I'm not good at words, but this fic is just amazing. It took a character and franchise that I liked, but didn't take even slightly seriously, and made me feel some Really Big Emotions about them. I've read it twice all the way through, and there's just so many little things about it that stand out. You wrote the Echidnas in such a compelling way - all of their motivations were understandable, even though what they were doing was still, obviously, horrendous. And your characterizations of all the characters, especially Knuckles, were just spot on. (Which is especially amazing for Knuckles because he spent so much of this fic in a very unusual place, emotionally and mentally. But it felt totally seamless.) Anyway! I could ramble for a long time! But thank you so much for writing this, it's amazing and made me want to give a hug to everyone in it.

After everything they went through, they deserve a fluffy ending.

I gotta say, I didn't know what to expect from this story, but I enjoyed it immensely. Mostly because I absolutely love the relationships between friends, and the care that should be clearly present. If it's not, it's not being written right. So thanks for being awesome at it!

Easily one of the best stories here! Has that wonderful hard-to-put-down quality. Really makes me buy into the world it presents while I'm reading it.

I read this entire story in one day. Few books keep my attention that well. Bravo.

Very high-tension story. Very heavy stuff to take in. I like the ending.

Continuity is weird here. The events of SA are referenced and Shadow exists, so obviously some interpretation of the games' universe is intended. The cast is obviously lifted from the Fleetway comics, most obviously the four-member Chaotix and only slightly less obviously Amy (she wields "a weapon" apparently, but the story does not say if it's a hammer or a crossbow. There is only version of Amy, however, that takes charge of a situation with such maturity.), though I'm not aware of any version of Robotnik that fits the bill of "a predictable, simple enemy". This story also declines to give Sonic's planet a name and invents its own convention for how talking animals distinguish themselves from non-talking animals- which is an aspect I liked- yet also somehow has a city named Mobotropolis. A confusing picture indeed.

But the story is really about Knuckles, and this fic could very well be about any version of the character. The questions and conflicts it addresses are at the core of his whole identity. You cut deep here. And yet, in the end, things have pretty much returned to the status quo. Much like in Sonic Chronicles, Knuckles finds other echidnas, but they're not truly his people, just another alien and hostile culture that he could never belong to, who can't answer any of his questions. Nor did his harrowing experience jolt him into making any life changing decisions beyond "hang out with Sonic more".

But in the end, it's better that way. An ending where Knuckles really did kill Sonic and erected an unpassable barrier around the island for all eternity would be too depressing to read. I guess the story asks the same question about Knuckles protecting the Master Emerald that some stories ask about Batman protecting Gotham and $crooge McDuck protecting his three cubic acres of money: is it a tragedy that this character's never ending struggle never ends?

$crooge gave his answer, and for some reason this fic strongly reminds of that occasion. When his nephew Donald, fresh out of helping him defend his giant sea of money from an attack by the Beagle Boys, observes of his uncle "Your money is trouble [since people are constantly trying to steal it], what good is it you don't spend it [since $crooge of course never does]? You're only a poor old man!"
$crooge is stunned for a moment, but quickly brushes him off, turning towards his money. "Bah! Kid's talk! No man is poor if he gets to do what he likes once in a while!"

Knuckles probably doesn't love the Master Emerald much after the nightmare he just went though- definitely not as much as $crooge loves his giant mass of inert metal- but seeing the Guardian sitting with Sonic, eating the flat cakes, it's hard not to think he feels the same way.

D'aww at Knuckles' defiant friendship.

Nah, not too fluffy. Just perfect. It has me smiling like a happy, overemotional idiot. :)

It was quite a ride, through all the ups and downs and then some. Thank you for the experience.

I like the "wide wide sky" metaphor. It's one of the little things that fits with Knuckles and Angel Island-bound echidna culture. "What on earth" wouldn't make sense for the inhabitants of a flying island.

