LETSOS

(Faces)

Eairogna shopig Shi zhelpor nea.

Death abhors what you have with Life.

The old echidna maxim is one that many people on Mobius know, but are uncomfortable with saying. The same could be said for the Earth equivalent, the idea that 'you can't take it with you'. Because it is, for the most part, true. Most things you had with Life -money, for instance, or most material things - the evolution of the soul to the other side prohibits it.

But the creature of the shadows knows that there are loopholes. As there are things you can't take, there are things you can. One of them…power. Not all types of power can be taken to the grave, but some is. In the creature's frame of concern, there is simply one form of immortal power which transcends both the dead and the living - the written word.

A person's body rots in death within one year, the creature thinks as it strokes its book. A person's soul can't rot for all eternity, it can wander, or evolve and take a new form of life. But it is the middle ground that is most vital. The written word. Shakespeare, he is dead for centuries, but a person who reads his plays says, here William! Your words inspire. So too, does the power of his words. His spirit, long gone on the other side, still influences the generations which read his works. And so too, is the creature moved.

On the other hand, it has never read Shakespeare. It has, however, read the written word of another whose immortal power is perhaps equal to, if not more than, the famed British playwright's.

Turning the darkened pages, the creature stops at one place in the book. The page is marked by a withered paper, scrawled numbers and letters. The creature takes it out, examines the paper as it has done so many times before, before replacing it back to the page. There is more where that came from. The answer, however, is yet to be in its hands.

In the meantime, its hands place the book upon its lap and reach for another stack of papers. These papers, however, they are wrapped in envelopes. A small chuckle comes from the creature as it examines them all. The names, the numbers, all right. All which is left to do is-

A flash of light startles the creature from its peaceful contentment. The light shoots across the window, towards the blue planet below. A shooting star.

Startled, the creature jumps up. Fear, an emotion not felt in centuries, seeps into its skin. Is it too late? Has….yet it couldn't be…..not yet…..

The fear subsides into relief when another light shoots across the window. Then another. Then yet another. Four stars.

Chuckling again, but in a more cautious fashion, the creature sits down. That was not what it thought it to be. There is still time.

Checking over the envelopes one last time, the creature nods, its hand raising. The envelopes disappear in a hazy green light.

Overnight? Normal postage? It doesn't matter to the creature. Its plan is going smoothly. That is all that matters.


----------------------

That cart slowly rolled into the tracks, creaking along the road.

"Come on!" The foreman shouted. "Hurry! We've got to get back!"
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can, sir!"
"It doesn't matter." One of the guards looked behind him. "They aren't going anywhere."

Knuckles grunted as he wiggled his fingers. Both he and Julie-Su were so well tied up with various binds - ropes, wires, whips, even barbs, all that could be had at the camp - that all of Knuckles' attempts to at least free his fingers were in vain.

"Checkpoint!"
"Checkpoint."
"Checkpoint…." Julie-Su muttered. "I suppose, as in 'One more mile 'til we kill you'…"
"Silence your mouths!"

The cart came to a halt as several more of His Majesty King Acorn's troops walked towards the front of the cart to converse with the driver. Knuckles watched, his power allowing him to see in the night like it was day, as two men approached.

"What do you see?" Julie-Su whispered.
"Two guys. One tall, one short." Knuckles' eyes slightly widened. "Oh, no. It can't be…"
"Knuckles?"
"One of them…." Knuckles shook his head. "Never mind. You'll understand when you hear him."

More surprises. Julie-Su closed her eyes in exhaustion. No. King Maxmillian still ruling was enough of a surprise to last me for several centuries…how could it be….

"How it goes?" The driver's voice interrupted Julie-Su's thoughts. "Well. With a few exceptions in the back. What news of the king?"
"Injured." A refined tone of voice answered. "Alive, but injured."

Julie-Su's eyes widened as her brain processed the voice - the depth, the tone, the accent - and translated the identity of the carrier.
Oh, crap. Knuckles………………..this is not a surprise………….it's worse….

"What's your business coming here?"
"Prisoners." The driver motioned to the back. "Two of them. Trespassed on our work area and assaulted one of your soldiers."
"Assault, eh?"
"Yes." The voice of the assaulted replied. "Cut me and bruised me badly."
"Let me see them."

