Chapter 3 – Moving Onwards, Looking Back.
A/N: Apologies for lateness, but a busy schedule all round meant fic suffrage. To my reviewers as always:
HHH (and Soulio of course :-)) – Of course, it had to happen, but how could you not expect Rouge not to pop the question. Come on, Knucks ain't exactly known for admitting his feelings – if she left it up to him she'd be Spectre's age before he plucked up the courage to get down on bended knee. Hopefully one of the Brotherhood can supply said courage (read on to understand)…
KawaiiKuki (KK from now on :-)) – I know it's cute, but please tell me they belong together.
Zippy-Zero (ZZ as above) – The plotter is revealed below, but you'll have to have read A Bloodstone Rose to understand properly; just a handy hint – I don't like people not getting the full picture first time round.
Sojourner started in mute astonishment; not enough that the bat woman, the careless fiend who wheedled her way into his fifth-son's naïve affections, to propose to him, but for him to accept, agree to be chained to this harpy for all time? He was almost physically sick as the realisation struck him a gut-wrenching blow, by the time his shocked mind could begin to comprehend the enormity of this, it was far too late to stop – he turned away as Rouge leeched whatever resistance Knuckles could have had left in him away through her lips. She is unworthy – my fifth-son is beguiled by her charms, nothing more; even as he thought it, he knew these words were false.
He was not so cold that he could not recognise love when he saw it; bitterly and with the greatest regret of all, there was no chance of this flame guttering in the winds of harsh reality. Knuckles had somehow forged a bond with this serpent and, much as he would like to, there was no chance of him breaking it. Or, at least, not on my own; a sudden thought slid into his mind and spread itself out like a drop of ink in water; I might, however, be able to let others take care of this – if anyone it'll be… A heavy hand descended on his shoulder and, jarred out his scheming thoughts, Sojourner found himself spun around to see his father's narrowed eyes, rimmed with flakes of dried tears but intimidating nevertheless, boring into him. Thunderhawk measured his son up for a moment before speaking in a venomous whisper,
"Try and split them up and I'll split you down the middle".
"But…"
"No Sojourner", he knew his own son well enough to cut his arguments off instantly, overriding him completely, "I've fought beside them and watched them damn near die for each other; I will be damned to Dimitri's hell of an existence before I let anyone, even my own son, stand in the way of this". Squaring up, though not quite able to meet the purple guardian's gaze, Sojourner sneered his answer back, trying to cram as much sarcasm as was Mobianly possible into the syllables,
"I trust my fifth-son's judgement", he spat the words like they were acid in his mouth before standing up, Thunderhawk's eyes tracking his every move intently, "but my opinion counts for naught; however, thankfully the others can step in and stop this idiocy in its infancy". As his father digested his words, Sojourner stood up and, with a little effort, threw a blast of green energy into the air, the echoing boom of its impact stilling the excited chatter for a minute, allowing him to speak clearly and puncture the hope before it could swell to dangerous proportions. Masking his thoughts, he let his voice ring into the silence,
"Before we get too carried away, if we're not already", he smiled, trying to kid everyone that his words were meant as nothing more than tidying bookwork rather than the scheme he had in mind, "hadn't you two better consider getting this union blessed?"
"We will – I always fancied a spring wedding, what about you Knuckles?" Rouge spoke, trying even now to figure out what Sojourner was after; she didn't buy for one second that he was just playing the concerned grandfather – something was up here, not that it mattered. He could curse and swear all he wanted, but there was no way she was going to let him ruin what Doctor Eggman, Metal sonic and Dimitri collectively hadn't been able to break. The fifth-father looked at her directly and smiled, though as she suspected the warmth didn't extend to his eyes,
"Quite, but I meant the blessing of the parents and, of course", he motioned to where Spectre sat still, the black echidna's face once more unreadable now that his shock had worn off, "the eldest guardian. It's tradition after all; and not just of the guardians if I know rightly". His tone was carefully calculated, there was just enough mild curiosity there to make the statement sound harmless, but to those who were capable of sensing it as Rouge was, the happy thought that this permission would never be granted was obvious. And worst of all; the bat thought nervously, visions of what could happen next flitting through her mind and trying to scare her; he's right.
The fifth-father kept his expression neutral; this was where it would all derail itself. Locke, he knew, was a guardian to the core; he and he alone shared Sojourner's knowledge of the strength that came from denial and how it would help Knuckles in the long run. It would hurt, and hurt badly, being denied this one thing, but when the wound healed over time; and it will heal, for Knuckles is strong; he would emerge stronger and a better guardian for it. As nervous glances were exchanged throughout the chamber and unquiet whisperings filled the air, he saw his fourth-son steel himself. Locke is shielded from pain by exposure to pain; Sojourner thought as he sat down, not registering the death glare Thunderhawk sent his way and the mental abuse that went with it; now it his duty to strengthen his son in the same way. Sojourner was not alone as his eyes followed every movement the previous guardian made towards his son, stopping only when he was arms-length from Knuckles and looking him dead in the eye,
"You love this girl?" The younger echidna hadn't dropped his arm from around Rouge's shoulder, and now that arm tightened its hold as he answered,
"I do".
"You would lay your life down for her?"
"He already did once"; looking around, the fifth-father saw his own father half-stood, pointing at Knuckles and then at Rouge, "they both have; I was there Locke, I saw it". The scientist nodded, accepting his fifth-father's point and turning back; there was a brief pause before his voice spoke once more,
"She's more important to you than the Master?" There was no hesitation,
"She is, by a long shot".
