Chapter 3: Discovery
______________
Thus it was that Mekion was on the island when Sonic was going for a run after escaping the closeness of the Lava Reef crystal mine. Sonic was unaware of the cyborg's presence as he raced against the wind and dodged between swaying palm trees. Everywhere the green of the island was turning a soft brown as the chill of winter wreaked havoc on the warm-weather vegetation.
Sonic paid no attention. He thought only of how glad he was to escape the mine and the claustrophobia that had been growing on him for days. He was ashamed to admit this weakness to Tails or Knuckles. Sonic had never had claustrophobia, but lately it seemed as if the shaft was shrinking, and there was less air than usual. When he began panicking he pretended to take a break. And all he had found was fool's gold. Maybe looking for work in the human colonies wasn't as humiliating as it sounded.
Sonic found himself on a trail leading to Chaotix Central, and sped along it. Maybe he would drop by Knuckles's house and grab something to eat.
The only ones in Chaotix Central were Talon and two chao. Talon was a young anteater who had come under Knuckles's protection a few years ago, and he was tossing a frisbee to the chao. Sonic stopped and watched them. There was Chimera, Knuckles's dragon chao. He was dark brown with horns growing from his head, and he pounced on the frisbee as if disemboweling it. This was the chao Knuckles had bought, and Sonic was envious. Sonic's chao, Velocity, was down in the gardens of the Chao Company, and buying a chao took a hefty amount of cash.
The other chao was gleaming silver with two rhino horns protruding from his forehead. He caught and threw the frisbee with concentration. "Hi Sonic!" he called, waving a paw.
"Hi Zinc, hi guys," said Sonic, walking up. "Toss me the frisbee." Talon threw it to him, and Sonic caught it and threw it to Chimera.
"I thought you were in Lava Reef," said Talon, making a dive for the frisbee as Chimera hurled it in his general direction.
"Taking a lunch break," said Sonic.
Talon threw the frisbee to Zinc. "I tried digging down there, but it scared me too bad."
Sonic smirked and mouthed, "Me too." Talon gave him a shy smile, and Sonic knew that this secret was safe with him.
"Talon's a pansy wimp," said Chimera.
Zinc threw the frisbee at the brown chao with such force that it struck Chimera in the face. "Take that back."
"Why do you care?" snarled Chimera, rubbing his face. "You're not his chao."
"It was mean," said Zinc.
"But it's the truth!" said Chimera. "Talon's a wimp, don't deny it."
Zinc growled, ran up and tackled him. The two wrestled and fought, the frisbee forgotten.
Talon turned to Sonic. "No use playing any more."
"Does he make fun of you all the time?" Sonic asked, following the anteater as Talon walked off toward Knuckles's house.
"Only when you're around," said Talon. "He wants to impress you."
Sonic shook his head and looked over his shoulder at the warring chao. Suddenly he missed Velocity. "I'm going to run some more," he said, and bolted away through the trees.
center* * */center
Zinc and Chimera were an even match, and were biting and scratching when suddenly Zinc stiffened and hissed, "Shh!"
Chimera froze and looked around. "What, what?"
The silver chao released the brown one and stood up, staring at the trees across the clearing that was Chaotix Central. Chimera got up and followed his gaze.
Framed in the shadows beneath the trees was a black and white hedgehog. It was watching them.
"Who is that?" whispered Zinc.
Chimera squinted. "He looks kind of familiar. Maybe I bit him once."
"No," said Zinc, sniffing. "I know his smell. What does he remind you of?"
"The chao-hater!" Chimera said at once. "I remember him! He was that black hedgehog who jumped the wall of the Chao Garden."
"Oh yeah," said Zinc, eyes narrowing. "He was the one who killed Nox."
"I only thought he hurt Nox."
"No, Nox died right after the thing with the ARK. You wouldn't know, you had regressed."
"What do we do? What if he attacks us?"
As if he had heard them, the stranger turned and vanished into the trees.
"I guess that answers that question," said Chimera. "Should I tell Knuckles?"
"Of course," said Zinc. "And I'll tell Zephyer. They might want to try to catch him."
"I can help with that," said Chimera with a fiendish smile. "I'll bite him good for killing Nox. Nox was the only one who liked me when I was bad."
center* * */center
The chao-hater. How quaint. Mekion slipped through the palm forests like a ghost, looking for somewhere dark where he could sleep. He had happened across the chao by accident. There was nothing in his mission about chao, so he could ignore them, and yet they reminded him of something ... something mortal and near to his heart. He also found it odd that they recognized him and remembered him being cruel to one of their kind. He remembered nothing of the sort.
