Author note:All Hail The Cinderninja! First reviewer, and did a spiffy job too. you can also review. please.

Hard time getting computer alone. posted this to confirm that I haven't ditched you.

Chapter 14

Somewhere a few miles away from Knothole, there sat a farmhouse. The farm itself was not large, and probably could only reliably feed two people on a daily basis, though it used to be larger.

Knuckle walked up towards it, but on some impulse walked around the house and to the back door. He pushed it open and walked in, only to find two echidnas in the kitchen: one man and one woman, both showing the signs of growing older. They turned and stared, making Knuckles rub his forehead.

"Mom, dad, I'm home. And still alive." He said. The woman ran and hugged him, making Knuckles remember how long it had been since he left. When she finished, he turned to his father and they nodded at each other.

"I just wanted you to know now in case I…"

"Don't." His mom warned him. Knuckles grimaced in fear reflexively. They already might have thought he was dead.

"I've got a lot to do right now, but I'll try to come back when it's over."

Sonic looked up from a game of cards with Manic as Knuckles came back. The echidna clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"We're marching again. This time is to a port. It will take around six days, and we'll be meeting a regiment of the Northern army half way along, who will escort us the rest of the way. Once we're there…" Knuckles breathed deep to ready himself for the reaction.

"Anybody who doesn't wish to fight may go. I do not want you to be pressured into staying longer than you have to. Once we're farther north the army will be able to block assaults from Mobius, and you will not be under immediate threat.

I personally do not want to have to cover extra kids who won't be able to fight if the time comes. You have half an hour to prepare to march. Get moving." Everyone managed to keep control of themselves rather nicely as they walked to prepare whatever they had. Knuckle turned to look at Tails as he came running up.

"No." Was his prescient response.

"What?" Tails cried.

"You're not coming with us. You're too young for marching."

"But-"

"I want your back up in the plane. How far can it go?"

"I haven't had time to figure out how far with the main source, but I could probably go anywhere with the backup." Knuckles blinked a few times at the statement.

"Anywhere?"

"It'd still take time and I'd need good weather, but aye."

"Are you sure?"

"Aye. The backup never runs out." Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Look, there's no such thing as infinite energy. Even I know that."

"Well, then it just doesn't run out very quickly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Use that then. I want you to follow us as best you can, in case we're attacked by more of the flying robots. We'll be going to Edmund's-Burrow."

"Okay." Tails walked back to his shack. Knuckles nodded and walked over to the three.

"Now, while we're there you three and I will be meeting with-'

"The king." Sonia said from where she sat, watching the game. Knuckles eyes widened to look at her.

"You told Tails we were going to Edmund's-Burrow. That's the capital of the North, named for their first king's residence. Ergo if we were to meet someone it would be the king."

"How'd you know that?" Manic asked.

"I was taught it."

"Impressive." Knuckles said. "And she's right. You'll be meeting with the king to discuss what we'll be doing next, and I want you three to know what you're going to say. I don't want anything stupid." He finished, glaring at Sonic and Manic intently.

"What about her?" Sonic asked, pointing to his sister.

"She's nobility, right? She should have a good handle on this." With that Knuckles walked off to be somewhere other than in the vicinity of teenagers.

"That idiot." Sonia said. Both her brothers looked at her oddly. "The nobility is always at odds with the royalty."

"Riiight." Manic said.

"No, look at it like this." Sonic said. "They can't both be rich snobs running everything."

"Ohhh. Sorry, Sonia. I thought you were ignoring reality for a few seconds." Manic said.

"Your apologies are heartwarming."

"Are you sure this is the best possible method?" The Robotnik asked over the radio-video set.

"Look. Last time you tried to get them, you sent machines. Now, not that they are worthless, but there are just some areas in which they will not excel. Improvisation, for example. Also, the kids won't be as willing to kill an actual person." Draggo said.

"Yes, but your choice of person… fails to inspire confidence." The wolf looked behind him at his companion, an extraordinarily bulky, orange-furred anthro of some kind, who was currently staring at a nearby pile of brick. "Draggo" turned back to the hand-set.

