Chapter 7
Knuckles stepped lightly as he descended the old staircase. When he reached the bottom, he made a gesture with his hands, and five youths followed suit, Manic among them. Going over to a drape covered object, he pulled it off, showing an ornamented wardrobe beneath. Opening the door, he revealed a black plastic casing that was nearly half the height of the wardrobe.
"Manic, you get this one and head back." Manic obliged, walking over, and picking up the case. As he turned, he asked.
"When ya' gonna' explain things?"
"When there's time." Knuckles replied.
OOOOOOOOOO
Sonic sat on the grass outside Mobius City, looking at his hands. After the fight, they had been so burnt and bloodied that Shanks had to bandage them, and put gloves on to protect them. Shanks was an older kid, an adult really, who had some medical training from his father. He was also the only person that Knuckles didn't seem to detest with vehemence. A pink hedgehog girl, the same one who had hugged him after the fight, walked up and stood there silently.
"Yes?" He asked
"Um, do you think I'm… cute?" she asked, her eyes kept flitting around.
"I guess." She suppressed a giggle. "Uh, what's your name?"
"A-Amy Rose." She said.
"Oh, that's a nice name."
"Yeah, I've g-got to go now." She nearly ran off, trying to hide her reddening face. Sonia walked over from someplace else. Her keyboard was slung on her back, while Sonic's guitar was lying next to him. They simply hadn't thought of leaving their instruments behind.
"You shouldn't encourage her, you know." She said.
"What am I supposed to say, 'your ugly and your name sounds funny'? Two things which, to make clear, I don't believe."
"Now is not the time for people to be pursuing romantic fancies when there is the threat of death."
"I'm trying to be polite."
"I think it's worse to give her the wrong idea." Sonic stood up, picked up his guitar, and walked off.
OOOOOOOOOO
Manic had finished enjoying a short break, when Scrat Larkin, a twitchy, weasel boy who had been helping out, said,
"Kn-Knuckles wants us back." They went over to where the echidna was waiting, along with a dozen or so other kids. With a flick of his hand, Knuckles began leading them back into the city.
"We need food now. A lot. Don't stop for breaks, keep up the flow. Manic, I have the feeling you know where to get it unobtrusively." Manic nodded and began listing of Citizen's Cafeterias that had surpluses of food. Knuckles nodded appreciatively. "Take it from the dumpsters, I'll go inside."
"Isn't that more risky?" Someone asked.
"And what he'll expect?"Someone else added.
"Yes, but the Robotnik needs to think he knows what's happening. I'll also be taking out a few Cop-bots, so stay away from me." Knuckles stopped talking, and split off from the group to do what he needed. As Manic and the rest of the kids prowled around Mobius City, they noticed more Cop-bots than usual, and that no one was on the streets. They encountered little resistance at the first two dumpsters they raided, but the third was different. As Manic turned to leave, the all too familiar feeling of a gun barrel pressed in on his headspikes.
"What'ch you nuts doin' here?"
"Looking for food, like any other gang." Manic said, keeping a straight face by habit.
"No you ain't, you those –ing rebels" Manic eyebrow raised at the odd expletive. "You're why he's –ing hunting us now."
"So ya' trying to run where there's no room to." Manic said. "Brilliant. Ya' better off with us."
"Fighting a -ing war?"
"No. Running." Scrat looked about to say something, but Manic silenced him with a quick twitch.
"Where?"
"The North, of course."
"Those –ing crazy foxes?"
"Where else can we go? There we might have a chance." There was a short silence. Manic kicked back, knocking his assailants feet out, and swiftly took the gun from his hands. Quickly putting his foot on the assailants chest and pointing the gun at his head, he added, "Ya' should also consider that ya' wouldn't have won this fight."
"I'm in." Was the meek reply.
OOOOOOOOOO
The collection of food was smooth after that. As they started to reach the city limits, Manic turned back, saying,
"Yeah, there's something I kinda' need to do…"
"It's okay." Manic turned towards the speaker, an amazingly obscured yet large figure perched atop a waste bin. "I believe you've rightfully earned the rank of Journeyman."
