Chapter 14: Encounters that should go Uncounted!
Knuckles was strolling like he usually does everyday. Exact it used to be his universe to travel. And a bunch of ponies weren't staring at him either but that's beside the point. What Knuckles had in mind of this walk was to calm the nerves you could say, it wasn't exactly his words of course, but you could get the idea. He was near the top of the town when he noticed some weird skid marks on the grass going down the hill beyond the rail, "What could've created that?" he looked back ahead, walking aimlessly. When he looked back over the town, the tower is what he ended up looking at. He saw something hovering around it, and it was companied with something else, "Now what is that?" he decided not to hesitate, he jumped over the rail and slid down the hill, after another half minute to get back down, he ran toward the tower, as he didn't want to be seen by whatever it could possibly be. He found a path that ended up toward the tower, and hoped to figure what was going on, as soon as he got there, Knuckles didn't want to believe what he saw, you could even see him cringe for the moment. The black oozed from the vortex wrapped the tower, looking like veins that had some black steam coming off of it. And every now and then it would pulse a violet color, "What the heck is that?" he walked up to the tower and dug his claws into this mysterious substance. The hit recoiled and Knuckles backed off, only to realize it burnt his glove, steam was even emitting from it. Sonic and Tails obviously had no decision but to find Knuckles as fast as they could, and this is where their search led them.
"Knuckles!" they shouted in unison. Knuckles turned around, looking shocked and annoyed.
"You two... What are you doing here?"
"We're trying to stop this town from getting hurt..." Knuckles snickered in a brat-ish way.
"Yeah, ya see this?" Tails stepped forward, holding his arm out in front.
"What is this?" Knuckles eyes widened in sudden realization, he grabbed Tails's arm.
"Don't touch it!" he let go as quickly as he grabbed it, "It'll burn you if you're not careful. Anyway, what did you mean? This town is in danger?" he lifted his arm to the surging black veins of the tower, "Despite that..."
"Eggman has made it here." Knuckles tightened his fists, remembering those visions vividly.
"Then that's what I saw before." Sonic shrugged.
"Then where is he?" Knuckles shrugged as he pointed toward the top of the tower.
"Probably at the top of this tower..." Sonic sighed as he knew Knuckles's sarcasm. Some distance back, a group of ponies were walking an alleyway, once they walked out to the main path, they saw this scene before them. And as every single one would try to act, they galloped up to the scene. Ponies where in fear, there are creatures not seen before and the tower was entwined with some black vine like substance.
"What the..." One realized. One nudged another.
"Who are those things?"
"And what happened to the Bell Tower?" this sight devastated them.
"I don't know, Twister... But I bet those, things, over there are behind it." he frowned. Twister walked in front of them.
"Alright, we'll show them not to mess with Altamare."
"Yeah." the other two agreed. They galloped next to each other to form an arrow.
"Hey! You three!" Sonic and Tails turned around.
"Who are you three?"
"That isn't important!" Twister snapped.
"Why are you all doing such horrible things?" Colas asked softly, she seemed shy as always, even for toward the face of danger. Tails held his hand up in worry.
"We didn't do this!" he looked toward Sonic like he would need help.
"My friend is right, this is a misunderstanding." Sonic stated firmly.
"Friend is about right..." Knuckles's annoyance grew by the second, his fist tightened.
"We're being honest, somebody else is responsible for this, and we know who."
"Then who?" they asked. Sonic and Tails looked at each other.
"Dr. Robotnik."
"Oh really?" Colos said sarcastically.
"Out of all the arrogant." Knuckles turned around and pushed Sonic and Tails out of the way.
"Knuckles, don't do that!" he walked quite bulk, you could practically feel the anger. Colas and Colos stepped in front of Twister.
"Don't you dare hurt our friend!" that only boiled it more, he was just about to swing at them, when a voice cracked from the horizon.
"Sonic! Tails!" Knuckles stopped instantly, making Colas and her brother flinch.
"JetStream! You're here." he galloped, stopping to a halt.
"Twister, Colos, and Colas. You're here too?" they were relieved to see a familiar face.
"JetStream, we're glad you're here!" they pleaded.
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Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Bell Tower, "The PIM detecting something extraordinary..." he wondered scratching his chin, "But what?" he looked to the town's stone ground through his blue tinted glasses.
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"JetStream, help us fend these guys off." JetStream was hearing what he didn't want to hear.
"JetStream, tell them we're doing for what's right!" they all took a step back.
"JetStream, you're..."
"They aren't the bad guys." they all gasped.
"Ah! They brain-washed him!" JetStream sighed.
"No, they did not. They're speaking the truth." JetStream looked to his left, "What is that?" Knuckles turned away from the group of ponies.
"Don't touch it." Twister sighed.
"Oh, so you don't know what that stuff is either?" he asked. Tails shrugged.
"That is what we're trying to figure." suddenly an object lowered from the top of the tower.
"Sonic, look above you!" he looked up.
"Oh no. Everybody, move." all the ponies obviously didn't know him, but they all did think they knew in what he was doing, all of them of course, except JetStream and his friends, who decided to stay close.
"Why are you four still doing here, go!" Knuckles ordered.
"But, we want to he-." JetStream was cut off by a voice of laughter coming from the object that hovered a couple feet from the ground.
"Eggman!"
"What!?" the man leaned over his Eggmobile and looked down, "Eh, Sonic how'd you get here so quickly?" Sonic snickered.
"I'm surprised you're surprised."
"Silence..." he looked out through the ponies before him, out of the four, he pointed at one, "You!" JetStream stepped back.
"Me!?"
"Yes, you have an incredible power difference from the rest of the residence in this future-rubble of a town." JetStream grit his teeth.
"You take that back!"
"No, I wont. I'm practically giving it to you, you all..." he pointed toward his friends, "And the whole town will fall because of your puny innocence!" Tails was standing there, almost completely still.
"Is it possible? He knows? Sonic..."
"What is it?" Tails looked at him with a terribly worried expression.
"Sonic he knows..." Sonic grit his teeth and tightened his fists.
~?~Chapter End~?~