amy does speak). Keep that in mind for later in the chapter.

Amy pouted as she looked down at her dress. It was early afternoon and the boys were all asleep. That left her alone and fussing over a tear in the skirt. She had some brown shorts underneath, but the tear was very noticeable. That and one of the straps being ripped. Her dress was completely ruined.

She hadn't packed any other clothes. Fabric textiles weren't relatively available at home. The process of weaving fibers of the wild grasses was tedious, as was finding enough. All in all, few Echidnas boasted more than one outfit. Usually, Echidnas would wear their battle attire or spare leather clothing while washing their daily clothes.

Her dress was a bit different, though. It was a gift from her father Blade. He'd gotten the fabric on one of his secret off-world missions and sewed it into a strange fashion. It made her stand out among her peers, but Amy learned not to mind. Blade always told her she would never be able to fit in, so she should embrace her unique look.

The dress meant a lot to her for those reasons and more. She decided to fashion her maroon cape to cover her top. She went with just the shorts she had under her dress. It looked very bad, by both general and Echidnian standards. But she didn't have the money for new clothes nor the time to attempt a repair.

A knock on the partition separating the beds caught her attention.

"Yes?" Amy said. She suddenly realized she hadn't yet activated the translation device.

"Is it alright if I come through?" Came Knuckles' voice.

She was glad it was him. She could keep the translator off for a while longer. She frowned realizing that without her dress, she lacked the ability to store the translator in her pocket. Oh well. She 'd have to figure out another way later.

"Yes, that's fine." She found herself talking in a more formal tone with her companions. The same ones she often used for Mace. However, she usually talked in a more casual and bubbly way with Blade and Remmington.

Knuckles walked around the barrier. He frowned when he saw her.

"What are you wearing?" He asked.

Amy felt embarrassed. "What I have. My dress was torn badly."

"I see. You should get something new in town." Knuckles suggested.

Amy shook her head. "I don't have the funds for that."

"I could spare some." Knuckles said.

Amy was shocked. She'd thought Knuckles didn't like her. Now, he was offering to buy her new clothes. Maybe, she'd read him as more apathetic than he truly was.

"That would be incredibly generous." Amy replied.

"I suppose. I just think your outfit will draw attention." Knuckles huffed as he crossed his arms.

Amy's face went flat, maybe he did just hate her. Oh well. At least she was bringing him home. If the oaf didn't thank her that was his own fault.

"Right. Well, I suppose we could head out now to find something. Any dress would do.." Amy said.

"I'm waiting for my brothers." Knuckles snapped.

"Right." Amy said, flatly.

As if on cue, Tails called through the partition. "Knuckles? What time is it?"

"Time for you to get out of bed." Knuckles called back.

Amy had no idea what they were saying. She sighed as she got the translator working. She really wished she spoke the common language. She decided to tie it up in her cape-shirt thing. It hung behind her shoulder.

Tails came peaking behind the divider. "Good morning."

"And you." Amy replied.

Tails looked at her with a bit of confusion.

"It means and good morning to you, too." Knuckles explained. Amy felt it hadn't needed an explanation.

"Right, well I need to pick up some parts today if I can. I think I could make some sort of weapon to help us if those creepy robots come back." Tails explained.

"Very well. We shall find whatever parts you desire so we can crush those robots like the shells of peanuts." Knuckles said with conviction as he pounded a fist on the dresser.

"Woah, Knux. Calm down." Sonic said. He walked over to the others, stretching a bit.

Amy blushed. She recalled what he'd called her last night. 'Ames'. It had a nice ring to it.

"We should head into town right away. I may need to search multiple shops for the parts I need." Tails explained.

"Miss Rose needs new clothes. Hers were damaged in last night's battle." Knuckles added.

"Then we'll have to split up." Tails said.

"My outfit will draw too much attention in a clothing store. I will accompany Tails." Knuckles asserted. He still intended to wear his blanket cape for today.

"I guess me and Amy will find something, then." Sonic nodded. Knuckles handed him some coins.

"And when we set off, you will tell us more about the robots." Knuckles insisted.

Sonic huffed and set his hands behind his head, attempting to look casual. "Not much to tell... but whatever."

So, the pairs went their seperate ways. It was just Sonic and her. All alone. By themselves. Amy shook her head. Focus!

It had occurred to her at this point that she might have some... feelings for the blue Hedgehog. But, she wasn't going to let her emotions control her actions. She had a mission, a quest she had to see through. She didn't have time for boys.

"This place looks fine, I think." Sonic said, ducking into a clothing store. Amy just followed behind.

It was a simple wood store. There was a desk for cashing out and several racks along the walls full of wire hangers and handmade clothes. Small slips of paper displaying prices were tied to each hanger. Sonic did a very speedy lap.

"We might not have the money for this." He said.

Amy just nodded. She understood she was on a budget. She would take whatever was offered.

Sonic decided to run around the village to look for another clothing store. In a flash, he was next to her again.

"Bad news. This one's the only one open today." Sonic explained, deflating a little.

"That's fine. I'll get whatever's cheapest." Amy offered.

"We have to make sure it looks presentable." Sonic insisted.

Amy giggled.

Along the far wall was a collection of clothes marked with red tags. Many winter coats, long stockings, and other winter items were included among some other clothes.

"Great! Clearance!" Sonic said.

Amy quirked her brow. "Is that some kind of deal?"

"Yeah! Everything's cheaper, so it's a great place to find stuff!" Sonic explained.

Amy understood deals in some contexts. She could exchange some chores for other chores and favors. This was her idea of a deal. But she understood that many cultures used currency, usually Mobian Coins.

Amy began going through each item, quickly moving past anything too warm. It was still there summer, after all. The portals were located in places with similar year-long seasons. This made for easy travel times where less gear could be packed.

Sonic was also looking, occasionally holding something up for her, but she rejected all his options. He had no sense of practicality.

Eventually, she thumbed over some green fabric that had caught her eye. She took it off the rack to look at it closer. It was very short for a dress, though the fabric itself was breathable. It was perhaps a little too big in the arms, but that might increase the mobility of it. She liked how it felt and the color.

She always had an affinity for green. It was a common clothing color for Echidnas as it was easy to get green pigments. She wore the color a lot in childhood. Until she'd been gifted her current dress.

"Do you like that shirt?" Sonic asked. The last part of it wasn't translated. She supposed there was no Echidian word for whatever it was he said.

She just nodded. Sonic smiled. "You should try it on then!"

Amy was shoved into a small cubicle with the garment. She could barely even turn around. She quickly changed into the clothing. She found that it came down just past the top of her hips. She guessed this "shirt" was intended to only cover the top of a person. She still had her shorts, though, so she didn't mind. She came out of the room.

"Wow! It's great! It matches your eyes really well. Almost makes me want to start wearing clothes." Sonic joked.

She knew he was just trying to be supportive, but she couldn't help a slight blush from appearing on her cheeks. She felt a bit embarrassed.

"Wait a second! I know what would go great with this!" Sonic disappeared in a blink and brought back an assortment of skirts.

She was suddenly shoved in the cubicle again. Part of her didn't understand why she needed another garment. Her shorts were just fine. However an orange skirt caught her attention. It was made in a way that caused it to frill like an eel fin. Underneath the skirt, shorts were built in.

She tried it on and it was a perfect fit. She ignored the others skirts and decided to just show this one.

Sonic seemed surprised by her choice. "The green and orange is an interesting color scheme, but I'm not sure with the shoes. It might break it."

Amy wasn't an expert on fashion. It had always interested her. As a child, Blade would bring her thin papers stuck together filled with pictures of mobian clothes. He said it was so she could connect with her culture, but Amy never thought of Mobian culture as her own. Regardless, she retained very little memory of the pictures or what made an outfit good.

A woman from the front came over and began to nod along with Sonic. "Maybe a white skirt would work better? We just got a new one in."

Amy frowned. Somehow, her red shoes made the outfit bad. But the white on the shoes matched the white on the top of her 'shirt'. It was the red that had nothing to match. Amy reached into her bag to look at her tattered dress and ripped off a piece.

Sonic audibly gasped. Amy ignored him. She tied the strip into her hair. The shopkeeper then gasped.

"Oh darling! It's perfect! The green matches your eyes well and the white and red are reflected. It leaves just the orange to be the only solo color. That really draws attention inwards with the outfit. And the shaping! Chunky boots, broadened shoulders, and poofy skirt! It adds an accent to your waist. My dear you are a genius!" The shopkeeper said.

Amy really didn't think the torn cloth in her hair added that much to the essemble, but she wasn't going to reject the compliment. She just gave a light nod.

Sonic handled giving her the proper payment. Apparently, she took the price down further because Amy "wore it so well."

Honestly, this just confused the pink hedgehog, but she decided not to ponder it.

Afterwards, Sonic and Amy settled into a grassy clearing just out of town to eat some lunch. Sonic embarrassingly forgot to take some food from either of his brothers' packs. She supposed that's what he got for being the only one of them not to carry one. She did share some of her jerky with him.

His trouble chewing it was very funny to watch. Eventually he got the hang of it just fine. The two settled into a comfortable silence.

Amy decided to turn off the translator. It tended to grow warm when on for too long, and she didn't want to ruin it.

Sonic suddenly became excited. He was still chewing jerky but waved his hands around. He obviously wanted to speak, but was waiting until he finished.

He said one thing she recognized: "Common Language."

He had to know she couldn't speak it, right? She thought the translator made that obvious.

Sonic pointed to himself. "Me"

Amy raised an eyebrow. His name was Sonic not 'me'. Then it hit her. He was trying to teach her common words.

He then pointed to her "you".

She mirrored his movements. First she pointed at him and said "me," then to herself and said "you."

Sonic laughed and shook his head "No!"

Amy knew this word as well. He was telling her she was wrong. She tried again, reversing the words she used on each of them. Sonic then nodded.

He pointed at himself again "me", then to her "you", then shook his hands between the two of them "us."

Amy mirror this, correctly guessing that 'me' signaled herself and 'you' was for others. 'Us' was a joint term, then.

Sonic smiled lopsided, "yes!"

Amy laughed a bit. He looked very silly. Then she shook her head and said "no," then nodded and said "yes."

Sonic nodded. Amy supposed she was begining to understand this language. She wanted to know more. She put her hand palm up and moved it in a circular motion, hoping Sonic would understand her meeting.

He nodded and went into thought. He was decided which words to teach her. He finally landed on something.

Sonic picked some twigs from the grass. He held up the first "one," then the next "two", and continued this for "three" and "four".

She guessed these were numbers. She counted them out on her fingers and Sonic confirmed.

Sonic then pointed to the twigs. "Sticks".

Amy repeated the word. Then she picked up one.

"Stick" Sonic explained. Amy repeated again.

This went on for several more minutes. She learned 'grass', 'leaf', 'shoe', 'bag', 'shirt', and 'skirt'.

After she repeated the last one, Sonic exclaimed "yeah!"

Amy raised an eyebrow, "yeah?"

"Uh- yes and yeah... same?" Sonic offered.

"Same?" Amy questioned.

Sonic sighed and looked around. He picked up a stick in each hand. "Same." Then he put down one of the sticks and picked up a leaf instead, comparing the items, "different".

Amy nodded. She pointed at herself and then Sonic, "Same?"

Sonic seemed confused. Than he understood. "Yes, us... same species. We're hedgehogs."

Amy got 'yes', 'same', and 'hedgehog'. That was good enough for her. Honestly, learning another language was begining to drain her.

She took out the translator and powered it on. "Thank you for teaching me." She said.

"No problem!" Sonic said with a smile.

She sighed and laid back onto the grass, closing her eyes. Beams of sunshine left her skin warm and tingly. A soft breeze rustled her quills. She felt the prickly grass underneath her. The distant sound of conversation was the only noise permeating the summer afternoon.

She opened her eyes and looked over to where Sonic was. He had copied her, laying calmly in the grass. Amy just sighed. The quest had gotten off to a poor start. They had nearly died, but here they were. Alive and well with few injuries.

She was thankful for this moment of peace. She knew the next world they had to go was the one of the worst. It wasn't too dangerous, but it was horrible. She clutched the foliage underneath her hands, pulling out handfuls of green.

The Echidnas would remain safe in their new home. She no longer had to worry about tragedies like Angel Island.

Notes:

I felt Amy's crush on Sonic was an important part of her character which is why I left it in. That being said, I didn't want to make it a focal point of the story. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Next week, we'll get to see what Knuckles and Tails have been up to...

Chapter 10: A Cave

Summary:

Tails and Knuckles go shopping

TW: racism, flashbacks, remembrance of graphic violence and death, mentions of gore, extreme grief, panic attack

Chapter length is about 3k words. Probably the longest so far.

Knuckles sighed deeply as Tails began bouncing between shelves in a shop. The Echidna had no clue what the fox was looking for and he didn't care to learn. His headache was slowly fading, but his attitude was still effected.

While the cashier talked to Tails about the differences between two very similar looking objects, Knuckles was trying to decide if he could fall asleep standing up.

Suddenly, he noticed a nearby customer, a silver cat, glaring at him. He quickly touched his head to ensure his hood was still up. Upon finding out that he was fully covered, he glared back. The other customer seemed to back off, but Knuckles was still a bit worried.

He stepped towards Tails and set a hand on his shoulder. The fox looked up at him in surprise. The Echidna leaned down to whisper.

"I don't think it's safe for us here." He said.

"What? What do you mean by that?" Tails asked, looking around in confusion for the source of danger.

The customer from earlier walked up. They stared at Knuckles the whole way, as if daring him to move.

"Hey kid," the cat addressed Tails, "is this man bothering you?"

Tails looked over at the customer in bewilderment. "Him? No! He's my brother."

The cat shook their head. "You don't have to lie for him. I know he isn't a fox."

"I never said he was." Tails challenged.

"Perhaps, we should leave." Knuckles suggested, wanting out of the situation. His headache had suddenly returned with a vengeance and he really didn't want to upset it more in another fight.

"But-" Tails started.

Knuckles cut him off, "We can go to another shop."