The dreaded four words were followed by a strong odor. Knuckles could see Julie-Su cringe in shock and disgust, and he himself still couldn't believe it as he heard the footsteps approach. Still, it was nothing compared to what he saw as the soldier came into full view of his vision.

"Well." Standing before the two, unchanged, unaged, unimpressed by the dirty echidnas, Geoffrey St. John looked at them as though they were unruly children. "You two. What did you two hope to accomplish by breaking the law?"

Julie-Su's mouth dropped. Knuckles simply stared in shock.

"Hm? What?" Geoffrey's left eyebrow lifted up. "What's wrong with you two? Why are you looking at me funny?" Then, with a mocking tone, "Never saw a talking skunk in your life? Figures. I guess its true, most of you don't get off that island much, do you?"

Neither of the two could even begin to form sentences in their brains. Geoffrey squinted to look at Knuckles from under his hat, then rolled his eyes.

"Hmph. Shady indeed." Geoffrey turned to the driver. "Take them to the princess. These two deserve what they get."

Without another word, Geoffrey walked out of the way of the cart, and it resumed its drive. Knuckles turned his head, staring at Geoffrey as the cart rolled off. His brain was numb from shock.
It can't be……how….could he not recognize us?! Knuckles looked back at Julie-Su. How? The Silver Crystal…..what did it do to us?!?

-----------------------

"I don't know…."
"I want to see him."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am."

Luna's head went up towards Rei, her tail swishing. Behind the cat, the hazy skyline filled Central Control's windows with a seemingly dull, unpleasant view of downtown Tokyo.

"I don't know, though, Luna." Minako looked at Rei as she repositioned herself in her seat. "Would he still be sleeping?"
"Possibly." Rei shook her head.
"Possibly?" Luna's head tilted.
"He doesn't eat much." Rei looked at Luna. "He doesn't talk much. He's slept a lot, almost three-fourths of the past four days, and has a deep sadness in his eyes when he is awake."

Behind Mina, Mamoru's fingers silently tapped onto a computer keyboard.

"The uplink to the moon's host is underway."
"Great!" Makoto stared at the screen, smiling. "Now we might get some stuff about what's happening elsewhere."
"If there's anything else, it's probably stuff we already know. And don't forget, we have to re-upload data before anything else." Mamoru turned to Rei. "Who are we talking about?"
"Locke."
"Oh…yes…" Mamoru slowly looked away. "Him…that's right."

From in the corner, Ami watched Mamoru as he resumed typing. His blue eyes seemed duller than ever, and his face also seemed lined with worry.
Usagi. Mamoru looked over at Ami for a moment, then looked back at the screen. I know its hard for you as well, Mamoru. Harder for you than me. But she must be alive…somewhere….

"Mamoru…"
"Hm?"
"…..Nothing." Ami looked up at Rei. "Locke. I saw him last night when we were eating rice at your table."
"Haaaaaaah." Minako looked up dreamily. "Rei, you are lucky to live at Hikawa. You guys have so much non-perishable food. And a working shower. It's like a little country."
"Mina…" Artemis shook his head.
"Yes, he looked pale." Ami's face went down. "He seems exhausted. But I think the reason is that Locke is severely depressed."
"Do you think he is punishing himself?" Minako placed her head in her hands.
"Punishing himself for what?"
"Well," Minako looked over towards Rei. "There is lot we don't know about him that he might just be kicking himself about. Things we probably wouldn't understand."
"Like….what? His son?"
"Maybe."
"Usagi?"
"Um…" Luna looked uneasily at Mamoru. "Perhaps. But I don't think that's it."
"Then what?"
"Guys," Rei huffed. "Is it really that important?"
"Yes."
"Mina…."
"Girls." Luna jumped up on the table in between Rei and Minako. "This is no time for pettiness."
"Right." Rei looked at Luna. "But….you really want to go see him?"
"Of course I do." Luna replied. "I have never really seen him, because when I did he was shrouded but from what you told me when you came back Usagi trusts him. And you know Usagi. I want to se what she saw in him."
"Yes…"

The girls shook their heads, then looked down. Mamoru stopped typing. For several moments, there was nothing but silence.
Oh, dear… Luna's words hit her. Her head went down I suppose I have hit a soft spot. I am saddened, too. I know….she is not back…you don't have a leader…

"Well." Finally, Rei gave a smile. "You can go see him. There isn't any harm."
"Thank you."

