Chapter 15 – Ancestral Power.
A/N: Right, a quick point needs making right here and right now:
HHH – Much as I'd love to take credit for the father/son thing, it's not my idea. I've read other fics on this site concerned with the Brotherhood and they mostly use this system so I decided to stick with it. If you want more Brotherhood based fiction, I can't recommend Aurora de Valini (sp?) highly enough.
Knuckles followed in his seventh-father's footsteps, mind working to both digest the tough information it had recently been forced to absorb, and also to plan the questions he'd need to ask to sate his burning curiosity. He had a hundred questions to ask, but he wasn't quite sure how to phrase them coherently as the cool, solid wood of his chair brushed up against his back and he sat down. For a moment there was only silence as Spectre circumnavigated the entire table to sit in the exact centre, between Sojourner and Athair; the arranged guardians presented a formidable array of echidnas as they individually scrutinised the two Mobians sat in front of them. When all were comfortably seated, Spectre began the proceedings,
"We have much to discuss guardian – it is part of our code to aid you in understanding the new world you find yourself in, but unlike past incidences, you must also help us", the ancient echidna leant forwards, looking at his distant descendent directly, "from what we have seen, something great is at work; Echidnopolis has reappeared on Angel Island and we must uncover why. The Master is out of balance and the oath of guardianships binds us all as strongly as it does you. We believe the only way we can, redress the balance is by pooling everything we know together, that's why you were invited here".
"What would have happened if I'd have refused?" Rouge kept a close eye on the guardians as Knuckles asked this; their reactions were interesting and varied; Spectre seemed to not bother to react to the question, Sabre raised an eyebrow while Athair seemed to be examining something on the ceiling; probably his own footprints; the bat smiled as the flying echidna noticed her scrutiny and made his rainbow-tasselled spines shake in a dance of colour as he wagged his head. However, it seemed Thunderhawk's reaction was the most severe; as his voice echoed throughout the chamber Rouge began to get the impression he'd been aptly named,
"You would have refused, even though the Master was in danger!" The sixth-father looked as though Knuckles had offered to summon Lucifer himself and give up his immortal soul into the bargain, "that is not the way of the guardians, boy!" Knuckles had to shout to make himself heard above the din,
"It was a rhetorical question; I know what my duty is", he shot Locke a dirty look that seemed to silence Thunderhawk more than his explanation did, "I'm bound to come and protect the emerald, so I came here".
"Just as well", Sojourner joined the debate, eyeing the guardian coolly, "I'd have hated to go and collect you myself". Rouge decided this was the best way to put herself back on level terms with this former guardian following his earlier slight; she smiled back at him, her expression even more arctic than his.
"I'd have loved to have seen you try". His purple eyes fixed on hers as the words sank in; she saw enmity in that gaze, though she couldn't for the life of her understand why. The look was broken by Spectre, tiring of these disturbances, cuffing his second-son on the back of the head reprimanding,
"Show some respect; she is here as a guest and you will be civil to her", the black-furred elder then set his smouldering gaze on Knuckles and he heaved a sigh, "next time seventh-son, keep your rhetorical questions to yourself – I doubt half my sons know what rhetorical means".
"And I doubt grandfather Thunderhawk can spell it" Sabre cut it, smiling at his lavender relative as the elder echidna snapped back,
"Fancy words are your department quack-boy; carry on like that and I'll put your knowledge of anatomy into practice".
"I'd find it hard to do surgery on myself under anaesthetic grandfather".
"I'm sure you'd find a way; you never know", Thunderhawk let a calculating grin onto his face as he bantered with one of his more favoured relatives, "it could let Athair practice his sewing". Sabre opened his eyes so far his monocle fell out, flashing as it dangled at the end of its slim gold chain; studiously ignoring the flying echidna's leading expression he replied,
"I wouldn't let him near me with a needle and thread if I had so much as a torn cuff; I've seen better stitching on prison mail bags". Rouge hid a smile very well as she realised Spectre had his fist clenched and eyes screwed shut, lips moving in a silent, calming mantra as he sought to keep his cool.
"Sons…"
Amazing; Knuckles watched as every hint of speaking instantly ceased at his seventh-father's single word; wish I could do that sometimes, like when I'm in the car with Sonic. Spectre waited a few more seconds, almost daring anyone to say anything, before continuing,
"…please keep your remarks to yourselves, however true they may be", Thunderhawk snorted as both treasure hunters saw the ghost of a smile flit across Spectre's face, "we will speak first as the code states; we are bound to answer any questions you may have guardian". Rouge at this point licked her lips as Knuckles put his chin into one of his hands, trying to think of what to ask first,
"May, er, may I?" There was an audible rustle as six heads swivelled to face the bat and, despite her normally cool exterior, she felt her cheeks begin to burn under the combined scrutiny. As expected, Sojourner came up with the put-down, though he was exceedingly careful to keep his tone neutral.
"Are you the guardian?" Can't fault his logic there; Rouge shook her head, offering her answer,
"Not by blood, but I have helped Knuckles guard the Master".
"You've lived on Angel Island?" Sabre raised a curious eyebrow as the rest of the Brotherhood looked on, either a little perturbed or calculating at the bat's admission.
"Yes, for several months now", there was a collective gasp of astonishment and the bat deduced this was obviously a rare thing indeed, "I originally set out to try and steal it, but after hearing of the Master's importance I realised it needed to be isolated – that is one of the reasons I aid the guardian".
"You, you tried to steal, the Master?" Locke finally managed to voice the Brotherhood's main feelings of amazement and appalled horror; Rouge managed to deflect most of it as Knuckles spoke in her defence,
"She tried to steal it in ignorance of its power; when she realised what the Master truly is, the soul of Angel Island, she turned her back on its allure and helped me keep it safe. Only a special kind of person could do that". The young echidna's words sank in to five of the six echidnas sat opposite them; one had known this all along and merely played along for now. Athair, seemingly less affected by this revelation than the others, recovered first and looked at Rouge openly, smiling as he tapped his fingers together expectantly,
"I agree with Knuckles; pretty Rouge is a special kind of person", Rouge squirmed a bit on her chair though the brown echidna didn't seem to notice, "ask away pretty Rouge; I'll answer if none of these oldies do". Everyone on Athair's left glared at him as everyone on the right, including Knuckles and Rouge herself, fought to stop laughing out loud. When she was sure there wasn't a trace of humour in her tone, as befitting a serious question, the bat lowered her head and asked.
