"As much as I hate, and I mean really hate agreeing with this guy," Renegade said, stepping forward and hooking at thumb at Dread. "He's right. With friends like those, who needs enemies."

"Are you sure they care about you?" Wachowski crossed his arms. "I have been fooled in the past by someone I thought was my friend, only to have him trick me and leave me for dead when it suited him. Perhaps that is what's going on here."

Boom turned away with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's not what's going on. I've known them for years. Tails taught me how to ride a bike! Or tried to, anyway. They would've tricked me by now, right?"

His brow twitched. A seed of doubt had been planted. But he was sure, positive that his friends were truly his friends. They wouldn't trick him.

Right?

"Are ye sure, lad?" Dread asked, stepping forward. "Are ye really sure?"

"They are disrespectful," Gawain said, shaking his head. "They do not hold you in the same regard they hold each other."

Boom turned away, trying to avoid the eyes of the others. The same eyes as his, but now looked at him with pity. With sadness.

"That's not true." The tone of his voice changed. No longer light. No longer joking. He didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Do any of them seem to care that you have no home?" Sinbad asked, crossing his arms. "Do any of them make sure you're all right when it's cold? Or raining?"

"I like being a nomad. I can take care of myself."

Something was flickering inside him. Something foreign, but strong. He'd felt something similar to this a few times, mostly when Eggman was being a real pain, but never this much. It was something he wasn't overly familiar with, but it felt like a hot snake in his belly.

"Ye deserve more than what they give ye," Dread said, his muzzle pulled into a scowl. "They don't see ye as we do. Ye're just a punching bag to them. Something t' make themselves feel better by abusin'. Ye deserve better."

That snake in Boom's belly was moving, writhing in a way he'd never felt before. It rose into his chest, and suddenly he was . . . angry. The most angry he'd ever felt in his life.

How dare they. How dare these people he thought were his family, his tribe say these things about his friends. Sure, they weren't perfect, no one was, but they were there for him. They did care about him. They did.

Boom turned, his muzzle pulled into a fierce snarl, his teeth bared. He was tense, quills bristling and every muscle thrumming with strength and power, and he clenched his fists as he stared at the other echidna. Glared at them. The fire in his chest was in his eyes now, and he was the epitome of absolute fury.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" he shouted, and Little Z, who'd been hovering nearby as he always did, scuttled off to hide behind the twins. "Those are my friends! They've been by my side for as long as I can remember! They help me and I help them, because that's what friends do!"

A collective gasp moved through the group at Boom's sudden change. No one had ever seen him angry. They tensed at his fury, at the fact that it was directed at them.

"What do you all know about friends anyway?" he sneered, looking over the other echidna one-by-one. He shot daggers at Dread. "You double cross anyone who gets in your way." He flicked his gaze to Modern and X. "All you care about is watching over that rock on your floating islands." Turned to Wachowski. "You were the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy. So what right do any of you have to tell me that my friends aren't good enough?"

"Yes, I was the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy," Wachowski said, stepping forward. "But that was the past. I have a family now. And I—"

"I DON'T HAVE THAT!" Boom thundered, his voice echoing over the group. "I never had anyone! My friends are my family! And hearing you talk bad about them hurts me!"

Silence settled over the group then, and Boom took a few steps forward. The twins took defensive positions in front of Little Z, while Dread and Renegade moved to block Gnarly. Sinbad and Gawain moved closer, their hands hovering over the hilts of their swords.

Wachowski stepped in front of Boom, his hand out in front of him, palm out.

"Be calm, my friend. We are not your enemy."

Boom stopped, breathing hard and snarling at each Knuckles in turn. A soft growl pushed out of his throat.

"No. You're not my enemy. But you're not my friends, either. You're not my tribe."

Without another word, the large echidna turned and left the Sanctuary, leaving a bunch of very confused, very shocked Knuckles behind.

~X~X~X~

Boom stormed back into the village, the anger within him still churning.

How dare they. How dare they. They were supposed to be his tribe. His family. They were all him for crying out loud, how could they gang up on him like that and act like his friends were treating him like garbage?

Well, sure, Sonic and others sometimes disregarded him. But it was okay, they didn't mean anything by it. And yeah, they sometimes said kinda mean things. But he usually got them back with an equally snide comment. Sometimes.

He grunted as he stalked past Meh Burger. Those stupid echidna. They put ideas in his head. Doubts. The anger swirled in his chest, and now he didn't know what to think.

"Hey, Knux!" Sonic called from their usual table. "How was your visit to Knuckles-land?"

Boom didn't stop. Didn't look up. He wasn't in the mood for Sonic's sarcasm right now.

“Uh oh,” the hedgehog snickered. “Trouble in echidna paradise, I see.”