Wrong answer; Sojourner had to bite his lip to keep the satisfied smirk off his face; this proved his suspicions. The bat was poison, diverting Knuckle's attention away from his blood-bound duty; now Locke had no choice but to draw out this venom, however much it might hurt his son, however many tantrums he may have to endure. He expected the pronouncement and the universal cries of disgust and denial by the guardian's friends; what he did not expect was for his fourth-son to suddenly smile inexplicably, place his hand gently on his son's shoulder and say,
"Then you have my blessing; both of you. Look out for each other" with warmth, genuine warmth in his voice. Sojourner slumped down in his seat; how had that been possible, had Locke gone mad? Could he not see this was a fatal weakness in Knuckle's guardianship, that there could be nothing in his eyes worth more than the jewel he was destined to protect? While he was furiously trying to grapple his own split mind with fury at Locke's stupidity and panic that his plan had not worked yet, Knuckles for the first time felt something like a glimmer of gratefulness for his father stir up in his soul; slowly, he brought his own hand to cover his father's not breaking eye contact as he felt Locke register the contact.
"Thanks dad"; Locke nodded and stepped back, inclining his head towards the next obstacle in their path – it was Rouge who understood and twisted around to where Spectre sat brooding,
"Well, what have you got to say about this; I'll make it simple. Say yes and we'll get married, everyone's happy, say no and we'll get married anyway". The black echidna's face didn't change, not a muscle twitched as he slowly extended a hand and beckoned,
"Come". Sharing a look and a joint shrug, both treasure hunters approached the eldest guardian; he in turn brought forth his other hand, ready for the procedure he was to undertake. Common sense told both Rouge and Knuckles what was coming next and without a hint of self-consciousness, they brought themselves forwards, allowing Spectre into their minds. Strangely though, he didn't reach up to touch their faces, instead he merely growled,
"Hands". Two gloves hit the floor and both now naked appendages were extended forwards; Spectre took hold of both in each of his hands – it was only then that anyone realised his hands were still covered but before there was a reaction to this, he chuckled,
"No need for my unique gift here; I have seen enough".
With that, he slowly brought his hands together in front of him, allowing the new couple to join their hands. When this was done, he removed his own paws and, leaning forwards, carefully kissed the united paws. As this ancient blessing was witnessed by the Brotherhood of Guardians and their guests, there was an angered shout and a flare of green light as a raging mind forced itself away from this conclave of fools; this will destroy him – love will hurt you in the end – I know this and know what the outcome of this must be.
XXX
As Sojourner vanished, Tails, who was closest, had managed to catch a glimpse of his face and the look of such pained anguish had taken his breath away. Recovering, the kit turned to the room at large and asked,
"Geez, what's up with him?"
"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow", Spectre said brusquely, cursing his grandson again for his seeming desire to crush all happiness from the world and let it join him in misery; thrusting aside all these thoughts with an effort, he looked up once more to his youngest son and the partner he had chosen and who, in return, had chosen him as the one she wished to spend the rest of her life with,
"You both have my blessing and the blessing of the Brotherhood of Guardians…"
"Barring one exception" Sonic cut in, eyes fixed on Sojourner's vacated chair; Spectre frowned for a second before returning to the topic with a start,
"Yes, well, as I was saying, none of us will oppose this union; Knuckles, you have only your mother to speak to and Rouge, your family must be contacted at some stage to inform them of your decision. I will personally ensure any message you send will be delivered with the maximum expediency". The bat flattened her ears in deference and decided this was time to bring her secret into the open; straightening up with a crooked smile, she answered the eldest guardian,
"My thanks, but that'll be unnecessary Spectre; I, er, I don't have a family you see. My mother died when I was young and I, can't remember my father". Spectre's eyes widened; there was a little bit more to this than she'd let on but he wasn't going to press now; there were far more important things on the agenda. The eldest settled back and smiled,
"In that case, someone had better alert Lara-Le to the fact her son's now engaged".
"And that will be me; I leave now", Knuckles said immediately, standing tall as he imagined his mother's face at this new development; now he really had something she could be proud of, "Rouge, will you…?"
"I, er, I don't think that's a good idea Knucks", the bat shook her head, trying to put herself in Lara's shoes as she explained, "this is going to be a big shock for her, so you'd be better off going alone and telling her, then leaving it overnight ad bringing her here; give her some time to come to terms with this".
"A wise suggestion", Sabre said mildly, looking at the bat who would become his granddaughter-in-law with new respect, "it's getting on, so the sooner you leave the better it'll be".
"Right", the guardian gave his future wife a final, long kiss and made to leave, run to his mother and tell her the good news when someone asked in a hesitant, shy voice that really didn't suit him,
"Can I come?"
Tails looked up as Knuckles glanced at him, ecstatic grin still in place as suddenly he changed course and ended up in front of the fox. Sinking to one knee, the echidna looked him right in the eyes and grinned,
"Tails, my mum would love to meet you; of course you're coming; you two as well", he span suddenly and pointed at Sonic and Shadow, "she's going to have to see the best man and his best friend isn't she?"
