Chapter 16 – Remembering, Remonstrating and Reasoning.
A/N: A nice long chappie for you to enjoy; the promised pandemonium will ensue next chapter, I just needed to set the record straight on a few things before I could launch into ruining Spectre's blood pressure (such as why Sojourner's being such a creep right now). Enjoy, but first:
Treasure Hunter (or TH as you're now affectionately know :-)) – Glad you like the fic so far; I had a read of yours and they're both pretty good, especially for a thirteen year old (I've seen uni students who couldn't write that well!). Just one thing though; Eggman/Amy – that's just wrong on so many levels…eeeeeuuuuwww!
Sonicron – Yes, what will Spectre make of our favourite formless friend? Read on and you might get a bit of an idea…
R. Wolfsbane – Hiding the bodies; well, to solve that little problem I recommend opening a link to your nearest McDonalds and letting them take the problem off your hands and into other people's stomachs (J/K). Seriously though, regarding Mucky D's, I used to work in a chicken factory and every Friday a huge truck would pull up and collect all the chicken skins we'd collected – about four or five tonnes a week. These skins would then be melted down and put into the milkshakes as a thickening agent – I AM NOT JOKING HERE; THIS IS THE HONEST TRUTH!
The steam rose gently from the cup as it was poured out with gentle movements; spillage, as the drinker had discovered last night, could be painful even if you use a cloth to mop up the water. Since the incident, the being had spent most of the night agonising whether the scald mark would be visible to the host but fortunately the redness had faded out enough to be unnoticeable to Amy in the morning. From a force of habit it hadn't yet deduced the source of the being blew the steam from the top of the cup as it swiftly manoeuvred the host into its favourite seat, near the door to the hallway, bedroom and bathroom. Though movement had long since been mastered by an incredible learning capacity, the being had nearly been caught out three nights ago by a biological need it had forgotten about; only swift reflexes and a lot of luck had prevented a potentially fatal and excruciatingly embarrassing mistake. Amy rolled her eyes and her cheeks went pink as the being recalled the indignity of that little episode in Technicolor detail; it had standards despite the fact it couldn't yet remember its own name or the reason someone had sealed it away under the earth for so long. Now though, as it took the first sip of the drink it had made, the business of the evening had to be begun; the host's conversations for the day had to be analysed, for several things she had spoken of triggered forgotten memories that could yet be learned from. The being settled back, closing the host's eyes in a gesture of relaxation, as it let itself drift back into the grey mists within itself, slowly uncovering more of what it was and what it had been. As always, the goal was the same; to find a way to become once more what it had been so long ago.
Knuckles hit the lift button and began the journey downwards once more, smiling at the way things had just for once gone completely to plan; everyone who needed to be here tomorrow was going to be here tomorrow morning. His good mood at the stroke of fortune lasted until the lift stopped and Athair breezed in, thrusting himself right into his third-son's face and chattering like a squirrel on a caffeine high,
"What did they say; are we getting guests? Are we?" Gotta think fast; though he'd known the flying echidna all of three hours Knuckles had gleaned enough to realise that answering yes would probably result in his ancient relative ricocheting off every wall Haven had to offer; what's going to get through – gotta be quick, decisive and…result!
"Grandfather"; Athair regarded his third-son in eager, puppyish anticipation, "we've got to get back to the others; grandfather Spectre won't be very happy if we keep him waiting will he?"
"No, I suppose not", Athair looked a little whimsical as he began a leisurely backstroke down the tunnel, Knuckles following at a distance that let him avoid the airborne echidna's flapping feet by a considerable margin, "well, the faster we go the sooner we'll know; come on third-son". He put on a spurt of aerial speed, leaving Knuckles scrambling to keep up; in the gloom he was only just able to keep Athair in eye sight and he arrived in the main central dome at a sprint, almost completely out of breath; I wasn't build for speed – maybe some of that aerial training would be a good thing.
"Stand up sixth-son; a little jog like that should be nothing to a guardian"; Thunderhawk's voice boomed over him and Knuckles glanced up to see him still casting his strange green light over entire table. It was only when he got a little closer that he realised the Brotherhood was a little depleted. His own father was missing again; Knuckles assumed he'd left to go and try to fix whatever was wrong with the lights, but more importantly there was a space in the centre of the table.
"Where's grandfather Spectre?" Rouge looked over her shoulder to answer him, face in silhouette from the unearthly green light his grandfather's were using to maintain visibility in the local area,
"He said he was going to meditate", the guardian caught a tiny flash of whiteness in the bat's smile, "apparently I gave him a fair amount to think about".
"A truer word was never spoken", Sabre put in mildly from the semi-darkness on his side of the table, not even flinching as Athair descended into his seat from above, "I must say your friend was right grandson; it appears you were worked harder that most of us were if this talk of 'aircraft' and mass-transport is correct. Apparently height isn't the safeguard it used to be". Athair turned to his son, a genuinely puzzled look of his face as he quoted,
"It never was though son; I can't see why everyone can't fly if they put their mind to it". Though he never admitted it, Knuckles was grateful to see he wasn't the only one suffering under Athair's illogical logic; Thunderhawk rolled his eyes upwards as though pleading for just a little more strength while Sabre himself managed a very strained smile.
"If she is correct though"; I could really get to dislike you; Knuckles glowered at the reed-like form of his fifth-father but before he could ask Sojourner had continued, "but this is beside the point; have those who have seen acquiesced to come here?"
"Luckily for us, yes, all eight…"Knuckles was cut off as Athair shot out of his seat and zoomed away, calling over his shoulder that he was going to prepare the guest rooms as he zinged off the nearest wall and sprinted along the ceiling to a part of Haven neither treasure hunter had yet seen. When he was sure his eccentric relative was very safely out of earshot, he guardian continued,
"…as I was saying, all eight said they could make it. There's a part of Angel Island they land on; if you want to you can see an aircraft tomorrow". As the eldest present, Thunderhawk realised the decision of what to do next fell to him and he realised here was the opportunity to do two things at once; primarily he could explain a few things to the newest member of his family, and secondly he could get right under his obnoxious son's skin by giving him a little errand.