Nodding, Luna left the room. She plodded up the stairs to the Crown Arcade and quickly exited the building before ducking behind an alleyway nearby.

Usagi….

Alone, Luna looked up into the sky. There was nothing but fog.

Where are you now…….who is this man who saved you? I want to know….why you trusted him so well…but…you're not here to tell me…

Feeling the tears form as her thoughts wandered to Usagi, Luna forced them back. She shook her head.
What am I crying for? Stupid! Luna couldn't help giving a chuckle. Fool. You don't mourn a person who's not dead. Even if the person's not with you. Usagi wouldn't want that, either way.
With that, Luna took a deep breath and plodded back towards Crown Arcade.

------------------------

"How is it all?"
"It's ok."
"And the outside?"
"……We don't know. The count isn't in."
"Perhaps I shou-
"Don't worry, Dad." Sally looked at the king. "I'll take care of it."

The king said nothing as his daughter walked out of the tent. Sonic waited for her, tapping his feet.

"He's good to go?"
"Both him and Mother are badly hurt. Doctor Quack just x-rayed them both." Sally's head went down. "Well…where are the prisoners?"
"Prisoners?"
"Never mind." Sally walked off. "I was….just talking to myself…."

Sonic simply watched as Sally disappeared within a group of relief workers. He gave a sigh and began to walk.
What's wrong, Sal?…I want to help, but you think you must do everything for yourself….

"She thinks it's her fault."
"Eh?" Sonic turned.
"She thinks it's her fault that Knothole's covered." Tails picked out some dirt from his tail fur. "Someone should convince her it isn't."
"Tails?"
"Why don't you go talk to her after she sees the prisoners?" Tails' blue eyes looked up at Sonic. "It'll make her feel better."
"Uh….." Sonic was slightly stunned. "Sure…."

With a nod of approval, Tails abruptly turned and walked off, his head down as well. Sonic stared at him as he walked past various workers, his fashion of leaving similar to Sally's. Rubbing his chin, Sonic's eye brow crimped up.

"What the hell?" He muttered in amazement. "Tails……you….Sal…..has the whole world gone mad, or am I missing something here?"
"I don't think you're missing anything."
"Uuugh…" Sonic turned around to face the origin of the voice. "Rotor. The only other person who isn't moping like all is lost."
"Well," Rotor sheepishly grinned. "I wouldn't go so far to say that…"
"What do you mean, though? Everyone seems so troubled."
"Well…" Rotor looked around. "I suppose we could consider Sally troubled. Her parents nearly died. Her kingdom's in shambles. I think she has a few things to worry about. But everyone else?" Rotor shrugged. "Honestly, there's something up in my opinion. I guess they must think something is missing."
"Why would you say that?"
"Other than the fact that everyone is wearing a confused expression on their faces?"

The two laughed at that. Chuckling, Sonic wiped his eyes.

"Aw, man, Rotor, your sense of humor and lack thereof has proven to be the highlight of a really bad day."
"My highlight was hauling seventeen vines, each about thirty feet long, to what's been uncovered and discerned to be my lab, for analysis."
"Well, something weird does seem to be going on with those vines. So I guess you're right."
"More on that when we get more info, of course, Sonic."
"Yeah. Say……what about….prisoners?"
"What about them?"
"Sal and Tails kept mentioning prisoners." Sonic looked around. "Know anything about that?"
"A little. That guy from the Floating Island……um, the brown guy?…"
"Constable Remington."
"Yeah. Remington told me in passing that Geoffrey just called in an arrest."
"Those aren't happening too frequently now, are they? Wonder why."
"Sonic? Half the kingdom's either buried or too busy cle-"
"Rotor, that was sarcasm."
"Oh, um….right." Rotor gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Anyways…seems some of his troops were allegedly accosted by two dirty twenty-something echidnas down near the eastern coasts. He's set to help defend them, or at least to try to, and so is……..aw man, that other guy?…"
"Other echidna? You got me."
"Yeah…wait, it was something like Watch Maker."
"Sounds right."
"He's going to check it out when the princess sees them."
"Isn't his wife having a kid or something?"
"I don't know."
"I don't know either. I was asking you."
"You asked the wrong person."
"….So I did."
"AY!!!"