In fact, he didn't remember much of anything.
He found a thick clump of bushes covered in red flowers and crawled under them, where he sensed there was a hollow. He curled up between the roots of the bushes, and thought.
Nox. Who was Nox? He ran a database search on the word, and turned up only the meaning: darkness. Perhaps his Master knew about this chao Mekion had supposedly killed.
The chao-hater, they called him. As his robot side idled and his organic side dozed, he found the title disturbing.
center* * */center
"And Knuckles said I should keep this one, because it glows," said Tails, holding up his red rock. Talon examined it without speaking. Tails dug through his bucket. "Check out this other one! It doesn't glow, but it's bigger."
Talon took the stone and looked at it. "Wow."
The two were seated on the floor of Knuckles's living room near the fireplace. They had eaten dinner, and outdoors it was dark and windy. Sonic lay sprawled on the tattered, threadbare sofa, his spines piercing it in a dozen places. Knuckles had left gashes in it over the years, so a few more holes didn't hurt.
"What's the matter, Talon?" Sonic asked. "Jealous?"
Talon gave him a sarcastic glance from under his black forelock. "Are you?"
"No," said Sonic without moving, for his embedded spines held him motionless. "Although digging up a truckload of fool's gold has left me kind of discouraged."
"Hey, I'll share!" said Tails. "We'll buy our chao, and I'll get new parts for the Cyclone with the rest."
"You're doing this to buy your chao?" said Talon, looking at the gemstone in his hands. "Maybe I should try some digging again."
"And boy is it nice to be home!" exclaimed Chimera, trotting into the living room. "What are you guys doing?"
"Looking at rocks," said Tails, displaying one.
The dragon-chao peered into his bucket. "Oh wow! What do you use these for? Throwing at people?"
"No," said Tails. "I can get them cut into rubies and stuff."
"I'd use them for ammunition," said Chimera. "Maybe I'll throw some at Knuckles when he comes back. Serves him right for leaving without me."
"Him and Zephyer," said Sonic, grinning. "Sitting in a tree ..."
"How does that song go?" Chimera asked. "I could really tick off Zephyer with it."
"Take my advice, don't," said Sonic. "But it goes like this ..."
center* * */center
Knuckles and Zephyer had a pleasant walk at first, as the twilight faded into night and the wind dropped. Zephyer was wrapped in a thick cloak, for the cold air penetrated the metal that encased her body. Zinc, on the other hand, ran and played about her feet, ignoring the weather.
As dusk faded to a green band in the west and the sky crowded with stars, the wind returned and lashed the trees. Zephyer pulled her cloak around her. "Let's go back, Knuckles. I'm freezing."
"All right," said Knuckles, who was feeling the cold, himself. "We'll head south soon. I've taken on all the water I need."
"You should hurry," said Zephyer as they walked down a hill back toward the distant Chaotix Central. "The poor island isn't used to winters like this. A few good frosts and there goes your flora."
Knuckles looked at her and allowed himself a smile. She was thinking like a guardian.
Zephyer looked around. "Zinc?" They stopped and peered about in the darkness for him, and spotted him back up the hill, watching something in the trees. "Zinc, come on," said Zephyer. When the chao did not stir, she gave Knuckles a worried glance and climbed back up the hill.
"Zinc?" said Zephyer, bending over him. "What are you doing?"
"He's watching us from the trees," said the silver chao, unblinking. "Look."
Zephyer straightened up, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. She followed his gaze, but could only see waving palm trees and bending brush. "Knuckles," she said as he reached her, "Zinc's watching somebody."
"It's probably Espio spying on us," said Knuckles. "The Chaotix have a revolving gossip network, you know."
"It's not Espio," said Zinc without blinking. "It's a hedgehog with a red eye."
The two echidnas stared at the spot where Zinc was looking. It seemed that they could see a red speck that did not move among the chaotic darkness of the wood. Knuckles laid a hand on Zephyer's shoulder. "Run back to the house. I can't imagine what Metal Sonic's doing here."
"It's not Metal Sonic," said Zinc quietly. "It's the chao-hater. Chimera and I saw him this afternoon."