"Thanks, Ferrel." Manic said. The human who had attacked them earlier turned his head.
"You're…"
"Formerly apprenticed to the best thief in Mobius City? Heck yeah."
"Na', thought you looked kinda like the drummer guy…"
"Manic?" Manic asked.
"Yeah, him." Manic pondered this before saying,
"Guess ya' right." They left Mobius City.
OOOOOOOOOO
They met up with Knuckles at the improvised camp outside Mobius City. Knuckles had made them go there almost immediately after the concert fight, saying that the Robotnik would be expecting an immediate uprising, which would have been suicidal on their part.
"Put the gear in bags. Carry what needs to be carried." He yelled at them. Those who tried to do nothing got a swift hit to the head. "We need to move." Once everyone was standing, he said it. "We are marching North."
"I'm not." Some one yelled from the crowd.
"You don't have a choice. It's either come with me or turn back and die. And that's what The Robotnik wants: for us to disappear quietly so no one has to see him do it."
"You're gonna get us killed."
"I aim to win. Whether you live depends on luck and your own determination. Start marching people." So everyone lifted up one foot and put down the other in front. Then they did it again and again. Knuckles turned around and began walking backyards so he could address the crowd he led. "It appears I need to make some things clear. The Robotnik did try to kill you. It doesn't matter how nice he acts or how good his system seems, he's a freedom hating sonuva grub who doesn't give a care about what happens to anybody as long as it fits his vision of a perfect world."
"Speak it." Someone in the crowd yelled. Knuckles glare in their direction, and then went to the back to watch for stragglers.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Well this is pleasant." Sonic said.
"Oh, yes." Manic agreed. "Marching to an uncertain destination led by an unstable gun-toting echidna."
"And the certainty of death if we go back."
"I think the scenery's nice." Sonia said, trying to change the mood. Manic grunted and looked at his feet, but Sonic at least tried to take some of it in. All his life he had seen the greys and browns that made up the city. Out here there were silent green hills. They nearly took his mind away from his nightmare.
OOOOOOOOOO
They marched on until the sun was halfway below the horizon and Knuckles yelled,
"Why aren't you moving?"
"Vergible's collapsed." Someone yelled back in outrage. Knuckles paused and looked around angrily, before grunting.
"We stop here. Put him somewhere soft and get Shanks to him." No one questioned the break. They were too tired from what had been the longest walk in their life. When everyone was settled, he let them take out some of the food, one to a person. For the first time in his life Sonic truly appreciated the concept of pre-cooked, pre-packaged food, even if it was too cold.
"Most genius thing the Robotnik's ever done. Easy to carry, easy to eat, and enough of a surplus to feed half the unregistered." Manic said. Sonia just looked down as she ate. When everyone's food containers were emptied, Knuckles had them get up and come together again, to many groans of disappointment.
"Open the cases. He said." Clicks sounded everywhere as the plastic clasps were undone and the cases opened. Inside were neatly arranged tracers, ammo cartridges, and rolled up camo-cloaks. "The weapons and cloaks of the royal guard: every last one of them. Everybody take one, but don't load them." Some flinched at the idea of holding such a dangerous tool, some were eager to hold the black metal in their hands, while others were indifferent to what was just another gun. He went over to where the three were. "Now, you." He said to them. "Do you have any idea who you parents were?"
"Is this something to do with what you said back in the theatre? Because that seriously failed at sounding cool." Manic replied. Knuckles ignored him.
"You're the last of the royalty." He said.
"That's impossible." Sonic replied immediately. "The Queen died before she gave birth."
"And yet you're here, wearing those jewels." he said, pointing to the one hanging from Sonic's neck.
"That can't be true." Sonia said. "If they were some sign of birth we'd be dead by now. The Robotnik would have killed us."
"Easy." Knuckles said. "The royalty never mentioned them, and usually didn't display them publicly."
"So how'd ya' find out about them?" Manic said smugly. By now, people were beginning to take a great interest in the conversation.
"It was part of my training in the guard. I never quite figured out why, but it had something to do with national security." The three stared at him blankly. "I don't know." Knuckles said irritably. "But that doesn't change the truth."
