I own the chameleons Vahti and Kancho, and any quasi-anonymous figured that are mentioned in passing.
I own nobody else.
Vahti peeked into the boy's room, but the child was already fast asleep. The Shinobi spared a thought for envy; no one of the clan would dare relax his guard that much. But the boy would not have such leisure for long; these Guardians were as suspicious as the clan tended.
Usually as suspicious. Vahti crept around the apartment, keeping an eye out for the source of his unease. That woman, Voni-Ca, had been acting odd since her husband returned. She was as wary as any of the clan might be, and treated her husband as though he were not the echidna she'd married.
Granted, the Guardians did not seem to be very close to their families, at least not by the reports from his predecessors. And after his injuries six years past, Tobor had all but thrown himself into his work, until even the clan would be hard pressed to guess they were wed.
And his parents saw nothing wrong with that, seemed to expect it, even. They accepted that he had been emotionally scarred, and were simply overjoyed that their son was alive. So why did Voni-Ca watch him so closely?
Not for the first time, Vahti wished he dared speak to her. But the echidnas Tobor associated with of late were former Legionnaires, those the clan believed had renounced their ways, and what might only be a lover's quarrel was hardly drastic enough for the Shinobi to reveal himself.
Even when it touched the Guardians.
Tobor returned, quiet, so as not to wake his family. He found his wife awake and waiting; he told her he'd had a meeting, but refused, again, to say with whom.
And again, Voni-Ca, not wishing to wake her son, held her tongue, delaying the argument yet again.
It was as Vahti had seen since Tobor's return, and the Shinobi settled himself just outside the child's room, and closed his eyes to doze.
—
He woke to the feeling of heat. The Shinobi, chameleons that they were, were cold-blooded, and sensitive to the presence of heat. This sensation was mild; it was no surprise that the echidnas had not noticed it.
Vahti investigated the sensation, finally leaving the apartment to discover its source.
And found the next floor in flames.
The fire grew more intense every second; soon Vahti was driven away from the floor, lest he be roasted alive. He rushed back to the Guardian's apartment and into the child's room.
—
"Spectre," a voice hissed, "Spectre, you must wake up."
Something shook the boy awake. "Huh—what?" He blinked and looked around, but he couldn't see anything but a haze.
Spectre climbed out of bed, trying to find what had woken him.
And found himself slammed onto the floor.
"Stay low," the voice hissed next to his ear, "and stay where it is cool. There is a fire downstairs; the flames are spreading quickly, but the smoke is the real danger. You must stay low to avoid the smoke."
Spectre glanced in the direction of the voice—a vague suggestion of a shape in the growing smoke—and nodded.
"Good lad. Do you know how to get out?"
Spectre gulped and shivered. Did he know? He remembered his mother and grandfather teaching him... "I think so, but...I—I'm not sure..."
"Not to worry." The voice sounded like it smiled. "I can help you; I can at least get you to your parents."
With the voice's help, Spectre managed to remember his lessons, and covered his face before trying the door.
Out in the hallway, he turned towards the front door, only to see flames licking around the edges. Not that way.
He turned around and almost ran smack into his mother, coming to find him.
"Spectre," she whispered. She glanced up at the front door. "Come, this way." They crawled off towards the back.
—
Vahti hesitated, but Tobor soon joined them. The chameleon decided that the boy's parents could get him out more easily than he could, and forced his way down the stairwell to see if anyone else needed aid.
No good. That next apartment was all in flames. If anyone was still inside, they would have fallen to the smoke.
He eased past the apartment and on down to the next floor. He'd just kicked open one door when—
KABOOM!
His head jerked up, searching for the source of the sound. What was that?
He left the floor—the explosion had roused the residents, and they did not need his help—and returned to the Guardian's apartment, hoping he had not made a mistake.
—
"Spectre!" Voni-Ca tried desperately to rouse her child. Were the Fates so cruel, to lead them so close to escape only to take her son away?
Spectre and Voni-Ca had become disoriented from the smoke, and she had not stopped to wonder at the room Tobor had brought them to.
