Chapter 3: Showdown at Station Square

The rain poured down through the jungle canopy, hitting the roof of small shelter near the Mystic Ruins. A few drops leaked through the roof, hitting the mass of purple and white fur that was lying on makeshift bed. This mass of fur was also known as Big the Cat. Big awoke with a yawn. His eyes shot open when he realised that Froggy, his pet frog and best friend, was not with him. He sat up and looked around. He could just see Froggy through the mass of trees. But Froggy looked strange. He had a tail, and Big knew that he didn't have a tail yesterday.

"Hey Froggy," Big said in his trademark slow voice. " You look a little weird, buddy. What's with the tail?" Froggy didn't seem to be paying any attention to Big. Its eyes were fixed upon a yellow jewel that lay upon a stump that Big used as a table. In a flash, he was on the stump. Its jaws opened wide, and moved towards the jewel. Then, with one quick motion, it swallowed it.

"Hey, you ate my lucky charm," Big moaned. Froggy began hopping away. "Hey, come back here. What's wrong with you?" Big began chasing Froggy as fast as his legs could carry him (which wasn't very fast at all). He had to catch Froggy. The frog meant everything to him. So he continued chasing him through the jungle.

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The doors to Casinopolis opened. Sonic and Tails walked out. They now had two chaos emeralds. They had found one in Windy Valley and one in the casino. Needless to say, they were anxious to find the next one. Tails turned on his scanner. He frowned.

"The scanner's picking up a signal in the mountains near the Mystic Ruins," he said. "But it's pretty weak."

"What?" Sonic replied. "How did the scanner miss that one? We just came from the Mystic Ruins."

"Well, I think there was a blizzard going through the area when I scanned before. That probably interfered with the signal."

"Oh great," Sonic groaned. "Don't tell me we're going to have to deal with snow. Snow slows me down too much. Besides, I don't like the cold."

"Well, if the weather's cleared up around there, then we might be able to take the Tornado. Besides, we have to get the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman."

"My hears are burning," said a raspy voice. Sonic and Tails weren't surprised to see their archenemy, Dr Robotnik, staring at them in his usual overconfident manner.

"Honestly Eggman," Sonic said, "just because you're a talking egg doesn't mean you have to try and cook yourself." Sonic could barely hold in his laughter at that joke. He would have to remember that one. "But if you insist, I like my eggs scrambled. Easier to eat on the go, you know?" Once again, he struggled to hold in the laughter. He was on a roll.

"Anyway," Robotnik said, gritting his teeth, "I believe you have something of mine. Sow why don't you just hand over the Chaos Emerald and I'll go on my merry old way."

"You never learn, do you Eggman?" Sonic and Tails assumed battle stances, ready to let Robotnik make the first move. Sonic grinned to himself.

"Nope," Robotnik said calmly. He pressed a button and before Sonic and Tails could react, a heavy cloud of gas was sprayed over them. They had fallen right into his trap. Tails was already down and out, and Sonic was wobbling a lot.

"Eggman" the hedgehog managed to utter before collapsing on the ground, unconscious. Robotnik let out a laugh. He then calmly walked over to Tails and took the Chaos Emerald out of the fox's hand. He then flew away, deciding to leave them alive so as to pit them against Chaos later on.

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"Gotcha!" came the triumphant cry of Knuckles as he grabbed the piece of the Master Emerald with a stunning display of acrobatics. Although he still couldn't understand how three pieces of the Master Emerald could wind up inside Casinopolis. They were probably going to be given out as prizes. Knuckles was just glad that he had found them before they had spread out further. "Well, that's six pieces down," he thought to himself as he headed for the exit, " and I don't sense any more around here." Knuckles had developed an uncanny sixth sense that drew him toward the Master Emerald at all times. He had never imagined that he would have to use it at a time like this.

Knuckles was snapped out of his train of thought by a bright red light circling around him. It gradually began to circle him faster and faster until it looked like there was one ring of light surrounding him. Then suddenly there was a bright flash.

When Knuckles managed to regain his vision, he found himself standing before what looked like an ancient city. He had never seen anything quite like it, and yet it somehow seemed familiar to him. That large structure in the centre of the city seemed to ring a bell to him, that was for sure. Knuckles began to walk further into the city, almost independently of his own free will. It was almost as if he were being guided by a greater force. As he came near to that large, seemingly familiar structure, he could many echidnas walking around. Had he finally found his own people?

But these echidnas didn't even seem to notice Knuckles. He was hard pressed to dodge the constant stream of traffic. The strange force continued to lead him, until eventually he was on the opposite side of the city from where he had started.

Before him now there stood an old, slightly pudgy male echidna, and a much younger female echidna. At least, Knuckles thought that the younger echidna was female. He had never actually seen a female echidna before, so he wouldn't know. But his attention was now drawn to the staff that the elderly echidna was holding. Could it be a sign of authority? Knuckles was now fairly sure that this echidna was the leader of this city, although he still couldn't be completely sure. He was about to walk up and talk to the elderly echidna when the younger one began speaking.

"Father, please don't do this, Father!" the young female echidna said.

"Sorry, Tikal," came the reply, "but we need the emeralds to give us total power!"

Knuckles jumped at the mention of emeralds. Could the elderly echidna be referring to the chaos emeralds? The notion of needing them for power certainly supported this idea.

"Father, don't you see?" Tikal said pleadingly. "Attacking other peoples, destroying their villages. This can't be the path to peace." The father didn't move a muscle. Then there was another flash, and Knuckles was back at Casinopolis.