"Which is that you're a nut job." Manic finished.
"I believe him." Manic turned in shock at hearing Sonic say that. "I can't say it makes sense, but I still believe him."
"How?"
"How do we know we're brothers?"
"And it doesn't matter what we think, because the Robotnik believes this too." Sonia said, turning to her brothers. "That's what he was yelling about." Knuckles nodded as he realized this too.
"Fine." Manic grunted in defeat.
"Start preparing for the night." Knuckles said. As they walked to find someplace comfortable enough to sleep, Manic muttered,
"Still think it's a dumb idea."
"Why do you have to keep saying so?" Sonic replied in irritation.
"Plausible deniability. If we had all agreed right there, it might have set of the jewels again, which is more trouble than it's worth. That and it is the most nutcase, been-reading-to-many-kids-books thing I've ever heard." Sonic looked at him oddly. Manic just shook his head and looked up at the black sky. "Our parents, the real ones, not the ones who gave birth to us, did they know? Did they think this, that we might be the meaning of their deaths, and still not tell us? I could really see it happening, even with whatever fat cat raised Sonia."
OOOOOOOOOO
"Ya' thought this why?" Ferrel asked. He was in a smoke-filled bar, sharing a table with Chuck and Nalsia. It made for quite a spectacle.
"I used to be a friend of the queen's parents when she was still young. Was even invited to the wedding." Chuck replied. "I didn't know anyone else who was pregnant when I found him, so she was the only one I thought would leave a child to me."
"Makes sense now." Ferrel said to himself.
"What?" Nalsia asked.
"Oh, in my younger years, prince used to chase me as part of the guard. Didn't realize it was him till I saw his picture in a newspaper talkin' 'bout the old king's funeral. Had a gem just like Manic's. Didn't connect the two 'till now. But thats all gone now. Now we got to decide whose side we're on: Our kid's, or the old basket case who's made our lives-"
OOOOOOOOOO
The Robotnik stared at various security footages, breathing impatiently. He had taken far too long to calm down after the riot, and had buried himself in his work afterwards. He had been hoping they would realize the insanity of their actions and return, so he could sort things out peacefully. Most probably were just caught up to much in their emotions, But he would still have to deal with the…
"Heirs." He muttered to himself. "Why do they insist on mocking me like this."
"Maybe they didn't know." Said a new video panel. It was Draggo, a wolf from Neworld that the Robotnik employed as a psychologist and advisor, though the Robotnik mostly used him as a devil's advocate. "If they had any idea how much danger their lives were in they would have run away, or announce it so they could get more support. This all means, 'course, that you just handed them a loaded gun they didn't have yet, due to your little rant."
"I've sent an ambassador unit to negotiate with them." The Robotnik said confidently.
"When do you think it will catch up?"
"Given its rate of movement compared to my estimation of teenagers without proper gear, food, and their need to rest, I'd say towards the end of tomorrow."
OOOOOOOOOO
Knuckles woke them up before the crack of dawn, had them eat, and then set them marching again. He assigned others to watch the rear so he could lead the column, and made the three stay near him. They went in silence for a short time before Knuckles said,
"Sing."
"Sing what?" Sonia asked.
"Something, a marching song."
"We don't know any."
"Do you know 'Dark Crusade'? That'd work."
"Isn't that, like, the most racist song ever?" Sonic asked.
"Really?" Knuckles smirked. "I thought it was about a book." Sonic hummed a few bars before launching into the song. His siblings joined in with Manic keeping a passable beat with his drumsticks. Soon the rest of the column had joined in the methodic song.
A multitude of horrors hide behind the twinkling light,
These are the evils, all the terrors of the night
Ten thousand warriors upon which I do call,
And one by one all of these evil ones do fall.
This is the Dark Crusade, Come and follow me.
This is the Dark Crusade, To keep all peoples free.
This is the Dark Crusade, Shall you follow me?
This is the Dark Crusade, Fight for liberty!