Sonic and Rotor turned to see Antoine glaring at them. With a definitive grunt, Antoine set a large box filled with relief supplies in front of the two.

"Ve cannot rest on ze job, so you neethair can't! Back to work, lezees!" With a hmph, the fox stomped off.
"Right…." Sonic sweat as he turned to Rotor. "Wanna flip for it?"

----------------------------------

The foggy day turned into foggy night. Locke's body slowly went up and down in rhythmic breathing.

"He's still sleeping." Rei turned to Luna. "But for how long, I don't know. Try not to wake him up."
"I just want to study him." Luna looked up at Rei. "That's it."
"Ok…." Rei nodded. "But remember, when you leave…..Oji-san is already in bed, and I'll probably be asleep as well. So be quiet when you leave."
"That is nothing I can't handle."
"Right. Night."

Behind Luna, Rei closed the sliding door most of the way before leaving.
This is it. Luna's thoughts ran wild. Don't be scared…
It was not so much that Luna was frightened of the ideas of looking the man who took Usagi to Russia to stop a madman. It was far from that. Yet, deep in her gut, Luna feared what she might see within his face. She wasn't sure why, but for some odd reason she almost ran back towards the sliding door to get out.
NO! Luna forced her feet to stop. I want to see it. What could be in his face that would, or should, make me fearful of him?!
Finally, after three minutes of silent debate, Luna's feet turned away from the door and towards the bed. With a deep breath, she leaped onto the side table next to the window. There, she received a full view of Locke's face.
It wasn't a face that Luna would have considered perfect; but then again, Locke was by no means perfect. Yet for a man his age, his face looked younger than it should have. Tanned and thin, he was darker than most people Luna had seen in her life. There were signs of his real age - wrinkles - but they were few and far between, mostly under his eyes, which were darkened by rings, a result of little sleep for many years. His dreadlocks covered much of his face, adding to the dark effect of his complexion.
Looking deeper, however, Luna's mouth slowly dropped as she studied every facet of his face.
This………it can't be………
Luna stepped back, her mind suddenly filling with realizations. Her paw flew up to her mouth; she could feel the scream coming, but she forced herself to keep it in.
Instead, gasping, she opted to jump off the table and run towards the door, squeezing herself through as she fled. She halted when she got near the hall, her paw to her head. Her head throbbed with surprise; what she saw was something she never expected to see again.
That face…..even in that form, it……it looks like….it is his face…..!!!

-------------------------

The dark haziness of the fog began to trickle into the small room, the wind silently blowing against the window. Inside, too, a cold draft began to fill the room with a chill. With a shudder and a mumble, Locke's eyes slowly opened.
……Back….
Locke's mind slowly adjusted to the cold night of the shrine room. Only seconds before, he had been sitting on a beach, the sunbeams on his belly as he lay stretched out, looking at the sun to see how long he could stare at it without hurting his eyes. He had been very young, only seven….
A dream…. Locke quickly shuffled the memory out of sight. The warmth of the sun was gone. With the warmth went the tinge of sadness that went along with it. He wasn't the only one who did that. Someone else, when they were young, he had watched them do it-
No. Not yet.
With a sign, he stood up. His feet quietly padded the ground as he took a brown overcoat from the closet.
Walk. Don't think of them. Walk.
He looked at the calendar on his wall. Several more days were crossed off during his slumber.
Two days. I've slept for two days. Two….
No. Keep walking.

