Chapter 4: Encounter

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Mekion stood outside the house, his audio sensors turned to the voices inside. He smiled to himself. He had located Sonic and Tails. He had tried to sneak close to Knuckles, but when he was almost within range, the female echidna's silver chao had turned and saw him. The chao stared at him until it alerted his target to his presence, and now they were all on guard. His job would be harder now, but not impossible.

As for the assumption that he would attack them, he had to admire their foresight. A future mission might involve such parameters. He had considered entering the house, but the risk of being caught was too great.

Mekion retreated to the shelter of a tree that blocked the wind and watched as one by one the lights turned off. His instruments told him they had ceased moving around and had retired for the night. All except one. One person was pacing to and fro in its room, back and forth, over and over.

The night deepened and still that figure paced up and down. Mekion wondered why it was still awake. Curious but patient, he watched it pace for another fifteen minutes.

The person left its room. Mekion tracked it through the house, and watched when the door opened and Knuckles stepped out. The echidna was wearing a jacket, and his steel shovelclaws were strapped on his hands. He hurried away into the night, and Mekion ghosted after him. It was the perfect opportunity to take a snapshot of Knuckles from within three feet.

Knuckles headed down the trail toward the edge of the island, and Mekion followed him, watching for hiding places where he could draw close to his quarry without being seen. He noticed the trail was flanked on the right by a dense banana-palm grove. Mekion circled around to come up on the path through the palm grove ahead of Knuckles. The wind made so much noise that his rustling was drowned out, and he blessed the wind, cold as it was.

He reached the trail ahead of Knuckles and positioned himself with his robot eye set to image capture mode. As Knuckles walked past him, Mekion opened his shutter and engraved the echidna's image into his databank. His shutter clicked as it closed, and Knuckles's head jerked up at the sound. His eyes met Mekion's.

For a second the two stared at each other. Then Knuckles sprang at him, and Mekion leaped backward by reflex. He collided with a palm tree and fell, his organic mind panicking. He scrambled to his feet and started to bolt, and Knuckles's steel-clad hand closed on his organic arm.

"Wait a second," the echidna panted. "What are you doing here? Who are you?"

Mekion tried to twist away, but the echidna was strong, and his grip hurt the cyborg's arm. "Let me go," he whispered.

"Who are you?" Knuckles said.

Mekion was so close he could see Knuckles's dilated pupils and smell his breath. His robot brain informed him that this situation was a breach of all prior training, and the advisable action was to free himself and run. Mekion clawed at Knuckles's hand with his robot claws, but they only glanced off the echidna's shovelclaws. "Please let me go!" he screamed in a whisper.

"Tell me your name!" Knuckles commanded, gripping Mekion's arm in both hands.

Mekion's organic mind was taking control, and unreasoning terror consumed him. "Mekion!" he cried in his whispering voice. He twisted, slashed wildly at the echidna's arms, and wrenched free. Then he ran without looking back.

He did not stop running until his adrenaline was exhausted, and he had put two miles between himself and Knuckles. He found himself in a swampy area with tall grass everywhere, so he pushed into the grass until he found a dry spot, and sat down to rest. His organic half was shaking, and he rubbed his arm where the echidna had gripped him. He reviewed the image he had snapped--slightly blurred, it showed Knuckles walking by with a frown. Mekion did not know that his shutter clicked so loudly--he would take precautions next time.

But he was only thinking about his mission because half of him was still sick with fear. He had never been handled like that before. It brought to the surface a memory of humans in black clothes grabbing him and dragging him places he did not want to go, and he recalled his old voice--before he could only whisper--screaming a name over and over. It was a vague memory, full of fear and a loathing of being touched, for being touched meant being caught and hurt.

He drew breath after shuddering breath, trying to calm himself. It was an hour before he calmed down enough to look for the echidna again, and by then Knuckles had vanished from radar. Mekion cursed his organic brain and its animal fear that interfered with his objectives.

