A Bloodstone Rose

by obsidian dreamer

It should be a perfect time, but something isn't yet right from below the earth, a horror from time's dawn is calling, and one hero is powerless to resist. Continuation from The Best Medicine. COMPLETE but to be continued...

11. Chapter 10 A Face in the Crowd

Chapter 10 – A Face in the Crowd.

A/N: Ohh, big and important chappie this time; it takes place solely on Angel Island but don't despair, there'll be more possession next chapter. NO MORE EXAMS – PARTY OVER HERE; I am now no longer a student! Woohoo! Before the chapter commences, just a word:

Sonicron – Master Ruby; methinks you need to read Chapter 8 once more (the stone's actually named just after Amy sees it for the first time – a tiny bit of italicised text gives it away).

Knuckles awoke slowly in the morning, registering pressure on his arm just before he attempted to move it; glancing down he realised that was a slice of luck. Rouge was sleeping quietly, back to him and resting on his arm as she dreamed whatever it was she dreamed; Knuckles felt his heart soften more as he carefully recovered his arm from under her head, trying not to wake her up. I don't think my life would be the same if we hadn't met batgirl; I just can't imagine not knowing you now; the guardian smiled as he rolled out from under the blanket they had shared, tucking it in closer to her as he thought about breakfast. The ashes of the fire had died down completely and were cold to the touch, though Knuckles shook himself like a hibernating bear as he realised it wasn't as cold today as it had been yesterday. It was as he examined the local flora that he suddenly paused; after a few moments of waiting excitement began to hum through his body; the temperature wasn't the only difference between today and yesterday. As this fact sank in and he felt both mingled relief and apprehension, there were signs of life from behind him.

Hmm, hard under my ear, where am I? Knuckles…? Rouge blinked her eyes open and yawned, the morning sun helping her re-orientate herself as her side complained about the roughness of the earth it had been forced to rest on; she told it in no uncertain terms to shut up and buckle down – she had to learn to sleep on the ground as due to the mobile life a guardian led, she wouldn't always be able to rely on having a bed for the night. She came lightly to her feet and began stretching off her stiff muscles, cricking her neck as Knuckles, realising she'd awakened, called over,

"Morning Rouge; fancy a bite to eat?"

"Sounds good", she sauntered over to where the echidna was sat, shelling the last of the nuts she had carried in her hip pouches with gusto; she contented herself with some sweeter fruit washed down with a mouthful of water from the nearby stream. After they had finished eating, Knuckles cut straight to the chase,

"Rouge, reckon you can do a high-fly right about now?"

"I guess so", the bat extended her left wing to shake of the last niggling traces of cramp, "why?"

"Because I can't feel anything; there's no power any more".

"You serious"; that means either something's gone wrong or it's over, the Master's done what it set out to do; Rouge barely concealed her excitement at this fact as the echidna nodded,

"Yeah, I reckon we'll be able to get a clearer picture now; you sure you're not feeling stiff?"

"Just a little" the bat confessed; Knuckles gently buffeted her shoulder as he grinned,

"You're toughening up faster than I expected; that really was some rough turf to sleep on; I was half-expecting you to wake up rigid". The bat raised an eyebrow and sniffed derisively,

"Trust me I've done worse; I've slept for three days in something not much bigger than a cupboard before now". Knuckles chuckled as he finished his last nut and wiped his mouth,

"Pull the other one".

"I'm serious"; she's serious; Knuckles confirmed her truthfulness with a glance at her face; he silently asked for an explanation and she smiled victoriously, "I was on a job to cover talks between two neighbouring heads of state; there was a suspicion of some dodgy arms dealing and the government wanted to be sure everything was above board. Took place in a hotel room and I listened in from the ventilation. The talks took three days and I couldn't move much, so I just slept were I was; now that was rough".

"I can imagine – was there anything going on?"

"Sorry, that's classified information", Rouge smiled smugly as the guardian rolled his eyes, "luckily I wasn't discovered and reported back; I then booked myself in for a full-body massage and that was the end of the story. Now, let's go; I want to see as much as you do so let's get this over with". Knuckles nodded and, as he had yesterday, cupped his hands and moved into a slight crouch.

"Now!" Rouge exploded forwards and landed right on his hands, he threw her upwards with all the force he could muster and she shot up like a bottle rocket, streamlining her body to lessen wind resistance as she used all the advantage Knuckles could give her. As she felt her force begin to diminish she beat her wings rapidly, ascending quickly as she began to scan the surroundings.

The mountains are finished, hmm, not sure if they actually class as mountains, more like pretty large hills; grassland in front of them, bit of a prairie sort of place and there's some trees growing there; it was as she saw these trees she looked closer, reaching the zenith of her flight and beginning to glide. Unlike the rest of Angel Island she'd seen, the growth here was more, orderly; though she couldn't be sure she hazarded a guess that, rather than the complex mish-mash of flora that made up most of the jungle on Angel Island, this forest was made up of just one species of tree. That's not natural; a sudden suspicion itched at the back of the former spy's mind and she regarded it with equal parts confusion, acceptance and outright fear; it looks like it's been cultivated – but that's not right, there's no-one to…oh man! Rouge let her eyes flick to the lake she'd seen yesterday as a cruelly cut off basin of water and realised it was now fully formed; however, when she saw how the lake had been created and what was by the side of it, her heart damn near stopped beating entirely. Overwhelmed, her wings stopped moving for a second and she fell towards the ground.

"Rouge!" Knuckles barked in alarm as the airborne form of his girlfriend suddenly seemed to dive in the air, losing control of her flight and falling to the earth. His shout did not go unheeded; jolted back to reality by the echidna's exclamation, the shocked bat regathered enough control to take back direction of her flight, though she was still numbed by what she had seen. But I'm not really important in this; how in the name of all that's sacred and pure am I going to break this to Knuckles without giving him a heart attack? Rouge thought ferociously, trying to use all of her wit and intelligence to come up with a gentle way to break the news; as the ground came ever closer though, she began to feel this was a race against time she was losing.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Knuckles wasn't sure whether he was relieved she was all right after that stupid nose-dive or angry that she'd even tried to pull off a move like that. Her back was to him as she landed and pulled her wings back to their normal place behind her shoulders. He was expecting her to come up with a smart-aleck comment about him being over-protective, that she'd known exactly what she was doing; what he did not expect was for her to remain stationary and speak with a breathless voice,

"Knuckles, there's something you need to know", she turned to face him; he narrowed his eyes as he couldn't quite make out her expression. Was she upset, relieved or just plain scared? This could get tricky, she looks like she's had a nasty shock; what the heck could she have seen up there?

