Sins Of The Past…

“You really are a twisted bastard, aren’t you?” Miles snarled.

“Really, Miles…” Robotnik smirked. “Such language…” He looked at Sonic, who was glaring at him with his usual expression of unbridled hatred, and Lara-Su, who continued to stare at her encapsulated father in a state of shock. “And in front of the children.”

Sonic bristled at the comment.

“I must say…” Robotnik raised a brow as he considered the hedgehog before him. “I am rather surprised to see you, Sonic. I thought I was rid of you years ago…”

“Yeah, well…” Sonic shrugged. “You know I never could miss a good party…”

Robotnik chuckled at his bravado. “You haven’t change a bit…but then…you’re the same hedgehog I disposed of all those years ago, aren’t you? My laser didn’t destroy you…it just pushed your remarkable speed past the speed of light…and in doing so you managed to break the time barrier. How marvellous!”

“You’re actually pleased that you didn’t kill me?” Sonic arched a brow in confusion.

“Of course!” Robotnik beamed for a moment before his expression turned truly wicked. “Now you get to suffer. I destroyed your home…killed nearly all your friends…and left you so woefully out of date and out of place…it’s as wonderful as the torture I’ve put him through.” He gestured towards Knuckles, drifting silently in his plexiglas tube.

“And I must thank you for delivering him to me, Miles.” He smirked at the cyborg fox. “If he hadn’t come after you, I never would have managed to get my claws into him. Of course, it took me some time to figure out a way to utilise his marvellous Chaos abilities…but when I discovered our feisty friend was susceptible to cold…I simply put him on ice while I created this…” He gestured to the machinery surrounding the unfortunate echidna.

“He’s been powering Robotropolis and all my creations ever since…” He then looked to Lara-Su, still staring at her father. His malicious smile deepened. “And now you’ve delivered me his daughter as well…”

“You keep you filthy hands off her!” Miles growled.

“Don’t get your TAIL in a knot…” He smirked, deliberately emphasising the word. “I don’t really need her…not with her DADDY powering everything…his power IS infinite after all…” He laughed. “I wonder how he’d feel if he knew he’d powered the engine of destruction that eradicated all the life on this planet?” Lara-Su looked at him now, total anguish in her lavender eyes.

He smiled at her pain. “You know…it’s a pity you didn’t inherit DADDY’S namesakes…you could have him out of there in an instant.”

“Really…?” Lara-Su mused, a strange smile spreading across her face. “Funny you should say that…” She fisted her hands, winching as a pair of spurs erupted from each. Even Miles seemed surprised at the sight of them. They weren’t as lethal looking as her father’s, but it was obvious that she could still inflict major damage.

To prove her point, she slammed one fist against the curved glass, watching as a spider web of cracks radiated out from the impact point.

“No!” Robotnik cried out. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I’m freeing my father.” Lara-Su said coolly.

“Look at his life-signs, girl.” He pointed to the monitors. “He’s been in there so long…breaking him out like that could very well kill him!”

Lara-Su considered this for a moment as Robotnik began to move slowly towards her. She looked at her father’s face, at the slight look of anguish it held. And something Miles had said earlier came to mind…

She pulled herself up to her full height, and looked at Robotnik with calm determination, stopping him in his tracks. “Better to be dead…than to live as your slave!” She spun and slammed first one, than the other spurred fist into the curved, cracked glass. She jumped aside quickly as it shattered.

“NO!” Robotnik screamed as everything around him shut down. Knuckles truly had been powering everything. The darkness was filled with a cacophony of sounds…the tinkling of glass…the crash of water…alarm bells…the electrical hiss of severed circuits…but most unnerving was the sudden ‘flat-lining’ of the machines monitoring Knuckles’ vital signs. Emergency lighting came on almost instantly, casting everything in an eerie blue light.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT!” Robotnik snarled as he lunged at Lara-Su, screeching to a halt as something flashed past his face, neatly slicing off half of his moustache before embedding itself in the wall. All heads turned to see a large section of curved glass jutting out of the wall. It had been thrown with such force that it hadn’t shattered when it hit the wall, instead slicing through the metal like it was butter.

“All right!” Robotnik demanded. “Who threw that?”

“Three guesses, Robotnik.” Miles smirked. “And the first two don’t count.”

Robotnik turned slowly one hundred and eighty degrees, and couldn’t help swallow the impossibly large lump that had formed in his throat.

