For Now, Forever

by Anna-mathe

Knuckles is on a Quest. But is it all worth it?

2. Loyalties

)---------- Loyalties
part two of "For Now, Forever"
written by Anna-mathe

Sonic stared at the Chaos Emerald.
It was the one Knuckles had found in Robotropolis and left in
Knothole. When it had been uncovered, it had been dormant, just regaining
its energy. Then it had been used to save Sonic's life, while another
emerald had been discovered to be a portal of some sort to another Zone.
Now, though, this emerald was returning to dormancy.
After only a few days, just when it seemed the gem was fully
active, the power had begun to seep out of it. And now, even as Sonic
watched, it lost its glowing luster and faded to a dull shade of gray.
It was dead.
Sonic continued to stare at it for a long time after it became
dormant. He was trying to figure out what could be going on; what could
have made it come to life in the first place, and what had now put it back
to sleep.
There were no answers.

1)---------- Intruders

Knuckles was in a similar dilemma on the Floating Island.
As was his way, he was spending the early hours of the morning in
the Chaos Chamber, observing the emerald. Now, though, he did it with new
purpose.
Ever since his final encounter with the Firelance, he'd been
trying to again achieve an ultimate form without power rings, as he had
before, but to no avail. It just wouldn't work.
Whatever force had been at work in the realm of Chaos that day had
dissipated into the air, because the emerald no longer produced any sign
of strangeness.
*Actually,* he thought, *it never did. Everything that happened
happened through the emerald I left in Knothole. This one just sat here
under our noses and almost wiped out all life on the Floating Island.*
What intrigued him, though, was the task of figuring out how to
use the emerald to enter the NeverZone.
The NeverZone still had not been explained. All that was known
was in the Legend of the Sky, an ancient tale that had been partially
preserved over the thousands of years since its creation.
He's asked Sonic to check Nicole's databank for the rest of the
legend, but found that parts of it, most of it, in fact, had become
intelligible in its oldest forms, and recent translations could not be
held as accurate. Therefore, Nicole had no more to say on the NeverZone
than she had before. Any part of the legend that could have explained was
lost to time.
Entering the NeverZone would, supposedly, become the deciding
factor in "the battle for freedom and peace", but that was a battle that
could go on forever, or another day. How does one determine the battle
for freedom and peace? How was he to know if he could ever find the answer?
*And so they tell me Chaos will attend to itself. Sometimes I
really hate my life.*
At that moment, disrupting his thoughts, the emerald began to glow
a deep red shade: there were intruders on the Floating Island.

Instantly, he left the Chamber and let his hereditary link with
the emerald guide him to the site of the disturbance.
As he approached the area, he could tell even from a distance what
the disturbance was: badnik attack from the surface of Mobius. They were
destroying everything they could, but had a slight problem.
The Chaotix were on the job.
Taking this as a good sign, Knuckles landed beside them and
engaged in the battle.
*Dang! SWATbots? Who's Robotnik tryin' to kid?*
"'Ey, Knux, good of you to join us!" Vector sang, socking a
SWATbot in the face and sending it flying.
"Glad to be here!" Knuckles lightly replied, joyfully repeating
the croc's action.
"Any idea what all this is about?" Mighty called from where he was
taking down about half of the invasion force single-handedly. "I mean, why
are there 'bots on the Floating Island?!"
By the time Knuckles answered, the invading forces were already
either down for the count or running.
"I dunno. Maybe Robotnik had a surplus he wanted to eliminate."
"Why bother, though?" Espio inquired, sitting down. "What would
be worth the effort of shipping a load of SWATbots up here? What could he
possibly gain?"
"Anything," Knuckles told him. "We don't know the motive for that
attack. Our friend in Robotropolis could be planning anything."
"Like what?" the chameleon persisted.
The echidna shrugged.
"I dunno. Just everyone keep your eyes open. Whatever the deal
is, I'm sure we'll here about it soon enough."

The ordeal had Knuckles a bit worried. In fact, it had him very
worried. Robotnik left the Island alone. He had, ever since his first
and only attempt to take it over.
It didn't make sense for him to now send a squadron of SWATbots to
the Island when there couldn't have been any real hope they'd do any major
damage before being flogged to death.
Mobius was one thing. The Floating Island was a world all its
own, a world in which the Guardian had the upper hand through a link with
the emerald and use of its powers. And Knuckles was the Guardian.
Still, Robotnik wasn't stupid. Insane, yes, but not stupid.
Something was up with this situation. Something was very much up.
At the moment, Knuckles was heading back to the Chamber. If
anything had been left behind, the emerald would be able to tell him. The
directional guidance was gone, but that didn't mean that there couldn't be
something or someone left that could cause trouble.
He popped down the hidden passageway to the Chamber and landed
lightly on his feet. The emerald was closer to its usual bright shade,
but something was still amiss.
Concerned, Knuckles placed one of his hands against the cool,
smooth side of the gem, and an image filled his mind.
There *was* someone. Something. It wasn't a regular 'bot. Its
shape didn't resemble a SWATbot, a stealth bot, a sentrybot, or any other
kind he knew. Still, it was indisputably a robot.
And it was heading, at immense speed, away from the Chaos Chamber.
*DANG IT!!!* Knuckles shouted inwardly. *Whatever it is, it works
for Robotnik, and it knows now where the Chaos Chamber is!*
The emerald grew suddenly hot to the touch. It was trying to keep
Knuckles' attention, for it had more left to say.
Knuckles returned his focus to the gem. He needed to know where
the intruder was going, where he could cut it off and destroy it before it
disclosed its secret.
With the destination of the retreating intruder imprinted on the
Guardian's mind, he took off after it with cold determination to
personally render the robot limb from limb.

When he intercepted the robot, it was at the site of mass
destruction.
The area he recognized instantly with a sinking feeling as Espio's
home was in more than a shamble, it was burning to the ground.
For a moment, Knuckles forgot about the intruder and called
frantically for his friend, hoping that he'd seen the robot approaching
and gotten away before it attacked.
Then he saw them.
Leaving.
Flying away . . .

An hour later, Knuckles was explaining the situation to the
Freedom Fighters via the wristband Knuckles still had from his short
tenure with them in Knothole.
He and the remaining Chaotix were reporting in with much
reluctance to admit that one of them had been captured by an intruder they
had allowed to get away.
"You say it was a robot of some kind?" Sally asked for
confirmation.
"Yeah," Knuckles confirmed. "One like none I'd ever seen before."
"Could you be a little more specific than that, pal?" Sonic
suggested.
"Well, it wasn't very large. About as big as you or me. In fact,
at a first glance, if I didn't know better, I'd almost think it *was* one
of us . . . blue. That's all I could tell from the distance between us.
And it had the glare of the sun bouncing off it, so I couldn't see it very
clearly."
There was an uncomfortable silence on the other end.
"Well?" Knuckles pressed. "Do you guys know anything about this?"
Sonic cleared his throat.
"Okay, Knux. From what I can tell, it sounds to me like you've
just had your first encounter with a mecha."
"A what?"
"Sort of super robots. They're way tougher than any regular 'bot.
Robotnik gave 'em artificial intelligence, and a lot of really nasty
stuff. Watch your step, Knux."
"Mechas, huh? Well, what about Espio?"
"Get on down here, and we'll form a rescue team."
"Right. Floating Island out."
Knuckles turned off his communicator and sighed.
"What're we waiting for?!?!" Vector yelled. "Let's go!!"
The echidna glared at him so angrily that he almost burned holes
in the croc's head.
"That thing knows the location of the Chaos Chamber. Someone's
gotta keep it guarded."
Charmy slapped his own face.
"Knuckles, dang you and your twisted priorities! If the emerald
means more to you than your friends, go ahead and guard the dang thing, and
we'll see to this!!"
"Hold it, Charmy," Knuckles ordered fiercely. "We're all going.
But first I've gotta move the Island."
Mighty looked confused.
"The Island's always moving, Knux."
"I mean move it off course. Somewhere so way off that Buttnik
won't be able to find it for awhile. Hang on, I'll be right back!"
And before any other objections could be made to him, he sped away
from the scene.

2)---------- Searches

"So what's the plan?" Knuckles asked Sonic.
The Chaotix and three Freedom Fighters, Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie
Rabbot were crouched in the shadows outside Robotropolis, observing the
situation.
Sally answered.
"We've received information that there are now three roboticizers
in the city. They're where we want to go."
"You think they roboticized him?!" Vector snapped in alarm.
"Most likely, that's what they intend to do," Sally somberly
replied.
"It can't happen," Knuckles vowed. "Where are the roboticizers,
Sally?"
A diagram of the city was displayed midair by Nicole.
"In here," Sally said, pointing to one building, "here," she
pointed to another, "and in the palace."
"I recommend splitting up," Sonic advised. "We'll cover more
ground, more quickly."
"Agreed," Sally quickly ordered. "Bunnie and Charmy, you two
together. Mighty and Vector, with me. Sonic and Knuckles, you two head on
into the big one."
"Right," they both consented and took off for the capital.

"Why me?" Knuckles mumbled, looking up at the looming structure.
He allowed himself one shudder, then followed Sonic in through a small air
duct in the back wall, when no 'bots were looking.
The tunnel was so small that the two Mobians had to crawl on their
hands and knees to fit at all.
"This way," Sonic directed, moving first through the piping. "I've
done this a pathetically large amount of times before. Just follow me."
"If you've done this so many times, are you sure none of Robotnik's
little creations are on to your little spot?"
"No way!" the hedgehog laughed, looking back. "A SWATbot couldn't
find one of our passageways if we jumped into one right in front of 'em!"
"Maybe not, but what about one of those mechas you told me about?"
"I doubt they'd consider it their priority."
Saying this, Sonic turned forward again and continued on into the
maze of air ducts they'd entered.
After a few minutes of silent crawling, Knuckles asked, "How many
of these things are there?"
"Mechas?"
"Yeah."
"Well, so far they've only activated one. Mecha Sonic."
"Catchy name."
"I thought so." Sonic scratched his head and continued. "On our
last mission here, Sally found information that ol' Buttnik is actually
building more of them. We don't know for sure how many, but it seems he's
gathering up quite an army."
"If there are so many, would we be able to stop them from
conquering what's left of free Mobius?"
From where Knuckles was crawling, he could see the shudder run
through the hedgehog's body.
"Dunno. We'd have to see."
Knuckles could tell Sonic doubted their chance of victory.

"There it is," Sonic whispered, pointing down a vent beneath them.
Knuckles peeked through, gawking slightly at the huge, cylindrical
structure.
"That's the roboticizer?"
"Shore is, Knux. Let's watch. Somethin's going on down there."
Indeed, two SWATbots were having a conversation below.
"When is he arriving?"
"Soon, the master says."
"How soon?"
"Unknown.
"Is the machine ready?"
"Affirmative. Roboticization process standing by."
That said, the two robots exited the room, leaving it unguarded.
Knuckles turned his glance to Sonic.
"It's standing by."
"We can remedy that, I'm sure," was the Freedom Fighter's cheerful
reply. He reached down and removed the vent, quietly setting it on the
floor beside him. "Come on," he told Knuckles, jumping through the hole
and landing lightly on his feet.
The echidna quickly followed his example, and the two of them
approached the controls for the machine.
"What do we do?" Knuckles speculated. "It looks pretty complex."
"Knuckles, my friend, the more complex they are, the easier they
are to break."
That said, Sonic went along the keyboard, pounding heavily on
every button. Knuckles watched with interest, then suggested, "Hey, can I
try something?"
An electric crackle ran along the console.
"Sure," Sonic replied. "This thing's already pretty much
trashed."
Knuckles raised one big hand and knocked in half the panel.
Around the broken, dented area, lights flickered and went out.
Then the roboticizer began to also glow with an electric crackle.
"Woah!" Sonic gaped. "Now it's thoroughly trashed! C'mon, Knux,
let's get outta here before the thing blows!"
"Ooo, sounds like a plan!"
As the sound of machinery revving up filled the room, the duo ran
out the door and charged up the hall.
"The roboticizer's gonna explode any moment," Sonic recapped.
"But we've still gotta see if Espio's in here before we split."
"Where would - AHH!"
Knuckles' question had been cut short by a sudden, searing pain in
his right shoulder. Clasping his left hand to the wound, he realized that
his blood was flowing out from both ends of the . . . what had hit him?
As he turned to look back, Sonic grabbed his good arm.
"Don't stop! We've been spotted! Run!"
Laser fire filled the air as the two bolted from the scene, barely
dodging any more injuries. Knuckles began to feel a bit short of breath,
and he was losing feeling in his right arm.
*Ignore it. Just keep going!*
They did. They both did for a few seconds longer.
Then the corridor became a blazing inferno. The explosion from
the roboticizer filled not only the immediate area, but the fire pushed
through the corridor, taking down everything in its way. SWATbots were
being incinerated even as they fired at Sonic and Knuckles.
The sting from the heat reached the pair, and Knuckles realized
that they could not outrun the explosion's blast. In the split second
during which this transpired, Sonic grabbed a power ring from his pack
with one hand and grabbed Knuckles with the other. Then they both
vanished from the scene, using the chaotic power to boost their speed.

