Knuckles slumped by the Master Emerald, resting a rather lardy, bingo-winged arm upon it by the elbow, standing by his lonesome atop the mystical, floating Angel Island. He sighed, pausing for a moment just to look at himself. What happened? Just a week ago, or maybe two, the echidna was as svelte as ever. But now? He had to be careful where he laid on the beach, for fear of being mistaken as a sunburnt beached whale. The hefty, meaty moobs that formed his chest seemed almost enough to block the view of his shoes, and that was with no regard to the almost apron-shaped gut that easily protruded more than three feet in front of him, rising and falling, almost jiggling as he breathed. The only thing that matched that in size was his blubbery rear. He couldn't let Sonic catch him like this. He knew that very well. He was already not as fast as him from the word go, but in this state he was liable to get winded just by breathing! Trying to keep up with the blue blur would be impossible even at a walking pace. Maybe the mysterious bald-headed friend of his, who was oddly egg-shaped, could give him some good advice as to how to fix his problem, though he admittedly didn't HATE the shape he was in. But for now, he had to stand guard. His stomach growled, snapping him out of his thoughts... Then he felt something rushing up-!

"BOUUUURRRRPH! Ugh... Man... I could use some grapes about now."