Cyber Sonic: Emerald Quest Part 2: Knuckles' Reckoning By Kenneth Hillis a.k.a. Duo Prower Ye legal stuff: Knuckles The Echidna, Julie-Su, Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are property of Sega and/or Archie. All made up characters are mine, and can only be used if I am asked and I say yes. I must first know what you'll be doing with them. But I'll probably let you. :) Author's Note: Okay, a mistake I made last time. Speed and Crystal's last names are ACORN not HEDGEHOG. Sorry. Also, Julie doesn't have her robotic parts anymore. I'm not saying how yet though. Also, Sonic isn't in this one that much, it's mostly a Knuckles story. Characters in order (hopefully) of apperance: Knuckles Echidna Julie-Su Echidna King Sonic Hedgehog Lara-Le Miles "Tails" Prower Locke "Basher" Echidna the 2nd Lara-Su Echidna Prince Speed Acorn Governor Shon Nack Weasel Sgt. Simian Predator Hawk Rock Crocodile Lightning Lynx Geoffery St. John Queen Sally Acorn Comet Prower Duo Prower Cemator Cyber Sonic Episode 3 Previously: The FFs went to the frozen Tundra in search of a Cyber Emerald, but ran into Nack and his gang. Sally eventually was able to get the Water Cyber Emerald, and together, she and Sonic defeated Nack. Chapter 1 Floating Island, ten years ago..... Knuckles Echidna walked down the streets of Echidnapolis, his wife Julie-Su at his side. His mother, Lara-Le, had offered to take their son and daughter for the day so they could have some time to themselves. The day was practically perfect, with hardly a cloud in the sky. Suddenly, the Island started to shake. He looked up to see warships over the city. He turned around, ready to go and get his family, when he saw Sonic running up with Lara-Le in tow. Tails was behind him with Lara-Su and Basher. "What's happening?!?" Knuckles asked Sonic. "It's....." Sonic paused and took a deep breath, "It's Robotnik. He's back, and he's come to destroy the Island." ***** "Ahhhhh!!!!!" Knuckles woke up in a cold sweat. <> he thought to himself. He looked over to see that he had woken up Julie-Su. "Knuckles," Julie-Su said, rubbing her eyes, "What happened?" He looked over at the calender on the wall. "Oh. I...I almost forgot. I'm so sorry." "Don't be," Knuckles said, "I try to forget it every year. But every year I feel the pain of those that lost their lives that day." "But it wasn't your fault," she said. He looked at her solemnly. "But it was my responsibility to protect everyone on that Island." "Well," Julie said, "With the trip we're taking to Tronopolis, maybe it will help. It _is_ a bit more peaceful there." "Oh yeah," Knuckles said sarcastically, "Investigating mystical occurances, REAL relaxing." She smiled, put her hand on his shoulder, and kissed him. Then more serious, she said, "I'll help you through it." ***** The Next Day..... "What?" Basher asked with a smile on his face. "I said," Speed answered, "What about making our two dates a double date. I mean we're all best friends, and my first date with Mandy and your next date with Crystal is on the same night, so why not?" The two of them had been walking on the sidewalk until Speed had pulled him into the alleyway to talk to him about this. "You're nervous," Basher said accusingly. "I'm not nerv.....uh, well.....yeah. I am," Speed admitted. "Listen," Basher said, "If it makes you feel any better, I'll talk to Crystal about it." "Good. Thanks." Speed breathed a huge sigh of relief. They started walking down the sidewalk again. "I guess I understand," Basher said, "I mean I love Crystal and...." "What?" Speed said, his interest suddenly perked. "I...um...well...I...uh," Basher stuttered out, suddenly knowing what he let slip. "You ever tell?" Speed asked with a smile. "Um, well, uh.....no," Basher said. "Why?" Speed asked raising an eyebrow. "Well..." Basher paused, "I'm nervous." Speed smiled. "Well looks like I'm not the only one. And you were trying to get me to do something similar, when you wouldn't do it either." "Well," Basher said, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should tell her." "What about your next date?" Speed said. Basher smiled. ***** Knuckles sat staring out into space as the transport moved closer to Ririn Island. Julie-Su sat down next to him. "What're you thinkin' about so hard?" she said. "You're going to give yourself meltdown." He just ignored her. "Awww, Knuckles, I know it's hard for you," Julie said putting her head on his shoulder. He still ignored her. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" she asked to no one in particular. Then she got an idea. She turned his head around to face her's and kissed him deeply, bringing him out of his trance. "Who-wha-who?" he said. "I knew that would work," she said, then smiled. "What do you mean who?" she said sarcastically. He smiled back and kissed her. Chapter 2 Place: Tronopolis, Ririn Island Knuckles and Julie-Su emerged from the transport, and were meeted by Governor Shon. He was a middle aged lion wearing a blue robe and a golden sash. Julie was wearing a beautiful light pink dress, while Knuckles was wearing his Royal Guard's uniform. He didn't like it. It itched, but she had made him wear it. "Sir Knuckles, Lady Julie-Su!" Shon greeted. "Welcome to Tronopolis!" "Please," Knuckles said, "leave out the formalities. Knuckles and Julie-Su will be just fine." "Why did you call us here, Governor?" Julie-Su asked. "Please," Shon said, "Let us speak of this somewhere safer." Knuckles and Julie-Su looked at each other. They knew something was wrong. ***** Knuckles and Julie-Su entered a large chamber in the Governor's mansion. They sat at a large table and Governor Shon sat In front of them. "Okay," he said, "Here's what we know. About a month ago, scientists were doing experiments at the island's central mountain, but many of them disappeared. We looked everywhere, but we could not find them. Then two weeks ago, archeologists researching there also disappeared. "There have also been a rash of robberies that seem to fit the pattern, because they happened at exactly the same time that both disappearances occurred. What was stolen was mostly women's jewels." Knuckles rubbed his chin, thinking. "We'll help you in any way we can," he said. Miles away, unknown to anyone, a dark figure watched this through a small portal he had opened up. He laughed evilly. "Well, it seems my plan might work better than expected." Chapter 3 Place: Devil's Gulag Nack swept away the trash that littered the floor. The Gulag had changed much over the years. Instead of just placing the most dangerous criminals there, now most of the crooks on Mobius were placed there. They were also allowed more freedom. Nack had been given Mess Hall clean up duty, which he had to do right after his meal. He hated it. So much for freedom. Well, no one liked it, and Nack knew for his plan to work. He would have to put up with a lot worse. He looked up at the clock on the wall. "Almost time," he said to himself. There were still some inmates eating, about half a dozen and Nack's gang. With the exception of Flying Frog. Nack didn't want it to be too obvious. ***** Geoffrey St. John sipped the coffee from the cup as he looked over some documents. He hated these four days he had to do every few months, especially when his wife, Hershey wasn't there with him. He looked at her picture on his desk. <> Suddenly, alarms started blaring. Geoffrey almost dropped his coffee. "What the heck!?" he exclaimed. A guard's picture appeared on the comlink. "St. John, sir." The guard took a breath. "There seems to have been a fight breaking out in the mess hall. Ten inmates are involved, sir, four of them from Nack's gang." "Well, where's the weasel!?" "Nack Weasel is nowhere in sight, sir," the guard said. Geoffrey cut off the comlink and made his way to the mess hall. ***** Nack slipped into Geoffrey's office after he had left. "So predictable, Geoffrey," he said as he looked around. After searching the room, he found what he was looking for. It was a tool box Geoffrey kept around in case something broke or something needed fixing. After rummaging through it, he found some small replacement parts. "Only a few more parts," Nack sneered as he left the room. Chapter 4 Place: Ririn Island, Tronopolis "So, that ring any bells, Sal?" Knuckles asked Sally over the comlink. "Well," Sally thought. "Maybe. I'll ask Nicole, and Sonic might know something." "Thanks, Sal, bye," Knuckles said. "Bye, Knux." Knuckles turned off the comlink,sat up and started pacing. "What could it mean?" Knuckles asked himself. "What do you think, Julie?" "I think," Julie-Su said sitting on the bed. She had admitted what she had been wearing had been uncomfortable also, and she had immediately changed into her nightgown when they got back to the room. "That you should relax." <> she thought to herself, <> Knuckles didn't answer, he just kept pacing. Julie-Su was starting to get irritated. "Well," she said, "if you won't relax," she reached for him and pulled him down to the bed, "I'll make you relax." ***** Mobotropolis, Royal Palace (note that Ririn Island is on the other side of the planet, so it's afternoon here.) Sally turned off the comlink. Just as she was about too leave, it started beeping again. She hit a button and Geoffrey St. John's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Geoffrey," she