Guardian's Log no. 11452

The Master Emerald remains safe. Robotnik hasn't been near this place, but I refuse to let my guard down. Chance does not look kindly upon the complacent. Sonic has the Chaos Emeralds, which is fine by me. Even I can't dispute the fact that he's earned them. Otherwise, things remain much the same as ever. The island's almost completely recovered from the destruction Robotnik and Sonic dealt out last time they were here.

--Knuckles the Echidna

My Memoirs by Me

Wonder what ol' Knucklehead's been up to since I last saw him? Our first meeting was a little awkward. Awkward as in he leapt out the ground, smashed my SNOUT in and stole my Chaos Emeralds! We kinda made things up between us, but we're more allies than friends. You know; he'd save my butt all the time he needs me. Should be an interesting reunion. Wonder if the plants have grown back yet after Robotnik torched the place?

--Sonic the Hedgehog

Dear Diary

We're off to see Knuckles! I can't wait; it's ages since we've been to Angel Island! I hope he doesn't leap out of the ground and beat Sonic up like he did last time we visited though. I think Sonic's being very optimistic trying to get Knuckles to join us; he just wants to stay on his island and guard the Master Emerald. I wonder if he ever gets lonely.

--Tails

Angel Island was a haven of tranquillity in the endless sky. Most people down on the surface had no idea it even existed, much less how to visit.

Which suited Knuckles just fine. Being the only truly intelligent creature on the island meant he was attuned to the land so acutely that he was almost a part of it. If anyone arrived, any strangers, he'd know about it. It was like that feeling you got when someone invaded your personal space from behind, only about ten times worse.

Right now, though, it was safe. Safe, and quiet, and—

"Hey Sonic! I see him! I see him!"

Knuckles paused just long enough to mutter something exceedingly unflattering concerning certain blue would-be heroes and their mutant sidekicks under his breath before—

"Why's he running away?" Tails wondered aloud.

"I dunno," Sonic said, loudly enough for Knuckles – who was accelerating fast – to hear. "Guess he doesn't know it's us, huh? Drop me a little closer to him."

Tails did. Literally.

There was a cacophony of various sounds, namely crashing, outraged squawking and a high pitched Yip! as the hedgehog plummeted the twenty feet to the ground, ploughing through twice as many branches and nests and one very surprised squirrel before landing on the ground with a resounding thud.

"Uh." Tails landed next to the now prostrate Sonic, looking worried. "Sonic? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, great," Sonic answered in somewhat muffled tones. Sitting up, he spat out a mouthful of earth and closed his eyes with a wince. "It's okay, little bro. My fall was broken by my face."

He opened them again and came face to face with Knuckles' scowl.

"If you're here with Robotnik again—"

"Pfft! Puh-leeze!" Sonic got to his feet and stretched up, wincing again. "Jeez, Tails, I think you bent my spines!" He glanced at Knuckles. "Do they look bent to you?"

"No more than usual, and you still haven't told me what you want."

"Can I see the Master Emerald?"

"No," Knuckles said flatly, but with no real belligerence. It was a common ritual between the pair of them; Sonic would always ask to see it and Knuckles would always refuse.

"Cool. But it's still there, right?"

Knuckles stiffened.

"Yes. Why shouldn't it be?"

"No reason!" Sonic held up both hands, palm outwards. "Jeez guy, take a chill pill!"

The echidna took a deep breath instead.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you and your baby sidekick again," he said in a tone which slandered his every word, "but would it be too much for you to tell me what you want this time?"

Sonic grinned.

"Knux, would you believe me if I said I missed you?"

"Not in a million years."

"Oh, but I did. Your sweet temper, your charming personality—" Sonic's form blurred momentarily as he ducked the not-quite-playful punch the echidna threw at his head "—and your oh-so-friendly people skills. You know, we really ought to work on those."

"What do you want?" Knuckles repeated tightly. Sonic's grin broadened and he threw himself into a tangle of vines, swinging one leg over the edge of his makeshift hammock, hands laced behind his head.

"Okay, okay. I wasn't kidding around when I asked you if the Master Emerald was still here. See, something happened down on the surface." He shrugged. "I dunno what, but it was big and it wasn't good. You sure you haven't been playing about with your little toy?"