"Chao-hater?" said Zephyer. "You sure it's not Metal Sonic?"
"His name was Shadow," said Zinc. "He's half black and half white now, but his smell is the same. He's been watching us."
Knuckles gripped Zephyer's shoulder for support. He felt as if he had taken a blow to the head. "Shadow?" he gasped. "Shadow? You're sure?"
Zephyer grasped his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Zinc, you're sure?"
"Positive," said Zinc, never taking his eyes from the place where he had seen the spy. "I'd know him anywhere after what he did to Nox."
There was a glint of movement as something darted away through the trees, and Zinc's head followed it. "He's gone now."
Knuckles released Zephyer and strode a few paces after the cyborg, then turned back. "Shadow's dead," he said, but it was a question.
"If he has a glowing eye, he must be a robot now," said Zephyer. She picked up Zinc and wrapped him in her cloak.
"A robot," said Knuckles, his mind groping for explanations. "Sure. Maybe they robotized him or something. Yeah, that has to be it. But what's he doing here?"
"Looking for Sonic?" said Zephyer.
Knuckles ran both hands through his dreadlocks in a gesture of desperation. "Sonic can't find out about this. Zeff, he's finally accepted Shadow's death. Learning he's still alive will send him over the edge again." He peered at the waving trees. "No, we can't tell him. He's barely recovered from the Twilight fiasco. Why did Shadow have to come HERE?"
"If he's a robot now," said Zephyer slowly, "who robotized him? And what if they sent him after us?"
Knuckles looked at her a long moment. "I think we should get indoors."
The two echidnas set off at a fast walk, peering around at the bushes and trees, which had become menacing, shadowy places in the darkness. Zinc rode on Zephyer's shoulder with his claws twisted in her dreadlocks, his silver head turning this way and that.
The lights of the house came into view, and Knuckles said, "Neither of you tell Sonic that Shadow is here."
"Chimera knows about Shadow, too," said the chao, "but we weren't going to tell anyone until we had told you."
"But we have to warn them," said Zephyer. "No matter who he was, he's a robot now and probably dangerous."
"I'll just say it's a new Mecha-like robot," said Knuckles, frowning.
Nothing more was said until they entered the house. Chimera ran up to Knuckles and Zephyer, singing the 'sitting in a tree' song in his scratchy voice. Zephyer ignored him and went to warm herself by the fire. Knuckles picked up Chimera and whispered to him what had happened.
To keep anyone from noticing this, Zephyer said, "Sonic, are you stuck to that couch?"
Sonic was still lying on his back, his spines stuck in the cushions. "Yep," he said. "It's cool not to worry about the furniture. You have a nice walk?"
"Kind of," said Zephyer. "We saw something out there."
Tails and Talon looked up from where Tails's rocks were scattered on the hearth. "What? The Chaotix sneak up on you?"
"Oh, she's pulling your leg," said Sonic. "Her and Knux were probably too busy playing kissy-face--"
"No they didn't," said Zinc. "I watched the whole time. Zephyer won't let him near her--"
"Zinc!" hissed Zephyer.
The chao blinked at her. "Well, you won't. I was just telling them."
"So what'd you see?" asked Tails.
Knuckles stepped into the circle of firelight, Chimera in the crook of one arm like a cat. "It was a robot, maybe one of the Mecha-bots."
Tails and Talon froze, and Sonic sat up so quickly that some of his blue spines remained embedded in the sofa. "Which one?"
"We think it's a new one," said Knuckles, catching Zephyer's eye. "It's black and white with red eyes."
There was a moment of silence as Sonic picked his spines out of the couch.
"Was it like Leviathan?" ventured Tails.
"No, hedgehog or something," said Knuckles, checking Sonic's face to see if he had said too much.
Sonic only looked worried. "What's it doing here, I wonder?"
"Probably wants to kill somebody," said Chimera, grinning wickedly. "We'll wake up tomorrow and somebody will have their guts hanging out--"
"Chimera!" said Zephyer. "Gross!"
Sonic stood up. "Well, all that means is we start carrying weapons. You tell the Chaotix yet?"
"No," said Knuckles. "They're holed up somewhere until I take us south again."
"Will we be okay tonight?" Zephyer asked.
Knuckles glanced at the walls and listened for a minute. "Yeah, if he didn't attack us earlier, I doubt he'll attack us now." He smacked a fist into his palm. "He's going to find out I don't like robots intruding on my property."
