Respect

Blaze the Cat was not someone who gave respect lightly, and those she did respect had to earn it, which, again, was not easy to do. The first person she could remember truly earning her respect was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, he was dedicated to defeating his enemies and saving the world under his care, and he proved it through his actions during their adventures together. Actions spoke louder than words for the Sol Emerald guardian, and Sonic’s actions were loud enough to shake the heavens.

Tails was another individual who had earned her respect, and even her little friend Cream had earned it in some regard…and she even had a faint memory of a silver hedgehog who she felt like she had respected, once upon a time…but she couldn’t figure out where that memory came from no matter how hard she tried.

But there was one other individual that Blaze had respect for, someone she had no idea was so dedicated to his work until she spent more time with him…someone who in many ways, was just like her.

Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald.

What little she knew of Knuckles came from brief conversations with him or hearsay from Sonic, Tails, or Cream, all of whom had stated (or in Sonic’s case, mocked) that Knuckles was gullible, easily tricked into believing something that wasn’t true.

But she had never really taken the time to get to know Knuckles on her own, to get past the information that was passively offered to her by the few friends she had. Then she got the opportunity to speak to Knuckles during a visit to Sonic’s dimension, and after the discussion, her respect had been earned.

She was accompanying Tails and Cream to Angel Island, as Tails had business on the floating land mass due to the recent return of an individual named Tikal, whom Blaze had only heard stories about from Sonic’s retelling of his adventures. Curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to come along so she could meet this Tikal.

Upon arrival to the Master Emerald shrine, Blaze’s eyes fell upon the figure whom she’d never met, an orange, young echidna girl dressed in what could only be described as tribal garb. Tikal, she assumed, and she assumed correctly.

Tikal greeted them all cordially, and it wasn’t long before Tails and Cream went with Tikal to begin work on their project. From what Blaze could see, it seemed that Tails was in the middle of building a house near the shrine, perhaps as a home for the echidnas.

That left Blaze alone with Knuckles, and that was when he instigated the discussion.

At first she was reluctant to respond to the red echidna, the words of her friends still weighing heavily on her mind. She’d given him skeptical glares, even been short with him for no reason other than her own disinterest in what he had to say. But as he continued talking, Blaze found herself loosening up, and she even began to believe what he had to say, as his perspective on the things she’d been told about him was entirely unique.

Knuckles wasn’t merely gullible, he was someone who believed in second chances, someone who believed that even the worst types of people deserved the benefit of the doubt if it seemed that they were trying to make a legitimate change in their lives…that same benefit of the doubt was afforded to Dr. Eggman, who had been the one to use his philosophy against him countless times.

But even then, he refused to change it, because he wanted to see the good in people, not just the bad.

That was something that no one had ever told her before, and that led her to asking more questions about him.

She learned much about Knuckles that day. She learned that Knuckles was dedicated to his work, he guarded the Master Emerald with his life, and he would sacrifice everything to keep it – and subsequently the world – safe from anything that could threaten it.

She learned that he cared about his friends, even Sonic who was relentless in his teasing of the emerald guardian. Knuckles knew Sonic meant no real harm, but he was somewhat critical of Sonic’s impulsiveness; she found herself reluctantly agreeing, as Sonic’s reactionary instincts were both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

And, what was most surprising of all, she learned Knuckles had a heart of gold; his loyalty knew no bounds…and beneath the rough and tough exterior, it was evident to Blaze that Knuckles had a gentle spirit that – from her perspective – rarely got to see the light of day.

Unless, apparently, Tikal was around.

What little Blaze knew of the orange echidna girl stated that she was a pacifist that rivaled even Cream, and when Knuckles spoke of her, he spoke with such reverence, as if he worshipped the ground she walked on.

Fitting, Blaze supposed, since Tikal was as pure as an angel.

Blaze could see the dedication to Tikal in Knuckles’ amethyst eyes, as well as his dedication to his job and to the rest of his friends. Like her, he was a guardian through and through, not just to the gem he was tasked with protecting, but to everything and everyone he held dear.

And that, was what earned Knuckles, the hard-earned respect of his fellow guardian. Blaze the Cat, guardian of the Sol Emeralds.