Chapter Thirty-Six

Author's Note: Wow…I'm adding plot elements for seemingly no reason whatsoever! Go figure. Don't worry, you'll all get to meet Eberon and Naylet soon…a lot sooner than you might think, actually.

-- -- -- -- --

Tails really didn't want to go back to the kitsune city. Not because he did something bad…but because of who he was. It was a secret he dared not tell anyone…not even Sonic. It wasn't because he was an angel…he already knew that there were some defectors in the ranks of the Judgment, including his own sister, who, like him, was a Seraphim. She was also a Chosen Hero in the past, and she was the only one who still loved him…the only one who could love a half-breed as a brother…

"Hey, Tails…you seem down," Tahra said when she noticed his sad mood. "I thought you'd be happy to go back to the village you were born in, after…oh, none of your old friends there would be alive."

"It's nothing to be concerned over," he replied. Tahra decided not to press the topic further. Before she could ask him something else, Sonic and Knuckles stopped, making her stop as well. The cause for the pause was obvious: a surprisingly large, dark grey echidna was standing in the middle of the road. His fur was scraggly and he had a look of determined rage in his eyes.

"Hey, get out of our way, buddy…we don't mean any harm," Knuckles said, trying to reason with this titan. "Just move aside, and we'll be on our way."

"No one shall pass here!" the echidna roared. "No one can enter or leave the realm of the kitsune! I must protect them from ALL outsiders!" The echidna charged forward with great speed, but Tails, extending his angel wings leapt in front of the charging threat, causing him to skid to a stop, shocked at this sudden occurrence.

"M-Milos!" the echidna exclaimed. "W-what are you doing? Are these your minions?"

"…Minions?" Tahra answered. "We're his friends. Do you know this guy, Tails?"

Tails nodded. "Believe it or not…there were more than three Seraphim. There were six of them. Eberon here was one of them. He defected many years ago."

"Remove these youngsters from your grip, Milos, or I'll kill you!" Eberon warned.

"Eberon, I am not controlling them.They are my friends, just as they said.This echidna is Knuckles, former Guardian of the Master Emerald."

"…Nazo's foul creation…" Eberon muttered under his breath. Tails had neglected to notify the others of the true nature of the Master Emerald.

"The purple hedgehog is Tahra, granddaughter of the current high priestess of the Emerald Light."

"Uh…hi," Tahra said nervously.

"…And the blue one is Sonic…if you would believe it, is Devlin's son. I have been watching over him for many years now."

Eberon raised an eyebrow. "Devlin…had a son? He would be the last person I would expect to have a child. But I do see the resemblance. So, Milos, you have forsaken Armeil's false Law?"

Tails nodded with a bit of a smile "Yes I have…with the little help of a rabbit that I've come to find affection for. But, why are you blocking outsiders from kitsune lands?"

"Alas, I am bound to the Kitsune Lord…I was found guilty of murdering a young kitsune ten years ago, and this is my punishment." He showed a rune on his arm: a Mark of Penitence. "As long as he wills it, this symbol binds me to the lands of the multi-tailed ones."

"You have one too!" Sonic exclaimed, showing his Mark. Eberon was even more shocked when he heard this.

"So, the Age of the Parasite is nearly at an end," the echidna replied. "The humans have met their tragic end and the Sacred Arms will be awakened once more. I was wondering who the pink hedgehog was in my dream."

"Yeah…that's Amy Rose, Mjolnir's new wielder," Tahra interjected. "She's one of our friends, too. Maybe if you come along with us, we can reason with the Kitsune Lord."

Eberon sighed. "He would not speak with anyone who associates with a half-kitsune." Tails was now starting to get really nervous. Had Eberon known about his secret all along?

"What? Half-kitsune?" Sonic asked. "Is there some taboo against them? We don't know any half-kitsune."

"One stands among you…isn't that right, Milos?"

Tails gulped. Eberon had blown the cover that he had kept for the last six thousand years.

"What? I don't see anything wrong with that," Sonic commented as if it was no big deal.

"I have no problem with it either," Eberon replied, "but it is against the ancient law that foxes and kitsune breed. The results of these illegitimate children are considered scum, equal to weasels in deplorability. It goes with any interracial breeding, but half-kitsunes are the most common, and the most aesthetically pleasing. There are rumors of hedgehog-crocodile crosses…a very disturbing creature, but are few, and never reach adulthood, even if they are not discovered."

"Creepy…" Knuckles said with a shudder. "Maybe I shouldn't have kids with Rouge…I don't want echidna kids with bat wings."

Eberon chuckled. He was becoming more pleasant and amiable, now that he had gotten to know the group. "Of course, it is not uncommon to have children of one parent's species and inheriting few or no traits from the other. These children are more accepted than the obvious crosses. Fear not, Knuckles."

"So, are you going to let us through?" Tails finally asked.

"Yes. But I suggest you stay out of the village, Milos. Kitsune can spot a half-breed easily. I doubt they'll let you in."

"Why don't you come with us?" Tahra asked. "We could use some more muscle, and you could probably convince them to let Milos in."

"I am a criminal…but one can hope for redemption. I'll come."

"Welcome aboard, big guy!" Sonic said amiably, patting Eberon on the back.

-- -- -- -- -- --

"There it is…" Eberon said, pointing to the spire coming out of the trees. "…the capital of kitsunedom…Quadtalia, in all its technological glory." The tree line opened to reveal not an ancient city of stone, but a great domed capital that had an appearance oddly similar to that of the Space Colony ARK.

"Woah! This place would make Eggman go gaga!" Sonic exclaimed."I've never seen so much technology!"