"Toy?" Knuckles' voice shot up almost a full octave. "Listen, spike-for-brains, just because some people shirk responsibility and treat everything like some big game doesn't mean that everyone's that immature!"

Sonic smirked broadly.

"Oh c'mon Knux; don't put yourself down." The smirk disappeared and he sighed. "Look, kidding aside, have you done anything with the Master Emerald, or has it done anything on its own?"

"I certainly haven't done anything with it," Knuckles said stiffly, "and if it had done anything on its own, I would have known."

Sonic snorted.

"Jeez, I doubt you could get any stiffer without being dead! And even then, only maybe."

"What did you expect, if you come in and accuse me of exploiting the very object I was appointed to guard?" Knuckles reached up, grabbed a pella fruit from the tree and bit into it, pointedly not offering Sonic one.

There was a blur of orange motion followed by the sound of something moving very fast and Tails zipped out of Knuckles' reach, dropping several fruits almost on top of Sonic and munching on one himself. The echidna sighed.

"Alright. Fine. You're determined to talk about it and...yeah, you got me curious. What happened?"

Sonic shrugged.

"Dunno exactly. I was just running with the Chaos Emeralds, trying 'em out, making sure they still worked—"

"Those Emeralds are not toys, Sonic," Knuckles said in sub-arctic tones. Sonic waved a blasé hand.

"Oh jeez, Knucklehead, have a day off, wouldja? Like I say, I was just making sure they still worked okay when something appeared."

"Something. Great. Any chance you could be a little more specific?" Knuckles said in a voice dripping sarcasm.

Sonic shrugged again.

"Can't tell you exactly what it was, Knuckles-ol'-buddy-ol'-pal, 'cause I don't know myself. It knocked Tails out the sky though."

Knuckles shifted an eye-ridge, privately impressed. Anything that could get the better of Tails in the air – Robotnik notwithstanding – must be worth concern, and he was smart enough to know that Sonic probably wouldn't have come to him with this tale unless there was some real point to it.

"So it seems to be spreading itself around and we thought we'd go check it out," Sonic added lightly. "Wanna come?"

Ah. That was coming to the point in question with a vengeance. Knuckles snorted.

"Forget it."

"C'mo-on, it'll be fun." Judging from the grin on Sonic's face, he'd anticipated an argument.

"We've been through this before, Sonic; I am not some kind of drifter bum who goes to check things out through pure boredom. I'm staying here, in my nice familiar mountains on my nice familiar island and doing my nice familiar duty."

"Pity that duty doesn't include using a thesaurus," Sonic said, still grinning. "Look, we go down, we see what it is, we kick Robotnik's egg-shaped butt and you can come back to your duty with no one being any the wiser."

"Yeah?" Knuckles leaned against a tree, arms folded squarely across his chest. "And suppose Robotnik's banking on you roping me into this and decides to get his egg-shaped butt over here while I'm off sightseeing with you?" He shook his head. "No. Forget it. If Robotnik's stirring up trouble, that's all the more reason for me to remain here to guard the Master Emerald."

"Okay." Sonic shrugged. "Just thought I'd offer. It's a shame though, 'cause we were thinking of going through the Casino Night Zone. People gamble some pretty wild treasures away there."

Something flickered in Knuckles' eyes.

"Treasures?"

"Oh sure." Sonic waved a hand blithely. "I mean, apart from your bog-standard gold rings. I've seen 'em gamble gems and rare artifacts and pictures and statuettes...you name it, they gamble it. Still, if you're not interested, you're not interested. C'mon Tails, let's leave ol' Knucklehead to his sacred duty."

He and Tails had gone all of fifty yards when Knuckles caught them up, glaring at Sonic.

"Damn you!"

Sonic feigned astonishment.

"You mean you're coming? What about guarding the Master Emerald and protecting it from Robotnik?"

"He couldn't find it when I was fighting you, so I doubt he will in the short time that we'll spend in this Casino Fight Zone, whatever the hell that is."

"Night Zone – don't look so disappointed – and you're right, that's not gonna happen. C'mon!" Sonic exploded into action, racing forward until he was lost from sight. Knuckles took a long, deep breath.

"I'm getting too old for this self-gratification crap," Tails heard him mutter as he broke into a run.