Elias looked very different from when Silver last saw him. His fur was groomed and short, he looked much healthier and less starved. He now wore a black uniform with red outlines and a matching pair of red goggles. He was telling Silver about the portrait "Can't remove her. She's put some powerful sticking Charm on in" "So…This is your house then?" "Oh, yes. I'm the last Acorn left, so it's mine now. I offered it to Locke for headquarters, about the only useful thing I've been able to do" he had a hint of bitterness in his voice. They went into the kitchen which was clearly the first room they had worked on because it was much better looking than the rest of the house. As Silver sat down at the table Rob shook his hand "Good to know you're safe, Silver". Ash was behind him "Trip okay? Striker didn't take you via Starfall, did he?" "He tried" Julie-Su said entering. Silver then spotted a piece of parchment on the table. It looked like a floor plan for a building. Mari-An spotted it and quickly rolled it up and pushed it into Ash's hands "These should be cleared up after meetings!" she snapped. Ash quickly put it in his bag "Sorry, Mum". Elias sat next to Silver "I believe you've already met Farrel" he gestured to a sleeping insect on the chair.
Farrel shot up "Someone say my name? I agree with Elias" he held up his arm. Blaze laughed and so did Elias "Meeting's over, Farrel". He then noticed Silver "Blimey, you're here? How are you, Silver?" "Fine thanks". Farrel took out a pipe and smoked before saying "Owe you an apology" "For the last time, Farrel, will not smoke in the kitchen! Especially when we're about to eat" Mari-An said angrily. Farrel nervously put the pipe away "Right, sorry, Marie". Marie-An moved over to the cookers to finish dinner "You need any help, Marie?" Julie-Su asked. Marie-An hesitated "Uh…No, that's alright, Su. You've done a lot today" "No, really, I can help". Mari-An relented and put her on chopping vegetables with Rob. Blaze sat on Silver other side while Farrel was attempting to apologise "See I didn't want to go but I had a business opportunity". Aquarius jumped onto Elias' shoulder and he scratched the top of her head. He then looked grimly at Silver "You had a good Summer?" "It's been lousy". Elias grinned "I suppose a Prelate attack was a good change of pace then. Wouldn't have minded one myself. I've been stuck in here all Summer" "How come?" "Because the Ministry of Magic's still after me, and Finitevus will know all about me being a Shifter by now, Mordred will have told him, so my big disguise is useless. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Wisp or so Locke feels". Silver could tell Elias wasn't very happy with Locke either "At least you know what's going on?" "Oh, yeah. Listening to Infinite's reports, having to take all his snide hints that he's out there risking his life while I'm here sitting on my backside here having a nice comfortable time, asking me how the cleaning's going".
Farrel who wasn't paying attention to the conversation was now examining a silver goblet "Elias, is this solid silver" "Yes, finest fifteenth century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Acorn family crest" "Yeah but I can rub that off". Suddenly across the room a cauldron crashed onto the floor spilling stew all over the floor. Mighty and Ray had apparently tried to bewitch the cauldron to carry it over to the table. Mari-An was not happy "FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS. JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO WHIP IT OUT FOR EVERYTHING!". Mighty and Ray backed away from her "Sorry. We're just trying to save some time". Elias who had some of the stew on his feet was laughing along with Silver. Rob cast spell with his bow to clean it all "Your mother's right, boys. You're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age" "Ash didn't Chaos Control every few feet! Rotor doesn't feel the need to charm everything he saw. Hamlin…". She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband, whose expression was suddenly wooden. "Let's eat!" Ash said quickly. Everyone sat along the table "It looks great, Marie" Knuckles said as he ladled some stew onto his plate and then handing it to Julie-Su. As everyone got their food Mari-An was able to compose herself "I've been meaning to tell you, Elias, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a Mimic Ghost, but I thought we ought to ask Striker to have a look at it before we let it out" "Whatever you like" Elias said so dismissively that Silver thought he wouldn't care if they burned the room down. Meanwhile across the table Julie-Su was entertaining Blaze and Coral by morphing her face into different combinations of Mobian heads. At the end of the table Ash was telling Knuckles and Rob something "I don't think they believe he's back. They probably won't want to take sides" "They won't go to You-Know-Who at least. They've suffered losses too. Remember that goblin family he murdered last time" Rob said.