______________
Thus it was that Mekion was on the island when Sonic was going for a run after escaping the closeness of the Lava Reef crystal mine. Sonic was unaware of the cyborg's presence as he raced against the wind and dodged between swaying palm trees. Everywhere the green of the island was turning a soft brown as the chill of winter wreaked havoc on the warm-weather vegetation.
Sonic paid no attention. He thought only of how glad he was to escape the mine and the claustrophobia that had been growing on him for days. He was ashamed to admit this weakness to Tails or Knuckles. Sonic had never had claustrophobia, but lately it seemed as if the shaft was shrinking, and there was less air than usual. When he began panicking he pretended to take a break. And all he had found was fool's gold. Maybe looking for work in the human colonies wasn't as humiliating as it sounded.
Sonic found himself on a trail leading to Chaotix Central, and sped along it. Maybe he would drop by Knuckles's house and grab something to eat.
The only ones in Chaotix Central were Talon and two chao. Talon was a young anteater who had come under Knuckles's protection a few years ago, and he was tossing a frisbee to the chao. Sonic stopped and watched them. There was Chimera, Knuckles's dragon chao. He was dark brown with horns growing from his head, and he pounced on the frisbee as if disemboweling it. This was the chao Knuckles had bought, and Sonic was envious. Sonic's chao, Velocity, was down in the gardens of the Chao Company, and buying a chao took a hefty amount of cash.
The other chao was gleaming silver with two rhino horns protruding from his forehead. He caught and threw the frisbee with concentration. "Hi Sonic!" he called, waving a paw.
"Hi Zinc, hi guys," said Sonic, walking up. "Toss me the frisbee." Talon threw it to him, and Sonic caught it and threw it to Chimera.
"I thought you were in Lava Reef," said Talon, making a dive for the frisbee as Chimera hurled it in his general direction.
"Taking a lunch break," said Sonic.
Talon threw the frisbee to Zinc. "I tried digging down there, but it scared me too bad."
Sonic smirked and mouthed, "Me too." Talon gave him a shy smile, and Sonic knew that this secret was safe with him.
"Talon's a pansy wimp," said Chimera.
Zinc threw the frisbee at the brown chao with such force that it struck Chimera in the face. "Take that back."
"Why do you care?" snarled Chimera, rubbing his face. "You're not his chao."
"It was mean," said Zinc.
"But it's the truth!" said Chimera. "Talon's a wimp, don't deny it."
Zinc growled, ran up and tackled him. The two wrestled and fought, the frisbee forgotten.
Talon turned to Sonic. "No use playing any more."
"Does he make fun of you all the time?" Sonic asked, following the anteater as Talon walked off toward Knuckles's house.
"Only when you're around," said Talon. "He wants to impress you."
Sonic shook his head and looked over his shoulder at the warring chao. Suddenly he missed Velocity. "I'm going to run some more," he said, and bolted away through the trees.
center* * */center
Zinc and Chimera were an even match, and were biting and scratching when suddenly Zinc stiffened and hissed, "Shh!"
Chimera froze and looked around. "What, what?"
The silver chao released the brown one and stood up, staring at the trees across the clearing that was Chaotix Central. Chimera got up and followed his gaze.
Framed in the shadows beneath the trees was a black and white hedgehog. It was watching them.
"Who is that?" whispered Zinc.
Chimera squinted. "He looks kind of familiar. Maybe I bit him once."
"No," said Zinc, sniffing. "I know his smell. What does he remind you of?"
"The chao-hater!" Chimera said at once. "I remember him! He was that black hedgehog who jumped the wall of the Chao Garden."
"Oh yeah," said Zinc, eyes narrowing. "He was the one who killed Nox."
"I only thought he hurt Nox."
"No, Nox died right after the thing with the ARK. You wouldn't know, you had regressed."
"What do we do? What if he attacks us?"
As if he had heard them, the stranger turned and vanished into the trees.
"I guess that answers that question," said Chimera. "Should I tell Knuckles?"
"Of course," said Zinc. "And I'll tell Zephyer. They might want to try to catch him."
"I can help with that," said Chimera with a fiendish smile. "I'll bite him good for killing Nox. Nox was the only one who liked me when I was bad."
center* * */center
The chao-hater. How quaint. Mekion slipped through the palm forests like a ghost, looking for somewhere dark where he could sleep. He had happened across the chao by accident. There was nothing in his mission about chao, so he could ignore them, and yet they reminded him of something ... something mortal and near to his heart. He also found it odd that they recognized him and remembered him being cruel to one of their kind. He remembered nothing of the sort.
