#echidna clan

[silver-the-hedgeblog]

Possible Silver/Echidna/Ancient connections

In Sonic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood there is another tribe of echidnas called the Nocturnus Clan. The Nocturnus Clan was incredibly technologically advanced and nearly conquered the world thousands of years ago before they were trapped in another dimension with powerful alien races by an entity called the Argus.

This game and the stuff in it is considered non-canon now due to legal issues that we are definitely not here to talk about but it was canon when it came out and different echidna tribes are referenced in Sonic Frontiers. The ancient portal technology in that game is also similar to the gear themed technology used by the Nocturnus Clan. So there's hope of Nocturnus or a rewritten version of them still being canon. Silver has many similarities to the Nocturnus clan and their creations.

Silver is visually similar to Imperator Ix, the leader of the Nocturnus Clan (Especially the cuffs which are similar to Silver's)

The patterns on Silver's gloves and cuffs are also similar to the ones in Nocturne and the Cyberspace Portals in Sonic Frontiers.

The convex patterns on Silver's cuffs can be found throughout Nocturne.

Silver's front quills have a similar structure to the head crests of the Gizoids created by the Nocturnus Clan.

The big quills on the back of Silver's head are similar to the tentacles that Chaos and The Ancients have on the back of their heads.

Silver's big quills seem to have blood vessels? He puts bandages on them in Sonic Channel artwork and gets blood stains on them in IDW. Maybe they are tentacles?

Sonic Team has foreshadowed connections with visual similarities before. In Shadow The Hedgehog before you find out that Shadow is part Black Arms you can see throughout the game that the Black Arms have red patterns like Shadow and in Sonic Unleashed before you find out that the Werehog is a portion of Dark Gaia you can see that Dark Gaia monsters have the same stretchy arms and attack patterns as the Werehog.

One of the alien races trapped in Twilight Cage with the Nocturnus Clan in Sonic Chronicles called the Voxai has psychic powers like Silver. They have the psychic ability to fly like Silver and control minds.

One of the leaders of the Voxai named Leucosia has the same colors as Silver's powers and patterns similar to Silver's PK Marks.

The only named place in Silver's (good) future that we've seen is Onyx Island in Sonic Rivals. Onyx Island is actually the future version of Angel Island which is the home of the Knuckles Clan, The Master Emerald and Sky Sanctuary. Sky Sanctuary also has advanced ancient technology and patterns similar to the ones on Silver's gear.

We don't know how connected to Onyx Island Silver is but it is the first place we see him after the reset in 06.

This could just be because of his powers but Silver is very upper body oriented. He never kicks like Sonic and Shadow do. Whenever Silver does get physical he always punches things which makes his fighting style more similar to Knuckles and the echidnas than his fellow hedgehogs.

Cyber Sonic's eyes are similar to the eyes Silver has in concept art.

[carmarriage]

revisiting an old rarepair

[quazart]

I wonder if because of the implication that Tails never had parents to begin with, he strongly attaches himself to both of his new adoptive parents, whereas Sonic emulates Tom in many ways while Knuckles gravitates more towards Maddie possibly because they never had a dad and a mom respectively

I couldn't agree more.

While Sonic had grown closer to Tom, and Knuckles to Maddie, I also believe Tails equally leans towards both, if the case is he never had parents.

If Tom is doing something with Sonic, whether its bonding stuff or chores, Tails will hang around to help or supervise( he likes to ride on Tom's shoulders when he does this) His dad or older brother inviting him to join the second he's in view. The same would occur when Maddie and Knux are together, aswell. Whether they're just watching tv, cooking or having a yoga session, they receive him with open arms. Teaching him along the way.

But above all, Tails favorite family activity would have to be movie nights. When he's got his whole family on the couch, with him right in the center, watching the chosen movie of the night, together. He has both his parents at his sides along with his brothers. Even Ozzy was here, laying at the foot of the couch, watching with them. Or is he asleep? He can't check. Everyone is under one big blanket snuggled together, so he's immobile for the time being. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

[aphantimes]

ggghghhh begging for more people to play with how knuckles was named after the knuckles clan......

like do you understand the implications of that???? him being alone since birth and ending up going by the name of his ancestors as a collective??? he might be using their name bc he DIDN'T HAVE HIS OWN NAME!!! there wasn't anyone around to raise him or name him so he took the closest he could get AAAHHHHH

when i see this played with in fics i get so excited PLEASE PLAY WITH IT MORE IT'S SUCH AN INTERESTING LORE TIDBIT

[speedofsoundsketches]

I noticed that Cucho can speak Spanish. Is he himself Spanish/Latino?

He is! Like how the Unleashed Hub Worlds are based on certain regions in real life, there's an area that's the Central American equivalent where he originates. (Tho he specifically is based mostly on Mexican culture.)

And since the Ancient Echidna's are the Mayan/Aztec equivalent, perhaps they had some connection to Chucho's ancestral peoples. The former was a massive world power at their peak....

Who's to say?