There was only one exit—a window too high for Spectre to reach.
Voni-Ca had opened the latches and lifted her son so that he could climb through...
And the window frame had exploded.
Shards of glass had shot through both of them; Spectre had been stunned from the explosion, too dazed to feel the pain as his life dripped away.
"Tobor! You have to do something, please! Please, he may be dying—"
"I am sorry, Voni-Ca," Tobor said. "It was not supposed to happen this way."
Voni-Ca glanced up at Tobor, and gasped. "What—what are you doing?"
"It was not supposed to happen this way," he repeated, aiming the gun at her head. "You were both supposed to die."
"Tob—!"
She collapsed before she could scream.
Spectre stared at his father, too dazed to speak or move. But not too dazed for terror.
He whimpered.
"Why couldn't you have stayed in bed?" Tobor asked, aiming the gun at the child. "You and that witch. If you'd just stayed put—" He shook his head. "No matter. They'll never know."
He pulled the trigger—
"No!" a voice screamed from behind him.
Something slammed into Tobor, struck his arm, slapped the gun away, just as it went off.
Tobor's eyes darted around the room, but he could not see what had struck him. His gaze rested briefly on Voni-Ca, who'd died instantly, and the boy, who was bleeding out his life. He looked for the gun, but it had slid into the flames, and he did not relish trying to retrieve it.
No matter; the boy would die soon enough, and the fire would eliminate what little evidence remained.
The fire had spread quickly, and the building was falling apart. Tobor shook his head, finally deciding a piece of the ceiling had fallen on him, and he found his way out.
He only hesitated a moment when he saw other forms moving among the flames. Then he recognized the fire-suits, and he dropped to the floor, and let them find him.
—
Hawking and Deo had heard the emergency vehicles go by, but Hawking had been following one of the suspected Legionnaires almost to their hideout. Deo was growing anxious, but the Guardian was quite willing to let the authorities do their work, and leave him to do his own.
And then a woman spoke to them.
"Guardian Hawking, your family is in danger. You must go to them."
Hawking jumped, and looked for who had spoken. But there was nobody there! "Aurora?" he said, hesitant.
"You must go to your son," the voice said. "It is his home that they travel to. You must help them while they still live!"
"Deo!" Hawking snapped.
The fire ant teleported them away.
The Shinobi Kancho peered around, ensuring that the Guardian had left. Then she took off at a run.
She was very worried; she hadn't heard from Vahti since before the fire started.
Something was very wrong, and she didn't know what. And for the Shinobi, not knowing was the most frightening thing.
—
Hawking and Deo arrived in front of the building in time to see the firemen escort Tobor out.
Hawking looked around, frantically. There were other survivors, residents from other floors, but where were—
"Tobor!" Hawking followed them to one of the ambulances. "Tobor, where are Voni-Ca and Spectre?"
Tobor blinked up at him, stared through him. "They—" He shook his head. "The fire—spread too quick," he whispered. "I think they're trapped. I couldn't—"
It was soon clear that Tobor was in no condition to tell them anything useful.
"We've still got people in there," one of the firemen said, "looking for survivors."
Hawking nodded.
KABOOM!
"What was that?" one of the medics shouted.
Hawking turned to stare at the building...at the top floor...at where half the floor had been...at an inferno. "Deo, get me in there!"
"Guardian, be reasonable!" one of the firemen shouted. "Even with proper gear, it's too dangerous—"
"He's right," Deo said. "And by the time you get any gear on—"
"Get me in there, now, or I will go in there myself!"
Deo gulped, and nodded, and the two vanished.
Tobor stared at the spot where they'd been.
And smiled.
—
Vahti collapsed against the wall, gasping for air. He pressed one palm against his bleeding chest— hurts—can't...breathe —where the bullet had entered. The bullet meant for the child.
He had no doubt it had entered his lung. Even if he escaped, he would not survive long. Not even if one of the Guardians teleported in.
But why would they? Tobor had just tried to kill his own son; perhaps the other Guardians were of a similar mind. Had Vahti been wrong to save the child?
