The land was silent. Only a few people remained in 
Knothole. The once gleaming and fluid lake was dry and 
muddy. The green field was brown and dirty. Two lumps, the 
remains of Tails X and Knuckles, laid in the middle of the field, 
covered with dead weeds and grass. It began to thunder, 
and soon afterwards rain began to fall. Suddenly, lightning 
struck one of the lumps. A strong wind blew, causing the 
weeds and dead grass on the lump the blow away. Lying 
there, in the hole, was Knuckles. His eyes showed the same 
expression as when he died, fear and terror mixed to create a 
look that even an ant on the ground could not bear. People 
say that lightning can not strike the same place twice, but on 
this night it did. Lightning struck Knuckles, causing him to jump. 
His eyes opened, and he looked around startled.
	"Wh-What is going on? Sonic? Binx?"
	He sat in his man made grave looking around. Tails X's 
grave stood out now, now that Knuckles was back.

Knuckles the Echidna I: Regaining Strengths

	"Where am I? Where is everyone? I have to get back to 
the cabin!" Knuckles said, getting up. He spindashed towards 
the cabins, and knocked on the door.
	"Binx? Sonic? Tails? Open up the door!"
	No one answered. 
	"Where are they? Still fighting Sonic X?"
	As he said that, a beautiful woman answered the door.
	"Can I help you?"
	Knuckles was puzzled. "Um...who are you? Where is 
Sonic?"
	"I am Destiny, and these are my friends Dolcia, Rocky, 
Nikki, Pierre, and Miles Prowler. Do you know Sonic?"
	"What do you mean? I am the leader of the Freedom 
Fighters!"
	"Freedom Fighters? Who are they?"
	"Huh? Where have you been?!"
	"Come in, maybe we can help you find who ever you 
are looking for."
	Knuckles walked in and took a seat.
	"So, you wish to know where your friends are?" Nikki said, 
holding her crystal ball. 
	Knuckles looked at her. He thought she was crazy.
	"Where are they?"
	Everyone looked away except for Destiny.
	"You didn't hear about the bomb, 10 years ago?"
	"Why do I care about the past?"
	"You may after you hear this story," Pierre said.
	"Well, Sonic and Binx were to be married until Sonic X 
came back."
	"Hold on, Destiny. I thought you guys had no idea who I 
was talking about!"
	"We can't just let anyone who claims they are a 
Freedom Fighter into our home. Anyway, Sonic X killed your 
friends except for a couple. Sally managed to call the police 
and Sonic X was arrested only to escape from prison not even 
24 hours later. After the ceremony, Binx was stabbed by Sonic 
X who sat in the last row of the church. Binx screamed for 
everyone to leave and moments later the church blew up."
	"How do you know?"
	"There are two reasons. One, she was my sister. I was 
only 13 at the time."
	"Destiny...the name was mentioned a few times..."
	"And now, me and my friends are the Future Freedom 
Fighters group."
	Knuckles went pale, and fainted.

	When he woke up, a couple hours later, Destiny was by 
his side.
	"Destiny, I, I was dead for 10 years?"
	"Yes, but something must have woken you up. You are 
now 26 years old."
	"And you are 23?"
	"Yes."
	Knuckles looked into her eyes. 
	"I see where Binx gets her great looks."
	She blushed. "Well...."
	"Would you want to sit by the lake with me?"
	"Lake?"
	"Yes, the lake."
	"Knuckles, the lake dried up. Everything is dry. Knothole 
is not what it used to be."
	"What happened while I was dead?"
	"Peace has been restored to Knothole."
	Knuckles began to cry. "That was what Sonic's mission 
was."
	"We could visit the graves of your friends."
	"Now?"
	"Why not? Oh, they never found Rotor's body."
	"Did the police look in the cave?"
	"Cave? The cave is cemented up."
	"Oh."
	"I'm sorry Knuckles. If I could change the past I would."
	Knuckles stood up and gave Destiny a hug.
	"Just as long as I have you I'm happy."