Knuckles began leaving, Tails trailing behind him, head down. He had seemed excited about the store and Knuckles had wanted him to enjoy it. But, he didn't need the townspeople discovering his secret.

Suddenly, Tails yipped from behind the Echidna. Knuckles spun imdiently, seeing the cat clutching Tails' arm, firmly.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting some hooded creep walk off with a little kid." The cat hissed.

"Hey! Let me go!" Tails demanded.

Knuckles paced forward to try to release Tails but was met face to face with a very intimidating blaster. The shopkeeper, an older Lemur, went pale and walked towards the scuffle.

"Let's not get too rowdy in here folks. Maybe you should take this outside." He offered.

The cat ignored him completely, fixing Knuckles with an icey glare. "What are you anyway? A Tenrec? An Armadillo? A... Dingo?"

Knuckles growled a bit, then tried to contain himself. "You are hurting Miles, release him."

"And let him go off with you? Your kind must be stupid from all that inbreeding, lesser." The cat said, swishing their tail side to side.

Knuckles lunged forward, knocking the blaster to the ground and forcing Tails from the cat's grip. It snarled, but the Echidna was already dragging the Fox from the store. On the street, passersby watched, some in fear and others in anticipation.

A blast rang out through the town as the Cat fired but missed the fleeing Echidna. Knuckles paid it no mind and kept running.

He was suddenly stopped by a large Grizzly Bear blocking his path.

The bear grabbed him into the air, leaving Tails on the ground. The cat was catching up and Knuckles tried to wriggle free from the bear's grasp. He didn't want to make a scene, but he also didn't want to get shot.

"Let go of him!" Tails shouted, smacking the bear's leg.

The bear looked down at Tails. "Why are you traveling with this guy?" He asked.

Tails crossed his arms in annoyance. "I'm traveling with him because we're brothers! We live in the same house and share the same parents. We're just passing through town!"

Something uncomfortable twisted in Knuckles' gut at the mention of parents.

The bear nodded and set Knuckles down. Behind the trio, the cat was pushing through a small crowd. The bear turned towards the feline but addressed one last message to the others, "You go ahead. I'll sort this out."

"Thank you!" Tails called before Knuckles grabbed his hand and they began dashing away.

Tall trees, foliage, a burning sky...

Knuckles shook his head quickly, trying to dislodge the memory. But it kept swimming just out of reach, making itself know in the corners of his vision.

One body slumped over another. His father's white flur glistening with droplets of red wine. His mother's distorted face, gaping window in her skull. The smell of blood, gore, and death. The stale, collapsing air. Teardrops from the moon as he sobbed for his wife's children. The deep inky blackness of night. The faint sound of screams far off, apparent in this still scene. The only thing moving was his heart, beating to the tune of anguish, a song drummed alone.

THUMP!

He fell to the ground. Warm sunshine hit his head, and he felt a cool breeze. The air was flowing like an ocean tide and in the air wafted the scent of bread. His heart was still racing. The anguish had not changed with the scene.

A gasp sounded.

Knuckles looked over to see a dog covering her mouth. She had also been knocked over. Perhaps Knuckles had run right into her

The dog had a look of fear on her face. She scrambled to her feet and began running away.

Tails was standing and held out a hand for Knuckles. "C'mon! We gotta go!" He shouted.

Knuckles got to his feet. He reached to readjust his hood and noticed, with a sudden dread, that it had fallen off entirely.

The dog had seen him.

Knuckles reached into his bag and shoved coins into Tails' hands.

The fox looked at him in confusion. "Wha-"

"Take this and find what you need. I'll go west and hide in the forest. Find the others and meet me there at dusk." Knuckles instructed.

Tails looked as though he wanted to protest, but though better of it. Instead, he leaned forward and grabbed onto Knuckles. It took the latter a second to realize it was a hug.

"You're not in this alone, Knuckles. We'll be back for you soon." Tails said. Then, he let the older Mobian go and flashed him a Sonic-like smile before dashing towards the town center.

He was attempting to comfort him. Knuckles must have looked as confused and absent as he felt.

Knuckles pulled his hood back up and began dashing towards the sun. It would still be a couple hours before dusk. Maybe he could find somewhere sheltered to hide.

His journey took him into a dense patch of forest. The wood here was thin and brittle but abundant. Few people would come this far into the woods. He came across a clearing, still surrounded by these trees. Towards one end, the ground sloped up into a hill. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be some kind of cave.

Knuckles took a step forward. Suddenly, his leg wobbled and gave out.

The world around him felt oddly fuzzy. His chest throbbed in pain. He fell to his knees, then further, catching himself with his arms. Gasping on all fours. His face was wet. He felt an agonizing wave wash over him. A stabbing sense of sadness, betrayal, and rage.

The bitter taste of bile hit his throat. Hatred burned his vision and chest. He dug his fists into the dirt. An overwhelming urge filling his mind, to kill what had taken from him. Vengeance, deep and wide as a river.

He felt himself loose strength. He couldn't remember breathing. He was faltering more, unable to see, to hear, to breath, to stay upright.

He collaspsed into a pile, curling into himself. The scent of burning filled his nose. Screams echoed in his skull. Angel-Le's last one, high pitched, a sob cut short. The squelch. An awful sound like wet clothes hitting the ground. He could hear his own insided, sloshing up.

He rolled over and wretched. The stench of petrichor filled his noise. He could feel his parents' cold bodies, as if they were around him again.

He was alone in a clearing of bodies.

He could hear Owls circling above.

His lungs were hurting, breathing hurt. He avoided it, to avoid the pain, but it still came. In each breath, he could feel the angry souls of the dead. Those he left behind to rot.

Why couldn't they leave him here? He was pitiful and ruined, why torment him still?

He somehow found the strength to sit up again. He opened his eyes to the sky, purple orbs reflecting two rising moons, and still the sun was clinging to the skyline. Three celestial bodies, sharing one space. One might call it breathtaking, though for Knuckles, it was breath-giving.

A strange somber peace filled him. He got to his feet and crossed the clearing, leaving behind his sick and his shame. A cave rested before him and with shaking steps he walked up to it.

A war, a genecide of a hundred generations lay to his back. Before him was refuge. He leaned against the enterence, somewhere in the middle. Eventually, he found the courage to step through the threshold. The war followed him inside.

He dropped to the ground, sitting strangely. He tried breathing in the special way Maddie had taught him. She called it 'meditation', but they both knew it was more complicated than that. It was survival.

He breathed in a box.

In. Two. Three. Four. Hold. Two. Three. Four. Out two three... Intwo. Three....

It was broken by a sob.

He tried again.

In... Two. Three.... hold two three four.......

He found his breath was caught, hard to exhale. Like a poison in his lungs, building pressure until he though he may explode.

Finally he let it out in another sob. He clutched his chest. His wet eyes caught the crescent mark, a reminder of the moon.

His eyes closed tightly.

It had been so long since he'd believed in such stories. Their gods. The ones who had failed his people time and time again. There was a time he would pray to them every day, when his mother insisted.

Now, he sat up neater, onto his knees. He rested on them, bowing down slightly, not to the ground, but enough. It should be done outside. It should be done by one that believes.

Knuckles did not believe but he spoke the words he had refused to speak for years. Words he swore to forget.

"Moon, high, hear my prayer. I call you to shine upon this night. I ask you to lead me. I beg you to grant me mercy.

Sun, low, hear my prayer. I call you to love me. I ask you to help me. I beg you to save your children. "

He felt no different. Still, his heart told him he was afraid.

He repeated the prayer.

And then he did again.

He sat a long time doing this. And during this, he felt a shift. He was no closer to his gods, but he could feel someone, a presence behind him.

He didn't have to look, he knew he would see nothing, but she was here. For the first time since he'd lost her, he could feel her. Her soul, not her corpse. His mother was watching him.

He repeated the prayer one last time, this time changing the last bit.

"Sun, low, hear my prayer. I call you to love them. I ask you to help them. I beg you to save my brothers."

He swore he could smell her. He could nearly feel the faint touch on his shoulder. He wished she'd hold him like a child. She vanished in an instant.

"Knuckles!"

The Echidna whipped around to see the figure standing on the enterence way. It was Sonic. The hedgehog ran closer, but stopped just short of him, looking his older brother over with worry.

Knuckles wiped at his eyes, hoping he looked less pitiful than he felt.

"Hold on, let me see if there's any water in this cave." Sonic said.

Knuckles looked around for the first time and noticed it was very strange. A rug was only steps from where he kneeled. On it a sort of stool with cups on it. In the corner sat a nest of woven branches intertwined with leaves and covered in blankets. There was also a pile of clothes and some piles of metal scraps.

Someone lived here. But not too recently. Cobwebs coated many objects, a thick layer of dust had settled.

Sonic had found a pot of water and a fabric scrap and returned to sit next to Knuckles.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Sonic offered.

Knuckles was confused before he remembered he'd puke while laying down. He tried not to dwell on that while Sonic wiped off his face and part of his side.

Knuckles still felt a strangling loneliness, but it was better to have Sonic here then to be alone.

After the hedgehog was done, he set the bucket down outside the cave and came back to sit next to Knuckles.

Neither talked for a moment. Knuckles knew it wouldn't stay that way.

"So..." Sonic started. He broke the silence, predictably.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked.

Knuckles glanced the the hedgehog. He was curious, but maybe moreso cautious, meeting his eyes gently. Knuckles sighed.

"I was praying." He said.

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. "I didn't know you were religious."

"I'm not."

Silence again.

"Why pray then?"

Knuckles grumbled and turned away completely. Sonic quickly backtracked.

"Not that it matters. Nevermind, it was a dumb question and totally none of my business, let's just get going-"

"My mother was religious." Knuckles offered.

Sonic considered this for a moment. "That makes sense, then." There was a deepness to it. A sort of confusion mixed with extreme pity.

Knuckles turned back around to look at him. "What?"

"Nothing! I just mean that because she was religious it makes sense you-"

"Why did you say it like that?" Knuckles corrected.

Sonic blinked for a second, trying to wrap his head around what Knuckles was talking about.

"I- it's just.... you don't talk about her much." Sonic said.

"I talk about my people frequently."

"Not her. Your dad, yes, but your mom... you've only mentioned her once. That was when you told us about your younger siblings. You never mentioned her again." Sonic explained.

Knuckles hadn't realized. Something about his mother stung deeply, a pain he'd yet to fully explore. He was reminded of the moon on Earth, destroyed by the Eclipse Canon. In many ways, that's what he felt like now.

He was crying again, though he didn't have the energy to wipe his tears.

"Oh Knux..." Sonic said, swinging an arm around his older brother's shoulders.

Knuckles leaned his head on top of Sonic's. He felt Sonic rub circles on his back. That sat like that for a while longer. Knuckles knew he was wasting valuable time. They should have set off a while ago.

"I wonder who lived here." Sonic said.

It drew Knuckles away from his thoughts and diverted them. It was a nice distraction wondering about the cave.

"When I lived alone in cave like this, there were more decorations. This place is strangely empty 'cept for the piles of stuff everywhere." Sonic pointed out.

Knuckles glanced around. Two cups on a stool, two cushions on a rug. One side of the nest made with careful precision and the other messed, with blankets spilling from the side. Two jackets had been hung on the wall. One was black leather, the other a sweater, hand-knit and striped.

In a corner sat two guitars, both older. One was painted with trees by a steady hand but had scratches running through. The other was in better condition with a simple pattern of stars, painted by the same steady hand. In a corner sat paints and a great number of canvas, stacked neatly. So neatly, Knuckles hadn't noticed them earlier. And thrown around the place was metal scraps and pieces of technology.

Knuckles almost laughed at it. There was a story here, one he'd never really know but could easily guess.

"Two people lived here. Both adult age, I'd think, from the size of the jackets. But they were very different." Knuckles said.

"Hm..." Sonic said, glancing around again. "I think your right." He went to the corner where the bucket had been and grabbed two objects off the ground.

"Soap. One's pine, which is nice. Like home I guess. The other one is..." Sonic took a sniff. "UGH, lavender, gross. I hate floral scents."

Knuckles chuckled. "I enjoy lavander. It's a calming smell."

"I don't know how a headache could be calming, but this is sure giving me one." He threw the soap to the floor. Knuckles shook his head.

"You should be kinder to the things here, we don't know whose home this is."

Sonic rolled his eyes, "No one's, not anymore. This place is so dust-"

Sonic was cut off by his own sneeze. Knuckles smiled, ignoring the gaping hole in his chest. He rose, shakily, and walked towards Sonic.

"We should go now, to find the others." Knuckles said.

Sonic nodded. "Tails got what he needed to make those weapons, but we can stop and make 'em later. There's some kind of mob after you, I think."

"What else is new?" Knuckles said begining to exist the cave. Just before he did, he turned back and said, "Thank you."

Sonic jumped with happiness. Then composed himself, "Uh, yeah. No big deal."
The two walked back to where Sonic knew the others were searching.

The duo left behind the cave and all its mystery. The cups, one empty and one full, lay untouched, as did the engraved M. on the back of the forest guitar. And at the bottom of the stacked canvases was an unfinished portrait, the outline of a young girl with blond hair and two different colored eyes.

Notes:

I really tried to capture the complex feeling of grief and that sort of choking sadness that comes with it. I hope I did it justice.

I do wonder who lived in that cave though. Probably no one important...

Thanks again for reading! Honestly, it means a lot. Hope you like the story so far. Have a great day/night wonderful human!

Chapter 11: A Haunting

Summary:

Content Warnings: mentions of genocide, depictions of corpses, skeletons, gore, mentions of blood, racism

Length: about 1.8k

Notes:

Sorry for being late wirh this chapter. Yesterday was a busy day for me. But, it's Halloween now I guess. Perfect day to release this chapter. My schedule is still every Thursday, this was just a little hiccup.

Tails was panting from when he ran, still trying to catch his breath. After the whole Knuckles-crashing-into-someone thing, the entire town knew about him being an Echidna. They also knew about who had a tie to him and had tried to capture the other three to lure him back.

They'd manage to escape, but now the whole town was looking for them.

Tails adjusted the pack on his back. It was much heavier now with the added weight of the weapon parts. He and Amy were looking for Knuckles in the dense forest. So far, they had found nothing. Tails just hoped Sonic was having better luck.