"You are Knuckle's seventh-father Spectre", the black echidna nodded and the bat continued, choosing her words carefully, "but I can only see six of you". I thought so; Rouge lowered her eyes as each member of the Brotherhood looked stricken with the exception of Locke. A few tense seconds ticked past before Athair raised his head, eyes wet and crying as Sojourner glared at her poisonously as though blaming her for opening an old wound. No-one save Spectre spoke, however,
"You are correct Rouge; there are only six. It is a deep regret of ours that Janelle-Li, my third-daughter, is not here to welcome you both to Haven; she passed away before your time, before even Locke's". Knuckles bowed his head, mourning the loss of an ancestor he had never known as Rouge flattened her ears, upset for his sake.
"I'm sorry for your loss, especially yours Sojourner"; the echidna in question looked up uncertainly, "she was your daughter?"
"She was, just as she was Athair's mother"; the brown echidna gave a sad smile as he recalled all he could of the gentle, sweet-tempered beige echidna that he could remember as his mother, "but if she were here, she'd be remonstrating us for not focussing on the problem; she was a staunch defender of the Master, even when Athair succeeded her". Strangely, no-one else dared challenge the smaller echidna as he made his declaration – it seemed the memory of his daughter was a very sore point for Sojourner and the other Brotherhood members skirted around it as best they could. In an idle moment, just before Knuckles recovered his momentum, Rouge gave a fleeting thought as to why.
Knuckles had determined the next question he needed answering and, once Athair had dried his tears away, looked at Spectre and asked it.
"There's something I want to know", he cast a glance at Athair and then his father before focussing on Spectre again, "I've seen the Brotherhood use powers I've only ever seen in movies. How do you do it?" To his surprise, the ancient echidna laughed a little and extended a paw at him, pointing with a single finger,
"You have such powers yourself Knuckles, you merely aren't aware of them yet; they'll develop as you do", he explained as his seventh-son's eyes widened; I remember when I was told – did I really look that gormless. The black echidna hid his own smile as Knuckles swept the table for confirmation; the younger echidna watched on as Thunderhawk smiled and held out an open palm. The lavender echidna shut his eyes for a second and suddenly a green glow surrounded his hand, the exact same colour as the Master Emerald and…Rouge clapped a hand across her mouth as it reminded her too much of...
"Knuckles", she pawed at him breathlessly, not caring of the looks she received as she did so, "the Thunder Arrow".
"How did you know what it was called?" Thunderhawk stopped the flow of energy as Knuckles glanced up in understanding; that explained why he could, rarely, use his power without being near a Chaos emerald.
"I've done that as well, not often though", he admitted as his sixth-father raised his eyebrows and a smile crept across his face, "I take it you named it?"
"That's what I call it", Thunderhawk snorted as some of the other former guardians looked at him askew, "we can all do it; I just think Thunder Arrow's a better name than Emerald Blast". Knuckles was inclined to agree with that and would have remarked how great minds seemed to have thought alike, but the fact that Thunderhawk suddenly seemed to levitate from his chair silenced him utterly.
"Alright", the lavender echidna crossed his arms and scowled as though this was perfectly normal, "whichever of you little sods is holding me, drop it right now".
"If you insist", there was a thump as Thunderhawk suddenly fell back into his chair from a height of about two feet, landing with a thump as Spectre smiled at him coldly, "respect your elders son". There was a slight ripple of chuckling, especially from Sojourner, as the belligerent purple echidna tried to regain a scrap of dignity, muttering under his breath as Spectre turned to face his younger guests, giving them a few seconds to take this in.
"These are what we call the common powers; gifts bestowed upon us through our bloodline to aid in guarding the Master. I know what you're about to ask", Spectre held up a hand to forestall questions, "they only develop with full maturity; your real period of guardianship shouldn't begin until you replace your son. I understand Locke told you about our code?"
"He did that" Knuckles confirmed, beginning to start to understand the complex environment the guardians must have existed in; it was a convoluted lifestyle and no mistake.
"Well know this seventh-son; no matter what you may think of us, if you had been in real danger when you were younger, we would have stepped in to help you". Knuckles blinked, mouth falling open as he delved into the memories of his past and words spilled from his lips,
"So, so what do you consider real danger – it hasn't been a picnic out there?"
"When you're about to die" Sojourner piped up bitterly, sneering as Knuckles flashed him a dark look, "it never got that desperate fifth-son, we'd have sensed if it had and one of us, me no doubt, would have brought you here".
So, oh how totally ironic; Knuckles sighed as he saw the complete picture at last and wondered if someone upstairs was having a quiet joke at his expense; I've never really been alone all the time I've been alone on Angel Island. Locke's voice broke in on his thoughts, his father's voice ringing in his ears as he glanced up,
"You were watched over Knuckles – my only regret is that Lara-Le couldn't see her boy grow into a man". At his mother's name the guardian clenched his fist reflexively, remembering how deep the wound Locke had inflicted on both him and his mother had been; he doubted in his heart of hearts that he'd ever truly forgive Locke his treachery, but at least now he could understand at least part of it and, most importantly, he could learn from it as well. I won't make the same mistake as my father,
"You're quite right seventh-son", Spectre's voice broke into thoughts and he jerked his head upright, looking at the black echidna's serious smile, "because the guardian code is under severe threat – Angel Island has somehow become rejoined". Knuckles shot to his feet, pointing at Spectre in both fear and anger; if his suspicions were right, throwing around fancy green light and lifting things from a distance weren't the Brotherhood's only gifts.
"How did you know that?" Knuckles wasn't all that surprised to see Spectre raise an eyebrow and give a tiny nod to confirm what he had feared. Before he could act on it though, the black echidna explained for him,
"That is a result of my unique power; unlike the telekinesis and other such gifts, including the long life of the guardians, I alone can draw information out of any source, be it a book, a radio message or even", he leant forwards a little, whispering the last two words, "a mind".
Rouge shot back from the table as though Spectre was brandishing a firearm; she had enough history that didn't need to be made public, least of all to someone who was at heart a stranger, and a spooky stranger at that. Knuckles was having an even more torrid time of it, imagining what Spectre could have seen in his head and the conclusions he might have drawn from it. Visions of the Death Egg, the thoughts of Angel Island sinking into the sea and back again like a yoyo, the unthinkable idea that he had been a bad guardian, all swam up and took a chunk from his confidence until his seventh-father raised his voice to banish such concerns.