	"Wow, you could go mud fishing in this lake," Knuckles 
pointed out, sitting on a rock with Destiny.
	"You wouldn't find many fish. Everything's gone."
	"Why are you guys the Freedom Fighters?"
	"We're just here to make sure peace is kept, which it has 
been."
	"Can we walk to the church?"
	"Yes, it is only a pile of dirt now."
	As they walked, Knuckles observed the changes. The 
trees were lifeless. He looked at Destiny and smiled. `Am I a 
lucky guy or what?' he thought. They reached the church 
within 5 minutes. 
	"Here we are, Knuckles. You can look around, nothing 
will hurt you."
	Knuckles walked towards the pile. There was something 
white sticking out of the ground.
	"Destiny, are you sure that they got everyone out?"
	"Yes, except Sonic X."
	Knuckles picked up the object. It was a skull, a 
hedgehog's skull. 
	"Destiny, I found something."
	She walked over and gasped. 
	"They already found Sonic, Knuckles."
	"What if-"
	"What, Knuckles?"
	"What if this is Sonic X?"
	"It can't be! He was a robot!"
	"Or so we thought..."
	"Do you think-"
	"Sonic X was human."

					Chapter 2

	Knuckles and Destiny returned home with the skull. 
	"Ew, get that out of the house!" Dolcia yelled.
	"Is it Sonic X's skull?" Nikki asked.
	Knuckles looked at Destiny.
	"Knuckles, she's physic. See her crystal ball?"
	He understood what she was talking about.
	"Why do you want his skull?" Nikki questioned.
	"It will show that Sonic X was a human being, not a 
robot," Knuckles told her.
	"My brother was killed by Sonic X," Miles said.
	"Oh really? What was his name?"
	"Tails."
	Knuckles was surprised. "Tails never mentioned he had a 
brother."
	"Step brother, really."
	"Oh, well nice to meet you."
	Knuckles looked at Dolcia.
	"Hello Dolcia."
	She blushed. "Hi."
	"Well, we better go analyze this skull, Destiny," Rocky 
said.
	"We're going to go to the field and catch some rays," 
Nikki and Pierre said.
	"I need a shower!" Miles exclaimed.
	Knuckles and Dolcia sat on the bed.
	"So, how old are you?"
	"24, my brother, sister, and mother were killed by Sonic 
X."
	"You're Sally and Antoine's sister?"
	"Yes, basically everyone of us is related in one way or 
another to a Freedom Fighter."
	"Rocky was Sonic's brother?"
	"How did you guess?"
	"The ego."
	"Oh. Nikki is related to Bunny."
	"Wow!"
	"Pierre is my brother."
	"I figured that out."
	"No one is related to you."
	"I was abandoned at birth."
	"Oh, sorry."
	"That's all right."
	Knuckles laid on the bed. "Where am I going to sleep?"
	"In my room. There are two twin beds."
	"Great."
	Knuckles was about to say something when Pierre ran in.
	"KNUCKLES! COME QUICK!" he screamed.
	"What is it, Pierre?" Knuckles asked, following him.
	"Look!" He pointed to the field.
	Dolcia gasped. Knuckles was horrified. Nikki was praying, 
praying that what they saw was not true.
	There were no lumps in the field. The two graves which 
once laid there were both gone. 
	Knuckles wasn't the only one `back'. 
	Tails X was alive.
	Knuckles ran over and clawed into the open grave of 
Tails X.
	"NO! NO! NO!"
	He didn't stop. He didn't hear Dolcia telling him to stop. 
The anger boiled up inside of him.
	"HOW? HOW? WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE? ROBOTNIK? 
ROBOTNIK? HUH? WHAT DO YOU WANT? OH, I SEE. WELL, I'M 
NOT GOING TO BE YOUR BODYGUARD! YOU MIGHT AS WELL 
GIVE UP! SONIC WILL BE ON THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FOREVER! 
HEAR THAT? FOREVER!"
	Pierre leaned over Dolcia. "He's going crazy. The past is 
killing him."
	Dolcia started to cry. She started to look around, making 
sure that Tails X wasn't around. Knuckles was standing up, 
laughing hysterically.
	"HA HA HA HA HA! ROBOTNIK, LOOK AT ME NOW! LOOK 
AT ME! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'M DEAD! BACK FROM THE 
DEAD! WHERE ARE YOU, ROBOTNIK? ARE YOU DEAD? HUH? 
WELL, THE EVIL ISN'T! OH NO! YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU CAN'T 
DEFEAT EVIL! GUESS WHAT? I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! I 
CANNOT DEFEAT YOU!"
	Thunder crackled. The lightning crashed. Knuckles 
laughed and laughed. 
	"KNUCKLES, IT IS TOO DANGEROUS OUT HERE! COME 
INSIDE!" Pierre yelled.
	"INSIDE? INSIDE YOU SAY? WHY? IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!"
	Pierre ran to Knuckles and grabbed him. Knuckles turned 
around and punched him in the face.
	"LEAVE! LEAVE NOW!"
	"Knuckles, please!"
	"I GIVE UP! TAKE ME, ROBOTNIK!" Knuckles ran onto a 
cliff. He stared at rebuilt castle.
	"HE'S THERE...HE IS STILL THERE..."
	"Knuckles, think about us! Think about the New Freedom 
Fighters!  DON'T DWELL ON THE PAST!! IT'S OVER!" Dolcia 
yelled.
	Knuckles fell to his knees. "The evil has made me nuts. 
Dolcia, Pierre, forgive me. But," he said, looking up at the 
rubble, "Robotnik is alive."
	"Knuckles, didn't he die in the explosion?" Pierre asked, 
walking over to him.
	"Yes. But, something is wrong. ROBOTNIK IS NOT DEAD!"
	"Knuckles?" Dolcia whispered.
	"WE WILL KILL HIM ONCE AND FOR ALL, USING WHAT 
POWER I HAVE LEFT! MY FORMER COLLEAGUE WILL DIE."