Willing himself to forget, Locke's feet took him out of his bedroom, into the hall, and finally into the cold night of the outside. He gave a shiver as he sat on the steps which led to the living quarters.
My stomach hurts.
He shifted uncomfortably. He had last had food two nights ago, when several of the soldiers had come for a dinner that consisted of little white pellets called 'rice', large brown balls called 'potatoes' and sunflower seeds. Those three foods had been all that been stocked in the shrine before the Crystal froze the earth. That, and something called "Camepebellu".
He had eaten mostly seeds. He had not been too partial to the rice, and the potatoes, while they looked delicious, seemed very papery with the outer skin, which was pretty much what comprised the entire food. The sunflowers seeds, on the other hand, weren't very filling either, though they were a familiar food to Locke. So, before going to sleep, he had secretly sneaked into the bushes of the shrine and ate a dozen small ants.
Perhaps…..the ants are why I am feeling slightly ill. Locke's realization made him shake his head. Of course. These ants, they are not like those in my world….therefore, they must have a different effect on my body…

"Hello?"

Locke's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a woman's voice, followed by coughing. Locke slowly stood up to see a woman in front of the shrine. A young boy accompanied her.

"I'm….sorry…" the woman stammered. "I know it is late, but….is the shrine still open?"

The little boy with her looked pitiful, spots covering his pale face. He began sucking his thumb, but suddenly started coughing again. While Locke knew nothing about the religion the shrine hosted, he still knew better than to simply shoo the two away, even in the middle of the night.

"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"My child." The woman looked at him. "Can you please come over?"
"Of…course." Locke obeyed the woman's question, slowly approaching. "He is sick?"
"Very sick." The woman's eyes were saddened. "Very."
"How old is he?"
"……Three months old."

Locke looked at the woman in surprise, then down at the boy.

"Is he?"
"The devils of hell." The woman started to cry. "I had been nursing my baby, he was sick, and then…..something……I found myself with a sick seven-year-old in my arms. And now, he's even sicker. His fever is worsened by the strange power that aged him. Oh, priest, is there something I can do to help him?!"

Locke bent down to look at the boy's face. Though the boy was seven, Locke could see that his face was unusually chubby with baby fat, and he had no teeth. Looking at his hands, he saw also that there were no marks on them. They were as smooth as a baby's. He stood back up as the boy began to cough again. A wind began to blow as he did.

"Please…" Locke looked at the woman. "Will you give the gods a prayer?"
"……..Yes." He new better than to reveal himself. "I will pray for you."
"Thank you." The woman gave him a sad smile. "A man of gods."

With a bow, the woman left with her child. Looking down at the ground, Locke pondered. From the sky, a small sound began to emanate through the fog, and the wind picked up.
This is the Silver Crystal….is there any way to reverse this?

Locke heard the crack of trees as the wind blew harder. He looked around, confused.
This wind…..what-

KA-SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING-ATHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The light burst through the fog so fast, Locke had no time to cover his eyes. It shot over him, the wind knocking him over, and it barely missed the shrine. The light disappeared into the wood behind the shrine, accompanied by a loud explosion.

"Huh?!"

Recovering, Locke's guardian instinct told him to rush over even before he heard the scream, before he heard the loud crack of thunderous bark upon the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-"

His body shimmered; he knew by normal running, he wouldn't make it if the person under branch was crushed. He closed his eyes, his fingers to his mouth, envisioning the spot of the accident. Thinking of the soft underbrush under his toes. The smell of dewy wood.
His body suddenly phased out just as Luna jumped from the window of his room.

"My God!!" Luna gasped for breath. "Locke?!?"

Seconds later, Locke's re-entry into reality was nothing short of falling to the ground.

"Nngh!"
"Aaaah!!!"

His inept skill of using Archimedes' phasing power, taught to him only in irregular intervals when he was in training long before this day, still came in handy. For in front of him was the downed wreckage of what was once a shade of trees, imported from America three decades ago. Grumbling as he jumped up, cursing his arm injury as it inflamed upon impact with the ground, he ran to the origin of the voice, slightly numbed.

"Hello!!" Locke leaped over a large trunk, a skill few humans his age would have even been able to attempt without a harness. "Are you here?"
"…………Help me…….."

Locke nearly passed the bloodied hand in his frantic search for the voice, which pleaded for assistance. But something - whether or not it was simply a subliminal pass from his mind, he could not be sure - caused him to turn around, see the fingers as they dug into the dirt as the body lay pinned under the tree.

