Chapter 24

"Let's gather 'round the room and move our heads and feet like crying feathers. We have eliminated our atonement and yet we sell the image of important transgressions. Stop trying and just get into a hobby, one that fulfills the dragon in your core. A heart-dragon above all else."

Ken and Enoch had made it outside. They held the fallen Bean above their heads like elegant warriors. This was their greatest ability for perfect manliness. It was only a matter of time before the truth of their honourable actions would fall on deaf ears, open then up, and spread awareness.

"This was a good duty, Enoch," said Ken to his friend. He tried to calm his voice from attracting too much glory to the both of them, since Enoch was a problem according to Wraith. Wraith was the wisest of the group, even somehow surpassing Kit in the attribute furthermore. It was an excellent saga.

"Sagely…" muttered Enoch and thought about how he hated the attention to detail. He wished he could have done more to aid in rescuing Bean. He wanted to piledrive more ugly offenders in the neighbourhood of evil. He wanted to rid the halls of the ill-sacred relics of death and tumultuous torment.

"I only hope that Wraith is okay. I also have high hopes for Kit. I'm glad he is rescuing that great lad. It just goes to show how important he is. It's like he's the new Knuckles."

Enoch gasped when he heard his friend utter the sentence so nonchalantly and without warning. He was shocked and slapped Ken on the face with a robotic appendage. "Do not say such malignity!' the robotic Snake spout out. "Do you not hear yourself speaking?"

Ken felt his sore cheek, rubbed it like a magic lamp, and returned his questioned gaze to the serpent. "I didn't say a single bad thing! I didn't even say 'stupid'."

"Yeah, you obviously didn't say that horrible mean word. The accusation I hold delves deeper into the mental misalignment that you have unknowingly paired with a gesture of faith and friendship."

"Dude, what?" Ken lowered his glasses with his hand and cocked his eyebrow up on the right side. It was a sneering glare, but it made him wince in the middle due to the pain he had received abounding his facial area.

"Dude, listen. I will repeat your conversation to me verbatim," Enoch said as he switched on a part of his robot body that could record and play back messages. "Look at what I say to you."

"I will keep my eyes open as well as my ears. But I seek not a flaw, but an expressed 'misalignment'."

"Don't forget, it was all just an accident on your part. I will point out the reference to your indiscretion." With that, Enoch repeated back the message using his robotic speech configurations. "I only hope that Wraith is okay. I also have high hopes for Kit. I'm glad he is rescuing that great lad. It just goes to show how important he is. It's like he's the new Knuckles."

Ken blinked. "I'm so confused," he finally said, like a truthful sad person. "I'm sorry if I could possibly have offended someone with this statement, but I don't really understand." He began to cry. Things were getting really emotional for him. "What have I done?" He was shouting out loud now. He was scared and unhappy. "I'm so sorry to the world and the natural environment!"

"Calm down, you guy!" snapped Enoch. "I will explain your insubordination."

Ken clamed down his saddened expression and then prepared to relish his consequences as he awaited the kind explanation for his slithery friend. "I am clam," he finally said after wiping away his tears and then refocusing his energy into his caring mind. "And I am also very ready. I want to hear this proposed allegation in full force, Enoch."

"Good, because I want to say something like this. Allow me to repeat myself first though, homie. I only hope that Wraith is okay. I also have high hopes for Kit. I'm glad he is rescuing that great lad. It just goes to show how important he is. It's like he's the new Knuckles. I'm finished relaying the message."

Ken began to weep again and then dried off his face with his handkerchief. He was sweating profusely as well. The sweat buildup could have been directly correlated with the environment they were in at the present; many conflicts in body temperature could be a result of the heated area. With so many metallic structures adourning the location, along with the nearness of the smelly sewage exit, the high average temperatures could be a meddlesome experience to even the strongest of warriors. It made Ken wonder how Enoch could ever survive as a cold-blooded reptile encased in hard non-plastic outerwear.

"Stop, do not cry any longer. I will punch you again if I have to. It's a really annoying task to deal with looking at. It is very unbecoming of a greatly matured individual," said Enoch. He sighed deeply and hoped that no more tears were shed from Ken's humility. "Do you hear the sentence referring to Knuckles?"

"Yes, I heard it both times."

"It is the fumbling point."

"How so, Enoch? Did I err?"

"Yes, your erring was complicated to me and would not fly over Wraith's head. He'd certainly catch your stumble in proper syntax."