When Sonic released his grip on Knuckles' arm and they both came
to a halt, they were outside Robotropolis again.
"How bad is it?" Sonic instantly demanded in regard to the laser-
wound the echidna had obtained.
"Not very," Knuckles assured him. "It just startled me."
"Yeah right!" Sonic objected, leaning to examine the Guardian's
shoulder. "The sucker went all the way through! You're danged lucky not
to have lost use of your arm!"
"I didn't, though. It'll be fine. But we didn't find Espio."
Sonic released an exasperated sigh and walked over to a nearby,
somewhat sickly-looking tree. Reaching up and plucking two broad leaves,
he returned to Knuckles.
"These aren't in the best shape, but they'll hopefully stop the
bleeding," he remarked, pressing a leaf against each end of the wound
until the blood dried and held them on. "And as for Espio, let's just
wait and hear what the others found out."
On cue, Sally's team showed up.
"All right," she began. "He's not there. We combed the dungeons,
and he's not on the list to be roboticized, either. What we did find,"
and she produced a small diskette, "is that Robotnik does, in fact, know
the location of the Chaos Chamber. And he's sent a mecha to check it
out."
"Gol dang it!!" Knuckles exclaimed. "And no one's on the Island
to guard it!"
"What else is on that disk, Sal?" Sonic inquired.
"Mainly encoded information we'll have to figure out back at
Knothole."
"A point in our favor," Mighty said to Knuckles. "While we were
there, we heard a report. The mecha seems to be having trouble finding
the Island. I guess moving the trajectory was all that was needed."
"Not for long, though," Sally cut in. "Stealthbots are being sent
all over the planet searching, and every one of Robotnik's stations on
Mobius is scanning for the Island. They expect to have covered the planet
in two hours."
Knuckles muttered something under his breath that is best not
repeated.
"Did you guys have any luck?" Mighty asked Sonic and Knuckles.
Sonic scratched his head.
"Well, we didn't find Espio, but we did manage to blow up a
Roboticizer."
"Blew it up?!" Sally repeated in surprise.
"Yeah. I think it took out most of the palace building, too."
"Oh, that's a plus."
"Of course it is, but it's not what we came here for."
"No, but it's still a plus."
At that moment, Bunnie and Charmy appeared on the scene.
"Mah oh mah!" Bunnie gasped, crouching over to catch her breath.
"That down there's a madhouse!"
"Yeah!" Charmy agreed. "Something big went down in the palace. The
streets are swarming with 'bots!"
"I recommend we get the hoo-ha outta here before they find us!!"
Bunnie adamantly suggested.
"Did you find anything?" Knuckles insisted, even as they began to
head back to Knothole.
"Nuthin' doin', Knux. No sign of him ever bein' there."

3)---------- Discoveries

The weary Guardian, upon reaching the Chaos Chamber, flopped down on
his back and stared at the ceiling.
Night was setting on the Floating Island, ending one long and
painful day, and beginning goodness only knew what. What Knuckles did know
was that at any moment, if not already, Robotnik's satellites and scanners
would locate the Island and move in with the mecha. And, after hearing a
few tales from Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, he didn't look forward to a
brawl with the thing.
A brawl seemed unavoidable, though. With the location of the Chaos
Chamber revealed, the enemy could gain total control of the Island instantly
. . . if they got control of the emerald.
Knuckles didn't intend to allow that to happen.
On top of it all, the location of the fourth member of the Chaotix
remained a mystery. It was as if he'd faded from existence once he's faded
from Knuckles' sight, in the grasp of the mecha.
It had been a long and painful day.
Now Knuckles decided to get what sleep he could before the fireworks
started up again. A heavy blow had been done to Robotnik, apparently, when
the roboticizer had exploded. Maybe that would buy them some more time to
prepare . . .

When the signal of intrusion woke him, he was surprised to find not
a mecha at his doorstep, but Sonic.
"What are you doing here?" he inquired by way of greeting after
meeting the hedgehog near the entrance to the Chamber.
"Stating a point."
"What point is that?"
Sonic sat on a rock and made himself comfortable.
"You said that the Firelance made the second Guardian of the Island
seal the Chaos Chamber to outsiders."
Knuckles searched his memory quickly.
"Yeah. So?"
"So?" Sonic leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "If
the Chamber's sealed against intruders, than how is it compromised now?
Won't whatever barriers set in the Chamber keep it safe from the mecha?"
"Oh." Knuckles blinked. "Oh, I hadn't thought about that . . . I
don't know why not. I just know that it won't."
"How do you know? Who's ever gotten in?"
"You. The Chaotix. Certain Firelances throughout the ages. No one
should be able to get in besides a Guardian."
"But something had been done. An ancient Guardian managed to seal
the Chamber against any intruder. How could he have done that?"
"Man, if I knew, I'd be sleeping a lot easier right now."
"You aren't sleeping."
"Tell me about it." Knuckles grimaced. "In the last few weeks,
it's dawned on me just how little I actually know about the Chaos Emerald.
I don't know how to seal the Chamber, I certainly don't know how to enter
the NeverZone . . . "
"The passage also said that the portal must be exposed. Maybe
legend's just doing its job."
"'Chaos will attend to itself'?" Knuckles quoted with a grin.
Sonic shrugged and grinned back.
"It at least seems pretty good at watching its back."
"But it's already been exposed. Just recently, me, the Chaotix, and
our local ethereal being chewed each other out down there."
"But the legend said for the portal itself to be exposed. The
Chamber isn't the portal, the emerald is."
"But if the emerald is removed, the Island's gonna crash."
"Okay, let's scratch the whole plan." Sonic noted the fresh bandage
on the echidna's shoulder. "Who did that?"
"Mighty. The only way they'd let me have any peace."
"Be glad. You just may need that shoulder when we face off against
your local mecha."
"Ha." Then a glitch in phrasing caught the Guardian's attention.
"We?"
Sonic crossed his arms and laughed.
"Knux, you think I'm gonna miss you tanglin' with my arch-enemy? In
your dreams!"
Knuckles was about to retort, but stopped right before speaking with
his mouth hanging wide open in shock.
"What?" Sonic inquired, seeing the expression on the echidna's face.
"Knux? What's wrong?"
Quickly rising to his feet, Knuckles looked over his shoulder and
said simply, "He's here."
Sonic blinked.
"How do you know?"
"Hmm. Let's just say Chaos is attending to itself."

The Chaotix, along with Knuckles and Sonic, were waiting for Mecha
Sonic as he touched down in the Sandopolis Zone.
The mecha, once landed, just stood and stared at them with his
glowing, impassive red eyes, waiting for them to make the first move.
Knuckles took it upon himself to do just that.
"What have you done with Espio?" he demanded, stepping forward.
Mecha didn't answer.
That was all it took for Knuckles to lose his temper, but Vector
refrained him from starting any violence just yet. The croc put a
cautioning hand on the echidna's good shoulder and also took a step forward.
Despite the circumstances, the Chaotix watched this with some
interest. It was very out of Vector's character to step into something like
this. Everyone waited to see what he had to say.
After glaring at the intruder for a moment, Vector flatly stated:
"Man, you suck."
Mecha Sonic gasped, and his eyes blazed even darker. Clenching his
fists, he ignited his jets and blasted at the croc.
Vector laughed maniacally and stepped out of the way. Mecha,
unprepared for this move, smashed into a pyramid.
"HAHAHAHA! You're nothin' but another lousy bricklayer, and I'm the
Wrecking Ball of Joy! HI-YAH!!" Vector screamed, hurling a brick at Mecha's
head.
Now, this turn of events had not been in Mecha's plan. In fact, he
was so thoroughly torked that he activated the energy blaster in his right
arm and zapped at the croc.
Even this didn't work as planned, though, because Vector, being the
slick sucker that he was, managed to dodge enough that only his tail got a
bit singed.
"HEY, BUBBA!!!" he yowled. "Knux!!" he appealed to the echidna, who
was watching the scene with the same shock as the others. "Snap out of it!
Are you gonna let that metal creep get away with that?!"
Knuckles blinked.
"Euh, of course not, Vector."
Mecha spoke for the first time.
"And just what do you intend to do about me, echidna? beep
Priority four, echidna!"
The priority four echidna walked up so that he was right in Mecha's
face and hissed, "Man, I SO am sick of you people and your priorities!"
Mecha regarded him cooly.
"And, I repeat, just what do you intend to do about me, echidna?"
Knuckles made no verbal reply; he just slammed his bladed fist into
Mecha's face.
Once the motion was complete, though, and before he could regain his
balance from delivering the blow, Mecha grabbed a handful of his deadlocks
with one hand and slammed the echidna back in the face with the other. The
blow, coming from such a source, stunned the Guardian for a moment.
Next thing he knew, Mighty had attacked Mecha with enough force that
the 'bot went flying back a few yards.
Howling with rage, Mecha flew straight back into the armadillo, and
now Mighty went flying.
Charmy decided to copy Vector's movement and threw a brick at Mecha
Sonic, giving Sonic and Knuckles both the chance to get in a good sock in
the robot's noggin.
Enraged, Mecha took to the air and jetted quickly away.
"He's heading for the Chaos Chamber!" Knuckles shouted, still seeing
a few stars.
"On it!" Sonic called, racing away towards the Chamber. Knuckles
and the Chaotix took off after him.

When they arrived on the scene, it was to a very strange and intense
sight. Sonic and Mecha Sonic were running circles around each other, both
trying to get in a hit, but managing to outrun each swing taken, leaving
them both unscathed.
Knuckles took it in with a glance, then searched the ground for a
moment. Producing a heavy club of wood that had been resting on the mossy
ground, he silently approached the pair.
*They haven't noticed me. Too engrossed with each other. It must
be neat to have an arch-enemy.* Just next to the battling pair, he paused.
*Gotta time this just right . . . *
"Knux, what'cha doin'?" Vector called, startling the echidna so much
that he brought the club down with enough force to ground both combatants.
With the two of them going at the speed at which they had, the sudden
interruption brought on by Knuckles' weapon knocked them both out cold.
"Whoops," Knuckles mumbled in regard to the unconscious hedgehog at
his feet. He knelt down and shook him. "Hey! Uh, Sonic? You all right?"
Moaning with exaggerated volume, Sonic shook his head and opened his
eyes.
"Knux, what the hoo-ha did you do that for?"
"Sorry," Knuckles sheepishly replied, helping Sonic up to his feet.
Mecha Sonic, who had been in temporary system shock, regained
control of his systems at that point and, without a word, shot up into the
sky and vanished over the horizon.
Sonic rubbed his head, gave a cruel glare to Vector, and turned his
attention to Knuckles.
"You okay?" the echidna asked.
"Oh, sure. 'Tis but a scratch." He lowered his voice considerably.
"It won't be so easy next time, though. Don't leave the Chamber unguarded,
not for a minute."

Later, Sonic had returned home to Knothole (he'd come by plane),
Knuckles had explained the path of their conversation to the Chaotix and
they'd put together a guard shift for the Chamber. Having taken the first
watch, Knuckles leaned against the pedestal containing the emerald and took
a small comfort in its current serenity. Sure, the gem would alert him if
anything or anyone came near the Island, but he couldn't be sure he'd get
there in time even if he knew it was coming.
*There's gotta be a way to seal the Chamber against intruders. I
just wish I had some clue as to how to do that exactly . . . *
He sighed and tried to muster up some sort of chaotic energy. No
matter what he tried, though, nothing seemed even close to the effect he
wanted.
Eventually, Mighty showed up to take the next watch.
"Anything happen?" the armadillo inquired of the echidna.
"Zip," Knuckles replied, yawning. "Now, if you don't mind, I am
going to go home and hibernate. Let me know if any mechas or Firelances
show up."
"Will do, Knux!" was the cheerful response to that.
Despite his fatigue, however, the Guardian was utterly deprived of
sleep. For a long period of denial, he lay in his bed with his eyes closed
and his quilt pulled up to his nose, trying to prove to himself that he was
asleep, but finally gave in to logic and tried to think.
*How could I seal the Chaos Chamber, anyway? It seems almost
impossible. After all, what do I have in common with the second Guardian?*
Then he blinked.
*The task was originally put to the first Guardian. And I . . . *

Realization swept over him, and he jumped out of bed and ran back to
the Chamber.
"Knux?" Mighty greeted in surprise. "Forget something?"
Knuckles paced some aggravated circles in the Chamber.
"N-no, not really. I just thought of something. Maybe it doesn't
mean anything at all . . . but I just thought of it, and it bothers me."
"What?"
Exasperated and still weary, the echidna plopped on the floor beside
his comrade.
"Sealing the Chaos Chamber was the task of the first Guardian, until
it fell to the second."
"So? What's that have to do with you?"
"That what I thought. Then it hit me." Knuckles glumly rested his
chin on his knees.
Mighty waited for a moment, then asked, "What?"
"Mighty, did it ever strike you that I'm the *last* Guardian of the
Floating Island?"
"Huh?" Mighty blinked. "What do you mean?"
Knuckles waved his hands around aimlessly.
"Think about it. I'm the last echidna on Mobius and the Floating
Island. And since only an echidna can be a Guardian . . . *
"You think that, whatever the reason that the Firelances wanted this
place open only to you Guardians, now they're planning for what they'll do
with the place . . . after you're gone?"
Shrugging, Knuckles replied sullenly, "You got a better
interpretation?" He sighed. "I have just received a sudden feeling of
mortality."
Mighty was still running the concept through his head.
"They're planning for your death, then? But why? I don't get the
connection with them and you. It's almost like you're working for them in
some way, and don't know it."
A shudder went through the Guardian's limber form.
"For all I know, maybe I am."
"Um . . . let's just leave chaos to attend to itself."
"Good call," Knuckles agreed, nodding. He looked over at Mighty,
who was appearing very concerned. Apparently, the armadillo didn't want to
think about Knuckles' eventual death any more than Knuckles did.
For a while after that, they both just sat there, chatting about
various things, but not really paying much attention.
Finally, Mighty said, "Look, Knux, I know your upset, and I know
you're worried, but I also know you're dead tired. Why don't you just get
some sleep? We can try to figure something out when all of us get together,
and after we find Espio."
"Good call."

