#sinbad discord | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mama-qwerty · 5 months

Text

The Bonkening

A Knucklesverse bit of writing, from the Echinda's Parade discord server. @nights-nonsensical-ramblings wrote the first bit up to the scene break, and I took over from there. This was entirely Night's idea, I just stole it and ran with it, like the greedy little gremlin I am.

Unsure who some of these Knux's are? Check The Knucklesverse Guide for a quick rundown.

~~~~~

Z was bored. Bored bored bored. Everyone in his world was busy and when he made his way to the Sanctuary most of the other Knuckles weren’t there, and the ones that were were all distracted by something or other that Z considered equally boring to the things everyone in his world was doing.

Gawain, Sinbad and Dread were sitting in a circle maintaining their swords and while that had interested Z at first it felt like they had been at it for hours. Nile was also present but was too busy directing his ghosts to clean the place to play or join in with any jokes or games. Beside Z’s fellow undead echidna were the distortions that always followed Cyber. The digitized echidna was being just as boring as everyone else and was simply standing there, muttering to Nile and flicking through his holograms doing who knows what.

Z huffed and sat down on the floor near the Emerald and laid back to stare at the ceiling, not bothering to check if there were any more Knuckles' around.

What to do, what to do. All the other Knuckles' were caught up in what they were doing and Z couldn't come up with a way to get them to do something fun with him.

That was until he heard something light and hollow hit the floor behind him.

Z sat back up to see the twins standing there with a couple of cardboard tubes in their hands and one on the floor by their feet.

The little Zombie's eyes went wide and his mouth shifted into a large grin as he began to pick up on what the almost entirely identical echidna were suggesting.

One of the twins, he was pretty sure it was Yunuen, returned his grin and handed him a cardboard tube, making the little zombie bounce on his heels with excitement. Another constant among Knuckles' was enjoyment of spars and low stakes battles with loved ones.

Z turned his gaze to Metzli, who remained a few paces back with the rest of the cardboard tubes. "Are you gonna give the others their tubes too?"

Z received a head shake in response. "Nah, they're gonna have to take them from me first."

Yunuen let out a playful huff and sent a smirk towards his twin. "Should be pretty easy, you're always phasing through and dropping stuff"

"HEY!"

Yunuen was proven right as the cardboard tubes phased through Metzli's hands and all clattered to the floor.

Z chose to leave the twins to bicker and pick out his target, but not before stopping to give the Master Emerald a look, partly afraid of being scolded. But all he received was encouragement from the giant gemstone and Z couldn't suppress the excited giggle as he ran off ready to cause mischief.

~X~X~X~

Dread sat and focused on the sword in his lap. He may not have always gotten along with Sinbad and Gawain, but they understood the importance of proper sword care.

The three passed the sharpening stone between them, no words being needed. Just the soft 'shhik' as it passed over their blades.

The pirate sensed someone pass behind him, and, ordinarily that would have sent his nerves on high alert. But here, at the Sanctuary, he stayed calm. He was in no danger here. No chance for a sneak attack.

That was, until he felt the soft 'bonk' of something bouncing off his shoulder.

He paused in his sharpening, turning slowly to find Little Z standing behind him, a wide smile on his face, and a long cardboard tube in his hands. The boy stood with the tube gripped in both hands, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Fight me!"

Dread stared at him for a moment, before turning back around. "No."

Another bonk.

"Quit it."

Bonk.

Dread pulled his muzzle into a little scowl, flicking his eyes over to Gawain and Sinbad. They sat watching the scene, little smiles curling their lips.

"C'mon, Dread," Z said, and the smile in his voice was evident. "Fight me!"

Dread uttered a frustrated sigh, lifting his sword to examine the edge of the blade.

"Ye wouldn't stand a chance, lad."

Bonk.

"Sounds like you're scared I'll beat you!"

Bonk. Bonk.

Dread turned quickly, scowling at the boy. "Knock it off. Ye couldn't beat me if ye tried."

"Then prove it!" Z bonked him on the forehead, sending his hat askew. "C'mon! Show me whatcha got!"

Dread uttered a soft 'tch' before turning, looking over at Gawain and Sinbad. "Are either of ye gonna get involved in this?"

The other two exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

"Nope," they said, almost in unison.

"He seems to want to play with you," Sinbad said, that smile back.

Gawain nodded. "You should humor the boy. Unless you're afraid he actually would best you."

Dread puffed his chest out. It was common knowledge that the best way to get Dread–hell, to get any Knux–to do something is to challenge his pride. The pirate scowled at the two, before gripping the hilt of his cutlass tightly.

Meanwhile, Z continued his assault.

Bonk. Bonk. Bonk bonk bonk bonkbonkbonkbonkbonk

With a growl, Dread whirled around, snatching the tube from Z's hand and returning the bonk to the boy's head.

"There. Ye're unarmed. I win."

Without a word, Yunuen handed Z the tube he'd been holding. The young boy smiled, gripping the long 'weapon' with both hands.

A smile curled Dread's lips, and he sheathed his cutlass.

"All right, lad," he said, lowering himself to a battle stance. "Ye want t’ fight? Bring it."