"All right Rouge", the echidna folded his arms, his tone quiet and calm, "what did you see, and why's it so important to me?" The bat grinned and shuffled her feet; Knuckles had the impression she was actually feeling a little embarrassed about this.

"Well, while I was, you know, up there, I could, umm, see", she rested her head on her hand and gave a snort of laughter, "boy this is hard to put coherently".

"So I gathered", Knuckles smiled with expectation and spread his arms wide, "come on, hit me with it".

"You might want to sit down".

"That's for girls, no offence", he added hastily as Rouge steeled herself to pass on the news, "I'll take it, now what did you see?"

"Okay, how would you feel if", oh God, the island getting bigger was bad, this is going to be a disaster; she crossed her finger, bit her lip and then just went for it, "if I told you, you're probably not the last echidna alive?" She cast her eyes down and awaited the explosion that never came.

Not, the last…there are others; Knuckles stood still as stone as the news reached his ears; he didn't react at once, he couldn't, it was too much to take in at first. His voice was remarkable calm and level as he asked some important questions.

"Right, where, where are they?" This isn't good, he's far too calm to be taking this properly; delayed shock maybe, it must have come as a bolt from the blue; to conceal her own concerns as well as answer his question, she pointed towards the lake she had indicated the previous night.

"From what I saw they were mostly by the lake".

"Right", I can't believe it, my own people, here on Angel Island, "how many are there?" Rouge winced a little; this was the one that was really going to make or break the deal; she had to try and sugar this pill as much as possible,

"Well, I couldn't see exactly…" Knuckles cut her off quietly,

"Just give me your best guess", I'm not going to be alone any more, and neither's Rouge; "ten, twenty", he steeled himself as the upper limits of his estimation was reached, "a hundred?" This is it; just hit and hope like hell; Rouge crossed her fingers and took a deep breath,

"Maybe a hundred thousand", she dropped her gaze and finished talking before the echidna could react, "Knuckles, there's an entire city out there".

Knuckles sat down.

What should I do; Rouge forced herself to remain calm even as she saw the glass covering Knuckles' eyes and the way his knees had simply buckled under him – she had a very real fear that his isolated mind, so used to having one or at the very most two people on his island, had simply blanked at such a number. I've got to say something, but what can I say; she gave a very nervous and ironic chuckle, they never said anything about this is training. She was more than smart enough to know whatever was running through her mind was almost certainly small potatoes compared to the turmoil Knuckles must have been in; not only had the Master Emerald somehow made the island at least twelve times larger than it had been, it had also, just to put the icing on the cake, somehow resurrected a race Knuckles had thought had been long since extinct save for himself.

"Rouge", the bat started at the quiet voice that rumbled up at her; Knuckles regained his feet as he decided what to do next, "where is the city?"

"By the lake, over that way"; she pointed the way obediently; she decided the best thing to do was humour and appease him until she was sure that he was all right. The guardian nodded once, warmth once more spreading across his body as the numbing effect of the shock wore off minutely; running the declaration over in his head lessened the impact a little by repeated exposure.

"Well, we need to go there", I can see the echidnas there, see my own species for the first time, "we can get somewhere to stay for the night and maybe someone there can tell us what's going on". Rouge nodded at this line of thinking before she saw that she could enhance it slightly,

"Wait Knucks; there's something like a plantation near the city, maybe if we go there we can meet a few people first rather than plunging in headlong".

"Good idea", the guardian rose to his feet, shock replaced by determination; he needed to find out why the Master Emerald had only now revealed his people to him and he needed to see his own species, at least one of them, just to be sure. I know Rouge wouldn't lie about something like this, I trust her enough, but I must see it before I believe it; Knuckles gestured forwards, Rouge following his arm with her eyes.

"Lead on Rouge; you know where we're going"; that wasn't so bad, it could have been a lot…; "oh, and Rouge?"

"Ye…" The rest of her words were muffled as she felt two strong arms encircle her and a pair of lips lock onto her own. Her shock was rapidly drowned out by other, stronger emotions; she kissed back fiercely, returning Knuckles' passion with as much force as she could muster as they held each other in a tight, unbreaking embrace. The kiss was primal and mutual; neither Mobian cared for anything else but the other as it endured; they could have been alone in the world and it wouldn't have mattered to either of them. Finally, however, lack of air forced them apart, both heaved in deep breaths as Knuckles smiled and spoke breathlessly, tears beginning to sparkle in his eyes,

"Thank you"; the first droplets fell as the sheer enormity of what she'd done for him sank into his mind fully, "thank you for telling me; I'm not the last any more, thank you". He broke off, unable to continue; tears with a smile as the bat hugged him tightly, unable to convey her support with words so using simple Mobian contact instead. When his tears of gratitude and joy were shed, with Rouge supporting and helping him the whole time, the guardian followed his closest friend to find the people he had never known but, in a way, had always been protecting.

Compared to yesterday, the journey to the mysterious plantation was much faster than before; with a new, insatiable driving force behind him Knuckles was tireless, striding over rises in the ground and pushing through thick bushes like they simply weren't there, holding them open for Rouge to pass through as well when she didn't fly over them. It was mostly a silent trip, occasionally punctuated by small talk about what the bat had managed to see; the rough dimensions of the city, how it appeared to be powered and other such trivia; Knuckles wanted to know as much as he could about what he was getting himself into. Rouge was almost as excited, especially as in a city as she had one major advantage over the guardian in that environment; street smarts. She wasn't a mall rat by any stretch of the imagination but she could usually find her way around by natural affiliation and the fact she had at one time owned one of the most successful clubs in Station Square; she still visited it on occasion, noting that nothing had changed bar the fact Omega, the new proprietor, had treated himself to a new, gold trimmed paint job as he had somehow increased the profits of the already famous club. As the grassland and tree clumps they were walking across began to thin out, Knuckles was gripped with a sudden thought; he stopped dead in his tracks and scratched his head in puzzlement.

"What's up?"

"I just had a thought", this really is random, but better now than later I guess; the echidna looked at Rouge with a calculating look on his face, "if we do meet someone in there, what am I going to say?" The bat blinked, not fully understanding if she understood what he was asking.

"Umm, hello's usually a good start".