This time, the Guardian fell asleep without too much trouble. It
was if the revelation wouldn't let him sleep until he not only acknowledged
it, but got it off his chest.
He'd spent about three hours in a deep sleep, when he was awakened
by a tap on the shoulder.
"Knux, I think you'd better look at this."
Opening his eyes, he followed Mighty's frantic gaze to the Chaos
Emerald, once again glowing deep red.
"What's it mean?" asked the armadillo.
The echidna sprang to his feet.
"There's an intruder on the Island!"
Then, from out of nowhere, there came a voice.
"Excellent deduction, Guardian."
Spinning around, the two Mobians gawked in surprise at the being who
stood there, grinning metallically.
"Espio - ?" Mighty finally choked out.
The roboticized chameleon grinned wider.
"How about that. You remember me."

4)---------- Confrontations

Knuckles was still in shock.
"But you - you're - you're a - "
Espio cut in.
"A robot? Yeah, you could say that. I'm a prototype in a new
technology Robotnik's tampering with."
"Which means what?" Mighty demanded.
"Which means I'm somewhere between the usual roboticized Mobian and
the standard issue mecha. Basically, a robian with the capabilities and
powers of a mecha. Class dismissed, now I shall kill you both."
As fast a lightning flashes, Knuckles pounded Espio upside the head,
sending him slamming into the wall of the Chamber.
"No way, man!" the echidna shouted. "You're not killin' anybody,
and we're gonna find a way to deroboticize you!"
"HA!" Espio snapped, firing a laser beam that was dodged by the two
warriors and bounced harmlessly off the surface of the Chaos Emerald. "Get
real! Your friends on the Mobian surface have been trying to find an
effective deroboticizer for years! You're not going to live that long!"
Mighty lunged at Espio, knocked him down, and held him down as
Knuckles laid another heavy blow to the mecha-robian.
"They're your friends too!" Knuckles shouted.
Espio ignited his rocket-boosters and shot into the air, throwing
both of them to the floor.
"Not anymore, echidna! crackle Priority four, echidna!"
That blew Knuckles over the edge. To hear that phrase come out of
the mouth of a person who, two days ago, had been one of his closest friends
in the world, well, it was too much.
He shot through the air, slamming into Espio with so much force that
he crashed hard enough to dent both his metal casing and the Chamber wall.
Eyes glowing angrily, Espio jumped into the air and shot out of the
Chamber. Knuckles followed.

* * * * * * * *

Down on the Mobian surface, in Knothole Village, Sonic had a
revelation of sorts himself.
Rotor had been picking at the strange emerald for the last couple of
days, trying to figure out something, anything, about its behavior. At the
end of the day, (it was evening on Mobius while it was the middle of the
night on the Floating Island) Sonic had stopped in to check progress. With
him, he carried something with which he hoped to elicit a response from the
dormant gem.
Rotor looked up as the hedgehog entered his lab.
"Sonic! What're you doing with . . . all those power rings?"
"Specifically, fifty power rings, Rotor. This thing turned me and
Knux into our ultimate forms without any aid from rings. Let's see what
happens if we try doing this by the numbers."
Waving his hands to indicate consent, Rotor said, "Go for it. But
just what do you expect to find out?"
Sonic shrugged.
"I'll tell you when I find it out."
Without another word, the hedgehog, still holding the fifty rings,
approached the Chaos Emerald and picked it up, holding it tightly. A jolt
of energy ran through him, giving him a start. Then came another, slightly
longer. These jolts came more and more rapidly, lasting longer and longer,
until he thought the transformation was finally going through, but then the
energy flow ground to a halt.
As the chaotic energy left Sonic's veins, it seemed as if his
natural energy left him as well. He slumped against a wall and took a deep
breath.
"Whew. Rotor, I think this thing is permanently fried," he said.
"Maybe you should just give it up," Rotor suggested in a concerned
tone.
Sonic was about to reply, when a forceful blast of energy swept
through him, taking his breath away. His skin began to tingle, his body
felt lighter and more limber, and his strength felt as if it knew no bounds.
A shining yellow glow gleamed out from him.
The transformation was slow, but successful. He was Super Sonic.
"Hey, it works!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Woah!" The emerald
took flight. It just flew right from his hands.
Freezing in the center of the room, it hovered for a moment. No
longer was it dormant and dull; it shone a bright, dazzling pink. The color
was unnatural for an emerald, and Sonic and Rotor stared at it for a long
moment. Then, just as Super Sonic took a step toward it, its glow increased
to a level where, even in his ultimate form, he had to shield his eyes.
When the light dimmed, the emerald fell to the floor, now a normal
shade of green.
Standing just behind where it fell was a woman feline.
The hedgehog blinked.
"Who are you?" he asked in surprise.
She looked at him with huge, startled, pale blue eyes, gasped, and
vaporized.
"What the - " Rotor exclaimed.
Vaporized was the perfect word. Without so much as a flick of her
finger, her body disintegrated into a mist that hung in the air and then
evacuated the room via an open window.
Sonic stared at the window.
"Rotor, do you have any clue what just happened?"
The walrus shrugged.
"Hey, you're the Chaos Warrior! I just work here."

* * * * * * * *

Espio grabbed Knuckles by the shoulders, swung him around in rapid
circles, then released him flying through the air.
Knuckles immediately adjusted his angle and caught the air in his
dreadlocks, allowing him to whirl back and collide with Espio with the same
amount of force that had sent him flying in the first place.
They both hit the ground with a loud thud and rolled through the
grass a few times before coming to a halt. After this halt, Espio pushed
himself up to his knees and glared at Knuckles.
Knuckles did the same, wincing at the pain in his shoulder from the
antagonized wound.
"What's your gameplan?" the Guardian demanded in a low voice.
"crackle Just to destroy you. Any further orders will come
then, once I report in successfully."
Snarling in pure rage, Knuckles jumped back in the air, calling on
a power he didn't know he had, soaring up into the sky and daring the mecha-
robian to follow into the clouds.
Espio took the bait and took off into the air, his rocket-booster
allowing him to catch up with the echidna within moments.
"Give it up, Knuckles!" Espio yelled into the wind, swinging at him
and missing his target.
Knuckles dodged and performed a perfect aerial loop, coming back
around and aiming a kick in the mecha-robian's back.
"I think not, friend!" he shouted, watching the metallic chameleon
fall about twenty yards before stopping his descent and righting his
position.
"Fool! Don't think our former friendship will buy you any leniency!
My master demands you dead by sunrise!"
Laserfire from Espio's wristgun lit the night sky, and as Knuckles
frantically dodged in the air, he could see Mighty standing on the ground,
watching.
Now, the echidna known as Knuckles was not at all experienced in
aerial combat, seeing how until this night he'd never done anything but
glide. However, the chaotic energy was now churning wildly through him, and
he found himself acting on instinct, maneuvering through the air with ease
and grace that surprised him, or would have, had he stopped to think about
it. He didn't stop to think, though. Instead, he allowed the instinct to
guide him through the battle, thinking about nothing except vanquishing his
target.
The mecha-robian known as Espio had not expected this form of battle
from the Guardian. His organic memory banks told him that the echidna
couldn't be performing the feat in which he was currently involved: that he
should have been limited to the land. Instead, the target was flying
through the air with an air of expertise. Espio was well equipped for any
type of combat, but the surprise of aerial attack had him taken a bit aback.
Knuckles moved as if to attack Espio head on, but swerved away at
the last possible moment, soaring past the metallic chameleon to twist back
and attack from beneath.
Espio was caught off guard, as had been planned, and stumbled in the
air from the blow. His right leg was severely damaged by the blow, which
had sent sparks flying into the darkness.
Retreating a few yards, Espio tried to assess the damage from the
last few hits he'd received, but before he could conclusively compile the
data, the echidna somehow appeared behind him and landed a hard kick between
his dual rocket-boosters, knocking one of them off line and damaging
integral circuitry. Screaming in denial, he began to lose altitude.
Determined not to fail, he ignited his remaining rocket-booster to
full power, which slowed his descent for a moment, after which Knuckles
struck again, this time caving in the booster with his bladed fist.
Now with nothing to keep him aloft, Espio fell to the ground.

As he watched his opponent fall, Knuckles felt the anger drain from
him. The threat to the Island was gone. Espio had been defeated . . .
And to what end? What would be done with him now?
Still energized by the adrenaline from the battle, the Guardian flew
down and caught the metallic chameleon in his arms just before he hit the
ground.
Espio crackled a bit. His vocal circuits had been all but
destroyed.
"Don't speak," Knuckles ordered in a hard voice. "And don't move.
Just don't do anything, while we figure out what to do with you."
Being drained of the capability to fight it, Espio capitulated and
went limp in Knuckles' arms.
Satisfied, the echidna landed at last and set the mecha-robian on
the ground.
Mighty ran up to them, followed by Vector and Charmy, who had seen
the fireworks and hurried to the scene.
"Man oh man," Vector breathed, looking over the damaged form of who
had once been Espio the Chameleon. "What do we do now, Knux?"
Knuckles knelt down beside Espio.
"That depends entirely on you," he told his former comrade. "Will
you willingly remain our prisoner until we find a way to reverse the
roboticization process, our will we have to restrain you by force?"
Espio lifted his head about an inch.
"I crackle must obey sizzle my master, beep Robotnik."
Staring impassively down into the metal face, Knuckles nodded.
"So be it. You are hereby to be retained by any means necessary, by
order of the Guardian of the Floating Island."
Closing his eyes, Espio let his head fall back to the ground.

5)---------- Speculations

Imprisonment facilities on the Floating Island were not state of the
art or especially fancy, but they were very secure.
Mecha-robian Espio had been deposited in one of these cells: a deep
hole in the ground, encased on all six sides with six-inch thick titanium.
Knuckles had immediately placed a call to Knothole, asking if Rotor could
come and have a look at this damaged robot.
There had to be a way to reverse the process. And Espio couldn't
die before that solution had been found.
"Man, Knux," Mighty told Knuckles as they sat waiting for Rotor to
arrive. Vector and Charmy were at the Chaos Chamber, making sure another
invader didn't catch them off guard. "You look like crap."
"Actually," Knuckles contradicted, checking his reflection in a
puddle, "I think I look more like an echidna who made the mistake of taking
on a crew of SWATbots, a mecha, and a mecha-robian all in one day."
"Or that," Mighty conceded. "So, uh, are you all right?"
Shrugging, the Guardian folded his arms behind his head and allowed
himself to fall back in the grass.
"I guess. Let's just say I'm in better shape than Espio."
For a long moment, they were silent, still trying to fully
acknowledge that their longtime friend had been turned against them, and had
almost killed Knuckles in the service of Robotnik.
"Well," Mighty finally sighed. "That must've been hard. Taking him
down like that."
A shudder ran through Knuckles.
"Actually," he contradicted, "it was easier than it should have ever
been. I just couldn't think. Now, though . . . "
Mighty patted his friend's good shoulder reassuringly.
"We'll figure something out, man," he said in a cool, confident
tone. "We always do."
At that moment, the bi-plane soared overhead, and a few minutes
later, Rotor and Sonic arrived on the scene.
"So let's see him," Rotor suggested, wanting to get right to
business.
The two residents of the Floating Island directed him down to the
underground cell, then waited outside while he worked.
"So after all that, he'd already been roboticized," Sonic murmured.
"Man, Knux, Mighty, I'm sorry."
"Have you guys had any luck at all with a deroboticization process?"
Knuckles replied inquisitively.
Shaking his head sadly, the hedgehog was forced to say, "No."
"Well," Knuckles cheerfully stated, "that's going to change very
soon, because we will find a way to save him."
Rotor reappeared on the scene.
"There was very little fatal damage," he reported. "I took care of
that, but left the rest as it was. This way, you won't have to worry about
him breaking out."
"Do we have to keep him in pain?" Mighty inquired, grimacing.
Sonic regarded him with a distant expression.
"Remember," he said in a quiet voice, "the being down there is not
you good friend Espio Chameleon. He's one of Robotnik's agents, twisted in
every way possible for the forces of evil. If you give him an inch, he'll
take the whole Island."
Knuckles reluctantly allowed Rotor's actions.
"Before we go, though," Sonic hesitantly said, "there's something
else going on that I think you may want to hear about."
The echidna raised his eyebrows.
"Um, let's head over to the Chaos Chamber so Charmy and Vector can
get the scoop too."