[birdsareblooming]

Sonic Frontiers and Nocturnus Connections

⬇ Chaos Map below ⬇

Been thinking about this since reveal, there's a lot of Nocturnus bullshit in Sonic Frontiers, however until plaything the game and sitting down I didn't realize how much there was.

I believe this is possible setup for a possible revival of the Nocturnus Clan into canon, re-written to fit Modern Canon better, and re-written by people on the crew.

As posed on the Chaos Map above, I believe the idea is that while the Knuckles Clan (and possibly other unnamed ones) were inspired by their Architecture built around the Master and Chaos Emeralds. (Knuckles says the Religious and Military stuff was inspired. Possibly because the Ancients' influence also influenced whatever religion the Echidnas had.) But then the Nocturnus were inspired by, or perhaps even stole/took, the technology aspect of the Ancients.

Thoughts (slightly posed on the Chaos Map above):

There was a portal on Angel Island, could the Nocturnus have found their way to Starfall?

Or could the Ancients have brought tech with them that the Nocturnus took and kept from the other tribes?

You would think they would bring tech with them when fleeing and settling on Angel Island right?

That tech would be found by now, unless the Nocturnnus took it all.

In Chronicles, they were in a pocket dimension. (Dragged there by an unknown powerful being named "Argus", they were in the Twilight Cage along with other Alien species.) A Possible rewrite is for them to have been trapped in Cyberspace?

If so, would Sonic have freed them, or would they have been in a separate enough section of Cyberspace?

Is it possible they could have tried to replicate Cyberspace, trapping themselves within it?

Lots of rewrite potential

[shadamyheadcanons]

Headcanon #284: Heart of Gold

((Inspired by a recent post that shared this cool fact about Amy:

Apparently, one of Amy’s special abilities is “searching for gold.” Who knew?

This headcanon is rooted in the Shadow the Hedgehog route known as “The Black Hero’s Rebirth.” It’s very similar to the “Miracle of Love” route in that Shadow is kind of a dick until he meets Amy and immediately becomes purely heroic for the rest of the run, but this one has the “bonus” of Shadow ditching Knuckles in Glyphic Canyon right before he meets up with her.))

Cross-posted on AO3

--

Amy’s breathless laughter died down as the latest episode of their favorite show drew to a close. She turned her smile Shadow’s way.

“Thanks again for hanging out with me, Shadow. I never have anything to do on Saturdays.” After a moment, her eyes bugged out. “Wait, no! I don’t mean you’re a last resort or anything! I really--”

Shadow held up a hand to stop her. “I knew what you meant. I’m glad to be here.” She sighed in relief.

He almost said ‘I feel lucky just to be a part of your life at all,’ but that felt like a bit much. Instead, he asked, “Why? Are all your other friends busy on Saturdays?”

“Yeah, but I can’t exactly blame them. I never used to be free to hang out on Saturdays. I used to go treasure hunting with Knuckles every week!”

Shadow’s ears perked up. “You did?”

Amy bobbed her head, suddenly looking excited. “You bet I did! One sec...”

She opened a drawer on the underside of the coffee table in front of them. She shoved a few papers aside to reveal an object underneath. “Aha!”

With a flourish, she held aloft a faded red scrapbook. She set it down carefully on the table. Messy handwriting spelled out “Amy and Knuckles’ Treasure Hunting Adventures!” The letters got more cramped as they spread across the cover, as if the writer had run out of space and was struggling to fit the whole phrase. Underneath the title, a barely-legible signature read ‘Amy Rose,’ while Knuckles had signed his own name more neatly beside it. Heart and gemstone stickers peppered the cover. The spine of the old book made a quiet crinkling noise as Amy carefully opened it.

“Aaaand...here it is! This is from our first day!” Amy declared, smiling down at the picture glued to the first page. It showed both Amy and Knuckles looking at least a decade younger than they currently did. Knuckles wore the same cowboy hat and brown jacket he always did for such adventures, and apart from having less height and muscle mass, he looked mostly the same.

Amy was a different story. Her bright smile showed she was missing several teeth, and her quills were wild and sticking out, barely contained by the ribbon she’d tied around them. She wore an oversized hat and jacket that matched Knuckles’ own. The garments dwarfed her tiny frame, but they did nothing to hide her excitement, obvious as it was in her stance and her smile.

“And this was at the end of the day! Knuckles was afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle it or that I’d be afraid of getting dirty, but I sure showed him!” Amy’s grin was proud, but it was nowhere near as wide as the one on her face in the second picture. Patches of dirt covered her fur and clothes. Knuckles was resting an affectionate hand on her hat, as if he were patting her on the head to congratulate her on a job well done. He was matching her radiant smile with a proud grin of his own.

Shadow had long suspected that Amy saw Knuckles as an older brother or even a father figure at times, and the look on her face in the picture said it all. Judging by Knuckles’ own fond gaze, it seemed it wasn’t entirely one-sided, either.

“I was exhausted the next day, but it was totally worth it...Shadow?”

Amy’s inquisitive tone snapped him out of it. He opened his mouth to reply.

This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

He paused, then instead said, “Knuckles looks like he’s your dad.”