"No sixth-son; as the guardian, it is your duty to bring these guest to us. Besides", the older echidna broke out into a smile, "could you imagine what Athair would do if we let him outside?" A progression of visions swam through Knuckles' mind, each containing more chaos and disorder than the previous one; just below Eggman or on a par with him – I can't decide. He was startled out of his reverie by a clap from his sixth-father,
"Right, enough of that; time to get down to business – time's running out for the evening so we'd better wind up for the night. Sabre, inform grandfather Spectre and your son of this development and then sort out whatever mess Athair makes in guest rooms. Sixth-son, come with me a second and Sojourner", Thunderhawk fixed his son with a piercing glare, "you will, politely and with exceedingly good grace, escort Rouge to suitable quarters for the evening, then you may do, whatever it is you, wish to do". To his credit Sojourner kept his emotions off his face, but it was nearly as plain as day that resentment of this task bubbled just below the surface. Before the situation became too awkward, Sabre stood from his seat and gave a slight bow,
"Very well; grandfathers, grandson and guest, I bid thee goodnight" and with that he left into the murk to seek out Spectre and then his own father. Sojourner also stood up, beckoning Rouge with one paw as he looked down the tunnel he needed to follow to fulfil his errand.
"This way honoured guest", the sarcasm was faint but present; Rouge put the finishing touches to her plan of action and, whispering assurances to Knuckles that she could survive anything Sojourner threw at her, began to follow the still glowing former guardian to wherever he wanted to lead her. When the green radiance was stifled by a kink in the tunnel, Thunderhawk stood and nodded at his sixth-son.
"Walk with me a while Knuckles", the lavender echidna walked around to stand ext to his relative, pointing the path he wanted to follow with an extended arm, "walk with me and let me explain what's really going on in this mad house".
Spectre sat cross-legged in the darkness within his room; to all appearances he appeared to be in a deep sate of meditation. However, while his body was at rest, his mind, his uniquely talented, gifted mind, was in overdrive; the information he had drawn from Rouge's mind had long since been correlated and confirmed as correct – the charms around the Master had once more been activated and would secure the jewel against most other threats to steal it. Now, the back echidna's efforts were focussed on the same almost impossible task it had been bent upon solving since he had felt the power from the Master sweep across Angel Island. The ancient, folded text he held across his lap contained clues but, he smiled wearily, not definite answers to the question he, the Brotherhood, needed desperately to answer. The gem of blood has called once; Spectre gritted his teeth, worry lining the older fur on his face as he realised now that Angel Island had been fully released, time was shorter than even his most pessimistic estimates. The Cataclysm approaches, the child of thorns has released us all and he will be gathering strength to strike; Spectre took no heart from his earlier puzzling and the revelation that had brought him.
The black echidna would never be able to communicate what he could see in his mind's eye, the sheer majesty of seeing information as a stream as it flowed from the book he was holding. It was a stream of seasoned knowledge and he was at once student of its insights and master of its flow; he immersed himself within the cooling fountain of wisdom, sensing the tingle of age that infiltrated the images that swam through his mind. Everything he needed to unlock this puzzle was held within this vast ocean of ancient lore; it was an almost impossible task for an echidna, no matter how skilled or gifted, to sift through the sands to find the hidden meaning behind the prophecies from history. But Spectre was no mere echidna; he was a guardian, a distant descendent of the one who had scribed these words and he could never give up – while there was a chance to hold back the tide of threat this dire warning he could not rest. As he suspended himself, weightless, supported, buoyed up and carried by the waters of slowly flowing knowledge, he gave a small thought that he had made some progress, a tiny flicker in the grand scheme of things, but progress nonetheless. That which was bound has been released, but not completely; Spectre realised the time was coming, this was the most delicate phase of the process and he had to relax, be at peace with the world to attain it properly; he is weak, unsure – if ever we are to stop him, it must be soon, the ancestors themselves never had a better chance, before the Bloodstone calls again. With this new determination, Spectre let himself go, his psyche diffusing out through all this wonderful knowledge, merging with it, seeking within it answers to the challenge that had to be answered to save them all.
And a long way away, a very similar mind to Spectre's underwent the same process for a very similar goal.
It was a clash of demi-gods; the most ancient living guardian watched the scenes fly past – blurs of green, red and blue as the battle raged on; one in pursuit of a warped, nightmarish perfection, the other striving to stop him at all costs. All feelings buried, there was no love left between them, the brotherhood between them was sundered forever.
There was a great battle; the being recollected much, beginning from where it had been forced to terminate its journey the previous evening; war – no quarter asked for or given; it couldn't be, too much was at stake, but what for? There was the conflict, but what was the prize? Who were the aggressors and what was the reason for the breach of the peace?
So much lost, death and betrayal from both sides – a war raged in the shadows, the other echidnas never knew, never even suspected the sacrifices the guardians of old were forced to make to save them all.
One side had an advantage early on; there was a green presence, the evil, hateful green that hurt…me! I was a part of this battle, the war was mine, but, why? Why did I put the others in danger; what was so great that I would have taken up arms against the others?
The war was long and encased many generations; too many were born to fight and knew no other purposes than war; a tragedy that must be prevented, that I could prevent, if only I could know; where is it? Who is it calling, and when will it call to them again?
The red, the red allowed us, my side, I am unsure as to my importance as yet, to strike back. There was a term used for such situations; st, stalemate, from an old tactical game. There was fighting for a long time, but something forced the breach at last, red against green, a final conflict, the others shielded, but how? No harm to the innocents, a good thing, but who was the victor? Or, no, that is not right; Amy straightened in her chair, face set in a mask of grim determination – it couldn't remember the whole details, but the being was able to make one conclusion from its ponderings so far; I endure, so the battle is not yet concluded!
"Fifth-father?" The voice penetrated the waters like a stone cast into a pond; as the ripples flickered overhead, Spectre felt the pull of mortality once more and, slowly and grudgingly like the majority of his personality, his fractured mind once more coalesced and waded back out of the fount of images and shoals of accompanying sounds and funnelled back into his body once more. Opening his crimson eyes, the older echidna let out a groan as his muscles complained at being forced to remain in one position for so long before turning around to see Sabre framed in his doorway, maintaining a respectable distance as Spectre once more found his feet in his own body. The red-furred echidna smiled, the fur of his eyebrow crinkling over the top of his monocle as he nodded at the ancient book Spectre still held across his lap.
"Taking lessons in history again fifth-father?"
"The past can teach you much", Spectre retorted, beginning to rise to his feet as Sabre moved forwards to assist him, "if you have the skill to look for it that is". The younger echidna heaved a sigh, realising what Spectre was driving at,
"Still no luck?"
"I have seen how the battle went but that is not enough", Spectre's frown depended as he pondered how best to proceed, "there's no clue as to what happened after it, and that is what we need to know, and no", he held up a single hand as Sabre made to speak, "there's still a chance we can stop this before it can happen, there's no reason Knuckles needs to know". Sabre crossed his arms; he hated arguing with his fifth-father mostly because he hardly ever won, but this time he really did feel he had to speak up in his grandson's favour,
"But he must have a right to know".
