Knuckles was walking around out near what was left of the woods when he saw a little pointed blue head sticking out of the bushes.

"Hey, a Chao!" he exclaimed, walking towards it."....wait, where's it's little topknot blob....?"

Had some wild animal eaten it? What would a Chao do without it? Was it like a balance thing or....?

He scooped it up. "Woah. You're a chubby little guy. And the wrong shape. Huh... you ain't a Chao at all. That's kinda a relief.... what even are you?"

It grabbed at Knuckles' glove and started pulling him towards a nearby hill. Despite being strong, Knuckles was always exceedingly gentle when it came to little critters like this, so, he let it lead him on a merry dance. It was something to do that didn't involve stressing over the Moon, so, why not?

He almost didn't notice that the little thing was leading him towards a woman on top of the hill.