#dark knuckles

~~~~~

"Why do you think they see you like that?"

Boom shrugs. "Because in my world I am kinda dumb. Wachowski said it's probably because there's no Master Emerald, and something something chaos energy. I dunno. I didn't really understand it."

"But you think more clearly here, yes?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't really last when I get back home. Again, no Master Emerald there."

A smile curled Dark's lips. "But you have access to that energy. That power. You could pull from it and use it whenever you wish. Even in your world."

Boom quieted as he thought. He wasn't supposed to. It was pretty common knowledge among Knux's that they were only meant to be guardians, and not actually use that power.

"But the others always say that power's not meant for us," he said, brow furrowed. "We're just guarding it."

"But why not? I never understood that line of thinking. We are meant to simply stand nearby and look at it? We are the only creatures capable of harnessing and controlling chaos energy on that level. Why shouldn't we use it? If it's not meant for us, who is it meant for?"

Boom furrowed his brow. "I dunno . . ."

"Look at it this way," Dark said, inching closer. His voice had taken on a more eager tone. "Chaos energy is like a river. Flowing and moving freely around everything. If you could control that river, use it to make yourself healthy, or stronger, or . . . smarter, who would it hurt?"

Boom chewed his lip as he thought. He wasn't supposed to listen to Dark. None of them were. Because he was some evil Knux, from a different dimension—a different timeline? It was confusing—who'd done a lot of bad things with the power he'd had.

But . . . he kinda made some sense. So what if Boom used some of that power, if only to make himself think more clearly in his own world. That wasn't bad, right? It wouldn't hurt anyone, right? And he was a Knuckles--they were all good deep down, so even if he did use some of that power, he wouldn't do anything bad with it, so maybe it was okay?

He shook his head. This was confusing.

~~~~~

Dark eventually convinces him that tapping into the ME's power isn't so bad, and Boom's starts doing so. Just little bits here and there, mostly to make himself not so damn dumb on his world, but he doesn't know how to control that flow into himself. More importantly, doesn't know how to turn it off.

So it's flowing and becoming more and more powerful the longer he's linked to it, but it's too much, it's so much more than he's capable of handling.

His emotions are starting to cause problems back on his world - storms, earth tremors, killing vegetation near him, etc. No one has any idea what's going on, and he starts to panic, which is causing even more destruction.

He runs to the Sanctuary, but being in essentially ground zero of ME power makes things so much worse.

The Knux's who are there immediately feel the drain, and are shocked to see Boom of all people being the cause. Boom has no idea how to handle chaos energy in the first place, and being in a panicked state is making him unintentionally draw more.

The others are trying so hard to counter it, to balance it, but it's not working.

~~~~~

Boom fell to his knees, overcome with the sheer power flowing through him. Every nerve felt on fire. His muscles tense and thrumming with energy. He opened his mouth, trying to call to his friends, ask them to help him, but the only sound that came out was a strained scream.

The others stood back in shock. And maybe a little fear. They could feel the chaos running through him. There was so much. If they couldn't get it out of him, if he couldn't control it, it would tear him apart before their eyes.

Modern and X exchanged glances. Wachowski barely held himself back from rushing forward to help. Dread growled, his feet seeming glued to the floor as he watched his best friend struggle.

"We have t' do something!" he cried, looking from one set of fearful violet eyes to another. "Ye all know much more 'bout this Master Emerald. What c'n we do??"

"We . . . we don't know," Modern said, his eyes glued to Boom as the tall echidna struggled. "I've never seen anything like this before. No one's ever had this amount of power and lived."

"I have," a voice called from the shadows, and Dark moved into the light. A small smile curled his lips. "Oh, you poor foolish children. I have held just as much power before."

He turned to them, to Dread, that smile turning to a smirk. "I can help him."

The pirate's knee jerk reaction, honestly, was to launch himself forward and slice Dark's throat. The older version of themselves was never anyone's favorite, but now, when Boom's life hung in the balance, this wrinkled echidna's words seemed especially mocking.

"And I'm sure ye would do this outta the goodness of yer shriveled black heart," Dread snarled, showing fang. "And I'm also sure ye had nothing t' do with Boom even usin' that energy in the first place."

Dark moved closer, that smirk never fading. "We can stand here all day and point fingers, cast blame, but do you really think he has that kind of time?"

Dread looked back to his friend. Boom was on his hands and knees, waves of what he assumed was chaos energy flowing over him. The air around his body seemed to shimmer, and the Sanctuary around him . . . twisted. It was changing, as though melting and shifting into something different.

No time. Dark was right about one thing—there was absolutely no time to argue about this. Dread turned back to him, his snarl more pronounced.

"What can ye do?"

Dark uttered a soft laugh. "I can take the energy from him."

Of course he could. That's what he'd wanted all along. Using Boom's insecurities and fears to make him do something he ordinarily wouldn't. To tap into that power that Dark so desperately wanted, a power Boom had no hope to control himself.

Dark knew this would happen.

Dread's hand itched to take hold of his blade. He should have ended that shriveled pile of nastiness a long time ago.

Boom screamed again, and everyone in the Sanctuary covered their ears. It did little good. The sound came from inside their heads.

Dread uttered a loud growl, turning back to Dark.

There was no other choice.

"Help him, ye damned demon."

The smile on Dark's face widened, and Dread almost took a step back. He'd never seen the older echidna actually smile. Not like that.

"Gladly," he said, and moved with a speed Dread would not have expected. Dark stopped before Boom, going to one knee before the downed echidna. He didn't seem affected by the energy coming off Boom at all.

"You did well, son," Dark said, his voice low and dark. "You did just want I wanted."

Boom managed to lift his head, looking up at Dark. Tears ran down his muzzle, and his body trembled. "Wh-what?"

"Give me your hand." Dark held his own out. "I will take it from here."

Despite his current state, Boom hesitated. Questions, concern, fears, and doubts flittered through his mind.

This was wrong. He shouldn't. Dark was bad.

But the agony he currently experienced couldn't be ignored. The terror.

Lifting a trembling arm, Boom took Dark's offered hand.

The response was immediate. All that energy coursing through Boom, instilling every cell, every nerve, every fiber of his being with this unimaginable power, flowed into Dark.

No. That was the wrong word. It didn't flow as much as it was pulled into the older echidna. Every last ounce of the power Boom had tapped into was sucked away, along with whatever small amount he'd had to begin with. Boom uttered a strangled cry as Dark drained him, and fell to the floor, weak as a kitten when the older echidna finally released his hand.

Dark stood tall, his frail, weak body infused with that familiar power once more. He turned, offering the rest of the echidna present a wide, malevolent smile.

"Now," he said, his voice stronger than they'd ever heard it. "Oh, now the fun will truly begin."