"And he will; look Sabre, as far as I can tell, there are two ways this prophesy can resolve – firstly we can stop it happening, and then we can tell Knuckles later, when he's more ready to accept it – remember he's just had a fairly traumatic few days as it is". No flaw that I can see so far; Sabre gave a slow nod and waited a few seconds; Spectre seemed to have fallen silent, so he prompted to break the silence,
"And the second?" Spectre looked at him with an air of long-suffering stoicism,
"You're supposed to be the intelligent one, you tell me; if we don't stop this, he'll find out anyway, though that's the last thing I want to happen. You're right Sabre, he deserves the truth and he will receive it, it's just a question of when and how and for all our sakes I'm praying it's the former". Sabre realised that once more he'd been beaten by the black echidna's logic and reasoning.
"Apologies fifth-father, I…" Spectre waved them away,
"You're young yet Sabre, and you can't see the way I do; sometimes I'm not sure if that's a pity or a mercy", Spectre put a paw on his forehead, massaging it tiredly as his advancing years, even for a guardian, began to make their presence felt, "there's not long left now, I can feel it; soon it'll give the second call and, unless we can somehow track him down or neutralise the call, he'll be released again and I doubt we can stop him, even with Knuckles". The reminder brought Sabre back to the reason he had come here in the first place and he shook himself before delivering his message,
"Speaking of the devil, I've some good news; he managed to contact all eight who've seen the shrine. With luck they should be here tomorrow". Spectre felt his gloomy mood lift slightly at this news; he rubbed his hands gleefully as he pictured himself soon swimming in undiscovered territory.
"Excellent, if nothing else we can protect the shrine should worst come to worst. Are the guest rooms ready?"
"Athair said he was making them", Sabre smiled as his older relative shuddered, no doubt recalling the last time the Brotherhood had let Athair make his own bed; they'd spent three days prizing it off the ceiling and Locke had then spent another week trying to calculate just how the bizarre flying menace had managed to hold it steady while the super-glue had set and, more importantly, how he'd managed to get the blankets and pillows to remain in place.
"Go and make sure he doesn't wreck them fifth-son; we have enough?"
"Grandfather, we have more rooms than we know what to do with; I'll return to help you when we've readied them". Spectre resumed his seat on the floor as Sabre, realising from long association that the conversation was at an end, headed for the door once more, letting his grandfather five generations removed sink back into the knowledge that was his domain, his joy and his pride.
While this conversation and meditation had been occurring, Knuckles had been following Thunderhawk to wherever the lavender echidna was leading him. The silence of the trip was broken after only a few minutes as Knuckles asked,
"So, sixth-father…"
"You can drop that right now", Thunderhawk stopped and pointed at his youngest relative as Knuckles tried rapidly to deduce what he'd done wrong, "all that grandfather business only goes on when my father's about; call me Thunderhawk, or just Hawk if you prefer". Sounds fair enough,
"Suits me", Knuckles replied, smiled a little as the lavender ancient breathed a sigh of relief,
"Just as well; I know I'm getting on a bit, I don't need to be remaindered of the fact". Knuckles looked his relative up and down and felt obliged to make a point in his defence,
"Well, put it this way; you're a great deal more, er, outgoing than most other centurions I've met". Thunderhawk gave a chuckle,
"I suppose, but it still doesn't alter the fact that my last birthday cake had to be lit with a flame-thrower", he gave a sigh as Knuckles bit his lip to stop himself laughing out loud, "I know they say you're only as old as you feel but look at you", he regarded Knuckles with a paternal, almost fatherly gaze the younger echidna wasn't quite sure how to react to, "pretty soon I could become a seventh-father; I just don't feel that old yet". Knuckles felt his muzzle begin to burn, though thankfully Thunderhawk had resumed walking by this point and didn't seem to notice. To conceal his embarrassment, he made a second point,
"I'd heard of a generation gap before now but you guys redefine it; seven generations".
"Consider yourself lucky Knuckles; Sabre, or was it Athair?", Thunderhawk paused for a second before shaking his head, "Well, either way, one of those two was a ninth-son; now that was fun – you might think my dad's a bit of a stickler for rules, but believe me grandfather Hawking made him look like a pussycat".
"Got a family tree handy?"
"Speak to Spectre about that; history is his department. Speaking of which, is there anything else you wanted to know about us?"
The question actually took Knuckles aback for a second; despite the information he'd received from the impromptu question and answer session not ten minutes ago, he was still burning with curiosity and now let his questions spill out of him after taking a few seconds to phrase each one properly,
"Well, firstly, why do you call Sabre quack-boy?" Thunderhawk let out a burst of laughter, the glow still emanating from his body fluctuating in response to his raise in spirits,
"Because he is boy, a quack I mean", seeing his sixth-son look perplexed, he grinned and explained, "when Locke succeeded him, Sabre decided to try and develop his unique power and he deduced the best way to do that was to study medicine. Turned out he had a bit of a knack for it; he's a fully qualified surgeon, even if he does need to wear that ridiculous monocle all the time".
"Fashion statement?"
"Necessity", the lavender echidna was quick to correct him, "he's got one eye weaker than the other and can't stand wearing glasses, so that's the best way to deal with the subject. As for the quack-boy thing, that's just harmless banter; I call him a quack and he calls me, well I've never actually heard what he calls me, but I assume it's not to be repeated in polite company". Oh yes, not only does my family have to have a generation gap the size of the Grand Canyon, it also has to have just a touch of dysfunction too – lucky me; Knuckles shook his head as this sank in. At least this was a light-hearted sort of joshing, kind of like the rapport he held with Sonic, that he could put with – the next issue was, in Knuckles' mind, rather a bit more thorny,
"And, um, do you know what the, like, the deal is with, um, Athair?"
At the name, Thunderhawk stopped dead, span on his heel and looked Knuckles dead in the eye and spoke levelly,
"Athair is a complete raving lunatic", Knuckles decided the best thing to do here was try and nod in what sounded like the right places and anyway, in his eyes, what his sixth-father was saying made a lot of sense, "I swear the midwife that delivered him couldn't have just dropped his egg; she must have used it for a sky-ball and completely scrambled it. The only thing that stops me going nuts is the thought that if I do I might be able to have a meaningful conversation with him and I tell you now that scares me". Knuckles forced himself to keep his face straight and asked,
"So is it true he doesn't…?"