"Well, yeah, but I mean, I've never even seen another echidna before, so, what should I say; I can't really talk to them and don't tell me to be myself", he saw the movement of her lips and raised a hand, "my record of dealing with people isn't exactly snow white". He's got a bit of a point there actually,

"Well, I see what you mean; from what I can gather this is their island as well, so we can't exactly throw them off", Rouge smiled as the ludicrous image of ordering an entire city's worth of echidnas off Angel Island floated through her vision, "I think the best thing we can do is just let them make the moves; just relax and take it in your stride. Now come on", the bat pointed to where the plantation was barely clear of the horizon, "if we hurry, I reckon we can make it there in time for dinner". As the trees can into view more fully, Knuckles felt his palms begin to sweat, eyes alive as he scanned the trees and the forest floor for signs of life. Rouge had been right; this wasn't a natural forest, it had been planted by someone and appeared to consist, as far as he could tell from this distance, almost entirely of hickory nut trees; it was a sort of farm. It must be providing food for the city; so if it is a farm, there must be people working it, his eyes swept around again and, there! He locked on to what had caught his eye like a hawk and came to a dead halt, breath stolen from him in a rush of sheer relief and resolve. It was a fair distance away and Knuckles didn't have the sharpest eyes out of the group, but there could be no mistake; in the boughs of one of the nearest trees, from the looks of things harvesting the hard hickory nuts, was a chocolate brown echidna.

"Rouge", the bat had stopped just after he had, but he didn't think she'd seen the other echidna yet; with a single hand trembling from elation, the guardian pointed, his voice a hushed whisper, "up there, in that tree". She followed his line of sight and her eyes widened,

"Is that, no, no it is", she grabbed Knuckles by the hand, almost as excited as he was, "we were right, there are echidnas; Knuckles, I'm so happy for you". He turned to her and grinned, his fist clenched in celebration; no longer was he Knuckles, the last of the echidnas, now he was Knuckles, one echidna among his own people. After a second of quiet jubilation Rouge broke the spell, giving the guardian a quick nudge and nodding at the other echidna; he still had his back to them and didn't seem to notice he was being observed.

"Well, looks like you better say hi".

"I guess", I don't believe I'm actually going to do this; raising his voice, the guardian called out to his tree bound counterpart, "hello, up there".

Teri-Le sighed as yet again, after all the promises of finding a different way to escape his yearly cycle of school and seasonal labour, after all the scheming and plotting with his friends, he realised he had once more ended up out here, gathering hickory nuts for the rest of the Christmas holidays to put a few more notes in his pocket. The realisation of this fact put the fifteen year old on a real downer; hanging around in a tree ten feet off the ground with a basket on one arm and a mission to pick a tree clean a day was not his idea of how to spend the holidays. Oh well, Teri mused as he twisted yet another dull brown nut off its parent tree, it's not all bad I guess; Time Spiral's on tonight, and at least tomorrow Sari-Ju'll be working with me. The teenager smiled; so typical of Sari to get a stomach ache just as their boss decided the biggest trees were ripe for the picking. Well, she can't stay away forever, and it's nearly lunch so…

"Hello, up there"; eh? The shout broke off Teri's line of thought and he quickly checked to the left and right of him; there was no-one else nearby and so he quickly reasoned the voice must have been shouting to him. It was when he turned around to see the source of the call that his ordinary day suddenly decided to morph into a decidedly unusual, turn-the-world-right-on-its-head kind of day. Yipe!

Teri wasn't exactly the beefiest echidna around, but then again he doubted even his dad would have had a patch on the red echidna who must have called him. He was five foot tall if he was an inch and even at this distance, Teri would have bet money that the red echidna's biceps were probably the size of his thighs. However, at least the caller was an echidna, that Teri could deal with; what was more unusual was the, er, the creature stood next to him. The younger echidna shut his eyes for a second, counted to three and re-opened them; yep, she was definitely real. She was also definitely a she; Teri blushed and lowered his eyes as he realised he'd been confirming this fact a little too intently, though it looked like he'd got away with it. Just as well; her friend looks like he could turn me to pulp with one hand tied behind his back.

"Hey, you hear me?" He jerked back to reality as he realised they were waiting for an answer,

"Er, yeah".

"Good", the pair approached closer to his tree and Teri had to make a decision; go to the ground to meet them of stay up here in relative safety; he bit his lip for a second before his curiosity got the better of him and he went with option one. He shinned down the tree with ease of long practise and waited for them to come to him. Okay, just act cool; there's bound to be a reasonable explana…; he caught a flash of white from the otherwise red fur of the other echidna; …shun…oh my God, he's the guardian!

Rouge saw the other echidna descend, his natural colour blending him into the dark brown bark; she realised they'd been lucky to even see him at all. He flipped to his feet at the base of the tree and stood there as they approached; he's not as tall as Knucks, he looks about as old as Tails; that was fine, Rouge could deal with kids alright, though she preferred dealing with adults as a general rule. They were about twenty paces away when the other echidna looked at Knuckles; the change in his face was immediate and dramatic – his eyes went wide as saucers and both hands covered his mouth; he looked, to put it mildly, completely astonished with the other echidna. Knuckles noticed this also and found it mildly disconcerting; slowing his approach, the guardian inquired,

"Something wrong?" Oh man, he's talking to me; stop staring, stop staring now dammit; with a great effort of willpower Teri managed to rip his eyes from the crest on the red echidnas' chest and looked at his face; his emotions were hard to read and Teri rapidly made a decision – first impression counted, especially when you knew the other guy was a heck of a lot stronger than you, and more important to boot.

"N,nothing, nothing's wrong guardian". That got Knuckles' attention; he swapped a glance with Rouge as the bat gave a tiny shrug. She hung back a bit as he continuing his walking, not wanting to scare the smaller echidna by approaching too fast as he asked,

"How do you know me?"

"The, er, the mark", the brown echidna pointed a tentative finger at the white fur under his neck, "only guardians have that mark; they told me that in school". Interesting, at least some of the other echidnas here will recognise me as a guardian; nothing showed on Knuckles' face as he moved to within arms reach of the other Mobian; Teri tried his best to act casual and prevent his apprehension showing.

"Okay", Knuckles broke the silence as he eyed the kid; he wasn't as old as Knuckles himself and the guardian knew he could be a little intimidating even when he didn't mean to be, "so, what else did they tell you in school, about the guardians, I mean?" The response was a saying that had, to Teri, been said so often to him by his family and friends it was ingrained in his memory, but to Knuckles came as something of a pleasant surprise.