"Don't panic; I only saw enough to recognise you as my seventh-son, no more; it takes a lot of effort to decipher information from a mind, especially if it is unwilling or unaware it's being watched", he waited until Knuckles had breathed the same heartfelt sigh of relief all his other descendents had before adding as he always did, "but I can tell from your reaction you've got things to hide". Knuckles glared at the black echidna as Sabre smiled,
"A word of advice grandson; when grandfather Spectre says keep an open mind it means he's after something, usually blackmail". Rouge sniggered, as did Athair and Thunderhawk, as Spectre turned to smile wickedly at his fifth-son; when I get through with you Sabre.
"So that was a unique gift; are they all that powerful?" His virtual revenge scheme was interrupted by Rouge, the bat regarding each of the echidnas in front of her with renewed respect; if they each had a power as dangerous as that one this was a group to be feared indeed. Spectre cocked his head slightly as though trying to think of the best way to answer the former spy's question.
"Possibly, each is strong in their own way"; he gestured to indicate Sojourner, "my grandson can relocate himself, and if he so chooses a passenger as well, over short distances, like now". There was an expectant pause as Sojourner remained stationary for a few seconds before seeming to realise people were waiting,
"Oh, you expected me to actually do it?" There was a flash of light the exact colour of Sojourner's t-shirt as he vanished, leaving Spectre's open palm to travel through thin air as his slap missed. With a second flash, Sojourner reappeared behind the rest of his ancestors, smiling smugly as Knuckles and Rouge gaped after him. However, the smile dropped away when he discovered why they were actually staring like that.
"Chaos Control" Rouge breathed, Knuckles nodding in agreement. Sensing something unlike anything he'd ever heard of before, Spectre asked hurriedly while the subject was still fresh,
"What is that, and have you seen someone disappear like my grandson just did?" Seeing their nods, Spectre made to press on but was interrupted by as second green light as Sojourner reappeared on the table top itself, looking at the pair in front of him intently,
"Someone else has my gift, who?"
"Two hedgehogs we know, their names are Sonic and Shadow", Knuckles answered, noticing his fifth-father turning more puce with each word as his anger at no longer being unique became more apparent, "they call that ability Chaos Control, but don't worry", he let Sojourner off slightly more to relieve his blood pressure than anything else, "they can only do it when they have a Chaos emerald at hand".
There was a pause as these words sank in; Rouge saw enough to get her innate suspicions ticking over before Spectre shook himself and Sojourner shrieked as he was forcefully deposited back in his chair. As he sought to re-orientate himself, Spectre seized him by the fur under his chin and brought them eye to eye. Ever other member of the Brotherhood winced as though waiting for an explosion as the black echidna growled dangerously,
"Listen to me grandson", he tightened his hold on the sensitive fur until Sojourner whimpered in pain, "you have embarrassed yourself, you have embarrassed me and you have embarrassed the Brotherhood in front of both your fifth-son and his guest. I expected better from you Sojourner, but it appears I was wrong; even Athair has behaved with more dignity than you", with a forceful thrust, he sent the younger echidna rocking back in his seat with a final warning, "you're nearly a hundred and thirty five, act your age or leave now". For half a second Sojourner looked like he was about to take Spectre up on that, but shook his head and sat back in his seat, aware of his sons and fathers looking at the battle of wills quite closely,
"My apologises grandfather, I was merely, disconcerted that my unique gift appeared to have been found in others; I've never heard of such a thing happening before". Seemingly satisfied, Spectre turned back towards Knuckles and Rouge once more and bobbed his head apologetically,
"Forgive our reaction but he's right; guardian powers manifesting in non-guardians is a thing unheard of". Rouge let out a short laugh and, as the guardians looked at her, she explained whilst chortling,
"If it's any consolation, so are Sonic and Shadow; they're pretty unique as well. But anyway", she clapped once and looked forwards, "what can the rest of you do; I'm interested now, and also", she glanced at Knuckles, "what will Knuckles' power be, is there any way of knowing?" She has a very quick mind, and a thankfully high tolerance for idiots; Spectre glanced at the echidnas flanking him, realising he'd need to make this quick as it looked like Athair might explode if he was forced to sit still any longer,
"There's no way of telling, but it will come as his other powers do. However, I suppose he has a right to know what us 'oldies' are capable of", Athair brightened as Spectre sent a reluctant smile his way. At his nod, Sabre spoke up,
"Well, my gift is to do with the body; I can't heal people exactly, but I can help speed up the natural processes. Guardians heal fast anyway, so I can usually heal the others as fast as grandfather Thunderhawk can send them my waoooww!" Looking closely, and bearing in mind what had been said about the powers guardians were said to possess, Knuckles was able to see with concealed amusement that Sabre was quite literally having his ear tugged by his irate relative, a fact Thunderhawk confirmed when his deep voice rolled across the table.
"Watch your mouth quack-boy or I'll have Athair sew it up", the brown echidna brightened and reached down as Sabre flicked his eyes down to follow him, blanched and then gabbled a hasty apology; seemingly satisfied, Thunderhawk released his grip then looked at Knuckles and tapped the side of his nose slyly, "as for me, you'll find out later sixth-son". Sounds like a challenge; the young echidna smiled right back and then turned to look at his third-father. Much to his surprise, however, Athair squirmed in his seat and put his arms up embarrassed,
"Ah, third-son, don't look at me, I'm not really a guardian like your other relatives".
"What do you mean?" Rouge smiled at the reluctant form of the brown echidna, "I'm sure you've got something special as your gift".
"Pretty Rouge, I'm ashamed", Athair floated into the air and bowed his head, "I don't have a gift like the others, I'm completely normal".
Is he for real?; For once, neither Knuckles nor his partner could accurately tell whether Athair was being serious or not; there was just something in his almost childish face that just defied any attempt to gauge his mood. Knuckles would have pressed this enigmatic echidna but Locke caught his attention with a telekinetic tweak of his ear; glancing around, Knuckles caught the mouthed words 'tell you later' and acknowledged them with a glance. Realising he was the only one left, the youngest former guardian spoke up,
"For myself, what my father does with the body, I can do with machines. I can invent a lot of new devices and I pretty much keep this place running as well as it does". With absolutely perfect comic timing, the lighting in the place suddenly dimmed until, with a pop, it went out completely. Knuckles smiled as he heard muffled laughter from the other guardians and from Rouge; he could almost feel his father's face burn up as thick words pierced the darkness,
"No comment".