"Of course not, he just either can't or won't admit he can fly", Thunderhawk rumbled, shaking his head as old memories resurfaced in his mind, "that must have been the most surreal day of my life; I'm waiting in the main chamber for the new guardian to arrive and the next minute he comes hurtling down the passage, kisses every single one of us, screams that this is the best day of his life and then shoots off again. I swear Hawking nearly had a heart attack on the spot; he just couldn't believe that someone like him had managed to guard the Master as well as he did". The lavender echidna shook his head to fling out the last remaining traces of that shocking day as Knuckles just about managed to stave off the oncoming giggling fit; he might be mad as a hatter, but at least he's funny with it, unlike the next thing I need answering; Knuckles gritted his teeth as his need to know outweighed his respect for the echidna stood in front of him,
"Thunderhawk?"
"Yes?" Knuckles grinned apologetically before taking the plunge and slicing open what he was sure would be a wound for his sixth-father,
"What happened to Sojourner?"
So like his father; the older echidna took a deep breath, his memories leading him back into the past when Locke had asked that very same question. Slowly, Thunderhawk answered his sixth-son; Knuckles had a right to know everything about his ancestors, the bad as well as the good,
"It was Janelle-Li; my granddaughter, the spirits rest her soul", the older male looked at the floor for a few seconds as the mood turned undeniably sombre, "Sojourner was very close to her during Athair's early years, her death hit him so much harder than the rest of us", he paused to wipe a tear from his eye; the memory of his son catatonic, lifeless within the hospital area of Haven, doing nothing but stare soullessly forwards unblinking for nearly a month before suddenly becoming animated, a pale shadow of the man he had been – sarcastic, quarrelsome, seemingly unable to leave the past behind; hence the problem tonight. Knuckles silent until he was sure his relative was more comfortable now; in his gentlest voice the guardian spoke again,
"What was she like, my fourth-mother?"
"Much like your own", Thunderhawk smiled as he drew the similarities between Lara-Le and his granddaughter, "strong and forthright, but still loving, caring for those she loved, and this is why I must say this Knuckles", the guardian felt his paw seized in an iron grip and found himself drawn closer to Thunderhawk; there was a fierce, needing look in the lavender echidna's eyes that hadn't been there before as he continued, "I have seen Locke now and I fear for him – if he carries on like he does he may become something like my son". Knuckles leapt to a guess and, before he thought about it, before he even mustered a conscious thought to what Thunderhawk was saying, he found himself hissing with delight,
"After what happened with mum – he deserves it".
"Does he Knuckles?" Thunderhawk took a pace back, regarding the younger echidna and, as he had suspected, once Knuckles thought about the scenario a little differently denial swept across his face and he shook his head, "listen sixth-son, we all go through pain; look at us. Have you seen any females here?" A sudden fear seized Knuckles by the heart as Thunderhawk continued, nodding sadly,
"We all suffer the pain of losing our loved ones Knuckles; to the guardians is granted a long life, but not to our close ones, not to our partners", the current guardian staggered backwards, horrified by the realisation, cursing himself for not seeing it earlier, "Locke was a fool, but a remorseful fool; he harmed Lara-Le cruelly but he realised it. You know they divorced, well Locke…"
"He let her go; the hardest thing he had to do in his life – he told me".
"He told you the truth; he'll never forgive himself, but Lara has forgiven him, privately at least. I don't expect it to happen overnight, but maybe you can find it within yourself to do the same. I've lost my own child to grief, I'd rather be damned to all the hells in all the religious texts I know that lose a grandson as well". A lump had appeared in Knuckle's throat; pity for Sojourner, mixed well with grief, and renewed pity, warring with a petty sense of retribution, spiteful and malicious but present nonetheless, for his own father; could Knuckles really damn him for making a mistake, an easily avoided, cowardly mistake but a mistake at heart?
"I, I'll try, but, not now, it's, it's too fresh…"
"I know Knuckles; put it from your mind for now – leave it awhile and you'll see the way you need to go later on". Finishing the topic before any more pain could be caused, the lavender echidna straightened and marched on, Knuckles hurrying in his footsteps as Thunderhawk realised he was getting closer to where he wanted to be.
"You know Knuckles, there's something that surprises me".
"That being?" Thunderhawk slowed his pace a second, counting the doors that lined this corridor; he knew he wanted the ninth one but that damned Athair kept mixing the labels on the doors 'just to make things a bit interesting'. Shaking the incident with a missing label and the self-locking store cupboard from his head, Thunderhawk answered his relative,
"You never asked me", right, this is it, here we go; he hid a smile as the door opened and the internal lighting system he had eventually talked Locke into installing for him flickered into life, "what my gift was".
"I think I can guess from this", Knuckles said carefully as he took in the sheer scale of this working area; there were exercise machines of all types, dumb-bells, shot putts, pull bars and, Knuckles hid a smile as the sheer incredulity of the one colourful item in this place leapt right out at him, a skipping rope as well, "something to do with fighting?"
"Got it in one", Thunderhawk moved off towards the back of the gym he had installed as tradition dictated he should have, smiling as he kicked off his shoes and felt the cool springiness of the sparring mats under his feet, "I said you'd find out; none of your grandfathers lasted more than three minutes; let's see what you're made of". Knuckles gave a short bark of laughter, mimicking the older echidna's actions as he took his new jacket off, chuckling at the thought that he was about to fight someone at least eight times his age on reasonably even terms. Thunderhawk moved into a stance and brought his guard forwards,
"You probably won't listen, but don't bother holding back; there's no fun if I know you're not trying".
"I'll get Sabre on the case when I've finished with you old man"; smart – seeking to goad me into making a rash mistake; Thunderhawk raised an eyebrow as battle lust began to course through him.
"We'll see who needs the quack-boy three minutes from now. Last to three falls?"
"Fine by me".
"Now!"
"You can't have him, you know?" To say those words confused Rouge would have been a little bit of an understatement; she'd been walking silently behind the stick-like figure of Sojourner, feeling strangely like a pallbearer as she trailed in his wake, not speaking or offering any action to break the silence as she engaged him in his contest of solitude. By him speaking she'd just won, but the victory was hollow as she couldn't make head nor tail of what the ancient echidna was talking about.
"What?"
"You can't have him", Sojourner repeated, slowing down and turning to look up at her, expression seemingly caught between wicked amusement and silent pity as he explained a little, "my fifth-son I mean; you can't have him". I've known this guy for three hours – he's slighted me, accused me of lying and now he's trying to warn me off Knuckles; quite understandably Rouge felt herself begin to heat up under the collar. Speaking through gritted teeth, she brought her face very close to Sojourners, allowing him to see the fire coalesced in her eyes as she growled,
"And who are you to try to tell me what to do?"