"To every generation a guardian is born; those with the mark are destined to wander in the wilds and guard that which is both blessing and curse"; right, I'm stood here in touching distance of the guardian reciting that old tale; this just can't get weirder…

"Looks like they nailed it pretty well there Knucks"; …me and my big mouth; in awe of the guardian, Teri had almost forgotten his, umm, friend? Now that he had a closer look he realised she was both athletic and attractive, though he didn't dare look too long. At this distance he could see that, though not as obvious as the guardian, she was strong in her own way; he hadn't seen legs like that on anyone else, not even his P.E. teacher Ms. Ru. The strange creature approached and smiled at the guardian; Teri wondered if they'd notice him slipping off. He was just about to try when the guardian turned to him again.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself", he extended a paw that would have swallowed Teri's hand and about half his forearm, "name's Knuckles, or Knucks for short".

"Teri, Teri-Le"; well, at least I know his name; the teenager extended his smaller hand and shook, smiled shyly as he realised where the guardian had acquired his name, "I see, you're a spike".

"Huh?" Knuckles, and Rouge as well though Teri didn't see her expression, looked perplexed; he was a what now?

"What's a spike?" Oh, he doesn't know, rats.

"Spike, just means you've got those", Teri pointed to the spurs on Knuckles' hands as the red furred echidna saw that the younger Mobian's hands were smooth, unpunctuated by the naked bone weapons.

"Is that unusual?"

"Not really", Teri began to feel more at ease with the situation, though it was still strange to him and he really wanted to know who 'she' was, "only about one in four, maybe five, echidnas have them, and then only the guys; kind of a genetic thing". Knuckles gave a gruff snort of laughter,

"Biology was never my strong point".

"Something we've got in common then". At this point, Rouge decided to take a hand in proceeding; she'd notice the curious glances Teri had been sending her way and wanted to know why he though of her so strangely.

"Not the only thing I can assure you", she offered a hand, smiling without revealing her fangs as Teri smiled shyly and shook gently, thinking about how he could even remotely politely, "I'm Rouge, a friend of Knuckles". Lucky Knuckles; Teri hid his smile at the last second before taking the plunge,

"Umm, okay, Ms Rouge…"

"Just Rouge thank you", the bat shuddered at the dreaded M-word, "I don't do Miss".

"Right, Rouge, ah, sorry if this sounds a bit, er rude, but, what are you?"

Before either of the older Mobians could respond to this, in their eyes, baffling question, Teri tried to sugar the pill with a little wit and a compliment at the same time,

"Apart from fit and extremely good-looking I mean", he recovered a little confidence as he saw the strange creature smile, "I'm sorry but, I've just never seen anyone like you".

"You've never seen a bat before?" This could be interesting.

"No, sorry", Teri gave an apologetic shake of the head, filing the information away in case he ever needed to use it again as Knuckles cut in curiously,

"What about hedgehogs, or foxes?" He became slightly alarmed as the brown echidna simply shook his head to all of them, the ponytail that bound his hair swaying from the motion.

"Nope, never met anyone but another echidna before now; why, what do they look like, these hedgehogs and foxes, I mean?" Knuckles flicked Rouge a glance and saw her give a miniscule shake of the head; this wasn't the time to chat about species other than echidnas to someone who'd never seen any of them.

"Can we tell you some other time – we need to get to the city nearby and sort of, set a few things straight. Can you help us?"

"You want to go to Echidnopolis; the city", Teri hastily added as he saw the looks of confusion of the faces of the other two; inwardly he wondered, if the guardian protected the island like the stories and history lessons said, how he didn't know what the main city was called, "I can point the way, but I'm at work here; I know", he snapped his fingers as Knuckles and Rouge listened in, "it's time for my lunch break, so I can ask the boss; she'll help sort you out. You wait here, I'll go fetch her".

"Sounds like a plan", Knuckles smiled at the younger echidna, "we're not going anywhere". Teri nodded and made to set off before remembering something important; frowning, he looked back up at the tree he was working in.

"Just a sec, let me get my basket".

"Allow me"; Rouge jumped into the air and shot up to the top of the tree like a missile by running up the bark. The pitted wood gave her an easy grip and it was only eight or nine feet up, an easy run for someone as well trained as the former spy. Without pausing, she snatched the basket by the handle and lowering herself to the floor with her wings, landing without dropping a single nut. She offered the basket to Teri, smirking gently as his mouth hung open in sheer disbelief of what he'd just seen. The bat remembered something Vanilla had come up with earlier and smiled,

"What's up, tonsillitis?" She is amazing, I can't believe she just did that.

"Thanks", Teri took the offered basket and shook himself, realising he was making a spectacle of himself, "er, sorry, wait for me". He turned and walked off into the plantation, still wondering who upstairs was having a laugh with him as he realised just how absurd this was; he was out here with the guardian and a bat woman who seemed to be able to do gymnastic acts that he'd only ever seen on video. As he walked to go and find his employer, a single thought echoed in the young echidna's mind; since when did strange things ever happen to me?

A short while later, Rouge's keen ears picked up two pairs of footsteps heading their way; one was heavier than the other and she assumed that was the boss while the lighter tread should be Teri. She gave Knuckles a knock and the pair stood as Teri reappeared from the tree line, an older female echidna in tow.

"Here Mrs Ka", the teenager guided the older, honey-coloured echidna towards the guardian and his partner, "Knuckles, Rouge, this is Hele-Ka, my boss and owner of this plantation". The elder echidna nodded at the pair as they chorused a greeting, her dappled green eyes lingering for a second on Knuckle's chest for a second before she spoke,

"Greeting guardian, and you Rouge", she nodded at the bat, who smiled back uncertainly; suddenly it was her who was the stranger in this new world rather than Knuckles, "well, I'll confess when Teri came in saying the guardian wanted to speak to me I had my doubts but it looks like we can all make mistakes", she smiled, darting her eyes sideways as though daring the brown echidna to start celebrating under her nose, "so, what do you need?"

"All we really want is to get to the main city, Echidnopolis, is that right?" at Hele's nod, Knuckles continued, "we just want, er"; I can't tell them about the Master – from what I can tell they don't know about it, "somewhere to stay for the night, and to just have a look around. All we need are directions and a map if you've got one". Hele smiled and Rouge, more used to noticing flickers of emotion than anyone else present, saw humour dance in her eyes just before she spoke,

"I've got something better than a map, I've got a guide; Teri, take the day off".