"Well, that was weird," Knuckles said to himself as he walked outside. As he began to go for a walk to clear his head, he saw Sonic and Tails lying on the footpath, asleep. Sonic was snoring loudly. "What are those guys doing anyway?" Knuckles asked to no one in particular. He shook his head. The antics of Sonic and Tails were none of his concern, especially at a time like this. So he walked off, now more confused than ever.

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For reasons that would forever remain unknown to him, Knuckles' feet led him to the Station Square hotel. Seeing as how he didn't know where to look next for pieces of the Master Emerald, he decided to go inside, as it was starting to get rather cold. As soon as he walked in he saw a large men in a red jacket walking towards the elevator.

"It's Eggman," Knuckles said. Knuckles caught a glint of light reflecting off an object in his hand. "It's got to be a piece of the Master Emerald!" he said to himself. He knew that Eggman had long desired the Master Emerald, and it wouldn't surprise Knuckles if Eggman had gotten his hands on a piece of it, whether by chance or intention. But there was no time to think about it now. Knuckles began to run for the elevator, but the door had already closed. So he waited, tapping his foot impatiently. "Oh great," Knuckles thought to himself, "I'm starting to become like Sonic."

At last, the elevator came back down. Knukles quickly walked in. He scratched his head. Which floor could Eggman have gone to? He decided to start from the top and work his way down, so he pressed the button for the observation deck. The doors closed and the elevator started to move up.

The elevator door opened. Knuckles stepped out onto the observation deck. Frankly, it reminded him more of a colosseum, what with the stone pillars and all. And with Eggman standing at the other end, it seemed as if they were about to start a duel to the death.

"Eggman," Knuckles said boldly, "hand over that piece of the Master Emerald!"

Robotnik turned around. "Knuckles" he said, with a trace of fear in his voice. Knuckles let a slight grin spread over his face. "Uh, this isn't what you're looking for."

He held out a yellow jewel. Knuckles instantly recognised it as a Chaos Emerald. "Okay," he said. "But what are you doing with a Chaos Emerald?"

Robotnik snickered. "You shall see soon enough," he replied. "Chaos!" A puddle appeared near Robotnik. Out of it rose a creature familiar to Knuckles.

"It's him!" Knuckles gasped. "The one I saw when the Master Emerald was shattered!" Although Chaos now looked bigger than before, there could still be no mistaking it. "I should have known you had something to do with it, Eggman!"

"You're smarter than I give you credit for. But it was nothing against you. I did it so that I could at last have this power in my grasp. Watch!" With those words, he tossed the Chaos Emerald to Chaos. The emerald was instantly absorbed by Chaos. The creature then began transforming. It basically became a massive, hulking beast. "What do you think, Knuckles," Robotnik said gloatingly.

Knuckles raised his fists in defiance. "Changing shape won't scare me!" He watched Chaos carefully, letting it make the first move.

Chaos launched its arm out at Knuckles. Knuckles countered with a heavy punch. The two attacks met each other, causing a massive tremor. The floor and the pillars began to crack under the strain as both Knuckles and Chaos pushed, trying to overpower each other. Neither was giving in.

Then Knuckles felt water seeping over his fist. He was suddenly lurched into the air. Chaos had tricked him! But he had no time to think about it as he was sent crashing down into the floor. Before the dust could settle, Knuckles leapt out of the hole, charging straight at Chaos. Before the beast could react, Knuckles had let out a flurry of punches. But Chaos quickly used his other arm to swat Knuckles aside like a common fly. He was sent hurtling into the wall.

Knuckles staggered out. Chaos clearly had the advantage in this fight. He was bigger stronger, and seemed to be able to adjust his shape to deal with nearly any attack. Knuckles knew that he had only one chance. He tensed every muscle in his body. He was generating so much heat that he glowed red. "Here's a little trick I've been working on," he gasped. "Maximum Heat Knuckles ATTACK!"

Before anyone even knew what was going on, Knuckles was zipping around Chaos faster than even Sonic could manage. He was throwing punches left and right. There seemed to be ten of him, if not more. Chaos had absolutely no chance to recover or stop the constant attacks. Then Knuckles stopped moving. By now Chaos was swaying, barely able to stand. Robotnik's jaw had dropped. Knuckles pulled his arm back, tensed his muscles once more, and launched a lightning-fast punch at Chaos. The blow was so powerful that it sent Chaos flying into the air until it had vanished out of all sight.

Robotnik's mouth was still wide open. He let out a few random words of gibberish, and then said clearly, "Well, Knuckles, it seems you're more powerful than I gave you credit for."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" Knuckles replied. He had now lowered his fists.

"A compliment." Robotnik closed his eyes, as if he were lost in thought, but he soon opened them again. "I'm glad you've come, regardless. I have something very important to tell you about Sonic."

"What is it?" Knuckles eyed Robotnik with suspicion. The scientist didn't exactly have a good reputation for telling the truth.

"He's also searching for the pieces of the Master Emerald."

Knuckles jumped at the mention of the Master Emerald. "What? Why would he want the pieces of the Master Emerald?"

Robotnik shrugged. "The hedgehog's reasons are unknown to me. Now if you don't mind, I have business to attend to." Robotnik walked back to the elevator. As the doors closed, Knuckles sat down. He was now very confused. He decided that he should talk to Sonic. Perhaps there was a good reason for him collecting the pieces of the Master Emerald. But he couldn't delay his own search. He would just have to hope that their paths crossed. He had a feeling that they would cross very soon.

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A/N: Okay, I know it is impossible for Knuckles to perform the Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack at this point of the game, but I just thought that it would work well in this battle. Also, I apologise if the scene with Tikal wasn't accurate, but I can't remember bits of it and I don't have a file that would allow me access to it at the moment. The next chapter will probably cover quite a lot, so don't miss it!