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Knuckles sat on the gleaming marble floor of the Hidden Palace, winding bandages around the scratches on his arms. He felt sick at his stomach over what he had seen. He had come face to face with the robot Shadow, who had run and fallen, and Knuckles had grabbed him. Knuckles had been shocked to find he was holding a warm flesh-and-blood arm. He had looked into the cyborg's mismatched eyes--one a black, expressionless thing with a red iris, and the other was a real eye, wide with fright and glazing with pain. The thing was terrified of him, and could not speak above a whisper. Had it possessed a whole voice, the cyborg would have been screaming. It said its name was Mekion and had gone berserk, fighting and squirming like an animal. Knuckles had let it go and watched it crash through the trees, scared out of its wits.

Now Knuckles was tending the wounds Mekion had given him. His worry and anger were now mixed with pity. The creature was an experiment gone wrong, and Knuckles found he did not want to hurt it. It had already suffered at the hands of whoever had created it. It did not know it was Shadow.

He finished bandaging his arm and rested his head in one hand for a moment. His life had just grown more complicated. Not only was his island in urgent need of moving, but Tails and Sonic needed babysitting in the mine, and he was trying to spend time with Zephyer, and now there was a freaky creature on the loose.

He shook his head and stood up, and went to the Master Emerald's pedestal. He gazed into it, letting its soft green glow calm him. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against its cool surface for a moment, gathering the nerve to go back into the cold and fly the island for the rest of the night. He tapped one hand on the big gem and said aloud, "Portable, please."

At once a tiny version of the Master Emerald appeared in his hand. "Thanks," he said. He knew the gem wasn't alive, but it was what supported his island, powered the teleporters and held the Chaos Emeralds in check, so it didn't hurt to be polite.

He pulled his jacket back on and headed for the teleporter, gem in hand. He had a long night ahead of him.

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Metal Sonic sorted through the latest entries in his robot brain, and found chunks of empty space where Mekion's organic mind had been in control. He had completed one objective, Metal Sonic noticed. Not bad for only being on the Floating Island one day.

But that much organic control worried him. The overall ratio was 50%, which was ideal, but Mekion had interacted with a target. Metal Sonic did not care if Mekion interacted with targets or not, but he was worried that Mekion had no record of the event. Metal Sonic did not know what had happened during the interaction. All he knew was that for forty-eight seconds Mekion's mind had switched off, and it did not come back except to record that he was running away. Perhaps he had been hurt. After all, Knuckles disliked intruders.

Metal Sonic sorted through the data again, and was pondering it when Robo Knux slipped up behind him and said, "Boo."

"You are juvenile," said Metal Sonic without moving.

"And you're no fun," said Robo Knux, looking at the screen. "Oh look, logfiles. How's your baby been doing?" When Metal Sonic did not answer, Robo Knux scanned the log himself. "Looks like he's gonna go rogue on you."

"I can only conclude that some emotion interfered with his input mechanism," said Metal Sonic. "Perhaps fear or anger."

"I could kill him for you," said Robo Knux, his green eyes flashing yellow.

"Perhaps he is injured," Metal Sonic went on, ignoring the red robot. "That is sufficient reason for his organic side to take over."

"Or maybe he's just a failed unit and needs to be destroyed," said Robo Knux.

Metal Sonic's eyes glinted scarlet for an instant. "Not all things should be destroyed."

"That choice is left up to those with the power to destroy," said Robo Knux. "A weaker creature never wants to be destroyed, but it doesn't have much choice in the matter, does it?"

Metal Sonic looked at him. "You attempted to kill him once, and he survived."

"Only because you interfered." Robo Knux lifted one metal arm with the dagger-like claws glinting. "I could shred you into pieces right now, and you couldn't stop me."

Metal Sonic did not grace this threat with an answer.

Robo Knux lowered his claws, green eyes rippling with rapid thought. He turned and strolled out of the room as aimlessly as he could, but his network communication port was blocked. Metal Sonic knew he was leaving.

Metal Sonic's claws drummed on the console's surface once. Then he made his decision and opened the transmission line to Mekion. The cyborg deserved a warning.

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When Sonic awoke the next morning, he was aware that something was different. He sat up in his sleeping bag and looked at Tails and Talon. Tails was asleep in a nearby sleeping bag, and Talon was lying in bed, eyes open, gazing out the window. It was before sunrise, and the sky was a young blue.

Sonic crawled out of his sleeping bag and picked up his shoes. Talon looked at him and whispered, "Good morning."