"I am a guardian of the Master Emerald", Sojourner appeared undaunted as Rouge tried to carbonise him with an inflammatory look, "and I am doing what is best for both the Master Emerald and my fifth-son". The words sank in and, to even her disbelief and concern, Rouge actually found them funny; Sojourner looked at her as though she'd lost her mind as she suddenly started laughing; not sarcastic or malicious, but genuine, mirthful laughter rang from the steel walls of Haven.
"And, and you reckon", Rouge managed to gasp between fits of laughter, "you can tell Knuckles who he's going to settle down with?" Sojourner nodded once, completely serious as Rouge doubled over again; boy are you in for a wake-up call.
"If necessary, yes, thought I trust my fifth-son's judgement implicitly"; that was all the opening a master wind-up artist like Rouge needed; keeping her laughter up in a smokescreen to divert attention away from how she was planning this, the bat giggled once more, noting how Sojourner appeared unable to handle laughter like this.
"Right, you trust your fifth-son?"
"As I have said", Sojourner let impatience into his voice as Rouge set him up, "I trust my fifth-son's judgement; when he has become more aware of his own people he'll realise that his affections for you run only skin-deep". For a second Rouge nearly lost the plot as that condemnation reached her ears; skin-deep, how dare you – alright grandpa, stick this your pipe and smoke it.
"Right, okay, I'll accept that; Knuckles should make his own choice", Sojourner nodded and walked away, seemingly satisfied that he'd got his point across; Rouge let him keep that illusion for about fifteen seconds.
"Sojourner?"
"Yes?"
"You know these guest rooms", Rouge waited until he had nodded before wiping the grin off her face and asking innocently, "do any of them have double beds?"
The echidna skidded to a halt and whirled around, face a picture of horror, disgust and rage as Rouge carefully maintained her façade of neutrality whilst jeering him from behind her eyes. For a second all was silent as the echidna tried and failed to comprehend her inflection, before suddenly the walls echoed and magnified his wrath,
"What, what do you mean?" To be cruel or not to be cruel – no question there; Rouge widened her eyes and cocked her head, giving a compelling portrayal of innocence as she replied,
"Well, Knuckles and I usually sleep together now", not even she could keep the hint of a satisfied smile off her face as Sojourner looked ready to either explode or faint from this hammer blow, "and his bed's rather small and rough, at least when we get a chance to sleep there, so I wondered if we could make it a bit more comfortable this time". Sojourner stood before her, eyes like pinpricks, nostrils flaring and mouth working soundlessly; utterly unable to voice his denial, disbelief or utter disgust at the bat's simple words. Just before Rouge decided to put him out of his misery and admit the truth his reflexes kicked in; this can't be true, my fifth-son would never…I can be sure! Like lightning, Sojourner lashed out and Rouge felt a hand grip her forearm tightly; before she could voice a protest either verbally or through universal sign-language, there was a flash of green and she felt a sudden tug forwards, time standing immobile all around her as she realised what was going on.
Knuckles saw the fist coming but there was no way he could avoid it; he realised, a spilt-second before it connected with a rush of pain and air from his lungs, that this was it. Thunderhawk capitalised from his advantageous blow and, as his sixth-son dropped his shoulder due to loss of air, moved in close and delivered a double axe-handle to the younger echidna's exposed shoulder blades, dropping him unceremoniously to the mat before hopping backwards agilely.
"That's three Knuckles; I win"; though only just; Thunderhawk added privately, watching the guardian with renewed respect as Knuckles pushed himself to his feet once more, raising his guard out of habit before his grandfather's words penetrated the haze of his battle-rage. Gulping down air, the younger echidna let his fists drop to his sides, going into a slight crouch as he let his body re-oxygenate itself after the fast and furious fight he'd just been through. He looked up, a little ashamed at his loss but respecting the calibre of his opponent anew; he grinned ferally as Thunderhawk likewise began to let himself cool off,
"So, how long was, that then?"
"Four twenty-six – must be getting old to let a whelp last that long"; I've never been pushed that hard, not even grandfather Tobor could fight so well; Thunderhawk realised that his sixth-son was indeed something else and would have said so, when suddenly the entire interior of his room was lit up by a blinding green glare. For a second the lavender echidna thought Locke had managed to get the lights back on, but when a sudden small figure rushed over and clamped onto Knuckles he realised something else was going on.
Swiftly reorienting himself after using his power, Sojourner glanced around for the one person who could disprove this impudent bat's ludicrous claim. He had to know and threw himself at his fifth-son, unaware of how much deeper he was digging his own hole as he did so. Shaking Knuckles, still blinded by the ostentatious entrance, vigorously by the shoulders, Sojourner roared into the younger echidna's face,
"Fifth-son, there can be no truth to these rumours; tell me it's all lies and…" Thunderhawk finally recollected his bearings and suddenly gripped onto the scruff of his son's neck, hauling him backwards off Knuckles as Rouge, dragged along for the ride, smiled from behind Sojourner's back; and now the real fun begins – I never planned for it, but what the hell.
"What are you playing at?" Thunderhawk's face flushed both in anger and shame of his son's actions; as always, he smothered the shame in anger and bellowed at his son, "we were nearly in the middle of a fight then; what would have happened if one of us had been distracted? Damn it Sojourner, sometimes I swear even Athair's got more sense than you". Startled by his father's rage, Sojourner suddenly realised this for what it was; the bat had set him up and he'd not only walked right into it, he'd bloody well gone and made it a thousand times worse. No way out now; he tried desperately to try and find some kind of bright side to this unholy mess; at least I can rid myself of these suspicions. Twisting out of his father's grip, Sojourner brought himself up short and shook himself down, cursing under his breath as he addressed Knuckles,
"Fifth-son, whilst walking with our guest, she, uh, informed me of some rather, interesting news". Oh did she now; Knuckles quickly glanced over his fifth-father's shoulder to see Rouge smirk and raised one hand whilst twirling her index finger – her sign for a wind-up. Keeping his emotion under wraps, the current guardian assumed a grave face and put his hands on his hips,
"What news was this fifth-father?" Sojourner swallowed, burning up as he realised that both Knuckles and Thunderhawk were paying close attention to his next words; he could practically feel Rouge smirking away merrily behind his back.
"She, ah, asked if, any of Haven's guest rooms came equipped with, er, double beds", he felt his face flush and glanced down, finishing quickly as Knuckles looked on amazed, "she then admitted that the pair of you had, well"; damn you for doing this Rouge; "you had, slept together in the past".
Thunderhawk shot his gaze to Rouge in time to see her raise a placating hand; he guessed there was a rational explanation to this and his son had simply leapt to a conclusion, and a particularly grim conclusion at that. In the meantime, Knuckles was a little torn between aiding in his girlfriend's scheme or terminating it now to spare Sojourner's blushes.
