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Description
"Forever Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Part Two: Memories of Forever Love

   While his friends found him unconscious on the ground and desperately tried to wake him, Knuckles remained in the past of Angel Island, sitting on the edge of the Master Emerald’s altar while his father stood watching over it, with one of his Captains at his side.  Knuckles was still hurt that he could not speak to them, and now struggled with the decision of whether or not he should try to prevent the massacre.

   He wanted nothing more than to be able to grow up with his family and kindred so he would never be lonely again, but, what would that mean for the rest of the world?  Obviously, the future would not be the same…what would happen to his friends?  There were too many unknowns, and yet, saving his tribe was beginning to sound like the more appealing choice.

   “Humph,” he muttered to himself, “My friends won’t miss me anyway.  They only come to see me when there’s trouble.  I can’t really call them friends can I?”  Pausing he stood up and looked to the village below, watching as parents brought their children inside to get them ready for bed, and ready themselves for the night ahead.  He had already picked out all of his childhood friends.  They actually cared about him; they didn’t just come to him when they needed help, treating him like nothing more than a tool.

   Closing his eyes, Knuckles clenched his fists and growled.  Stomping his foot, he shouted, “That’s it!”  Calming down, he grunted, “They won’t miss me anyway.  If I save everyone here, at least I’ll have someone, a lot of people, who actually love me.  Any difference in the future I know will be worth it, I don’t care how bad it may be for everyone else.  Angel Island will remain a safe utopia forever.”

   Pausing again, he realized how selfish he sounded, but he didn’t care.  After suffering like he had for nearly twelve years, the world owed him some relief.  He had suffered for them and nobody cared, so why should he care about them?

   His mind was made up.  He wouldn’t let himself wake up until he was sure the echidnas were saved.  Realizing he needed to stay awake to ensure this, he began to pace near his father, trying to figure out how exactly he could save them.  Maybe he could manipulate the world around him.  He simply had to do something.

   Before he could formulate a plan, he heard a voice crying out his father’s name.  His eyes, as well as those of his father and the Captain were drawn to the ground below, where they could see his mother running up to the altar, continuing to cry out for his father as she ran up the stairs.

   His father met her, taking her hands as he asked, “What is wrong?  What’s happened?” desperate for her to answer.

   Shaking her head, trying to collect herself and restrain her tears, she looked up to him and cried, “It’s Knuckles!  He’s missing!”

   “What?  How is this possible?” his father cried.

   Knuckles was in just as much shock as his parents.  He could not remember ever running away.  He listened as his mother tried to explain.

   “I—I don’t know!  We were at the house; I was cooking dinner, and I assumed Knuckles was playing with his blocks, but when I turned to tell him to come to eat, he was gone!  I don’t know where he went but…he’s gone!” his mother cried.

   Knuckles’ father was only silent for a brief moment, before crying out, “Organize a search!”  The Master Emerald glowed brighter and brighter as he called out to all of the echidna warriors.  Running down the stairs, he shouted, “We must find my son!”

   The village was alive with torches and shouts as the warriors mobilized to find Little Knuckles.  The Knuckles he would grow up to be had had enough of listening to his parents.  He jumped down to the ground below and ran straight for the forest.  He remembered this.  Something was familiar.

   As he ran in the opposite direction of the warriors, who searched the southern woods, Knuckles thought, “I remember this.  The sun was just starting to set, and I remember…I left something in the woods by the stream where Mother had washed dishes that afternoon.  But I got lost when it got dark; I couldn’t see the light of the Master Emerald to guide me.  It’s just a good thing this didn’t happen three days from now, or I probably would have been the first to die.”

   Knuckles kept running as the cries of the echidnas faded away.  As he got closer to the stream, those faded voices gave way to the whimper of a child.  Slowing his steps, Knuckles came to a stop behind a tree; peering around it, he saw his younger self, sitting alone and crying because he was indeed lost.  What Knuckles wanted to know now was how he could help his younger self…or, could he only sit there and wait for the warriors to find him?

   “Ugh, I hated waiting for them all that time.  It’ll take them hours to find me again,” Knuckles whispered, “There has to be something I can do, and then maybe, I can figure out how to stop the attackers from coming in three days, or at least prepare a solid defense.”