"Careful" Cream raced over and quickly set her shoulder to buoy up Amy's slipping form; in shock Sonic had let his arms slip and her still-injured feet were sliding dangerously close to the floor. The blue hedgehog regathered both himself and his new girlfriend and whispered an apology that Amy laughed off,
"Don't worry Sonic; drop me off in the hospital wing and then get organised with this lot". The blue hedgehog smiled and, caught up in the spur of the moment, leant down to kiss her gently, whispering his thanks and assurances that as soon as he was able to he'd introduce her to the echidna lady he was about to meet. Spectre watched this new scene of celebration with a reminiscing mind, letting his unique gift remind him of his own proposal to his future wife; it was as he was at his weakest that someone snapped a trap they'd had in mind for a while,
"Fifth-father", it was Sabre speaking, "would you mind if I organised this little trip? They'll never get there otherwise"; can't deny him that; Spectre chuckled as he saw Athair dancing some kind of aerial ballet with Rouge, yelling he had a third-daughter to be proud of now. Just this once though, his madness couldn't get Spectre's back up.
"Very well fifth-son; get them organised and get them to Lara's; invite her to Haven to see Rouge once more if she gives her blessing".
"Of course fifth-father"; he heard movement by his side and, grateful that he now had no deliberate interactions, Spectre closed his eyes and enjoyed his mental memories of his own courtship; just as well really, for had he kept his eyes open, he might have seen he was being hoodwinked good and proper and then his temper might have come back to the fore.
XXX
A short while later, Cream was skipping down one of Haven's innumerable tunnels, sometimes with her feet on the ground, sometimes in the air and really not caring either way; she could never remember being this happy for anything in the past. Suddenly the grim shadow of her imposing school term was something to be cherished rather than dreaded, for she'd be able to tell her friends that she was going to a wedding soon. I'm so happy for them, they're going to be so happy together, I know Lara's going to be happy when she hears about this. I'm glad that Sonic, Tails and Mr Shadow will get to meet her at last – heck, I'm lost and I don't care, I'm happy about it. The last thought was true; she didn't recognise any of this place but she really couldn't have cared less; all she wanted to do now was run and run until she couldn't go any further; joy and love were fuelling her and she could have run forever. However, this period of eternal merriment was to be brought to a sudden end by no fault of her own, but rather by the accidental forgetfulness of another.
Locke had fully intended to repair the wiring that powered Haven's light source, the fact it had shorted out when his son and his then-girlfriend had just arrived had been hugely embarrassing. He normally prided himself on his excellent memory, but the events that had happened since then had pushed all thoughts of mundane tasks such as soldering in new wires to replace the burnt out ones had been shunted from his head completely and now the price was to be paid. Finally, having lasted much longer than it should have done anyway, the jury-rigged repairs he had affected weeks before finally gave up the ghost. With a sudden pop audible throughout the entire base, Haven was plunged into darkness.
The sudden darkness stopped her cold, but due to her excitedly happy mood it did nothing to scare as it normally might have done, it rather did the opposite. Who turned out the lights?; she giggled at her own thought at the same time as trying to remember what Mr Spectre had said the first time she'd been introduced to him. The rabbit concentrated, thinking hard to recall his words; right, I think he said that the rooms, they're lit differently to the corridors; she scratched her chin as she tried to picture the black echidna rising to greet her, hear his old but still deep voice roll towards her and the knowledge he had tried to impart; if I go into one, I have to just clap and maybe a light will come on. That was right; assured now, the rabbit crossed the corridor slowly, feeling gingerly with her feet to avoid stubbing a toe as she eventually felt the smooth wall under her glove. Flushed with success, she then began to creep along the side of the passage, alert to any cracks or changes in textures that may have been a door. In the darkness time was immaterial, she didn't know how long she kept up this slow but steady progress until finally, she came to a protrusion from the wall. Aha; she sized it up with her fingers and recognised it almost at once; it's a hinge, so that means there should be…oh yes, a handle!
Amazed at her own calm and powers of deduction in the face of this sudden change of circumstance, the rabbit grinned as she opened the door she'd found and slipped inside. However, the darkness hid all from her, including something very important that would otherwise have kept her well away; due to Locke's error, Cream was unable to see the large red X sprayed on the front of the door.
XXX
The lights popped out and there was a load of panicked muttering, the two echidnas, two hedgehogs and one fox jumped up as the light was extinguished completely, leaving them in the pitch dark. Knuckles heard the leader of the bunch swear under his breath before speaking out loud,
"Fantastic; very well, everyone listen to me – much as this may pain you, link hands and I'll walk you to where we need to go", thankfully there weren't as many complaints as he had feared and after a couple of seconds of fumbling about in the blackness, a hand tapped him on the shoulder,
"Okay, I think we're ready to roll".
"Nice work grandson, now come on all of you; the vehicle's bay isn't far from here".
"Can we go in the Tornado; been a while since I let her out for a spin?" The youth in the voice stopped the train for a second as a shocked answer filtered back to Tails in the rear,
"You can drive?"
"Yeah, I can fly too if that'll help". Not at this precise moment in time; with a yank, the crocodile restarted once more with the hurried promise of,
"Yeah, that's not a problem; now let's go – we can't keep Lara waiting"; and believe you me, if Spectre find out what I'm doing and catches me before we're out this base I'll need more than the Master to save my butt!
XXX
Fortunately she was right; with a single clap, the lights came on overhead but were set a little too brightly for her to cope with at once. Holding her hands over her eyes, Cream rubbed vigorously until the shock of such bright light faded and she was eventually able to see where she was. It was a bit of a hazy picture at first, but eventually she was able to take a good look at where she'd ended up this time.