"Well fifth-son, have you slept with Rouge?" Or I could do both; Knuckles mentally thanked his fifth-father as he decided to do the best of both worlds; putting himself into neutral mode, the current guardian answered frankly,
"Well, yes, we have slept together", the intake of breath from both older echidnas was tangible; it was only to spare his sixth-father that he kept the pause as brief as he did, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's freezing out there. Sharing bedding's the best way to preserve heat while you're sleeping, especially recently when we were exploring the new regions of Angel Island", he suddenly narrowed his eyes and put a hint of reproach into his voice, offering Sojourner a much-needed escape route "why; fifth-father, you surely didn't…"
"No", Sojourner snatched his chance as he became aware of Thunderhawk drilling into his temple with a steely glare, "no, of course not fifth-son. I was merely, applauding, your knowledge of field-craft. Now, if you'll excuse me", he gathered the tattered shreds of his dignity up and re-realised the significance of the night, "I have more important things to do. Goodnight to you all". Without a second glance, he vanished under the effects of his emerald-granted powers.
For a second after his disappearance all was still, before Rouge let out a triumphant hiss and struck her victory pose, grinning at getting her own back on the snobbish echidna after an evening of put-downs and one-upmanship. Knuckles shook his head as he regarded her antics, though he couldn't help but smile at the skill Rouge had of catching people out like that.
"You wind-up merchant", Knuckles put his hands on his hips and tried to look serious as Rouge sauntered towards him, "stop teasing my family, however much they might deserve it". Thunderhawk himself cracked a smile at the ridiculousness of his son's overreaction, though it was tinged with ruefulness; alone of the trio here, he knew why Sojourner was so protective of his fifth-son; the same reason I should be. Putting that line of thought from his mind, the older echidna heaved a sigh and laughed slightly, looking at the bat openly with new respect; anyone who could wind his son up so tightly had to be worth a look in his eyes,
"Well, I can't say he didn't deserve it, but really Rouge, I do wish you hadn't done that". Feeling a sore point springing up, the bat let go of her jubilant mood and flattened her ears respectfully,
"I'm sorry Thunderhawk, maybe I should have known better; is there some reason why not?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow", the lavender echidna offered before smiling once more, "and don't worry about it; I know Sojourner can be, difficult at the best of times. Now come, beings as he's seemingly abandoned his task, I guess it's up to me to get you pair settled in for the night". An epiphany bolted into Knuckles' brain and he straitened, putting a hand on his sixth-father's arm to forestall him before turning to his partner,
"Wait a second; Rouge, come up here a minute", not quite sure what he was up to, the bat nonetheless stepped up onto the mat and approached as Knuckles smiled wider still, "Hawk's just been showing me his unique gift; apparently he's quite the fighter. I just set a new record against him, want to see if you can beat it?"
"Is the M.E. green?" Just as well, I could use a bit of a brawl after that little episode – just the thing to help me blow off some steam; the bat dropped into her stance as Thunderhawk's eyes widened as he looked at the bat in astonishment; it had never even crossed his mind that someone as attractive as she was could have been any kind of fighter.
"You, you're sure about this?" Rouge smiled at him, not the first time this kind of misunderstanding had cropped up and, she doubted, unlikely to be the last either,
"You bet I am". Thunderhawk grunted and dropped into his stance as Knuckles vacated the mat and turned to watch, raising his voice as he took up the role of impartial adjudicator.
"Neither of you hold back; Rouge is at least as a good as I am if not better…"
"Creep".
"…and Thunderhawk is a testament to the power of the Master despite his advancing years".
"Just wait until this is over boy". Knuckles chortled as he raised a hand and called,
"First to three falls loses; ready and, now!"
With a heavy, final thump, the book was closed; Sabre glanced up to see Spectre filter back into his own body and slam shut the book he'd been…Sabre smiled – the word hadn't yet been invented that described what Spectre was doing when he was immersed in a text like he just had been. The black echidna shifted once more as Sabre stifled a yawn, once more disturbed by how much time had passed and how, again, it seemed like they had accomplished frighteningly little, as though time itself was working against their efforts to deal with this new and very real danger before it could gather its strength and crush them.
"That's enough for tonight fifth-son", Spectre heaved himself to his feet and stretched, the vertebrae of his back clicking noisily as he did so, "rest up for now; we can continue in the morning, before the new guests arrive".
"As you wish fifth-father", Sabre hauled himself up, shaking his head as he carefully rolled up the ancient, faded map he'd been reading from and replaced it carefully within the parchment binder, "any luck?"
"Nothing of merit" the black echidna admitted, sifting the last vestiges of information back into his mind as he readied himself for the last task of the evening; Sabre saw the gleam enter his ancient relative's eye and, realising it was probably a wasted effort but trying anyway in an effort to kept he peace, Sabre attempted to dissuade him,
"Fifth-father, where are you going?"
"Where else", Spectre strode over to the door of his library-like room, scattering loose tatters of paper like dead leaves as he did so, "to have a not-so-gentle talk with my grandson".
"Fifth-father…" Spectre stalled further argument with a raised hand,
"I know what you're about to say Sabre and no, this can't wait until tomorrow. Sojourner's behaviour was unacceptable and I intend to find out why he thought it necessary to play the fool in front of Knuckles and his guest". Sabre realised it was hopeless; Spectre had his heart set on bringing this out in the open tonight and nothing short of a mandate from the Master Emerald itself would stop him.
"Very well grandfather; goodnight".
"Goodnight fifth-son". With that, Spectre was gone and Sabre was left alone in the semi-darkness; as he set the map case back to its proper place, the spurred echidna breathed a sigh of resolve; Sojourner, wherever you are, I hope you've got a damn good explanation and an even better head-start.
Looking up from her prone position, Rouge blinked and forced her lungs to accept air once more, not quite up to the task of standing up just yet after that haymaker. A sudden presence eclipsed the light overhead and he squinted up to see Knuckles peering down at her, a smug look on his face as she guessed what had happened.
"Was it over four?"
"Four sixteen" Knuckles confirmed, "close, but no cigar". He reached down and helped the bat to her feet, gingerly letting her find her feet as he silently admired her resilience; that last punch from his sixth-father had lifted her off the floor and it was a testament to her will that she was on her feet as quickly as she was now.
"Damn", a new voice cut in, Thunderhawk rubbing a small spot on his left thigh as he looked at Rouge sternly, "I'm going to have a fine bruise there and no mistake girl".
"Well you did say not to hang back".
