5

            It seemed all but hopeless.
            "What would you have me do?" the Guardian asked, as he sat upon the soil, his legs folded beneath him.
            "You know what I would have you do."
            "I tire of it."
            "It is what you were born to do."
            "Why must it be restored? Why must the Island ascend? This is what the echidnas all wanted. This is what Edmund and Dimitri had proposed. And they had been shot down because the council feared the consequences. But the Island has fallen and I see no consequences."
            "It is catastrophic."
            "Then you see something that I don't."
            "Indeed, Kouken-san."
            "Then speak! I said I don't want to fall into this war between Robotnik and his subjugates. And the beast promised that I could stay out of the war, if I do not make myself an enemy. Why should I throw that away, simply because you say so?"
            "It is not only my wish; it is yours also."
            "That's a lie. Don't speak for me."
            "I can speak for you because I know what it is you want."
            "What I want is not the emerald."
            "But you do seek answers, and normality."
            "What? Are you blackmailing me? You'll give me answers but only if I do as you say?"
            "No, I say that you shall find answers, and that normality will be borne from the ascendancy of the Island."
            "I don't believe you. I think it will be born from your lips once you have what you want, and what you want is the emerald on the Island. So you'll use me to get it."
            "I will not deny that I wish for the dais to hold the jewel in its claws. But I speak in verity when I say that I want it for you."
            "You want it for me? So it is not what I want at all, but what you want on my behalf?"
            "You yourself have said you want it."
            "I have said no such thing."
            "You have. You simply yet have not pieced it all together."
            "Pieced what together?"
            "The people of AngelIsland cannot be restored until the Island is restored to its former locus."
            "Restored? What do you mean? You mean you are holding them hostage, and only once I return the emerald will you set them free?!"
            "Entropy holds them hostage, notI. It was Entropy that banished them, and Entropy that caused the Fall of the Island which prevents their return."
            "Entropy? Who is Entropy?"
            "Entropy is entropy. It is no thing, but everything which contains entropy."
            "So you hold the key, but will not use it until I restore the emerald?"
            "No, I cannot use it. That is how Entropy reigns. Entropy is no thing; it is circumstance. And it is perpetuated by evil. Evil seeks the reign of Entropy, and will seek to aid it in its reign. To free them now would be to sentence them all to death. Only when the Island is at its previous locus can it keep them from colliding with it in death."
            "You speak this way on purpose, don't you? So that I can never truly understand what you are saying."
            "I will not deny a bit of purpose in my words. A bit of Telos. But I think you can see now why the jewel must be restored… why you want its restoration."
            "No, I cannot see. But that is your purpose: to blind me. Yet I can feel now."
            "You can feel the need to restore the jewel, yes."
            "Yes."
            "When the jewel rests again upon the dais, all your questions will be answered."
            "Then what would you have me do?"
            "You know what I would have you do."
            "Guide me."
            "Travel to Julian's capital city. Learn what you can about what he plans to do with the jewel, and where it is being held."
            "I shall," he asserted, and then rose to his feet.
            Turning around, he found his friends a ways back, talking amongst themselves.  "All right," he shouted out to them.  "We've got a new assignment."
            It would be a long walk to Robotnik's city.

            I remember life before Death.  I remember it all: the City, the adventures, the carefree life, the embraces, my home, the blue sky, the green grass, the appearances of the Guardian Locke, the great meals, the stories, the smiles.  But all of it was flushed away so thoroughly.  And by no fault of mine, but I hold no apprehension, for the World is not fair; I hold no false credences as to the immunity of the innocent.  It may have been by mistake, but that fatal step I took must be punished.  Yet now I undermine this.  For how can I say I do not believe in the immunity of the innocent, when I die nightly, knowing she died and committed no sin.  Even when I tell myself that she has been rewarded with ascendancy, even when I know her death was her uplifter, I still know -- truly, I know, feel, and burn with the verity of it -- that her death was unjust, and her murderers will descend into the abyss, weighed down by their gross sin.
            And I sit here unable to die and ascend to meet her with open arms.  And I die but cannot be freed of this miserable body and this miserable place.  And my sword Veritas howls out, yearning so deeply for the blood of the murderers -- both mine and hers.  And I know it is all in vain, all my wishing, all my longing for vengeance, my hatred, my knowledge of sin, my understanding of truth, my hypocrisy; it is all in vain.  For trapped in Claustrum it has no power, no meaning, no saturation, no reality; it is not exacted.  So I fill my mind with everything I see, as I look out through these mechanical eyes into the World and see the blue sky that was torn from me.  And I try to fill my head up, not like a sieve but like a sponge, and it all means nothing.  And it all means nothing, for I look at it as nothing, simply trying to observe everything at once, and that is no way to gain insight.

