Chapter Three: Dinner's Bad News
When the door finally opened in the basement entrance to Charle's home, he barely registered it. His mind was still awash in despair and resistance to the news. Unable to believe the turn of events, he placed the massage disk again, watched its internal processors respond to his DNA and played the holo-image of the middle-aged squirrel wearing a royal blue uniform and wearing the small, golden band across his brown. From his old friend came words he wished could be taken back.
"Your Kingdom needs you again, Charles. You cannot continue to aid us from afar. This is no longer a request. I am appointed Julian Minister of War and upon your arrival, announcing your appointment as Minister of Science along with a long overdue knighthood for your past and future service to the Kingdom. I know you love the children you adopted and I'm anxious to meet them for the first time, but for more reasons than I can name, you are hereby ordered to the Royal Palace to assume this mantle. Charles, don't make this harder than it already is. I would honor your request for privacy if it weren't for the direst of circumstance. I look forward to seeing you again, old friend. Safe journey."
The message disk closed and Charles thumb slid over a red button and slid it down and held it for three seconds. A rapid beeping indicated the destruct mechanism was activated and Charles calmly tossed it into his trash bin where it sparked and smoked for a moment.
He was dimly aware of the kids sneaking past his door. Best to give his a little more time.
"Kids."
Amy, Sonic, Shadow, and Silver poked their heads out over the door frame. As one, they noticed his somber look, but said nothing.
"Kids, go wash up. I'll have dinner in a few minutes."
Their response was a mumbled one, but he didn't notice. Going through the motions, he moved to the kitchen and began to prepare a meal, thinking about how to tell them, hardly noticing their usual bickering.
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"Try diplomacy, you said." Amy scoffed, "Dragons are intelligent, you said. Well, I disagree."
"Something was very, very wrong." Shadow growled, his scowl carved into his face, "That dragon...it..."
Amy looked back at her brothers. "Are you guys sure you're alright? Sonic?"
Sonic gulped and nodded, but holding up his hands she saw they were shaking badly, covered in slick fluid. "Sonic, go jump in the shower."
Sonic nodded, wordless, mute for once and for that Amy was glad. When she looked at Silver, his head hung low and his brow furrowed, troubled. "Was it right?"
"What choice did we have?" Amy asked. She looked at Shadow, who met her gaze with a hard glare of his own. 'We didn't have a choice. Uncle Chuck...the dragon...he...he..." Tears welled up in Amy's eyes and Shadow reached over to embrace his sister, thankful her soft sobs drowned out the hard lump he had to swallow to maintain his own composure. "I'm sorry." He heard her mutter.
"I'm not." Shadow replied. He met Silver's gaze, who looked for all the world like he wanted to crawl under a rock, "We should all wash up. Remember, we did the right thing."
"I know." Amy wiped her eyes, "I know, but I feel so terrible. It feels...wrong. We killed that dragon."
"I think perhaps that's the best thing. I don't think its something we're supposed to enjoy. Come on, sis. You're the strong one here. Don't wimp out on us now."
"That's so unfair." Amy said, sniffling, "But you're right. I'll be okay. Go ahead and wash up like Uncle Chuck wants."
Shadow nodded, but after a moment, said, "I just can't believe that his stupid...Sonic Spin maneuver worked. I knew he could cut through rocks, but...I'd have never dreamt..."
"Sssh. Come on, we're dwelling on it. Let's just leave it be and we'll figure out something after supper."
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Supper turned out to be a quiet affair as the usual bickering and chatting gave way to awkward silence as Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Amy all found themselves unable to muster any pleasantries. Thankfully, they were the only ones who noticed, as Uncle Chuck seemed as lost in his own thoughts as they were in theirs. Only the sound of silverware on platters accompanied their meal.
When their meal was over, no thanks were given or exclamations of food quality were given. Uncle Chuck looked up after he had stared at the remains of his meal for the longest minute of his life. Sonic and Silver stared at their plates; Amy could only stare at her hands as they twiddled, and Shadow's cross look gazed out into a place only he could see.
No more running from his duty, it seemed. Better to just tell them.
"Kids, I've got some news."
Wordlessly, the four hedgehogs turned their gazes up at their beloved Uncle. His heart broke to see their long faces. They had to know, he figured, to look so down.
"While you were away, I received a message from the Palace. His majesty King Acorn has given a royal order that I return to the Palace. I'm sorry, but we're moving to Mobotropolis." There. The fault lied entirely on the King's order. He wanted them to know this wasn't his choice or desire.
Their silence continued, but dour looks turned into ones of surprise as their eyes lifted in surprise.
"I'm sorry to take you away from our home, but the King is an old friend of mine and he values my work. Now, he's bringing me back to work in the Science Ministry, so we'll have to live IN the Palace. Someplace bigger with better furniture. A place better suited to teenagers than out here. We'll have a lot more space and you three can each have your own room."
"Good." Shadow said, "You try sleeping above Sonic after chili-dog night."
Sonic made a rude noise, "Can I help it if I have a healthy digestive system?"
"You could try not exercising is so much." Silver laughed.