Knuckles’ glare seemed to burn right through him. His broad shoulders rose and fell as he breathed slowly in and out with barely contained fury. He slowly raised his hand, palm out towards the object of his hatred. The sight of the claws, several inches long, was intimidating enough…but the bright emerald light that was coalescing in his palm was far more terrifying…especially to Robotnik. He’d seen it before…felt it before. He unconsciously began to back away.

Sonic chuckled. “I really wouldn’t want to be you right now, Botbutt.” He’d never seen the echidna look so angry.

On hearing his voice, Knuckles’ dark eyes flicked towards him. His angry frown became one of confusion as he looked at the hedgehog, deepening as he took in the young female echidna standing beside him. Only Miles noticed the change in the energy about the echidna’s hand. He tensed as Knuckles turned his hand towards them. Sonic’s eyes widened as he suddenly found himself engulfed in the emerald glow. Beside him, Lara-Su looked around fearfully as she too was enfolded in the emerald embrace. Miles dove quickly behind one of Robotnik’s inert machines as the sphere of energy folded in on itself. As it faded to nothing, one thing became apparent…Sonic and Lara-Su were gone.

Knuckles turned his attention back to Robotnik, taking in the flabbergasted expression on his face. Smiling, he began to walk slowly towards the terrified Overlander…

~~~~~

“What the…?” Sonic began as he suddenly found himself back on the Floating Island.

“Damn!” Lara-Su cursed beside him. “He sent us home!”

“Could be worse.” Sonic admitted with a shrug.

“LARA-SU!”

The pair turned at the extremely angry sound of Julie-Su’s voice. The rosy-furred echidna stalked towards them, face like thunder. An equally annoyed Lien-Da trailed behind.

Lara-Su glanced at Sonic. “It’s worse…”

~~~~~

“I can’t believe you just vaporised that trio…” Robotnik began.

“That was a teleportation beam, you idiot.” Knuckles snarled, his voice a little raspy as he used it for the first time in fifteen years. “But then, I guess you always were a bit of an idiot…”

“What!?” The Overlander bristled. “I have one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace this planet…”

“Is that a fact?” Knuckles smirked. “If you’re so brilliant…why’d you only tap into my Chaos powers?”

Robotnik frowned at the comment. What could the echidna possibly possess that was more powerful than Chaos energy? Then he smiled. “You’re bluffing!” He chuckled. “I haven’t left you with enough strength to defend yourself so you’re trying to save you hide with idle threats of hidden powers…”

“You should know by know, Robotnik...” Miles said as he emerged from the shadows, surprising both the tyrant and echidna alike. “Knuckles doesn’t bluff.” The cyborg walked up to stand by his scarlet-furred friend. Knuckles looked down at him curiously. “You didn’t think I was going to leave you behind again, did you?”

“This is all very touching…” Robotnik sighed as he reached for something behind him. “But I defeated you before…” He hefted a large laser-like weapon. “I can do it again.” He powered it up, the temperature in the room dropping several degrees as he did so. “Have you forgotten? I know you’re weakness!”

“I haven’t forgotten…” The echidna rasped. Smiling, he held out his hand again, but it wasn’t Chaos energy that erupted from his palm. A spout of flame coiled outwards, enveloping Robotnik’s freeze ray. He dropped it as it quickly became too hot to hold.

He stared, stunned, as the echidna lowered his hand.

“Still think I’m bluffing?”

Robotnik was still too stunned to answer.

“For fifteen years I’ve been at your mercy, trapped in that column of ice…” he gestured towards the now defunct machinery. “And in all that time you never thought to dig any deeper…you never thought to test my gifts…you never discovered the true extent of my power!”

Robotnik backed away as the echidna’s dark eyes began to change…brightening until the appeared like the flame of a candle. He held the Overlander with his fiery gaze, his hands lowered towards the floor. His arms trembled slightly as the earth beneath their feet began to tremble. He raised his hands quickly, and as he did so a wall of lava erupted through the floor.

“You used my power to burn this world…” Knuckles yelled to be heard above the magma’s roar. “I think it only fair to return the favour!” He twisted his arms, the lava following his movements perfectly. It splashed against the walls, the floors, the ceilings, melting everything it touched.

Miles’ eyes widened with fear…‘Maybe staying behind wasn’t such a good idea…’

‘Stay close…’ He heard Knuckles voice speak softly in his head. ‘And you’ll be safe’

He let the magma sink back into the rift from which it had spewed forth, his burning gaze still on Robotnik. The tyrant looked around at the charred remains of his inner sanctum.