A sudden green glow suddenly lit up from around Thunderhawk, illuminating the scene with an eerie phosphoresce as Locke, muttering under his breath and face like thunder, left his seat and headed down on of the innumerable tunnels that made up the bulk of Haven's living space. While he was gone, the conversation continued under the unnatural, glowing light radiating from the body of his sixth-father.
"Well seventh-son, let us begin", Spectre leant forwards in his seat, ignoring Athair rising up to the ceiling as surreptitiously was possible for Athair for the sake of speed; the black echidna knew better than anyone that, once he had the information he needed, he would be best placed to mediate and use his gift to deduce any new clues he could find while the rest of the Brotherhood entertained his seventh-son and the bat by his side, "could you explain the circumstances behind the reappearance of the island?" Knuckles recognised the meaning behind Spectre's sudden determination and took a breath before launching into his story.
The Brotherhood listened in silence for the most part, only a few questions from the seemingly naturally curious Sabre holding up proceedings before Knuckles reached one of the major points of his tale.
"When we arrived at the shrine, one of those waves I mentioned earlier swept over me, but it was a lot stronger here. Rouge said for me to wait in case it was dangerous for me, and she pressed on into the shrine itself; she better take it from here"; the bat composed herself, trying to recall every detail of the shrine and the Master Emerald as she had last seen it. When she was ready, she took up the story.
"I tried to run into the shrine, but it was hard; like the air itself was, um, heavier, more condensed. I got there as fast as I could, but a couple more waves were sent out before I made it. That was when I heard; every time a wave came Knuckles reacted – I could see the glow from the emerald pulsing, like a heartbeat. With every pulse, another wave was sent out and Knuckles got hit, so I went as fast as possible to try and help him out. When I arrived at the shrine, the Master Emerald was actually in the air", all seven echidnas, Locke having just reappeared looking slightly singed and streaked with some kind of oil to retake his seat, muttering he'd do something about it later, leaned in closer to catch ever word as though their lives depended on it. The Master is their lives, so it quite literally might do; the bat shook the distracting thought from her mind before continuing,
"It was spinning and pulsing; I could almost feel the light going over me. It didn't look like anything was actually happening to the Emerald itself, so I assumed that this was something the Master was doing on its own, though I didn't have a clue what it was actually doing. I realised there was nothing I could do, so I went back to fetch Knuckles", she remembered in the nick of time, "and as I left, I noticed there was writing on the shrine walls, it was glowing but I couldn't read it". There was a soft thump as Spectre tapped the top of the table in front of him; a suspicion lit a flare inside the old echidna's sharp mind, but he needed evidence and there was only one way of getting it that he knew.
"Fifth-father, you think…?"
"I suspect", Spectre answered Sabre as Rouge paused, realising this could be important; the black echidna folded his hands under his chin for a second before looking at her and her alone, a calculating look on his wrinkled face, "Rouge, what you've said could have implications on this whole situation, but I must be sure and there's only one way I can be short of examining the shrine myself. I ask you to let me see what you saw that day".
"You want to read my mind?" The bat's tone was severe and calculating; this really was uncharted territory for her and the last thing she needed was this strange mystic opening a nasty can of worms all over the place; seeing her trepidation, Spectre decided to give her a test.
"Yes, I need to be sure; a false guess could be disastrous". Rouge heaved down a deep breath, before looking up at the seventh-father, his maroon eyes reflected in her aqua blue as she asked a vital stipulation.
"Will this help the Master?" Unusual, more concerned with the Emerald than herself; the black echidna nodded,
"Yes, if my suspicions are correct". The most fleeting, faintest of glances was cast; the Master, or something else?
"What do I need to do?" The tension that seemed to have crept up on them all fled away chastised as Spectre smiled, crinkling his eyes up slightly.
"Close your eyes", Rouge did so, "now concentrate, listen to me; think only of the shrine, picture it clearly in your mind, every detail, every tiny thing", there was a slight pause, only the faint sounds of breathing percolated the air, "do you have it?" The bat nodded, holding the crystallised vision she had solidified firmly in her mind's eye; at the gesture, Spectre half-stood, supported by Thunderhawk's strong paw on his back, and slowly reached across the table towards Rouge's face, the seventh-father closing his own eyes just before contact was made. Knuckles kept his eyes fixed firmly on Rouge, watching for any signs of discomfort; the tiniest mewling of pain and he would have broken the contact without a second thought but thankfully his worries were unfounded. Rouge flinched instinctively as the cooler flesh of Spectre's hand touched her gently on the forehead, but then there was nothing, no pain, no discomfort, not even a vague itch before the touch was lifted. Spectre settled back in his seat, the images he had captured from the bat's mind stored logically away for dissection later.
"Open your eyes", Rouge blinked under the disorientating effects of the glowing green light Thunderhawk and Sojourner were now giving off; the resultant effect framing the most ancient of Knuckle's relatives in a halo of sickly radiance. Spectre sat back, using his uniquely structured mind to catalogue, store and cross-reference all the information he had been exposed to and reach a rapid, though not yet fully proven conclusion.
"Was it what you thought seventh-father?"
"I believe so, but I can't be completely sure just yet", Spectre allowed a rare smile onto his face as Rouge noticed Sabre and Locke both sit back a little more, confidence seemingly boosted by their grandfather's proclamation, "it appears the Master itself may have aided us in our mission to keep it safe".
Eh? Knuckles raised an exceptionally curious eyebrow as that sentence didn't quite make sense; he knew the Master was remarkably astute compared to your average giant stone, but something didn't add up. If what his seventh-father was saying was true, how was it doing so, and why hadn't it done so before now?
"The writing, it wasn't just scrawlings on a wall was it?"
"Careful", Thunderhawk growled slowly, "those marks were carved by our ancestors; it is improper to dismiss them as mere scrawlings".
"Even if we can't read them" Sojourner added almost apologetically, shrugging as Thunderhawk glared over at him. Spectre raised a hand for silence and all was still; I would love to see what happened if he met Sonic; Knuckles smiled at the sudden thought, at the time blissfully unaware of what would come to be as he thought so.
"Unusually, both my sons are right; the translations are lost to us, but the marks are no mere writings. They are empowered by the Master itself and ward off those who come to close to the shrine; no-one can find the shrine of the Master unless they already know where it is".