It looked like a bedroom and, as she walked a few paces further into this strange new area, she rapidly deduced it was a lady's bedroom. There was a small bed tucked up against one wall far from her with a little table by the head of it and a wardrobe by the foot, the door slightly open and allowing her a glimpse of a few items of clothing hung up neatly and, she squinted a bit, in what looked like a colour scheme. A bit like a rainbow; the rabbit thought as her attention turned to the main feature of this place; the large dressing table that stood proudly at the head of the room, the large oval mirror atop it still reflecting the light dimly despite a coating of dust she could have written her name in.
It was only when Cream saw this that she was able to look around again and see things more clearly that she realise this place, as her mother would have said, would never have passed the white glove test. It was neat and tidily kept, there was no argument there, but the dust was inches thick in some places, rising in puffs as she moved around, tickling her nose and forcing her to stifle sneezes as she moved over to the dresser, compelled to find out more about the owner of this seemingly forgotten resting place. The dressing table had been built for someone a little bigger than her; she had to hop up onto the seat and even then the surface came up to her mid-chest, forcing her to stretch for things as her inquisitiveness got the better of her.
She picked up and dusted off one of the neatly arranged items that littered the top of this deserted work surface; a hairbrush – this is definitely a woman's room. The rabbit set the grooming equipment back down as a belated sense of intrusion set in on her; this was a private place she had no right to be in, but it was dark outside. Surely the owner of this bedroom wouldn't mind her staying until someone figured out the lights and she could go outside without risking falling and breaking her neck. Shrugging as she realised for that reason alone she was caught here for a while, Cream slid back to the floor, holding her nose against the aggravating dust that swirled upwards from her landing. She watched on as the aerosolised particles caught and shimmered in the light from overhead; fairy dust Vanilla had once called it. As the small dust motes swam in the air, glinting and shining in an intricate pattern, Cream suddenly heeded a sudden, unavoidable urge to yawn; strength seemed to drain out of her as something about this room infected her with an overwhelming tiredness. The rabbit rubbed her eyes and yawned again; I need to crash; that bed, small and dusty as it was, suddenly began singing a lullaby she couldn't resist. Dragging her feet and fighting to keep her eyes open, Cream flopped against the side of the bed and then dragged herself up on top of it, the climb feeling as long as trying to conquer one of the smaller Himalayas. She straightened out at the top, her head touched the pillow and she was gone already, dead to the world.
XXX
It's not possible; Sojourner paced around his room, dire thoughts and scheme, each more unlikely and far-fetched as the previous one, collided and swirled inside his head; my fifth-son could never marry someone like her, it undermines him. There again the same argument, the same lie covering the truth he had buried deep within himself, the truth nothing his family said would ever make him see. He couldn't stop this process now; Locke and Spectre had seen to that – if he'd had the chance he might have gone up against Locke and tried to convince him this was the wrong thing for Knuckles but the second Spectre had sealed the deal that was it. More to distract himself from these dire thoughts than anything else, the fifth-father sent out a mental pulse, scanning for all the guests in Haven...
…and stopped dead in his tracks.
For a second he refused to believe it; there was no way this could be, but as he rescanned and checked his emerald powers, he knew it was. This is too much; it took a lot to get Sojourner angry, whatever the rest of his family might say – snappy and argumentative he was as a matter of course, but properly, bone-breaking angry was a rare thing for the former guardian. The inside of his room glowed green as the fires of rage, hot as hell's furnace, sprang up over his body; with a mental thrust he blew the door to his room off its hinges and rushed outside, too wrathful to even consider using his unique gift as all his thoughts raced down the same lines to one terrible word; desecraters!
XXX
The Tornado rumbled smoothly to a stop under the directions of the backseat driver; Tails applied the handbrake and popped open his door as there was a general dismounting all around, the happy banter that had filled the inside to the jeep mode on the way here continuing outside.
"How far away are we?" Sonic looked ready to go as he looked at their guide, revving up to get them all their in seconds; however, the former guardian raised a hand to forestall him,
"Wait, wait; more haste less speed; let's look at this from Lara's point of view. How's she going to feel if all of us turn up at once? I reckon one of us aught to go on ahead and warn her she's got company, and I reckon it aught to be you Tails". The fox looked up sharply at the mention of his name, eyes wide,
"What, why me?" The echidna laughed,
"For want of a better word, you're cute; she'll like you more than she'll like any of these reprobates", Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles all glowered good-naturedly as he pointed them out, "turning up on her doorstep. For another, you can fly and get there quickest, it's a bit of a walk. Anyway I already marked the route from here; just follow this and you'll get there in no time, feeling up to it?"
"You bet"; the fox took the slip of paper passed to him and then took to the air, calling over his shoulder, "I'll tell her you won't be long".
"Good, see you there TT" Shadow called as, just behind him, someone rubbed their hands; now Tails was gone, his plan could get to the next stage. Clearing his throat, he gathered their attention,
"Right, everyone follow me; we're taking a short detour".
"No way", as he'd expected, Knuckles raised a paw and shook his head, "nothing's going to stop me seeing mum and telling her what's going on". Time for the 'pleading old man' routine;
"Ah, come on, we'll only be a few minutes; just let me celebrate with my grandson". He'd weakened; Knuckles looked troubled, then Sonic stepped in to deliver the killer blow,
"Yeah Knucks, let's do this; we've got all night and I'm sure we won't be long".
"Well", the guardian finally collapsed, eliciting a silent sigh of relief, "okay; what have you got in mind?"