   It was at that moment that Little Knuckles stopped his crying long enough to whimper, “Who…who’s there?”

   Letting out a gasp, Knuckles murmured, “My younger self can hear me?  …Maybe I do have a way to save the tribe after all.”

   Standing up, Little Knuckles dried his eyes, and replied, “S—Save the tribe?  From who?  What’s going to happen?  Who…who are you?”

   Knuckles felt strange, realizing he was about to speak with his younger self.  Trying to ease himself, he realized this was the best he could hope for.  Through his younger self, he could warn the tribe of the danger, and while it might take a lot of convincing, at least they’d be prepared for trouble.  He could figure out something…he was smart enough to, and if he could he gave himself a chance at a better life.  What could possibly go wrong?

   Stepping out from behind the tree, Knuckles revealed himself to his younger self.  Little Knuckles stared at him with wide and curious eyes filled with wonder.  He had never seen this echidna in the village before, and yet…he felt he could trust him.

   “Are…are you the one, who was talking earlier sir?” Little Knuckles asked.

   “Wow,” Knuckles thought, “I forgot how polite I was at this age.  At least he can see me.”  At last, he replied, “Yeah, it was me.  I—I don’t think you’ll understand, but, I’m here to help you, and everyone.”

   Kneeling down Knuckles continued, “You see little guy, in about three days, a group of bad guys are going to come and try to take the Master Emerald.  I need you to warn your father and tribe of the danger.  If they aren’t warned, then everyone will die in this attack.”  He paused, holding his breath, unsure if he was aware of what death was at this tender age.

   Little Knuckles held on tightly to a blue blanket, woven by the echidna seamstresses especially for him upon his birth, and was infact what he had come to the spring to retrieve.  He looked scared, and increasingly confused.  He answered, “Everyone…will die?”

   With a nod and a sigh, Knuckles replied, “Everybody except you.  You’ll be the only one left, and you’ll have to live out the rest of your days alone, protecting the Master Emerald from further danger.  I don’t want you to be scared.  If we can convince everybody to prepare for the attack, everything will be okay.”

   Sitting down, Little Knuckles buried his face in his blanket and whimpered, “Why can’t you tell them sir?  Why do you need me?”

   “Poor little guy…I didn’t mean to upset him.  Already I’m changing history.  …I wish I didn’t have to bring him into it but I have no choice…he’s the only one who can see me,” Knuckles thought to himself.  He gently rubbed Little Knuckles’ head and replied, “It’s okay little guy.  I really do need your help.  These creatures…they uh, they made it so I can’t be seen or heard by anyone, except you.  I don’t know why this is, but I can’t warn anyone of the danger on my own.  That’s why I need you.  I’ve seen the future, and if the attack goes on as planned, well…,”

   “There will be no one left…except me,” Little Knuckles answered in replied.  The small echidna, showing that same determination he possessed as a young adult, dried away his tears and stood up saying, “It’s up to me then I guess…what are we gonna do sir?  How can I make sure everyone believes me?”

   Knuckles let out a soft chuckle, this being the third time he was called “sir” by his younger self.  Standing up, he replied, “We’ll think of something; the explanation you give them has to be convincing, or they’ll think that you’re making it up.”  He paused, trying to come up with an idea.

   Before he could come up with an idea, he heard voices coming from the shadows.  Little Knuckles heard them too, and immediately recognized them.  “Daddy?” he cried out.

   “Uh oh,” Knuckles murmured.  Hiding behind a tree, he watched as his father and one of the Captains ran to the edge of the river, finally spotting Little Knuckles sitting on the bank.  His father scooped up his young son, holding him securely in his arms.

   “Oh Knuckles…thank goodness.  Why on earth did you run away like this?” his father asked.

   Little Knuckles sniffed away any tears that had returned to his eyes, then replied, “I left my blanket here on accident Daddy.  I brought it with me when Mama did the dishes.  I—I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to see the Master Emerald from here.  I’m sorry Daddy.”