"Morning," Sonic replied, stepping over Tails and tiptoeing out of the room.

He went into the kitchen to find something to eat, and found Zephyer sitting at the kitchen table and eating a banana. "Hey Zeff," said Sonic, pulling on his sneakers. "What's for breakfast?"

She motioned to a large bowl of fruit in the middle of the table. The only thing in it Sonic recognized was a bunch of bananas--everything else looked tropical and alien. "Dates are pretty good," she said, indicating a cluster of small orange fruits. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Something's different," said Sonic. "Did it rain last night?"

"It's warmer," said Zephyer. "The island's been moving all night."

"Moving?" said Sonic in surprise. "You mean Knux has been driving all night?"

"Probably," said Zephyer, yawning.

Sonic stepped outside and discovered the air had a balmy, springtime feel to it. It thrilled him and made him want to run, but hunger drove him back inside. He returned to the kitchen table and eyed the fruit bowl. "So what are these things?"

"I don't know," said Zephyer. "Pick whatever smells good. That works for me."

Sonic picked up fruit after fruit and held it to his nose, but nothing smelled particularly appetizing. Finally he settled on a large oblong fruit with red and green skin. He bit into it and discovered the inside was orange and sweet as candy. "This is pretty good," he said with his mouth full. "Is it a mango?"

Zephyer shrugged. "You're asking me?"

"You hang out with Knux all the time and he hasn't showed you the food?" said Sonic, wiping juice off his chin. "Is he that much of an airhead?"

Zephyer looked down at her banana peel. "He doesn't know how much I don't know."

"I thought girlfriends told their guyfriends everything," said Sonic. "And what's this about not letting him near you?"

Zephyer's eyes flashed. "I should paddle Zinc for that."

"Well?" said Sonic, his green eyes innocent.

She motioned to herself. "I'm robotized from the neck down, Sonic. I'm a monstrosity. I don't want anyone to touch my metal and remember that. Especially not him."

"Yeah, you can't be derobotized, huh?" said Sonic, licking his fingers. "Too bad for you."

She glowered at him. "You don't know what it's like. I shouldn't--I shouldn't even be here--" She got up and faced the window.

Sonic watched her, aware that he had hurt her feelings and not sure how. "Sorry, Zeff."

"It's okay," she muttered. "I can't marry him, you know."

"How come?" Sonic had never dared to ask her about this, although it was a hot topic of conversation around Knothole.

She turned to face him, pain staring from her eyes. "Two reasons. First, a guardian and the mate of a guardian must be able to handle power emeralds. I can't." She held up her mechanical hands. "Second, I can't have children to continue the Guardian line. It's a lose-lose situation."

"Ouch," said Sonic, and noticed he had eaten his mango to the core.

"Ouch, yeah, understatement of the century," snarled Zephyer. "He's so glad to see me, you don't know what it's like--" She hurried out of the room.

Sonic watched her go. He felt sorry for her, but what could he do? She had become so emotional lately that he couldn't carry on a conversation with her. He wondered what Knuckles saw in her.

He washed mango juice off his hands, put on his gloves, and went outside into the strange, spring-like atmosphere. For January it was wonderful; Sonic felt as if he was on vacation at last. Then he thought of spending the day in the mine, and his stomach clenched. If he didn't go, they would know he was chickening out, but if he did go, then he would have to face tiny cramped tunnels and airless spaces ... Then he thought of Velocity and wondered if he ought to help Tails with his spot.

Sonic set off at an easy lope in a southerly direction to see where the island was going.

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Knuckles was stiff with the cold and sitting in one position all night, his emerald-holding arm stretched southwards. From his vantagepoint on the topmost peak of the island he could see for miles in every direction. And best of all, nobody could sneak up on him.

He made the trip south every winter for the sake of his island, and his father had taught him to navigate by the stars. In the south was a constellation like a sailing ship, and every winter Knuckles imagined the ship was leading him to a better place. He knew all the constellations by name, and when he traveled north in the spring he was guided by Belliphon, the Hawk who circled the pole star and was doomed to never set. He had read all the mythology in the Sandopolis library, and during the lonely years of his childhood he made up stories about the gods and monsters of the sky.

