Chapter Text
"You called us?" Vector asked as the door was opened for him and his group.
"Yes, thank you." Amy said as she opened the door for him. "Espio's with you, right?"
"I am." The chameleon walked in behind Vector. "What do you ne-"
"I'm here too!" Charmy cut off Espio, making Amy chuckle and wave in response.
"What do you need?"
"Yeah, we're even better than when you saw us last time." Vector said proudly. "Fix your papers, see if anyone's cheating on you. Wh-"
Vector was about to continue until he heard someone else in the house cough and yell, "What?!"
"Sonic's not cheating on me." Amy clarified, stretching one of her arms as if to summon something.
"Hang on, I-I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying whatever you need, we can help. So what do you need?" Vector explained, trying not to panic and yell.
"Yeah, no offense to you or Charmy, but I just wanted Espio for this." Amy said, loosening her arm. Neither of the two took offense to what she said as she motioned them towards the living room, where Sonic, Tails & Knuckles were sitting. Knuckles was on a chair, while Sonic and Tails were both leaning on a sofa.
"Is this about what happened with Space Colony ARK?" Sonic and Tails cringed upon hearing the station's name. They were still reeling from their last adventure. As the Chaotix took a better look at the two, Tails looked drained, and Sonic more so. They were both leaned over on Amy's sofa, seemingly struggling to stay seated. They heard about the events, and saw the station very nearly collide with their world. One didn't have to be a body language expert to know that they were involved in stopping that collision, and were mentally and physically taxed for their efforts.
"Um, what is it you need?" Vector asked, still not getting an answer. "Rehab? Chiropractor?"
"No, don't worry about that. Knuckles can help us with that." Sonic clarified tiredly.
"Knuckles?" It wasn't until he said his name that he took a look at the Echidna, only to see him worse off than the others. "Yeah, right. Sure, he can fix you." Vector meant to say that sarcastically, but he came off more distressed. "Look at him, he can't… he…"
Vector tried to continue, but as he kept looking, he found so much that was off from the Knuckles he last saw. His hands and arms were at his legs and kept close to himself, making him look smaller than they know he is. The echidna's fur was darker than he remembered. Scars around his torso and sides that were only seen by the observant, now better contrast his darker fur. He leaned into the chair, similarly to how Sonic and Tails were leaning on Amy's sofa. Espio walked to the chair he was sitting in and noticed that every so often, his body and breath would tremble, though neither happened at the same time.
"Is he sleeping?" Espio asked, noticing his closed eyes.
"Yeah, but he'll wake up soon." Amy clarified, further concerning the chameleon. "I called you about him."
"Amy, I'm not sure I can help with his condition. You should probably help him back to his island."
"We can't do that. Didn't you see what GUN did?" Amy asked, raising her concerns with everyone.
"Yeah, I saw that on the news." Vector answered as he started to seethe. "They occupied Angel Island while it's still not in the air."
Espio was taken aback by this new information, but all he could do was look at Knuckles. Even Charmy's mood fell as he wasn't sure what to do, but when he sat on his lap, the echidna started to stir.
"We need to know what happened to him, but we still can't fully understand him." Amy told Espio.
"So you need me to get him to talk, and then I can relay his story to you?"
"Can you?" Amy asks pleadingly.
"I can do that." Espio's answer was met with sighs of approval. "Though, we may both need water before we get started."
"Okay!" Amy said, leaving to the kitchen, eager to finally hear his side. Sonic and Tails also sat up and gave Vector room to sit alongside them on the sofa.
As Charmy got off Knuckles and took to the three on the sofa, Espio stood by the echidna as he woke back up. Knuckles yawned and stretched his arms after waking, his closed eyes keeping him from noticing everyone's surprise seeing his sharp teeth.
He opened his eyes and faced the chameleon, showing clear amethyst eyes that along with his curious expression, greatly contrasted his beat up appearance. As they spoke, Vector and Charmy felt better seeing that despite how he looked, he wasn't nearly as broken down as they thought.
No one else in the living room understood the echidna's native tongue aside from Tails, but he only had the roughest grasp. Though, even if they were as knowledgeable as Espio, they spoke quietly enough that they couldn't hear them anyway. Not that they needed to, as Knuckles nodded to them when they finished. They were both ready to tell his side.
