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wnacn · 3 days ago

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Finding the Way

A Mini-Fic for Issue 3

Written by @mama-qwerty

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"ENGAGING OCCUPANT SORTING"

Knuckles’ head pounded from the shock Robo-Sonic had delivered, and had only the briefest of moments to register those words, spoken in such a cheerful voice over the intercom. Then wind whooshed around him, sucking him up into one of those giant tube things and whisking him away from the control room.

He uttered grunts and oofs as he was jostled around the turns of the tube, finally spit out in some hallway somewhere in the lair. Landing with a thud, he gave a soft groan as the world slowly stopped spinning around him.

Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his variously bruised body parts.

"Now I know what a pair of socks feel like in the dryer. Just without the lovely fresh flowery scent." He paused, giving his head a shake as he looked around himself. "Where am I?"

A hallway. A long, dark, metal hallway. With no signs, no arrows, no indication of what was behind the multiple doors he could see from where he stood. He held still for a moment, listening, and couldn’t even hear anything. It was dead silent.

Don’t think about ghosts, Eggman’s lair is not haunted, don’t think about ghosts.

Okay, think. He was lost in the lair, separated from his friends, no clue as to where he was, or how to get back to them.

But, bright side, the last time he'd been sucked into one of those tube-things he'd been dropped into some locked storage room somewhere. At least now he wasn't trapped in a room full of junk.

And he wasn't stuck with Eggman. So, that was something.

"Okay," he said to himself, planting his hands on his hips. "I'm... somewhere. And all my friends are . . . somewhere else. And Sonic is being a jerk, probably trying to find them. I need to find them first."

He nodded. Right. That was what he needed. A plan, something to focus on.

Find his friends. Protect them from Robo-Jerk.

Okay. He could do this.

He started walking. Every hallway led somewhere, right? Maybe he could find a map, or some signs that showed him where he was, or how to get back to the control room. This place was huge, Eggman probably got lost from time to time here, too. Right?

One of those YOU ARE HERE type of things from the maps in those big stores would be super helpful right now.

Knuckles walked, following the dark hallway, trying not to think about how creepy it was. He passed a few doors, but they were locked and he didn't want to waste time bashing his way through every one. They looked pretty ordinary, nothing seemed to scream “I AM FULL OF SECRETS TO HELP YOUR QUEST”, so he just kept moving.

The silence was almost deafening, the only sounds being his footsteps. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, where Sonic had shoved him against the wall. It had hurt more than Knuckles had let on, but what really bothered him was the fact that it was Sonic who’d done it. Attacked him. Tried to hurt him. Tried to hurt all of them.

No. He was Robo-Sonic now. Turned into one of Eggman’s bots by some machine. It wasn’t the first time one of Knuckles’ friends became a robot—Tails had had that little bee-bot incident—so it made sense that turning into a bot changed Sonic’s personality, but there was something more... mean about the way Sonic was acting now. Not just ‘following orders’ like Eggman’s other bots did. It made Sonic tougher. He almost seemed angry.

It felt personal. As though Sonic were angry at them for some reason. He didn’t want to be helped, didn’t want to be changed back. Just attacked them at every opportunity.

Knuckles had never had a problem busting bots before, it felt good to use more of his strength, and honestly the satisfying crunch of denting metal was like music to his ears.

But what happens when the bot was your best friend?

Or used to be.

Could he stop Robo-Sonic the same way he stopped Eggman’s other bots? It didn’t matter if he bashed the bots when they were attacking the village, or threatening his friends. They were just bots. Robots. Machines. They attacked, he and his friends fought back, clobbering them until they stopped working.

But if he did that to Robo-Sonic...

He shivered.

A soft humming sound broke into his thoughts, and he slowed as he picked out an entry that was different from the rest. Light spilled into the hallway from a door ahead, one that was only half closed. Half open? It was half something and he moved closer to the wall as he approached it, peering around to peek inside.

It looked like a kitchen. There was a blender on one counter, and a coffee machine on another, and what looked like a fridge along the back wall. The humming sound was coming from there, louder now that he was in the room.

That tube thing must be a shortcut for when Eggman was snacky.

Honestly, Knuckles could relate. Who wanted to walk through a place this big when you had a hankering for some cookies?

Speaking of, he'd need his strength for when he came across Robo-Sonic again. That bot had put up more of a fight than he was expecting, and he didn't want to be caught off guard next time.

After a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, Knuckles walked in and went straight for the fridge. Maybe Eggman had some apples or grapes or carrots or something good and healthy to help keep his strength up. Amy would be proud of him for thinking of something like tha—

His eyes widened when he found the glass covered plate on the top shelf.

Or cake. Cake would work, too.

It was a triple-decker chocolate cake, with thick icing between layers. There were frilly bits of frosting around the edge, and a pink flower with a little green leaf on top.

In front of this tempting treat was a little sign with the words "CUBOT DON'T TOUCH!!!!!" written in thick black letters.

It did not say, however, "KNUCKLES DON'T TOUCH!!!!!"

KER-YOINK

His muzzle wrinkled as he devoured it. Figures Eggman would use artificial sweetener. The man's evil knew no bounds, apparently.

Once finished, Knuckles licked his fingers, and headed back to the hallway. Time was ticking away, and he needed to get back to his friends.

But which way? All these hallways looked alike, and he hadn't seen any signs of any elevators or directions elsewhere. He could wander this place for hours and not find his way down. How would he...

Wait.

He stood still, brow furrowing.

After a moment, he turned left, his feet carrying him forward.

This way. Something was... he knew he had to go this way.