"Thank you for letting me have my own room." said Amy, rolling her eyes, "You guys are bad enough while you're awake."
"Kids, please, just stop for a minute. This is a big change. It's not going to be the same once we get there. The Palace houses the Royal Family, the Royal Guard, dignitaries and emissaries from other kingdoms and nations that the Acorns are allied with. It's not the Great Barren and you can't go blasting around without thinking or caring what you affect."
"What're you saying, Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked, "What, we need to wipe our shoes before we come in or something?"
As always, Shadow was ahead of his brother, "He means we can't use our powers."
"Whu...what?" The breaking tone of Amy's voice almost broke Uncle's Chuck's heart, She looked down at her hands as if they had suddenly brought her bad luck.
"Kids," Uncle Chuck shook his head, "When I discovered what you were capable of, I wanted you to have the chance to grow up without anyone persecuting you because of them. I know the Great Barren is dreary place to live and I know that you four have been dying to go into Urbantropolis more often. Sonic, I know you've been buzzing around the streets at night."
Sonic's ears drooped and his hands found a comfortable place by his knees. "Little obvious?"
"Sudden gusts of wind on the weather reports in the morning give you away." He tapped his head, "This noodle isn't overcooked just yet. But Shadow is right. When we live at the Palace, you kids shouldn't use your abilities."
"Uncle Chuck, we're old enough to handle people picking at us for our powers."
"Picking at you isn't what I'm worried about, Silver. Son, people fear things they don't understand. If they discover what you kids can do, they may fear you. And people hate things they fear, however unreasonable it may be. Fear makes otherwise smart people irrational and in groups, that fear can turn to something worse. I hate to say, but it could put your very lives at risk."
"Well so what if other people don't like us for our powers?" Sonic complained, "Isn't the King your friend?"
"He is, but he also has to do what's best for the Kingdom. Having people turning against him for harboring you kids is the kind of political nightmare that Max despises. He prides himself on knowing everything he can and being able to make an intelligent decision on a whim. He isn't fond of...surprises."
"Then why not tell him about us?" Silver asked, "How long do you think we can do this without them finding out?"
"As long as we have to!" Uncle Chuck snapped, his hands slamming on the table. The four of them seemed to shrink under his gaze, so he sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry, kids. The truth is that I don't want to go, but the King ordered me to accept the Ministry position. In a few years, you kids will be on your own and, well, I can't boss you around anymore. The way I see it, if you put up with this for a little while, you can go where you want when you're old enough and you can do as you please. But I warn you: people aren't as understanding as I am. I can't...I don't know what King Max would say if he knew."
Uncle Chuck's words hung heavy in the air between them. Suddenly, what made them unique was a liability, a thing that other people might fear.
"Promise me." Uncle Chuck asked, his clasped hands begging them, his eyes pleading, "Promise me you won't use your powers in front of people. I trust you. It's other people I don't trust."
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"Mondo bogus to the millionth power." Sonic muttered as he lay awake that night on his bottom bunk. Above him, he could see Shadow was still awake. His brother tended to hang his leg over the side of the bed. It swayed back and forth, which normally put Sonic to sleep easily. "No speed. What am I gonna do if I gotta go as slow as every other slo-mo walking around?"
"I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do if I can't get away from your endless mouth."
"Do you really think people would hate us enough to try and hurt us?" Silver worried.
"As if anyone could possibly harm us." said Shadow, "What good is a man with a sword against us? Sonic is too fast, I can vanished before they can swing, and you can simply halt the blade with a thought. Amy would just smash them to pieces."
"It's not us I'm worried about." Silver said, "Maybe they can't hurt us, but they can hurt Uncle Chuck. He doesn't have any powers, unless you count that brain of his."
"Oh yeah," Sonic groaned, "No way will I let anything happen to Uncle Chuck."
"So we noticed," said Silver, "We saw what you did to the dragon."
"No fair!" Sonic complained, "What was I supposed to do? That thing was mega ticked off! I don't like thinking about it, but no way was I letting it near Uncle Chuck."
Shadow's leg stopped moving, "We're not blaming you, Sonic. But if people knew you could do that to a dragon, they'll start to wonder what you can do to a person."
"Shade, you scare me, bro. I'd never hurt another fur like that."
"Neither would I. But like you said, the dragon was coming for Uncle Chuck. I don't consider myself a violent fur, but if I knew someone were threatening you or Uncle Chuck..."
"Or Amy." Silver added, "She might be strong, but she can't hit someone who maybe knocks her out from behind and more than I can."
Sonic was silent, waiting for Shadow's leg to start swinging back and forth. By the time he finally fell asleep, Silver was snoring softly, but Shadow remained awake. Through his mind eyes, he kept hearing the words that he had said: "If I knew someone were threatening you or Uncle Chuck or Amy."
It was a sobering thought to try and imagine what one was capable of in the defense of what he loved. The more he dwelled, the more he began to think on the things he would do and that was a well from which his mind drank deep. He breathed deeply, quickly, giving in to the darkest portions of what he could dream up. In the end, he had to blink and shake the thoughts from his mind, but he was satisfied that should the need arise, he could make a choice that his brothers could not.