"Huh?" The chocolate echidna looked at her disbelievingly, barely hoping to dare that hadn't just been a figment of his imagination, "you serious?"

"Yes; take these two into Echidnopolis and make sure they get a decent bed for the night and", Knuckles curled his fists as he realised Hele-Ka was examining his hands, "better send him to Remington as well".

"Who's Remington?" Rouge asked,

"Head of the EST", Teri answered easily, temporarily forgetting that Rouge and Knuckles wouldn't have the foggiest idea what EST stood for, "the head honcho of law and order; oh, EST means Echidnopolis Security Team" he explained after catching the bat's nonplussed expression.

"Why do I need to see him?" Just my luck, been here three hours and already broken the law; the reply actually surprised the guardian, but when he thought about it made a lot of sense,

"It's your spurs; all echidnas with spurs have to register with the EST. They're classed as weapons you see – helps keep tabs on who's more dangerous in a fist fight and things like that". Hele-Ka explained the situation, smiling as she remembered taking her own son to be registered just after he'd had his first birthday, the tiny knobs of bone just beginning to become sharpened under the effects of ageing. As she reminisced, Teri gestured to his two companions and began to lead them towards the city of Echidnopolis.

"See you tomorrow Mrs Ka". Caught off guard, the elder echidna didn't have time to reply before he'd high-tailed out of sight. Sneaky Teri; she pursed her lips; guess who's getting pruning duties tomorrow.

"Thanks you two", Teri stretched languidly as he walked, "that's a first".

"A first what?" Rouge chuckled as she asked; she was beginning to like the youth in front of her; a bit shy and rough around the edges, but still a nice enough guy.

"First time I've got off work early without being ill", the chocolate echidna smiled as Knuckles, realising that for the moment the three of them were alone, decided to ask a couple of questions about both the nature of the city and the individual leading them there.

"You worked there long?"

"Nah, just seasonal; need a bit of cash after Christmas and working the plantations like that's the easiest way to do it. Once the new term starts I'll be back behind the desk again".

"Don't like school I take it?"

"Does anyone?" Teri turned to answer the bat as she smiled broadly; he was becoming more popular with her by the minute, "nah, some of it's okay, but I need decent grades if I want to get into the EST like my dad".

"He works for them?"

"Yeah, I want to do a similar job but I'll have to hack the training first", the younger echidna snorted and tried to flex his arms, pointing at Knuckles, "need to put on a bit of muscle first; how'd you manage it?"

"Try living in the wild for about fifteen years", the older echidna answered dryly as Teri looked wide-eyed,

"Seriously?" Knuckles nodded, "think I'll stick to the gym thanks". As they cleared the plantation, it occurred to Rouge that something was missing.

"How did you get to work?" I can't see anything like a bike or a car; he didn't glide here did he?

"Same way I'm gonna get back now; we're walking". Knuckles shrugged,

"Suits me".

"Me too", I wonder, "so, there are no cars or anything like that in your city?"

"Some people have hover-vehicles; one of the reasons I'm at work is to save up for a hover-bike", Teri sighed longingly as Rouge beckoned Knuckles closer behind his back; when she was sure he wasn't listening, the bat whispered,

"That's good; there's not as much chance of anyone driving to the shrine by accident". Never even thought of that; nice one batgirl; Knuckles raised his eyebrows and whispered back,

"You'll be a guardian yet Rouge", raising his voice the red echidna spoke again, "how many echidnas are there, roughly?" Teri shrugged and blew out slowly,

"Your guess is about as good as mine, but if anyone would know it'd be the EST; they should be able to fill you in. Hey wait", Knuckles saw his eyes brighten and tensed slightly, expecting a question about the nature of his work and prepared to deflect it.

"You live out in the wilds don't you, as a guardian I mean?"

"Yes?" Here we go…

"What's it like out there?"

That threw Knuckles for a loop; from the sound of it, Teri was making out that he'd never been out there, out in the open spaces of Angel Island; that was something Knuckles couldn't imagine. He tried though for the kid's sake,

"What, er, what do you mean Teri?" The younger echidna stopped for a second and looked up at him; there was a desire, a thirst in his look that spoke volumes,

"I've never been further than the edge of the reservoir; everyone says the rest of the island is wild and untamed, even dangerous, so we can't go any further that that really. Maybe it's true; some echidna exploratory teams have gone out there and never returned, or so they say. But I still want to see it, even if it is just a kid's dream". Knuckles was caught here, he saw that now; to tell him that the island wasn't dangerous was closer to the truth, but if he did that he could cause an explosion of migrating echidnas, one of which might stumble onto the Master by accident. On the other hand, it wasn't like him to lie outright, especially not to a younger Mobian like Teri. Fortunately for him, it was Rouge to the rescue,

"It's no great shakes really Teri", the bat shrugged as the younger echidna greedily devoured her words, "some parts of it are really dangerous, but it's just like this otherwise".

"Really?"

"Really", the bat confirmed before skilfully stopping his line of thought with a question of her own, "that reminded me actually, you said the reservoir, is that the lake near the city?"

"Yeah, the Silver Sea".

"Right, sorry, I saw the place from the air a long way away, couldn't see clearly but I though it looked like a dam".

"Yeah it is", Teri smiled and, to Knuckles' relief, didn't press on with the questions about the rest of Angel Island, "provides us with our water, power and most of the food as well". Rouge raised an eyebrow, understanding this perhaps a little better than Knuckles.

"Water and power I can understand, food?"

"Fish and clams; one of the reasons I love summer", the echidna licked his lips as he tasted his favourite dish again, "diving for clams in the holidays, then eating them later with chips and nuts. The dam's hydro-electric too, gives us ninety-six percent of the power we use, clean and cheap". Knuckles just had to ask,

"The other four percent?"

"Water-based fission, it's what powers the hover-cars and stuff".

"Ah" was the only reply Knuckles could come up with as, in the distance, the first few buildings of Echidnopolis rose up into view.

Compared to Station Square; as was her way, Rouge quickly analysed the scene in front of her a short while later, this is actually pretty small. Just seems to have a bit more parkland and, she whistled as she was the crowd in front of her, a lot more echidnas. Knuckles was stood to the side of her, gawping at the milling crowd he could see in front of him. He had logically taken on board the fact that there was a city full of echidnas, but only now, only when he could see it with his eyes and hear it with his ears, did the full emotional impact finally crash down on him.