Vector whistled.
"Man oh man," he said in an almost reverent manner after hearing
the Freedom Fighters' tale of the woman who came out of the emerald. "I
don't believe it! They really do exist!"
"Who would've thought?" Charmy mused. "And trapped under
Robotropolis for all these years - "
"I don't mean to interrupt," Sonic interrupted, "but exactly what
are you talking about?"
"A mistling, man!" Vector jovially informed him. "You dudes had an
encounter with a mistling! Bow down, before it's too late."
"What do you mean a 'mistling'?" Sonic demanded, exasperated.
"A mistling!" the croc repeated, as if it should be the most obvious
thing in the world. "Okay. Mistlings." For a moment, he stood ready to
explain, but instead burst out laughing. "You seriously don't have a clue
what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Um, no," Sonic flatly stated, feeling a bit insulted.
"Me neither," Knuckles interjected. "Pray, do tell."
The heads of the three Chaotix swiveled around to regard Knuckles so
quickly that you could hear the rush of wind.
"No way," Mighty gawked. "Knux, how could you not know what we're
talking about?"
Suddenly very self-conscious, the echidna shrugged.
"Hey, I just don't! It's not like a crime or anything. Don't look
at me like that!"
They continued to stare at him in a horrified manner.
"Stop it!" Knuckles snapped. "So exactly what are you talking
about?"
Mighty cleared his throat.
"Knux," he quietly asked, "you don't know the Song of Legends?"
"No, I don't!" the Guardian replied, now becoming rather irritated.
"What's the world coming to, when the local Guardian doesn't know
the folklore of his own Island?" Vector sighed. "All right, Knux. Here's a
lesson coming to you about ten years late. This is the Song of Legends."
And, shaking his head as if still bewildered, the croc began to sing
that which had been entitled the Song of Legends.

"Do you believe in legends?
in tales of times of old?
Back in days of heroes and queens
before the stone was controlled?

"Unicorns and griffins,
racing through the sky
shining horns and gleaming wings
passing on the fly?

"Elementals of earth and wind,
water and of fire,
their powers sifting through life itself
never to fade, never to tire?

"Knights, warriors and heroes,
chaste and pure and loyal,
tall and strong and handsome,
lives in service of the queens royal?

"The queens, the queens!
and ladies fair and true,
their beauty and innocence shining bright
to see the battles through?

"Do you remember the little ones?
Mistlings pale and clear?
Swinging swords with grace and might,
dissolving selves and fear?

"Firelances, the strongest of all,
some serving darkness, others light,
watching others spin their webs,
sewing and smashing with delight?

"Now they rest within the vortex,
residing in a strange and distant land.
Their task remains within the Guardian,
the watcher with the crescent band.

"Remaining alone on the Floating Island,
separated from those with whom they'd reigned,
guarding the stone and those of the realm
until the right to follow they've gained.

As the last note died away, Knuckles could only blink in
astonishment.
"Knux?" Mighty gently asked. "Are you all right?"
"Dang!" the Guardian softly exclaimed. "You know, I've never heard
of any of this . . . except for the Firelances, of course."
"It's a song we all learned as children," Charmy explained. "It
never crossed my mind that you could possibly have not heard it."
"Yeah, we just assumed . . . " Mighty began, but died away.
Vector, on the other hand, had his usual lack of sense of the
occasion.
"Knuxy boy, you had no childhood at all, did you? C'mon! Every
game we played as kids revolved around this stuff!"
Knuckles gave Vector a hard glare.
"No, I didn't have a childhood, as a matter of fact."
Sonic felt he'd better break into this conversation before the
Chaotix tried to rip each others' heads off.
"Okay, there's one thing I don't get, still."
"Only one?" Knuckles inquired, grinning.
"Well actually . . . never mind. Anyway, the song said that these
mistlings of yours seemed to like swords."
Mighty nodded.
"Yeah, it was the weapon of their trade. Turning into a mist form
was a trick they'd use in emergencies, mainly for transportation purposes.
When it came to fighting, they used swords."
"But the one we saw in Knothole didn't have one," Rotor pointed out.
"Exactly," Sonic confirmed.
Vector thought about that one.
"Well," he finally construed, "I guess she must be out looking for
one. That's probably why she disappeared so fast. Without her weapon, she
didn't want to chance you being hostile."
"But where would a legendary being go to find a sword?" Knuckles
wondered. "Or, uh, do you have a legend for that one, too?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Vector merrily replied. "Mistlings
were a big deal. They got their own legend later on. Anyway, it's supposed
to lie within the portal to the Land of No Eternity."
"The Land of No Eternity?" Knuckles repeated incredulously. "You
mean - "
"I follow you, Rad Red!" Sonic cut in excitedly. "The NeverZone!"
"All this is fine and dandy," Vector then stated, "but y'all are
forgetting one very important thing in your speculations."
"I agree," Mighty sighed. "We still haven't decided what to do with
Espio."
"Well," Rotor slowly suggested, "there may be a way to resurrect his
old memories enough to override his programming. It won't bring his body
back, but it'll at least bring back his spirit."
"It's something," Knuckles quickly interjected. "Let's go for it!"

Vector and Charmy were left at the Chamber to keep watch while the
others hurried back to the cell in which the mecha-robian was being
contained.
"Just try to jog his memory," Rotor was explaining. "Anything that
would be held as particularly important to him, something that would always
guarantee a reaction in his former state."
"We'll think of something," Mighty confidently stated as they
approached the cell.
"Espio!" Knuckles called down. Then he froze and stared down the
hole in surprise.
"Knux? What is it?" Sonic asked, coming up beside him.
"There's no one there."
"I don't believe it!" Mighty exclaimed, peering down. "Remember who
we're dealing with!" Infuriated, he reached down and yanked the door open,
snapping the lock off with his immense strength. Before anyone could stop
him, he'd dived down to the cell floor. "Okay, pal, where are you?!" he
shouted.
The air shimmered and the metallic chameleon appeared behind the
armadillo.
"Mighty - !" Knuckles yelled in warning.
Espio moved quickly. His left arm was still sparking and sizzling
from damage, and it was this arm with which he grabbed onto Mighty, letting
him have it with a few thousand volts.
"Iy-EEEEEEE!!!!!" Mighty screeched before losing consciousness from
electrocution.
"HALT!" Knuckles bellowed, jumping down in front of the pair. "Let
him go!"
Espio released Mighty from the live wire but maintained a hold on him
with his good arm.
"He's still alive," the mecha-robian growled in a crackling voice.
"However, should you take one step toward me, I will remedy that situation
immediately."
Knuckles held his ground, not moving forward, but not backing down
an inch.
"Let him go," he repeated.
Espio laughed.
"I think crackle not. Now, step back against the wall. That's
it. Hands on your head. I'm not taking a chance of you trying anything."
"I don't know what you intend to accomplish," the Guardian growled.
"You're immobilized. You know you can't get away. Just let him go, and we
won't hurt you."
"But I can get away," Espio contradicted with his metal grin.
No sooner had his words died away than there was a blaze of
rocketfire overhead, and Mecha Sonic landed in the cell beside Espio.
"Thanks for coming," the former chameleon greeted.
"Any time," Mecha replied, almost affectionately. "The master wants
your report. Come."
The mecha took hold of the mecha-robian and took off into the sky,
Espio still carrying Mighty.
Knuckles ground his teeth so hard that he chipped one of them. The
only thing he could do was watch, for if he made a move to stop them, Espio
still had the power to sizzle Mighty to a crisp.
While he was seething and the two robots were watching him seethe,
Sonic went into action. Leaping into the air and, forming his figure eight
spin, he kept himself in the air with his speed and flew up straight between
Mecha Sonic and Espio. Startled, Espio released Mighty, whom Knuckles
quickly Flew up and caught. Sonic fell back to the ground; he couldn't keep
altitude for very long. Mecha grabbed Espio by his wrist and took off as
fast as he could, heading back for Robotropolis.
"Get some water!" Knuckles yelled, trying to revive Mighty. Rotor
took off to oblige. "Come on, man, wake up!"
Sonic, after making sure Mecha didn't change course, returned to the
echidna's side.
"How is he?" he nervously inquired.
"Not very good, but I think he'll pull through." The Guardian shook
his head. "Dang! I can't believe this! Espio - man, Sonic, thanks. If
you hadn't acted when you did - "
"Hey!" Sonic interrupted. "Calm down! You're on the verge of
hyperventilating! Take a deep breath and get a grip, man!"
"You're right, you're right," Knuckles agreed, still breathing a bit
out of control. "I just can't believe any of this is happening!"
"Well, it is," Sonic simply stated. "But you can't go to pieces.
You've gotta keep it together so we can find an answer."
Rotor reappeared, carrying a bucket of water which he promptly
splashed over the armadillo's face.
"Hey!" Mighty whined, regaining his senses. He rubbed his eyes and
sat up. "Okay. What happened?"
"Are you all right?" Knuckles implored.
Mighty scratched his head.
"No, actually. I feel like my head's been stomped on."
"C'mon," Sonic said, helping Mighty to his feet with Knuckles.
"We'll take you home. You need rest."

It took some time for Knuckles to persuade Sonic and Rotor that they
could go home. The two Freedom Fighters were concerned that their help
might be needed, but finally the echidna convinced them that he and the
remaining Chaotix could still handle the Island, and if they needed help,
they'd call.
After they'd left and Mighty was sleeping soundly, Knuckles filled
the details in to Vector and Charmy, who were shocked, to say the least.
"Man oh man," Vector sighed, shaking his head. "This situation is
really gettin' me down."
"That's putting it mildly," was Charmy's comment. "Espio's been
roboticized, so he turns around and sizzles Mighty to a crisp, while we've
got a paranoid mistling lurking around the planet who probably is out
looking for this Chaos Emerald so she can get her sword and figure out
what's what, and during the meanwhile, we just get to sit here and be
nervous!"
"In a nutshell," Knuckles assented. "Anything happen here during
all this?"
Vector shook his head.
"No . . . " He stood opposite Knuckles, and now looked past the
echidna at the emerald, suddenly shocked. " . . . except that the emerald
just turned blue."
"Wha - ?!"
Knuckles whirled around, and sure enough, the Chaos Emerald had
changed to a bright blue shade.
"Woah!" Charmy exclaimed. "What's that one mean, Knux?"
Scratching his head in bewilderment, the scarlet Guardian replied,
"Heck if I know!"
As the three watched, an amazing light burst forth from the stone,
and a long, golden and silver sword slowly arose from the shimmering blue
surface.
The sword hung there in the air, suspended by a power unknown to the
three bystanders, still engulfed in the blue glow of the Chaos Emerald.
"Wow," Knuckles breathed.
"Wow's the word!" came a bright voice from behind them that shocked
out their living daylights.
Even as they spun around to regard the new arrival, she stepped
forth to claim her prize.
A faint mist floated around her white/pearlescent fur as the
mistling crossed to the center of the Chaos Chamber and grabbed her sword
from the air. She smiled and swung it back and forth a few times, then
looked up with her large, sky blue eyes, pushed back a lock of her light,
almost white hair, and spoke to the three Mobians who were staring at her.
"Are you the Guardian of the Realm of the Sky?" she inquired of
Knuckles.
"Euh . . . I'm the Guardian of the Floating Island."
She shrugged her feline shoulders.
"So things change in two thousand years. Sue me." Glancing at the
Guardian again, she received only an astonished blink in reply. "My name is
Lyrena," she introduced. "And you, Guardian?"
"Um . . . Knuckles."
"Cute." Now she approached the three of them. "Hey! Snap out of
it!" she ordered, snapping her fingers. "You three look like you've never
seen a mistling before!"
"Actually - "
"That was a joke, croc."
"Oh. Whoops."
"Anyway." Lyrena leaned against her sword and cracked her knuckles.
"What's up? I couldn't have been released unless something was seriously up
somewhere. What's the deal, Guardian?"
Knuckles only continued to stare at the almost translucent figure
in the lavender sweater and silver skirt who stood before him.
"Hey, Knux!" Vector hissed. "Answer the lady! Give her the
lowdown!"
So Knuckles shook himself out of his reverie and gave a very rough
account of recent happenings to the mistling.
"And he told you Chaos would attend to itself?" Lyrena inquired.
"Yep."
She shook her head.
"Things must be pretty bad then. Phrases like that don't come from
Guardians unless something's seriously up."
Knuckles crossed his arms.
"Should I take offense?"
Lyrena looked at him blankly for a moment, then broke up into
laughter.
"I like you," she informed him. "Michael was always *so* serious.
Things really have changed in two thousand years!"
"Michael?" Charmy inquired.
"The first Guardian of the Floating Island," Knuckles explained.
"The one the Firelance tried to connive."
"Hold it!" Lyrena snapped. "Don't go tellin' history unless you
know for certain what you're talkin' about, young Guardian! Let me tell you
about Michael and that danged Firelance!"
"How do you know what really happened?" Knuckles questioned, feeling
a bit hurt at the blow to his teaching.
She squared her hips.
"I was there, duh."
"Oh."
"Anyway, what happened was this. Out of all our types, we who used
the Chaos Emerald as a source of power, the most powerful had always been
the Firelances. There were two sects of them, those who were tyrannical and
cruel, and those who were pretty decent guys. Anyway, the two sects, of
course, had been at war for hundreds of years already on the Realm of . . .
on the Floating Island, because some were good and some were evil, and good
and evil fight, because that's what they do . . . "

