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Nothing had really seemed different.
Not that Knuckles could tell, at least. Fairy lights twinkled in the corner of his vision, accompanied by the low drone of his friends talking that came from Amy's living room that everyone had gathered in.
It was rare enough that even a small group managed to get together all at once. Rouge, Shadow and Omega were usually out on missions, pulled away to whatever farflung location elsewhere on the globe and radio silent for weeks courtesy of GUN. The Chaotix were much the same, though dragged away by other escapades that their business and clients had them focusing on. Amy and Tails were active in their own way, maintaining a substantial busyness to their own lives. Adventures, electronics, building things that Knuckles could barely wrap his head around; Amy taking time for herself and her own hobbies and enjoyment, baking and proving probably the softest bread that Knuckles ever had the pleasure of eating.
Sonic himself was the hardest one to track down on the best of days. Sure, he lived with his brother but that didn't mean he stayed in one place for too long. Or at all. Disappearing for weeks at a time and showing back up with another story about saving the world wasn't uncommon.
So all of these groups having the same time during the week to take a break, somehow matching that with the small bit of time that Knuckles could find to take a trip down to the surface upon Amy's own request? Everything had fallen into place in the best of ways.
Even if the night itself was calm, quiet; over uneventful. Just how he liked it. There were board games dotted about and forgotten after they'd been played. Empty mugs that had once contained teas and coffees took up each coaster and every available table. Knuckles would have to go around and pick them up to deposit them into the sink, but for now he was content to just watch as the friends that he had somehow managed to collect were strewn out over beanbags and sofas, making idle chatter with the television on low in the background.
Elsewhere in the room, there was a speaker that Knuckles had yet to locate, one that continued to spew out whatever Mobian pop music happened to be in favour at that time. Hot Honeys? Whoever it was that Shadow and Amy enjoyed.
“Sonic, you can't stack plus-four cards. It's in the rules! You can't make up how to play.” Charmy called out from where he was seated on the floor. The blue blur sat in a circle with Espio and the bee, a hand of colourful uno cards spread carefully before him.
Sonic gave a token grin and raised an eyebrow, “Show me the rules and I'll follow them, it's the same card, I'm going to stack it-”
Espio held out the rulebook simply. Then that conversation fell into humorous silence as Sonic chose a different card to put down.
There was someone, likely Tails but equally could be Rouge, tapping at their phone with an impressive speed with the sound just quiet enough to not be a nuisance.
Everything was great, and Knuckles would treasure it. There wasn't that usual tenseness that came alongside being on the surface due to another Eggman attack. This was all normal time together, something that occurred so rarely, and Knuckles was more than happy to stand and watch over his friends like it was his place to.
The TV in the periphery, music flowing into his mind, lights flickering and glowing with a soft warmth. Even the cup of herbal tea in his hands felt nice, a comfort to his palms and a nice smell that wafted up from the liquid.
Then why did he feel so on edge?
The past few hours had been fine, but only in the last ten minutes had the world seemed to go a bit off kilter.
There wasn't anything wrong with chaos. Knuckles would feel that in a heartbeat; yet it didn't explain the buzzing cloud that was slowly blanketing over his thoughts.
There was literally nothing going on. This was the calmest he'd been in weeks. There were no pressing chores to do back on his home, he was in a lovely place surrounded by people he tolerated. The Master Emerald was safe. He was safe. His friends were safe.
There was no Eggman.
But the overwhelming feeling of wrong didn't want to move away.
It had started with the music grating on his ears. Like someone had messed around with the hidden device and the words slowly melded into a buzz of indecipherable harsh noises that nearly had him gritting his teeth at the sudden change. Was this what Mobians listened to recently?
And the TV mounted on the far wall. The picture over it, whilst quiet enough after the volume had been turned down by a napping Shadow, the people moving across the screen seemed slightly blurred. Flares of small lights and colours leaking off from the image as the movie played on and going amiss by the group who were busy doing their own things.
And the electricity- It bothered Knuckles on occasion but this was… This was painful. The fact that he was sure he could feel the slight powered hum moving from his feet and up through the floorboards. That he could look at the wall to his left and near enough sense the wiring that tangled behind the plaster. The small lamps Amy had turned on stung his eyes, a headache easily spawning as a result.
Knuckles pulled in a careful, yet stuttered deep breath.
There had been times on the surface, where the sheer business of existence and public places grew near overwhelming in comparison to his quiet existence upon Angel Island, though what he was exposed to now was nothing in comparison to Station Square at Christmas. There were no screaming children, no oppressive chime of bells, no music blasted from giant speakers. No crowd of people after people all accidentally bumping into each other as they'd made their ways around the festive markets-
A slight fuzzied numbness started in his left hand, pins and needles stretching down to his palm that the warmth of his tea fell away, the amber colour of the fresh drink rippling carefully on its surface.