It turns out he was, because soon both Sonic and Knuckles joined them. Tails didn't comment on the tear tracks outlining Knuckles' face, nor the faint smell of vomit. He looked very shaken.

"Hey guys! We're back and ready for travel!" Sonic said, pumping his first into the air, enthusiastically.

"The portal is this way." Amy said, taking off further westward.

Tails had noticed she'd been acting weird. Her voice was dull, as were her eyes. There was something bad about this next world. When Amy gave him the run down, she'd described the next world as disturbing, but not inherently dangerous. He wondered what that might entail.

The atmosphere shifted suddenly and Tails knew the portal must be right in front of them, in a twisted willow with strange orange buds.

"The next world is Angel Island." Amy said, in a cold voice.

Knuckles attention snapped to her.

"We're going through... You can't be serious!" He shouted, strangely irradic.

Amy hung her head, "It is the only way through."

Knuckles looked upset, but turned his eyes down. Tails had heard some things about the battle of Angel Island and some sort of old curse placed by an evil Echidnian witch. Though, he supposed that was likely a biased interpretation.

"Some warnings before we enter." Amy began. "Firstly, it is disturbing. Angel Island is covered in the preserved bones of the old Echidnas."

Sonic shivered. "I'm not sure it gets much worse than that."

Amy glared at him, "Second, there was a curse placed by the old High Priestess. It's said that if the bones of the fallen Echidna are moved from their final resting place, he who touched them shall be made to pay in blood."

Sonic audibly gulped, "Nevermind, it got so much worse."

"Oh come on, it sounds like some sort of old ghost story." Tails said with a scoff.

"Do not speak ill of spirit tales, Fox." Knuckles warned.

Amy nodded. "Luckily, the path to the next portal isn't far and we won't have to go through the temple. As long as we watch our step-"

"We are not going to see the temple?" Knuckles asked, seemingly hurt by this.

"Well... no. It's very dangerous." Amy explained.

Knuckles crossed his arms. "I can handle it."

Amy frowned. She quickly switched off her translator. "It's not you I'm worried about."

"My brothers are strong! They can handle a simple curse. They will be cautious!" Knuckles yelled.

"I have no doubt the young one will be careful, but it's the fast one I worry about." Amy explained.

Tails just blinked as the two argued back and forth in Echidnian. Sonic leaned towards him to whisper, "I wish I knew what they were saying."

Tails nodded and whispered back, "Me too. Sounds serious."

This lasted only a couple more minutes before they quieted down. Amy turned her translator back on. Neither looked very happy.

"We can't stay here, so we're all going in. I will take Knuckles to see the temple, you will stay put right by the portal entrance." Amy stated. Knuckles nodded in agreement with this plan, though he still looked a bit defeated.

"Wait, why can't we stay here again?" Sonic asked.

The sudden angry shout of a mob in the distance answered that question. Torchlight flickered through the trees.

"Alright! Yay! Let's go to the spooky cursed graveyard!" Sonic cheered as he shoved them all through the portal.

.
.
.

A vast expanse of gnarly, dead trees consumed the skyline. A dense mist coated the ground. A chill, even in the summer heat, had settled upon this new land. Tails shuddered.

By his feet were bones. Skeletons in the place they died, strangely white and unweathered, as if they'd only recently passed. Sonic didn't interupt the intruding silence.

"Stay here. We'll be back." Amy said as she and Knuckles began walking on a stone path. The forms of old buildings could be seen in the distance.

A forest behind them and the ruins of an ancient city before them, Tails and Sonic merely stood. The bones were there, and niether wanted to discuss them. Though, nothing else could be discussed, not with the remains so clearly visable, so they stayed quiet.

The two gravitated towards an old fallen column of marble. It offered a nice seat to look up at the stars and not down. Tails really tried not to think too much about the remains. Instead he focused on the facts of the battle that he could remember.

The battle of Angel Island was a long, long time ago. According to history books, the Echidna had been selfishly hoarding the hill known as Angel Island. Farmers in the valley needed to expand and decided to go up the mountain a little. The Echidnas had then attacked them, piliaging their settlements until the Owls came to stop them. However, an evil witch had placed a curse on the land so the farmers couldn't use it. The battle had also killed every last Echidna. At least, it was thought that it did. But some had escaped to a new world.

Centuries later, Knuckles' village had been attacked, likely the last of its kind, and then it was just him. Except just like Angel Island, some had escaped and moved on. Tails suddenly felt pride for how resilient his brother's people were.

"Sure is spooky here, huh." Sonic said, finally trying to dispell the tension.

"Yep." Tails replied.

"So, was this really a battle or some sort of massacre?" Sonic asked.

Tails turned to look at him, but didn't know how to answer. Technically, he didn't know, but it seemed obvious. How could every member of a species die in a battle? Children and the elderly didn't fight. They would not be dead if it had a been a battle.

"Hahaha!"

Sonic and Tails froze. The sound of a child's laughter filled the night air.

"Uh... you heard that too, right?" Sonic said.

Tails shivered. "Y-yeah. Probably a farmer's kid that wandered too far up the hill."

"Haha, right. Totally that. Definetly not some spooky centuries old curse, cause that would be terrifying." Sonic said.

Tails nodded, smiling nervously. "Totally horrifying. Good thing it's not."

"Haha! Play! Play!" echoed the child's voice.

It was Echidnian.

"Shit." Sonic said, jumping to his feet, looking around wildly.

Tails shot him a glare for swearing.

"Oh come on! There's a demon baby! I won't be judged for my very valid reaction!" Sonic said, very loud and very high pitched, cracking twice.

A wooden hoop suddenly rolled out from the trees. It spun to the dirt just inches in front of Sonic.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Sonic screamed, grabbing onto Tails.

Tails shoved him. "Shut up already!"

The night suddenly grew very still. The voice of the child could no longer be heard.

"Whew! Haha. Probably just the wind. There might be a cave system close by!" Tails said, not entirely convincing himself.

Sonic tore his eyes away from the tree line to glance at Tails. But his face went pale.

Tails quirked an eyebrow. "What? You look like you've seen a-"

A hand was placed on one of his tails. "Play!"

Tails screamed.

He didn't even look twice at the small skeleton clutching his tail before he shoved it away and took off sprinting. Sonic followed behind him, not wanting to overtake him. Suddenly, the hedgehog tripped over something.

It was a pile of bones.

Imediently, the pile sprung to life and grabbed him.

"AHHH!!! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Sonic yelled, whacking it with his foot.

Tails grabbed a nearby stone and flung it off the skeleton. Sonic was released but ran right into another pile.

Tails grabbed another rock but realized it was much too light. It was another bone.

A tall skeleton rose before him, growling and swiping. Tails managed to dodge.

"Go get Knuckles and Amy!" Sonic shouted, wriggling out from the grasp of another skeleton.

Tails didn't look back before he took off as fast as he could in the direction the two had left.

He was barely ten paces ahead when another skeleton stood in his path, blood dripping from spurs. A growl emerged from it, dismembered and estranged.

"AHH!" Tails screeched as he changed course too quickly. He ended up falling to his side.

The demon baby from earlier was waiting, looking down at him with empty eye sockets. A dagger was embedded into it, shinning ever so slightly in the moonlight, visable only through those gaping holes.

Tails screamed again, scooting across the ground. He tried to think of how the curse could've activated on this child without anyone touching the bones. Then he noticed it. A drip of paint running down the back of the skull.

Someone else had been here.

The bloody undead Echidna pointed a finger towards a tree. There was something hanging from it.

A fox. It's innards were revealed, spewed onto the ground like vomit. A piece of intestine tied around its neck like a noose, causing the neck to bulge. An eye was sliding like a muddy slug down the face. The jaw had been dislodged, stretched much to wide. Jaw bones protruding from gums, teeth loose and bloody. A gust of wind moved the carcass and the guts poured forward, squelching onto the ground.

Tails gaze flicked back to the skeletons, reaching forward with slender, pale hands. Tails pushed himself backwards, out of reach.

Unfortunately, there was a pit right there.

The fox landed on something hand and sharp. Something that seemed to come alive the second he touched it.

It was a pit full of bones. Eyeless, small skulls surround him. Creatures crawled towards him on four legs, climbing on top of each other. There was no ground, only the mass of pearly white, slithering beneath him like a serpent.

The child from earlier glanced into the pit and let out a sad whine. It turned around to leave and Tails saw what had been painted there, just recently, in orange spray paint.

Lesser

Tiny claws dug into his skin and he tried clawing back. He moved, slowly, through the pile towards a dirt wall. He dug into it, trying to pry himself free, but boney hands held firm.

A hundred voices echoed beneath him. Words in a language he didn't understand, screams of agony, the wails of babies.

Tails' voice joined the chorus. And suddenly he was dragged down further and further into oblivion.

Notes:

Yeah, they aren't out of the woods yet. This chapter and the next one were the main reasons I added the horror tag.

I hope you have a very funny and spooky Halloween if you celebrate.

Chapter 12: A Promise

Summary:

CW: Skeletons, Horror, minor injury mentioned

Reminder: Bolded means it's said in Echidnian. Only Knuckles and Amy (plus other Echidnas) understand it. Amy only speaks Echidnian, Knuckles is bilingual.

Length: 2.8k

Knuckles felt strangely numb. He supposed he had let out all of his emotions earlier, but it was still strange. He was disconnected from the remains he passed.

He and Amy walked carefully around the bones, not wanting to invoke any sort of curse. Gradually, the stone road they were traveling on opened up ruins of stone buildings appeared on either side.

Winding through streets eventually led the pair to a marble pyramid. Bricks taller than Knuckles were stacked upon each other to form a structure similar to a large staircase, proper stairs were carved into it. On either side of the smaller steps, large snake statues lay dormant, fangs disconnected and crumbling.

Countless skeletons littered the steps, reaching towards the pinnacle, the alter. It was as though they thought the spirits would give them salvation from those who had come to slaughter them.

"I'm guessing you want to see the alter." Amy said.

Knuckles nodded. He was too tired to talk.

Amy ended up leading the way, jumping on the side of the temple to avoid the piles of bones on the stairs. Knuckles followed, deciding the strategy was safest.

Halfway up, the pyramid shifted underneath his feet. Some of the marble began to crumble away and he lost his purchase. He scrambled to balance before he fell backwards. Luckily, Amy took notice and quickly extended he hammer.

Knuckles grabbed it in one hand, regaining his balance. Amy helped pull him further onto the stable marble. The two caught their breath for a moment before setting off again, without comment.

Knuckles trekked more carefully, pulling himself further onto the next large step before lowering his gaurd. Progress was slower now, but within minutes they'd reached the peak.

At the top of the temple was an alter formed of gold and engraved with images of Echidnas. Stories of victories and defeats, a history he could not fully interpret. A past lost to his people.

The alter once held the Master Emerald, but it now held a metal bowl. It was something to burn incense in. A quick fix for something that could never be fully healed.

Amy sighed. "This place was one beautiful."

Knuckles hummed in response. He leaned forward to brush some dust off the alter.

"What are you doing!" Amy whisper-screamed.

Nothing happened when he touched it, however. Instead, a layer of grime was removed. An image of the Sun Goddess was revealed. Knuckles bowed his head. Whether she ever existed was irrelevant. She was important to his people and that meant she was important to him.

A sound carried from the distance, but he couldn't place it. Knuckles turned, trying to hear better. More noise, like a howling perhaps?

"Must be the wind." Amy said.

Knuckles was inclined to believe her, but something about it didn't sit well with him.

"Perhaps we should check on them. Just in case. He replied.

"They're probably fine, but if you're done here, there's no point staying." Amy said.

She seemed a bit sassier than usual. Maybe it was the countless skeletons surrounding them or maybe he'd done something to upset her.

BANG!

Knuckles jumped at the noise. It was far off but loud. It resonated around the space, more like a pitch than an accident.

BANG!

It sounded again, louder. Suddenly, a chorus of softer rhythms joined in. The beating of drums, starting soft but getting louder. With it, the stamping of feet, like an approaching army.

Knuckles jumped into action, dissented the pyramid quickly, tripping down the stairs, trying and failing to avoid bones. They rattled behind him like snakes, a warning of death.

The drums and marching approached him, and he approached back. He knew his brothers were in this direction, and he would stop at nothing to get to them.

an ocean of blood, Tails just out of reach, the carnivorous plant's jaws snapping closed...

Knuckles heart raced faster than his feet. The sound was indistinguishable from the pounding of the drums that grew ever closer. Soon, he saw it. Descending with the mist was a slow moving procession of corpses.

Their footfalls echoed into the hollow night. With it, they banged their drums, bones rattled. A stench like mud and mildew hit his nose. Behind him, more ghouls were approaching. Come to live with his touch and carelessness.

Knuckles looked around wildly. Bone piled on the ground were rising with the steady beat of the parade, like a heart powering each skeleton. They surrounded him but left a girth. Soulless eyes starring at him. He was frozen in place, a single being in a sea of death.

A light shined from above, but it was not the sun or the moon. Instead, it was a ghastly green from the top of the temple. It cut through the dark like a search light, the beating of drums ceased.

Rustling began towards the outer ring of the circle that surround Knuckles. A muffled yell accompied it, something organic. Knuckles stepped towards the skeletons and the noise. They creatures stepped back with him.

Knuckles pushed his luck, taking several steps in the direction of the organic sound. The creatures let him. Eventually he got to the source.

Sonic was being restrained, decorated with a few deep scratches and a black eye. One skeleton was gripping his torso and holding back his arms, another covered his mouth, a third held his legs.

Tails was next to him, laying limp in a skeletons hold.

Knuckles surged forward, trying to pry his youngest brother's body from bony hands.

Sonic lay unbreathing. Shaking him did nothing. Tails disappeared below the waves. The pain of a concussion throbbed in his skull. Grape jam spilling out of smashed heads...

Tails was in his arms now as he sank down to the ground. He was cool, but not cold. A thrum in his chest, a wind in his lungs. He was alive.

He breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Sonic who seemed to visibly calm with Knuckles. Though, it was hard to be calm when in the hands of the living dead.

The circle opened up on the other side and a more decorated skeleton emerged. A staff in their hand, a billowing cape, and a feathered headdress. This was the high Priestess.

Knuckles was unsure of what to do. The skeletons seemed to mean him no harm, but given Sonic's slight beating, he'd guess the same wasn't true of his allies.

"Who are you?"

The Priestess's voice was strange, not coming from her mouth, but rather from around her, removed from her body. It was melodic, unlike the voice of someone who's been dead for centuries. There was a hint of accusation, but mostly curiosity and a twinge of hope.

"I am Knuckles, son of Wynmacher and member of the house of Le." He said.

Other skeletons began discussing this, a chorus of undead murmurs that sent a chill up his spine. The Priestess lifted a hand to silence them.

"From what Clan are you descended?" She asked.

Knuckles frowned. "I am not sure."

Gasps sounded from the skeletons. An elderly voice shot forward. "What Echidna doesn't know his own origins?"

"I was separated from my tribe as a child!" Knuckles shot back with malice.

Another gasp and more whispers.

"Tell us about your history, all you remember." The Priestess said.

Every skeleton inched forward in anticipation.

"My people survived the massacre of Angel Island and escaped to a distant planet. There, we lived many centuries in hiding. But an Owl found our island. We struck first in fear and she called upon other owls. I was separated from my people during the attack and lived my life believing I was the last of my kind, but I was wrong. My new ally, Amy, was raised by my people and is taking me back to them." Knuckles explained.

"I did think it was strange she spoke our language." The Priestess said. "Bring her foward. "

Some of the creatures came forward and released Amy into the empty circle. She stood tall imediantly, brushing grime from her skirt. She extended her arm. "Thank you, if I could just get my hammer back-"

The Priestess began to laugh "You think we would give you back your weapon? We are not yet convinced of your loyalties!" She seemed more jovial than angry.

Knuckles was still sitting with Tails, but Sonic was still being restrained. He supposed he may be able to convince her to let him go.

"I thank you for your understanding thus far. Perhaps your people could release my brother." Knuckles said.

The light murmuring stopped and everyone glared in Sonic's direction. Knuckles would have faced palmed if he wasn't busy holding the unconcious Tails. Why did he have to call Sonic that now? He should've just said friend, or better yet ally.

"You were raised with this other hedgehog?" The Priestess asked, suspicion edging her voice.

"No! I have only lived with him for a little over a year. Before then, I was on my own. He was also alone, raised on Earth in the forest. We both now live in the company of humans along with Tails." Knuckles explained.

The Priestess considered this.

"Humans? Earth? I have not heard of either. It's must be a newer planet... Regardless, none of this makes me believe he is a good character. What has he done to aid you as an Echidna?" The Priestess asked.

Here, Knuckles sat up straighter. He knew precisely how to win favor for Sonic.

"The hedgehog helped me to reclaim the Master Emerald from unworthy hands." Knuckles announced.

This got the crowd interested.
"The master Emerald!"
"Then where is it?!"
"They must be heros!"
"You defeated the Owls?!"

"Quiet down, everyone, please. Now, that is a very impressive feat. Release the hedgehog." The Priestess commanded.

Sonic was set down more gently than Amy. The whole group was in awe of him. Sonic sat down next to Knuckles, checking on Tails for himself. Amy was still standing, trying not to get in the way of the conversation. She seemed a bit shy now, out of place. She didn't strike Knuckles as the awkward type, but Knuckles was know for poor judgement.

"I apologize on behalf of my people. We assumed you were intruders, but if you come with the Master Emerald, then you are all welcome." The Priestess said, in slow Common Language.

Sonic was shocked but quickly recovered. "Right... haha no hard feelings at all. But uh... what exactly did Knuckles tell you?"

The Priestess raised an eyebrow. "The truth, I assumed."

Knuckles quickly jumped in. "Just that you were brought up alone on Earth away from other hedgehogs and-"

"Silence! I would like to hear what the hedgehog is confused about." The Priestess said, suddenly doubting Knuckles' story.

Sonic gulped. Knuckles knew both the fox and hedgehog's lives rested in what the latter would say next.

"You see... we didn't actually bring the Master Emerald here. We had it on Earth well-protected for a while, but then there was a really bad planet-ending threat and I used it and then it maybe... sorta... disappeared?" Sonic said, absolutely sweating bullets.

"They lost it." The Priestess announced.

The crowd suddenly divulged into choas. Some skeletons surged forward and others held them back. All in all, it was terrifying. Knuckles tried to think of something to save their hides, but it was hard when Sonic basically just admitted they flushed the most powerful weapon in the world into the vast expanse of space!

"WAIT!" Amy shouted at an ungodly volume. The sound seemed to shake the ground and it echoed several times through the stone city. There was suddenly silence.

"The Master Emerald breaks into it's components after it's been used as a way to protect itself. If it was lost because it broke apart, we will just retrieve it and bring it back here to its homeland." Amy reasoned.

"hmm... Is it true, blue hedgehog, that it broke into several pieces? " The Priestess said.

"Yes. Seven seperate little Emeralds. But we could... find them?" Sonic tested.

The Priestess was considering this. Knuckles took the chance to shoot a look of thanks to Amy. Somehow, she managed to calm the situation.

"I shall let you all go... if you promise to return to us, the Master Emerald." She declared.

Some people in the crowd cheered, others booed. Knuckles didn't care, he was just happy they were all going to live.

"We promise to be back with it." Knuckles swore. He gazed the Priestess, hoping she saw his sincerity.

"Alright, back to rest everyone! The next time we awaken, it will be to good news!" The Priestess cheered.

The crowd echoed her and then began to disperse. The Priestess knelt down by the trio on the ground.

"I hope your friend is okay. The children must've given him such a fright." She said.

Knuckles shuddered. He'd have to inquire to Tails about what she meant later.

"He's be fine, I'm sure." Knuckles responded.

"Thanks for letting us go...?" Sonic said. He seemed grateful, but confused. Knuckles realized Sonic didn't know exactly what was promised.

"Oh, it's really fine. We don't usually kill those who disturb us anymore, not unless they do something truely vile. Giving them a good fright keeps others away, though! You be sure to tell everyone how scary it was, alright!" She said, winking at Sonic.

"Haha... yeah, sure thing!" Sonic said, shaking like a leaf.

"Anyways, where are you headed next!" The Priestess asked.

Knuckles cleared his throat. "Only Amy knows."

The older woman turned to her, expectantly and then realized her mistake. "How silly of me... Miss, what world do you need to get to? There are many portals by which you can travel inside the temple. Perhaps we could find a shortcut!"

Amy leaned in to the Priestess to whisper about their destination. She had not told any of them the name of the home island to keep it safe. The two began a hushed, back-and-forth conversation.

Sonic seemed to calm down a little next to Knuckles. He took the chance to try to wake Tails and Knuckles let him.

"Hey bud, can you hear me?" Sonic said, shaking Tails lightly. Knuckles only now noticed the many scratches on the fox. None were deep, but it was still concerning.

Tails didn't respond at first. Sonic shook him even harder.

Tails sat up quickly, panting. Eyes looking around madly.

"Hey, Tails. It's all good now." Sonic said, trying to calm him.

The fox let out a shuttery breath. He collaspsed into Knuckles. The older boy held his brother close, hoping to bring him some comfort.

"I had the most horrible dream." Tails said.

Knuckles and Sonic locked eyes, trying to figure out exactly how to break the news that the undead hoard was, in-fact, real.

The Priestess decided to interupt at that exact moment.

"We've found the best shortcut I can offer! If you'll follow me, I'll have you out of here in no time!" She said, clapping her hands together.

Tails took one look at her and screamed. Knuckles had to physically restrain him to prevent him from flying away.

"Woah, woah, dude. It's fine. She's a cool undead skeleton!" Sonic explained, blocking the fox's view of her.

"The sooner we leave, the better." Amy told the Priestess.

Sonic helped Knuckles to his feet while the Echidna clutched Tails carefully. The younger boy's had begun to sob in fear. Knuckles did what he could, keeping him in a firm hold and letting his younger brother hide his face in Knuckles' shoulder.

The Priestess brought them to a collection of portals. Technically any Echidnian-made portal was acceptable for travel on a Warrior Journey, so this shortcut was allowable and likely needed with the state Tails was in.

"Thank you for the shortcut. We really must be going." Knuckles said.

The Priestess smiled. "The pleasure is all mine. Now get that baby somewhere quiet to rest."

Amy whispered something under her breath about it being "hard" to do in the next world.

Knuckles gave the Priestess a respectful bow and used the portal, Sonic following close behind. He needed to get Tails away from that place and somewhere calm.

What greeted him on thr other side was the opposite of calm.

Notes:

I promise, Tails will get his break! Also, the High Priestess is not Tikal. Thought I should mention that she'd just an OC. A cool granny if you will.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a wonderful day/night!

Chapter 13: A Fight

Summary:

CW: Mentions of Injury, Flashback to battle

This one's mostly fluff and comfort! Gosh do these kids need it.

Notes:

Length: 2.3k

An onslaught of bright lights berated Sonic's vision imediantly after stepping through the portal. He hissed a bit and moved his hands to block his vision. A far off sound rang in his ears.

After a moment he was adjusted enough to look around. The group had emerged from a tree on the edge of the bright city. Neon signs and huge billboards clotted the night sky.

"Ick. What is this place?" Sonic asked. He swore he could smell the awful urban scent from here.

It took Amy a second to get her translator working to respond with, "Casino Park. Awful place, but we can be in and out if we keep our heads down."

"No. We will continue our quest tommorow evening." Knuckles said, sternly. Tails was clutched close to his chest, still whimpering into his shoulder.

"Right. We probably could use another break after... everything." Sonic said. He tried to sound somewhat cheerful, but he didn't really think it worked.

It had been a long day, really a long journey. He thought they'd be safe in that little village for a rest, but he was very wrong. One angry mob and a panic attack later and they walked right into hell incarnate. Sonic rubbed absent mindedly at his injured arms.

Amy didn't complain. She walked a few paces back from the assaulting skyline and began setting up her simple tent.

Sonic managed to get Tails' backpack off and set up their tent as well. Knuckles then set the Fox down in it. The kit's eyes were still wet, but he was begining to calm down a bit. Sonic dug around and found every blanket and pillow they had packed. Knuckles settled in next to Tails.

Now that Sonic was away from the others, he felt his scrapes sting. One ran down his stomach, three on one of his arms, a particular deep one on his right leg. None of them seemed too bad, but that didn't ease his worries of contracting space rabies. He should probably find somewhere to clean up tommorow.

He noticed the one on his leg was still bleeding. He reached into Tail's bag and pulled out some bandages, ripping off a piece. He haphazardly wrapped it. Then, he got back to the task at hand.

A few moments later, Sonic was scurrying into the tent, bedding in hand. Tails was just a little ball of floof settled next to Knuckles who was wrapped around him protectively. Sonic almost smiled at the scene, but it was soured with images of animated zombie-Echidnas almost tearing them to shreds.

He put the evening's prior events out of mind and began weaving the blankets around his sleeping brothers forming a sort of nest. Then, he laid one over the both of them. Knuckles was awake, eyes opened into thin slits, but didn't comment. Tails was unresponsive.

Sonic settled on the other side of Tails, resting his head next to Knuckles' head. He then pulled the blanket to cover himself as well. For a while the three of them just laid there.

Sonic felt himself dozing off to the sound of a distant cheer, a soft light glowed through the side of the tent, bathing them in honey yellow. It was almost peaceful. If not for... slender fingers crawing on him like spiders, clawing into his flesh, throwing him like a meaningless scrap, looking at him with hollow eyes.

Sonic shivered.

"Only Sonic the hedgehog could be cold under all these blankets." Tails said.

Sonic turned to him. He was still small, hiding from the lights of the city, from the outside itself. His eyes were still dripping, his shoulders shaking. He had a light smile on his face, one he didn't mean.

"How you feelin' bud?" Sonic asked.

The Fox's features fell. His eyes got misty and far away, but he tried to shake it off.

"I'm doing better now." Tails said.

Sonic frowned. He set a hand on thr kit's head. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." Tails said, without hesitation. He followed it up a little later with, "Maybe later, but I think I need a break from... everything."

Sonic smiled cautiously and nodded. He knew it was bad to bottle up your feelings, but maybe it was fine to postpone everything for just a moment.

"Okay. You want to talk about something else? Like, maybe your inventions?" Sonic suggested.

Tails sat up, pulling his knees to his chest. He shook his head. His eyes watered.

"Hmm... there has to be something fun to do.." Sonic said, sitting up and tapping his chin in thought.

He was suddenly struck.

He fould himself in a pile on the ground sputtering, feathers from a pillow coating his quills. His brothers were both giggling.

"I believe I have found something to entertain me." Knuckles said. He was sitting on his knees, throughly enjoying himself.

Sonic glanced over ar Tails whose mood had changed significantly. He brushed a tear from his cheek, his mouth fixed in a genuine smile.

"Oh Knuckles, you forgot something." Sonic said.

Knuckles frowned. "What?"

Sonic ran quickly, wrapping Knuckles up in a blanket in the blink of an eye.

"Don't pick on the fastest thing alive if you can't keep up!" Sonic exclaimed. He and Tails divulged into laughter.

Knuckles let out a grumpy huff. Then he untangled himself and lept for Sonic. The two rolled around on the ground, kicking and punching weakly.

"Aw guys! Stop fighting!" Tails said, giggling.

Sonic and Knuckles paused and looked at each other. A thought passed between them. They both jumped on Tails and began tickling him. The Fox squealed and tried hitting them off.

"Guys! Stop!" He hollered, unable to control his fit of laughter.

They were all hit with a sudden breeze. The trio turned to see Amy had peeled open the tent enterence. She frowned at the display and quirked an eyebrow.

"Save me!" Tails said. There was a sense of urgency in his voice but a smile on his face.

Amy might not speak their language, but something in her eyes told Sonic she understood.

"Uh... we can talk about this?" Sonic tried.