In fact, he didn't remember much of anything.
He found a thick clump of bushes covered in red flowers and crawled under them, where he sensed there was a hollow. He curled up between the roots of the bushes, and thought.
Nox. Who was Nox? He ran a database search on the word, and turned up only the meaning: darkness. Perhaps his Master knew about this chao Mekion had supposedly killed.
The chao-hater, they called him. As his robot side idled and his organic side dozed, he found the title disturbing.
center* * */center
"And Knuckles said I should keep this one, because it glows," said Tails, holding up his red rock. Talon examined it without speaking. Tails dug through his bucket. "Check out this other one! It doesn't glow, but it's bigger."
Talon took the stone and looked at it. "Wow."
The two were seated on the floor of Knuckles's living room near the fireplace. They had eaten dinner, and outdoors it was dark and windy. Sonic lay sprawled on the tattered, threadbare sofa, his spines piercing it in a dozen places. Knuckles had left gashes in it over the years, so a few more holes didn't hurt.
"What's the matter, Talon?" Sonic asked. "Jealous?"
Talon gave him a sarcastic glance from under his black forelock. "Are you?"
"No," said Sonic without moving, for his embedded spines held him motionless. "Although digging up a truckload of fool's gold has left me kind of discouraged."
"Hey, I'll share!" said Tails. "We'll buy our chao, and I'll get new parts for the Cyclone with the rest."
"You're doing this to buy your chao?" said Talon, looking at the gemstone in his hands. "Maybe I should try some digging again."
"And boy is it nice to be home!" exclaimed Chimera, trotting into the living room. "What are you guys doing?"
"Looking at rocks," said Tails, displaying one.
The dragon-chao peered into his bucket. "Oh wow! What do you use these for? Throwing at people?"
"No," said Tails. "I can get them cut into rubies and stuff."
"I'd use them for ammunition," said Chimera. "Maybe I'll throw some at Knuckles when he comes back. Serves him right for leaving without me."
"Him and Zephyer," said Sonic, grinning. "Sitting in a tree ..."
"How does that song go?" Chimera asked. "I could really tick off Zephyer with it."
"Take my advice, don't," said Sonic. "But it goes like this ..."
center* * */center
Knuckles and Zephyer had a pleasant walk at first, as the twilight faded into night and the wind dropped. Zephyer was wrapped in a thick cloak, for the cold air penetrated the metal that encased her body. Zinc, on the other hand, ran and played about her feet, ignoring the weather.
As dusk faded to a green band in the west and the sky crowded with stars, the wind returned and lashed the trees. Zephyer pulled her cloak around her. "Let's go back, Knuckles. I'm freezing."
"All right," said Knuckles, who was feeling the cold, himself. "We'll head south soon. I've taken on all the water I need."
"You should hurry," said Zephyer as they walked down a hill back toward the distant Chaotix Central. "The poor island isn't used to winters like this. A few good frosts and there goes your flora."
Knuckles looked at her and allowed himself a smile. She was thinking like a guardian.
Zephyer looked around. "Zinc?" They stopped and peered about in the darkness for him, and spotted him back up the hill, watching something in the trees. "Zinc, come on," said Zephyer. When the chao did not stir, she gave Knuckles a worried glance and climbed back up the hill.
"Zinc?" said Zephyer, bending over him. "What are you doing?"
"He's watching us from the trees," said the silver chao, unblinking. "Look."
Zephyer straightened up, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. She followed his gaze, but could only see waving palm trees and bending brush. "Knuckles," she said as he reached her, "Zinc's watching somebody."
"It's probably Espio spying on us," said Knuckles. "The Chaotix have a revolving gossip network, you know."
"It's not Espio," said Zinc without blinking. "It's a hedgehog with a red eye."
The two echidnas stared at the spot where Zinc was looking. It seemed that they could see a red speck that did not move among the chaotic darkness of the wood. Knuckles laid a hand on Zephyer's shoulder. "Run back to the house. I can't imagine what Metal Sonic's doing here."
"It's not Metal Sonic," said Zinc quietly. "It's the chao-hater. Chimera and I saw him this afternoon."
"Chao-hater?" said Zephyer. "You sure it's not Metal Sonic?"