It was only after a few seconds that those words, and the sheer implications of what they actually meant for him, sank into Knuckles; the guardian's eyes shot open and he snapped his body forwards, peering intently at his seventh-father as he spoke the words that, if answered right, would make his life as a guardian so much more tolerable, even if an entire city of echidnas had suddenly been deposited on his doorstep.
"You're telling me that now, because of that writing, no-one can get near the shrine?" Locke half-stood to answer, taking the pressure off his sixth-father to allow Spectre the time he needed to further study the visions he had received from Rouge.
"Not quite son – most people will be affected, but those glyphs have only recently, if you like, come back online. Anyone who has seen the shrine, and the Master, before they did light up will still be able to find and enter the shrine".
"And threaten the Master", Sabre chipped in, raising an eyebrow at his grandson before continuing casually, "but that isn't many is it Knuckles?" Ah, this is where things start going downhill; the youngest guardian licked his lips and squirmed a little – unluckily for him, the volcanic form of Thunderhawk was following his every move intently. A violent supernova of green flooded the entire chamber as the firebrand took the movement as indication of guilt and roared,
"None should have seen the Master and lived boy. How many have lived?" Knuckles shot to his feet; ancestor or none, no-one dictated how he fulfilled his obligations to anything.
"All of them; I won't kill unless there's no other way", the sudden outburst seemed to shock the older echidna and before he could recover Rouge deciphered a decent strategy against the old-fashioned guardian.
"Thunderhawk, times have changed"; who is she to tell me how things have changed? Before he could muster a comeback though, she carried on, "the world below Angel Island has found ways to fly into the air", there was a sudden outburst of cheering from Athair; the brown echidna went into a wild series of tumble turns and aerial somersaults that everyone did their best to ignore, "more have found the island just by chance; I know I did. Knuckles has been worked a lot harder than most of you have; it's a testament to both his bloodline and himself that so few found the shrine".
The lavender echidna sat back in his seat, for once caught without a decent argument against this snappy new stranger. Normally he could have argued any one of his descendents except Athair into the ground, but somehow this bat and his sixth-son seemed to be able to buck that trend. His confusion was evident and, he privately admitted later, he was thankful for Sabre for interjecting when he did.
"Well, I think it would be a good idea if we knew who had seen the shrine; we just need a rough feel of the numbers. Just those who have actually seen the Master though, that's the real crunch". He polished his monocle and replaced it as Knuckles started, counting off on his fingers as he sought to name them all.
"There's Sonic, Tails, Amy has, yeah she did, Cream as well. I think all the Chaotix have too, that's another three. Eggman did too, but don't worry, he's in no position to try and steal it again", the echidna snarled at the memory of Eggman's trial and the rush he'd felt at the guilty verdict before Rouge's voice cut in,
"Big?"
"Nah", the echidna shook his head, "he's never actually seen the stone, so the runes should affect him if what Spec… grandfather Spectre has said is right", the black echidna hid his emotion as Knuckles held up his fingers and smirked, "so that's it, seven in all aside from Rouge and myself; no eight, Shadow, nearly forgot him".
"Eight, that's my lucky number", Athair swooped in low over the table as every ducked out of instinct, "well, we can't see them at the minute, so let's deal with the rest of third-son and pretty Rouge's story".
The rest of the tail ended with no further questions; Spectre looked like he'd fallen into some kind of meditative trance as the tale wore on. When Knuckles eventually stopped talking, finishing with what little Locke had told him of the guardian's code and how it started young;; it was only then that his eyelids flicked open and his voice once more filled the air.
"What you have told us is most interesting"; the truth can't be said, not yet – there's still a chance we can stop this; Spectre pressed on, fighting down his own internal self-conflict as he steepled his fingers, "I believe the best course of action is for us to, how can I put this, reassure ourselves that the lucky eight who have seen the Master are of no threat". There was a choked splutter; Rouge looked up as Knuckles smiled and winced, realising what was so funny,
"You're going to get Sonic, here? Good luck with that!"
"We're having visitors", Athair dived down to hover right in front of his fourth-father, bringing them almost nose to nose, "arewearewearewe?" Spectre pushed himself backwards and stood in a dignified manner, even as his telekinetic powers squashed Athair into the ceiling like a bug.
"I think it would be prudent; nothing against these friends Knuckles, but maybe they can help us unravel the mystery; you told your mother that Tails was a mechanical genius did you not?"
"I did", wait, how…? Knuckle turned to see Spectre smile slyly and gently touch his own temple through his helmet – Knuckles suppressed a shudder and wondered just how much his seventh-father actually knew. Sabre also half-stood, seeming to look more at Rouge now as he voiced his own opinion,
"I also think it would be a good idea to hear about the world we're in now", he turned to the rest of the Brotherhood and shrugged, "someone's going to have to tell the council at some point and the more we know the better prepared we'll be to do just that".
"Quack-boy's got a point", Thunderhawk admitted, shaking his head until his dreadlocks rustled, "we'll have to do it sometime or other; last thing we need is someone flying over Echidnopolis and causing mass-panic". Seeing where this was going, Rouge pulled Knuckles' shoulder and whispered in his ear; nodding, he straightened up and addressed his relatives,
"Um, guys, I think I've got a solution", when he had their attention, he indicated Rouge; the bat sat up prissily and beamed at Sojourner especially to annoy him as Knuckles continued, "Rouge knows more about the outside world as a whole than I do, so she can fill you in about that. Meantime, if you can get me above ground for a bit, I can contact the others; it's still the holiday as far as I recall so I can get them here as soon as".
"Wise words from one so young", Athair nodded sagely before sparking again and seizing his third-son by the arm, "come with me, I'll get you up top". The youngest guardian didn't even try to resist and just went with his manic relative as Rouge smiled sweetly at the rest of the Brotherhood.
"So, what do you want to know?"
Knuckles originally set out to try and track Athair's every movement but swiftly gave up due to motion sickness; there was no way anyone except maybe Sonic or Shadow could have followed every twist, twirl and tumble without feeling queasy. As the lively aerial ballet continued, accompanied by his third-father's pitched humming and assorted sound effects, Knuckles felt driven to give a comment,
"Are you sure you don't have a unique power?" To the relief of his eyes and his unsettled stomach, Athair was seemingly stopped by the question; flipping upright and hovering a little closer to the guardian, the older echidna gave a frank, embarrassed smile.
