The Knucklesverse

Drew our Zombie boy little Z from over on the @the-knucklesverse blog. (Head over there to find out more and see a little blurb about him)

Because of this fragility the Amy, Sonic and Tails of his world are reluctant to have him join them in battle, one little hit and the ancient but young zombie will go down hard. And his child’s heart means he may be even more susceptible to those that hide cruel intentions behind kind words.

But as a Knuckles he’s unable to resist helping and little Z would find a way to assist with his chlorokinesis and healing abilities. He’s quick to shield himself and his friends with a tangle of vines or restrain an enemy with them, and once the battle is done the injured will have a little undead echidna clinging to them making certain they get better as soon as possible.

It took a while for him to truly understand that he was dead, he always knew something was different about him, his friends had a strange pulse in their chests but he didn’t, they felt so warm but he was cold as stone, their quills needed to be trimmed regularly but his always stayed the same. At first his friends simply redirected his questions, after all how do you tell a kid that he’s dead? But eventually he had to be told, they had to explain why when Tails’ devices scanned for life there was an echidna shaped hole of plants where he stood instead of an echidna.

The poor child wept dry tears for days upon finding out, but his friends, who were siblings in all but blood, stayed with him as the realisation sunk in.

This will not stand.

What about our boy? What about the dedicated guardian to the most powerful relic in the universe? What about the guy who's the last of his kind, who helps when he can, who devotes his entire life to making sure no one gets their grubby mitts on the Master Emerald? Where's HIS celebration??

If Sega won't give him the attention he deserves, then we'll do it ourselves.

Check out @year-of-the-echidna for a year long celebration of our favorite little man in red, Knuckles! We have a list of prompts, one per week, that focus entirely on Knuckles.

A little Knucklesverse ficlet, for your reading pleasure.

~~~~~

“Rennie!”

Dread’s voice cut through the quiet of the Sanctuary, a wide grin spreading as his portal closed behind him. There weren’t many Knuckleses around at the moment, just Cyber, of course, a snoozing Q, and Ren.

The pirate made a beeline for his younger brother, eager to commence their usual pattern of insults and banter. Living life as a ‘respectable pirate’—whatever that was—made for smoother sailing with his crew, but sometimes he just felt like being a gremlin, and poking someone for a good bit of back and forth.

“Jus' the lad I been lookin' f'r! How's about ye an’ me have a nice game o' . . ."

Dread paused, noticing Ren’s lack of reaction when called his unwelcome nickname.

"Lad?"

Ren didn’t even turn Dread’s way. He sat with his back to him, his arms crossed and resting on his bent knees. At Dread’s call, he pulled his shoulders up, almost curling in on himself as he let out a huff.

"Get lost, Dread. I ain't in the mood."

Well. That was different.

The big guy in the middle is Hackett. He's from a universe where chaos energy acts as a sort of magic, and just about anyone can access and use it, but not everyone is as careful with it as they should be. Because he's a Knux, he's very much in favor of keeping this power in balance, and can utilize it as he needs without much trouble.

Because of this, he acts as the 'customer service' department of his world, getting involved when others get in over their heads. And as anyone who's ever worked retail can tell you, it sucks the life out of you, and he just always looks so done when he comes to the Sanctuary.

Callie used to work retail too, so she gets him. He often makes a beeline for her when he arrives, so he can vent and bitch to someone who understands his frustrations.

Some of the, shall we say, more attention needy Knuckleses can get a little aggressive when a mom arrives. Hackett's dealt with enough shenanigans and headaches in his own world, he has little patience for it in the Sanctuary (generally speaking, he's not always cranky). He's got Boom in a choke hold, Little Z by a leg, and stepping on Dread.

That second image is from a bit of spitballing on the server, wherein Hackett arrives, needing to vent, but Dread is very much a "LOOK AT ME" kinda guy when Callie's around.

Dread's Regret

A Brush of Comfort