No. He could not think that way. Whatever had happened, whatever Tobor had intended, children were precious to the gods. To take a child's life was among the greatest sins one could commit. To murder, to take it without need, greater still, and Tobor had clearly intended murder. Even if the other Guardians should agree with Tobor's actions, it was still such a sin.
And if the Guardians did not agree... Tobor was hardly likely to tell them anything, unless he was inclined to boasting. The Guardians would not know until it was too late.
Vahti forced himself to move, to fulfill his duties. The woman, Voni-Ca, was dead. Tobor had done her that mercy, at least; he had killed her instantly, not letting her suffer from the smoke and flames.
And the boy...
Vahti's eyes widened. The boy still lived! His breathing was ragged, but he was breathing.
Vahti fingered his blade as he checked the boy's pulse. The boy lived, but perhaps not for long. The Shinobi debated on whether he would need to commit that sin, to take the boy's suffering.
But the boy's pulse was strong.
Vahti managed a sigh of relief; he would not need to kill the boy, not yet. Not so long as the boy had a chance to escape.
"Spectre," he rasped, shaking the boy again. "Spectre, you must wake up." He took the boy's shoulder. "Spec—"
Spectre's eyes snapped open. He did not know where he was. He did not know what woke him.
He only knew that he had been attacked, and he was afraid.
He knew he had to defend himself.
—
Hawking and Deo landed just outside Spectre's bedroom, and were immediately driven back by the flames.
"Spec—" Hawking started coughing in the smoke. "Spectre! Von—Voni-Ca!"
The two listened, but all they heard were the firemen continuing their search.
"Sp—"
"You feel that?" Deo interrupted.
Hawking paused. Yes. A buildup of chaos energy.
He ran in the direction it came from.
Some of the firemen searched the same area; one of them began chopping through the wall.
Hawking sensed the surge of energy on the other side, and started to ask Deo to teleport them in.
Then he froze. Too much!
"Look out!" Deo cried. He teleported the two of them out of the way, just as the wall exploded.
Two of the firemen were not so lucky; the one who'd been chopping through the wall, and one standing behind, were incinerated in the explosion.
Hawking tried to shield himself from the heat, and peered into the flames.
"Spectre!"
The boy was on the other side, in the midst of the flames, but was...untouched, as though in the eye of some great storm. The chaos force surrounded him, pushed the flames back. It was that force, and those flames, that had destroyed the wall.
Those flames that threatened the lives of Spectre's rescuers.
"Spectre! Answer me!"
And Spectre did not seem aware of any of this. He lashed out at anyone who came near.
Hawking ventured a step, then another. "Spectre, please! Snap out of it!"
"Hawking..." Deo watched the child, worried. Even the fire ant could not stand a fire this size. They would have to leave.
Soon.
With or without the child.
"Spectre, we're here. We're trying to help you! Open your eyes!"
Spectre blinked, and finally focused on them. "Grandpa? Grandpa Hawking?"
"Yes, I'm here. Spectre, I can't—I need to get you out of here, but—" Hawking jumped out of the way of another surge. "I can't get to you!"
Spectre stared at the flames surrounding him, both puzzled and horrified.
Then he pulled the chaos energy back into himself, away from his rescuer.
But once he stopped pushing on the fire, once that pressure was gone, the flames reacted by surging in the opposite direction.
Surging towards the child, converging on him and engulfing him.
"NO!" Hawking shrieked.
Poor Vahti. I named him just so I didn't have to keep saying "the Shinobi" this or "the chameleon" that, and he only lasted two chapters (three in the original division).
And though she lives, Kancho doesn't get much more of a role, I don't think.
My MC in the zone hopping...er, transdimensional...original fiction (my NaNo, titled "Wandering One") plays the part of Kancho, by the way. Up to a certain point, anyway.
Whether I keep that name in the final product remains to be seen.
Again, if you've read the relevant issues of the Knuckles comic series, you know what's going on with Tobor.
This scene just provides a possible answer to why Voni-Ca didn't know (or in this case, reveal) the truth about him. You do remember that question coming up in canon, don't you?