“Knux, what're you thinking about, man? I can see the gears ticking over in your brain!” It took just a little more than a second for him to realise that Sonic had been calling over to him. Or even, it took a bit longer to parse out the words as they settled into place.
When had the TV grown so loud that he wasn't able to hear his friends properly?
When… Knuckles squinted just slightly. When had the fairy lights grown haloed and brighter..?
“I… Uh-” the echidna started slowly, the words moving through his mouth like syrup. Though they eventually made their way out as his eyes drifted down to his nearly empty cup. When had he finished his tea? “I'm going to get another drink.” That sounded right. Felt right.
Sonic even seemed to accept that as an answer as Knuckles turned on his heel to face the kitchen.
Until it felt like his legs had locked him in place against the floor.
His heart jolted in his chest, the tea he could taste in his mouth quickly soured on his tongue as his body only seemed to freeze in place. Stutter. Almost rebooted like one of Tails’ machines as he ran tests on something new.
Knuckles blinked, and the song in the background of the room had changed. Half way through a song he vaguely recognised. Words lost on his pained mind. There was a pause as he righted himself, turned around to look back around the room as his mind kicked back into gear as he tried to remember what he'd wanted to do.
He looked down at his hands to the empty cup cradled in them, and the light twitch of his left claws that clinked against the pottery.
Right. He was getting tea. He'd finished it. So that meant going into the kitchen which was now behind him, the charge of electricity and loud buzzing of the fridge and other electricals in the room almost acted like a guide.
But Knuckles didn't turn around. He kept watching what was on the television with passive interest. The plot wasn't going in, yet seldom did it when it was a film Sonic had picked. Or had it been Amy?
Vector?
… Shadow had picked it.
No, wait, he'd picked the first one. This was the second movie, chosen by the thieving bat- “Gem, are you going to just stand there and look pretty, or are you going to join us?” Rouge called out, though her voice, whilst loud, fell on gradually deafening ears. Ringing ears.
Knuckles could feel his chest squeeze and tighten, and he knew that in any other situation, his cheeks would have flushed in reaction despite any and all reluctance to give the bat any satisfaction in her jibes.
Though that didn't happen.
The sound of a mug smashing against the hardwood floor snapped Knuckles back into reality, but only for a moment. Knuckles stared at the floor blankly at the image of broken ceramic and the sight of what little dregs of tea was left now left a small puddle on the floor.
“Woah, well, it was about time that that was going to happen. Honestly, my money was on Shadow and him falling asleep with his coffee still in his hand.” Amy's calm voice came from just beside him as Knuckles felt a light touch graze over his shoulder. “Don't worry about it. There's plenty more cups where that came from, I'll get a brush.”
Knuckles could hear it, along with a careful echo in his mind, though his mouth moved around a silent answer that wasn't coming. He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to apologise, to bend down and pick up the pieces, he wanted to run past Amy to get the brush and pan before she got there. He'd made the mess, he should clear it up.
Knuckles needed to… He needed to bend down and pick up the larger pieces before anyone hurt themselves on them.
He… Needed to move his legs.
Another, much more solid hand rested against his other arm. It should have been grounding, but the sensation faded away with the gradually spreading sensation of static down his arms. Knuckles could see blue in his vision, could see the red of Sonic's shoes beside him.
“Knuckles, are you doing okay?
He should answer. That was what came after a question.
Though Knuckles just watched the tea spread on the floor, and the gradual numbness in his hand leaving it trapped in a clenched fist down by his side, it was almost painful.
Sonic’s face dipped into his field of view, the hedgehog's brow furrowed in concern. “It's just a mug– hey, woah-” the tone change took Knuckles by surprise as a more solid grip settled over his arm and chest. “You should sit down,”
Knuckles felt his legs bending beneath him. But it wasn't something he was doing. It was like his limbs had given up, but the gradual drop to the floor was slowed by the tenseness of his muscles. The way fog blanketed over his mind, how spots danced in his vision only for his last proper image to be a wide eyed Sonic moving to try and catch him from hitting the ground as his vision went to black.
There was the muffled sound of rushed feet and shouting. Knuckles knew that, at least. The feeling of his body against the floor, his joints tense, his vision spotted with blurred images of colour and movement that were snatched away before his brain, misfiring and screaming in his skull, could make out what he was seeing.
There was the drag of wood against wood, the pain of his head against the hardwood flooring, at least until somewhat of a plush barrier was pushed in between it.
The sensation of his axis tilting.
Voices that remained as inaudible drones to his ears.
Then as if a mere second had ticked by, and the drag of a sleepless night released its grip, reality slowly began to settle back into place in gradual, confusing waves.
First, there was the feeling of something soft against his head. A pillow, one of the nicer ones that Amy kept safe in her bedroom when she had a lot of guests over.
Then, there was his blurred line of sight from the floor. The movie on the TV was paused, the image halted on a nighttime scene that thankfully helped with the lense flares of light that still danced over his vision.