"I cannot see the error."

"It was when you described Wraith as the 'new Knuckles'. That is a terrible thing to have uttered. Wraith would have probably killed you for misusing such a great man's name so liberally. I'm disappointed myself, but I'm still more okay with it than Wraith would be. Wraith would be hopping mad."

"Sounds like coconut crab cake to me, dawg." Ken shuffled his feet. "Was my error based on disrespect to the fallen comrade's name?"

"Yes, you disrespected the dead and did not allow for a permanent reflection of his legacy. Shame on you."

Ken wept. He felt the accusation sting and grab hold like a swarm of hornets. He felt the essence pour down and trickle down his spine. He was tangled up in side. Now he couldn't handle the sudden detriment. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, carrying his portion of seized Bean with him. He was feeling more and more emotions with each passing second. His life was in a state of dissatisfaction due to the woe that compelled him towards his recognition of careless crimes on the mental level. "I did it… didn't I?"

"Yeah," said Enoch. "Now you're facedown on the floor."

"Oh…" moaned Ken. He slammed his fist on the ground and said 'stupid'. It was the most unchill he had ever been in such a long time. Ken did not even remember feeling so torn up when Knuckles had passed. Now was his inevitable moment of healing through feeling. "I get it now. I have disrespected a great ally, and an even better friend."

"But Knuckles is not a friend to all! Just the best, of course!" called a voice from behind the two and the cargo Bean.

"My gosh! It's Wraith!" cried Enoch. "You've returned at last!"

"And your blood is leaking like a flowing sea! What happened to you?" shouted Ken, raising himself off of the ground.

Wraith smirked and gave Ken a friendly little punch in the chest. He was careful not to do it too hard because Ken was a friend and his own muscles were as swole as mosquitos. "I'm here," he said with a deep breath outward.

"Piece of cake, I presume," guessed Enoch with a light smile.

Wraith groaned and turned to the snake bot. "That was my dad's stinkin' line, stinkin' dirt face." He let out a snarled snort at Enoch and beat his chest with one fist. "If you wanna one-v-one me, fam, then I suggest you keep at your stupidity!"

Ken gasped because he heard Wraith say "stupidity", a harsh vocabulary component.

Enoch sighed. "I apologise…"

"Duh," murmured Wraith and he quickly gasped. He then ran over to the doorway and gasped louder. He gasped a third time when he turned to face the others. "KIT!" he cried. "Where is my mentor?" He almost wanted to cry. "I hope you did not kill him, Enoch!" He started to feel his radiant energy coming back, but it was paining him too much to continue so he gave up and put his hands in his pants pockets. "Who is I kiddin'…" He gargled and spit on the ground with fury. "You's is a stinkin' snake. You can't does a ting, duder!" He laughed, picked up a small rock and through it at Enoch. It hit him in the eye and he winced and held his pained area. Wraith laughed and picked up a bigger rock. "I'll throw this in your other dumb eyeball next! I hope you go stinkin' blind, butt face!"

Ken cracked a grin. That was the Wraith they all knew and loved. He was being funny, cool, and charismatic like Fonzi.

"Dang, but where is our turtly boyo?" sighed Wraith with a hint of metallic angst laden in his gruff teenaged tone.

"Well, he went after you…" said Enoch quietly.

"Dumb idiot…" mumbled Wraith. No one knew if he was referring to Kit or Enoch, but it was probably the one who deserved the degrading memo more. So, it was probably a reference to Enoch's idiocy.

"Wraith… Kit was burdened with responsibility and he didn't want you to be lost or killed. He went to rescue you," said Ken kindlier.

"I see the fundamentals in the jar of solutions, but I can't bring myself to agree to such rash behaviour," said Wraith in his cooler voice. "I cannot let him be so rash like a fool would. Tooks! I gotta stop him from getting himself grabbed by more stinkin' Treasure Hunter goons!"

"I can help ya…" said a voice from the trees above. Wraith looked up and gasped his loudest inhalation of oxygen ever. The figure jumped down from his resting place and joined the group of Empire warriors.

"Diggin' this… Who are you?" said Wraith with his arms crossed in a semi-sassy structure.

The newcomer cocked his head and returned Wraith's disgusted pose with his own dissing stance. He clicked his tongue like a numerically ordered inventory mastermind. "Boy, you fellas can just refer to me as Mighty the Armadillo."