“Looks like it’s your turn…” Knuckles said softly.

“Y-y-you wouldn’t…” Robotnik stuttered. “You can’t…it goes against everything you believe in to kill in cold blood!”

Knuckles chuckled. “You died years ago, Robotnik. Now you’re nothing but a computer simulation in a robotic body…I won’t be doing anything worse than slagging a toaster.”

“But I still have all that is required to be considered a life-form…” He protested. “Sentience…spontaneous emotional response…”

“The ability to reproduce?” Knuckles growled.

Robotnik swallowed. There was something in the echidna’s expression, his tone of voice…

“You have taken too many parents from their children…left them so they never knew their parents guidance…love…denied those parents the chance to watch them grow…” His fiery eyes flared. “My daughter and I will be the last!” With the anguished cry only a parent who has lost a child could know, Knuckles called forth a second spout of lava…right beneath Robotnik’s feet.

The lava fell back…taking whatever was left of Robotnik with it. Knuckles slumped to the floor beneath his feet…the only section untouched be the cleansing flame. Miles caught him, supported him.

“Guess you really weren’t up to an outburst like that…” He smiled at the echidna.

Knuckles managed to nod. “Too much…too soon…”

“Let’s get you home.” Miles said as he helped his friend back to his feet. “I know a couple of ladies who are just dying to see you…”

~~~~~

Julie-Su was in perfect ‘annoyed mother mode’. She was yelling at her daughter…barely stopping to draw breath…not giving the girl the chance to get a word in…

Not that she wasn’t trying.

“I can’t believe you went off like that!”

“But…” Lara-Su was cut off by her mother’s raving…

“When Miles and I realised where you’d gone…do you have any idea how dangerous that place is?”

“If I could just…” She knew her mother was just worried about her…

“Did you even think about how it would make me feel?”

“If you’d just let me…” But she wished she give her the chance to explain…

“That bastard already took your father from me…”

She stopped her ranting so suddenly Lara-Su was shocked. “Mum?”

Julie-Su stood silently, eyes wide, hand over her heart, breath catching in her throat. Lara-Su smiled. She knew what had caused this reaction. She leaned forward and whispered in her mother’s ear.

“You were right…”

“Holy spit!” Lien-Da was flabbergasted.

Julie-Su couldn’t move. She knew what it was she was feeling…she just found it hard to believe. It was like she’d lapsed into some kind of catatonic state…until she heard his voice…

“Kalina?”

She turned slowly to face him. He was a total mess. Unruly hair framed his pale, drawn face. A scraggly beard all but obscured the white mark of his station. His spines were tangled about his legs and body. He held his hands awkwardly due to his ridiculously long fingernails. He couldn’t stand properly due to the equally hideous claws on his toes.

But he was still the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen…

She held out one hand in front of her as she stepped towards him, the other covering her mouth. She blinked back tears as she touched his face. He closed his eyes, revealing in her gentle touch. She reached out the other hand to completely clasp his face…as if one hand wasn’t enough to convince her of the reality of him. He reached out his own hands, tentatively, completely aware of the claws, and the damage they could do, cupping her face as well.

Lara-Su was unable to take her eyes off them, even though she felt she should…it seemed such a private moment. She wasn’t sure if they were unaware of what was going on around them or if they simply didn’t care. She had heard stories about their love…so strong that it had defied death itself… and as she saw the way they looked so deeply into each other’s eyes…saying so much without saying anything at all…she finally believed it.

Her aunt…her mother’s friends…even her grandmother…had tried to convince her mother to move on, that he wouldn’t want her to be alone…but she had flatly refused. She had been adamant that he was alive. She had held on to that hope when she had nothing else to hold on to…and now her faith had been rewarded. Lara-Su could see now why she’d refused so vehemently to listen to them.

How could she possibly find anything to replace this?

Julie-Su’s face seemed to crumble, she couldn’t hold off any longer. As her tears flowed, unrestrained, she threw her arms around him, burrowing into his chest. Through her sobs she managed to utter a single word.

“Home…”

Knuckles’ eyes darted about as the air around them sparkled with a thousand tiny stars.

Miles glanced at the equally confused Sonic as the pair of echidnas disappeared from sight. “Personal teleporter…” he explained.

“They really are intense, aren’t they?” Lara-Su said softly.

Lien-Da sighed, knowingly. “Kiddo…you have no idea…”

~~~~~

Knuckles looked about, a little surprised to find himself suddenly transported to the home they’d shared since her twenty-first birthday. He was aware of his fifteen-year time lapse, he was aware of everything, but it was just as he remembered it.

