"I don't understand," Myla said. "The spires don't look the same."

"Spires?"

"The tops of buildings." She pointed ahead. "The buildings ahead of us—the tops look different."

"Ah," said Knuckles. "The ruins!"

"Ruins?" she shrieked.

"Yes. If you continue to go directly forward, you will enter the Ruins of the Sky."

Her mouth was left hanging open—he realized she had no idea how such a thing could be. But Knuckles heard a sound and turned his attention away. No, it wasn't the land transforming again, it was something else. He looked down the road and saw something approaching.

It was a very strange floating machine (Knuckles knew a little about machines, thanks to Robotnik). Its shape offended Knuckles' artist's eye. It was shaped like a rectangle, with imitation wings flaring out. In the front of it were lights. And riding in it were…

"More echidnas!" he whispered.

All of his aesthetic thoughts fled from this one fact. The machine slowed down as it approached. The occupants were laughing. "Hey, nudie, forgot your pants?"

Knuckles realized they were talking to him. "No," he said truthfully.

They only laughed more. Hyena laughing, Knuckles thought distastefully. What's the joke?

Myla approached the machine. "Where are you going?"

"We don't care, just away from the capitol."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Didn't you hear? The biggest science experiment in the history of our race is going on right now, and we don't wanna be near it if they screw up."

"Yeah, and what are you doing out here with this nudie?"

"I found him," she said, and Knuckles could feel the hesitation in her voice.

"Found him?" There was general laughter from the vehicle. "Well, hope you've had your fun with him!" More laughter, but then some sounds of disagreement. Knuckles focused in on the sounds. One of the echidnas was saying, "We should grab 'em and go."

Other voices shouted agreement or disagreement. Finally one voice said, "We won't have time if they struggle—we spent too much time trashing the store. We've gotta get away, it's almost time for the experiment!" There were murmurs of agreement, and the machine sped off down the "road".

Knuckles was bewildered. Even though he'd heard and processed all of the conversation, his lack of vocabulary was hurting his comprehension badly. "Help me," he said to Myla.

She turned. "What do you need help with?"

The phrase struck Knuckles in a way he didn't expect. Since when have I needed help with anything? he wondered. Since she appeared, was his obvious answer. I don't understand echidnas.

That thought left him even worse off. How is it possible that you can not understand what you are? Apparently, the true nature of echidnas was something he was not.

He shuddered. But he had a duty. If that ran contrary to the nature of echidnas… how was he supposed to resolve that?

Perhaps he could better understand echidnas—and resolve his conflicts—through Myla. He looked up at her in hope. "Words," he said, "I don't understand some of the words."

"Like what?"

"Nudie. Pants. Science. Store."

"Nudies… some echidnas, for different reasons, just don't wear clothes. Some have good reasons, but others just like the attention. It's not a compliment."

Knuckles had guessed that much.

"Pants are clothing that cover your waist and legs."

Rather impractical, Knuckles thought with disdain. That would restrict your range of motion.

"Science is how we find out about the world around."

Knuckles shook his head. Everything that was important for him to know, he knew already—except why echidnas were here when they hadn't been before.

"And stores are where animals go to trade."

"What's trade?"

She shook her head at him. "Don't you know any other animals?"

Yes, Knuckles thought. I know some. He nodded grimly. Other animals—almost without exception, hostile thieves.

If stores were where hostile thieves were…

Knuckles could feel his systems gearing up at the thought of enemies. Does store equal threat? He had to find out, immediately. His senses sharpened, ready to pick out trouble. Subconsciously his body prepared for battle. He began producing extra blood and platelets in case of wounds; his adrenals warmed up and sent a shot through his body. His heart rate increased and his lungs expanded, activating extra lung-space in case of need. He called upon the power of the Master in preparation for battle.

Primal messages from the Master permeated his mind. Threat! Find the threat!

If the store is a threat, destroy the store!

Movement caught his eye. It was Myla, backing away from him with a look of fear covering her face. With a jolt he realized how he must look to her—he'd prepared to destroy the store before even getting a definition of 'store'!

Knuckles felt a new emotion coursing through his body. Rapidly he settled back onto his feet, releasing the Master's strength and resetting his vital functions back to standby.