said cheerfully, but then she frowned when she saw his expression. "What's wrong?" "Sally, there was a fight In the Mess Hall today. Four members of Nack's gang were involved." "So?" "Well, Nack wasen't there,and he was supposed to be. I don't know what, but something strange is going on,and I thought I should inform you of it," Geoffrey said. "I'll look into it. Bye, Geoffrey. "Bye, Sally." Sally sighed. "First Ririn Island, now this." ***** Julie-Su was flung from her husband's arms, landing on the floor and knocking over a lamp. She looked up to see Knuckles sweating and panting. "Knuckles, what's wrong?" "Julie," he paused, "I'm sorry." She got up, wrapped a sheet around herself and sat down on the bed. "Another dream?" He nodded. Before anything else could be said, they heard a heart-wrenching scream. The two looked at each other, then got up, got dressed, and raced out the door. ***** Knuckles and Julie-Su, in their usual attire, arrived where the scream came from, the Governor's mansion. They found Shon's wife on the ground, obviously injured, on the ground just outside the mansion's door. They ran over to her. "What happened here?" "Sh-Shon," she croaked out, "They took him." Julie looked around them and found footprints leading toward the north. As she started to take off in that direction, Knuckles stopped her. "Knuckles? What is it?" "Julie, we can't go out there at this time. One thing is that whoever took him would be expecting us to follow so soon,and two, we'd probably get lost," Knuckles said. Julie nodded. "You're right. We also need to get her to a hospital." Knuckles nodded his head and complied. Chapter 5 Place: Mobotropolis. "I HAVE TO WEAR THIS?!?" Speed exclaimed holding up a tuxedo. Sonic, Basher, Tails, Comet, and Duo all started laughing hysterically. "C'mon, Speed," Sonic said, "It isn't THAT bad. 'Sides, you want to make a good impression. Right?" Speed sighed. "I guess you're right." Then he looked over at Basher, who was still laughing. He leaned over and said, "Y'know you have to wear one too, Bash." Basher gulped and slumped down in his chair. Then Basher and Speed looked over at the laughing Comet and Duo. "This is getting redundant," Duo commented. ***** Place: Ririn Island, Jungle. Knuckles, Julie-Su, and two Tronopolis guards moved through the jungle. They had been moving for two hours, and had not found anything yet. Knuckles stopped and leaned against a tree. "Alright, everyone, we'll take a five minute break and then continue." The two guards sat next to a large rock, and Knuckles and Julie sat next to the tree he had stopped at. "Hey, Knuckles," Julie said, holding up her canteen, "Thirsty?" "No thanks." Knuckles then looked in his sack to get his water, then came up empty handed. "Uh.....Julie, I kinda left my canteen in the roo-" She cut him off. "I figured you would. Here." She tossed him the canteen. "Thanks," he said as he took a sip. Knuckles then looked over at the two guards. All of a sudden, the two slumped down, out cold, with no known reason. "What the.....?" He then looked over to Julie-Su, who was holding her head, trying not to fall over, but the attempt was futile. She slumped down as Knuckles started to race to her side. "Julie-Su!" he exclaimed. But it was the last thing he said, as he too slipped into darkness. ***** Knuckles woke up to find himself being dragged by dark cloaked figures through a large cave-like tunnel. He jerked his head around frantically around for Julie-Su to find her being dragged ahead of him, and the guards on either side of him. He looked again at the cloaked figures. <> he thought, <> Soon they emerged into a large cavern-like throne room. There where stairs on the other side leading up to a throne, another dark figure, this one with glowing red eyes and holding a staff with a green crystal on the top. When he was brought close enough, Knuckles said, "Who the heck are you?!?" "Blunt, aren't you, guardian.....or should I make that former guardian?" The figure chuckled. Knuckles clenched his teeth in anger. "Oh come now. No need to get so angry. I guess you could say I'm insensitive towards death.....well, I've been dead for over two decades, so I'm kind of immune to It. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Oh, but I haven't formally introduced myself, have I? I am the former Joseph Kalnarn," he removed his hood to reveal a very light brown colored hedgehog, looking as young as a teenager, and now that he was no longer in the shadow of his hood, he now had dark blue eyes, "Otherwise known as Cemator." Chapter 6 Place: Mobotopolis, Royal Palace. Speed and Basher stood outside the door, waiting for Crystal and Mandy to come. "Man, this tux itches," Speed complained. "Tell me about it," Basher said. "You gettin' nervous?" Speed scoffed. "Who? Me? You've gotta be kiddin'." At that moment, the door opened and out walked Crystal and Mandy. Speed and Basher's jaws dropped. Crystal was wearing a long smooth purple dress, and Mandy was wearing a sleeveless blue shirt and a green dress. Crystal laughed. "Told you so, Mandy," she said as they dragged their boyfriends off. ***** Speed turned the menu he was looking at. "Uh, I'll take..... uh, what she's having." He pointed at Mandy. "Same here," Basher said pointing at Crystal. The waiter took the menus and went to the restaurant's kitchen. Mandy and Crystal suddenly burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Basher asked. "Nothing," Mandy said, "You'll know when you get your dinner." The two guys gulped. After dinner, while music was playing, Speed stood up. "Basher, come here." "Huh?" Basher asked. Speed stomped on Basher's foot. "Come. Here." The echidna yelped slightly. "Okay, okay." Basher got up and Speed dragged him a little ways from the table. " What do you want, Speed?" "What are waiting for?" Speed asked him. "Waiting for what?" "To tell Crystal......" "Well......" Basher said. He thought for a few moments. "The moment hasn't....... arised?" Speed tapped his foot like his father did when he was irritated. "Okay, okay, I'm nervous, can ya blame me?" Basher admitted. "Any ideas?" Speed thought. "Well, how about......" Back at the table, Mandy and Crystal were talking. "What are they doing?" Mandy asked. Crystal shrugged. "You've got me." Soon, Speed and Basher walked back. "Uh, Crystal..." Basher said, "Would you like to dance?" Crystal smiled. "Of course I would." Crystal got up and followed Basher to the floor. Speed sat down next to Mandy. "What was that about?" Speed suddenly realized he was now alone with Mandy. <> Speed looked over at her. "Well, I think I've finally gotten Bash to tell Crystal fully how he feels about her." Mandy laughed. "Basher and commitment? That's a new one." Suddenly, the words just started to spill out from him. "Tell me about it. You should have seen me trying to get him to do it." "Well," she replied, "I'll admit you do have a way with words when it comes down to it." Unnoticed by her, Speed blushed slightly. As Basher and Crystal were dancing, she could tell he was nervous about something. "Is something wrong, Basher?" she asked. "Uh, well, Crys...... there's something I want to tell you," Basher said. "And that is?" Basher took a deep breath. "Crystal,I-----" Basher was suddenly cut off by a huge explosion. A wall caved in and a dark cloaked figure stepped out. "What the heck?!?" "You all are now being held hostage," the figure said, "By the Dark Legion!" Chapter 7 "The Dark Legion?!?!?" Basher exclaimed,"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" The DLer turned around and saw Basher. He turned back towards the hole they had made. "Hey, Master! Better come take a look at this!" Out stepped a blue echidna. His cybernetic parts consisted of a robotic right leg and left arm and three cybernetic dreadlocks. "Who're you?!?" Crystal demanded. The blue echidna cocked an eyebrow. "And who are you to be demmanding such things?" "For your information," Crystal said, "I am the Princess of the Royal House of Acorn. So, I have right to demand 'such things' and why you've just taken this place hostage." "Fine. I am Zartox. New leader of the Dark Legion. Our past two leaders led us in the wrong direction. WE are the SUPREME race and we intend to take what's ours!" "Not if we have anything to say about it," Speed said, him and Mandy taking up positions next to Basher and Crystal. "And before you ask, I'm Prince Speed Acorn." He bowed sarcastically. "Like I really care," Zartox said. "Commander. Open fire." The Legionairs did as they were told and fired upon them. Crystal grabbed Basher and Speed grabbed Mandy and rushed out of the way at full speed, or as fast as Crystal could go with her dress. The other people had already moved out of the way and were either under their tables or hiding in the restroom. Speed, Crystal, Basher, and Mandy ducked behind an overturned table. "So, what do we do now?" Basher asked. "Well," Speed said, "it's a pretty good bet Constable Remington and MST will be here soon. Antoine too, considering the situation. They should be able to flush them out. But until then..." Mandy cut him off. "We keep the bystanders safe by laying a line of distraction for the DL. Right?" "Right," Crystal said, "But it'll kind of be hard for me and Mandy to fight in dresses." "Yeah," Basher said. "You