					Chapter 3
	
	They returned home, telling the rest of the Freedom 
Fighters the story. Miles tried not the think about it. Nikki told 
Knuckles that indeed some evil was alive. Destiny was 
determined to find Tails X and Robotnik. If they were alive.
	"Maybe I should visit the Freedom Fighter's graves now, 
tell them what happened," Knuckles told Destiny.
	"I will go too," she said.
	"No, I will go alone. I need some time to myself."
	"Be careful out there," she said, giving him a hug. She 
handed him Sonic X's skull.
	
	Knuckles walked along until he came to the shallow 
graves of his friends. Sonic's grave was brown and the 
tombstone read:

THE GRAVE OF ONE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
REASON OF DEATH: ACCIDENTAL
"YOUR WISH IS GRANTED, THE EVIL IS DEAD."

	Death-Accidental.
	It was not accidental, Sonic X had deliberately blown up 
the church, Knuckles said to himself.
	"YOU KILLED MY FRIEND, SONIC X!  WHY? WHY?!"
	Knuckles began to cry again.
	"I am never going to get over this. Not until the evil is 
gone. NOT UNTIL THE EVIL IS GONE FOREVER!"
	He took the skull out of his pocket. 
	"Sonic, this is Sonic X's skull. He was human, not a robot."
	Knuckles placed the skull onto Sonic's grave. Then he 
knelt on Tail's.
	"Tails, the evil isn't dead. Tails X is alive. And I'm going to 
kill him for you."
	"Binx, my love, why did you send everyone out of the 
church? Did you know about the bomb? I wish I could talk to 
you once more. Just to clear up the mystery."
	He noticed that someone else had placed flowers on 
Binx's grave. Knowing that it was probably Destiny, he ignored 
the fact.
	"I wish I could have helped you better, instead of losing 
my cool. Now look, you're all dead. Dead because of me. I 
will not return until Tails X is dead, whenever that may be."
	It began to drizzle as Knuckles slid on his coat. He looked 
down at Sonic's grave and tried to hold back to tears. 
	"All I've doing is crying. Crying and Wondering."
	He pulled himself away as the rain came down harder. 