He was taken down instantly with a pillow. Knuckles was not far behind. They ended up back to back, tied together with blankets. Tails was close by, smirking.

"Thanks Amy!" He said as he beamed at her.

Amy nodded and handed Tails a large feather before leaving to her own tent.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Tails, you wouldn't." Sonic said.

"Wouldn't what? What's happening?!" Knuckles asked, his view obstructed.

Tails was absolutely merciless with his tickling. It ended up taking a full three minutes to get untied and he was not left alone once. Afterwards, the older boys had tackled their little brother and they ended up in a pile. A circle of calm in a tent of chaos.

It was quiet for a long time then. Eventually, the soft sounds of Tails breathing filled the tent. He was asleep.

"What happened?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic didn't answer for a moment. Part of him wanted to pretend he was also asleep. Another part knew that wouldn't work on Knuckles.

"A skeleton was already awaken when we got there. It scared us and we ended up waking some more up. Then we got attacked and brought to the temple, to make a long story short." Sonic summarized.

He didn't mention... Boney fists colliding into him. Pearly white claws ripping at him. Savage, hungry, evil beasts.

He didn't know he was crying until he registered the blur in his vision. Couldn't feel himself shaking till a steady hand was placed on his shoulder.

"It's alright now." Knuckles said.

Logically, he knew it was, but it was never that easy.

Just last evening he was comforting Knuckles in a cave in a far off planet. Now, Knuckles was comforting him. They really were a gaggle of messes.

"Oh how the turns table." Sonic laughed, tears falling faster. Ribs shaking for reasons other than joy. He was burning from the inside out.

He lost sight of Tails. He had run to get the others. He would be safe. Sonic didn't know if the same could be said for him.

An Echidna skeleton fell onto him, shoving him into the dirt.

Tails screamed.

Sonic gazed across the gloom to see the shape of a tall beast above him, snarling. Sonic tried to break free. He heard Tails fall to the ground, screaming again.

Sonic tried managed to claw him way out from under the creature but was slammed into by another.

Then he heard something fall. He knew it was Tails. Bones began rattling, screams filled the night. He could hear Tails' amoung them, pick it out in the hurricane of cries.

He jumped up, but was swiped at, claws connected with his arm. Then with his stomach. He dropped again and crawled towards where he knew Tails should be.

Something grabbed his foot. He pulled it. Burning pain lit up and he scrambled to get away. The beasts didn't care. He was restrained and moved. The low sound of drums began and with it, more skeletons rose from the ground.

He heard the beating in his ears and chest. His heart synced to it. Even now, he swore the noise was still around him.

A soft hum cut through his thoughts.

It was something strange, in a minor key and jumping between high and low surprisingly quickly.

Eventually words began accompanying it. Just a soft singing.

It was Echidnian, something he had heard Knuckles sing on stormy night to put Tails to bed. Sonic's breathing was slowing with it and his tears drying. His heartbeat slowed and he slumped back, more tired than he wanted to admit.

He wondered if it was magic somehow. Some kind of incantation, perhaps?

"What's it about?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles paused.

"The song, what're the words about?" Sonic asked.

"It's an old story about a woman whose husband died. A few years later, she takes in an orphan and finds her love for her husband manifested in a new way. It's a bittersweet story of reincarnation and the power of love to take new forms situationally." Knuckles explained.

"So like, her love turned from romantic to platonic?" Sonic asked.

"Sort of. She goes from romantic love and the feeling of adoration from her husband to adoring her son and protecting him. From romantic love to complete and utter sacrifice. The love of a mother is different from that for a friend. Familial love is a different thing from platonic entirely in Echidnian culture." Knuckles tried.

"I see... I suppose I get it. A strange story for a lullaby though, huh?" Sonic said.

"Not really. It's from her perspective, singing to her new son and remembering holding her dying husband. Her telling him to sleep is paralleled in both scenes." Knuckles said.

Sonic hummed thinking about it. It did seem pretty substantial. Sort of poetic and beautiful, like soul mates in a different way. He thought about losing one of his brothers and them coming back as a little kid. It wasn't quite the same, but helped put things into perspective.

"I like it." Sonic decided.

"Good, it's the only one I remember." Knuckles said.

That made Sonic sad. But then again, it wasn't as if he remembered any Hedgehog Lullabys. Longclaw was never a big singer either, so he had nothing from her either.

"I don't know any." Sonic offered.

"Longclaw never sang you any song of your people?" Knuckles asked.

"I... don't really know anything about my people." Sonic admitted.

"Then..." Knuckles started. He was being thoughtful with his words which was unusual for him. "Do you know where Longclaw found you?"

"No." Was all Sonic could say.

"Do you know who your parents were?"

Sonic's silence was answer enough for the both of them.

He tried not to think much about it. He'd considered a few years ago the strangeness of it all. But it left his insides feeling all hollow and weird. He hated that, so he buried it.

He didn't know where Longclaw got him. An orphanage, maybe. Or abandoned. Maybe she saved him from a bad home, but that was best case scenario. It could have been something more sinister.

She could have stolen him.

It was entirely possible, and it hurt. He had believed for so long that she loved him. She wouldn't have done that, right? But she could have and Sonic would never know.

Longclaw was dead, and all the secrets she kept with her.

Did it even matter? He was away from Hedgehogs for so long. He didn't really belong with them either. But he might have a family out there, just like Knuckles.

He might have biological siblings. As selfish as that was, to think about a different family while sleeping in a tent with his adoptive brothers.

He could almost imagine a brother that looked just like him. He was younger, small. He could picture his blue fur, a shimmer in little green eyes. And maybe he's have a sister. She'd be older and grumpy. Maybe in college now, only home for the holidays.

He'd have a dad, one with a very cool mustache. He would be something boring like an accountant. He'd read the morning paper and take his coffee black. He'd call him sport and show his love by buying him video games for Christmas and ignore him the rest of the year.

And his mother, she was blurry. Purple, soft, smiley. It was hardest to imagine her, almost as if his mind was telling him not to. She was still, like an overexposed photo, edges darker, white covering her face like mist. Somehow, she felt the most real of any of them.

He began fading away from the world, slipping into the daydream deeper. As he did she became more visible, a tuft of darker quills framed her face, bright blue eyes gazing at him with all the love in the world. There was green behind her, a tree. She smelled like sun.

He didn't remember anything about her in the morning.

Notes:

AHHHHH!!!!

That lullaby? Completely made up. Knuckles? Just chilling. Tails? Successfully comforted. Sonic? Uh...

Did Sonic have a family? Idk, maybe. You'll uh... just have to see.

Sonic doesn't remember life before Longclaw. Kids form their first long-term memories around 3 and he was only with Longclaw till he was 4 (almost 5). His earliest memories are with her. But sometimes, when he's half asleep he dreams about another person. She's always a source of immense comfort, keeping away nightmares. However, he can never seemed to remember her when he wakes up, like zero recollection.

Okay mini-rant over. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 14: A Mission

Summary:

CW: Gore (short but graphic), treating wounds (not graphic)

Length 2.5k

Reminder, bolded words are in Echidnian.

The morning was still. A sliver of sun peaked through her tent flap. She regretted that the tranquility would soon be shattered by her companions. Amy got up with a heavy sigh.

She stretched as she exited her tent. She began packing up her things and took note of her food, which was running low. She supposed she could eat some of the others' if she needed.

She then went to wake them. It was past noon now and they should discuss some kind of plan. The next portal was tricky to get to early in the night.

The boys were heaped together on the floor when she opened the tent. The fox was awake though, head raising to meet her eyes.

He gave a weak smile and managed to pry himself free from Sonic's grip. Knuckles started to stir at the movement, the hedgehog did not. Tails padded out into the daylight.

He took his pack and began to unload some food items to make breakfast. Amy began to power on the translator.

"Is the morning treating you well?" she asked.

"Better than last night." Tails replied.

Amy didn't know how exactly to respond to that. Instead, she sat next to the kit. He seemed to have several small scratches from last night.

"May I look you over?" Amy asked.

Tails seemed confused, but nodded anyways. She gently took his arm in her hands and traced along some scratches. She decided they weren't too deep. He did have a deeper one on his back, through it was more of an puncture wound, like he fell onto something. It wasn't currently bleeding, but it was matted and red.

"Your back is injured. I can clean it, but it will sting." She explained.

"Okay." was all Tails said.

Amy took a nearly empty vial from her bag and tore a piece from her dress. She had just enough cleaning medicine to dampen the cloth. She then rubbed his fur, cleaning off the old blood. The wound reopened, but it was necessary to clear it out.

Tails hissed a bit, but didn't try to stop her. He reached into his own bag and pulled out some bandages. When she was done cleaning the wound, she wrapped his torso in them. That used up all the ones the boys had brought.

She was running dangerously low on medical supplies, herself. All she had was a basic stitching kit and some spare fabric. Nothing to clean or properly wrap wounds.

Loud voices intruded the peaceful atmosphere. The other boys were arguing in their tent. Tails and Amy looked at each other, confusion crossing both their faces. A moment later, Knuckles was dragging Sonic out of the tent by the ear.

"Knuckles! Calm down! It's just a scratch! the translator picked up Sonic saying.

"Of all the reckless, careless things! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Knuckles shouted back, practically throwing Sonic to the ground.

"What's going on, guys?" Tails asked, jumping to his feet.

Knuckles looked down to the Fox's torso and scoffed. "Did you hide a horrendous injury as well?"

"W-what? No! I didn't even notice it. Is Sonic hurt?" Tails asked.

"Yes. He has an open wound." Knuckles huffed.

"Still open?! Oh shoot! Let me check the bag." Tails said, pulling out whatever he could find.

He ended up pulling out a box of paper, a spray bottle, and a plastic tube.

"We used the last of the bandages, and I can't find the antiseptic!" Tails said, alarmed.

"What? Sonic, you did pack the antiseptic, didn't you? Or at least the stitching kit?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic looked nervous. Amy thought it was very irresponsible of him to have not packed such basic supplies.

"I thought Tails was packing it." Sonic admitted. His awkwardness was no longer charming.

"I have a needle and some stitching thread. I used the last of my cleaning medicine on Tails' wound." Amy offered.

Knuckles grumbled and set his face in his hands. Sonic chuckled nervously and scooted towards the pile of food Tails had taken out.

"So... what's the chance I contract space rabies?" Sonic asked.

"Low. I'd be more worried about sepsis." Tails said.

"We'll need some more supplies." Knuckles admitted.

Sonic stood up, smirking. "I am so on it!"

Knuckles shoved him down. "Not you. I need that stitched up."

"Me and Amy can go! It's just a normal city, right? Shouldn't be too difficult." Tails said.

Amy hummed. She didn't know much about cities, but they seemed to have some level of order. She should be safe to run into a shop and grab a few things and then come back to camp. With Tails' translator, she wouldn't even need help.

"Perhaps Tails should stay here and finish those weapons he got the parts for. Those robots could be back any time and we need a way to defend ourselves." Amy pointed out.

"Of course! The robots! How could I forget?" Tails said.

Knuckles thought it over for a moment.

"I won't be able to go. I don't trust that I won't be discovered." Knuckles said.

"I can go alone. I have Tails' translator. Just send me with enough coins for the supplies." Amy said.

"The translator can actually scan written words and convert it to spoken Echidnian, that way you can read shop signs!" Tails explained.

"Great, then it's settled. I'll run into town, get what we need, and come right back." Amy declared.

Knuckles looked unsure, but Tails and Sonic gave her confident smiles. Knuckles begrudgingly handed over a fistfull of coins. She imediently set off, not wanting to waste any more time.

It didn't matter whether Knuckles trusted her to complete this mission. She's do it all the same. Besides, how hard could getting some simple supplies be?

♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★♡★

"OW! That hurts!" Sonic whined.

"Perhaps it would hurt less if we'd done this last night!" Knuckles shot back.

The two continued to squabble as Knuckles stitched up Sonic's leg wound. It had been rinsed with plain water from the last village. Not the safest way to take care of an injury. Tails sat nearby, unimpressed with the display.

He was trying to focus on inventing some basic weapons to fight those robots. He had decided on some short range blasters that would help maximize accuracy and conserve power. Because the lasers wouldn't go very far, the shots would maintain their momentum, making them stronger upon impact without putting strain on the energy system.

However, engineering something like that took focus. Focus that was hard to come by with his brothers bickering. Part of him wanted to get up and walk away, to come back when they had calmed down or he was done with his project. If they weren't on a mission right now, he probably would.

"There, done. Now, don't get any dirt on it. I won't be able to clean it properly till Amy gets back." Knuckles instructed.

Was it reckless to stitch an open wound without properly washing one's hands? Absolutely. But Tails had the decency to carry extra hand sanitizer, so the chance of a dangerous bacteria on Knuckles' hands entering Sonic's bloodstream was only .01%. Pun fully intended.

"Thanks for being oh so gentle, Knuckles. Really putting the patient first." Sonic said, sarcastically.

Knuckles shoved him. Sonic shoved him back.

Tails decided to intervene before they killed each other.

"So, about those robots..." This managed to get their attention. "When did you first see them?" Tails asked Sonic.

"Well, after I totally demolished you guys in that race, I ended up in New York. Then those freaky robots surrounded me. Amy totally kicked their tin butts, though." Sonic said.

"Titanium steel alloy butts, actually." Tails corrected.

"Erm, actually..." Sonic mocked.

Tails shot him a look of death, Sonic laughed at him.

"What was Miss Rose doing in New York?" Knuckles asked.

"Huh... good question. I have no idea." Sonic shrugged. He hadn't really thought of that.

The three sat for a moment. Then, Tails got back to inventing.

"Well, I had a question about that curse." Sonic said.

Tails sighed and stopped working again. He wouldn't make any progress at this rate.

"What about it?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, that skeleton was awake when we got there. How come?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles thought for a moment. Then answered, "The power of any spell maker is in effect until that spell caster cancels it, or a stronger caster. I suppose that in order for them to rest again, the High Preistess has to tell them to."

"Ah, I see. So that skeleton was woke up before we got there. Makes sense." Sonic replied.

Tails knew why it had awakened. Tails knew it had woken another. He had seen the corpse.

