The Echidna's Dilemma

The Solar System's celestial center shone down its serendipitous sheets of sunbeam onto the great mass of rock and river that was Angel Island.

Set awesomely high above the glistening waters of the ocean, the sanctuary of the Master Emerald was truly one of the world's wonders. From the island's skyward mountains, steeper than all other mountain-kind on the mainland, that jutted out on either side like nothing else nature could bear out across all of Mobius—to its many caping bodies of water that flowed elegantly across the jagged landscape, smoothing out deft pathways as it ran. The harshness of geological structure matched against the warm flow of water was an idyllic contrast.

Its open sight was breathtaking in size, scope, and natural serenity.

Angel Island's landscape was prettily peppered with a backdrop of winding greenery set between the droves of hills and lakes, filled with draping bushes and meandering canopies where small animals flourished. Completed with an enveloping sky vista that was set before the tranquil majesty of the entire world, and this Angelic Islet seemed like a paradise to all who held the honor of gazing at it...

However, this beacon of beauty was not the haven many people mistook it to be. There were several storied undertones and debacles slid under the many treetops and mountain peaks, something lurking behind this imposing facade. An intangible behind the tangible, the mind's thoughts taking precedent over what merely the eyes could see. A hidden factor lying beneath the obvious...

This was all encapsulated in the enigmatic echidna of Knuckles.

A microcosm of an entire species. The last of his kind, a dignified and secretive person that didn't care much for the speedy whims of his hedgehog and fox companions, he was purely devoted to the lifeline of the whole isle: the Master Emerald. A mystifying and fragile relic of a bygone era that let its holder ascend above the liquid below: an enabler of majesty, embodying an intrinsic sense of artistry.

Its seams perfectly aligned, its size that of boulders, its glow emanating off the Emerald's green glaze. The Master Emerald gave Knuckles his source of dutiful zeal towards its protection, delivered him a sacred sense of point, of meaning. It powered him.

This devotion delved deep into the echidna's character as a whole. He became more of a cryptic character, as while he conversed with others when he had to, he still made his inner self a mystery to those around him. Every word spoken with utmost purpose and emotion, his disposition not so privy to beguiling jokes and gibes.

It made him a fighter, practicing his prowess of boxing and digging all in an instinctual tactic to help him safeguard the cherished gem. To sharpen his very soul for the protection of the Emerald. He wouldn't allow anyone to even caress the jewel's sleek surface, fearing that it would become damaged. Just as he never let anyone dig beneath the outer visage of his own persona.

And yet, he was also to never waltz into the outside world and immerse himself in the joys of smiles and laughs. His own heritage sentenced him to a secluded life, set off derelict in the world to live his life in barren solitude. To be forced to talk to himself and be alone with his own bubbling feelings and emotions as a teenager onward, the discussions of community and family foreign to his mind.

The Emerald was his muse. The Emerald was his family.

The Emerald was his life.

* * *

Today, like any other day, he stood watch over the precious stone beside a small metal pedestal, diligently wading his eyes through the sky and grass and slag. Trying to mark out any unsuspecting silhouettes tucked in and camouflaged by the scenery, those bad actors waiting to pounce on his most minute mistake.

But this day had a different, unsettling air about it that rattled the echidna's psyche. He felt that something deep and conniving lingered within the greenery's supple brush, wanting not just to steal the Emerald but to unleash on his very soul. He sweated profusely, his eyes dotting all across the scenery like flies darting across a room. Nervously notching his head every which way, he endeavored for the sake of vigilance as he heard a slight rustle in the midst of the sprawling vegetation a couple tens of feet away.

He sprung up, scurrying ahead of the Emerald, restlessly scouting the area ahead of him.

The sound continued relentlessly, persisting second after second, penetrating just slightly through Knuckles' eardrums but shaking hard his sense of security. It got closer, louder, until—

A regular-sized figure arose from the flora, glancing around its surroundings for a short moment, before resting its eyes on the boiling-hot bubble of redness ahead. It stared, analyzing his expression, his footwork, his prepared fists. It was a black-winged character with blue eyes and large, concave ears. It wore tall and thick boots that contrasted a trio of hues in black and pink and white. Its ensemble was capped off with a heart-shaped piece of attire covering the chest, surrounded by a pure-black garment.

Then, her eyes dropped a bit. Her expression faded into a sympathetic drape.

"Knuckles...I didn't come here for the Emerald." Her voice was soft and all slurring was nonexistent. It was a completely focused bundle of words that gracefully flew out of her mouth as smooth as breathing itself, but all the more meaningful.

"...R-Rouge?" He stuttered in an incredulous tone, recomposing himself. "Like I would ever believe that! You're obviously here to take advantage of me like everyone else does, my lifestyle, my devotion, my..."

The echidna stopped for a moment, hands crossed, eyes facing the ground. His chittering teeth faded into a slight frown, pondering his own self-position with the sudden, discerning audience of an unexpected visitor.

He thought about what point it was to punch all those who come to hawk the Emerald for their own gain, when in a way, he's thrown a haymaker at his own life for damning himself to this isolation.

"I know what situation you're in, Knux. I know how hard it is for you after it was stolen once again, how I played a part in that."

She drifted over towards him, putting her right hand onto his back and holding her own slim frown. Knuckles, absorbed in his own dazed state of epiphany, did not twitch at the soft touch.

"It's just that...I'm a failure. I keep letting the will of my descendants, my people down. I keep letting the Emerald go. I'm a disgrace..." He sighed, keeping his head notched down, eyes drooping all the same.

At this resignation, Rouge would not be deterred. Her comforting display turned to a determinant friendliness as she moved to pat Knuckles on the back. If she was going to steal something, it would be his inner gloom.

"Ah, Knux, cheer up! Have you never heard of the saying, 'practice makes perfect?' Everyone makes mistakes, but they keep powering through, they keep on unrelenting and upholding their goals, their values. You think I just gave up once that whole shabang with G.U.N. went sour? I haven't been successful on all my heists, and yet here I am, trying to get you to smile!"

Her voice became peppier, bouncier, as she accordingly took on a smile.

"I think I've had too many 'practices' at this point..." Knuckles looked up just a bit, his tone still somber. There was more excavating to be done at Knuckles' deep deposit of inner loneliness.

"There can never be too many practices in life! You just improve and improve! You don't cave in, you get better. Maybe you've just lost focus on improving during this time. Maybe you've lost a sense of progress. But it's not like you can't rebound, Knuckles! You've got a stronger will than anyone I've ever met, and that's including the Blue Blur.

You've just got to act for yourself. Not only as the Emerald's protector."

The echidna laid his left arm on Rouge's back, his frown whisked away, and stared up at the marvelous breadth of rising mountaintops, coursing rivers and windswept blades of grass. He admired its beauty from a different perspective for once, not as Angel Island's guardian, but as its citizen, its living inhabitant.

Not the last remnant of the Echidna tribe, but simply Knuckles. Someone who didn't know what the definition of 'quit' was. Whose feisty determination and down-and-out vigor had gotten him squarely to this point in time. He then gawked at the Master Emerald, extolling its artistic glory in awe, in a sort of bliss.

He was Knuckles the Echidna, and wasn't it wonderful for him to be alive in this world of majesty.

"...Maybe I will get better after all, huh."

The bat flew away soon after with a short wink, knowing full well what she had done, putting a great big smile on the echidna's face to match the serene vastness of the island itself.