may look good in them, but Cyber Armor they ain't." "Flattery will get you nowhere," Crystal said, then smiled, "At least not here. But he's right." "Ah, that's easy to take care of, sis," Speed commented, "Me and Bash'll take care of the goon squad. You two can get the civilians out and to a safer place in the building." "Got it," Mandy replied. "Alright," Crystal said, "Then let's do it." ****** Constable Remington climbed out of the van, followed by the other MST agents and Antoine. "Alright, people," Remington ordered, "Surround the building! But try and avoid the DL guards. We don't want to lose any lives here." "This does not make any sense," Antoine said. "Ze Dark Legion has been at peace with us for years. Why attack now?" "I know," Remington mused, "It dosen't make sense." Antoine went to the back of the van and turned on the comm unit. "I had better contact Sonic and Sally before either of them do anything irratonal." ***** Sonic rushed to the comm unit as soon as he heard it. "Sonic here," Antoine's name came up on the screen,"Yo, Ant, what's up?" "Sonic, we have a problem at the resturant Speed, Crystal, Basher, and Mandy went to," Antoine said. "What?" Sonic asked. "Ze Dark Legion has apparetly broken our peace, they've took ze entire restaurant hostage." Antoine finished. "Alright, Ant," Sonic said, "I'll be right there." "No wait!" Antoine exclaimed, "If you come barging in like zat, there's no tellling what might happen! And what would be worse is if you and/or Sally came in Cyber Armored. Think of what's best for everyone. If we do need you, we'll call you. Antoine out." And with that, Antoine cut the communication link. ****** Speed lept out of the way as the Legionair shot an energy blast at him. "Ha! You've gotta be quicker than that to hit me!" The young hedgehog lept into the air and hit the Legionair in the chest as another one advanced on him. Speed spun around and swept the Legionair's legs out from under him. "How're you doin', Bash?" Basher threw an uppercut to a Legionair's jaw, making him topple to the ground. "Fine. I just hope we're distracting them enough for Crys and Mandy to get everyone to a safe place." He threw a kick to a DLer's gut. Out of the corner of his eye, Speed noticed Zartox making a run for it. "Well, well, well." Speed thought for a moment. "Basher, can you take care of the rest of these goons? I'm gonna go after chuckles....." "No problemo, Speed," Basher said, "But be careful, man." "You got it," Speed said as he zoomed off after Zartox. ******* Crystal and Mandy moved quickly down the hallway, many people trailing behind them, hoping to find an exit not guarded by a Legionair. Suddenly, two DLers lept out of a side room. "Great," Crystal muttered. One of the Legionairs raised a blaster at them. Faster than the Legionair could react, Crystal swept his feet out from under him. The other charged at Crystal, but Mandy stopped him by grabbing him and flipped him over her shoulder. Then they continued down the hall. As Mandy turned the corner she ran into something. Once she got readjusted, she saw it was five MST officers. "How did you guys get in here?" she asked. "Simple," one of the officers said, "We found a low unguarded entrance that they haven't found yet." "Good. Get these people out of here. We need to go back for Basher and Speed," Crystal said. "Not without backup, Princess," the lead officer said, "Lets go, guys." ******* Crystal, Mandy, and three MST officers entered the main room to find Basher finishing off the remaining Legionairs. Crystal ran up to him. "Where's Speed?" Basher uppercutted the last Legionair and then turned to her. "He went after Zartox, who ran out as soon as he realized he was losing." "Which way did he go?" Mandy asked. "Up." ******** Zartox exited the entrance to the roof and slammed the door behind him. The spiral stairs had slown Speed down somewhat, but he knew the hedgehog still wouldn't be far behind. The blue echidna ran to the edge of the roof and looked around for his escape transport. Suddenly, the door was destroyed by Speed in a Sonic Spin. "Well, well, well," Speed said, "Looks like you've ran out of running room." "You won't even be able to touch me, hedgehog," Zartox replied as a hover transport rose up next to the roof. Before Speed could react, Zartox shot an electric blast to his gut, knocking him to his knees. Zartox lept onto the transport and turned arund in Speed's direction. "Oh, and here's a parting gift." The echidna threw an electric grenade onto the roof and then climbed into the transport. Before Speed could move, the grenade explodeed and threw him up against a wall. Crystal, Basher, Mandy, and