Amy burst out laughing. “Don’t tell him that! You’ll make him feel old!” She turned the page. “It was originally supposed to be just a day trip, but it was so much fun that we made it a weekly tradition! Sonic and Tails never wanted to wake up early enough for it, so it was just the two of us.”

She turned page after page, showing pictures of the two of them as the years went by. Amy slowly but surely grew into the hat and jacket, and they both cycled through pairs of boots as they grew out of them. Their grins never faded. They started trying out different silly poses for the pictures as time went on: they’d stand back-to-back, flex their muscles “sarcastically,” or Knuckles would give Amy a piggyback ride. Shadow hid a chuckle at that one.

“And this was taken deep underground in Mystic Cave Zone! It was the first time Knuckles brought me spelunking,” she continued. In the picture, she was happily curled into a snug little nook in a cave wall. Knuckles was crouched just outside of it, and they both wore harnesses and helmets. He was carefully holding the camera to get both of them in the shot. The nervous look on Knuckles’ face as he kept an eye on her made Shadow wonder if she’d wanted to go in the past and this was just the first time he’d said yes. It was clear the day had been special to her; the page was covered in extra pickaxe and flashlight stickers.

Amy turned another page, then gasped. “Oo, this is the day where Cream joined us! We went hiking in the Gigan Mountains that day. Check out all these action shots she and Cheese got!”

The images on the next few pages were a step up. With Cream and Cheese’s aerial mobility, they’d captured some great angles. Apparently, though, the excitement had proven to be too much for them. The last image featured Cream sleeping in Amy’s arms while Knuckles held a drowsy Cheese and took the picture. Nevertheless, the action shots were indeed impressive. One showed Knuckles scaling a wall while Amy leapt up behind him, and another featured Amy using her propeller hammer to cross a gap he was gliding over.

Shadow hummed quietly, impressed. “You really kept up, huh?”

She nodded proudly, beaming. “Not just any hedgehog can keep up with an echidna on a treasure hunt, so I made my own way! I can’t climb as fast as Knuckles can, so I learned my super-high double jump. And I can’t glide like he can, so I taught myself how to propeller-hammer!”

Shadow admired her proud smile and ingenuity. That’s just like you. It doesn’t matter which abilities you don’t have, you always find your own way. I wish I were half as adaptable as you.

“Uh, Shadow? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Realizing he’d been gazing dreamily at Amy, Shadow wiped the look off his face. “It seems like this was really good for you,” he pointed out, hoping to shift the focus.

It worked. Excitement immediately bloomed across Amy’s face once more. “You bet! And it wasn’t just the trips themselves. We found some super cool treasure, too!” She flipped to the end of the book and worked backwards, showing picture after picture of valuable gems, gold, and other minerals. Some especially eye-catching rocks--Amy’s favorites, no doubt--were taped to some of the pages. One of the photographs made Shadow stop her. His eyes shot wide open.

“Is that a Chaos Emerald?!”

“Yup!” she confirmed, beaming. Her grin turned fond as she gazed at the picture of her holding the Emerald aloft while Knuckles grinned up at her, posing proudly with his arms crossed. “Knuckles could sense it, of course, but--!” she paused, holding up a finger for dramatic effect. “He didn’t tell me ahead of time! He put together a bunch of hints to send me on a scavenger hunt, and I found it on my own. It was so much fun!”

Shadow couldn’t help but admire her enthusiasm once more, though he hid his reaction this time. “That’s...actually really sweet.”

Amy bobbed her head. “And that’s not all! Every year for my birthday, Knuckles would make me jewelry with the treasure we found! I still have all of it.” Sure enough, various necklaces, bracelets, and other bits of jewelry were affixed to the pages.

Shadow’s eyes widened. “I knew Knuckles made Rouge’s engagement ring, but I didn’t know he could do all this.”

“The Knuckles Clan wore a lot of it. He’s spent a lot of time working backwards to figure out the methods they used to use. That way it won’t all be lost.”

Shadow nodded as he examined the jewelry in front of him. “Looks like it’s paying off.”

“Mhm! And some of it’s functional, too! I always wear this one.” Shadow looked back up to find Amy was reaching underneath her collar. She pulled out a pendant with a carefully-cut, multifaceted gemstone set into it. “Knuckles made it for my thirteenth birthday with some treasure we found on a week-long trip to Angel Island.” The gem glowed with a dull green luster. Shadow could feel a faint power emanating from it. The energy was weak, but it was there.

He narrowed his eyes. “Is that...”

She shook her head. “Not quite. It’s Mock Emerald. It’s weak, but it can almost match the real thing...and that’s not all!” she declared, clearly excited to share her knowledge. “Ever wonder how I can always find Chaos Emeralds in a pinch?” He nodded, and she looked back down at the pendant. “With a dash of Chaos energy, Mock Emerald can be used to track down the real thing.”

“Really?”

She nodded and smirked. “I can always tell when you have a Chaos Emerald on you. Like right now.” Shadow’s eyes widened at having been caught, making Amy giggle. She looked back down at the pendant. “It’s one of my most prized possessions.”

Shadow’s heart practically melted at her fond expression. I’ve never seen her so happy. “It seems like it meant a lot to you.”