"I did", the lavender echidna conceded before smiling and offering his hand, "typical, good challenges are like Athair's good ideas; you wait eighty years for one and then two come along at once". Rouge smiled saucily as she shook with Knuckle's ancient relative, chiding him gently,
"Don't pick on Athair; I think he's", Rouge tried to come up with a word that could encapsulate just what Athair was, "he's, different". Thunderhawk let out a bark of laughter as he began stretching off,
"You and the rest of us, though different isn't quite the word I'd use. Now", the older Mobian reassorted his priorities and realised it was time to put the matter to bed, quite literally, "I'll show you to your room, and yes we do have a double bed, but I want your words there'll be nothing untoward under this roof". Knuckles blushed as Rouge winked at him, adding to his embarrassment as she nodded at Thunderhawk,
"Well, it'll be a struggle, but I'm sure I can convince Knuckles to keep his hands to himself for once". The sixth-father couldn't quite keep the smile off his face as Knuckles glowered at his partner while confirming the deal,
"Sometimes I think you were put on this world to embarrass me batgirl".
"You love me really".
"True, but I wonder why". Rouge pouted as she caught the echidna out again,
"Now if we hadn't just made that deal I'd give you a reminder…"
"Enough", Thunderhawk terminated that train of thought before he managed to convince himself he'd just made a horrible mistake, "just, shut up and follow me before I change my mind about this". The lavender echidna bowled out the door, partly so he could drop these two off and get to his own bed quicker but mostly so they wouldn't see the redness creeping across his own face; that bat's something else – if anyone will know it'll be Spectre, but I can't help wondering if the rules can't bend just this once.
Spectre allowed his emerald gift to sweep all areas of his ancestral home; another of his common powers allowing him to find his offspring in a confined space such as this. So far, he could tell that Athair was currently in his special room; no doubt letting out his excitement of meeting new people tomorrow; the black echidna managed to shunt his insane descendent for his mind as he located the one he needed to have a word with. As he expected, Sojourner was in his room, perfectly still and probably sleeping. Well, my dearly cherished and loved grandson; Spectre ran his lines through his head on last time as he approached the door of reckoning; you're in for a rude awakening. There it was; Spectre recognised the plain wooden door and drew back his fist to knock on it, only to see it open soundlessly in front of him. From within the darkness, a voice, a cold, hard voice that only Sojourner could have spoken, beckoned him,
"I've been expecting you grandfather; please come in". Reasserting himself from this unaccounted for start, Spectre shrugged his shoulders determinedly and walked inside, face hard and red eyes glinting as he saw the kneeling form of his grandson on the floor, facing away from him,
"Well grandson", Spectre began as he weighed up what this situation might result in, "start talking".
"What would you like me to talk about grandfather?"
"Don't play stupid with me boy", anger rose in Spectre's tone in the face of his grandson's obtuseness, "you made a complete fool out of all of us, but especially yourself, in front of Knuckles and more importantly his guest as well. Why?" Sojourner's tone never changed, even as Spectre visibly swelled with anger at the lengthening time lag. When a response came, however, it managed to do what had been thought impossible; Spectre was visibly shaken as a low, dark chuckling filled the air and his grandson rose slowly to his feet, turning to glare at his relative in equal parts malicious victory and resigned betrayal.
"The mere fact you ask that question proves what I've long suspected", Sojourner snarled at his grandfather as Spectre failed to see the point he was trying to make, "she would have been a hundred and two today; I don't ask for much Spectre, two days a year"; so that's what this is about; Spectre closed his eyes as he both cursed his grandson for his inability to rest old ghosts and his own forgetfulness in failing to remember what this day actually was as Sojourner continued, "you could have called council without me and let me make my introductions tomorrow, would that have been so difficult? No, but still you forced me to go and…"
"…And you decided to bring your grief to share", Spectre cut off the tirade before it could any further, his black robs billowing from his body as his anger began to manifest itself, "by the Master Sojourner I thought you were better than that; would Janelle-Li want you to forsake the rest of your family to remember her?" The younger echidna snorted mirthlessly as he swept his arms apart,
"I don't know, I can't exactly ask her can I?" Spectre's temper, frayed by his grandson's stubbornness, finally snapped and his voice echoed from the walls in a roar,
"Sojourner, Janelle-Li is dead! Unless you stop living in the past, you're no help to the present!" Even as he vented his frustration, Spectre realised he'd blown his chance to win this battle; anger couldn't make Sojourner see the truth, it only entrenched him further in his position of refusing to let go of his daughter, refusing to accept the truth that she was gone.
"She'll die when I die, not before", Sojourner glared right into his grandfather's crimson eyes, a fire so strong it verged on fanaticism smashing through the truth of the matter, blinding Sojourner to all points of view bar his own, "you all may be content to forget about her, but I will never betray her memory. This matter is over; I will be alone for the rest of the night". Realising that even his logic couldn't reason with the force of Sojourner's beliefs, Spectre made to depart, halting just long enough to set one thing straight,
"We will never forget Janelle-Li, Sojourner; to say so is a falsehood against all the code of the guardians stands for". When he received no reply, the black-furred elder left and slid the door shut with the finality of a coffin closing, a slight tear in his eye as he realised once again how deeply his grandson had been damaged by both his loss and his inability to accept that it had happened.
"Rouge, hand me your pillow a second"; a little perturbed by this request, the bat nonetheless handed over her head cushion, keeping a close eye on her boyfriend's movements as he took hold of it. Knuckles nodded in thanks, gently removed his own pillow from behind his head and then suddenly pressed them both down over his face, drowning his screaming in the thick material. Rouge laughed silently with him, remembering just how often she'd been forced into that little trick as the shrieks wore on, Knuckles venting all the confusion, worry and concern of a seriously tumultuous day in an understandably verbal form. She waited for the noise to abate and watched as slowly, the echidna removed the pillows from his face and offered one to her.
"Bottom one please", eyebrows raised, Knuckles swapped the pillows over and Rouge settled her head onto it, twisting over to look at him side-on and grinning, "ah, that's better; nice and toasty from all that hot air you were blasting into it". Knuckles sighed as he replaced his own head rest, worn out after a long and stressful day; he couldn't even manage to muster enough to banter with the batgirl.