"Trust me. I checked this guy's record, and he almost always got his target. And the ones he didn't get usually were warlord's with equipment even you might envy. He can do this."

"If you say so. It is your responsibility."

"I will not fail you."

"One more thing."

"What?"

"I heard him call you… Sleet?"

"Oh. Well, I don't exactly want him to know who he's working for. He didn't take the whole 'detainment and forced work' thing very well, you see."

"Ah. Good luck then." The Robotnik winked off the screen, and Sleet likewise turned off the hand-set. The orange anthro moved his vision from the pile of bricks.

"Hey Sleet?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does he call you Draggo?"

"Oh, well, you see Dingo, I don't exactly want him to know who's working for him. He didn't take the whole 'bounty hunter' thing very well when I first went to him, you see, so I don't want him checking up on us."

"Ohhh."

"Well, are you ready?" Dingo began patting himself down rapidly, looking for his five knives and his back-up revolver.

"I don't have my shotgun."

"It's on your back."

"Oh." Sleet gave himself a pat down: Bullet proof vest under the suit, both semi-automatic pistols, Knife in the right shoe, knife in the tie.

"Well now, let's get going."

"Okay… where?"

"Down south. I've got a good feeling about where they'll go next."

The freedom fighters marched for the rest of the day, until the sun began to set in the west. Knuckles called them to a halt, and turned to face them.

"If anyone wants to say something to me, now is the time, while we're alone." He looked out at the kids in front of him, waiting for the inevitable criticism. He was surprised when it didn't come. He wasn't the only one of them with a weapon now, he wasn't a threat.

"No one wants to say anything?" He asked. "Very well then. We're camping here for the night. Joe, you have first front watch, Dalin, you have the first rear watch."

"What was that all about?" Sonic asked.

"He was just trying to help people get out what they wanted to say, so he'd know what we thought." Sonia said.

"Actually, he just looked like he was about to knock out the first person who tried to bad mouth him."

"He wouldn't do that. He's just feeling bad about the people who… died under his command. You just need to understand things from his view." The three were silent for a few seconds, until Manic raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, sis, didn't know you were into echidnas." He said.

"What?"

"Or older men, for that matter." Sonic added. "But that's probably normal for nobles." Sonia crossed her arms in disgust as she caught on.

"Ugh. How can you even think about that?" she said.

"Ah, don't take it personally." Manic said, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm making fun of Sonic next."

"About what?" Sonic asked.

"About a certain quickly approaching hammer-psycho lady." Manic replied.

"Oh no." Sonic grimaced.

Knuckles sat apart from the kids, wrapped in his camo cloak, eyes closed, but not sleeping. He opened them as he heard the footfalls of a grown human male come in his direction. The Oracle sat down in front of him, and looked him in the face.

"You feel guilty." He said. The echidna simply grunted the question away. "So now you don't want to talk about it, after inviting all of your army to speak up."

"I was trying to find any problems I'd have. Obviously it didn't work."

"Obviously. You're an intimidating, yet idolized, figure, an unstoppable, spiteful god who will punish those who grumble against their savior."

"Nine have died so far."

"But you saved the whole." Knuckles stared at the Oracle for a few seconds, before snorting and dismissing it.

"Where'd you get this?"

"I took psychology in college. Easy grades, you see." Knuckles personally thought that college was a waste of life, and couldn't grudge the Robotnik for removing it.

"I assume this was before you took up prophesying?"

"Shortly before. After the graduation I took a trek up North, and ended up walking in on the old Oracle, Delphius. I took him to be a coot at first, until he repeated a conversation from one of my classes, word for word.

The topic had been about how people… set false goals for themselves, try to distract from what they want to do but think or know they can't. I realized that he was using the conversation to describe me, since I honestly didn't want to spend my life listening to other people's issues. After that I started training as the next Oracle."

Knuckles stared at him with an utter lack of belief.

"You're mad." He said

"I am not trying to adapt the willpower that drove a lone man to fight for fifteen years into the willpower to lead an army." With that, the Oracle stood and walked off before Knuckles could think up a reply. Closing his eyes, the echidna went back to his musings.