6)---------- The Past

* * * * * * * *

The Firelance known as Promise called on his powers, perhaps for the
last time. He'd led the Firelance Army of Light for thirty years against
his enemies, the Army of Force. Now he was preparing for one last battle.
How he knew this would be his last, he wasn't sure, but something deep
within him made it very clear: he would not fight ever again.
Gazing out of a window in his tower, he could see life as usual go
on in the mystical Realm of the Sky. The people carried on, but with the
turn of the millenium only five years ago, he knew that this day was to mark
the end of an era.
There came a knock at his door.
"Come in," he called.
The door opened and a young mistling feline entered.
"Promise," she said, holding her sword in front of her as a sign of
good intention, "I bring a message from the echidna civilization."
"The echidnas?" Promise repeated in surprise. "What do they want?"
"They wish to speak with you in person immediately. Something very
urgent has come up."
"Mistling, I am preparing for battle."
"Sir, one of them claims to have discovered the key to an Ultimate
Form."
Promise jumped to his feet.
"Do you mean to tell me that an echidna has created a direct link
with the Chaos Emerald?"
The mistling nodded.
"I'm coming," Promise assured her, gesturing for her to lead the
way.

Echidna civilization sat along the eastern border of the Realm. The
people rarely had powers such as the other dwellers of the Island, but they
didn't mind this and continued their lives, avoiding contact with the other
mystical inhabitants.
Now, though, everything could change.
For thousands of years, ever since the Realm's creation, the
different races had tried to gain the upper hand from the power source known
as the Chaos Emerald, but no one had ever come close to the power of the
Firelances. Still, not even they had constructed such a total link to the
gem so as to achieve an ultimate form!
Promise appeared in the echidna city in a quick burst of flame, and
the mistling quickly materialized beside him.
"Where is this echidna you speak of?" Promise demanded of her.
"There," she said, pointing.
And there he stood. Tall, glowing, shining a bright pink radiance
and hovering a few inches off the ground, was the hyper-echidna.
"Welcome, Firelance," he greeted. "My name is Michael, and I dare
say I'm more powerful than you are now."
Promise laughed and walked over to Michael.
"That is quite possible, young one," he admitted. "Still, just
because you have this power doesn't mean you can fully wield it just yet."
"I realize that I can't," Michael confessed. "That is why I wanted
to speak with you."
"Oh? And what do you desire of an old Firelance?"
"You know more about this power than I do. Your own abilities may
not match mine now, but you know more about how to control them than I."
"You want me to teach you how to work this power you've obtained?
That's cheating, echidna. Every race in this Realm has the power and
abilities they do because of their own effort and study."
"Promise," Michael beseeched, "I would not ask this except for one
think: the current war between you and the Army of Force. You carry on in
your battle for domination over the Realm of the Sky, but in doing this you
are hurting the citizens of this island. Don't you see this?"
Promise made a pained expression.
"Of course I do. But if we were to capitulate, the Army of Force
would make short work of any other who opposed them. We do what we must."
"Surely you know that I have no wish to rule the Realm with my
power. However, I want this war to end. If you help me to wield my powers,
I will help you win this war, and not use my powers again, save to ensure
that my son, Steven, will inherit the gift."
"Your offer is tempting, echidna, but I fear that this development
has come too late."
Michael blinked and fear hit him in the pit of his stomach.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Promise sighed.
"I mean that the deciding factor in the battle for freedom and peace
will come into play today. After the imminent battle, the fate of the Realm
will be decided. And I don't think our side will win."
"Today we lose the war?!" Michael exclaimed. "But how do you know?"
"I just know, echidna," Promise sadly stated.
"And then what will happen? To the people of the Realm of the Sky?"
Promise closed his eyes.
"I have seen only one option, Michael. The gem from which we draw
so much energy is also a portal to another world."
"The Land of No Eternity. Yes, I know."
"This portal may be the only way the people can be saved, my friend.
If everyone can be moved through to the other side, than they will have
relative safety from the Army of Force for a short time. The army will
secure the Realm first thing, making sure that no one remains, and this will
give our forces time to regroup on the other side of the portal and prepare
to take on the army again, after building their own boundaries."
"We will fall back and claim new territory?"
"Exactly. We can no longer fight them here. Their power is too
great, and their numbers too many. This is our only chance."
"And the Realm?" Michael asked timidly.
"I'm afraid it must fall to Force."
"NO!" the echidna loudly objected. "It will not."
"Young echidna," the Firelance calmly informed him, "only you can
decide that. Today you became the most powerful being in the Realm. You
are the only person who can stand against the Army of Force. Exactly how
much of your power can you control?"
Michael shrugged.
"I don't know."
Promise clapped his hands.
"The perfect answer. In which case, Chaos is likely to attend to
itself. Let it do so. Be ready for anything. The battle will come your
way. Let the power guide you."
Michael blinked.
"Um . . . okay."
Promise turned to the mistling who had been standing silently by all
this time.
"What is your name, little one?"
"Lyrena."
"Lyrena, no matter what happens, you are to stand with this echidna,
and make sure he lives through this battle. His power and potential are too
great to be allowed to pass."
The mistling blinked at him and nodded.

Promise had been wrong, as Michael and Lyrena later found out.
The battle was waging fiercely, but it was clear that the Army of
Light was losing fast. However, the solution of retreating to the Land of
No Eternity was no longer an option.
Leading the Firelance Army of Force was a Firelance known as Fate.

Dark clouds covered the sky, leaving the Realm in darkness. On the
horizon, Michael, in his regular form, could see the signs of a chaotic
battle waging, coming closer every moment to the borders of echidna
civilization.
Lyrena materialized beside him.
"Well?" he simply asked of her.
She tossed her head frantically.
"Fate's already trapped up the Land of No Eternity!"
"What?!" Michael exclaimed, aghast.
"Yes!" Lyrena confirmed, nodding. "He's been planning for this day,
knowing that Promise would use it as a refuge! All prisoners of war, or any
survivors at that, are being banished there, with no way to return to the
Realm of the Sky! Unless we do something, it's promised enslavement for all
people here!"
"Oh my . . . " Michael held his head in his hand and turned away,
trying to think. He did not want to allow his people to be enslaved by the
Firelance Army, but could not think of how to prevent it. "All this power,
Lyrena, and I don't know how to save my people! Is there nothing *you*
could do? Even your powers are more developed than mine."
"My friend," Lyrena sadly replied, "experience is the only advantage
I have over you. My powers are rudimentary next to yours. If you can do
nothing, what do you expect me to pull?"
"Something, anything!" Michael exclaimed in despair as the battle
reached the outskirts of the city.
An explosion erupted next to them, its force slamming both of them
to the ground. As they lay in an entangled heap, an option occurred to the
mistling.
"Michael," she said, pulling herself up off the ground, "I have an
idea."

She quickly explained to him what she had in mind, and two minutes
later, Michael felt there was no choice but to go through with it.
He stood still, watching as she "mistified" and vanished in the
darkness. When she was ready, he'd know.
Fate appeared in a fiery burst.
"Echidna!" he greeted. "Surrender to my forces, or we will take
your people by any means necessary!"
"Firelance, we will not surrender to an evil force today, or any day
in the future, as we have not done so in the past."
*I'm ready!* came Lyrena's thought-voice.
*Good. Let's do this, my friend.*
Fate growled and pulled himself up to his full seven-foot height and
was about to strike down the echidna, when a glow suddenly exuded from
Michael, and he transfigured to an Ultimate Form.
Startled, the Firelance reeled back.
"You have this power - you couldn't have had it for long! You do
not know how to use it!"
"Yes," Michael quietly answered, "I do."
And he did, yet he didn't.
Lyrena had entered the emerald in her mist form, sliding through the
pored of the gem, allowing her to guide the powers flowing in and out of it.
While she could not divert a flow of energy enough to do harm to Fate or his
army, she could direct the power flowing through Michael, allowing him to
use his powers easily. Her understanding of her own abilities made her able
to control his.
Now, with Michael in his Ultimate Form, they were linked in the
mind, moving through the power as one.
Michael raised his arms and drew two circles in the air. From these
circles opened two portals which, as they grew, merged into one. As the
echidna held his arms up, suction from this portal clawed at Fate and his
entire Army of Force, sucking them up into the Land of No Eternity.
"You will pay!" Fate shouted as he vanished from the Realm. "This
is only delaying the inevitable!"
Then he was gone, and so was the rest of his army.
The dark clouds cleared, and the sun shone brightly over the city.
Michael did not move. He remained standing there, watching the few
survivors of the Army of Light collapse with relief to the ground, exhausted
by the fighting. And he noted that Promise was not among them.
*Lyrena, come back.*
*Michael, I'm not sure I can.*
The echidna gave a start.
*What? What do you mean? Are you hurt?*
*No, no, but I think I'm . . . stuck, somehow.*
*Stuck in the emerald?*
*Yeah. Uh, do you think you could give me a hand here?*
*I'm coming, Lyrena.*
*Thank you.*

As it was, the emerald didn't seem like it was going to release the
mistling from its hold. For a long time, Michael tried to coax it into
letting her go, but it made no response.
*Am I going to be trapped in here?*
*No. We'll think of something.*
The answer came by accident. Michael was growing weaker in his
Ultimate Form, and he figured he'd have more power at his disposal if he
wasn't using so much of it up. Therefore, he reverted back into his normal
self.
At the exact moment that he did, mist leaked out of the emerald and
quickly solidified into Lyrena.
"Oh!" she exclaimed upon noticing her sudden freedom. "Thanks! I
don't know what you just did, but it worked."
Michael regarded the emerald thoughtfully.
"I don't understand why, but you were released the moment I stopped
my flow of energy. There are so many mysteries of this gem I intend to
discover . . . "
"But, Michael, what about those already trapped beyond the portal?
We've got to free them!"
"True." The echidna reached forth and tentatively touched the side
of the Chaos Emerald. "Perhaps I can override Fate's power and open the
sealed entrances . . . "
"And let them out at will? Try it," Lyrena urged.
"Okay," Michael consented, cracking his knuckles. "Here goes."
Concentrating his energies, he opened a huge, wide portal over the
emerald.
"Come out!" he called into it.
Lyrena peered into the glowing portal, overcome at the display of
power. "Wow," she softly said to Michael.
"Wow's the word," he replied.
A creature then came partially through the portal, but it was not
one of the captive residents of the Realm. It was Fate.
"This land - this timeless Zone - belongs to my armies," he hissed
at Michael. "Leave us."
"Not until you release your prisoners," Michael calmly replied.
Fate made a move as if to strike out against the echidna, but Lyrena
quickly interceded and stopped this action by placing the blade of her sword
against the Firelance's throat. He stared at her, and she winked, daring
him to make another move. Wisely, he didn't.
However, right then, the entire Army of Force came up behind Fate,
making it clear that their intention was to return to the Realm of the Sky
and continue their plans of conquest.
Overcome, Michael snapped the portal closed.
"Lyrena," he flatly stated, "we can't let the people out without
also releasing the Army of Force."
"So what do we do?" Lyrena inquired, walking over and placing her
hand on his arm.
"We find another option."

Although their casualties had been fierce and they were hardly
recovered, the Firelance Army of Light was quick to respond to Michael's
plea for assistance.
"So the situation has not really changed," pronounced the new leader
of the army, named Milestone. "It's just moved. Our enemies have again
enslaved our people, and they again need someone to free them."
"What do you suggest?" Michael inquired.
Milestone thought for a long time.
"We must go in after them," he finally replied. "They will be
guarding any and every entrance heavily, so getting anyone out is out of the
question. However, we cannot allow so many innocents to live in imposed
slavery. The battle will follow them through the portal."
"But what about us, the echidnas?" Michael asked. "What can we do
to help?"
Smiling sadly, Milestone told him, "You, Michael, have more power at
your disposal than any one Firelance, but even with your strength, I think
the Firelance Army of Force could easily take you down. Your place must be
to remain here, to guard the Realm of the Sky. There is always the chance
that Fate and his people will return to the Realm, and you are the only one
with the power to drive them back. For now, remain here as Guardian. When
another is ready and able to take your place, join us in the Land of No
Eternity."

