Knuckles, unfortunately, was in midair when the creature struck, and found himself barely able to avoid being smacked down. Nonetheless, it managed to wing him, and Knuckles went crashing into the ground, gritting his teeth. "Ngh!" Okay, so that had hurt, but it wasn't about to stop the Guardian, so he flipped back up and resumed flight, zooming towards the creature as best as he could.

"Get over here!" the echidna roared, aiming another hard punch at the monster.