"The kitsune are a highly advanced race, but are quite selfish with their technology, and only share with the hedgehogs and echidnas, and even then on a very rare occasion. Only one individual who was not a hedgehog, kitsune or echidna has ever had access to the marvels within those city walls…I believe his name was Doctor Gerald Robotnik, a human with a brain like a sponge and a heart of gold."

"Doctor Gerald…" Sonic said. "Man, that guy really got around!"

"You know of Gerald Robotnik?" Eberon asked. "Didn't he die about fifty years ago? I heard he was working on creating the Ultimate Life Form."

"…Project Shadow," Sonic answered. That being is alive after Masamune. He's even a friend of ours; Freaky, huh?"

"My, how the hand of Fate weaves coincidences without number," the echidna replied. "Oh, there's the gate…good luck getting in with Milos around…"The group approached the gate, and was stopped by a pair of two-tailed kitsune holding some sort of laser rifles.

"Halt! State your business," one of the guards demanded.

"We're here to see the Kitsune Lord," Sonic said in Brymbaal, and flashed the Mark of Penitence on his arm. "It's extremely important."

"Ah…the Kitsune Lord will be glad to see you, Chosen of Excalibur," the same guard said. "However," he continued as he glanced at Tails, "I would advise that you remove the scum from your group."

"That scum is my friend!" Sonic retorted. "You can't talk about him like that, even if he is a half-breed! I've got a good mind to teach you a lesson!"

"Let me do the talking, Sonic…" Tahra interrupted, nudging Sonic out of the way. She addressed the two guards in perfect Kitsune and explained the situation to them. They immediately got the pitch.

"You're the high priestess' granddaughter! I don't know what that old woman is thinking of this so-called racial equality, but I suppose we'll let the half-breed in. I'll contact the Kitsune Lord, and he'll get everything ready." He picked up an object reminiscent of a phone, and spent a few minutes talking on it in Kitsune.

"All the arrangements are being made. Just a bit of advice, half-breed…you better find a way to conceal yourself, or they'll lock you up and throw away the card key!"

"I'll find a way to keep myself concealed," Tails said. "Thanks for your kindness." The guards opened a clear fiberglass door, and letting them all through. They slammed the door just as Tails went through, and started to laugh mockingly.

When they coast was clear, Tails conjured up a brown shroud to conceal himself with, and shifted back to his eight-year-old body for good measure. Now he wouldn't be recognized for what he was. Now that everything was ready, the group stepped on the elevator and entered the great city of Quadtalia…

-- -- -- -- --

"Wow, this place rocks!" Sonic yipped as he gazed up at the great buildings that rose out of the ground. The domed city was mostly underground, but was exposed to sunlight because the buildings reached out of a great hole in the earth.

"Even I'm surprised about it. My people have advanced so much in six thousand years…last I remember, they were working on gunpowder and the steam engine. Pretty neat, huh? It's all thanks to the alchemists and engineers our race produces in vast quantities."

"Look, there's the place the guard mentioned," Tahra said, pointing to one building. "The Rising Star…that place is supposed to be famous for its luxurious accommodations."

Sonic was now beside himself. "Luxury hotels, VIP access, chatting with rulers…MAN, I love being a Chosen Hero!"

"You do recall that you have to go through great hardship," Knuckles reminded Sonic.

"Hey, I like tussling with bad guys…I think its fun!"

"You were pretty angry when you fought Kifdra-Xu-Deen…" Tahra said. "You definitely weren't having fun there. I doubt fighting the minions of the Meteor Parasite will be any fun."

"Well, it's a price I have to pay," Sonic replied as the group entered the hotel. "Let's enjoy our VIP status while we have it. Tahra, you're the linguist here…make with the check-in!"

"Pushy, aren't we?" she said in her smoothly sardonic tone. "Fine, I'll check us in." Tahra went up to the help desk, and checked the group in. She returned with three room keys. She handed one to Knuckles and one to Sonic.

"These are the only ones we've got, so don't lose them."

"Okay, Tahra, sure…let's go up to the room!" Knuckles rushed off, eager to see what their accommodations were. Sonic followed in hot pursuit. Tahra groaned.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a babysitter, she said to herself as she followed, with the two seraphim (concealing their wings, of course) following her.

-- -- -- -- --

"I call shotgun on the big bed!" Sonic yipped as he dashed across the large suite and dove onto the large, cushy bed. The room was splendid and luxurious…the room that this band of adventurers had been given was reserved for other heads of state…it had everything…television, radio, hot tub, bathrobes, and that was just the beginning.

"I need to freshen up," Tahra sighed. "We all should look our best when we meet with the Kitsune Lord. I heard that's he's quite the snob." She plucked a towel and a bathrobe from the nearby closet and went into the bathroom.

"Meanwhile, let's see if we can get any radio." Sonic said. "We could probably pick up some music from Westopolis! Maybe they have a radio station working." He turned on the radio, and began tuning the dial, until he found a station he liked. He starting bobbing his head to the beat, and began playing air guitar and singing along. Eberon didn't seem to like the music, as he held his ears.

"Is that noise supposed to be music!" he groaned. "You obviously aren't keen to the old ways, are you, Sonic?" The blue hedgehog seemed to pay no heed, and continued singing and dancing to the music. The echidna groaned and went over to the radio. After a few seconds of observation, he managed to find the snooze button, which stopped the music. He pressed the button, and Sonic stopped dancing.

"Hey! I was listening to that!" he complained.

"You may be a Chosen Hero…but that doesn't give you the right to get on the nerves of your fellows. This journey of yours is not supposed to be all fun and games. The future of an entire planet hangs in the balance. Always remember that, Sonic, son of Devlin."

"Yeah, whatever," Sonic replied. He hopped onto the couch and took off his shoes. Eberon shook his head in mild disappointment.

To think that the world's future depends on this hedgehog, Eberon said to himself, but we have to trust the hand of fate, and hope it is for the best.