"Don't worry, it's on the way", as the others fell into line behind him, two non-spurred paws rubbed together in glee; he was going to regret this in the morning in at least two dimensions and Spectre would probably never let him leave Haven again, but to hell with that; now he was living for tonight.
XXX
He was there, the glow of his powers reflecting off the wall behind him and silhouetting him in an eerie green light as he forced himself to calm down; he could not damage the entrance to this sacred place, even if there was a foul desecrator within; it had pained him to even mark the door even when Locke had assured him the paint was water-soluble. Reaching forwards slowly, the fifth-father whispered a promise to his absent daughter that whatever had occurred within, he would set right, before pushing the door open and striding inside. His eyes looked around, and the memories of Janelle-Li and the sight before him allowed the past and the present, for the briefest moment, to touch.
She had been resting, facing away from him; with a smile, Sojourner stepped forwards to admonish his slovenly daughter.
"Hey sleepy-head, wake up", she was playing hard to get up; normally she was a light sleeper; well two could play at that game – with an evil look in his eye, Sojourner stepped right up to the bed and slid his arm under the blanket, making his final threat,
"Janelle-Li, if you don't get up this instant, I will hold your knee until you go blue in the face"; that should have done it; Jan hated her knees being touched, couldn't stand it and screamed if anyone tried; one of the worst punishments grandfather Hawking could dish out was tormenting her like that telekinetically. But this time it didn't, she still refused to stir; Sojourner blinked in surprise, this wasn't like her at all and he was beginning to feel uneasy. To prevent himself think too far on, he carried out his promised threat, fully expecting her to hit the roof and squeal blue bloody murder all through Haven. The second he touched though, he knew with a sickening lurch that something was wrong,
Her skin was icy cold; Sojourner leapt back, not believing that such cold existed within his warm, loving daughter. His head swam as he remained stock still for an instant, a hideous eternity when he realised he could hear no breathing save his own panicked lungs. He refused to believe, couldn't believe,
"Jan", he raced over once more, denial in his voice and panic in his heart as he gripped her shoulder under the cover, "Jan, wake up!" He didn't want to, but had no choice; with a tug, he rolled her body over to face him, looking at her peaceful, sleeping face, the way it now seemed to be carved from white marble, so pale did it appear under the soft beige fur. Sojourner knew there could be no other reason, knew he would never see her soft green eyes open once more, but couldn't accept it; with a scream of denial, of loss and despair, he felt himself falling down a long, dark tunnel, and he knew there was no escape from this nightmare.
Sojourner fell to his knees as the memory was triggered and the past super-imposed itself over the scene now; for a split-second, he had confused the beige fur of the rabbit and the echidna he had loved above all others and from that there had been no return. His powers fled under the emotional weight that crashed down; he knew that if he took another step, the rabbit wouldn't wake just as his daughter had failed to, and he would be responsible for snuffing out another life that had yet to be lived fully. Tears coursed down his face, the agony of loss and blame his once more to shoulder and he couldn't bear it, it had already broken him. He was forced to his hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably as his already shattered heart was fractured into ever-smaller pieces. There was no-one who could help and he wished for death, anything was better than this.
"Mr Sojourner!" He felt a hand on his shoulder, then another; someone was lifting him up and supporting him, though they couldn't bear his weight fully; he still had one hand on the floor, "Mr Sojourner, what's wrong?" As if he could talk at a time like this, all hat he knew was grief, but it was suddenly not all; a tiny ray of sunshine entered his mind and he had just enough strength to raise his head and see the one who had come to his aid,
"C,Cream?"
The rabbit had always been a light sleeper and as such had been started to wakefulness by the sound of a heavy thud behind her. As she had rolled over, fear had gripped her at the sight that met her startled eyes; for a second she had thought the echidna in the doorway was having some kind of fit, but it had been the look on his face that had really shocked her; he looked like he were dying, or actually wanted to die rather than live on in the pain he was in. He was on his knees and then fell further; tears had flooded from his eyes and that had galvanised her to act, her heart was too soft to see someone crying and carry on turning a blind eye. She threw herself off the bed and raced over to his side,
"Mr Sojourner", he didn't seem to hear her so, mustering her courage, she tried again, "Mr Sojourner, what's wrong?" Should I get help?; she darted a glance through the open door and saw to her horror it was still black as pitch outside – there was nowhere she could go and…
"C,Cream?" The voice was strangled and wracked with sobs, but it felt like her heart finally began to slow down as the echidna at her feet looked up with something like wonder in his face, "you, you're alive?"
The question was like being drenched in ice water, but she still thought he best idea was to answer truthfully,
"Yes, I, er, I'm fine; what's going on Mr Sojourner; you're not all right?" She was right there, he was crying still, but now it appeared less dramatic, less traumatised as with a visible effort he tried to pull himself together and, with a little helping push from the rabbit, managed to get himself to his knees and croak,
"No, no I, forgive me, I was, lost for a moment". This didn't make sense to her, he knew that from her face and, with a sickening certainty he knew he owed her an explanation as to why. Slowly and carefully recovering his feet, he beckoned and led the rabbit from the room, the home of so many of his old ghosts, and gently shut the door behind him, sealing them away in their crypt for a little longer.
"I'm sorry", Cream said the words that sprang to her mind instinctively; I wasn't supposed to be in there and because of that I caused this; "I shouldn't have…"
"Not, your fault", the echidna suddenly answered; it sounded like he was trying to mop up his tears as the sniffles in the dark sounded again, "I was, taken aback". The rabbit wetted her lips, morbidly curious as to what had caused him to break down like that,
"By what, Mr Sojourner?"
