Red Guardians

by MetalJrock

No Longer Alone

'My name is Knuckles the Echidna... I've been living on this island. This Angel Island for as long as I can remember. I'm the last of my kind, no one else has been seen on this island as long as I have been alive. Angel Island is my home, one I watch along with my sole purpose.'

'My purpose, if you must know, is to guard the Master Emerald, the very artifact that allows Angel Island to float. It is the central power source to the mystical gems known as the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald monitors their power, where the emeralds have a near-limitless supply of energy, the Master Emerald has infinite energy. I guard it to make sure no one, if they ever find this island, uses the emerald for any nefarious purpose.'

'The Chaos Emeralds are hidden away in what I call Special Stages. Strange realms where the emeralds can be retrieved after fulfilling a certain goal. But it changes in each location. Here, the realm is a checker-board world with orbs. I'm not sure what the other versions look like, but I'll most likely never find out.'

'But... I am alone here. With nothing to do and nothing to look forward to, but my sole purpose.'

'Or so I thought... Things changed. And I'll never forget the day they did. The day I was no longer alone.'

---

Knuckles sighed, sitting atop the Master Emerald. The red echidna kicked his feet in the air, bored out of his mind. Whenever he had nothing else to do, he would traverse the various areas around Angel Island, but he's done it so many times, it's worn out its welcome. "Is this all I'll ever do?" Knuckles asked. "Just sit on top of a green rock, waiting for a threat that will never show itself?"

It was a calm, sunny day. The trees were green, there were no clouds in the sky, and for once the bugs flying around decided to leave him alone for the day. But even then, Knuckles couldn't find any reason to feel happy.

Jumping off the emerald, Knuckles turned around, facing the emerald. The echidna knelt down, raising his spiked hands in front of him, a question he's long asked, he shall attempt to wonder once again. "What is my purpose? Master Emerald... Speak to me, please." he begged. He's done this routine for years now. Be bored, wander around, and wonder what he should do for the rest of his life.

A strange projection appeared in the Master Emerald. Knuckles's black eyes saw an apparition of a blue hedgehog, his legs running in a circular blur. Next to him was a yellow fox, his tails spinning behind him, allowing him to fly. What made Knuckles curious though, was that he could see the Chaos Emeralds in his possession.

"This... Creature got the Chaos Emeralds?" he asked himself. "But how? Only one wielding the maximum energy of Power Rings can hope to enter the Special Stages. Even then, he must face the unique trials that lie within! What are you telling me?!" he wondered, slamming his hands onto the stone floor in confusion.

Another image appeared, showing the same hedgehog, this time with yellow fur. Knuckles could sense the power withdrawing from the hedgehog. "He managed to use the emeralds' energy. This person is something else."

One last image appeared, showing a strange round station orbiting in space. "That can't be good." he muttered, seeing it's strange yet unique design.

The projection within the Master Emerald dimmed, leaving Knuckles to wonder what he saw. "No! Tell me more! I need to know why you showed me that." he pleaded, his kness still on the ground. He sighed, feeling dejected.

A bright light surrounded the emerald, blinding Knuckles greatly. The echidna covered his eyes with his hand. "What the--?" he blurted out loud at the sight. The aura dimmed, allowing Knuckles to lower the hand blocking his face.

He immediately noticed something sitting a top the Master Emerald. He stood back up, his eyes lowering their gaze to find what it was that appeared. What he saw nearly blew his mind. "What in Chaos's name?" he almost shouted.

It was bizarre... It appeared to be a little horse, almost the size of Knuckles's torso, but something about him made him seem bigger than expected. With red fur, and an orange mane. Knuckles looked down, his mind trying to process what it was he was looking at exactly. "What the heck?! Is that a freaking pony on the emerald?" he exclaimed.

"Eeyup!" the horse randomly said, his voice squeaky.

"Ah!" Knuckles screamed, jumping in his spot. He moved backwards, but noticed he had no footing. "Oh crap." he sighed, looking down to see he wasn't standing on anything. Then, gravity took effect, and he fell down the stairs of the shrine, his body flipping all over the place as his body collided with hard stone. Grunts were heard and let out until he finally landed on the grass.

"Alright... I'll admit. I didn't see that coming." the echidna groaned, holding one hand to his side, while the other climbed the stairs. He heard the pony laugh at his misfortune. "I'm glad you found that funny." he mumbled.

Knuckles got back to his feet, wondering what to do next. "Okay. There's a talking horse sitting on top of the Master Emerald. This is somehow the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm a talking echidna with spiked gloves living on a floating island." his mind processed the past few minutes.

"Okay, since you can talk. Do you have anything to do with the strange creature I saw on the emerald?" Knuckles asked the horse. It remained silent for a second before answering.

"Eenope!" he answered innocently.

"Alright. Do you know where you came from?"

The pony shook his head, "Eenope!"

Raising an eye ridge, Knuckles asked it, "You're not much of a talker are ya?"

"Eeyup."

With a sigh of defeat, Knuckles slapped his own face. 'Okay. This talking horse is already starting to grate my nerves. But then again... I'm actually conversing with something. And not my talking rock, Master Emerald, or my imaginary pet dinosaur!' his brain realized.

