#warriore

and then-

tails falls to the floor at the corner of his eye.

knuckles falls short.

his father went to the lion's den 12 years ago. this time, the lion goes to tails. there's nothing he could do. there was nothing that he knew. there's no loud yelp that alerts him to his fatal mistake, no lazers that he can dodge- only a loud, resounding wham into tails' skull, and he falls. and he falls. oh god. he falls.

there's no time to waste. (there's no more time to waste. he's wasted all of his time. two seconds too late five seconds too late ten seconds a minute? how long was it there for? it feels like forever. it feels like it was enough time- long enough for him to not miss. how could he have missed it? how could he have-) a flicker of electricity surrounds him, encompassing his frame, and knuckles leaps with all of his might, lunging at the one responsible: the one standing tall and imposing behind him, with its blank eyes trained onto him. red energy trails from behind him, encouraging the fist that embeds itself into their jaw that drags the robot a good distance away from him, metal screeching against rock as friction peels off coats of paint. thunder stabs through the ground as knuckles fights and his scream is ugly and animalistic as he swings, and paints the dirt road with metal scrap- he was just a kid. god, he was just a kid- he was eight years old. he could've been nine, this year- it should've been him. knuckles drops to the floor and picks tails up, cradling his limp body. tails only grows colder, despite the warmth of the echidna. knuckles heaves against the body in his arms, gently nudging his cheek against tails. take him instead. robotnik should have only taken him down. he should've. he. (there is so much blood. he did not know. he didn't know. he- he didn't- god, god, forgive him, forgive him-) is it his fault? a rhetorical question. he knows that it's his fault.

@warriore​ -  “ i  already  know  i am  letting  go  of  something  sacred . ” for meena!

She knows, knew well, he was a warrior but even the strongest of combatants, needed to listen to others, hear that its okay to not be okay, no matter how much denial pours outwards & inwards. It is simply in her nature to be there for others and he wasn’t any less excluded, not since meeting one’s another.

Its instantaneous as the child of Nature listens closely to Knuckles, she willingly crouch down, to be at his level, knees under yukata meeting pavement. Then, does Meena steadily focus on the crimson echidna, with those gentle teal hues that does not pity him, that does not treat him like a kid.

‘‘Knuckles’‘, she begins, barely above a whisper but soft all the same. 

‘‘Change is hard but change for the better doesn’t take away your roots, no matter what happened for you to let go. Letting go of the past, you no longer have to do so alone. You’ve met great peoples that can be genuinely related with, that can be vulnerable alongside you’‘.

But i am not one of these peoples.

   his brother, as tall as knux, not a day older, meeting his gaze, determined and ready. the helplessness as he was forced to watch them go, and eventually, his decision to refuse, to go along with them anyway, hidden away in the shadows.

   losing sight of his brother in the heat of battle. losing sight of everybody. LOSING. 

   they left, left him behind, and with it gave him the responsibility, the duty to find the master emerald. to fulfill the echidna’s purpose. there’s nobody else left to do so, only him and his nebulous memories of times long since passed. 

   or so he thought.

   he doesn’t hear the doctor’s reaction. doesn’t hear much of anything. even the hedgehog’s words go by unnoticed, despite him being the reason knux is here, why this alliance with a human unfamiliar to him was created in the first place. to hunt sonic down, to avenge his people and do what his family wasn’t able to the first time around— get rid of him. but then. but then. BUT THEN. 

   his brother, standing over the collapsed form of the hedgehog, shielding him.

   and knux halts. the history of an entire people moving him to this point, yet he stops, energy crackling through his fur, illuminating his eyes, and nowhere for it to go. it’s his brother. his dead brother, alive and well, the markings of their tribe still on him, as if not a day had passed since they last saw each other. he can hear the doctor cackling, then, behind him, elated at the development in front of them, and it’s the sound that takes knux out of his haze, back into reality.

   this can’t be true. a cruel joke from no other than the hedgehog, undoubtedly. he scoffs, incredulously, ducking behind his raised fists, bringing himself back into formation. this small moment of weakness is all he’ll allow himself, all he’ll forgive himself for. 

   ‘ do you take me for a fool? ‘ his voice booms across the lawn, raw anger and disbelief laid at his feet for everybody to see. ‘ i will not be blinded by your twisted tricks. i am the last of the echidna. whoever you are, you are an impostor, and i will end your life for daring to act as one of my people. GET OUT OF MY WAY. ‘ 

@warriore​ asked: [ YANK ]:     seeing the receiver is in immediate danger, the sender hastily grabs them and pulls them against them, out of harm’s way. sorry stone 😔🙏

               a noise of surprise escapes him ,   like a loud gasp as he feels himself pulled almost totally off his feet .    he stumbles back a few steps ,    that strong grip on his lower arm indicative of exactly what’s going on ,    but with barely enough time to properly process it .   HIS HEART IS RACING BY THE TIME THE IMMEDIATE DANGER PASSES ,    and it’s not because of the danger ,   but because of the surprise .     

brother, perhaps we should make fruit sauce of our own. i think that they would taste delightful.