	"You put the skull on his grave?" Destiny asked, hearing 
what had happened at the graves.
	"Yes," Knuckles told her looking at the ground.
	"Sonic knows he is dead now. Thanks to you."
	"It was nice of you to put flowers on Binx's grave."
	"What?"
	"I saw the flowers."
	"Knuckles, I haven't put flowers on Binx's grave since 
Christmas."
	"Well there were a dozen fresh roses on...oh no."
	"What is it?"
	"Fresh...no. Please no!"
	"Huh? Knuckles?"
	"TAILS X PUT THOSE FLOWERS ON!"
	"Why would he care about my sister?"
	"I don't know but you could be in danger."
	"Do you really think so?"
	"Yes. Stay in the cabin until...until..."
	"Don't worry about anything."
	Destiny leaned over and kissed Knuckles on the 
forehead.
	He looked into her eyes. His eyes, so hurting, so 
confused, seem to glisten like the sun. He managed to smile 
at her, the first time she had seen him smile in while. 
	"Knuckles, I would check the abandoned castle first, just 
to make sure."
	"He could be there."
	"I know. And if he is, shoot the flare. We'll see it."
	Knuckles took the flare gun and headed towards the 
door.
	"Oh and Knuckles, there's only one flare, so use it 
carefully."
	
	Knuckles walked towards the castle looking in the 
direction of the graves. 
	"Was Tails X in love with Binx?" he asked himself.
	Something interrupted him-a loud blast coming from the 
castle. It burst into flames, just as it had done before. 
Someone screamed. Knuckles figured it was Tails X. But then 
he heard another scream. A different voice. Knuckles should 
have been happy, but he wasn't. 
	"He's done this before, he's not dead."
	As he stared at the castle, someone ran though a wall of 
fire and onto the ground. It quickly got up and ran onto the 
path, in the direction of Knuckles, covered with flames. 
Knuckles jumped out of the way as the thing ran towards the 
graves. Knuckles watched it stop, drop and roll on the 
ground. 
	"Tails X!" he whispered. 
	Tails X took the roses off of Binx grave and planted them 
in front of the grave. He was charred, covered with soot. 
Knuckles had to tell someone, so he ran home.

	Nikki and the others gasped as they heard the story.
	"You should go and check the castle, see who that 
other thing was that screamed," Pierre said.
	"I will now. This is too much for me. Here, I don't need 
the flare gun."
	"Are you sure?" Destiny asked.
	"Postive. I'll be fine."
	
	Knuckles continued on his journey, and stopped at the 
cemetery.  
	He saw the tombstones in the distance. The flowers were 
still there. Everything was just how he had seen it before.
	Knuckles started to walk again when something struck 
his mind. The skull, he didn't see the skull. He started to jog 
back and looked. The skull was gone. Tails X must have taken 
the skull, he wondered.
	"What would he want with it?" he said, a little loud.
	Knuckles thought about it as he walked to the castle. 
Was Tails X smart enough to recreate Sonic X? 
	"No way," he concluded.
	The castle came into view. Smoke rose up from it, 
someone had put the fire out. It hardly was damaged. 
Knuckles stood on a nearby cliff, the same cliff that he and his 
friends had watch the castle burn the first time. 
	"Well, if I am going to look I might as well start now."
	He ran towards the castle and stopped. He started to 
look through the rubble.
	