Z attacked, swinging his 'sword' wide and wild, and Dread easily blocked each attempted strike. He let the boy push him back, studying the little echidna's form and picking out his weaknesses. The pirate tucked one arm behind his back, moving and parrying with the practiced ease of a lifetime of swordplay.

It didn't take long for Z to tire himself out, and he eventually stopped, breathing hard and letting his weapon droop before him.

"Not bad, lad," Dread said, that familiar smirk on his lips. "But I can do better."

The others exchanged an uneasy glance. Was he going to take this too far? Too seriously? Z just wanted to play—was Dread going to taint the game by being, well, him?

Dread rounded Z, watching the boy like a shark would a dying fish. Gawain and Sinbad exchanged another look, and a silent agreement moved between them. If Dread took it too far, they'd step in.

After a moment, Z regained his breath and Dread moved in. He swung his tube in short arcs, but Gawain and Sinbad noticed that the pirate wasn't moving as quickly as he otherwise could. His swings were also controlled, and to their expert eyes, they caught that he was giving Z a chance to counter his strikes.

Dread wasn't 'battling' Z to win. He was teaching the boy to fight.

"Don't swing from the shoulder, swing from the elbow," he said, giving the boy a quick bonk in the side. "Don't leave yerself open to a side attack. That's it. Good."

The two traded swings for a moment, and Dread backed off when Z seemed winded.

"Keep yer sword up, lad." Dread bonked Z on the top of the head. "Always keep yer sword ready t' block."

The two kept at it for a few more minutes, and in that amount of time Z picked up a few things that made Dread smile. The kid was a fast learner, even if his compromised body meant he didn't have the strength to keep it up for long. When they paused again, Dread moved closer and gave Z a little bow.

"Ye're a fine opponent, L’il Z," he said, his gold tooth glinting as he smiled. "A quick learner. With a little more training, ye'd be almost as good as me, I'd wager!"

A mischievous look passed over his face then, and he leaned closer to the boy.

"But ye know what be better than fighting against each other?"

Little Z looked up, his eyes wide. "What?"

Dread uttered a short laugh, moving to Z's side and holding his tube before him in a battle stance.

"Fighting side-by-side!" he bellowed, and jumped forward to bonk Gawain on the head. "Come, lad! Let us take down the rest o' these scallywags together!"

Z laughed and took off after Sinbad. Gawain raced toward Metzli to snag a cardboard tube of his own, and quickly engaged Dread in a battle of the ages, if the battle of the ages were being fought with rolled up pieces of cardboard.

Soon all present Knuckles had a tube in hand, and a chorus of hollow bonks echoed throughout the Sanctuary.

Some time later, Maddie and Callie walked through their portal, with Wachowski in tow. All three stopped and stared at the scene before them.

Every Knux, even the more stoic ones who tried to keep their aura of seriousness and duty, were absolutely pelting each other with cardboard tubes.

The women exchanged a glance.

Maddie shook her head. "What the . . ."

"I don't know," Cal said, pulling out her phone. "But I'm recording it. This is too good of a blackmail opportunity to let pass."

Little Z rushed over and grabbed Wachowski's hand. "C'mon! We need you on our team!"

The older echidna shook his head, a look of confusion on his face. "I . . . I don't think--"

"Come on!" Z begged, yanking the older boy's arm. "We can't let Gawain's team win!"

Wachowski cast a quick look to the women, who both nodded and tilted their heads toward the chaos happening before them. With a sigh, Wachowski nodded, a look of too-serious determination on his face.

"We will be victorious!" he cried as he lifted Z and tucked the boy under his arm like a football. "Our battle will be one of legend!"

It wasn't long before Callie and Maddie were hauled into the fight, and their height advantage meant they were sought after members of various groups. The teams shifted and blended, gaining and losing members almost too quickly to keep track.

At one point Callie snatched Dread's hat, and the game shifted to one of an altered 'capture the flag'. At first Dread wasn't too thrilled with this, but he soon came around and was leading a mini army to retrieve his precious hat.

It wasn't clear how long this game of 'Calvinball' went on, as time moved differently in the Sanctuary. Various other Knuckles came and went during the battle--Boom was really confused at first, but quickly came around when Callie hauled him to her side--and after a time, the game played itself out, and they all sat on the floor, catching their breath.

Little Z had crawled into Maddie's lap, utterly exhausted from the play. She absently caressed the boy's head, and he snuggled closer, a soft purr rumbling in his chest.

Dread gave Callie a little nudge. "Me hat, if you would, lass?"

Callie smiled and reached up to readjust it on her head. "Aw, but I'm liking it. Think it looks better on me, anyway. Maybe I'll start my new life as a pirate. Callie the Red. Whadda ya think?"

Dread snickered. "I think ye're not cut out for pirate life."

"Oh? And how could you know that?"

"Ye can't swim. Or sail. Or fight."

A pause. "Details, details." She plopped the hat back on his head. "Needs a good cleaning anyway."

#knucklesverse #discord writing #knuckles the dread #sir gawain the echidna #sinbad the echidna #zombby #callie macpherson #the twins #sonic fanfiction #sonic the hedgehog fanfiction #sth fanfiction #knuckles the echidna

29 notes · View notes