"I am third-son; no special gift for me". Knuckles laughed and pointed at the wall Athair had run along, the footsteps still visible and reflecting off the steel surface of the tunnel as the younger echidna played an ace,
"Then what do you call that then; I don't see grandfather Spectre walking on walls like you can". Athair cocked his head, floating in tandem with Knuckles' strides as he corrected his descendent,
"No, but that's because he doesn't choose to, and he hasn't practised either", Knuckles brought himself up short as Athair's inverted head suddenly dropped into his field of vision, "you can do it too third-son".
That caught Knuckles cold; though he found the idea of being able to levitate at will appealing, he knew for a fact he'd never done anything like the aerial gymnastics Athair seemed capable of. He raised one hand and chuckled, watched on by his third-father,
"Much as I appreciate the commendation, I don't think so…"
"Neither do I", Athair zoomed in, looking right into Knuckle's more serious face, childishly innocent eyes showing the simple truth, "I know so. You've been flying for a while now, you just didn't realise it".
"You mean my gliding", Knuckles shook his head, "nah, that's not flight".
"Then how does it work? Can you say, hand on heart, the only reason you glide is because of wind in your hair. Doesn't seem very likely to me". I, I never thought of that; Knuckles paused, still as stone, as the brown echidna's words sank in – he'd never really bothered to analyse how he glided just because, to him, it felt perfectly natural. Athair saw realisation dawn and clapped his third-son on the shoulder,
"See, it's a guardian gift; all guardians can do it".
"So, you're saying that eventually, I could learn to do what you can do?" Knuckles was suddenly terribly amused at the thought; the look on Tails' face as he outmanoeuvred him though the air would simply be priceless.
"Well, like I said, I'm not like the others, so none of them can do it as well as I can", it seemed impossible to keep this echidna down; no sooner had he made the slightest dent in Knuckles' hopes than he had suddenly seized his third-son by the shoulders, carrying him upwards as the guardian eyed the sudden way the floor seemed to drop away, "but we can practise; all you need to do is…"
"Athair"; Knuckles' highly honed sense of self-preservation kicked in as it decided it didn't like being stuck in a body that found itself facing the prospect of a decent drop and, more importantly, the resultant hard landing that went with it, "remember what Spectre said; we need to get these guys to Haven soon as we caaaannn!"
"You're right third-son and", Athair brought his hands up to his chin, looked at them suspiciously, then looked down, "hey, told you; you can glide without wind".
Somehow, Knuckles managed to get to the lift shaft without depleting the ranks of his grandfathers, fending off the temptation to leave Athair in a broken heap somewhere after that little stunt. As the lift rode itself upwards, Knuckles mentally categorised the flying echidna as just below Eggman in terms of potential calamities and shuddered; and I want to get him, Sonic and Amy under the same roof – Spectre's going to have a heart attack after this. Still, the echidna told himself as he fished his phone out of the pocket of his jacket, no point trying to back out now – he needed to prove to his ancestors that all of his friends posed no danger to the Master Emerald. Flicking the phone on, he reached the first number with ease as he realised if Tails wasn't available, there was no chance of anyone making it here. Luckily, the phone was picked up after about six rings and the fox answered, though he sounded a little worn out as he spoke,
"Hello?"
"Hey Tails; been in the workshop again?"
"Knuckles?" Odd, he doesn't usually call, unless; the kit's mind leapt to a guess and through the phone Knuckles felt him tense up, "everything okay buddy?"
"Yeah sure, everything's all fine up here"; sorry kid, but needs must and all that; the echidna hated lying, especially to his close friends, but he reckoned that telling the fox a large city of echidnas had suddenly materialised on Angel Island probably wouldn't go down so well, "in fact, this is why I'm calling; after the bash we had at Vanilla's Rouge and I decided to invite you all up here for the New Year".
"Umm Knucks, that was yesterday". Luckily the guardian had been able to keep track of time and the next line rolled of his tongue like a drop of honey,
"I know it's a bit late; I was going to call you the day before yesterday but there was a bit of a blizzard and, well, the signal ain't so great when you need both hands to find your nose". In the Mystic Ruins, Tails chuckled at the slight quip and spoke back,
"Okay, I'll try and sort that out for your next phone", he sat back as the guardian relaxed slightly; so far so good, "so, when do you want us and who's coming?" This is it; crunch time. Taking only the slightest of pauses, Knuckles launched himself into the meat of the issue feet first.
"Well, ideally I'd like you up here tomorrow; the sooner the better, there aren't many holidays left are there?"
"Good point"; lucky I refuelled the Tornado; Angel Island in winter should be a hoot, "yeah, tomorrow shouldn't be a problem, I'm ready to fly as long as the conditions stay good. So, who else you inviting?"
"Well, there's Sonic and Shads of course; can't really have a party without them. Amy needs to come as well as the ASP…" Tails cut him off, trying to figure out what the echidna had meant by that but failing,
"ASP?"
"Anti-Sonic Precaution – just in case blue-boy gets a bit out of hand". There were a few sniggers from the other end as Tails made a note of that one, "just for you I'm calling Cream…"
"I'll be calling you things in a minute – get it through that knuckled head of yours we're not going out". Despite himself the echidna grinned; it felt so good to strike back at the cocky kit after the ribbing he'd received after the tickling incident.
"Ohh, touchy, touchy", there were some mutinous mutterings before he continued, "okay, this is the one I'm having trouble with; I want to see the Chaotix as well, remember them?" Tails thought back a bit; he recognised the name, but the faces behind it took a bit more thought,
"I think so, but before you ask I don't have their number".
"No worries, I'll find it somewhere. Now, I'm going to ring around the others and I'll call you back to let you know how many are coming. Sorry it's a bit short notice but it's the best I can do".
"It's cool, just make sure I've got a decent landing strip and I'll get us up there no problem. Seven in total if I'm counting right?"
"Smart-aleck".
"Makes up for you and Sonic". Cheap and nasty Tails; just wait until you touch down; the echidna winced and decided to end this quickly before the fox hammered him in a verbal duel.
"Okay, speak to you soon".
"Give my regards to Rouge". There was a pair of simultaneous clicks as both Mobians put their phones down and one of them breathed a sigh of relief as the other made plans for the next day.
Just before the dreaded torment could begin, the nightly torture in place and awaiting only the first drip of water to begin, there was salvation; the crisp, clean ring of the telephone split apart the taught atmosphere of the warmly oppressive room. There was a flash of blue as Shadow made a dive for his one last way out.
"Hello?"