That made Boom stop. He turned and pegged Sonic with a sharp look, his eyes still full of that fire from before. He was angry, he was furious and he didn’t know how to get rid of this feeling before it leapt off his tongue.

“Not cool, Sonic!” he bellowed, and everyone at Meh Burger stopped to stare at him. He didn’t care. He was the town idiot anyway. They couldn’t exactly think less of him, could they? “I’m always a joke to you, right? Everything’s always so funny because I’m so stupid, right?”

Sonic looked at him with a shocked expression. “Hey, I was just kidding with ya Knux, ease off.”

Boom pulled his lips tight. He wanted to say more, to let loose this feeling inside him, cast out this anger at those who may or may not be making fun of him.

But the doubt in his heart grew. These were his friends. (Right?) They joked with him because they loved him. (Right?)

Without another word, Boom turned and stormed off. He needed to blow off steam, and the best way to do so is physical exertion.

He was going to go bust some boulders at the quarry until this horrible, hot feeling in his chest went away.

~X~X~X~

Meanwhile, back at the Sanctuary, the other Knuckleses were starting to unravel.

“This is your fault, Dread!” Renegade growled, pointing at the pirate. “If you hadn’t brought up that stuff about his friends, he wouldn’t o’ blown his stack like that.”

Dread sneered at Renegade, his lip curled to reveal his gold tooth. “I called it like I seen it, bucko. I didn’t know he would react like that! I’m going after him.”

Gawain and Sinbad moved as one to block Dread’s path.

“I think that would be a very bad idea,” the knight said, his arms crossed. “You’ve done enough. You’re staying put.”

Dread narrowed his eyes. “Are ye threatening me?”

“Not yet,” Sinbad said, hand on his sword hilt. “But the day’s still young.”

The pirate pulled his lip into a fierce snarl, a growl slipping through his throat. Renegade gave him a shove. “Knock it off. Do you really think Boom’s gonna wanna see you right now?”

“He be me best friend out of all o’ ye. I will not let him think the worst of us.” He paused. “Of me, anyway.”

“Not happenin’. You’re stayin’.”

As the group quarreled, X moved closer to Boom’s portal. Little Z and Gnarly noticed him, and moved quickly to intercept.

“You’re going after him.” It wasn’t a question, and Gnarly glanced over his shoulder at the others. “I’m coming, too.”

“Me, too,” Little Z said, sliding up next to Gnarly. He rubbed shoulders with the slightly taller echidna. The little zombie liked that warmth and comfort from physical touch.

“I don’t know how receptive Boom will be,” X said, keeping his eyes on the others. “But I figure I may have a better chance at getting through to him. I know how he feels.”

“Then let’s go before they notice,” Gnarly said, letting Little Z climb onto his back. Dread was still putting up a fight, so now was as good a time as any to slip out without notice.

With a silent nod, X, Little Z, and Gnarly slipped through Boom’s portal.

~X~X~X~

The boulder was the size of a small house. Boom pulled his fist back, and with a loud yell, brought it forward with as much force as he could. He didn’t often use all his strength—Eggman’s robots weren’t exactly a big challenge to destroy—but he dug deep within himself now and pulled out everything he could.

There was a feeling, a surge of power he felt when he was at the Sanctuary. He’d asked Modern about it once, and the boy had said it was the chaos energy given off by the Master Emerald. Boom hadn’t understood what that meant at the time. But now, it seemed to give him a boost of power.

His fist connected a loud smack, and the rock exploded into dust and tiny pebbles. Boom stepped back, watching as the cloud cleared.

He was running out of boulders. And that feeling in his chest hadn’t gone away.

He didn’t like it. Didn’t like feeling angry. Didn’t like being angry at his friends. At any of his friends—hedgehog, fox, badger . . . or echidna. He felt terrible and selfish and guilty for the things he’d said, but at the same time, behind that anger was another emotion.

Hurt.

After everything he’d done for those other echidna, all the help he’d offered with no expectation of any kind of reward, this is how they respond. By telling him his friends aren’t really his friends. That they actually treat him really badly, but he was apparently too stupid to see it.

He snarled. Stupid. He hated that word. But even now, when he was back on his world and the influence of the Master Emerald was weaker, his mind felt clouded. Jumbled. Messy. He couldn’t remember the details of what they’d said, but he remembered how their words made him feel. And he didn’t like it.

Boom grunted and stomped on the ground, kicking some of the rocks he’d created when he destroyed the boulder. He felt like screaming. And crying. And breaking things. And just laying down and not getting back up again. All these emotions, all these feelings, all jumbled up in his chest, in his head, in his stomach. He felt like he was going crazy.

With another yell, Boom brought his fist up and turned, lashing out at whatever was nearby.

His arm came to a jarring stop, and he blinked.

His fist was stopped dead by X’s open palm.

The snarl was back on Boom's lips.