   The Guardian gazed at his son for only a moment, his straight face quickly melting into a smile as he shook his head gently.  The echidna his little son would grow into watched from behind the tree, and could see a small tear form in one of his father’s eyes.  He felt paralyzed by tingles as he watched this.  Though he had remembered this night, he had forgotten this one, heart-wrenching detail.

   “It is alright my son.  I am just overjoyed that you are safe,” his father said at last.  He gently kissed Little Knuckles on the head, and making sure he was warm and snug in his arms, he continued, “Now, it’s late, and time for bed, so let’s get back to the village.”

   As the Guardian and his Captain started their walk back to the village, the Knuckles of the future finally stepped back out into the open, wondering why he had bothered to hide in the first place.  With a sigh, he said, “I was already falling asleep wasn’t I?  No wonder I couldn’t remember that my father cried a little.”

   Knuckles started to walk back to the village, and continued his thought from before.  “This could be tricky.  My younger self is the only one that can see and hear me, and if I can’t get him to convince everyone that they’re going to be attacked in three days, history will repeat itself all over again.  I’ll be stuck on that miserable island with no family or friends…nobody to care about me.”  Growling low, he muttered, “I have to save them.  I don’t care what happens to the future, as long as I have my family back.”

   Back in the village, everyone was delighted that Little Knuckles was safe, and yet by the time he was returned to his mother’s arms, he could only let out a sleepy “I love you Mama,” in an attempt to apologize and say goodnight at the same time, falling back asleep soon after.  The village settled back down for the night; the Guardian and his Captain returned to the altar, and Knuckles, feeling compelled to sit on the altar by his father wondered how in the world he could save his kindred with only three days left to go.

   In the present day, Knuckles’ friends, Sonic, Amy and Tails had set up a campsite beside the altar so they could look after Knuckles.  Though he had hit his head hard when he fell, he had no serious injuries, and simply remained locked in slumber.  This was enough to encourage his friends to simply stay and keep watch over him until he woke up.  If it got bad, they agreed they would take him to the hospital.

   It was nighttime for them as well.  Sonic and Tails sat by the fire while Amy was in one of the tents, reapplying a wet rag to Knuckles’ head.  The fox sighed and said, “He’s been sleeping for hours now Sonic…what do you think is wrong?”

   The blue hedgehog, who was becoming increasingly worried for his best friend, let out his own sigh and replied, “I don’t know Tails…I wish I did, but I don’t.”  Looking to the altar, he added, “Knuckles must have fallen while he was walking up the stairs…or even down them.  Still, he should wake up soon right?”

   Receiving no answer from the saddened fox, Sonic sighed again.  Amy walked out of the tent Knuckles slept in and added her own sigh to the chorus.  “It’s no good.  He’s as conked out as he was when we found him a few hours ago, she explained.

   The three friends lowered their eyes, finding something to stare at, anything but each other.  Amy’s eyes were drawn up to the Master Emerald, and what she saw shocked her.

   Kneeling down beside Sonic, she grabbed his arm and used her other hand to point at is as she cried, “Sonic!  The Master Emerald looks like it’s about to go out!”

   “Huh?” Sonic asked.  Looking up to the Master Emerald, the group could see the once strong light of the Master Emerald turning into a fuzzy glow, like a television channel out of range.  The glow was also weaker…as if there were no Guardian around at all to maintain its power.

   Jumping to his feet, Tails ran for the altar, with Sonic and Amy following him.  Once they got to the top, they stared at it in disbelief.  It was as bad as it looked.

   Shaking his head, Tails said, “It’s acting as if Knuckles isn’t even around anymore.  Like he doesn’t exist.  What could this mean?”

   Looking back to the campsite, Amy whimpered, “What can we do?”

   Sonic glanced between the tents and the ailing Master Emerald.  Closing his eyes, he muttered, “Knuckles…where are you?  Please…come back to us.”

   With two nights to go until the attack on Angel Island repeated itself, it seemed that Knuckles’ attempts to save his clan would do more than simply change the future.  Perhaps his attempts would not only seal the fates of his kindred, but his own as well.  Now it all hung in the balance; Knuckles would have to decide if his memories meant more to him than his friends, and if changing the past, and future, would turn out to be worth it in the end.