Across the airless moon and twisted tunnels old,
I fight this battle 'longside my warriors bold,
This is the vision that's been given to me,
To defend the freedom of all humanity!
This is the Dark Crusade, Come and follow me.
This is the Dark Crusade, To keep all peoples free.
This is the Dark Crusade, Shall you follow me?
This is the Dark Crusade, Fight for liberty!
Throughout the universe this mighty war is waged,
Against the evil things that cannot just be caged.
This is a battle that goes on ev'rywhere,
So go do something, please just do not stare.
This is the Dark Crusade, Come and follow me.
This is the Dark Crusade, To keep all peoples free.
This is the Dark Crusade, Shall you follow me?
This is the Dark Crusade, Fight for liberty!
They marched on throughout the day, stopping only briefly for lunch. By the time the sun was close to setting someone yelled from the back.
"Something's coming." Everybody stopped and Knuckles had to fight his way through to reach the back, while the three followed in his wake. When they got there the figure could be made out as a single, humanoid shape, with a white flag over it. Knuckles readied his tracer. The figure got closer and he lowered it. It wasn't a cop-bot. It was short and thinner, dressed in some sort of simple robe. It had a tall rounded, head with large, bulbous blue eyes and a peculiar face plate giving a helmeted look to it, while the entire thing was a dark orange-yellow.
"Servitor-class robot." Someone in the crowd said.
"Greetings." It said. Everyone took a step back at the sound of their not-quite former ruler. "I wish to parlays with your leaders and-" There was a crack as Knuckles demolished the machines head with his tracer. Everyone stared at him.
"We weren't given a chance." He said softly. He turned around and yelled to the crowd. "We keep going. We've lost enough time as it is." There was a rustling of bodies as Knuckles and the three returned to the front.
The Robotnik blinked in shock.
"You didn't try to negotiate the first time." Draggo said. He was using a secondary link to view the same material. "Who's the echidna?"
"I don't know." The Robotnik answered, tapping his head furiously. "He's older than the rest of them by too much, probably early thirties.
"See those brass knuckles he's wearing? I'm guessing some kind of gang lord. Found all those scared kiddies you left and lead them out saying he can help them."
"No, see those rifles all of them are holding? Those are tracers, a rare gun that fires super-heated rounds, and was used exclusively by the guard for its penetrative abilities. My grandfather made the basic design, so I'm familiar with them. I know someone has been preventing them from appearing on any sort of weapon black market. Also, he is most likely old enough to have been in the guard at the time of my revolution."
"Didn't you find all the graves for them?"
"It's quite easy to make false graves. I found a personnel record that might be him." Draggo ran his eyes over it: Calibar Felshio, born 1955, died 1972…
OOOOOOOOOO
When they stopped for the night, Knuckles looked in the bags, before making a terrible decision.
"We won't have dinner." There were groans and cries of outrage.
"You can't do that."
"Uh, he just did."
"He can't enforce it."
"He's got a gun."
"Well so do we."
"His gun's got ammo."
"Dang it." Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"Look, idiots, we don't have enough to feed us all the way to the North, and you don't need food to sleep."
"Actually," Manic said. "Before we go any farther I think ya' might need to explain the logic behind going North at all, seeing how it's also in the Robotnik's empire."
"It isn't as fortified or changed as any of the Mobian lands, because he wanted them to feel some degree of autonomy and not start another war. Also, where we're going he won't have even bothered to reorganize because of how remote it is."
"Oh. What is it?"
"Just a town I went through on my way down to Mobius."
"You're from the North?" Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"Obviously." He was secretly thankful that Manic had taken attention away from food.
The next day they ate like a pack of wolves, starved from their ordeal that night. Some were crying when they finished. Knuckles had them get back up and start walking again. They walked all morning and halfway through the afternoon when someone yelled from the back.
"There's a man waving a guitar."
"What?" Knuckles yelled back as the crowd slowed to a stop
"There's a man waving a guitar."
"Why?"
"I think he wants to speak to us." Knuckles grunted and yelled.