"Miles. Is everything alright?" Knuckles asked.

"Uh- yeah! Totally!" Tails said, enthusiastically.

Knuckles and Sonic exchanged a look.

"That he got from you." Knuckles said to the hedgehog. Sonic sighed and hobbled over to Tails, ploping down next to him.

"What's up, bud?" Sonic said.

How did they do that? See right through him? It was completely and utterly stupid. Sonic was always so good at concealing his emotions, and Knuckles rarely showed emotion on his face. How come Tails was easy to read when his brothers were so impossible to?

"Whatever it is, you can tell us." Knuckles said, sitting on the other side of Tails.

It hung, tore open and bloody. A face like his, eyes like his. A tail like all the other Foxes he had ever known. Flesh peeled from muscle, splitting the torso in two. Guts spilling, face screaming, neck bulging...

"Just- uh..." Tails took a shaky breath. He couldn't tell them about that. They worried about him enough already. Stupid him, dragging them down with his emotional problems. They'd be so much further now if he hadn't have held them up on the beach, or insisted on getting parts for his weapons, or ran from a little skeleton.

He sucked in his tears. He refused to let them fall. He refused to steal more attention from his brothers. They boiled just below his eyelids, an ache igniting in his chest.

"The skeleton that was awake. Someone defaced it." Tails explained.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles said quickly, horror playing with his features.

"It was spraypainted with a very bad word." Tails tried to explain.

"Lesser." Knuckles guessed, surprisingly nonchalant.

"Woah! Don't say that!" Tails replied.

Sonic looked at the others in confusion. "What's wrong with saying... that word? I mean, I say it all the time."

"Not when you're talking about people, I hope." Tails said, crossing his arms.

"Well, no. Is it like... a slur?" Sonic guessed.

"Yeah. For members of the... uh- 'lesser' species." Tails explained, air quoted the word "lesser".

"Wait, the lesser species thing is still... you know, a thing? I thought when you talked about it you meant like history or something. People actually treat certain species differently?" Sonic asked.

"Yes." Tails said. "Not me, not anymore. Though I did once..."

Sonic looked at him with a hint of disappointment. Tails deserved that. He should've never agreed with the classifications system. He had no reason to hang onto it like he did. Not when people treated him badly for his two tails. How could he agree that people should be mistreated for something they had no control over when he was experiencing the same thing?

"The circumstances of your upbringing surely influenced your prior attitudes. Besides, you have taken the initiative to change, that is all that matters." Knuckles said, placing a hand on Tails' shoulder.

That wasn't an excuse for being nasty, Tails decided. He had been a bad person before realizing the equality of the species. He was still a bad person now; he'd done nothing to redeem himself. Saving a world of humans hardly counted. He'd done nothing for the species his beliefs had hurt. He was no better than the fox with the spraypaint.

"Right. I should really get back to work." Tails said. He hoped they didn't sense his anger, it wasn't directed at them.

The others left him alone without another word. Good. He deserved it.

☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎☆♥︎

Amy had found the supplies with very little trouble. A small shop smelling strongly of smoke carried a bottle of "antiseptic" and bandages. She was just waiting to check out.

Honestly, she didn't know why Knuckles had been so concerned. She had found her way to the store in little time and didn't get in any fights on the way. In fact, most people completely ignored her. There seemed to be a lot of hedgehogs in Casino Park.

It was her turn to cash out. The translator relayed the total the shopkeeper had said. She reached into her bag to retrieve her coins.

Suddenly, a man behind her ripped the bag from her hands and bolted.

She looked back at the keeper, who just shrugged and set the stuff behind the counter. He wasn't going to be any help.

She jumped into action, racing after the thief.

It was a skunk wearing some very unflattering brown and yellow boots. His hair was spiked into a mohawk. He was also oddly short.

Her eyes tracked him through the crowded streets. He ran into several people while she gracefully danced through them. He had a slight advantage because of his stature, but she was gaining on him. He suddenly disappeared from sight.

She began to close in on where she'd last seen him. When she got there, she noticed he had fallen, or rather been tripped by a bystander who'd realized the pouch was stolen.

A cloaked figure reached down and picked up the bag, lifting it into the air and announcing something. She finally caught up came forward to claim it.

The figure was covered from head to toe, but his eyes remained visable. They were magenta, framed by black markings on a silver quills. His snout was hedgehog-like and she supposed that's what he must have been.

The second their eyes locked, panic appeared on his face. He dropped the bag and ran. Amy wanted to chase him down and demand to know what about her shocked him so much, but there wasn't time. The skunk had picked up her bag and turned, fists ready. He was going to fight her.

His funeral.

She pulled out her hammer and rushed forward. In a single swing, she knocked him to the ground.

The skunk squeaked and lept up, running away with a limp earned from his fall. He left her bag behind and she reclaimed it, not bothering to chase him down any further.

As she walked back to the shop she, an eerie feeling crept in. She ignored it for now, she would be in and out.

It took longer than she had hoped to make it back to the store. The shopkeeper sold her the items she had selected earlier. In no time, she'd be back at camp. She exited the shop, a bell ringing on the way out. She exhaled the smoke scent from her lungs and breathed in a fresh wave of city smog. She couldn't wait to leave.

She was hardly two steps down the street when she felt a prick on her arm. She looked down to see a dart.

Suddenly, she felt very tired.

The world fizzled out all around her, she felt as though she was floating... and then the ground caught up.

Notes:

Not gonna lie, the pacing of this chapter is very off. Originally, it was 4.5k, but I split it up into this week's chapter and next week's. That's mostly cause I go through chapters like 4 times before posting and long chapters are really hard for me to get out weekly. Sometimes I forget my 2k word target isn't for funsies.

Anywho, I just keep adding cameos for funsies. I wonder if you noticed the two cameos in this one (brought to you by my limited IDW knowledge).

Have a wonderful day/night!

Chapter 15: A Trade

Summary:

Content Warnings: Dehumanization, trafficking

Length 2.3k

Notes:

I wouldn't say this is lighthearted, but it's less than angsty. Basically just 2 bros talking about trauma but keeping it vauge. They're so real for that.

Knuckles sat in his solitary cage. A muzzle clamped on his jaws and rubbing uncomfortably. He'd been in this basement for weeks. The people keeping him were waiting for money.

He was a commodity, a good to be bought and sold. Over the past few months, he'd been passed around from one owner to the next. But that wasn't new. This wasn't the first time he'd been captured.

Since he was young, people had been trying to contain him. They were failing. He always escaped.

This time would be no different.

The door to the stairs opened. The sound of his captor coming down filled the chamber. A confident stride, the click of dress shoes. Another set of footsteps accompanied him, just as confident, louder.

Knuckles stood. He refused to be on uneven footing with his captor.

The pair stopped outside his cage.

There was Clutch, dressed in his white suit, as usual. He wore his full coat today and a hat, despite being indoors. He looked out of place in the damp, subterranean room. Though, so did his guest.

A teal hedgehog stood beside him, darker blue streaks marking the ends of her quills. Her heels added several inches to her already considerable height. She was put together with color around her eyes and a flash of red lipstick. She wore a red suit, a white ascot tucked in and clipped with a golden broach gleaming on her upper chest.

"So, this must be the Echidna." She said.

Knuckles couldn't answer. Clutch did for him.

"That's it alright. A real, genuine Echidna. I have lots of bids right now, but I've been holding off. I know about your shows, and I think he'd be a wonderful actor." Clutch explained.

Knuckles wasn't an actor. In fact, he was horrible at pretending. He preferred honesty. Acting was deception.

"You're sure he's as strong as they say? I don't want another dissapointment like that Croc you got me last time. Barely lasted two rounds..." the hedgehog said.

"Ah, error in judgement. I mistook it for another crocodile. But this here is the real deal. And besides, what about that other one I sold you, the Armadillo? I hear its still going strong." Clutch replied.

"Hmm..." The Hedgehog was thinking it over.

Knuckles tried to burn them both with the hatred in his eyes. It didn't work.

The Hedgehog bent down and looked into his eyes. He tried to stay steady, but she was looking past his demeanor and into his soul. She was judging him, deciding his strength.

She suddenly hit the cage. It was jarring, but Knuckles didn't flinch. He didn't drop his eyes away from hers.

The Hedgehog smiled. "Oh my dear, I think we will get along just fine." She turned to Clutch. "Let's close this deal, shall we?"

With a simple shake of hands, his fate was sealed.

"Ugh!"

Knuckles sighed. He'd been intently focuses on meditation until Sonic had interupted. Though, he supposed meditation was supposed to be calming. Recounting his past experiences and what had led him to Casino Park was not calming in the slightest.

Perhaps he should thank Sonic for shaking him from his thoughts, but he didn't want to reward his bad behavior. Specifically, him dragging himself to Knuckles and throwing himself onto his lap.

"I'm sooo bored." The hedgehog whined, putting the back of his hand up to his forhead, dramatically.

Knuckles grumbled and pushed him off onto the ground. Sonic let out an "oof", but wasn't deterred. He began rolling back and forth and kicking.

"Sonic, cease your tantrum at once." Knuckles commanded. This was, quite honestly, embarrassing. He wondered why Sojic was feeling shame.

"Amy's been gone forever!" Sonic complained. He did sit up though, now completely covered in dust.

"You don't have anything covering those stitches, you know. I pray to the Gods you don't get an infection..." Knuckles said, exaughstion infiltrating his voice.

"Aww, you sound like mom." Sonic said, sticking out his tongue.

A feeling bubbled up inside, settling in his throat. It was bitter, acidic, burning. An emotion he couldn't place.

Knuckles stood up and walked a pace over, clocking Sonic on the head. Not enough to cause damage, but enough to get his point across.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Sonic asked, rubbing the top of his head.

"You are very well aware of my reasons." Knuckles hissed, crossing his arms.

"So sassy..." Sonic teased.

"So annoying!" Knuckles shot back.

Sonic stood and the two squared up, ready for a brawl to let out their frustrations.

"Would the two of you stop? I'm trying to finish these weapons!" Tails grumbled. He seemed to be almost done by now, but it was hard to tell given that he was a considerable distance from the the two of them.

"Well, we got feelings we need to work out!" Sonic replied, uncharacteristically grumpy.

"Then work them out like grown Mobians! Talk to each other!" Tails started, then he added quieter, "the nerve of these guys..."

Sonic practically jumped into a cross legged sit. Knuckles lowered himself more gracefully. The two were next to each other looking off at the city.

Sonic sighed dramatically. "Sorry for annoying you. I'm just really, really, really, really-"

"Bored." Knuckles finished. "I'm aware."

"Well... maybe you could talk to me about your feelings." Sonic offered.

Knuckles glared at him. "I think I have talked about my feelings to you enough in the last day."

Sonic fixed him with a look that said 'Oh really?' but he redirected anyway. "How about a story, then? Something from your past."

"That's personal." Knuckles said, guarded

"Yeah, but we're family. Personal comes with the territory. Tell you what, I'll tell you a story and then you tell me a story. A story trade!"

Knuckles grumbled. Sonic told lots of stories from the time before he and Tails joined the Wachowski home. However, stories before that were... rare.

"So long as it happened before Robotnik's first attack." Knuckles said.

Sonic looked as though he was about to argue before he closed his mouth and considered it.

"Alright, fine. But your story better be super personal." Sonic said.

Knuckles nodded. Sonic began.

"So, when I first got to Earth, I didn't know anything about how humans lived. I knew how to talk and read and write, but a lot of words were foreign to me anyway. All I knew was that I had to stay hidden. So, for a while, I just sort of lived in bushes." Sonic began his story, his face animated and his arms moving around, gesturing. Knuckles had assumed Sonic found his first cave relatively quickly, he wasn't aware he's been delayed.

"It was a warm day in Feburary when I got there, but it quickly changed." Something dark lit up in Sonic's features when he said it. A window into a part of himself he rarely showed, vulnerability. "Nights were freezing and I had no where to go. I almost died the first few nights..."

The thought saddened Knuckles. Apparently, Sonic caught wind of that.

"But, uh, I was totally fine!" Sonic reassured, backtracking. "I ended up finding a place to sleep where it was warm! I snuck into the elementry school and slept in the lost and found bin till May, at least! Honestly, it's really funny in retrospect."

It didn't seem funny at all to Knuckles.

"Then, I accidently fell into my cave one day. I sprained my ankle, but it was worth it! It used to be a fox den, I think. That's ironic, huh?" Sonic said. His voice was thick with emotion.

Knuckles realized the Hedgehog had never told anyone about this. In fact, Sonic had told everyone he'd come to Earth in early spring, Maddie had guessed March.

Knuckles really should have known he'd shown up on Earth in early Feburary. That was around his 'birthday' as humans called it, or would if he'd had told them the day. The same day as the anniversary of... everything. He'd never thought about it in depth. He tried not to think of it at all.

"I'm glad you found a place of your own." Knuckles said.

"Mhm, right. So... about your story..." Sonic prompted.

Knuckles wanted to press further. Maybe discuss the feelings Sonic usually heard from others, get him to be as genuine with Knuckles as Knuckles was with him. But he didn't.

"My story..." Knuckles began.

He debated telling Sonic something from before his life had fallen apart. Maybe come clean about the day itself, about seeing Sonic pick that sunflower. How Knuckles was partly to blame for everything. That if he'd just kept his mouth shut, maybe everything would be okay.

Knuckles couldn't. Call him selfish, or callous, but he just wouldn't do it, not now, at least.

It was bound to come up, eventually.

Knuckles pushed it aside for later.

"I've been here before." Knuckles supplied.

"Hmm... why?" Sonic asked.

"I was sold to a Hedgehog here. She owns a gladiator pit." He explained.

Sonic paled a bit. He waited a second before responding. "So... what's the story there?"

Right, Knuckles wasn't being very open right now. Sonic had admitted something fairly big. The best thing Knuckles could do was at least explain himself.

"I was forced to be a gladiator in the Casino Zone, the biggest building in this city, called Casino Park. I had to fight others in death matches. I was here for several months. I made enemies and friends and..." Knuckles stopped himself.