The scene in front of him was alive with echidnas of all different shapes, sizes, appearances and fashion senses. From this tiny snap-shot, he could see that fur colour ranged from an almost white pale blonde to a storm-cloud grey, that hair differed from being bound in dreadlocks as his was to being completely wild, though this was, admittedly, rare. Clothes ranged from just shoes and gloves like his to elegant, smart heeled business suits worn by important looking echidnas and some of the people near them.

"Well, this is it, home sweet home", Teri smiled as he tried to usher the pair forwards; he stopped as he saw the look of utter blankness on the guardian's face, "you alright there K-man?" It took a few seconds for the guardian to reply; he was busy immersing himself in the sea of echidnas he could see looming up ahead

"Teri", the younger echidna leant in to hear the guardian's whisper, "what would you say if I told you that you were the first echidna I had ever seen?" What! No, that's just not possible, even if he lived outside a lot; in all honesty, he wasn't sure what to think,

"I'd say you were joking", Knuckles' expression didn't change, "or failing that, I'd hope this was just some kind of joke".

"No joke" Rouge interjected gravely, "he's telling the truth; he's never been here before".

"But, but, why in the name of the council not?"

"Because he's never needed to", Rouge leant down, thinking fast as Knuckles overcame his shock and began to think clearly again, "we're only here to meet someone".

"Right, gotcha", the brown echidna gave a sly wink and straightened up; if it was guardian business it had to be important, "right, well, before I introduce you to the EST HQ, what say we get a bite to eat?"

"But…?"

"Tell it to the judge", Teri cut Knuckles off with one hand raised and a smile, "I said I'd get you registered today, but I never said when did I?" Slick move; Rouge patted the echidna on the shoulder and chuckled,

"Now that's called smart moves; so, where's the local restaurant?"

"Follow me".

There was a sharp, crisp cling as the door rattled open again; ducking his head out from the kitchen, Nate-Fy saw the familiar face of one of his most frequent visitors pull up a seat at his favourite table, casually glancing at the menu he could recite from memory. Just as the owner of the Fy-Café wiped his hands on a nearby cloth, the bell rang again and two other figures entered; a hulking bruiser of an echidna and, Nate squinted and blinked, an extremely attractive woman who looked like nothing else he'd ever seen. Still, as the pair sat down next to Teri, he guessed they had to be straight shooters. Fishing the remnants of a notepad from his apron pouch and the nub of a pencil from behind his left ear, the café proprietor sauntered towards the table,

"Hey Teri, ain't you at work today?" The younger echidna offered a hand that Nate slapped in the time-honoured greeting before answering,

"Well, I was, but then the boss had me run a special errand, involving the K-man over there"; Knuckles chuckled at this seeming nickname and, seeing as the other echidna, Nate, seemed to be looking over at him, sat back in his chair; the guardian had become used to the sudden reaction to his crest, though to his eternal relief, once most of the echidnas on the street had realised they were staring they looked away and resumed walking or talking to their friends. Nate was no exception,

"Well, well, looks like your keeping different company these days Teri", the violet echidna made to ask for an order, "what can I get you folks?"

"Umm, I think I'll just have a coffee, white with six sugars please".

"Six", Nate looked over as Rouge nodded demurely, "sweet tooth?"

"Sweet nature" she assured him as Teri and Knuckles shared a glance and fought to keep from smiling. Knuckles ordered himself a plain water and Teri took his usual cream soda drink and a scone as well. As Nate left to fill the order Knuckles realised something and leant over to Rouge desperately,

"Rouge, how are we going to pay?" That's easy, I always keep plastic handy and…ah, that's a problem; he saw the realisation flood her eyes and smiled grimly, "I don't think they take our kind of cash".

"That was a dumb thing to do" she agreed before their newest recruit to the cause cleared his throat.

"I think that's where I come in"; good old dad, always getting me to keep a ten spare, "I can cover it".

"As soon as we can we'll pay you back" Knuckles assured him; the younger echidna shrugged as Nate returned with their combined order, plus an extra tea. As he handed the drinks round he pulled over a seat for himself, span it around and straddled it, resting his chin on the top of the painted metal of the chair top. Teri didn't bat an eyelid, long since inured to the fact that Nate couldn't sit on a chair normally if his life depended on it, though Knuckles raised a curious eyebrow.

"Is that comfortable?"

"Works for me", Nate assured him before turning to the Mobian next to him, "sorry dear, never got your name". The bat smiled, inwardly reflecting the unmeant invasion of privacy as the echidna, like most of the others that had seen her, took a decent eyeful to catalogue away in his memory.

"Rouge, Rouge the Bat".

"Rouge", he repeated, rolling the name over his tongue like a malteaser, "suits you; so, how do you, and you guardian…"

"Name's Knuckles"

"Sorry, how did you and Knuckles get tangled up with this delinquent?" He snarled over at Teri good-naturedly, the younger echidna doing his best to ignore him but failing as the tiniest hint of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. Rouge rolled her eyes as she waited for her coffee to cool a little.

"We were near the plantations, looking to get into Echidnopolis and we saw his shinning up in a tree, harvesting nuts…" Nate laughed out loud as Teri groaned; he's going to have a field day out of this.

"So, after all that talk and pomp, you ended up out there anyway?"

"Yeah, needs must and all that", the younger echidna admitted as Nate gave him a gentle shove, relishing the act that he'd managed to chalk up a win on his bantering rival,

"Don't sweat it, we've all been there", he chuckled as Teri's fur couldn't quite hide the fact his face had gone a little pinker, "sorry Rouge, carry on; just got a little side-tracked there". After a second's pause, the bat continued her story,

"Well, we talk to him for a bit, then he says it's his lunch break and he goes to get the boss to sort us out", Nate shivered as he remembered the same matriarch who ruled that plantation with an iron fist, "so Mrs Ka shows up and gives Teri the day off to lead us here; apparently we're heading for the EST HQ to see Remington and register Knucks as a spike". Nate glanced down to se the spurs on the guardian's fists and nodded sagely,

"Nice idea".

"Aren't you proud?" Teri was beaming and Nate had a sneaking suspicion why; he hated to be the one to burst his bubble but it was going to happen,

"You getting a day off", the smile grew ever wider, "good for you; enjoy it while you can because you'll hate tomorrow". Uh oh, he knows something I don't; Teri felt twinges of subtle fear as he swallowed nervously,

"And why's that?" He's going to hate life in a minute; Nate smiled as Knuckles watched the verbal banter enthralled and Rouge sipped her coffee,

"Because I know what Hele-Ka does to people who sneak days off like that", he raised his mug as though it was a toast to the fallen, "your on pruning duty tomorrow".

