Sonic X: Penny's Tale: Book One

Cracking Knuckles

In a dark, cold alley late at night, a newspaper flew over to a certain echidna. He picked it up and saw Sonic's face in it. Grumbling in annoyance, he crumbled the paper and tossed it aside.

He missed his home in Mobius, and back in Angel Island, where he alone was guarding the Master Emerald, where everything was peaceful and quiet.

He was angry at Sonic and Silver.

He was so focused on his anger, that he didn't see a dark shadow of someone looming overhead.

Knuckles got into a fighting mode when he saw Eggman standing in front of him.

"What do you want, Eggman?" Knuckles growled.

But to his surprise, the mad doctor burst into tears.

"Please help me, Knuckles!" The doctor "pleaded." He reached out and grasped Knuckles' hands. "If we don't do something fast, Sonic and Silver could make us prisoner on this planet forever!"

Knuckles glanced at Eggman in confusion. "Huh?"

"If we could gather all seven Chaos Emeralds, there's a fighting chance we can somehow reverse the affect that sent us to this world and return to where we came from!"

Knuckle's eyes widened with curiosity as the doctor continued.

"Sonic and Silver knew that they could use the Chaos Emeralds to wrap themselves through time and space. That's the reason they attacked Chaos Control! They found out that I'd collected all the Chaos Emeralds to keep them out of their grasp! You know how reckless those hedgehogs are. I was afraid of what they might do once they get their hands on those Chaos Emeralds, so I set up a defense, but there was no stopping Sonic and Silver. They were so determined to push their selfish search for thrills all the way this time, no matter who got hurt. Finally, Sonic and Silver invaded Chaos Control, and to my horror, they finally achieved their goal. They destroyed Chaos Control and sent us here, just for the fun of it!"

Eggman burst into tears.

Knuckles angrily narrowed his eyes. "Sonic. Silver. They're crazy!" 

"I've changed my ways and want to live in peace, but they won't let me!" Eggman continued to blubber. What Knuckles didn't know, though, was that behind his handkerchief, Eggman smirked. He continued his little act.

"What else can I do?" He cried. "They won't let me have a chance to fix things! I want to get us back, but when I found one of the chaos emeralds, you know what happened? Sonic snatched it from me! He told me he and Silver would plan to stay as long as they please."

"THOSE SELFISH HOGS!" Knuckles growled.

"They said we don't get to leave until they say so! They think this world is a lot more fun than ours, and if we don't agree, it's our tough luck."

Knuckles was struggling to keep his anger in as Eggman continued. "You think they'd be more concerned about their buddy."

"I AIN'T THEIR BUDDY!" Knuckles roared. "I'm sick and tired of those two thinking that this is all just some big game! Either those two are going to give us that emerald, or I'm going to have to take it from them!"

"Be careful. Sonic and Silver both said they'll crash anybody who gets in their way!" Eggman whimpered, wringing his hankie.

"So then, it will be a battle to the bitter end." Knuckles growled, raising his fist. But he didn't notice Dr. Eggman's smirk.

"My chronic Sonic and Silver troubles are over." Eggman thought, hiding his smirk behind his hankie.

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