He looked down at Julie-Su as she wrapped her arms even more tightly about him, burrowing in under his chin as she always did. She rubbed her cheek against his chest, murmuring softly. She ran her hands up his back, feeling the spines shift slightly beneath her fingers.

Julie-Su pulled away when she noticed that he wasn’t reciprocating her touch. She could feel his arms against her sides, but he seemed reluctant to lay his hands on her.

“Why won’t you hold me?” She asked, a little fearfully.

“Well…”

“If you think I haven’t been faithful to you…”

“I never doubted that for a second.” He said quickly. “It’s just that…” He held up a hand, brandishing the extremely lethal looking claws on his fingers.

Julie-Su almost laughed. “They are kind of hideous, aren’t they?”

Knuckles nodded his agreement. “I think I better tend to a little personal grooming before things…get out of hand.”

She smiled at him as she tugged slightly on his scraggy beard. “And this has got to go.”

He arched a brow. “Not too keen on the rugged look, huh?”

“It makes you look like your father.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

She chuckled as she carefully laced her fingers through his and led him towards the bathroom.

~~~~~

Lara-Su was sitting quietly on the railing of her aunt’s balcony, swinging her legs out over the dizzying drop to the street far below, gazing out at the lights of Echidnaopolis. The city sure was beautiful at night…almost like a fairyland…

Lien-Da sighed as she watched her. She didn’t fear the child’s falling…she had, after all, inherited the Guardian ability to glide…but she didn’t like the girl’s quietness.

She’d been that way ever since they’d arrived, refusing any sort of comfort…food…drink…television… She just sat out in the breeze. Deep in thought. All her life she’d wanted to know her father beyond the stories she’d been told. To suddenly be faced with the reality of her dearest held wish had been quite reeling. She must have so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to ask. But her mother had whisked him away almost immediately.

Lara-Su must have felt like she’d been abandoned.

Lien-Da smiled ruefully to herself. She could well imagine just why her half-sister had done so. The bond between the two was almost legendary and no one would deny the pair some time alone after being separated for so long. But she couldn’t tell Lara-Su what her parents were most likely up to.

The young Guardian didn’t turn as Lien-Da slid open the glass door and joined her on the balcony.

“How you doing, kiddo?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” Lara-Su said softly. “Guess I’m spending the night here, huh?”

“Yeah…” Lien-Da began. “You saw the state he was in…your Mum’s gonna be half the night just cleaning him up. And then she’s gonna have to bring him up-to-date with what’s been happening since…”

Lara-Su threw her a rather sardonic look. “Oh, puh-lease!” She said as she rolled her eyes. “Everybody’s always told me how desperately in love those two are. They haven’t seen each other for fifteen years…” She smirked knowingly. “We BOTH know what they’re up to.”

Lien-Da was a little taken aback by her young niece’s comment. She chuckled softly to herself. The girl never did mince words. It was something she’d inherited from both her parents.

“It’s cool.” Lara-Su beamed. “I always wanted a little brother or sister.”

~~~~~

Knuckles sighed as he inhaled the sweet smelling vapour that rose from the slightly scented bathwater. The gentle fragrance had all but eliminated the chemical smell from his fur.

He smiled and opened his eyes as Julie-Su ran a finger along his freshly shaved chin.

“Much better…” She purred as she rubbed her nose lightly against his. She’d already taken care of the hideously long claws, and he was beginning to look like his old self. But there were still a few things to take care of. She turned slightly to reach for a pair of scissors that sat on the sink behind her. “Now let’s see what we can do about that hair…” Before she could pick them up however, a pair of strong arms curled about her waist.

“KNUCKLES!” She shrieked as he pulled her into the tub with him. Water, displaced by the sudden increase of weight, sloshed all over the floor. The pair glanced over the side of the tub at the large pool that had formed on the bathroom tiles.

Julie-Su arched a brow as she looked back at Knuckles. “You’re going to clean that up, wise guy.”

Knuckles studied the massive puddle for a moment. He removed one hand from her back. Holding his palm outstretched towards the floor he produced a highly controlled spout of flame, which quickly evaporated the offending water.

“Show off.” Julie-Su whispered as he returned his rather amorous attention to her.