What was this new emotion? He'd never felt it before. It was so strong! He felt like he wanted to hide somewhere, but that feeling violated every principle upon which he lived.

His face was now level with hers again, and he spoke. "Go on with your definition," he said.

"A st-store is where animals exchange things," she said, obviously nervous. Knuckles realized how much he must have scared her. The new emotion rushed through him again, but he held his ground against it.

"Is there anything threatening about stores?"

She gave anxious laughter. "Not that I know of." She laughed again. Knuckles, inexperienced as he was, still knew the laughter had been forced.

He replayed the events in his mind. "Why would those echidnas "trash" the store?"

She blinked. "I… don't know," she said. "I think we need to go there."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because there might be people there they hurt."

The thought staggered Knuckles. Sure, he'd never hesitated to hurt—occasionally kill—intruders, but this was different. This wasn't over emeralds—at least, he thought it wasn't.

But echidnas would harm for no reason?

"Where is the store?" he growled.

He saw her draw back again, then swallow and speak. "That way, straight down the road a little way."

"Hold my hand," he commanded. She did so, though hesitantly. He looked down the road and begged the Master to assist him.

A wind swept up behind him. But it wasn't a real wind; it was simply a manifestation of the Master's power. Whatever it was, Knuckles felt it whip through his body. He joined it as it flew down the road, faster than a swooping hawk.

"Aagh!" she cried. She had no connection to the wind, Knuckles realized; he was dragging her through the air with his own power. Desperate, she gripped his hand with both of hers. He held her tightly, not letting go.

There! A blur on his left. Quickly he cut his connection to the Master. He landed on both feet; to her surprise, if not his, she did as well. After all, in reality, it wasn't they who had moved.

Knuckles' jaw dropped in surprise. He hoped that this wasn't what stores looked like normally. Refuse was strewn around a building; of the items outside, as far as Knuckles could see, no container had been left unsmashed, no food unspoiled. What a waste, Knuckles thought hatefully. "Trashed" was, indeed, the correct term.

"Oh, no!" she said. That was some relief, Knuckles thought. I was correct that this isn't how things should be. "Let's go inside! Come on!"

He followed her in. The inside resembled the outside, except that a variety of liquids covered the floor. Their shoes splashed as they walked. "Anyone here?" called Myla.

A head peered over a partition of sorts. Knuckles recognized some signs of aging that bothered him. He'd never seen such signs in other echidnas. Of course, he noted, his knowledge of other echidnas was painfully limited.

"Are they gone?" the head asked.

"Yes," answered Myla. "What happened?"

"Vandals," the head said. The echidna the head belonged to stood and brushed itself off. "I can't believe it. All I do is stay here and tend my store. This isn't the first time!"

"Why don't you fight them?" asked Knuckles, puzzled.

The elder echidna looked questioningly at him, as did Myla; however, her expression was more… Knuckles struggled. Unsure. Like she was wondering why he would suggest such a thing.

"Why, young lad," said the elder, "if I were as young and strong and proud of my body as you are, I would. But I'm old and helpless. I couldn't fight one of those hoodlums, let alone several."

"We're supposed to have police," said Myla sadly.

"Police?"

"People who aid animals in trouble."

Knuckles nodded. Those would be good to have.

"Yes," said the elder, "but no one lives close enough to here to help. The people who might live close enough to help won't; I asked them. Even if I called the police, nothing would come of it these days."

With a shock, Knuckles realized what that meant. Echidnas acted only in their own interests—and they were willing to hurt others to do it. Worse, even though they had people who were supposed to help, they really needed them—because without them, echidnas would simply revert to weak versus strong. But, apparently, these equalizers were not doing their duty.

'I'm old and helpless. I couldn't fight…'

The words replayed in Knuckles' mind. Must everything be reduced to weak versus strong?

He turned to the elder. "I will help you. I will clean this… store, and protect you if those echidnas come back."

It's all I can do, he thought.

Myla followed him a mere moment later. "Yes, we'll work together and clean your store for you."

The elder looked at him in surprise, as if he'd never heard such words before. Then he smiled. "Well, my boy, you may not wear pants, but you're far more decent than many that do!"