Knuckles didn't look convinced "Depends what they're offered. And I'm not talking about gold; if they're offered freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted" "A few at Nameless are still mad about the Barker business. The Ministry did a cover up, so they never got their gold". Silver didn't hear the rest of their conversation because of a roar of laughter. Farrell was telling Razor, Mighty and Ray a story of a previous deal "And then, if you'll believe it, he says to me, he says, 'Hey, Farrell, where did ya get all them Froggys from? 'Cos some son of a bitch's gone and nicked all mine!' And I says, 'Nicked all your Froggys, Will, what next? So, you'll be wanting some more, then?' And if you'll believe me, lads, the gormless gargoyle buys all his own Froggys back off me for twice what he paid in the first place". Razor hit the table as he howled with laughter. Mari-An crossed her arms "I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Farrell" "Sorry, Marie. In my defence though he stole them first, so I wasn't doing nothing wrong". Mari-An got up to take the plates and shot Elias a bad look. He shrugged at Silver "She doesn't approve of Farrell" "How come he's in the Order?" "He's useful. Knows all the crooks. Well, he would, seeing as he's one himself. But he's also very loyal to Locke, who helped him out of a tight spot once. It pays to have someone like Farrell around, he hears things we don't. But Mari thinks inviting him to stay for dinner is going too far. You should have seen her a few hours ago. When she found he failed to keep watch over you she looked ready to kill". Silver frowned "It might have gone better if I knew someone was there. No one's told me anything. Razor and Coral said we're too young-" "And they're absolutely right" Mari-An said sitting up right. She glared at Elias "They're not in the Order" "You don't need to be in the Order to ask questions. Silver's been stuck with those Muggles for four weeks. He deserves to know what's going-" "Hang on!". Mighty and Ray were now standing from their chairs "How come he gets to know!?" "We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a damn thing. Silver's not even of age!".
Elias shrugged "I don't decide what you two get to know. That's your parent's decision. Silver on the other hand-" "It's not down to you to decide what's good for. You haven't forgotten what Locke said?" Mari-An looked angry now. Elias kept a polite tone but with obvious anger "Which bit?" "The bit about not telling Silver more than he needs to know" she put extra emphasis on the last three words. Razor, Mighty, Ray, Coral and Blaze were all looking back and forth between them like it was a tennis match "I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Mari. But as he was the one who saw Finitevus come back he and he has dealt with as much as some Order members-" "No one's denying what he's done but he's still-" "He's not a child!" Elias said impatiently. Mari-An was now on her feet "He's not an adult either! He's not Shadow, Elias!". There was a few seconds silence and then Elias said in a very cold voice "I'm aware of that" "I'm not sure you are. The way you've talked about him it's as though you think you've got your best friend back" "What's wrong with that?" Silver asked. Mari-An didn't take her eyes of Elias "What's wrong with that, Silver, is that you are not your father. You are still in school and the adults responsible for you would do well to remember it". Elias was now standing "Meaning I'm not a responsible Godfather". Mari-An looked at Rob for back up but "Marie…The situation has changed. Silver is here, he's been attacked. He needs to know what's going on and Locke has accepted that" "But there's a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!". Knuckles calmly rose from his seat to get everyone's attention "Personally, I think it better that Silver gets the facts, not all the facts, Mari, but the general picture, from us, rather than a garbled version from…Others". He gave a look that made Silver feel like Knuckles knew at least some of the twins Spybots survived. Everyone sat back down, Mari-An looked around the table "Well…I can see I've been overruled. I'll just say this: Locke must have had his reasons for not wanting Silver to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Silver's best interests at heart" "He's not your son" Elias said quietly.
Mari-An kept calm "He's as good as. Who else has he got?" "He's got me" "Yes, well...The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up on Prison Island, hasn't it?". Elias made a move like he was about to rise from his chair again but "Elias, sit down!" Knuckles ordered. Elias, very white, sank back down. Knuckles then turned to Marie "You're not the only one who cares about Silver, Marie. Now he's old enough to decide for himself so I say we ask him". Silver answered at once "I want to know what's going on". He didn't look at Mari-An. He had been touched by what she had said about his being as good as a son, but he was also impatient at her coddling, Elias was right. He was not a child. Mari-An sighed "Very well. Blaze, Razor, Mighty, Ray, Coral, I want you all out of the kitchen". There was an uproar "We're of age!" Mighty and Ray roared together. "If Silver's allowed why am I not?" Razor said just before Blaze said "I've met You-Know-Who. I have every-" "NO!" Mari-An yelled hitting her fist against the table. Rob put a hand on her shoulder "Marie, we can't stop Mighty and Ray. They're of age" "They're still in school" "But they're legally adults". Mari-An considered "Fine. Mighty and Ray can stay. Razor-" "Silver will tell me and Coral everything you say anyway". Razor then gave Silver an uncertain look "Won't you?". Silver for a split second considered telling Razor that he wouldn't tell him a single word, that he could try a taste of being kept in the dark and see how he liked it. But the nasty impulse vanished as they looked at each other "Of course I will".