And there was his location. In the centre of the living room, laid down on his side against the cool wooden floor. The couches had all been pushed away to the sides of the room in a haphazard manner, and the tables had followed suit. All spread out in a disarrayed pattern that left a wide berth of space around where Knuckles was strewn out.
The headache hit him first with a quiet groan and jelly like limbs lifted to rub slow circles into his temple as the world slowly settled back into a calmer place. The music was off, the air still smelt of his spilt tea, the fairy lights twinkled up ahead as he blinked his eyes slowly.
A hand slowly pulled it's way through his quills in a calming brush, though that only resulted in Knuckles shooting up into a sitting position that he quickly regretted. His brain swam, his eyes fuzzied with grey blobs for a second before hands cradled his cheeks and he came face to face with an extremely worried looking Rouge. Eyes rimmed with the barest hints of red, expression concerned and almost nervous.
Sonic was crouched behind her. Squatted on two feet, hands resting tense against his knees and a few quills dishevelled. Pupils pin pricks, expression sterner than anything Knuckles could actually recall seeing before.
“Tails, how long was it? I'm going to write it down. Does anyone know when it started?” Vector called out over the silence. This somehow managed to get the room to burst back into movement.
“Like, ten minutes ago? When Knuckles started standing there?” Charmy called out, a deep sniffle to his words. The boy made his way over to where Espio stood, settling to the ground just a bit behind the chameleon's legs.
Vector looked at the bee with a soft expression as he claimed a pen off a skewed table and started writing on a scrap piece of paper. “So around nine-thirteen?”
“The seizing lasted for four minutes, zero-five seconds.” Tails provided next, and Knuckles’ attention swivelled to his side where the fox was seated against the floor, his tails curled up almost in a knot behind the kid. Tails’ hands shot out at the sudden movement. “Go slow. There's no rush. Take your time, Knuckles. It's okay.”
“Who had a seizure?” Knuckles questioned as his mind slowly moved through the molasses of that night's events. Everyone seemed fine, at least outwardly. No one seemed ill, everyone seemed in good spirits. “Are they hurt? We should get help-”
Tails only looked back in confusion, before a small bit of realisation dawned in his eyes. “You're going to be a little confused. Just stay on the floor. Rouge,” Knuckles noted as the bat perked up at her name, her attention shifting away from his face and to focus on Tails, “Could you get some water. And a straw. Please?”
She seemed more than ready to have a task, apparently, because after a careful adjustment to one of Knuckles’ dreads, she stood up on unsteady legs and fluttered her way into the adjoining kitchen.
Knuckles watched on in confusion, the taste of copper at the back of his mouth replacing the earlier herbs.
“Does anywhere hurt? Can you feel any bruises?” Tails asked after a moment of quiet. “Does your head feel okay? Any weird feelings? Sensations?” he moved closer and carefully pressed two fingers to Knuckles’ pulse point on his neck. “Your heart’s racing.”
Knuckles could have scoffed out a laugh if it didn't feel like his mouth and jaw ached as much as they did. He carefully, without coordination, batted against the hand on his fur as Tails eventually pulled it away. “I'm fine. Why do you look so worried? Is someone hurt?”
Sonic scooted closer, his hand moving to rest against Knuckles’ shoulder. In the same place where it had been… Where it had settled before- “You had a seizure, Red. Don't you remember?”
“He'll be confused for a bit.” Tails noted, as if Knuckles wasn't seated between the two brothers. “Give him time. He might recall it, he might not.” The fox shrugged, then his attention fell back on the echidna as Knuckles found himself staring. “Hey, Knuckles, can you hear me-”
“I'm fine.” Knuckles answered quickly, maybe a little too harshly as he collected his legs beneath himself in a crossed position. He was thinking. The world was slowly settling back in. Understanding was taking the place of near overwhelming confusion.
He turned back to look at Sonic. Someone who always had a carefree smile on his face, now his expression was set and slightly stern. His eyes focused, arms tensed as if they were ready to reach out. Ready to move forwards and grab him again.
Again.
Like Sonic had before.
They were primed for another one.
Everyone was. Even as Rouge made her way back into the room with a glass of clinking iced water, she still knelt on her knees before him and carefully moved his own hands around the cup to hold it.
Like they were ready for him to drop and smash this one too.
Knuckles let out a small breath, staring at the water before he glanced over at Tails, “I…” he paused as he worked the words through his throat, water would have helped, but he was too focused on needing answers, “I had a seizure..?”
Tails nodded silently.
Knuckles swallowed down hard.
“But now you're okay,” Rouge prompted after a second, a wry smile settling over her features and this time, it didn't seem like it belonged in place as she moved the straw to his lips. “You'll be fine, Gem, got that? We'll figure it out.” Her attention shifted over his shoulder, to where Knuckles knew that Tails was seated.
A quiet, careful challenge.
“We'll figure it out.” Tails confirmed with surety, likely accompanied by a nod that Knuckles missed.
At least, for now, water didn't taste like static electricity on his bloodied tongue.