The Floating Island
Tower of Eternity Zone
The chamber was vast.
Serene.
Lonely.
Knuckles and Kite followed V'oda into the room, lost in awe. Carved from crystal, the circular chamber offered a panoramic view of the Floating Island by way of a ring of ornately framed windows running the circumference of the room. Artefacts, books and maps adorned the occasional shelf and table, but this was clearly a place that was used to further spiritual enlightenment and knowledge, and not for the indulgence of material luxuries.
Kite whispered a small prayer to herself. "It's so beautiful," she said. "Our eyes are not worthy to witness such a sight, Elder."
V'oda shook his head as he walked to a circular crystal device attached to a small meter high column in the centre of the room. For the first time, Knuckles could see how weary the Elder looked. This must be destroying him, the red Echidna thought.
"If the eyes of a Pashil are not worthy, then those of an Elder certainly aren't," V'oda replied, gesturing that the pair move closer.
A gout of flame erupted from outside the windows, briefly tinting the room orange and red. Knuckles momentarily considered looking out to see how the tribe were faring but could not bring himself to do so. Ultimately he already knew.
"Why are we here, Elder?" he asked, the heavy tone of his voice poisoned with frustration.
V'oda raised a hand. "It is good to be reminded of your resilience," he said with a smile. "It will serve you well. You are as impatient as you were when you were young. Ah, I still look back on the Tundra Fields fiasco fondly."
Knuckles felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. Kite smiled and took his hand, realising how awkward her Echidna could be. "Not as fondly as me," she whispered in his ear.
Knuckles flushed harder.
V'oda smiled as he operated the device. "It does an old heart good to hear such things in these dire times."
It was Kite's turn to blush, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm thinking that your heart may be old, but your hearing certainly isn't!" she replied.
The Elder laughed and stepped back from the device. The top section of the circular column began expanding outwards and a creamy pillar of light suddenly lanced upward from within.
A series of loud bangs punctuated the air and the door began to shake.
"Elder! They're trying to get in," Kite growled, her feet planted and fists raised in a traditional fighting stance.
V'oda shook his head sadly. "Young Kite. Knuckles. This is not a battle we can win," he said, and plunged his hand down into the column. "But we can ensure that we do not fail in our duties to Mobius."
Knuckles watched the Elder grimace in pain as he pulled from the column a tiny spherical object. He saw the perspiration bead on V'oda's forehead as his arm emerged from the pillar of light. V'oda clutched at the column as his legs briefly failed him.
"Elder!" Both Kite and Knuckles ran forward to assist their superior. His breath was coming in short ragged bursts and he hung limply between them, a sheen of sweat coating his body. Knuckles looked at the light suspiciously.
"Elder, what is that?" he asked, fearing the worst.
V'oda winced as, after a few attempts, his legs finally supported his weight. "Security," he gasped.
Kite frowned. "Security? For what?"
Another loud band caused the door to shudder again. V'oda held up the sphere he had plucked from the column.
"To ensure this does not fall into the wrong hands," he said. "But it is no longer safe here."
Knuckles stared at the object. It was plain and unadorned; a simple dark blue.
"I don't get it," he said at last.
V'oda coughed, and handed it over to the red Echidna. "And I wish I had the time to explain. I only ask two things; That you believe me when I say this is the sole reason our people took to the skies, and that the pair of you must continue our duty to ensure it remains hidden from the world."
Knuckles paused, before tucking the object under his glove. "Yes Elder," he replied. "Of course, but –"
V'oda shook his head. "Then both of you! Go, now!"
Kite looked appalled. "What? No, Elder. What about you? She paused for a moment. "We all go or we all stay and fight – but we are doing it together."
The elderly Echidna shot her a look of frustration. "You would refuse to obey my wishes? I said GO!"
Kite's face betrayed her dilemma. Knuckles stepped forward.
"Elder, Kite is right. We are Pashil! We cannot leave you here – we must protect you."
V'oda shook his head, and walked to the window. The scene below filled him with a hollow sensation. An thirst for vengeance he knew he would never see realised.
"That light," he said. "That security, is killing me as we speak." He looked around at them. "Now do you understand the severity of your task? The sphere; the key, it was never supposed to be removed. But I had to in order to ensure its future safety. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain by succumbing now to sentimentality. You are Pashil of a tribe that you cannot protect."
Knuckles took a deep breath. He had always trusted the words of the Elder's. He knew V'oda would be speaking the truth.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I don't have long," V'oda replied, a grim smile forming on his face. "But I will use my remaining minutes to bring vengeance on those that dare defy the sanctity of this place. I have…failed my people – it is the least I can do."
Knuckles nodded, and clasped the Elder's hands. "I wish you calm skies Elder."
V'oda nodded gratefully, and pointed at a small panel beneath one of the windows. "That will take you to the exterior stairwell." He looked from Knuckles to Kite, who was staring painfully from the escape route to the main door. "Calm skies to you both."
He returned to the window as the two Echidna's left.
"And now, I must meet my destiny."