Michael and Lyrena watched silently as the Firelance Army of Light
disappeared through the portal to the Land of No Eternity.
After they were all gone and the portal was sealed again, he finally
turned to her.
"And so I have been named Guardian of the Realm of the Sky. Lyrena,
I'm not sure what lies ahead for me."
"Promise told me to stand with you no matter what. Whatever lies
ahead, we'll face it together . . . Guardian."
It was a peaceful, harmonious moment for the two old friends, who
were now faced with a future of uncertainty. They both knew that, whatever
happened, neither of them would have to face anything alone.
Their silent reflections were broken suddenly by the appearance of
Fate.
"Echidna!" he bellowed, even before his fiery teleport disappeared.
"The battle wages here! Seal the Chaos Chamber! There will be no more
retreats! From now on, everything that happens will happen here - in the
NeverZone!"
"The NeverZone, Firelance? I'm afraid not. The portal will not be
sealed. Our people will be free."
Fate narrowed his glimmering eyes menacingly.
"If you do not comply and bar the passageway between the Land of No
Eternity and the Realm of the Sky, I will destroy all life in the Realm! I
will return in three days!"
Then, before Michael could even banish him, he left back for the
"NeverZone".

The next morning, Lyrena arrived at Michael's home to find him
gazing with some interest at his reflection in a mirror.
"What is it?" she asked by way of greeting.
"This, Lyrena. This," he replied in a bewildered voice, turning to
her and placing a hand on his chest.
Where yesterday had been normal red fur, there was now a white
crescent band, standing out against the scarlet background like a star on
a blackened night sky.
"What is it?" Lyrena asked, confused.
"That's just it!" Michael answered. "I have no idea. The mark just
appeared somehow."
"Perhaps it's connected with your transformations yesterday?"
"I don't know, Lyrena. It could be. In that case, maybe we should
see what happens as Steven learns how to use his powers."
Lyrena settled herself on his couch.
"That's something else I'm unsure of. How are you certain that
Steven will be able to use this power as you do?"
"He can be taught, Lyrena. He already knows almost as much as I do,
having been there through most of my experimentation."
"Oh. Well, I guess we'll just have to try it and see," Lyrena
lightly conceded. "In the meantime . . . what did you decide about Fate's
warning?"
Michael sighed and sat down beside her.
"Lyrena, I honestly think he was just blowing hot air when he
threatened to destroy all life in the Realm. It's beyond his abilities. I
wonder, though, if he doesn't have the right idea."
"You think maybe sealing off the doorway between here and there is
a good idea? I don't follow."
"Well, it's sort of a two-edged sword. If I do as he says, then not
only will the prisoners be trapped inside, but he and his armies will be as
well. If I don't, however, then we're constantly vulnerable to his attack,
as he is to ours."
"But you can fight him."
Michael turned to regard her with surprise. She looked back at him
with her sharp, clear blue eyes.
"I agree with Milestone, Michael. If Fate tries to attack the
Realm, you alone have the power to turn him back. And we must be open for
refugees to find their way back here, back home."
For a long moment, Michael said nothing, considering his options
once more.
"Okay," he then consented. "You make sense, Lyrena. I can't fight
sense."
"But," Lyrena hesitantly objected, "have you considered that maybe
Fate does have the power to do as he threatens?"
Michael shook his head.
"That's out of the question. Not even a Firelance has that kind of
power."

As it turned out, echidna civilization was the only thing to survive
Fate's pelting of the Realm. Other than Lyrena, the island was populated
solely by a small city of echidnas, and they weren't very happy.
Michael and Lyrena were walking through the city park, trying to
give their minds a break from so many life/death-determining questions, when
a man jumped out of the shrubberies to confront the new Guardian.
"Why did you let them leave?" he demanded, leaping in front of them.
"I beg your pardon?" Michael asked, startled.
Lyrena instinctively put a hand to her sword.
"You let the Army of Light leave us! Now we're alone! No one can
protect us from attack!"
"The Army left to help those imprisoned by Fate," Michael calmly
explained. "You are not vulnerable to attack."
"Oh, of course not!" snarled another who came out of nowhere to
confront the pair. "You and your Ultimate Form - "
"More powerful than a Firelance!" hooted yet another.
Indeed, a huge swarm of people began to surround them.
"Michael," Lyrena quietly warned, "I think we should get out of here
before this crowd gets rash."
"Can't just run from them. It would shatter their confidence," he
refuted.
"What confidence?" she inquired.
He didn't reply to that one.
"Are you powerful enough to take on all of us?" demanded someone
from the crowd. "Because either you reopen that portal and bring back the
Army of Light, or you'll have to destroy all of us to keep us from making
you!"
"They left of their own will," Michael informed him. "It was their
decision to go, not mine. I couldn't stop them, nor could I now order them
to return here."
"Why not, if you're so much stronger than they are?!"
A large uprising of taunts and jeers rose from the crowd. Lyrena,
already on edge, drew out her sword.
"Get back!" she shouted into the suddenly hushed crowd. "Michael
wouldn't hurt you because he cares about you too much, but that doesn't mean
I won't slice your throats if you take one step towards us!"
Everyone took a step back, not wanting to rile a mistling.
"Lyrena," Michael said, putting one of his hands over hers and
pushing her sword down from a threatening position. "Don't blame them.
They're just scared. They have a right to be. Violence won't solve this
situation. We all need to just stop and think."
"I'M THROUGH THINKING!!!!" came an insane scream from the retreating
crowd.
Before Lyrena could even twitch for her weapon, laserfire sliced the
air.
Michael gave a yelp and crumbled to the ground.
"Michael!!" Lyrena exclaimed, dropping her sword mindlessly to the
ground and catching him. She knelt down and cradled him in her lap, the
laserwound smoking in his chest. "Michael . . . no, you can't die."
"No . . . Lyrena . . . Steven . . . teach him . . . "
She gripped his hands and held him tightly to her.
"Anything, anything!" she sobbed. "Oh, Michael, my dearest friend,
you know how I love you . . . "
His eyes as he looked into hers were filled with understanding and
affection, but his words died on his lips.
As he died in her arms.
"No, no, no - "
Tears flowed freely from her as she clung to his body and looked
over the shocked crowd.
"IDIOTS!!!" she yelled in a breaking voice. "He was the only one
who could have saved you . . . now you're all going to BURN! BURN FOR
ETERNITY IN THE UNDERWORLD!!!! - oh Michael . . . oh Michael . . . "
Still holding him tightly, she dropped her face to his still chest
and wept uncontrollably.

The period of mourning for a loved one was ten days. These ten days
were to be spent together for Lyrena and Steven, Michael's son, whom she had
taken upon herself to finish raising. Neither of them was exactly sure what to
do now. The Guardian's passing left a huge gap not only in their hearts,
but in their plans.
Plans were the farthest things from their minds, however, as they
endured the first two days without much thought at all.
It was on the second day after the tragedy that Lyrena was flung in
the middle of the situation.
As evening fell on that second day, the candle-lit prayers of the
heartbroken mistling were disrupted by a fiery blast, and Fate appeared
before her.
"Mistling," he greeted in a harsh voice. "Where is this alleged
'Guardian of the Realm'?"
Lyrena stared right through him, not dignifying the Firelance's
demand with a comment.
Fate didn't like this, however.
"Impudent little one . . . " he snarled, taking a step toward her.
Before he could finish his threat, the mistling sprang to her feet
and, firing a blast of chaotic energy she didn't know she possessed, she
struck him down to the ground and pinned him there, the point of her sword
pressed firmly at his heart.
The Firelance stared up at his captor with astonishment.
"Leave this house," she growled. "You defile his memory with your
filthy presence."
Fate vanished in a sudden puff of flame and reappeared behind her,
lashing at her with his tail-blade. Startled by his disappearance, Lyrena
mistified just in time to keep from being sliced in two. Reforming, she
stood straight in front of him, keeping a firm grip on her weapon, but
making no move to attack.
"He is dead?" Fate demanded.
"Yes. Now leave us."
"He has a son."
No comment from the mistling.
"His son will have inherited the Guardian's abilities."
Still no comment.
"Bring him here."
Eyes blazing, Lyrena again struck him down.
"Dang you!" Fate sputtered from the floor. "How are you doing that?
You're only a mistling!"
"I studied alongside the Guardian. You will leave this house, and
you will never again seek Steven or any of the echidna people, and one day,
all our people will be free from your grip and you will never show your face
in the Realm of the Sky again!"
"Misting, you are a dreamer. Remember my threat."
And in another flame, he vanished.

The next day began with unusual weather.
"I've never seen storms like this!" a neighbor said to Lyrena and
Steven as they all stood outside watching the clouds.
The winds were higher than they ever had been in the history of the
Realm, and the rainfall was coming harder and harder.
After a few minutes spent observing the storm, the people of the
city all hurried indoors, as the drops were growing dangerous.
"Stay here," Lyrena told Steven. "I've gotta check something."
She mistified and left the house, going to the Chaos Chamber. There
she found the answer she'd been dreading: the strange storms covering the
planet were diverting the course of the island, sending it stumbling to
goodness only knew where.
Uncertain what she should do, she returned to echidna civilization.
"Well?" Steven asked her upon her return.
"The Realm's being blown off course," she replied, "and the whole
planet is being pelted with these strange storms."
"While you were gone a report came over the radio," the young
echidna told her. "Damage to some buildings is so great that many have
already collapsed."
Lyrena sat down heavily on the couch.
*The very couch,* she realized, *where Michael and I were discussing
Steven's possible training two days ago.*
"Has anyone been hurt?" she weakly inquired.
"Yeah, lots. And people are being killed."
"Crud. C'mon, Steven, I think we should get underground in case it
comes to that here."

As the day drew on, the weather continued to steady gain intensity.
By noon, thousands across the planet had been reported dead.
Lyrena was wracking her brain.
"Fate said he would wipe out all life on the island . . . could he
be responsible for this?" she wondered aloud.
Steven shrugged.
"Father said a Firelance's chaos powers aren't strong enough to do
something of such a magnitude."
"Maybe not . . . but that's their powers in general. But - " Lyrena
clamped her hands to her head " - they have total mastery over temperature
and motion!"
"So?" Steven reasoned. "That's temperature, not weather."
"That doesn't mean anything, Steven. With their abilities, they
could manipulate the temperature in the upper atmosphere to cause such
storms as these - they wouldn't be able to restrict it to the Realm, though,
without using excessive energy . . . so they decided to take it out on the
whole planet!"
For a long moment the two of them hung out silently, considering the
possibilities open to them.
"Lyrena," Steven said after that long moment, "I couldn't stop them.
Even if I knew how, could I?"
"I don't know."
"Then what can I do but listen to Fate before the planet is
destroyed? I've gotta do as the Firelance says."
Lyrena bit her lip.
"Do you know how?"
Steven spun around on a heel and faced opposite her.
"No," he replied in a quavering voice.
The mistling walked over to him.
"Then wait," she instructed, putting her arms around him. "Fate
will return to give you one last chance. It's the way of the Firelance."
Steven buried his scared face in her sweater.
"Yes, mother."

The next morning, Lyrena and Steven came above ground into the
bright, unhindered sunlight. It would have been a beautiful day . . . if
not for the shambles of debris that had been a city yesterday. Carefully
pushing feeling behind them, they journeyed to the center of the island.
To the Chaos Chamber.
As Lyrena had predicted, Fate was there, waiting for them.
"Seal the Chamber," he ordered upon their arrival. "Let no one but
yourself enter . . . or leave."
"Why?" Steven sullenly inquired.
"The Land of No Eternity belongs to us. But when we return to claim
for ourselves once again the Realm of the Sky, it must still stand. You
have been named Guardian of the Realm by our enemies. So guard your Realm
while you can. One day, when we are ready to return, we will do so."
"I can't seal the Chamber."
"Of course you can, you fool. Just do it."
Steven looked Fate in the eye and was about to retort rudely, but
something he saw in the Firelance's eyes made him stop. After meeting his
glare for a moment, the young Guardian snapped his head forward.
The Chaos Emerald issued a sudden burst of light, and Fate melted
away, still trying to figure out what had happened.
A white crescent ring appeared on Steven's chest.

Three years after Steven sealed the Chamber, he was married.

One year later, he and his spouse bore a son, whom they named Jacob.