Description
"Forever Love"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Part Two: Memories of Forever Love

   While his friends found him unconscious on the ground and desperately tried to wake him, Knuckles remained in the past of Angel Island, sitting on the edge of the Master Emerald’s altar while his father stood watching over it, with one of his Captains at his side.  Knuckles was still hurt that he could not speak to them, and now struggled with the decision of whether or not he should try to prevent the massacre.

   He wanted nothing more than to be able to grow up with his family and kindred so he would never be lonely again, but, what would that mean for the rest of the world?  Obviously, the future would not be the same…what would happen to his friends?  There were too many unknowns, and yet, saving his tribe was beginning to sound like the more appealing choice.

   “Humph,” he muttered to himself, “My friends won’t miss me anyway.  They only come to see me when there’s trouble.  I can’t really call them friends can I?”  Pausing he stood up and looked to the village below, watching as parents brought their children inside to get them ready for bed, and ready themselves for the night ahead.  He had already picked out all of his childhood friends.  They actually cared about him; they didn’t just come to him when they needed help, treating him like nothing more than a tool.

   Closing his eyes, Knuckles clenched his fists and growled.  Stomping his foot, he shouted, “That’s it!”  Calming down, he grunted, “They won’t miss me anyway.  If I save everyone here, at least I’ll have someone, a lot of people, who actually love me.  Any difference in the future I know will be worth it, I don’t care how bad it may be for everyone else.  Angel Island will remain a safe utopia forever.”

   Pausing again, he realized how selfish he sounded, but he didn’t care.  After suffering like he had for nearly twelve years, the world owed him some relief.  He had suffered for them and nobody cared, so why should he care about them?

   His mind was made up.  He wouldn’t let himself wake up until he was sure the echidnas were saved.  Realizing he needed to stay awake to ensure this, he began to pace near his father, trying to figure out how exactly he could save them.  Maybe he could manipulate the world around him.  He simply had to do something.

   Before he could formulate a plan, he heard a voice crying out his father’s name.  His eyes, as well as those of his father and the Captain were drawn to the ground below, where they could see his mother running up to the altar, continuing to cry out for his father as she ran up the stairs.

   His father met her, taking her hands as he asked, “What is wrong?  What’s happened?” desperate for her to answer.

   Shaking her head, trying to collect herself and restrain her tears, she looked up to him and cried, “It’s Knuckles!  He’s missing!”

   “What?  How is this possible?” his father cried.

   Knuckles was in just as much shock as his parents.  He could not remember ever running away.  He listened as his mother tried to explain.

   “I—I don’t know!  We were at the house; I was cooking dinner, and I assumed Knuckles was playing with his blocks, but when I turned to tell him to come to eat, he was gone!  I don’t know where he went but…he’s gone!” his mother cried.

   Knuckles’ father was only silent for a brief moment, before crying out, “Organize a search!”  The Master Emerald glowed brighter and brighter as he called out to all of the echidna warriors.  Running down the stairs, he shouted, “We must find my son!”

   The village was alive with torches and shouts as the warriors mobilized to find Little Knuckles.  The Knuckles he would grow up to be had had enough of listening to his parents.  He jumped down to the ground below and ran straight for the forest.  He remembered this.  Something was familiar.

   As he ran in the opposite direction of the warriors, who searched the southern woods, Knuckles thought, “I remember this.  The sun was just starting to set, and I remember…I left something in the woods by the stream where Mother had washed dishes that afternoon.  But I got lost when it got dark; I couldn’t see the light of the Master Emerald to guide me.  It’s just a good thing this didn’t happen three days from now, or I probably would have been the first to die.”

   Knuckles kept running as the cries of the echidnas faded away.  As he got closer to the stream, those faded voices gave way to the whimper of a child.  Slowing his steps, Knuckles came to a stop behind a tree; peering around it, he saw his younger self, sitting alone and crying because he was indeed lost.  What Knuckles wanted to know now was how he could help his younger self…or, could he only sit there and wait for the warriors to find him?

   “Ugh, I hated waiting for them all that time.  It’ll take them hours to find me again,” Knuckles whispered, “There has to be something I can do, and then maybe, I can figure out how to stop the attackers from coming in three days, or at least prepare a solid defense.”

