Archive of Our Own ^beta

Knuckles was mad. Which was odd. He hadn't been so angry since Ivo Robotnik had used him. This time, it was different.. it wasn't full on rage.. it was- a strange feeling that he had never encountered before.

Sonic was enraged, he couldn't think, his mind was a raging ocean, he had so much to do, and so little time.. he knew the only thing that could help..

Tails was nervous, he had never seen Sonic so angry before, everyone had seen Knuckles get mad, but if Sonic was mad, it was never good. He never got mad when Robotnik tried to kill him over and over again. Hell, he wasn't even mad when Robotnik betrayed him when his long lost Grandfather, Gerald Robotnik showed up unexpectedly. The reason Sonic was so livid was because Tom was hurt.

Maddie went in the ambulance with Tom; giving them all a sad look as the doors closed and the car drove away. Sonic's mind was in shambles, if he had only been 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳..- he could have stopped Shadow from attacking Tom. He just wasn't fast 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

Tails tried to comfort Sonic, but his words fell on deaf ears, the only thing Sonic could hear, was his relentless thoughts. "Comfort isn't what I need right now."

Knuckles could see it in Sonic's eyes. He could see the rage, the unreleased anger that was being held back for a long time. Knuckles stepped in front of Tails, just in case.

Tails pleaded with Sonic to see reason, for them to work as a team, but Sonic had never been much of a team player. More often than not, Sonic would run ahead, leaving the two of them in his dust. This time was no different. Sonic demanded the Master Emerald. Knuckles refused to give it to him, he knew that Sonic's mind was a mess, and making such a large scale decision just wasn't in his playing cards right now. But Sonic was stubborn.

"I'm not asking you twice, Knuckles." for the first time since they met, it seemed like Sonic was actually threatening him. "Where. Is it."

Knuckles looked at the blue hedgehog through narrowed eyes. Thinking about how the plan was going well, and then Knuckles saved them.. and now this. It made Knuckles' head spin, how things could change in an instant. How friends begin to fight after a single event that breaks them apart.

Sonic had already powered up, showing that he meant business, and although Knuckles was hesitant, he also powered up; standing his ground. But then he remembered, Tails was right there, Knuckles would not force Tails to be the middleman of a fight between his two friends. Knuckles released his energy.

"Part of our oath is to trust each other." Knuckles' voice was strong and almost like a reminder to Sonic, a final plea for him not to take off on his own again. "I will abide by it, even if you choose to break it."

Sonic said nothing from then on, he went to get the emerald. Now, Knuckles and Tails were alone, Tails looked so small when he was upset.
"..He'll come to his senses soon... right?" The small fox asked quietly.

Knuckles looked at his little brother, his face softened slightly and he nodded. "The hedgehog has a good heart, but he is troubled right now."

Tails nodded as well. "I'm worried that he's gonna fight Eggman, Shadow and Eggman's grandfather all on his own.."

Knuckles thought about it, by how well he knew Sonic, it was safe to assume that he completely ignored the Robotniks and only went after Shadow. This would prove difficult, considering Shadow being much stronger than all of them. "How high do you think your tails can take us?" Tails looked at him curiously.

Before he knew it, Knuckles was helping his enemy.. again. Robotnik had decided to betray his Grandfather, upon realizing that they were planning to destroy the entire earth, along with themselves. And so, Knuckles helped push the controls, desperately trying to get the laser to point away from the earth. It cut off a small portion of the bottom of the moon, but the earth was still intact, and nobody had died. They won.

Knuckles felt strange though, he had ever since he was trying to move the controls.. it was an odd sensation. And he hated it.

"We did it!" Tails cheered, finally smiling. The uncertainty gone from his little face, Knuckles felt like he could relax more. But it was shortlived. Tails looked in both horror, and fear at something outside the window. "Is that-.. Sonic!?"

Knuckles finally understood what the feeling was coming from, it was because Sonic wasn't here. He was out in the atmosphere, falling down to earth.. Knuckles and Tails looked at each other simultaneously, they mirrored a look of determination as they both ran to the end of the ship.

"Ready for a little base of ball?" Knuckles knew in his heart that Tails wanted this badly, he was going to save Sonic, but Knuckles also couldn't help but hate having to throw his littlest brother out into the void of space.

Knuckles watched as Tails gained speed and caught up with the unconscious Sonic, putting an arm around his brother, Tails prepared the ring, ready to throw-

But didn't.

Knuckles felt his heart drop, what was happening? Why didn't he throw the ring? That's when, Knuckles noticed Tails fall unconscious too.

And for the first time in his life, Knuckles was afraid.

But he didn't let that stop him, he immediately launched himself out into the void of space, using his knuckles to pick up speed and glide faster, he grabbed the ring, threw it, and gently grabbed his little brothers.

The three of them fell into a cornfield, Tails getting up first, and then Sonic. What both of them failed to realize was that Knuckles had used his own body to shield theirs, even after his argument with Sonic.

Getting up, Knuckles noticed the slight droop in Sonic's ears when he found out that Shadow had sacrificed himself.. but Knuckles decided not to dwell on it.

"I'm really sorry guys, can you ever forgive me..?"

Knuckles was still glaring at him, he was annoyed that Sonic had run off on his own again, and used the emeralds for vengeance, but he was reminded of how lifeless Sonic looked, falling through space.. he held up a single knuckle for a power bump. "Team Sonic?"

What Knuckles wasn't expecting was when Sonic pulled him into a hug, returning the gesture, he also pulled Tails into the group hug. He closed his eyes, his large knuckles on their backs.. he felt at peace.

And suddenly, he was reminded of what his father had said to him. "Your time to honor our tribe will come."
And it had.