Sonic the Hedgehog

Long Ago

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have had a lot to process since their fast getaway. As a result, none of the three have said a word during their silent flight in the past few minutes. The bitter taste in Sonic's mouth isn't unfamiliar. He felt it after he and Tails left the chemical plant. Defeat. Somehow, Robotnik has beaten him to two of these strange energy sources. Neither he nor Tails have any idea what he's even searching for. However, maybe...

"Hey, bud," Sonic calls out to Knuckles.

"I'm not your 'bud', stranger," Knuckles replies. "The name is Knuckles. What do you want?"

"Who cares what I want, the real question is what ROBOTNIK wants."

"Who's-?"

"The man you met earlier," Tails clarifies. "The one who tricked you into... well, you know."

"Oh, that Eggman creep," Knuckles realizes, his fists clenching just thinking about him. "He already has it, Sonic the conqueror. My emerald."

"Okay, one- just Sonic is fine," the hedgehog says with a smirk. "And second- what emerald?"

"You Mobians don't know of the chaos emeralds?!" Knuckles says in genuine shock, turning to Sonic with a face of disbelief.

"Chaos what now?"

"I have," Tails says. "Well, I've heard about them, anyway. But I thought they were make-believe! Them, your clan, Angel island- all of it!"

"Hey, as your friendly non-book enthusiast, care to explain?" Sonic asks.

"The chaos emeralds whose existence you're ignorant of are possibly the seven most powerful objects in the universe," Knuckles explains. "Forged long ago by an unknown species through means still a mystery to us, the chaos emeralds were used to restore life in places where there were none. They had the ability to grow trees the size of the tallest huts, crops that saw no end in sight, and most importantly: could repair damage to climates that were abused or mistreated by its inhabitants. Their never-ending energy could not only be shared with nature, but rumor has it: they also had the potential to grant certain individuals with immense power. Eventually, my ancestors inhabited the land of the ancients and used their creation to fully restore Angel island."

"How did your first ancestors obtain the emeralds?" Tails asks with curiosity.

"They went to war with others and took them by force, duh," Knuckles answers casually. "How else do you think us echidnas roll?"

Sonic and Tails exchange worrisome looks.

"Anyways," Knuckles continues. "Everything was fine until one day... the Longclaws attacked. A longtime rival of my tribe. You see, they had heard of our successful conquests and wanted our emeralds for themselves. Then one night when I was just a child... they attacked us. Many lives were lost that day... including my parents."

Both Sonic and Tails are taken aback by the revelation and are almost instantly remorseful.

"Wow, Knuckles," Sonic says. "I'm so-"

"Don't," Knuckles says before continuing. "The Longclaws were wiped out in the battle. Even with their cowardly and pathetic sneak attack, they were no match for us echidnas. But still, the damage was done. We decided the emeralds would only attract unwanted attention. So every grown male echidna who was left embarked on a mission to take six of the emeralds and hide them across the globe... and none of them came back. Over time, we decreased in numbers- either to old age or wounds that refused to heal until... until it was just me left. Me and the one thing left of my family's legacy. The one thing that still gave life to my home. Our last chaos emerald."

Knuckles turns to the other two in a firey rage, likely brought on by reliving such an awful night- no, such an awful life.

"SO I'M GOING TO GET IT BACK!" he declares. "AND I'M GOING TO POUND EGGMAN INTO THE GROUND!"

"That's the uh... spirit," Tails says unsurely.

"It's good to have you on Team Sonic, Knux!" Sonic says cheerfully. "Now that we know what Eggman is after, this will be a whole lot easier."

"This is a temporary alliance," Knuckles says. "We're only working together because we have a common enemy. Once I have my emerald, I'm going back home."

"Sure thing, teammate!" Sonic says. "By the way, how did you seriously fall for Robotnik's lame story? I mean 'Sonic the conqueror', come on! Also for a guy named Knuckles, you're REALLY bad at punching."

"You're already pushing your luck... 'teammate'," Knuckles says, already on the verge of exploding.

...