He didn't want to talk about him. Just the thought of ebony scutes and light blue eyes made his chest hurt.

"Eventually, I did what no other had done. I won my way out." Knuckles finished the story with a grim look. He would usually gloat at his victories, though it didn't feel as though he'd won much at all. Not when...

The coppery scent of blood, the coolness of concrete, heavy breathing, the warmth of a hand through bars, a taste he'd never experience again, sweet and strange and tainted with tears.

"I'm sorry. About the... uh... fights." Sonic offered. Knuckles looked over at him and saw pity in his eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. It all happened a while ago." Knuckles said.

"How long is a while?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles didn't want to answer, but he supposed it was vital to understanding the entirely of the story. "A few months before I met you."

"Wait, really? That wasn't that long ago!" Sonic said, standing up abruptly.

"I suppose not..." Knuckles said.

"And that underground fighting ring is still in operation?" Sonic asked, eyes taking on an angry glint.

"It wasn't a secret, everybody knew. And it's probably still operating." Knuckles replied, but he looked away.

"We should do something about it." Sonic said, filled with conviction, fist pumped into the air.

Knuckles frowned, standing to meet him. "It's dangerous. We should focus on the task at hand."

"But-" Sonic began

Knuckles set a firm hand on his shoulder. Sonic looked at him, his anger dissapating.

"You can't right every wrong in this universe." Knuckles said, gravely.

Sonic looked down, his ears pinning back just a touch.

"Uh... guys!" Tails called. "It's sunset!" He was getting up from his spot.

Knuckles glanced at the horizon of buildings. Sure enough, the sun was behind them, casting an eerie red glow. The distant sounds of cheers began

"Okay...?" Sonic said, clearly confused.

Tails walked over to join them, finished weapons in hand. "Amy left hours ago. She really should be back by now."

Knuckles hadn't realized how much time had passed. He released Sonic's shoulder and walked to the tent, begining to disassemble it.

"We should look for her." He said, folding down steel rods and packing them into Tails' bag. "Pack everything up."

His brothers jumped to it imidiantly, packing up the food and all of Tails' building materials. Knuckles pulled on the cape he had fashioned for the last village and the trio headed out.

"Where do you think she went?" Tails asked as they reached the outskirts of the city. He was keeping stride beside Knuckles, staying on the ground for fear of drawing attention to them.

"I'm not sure. We should probably check the shopping district first. I admittedly haven't walked the city much before." Knuckles said.

Tails frowned. "You've been here before?"

Knuckles didn't answer. He decided to focus his energy on looking for a pink hedgehog instead of answering invasive questions about his past.

"Yeah. He was a gladiator I think." Sonic offered, Tails slowed for a moment to travel next to Sonic, Knuckles taking the lead. The trio was keeping a brisk pace, faster than a human could run but not really a sprint for mobians.

"Right, I forgot! That's cool! I think?" Tails said.

Sonic shook his head, "Maybe not that cool. It's like, super dangerous." Sonic replied.

"Well, yeah. But Knuckles was a super successful champion and-OOF" Tails ran right into Knuckles' back.

The Echidna was standing still, cold horror slithering around in his bones. There was a café, one full of TV's, and on the screen was Amy. An axe in her hands, blood sprayed on her face, disgust in her eyes, gaze downwards on a corpse.

Knuckles thought he'd escaped the pits a long time ago, but they had found him in the worst way.

Notes:

I know Breezie and Clutch aren't quite this bad in the comics but they are in this story. Clutch traps and buys exotic or sought after species of mobians and chao. Breezie owns the gladiator pits located in Casino Zone, a large building in Casino Park (trying to make Sonic names work for places is hard). As far as ages go, Clutch is probably middle age and I wouldn't say Breezie is much younger than that. This probably differs from the comics, but a fic writer's gotta do what a fic writer's gotta do.

Also, Tails did not hear the story conversation. He was locked in on finishing those weapons like the STEM diva he is.

Thanks again for reading! Have a fantastic day/night!

Chapter 16: September, 2022- A Cage

Summary:

BOOM! Late/random update.

Content Warnings: Misgendering, dehumanizing, trafficking, mild gore, uncomfortable coworker relationship (idk how else to word this)

Length: 2k

Note: this ENTIRE chapter is a flashback from early September of 2022. In my timeline, Sonic 2 takes place in late January of 2023, making this set around 4 months before that movie. Even after the character perspective change, the story is still a flashback.

Notes:

For chapter 16 and the pits in general:
I took a lot of inspiration for the pits from Graves_yard 's story "Won the Battle (Lost the War)". I haven't actually finished it, but it is a big inspiration regardless. I knew about the concept of gladiator Knuckles before reading the fic (and I was/am a Rise of the TMNT fan so lots of gladiator stuff), but Graves_yard did such a good job with it. I tried to make it very different as not to copy, but I still feel it's much to similar not to credit them. Especially Mighty being there.

Please go read it, from what I've read so far it is very good.

Knuckles was laying on hard metal, a chill creeping into his aching bones. His muzzle had been tightened, digging into his face and rubbing on his skin. His arms were being pinned behind him, uncomfortably. He slowly opened his eyes.

There was nothing. It was completely dark. A force suddenly pushed him forward. His face hit metal bars. He was moving. Probably being transported in a truck. The fact that he didn't know meant he'd been sedated. It wasn't uncommon for him to be moved like this.

Knuckles tried moving his hands, they were connected to chains on his feet. He had little mobility. He pushed into the bars again, signaling the truck had stopped.

Then it turned. He was flung into more bars. He must be locked in a full cage. The truck began speeding up. Knuckles managed to roll over so that his back was to the bars. He clasped one in his bound hand. It helped to stabilize him. He stopped sliding around.

The truck stopped again. This time, the sound of a gate opening rattled in Knuckles' head. The truck move forward a bit, then turned and stopped. Footsteps began to approach.

Finally, the door was flung open. Daylight assaulted his eyes as Knuckles closed them tightly. He hadn't see it in weeks. The warmth was nice.

People were talking, Knuckles didn't care to listen. Someone entered the truck and soon, a needle was stuck into him. Sedation, again.

His head felt stuffy and he knew he was fading out.

...

He woke up without chains on his wrists. The dripping of water caught his attention. It was silent apart from that. He felt something scratchy underneath him.

He opened his eyes. The space was dark but not pitch black. There was a light past bars, it was dim. The ground was concrete, a pile of newspapers were stacked in the corner next to a bucket and a drain. There was a wall on that side, and the one on the side next to it. The other two sides were bars. He was in the center, laid down on hay. When he faced out to the bars opposite the drain he saw there were four cells here. One in front of him, one to his left and one on the opposite corner, forming a square.

He shifted, making an attempt to get to his feet. It was unsuccessful, he was now face down on the makeshift bed. His second attempt was a little better, he managed to sit up.

The sound of a wet cough echoed around the space. Knuckles glanced out towards the light. Across a pathway was another cage. He couldn't tell what was in it.

"Hah! Fresh meat." A raspy voice growled. "I hope ya have some claws, rookie. Youse gonna need em." It then broke off into a hacking fit.

"To be an actor?" Knuckles asked. That's what Clutch said the Hedgehog wanted him for, right? To be an actor in a show?

The creature laughed, high pitched. "Oh, tried to pull that one eh? That's how she gets away with it. Just a show, she says. It'll be just a show till ya lose yer neck, or yer guts. 'At's worse, cut open likea bloody fish, screaming till ya lungs give out."

Knuckles shrank away.

"Can it, Cackle. You're scaring the poor kid." Another voice said. This one was in the cage diagonal from Knuckles, next to the creature from before. The second creature was partially illuminated. It was very large with brown fur. A bear if he had to guess.

"He's tall fura kid. Sure he's not full grown?"

"They said he was still a teenager."

"Nineteen's a teen, ya know."

"I suppose, but nineteen's still a kid."

"Is not, that's 17 and under."

"Early twenties are still kids to me. You get to be my age and everyone starts looking like a kid."

Knuckles was a bit confused by this exchange. He thought he'd learned the common language pretty well by now, but the first creature had proven him wrong with a strange accent.

The two began bickering some more. The high pitched screech of the first one clashing with the low rumble of the bear.

"Ignore them." Came a voice to Knuckles' left.

That's when he noticed a creature in the cage next to him. It took a second for his eyes to adjust. It was maybe a bit shorter than him and had dark fur with red accents. Maybe it wasn't fur?

"They argue a lot." They said. "How well do you speak this language?"

"Moderately." Knuckles replied.

"I see." Was all the creature responded with.

The arguing across the path finally began to calm down.

"Perhaps we should make some introductions." The bear offered.

"Really, why? He's either gonna kill one 'a us tommorow or we're gonna kill 'im. What difference does it make if he knows who we are?" The first creature said. He sounded happy, but Knuckles guessed he wasn't.

"That's Cackle the Hyena." The bear said.

"Hey, 'at's my old name! In the pits, ya need a stage name. So it's Ripper to you." The first creature, a hyena said, stepping fully into the light. He was purple with dark markings on his face and an unnaturally wide smile. Darker spots lined his sides and arms. A strange clipped mohawk ran from up his back. His tail was fluffy, not unlike a dog's.

"My name is Cinnamon, but they call me The Crusher." The bear said. "And the quiet one next to you is Mighty the Armadillo. No one knows her real name, just took a stage name one day and that was all she wrote."

"Mighty is my real name." The Armadillo grumbled.

"Whatever ya say, princess." Cackle replied, laughing manically. Knuckles guessed this was a theme with him. Mighty didn't seem happy and pounded a fist on the bars of their cage. That seemed to shut the Hyena up.

"So, what's your name, son?" The bear asked.

"Knuckles." He replied.

"Cute. He's gotta stage name already! We meant cha real name." Cackle said.

Knuckles frowned. "It's a close translation of my Echidnian name, I doubt you could pronounce it."

"Hey! Is thata rip on my smartness?!" The Hyena questioned.

"And how could I 'rip' on your 'smartness'? It was only an observation." Knuckles said. He knew common language, but many of the idioms still escaped him.

The statement earned a snicker from Mighty. Knuckles supposed he must've said something right.

"'kay, wise guy. Yer little girlfriend won't be laughing when I kill ya tomorrow." Cackle said.

"Now calm it down. We still don't for sure who's facing who. There's dozens of us here and no telling what the bitch has got planned for us." Cinnamon said.

"The bitch?" Knuckles questioned.

"Breezie, that teal bastard. She told ya youse was acting. Or maybe she bought cha. Makes no difference, a bitch either way." Cackle explained.

They were referring to the Hedgehog that ran the operation. Apparently, there were a great number of people in these "pits".

"What exactly is this place?" Knuckles asked.

The two older creatures were silent for once. Unexpectedly, it was Mighty that replied.

"This," the Armadillo gestured to the air around them, "is hell."

■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤■¤
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.

.

The cold, sterile air of his lab greeted him as he awoke, an ache in his neck and back. The metal desk beneath him pressed on his cheek, scattered sketches lining the surface.

The images were crude drawings of internal organs that he'd copied from sketchbooks: hearts, brains, and importantly eyes. They were so hard to get right, window to the soul and all that.

He did wish he was able to work with actually specimens. Instead he was left with diagrams of bodies drawn half a century ago. His work would be revolutionizing, if only he was able to begin.

A small tweet sounded. Starline turned to the source: a shiny silver cage with a pink flicky inside. One of the guards heard his theories and brought him it half drowned, asking if he could bring it back. The gaurd had laughed in the cruel way that children laughed at their peers with knobby knees and duct taped glasses.

Starline had nursed the flicky back to health, but it was hardly a feat of science. He hadn't even cut it open. It had been many months since then and it now lived in the lab.

The small bird looked at him with round eyes. Starline moved to pick up some seeds and opened the cage. The bird flew and perched on his desk. Starline sighed and lit a candle. He was supposed to work on inventions in this musty cellar and there weren't even built in electrical lights. He'd asked for the materials but had been refused. Really, it was barbaric.

He sat back down and reached out his hand for the flicky with seeds in his palm. The flicky let out a happy tweet and began to take the seeds in it's tiny orange beak.

The click of heels on cobblestone caught his attention. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"You weren't in your room last night, dear."

Starline looked passed the flicky and at the wall.

"No, I wasn't."

Breezie walked towards his desk, he refused to face her. She was behind him now, a hand shooting out and touching the papers in front of him. Her arm right next to his head, her breath on his neck.

"Tch. Are you still drawing these obscene images? I thought I told you to save the gore for the arena." Breezie said.

"It's not as if I ever get to see it." He responded, and he didn't. He was there to fix the sound system and lights. He was a glorified I.T. guy. He was never allowed to watch the fights.

"I don't think you want to." She said, resting her chin in his shoulder.

Starline stood, lightly knocking her away. He spun to face her. "I do! I want to watch them!"

Breezie's careful mask cracked for a moment before it repaired itself. Her signature red lips morphing into an unnaturally smile, just really enough to give the illusion of sanity.

"You don't want to watch the fights. You just want to get your hands on the bodies." She said.

Starline broke eye contact. He couldn't lie about that, but what did it matter? She just threw them away!

She stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't let you have them, dear. Burning them is safest. Can't leave evidence of the battles being real."

She wasn't as sincere as she pretended to be. Starline knew the beast that slept beneath that mortal flesh. If he had his way, she'd be his first experiment.

"I could help you. I could modify them, your fighters. I could make them stronger, better." Starline said, looking her in the eyes again.

"Oh no, my love. You are not the man you think you are." Breezie said. She pulled him closer, towering over him. Her face was inches from his. "You ruin everything you touch. I will not let you lay a hand on my things. They are mine to dispose of."

"I'm not scared of you." Starline said, trying to keep the shake from his voice.

"You should be." She said, pushing his to the ground. He didn't hide his pain, yelling out. She just kicked him with those sharp heels.

He felt his hair being pulled upwards, her breath on his face. "You are mine, as well, another thing that I control. And I can get rid of you whenever it is most convenient. Don't forget it."

"Don't forget your tact." He responded.

His beak exploded in pain. He was left gasping on the floor. Breezie's footsteps began walking away from him.