"Ah good, one of you's in". Thank you Knuckles; the ebon hedgehog heard the thunder of water behind him and breathed a sigh of relief,
"Knuckles, you have no idea how grateful I am to you right now; I'll explain later" he added, almost sensing the confusion from the other side of the connection, "so, what do you need?"
"I'll make it easy; I need you and Sonic to attend a bit of a party on Angel Island tomorrow; I've talked with Tails and transport's not a problem. Just for one night I reckon, and lodgings and food are all sorted oh and you can tell Sonic so is the clearing up". That last sentence sealed the deal,
"We're in; nothing going on down here, so sounds like a deal. Who else is going, aside from you, Rouge and Tails?"
"Well, I'm inviting Amy and Cream; do me a favour and tease Tails a lot will you – I'd do it myself but I reckon that phoning a pilot while he's on the job might be a wee bit dangerous", Shadow grimaced for a second; after what happened last time when we teased him just before going on a flight, not bleeding likely!, "But yeah, do you know how I can get in touch with the Chaotix?" The echidna heard some muted ruffling of parchment before the hedgehog spoke again,
"Nah, sorry but we don't have a number".
"Ah rats; okay, no biggie, I'll find one from somewhere I'm sure. Right then, see you both tomorrow?"
"That you will, see you and Rouge then".
As he set the phone down, Shadow breathed a massive sigh of relief; he could hear splashing from the kitchen and that meant the delay had proved invaluable – for another night he was free. Feeling much happier with the world now, he re-entered the kitchen of his shared flat and the bottom promptly fell out of his stomach.
"I've been waiting for you", Sonic turned around slowly, watching his flat-mate through narrowed eyes as Shadow realised just how badly he'd walked into this one, "trying to trick me Shads; no way man, I know the rota like the back of my glove".
"But, Sonic, you know I…"
"So do I, but that's no excuse; it's your turn, so get on with it", he threw Shadow the prerequisite tools of the task; the black hedgehog moaned mournfully as he slid on the marigolds, "the washing up waits for you".
This is going better than I hoped; Knuckles terminated the call to Vanilla with a rosy glow percolating through all his being as he realised he had at least half of them inbound so far. Cream had nearly ripped off his arm to take up the offer; she'd had so much fun the last time, despite the fact there had been a lot of hard work involved with mushroom trimming and strategic rock tumbling, that she had been praying for another chance like this for ages. Vanilla was all to happy to let her daughter go; she had confided to the echidna when Cream was out of earshot, deliriously packing up like a miniature whirlwind, that meeting up with Knuckles and all his friends had really done the younger rabbit the world of good.
"She's really come out of her shell since she's been around you. She used to be a bit of an outcast, just because of her speciality, but now she's just so much happier". The echidna smiled as he realised he'd heard a story like this before,
"It's the Sonic effect; Tails used to be like that before Sonic crashed into his life and look at him now, though I reckon Ames has had a lot to do with it as well".
"Just as long as she's safe…"
"I give you my word nothing will happen to her while I can do something about it". Vanilla breathed the parental sight of relief; she knew the echidna well enough to understand that, when he gave his word about something, he would almost literally move Heaven and Earth to validate it.
"Okay, she'll be there tomorrow; I'm afraid I've got to get back into the work routine".
"Back tomorrow?"
"Day after", she gave an ironic chuckle, "can't wait".
"I'll bet…" There was a sudden shift from the rabbit's end of the line and suddenly Knuckles' ear was full of a younger, much more energetic voice,
"See you soon Mr Knuckles, thank you and thank you again". Despite his hard heart, the echidna couldn't help but smile; she's a real mood lightener I'll give her that – at the very least she'll keep Athair amused.
"Cool it flop-ears, I'm not going anywhere. I'll see you tomorrow then".
"Okay, goodnight Mr Knuckles. Thank you!"
"Goodbye Cream".
Oh no, it's, it's gonna get you. Turn around, turn around now; Amy watched the endless dance of predator and prey, preparing to turn her head away as the lions made to pounce on the unsuspecting wildebeest. Just as the first huge cat began to pick up speed, Amy jolted out of her seat in shock as the phone went off almost in her ear. She clamped a hand over her heart, the frightened organ beating ninety to the dozen as adrenaline washed around her body from the shock. Taking a second to steady her breathing, she reached out one shaking hand to pick up the receiver and the other to cut off visions of one poor grazer being dragged to the floor by the victorious lionesses. She was still a little tongue-tied however, so it fell to Knuckles to make the first move,
"Hi, Amy?"
"Y,yes, yes, sorry Knuckles, I was miles away". There was a gruff chuckle from the echidna as he pictured her gazing adoringly at a picture of Sonic in one of his various victory poses before he continued,
"Okay, well here's the deal; belated New Year get-together, Angel Island, tomorrow morning, Sonic, Shadow, Tails and Cream so far, you in?"
"You bet"; lucky that, don't need to be in work until next week; the pink hedgehog realised this could be just the opportunity she'd been looking for as she remembered she had a bit of an axe to grind with someone who'd be there, "we going in Tornado?"
"Yep, get to Tails' for tomorrow morning; now all I've got to do is invite the other three, but I don't know their number. Do you have a directory handy?" Amy reached over an hefted the heavy book one handed as she spoke down the phone,
"Yep, got one here, who you after?"
"Um"; damn, what name did they go by, something about detectives wasn't it? "I'm not sure of the full name, but, er, you know the Chaotix right?" To his consternation, there was a strangled snort through the phone,
"Something funny?" You have no idea; talk about irony; Amy managed to contain herself as she spoke once more,
"Yeah, I know them; listen Knucks, leave them, to me, you want all three right?"
"Er, yeah, how do you know them?"
"I've bumped into Charmy before now; remember him, the bee? He gave me their number and we kept in touch".
"Right, well that's a bit lucky", a wolfish smile found its way onto the guardian's face, "I'll have to tell Sonic he's got a rival for your affections".
"You do and the echidna race really will be extinct"; this time it was Amy who was put off by an explosion of sniggers, "something up?"
"Coughing fit", he managed to gasp, picturing her face tomorrow, "so, see you tomorrow on Angel Island – you sure you got this Chaotix business nailed?"
"Sure as sure can be Knuckles; oh wait, you can get heating right?"
"Um, yeah, I think so; why?"