many MST officers soon exited the roof's entrance as the transport flew away. All of them immediately noticed the injured Speed and rushed to his side. An MST officer took the hedgehog's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. "He's alive. But out cold. He needs medical attention badly though." Chapter 8 Place: Ririn Island. Knuckles struggled against his restraints as one of Cemator's guards chained up Julie-Su next to him. The Tronopolis guards, Govoner Shon, the scientists, and the archeologists were all in one gigantic cell. The cavern they were in was humongous. It had cells and dark tunnels that were littered all along the sides. Knuckles knew that even if he and Julie-Su were able to escape, they'd get lost in them. The one thing he noticed the most though was the Cyber Emerald of Earth hanging above Cemator's throne. He could feel his de-powered Cyber Emerald in his backpack all the way on the other side of the room pulsing. He suspected this is what Sally felt when she was going after the Water Emerald. How Cemator got it, Knuckles did not know, but he knew he had to get it from him. He had to keep Cemator distracted though until he could think of a plan. "What the heck do you want with us anyways?!?" Knuckles spat. Cemator walked over near them and laughed slightly. "I guess you deserve to know why you're going to die, huh, Guardian?... Oh, I forgot, that's former Guardian, since you're responsible for the Floating Island's destruction, correct?" Cemator smiled under his hood, even though neither Knuckles or Julie-Su could see it. That last remark was like a sword through Knuckles heart._No, that's not true!_ he tried to tell himself, _It was Robotnik!_ But no matter how many times Julie, Sonic, Sally, Lara-Su, or Basher told him that, he could never fully believe it. "Well, actually," Cemator continued, "I was hoping Sonic and the Prowers, Tails and Jewel would come instead. But I'll just kill you, and they'll surely come." Sonic and Sally had told Knuckles and Julie about Cemator before, and what he did to Josh. He knew he was evil, but not this bad! "What do you want with Sonic, Jewel, and Tails?" Julie asked. "Very simple, my dear," Cemator replied, "Sonic was responsible for my original death and Tails and Jewel were the ones responsible for banishing me to the Shreaka dimension. I'm going to kill you, then dump you on their doorstep, and they'll come running." He said that last sentence so easily, it sent chills up both echidnas' spines. "Now who should I kill off first?" Cemator mused. "I think I'll kill you first, Lady Julie-Su. Then you'll feel responsible for another death before you're dead." He then raised his hand towards Knuckles, releasing his restraints. Knux feel to the ground. Immediately Cemator's sceptor glowed and he clutched his sides in pain. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!?!?!?!?" Julie yelled in anger. "Oh, fiesty. I like that in a woman." Cemtor laughed. "Too bad I have to kill you. Anyways, what I'm doing to him is this. I am making him relive the pain of all those who died when the Floating Island was destroyed. It will eventually hurt him so much that he won't even be able to move, and then when I kill you, the pain will be so unbearable that the Guardian will die soon after you... oh, damn. I keep forgetting, he destroyed the Floating Island. Anyways, it's wonderful, isn't it?" "You're sick," Julie shot at him. "Why, thank you." Cemator mock-bowed, "It really is too bad you have to die. Maybe when I've done away with the rest of my enemies, I'll bring you back to life. I'll need some amusement while touring Mobius." "I'd rather go to hell," Julie spat. "Heh. That can be arranged." Cemator said. "Now, time to die." Cemator raised his hand again and Julie's restraints were released. But instead of falling to the ground, she floated half a foot off the ground. Cemator then levitated her over to him and forcefully grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt. Knuckles looked up to see what was happening. He wished he could help her, but the pain was too bad. The howls of all those lost souls echoed through his head. Cemator raised his sceptor high into the air, the crystal on top glowed and morphed into a blade. Knuckles was horrified that he couldn't help. _Julie..... it can't end like this..... Julie, my father, Lara, Basher, my mother..... everybody that means anything to me...... I CAN'T LET THEM DOWN!!!!!!!!!_ Pushing back the pain, Knuckles rose to his feet. "CEMATOR!!!!!!!" Cemator staggered back. "What the?!?" Knuckles clenched his fists. "You think you can control me like some toy, well you're wrong!!!!! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FLOATING ISLAND'S DESTRUCTION!!!!! I did everything in my power to try and stop it!! There was nothing I could do about It! Now, get your filthy hands off my wife before I break them off!" Taking the opprotunity, Julie kicked Cemator in the crotch as hard as she could. Cemator immediately dropped both her and his sceptor. Julie got up and ran over to Knuckles. "Remind me never to get you mad," he said. "You got it, hon," she responded and then reached down and pulled her blaster out from her left boot. "Always come prepared." The guards that were in the chamber ran over to Cemator and surrounded him to protect him from Knuckles and Julie as more soldiers started to fill the room. Cemator's hood had now fallen down. "KILL THEM!!!!!!" Chapter 9 Kuckles slammed his right fist into one of the soldiers' chest and his fist went right through it and the soldier collapsed. Knuckles looked under its cloak to find that it was, "A skeleton?" Julie threw a kick to one soldier's chest and grabbed and pulled down its hood. "Yep, they sure are." She then shot it point blank in the face. "Good," Knuckles said, "Then I can fully cut loose." Knuckles turned his head to see five soldiers advancing on him from his right. Suddenly they were swept away, thrown across the room and slammed against the wall, without Knuckles even touching them. Julie made her way to their backpacks and reached in his to find his Cyber Emerald." Yo, Knux, catch!" She tossed it over to him and he caught it. "Thanks, Julie." Knuckles saw that the room was now almost fully filled up with soldiers. "Time to go for the green." Knuckles charged through them, plowing right through them. He then lept into the air and planted his feet on one of their shoulders. He used that soldier as a springboard to take off towards the Earth Cyber Emerald. When he was only about a foot away from it, Cemator uleashed a gigantic blast of green energy that enveloped Knuckles. The blast created a cave in. Rocks started to rain down upon everything. Julie was now at the cell holding the prisoners trying to free them when she saw what was happening. "Knuckles!" The rocks were crushing many of the soldiers, and blocked off all exits. Suddenly, one of the rock piles started to glow from within and was blown away. When the dust cleared they saw Knuckles in his green and black Cyber Armor with glowing red eyes. He jetted over to where Julie was. She had now broken the lock, but there was one problem. "Knuckles, we're trapped." "Tell me about it." He shot a particularly big boulder that was falling near them, blowing it to pieces. "Look I'm gonna try something." Knuckles then closed his eyes and concentrated, calling upon the Guardian powers that flowed through his veins. Suddenly a portal opened up, "Everyone go!" He herded everyone in and just before he started to enter, he turned to Cemator, seeing that the light-brown hedgehog was being covered by the rocks. "You lose." He then entered just as the walls fell down upon Cemator. As Knuckles exited out of the portal outside the mountain, the portal blinked out. Knuckles immediatly de-activated his armor and ran over to Julie and embraced her in a deep passionate kiss. "Wow, what's gotten into you?" she asked. "I think I've finaly come to a reckoning." Epilogue Place: Mobotropolis Knuckles looked out the cab's window at the passing by scenery of the city. Then he looked over at Julie-Su resting at his side. He then saw something that caught his attention. Ambulances, MST vechicles, and a big crowd gathered around them. "Hey, driver, stop." The driver did as told, as he shook Julie slightly to wake her up. "Hey, Julie, wake up." The two got out and made her way through the crowd. As they got through, Knuckles saw something that surprised him. He saw Sonic, Sally, Antoine, Crystal, Basher, Mandy, and Constable Remington talking. Mandy was crying uncontrollably. "Knux!" Sonic exclaimed. "Sonic, what happened here?" The echidna asked. Sonic couldn't get the words out, he just pointed at the ambulance. Knuckles and Julie turned around to see Speed being loaded onto it. "What happened here?" Julie asked. "The Dark Legion," Sonic growled. "What?!?" Knuckles exclaimed. "But that's impossible!" ****** Place: The Devil's Gulag. In the prison's courtyard, Nack and his gang were gathered around. "So what's the plan, Nack?" Flying Frog asked. Nack smiled. "Drago." To Be Continued....... Stats: Name: Locke "Basher" Echidna the second Sex: Male Fur color: Red Coming Soon: Knuckles/Spawn Cyber Sonic #4: Emerald Quest Part 3 Sonic The Hedgehog Saga #2: Firebird Thanks for readin'! Seeya next time! Duo P.