            They arrived at the edge of Robotropolis, the black capital city, which had been transformed from the bright and radiant capitol it once was under the King.
            "This is it," he said, remembering it from his memory of when he had fought alongside the Freedom Fighters before the Calm. 
            "So, what are we doing?"
            "Looking."
            "For what?"
            "I don't know. Anything that might reveal where Robotnik's keeping the emerald, I guess."
            "Want me to go?" Espio asked.
            This question brought back memories to Knuckles, of their escapades on Angel Island after the invasion.  He and the Chaotix had staged an assault on a robot encampment in a valley, which perhaps had been similar in purpose: to find information; then, though, it had been more general, seeking understanding of just what was going on; the invasion had occurred and Knuckles had been unable to grasp just what was happening, where these robots were coming from, why they were here.  And Vector had been captured; they also sought information on him.  And Espio and Mighty, who had accompanied him, had been hesitant to descend the cliff, into the ravine, and attack the robot encampment; "aren't we trying to get away from them?" Espio had said.  But Knuckles had convinced them, saying they would be covert about it, and that Espio could sneak in under cloak, and the machines would be none the wiser.  But once he had convinced them to follow him down into the ravine, he had disregarded the plan, and had simply leaped out and torn the robots apart.  And then he had lost faculty, lost awareness of his senses; he had seemed almost to black out; everything had vanished and he had simply felt his attacks, and guided his blows subconsciously.  Espio had called out for him, but he had not heard.  And when it was over, Espio had questioned his sanity, suggested he get some rest.
            The memory came back now.  "Alright, why don't you sneak in? We'll know what we're looking for once we get inside."  His words didn't really mean anything; he was simply reenacting the scene from his memory.
            "Aye. I'd rather forget that one."
            "No, really, why don't you sneak in? Scout out the area, and we can decide where to go from there."  So he wasn't simply reenacting.  The memory may have come back, but he was serious now.
            "Alright."  Espio vanished.  He set out into the city to scout out the structures in the area.

            And when he returned, he spoke.  "I found one building in particular that looks like it might serve for briefing. How do you want to proceed? Loud and clear, or discreetly? We can either let the man know we're here, or try to keep out of sight. We can draw attention or try to stay hidden."
            "Obviously the latter sounds better," said Charmy.
            "I suppose so," said Knuckles.  It was interesting, too; just after the invasion he would have always chosen action, confrontation, the simplest plan regardless of strategy.  Now he was more calculating, more strategic; yet still he lacked in this area.  But he knew it would be wiser to keep from drawing attention if he wished to complete his task without being drawn fully into the war.  And if it was obvious that he was hostile to the lord of this city, then it would be hard to convince him again to allow him to keep out of the conflict.
            "Then let's draw the robots away from the exterior of the building," Espio pointed, "and then sneak in quietly. If there are still robots inside, hopefully we can take them out without drawing attention from the outside."
           And it seemed like too much work to Knuckles; it would be simple, after all, to simply clobber any robots in his path.  But, he realized, that could draw attention to him on a much larger scale; and he did not want to face another army.  "Fine."
            "Charmy, come with me, and we'll create a diversion. I'll grab them while invisible and then lure them away with Charmy. Once the coast is clear, you three sneak in; if there's anyone inside, off 'em. I'll meet you inside."
            Espio immediately vanished again, and then he was off to complete his task.