"NOOOOO!" Teri covered his face with both hands as Knuckles, not quite sure he was catching this right, asked,

"Pruning duty?"

"Trimming the hickory bushes to makes sure they'll fruit well next year", Nate explained as Teri mourned his loss, "imagine crawling around in the top of a tree using a hacksaw to cut through branches thick as your arm all day; that's pruning duty". Easier than doing the same thing with just your spurs; tempting as it was to point this out Knuckles kept his peace as Rouge commiserated with the echidna boy.

"Look at this way, it'll help you build up those muscles you need", Teri glowered at her as she swigged back the last of her coffee to hide her smile, "but now, we better get to this Remington fellow and sort this spur business out". Nate seemed to agree with the bat as she placed her empty mug on the table,

"Good idea; sooner it's done less chance there is of getting caught out", the older echidna chuckled as he started collecting the empties, "never saw I'd see a spiked guardian. Come to think of it, never thought I'd see the guardian period".

"You and about a couple thousand others", Knuckles admitted as Teri slipped his note into the back of the café owner's apron strings, "I wouldn't be surprised if half the city knows about me, and Rouge for that matter, now". Nate held the note up to the light as he answered,

"I would", he ran the till, "news travels fast around this city; I'd be surprised if the whole city wasn't aware of it now".

Unknown to the quartet currently in the Fy-Café, Nate's prediction was actually fairly accurate; Echidnopolis was virtually buzzing with the news that the legendary guardian had arrived and had brought a strange creature called a bat in his wake. However, some ears were much more receptive to this news than others; though not aware of it, Knuckles was now being hunted.

As the sun began to set lower in the sky and the first hint of dusk began to creep down over the sky, Teri came to halt and pointed at the building in front of him, the white stonework above the glass doors bearing a crest of several echidnas gathered around a stone table, the words emblazoned beneath reading Justice, Courage and Honour – the three pillars of the EST ideal and the society it helped to protect from lawlessness. Rouge whistled in appreciation; she'd been in her share of law informant premises in her time and this four storey building ranked as a pretty high class place.

"Well, this is it; the EST headquarters", Teri gestured to the front glass door of the station, "go to the desk and ask for Remington, he should be there unless there's a high profile case on". Knuckles looked down at the chocolate echidna and smiled; Teri had proven to be a useful and helpful ally; the guardian made a note to mention this to Remington, whoever he turned out to be.

"Right, thanks a lot for all your help Teri", he offered a paw, "hope tomorrow goes alright".

"I'll survive"; with this assurance the future cadet for the EST shook with the guardian, "oh, if you see an echidna called Tera-Le, that's my dad". Rouge knelt to see into the younger Mobian's eyes and smiled,

"I'll keep it in mind, thanks a lot Teri" she gently hugged the younger echidna before releasing him; Teri smiled shyly before offering a last goodbye and then melting back into the crowd, heading for home as Rouge stood up again.

"Nice kid; we'll have to see him again sometime".

"I agree, now come on, let's get this over with", Knuckle jerked his thumb towards the front of the white building, "I'm getting a little curious to meet this Remington after everything that's been said about him".

There was a static crackle as the radio on his desk fizzed into life,

"Constable Remington sir". Sighing, the head of the EST folded away the newspaper he was reading and quickly slipped it into one of his desk drawers along with his favourite brand of chewing gum; typical, just when I get to the crossword puzzle; the echidna leant forwards and pressed the transmit button on the desktop,

"I'm here Yesa, what is it?"

"Umm, the guardian's here to see you sir". Now Remington was one of the most experienced professionals within the Echidnopolis Security Team and any of his subordinates would have gladly said it took a lot to throw him off his stride. That declaration by the desk officer managed to accomplish that seemingly impossible feat with ease, however,

"R,right"; the guardian, here; "well, um, okay, send him up".

"He has someone with him sir".

"Send them too".

"Right sir". The connection cut off as Remington sat back in his chair, stunned by what he'd just said and agreed to do; he was going to meet the guardian in person. The stupefaction, however, was short-lived; Remington hadn't done as well as he had by letting the unexpected phase him, so he quickly sat back in his chair and arranged the papers on his desk to give an impression of orderliness, then simply sat back and waited. He didn't have to wait long – there was a knock on the solid oak door that connected his office to the corridor outside. Remington smiled as he heard that knock; it was loud, clanging and reverberated around the office – a strong knock with plenty of authority behind it. You could tell a lot from an echidna by the way he knocked on your door and the guardian, if that was him knocking, seemed to be the kind of guy Remington could get along with. Best not to keep him waiting though,

"Come in". The handle clicked down and the door was opened slowly, Remington rising from his padded seat to greet the guardian at the same time as look him up and down.

His first impression was of a fighter, the common type of thug that he and the rest of the EST dealt with every day to keep violence off the streets. He's certainly got the build for it; Remington let a glimmer of respect into his icy blue eyes as he regarded the power in the other echidna's arms and legs. It certainly was the guardian, he had the crest, but was when he looked into the lilac eyes framed by the heavy, brooding brows that he realised he'd been pre-emptive in pigeon-holing the guardian. Unlike the lust for violence he normally saw in the street gangs, these eyes, while hard and determined, spoke of the ability to understand and reason with someone, at least to some degree. When he was done with his precursory inspection, and he realised the guardian was through with his, he made the first move,

"Good afternoon guardian, how can I help you?"

"Well first, you can call me Knuckles", the red-furred echidna strode across the room towards where the coppery form of Remington was standing; it was only then that he noticed the other figure that followed him, "and then you can tell me how to register as a spike".

"Right, Knuckles then", Remington nodded to the other Mobian, taking in her obvious beauty with a small but appraising glance, "and you?"

"Rouge, Rouge the Bat"; he seems alright, at least he didn't stare like some of the others, rouge pulled up a seat alongside Knuckles and sat down as Remington took visual conformation that Knuckles did indeed have spurs.

"Right, okay", he ran a hand across his narrow chin as he though of the best way to do this, "well, firstly as head of the EST I'd like to welcome you and Rouge to Echidnopolis; staying for long?"

"Not sure yet" Knuckles admitted, wanting to get this out of the way and get back to his main reason for coming here; trying to find out why this place had reappeared attached to the edge of his island at the whim of the Master Emerald.