"You here to tell me how horrible my friends are, too?" he asked, pulling his fist back. He turned away, walking toward one of the few boulders left. "Save your breath. I'm not listening. Go away."

X said nothing, but Little Z hurried forward. "Big Boom?" he called, his voice soft and shaky. "Are you mad at me, too?"

Boom stopped, lowering his head. His arms dropped, his large hands clenching and unclenching as he thought. The little zombie Knuckles hadn't done anything. But there was so much in Boom's head right now. It was hard to separate his feelings for the boy from all the rest of them.

"Why are you here?" Boom's voice was even, but there was so much emotion in it, X and Gnarly exchanged a glance. "Leave me alone."

"Big Boom?" Little Z called again, and Gnarly moved forward to place a hand on the boy's shoulder. X moved around to Boom's side, trying to get his attention.

"The others are just worried about you," X said, his voice soft. "We all care about you, you know that. They don't want you to be hurt. That's all."

Boom turned, his brow furrowed. There was still anger in his eyes, but a sorrow joined it.

"They hurt me. They think my friends treat me bad, like I'm stupid. They treated me just the same."

X didn't say anything for a long moment. Then a small smile curled his lips.

"I know how you feel, because I was treated the same way."

Boom didn't expect that. He turned, the furrow in his brow changing from hurt and anger, to confusion. "What do you mean?"

X smiled a little wider, shrugging. "I'm the same as you. I trust too much, I let my friends take advantage of me. They took my Master Emerald to power a spaceship, and I forgave them. I know what you're going through."

Boom seemed to think about this for a moment, before turning to X fully. “Is it . . . is it bad that we don’t hate people for the way they treat us? Even if they can be a little thoughtless, or mean? Does that mean we really are . . . stupid?”

X pulled his lips tight. He never thought of himself as stupid per se. Maybe a little too trusting. A little too quick to forgive, and see the good in everyone, even those who try to do him harm. But those aren’t necessarily bad traits, were they? Aren’t those better than going through life with a cynical, mistrusting outlook?

Before X could reply, Gnarly spoke up.

"When I was growing up in Boscage Maze, I could hear the trees. I could see colors the others couldn't. They all said I was crazy. That what I was hearing and seeing wasn't really there. But I knew. I knew they were. Just because the others couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there. And yeah, I did question myself sometimes. But deep down, I knew there was something different about me. They just couldn't see it. They couldn't hear or see what I did, because they didn't really hear or see me.

"That didn't mean they were bad friends. Just because they thought I was crazy didn't mean they didn't care about me. They just didn't understand me. Heck, I didn't understand me either, for the longest time. Until I was pulled into the Sanctuary for the first time. Then everything was quiet. Everything made sense. I figured out who I was."

"Our friends may not treat us the best all the time," X said, moving closer to Boom. "They may not understand us all the time. But that doesn't mean they're not our friends. And that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with us. If someone treats us badly, either intentionally or unintentionally, it shows what kind of person they are. The best thing we can do, is just keep being who we are.

“That's how we stay true to ourselves. Yeah, it may mean we're hurt. Or sad. Or tricked. But the times when we're helping someone, or protecting someone, or doing good are much more important."

Boom's face cleared, the anger fading. His brow relaxed, and the tension in his shoulders disappeared. He looked between the three other Knuckles, the anger and hurt he'd felt just a moment ago dissipating like fog on a warm day.

The tall echidna pulled in a long breath, and let it out in a slow exhale. He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Guess I went a little nuts back there, huh? Ugh. I said such horrible things. They're never gonna forgive me."

Boom dragged a hand down his face, when he felt a small hand grip the fingers of his free hand. He looked down and found Little Z, looking up at him with his big eyes.

"You're not mad?"

Boom smiled down at the boy, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm not mad, Little Z." He reached down to pull the boy up and perch him on his shoulders. "I just . . . had a little hissy fit, I guess."

"So," he said, looking over at X and Gnarly. "How mad are the others at me?"

Before either could respond, a loud shout split the air.

"YE'LL NEVER CATCH ME! I BE ON AN IMPORTANT MISSION!!"

The group turned and watched as Dread came running from the trees nearby, following closely by Renegade, Sinbad, and Gawain. The three bringing up the rear did not look pleased.

"THERE YE BE!" Dread shouted, screeching to a halt before Boom. "Now ye listen here, Boom. Ye be me best mate, and I ain’t gonna allow ye t’ feel such anger towards the fools what hurt you! We be just tryin' t' keep ye from gettin' hurt, and—"

Gnarly moved near him and clocked Dread upside the head.

"It's over. We talked. He's good."

Dread shot a scowl at Gnarly, before looking back at Boom. "This be true?"

Boom nodded. "It be."

Dread seemed to consider this for a moment.