He gathered himself in time to see Breezie standing in the doorway.

"Talk to me like that again, and I'll let you see those fights, up close and personal."

Then she was gone. Starline was alone.

Through his tears, he caught a pink shape landing in front of him. A soft tweet came from the creature as it head butted his hand.

Starline wiped his eyes and looked at it, this creature he healed. It was small and frail, so weak. It looked up at him as though it hurt to see him it distress.

He lifted his hand to touch the flicky's head. It leaned into it, chirping in a sad way. It's eyes held the smallest flame of intelligence. Starline raised his hand further up.

Then he brought it down with all his strength.

It didn't squeak in pain, it was dead before it felt any: a pile of crushed, hollow bones, delicate pink feathers, the radiant gleam of blood.

Starline looked down at his first experiment and realized a universal truth:

Life itself was weak.

He was going to fix that.

Notes:

Sorry about being late with this chapter. I had a really bad Thursday and Friday. But I'm doing fine now! It was just anxiety and stress so no need to worry! I'm optimistic about still being able to update weekly. Read the last note for details.

Might uses he/him pronouns, but Knuckles doesn't know that in this chapter.

Starline is such an interesting concept for a character. Since his obsession with Eggman doesn't make sense as a motive, I had to give him this insane drive to create a better form of life. Doesn't help that I just watched the new Frankenstein movie, which I highly recommend. It's not as good of an interpretation of Mary Shelly's original work as I would've liked, but it's a visually stunning masterpiece nonetheless.

Breezie and Starline's relationship is... interesting. Breezie's kind of a flirt which comes off a lot here. But also, they're both seemingly stable people who are kind of crazy underneath all that. They recognize each other as super apathetic and completely self-absorbed. They perceive each other as a threat.

I'm not sure how many or how often I should do flashbacks to Knuckles' arena life. I'll probably write 2 or 3 more and sprinkle them into the actual text instead of making entire chapters of flashback. I just thought introducing Starline now was important.

Note about Updates: I am moving the update schedule and will now be posting updates on Sundays. Thursdays used to be most convient for my weekly school due dates, but my classes are changing in the new year and I don't know what day will be best. So I'm moving to Sunday now but might change that when my classes resume.

Chapter 17: An Ally

Summary:

Content Warnings: implied transphobia (very mild)

Length about 2k

Breezie is older in this universe. I'd say she's in her late thirties or early fourties.

Notes:

The original planned chapter count for this fic was 24. We're currently up to 33. Twins, this fic is gonna be like 50 chapters by the time I'm done with it (just joking, hopefully).

It hadn't taken much convincing to let Knuckles up to see Breezie. His brothers seemed off about it, but it was a necessary evil. Knuckles was sure he could work something out with the Hedgehog. After all, she'd let him go after he had won, as promised. She was, in spite of everything, a woman of her word. And Knuckles knew she loved a good wager.

The office hadn't changed a bit since the last time he was here. Sleek walls in a deep teal, molding panels accenting the wall in gold. There was a wall of windows facing the city, framed by red curtains. An oak desk sat in the center, Ms. Breezie printed on the placard resting on top. A red office chair with a tall back was faced away from the approaching party. Several very large men stood in the room in black suits.

A hand came into view from behind the chair, delicately grasping a martini. A single red olive was skewered with a decorative plastic sword inside, red juice dripping into the clear beverage. Knuckles felt it had been... purposeful.

"Well hello there, my little... champion." Her voice dropped with malice. Champion had hurt her to say. Knuckles took pride in that.

"Breezie." Was all he said.

"You know, my dear, I have strict rules. You aren't supposed to be back here." She said, still facing away.

"You have something of mine." Knuckles said.

She turned around, slowly, a devious smile playing at her lips. She wasn't wearing her lipstick. Knuckles took pride in that as well.

"What ever could you be talking about?" She asked, feigning innocence.

Knuckles signed, approaching the desk, his brothers trailed behind not saying a word.

"You know exactly what I mean, hag. You have taken what does not belong to you as you always have. Amy Rose is my guide and you have no right to her. She was not sold to you." Knuckles said, leaning over her desk.

Disgust played on her features. She quickly changed it, unnaturally morphing her face into a look of pleasure.

"Now, now, my precious. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I found your guide fair and square." Breezie began. She stood, grabbing Knuckles by the chin. "What do you have to offer for... it?"

Knuckles ripped himself away. Sonic imediantly came to the defense.

"Hey, lady! We're offering to not kick your tail in. How's that? Now give us back our friend!" Sonic said. Tails stood in silent agreement.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you truely have nothing to offer, I'll have you shown out." Breezie said, clapping her hands. The gaurds surrounded the trio at once. Tension seized the air. He felt energy sparking off Sonic next to him.

The large doors opened suddenly. Quick footsteps shuffled into the room. It was another hedgehog, hunched over and unsteady. They had shorter quills, a cropped style. The bottom quills were dark blue while the upper quills were teal. The pattern flipped closer to their purple eyes. They were wearing a loose red shirt with medium length sleeves and a pair of jeans. They held a stack of papers close to their chest.

Breezie attention moved to them imediantly.

"Darling, I'm very busy right now." She said.

"Ah... yes I know. I just thought you might want the stats from the last battle." The new hedgehog said.

They looked a lot like an old friend Knuckles had made in the pits. Not a challenger, but someone on the outside looking in with empathy. Knuckles supposed they might be the same person, but his friend had been very feminine. This person was not, and Knuckles guessed even if they were the same, their name might be different now.

"Right, leave them on the desk." She said.

The new hedgehog complied and shot Knuckles a quick smile before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Breezie said. The hedgehog turned back around. "Would you be a doll and show our esteemed guests out?"

"Of course, mother." They said, with an awkward grin. "Follow me."

It was cold and he was crying. Mighty was fighting. He was alone in the dark, damp room. Then there was the faint smell of cherries and a teal hedgehog in a frilly red dress appeared. A smile on their face, a backpack in their arms.

"Sorry about the fight. I brought some bandages." They said.

It wasn't much, but it was something. Though the hedgehog did look ridiculous. Frilly dresses like the one they were wearing were completely impractical, usually worn by young children. This hedgehog was around his age.

"And here's some for your friend, too. He might need them."

That caught Knuckles' attention. In the month he'd been here, nobody had referred to Mighty that way except him. It appeared they were allies, in more ways than one.

Knuckles didn't hesitate to follow them when they asked. Sonic and Tails shared a look but tagged along as well, Sonic limping as he did.

The four of them traveled through the hallways of high ceilings. Guards were everywhere, outside every few doors and at every intersection. If they were going to have a constructive conversation, they would need to speak in code about the important parts.

"You have a new look." Knuckles commented. The hedgehog glanced behind them quickly.

"You two... know each other?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, we met when I was a gladiator." Knuckles replied.

"Uh huh. Well, I'm Sonic." He said.

"Tails." The Fox said. He was keeping close to Sonic, looking around with wide eyes. One might think he was scared, but Knuckles knew better. He was analyzing the walls, the vents. He was making a plan and holding Sonic's hand to ensure he didn't crash into anything.

"I'm Ace. Breezie's my mom." They said.

Knuckles nodded once, quickly. Their name had changed.

"We caught that." Sonic said, guarded.

Ace sighed and slowed so they walked to the left of Knuckles, in pace with him. Sonic was directly behind them. They spoke quieter. "Her business practices are... less than ideal."

"I'll say." Sonic grumbled, but he seemed a little more open. "What can you tell us about Amy?"

Ace glared at Sonic quickly before turning forward again. Knuckles noticed a gaurd had heard.

"Your guide is a great fighter. Won her match in 2 minutes, 46 seconds. A record for a first match by a Hedgehog. Odds for her next match are in her favor. -164 she wins. Her versus previously injured, newly returning challenger 'The Two-Foot Terror.' He won his recent post-injury match in 5 minutes, 12 seconds." They said. They made a subtle gesture to their ears and then to a guard.

Sonic seemed to get that they were all being spied on.

"Speaking of your guide, she came with some things. We usually burn the possessions of incoming fighters, but given that she spoke Echidian I though she might have some kind of tie to you, Knuckles. So I have them in my room. I can retrieve them for you now, then show you out." Ace explained.

Claiming back Amy's things would be nice, but meeting in a privet area was nicer. They could learn more about busting Amy out when they weren't being spied on.

"Thank you, we'd love to have them back." Knuckles said, keeping his voice calm and even.

It took a little longer than he thought it would to reach Ace's room. A canid gaurd was standing outside of it, twice the height of Sonic and seemingly very strong.

"Hello, Bradsworth. You don't mind if I bring my guests inside, do you? It'll be quick, I just need to grab some things." Ace said.

"Your mother says that only you are allowed in your room." Bradsworth said, crossing his arms and glaring at the trio.

"What my mother doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, I might be inclined to give you something for the trouble. I did just get my allowance yesterday..." Ace said, seemingly innocent.

The guards eyes shifted away, but his posture relaxed. "It's my head if she sees these miscreants in your room, so be quick. I expect 10%"

"5" Ace challenged. Their eyes locked on his.

"9"

"4"

"7!"

"4 and a half."

"5!" Bradsworth said at last, getting red in the face.

Ace smirked. "Very well, Bradsworth, you drive a hard bargain."

The four entered Ace's room. Sonic gave them a quick thumbs up and a wink. Ace did a bow. Finally, with the door shut, an air of seriousness took over.

Ace practically ran towards a chest by the wall and dug around. Knuckles took the chance to glance around the place.

The room was painted pink but the walls from his height down were covered in posters. Most were black and displayed movies and bands Knuckles had never heard of. The bed was a white bed frame with pink accents, but the pink had been colored over with a sharpie. Parts were still showing due to a haphazard job. Very light pink, transparent curtains lined the bed, but they had been torn from the bottom and seemingly sprayed with black paint. A similar fate had befallen much of the furniture in the room, scribbled in black sharpie or hit with a dusting of black spraypaint.

Ace found Amy's things in the chest and practically flung them at Knuckles who caught them with no problem. They had let her keep her clothes but had taken her hammer and her bag, thr latter items Knuckles held now. He peeked in the bag and saw that Amy had gotten the antiseptic. That was good news, at least. The translator was also inside, which seemed to satisfy Tails when Knuckles passed it to him.

"Cool place you got here." Sonic said, trying to dispel the awkwardness.

Ace had begun walking over to one of the desecrated pieces of furniture, a desk that had been covered in spray paint and a mountain of stickers. They opened a drawer on the side and pulled out a piece of paper.

"You'll have to excuse the state of my room. I was going through a bit of an emo phase a while back, all death and darkness. You know how it is." Ace said as they started scribbling things in red ink.

"I've watched enough family comedies to get the idea." Sonic supplied.

Knuckles paced over to see what they were writing. They had an map of Casino Zone and was circling different places. There were notes about access points, areas with large ventilation shafts, and when certain gaurds changed times.

"Your friend is here." Ace said, pointing at the area that had been circled thickest. "Your best bet is to send Tails through the ventilation duct here," they pointed again, "and have them crawl to the control room. From there, they can turn off the cameras and Sonic can go in, disguised as a gaurd, to free your friend from her cell. Then, it's just a matter of busting out. Knuckles can wait by this exterior wall and break it open when he hears a specific code of taps."

"That was... surprisingly well thought out." Sonic said, dumbfounded. Though, Knuckles found his own mouth agape. He quickly adjusted, trying not to show his own surprise.

"It's soundproof, so long as your Fox has some tech experience." Ace said, a bit bashful at Sonic's response. Knuckles had forgotten how shy they could be.

"Oh, I've got lots." Tails said with a confident smile, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest. He'd been silent till now, an observer.

A quick knock sounded from outside the door. "Ace, it has been nearly five minutes. Are you alright in there?" Came Bradsworth's voice.

"Yes! Just give me a couple more!" Ace shouted back.

"Thank you, for everything." Knuckles said, bowing his head slightly. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Yes, actually." Ace said with a touch of confidence. "In the cell next to your friend is my friend. His name is Slush. Would you take him with you?"

Knuckles frowned. Sneaking out two mobians would be harder than one, but Ace had been exceedingly helpful...

"Of course we will! Nobody deserves to be locked up in a cage!" Sonic butted in.

"What about criminals?" Tails deadpanned.

"Ah..." Sonic started, blank faced. He shook his head and corrected himself. "Nobody deserves to be locked in a cage unless they committed a violent crime!"

Knuckles and Tails frowned at the display. Ace gave a little clap.

"Well, you should get going. It's going to be a long night for you all." Ace said.

Knuckles sighed, "Tell me about it."

As frustrating as the situation was, it was nice to have an ally. Especially one like Ace.

Notes:

Ace is an OC. I wanted there to be a "good guy" that lived at Casino Park, so here they are! Ace is the bio kid of Breezie and an unnamed man (probably a hedgehog). They don't know their dad. They are known to bring things to fighters to help them recover including food, water, and medicine. I based them off the Mitski song "I bet on losing dogs". They usually become friends with teens around their own age and look after the rare cases of kids that are brought in.

They were allies with Knuckles and Mighty while the latter two were in the pits. However, there are a lot of people in the pits who Ace feels obligated to help. This causes them to usually be distant from fighters, since they don't have the time to help everyone, much less the time to hang out with "friends".

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Mostly, I'm setting up some character relationships in this mini-arc. It'll likely be a few more chapters.

Anyway, this is now my official longest fic I've ever posted. I'm so happy it exists and that I'm still motivated to write! I think this is about the half way point! That's very exciting for me!

It is important to note that as I write, I find concepts that were supposed to be one chapter getting drawn out. This entire gladiator mini arc was originally just 2 chapters, from the time they come in from the last world's portal to the time they leave. However, it ended up being a lot longer once I realized it was important to expand upon Knuckles' connection to the place as well as not rush the dialouge. That is to say that while there are currently 33 chapters planned and that would make this the half way point, there may indeed be more chapters than that and I cannot guarantee the fic is halfway completed.

Thanks again for reading!

Notes:

As always, thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. Chapters are subject to editing at any time. Edits on specific chapters will be marked in the notes of that chapter.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Hobart's Strange Sonic Universe