"Sorry Constable, but we're in a bit of a hurry; we just want to get Knuckles registered and then be on our way" Rouge cut in, recognising from his body language that Knuckles wanted this over quickly. Remington seemed to sense this as well and stood up, speaking directly to the guardian himself,

"Right, if you'd like to come with me, I'll take you down to the registrations office; they'll check you out and put it down in the records. Should take about ten minutes maximum; if you'd like to wait here?"

"No problem" Rouge assured him, trying to act cool at the same time as keep a smile off her face; taking this as consent, Remington gestured to Knuckles and the two echidna slipped silently out the door.

Now I find myself in an unusual situation; Rouge lifted herself out the chair almost before the door had swung to, smile now in full bloom over her face as she ran her tongue over her teeth; the master spy free in the chief constable's room; she slipped behind Remington's desk; let's see if there's anything in here to keep me amused.

Meanwhile, Knuckles was led to a small section of the HQ, away from Remington's office, down a long, narrow corridor that terminated in the door panelled 'Registration Office'.

"Subtle" he remarked as Remington Knocked; the copper coloured echidna smiled sardonically,

"Necessary; we've had too many try and slip the net by saying they couldn't find the office; ah, hey Dles-Za – another one to spike profile".

"Really?" the answering voice was female and very soft, Knuckles had to really strain to hear it, "well, come on in then, er?"

"Knuckles". He noticed she caught a glimpse of his crest but her gaze lingered for only a second; she looked at his hands more, especially the spurs she would soon work on. Her eyes were hazel, though her left eye listed unnaturally; Knuckles had the impression she couldn't see from it very well, if at all.

"Well, in you come Knuckles; take your gloves off – don't worry, I've seen it all before – and we'll get started". Remington waited outside as the guardian stepped into the office the female occupied. The room was fairly small and compact; there just appeared to be Dles working her at the moment; she picked up a clipboard and a tape measure and pointed to a bare piece of surgical table.

"Place your hands there please"; feeling awkward without his gloves on, Knuckles nonetheless complied and stood still as Dles used the tape to measure the length and depth of each spur individually, noting the results on her clipboard with scientific precision.

"Unusually deep".

"Sorry?" Dles tapped one of the bare weapons with the end of her pen, the resultant noise setting the guardian's teeth on edge,

"You spurs, unusually deep, nearly a third of an inch deeper than normal; make it easy to identify if we ever need to". Identify, how; Knuckles was driven by a desire to understand more of how the system here worked,

"How can you identify me by my spurs?" The female smiled, her lighter red fur highlighted by the light from overhead,

"If you hit someone with a spur, we'll be able to examine the wound and get an idea of the weapon; with a spur you can tell who did it by the shape of the wound it leaves".

"Makes sense", Knuckles agreed; that seemed like a reasonable idea to the guardian; he'd used his spurs enough to know that hitting someone with them could easily lead to a fatality; he returned to the present when she reappeared with a board of what looked like plasticine.

"Press into this please; we'll make a plaster cast of your spurs from the indent" she explained as Knuckles raised an eyebrow. He did so, leaving four parallel dents in the plastic where his barbs easily slid through the soft material. Satisfied with the sample, the scientist turned to Knuckles.

"Now normally I'd get you to fill in a form, but I don't think that applies here; I'll just label it guardian and be done with it. Well Mr Echidna, you're free to go".

"Thanks"; Knuckles let himself out the door, nodding to Dles in respect as she smiled, her left eye reflecting the ceiling light unnaturally as he found Constable Remington waiting by the door.

"Go okay?"

"Fine, now I need to get Rouge and find a place to stay this evening".

"With respect guardian", Knuckles stopped short of reprimanding Remington when he saw the look in the copper fur's eyes, "there's a few details I need to go through with you, but they shouldn't take long. Now, back to my office".

Rouge was waiting right where they had left her; that set the alarm bells ringing in Knuckles' mind. In all the time he'd known her, he'd never remembered the bat being able to sit still unsupervised, it just wasn't her nature. Fortunately, Remington was as brief as he promised; he opened one of the stainless steel cabinets behind his desk and rifled through it, stopping with a small ah as he found what he needed to.

"Here you are Knuckles", he handed the guardian a small plastic card, "this will let you access your funds".

"I have funds?" News to me; Remington seemed to realise this coming as a shock so he leant forwards and smiled sharkily,

"You do in Echidnopolis; apparently all the guardians have had down the years but never really used them. Now, you wanted a place for the night, well", the constable scribbled a note down on one of his desk's plentiful supply of post-it notes, "I suggest you go here". He tore off the note and offered it to Rouge; the bat tucking it into a pocket of her jumpsuit.

"Thanks, we'll keep in touch". Remington nodded, the ice in his eyes thawed by a fledgling respect for the guardian and his apparent partner.

"Glad to here it; well, unless there's anything else?"

"No thanks, that's all", Rouge stood up, her action echoed by Knuckles as the meeting drew to a close, "thanks for the help".

"My pleasure, know the way out?"

"We'll manage". Remington nodded and ushered the pair out of his office and closed the door behind them, alone once more in his own private sanctuary.

"Well, that was okay".

"What did they do?"

"Just measured my spurs and took something called an indent".

"Really, I remember my dentist doing the same thing once, that was horrible. Gum?"

"Thanks. Hey, where'd you get this?"

"I don't think you want to know".

"I'll trust to that. Umm, spearmint".

Finally; a slow smile edged across Remington's face as he reached down to his drawer and extracted the paper he'd been reading earlier; just me, a pen and my crossword. This, in his eyes, was the best bit of the day; he thumbed through the pages eagerly and reached for a black pen when he suddenly stopped, numbed by disbelief as he let the pages fall open. Every single line of the puzzle had been completed and, he checked after a few seconds, each line was correct too. It was only then he noticed the writing under the last clue for the down column: Thanks for the gum – crosswords are alright, but have you ever tried Suduko? LOL, RtB X. Remington sat back in his chair, realising that two of his sticks of gum were missing at the same time as he translated RtB into Rouge the Bat. Damn; he chortled despite himself as he realised he'd been done like a steak dinner; we were only gone ten minutes.

"What are you grinning about?"

"Oh, nothing".

A/N: Ah the guilty pleasures of getting one over on law enforcement (in a nice way, you understand). The characters Teri-Le, Nate-Fy (pronounced Fay) and Dles-Za are mine, but I won't quibble if anyone uses them; that'll only happen if Seraph is used without permission and woe betide anyone then – I'll set the being on them (more to come from him later :-)).