Once more he sat in the darkness. Once more, his thoughts were troubled.
The most unsettling thing for him was how easily Myla's slight had harmed him. As long as he'd existed, he'd been immune to the depredations of others. Physically he was unmatched; he was invulnerable to poisons and toxins; the Master was protection enough from any spells or curses; his mind was insulated enough with logic and power to be immune from mental attacks. Yet here, at last, was an approach strong enough to stop him in his tracks—and she hadn't even meant to harm him.
His first instinct was to break the connection, sever the tie, immediately! For some reason, he felt unprepared to do that. Other paths he explored came to the same conclusion: any of his approaches to reduce the relationship, or break it, involved harm to himself or to Myla. For some odd reason, one he couldn't put his paw on, he found that unacceptable.
That was the core of his dilemma, he knew. Myla was a recurrent weakness, yet he could not bring himself to remove the weakness.
Knuckles snarled to himself. How are you supposed to guard if you have weaknesses? Any smart predator can sense weakness and seize advantage of it. The entire reason for your existence is to be unshakable, an inescapable gate keeping all from the Master. Any flaw in you gives someone the potential to release the Master's power!
That was the one great imperative in Knuckles' thoughts, and it carried a great deal of weight. How could he reconcile this relationship with his duties if they were contradictory premises?
For a moment the heretical thought appeared in his mind: "Make her a higher priority than the Master." His thought process shut down, and he was amazed at his own boldness in thinking such a thing. It passed quickly, and Knuckles promptly erased the memory of it.
Other things clawed for his attention. His low opinion of echidnas had seemingly been confirmed; fire knows no master, and those hoodlums thought they would command it to their whims. He snorted at the memory. The disturbing part came when he realized just how wanton the act had been.
When the hoodlums had first come to the store, their destruction wasn't entirely for the sake of destruction; they had looted what they needed. For that reason, Knuckles had fallen into his thoughts concerning self-interest—and had actually maintained a higher opinion of echidnas than they deserved. But the night's episode went far deeper than that. There was no reason, no rationale for the destruction the echidnas were planning. It was entirely for the sake of destruction.
The implication was clear. Some echidnas were evil.
The realization chilled Knuckles to the core. He dreaded what might happen if those echidnas got anywhere near the Master! As soon as he thought that, alarms went off in his head.
How was it possible that a race so advanced as echidnas—capable of defying all manner of natural forces—could retain an inner urge to annihilate everything they had built?
By implication, the more power the echidnas uncovered—the more their "science" allowed them to grasp their world and bind it to their wills—the more potential for disaster they created. Knuckles knew from experience how devastating machines could be, ever since the human had torched part of the island. He was unsure just how much knowledge the echidnas had, but surely they were already strong enough to wreck the Island.
And suppose they got a hold of the Master!
Knuckles was in silent horror as the scenarios played out. The power of the Master, unleashed in wanton destruction upon the Island… the planet… everything!
Instantly, Knuckles directed his thoughts to the Master. He directed a little bit of its energy to change a switch from "off" to "on".
Knuckles had improved upon some things he'd found. The flip of the switch completely locked down the Hidden Palace at the heart of the Island. There were now exactly two ways in, and he devoted a part of his consciousness to monitoring them constantly to check for compromise. As it was, the entrances first had to be found, then negotiated; and it was a rare being indeed that succeeded in such a task.
Autonomous defenses activated, as well, though Knuckles—as ever—expected little out of them. Any sentient creature could overcome them, as their behavior was predictable and patterned; however, they would buy time for Knuckles to return, as they'd warn him of intrusion.
Knuckles wanted to feel more secure with the knowledge of the Master's protection, but the extra strain on him countered the feeling. He needed all his strength right now.
The thought of which brought him back to the subject of the girl. On the plus side, he thought, she could provide information—there was still much she knew that he did not. Besides, he wasn't sure how to separate them yet. On the minus side, she would be another variable to consider. She had an opening to him that he would have to guard against—further straining him. And, through no fault of her own, she would be a burden in an emergency.
Somehow, despite all his reasoning, he still remained undecided.
His internal debate continued for most of the night and on almost until morning. Then came his interruption.