"That room"; I owe her an explanation, she's seen too much to be satisfied with less; the fifth-father tried to explain in the simplest terms, grateful for the darkness concealing his expressions s the wrenched his face, "once, it was my daughters".
"You had a daughter?" Cream hadn't heard this before and questions clouded her mind; there must be a female guardian "where is…?"
It was then, with a heinous twist of her guts, that the knowledge of what that room was, must still be, slammed down onto her like a wave of Antarctic water; that explains the dust but why it was still tidy – oh no, I really shouldn't have gone in there!
"Oh Mr Sojourner", the rabbit reached out in the dark and touched skin; heeding her most basic instinct the young girl hugged the relatively diminutive guardian, "I'm sorry, to you and, her; I didn't mean to, I couldn't see". He was taken aback by the contact; when was the last time I let someone this close; his mind couldn't remember so it must have been a long time. For a second he was still and then, aware she was about to cry over something beyond her control if he didn't do something, he forced out a gruff chuckle and prised her arms free,
"There's nothing to forgive Cream; how could you see anything when the lights had blown?" He heard rather than saw her withdraw and continued, reaching out his own arm and taking a very soft hold of her arm,
"I'll take you back to your room, is that all right?" she murmured something about that being fine before he continued, "okay, I'll leave you there; I have some things to do afterwards; and some news to impart.
XXX
Lara-Le straightened up suddenly; as she was in the middle of washing her not inconsiderable dreadlocks, this was undoubtedly a bad thing as they immediately slapped down the dressing gown she was wearing and promptly soaked it completely. She sighed in annoyance as she habitually reached for a towel, wondering what could have caused her to imagine a knock at the door at this hour. Of course, as soon as she finished taming her still damp curls it came again, slightly louder and more impatient this time as she gasped suddenly; it must be Wyn – who else would it be this late at night? What could he want, I hope everything's okay.
"All right, I'm coming", she called as she hastily smoothed out her dressing gown and moved swiftly out the bathroom of her home, absent-mindedly taking the keys from their normal hook with minimal difficulty as she ran over a possible load of scenarios in her mind; his house had burned down, there was a family tragedy in this part of town or, as had happened before in the past, he'd forgotten to pay his rent and needed a place to crash until he sorted the mess out. Dozy get – he'd lose his head if it wasn't glued to his shoulders; with this thought in her mind and a chuckle on her lips, Lara unlocked and opened her front door, to see something she really hadn't bargained on seeing stood right on her doorstep,
"Hi, um, is this Ms Le's home?"
She blinked, blinked again and shut the door for a few seconds, leaning against it for a few seconds as she ran a hand over her face; I've been working too hard – too many night shifts have done weird things with my mind, that's what it is. I'll open the door again and it'll be Wyn. Squaring her shoulders, the female echidna gripped onto the door handle and threw the door open once more; the sudden movement sent the strange furry thing jumping backwards, arm raised as though he'd been ready to knock again. Two nervous blue eyes locked with her green ones as the creature looked up and attempted a weak smile,
"Hello, are you, er, Lara-Le? This is her house right?"
"Um, yes, she is, I mean, I am", she forced her confusion down and managed to beat some semblance of order into her mind as the sight of this strange being had thrown her completely off track, "I am Lara-Le and this is my house". The smile broadened and a sigh of relief filled the air,
"Thank goodness for that, I thought I'd got the wrong address; I know your son Knuckles, I'm a friend of his; call me Tails". Lara shut her eyes for a second, a dim memory of a conversation she'd had with her boy not a few days back whispered back to her as she tried to remember what he'd said about his friends,
"Right, yes I remember Knuckles saying, you're a…fox, right?"
"Yep, that's me", Tails confirmed before Lara suddenly remembered where they still were,
"Please forgive me, come in, it must be perishing out there"; she held the door open a little wider, letting the smaller Mobian slip past into the warm confines of the hall. She shut the door with a slam and turned to face him, drinking in every detail as she now realised he wasn't a threat; and why his name's Tails come to that. For his part, the kit whistled softly as he glanced around, finding the change in scenery and taste from Haven no doubt as interesting as Lara-Le must have found him. There was a little pause before Lara made a brave stab at conversation,
"Sorry for not being a hundred percent ready", she apologised, indicating her still damp dressing gown, "I was washing my hair". To her relief, he laughed,
"Been there and done that; if any of us knew Knuckles was washing his hair close by, the first thing we did was break out the umbrellas". The mention brought her back to an original point she wanted answering,
"You know my son well then?"
"Fairly, I mean we were a bit standoffish when he thought we were after the Master Emerald but…" Her blood ran cold,
"Shhh", she looked around as though expecting to see half a dozen ears sticking out the wall; Tails whispered in alarm,
"What, did I say something wrong?"
"You know about the Master?"
"Yeah, but; oh I see", the pieces clicked into place and tails stood up again, though he was thoughtful enough to keep his voice low, "don't worry; I and everyone else, even Cream; you met her this morning right?" the echidna lady nodded and he carried on, "well we all know about it and we're all safe with the knowledge; Spectre's made sure of that".
"Spectre, he'd be Knuckles", Lara held a hand to her head; one of the downsides of guardians living so long was that it was a real tax to try and remember which one was which in relation to the other, "sixth, no seventh-father now wouldn't he?"