	"I wonder if Knuckles found anything, or anyone," Rocky 
said, looking at Knuckles empty bed.
	"I hope he did. Why would the castle just, blow up?" 
Dolcia asked.
	"I feel as though it was not done on purpose. But of 
course, most of the time I am wrong," Nikki told them, looking 
into her crystal ball, "I feel as though I have been working too 
hard. I will go now and take a nap. Clear my thoughts."
	"See ya Nikki. Rocky, I haven't seen you all day. Where 
have you been?"
	"At the graves."
	"Whoa!"
	"What?"
	"Did you put flowers on Binx's grave?"
	"No. I didn't see the skull on there either. When Knuckles 
left, I went there to see my bro."
	"Oh, okay."
	"When is Knuckles coming back?"
	"I don't know. Hopefully soon, I am starting to get 
worried."
	As Dolcia said this, someone knocked once at the door. 
They looked at each other, wondering who it was. Rocky 
walked to the door.
	"Who's there?"
	No one answered. Rocky pulled opened the door. 
Knuckles was laying on the doorstep. Not moving. A note was 
pinned the his back.
	"Knuckles!"
	Rocky tried to pick him up. It was like He was glued on 
the step. Rocky looked at the note. He bent over to pick it up, 
When he noticed a large nail nailed into it.
	"Oh my God...no..."
	The nail was there to keep the note, and Knuckles in 
there place. Knuckles had the nail though his body. Rocky 
turned away and threw up.

					Chapter 4

	Dolcia ran over and managed to get the nail out. 
Knuckles started to move.
	"Guys...help me..."
	Dolcia looked at the note.

To the `New' Freedom Fighters,
	
	This is your chance to meet your new friend. I hope I 
have made my welcome felt, if not, there are many more 
ways I can. Please noticed the length of the nail, that will 
make you feel a little better. Don't try to run, you can't. Don't 
try to hide, you can't. I am in control. And if you send others 
to my castle, I will do much worse than this. Much more 
worse.
						Sincerely,
							Tails (Sonic) X
  
	Dolcia looked at the nail and felt relieved. It was only 
and inch long. 
	"Rocky, He isn't nailed to the ground."
	"I can't get him up."
	"You were afraid to. You didn't try."
	"Yeah."
	Knuckles tried to get up. "Guys, have I got a story to tell 
you."

	Miles took care of Knuckles nail hole as he began the 
story.
	"I must have searched for hours. Then I came across a 
hand buried in the rubble. So I pulled the body out. You'll 
never believe who was staring me right in the face."
	"Who?" Pierre asked.
	"Robotnik."
	They all gasped. 
	"He kept staring, and staring. I felt dizzy. Right before I 
fainted, Robotnik closed his eyes. I woke up on the doorstep."
	"Weird," Destiny said.
	"Well, it's getting late. I'm going to bed," Knuckles told 
them.
	Everyone else agreed, and left the room. Destiny put on 
her coat.
	"Where are you going?"
	"I'll be back Knuckles. I'm going on a walk."
	"Be careful Destiny."
	"I will."
	Destiny walked out the door and headed for the lake. 
She stopped at the field and look a Knuckle's grave.
	"Destiny..."
	Destiny looked around. "Who was that?"
	"What is my destiny?"
	"Who are you?"
	The voice drew closer. "Come to me, Destiny."
	"Who ARE you?"
	Someone stepped into the clearing. "Come here."
	"Step into the moonlight."
	The person obeyed, and it walked into the light.
	"Destiny, come."
	"Tails X!" Destiny looked at him, scared. "I can't see your 
face. Move closer."
	Tails X moved forward, showing his face. Sonic X's skull 
was placed on his face. 
	"Why do you have his skull on your face?"
	"Destiny, My face is too hideous. I do not mean to scare 
you."
	"Why did you that to Knuckles?"
	"The nail? I had to scare you. Make you realize who you 
were dealing with. Now come here."
	Destiny felt comfortable and walked towards him.
	"Destiny, you are brave, courageous. Come and live 
with me."
	Destiny looked into his eyes. He needed to be loved.
	"Together we can stop the evil."
	Destiny looked around. "I will. I will follow you."
	"You will never be disappointed. Now come my dear, 
come the my castle."
	Destiny and Tails X left the clearing, and headed 
towards the castle.