"…..Help……"
"Hang on." Locke took a few deep breaths to recover from his near-perfect attempt to phase. "I'll get you out."

Closing his eyes, calling on a strength that he couldn't call his own - the energies he injected from the Emeralds long before Knuckles' birth - Locke took the tree trunk in his hands, bent down, pushed up. He gave a grunt, slowly lifting, his limited human body shuddering from the immense weight of the trunk.

"Locke!"

Luna leaped over onto the ground, skidding to a halt as she saw him. Slowly, he began to move his feet into another direction, taking the trunk away from the injured being.

"Huuurr……..RAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

With a loud cry, Locke dislodged the trunk, gasping, his heart pounding. The trunk had been a worse trial than he thought. But he had done it. The trunk was no longer pinning the creature who lay before him.

"Uuuuu……"

Laying on her back, the girl's eyes slowly fluttered open, her body freed from the pain. The dark magenta eyes slowly looked up at him, squinting. Cuts and blood were all over her face.

"Uugggh…."
"No!" Locke's hand shot out to stop her from moving. "No. You mustn't move."

As quickly as he could, Locke carefully examined the body by placing his hands firmly onto her back, which was covered in a black velvet coat. She was laying on her stomach; it would be dangerous to simply roll her over if either her back or her ribs were broken.

"Can you feel me?" Strange…..this girl…
"Yes….it hurts…"

Before Locke could stop her, the girl painfully rolled over onto her back, gasping and writhing as she did. Her hat, a black beret with red stripes, fell off. Luna's eyes widened as the girl's face was completely revealed.

"You…!!!!!"
"Come on." Locke's hands went under the girl's waist. "As much as I hate to do this, there's no time."

With deftness and speed, Locke picked the girl up into his arms and began to run towards the shrine, shouting. He knew how late it was at night, but he knew also that, day or night, the girl's injuries could be too serious to simply hold off on treating them until light came. He jumped over the tree trunk once more, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw dim candle light on in the Shrine, with Rei and her grandfather running out to greet him with worried expressions.

"Locke!! Who.."
"No time." Locke carefully barged his way through the two and headed stright into the Shrine. "If you know any doctors who can set bones, get them here. This girl is seriously hurt and could be in danger of dying without treatment."

The authority in Locke's voice made it painfully clear to the two that no time could be spared. Without another word, Rei ran down the flight of entry stairs while Oji-san ran in to prepare warm compresses for the girl, who now lay unconscious in Locke's arms.
He….
Luna panted as she jumped over the tree trunk and touched the Hikawa sidewalk. From the open doorway, Locke was putting the girl onto a bed and carefully taking off her ripped clothing, rubbing his kimono onto bruises that were on her body.
That man…. Though exhausted, Luna could not help feeling admiration. He's so much…..like him….

----------------------

"Ow!"

Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief as the barbs and ropes were untied. Sally stood before Julie-Su and himself, watching as they were unbound.

"Were the barbs necessary?"
"Sorry, highness…" The trooper bowed. "They were resisting arrest."
"What?!" Julie-Su's head flew towards the trooper. "Liar! We-"
"That's enough." Sally looked at the trooper. "You may leave."
"Sure?" The trooper looked at Knuckles with a glare. "I wouldn't be-"
"You can trust us, Princess." Knuckles muttered. "We won't harm you."

Sally looked at Knuckles for a moment before nodding.

"Right. Leave."

Nodding reluctantly, the guard left. Sally sat down in the tent chair as she looked at the two prisoners, both sitting on the ground.

"Well, start."
"Um…"

Julie-Su looked at Knuckles reluctantly. Knuckles knew what she thought. Maybe she won't recognize us. But…we have to try.

"Sally." The princess looked up. "We come from…..the Floating Island. We came here, after years of….incomplatence towards this world…" Julie-Su shook her head. "…to survey the damage done by the vines. Because……" Knuckles looked for words. "We thought this was long gone."
"Hm?" Sally's eyebrow crimped. "I don't quite understand what you just said."

Knuckles gave a huff, looking down. Finally, he stood up.