"Something like that; but anyway, he can mind-read and according to him, we're all safe to know, though on the other hand I'd have hated to see what would have happened if he thought we weren't".
"Nothing gentle I can assure you; he was a right old battleaxe when I met him, I can't imagine age mellowing him out much", a sudden thought seemed to occur to her, "you've met the Brotherhood of Guardians?"
"All of them", Tails affirmed; catching her questioning look he decided it'd be best to make that concrete, "and just for the record, thought he's nutty as a fruitcake Athair is great". Yep, she's met him; she had what Tails had termed the 'Athair shudder' – every time he asked about Knuckle's third-father, every one of the Brotherhood gave that little twitch and grimace of annoyance, even Knuckles.
With the situation now much more at ease, Lara showed Tails into her modest living room, asked if he'd like anything to drink and fixed a small coffee for herself. As she blew the musky smoke curls from the top of the mug, she glanced over at her guest once more; he seems alright, but it looks like something eating him. That much was certainly true; since he'd got settled in, Tails didn't seem to be able to sit still; he was restless and constantly twisting and wringing his hands – Lara had worked with a few hyperactive children in her time and prayed inwardly this wasn't another case. Deciding being forthright was the best manner, she looked over and asked frankly,
"Hey Tails, is something bothering you?" The kit met her eye nervously; I can't tell her – that's Knuckles' job; it was hard though; he thought keeping Sonic's middle name in was hard, but this was pure torture,
"No, I, er, I'm fine".
"Really", no, please don't press me, "I don't think that's right; tell me what's wrong". It was a white-hot steam of pure energy, craving release but he couldn't grant it,
"Nothing; it's Knuckles, he'll…"; Lara's eyes suddenly hardened at the mention of her son's name,
"What about Knuckles?" she stood up and seemed to tower over Tails, the fox suddenly cowering back as she loomed large over him, "he's my son and if anything's up with him, I want to know about it". Those words did it; with something like an internal sun ionising his inside, Tails seized on those words as a form of permission and vented his pent-up news with a blurted statement,
"He'sengagedtoRouge!"
Lara staggered backwards as though she'd been struck a physical blow; my son, is going to be married. Tails saw her knees shake and threw himself over to behind her chair, quickly pushing it underneath her as she collapsed onto it, breathing in deep, gasping breaths,
"Listen, it's all fine", Tails tried to reassure her as best he could, "I know they love each other, they'd do anything for each other; I heard them confess it – trust me, it'll all be okay". She didn't ear any of his words, just his voice, and that was enough to send a dagger in her heart,
"Why didn't, why didn't he come? Why didn't he tell me himself?"
"Oh for, I'm so stupid", she looked around to see Tails slap his forehead with his fist before looking at her with eyes full of apology, "I forgot, he is coming; Knuckles is on his way here; he wanted to see you, they're walking here now; him, Sonic and Shadow", he left of the name of the guide as he couldn't quite remember it and, more importantly, Lara had suddenly started crying gently. With a strange, quirky smile on his face, the fox just patted her shoulder, nodding in agreement as he listened to her,
"I knew, first time I saw them together; I found him, and she was there as well. She wanted to leave, but he didn't let her, wanted her to be there as I spoke to him. I knew then; oh by the spirit of the Master, my baby's going to be married, and I know he's going to be a wonderful husband". She beamed even as the tears fell, the young fox by her side listening to her and helping her through this period of acceptance, even if he didn't know he was doing it consciously.
XXX
Having left Cream in her room, Sojourner once more pushed the door to his last nightmare open and crept quietly inside; moving over to the bed, he looked down and traced a single finger down the indent the slumbering rabbit had made. His eyes screwed tightly shut almost involuntarily; still warm; her body heat lingered and enriched that which for so long had been barren of life. He lifted his touch unwillingly, even though he knew Janelle could not have caused this heat now, it was so hard to break the endearing illusion. Leaving the bed, he turned his gaze to the bedside table, and possibly the most treasured thing he still possessed; picking it up reverently in his hand, he wiped the thin coat of dust from atop it and, looking once more on her smiling, happy feature, spoke to her as he did once a year,
"Hey Jan", his tone was soft, as though soothing the fears of a child plagued with nightmares, "it's me, dad's here. I've got some news for you now; there's going to be a new member of our family". His lips creased into a snarl as he vented the spleen he still carried for the one who would soon become his fifth daughter-in-law; Jan would know, Jan would understand,
"She's a bat called Rouge and for the life of me I can't see what fifth-son sees in her; she's rude, arrogant, sarcastic, she even tried to steal the Master and", this was it, the final, unbearable gap that forever placed Rouge beyond his reconciliation, "she's so much like you; she'll break his heart when her time comes".
And come it will; the glass covering the old picture was cleansed with tears as Sojourner grieved not for himself, as the rest of the Brotherhood thought he did, but for his family, for those who had yet to know of his pain. The guardians had a long life, necessitated by their sacred duty to the Master Emerald, but always there was a price to pay; that they would see their loved ones age and pass away far before they ever would. Every guardian felt that pain but only Sojourner, who had been exposed to it not once with his wife, but twice with his daughter as well, could fully understand it. To love someone dearly, as closely as he had loved his daughter, and then for them to be snatched away, taken before their time by either old age or most recently divorce, was a pain to make death seem a mercy. Is it not better to never make an attachment, never to know love, than risk it cripple you so?; it was a catch twenty-two and Sojourner knew that – the guardians must continue their bloodline, but always at the cost of their own hearts. He hated that fact but could not, could never conceive of cursing the Master Emerald, so contented himself with the next best target; those that would marry the guardians and win their hearts as Rouge had done. Always this conundrum – the guardians will grieve; yet there was hope too, and recent events had stirred such hope in him that he had not felt in years; the portents were gathering, the time was near; until the last prophecy is made clear.