You dug out the temple. I love the temple. :D
And it's the perfect location for the heartfelt conversation I was waiting for all along. It was perfect, too. Not too much, just in tone with the characters. Warm fluffy friendship wrapping over all the drama and tragedy so nicely it gave me just a little wet eyes. :)

Tails is a smart one, Sonic should give him more credit than he does.

And someone else does chaos barriers in stories. :)

Glad Knuckles at least gets his fill of sleep finally. My heart kind of ached for a second when he rediscovered the grapes, though. Such a simple thing.

The solution to the problem with the shield is so very Sonic. It looks reckless and daring on first look, but there's an underlying sense of trust for his friends and trust in his own ability to deal with things.
Good luck, Sonic.

Once you think about it, with things like "power enriched by the heart", with a direct interconnection between the user's emotions and their usage of the energy, it's surprising that something like this hasn't happened before.

Maybe it's good the others are leaving for a while. Knuckles needs some time to get his head back on straight. He didn't have that luxury for the entirety of this story.

A positive relief to attack. - Makes you realise how easy the enemy subject is in Sonic most of the time. You don't get to question the bad guy. It's never complicated.

I'm grinning like an idiot at Knuckles' flight through "his air". It's probably good nobody can see me right now. :D

Oh, and Knuckles? You made a choice again. :P

And you're still rather irrational, too. And overloading Sonic on chaos energy. That never ends well usually.

It wasn't Sonic's place to. - And you call yourself socially inept, Sonic. :)

Even as I'm sitting near breathless at the edge of my chair at the sheer Awesome the ending of this chapter is, I can't help but be slightly frustrated with Knuckles not seeing his choice as the thing it is. Because accepting the burden, the duty, the responsibility as his own to bear is a choice indeed, for he could run from it one way or another if he really chose to, but he choose, right again at this moment to take this responsibility back, it's a choice alright, and an extremely honourable one as that.

Also, Hyper Knuckles, WOOT! Wonderful imagery, too. Right now, shiny epic Knuckles is a very clear picture in my head, and it's amazing. :)

"Are you going to give me the hurt feelings face if I make the obvious joke at this point?"
It's probably good Sonic didn't say it; I am not sure how Knuckles would take any Knucklehead comments at the moment.

Why did people keep asking him things they didn't want the true answer to? - Oh Knuckles, people do that all the time. When you get up, people ask if you slept well, and then if you honestly tell them you didn't, they're distressed and confused. People want to be told lies at times. \_(ツ)_/

"Most people hide under the bed from the boogieman - they don't tie him up and beat the crap out of him." - Again, interesting psychology question... Wouldn't they if they were given an easy enough chance?

Loved the moment of understand between Sonic and Knux over sparing Tails the gory details. And the hug. Unasked for though it was, it was somewhat warranted.

Oh, the workshop is destroyed? O_o

In some way, the trauma is a lot more noticeable in this chapter than in the others before. Yes, it was clear Knuckles is quite traumatized and quite reeling with uncertainty before, but here, in interaction with Sonic, it becomes so strikingly obvious how much it affects him. How much he isn't himself anymore.

The Knuckles we know (knew) doesn't do surrender.

Shaski drew the knife and repeated himself. "Leave."
Sonic gave a huge fake yawn. "Don't kid yourself, pal. Bigger and uglier than you have tried."

Haha, yes, quite so. ;D
I admit to a certain amout of disappointment Shaski didn't get through to try the knife on Sonic, because it would have given Sonic the opening to kick his ass, and damnit I want him to.

Wonder what Sonic's gonna do now, and even more so, what KNUCKLES is gonna do.

Sonic is taking the news of more echidnas with the ease he takes almost everything in. The hedgehog is an adaptive one indeed.

And he found the village, and the village hothead to confront first thing. I should've expected that, too. :D

Poor Sonic actually having to deal with the boat! But I suppose he can't always expect to travel by jumping off and on biplanes turning touch-and-go. :D

I'm still not sure if I entirely believe the tribe's perspective on the guardians, although Knuckles is beginning to believe it.