Knuckles crossed his arms, "Can you at least give me a name so that way I don't have to call you little red horse thing for the rest of my life?" he suggested.

"B-Big... M-Macintosh..." the pony finally revealed.

Knuckles put a finger and his thumb on his muzzle. "Big Mac, huh? Sounds like a burger. Now I'm hungry." he turned around, a thougnt occurring in his head, something he doesn't want to do, but for once he had to think about something other than himself in his life, not wanting this pony to starve under his watch, "Okay, since I can't just leave you alone, you wanna come with me to get some food real quick?"

Big Mac nodded, "Eeyup!"

The echidna stretched both of his hands, allowing Big Mac to be piggybacked. "Okay, red horse. We'll get you some food. Then, I'll ask the Master Emerald where you came from. If it'll answer me this time. Maybe I'll get two for two!" he ran off, Big Mac held behind him. "But first I gotta feed the dinosaur in my head!"

---

A few hours have passed. Knuckles managed to scavenge some fruit. He ensured that the horse wasn't able to witness his meat scavenging, which the echidna was even disgusted with. He knew that these animals on his island were sentient, but he needed a proper meal, so at some point he needed actual nourishment, but he's unsure, if Big Mac stays with him or not, that he'll do the same for him.

For some reason, the echidna noticed that Big Mac took an immediate liking to apples. When questioned, the pony merely shrugged and said what he's been saying, 'Eeyup.'. At some point, he may have to teach Mac how to speak more than two words. But that will come later, at least he noticed that he was older than an actual baby, toddler age at the most.

Meanwhile, Knuckles plucked a vine of grapes and eating them. He had to admit, they were his favorite food to eat once he was done what he considered an actual meal. For now, he'll treat Big Mac to small treats, maybe a fruit or two per meal.

He noticed the sun setting as he and the pony returned to the shrine. Snoring was heard, and Knuckles turned his head, feeling Big Mac's heavy breathing. "He's all tuckered out. I gotta find him a place to sleep soon."

Gently, he placed the red pony on the grassy ground, while he walked up to the shrine. He kneeled down again, "Oh Master Emerald." he whispered. "Tell me where this pony is from. Why is he here?" he questioned.

The Master Emerald began to glow, a female voice was heard. 'He is a being lost across worlds. His age repressed upon travelling. I cannot reach his world, but we managed to save him. He is under your care for the time being until he can go back. You got your wish, Guardian of the Master Emerald...'

"Woah! You can talk?"

'I am a being within the Master Emerald. But I'll explain later. But as I said, you have your wish...'

"And that is...?" Knuckles asked.

'You are no longer alone.'

Comments

[Greg The Bored Dwarf]

ok...first off,,,thank you for not using Knuckles from Sonic Boom game, finally a fic with him giving some respect

two- i like this so far, keep up the great work.

[Flame Heart]

sonic 06 planned

that's going to be interesting I'm following this story just to see how you manage to pull that off if you somehow managed to get that into a good story you will get all the Applause

[FrostTheWolf]

Now I wonder how this will turn out. Also... *salutes your avatar cause... REASONS.*

[Tatsurou]

This looks interesting.

[Nova Blaze]

You have my interest.

[MrAquino]

Wonder what Big Mac's reaction be when he meets team Chaotix (Yes, they know each other) and Rouge the bat...And their reaction to him.

Also, perhaps you can use some of these from Knuckles Briefs

[Moon loving Changeling]

7622822 Rogue is gonna drive him batty.

[MrAquino]

7622871 *Patrick reaction*

[Moon loving Changeling]

7622882 Wow. Tough crowd. *sighs* Should read more joke books.

[badninja]

Although Knuckles now has a companion with him it is one of the least talkative one on the show. He is still going to be driven mad by the conversations. I am so tracking this story.

[MetalJrock]

7622759 Thanks, Knuckles is one of my favorite characters.

7622763 I hope I can pull off the story of '06 better than the game.

7622771 Knuckles confirmed for new Captain America.

7622775 Thanks man!

7622779 Thank you!

7622822 Oh, that'll come during the Chaotix Arc. The dynamic's gonna be different, that's for sure. And Rouge, that'll be fun.

7622929 I'll cue the rimshot anyway.

7623251 Thanks. Honestly, with Big Mac, it was a tossup between this and Samurai Jack, mostly due to his silence. But as time goes on, he'll learn to speak more.

[MrAquino]

7624936 and are you going to add some jokes from the Knuckles Briefs and/or Sonic Shorts references? Perhaps the singing Knuckles?

[MetalJrock]

7624960 I'll do a few references if I can fit them. Especially singing Knuckles.

[Texus]

Did you really planned to go thorugh all of the games with those two? If you still want to do it afterwards, then I hope that Big Mac is getting his memories nback and they get back to Equestria, but only Knuckles and Big Mac.

Not sure what ablitys you plan to give Big Mac, but I hope it doesn't get to surreal, since if they should be back in Equestria a Super Big Mac could start to look weird,.....it may still starts to look weird but I try to forget what I know about Big Mac. I mean he is one of those characters I don't hate, but that I can't like in certain shippings and as to awesome beings.
It is the worst with Spike, I could never really believe in his role in any super hero comic, but that is maybe hasbros fault.