XXX
Spectre settled down; it had been a long day of high emotion and great joy – his seventh-son was to be married, and a fine bride he had. And a bold one at that – a guardian proposed, can't ever remember hearing of that before; oh well, that was something for him to scribe in the annals of history, a new chapter of the guardian's lives. The black echidna eased off his helmet, grateful that it's weight was now gone and, as he normally did, gave a last look around Haven; as he expected, Athair had been zipping around even more than usual and was now thankfully taking an early night, Sojourner was for some reason he alone knew in Janelle-Li's old room, Sabre was at his practice and…; wait, Sabre? No, he's on the surface, with…no, he can't of, not even he would…oh yes, he can and he has!
Spectre's eyes shot open, black smoke curling from under his robes as he saw through the trick; he must have faked his fifth-son's voice when Spectre was caught in the celebrations and not really paying attention, then snuck out the base in the confusion. And not alone either; Spectre's nostrils flared as anger consumed him and his gifts realised just how many people he'd managed to drag into this scheme, one of them a minor of all things. The black echidna knew it was childish, knew he was more than old enough to know better and knew most of all he didn't care,
"I'LL KILL 'IM!" Even before the shout died away, he was gone to make use of the fattest and least well-used book in even his extensive library.
XXX
"Where the heck are they?" Tails asked himself for at least the fifteenth time, chin on his fist as he looked at the clock; okay he'd been flying some of the time, but still an hour was too long, something had gone wrong. Lara dabbed her eyes again and smiled, though she failed to hide her own growing concerns completely,
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll get here soon; Locke knows the way like the back of his hand, he's probably just…stopped for a few minutes". To her surprise, Tails chuckled,
"That's no use as it wasn't Locke who got us here"; this simple statement caused a very familiar scent to tickle Lara's nose, and that scent was danger,
"Wait, Locke didn't bring you?"
"No, he ah"; tricky ground, don't mention the D-word just in case; "he had to help Spectre at Haven, the lights have all blown".
"Right, okay, so which one of the grandfathers brought you?" Please say Sabre please say Sabre; no such luck as Tails scratched the side of his face,
"Umm, it was Thunderbird, something like that; the purple one; is that bad?" he added as he saw Lara slump down and hide her face in her hands, a muffled groan all that could be heard; if the stories Locke told me were anything to go by yes that's a very bad thing. She finally realised what the delay was and just about mustered the energy to raise her head and answer when, with perfect timing, a crisp note sounded and her communication disc went off. Tails fell silent and listened whole-heartedly to the side of the conversation he could hear,
"Hello? Ah, Spectre, you must have read my mind", Lara was being as sarky as Sojourner could be; Tails had a fleeting image of the black guardian with the phone held well away from his ear by this point before she carried on after a pause, "things are fine, bar one; my son's gone AWOL and I have here a charming and very pleasant young fox", were it not for the sarcasm Tails would have blushed at the compliment, "who says that he was coming to see me to tell me of his engagement to Rouge the bat". There was another short pause,
"Right, well all's well so far; he then says that you let Thunderhawk come along to show him and his friends the way here, is this right?" The fox watched on with interest and not a little concern as Lara's fixed smile suddenly chilled in to a bare-fanged snarl,
"I see", her knuckles were whitening around the appliance, "well, what time should I expect them? Any time, that's useful Spectre as always". A second past before Tails literally dived behind his seat; Lara had shot to her feet and bellowed down the phone,
"NOT YOUR FAULT! You listen to me; this is the most important news of my life and it might be delayed because of guardian incompetence; if Thunderhawk's done what I think he has, you can forget the coffin; I'll mail him back to Haven in a matchbox! I will be there tomorrow, I want to see my future daughter-in-law looking like a super star and believe me if she isn't it won't just be heads rolling. Goodnight!" There was a very audible click as Tails imagined she killed the transmission and just stayed put; maybe if he kept very quiet and motionless, she'd forget he was there. For a few minutes he thought he'd done it until,
"You can come out Tails; I promise I'm safe", he risked a flashed glance before finally exposing himself, trying to contain his shivers and put some spine back in his voice as he stuttered,
"What, was you know, all…" The female echidna sighed and motioned for him to sit down, now looking more weary and resigned than actually angry,
"Well I know what's caused the delay", was there a hint of amusement there now as she shook her head, Tails plucking up the courage to ask,
"Something to do with Thunderhawk?"
"Oh yes, everything to do with him; apparently he's got a very unique way of celebrating good news involving weddings", seeing his look of slight disbelief she sighed once more and finished, "do you know what a stag night is supposed to be?"
"Oh no", horror and complete, utter hilarity warred within Tails as he tried to picture this; two of the most serious Mobians he knew on an all out drinking spree, "not Knucks and Shadow, they wouldn't…"
"They would; Thunderhawk can be very persuasive, and now all we can do is wait until the wind blows them in and try and sort the trash from the treasure", she sat back in a resigned fashion as Tails tried not to laugh, "break out the marigolds, it's gonna be a long night".
A/N: Come on, hands up; who thought it was Athair making a break for it with the others? Next chapter, the during and the aftermath.