"Talk to me babe", rolling his eyes over to her, Knuckles saw Rouge propped up on one elbow, looking at him expectantly as he tried to order his thoughts, "if nothing else I've got things I need to say too". Knuckles was silent for a few minutes before managing to start the ball rolling with a great heave,
"What did I do – first off I'm having a whale of a time with mum and Wynmacher; I really liked him by the way", Rouge nodded her agreement, though with everything she'd been exposed to today it felt like weeks, rather than hours, since she'd last met the brown echidna and Lara-Le herself, "then out of thin air my dad shows up and promises to help me solve the mystery of what Echidnopolis is doing here. Naturally I'm bound to go, though I'm still not sure what to do about him…" Rouge broke in here quickly,
"I have to say", he glanced over as she smiled and patted his hand under their shared blanket, "I'm impressed by that; you let him have a fair hearing rather than just flying off the handle. I doubt you're sure, but what do you think of Locke so far?" The guardian sighed and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling as he considered his answer,
"I think he was stupid, no more than that, he was incredibly stupid and wilfully blind to what he'd put mum through, but he tried to repair the damage as much as he could when he realised it. He's hurt mum and he's hurt himself to try and heal her equally badly; it's a real mess and no mistake. Thunderhawk said he was afraid that dad would be lost to grief if he carried on the way he did – I know he cocked up big style, but I don't think he deserves that, no-one does. But apart from that", he put that thorny issue aside for now and chuckled slightly as he remembered what came next, "I then meet the rest of my family, all seven generations of them, bar one" he added, respectful of his deceased fourth-mother. Rouge was curious; she had her own opinions of each of the other echidnas that shared Haven but it would be interesting to see how closely her thoughts correlated with Knuckles's,
"So, what do you think of them all?" The guardian smiled and chortled as he ticked them off on his fingers,
"Spectre seems alright, but the only thing I've got against him is the fact you can never tell just how much he knows. Still, he's got a cool head and looks like he can keep the rest of them in order. Thunderhawk's a complete warhorse – reminds me a bit of Nack in a way I suppose; not afraid to speak his mind and not much time for pleasantries", Rouge smiled as in her mind she superimposed Knuckle's sixth-father and her former guild comrade and realised he was right; Thunderhawk did have several startling similarities with the one-fanged weasel and she considered that a good thing in a way. She resumed listening to Knuckles as he realised the next echidna in the list and his tone hardened,
"Thunderhawk said there was more to Sojourner than we saw – something about how he never got over the death of his daughter, but I don't think that's an excuse to snub you the way he did. Still, I can't really judge him until I know more of the story and Thunderhawk said he'd let me in on more of it tomorrow. And then we get to Athair; the grade A lunatic".
"I liked him" Rouge mentioned innocently; Knuckles goggled at her disbelievingly as he spluttered,
"Rouge, he's completely bananas; there's not a sane bone in his body – when I was going to get hold of the others, he said I could fly and then dropped me from the ceiling to try and prove it". Rouge dissolved into a fit of the giggles as he said this, picturing the scene flawlessly as she gasped,
"And di,did you fly?"
"I glided back to the floor; he said that was the same thing. But anyway", Knuckles tried to shift the conversation away from his eccentric grandfather as thinking about him too hard gave him a headache, "the last one's Sabre – I talked to Thunderhawk about him. Apparently he's a qualified surgeon and has a weak eye, that's why he wears his monocle. So there we go; I've got a huge family on my father's side and just to top it all off they can all do emerald stunts as well. Levitation, mind reading, teleportation, the Thunder Arrow, you name it and it's in there somewhere, and just to make sure I don't feel left out they tell me I'm going to get them as well as I get a bit older".
"Yeah, that's a worry", Knuckles flicked his gaze over to the batgirl as she smirked cheekily, "you with powers like that; I shudder to think what could happen". Knuckles returned the smirk as he realised one perk those powers might have,
"Well, for a start I'll be able to tweak your ears from a distance", Rouge looked over in horror and clamped her hands over her head as Knuckles grinned, "better start getting into my good books batgirl, but I digress", the echidna got himself back on track with a resigned sigh, "so yeah, that's my family, then just to go and throw oil of the fire Spectre says that I need to invite everyone who's seen the M.E. to Haven; that means we're going to have Sonic cooped up in a place like this, Tails getting his hands on more machinery than I feel comfortable with and I barely know the Chaotix as it is. It's going to be a disaster – oww, my head hurts". Knuckles folded his hands over his muzzle, exhausted by his lengthy speech and worrying about what would happen next. As he breathed rhythmically to settle himself, he felt the weight next to him shift and Rouge's hand on his shoulder; he didn't resist as he was slowly rolled over to face her and he felt her comforting presence more up closer. Smiling, she reached forwards and placed a small kiss on his forehead, just below the hairline; Knuckles sighed and took her hand as she settled back down,
"Feel better?"
"Miles" he admitted truthfully, Rouge reassuring him as she began to speak up,
"Well, for a start as far as I can make out most of your family's cool in its own way, barring one exception", the bat wasn't quite ready to forgive Sojourner despite what Knuckles had said in his defence, "and anyway, you of all people should know Sonic's a people person; he'll get on fine here and so will Amy. Shadow's pretty quiet anyway and you said Cream really wanted to come when you offered".
"I'll say", Knuckles ran the conversation through his head again, chuckling as he recalled the young rabbit's frantic calling of her mum and endless questioning as she'd pleaded with Vanilla to be allowed to go. The echidna glanced over at Rouge, growled playfully, slid an arm under her and suddenly squeezed tight across her shoulders, smiling as she cuddled up next to him.
"Thanks batgirl".
"No problem Knucklehead", she patted his hand and stroked the fur of his guardian crest; comfortable and safe with each other, both treasure hunters drifted off into sleep once more.
The battle wore on; the being was certain it had been involved in some kind of fight, some last battle that should have decided the fate of the prize; all the power of the red was with me, and I used it against the bale green, the last hope of the enemy. It was settled on neutral ground, the others, the innocents and other warriors of both sides were shielded somehow, I can not remember the method used to… the being suddenly cut off as a very disconcerting sensation began to burn its way slowly through the host's body. She is awakening, but that should not be possible! There is still much of the night left and, it's gaze fell on the cup in front of it; for the first time since its rebirth into the flesh, the being realised the full emotion of panic; the drink! It has stimulatory properties and is causing the host consciousness to awaken! There is little time!
Amy bolted to her feet, grabbed the cup and swiftly emptied the remaining contents down the sink, rinsing it quickly as the being realised it had less than a minute left to repair as much damage as it could. The pink hedgehog lurched from the kitchen into the hall, her eyes beginning to flicker open as the being fought to retain control for just a few more seconds, sucking to remove the taste of coffee from the host's mouth. With its last effort, the being caused the host to leap into its bed and pull the covers up before rapidly slinking back into the recesses of Amy's mind, just before the host retook full control of her body.
A/N: All finished and can't you just understand why Knuckles is nervous? Next chapter come the promised pandemonium!