"His name was Shadow," said Zinc. "He's half black and half white now, but his smell is the same. He's been watching us."
Knuckles gripped Zephyer's shoulder for support. He felt as if he had taken a blow to the head. "Shadow?" he gasped. "Shadow? You're sure?"
Zephyer grasped his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Zinc, you're sure?"
"Positive," said Zinc, never taking his eyes from the place where he had seen the spy. "I'd know him anywhere after what he did to Nox."
There was a glint of movement as something darted away through the trees, and Zinc's head followed it. "He's gone now."
Knuckles released Zephyer and strode a few paces after the cyborg, then turned back. "Shadow's dead," he said, but it was a question.
"If he has a glowing eye, he must be a robot now," said Zephyer. She picked up Zinc and wrapped him in her cloak.
"A robot," said Knuckles, his mind groping for explanations. "Sure. Maybe they robotized him or something. Yeah, that has to be it. But what's he doing here?"
"Looking for Sonic?" said Zephyer.
Knuckles ran both hands through his dreadlocks in a gesture of desperation. "Sonic can't find out about this. Zeff, he's finally accepted Shadow's death. Learning he's still alive will send him over the edge again." He peered at the waving trees. "No, we can't tell him. He's barely recovered from the Twilight fiasco. Why did Shadow have to come HERE?"
"If he's a robot now," said Zephyer slowly, "who robotized him? And what if they sent him after us?"
Knuckles looked at her a long moment. "I think we should get indoors."
The two echidnas set off at a fast walk, peering around at the bushes and trees, which had become menacing, shadowy places in the darkness. Zinc rode on Zephyer's shoulder with his claws twisted in her dreadlocks, his silver head turning this way and that.
The lights of the house came into view, and Knuckles said, "Neither of you tell Sonic that Shadow is here."
"Chimera knows about Shadow, too," said the chao, "but we weren't going to tell anyone until we had told you."
"But we have to warn them," said Zephyer. "No matter who he was, he's a robot now and probably dangerous."
"I'll just say it's a new Mecha-like robot," said Knuckles, frowning.
Nothing more was said until they entered the house. Chimera ran up to Knuckles and Zephyer, singing the 'sitting in a tree' song in his scratchy voice. Zephyer ignored him and went to warm herself by the fire. Knuckles picked up Chimera and whispered to him what had happened.
To keep anyone from noticing this, Zephyer said, "Sonic, are you stuck to that couch?"
Sonic was still lying on his back, his spines stuck in the cushions. "Yep," he said. "It's cool not to worry about the furniture. You have a nice walk?"
"Kind of," said Zephyer. "We saw something out there."
Tails and Talon looked up from where Tails's rocks were scattered on the hearth. "What? The Chaotix sneak up on you?"
"Oh, she's pulling your leg," said Sonic. "Her and Knux were probably too busy playing kissy-face--"
"No they didn't," said Zinc. "I watched the whole time. Zephyer won't let him near her--"
"Zinc!" hissed Zephyer.
The chao blinked at her. "Well, you won't. I was just telling them."
"So what'd you see?" asked Tails.
Knuckles stepped into the circle of firelight, Chimera in the crook of one arm like a cat. "It was a robot, maybe one of the Mecha-bots."
Tails and Talon froze, and Sonic sat up so quickly that some of his blue spines remained embedded in the sofa. "Which one?"
"We think it's a new one," said Knuckles, catching Zephyer's eye. "It's black and white with red eyes."
There was a moment of silence as Sonic picked his spines out of the couch.
"Was it like Leviathan?" ventured Tails.
"No, hedgehog or something," said Knuckles, checking Sonic's face to see if he had said too much.
Sonic only looked worried. "What's it doing here, I wonder?"
"Probably wants to kill somebody," said Chimera, grinning wickedly. "We'll wake up tomorrow and somebody will have their guts hanging out--"
"Chimera!" said Zephyer. "Gross!"
Sonic stood up. "Well, all that means is we start carrying weapons. You tell the Chaotix yet?"
"No," said Knuckles. "They're holed up somewhere until I take us south again."
"Will we be okay tonight?" Zephyer asked.
Knuckles glanced at the walls and listened for a minute. "Yeah, if he didn't attack us earlier, I doubt he'll attack us now." He smacked a fist into his palm. "He's going to find out I don't like robots intruding on my property."