            Knuckles saw the robots in front of the building, and these he recognized.  They were the same make of robot as had invaded Angel Island.  So at least he felt some security in his recognition; these he could handle if need be.  Knuckles watched as they were arrested by nothing – though they probably saw the bee hovering nearby and ascribed responsibility to it; and he saw them lured away.  So he motioned to Mighty and Vector and proceeded with caution toward the building.  Ensuring the departing robots had their back to him, he reached the door and pulled it open.  Much to his relief, there was nobody inside.
            "Well, I guess we'd best start looking."
            And they looked, and found much useless documentation, until Vector found one of interest: "'Briefing on 5-C; published by Snively; 3236020000; Your continuing mission is to locate the emerald; your assigned area can be confirmed through a data terminal at location entropy:operua5assign5cposits8823 as of this writing. You are to report to me at least once every three days on your findings'."
            Mighty found another document of interest, and read it: "'UA-5; The reacquiring of the Chaos emerald'," he read.  "'Status change to complete; status changed by K; 3236040x0x; mission closed; notes: has been delivered to outpost Z-3, pending meeting with our lord'."
            "Outpost Z-3, eh?"
            "How are we supposed to find that? I don't see any maps."
            "Let's keep looking."
           "'UA-4; The construction of the new design prototype; status change to in-production; authorized by Ivo Robotnik; 3236030087; design has been authorized and production has been initiated; first batch has been completed and dispatched; awaiting arrival of next batches; UA-7 has been added to database'."
            "I wonder what that's all about."
            "Could be the new robots."
            "That's not our concern. Just look for stuff on the emerald."
            "We should head for Z-3, then."
            "We don't know where it is."
            "'Ay, I think I found it."  Vector held up a document.  Knuckles took it from him.  It was a rather crude, general map of not the entire city, but of the general vicinity they were located in.  Z-3 was not marked deliberately, but a large cluster was denoted 'Z'.  Their current location was somewhere within 'W'; 'Z' was also along the border, and if they were to travel more east they would find it.  It wasn't enough information to spell out to them were Z-3 was, but it was enough to get them moving in the right direction.
            Just then the door opened.  And Espio materialized.  "They'll be here shortly; I don't think they're allowed to have their attention diverted forever; they're on their way back; we should get out of here."  Charmy zipped in, and hovered over his shoulder.  "We should move before they come in firing range."
            "Alright, let's move east to Z."
            "To Z?"
            "I'll fill you in on the way; let's go."
            Knuckles quickly brushed past Espio and out the door.  He looked off in the distance and saw the robots marching back towards him. They must notice him, he thought, but he didn't spend time confirming his presumptions, as he dashed back toward the cover he had taken while Espio had scouted out the area.  His friends all followed suit, and then once all were together, Knuckles spoke.  "Alright, let's get out of here. We've got a lead on the emerald. East is the Z area; we want to find Z-3."
            His friends nodded, and Knuckles immediately started off on the eastward circumnavigation of the border of the city.

            "You're doing well, Kouken-san."
            "If you say so."
            "You've matured in capability. You've scoured the air, with no tangible end, and out of the air you have taken the thread most linked to your intangible objective. You're moving, and forward."
            "Great."
            "You tire of my voice?"
            "No. I just have nothing to say."
            "I shall tell you a story, if you do not object."
            "Alright."
            "Once, the echidna of the Island had become embroiled in conflict with another, militant species of the Island. It had begun as a mere tension, created in part due to the rift in technology between the species; but it had escalated into resentment, hatred, and, finally, war. The echidnas feared catastrophe, and resolved to stop the war before it could erupt. So they did, through an ethereal segregation."
            Knuckles waited for the voice to continue, and, after realizing that the story was over, said, "What? That's it? That's not a story. What happened? How did they end the war?"
            "All in due time, Koukennin."
            "What the hell? You're just being an asshole now. Don't start telling me a story, only to stop midway through and remind me of how little I know, how many unanswered questions I have, and how much you love to blind me and keep secrets from me."
            "Yet, though you may not realize it, I have just revealed one more piece of the great big Everything that will come in time."
            "Thanks for nothing."
            "When the time arrives, all my messages will become clear, and fall into place."
            "Why don't you save all your stories until then, okay?"
            "As you wish, Koukennin."