Amy nodded. She looked back to the scrapbook and smiled down at it. Her smile turned more distant than before. “These are some of my most cherished memories. I wouldn’t have half the skills I have now if it weren’t for these adventures.”

Shadow frowned. “So why’d you stop? What happened?”

Amy’s smile turned sad. “Rouge happened.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Amy glanced back up at him. Upon seeing his expression, she flinched and waved her hands in panic. “Wait, no! I don’t mean it like that! It’s not like she--she didn’t do anything wrong!” Amy went back to the scrapbook and hastily flipped to the next page. The next picture featured Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge. Rouge was decked out in her own, more stylish treasure hunting gear, and she was leaning on Knuckles, making him blush a little and avert his eyes. Amy was standing on Knuckles’ other side and smiling up at the camera, but it wasn’t as brightly as before. “I was fourteen when Knuckles finally made a move and asked her to join us. It was about time!”

Shadow nodded cautiously. He remembered the two years they’d spent dancing around each other.

Amy turned another page. “She started joining us every week after that. It was fun.”

To anyone else, she would have sounded sincere, but Shadow paid Amy far too much attention to be fooled. He looked over at her in concern, but she kept flipping pages, focusing on the task at hand. As the pictures progressed, Rouge got closer to Knuckles, and after a while, she even shifted to stand between him and Amy. Amy’s smile looked more and more fake with each adventure, but Knuckles seemed oblivious to the change. Rouge’s smirk only grew with time. Shadow’s stomach turned.

Amy winced just slightly at the next picture. She quickly hid the expression, but Shadow saw it. “Right! Uh...this was taken at Labyrinth Zone,” she muttered hastily.

Shadow scanned the picture, expecting Amy to be hiding behind a rock or a ruin somewhere for a joke. “I don’t see you. Where are you?”

“See, half of Labyrinth Zone is underwater. Knuckles can hold his breath for a long time, but we can’t. I sat out so he could lend Rouge his air necklace.” She pointed to a small, vaguely bottle-shaped necklace around Rouge’s neck. It was a little hard to see given that she was practically glued to Knuckles by that point.

Shadow did a double-take and squinted at Amy. “Wait, you didn’t get to go? They left you behind?”

Amy froze for a moment, as if surprised that he’d pointed it out. “Well, I...I mean...” She recovered. “I’m a better swimmer than Sonic is, but hedgehogs aren’t great in water! You know that as well as I do! I only would have held them back.” There was just a hint of pain in her smile. She probably thought she was hiding it well. “Knuckles only has one air necklace, and he’d always wanted to go hunting in Labyrinth Zone. And between you and me...” She held up a hand next to her mouth and mock-whispered, “He swiped some lapis lazuli and cassiterite from their stash and gave it to me. Don’t tell Rouge!” She giggled.

“Mhm...” Shadow crossed his arms, not feeling much better at the admission.

“I got to join them next time, though!” Amy blurted out, trying to change the subject. “I discovered an underground cave when I was hanging out at Big’s house in the Mystic Ruins! We brought Rouge and Knuckles with us the next time. It was a blast!” There were enough images from that trip to fill two pages. Most of them featured the four of them racing around in mine carts: Knuckles and Rouge were cowering in one and holding onto each other for dear life, while Big and Amy shared the other. Amy giggled. “Those two were trying so hard to pretend they weren’t scared. I teased them about it the whole way back! I almost lost my camera, though. Big hooked it on his fishing line to take these.”

Her wide smile had returned, but it faded once more as time went on. “I’d already visited Mirage Road once with Blaze, so I skipped out on that one...and I stayed home when they went to Wild Canyon, too. There was a lot of digging for that.” She let out a weak chuckle. “I’m a force to be reckoned with when I pick up a shovel, but burrowing entire tunnels is a bit much for me...” She rubbed her arm and looked away. “And I skipped out on Sanctuary Falls. It was too high up. They were pretty close by then. I didn’t want them to have to keep an eye on me the whole time.”

After a few more pages, Amy was practically absent. There were a few more trips with Knuckles and Rouge alone, but she eventually reached a blank page and stopped. “That’s about it.”

Shadow’s heart clenched. “That’s it? Why’d you stop?” he demanded, wishing he didn’t know the answer.

She lifted her knees to curl up into a ball. “I dunno, just...I felt like a third wheel. They were finally getting closer, so...” She tugged at a thread on the couch, and her nose wrinkled just slightly. “Plus Rouge and I didn’t get along very well back then anyway. It just got less fun, and I knew how important it was to Knuckles. So I backed off.” She perked up and beamed. “And I was right! They got married just a few years later!”

“But what about you?”

She deflated and tilted her head at his blunt interjection. “What about me?”

He choked, indignant. “It meant a lot to you! It was your tradition. You and Knuckles started it. You’re the one with the scrapbook,” he snapped, gesturing to the old, carefully-maintained book in front of them.

“Well...it was our tradition, but...it’s theirs now,” she muttered, ears drooping. “I just wanted him to be happy. It’s important.”