"Tell him to make it short." The person in the back, another echidna named Dalin, turned as the figure ran up. It was a human, dressed in a loose white outfit Dalin couldn't quite identify. His eyelids were dark, his eyes were wide, and his hair stood straight and ridiculously tall. The guitar was gold-colored.
"I'm sorry," the man said. "It's just, I saw you going by and thought you might need some help."
"Uh, like what?'
"Food and boots." Dalin turned and yelled.
"He says he has boots and food."
"How many boots?" Came back as a reply.
"A bit more than five hundred." The man yelled.
"Why the heck do you have five hundred pairs of boots?" Sonic yelled.
"Well," The man said. "People used to pass by so often, and they never had a good pair of boots. So I decided to stock up. Then people stopped passing by." There was a wavering of the crowd as Knuckles made his way to the back. He took a few seconds to look the man up and down himself, before saying,
"That's good enough."
OOOOOOOOOO
As they walked into a cavern Sonic was still talking about the strange occurrence.
"I mean seriously, where would you even find five hundred pairs of boots?" Knuckles was busy discussing matters with the man. Most of the kids were too busy staring at what seemed to be the natural cavern that the man lived in.
"Alright kiddies, this very nice man here has agreed to give us some of his food, so you better thank him really politely." Knuckles said.
"They don't look to young to me." The man said.
"I still try to keep things so they can understand them. Alright form one line, take some food, this shouldn't be hard." Faces were eager as they received plates of cold, sealed, heavily preservative-laden food, but it meant they had dinner. As people sat down to eat, Knuckles chose a seat next to the man. "So, how'd you get this much food?"
"Oh, I just never eat anything that the Robotnik gives me. I much prefer my own food."
"Really?"
"Yes. Oh, sorry, I keep a farm on the other side of the caves."
"Ah. Why are you out here?"
"Oh, I guess it's just… safer. Wouldn't you agree, guardi-" The man stopped what he was saying. Knuckles rolled his eyes, lifted his tracer and pointed at the man's head. Everyone's chatter stopped. Sonia stood up and yelled.
"Gah. Do you always have to use violence?"
"Well, the funny thing is, it works." Knuckles yelled back. "Now shut up and sit down, I may be saving our lives here.
"I don't think I know what you're talking about." The man said, trying to avoid the gun barrel.
"You're getting food from the Robotnik's system," Knuckles said. "But you don't work in it. And you called me a-"
"Guardian." Knuckles' eyes peaked in confusion. "You're a guard and someday you'll be the guardian."
"What makes you so certain."
"It's my job to know those things. Like the fact that the heirs to the throne survived, or that you are the last of the old guard. I'm a… I'm the…" The man gulped. "I'm the Oracle." Manic stood up.
"Okay this is stupid. Let me guess what will come up next. Ya' told the Robotnik that we'd overthrow him, so he launched the revolution trying to kill us before we were born, but by some coincidence he didn't know that we had been born already, and we got hidden somehow, and these little gems things we have give us magical powers which lets us shoot frickin' laser beams out of our instruments." There was a silence punctuated by Manic's heavy breathing.
"More or less." The Oracle said. "Except for the part about the gems. I don't think they're all that special really." Knuckles rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing a lot lately.
"Okay, let's leave this place. He said turning to the others.
"Uh, Aren't you worried he's going to tell the Robotnik about us." Sonic said.
"Really? I hadn't thought of that. So what, perhaps, is he going to tell the Robotnik that he doesn't already know." Having finished his latest batch of yelling, Knuckles stomped out the cavern's door.
"Er… what about the boots?" Scrat asked. Knuckles stopped.
"Okay, we take the boots, and then we leave."
"Actually," The Oracle said. "I believe it would be best if I came with. I would stay in the center of the group where you could watch me, and not be allowed a weapon."
"That's one of the most sensible things I've heard today. But no singing prophecies." Knuckles said.
"What?" The Oracle said.
"I saw the weird guitar, and I survive by knowing things. You can sing, and you can prophesize, but not both."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you waking everybody up in the middle of the night when you fell the need to prophesize."
"Okay, I'll try."
"Either you do it or you don't. There is not much 'trying' involved."
"okay." The Oracle said meekly.