How about the moment Sonic realizes he needs help with Zip orrrr his arrival on Angel Island? I’ve wondered if Sonic found Knuckles or if Knuckles found him first
There's thunder. And lightning. And lots and lots of rain.
Knuckles has a poncho with a hood to keep the worst off him, but he's still pretty soaked and he's only been five minutes out in this storm. There's another, dry poncho (or drier) in his pocket, but he's not permitting himself to wear that one.
After all, he wouldn't be out in this storm at all if the Master Emerald hadn't given him a feeling. There's something out in the woods of his island that needs his help. Maybe a flicky caught in a trap, or a chao separated from its friends; whatever it is, Knuckles just wants to make sure it's safely returned to its devices.
He doesn't see the hole until his foot is already lodged in it, sending him careening into a straight, 45 degree faceplant. He pulls his face from the mud with a spit and a growl of annoyance. What dumb animal made a burrow in the middle of a footpath?!
Turning around and rubbing his eyes, he squints into the darkness of the hole. It's surprisingly shallow— only a few feet deep. It's doing a terrible job keeping the rain off... of...
Knuckles's annoyance vanishes in an instant. ...Sonic.
Curled up in the hole, Knuckles's best friend is covered in mud and grass clippings. His ears are tilted back, and his eyes are dark with what is unmistakably sheer exhaustion. When Knuckles approaches the burrow, he winces. Knuckles has never in his life seen Sonic wince.
"Sonic? Is that... you?" Knuckles is so jarred by his sudden appearance— it's been five months!!— that he can't be sure he isn't dreaming.
Sonic's holding something. He turns to keep it hidden as he peeks his head out of the burrow. There are a lot of things that twist his face— guilt, awkwardness, sheepishness, relief.
"Hey." Sonic says, lamely.
Hey. For all the world as though they're passing each other on the street. Hey.
"'Hey'? That's—" Now Knuckles's anger is back, full force. "That's all you have to say?! 'Hey'?!" Knuckles abandons his earlier hesitation and clenches a fist in Sonic's face. "Five months, Sonic!! Where the hell have you been?! Don't you know we've all been worried sick about—?!"
A high pitched whine stops Knuckles cold, but the pathetic cry didn't come from Sonic. Sonic just looks slightly anxious, turning back to look into his burrow again.
"What was that?" Knuckles murmurs, dropping his voice. "Is there someone else in there?"
Sonic is whispering something, gently. There's another noise— some kind of complaint. Is that a... chao?
"Sonic, I can help." Knuckles implores him. "That burrow isn't good enough shelter. Let me take you back to the shrine. We can talk there."
Sonic looks back out at him, meets Knuckles's eyes. He's hesitating. Knuckles really doesn't like his hesitation.
Carefully, slowly, Knuckles reaches into his poncho pocket. He pulls out the dry poncho, rolled up tight. Wordlessly, he holds it out to Sonic.
After a few seconds, Sonic finally turns to face Knuckles fully. Nestled in the crook of his arm is... a tiny, tiny, tiny little hoglet. The size of an apple. Blue as the sky.
Knuckles knows immediately. But he doesn't ask questions. A flash of lightning splits the sky, thunder roaring, and Sonic flinches hard enough to make the den crumble several inches more— dumping dirt over his head and exposing him and the hoglet to more rain. Knuckles reaches into the burrow, places a hand on Sonic's shoulder.
"I've got you." Knuckles promises, quietly. "Let's get you both warm and dry."
The story is a swap AU with many twists and changes from both the original Frontiers game and the New Horizons DLC.
It follows Sonic's, Amy's and Tails' journey through the Starfall islands. But as a cybernetic portal opens and splits the three apart, it's up to Tails to change their fate. Through many paths and wreckages, he builds machines out of Eggman parts and ancient artefacts to face against the Titans, uncover new mysteries to the ancient civilisation and even take the spot of the hero he always dreamed to be.
Will he prevail the challenges and hurdles that he comes across on his journey? See it for yourself!
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VOICE ACTORS:
EGGMAN: Elijah Sanchez VA (@Mr_Marvelous2)
SAGE: LanaRoseVA (@LanaRoseVA)
KNUCKLES: Shaze64 (@Shaze64)
AMY: Caroline orejuela (@carolineorjells)
SONIC: (no longer associated)
TAILS: Mae (@MaeB_VA)
3D ANIMATION SCENE:
LIXES - @LixesPrototype
Please go and support all of them who lend me their hand with this! They deserve all the recognition!
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CREDITS:
♪ Original Song by AURORA - My Sails are Set (Netflix - One Piece)
♪ Credit music by AURORA - Blood in the Wine (Lyric Video)
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DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FOOTAGE OR THE VOICES FOR FAULTY ACTIONS!
The doppelgänger is a corrupt cybernetic puppet, controlled and utilised against Tails by THE END. It's a personification of Tails' inferiority complex and struggles. An omnipresent obstacle that’s soul purpose is to impede Tails.
It's sinister, malicious and purely for the profit of its shareholder.
Fun fact: Tails doesnt know the exact name of the cyber copy. He only refers to it as “copy of me” or “my copy”, due to its look-a-like impression of him.
fan art of cyber clone tails from @thetailsguy’s tails frontiers au! i adore this au so so much, nic’s work is so cool please go check them out if you haven’t already!
Anions held static in a digital firewall, now the locks are free and the puppet completed its task and served its intended purpose. Tails such as everything else, is succumbing to its erasure, the corruption and the destruction is inevitable.
Cyber Prison is a digital place that was specifically designed by the Ancients to keep THE END imprisoned for its crimes.