A growl built up in the back of Shadow’s throat, startling her a little. He grit his teeth. “His happiness is not more important than yours, and hers isn’t, either!”

Amy winced. “Shadow...it’s not a big deal. I...”

“Hmph.” Shadow stood up with a purpose and took her hand to pull her to her feet.

“WHOA! What are you--”

“You need to get changed,” he stated simply, taking out his phone. “Go. I have a phone call to make.”

She choked. “Wait--huh? Why?”

He kept scrolling through his contacts. “Because I’m not letting you go treasure hunting in flip-flops.”

She just stared at him in confusion for a moment, but then her eyes bugged out in realization. “Wait, Shadow, no! You don’t have to--”

“Amy.” He placed a firm hand on her shoulder to stop her, then looked up from his phone. “This is happening. I’m making it happen.”

She just held his gaze for a while. Soon enough, though, her eyes started to water, and she couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across her face. She made a happy little squeal and pulled him into a tight hug, almost making him drop his phone. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She dashed off to get ready. Shadow managed to hold back his smile until she was out of sight. His customary scowl returned when he looked back down at his contacts list and dialed his best friend’s number. She answered a few seconds later, and he wasted no time. “Don’t leave for your trip with Knuckles yet. You’ll have two more people joining you.” She responded with a confused, slightly whiny protest, and he snarled in response.

“I. Wasn’t. Asking.”

--

Shadow, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge materialized at the entrance to a wide valley surrounded by towering rock walls. Shadow put away his Chaos Emerald and examined the area, noting the conspicuous absence of the moss-covered stone ruins he’d personally helped Black Doom lift into the sky long ago. He cringed. It just HAD to be Glyphic Canyon, didn’t it?

“Just like old times, eh, Shadow?” Knuckles joked, nudging him with his elbow. Shadow just grunted in response.

“Wait, you two have been here before?” Amy asked.

Knuckles crossed his arms and looked around, probably noting the canyon’s differences just as Shadow had. “We ran into each other here years ago during the Black Arms’ attack, but we got separated pretty quickly.”

Shadow cringed. More like I abandoned you immediately so I could help Black Doom launch a devastating attack on the people of this planet. A planet I’ve grown to love...thanks to her. He peeked up at Amy out of the corner of his eye. Thank Chaos I ran into Amy right after that. If it weren’t for her compassion...

Amy cocked her head, probably wondering why Shadow was staring at her again. She grinned and hopped over to link arms with him. “Don’t worry! You’ve got an expert navigator with you this time. You’ll never get lost with me by your side!”

He nodded his head with a grunt, choosing not to correct her assumption. He subtly admired her smile and let her cling onto him as they approached the first rock wall. He purposely avoided Rouge’s knowing smile.

--

The canyon’s path started out mostly linear, so Shadow had no trouble keeping up at first. As time went on, though, the path got steeper, and sheer cliffs stretched up ahead of them. Without any climbing prowess or absurdly high double-jumping, he was struggling. He improvised using his knowledge from ten years ago, jumping off a few leftover crumbling pillars to make his way upward. Remembering the locations of a few strong updrafts, he used the wind to ascend as he had before. He was still panting before long, though. Luckily, Amy picked up on this, and she hung around to make sure he never got turned around or fell behind. She helped him up some of the steeper cliffs and found shortcuts so they could catch up with the other two when they got too far ahead. He counted himself lucky; without her, he definitely would have had to stealthily use Chaos Control to make up the distance, and he knew he’d never hear the end of it if anyone else found out.

Shadow finally hefted himself up one last ledge to join the other three, trying to hide his heavy breathing. Knuckles smirked at him, not looking winded at all. “Having trouble there, Shadow?” he teased, smirking. Shadow crossed his arms and looked away.

“Hmph. I’m perfectly capable of keeping up on a hike. I handled this place before, and I can do it again.”

“Really makes you respect Amy that much more, huh?” Knuckles replied, clearly seeing through him.

“I have always respected Amy.”

Knuckles looked confused at his blunt reply, while Rouge quietly snickered.

“Well, I think he’s doing a great job,” Amy chimed in shyly, giving him a supportive smile. He nodded in gratitude, trying not to show how flattered he was.

“Especially considering this isn’t really his thing,” Rouge added, then smirked at him. “Something about this really must’ve piqued your interest.”

Shadow rolled his eyes and looked away from her again, afraid he’d snap at her if he didn’t. “So what exactly are we looking for here? You said it was some kind of door, right?”

Knuckles nodded. “It’s right up there.”

He turned around and pointed up at a rock ledge ahead of them. A set of well-worn steps led up to a vaguely rectangular ancient black stone with an all-too-familiar spiky red symbol set into it. Two stone pillars rose up on either side of the base of the stairs, both topped with spherical, glowing green jewels that Shadow couldn’t help but recognize. Knuckles stepped over to one of the pillars and pressed his palm against the pedestal at its base. “I couldn’t open it last time I was here. Those gemstones up there glow if you touch them, and it makes the symbol on that door light up, but it just fades after a minute or so. I couldn’t get anything else to happen. The rock is too tough to punch or dig through. I can’t even read these runes to try and get a hint. I’ve never seen them before, like they’re in a completely alien language. I was hoping Rouge might be able to find a way in.”