All night long his thoughts wandered between Mekion and the southern ship until he dozed and the two mingled in his dreams. The mythology of the ship had it that the ship came for echidnas when they died, and they sailed away to Heaven on a blue crystal ship, piloted by a white echidna with a star on his forehead. In his dreams Knuckles saw Shadow spinning through space, as Sonic had described it, and be picked up by the ship and taken away...

He jerked awake and found it was dawn, and the stars were fading. His arms pained him where Mekion had clawed him, and he was ravenously hungry.

Knuckles lowered his arm, his joints creaking, and wished for a moment that he could Chaos Control like Sonic. He brushed aside this thought, thrust the Master Emerald miniature into his coat pocket, and leaped off the mountaintop in a glide.

He rode the balmy air, circled Marble Gardens, glanced at Sandopolis, and headed toward the western area where Chaotix Central was located. He wondered where Mekion was, and again felt a mixture of anger and pity. That creature was bad news, and Knuckles didn't know why he was here. Probably scouting for Hidden Palace, the way the Mecha-bots always did until chased off.

As he landed in his yard, Sonic appeared out of nowhere and dashed up to him. "Morning, Knux! Where are we?"

"A little north of Sapphire Bay," replied Knuckles. "Warm enough for you?"

"Not nearly," said Sonic, then noticed the bandages on the echidna's arms. "What happened to you?"

"Had a run-in with the new Mecha-bot," said Knuckles, scowling. "I tried to catch him and he ripped me up trying to escape."

"I take it he escaped," said Sonic.

"Yeah," said Knuckles, pushing past him. "I hope you haven't eaten everything."

"Oh, there's a few crumbs left that you can have," said Sonic. "So what did he look like? What number is he?"

"He said his name was Mekion," said Knuckles after a second's thought. "He's ... he's weird." He went indoors, and Sonic followed him.

The kitchen was empty and the house quiet. Knuckles grabbed a plate and piled it with several of each item from the bowl.

"Are those mangos?" Sonic asked, pointing to one similar to his breakfast earlier.

"Yeah," said Knuckles, biting into a lumpy yellow fruit.

"Cool," said Sonic. "So all this is edible?"

Knuckles gave him a sidelong look. "Would I bother picking it and putting it in here if it wasn't?"

"No," said Sonic. "So how is Mekion weird?"

Knuckles knew Sonic had a one-track mind, and allowed himself to chew and swallow before answering. "He looks like a biotic." Which was true--Mekion's robot half had the oily look of biometal. But Knuckles wasn't about to tell Sonic that Mekion was half-organic and a white hedgehog to boot.

Sonic blanched. "A biotic? But biotics can't run without Leviathan!"

"I said he looked like one," said Knuckles. "Maybe he was built with that technology."

Sonic paced in a circle around the kitchen, eyes on the floor, spines bristling. "If it's a biotic," he said at last, "then we'll have to hunt it down and destroy it. It's probably after me, you know. They always are."

Knuckles was caught off-balance by this reasoning. Of course biotics were dangerous--why had he told Sonic that? The truth was that Knuckles didn't know what to do about Mekion, but he didn't want to kill him. He ate two dates, then said, "I don't think he's that dangerous."

"Hah," said Sonic. "Check out your arms. Not dangerous, huh?"

Knuckles opened his mouth to reply that he had attacked first, then closed it. He was walking a fine line between hurting Sonic and destroying Mekion. So he remained silent and finished his breakfast. Sonic was growing excited, breathing fast and eyes brightening. "I haven't fought one of the Mecha-bots in months," he said. "Maybe I could find Mekion for you."

"NO!"

The word exploded out of Knuckles with such force that Sonic stared at him. "No?"

"He's too dangerous," said Knuckles lamely. "Don't look for him alone."

"You just said he wasn't that dangerous," said Sonic, studying the echidna as if he had never seen him before. "Are you trying to cover for him or something?"

"You've never seen him," said Knuckles, and left it at that. He rinsed his plate, put it away, and walked outside. Sonic followed him. "Knux--"

"I'm going to fly the island all day," Knuckles interrupted. "I'll check with you in the mine this evening." He jogged toward the teleporter, and Sonic gazed after him, brow furrowed in a frown.