   It was at that moment that Little Knuckles stopped his crying long enough to whimper, “Who…who’s there?”

   Letting out a gasp, Knuckles murmured, “My younger self can hear me?  …Maybe I do have a way to save the tribe after all.”

   Standing up, Little Knuckles dried his eyes, and replied, “S—Save the tribe?  From who?  What’s going to happen?  Who…who are you?”

   Knuckles felt strange, realizing he was about to speak with his younger self.  Trying to ease himself, he realized this was the best he could hope for.  Through his younger self, he could warn the tribe of the danger, and while it might take a lot of convincing, at least they’d be prepared for trouble.  He could figure out something…he was smart enough to, and if he could he gave himself a chance at a better life.  What could possibly go wrong?

   Stepping out from behind the tree, Knuckles revealed himself to his younger self.  Little Knuckles stared at him with wide and curious eyes filled with wonder.  He had never seen this echidna in the village before, and yet…he felt he could trust him.

   “Are…are you the one, who was talking earlier sir?” Little Knuckles asked.

   “Wow,” Knuckles thought, “I forgot how polite I was at this age.  At least he can see me.”  At last, he replied, “Yeah, it was me.  I—I don’t think you’ll understand, but, I’m here to help you, and everyone.”

   Kneeling down Knuckles continued, “You see little guy, in about three days, a group of bad guys are going to come and try to take the Master Emerald.  I need you to warn your father and tribe of the danger.  If they aren’t warned, then everyone will die in this attack.”  He paused, holding his breath, unsure if he was aware of what death was at this tender age.

   Little Knuckles held on tightly to a blue blanket, woven by the echidna seamstresses especially for him upon his birth, and was infact what he had come to the spring to retrieve.  He looked scared, and increasingly confused.  He answered, “Everyone…will die?”

   With a nod and a sigh, Knuckles replied, “Everybody except you.  You’ll be the only one left, and you’ll have to live out the rest of your days alone, protecting the Master Emerald from further danger.  I don’t want you to be scared.  If we can convince everybody to prepare for the attack, everything will be okay.”

   Sitting down, Little Knuckles buried his face in his blanket and whimpered, “Why can’t you tell them sir?  Why do you need me?”

   “Poor little guy…I didn’t mean to upset him.  Already I’m changing history.  …I wish I didn’t have to bring him into it but I have no choice…he’s the only one who can see me,” Knuckles thought to himself.  He gently rubbed Little Knuckles’ head and replied, “It’s okay little guy.  I really do need your help.  These creatures…they uh, they made it so I can’t be seen or heard by anyone, except you.  I don’t know why this is, but I can’t warn anyone of the danger on my own.  That’s why I need you.  I’ve seen the future, and if the attack goes on as planned, well…,”

   “There will be no one left…except me,” Little Knuckles answered in replied.  The small echidna, showing that same determination he possessed as a young adult, dried away his tears and stood up saying, “It’s up to me then I guess…what are we gonna do sir?  How can I make sure everyone believes me?”

   Knuckles let out a soft chuckle, this being the third time he was called “sir” by his younger self.  Standing up, he replied, “We’ll think of something; the explanation you give them has to be convincing, or they’ll think that you’re making it up.”  He paused, trying to come up with an idea.

   Before he could come up with an idea, he heard voices coming from the shadows.  Little Knuckles heard them too, and immediately recognized them.  “Daddy?” he cried out.

   “Uh oh,” Knuckles murmured.  Hiding behind a tree, he watched as his father and one of the Captains ran to the edge of the river, finally spotting Little Knuckles sitting on the bank.  His father scooped up his young son, holding him securely in his arms.

   “Oh Knuckles…thank goodness.  Why on earth did you run away like this?” his father asked.

   Little Knuckles sniffed away any tears that had returned to his eyes, then replied, “I left my blanket here on accident Daddy.  I brought it with me when Mama did the dishes.  I—I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to see the Master Emerald from here.  I’m sorry Daddy.”