Rouge looked around and checked out the other pillar. She squinted at the runes as well. “I’ve never seen these, either. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.”

“Umm...” Everyone looked up toward the door. Amy was standing beside it, examining its surface. “Isn’t this the same symbol that’s on your bike, Shadow?”

“It’s not just on my bike.” Shadow approached the door. “You two. Touch the gemstones up there to activate them,” he commanded. Knuckles and Rouge climbed up to do so. By the time Shadow reached the top of the stairs, the symbol on the door was glowing, just as Knuckles had said. Shadow looked down at his own hand. He took a deep breath and then removed his glove. The red stripe on his arm ran down to the back of his hand, where it curled into that same spiky red pattern. Amy gasped. He hesitated briefly, then pressed his hand against the symbol on the door.

A soft chime emitted from behind the wall. For a moment, nothing further happened. Then, the ground around them started to rumble. Rouge stayed airborne to avoid it, and Knuckles clung onto the pillar. Amy stumbled and latched onto Shadow’s arm with a yelp to stay standing. Shadow removed his hand from the door and stepped back to keep his balance.

In front of them, the door shook and rumbled. It slowly began to sink into the ground. The motion kicked up enough sand that Shadow had to shut his eyes. He felt Amy bury her face in his shoulder to avoid it, and he held onto her reassuringly.

After a few seconds, the rumbling died down, and the ground stopped shaking. Shadow hesitantly blinked his eyes open to find the dust had settled. He peeked down at Amy. “Are you alright?”

She lifted her head and met his gaze. She nodded and turned back to the other two. “Knuckles? Rouge? You okay?”

Rouge landed safely next to them with a nod, and Knuckles jogged up the steps to join them. He took a look down the dark passage in front of them, then grinned at Shadow. “Looks like you came in handy after all, Shadow!” He playfully punched him on the shoulder. Shadow grunted and tried not to flinch at the hit.

On his other side, Amy reached down to hold his ungloved hand. “What is this, anyway?” she asked, lightly tracing the pattern on his hand.

“It’s the symbol of the Black Arms,” he explained, enjoying the pleasant feeling. “Black Doom told me this area was a holy ground for them. Touching those jewels activates the ruins’ power.”

Rouge and Amy made noises of intrigue, but Knuckles held up a hand. “Just a second. If it’s some kind of holy ground, I don’t know if I feel comfortable with this. I don’t want to loot the place.”

Shadow scoffed. “Hold on, let me check with every remaining member of my race just to make sure.” After an awkward pause, he nodded. “It’s unanimous. Let’s go.”

Amy and Rouge laughed nervously at the morbid joke. Knuckles, on the other hand, smiled reassuringly and gave him a heavy pat on the back in understanding. He retrieved two flashlights from his backpack and handed one to Shadow, keeping one for himself. They switched them on and ducked through the door.

Shadow felt Amy link her arm with his. When he peeked down at her, she glanced around at their surroundings, then looked up at him with a concerned expression. She silently mouthed, ‘Are you alright?’

It took him a moment to realize she was referring to the aversion to cramped spaces that he’d developed during his time in stasis. His heart softened. He nodded, touched that she’d remembered. “I doubt it’ll stay this way for long. Black Doom wouldn’t want to have to duck the whole way.”

He was soon proven correct. The passage widened, and the ceiling rose as well. At his own mention of Black Doom, however, Shadow grew nervous. What kind of obscene deities would the Black Arms have worshiped? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea...

“Stay close,” Shadow muttered, nervously pulling her closer by the arm. He didn’t look at her, afraid she’d be spooked, but she happily walked closer beside him.

Rouge and Knuckles were leading the way. Rouge peeked back at them every so often, not even trying to hide her smirks. He rolled his eyes each time, knowing he was just one snarky comment away from snapping.

It wasn’t much longer before the four of them turned a corner that led to a much wider space. Knuckles and Shadow aimed their flashlights all around the room. It was far larger than an average cathedral, though there were no seats; Shadow wondered if Black Doom simply felt his subjects weren’t worth the effort. A mass of gold and treasure was piled high at the base of an altar. Shadow dragged his eyes higher with trepidation, dreading whatever disgusting deity he might find...only to be met with a giant statue of Black Doom instead, arms outstretched over the pulpit.

Shadow stared at it blankly. Of course he was that arrogant. Why am I even surprised?

Rouge seemed unconcerned. She squealed in excitement and dashed over to the treasure. Amy wasn’t far behind.

Knuckles stayed back with Shadow for a moment and scratched his chin while the other two fawned over the treasure. “It’s been a while since Amy came with us. I was starting to wonder if she thought she was too old for it or something. I’m glad she changed her mind,” he said, beaming. “It’s always been good for her.” Shadow nodded. Knuckles examined him closer, perplexed. “I’m surprised to see you here, though. I’ve never thought of you as the type to do this kind of thing.”