"Told you he's fine." Sonic snarked to Vector.
"No, you said he can help you." Vector snarked back. Despite Knuckles and Espio finishing their talk, they both kept their voices low.
"He can do that too."
"Well he should help himself first."
"Why are we whispering?" Asked Amy, making Vector jolt his head the other way to see her. She returned from the kitchen with two glasses of water.
"We wer-"
"I heard what you both said from the kitchen." She chuckled, cutting off the crocodile. "Espio, are you sure you're fine standing?" She asks him while handing him and Knuckles their glasses.
"Thank you, Amy." He says as they both take the glasses from her. "Don't worry, I'm fine here. Your rug is quite nice." He finishes while seating himself on it.
Everyone was ready to say something, but were taken by how Knuckles was holding his glass. He had one hand holding the side, but his other hand was holding the bottom of the glass as he drank. Espio in comparison was drinking his water with only one hand holding the side of his glass.
No one commented on it, but they all understood that Knuckles was completely unfamiliar with the urban world. That something as simple for them as drinking water from a glass wasn't so for him. Sonic, Tails and Amy were particularly interested in how the echidna was treating his glass with what seemed like fearful restraint compared to what they usually do.
Though the room saw his unfamiliarity with their world as endearing, some of them felt their hearts sinking at the thought of him now having to face urban threats that would certainly see him as an easy target.
They waited until the two both finished their drinks before they started talking. "Maybe Knuckles and Espio should take the sofa if they're gonna tell us what happened." Tails was the first to speak, and the two agreed with his recommendation.
As they both got up, the Chaotix' already lightened mood lightened more as they saw Knuckles get up without any difficulty at all, even if he only walked to the sofa directly next to him. Vector got up from his seat with Charmy in tow, only to be interrupted by Amy.
"You sure you wanna get up?"
"Better me than these two in their state." Vector snarked, continuing before either of them could respond. "Besides, if Espio likes your rug." He doesn't finish that thought as he lies on the rug, sighing in content.
Now it was Vector's turn to weird out the room. He sighs again as he feels the rug on his belly, his arms splayed to either side instead of kept close to his head. Despite his belly being on the rug, his head was up, and despite him being on the floor, he could see everyone else just fine.
"Yeah, your rug is great Amy." He says approvingly.
"Keep your arms close to you Vector. You don't want me to trip on them." Amy tells the crocodile, matching the snark he spoke with since he got here. The crocodile took note immediately and brought his arms closer to his body while still laying on the rug as he did. The pink hedgehog smirked at the sight of him correcting his placement, it was a good distraction from her realization that crocodiles are also weird.
Amy took to the chair next to him and observed her living room.
While Sonic and Tails never left their place in the sofa, they scooched over to Sonic's corner to get a better sight of Knuckles and Espio, who took up the middle and other corner of the sofa. Vector is laid out on her rug like the crocodile he is, and Charmy is sitting on his back.
"Does that not hurt?" Amy asked Vector concerningly?
"What? Charmy on my back?" Vector asked, confused by her question. She nodded, prompting him to answer. "Only if I stay like this for six hours. He's too light to be an issue."
"It's true." Charmy added on. "I was once sleeping on his back for six hours and he woke up sore."
"I told you I wa-"
"Guys. Guys." Sonic cuts them off. "We kinda need Knuckles to start talking about what happened to him." He was met with nods from everyone as they all looked to the echidna and chameleon on the other side of the sofa.
"Actually." Amy chimed in, much to Sonic's impatience. "Espio, can you move to the center of the sofa? We do need to hear you for this." She asked as she saw that while Espio was still in sight, he was farthest from everyone in the room.
While it wasn't one of Espio's greatest fears, it dawned on him that having to translate Knuckles' story to everyone would, in a way, make him the center of attention. Ever since he joined the Chaotix, he felt far more productive since he seldom ever had to deal with the pressures such a spotlight would force on him. It wasn't a fear he spoke of, but Vector proved observant enough that he was certain the crocodile knew. He hesitated upon Amy's request, but he would switch places with Knuckles.
After a moment of silence, which was surprising considering the company. Espio sighed as all eyes were focused on him & Knuckles. He looked to the echidna and he nodded to him, indicating he was ready.
The rest of the room - save for Vector - fixed their posture as they were finally getting what they came here for.