IMPENDING DOOM

11

✥
ELEVEN
Dawn
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៚ KNUCKLES AND TAILS FOUND SONIC UNABLE TO STAND, let alone walk or move. He couldn't see or speak or feel anything but seething agony—throbbing, throbbing, throbbing in his brain. Was his skull broken?

Tails pictured home and tossed a ring whilst Knuckles carefully scooped Sonic up, stepping in. Tails flew in beside them and the portal closed.

Knuckles lay Sonic on the floor of the living room, a hand cradling the back of his head. He closed his eyes and deeply breathed for many minutes. Gentle sparks flowed up and down his right arm and into Sonic's injured head.

"Knuckles, you're healing him," breathed Tails, blue eyes enormous, awed.

The echidna did not open his eyes but spoke softly. "Chaos can do many things. It is much like those War of the Galaxy movies."

"Star Wars," Sonic weakly corrected. "The Force."

"You know what I meant. Hush. I am almost done."

Sonic groaned but obeyed, feeling the throbbing soon ebbing away. Ten minutes passed before Knuckles finished healing, sitting Sonic up.

"Wow," he breathed, holding his head. "It's like nothing happened. You gotta teach me howta do that."

Knuckles huffed. "I tried time and time again. Every time I offer to train you, you decline and claim you already know. Foolish hedgehog. There is much to learn."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. Please teach me all your tricks."

"All in due time. We have more pressing matters: Robotnik is also hunting the Emeralds."

"And what did he mean by 'impending doom'?" asked Tails. "What's that crazy guy up to now?"

"I have a feeling this isn't a scheme of his," said Knuckles. "Not entirely. And his new minions—no doubt they are to be misled, just as I have been."

Sonic rubbed the back of his head, right where the dark hedgehog had kicked him. There was no lump, no pain, only a bad memory. "Faker," he murmured. "Did you feel him?"

Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "I thought that was you."

"Me!?"

"Sonic, we didn't sense any Chaos in either of Robotnik's new friends," added Tails. "They're like me. Plain."

"There's no way you didn't sense that!" shouted Sonic, leaping to his feet. "He was—! He was as powerful as me when I was the golden god. He was nothing but bones, but as soon as I attacked him, he—! He—!" He paled. "The bracelets. I broke his bracelets. After that . . ." He remembered the Chaos emanating off the dark hedgehog's body, how strong, how angry, how powerful.

Sonic ran his hands through his quills, heaving a breath. He perked when he felt something small and metal, and he shook out his hair to untangle it. A gold-colored metal shard hit the floor with a loud tap! at their feet.

Tails picked it up, examining it.

"I don't think they were bracelets at all," Sonic went on. "I think they were . . . chains."

"Anti-Chaos? I don't think there is such a thing," said the fox. "Chaos can't be controlled."

"But it does make some sense," added Knuckles. "We sensed nothing and then something—something Sonic says wasn't him."

"It wasn't."

Tails hummed. "I'll take a look at it."

He took the shard with him to their room up in the attic, his brothers following. They all tiptoed, knowing Tom and Maddie were asleep, but the creaky floorboards and stairs had better ideas; Knuckles kept frantically shushing them.