Shadow stared back at Knuckles, noting the sincere confusion in his expression. He really has no idea, does he? He shrugged and muttered some excuse about how he’d wanted to try something new, hoping Knuckles would be oblivious about that, too. No need to drag him into this.

--

The four of them eventually stepped back out into the sunlight, each toting plenty of gems and precious metals. Shadow frowned at his own share, unsure of what to do with it. Normally I give stuff like this to Rouge, but today...maybe I’ll just hang onto it instead.

Knuckles dove off the cliff, clearly excited at the prospect of such an easy glide back down. Amy bounded ahead to join him, easily leaping from rock to rock. Rouge sank into a low stance the way she always did before taking to the skies. Before she could take off, though, Shadow grabbed the collar of her jacket, dragging her back to his side. She side-eyed him, indignant and somewhat irritated. He wasn’t fazed.

“I knew you went treasure hunting with Knuckles, but you never told me Amy used to go with you.”

Rouge’s eyes narrowed in suspicion for half a second before she smirked to hide it. “Heard it was a great time, huh? Is that why you set up this little double date?”

Shadow crossed his arms and tapped his foot rapid-fire. He ignored her teasing and glared at her. “Do you know why she stopped going with you?”

Her brief pause would have been unnoticeable to someone who didn’t know her as well as Shadow did. She shrugged. “Could have been a lot of things. Maybe she just got tired of it. Why don’t you ask her?”

“I did.”

Rouge flinched, but her tone instantly turned curious. “What did she say?”

“She said she felt like a third wheel. She felt unwelcome,” Shadow hissed.

“Aww, that’s too bad!” Rouge pouted, clearly feigning sympathy. “But it makes sense for a sweetheart like her. She’d never get in the way of love!”

Shadow stopped. He could see the hint of smugness behind Rouge’s eyes, and it made his blood boil. “You did it on purpose.” His eyes narrowed to slits. His jaw tightened, and he had to keep his fists clenched to hold himself back.

Rouge held a hand to her heart and scoffed lightly, as if she were offended. “I never asked her to leave. She decided that on her own!”

Shadow rounded on her, now seething. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! These trips meant the world to her!”

Rouge recoiled, then regained her composure by teasing him again. “Aww, defending your girlfriend? How sweet!”

“IS THIS A JOKE TO YOU?!” he snapped. “This was their tradition. She went on these trips every week for years! She learned half her abilities from these adventures. These were her memories. She made a goddamn scrapbook for these trips. She still has it!” Rouge leaned back and held up her hands defensively, but he didn’t stop. “Knuckles is practically an older brother to her, maybe more. He and Cream are the closest things to family she has left, and you purposely got in the way of that.”

For once, Rouge actually hesitated. “It’s not like she...she doesn’t...”

Shadow gestured to a rock outcropping where Amy and Knuckles had landed for a break. Knuckles was petting her on the top of her head with a proud smile. She beamed, tail wagging happily at having earned his approval.

“She does,” Shadow snarled. “You intruded on what was basically a family tradition and edged her out, and for what? So you could go off and make out with Knuckles?!”

“He is my husband!” Rouge shot back at last. “These trips are important to me, too! I love him!”

“More than Amy does?! You are NOT more important than she is! She was there first!”

Rouge balked, then spat back, “I never forced her to leave. That was her choice, not mine!”

“You, Omega, and I hang out all the time, and none of us feel like a third wheel,” Shadow argued. “But Amy didn’t even feel comfortable joining you today until I stepped in. Don’t act like that wasn’t what you wanted.”

Rouge bit her lip, seemingly lost for words.

“Umm...is everything alright?”

Amy’s sweet voice piped up quietly, instantly draining the anger out of Shadow’s muscles. His shoulders dropped. “...Yeah. We’re fine.”

“Good,” she replied, smiling sheepishly. “I told you I wasn’t leaving you behind, and I meant it!” She hopped forward to take his hand this time. He jogged to catch up with her, but not before shooting a heated scowl over his shoulder at Rouge. From the way she recoiled, he could tell she got the message.

This. Isn’t. Over.

--

Once Shadow reappeared in a flash with Amy in front of her house, he expected her to let go of his hand like usual, but she didn't. She was looking away from him.

“Amy?”

When she peeked back up at him, she looked conflicted, torn between happiness, sadness, and gratitude. She suddenly yanked him closer and snuggled into his chest.

“Thank you,” she muttered. Her voice was muffled against his fur. She clung to him, and he hesitantly returned the welcome embrace.

“For what?”

“For everything today.” She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “For making this trip happen. For helping to make it as fun as it was. And...”

She pressed her lips into a thin line. When he just gazed down at her, she sighed. “I heard you and Rouge talking. Not all of it, but...enough.” He remained silent, so she continued, “I’m not used to people doing that for me.”

“Doing what for you?” Shadow asked.

“Well...standing up for me like that.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but she couldn’t hide the tears welling up in her eyes. “I feel like there’s nothing I can do sometimes. Some people might comfort me when I’m sad, but I’ve never seen someone get so angry over how I’m treated.” She shrank down into herself. “No one really fights for me, and I don’t want to get in anyone’s way.”