He walked, taking a moment at intersecting hallways to feel which way he needed to go. After a silent moment, he would turn and continue along.

Each hallway intersection required less time to contemplate. Soon he was taking turns as though he'd been navigating the lair all his life, moving from a walk, to a jog, to a run as he felt whatever was pulling him draw closer.

His mind, normally juggling a dozen different thoughts at once, leaving him fuzzy and unfocused, cleared. He felt sharper, as though each thought were clicking into place, instead of sliding against each other, slipping just out of reach when he tried to grab for it.

He wasn’t stupid like many in the village thought. He knew things. It was just... sometimes those things liked to play hide and seek in his mind. Falling further and further away while others took their place. Like images in a fog.

And now, it felt as though the fog were lifting.

Soon he came to another door, this one closed and locked and sporting the words "KEEP OUT" in large, thick letters, colored bright red.

It did not say, however, "KNUCKLES KEEP OUT"

KER-PUNCH

The door crashed inward with one mighty blow from his fist. He moved in without hesitation, brows furrowed and mind set on a single, focused, thought.

find it

He wasn't exactly sure what 'it' was, but there was something almost pulling him here, and who was he to deny strange, otherworldly pulls while lost in the heart of Eggman's lair?

The room was mostly dark, but there was a light coming from one corner in the back. He moved toward it, senses on alert for any of Eggman's annoying bots that may be on guard duty.

guardian come guardian

His steps faltered. What?

That pull again. He moved forward.

The light was getting brighter the closer he came. A pale yellow light, coming from something encased in a glass tube. There were wires attached to the panel the tube connected to, and they all led to a console to the right of the module. Lights flickered, and there were flashes of words and code on the monitors there.

He watched them for a moment, not understanding the specifics of what they said, but getting the gist of it.

It was a power source for something.

Looking back at the light in the tube, his eyes had adjusted enough to recognize it was some sort of crystal. A gem of some sort.

As he stood there, watching it, he could have sworn he felt a touch on the back of his head. He reached up to plant his hand there, turning quickly to search the room for someone else. When he found nothing, he turned back to the gem, brows furrowed.

find your way

The words appeared in his mind, almost whispered to him in some unknown voice.

Suddenly he got the feeling that he hadn’t felt that touch on the back of his head, but in the back of his mind.

The energy this gem was giving off was unlike any energy he’d felt before. Every other kind of power felt itchy in the back of his head. Like a buzz almost. None of his other friends could feel it, and it was especially strong when he stood next to one of Eggman’s bots. The bigger the bot, the more itchy it felt.

But this wasn’t itchy. This was... warm. Almost like a musical hum in his head. He’d compare it to a caress, but that sounded a bit weird. But it did feel more... comforting, in a way. Not unpleasant.

It suddenly occurred to him that Robo-Sonic’s power felt very similar. There was another energy mixed in with his, like a small, out of place buzz in an otherwise melodious tune. But most of the energy Knuckles had felt when fighting Robo-Sonic felt like this gem. Did it have something to do with Sonic’s transformation?

This gem was yellow, but as he stared at it, an image came to mind, of six more, just like this one, but different colors.

Knuckles shook his head. That... how would he know something like that?

If these things were something that had been known, Tails would have said something. Especially if it was powerful enough to act as a power source. He was always tinkering with things, and he would have wanted something to run his various inventions without needing batteries and such to do so.

Where did Eggman even find this?

home come home

The words rang through his head like a bell, and he took a step back. Did it mean the village?

He didn't have a home. He'd never had a home. He was a nomad, a wanderer, he went where he pleased

searching always searching

and sometimes raided Tails' fridge on nights when he was really hungry and couldn't find enough to fill his belly out in the forest. He’d never found a place he felt comfortable staying in for very long. It never felt right.

Besides, he couldn't leave. He had to find his friends. He had to

protect guard

keep them safe from Robo-Sonic. It was his duty, his birthright, his...

Wait. What?

New images filled his head. Flickers, like a dream, of... stone. Green light. Old ruins.

A sense of something filled him, so completely that he nearly gasped. There was something he was supposed to be doing. Something important. Something only he could do. Something...

An explosion made the floor vibrate beneath his feet. He blinked, looking around as though waking from a dream.

His friends. He had to find them. He had to protect them. He was the strongest, it was his duty to do so.

Without another look at the strange yellow gem in the case, Knuckles turned and ran the way he'd come. He heard Robo-Sonic yell, sounding fairly close.

He'd never find them by sticking to the hallways. He needed something quicker. Something like...

His eyes drifted up, landing on the air ducts.

Perfect.

In a blink, Knuckles had punched his way into the vents. He crawled through, as fast as he could, following them in the direction of where he was sure he heard Robo-Sonic yell.

He needed to find them. Needed to tell Tails about that gem. About how it... glowed. How maybe it was... something.

Something. He’d seen something hadn’t he? Something that seemed important.

The fog was swallowing his thoughts. Pulling them back into his mind, leaving him grasping at something that had been there just a moment before. He wanted to remember. Wanted to keep that feeling, that sense of purpose. But the farther he crawled, the more it faded. Until...

It was gone.

But he heard voices, and hurried toward them. Peeking through an open vent, he found Robo-Sonic below, threatening Tails and Sticks.

Friend or not, Knuckles was not going to let Robo-Sonic hurt them.

He dropped from the vent behind Robo-Sonic, as silently as he could.

A single word popped into his head, and it drove him forward.

Protect.

#sonic boom revisited #qwerty's writing #SBR short stories #sonic the hedgehog #knuckles the echidna #boom knuckles #robo-sonic #boom sonic #sth #Le'ts Gooo- Qwerty stories!

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