"Just trust me; see you tomorrow o noble guardian"; and you Rouge – hope you're ready to reap what you did sow. Anyone who knew her would tell you Amy Rose wasn't vindictive, but she'd be itching for a chance to get back at the bat for spilling her secret like Cream had said she had. There were so many possibilities, as she flicked through to the number she needed, she concluded the plan she needed, unaware that something else was drawing conclusions of its own from what had just been said.
The heating still resolutely refused to come on; despite Vector pleading, threatening and grievously abusing the ancient system with an assortment of screwdrivers, it was still cold enough to spit ice in the HQ of the Chaotix Detective Agency. It was so bad both reptile members of the agency had been forced to retreat into bed early to avoid freezing to death, leaving only Charmy the only active member. The bee buzzed around, reading from the small western book he'd managed to buy from the charity shop; I'm so lucky, this is the first in a series and the lady said she'd keep all the others they had back for me – just need a few more cases and I'll get all six. It was just the type of escapism the bee craved; he knew that compared to Vector and Espio he wasn't much of a team member, his only real ability being the fact he had wings and was strong enough to just about carry the other two for short periods of time. Stilling in the crocodile-sized chair, the young bee glanced down and flexed his abdomen ruefully; he couldn't remember the last time he'd properly used his stinger – metal was just too tough for it to pierce, so against Eggman's bots it was a little redundant. Still, he shrugged, his natural venom wasn't strong enough to kill but it certainly paralysed well enough; that would be a real asset if they had a case where they needed to bring the guy back alive. Just like Sheriff Rawshire; the bee renewed his assault on the text, his busy eyes devouring the words as he immersed himself in a world of spurs, sheriffs and six-shooters. Not even the phone going could completely curb his enthusiasm; keeping his eyes firmly on the word he had got to, the bee snatched up the receiver,
"Hello, this is the Chaotix Detective…"
"Hey Charm"; the bee snapped his book closed; escapism was fine, but there was no reason he'd want to escape this particular client.
"Ames, great to hear from you; how you doing? Oh, wait", the bee remembered his business lines a little late, "sorry, do you have another case or…" The bee blushed as the hedgehog gently laughed down the line, though he was mollified as he realised it was genuine merriment rather than the biting sarcasm he associated with Espio.
"No, no; even I'm not ditzy enough to lose two important things in one week. I'm phoning to see if you three are available tomorrow". Charmy thought forwards but, no, he was convinced there were no cases at the minute,
"I'm fairly sure we're not", leaning forwards and taking Vector's case notepad out the desk drawer, the bee made ready to take down the details, "why, what you got planned?"
"Well, I just had a call from Knuckles; you remember him right?"
"Tall red guy, not much to say?"
"More or less", impressive – Knuckles summed up in what, seven words? "well, he's hosting a bit of a gathering on his home turf; he wants to invite you three".
"Seriously", excitement washed over Charmy like a surge of electricity; he was never one to turn down a party, "sounds like a blast but", his thoughts wandered upstairs, "I'm not sure if the other two would be interested".
"Two words – central heating".
"Right, well, we'll see you tomorrow then. What time and where?"
"Same time and place as last time?"
"Cool – right I'd better go break the news. See you tomorrow Amy and thanks", he dropped his voice to a whisper, "I'm dying to get out of this dive for a bit".
"Still no luck?"
"Not yet, but we'll persevere. Goodnight Amy, and thanks again".
"See you soon Charm". There was a simultaneous click as the receivers were replaced; however, while Amy went to bed, Charmy leapt upright and punched the air before racing upstairs.
Vector heard the thunder of feet rushing up the stairs but before his chilled body could react enough to close his eyes, the bedroom door he was sharing with Espio was thrown open and Charmy raced in.
"Hey guys, get up, get up, I've got something really important to tell you!" Vector couldn't even work up enough energy to get angry; Espio, however, didn't have a problem with that; glaring at the vivacious bee, the chameleon flicked out his tongue and promised,
"If you don't have a really good reason for disturbing us in this weather, people will be talking for years about the strange, unsolved case of the bee found drowned in a jar of honey". Vector finally stood up and groaned, fixing Charmy with a long-suffering gaze,
"Loathe as I am to admit it, I'm with Esp on this one", he rubbed his temples as Charmy crossed his fingers behind his back, "come on them; out with it – what was so important you had to race up here like a one of those horses out that book of yours?"
"What would you say if", Charmy left a tempting dramatic pause to irritate Espio, "I said I'd managed to get us into a place, rent free, for tomorrow that had", he threw his arms wide and his eyes grew huge and star-struck, "central heating?" Espio shot from his blankets like a bullet and gripped the bee gently by the shoulders, looking intently into his eyes,
"You're not joking are you; tell me you're not joking; if you're joking I'll stick you to the dart-board and use you for star practise".
"I'm not joking".
"YEESSS!" The chameleon threw the smaller Mobian upwards in celebration; finally, no more threat of hypothermia, somewhere warm. Vector was silent for a second, weighing something up before asking the youngest member of Team Chaotix the fatal question,
"Where is it, and how'd you find out?"
"Amy called me", the bee started to explain, seeing almost without meaning to the ecstatic look on Espio's face drop right off, "she said that Knuckles, you remember him right, is inviting people to a bit of a gathering at his place and he wants us for some reason".
"Can't think why", Espio said, though for once it wasn't biting; he looked at his friends and shook his head, "we're not exactly prime party material are we?"
"Depends on the party", Vector remarked casually; Charmy saw the memory dancing in the crocodile's eyes and shivered; if it that kind of party I am not sitting near the speakers again; "anyway, where is it and when?"
"We're meeting Amy same place same time; she'll fill us in and you", the bee speared Espio with a finger pointed right at the golden horn on his nose, "are going to be civil this time needle-nose". The chameleon flushed, fingering another of his ever-present throat sweets as he sought to answer the bee,
"Watch it buzz-boy, but, I'll try", he flicked one of his medicated lozenges into the air and caught it expertly with his extendable tongue, the orange morsel vanishing as Vector grimaced,
"How do you eat those things?" The chameleon edged on a sly smile and began talking in a pretty passable impression of Charmy,
"Well, I get the sweet out the wrapper, put it on my tongue and…Vec, er, flammable materials, flammable materials!"
A/N: Phew, all done. Sorry for the time lag, but there's been a recent upheaval in life and the fic had to suffer I'm afraid. Still, hope you enjoy the chappy; now what happens when the Brotherhood meet the rest of the crew. Utter pandemonium! Glorious!