Half a year after Jacob's birth, Steven made his strange request to
Lyrena, who had continued to act as a mother to the Guardian whenever he
needed one, out of love for both him and his father.
"Lyrena, I must ask something of you that I'm not sure you'll like."
"Tell me what it is and I'll tell you if I like it."
Strangely enough, they were carrying on this conversation in the
rebuilt city park while eating ice cream sundaes.
"Once Jacob is old enough, I'm going to leave through the portal. I
don't think I'm going to stay to teach him how to use the majority of his
powers, though."
"I don't follow."
"The other races would teach their children how to use their Chaos
Powers. It was the way of things. But with power such as it is at our
disposal, I don't feel it's right to explain the gift fully to him. Once he
is able to comprehend his position and abilities, I will leave him to
develop those abilities in his own way. If I'm right, this will, in the
long run, be more beneficial than to spend the time teaching him my ways."
"So because everyone's style of nurturing chaotic abilities is a bit
different from everyone else's, you think it would be better for him if you
left him alone to develop his powers his own way. I follow. I can't say it
makes me particularly happy, but I follow."
"That's where you come into this."
"I was afraid of that."
"Listen, mother. I intend to implement this as the way of things.
As long as the Realm remains free, there will be a Guardian. But we need a
safeguard: something or someone to be called upon if something goes wrong."
"If a future Guardian is unable to nurture their abilities
sufficiently, you need someone to step in."
"Only to be called on in an extreme emergency."
"And this concerns me how? Not that I haven't guessed . . . "
"No doubt you have. Will you be this someone?"
Lyrena glared at him, unsure of how to react to this request.
"I'm not sure. How would it be done? I'm not immortal, Steven."
Steven produced from the bag he'd been carrying a stone which, at
sight, caused Lyrena to almost go into spasms.
"For goodness sake, put that thing away!!!" she hissed. "Where did
you get that?!" she demanded after he'd pocketed the rock.
"A Zone."
"A Zone? What the heck do you mean by that?"
"Just what I said. I got fifty power rings and nabbed another Chaos
Emerald from a Zone."
"What does it have to do with any of this?"
"You're a mistling. You can enter an emerald. In fact, you were the first to ever do so."
Lyrena blinked.
"Steven, are you saying you want me to go inside that thing and
loiter until some Guardian in the undetermined future blows it? You know I
couldn't release myself. What if something goes wrong?"
"Chaos will attend to itself, mother."
Blinking repeatedly, Lyrena thought.
"Okay," she then consented. "You make sense, Steven. I can't fight
sense."

7)---------- More Confrontations

* * * * * * * *

"That's how it happened," Lyrena lightly finished. "So I sat around
in that emerald for two-thousand years until it was made possible for me to
be released. And since I'm here, there must be a good reason."
An awkward silence fell over the Chaos Chamber. Everyone was still
digesting the story, except for the mistling, who was still digesting having
spent two-thousand years in a rock.
"Mistling," Knuckles finally said, "I think we need to talk. In
private." He turned to Vector and Charmy who gestured a go-ahead. They'd
stay and guard the joint while Knux chatted out history with a woman who'd
known his great-great-great etc. grandfather.
"Fine," she consented easily, turning and leaving the Chamber.

"Okay, Lyrena," Knuckles pointedly stated as they walked along the
edge of the Floating Island. "I get where you're coming from, and I get
your purpose here, but there's something I've gotta make clear."
"Shoot."
"Okay. This is a very different time from the one you left. All
these people trapped in the NeverZone are virtually forgotten. Echidna
Civilization is more than virtually restricted to memory, and eventually
will also fade. Firelance's appear here and there, but it's very rare that
anyone with Chaos Powers shows their face on this planet. No one has more
than a vague perception of the Chaos Emerald itself, and only two people
living now, other than you, I suppose, have any clue how to draw energy from
it."
"What, are you the last echidna in the Re - on the Floating Island?"
"I'm the last echidna on the Floating Island and the planet Mobius."
"O-oh. How did that happen?"
"I don't know. It's just been that way my whole life. Maybe that's
why you're here, because after me, there won't be any more Guardians, and
unless Sonic pulls something, there won't be any Chaos Warriors left period.
But just let me make it clear that your war is not my priority."
Lyrena raised her eyebrows.
"Protecting the Realm and striving for the freedom of its people is
the priority of a Guardian. It's what the very title means."
"Maybe then. Maybe all the way up to my father. Maybe all the way
up till last night. But not anymore."
"I'm afraid I don't follow your thinking, Guardian."
"Look," Knuckles snapped, stopping in his tracks and turning to
regard her head on. "All through my childhood, I was told that my first
priority must always be to the Floating Island. I have to protect the
Island at any and or all costs. Why - because that's the duty of the
Guardian, always has been, always would be, and I had the joy of being born
a Guardian. But it just hit me that I'm the last one. And do you know
what?"
"Sorry, no I don't."
"That little revelation changed everything for me."
"And why?"
"Why? Why was I guarding the Island in the first place? To keep it
safe for the future. To guard the Island for its people both now and in
generations to come. Only now I finally realize that there is no future for
the Floating Island! When I die, the last of the Guardians will be gone.
According to your story, then Fate and his army will come back through the
portal and reclaim it for his own. According to my own experience, Robotnik
or some other tyrant from the surface is gonna come along and swipe the
emerald to use as an energy source, and who's gonna be able to stop them?
Basically, when I die, so does the Floating Island. So why should I
continue placing the well-being of this hunk of earth and its Chaos Emerald
over that of the rest of the planet? The people on the surface of Mobius,
they're the future of our world, not us! They're who must be protected, not
this Island!"
"So instead of restricting your loyalties to this Island and its
people, you're upgrading to a loyalty to life in general? Intriguing. Do
you actually think you'd get away with it?"
"Only one way to find out." Knuckles shrugged and kicked a small
stone off the Island, watching as it fell thousands of feet to the ocean
below. "Sorry. I guess this is a shock to you, what with coming from back
when the priorities were being set in stone."
"On the contrary, Guardian. I agree. All life must be looked out
for."
"And what if one had to be sacrificed for the other? The Island or
the Surface?"
Lyrena regarded him with her cool blue eyes.
"Knuckles, I've worked closely with two Guardians in my time. Each
of them would've given you a different answer to that question. The gist of
it is: you're the Guardian. I'm here to help you. Whatever decision you
make, Promise told me to stand with Michael no matter what. And Michael
resides within you. There is another matter I suggest you consider,
however."
"And that is?"
"As for you being the last Guardian . . . just let Chaos attend to
itself."
Knuckles groaned.
"Lyrena, that one was totally uncalled for."
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it? All I can say is this: much as I pick on
Michael for being so serious in his nature, don't doubt for a minute how
much I respected and cared about that man. We mocked each other at times.
It's how we were. He was too serious and I was too hopeful. Still, you're
his legacy. I just hope you do proud his memory."
Knuckles returned her clear gaze, totally serious.
"So do I."

Let's leave things where they are on the Floating Island, or the
Realm of the Sky, or whatever you want to call it, and see what happened in
Robotropolis after Mecha Sonic returned with Espio.
Repairs had been made to the severely-damaged mecha-robian, and now
he stood with Mecha, waiting to speak with Robotnik.
"You already talked to him. bzeep Is he angry with my failure?
I didn't destroy the Guardian as he asked."
"Don't worry so much," Mecha assured him. "You have done better
than you think."
"Have I?"
"Just be patient. Allow the master to explain."
Right then, they were admitted to the still-singed throne room. The
damage from Sonic and Knuckles' excursion was still evident, but the palace
remained operational for the most part.
"Ah, Espio," Robotnik greeted. "Mecha Sonic has spoken highly of
your performance."
Startled, Espio tossed a glance to Mecha, who stood beside him and
made no response.
"Master," Espio hesitantly explained, "I failed my first mission."
Robotnik waved his hands in the air.
"It happens. Actually, you didn't fail. You passed with flying
colors."
The mecha-robian's red eyes paled and squinted.
"I don't understand."
"We didn't expect you to take down Knuckles single-handedly. Such a
think would be nearly impossible. Single-handedly. Your true mission was a
test of loyalty. Whether or not you would remain true to us when faced
against your former friends and comrades. Even when faced with possible
execution, you remained loyal only to me. You passed your test,
mecha-robian."
"Oh . . . zzt thank you, master."
"Now that your position has been established," Robotnik continued,
leaning forward to better address his two metal servants, "it is time for
both of you to learn the next phase of our plan. How I intend to take over
the Floating Island . . . and the rest of Mobius."

"What do you think of the plan?" Mecha inquired of Espio as they
later strode through the streets of Robotropolis, doing little other than
discussing various things. Robot small-talk, if you will.
Espio shrugged.
"I don't see how it could fail. The Floating Island could never
stand against the attack. And once we have possession of the Chaos Emerald,
no one on Mobius could possibly stand in the way of Robotnik's plans."
Mecha's eyes glowed darkly.
"Good. I don't like to lose. And we lose too much."
"beep If the master is not, are *you* disappointed with my
performance on the Floating Island?"
"No. I agree with Dr. Robotnik. It proves where you stand with us.
And besides, I have yet to actually defeat the Guardian myself. This was
your first battle. You will learn. I will teach you."

While Mecha took Espio under his wing, Knuckles considered the
advantages and otherwise of having the mistling living on the Floating
Island. Surely there was good she could do for them, things she could teach
him. During the meanwhile, however, he was deliberating over whether or not
she could be of any help in the situation with Espio.
After all, the power to revert to a mist form - or mistify - would
definitely be a plus, no matter what the plan turned out to be. Until he
came up with a plan, though, there was little any amount of power could do
to help.
He sighed and decided he felt like talking to the mistling a bit
more. For all the lecture he'd given her, he wanted to hear more about the
time she'd left. His origins. For whatever reason, he just wanted to hear
more. And he had a few questions.

Lyrena was wandering through one of the ancient ruins along the
coast of the Island. What was left of ancient echidna civilization.
"I thought I'd find you here," Knuckles softly commented, coming up
behind her.
She made no move of surprise, but looked up at him and pursed her
lips. Then she grabbed his wrist.
"Come with me. There's something I want to show you."
"Euh . . . okay," he stammered, jostling along behind her and in no
position to argue.
They journeyed through what had once been a great city, the city
she'd lived in for so many years as a young mistling. She maneuvered
herself through the overgrowth in such a way that Knuckles knew she was
still following the old locations of streets and buildings; probably the
only way she could be sure of finding what she was looking for in this ruin.
Finally, they stopped rushing along and she instantly plopped down
to her knees and began tugging away at two-thousand years' worth of residue
and erosion. Knuckles watched her, fascinated, as she clawed through plants
and dirt and a few rocks in her search.
"What are you looking for?" he finally asked.
"There!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands and climbing back to
her feet. "Guardian," she then said in a gentler, more reverent tone,
"Knuckles. This is the site of Michael's grave."
Then she just stood there, staring at the marker she'd uncovered, as
if she wanted to say more but couldn't come up with the words.
Knuckles was glad she didn't. Something swept over him, being here,
now, after hearing the mistling's story of how all this came about. Now he
was here, somehow feeling united with these two people who had saved his
people. The first Guardian. The one who had started everything.

Michael Echidna
2976 - 3009
Guardian of the Realm of the Sky
For now, forever

The words were eroded by the years, and the writing styles were
different then than they are now, but Knuckles still could understand what
it said.
Kneeling down and leaning forward, he reached out and gently touched
the grave marker, feeling almost intrusive.
"For now, forever," he breathed.
Lyrena knelt down beside him.
"For now, forever," she repeated in a soft voice filled with such an
abundance of love and sadness that Knuckles snapped out of his own reverie
to observe her in hers.
She turned to him with tear-filled eyes.
"His loyalty was to whoever needed it, Knuckles. His priority was
freedom for all people who deserved it. Steven, bless his heart, could
never understand that. But you . . . I think you can."
Knuckles suddenly found himself unable to meet her eyes.
"You knew him," he whispered. "Would you tell me more about him?"
Lyrena smiled.
"He was too serious." She gave a low laugh. "And I was too
hopeful. I suppose we made the perfect pair. Balanced each other
perfectly." After a deep sigh, she continued in a more serious tone. "You
may rest assured that his enemies slept uneasily at night. Even before he
developed his powers, he was more than a match for any echidna. I, on the
other hand, was privileged to be his friend. Oh, Knuckles, never in the
history of either of our races could there ever have been found a better,
truer friend than Michael. It was such an honor, even then, even though
most of my people looked upon your people in a less than favorable light."
"From your story . . . Steven actually looked upon you as a mother.
Exactly how close *were* you to Michael?"
"Do you mean were we romantically involved? Not even for a moment,
Knuckles. We knew better. Our relationship was one we both treasured far
too much to be soiled in such a manner. But I did help him raise Steven,
ever since his wife died when the boy was only four."
"How did you meet?"
"Who, Michael and I?" The mistling's bright peal of laughter filled
the silent graveyard. "That, my friend, is a very long story, best saved
for another day." She threw a mischievous glance to the grave, as if
assuring Michael that their secret was still safe.
In spite of himself, Knuckles also smiled. Despite his natural
distrust for any newcomer to the Island, he found himself liking this
mistling. As a matter of fact, he liked her a lot.
"But tell me Knuckles," she now said, "what was it that dragged you
out here to talk to me about? Surely it wasn't to hear another of my long
stories?"
"Unfortunately, no. But don't think I won't come back to you for
that later. I actually had a few technical questions for you."
She spread her hands.
"I'm here to help, Knuckles."
"Steven sealed the Chaos Chamber so that no one except a Guardian
could leave or enter."
"Yes."
"Why is that no longer in effect?"
Lyrena rolled from her knees to a sitting position, sighing in
puzzlement.
"That's a question I've been mulling over ever since I got here, my
friend. And I'm forced to admit that I don't know. Something just must've
happened to the situation somewhere between my time and yours."
"Oh."
Knuckles also sat down, thinking but not speaking.
"Was there something else?" Lyrena inquired patiently.
"Hmm. I was just wondering . . . do you know how to open the Never-
Zone Portal?"
Her ears flickered at the question, and she bit her lip
thoughtfully.
"In theory, yes," she slowly replied. "To actually do it, though,
is beyond the capabilities of a mistling."
Knuckles sighed.
"I guess I'm just worried that the need will arise, and I won't know
how to do it. If that's the case, what should I do?"
Turning to him with a grin, she relayed the answer to him without
even saying it.
"Chaos will attend to itself, my young Guardian. It has before, and
always will. It allowed Steven to seal the Chaos Chamber, it allowed me to,
at one time, pummel Fate to the floor, and it taught you to fly, yesterday.
When you work with Chaos Powers the way we do, you just have to take it
for granted that some things will just automatically work out."
The echidna grimaced.
"Jeez. I must make a pretty crummy Chaos Warrior. You see, I have
this habit of figuring out how to do something before I go and do it . . . maybe
it's just a phase."
"I'm not sure, but I think that was a sarcastic remark."
"What makes you say that?"

