Sonic 3. Exe E Knuckles -

Knuckles crossed his arms, a small smirk tugging at his mouth. "You had a bug in your system, Sonic. I just handled the debugging."

Sonic wasn't himself. His fur was darker, his eyes glowing with a jagged red light that leaked like spilled ink. He was , a glitch in the code that had grown teeth.

As Sonic.EXE touched the gem, a wave of pure chaos energy washed over him. The red eyes flickered and died. The jagged teeth smoothed out. The dark fur faded back to a familiar, bright cobalt blue. Sonic 3. EXE e Knuckles

Knuckles punched downward, driving the EXE entity straight through the floor of the jungle into the hidden caverns below. They tumbled into the , where the Master Emerald sat pulsing with a steady, calming green light.

Knuckles didn't let up. He used his strength to shatter the illusions EXE was trying to build, punching through ghost-walls and fake traps. With one final, massive upper-cut, he launched the glitch toward the Great Emerald. "Access denied," Knuckles muttered. Knuckles crossed his arms, a small smirk tugging

The digital mist cleared, revealing a version of Angel Island that shouldn't exist. The colorful jungle had turned a bruised purple, and the music—usually a triumphant beat—was a slowed, distorted heartbeat.

Sonic looked at his hands, then at the peaceful glow of the cave. "Remind me to never let a weird VHS tape into the Genesis again." His fur was darker, his eyes glowing with

Standing in his way was . He didn't care about glitches or "creepy-pastas." He only cared about the Master Emerald.