	"Has anyone seen Destiny?" Knuckles asked the group 
the next morning.
	They all answered no. Dolcia had remembered seeing 
her in the clearing.
	"Go check there Knuckles. She was looking at your gave 
when I saw her," Dolcia told him.
	"I will. She probably fell a sleep or something."
	Knuckles walked out the door and looked in the 
direction of the clearing.
	"Please be there," he told himself.
	As he neared the clearing, he suddenly felt unsafe. 
Knuckles assured himself that everything would be okay.
	As he entered the clearing, he saw that Destiny wasn't 
there. But, something was laying on the ground by his grave. 
A rose. A single fresh rose.
	"I have the go check the grave."
	He stood on the cliff and looked down on the cemetery. 
There were only eleven roses on Binx's grave.
	"Tails X. He must have Destiny. The rose is from him." 
	He turned around and noticed the others standing 
there.
	"Let's go guys," he told them.
	"We're with you all the way, Knuckles," Miles said.
	"I'll beat the heavens out of him!" Rocky exclaimed, 
punching the air.
	Knuckles lead the way to the castle.

	"Tails X, the castle is beautiful!" Destiny cried as she 
walked into the control room.
	"Thank you, I do my best to keep it spotless."
	"What part of the castle was damaged?"
	"Little parts. Nothing big."
	Tails X walked Destiny to a red curtain. 
	"What is this for?"
	He pulled away the curtain. Hanging there, chained, 
was Robotnik.
	"Is he...alive?"
	"Well, he was chained to this wall before. One day I 
noticed he was gone. He was heading towards the main 
entrance, so I blew it up. Now he's dead."
	"So that's why the castle was on fire."
	"The bomb back fired. Hitting him and me. My face...it 
was disfigured. I needed something to cover it. Thanks to 
Knuckles, I used Sonic X's mask."
	"Now I understand..."
	They were interrupted by Knuckles and the Freedom 
Fighters bursting into the room.
	"GIVE HER BACK!" Knuckles screamed.
	"She chose to come here," Tails X told him.
	"STOP LYING!" Nikki exclaimed.
	"He is not lying. Guys, we can stop the evil!"
	"DESTINY, HE IS EVIL! HE KILLED MY BROTHER!" Miles said.
	"MAYBE SO BUT SHE ISN'T COMING WITH YOU! I HAVE 
TOO MUCH ON MY HANDS TO HANDLE YOU NOW! DO WHAT 
YOU LIKE HERE, BUT AS FOR ME AND MY LOVELY SIDEKICK, 
WE'RE HISTORY!"	
	"WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Dolcia yelled.
	Tails X and Destiny walked towards the window.
	"WILL BE BACK, AND WHEN WE DO, WILL HAVE A PLAN TO 
DESTROY YOU!"
	"We will be back. Never think you are safe now, even 
your closest friends can be your enemies," Destiny said.
	Knuckles ran towards the window, but it was too late. 
Tails X and Destiny jumped out of the window. 
	"FALCON  X!" Tails X screamed. 
	"WHAT?! HOW?!" Knuckles screamed.
	Tails X turned into a falcon and he and Destiny flew into 
the horizon together.
	"He transformed...somehow..." Knuckles said.
	"Knuckles, don't worry. They'll be back," Pierre told him.
	Dolcia looked at Robotnik. He was burnt very badly and 
was unconscious. She walked over to him.
	"You cause so much pain. Don't you realize that? All you 
can do now is die. No one cares anymore about you. You've 
killed too many. You are responsible for the creation of both 
Sonic X and Tails X. I hope you die a terrible death, just like my 
friends, brother, sister, and mother did. Don't you care?" 
Dolcia whispered.
	She turned away, and didn't see a tear fall down from 
his eye.
	They all looked out the window. 
	"They'll come back soon enough," Knuckles said. "When 
we least expect it."

					The End

A series emerges! 
Stay tuned for Knuckles II: Immortal Lives