Razor and Coral beamed. "Fine! Blaze, go to bed…NOW!" Mari-An shouted before Blaze could arge. Blaze huffed and got up from the table. Silver casually scratched the side of his face hiding his eyes from most of the people at the table. As Blaze got to the door she looked back at the Silver. He smiled and gave her a wink. Blaze faced forward so her mother couldn't see her face. She smirked and left quietly. "Alright, Silver, what do you want to know?" Elias asked. Silver took a deep breath "Where's Finitevus? What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything" "That's because there hasn't been any. None that we know of anyway" "And we know more than he thinks" Knuckles added. Elias nodded "From what we can gather we think he's not trying to draw attention to himself. It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up". Knuckles had a satisfied smile "Or rather you messed it up. You weren't supposed to survive that night. No one but his Nocturnus were supposed to know he'd come back. But now he has Locke keeping an eye out". Elias had a proud look "Because of you the Order was reestablished an hour after Finitevus came back" "What's the Order been doing?" "Slowing down Finitevus' plans as much as possible. His first goal will be to build up his army again. In the old days he had huge numbers at his command; witches and wizards he'd bullied or bewitched into following him, his faithful Nocturnus, a great variety of Dark creatures. You heard him planning to recruit the Yetis; well, they'll be just one group he's after. He's certainly not going to try and take on the Ministry of Magic with only a dozen Nocturnus". Silver dreaded the idea of all the Prelates turning to Finitevus' side "How are you going to stop that?" "By convincing as many people as possible that he's back. Keep them on their guard. It's been tricky though" Ash said, "Why?" Silver asked.
Julie-Su leaned forward in her chair "Max. You saw what he was like when you told him. Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened" "But why. Locke told him". Rob had a dry smile "You just pointed out the problem. Locke. Max is frightened of him. You see, Max thinks Locke's plotting to overthrow him. He thinks Locke wants to be Minister of Magic" "What? Locke doesn't-" "Of course he doesn't. He's never wanted the Minister's job, even though a lot of people wanted him to take it. Max came to power instead, but he's never quite forgotten how much popular support Locke had, even though Locke never applied for the job. Deep down, Max knows Locke's much cleverer than he is, a much more powerful wizard, and in the early days of his Ministry he was forever asking Locke for help and advice". Knuckles nodded "But now he's become fond of power now, and much more confident. He loves being Minister of Magic, and he's managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Locke's simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it". Despite Silver's own feelings towards Locke at the moment he couldn't help but feel angry over such an absurd statement "But why?" "Because accepting that Finitevus' back would mean trouble like the Ministry hasn't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years. Max just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself Locke's lying to destabilize him" "But you're all telling people the truth aren't you?". They all milled humourlessly. Elias shrugged "Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand-ring price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I".
Knuckles nodded "And Zillas aren't very popular dinner guests. Su and Rob would loose their jobs at the Ministry if they spoke out and it's very important for us to have spies inside the Ministry, because you can bet Finitevus will have them". Rob gestured to the door "You met Espio earlier. He's been a big help. He's in charge of the hunt for Elias and has been keeping the Ministry off his trail". Silver was still confused "But if you aren't letting people know he's back-" "Who said that? Why do you think Locke's in so much trouble?" Elias said. Silver didn't know if he wanted to hear what else has been going wrong "What?" "They're trying to discredit him. Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Finitevus' return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Chaos Council and they're talking about taking away his Order of Forelock, First Class, too". Ash grinned "But Locke said he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog card". Rob glanced at him "It's not a laughing matter, Ash. If he carries on defying the Ministry like this, he could end up in Prison Island and the last thing we want is Locke in prison. While You-Know-Who knows Locke's out there and wise to what he's up to, he's going to go cautiously for a while. If Locke's out of the way, well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field" "But if Finitevus is recruiting more followers surely, it'll get out he's back" Silver said.
Elias smirked "He doesn't go up to people's doors carrying pamphlets. He tricks, jinxes, and blackmails them. He's well-practiced at operating in secrecy. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing he's interested in, he's got other plans too, plans he can put into operation very quietly indeed, and he's concentrating on them at the moment" "Like what?". Elias and Knuckles exchanged looks "Something he can only get through stealth. Something he didn't have last time" "What…Like a weapon?" "That's enough" Mari-An said. She was now up from her chair "I want you all to go to bed now!". She glared at Elias "You tell him anything else and you might as well induct him into the Order right now" "Why not?" Silver said. He looked around at them all "If Finitevus is gaining then I want to fight" "No!". It wasn't Mari-An that said it, it was Knuckles "The Order is made up of overage wizards…Who are out of school" he added to Mighty and Ray. He looked back at Silver "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you. Marie is right, Elias. They've heard enough". Elias gave a half-hearted shrug but didn't argue. Mari-An began beckoning the others to leave and Silver, sensing defeat, followed.