"Wait!"
"Ok, that didn't work." Knuckles looked straight at Sally. "Sally, you might not recognize me, but it's me, Knuckles!"

Sally's eyes widened at the echidna's words. Then, her face became indignant.

"I don't believe you."
"What?"
"How old are you?"
"….Twenty-two."
"Knuckles the Echidna is sixteen."
"Yes, yes, that's what you think, but it's not true anymore!" Knuckles pointed to his companion. "Julie-Su and I have been gone for a thousand years, trapped on another planet by a cleansing spell, and we came back to see what happened to our planet….except nothing seems to have…happened…."

Knuckles' voice trailed off when he began to see how ridiculous the story sounded. He saw Sally get up from her chair, walking towards him. The expression on her face was one of displeasure.

"What are you trying to pull?" she angrily demanded. "Do you two think I'm that stupid?"
"No, you're not stupid at all!" Knuckles protested. "But it's the truth! Our bodies aged when we came out of the centuries-long sleep and that's why we look the way we do!"
"You're not winning me over."
"Knuckles, its not-"
"Look at me, Sally." Knuckles took off his hat. "I must look familiar, even in this body!"

Sally looked the echidna over, starting with his eyes. Knuckles stared at her, feeling the sweat on his face, as she examined him.
Please. Please. Remember me.

"You….." Sally's eyes furrowed. "Are you mocking me?"

Knuckles' eyes widened in shock.

"I don't believe this!!" Sally started to march towards the tent opening. "I'm going to throw you both in jail for this!!"
"Wait!"

Knuckles started to walk over to stop her, but instead, he found himself tripping over a rock.

"AAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
"Knuckles?!?!"

Instead of flying face first, Knuckles' body did an about face, and he fell backwards. The ground blurred, suddenly he was facing the ceiling. The echidna felt the wind blowing into his dreadlocks as he fell, and he saw his right leg fly up above him.
Instantly, his head clicked.
Of course….

"FLIP BACK KICK!!!!!!!!!"

Sally's body flew around just in time to see Knuckles crash to the ground. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the echidna's body spread out under her, panting from the whiplash of the fall.

"What….did you say?"
"Flip back kick." Knuckles looked up at the princess, wincing from the pain of landing on his back. "You're the only person who could beat me up with a flip back kick…"

The change of Sally's expression as she stood over him turned from surprise, to confusion, then realization.

"No…"
"Princess?!"

Remington's voice filled the tent as Knuckles heard a pair of footsteps.

"Sorry I'm late. Is something wrong?"
"…….Knuckles?"
"Huh?!?!" Remington's head came into view. "What?!"

Sally bent down to look at Knuckles' face. Her eyes scanned him, confused.

"…..It's true." Knuckles' eyes widened as Sally's face came closer. "I swear. It's the whole truth."
"…….My god."

Sally stood up halfway, extending her hand to the echidna. Knuckles took it, and stood up.

"Do you believe me?"
"K-Knuckles..." Sally stammered in shock. "I…..you didn't look like……but…..now you do. How…."
"Knuckles?" Remington's eyes widened. "You? Yet……you look different! What's happened?!"
"It's a long story…." Knuckles looked at Julie-Su. "A very long story….."


Bending down, Knuckles retrieved his hat and looked at Remington as he put it on. His head then went down, his eyes covered by the hat.

"My mom."
"She…" Remington kept staring. "Down in another tent. With Wynmacher."
"Where?"
"…….Down near the huts that have been uncovered.
"….Thanks."
"But…" Remington stared as Knuckles took Julie-Su's hand. The two began to walk out of the tent and into the moon-drenched camp. "My god, Knuckles, how?!?"

Without another word, Knuckles and Julie-Su began to walk through the crowds. People stopped and looked at them; the guards gave a shout and aimed their weapons at them but were stopped by Sally.

"Stop!" the princess shouted. "They're allies. Let them through!"

Staring, the guards relented. Knuckles simply kept walking, his head down, no words, with people staring at them. Julie-Su knew better than to talk to him as they walked.
I'm sorry….
Julie-Su's head went down as well. However, she forced her angry tears over what happened back. She could cry over her problems later, when she was alone.