"Scans of the Floating Island are showing unusual amounts of energy
at work," Robotnik informed his two mecha-warriors. "The plan must go
smoothly. I want to know about any changes that go on up there. You two
must go back to the Island and see what's going on."
"As you wish, master," Mecha conceded, bowing and backing out of the
door.
Espio said nothing, but followed his teacher's example as he left.

"Back to your old turf once again," Mecha dryly remarked as he and
Espio rocketed through the wind en route to the Floating Island.
"Old," Espio confirmed. "Former."
As he flew along, Mecha turned to regard the mecha-robian.
"Your design intrigues me. You have all your old memories, but also
have proper programming. Do you ever regret leaving your old life?"
"bzeep Not at all. I find this life adequate in every way. My
former existence no longer holds any appeal for me."
"And your old friends? zzzt Do they cause no disturbance at
all in your mind?"
"None. crackle I have no need of them. They were a
convenience, no more, and now are nothing."
"Does your memory say they were merely a convenience?"
"No . . . but I now realize that they were."
"Ah."
Their conversation ended there, for that was when they reached their
destination: the Floating Island.
"Move in," Mecha ordered.
Nodding acknowledgement, Espio disappeared. It was a trait from his
former life that had carried into this one, and one that came in very handy.
The Guardian would know that they'd arrived, but this would give them one
element of surprise, if no other.
Once he was gone, Mecha settled in position: standing still in the
center of the Marble Garden, waiting.

Knuckles was just concluding is guard shift of the Chamber, and was
waiting for Charmy to come and take over. Still, he couldn't really blame
him for being late. The day before, Charmy and Vector had hung out in there
for considerably longer than they had to, giving him a chance to assess the
situation with Lyrena.
And of course, there was Mighty. He was okay, but still too shaky
to fight. At the moment, he was still resting in his home.
As the Guardian waited, the Emerald once again dimmed to its deep,
formidable shade of red, signaling the arrival of the Mechas.
Charmy appeared at that moment, just as Knuckles was deliberating
over what to do.
"Good, you're here. Now stay here - we have an intruder!" he
hastily to the bee as he charged out.

Mecha hadn't been waiting for very long before the Guardian made his
appearance.
When he did make his appearance, it was with the usual zip the
Guardian seemed to enjoy: shooting out of a tree and knocking him to the
ground.
"Good to see you again as well, Guardian," Mecha lightly greeted,
smoothly regaining his footing.
"Go die or something," Knuckles sneered. "You've got a lot of nerve
to show your ugly metallic face on this Island after what you've done - "
"What have I done?"
" - what you did to Espio!!"
"Espio, echidna? Espio is quite happy the way he is now. Don't you
want your friends to be happy?"
Before Mecha could move to dodge the blow, the echidna had slammed
him against the ground.
"Not happiness that comes through enslavement!!" he bellowed.
Sweeping his arms apart in one powerful gesture, Mecha flung the
Guardian away from him and jumped lightly back to his feet.
"I'm here for one reason only, Guardian, and strangely enough, it's
not to destroy you."
"Oh, I feel neglected," Knuckles sourly responded, keeping a
distance from the mecha.
Mecha Sonic grinned.
"Really? You look worse than neglected, echidna. I daresay, is
that a SWATbot laserfire wound? And you look almost as if you'd tangled
with a mecha-robian while you were at it!"
"Oh, very funny. I'm still in good enough condition to take you
down in three different ways at once, Mecha."
"Much as I'd love to take you up on that, I must inquire as to the
strange energy fluctuations that have been recently coming from this most
beautiful Island."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Chaos Energy, Guardian, is something we monitor very closely. It's
important to us - of course we're preparing for the rapidly approaching day
when this Island's emerald will be ours, but until then, where is this new
energy coming from?"
"Mecha Sonic, I suggest you remove yourself from my Island before
there's not enough of you left to fly home."
"Is that a threat, echidna? crackle Priority four, echidna?"
"No, Mecha, it's not a threat. It's a promise."
And he seemed ready to make good that promise, but then both of them
brought their heads around sharp to the same direction: Mecha responding to
an electronic distress signal, and Knuckles responding to the Chaos Emerald
in a fearful state.
The combatants exchanged severe glances and both took off for the
Chaos Chamber.

As Mecha Sonic had awaited Knuckles' arrival, Espio went to head him
off and left for the Chaos Chamber invisibly. When he arrived, he found it
unguarded except for the honeybee known as Charmy.
His databanks said he was a member of the Chaotix.
His memory said he was a tough adversary, in spite of his diminutive
stature.
His eyes said he was the only one guarding the Chaos Chamber.
Still, his mission was not to make an attempt to steal the emerald,
nor to take on one of the Chaotix. His last mission had ended up in a big
enough shamble when he tried to take on too much. So he did as he'd been
instructed and waited silently and invisibly in the Chamber, waiting to
learn something of importance.
For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then a strange mist entered
the Chamber.
Charmy looked up at it.
"What's going on, anyway?" he inquired of the air.
"There are intruders on the Island," said the mist, as it slowly
formed into a feline shape.
"Yeah, I gathered that much, but why did the emerald turn white?"
Espio caught his breath almost audibly.
*A mistling!* he realized. *There's a mistling on the Floating
Island! No wonder the energy readings have been so far up!*
The mistling closely examined the gem.
"For it to be white signals danger - danger more severe than I think
we realize," was her troubled reply to the question. "I wonder . . . "
She put both hands on the stone and leaned forward, eyes closed in
concentration.
"Two are here," she murmured to the bee, who was watching with
extreme interest. "One's in the Marble Garden with Knuckles . . . the other
is . . . is . . . "
Her eyes snapped open and she lurched away from the emerald.
"What?" Charmy asked, startled. "Where?"
The mistling whirled to look at him for a moment, then mistified in
the blink of an eye. And she began to move.
Espio realized too late that she was moving toward him.
Even when he did, she was already upon him, seeping inside of him
in her mist form.
"No!" he shouted, becoming visible.
Charmy blinked in shocked surprise at his appearance.
"Get out of me!!" Espio yelled, thrashing about. "Get out of me!!"

Mecha arrived on a scene a moment before Knuckles did, being aided
by his rocket-boosters. He hit the ground with precision and took in the
scene.
Espio was still thrashing and shouting, and no sense could be made
from his words, but his signal was still transmitting.
Mistling! Mistling! Mistling! She's in me!
Jumping forward, Mecha grabbed tightly onto Espio and shook him
roughly.
"Make sense!" he ordered. "What's the matter with you?!"
"Get her out! Get her out! Mecha, get her out of me!!" was the
only response the metallic chameleon could give.
Knuckles landed in the Chamber.
"Charmy, what's going on?!"
"Lyrena just went inside of him! And he went crazy!"
"Dang."
The two Mobians stood and watched the scene, unable to intervene
between the mecha-robian and the mistling, not like they would if they
could. Mecha, on the other hand, was torked off.
"What's BZZT! happening?!" he snapped.
The Guardian crossed his arms.
"You may be in the process of losing your little sidekick."
Alarmed, Mecha turned back to Espio, who gave one last convulsion
and collapsed on the floor. He took a step towards him, but the mecha-
robian snapped back a few feet, the sinister red gone from his eyes. Now
his eyes were blue once again.
"Leave, Mecha," was all he said.
Mecha looked at him for a long moment. Then he nodded, pivoted, and
shot out of the Chamber and off and away from the Island without so much as
acknowledging Knuckles or Charmy.

Knuckles tentatively took a step towards Espio.
"Stay back!" the metallic chameleon snapped.
Startled, Knuckles instantly moved back.
"I bzzt don't know . . . crackle why . . . "
For a moment, Knuckles said nothing. Then, in a soft voice, he
called out, "Lyrena?"
From the mecha-robian exuded a thick mist, which quickly formed up
into the mistling.
"Is he all right?"
She gave a slight nod.
"He's still confused. I put his organic mind back in control."
Giving a slight nod of his own, the echidna said simply, "Thank you,
Lyrena."
"I'm here to serve."
"Espio," Knuckles said, again taking a small step closer to the
cowering, trembling mecha-robian. "It's all right. We're your friends."
"Ha! Ha! Do you hear me laughing, Knuckles? Huh?! DO YOU HEAR ME
LAUGHING?!?!?! - why am I laughing?"
Another step closer.
"You're just a little confused, pal. But you're you again. You're
Espio the Chameleon, one of the Chaotix."
Espio ignited his rocket pack and shot up into the air in front of
Knuckles.
"Am I? Do I look like me to you?! I don't know WHAT I am!!!"
"What doesn't matter," Knuckles said in a gentle voice.
"Then who? Who am I? Frankly, I'm not so sure of that, either."
"You - "
"Lay off, would you?! I need to think!!!"
"Think, then, but calm down first, before you hurt yourself!"
"Oh please. Oh please. This is so pathetic - so CHEESY - will
someone please tell me what's going on? I feel like a reject from a bad
daytime drama."
Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief. That was a comment more likely
to come from Espio than a metallic counterpart.
"Come back to the ground, and we'll tell you exactly what's going
on, Espio."
Espio looked warily at the Guardian.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he whispered.
Looking into his eyes steadily, Knuckles replied,
"Because we're your friends."
For a moment, Espio did nothing except return the stare. Then he
slowly settled back down to the ground.
Charmy, who had been sitting in the background throughout
the confrontation, now stepped forward also to welcome back the fourth
member of the Chaotix.
Lyrena nudged Knuckles' arm.
"Do you want me to get the others?" she inquired quietly.
"Y-yeah. Good idea. Vector and Mighty."
"Right. I'll be back."
And she disappeared.

Mecha stood alone in the palace, waiting to face Robotnik.
The doctor was facing away from him, refusing to acknowledge the
presence of the mecha for quite some time. Then he finally turned and asked
curtly, "Where is Espio?"
Slowly blinking his deep red eyes, Mecha Sonic simply replied,
"Gone."
Robotnik glowered menacingly at the mecha, but the robot made no
response except to continue staring forward with his unchanging, unfeeling
red eyes.
Or maybe they weren't so unfeeling after all.
"Did you get the necessary information?" the doctor then asked in a
light tone, as if having forgotten the mecha-robian had ever existed.
Tilting his head slightly, Mecha replied, "There is someone new on
the Island. A female of some sort. Espio referred to her as a mistling,
and said she'd gone inside of him. The bee known as Charmy also said she'd
somehow gotten within him, and referred to her by the name of Lyrena."
"And she is the source of this new energy?"
"I believe so."
"Well then, our little misting must have an accident before she
causes any more trouble." Robotnik raised an eyebrow at Mecha. "Hopefully
she will not . . . get inside . . . of you as well."
"Never, master, I have no prior memories to be called upon."

That night, Espio was finally feeling more like his old self again,
and the other Chaotix, Knuckles, and the mistling were sitting with him down
in the Chaos Chamber.
"And that's pretty much all that's happened," Knuckles concluded,
having been in the process of filling in the former chameleon in on what had
transpired during his absence.
"Well well," was the only response the mecha-robian could come up
with on such short notice.
"So, uh, what's the word in Robotropolis?" Vector nonchalantly
posed. "Anything goin' on we might wanna know about?"
Espio blinked blankly at him, then gasped and jumped to his feet.
"What is it?!" Knuckles demanded, startled into jumping up himself.
"I just remembered - Robotnik's plan to conquer the Floating Island!
He's got - he's got - " Flailing his fingers helplessly in the air for a
moment, he turned to Knuckles in a flustered state. "Knux, he's got a
thousand mechas, built and operational. They've not yet been activated, but
are standing by. At the flick of a button, all thousand of 'em are gonna
move out to the Floating Island . . . do you think we could take on a
thousand mechas, Knux? Do you?"
Knuckles blinked, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"U-uhhh . . . "
Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the horrified expressions of
the others.
*Dang. Gotta be strong. Gotta be strong, so they can be strong,
so we'll have a chance . . . so we don't all give in right away . . . *
"Espio, my friend, I'm sure we'll find a way," the Guardian firmly
stated. "Let Chaos attend to itself."