Shadow’s stomach lurched at the injustice, and he choked back his indignation. He pulled her closer and hid her face under his chin, not wanting to see her cry. “Amy Rose, you are the kindest, fiercest friend I’ve ever met. Whether it’s a friend, a stranger, or someone who doesn’t deserve one ounce of compassion--” Like me. TWICE. “--you fight harder than anyone else to protect others.” She met his gaze once more, eyes shining. He kept going, afraid he’d lose his nerve if he stopped. “I can’t tell you how much it upsets me that you feel like you don’t deserve happiness as much as anyone else. You should be standing up for yourself just as much as you do for others. Because you deserve it.” He took a deep breath, then brushed a quill out of her face. “If you don’t, I’m going to keep doing it for you. And I’m not nice like you are.”

Amy tried to stay serious, but a huge smile eventually broke through. His favorite laugh escaped her lips, making him relax.

To his surprise, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, then pulled away with a grateful smile. “I’m glad you’re not.”

--

From then on, Shadow made a habit of joining Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy every Saturday. He got better each week, though he never quite reached Amy’s level. That didn’t matter to him so long as he got to stay by her side.

With Shadow’s insistence--and a healthy amount of guilt over having split up the “family trips”--Rouge agreed to sit out every so often alongside Shadow so Amy and Knuckles could have one-on-one trips just as they had in their youth.

It wasn’t until a few years later that she and Rouge fully made amends. With Knuckles’ jewelry-making expertise, Rouge’s aesthetic sensibilities, and Shadow’s in-depth knowledge of Amy’s preferences, the three of them worked together to create the engagement ring Shadow gave to her, just as Knuckles had for Rouge. They included some of the materials Shadow had kept from their first trip together.

--

((You have no idea how much time I spent looking up treasure hunting destinations that fit this story.))

[ultimate-guardian]

Just finished watching the "Knuckles Series," and it was amazing

[transgender-battlekukku]

Things that oozes "made by white american men"

[pleasantstarfishnerd]

echidna gender roles headcanons

The Echidnas were a pretty egalitarian society as far as ancient societies go . They didn't really have much in the way of gender roles. Female warriors were commonplace . Females fought alongside the males in battle.

An Echidna's role in society was determined by their caste rather than their gender. The Echidna society had several different castes, such as warrior, shaman, scribe or priest caste. Male and female Echidnas were treated equally. A female could be a warrior, while a male could be a healer💪

Due to a combination of living alone on Angel Island for most of his life and learning about ancient Echidna society from relics, Knuckles is very confused by human gender roles, especially when he first left the island. He finds them to be ridiculous .

[rosevoliii]

"Born on an island in the heavens, the blood of my ancestors flows inside me"

[fastfists]

random thought but if Knux was isolated he wouldn't get a lot of sicknesses from other people so wouldn't he struggle if he caught something real bad he never had contact with

Mhm, that would be a problem though I'd like to point out a couple things that would probably make this not a big problem for Knuckles. Plus, he isn't completely isolated per say...we saw that most of his 'problems' came more from social interactions and norms, rather than a lack of knowledge of other things. To add; 1) Flickies and other avian critters seem to be the norm; it wouldn't surprise me if during any of their migrations or such that they have carried various viruses or such back to Angel Island. And given Knuckles does care for the critters of the island, it very likely he'd caught things from them here and there. 2) Echidna's seem to have some form of advancements; which if we go by the cultures they were based off wouldn't be too surprising that they'd have medicine that can treat such viruses and such. So, it would have to be something extremely foreign or never dealt with for Knuckles to get deadly sick or ill. 3) Given that Knuckles seems very atoned to the Master Emerald and has a strong bond with it, it wouldn't surprise me that because of that bond that the Master Emerald had helped in someway boost his immunity and resistance to viruses and such. Think in a similar vein to Shadow I guess; not to the same extent but a somewhat similar situation to a degree. There are many other factors I can add; but I think overall Knuckles wouldn't be in too much trouble when it comes to illnesses or such. After all, we have seen he rarely leaves the island and places he does visit would probably have herd immunity. For something to effect him or such, it have to be something new on a grand scale or such... And cute lil' HC that his friends probably had him get vaccinate just encase cause you know...they care and want him to be healthy.

[kajira-kreations]

Copic commish. Human version of Tikal the Echidna from the Sonic series.

[aphantimes]

spent a stupid amount of time standing around blocking the road to compare knuckles to the echidnas from the past knuckles is .. pretty small, compared to them. humans tend to stop growing around the age of 16 (ik hes not a human but hes anthropomorphised shh) so him being so much smaller is p interesting. also look at that snoot on the one closest to the camera damn. it’s so long and pointy he can use it as a weapon

[lanaflowerz]

Every day praising an indigenous character — Day 21

Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog.

Knuckles is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an echidna of the Knuckles Clan (an ancient clan of echidnas that inhabited what would become known as the Mystic Ruins approximately 3,000 years ago). They are inspired by various peoples from southern Abya Yala.

Bibliographic reference: https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Knuckles_the_Echidna

[nenafena]

day 8- royalty

she is the sole daughter of the chieftain after all