   The Guardian gazed at his son for only a moment, his straight face quickly melting into a smile as he shook his head gently.  The echidna his little son would grow into watched from behind the tree, and could see a small tear form in one of his father’s eyes.  He felt paralyzed by tingles as he watched this.  Though he had remembered this night, he had forgotten this one, heart-wrenching detail.

   “It is alright my son.  I am just overjoyed that you are safe,” his father said at last.  He gently kissed Little Knuckles on the head, and making sure he was warm and snug in his arms, he continued, “Now, it’s late, and time for bed, so let’s get back to the village.”

   As the Guardian and his Captain started their walk back to the village, the Knuckles of the future finally stepped back out into the open, wondering why he had bothered to hide in the first place.  With a sigh, he said, “I was already falling asleep wasn’t I?  No wonder I couldn’t remember that my father cried a little.”

   Knuckles started to walk back to the village, and continued his thought from before.  “This could be tricky.  My younger self is the only one that can see and hear me, and if I can’t get him to convince everyone that they’re going to be attacked in three days, history will repeat itself all over again.  I’ll be stuck on that miserable island with no family or friends…nobody to care about me.”  Growling low, he muttered, “I have to save them.  I don’t care what happens to the future, as long as I have my family back.”

   Back in the village, everyone was delighted that Little Knuckles was safe, and yet by the time he was returned to his mother’s arms, he could only let out a sleepy “I love you Mama,” in an attempt to apologize and say goodnight at the same time, falling back asleep soon after.  The village settled back down for the night; the Guardian and his Captain returned to the altar, and Knuckles, feeling compelled to sit on the altar by his father wondered how in the world he could save his kindred with only three days left to go.

   In the present day, Knuckles’ friends, Sonic, Amy and Tails had set up a campsite beside the altar so they could look after Knuckles.  Though he had hit his head hard when he fell, he had no serious injuries, and simply remained locked in slumber.  This was enough to encourage his friends to simply stay and keep watch over him until he woke up.  If it got bad, they agreed they would take him to the hospital.

   It was nighttime for them as well.  Sonic and Tails sat by the fire while Amy was in one of the tents, reapplying a wet rag to Knuckles’ head.  The fox sighed and said, “He’s been sleeping for hours now Sonic…what do you think is wrong?”

   The blue hedgehog, who was becoming increasingly worried for his best friend, let out his own sigh and replied, “I don’t know Tails…I wish I did, but I don’t.”  Looking to the altar, he added, “Knuckles must have fallen while he was walking up the stairs…or even down them.  Still, he should wake up soon right?”

   Receiving no answer from the saddened fox, Sonic sighed again.  Amy walked out of the tent Knuckles slept in and added her own sigh to the chorus.  “It’s no good.  He’s as conked out as he was when we found him a few hours ago, she explained.

   The three friends lowered their eyes, finding something to stare at, anything but each other.  Amy’s eyes were drawn up to the Master Emerald, and what she saw shocked her.

   Kneeling down beside Sonic, she grabbed his arm and used her other hand to point at is as she cried, “Sonic!  The Master Emerald looks like it’s about to go out!”

   “Huh?” Sonic asked.  Looking up to the Master Emerald, the group could see the once strong light of the Master Emerald turning into a fuzzy glow, like a television channel out of range.  The glow was also weaker…as if there were no Guardian around at all to maintain its power.

   Jumping to his feet, Tails ran for the altar, with Sonic and Amy following him.  Once they got to the top, they stared at it in disbelief.  It was as bad as it looked.

   Shaking his head, Tails said, “It’s acting as if Knuckles isn’t even around anymore.  Like he doesn’t exist.  What could this mean?”

   Looking back to the campsite, Amy whimpered, “What can we do?”

   Sonic glanced between the tents and the ailing Master Emerald.  Closing his eyes, he muttered, “Knuckles…where are you?  Please…come back to us.”

   With two nights to go until the attack on Angel Island repeated itself, it seemed that Knuckles’ attempts to save his clan would do more than simply change the future.  Perhaps his attempts would not only seal the fates of his kindred, but his own as well.  Now it all hung in the balance; Knuckles would have to decide if his memories meant more to him than his friends, and if changing the past, and future, would turn out to be worth it in the end.