A Tale of Two Brothers

by Agent of Teal

Despite their differences Charles and Jules Hedgehog were always close.. After the death of their father the brothers find themselves pulled in directions they could never imagine.. While Charles begins his life as an inventor, Jules finds himself recruited into the Royal Guard and enamoured by Princess Aleena. But with an inevitable war about to break out how will it all end? R&R

17. The Guardian of the Master-What!

A Tale of Two Brothers

Hey Peeps, I don't own anything related to Sonic or his universe, that's SEGA and all other companies relevant to the creation of his various back-stories, and even though most of them have tanked it now that is beside the point. Honestly, I actually own very little in this fic (next to nothing apart from some background alterations) but this is my story and even though I am using characters from Archie, DiC and SEGA I will be fleshing many of them out because they were only 2-dimensional so in some ways they will appear very OC hopefully you'll bear with me! Anyway, I've bored you to tears with this disclaimer so enjoy and let me know what you think! X

---

Review Replies:

Slayer 666: Sir? Haha, may I remind you that I'm a girl ;P …And yes, I've played several Sonic games but I haven't enjoyed the recent ones since Sonic Adventure. I must admit I'm really excited by the Lost World it actually looks like a really good game and Sonic seems much more like his real self rather than the 'nice-guy' thing that Jason Griffin was doing with him which I found really bizarre. I'm so used to Sonic's rude, crude, nineties attitude (Haha that rhymes) so this new step back really strikes a chord with me… I'm hoping that I may get some crimbo money to put towards a Wii U so I may get a chance to play it. Hmmm, I really want to write the next chapter with a bit of a Christmas-ish theme to it at the start… this chapter does have the answer to what the holiday's name is though there's a major hint there. And thank you, although my story is kind of serious I do try to punch a little humour into it, enjoy this chapter X

---

Chapter Seventeen: The Guardian of the Master-What?!

'We have been sequestered in this building for days and we still cannot agree on a suitable course of action!' Roared a seven-foot tall light-blonde-maned lion-mobian dressed head to toe in military uniform, his many medals glistening proudly on his chest. 'The Overlanders could strike at any given moment..' His deep violet eyes blazed furiously as he glared around the seven main leaders of Mobius.

'Kodos…' King Ogilvie the Third sounded sternly, his maroon eyes narrowing at the Minister of Mobian Defence and the appointed battle warlord. '-please be seated.'

'Sire, we are getting nowhere slowly..' The Minister of Mobian Defence responded immediately.

'Peace!' The emerald-green-quilled King of Mobius declared harshly and Warlord Kodos grumbled but took his seat. 'I understand your impatience Kodos but we cannot act without agreeing an appropriate course of action first.' King Ogilvie the Third then turned towards the black and white-furred skunk-mobian in a sharp black suit. 'Now Commander St John, I believe you have the floor..'

'Thank you sire.' The skunk-mobian with sharp-mauve eyes replied, standing with a polite bow to both his king and the other Mobian-world leaders. 'Gentlemobians, and lady..' Commander St John added towards the only female in the room, High Councillor Gala-Na of the Echidna Council who nodded respectfully back. He moved brusquely to the semi-circular of flooring in the centre of the leaders. '-Intelligence from across the enemy-lines of Efrika reports that the Overlanders' are preparing a fleet to conquer the Terra Sea..' Ian St John tailed off to allow this new information to settle amongst the group of world leaders. 'As we're all aware, the Overlanders have never had the need to attack us on anything other than solid ground before and because their weaponry is far more advanced they have managed to decimate both populations in Tashistan and Efrika with little effort on their part. This means that before they can launch an attack they must first resource boats, aircrafts or even both then find crossing.' The head of Mobius Intelligence Agency then picked up a remote and pointed it at the holovision screen at the forefront of their circular table layout. As the mobian-skunk in the sharp-black suit clicked a button the translucent screen of the holovision set immediately came to life and offered the group a 3D-map of the continent-state of Mercia focusing mostly on its boarder with the Terra Sea.

'How long do we have before they make their advance?' Prince Robin said with a look of concern in his lavender eyes. The dark-teal hedgehog leant forward in his seat and clasped his hands neatly on the table in front of him. Next to him King Ogilvie the Third glanced in sympathy towards his brother-in-law before turning back as Commander Ian St John threw a fleeting smile of sympathy towards the monarch of Mercia.

'I can field that one.' Warlord Kodos Lion declared gruffly getting up from his seat and moving into the centre-circle of flooring around the World Leaders' circular table.

'Oh please, be my guest.' Ian St John replied dryly as he folded his arms tightly across his chest, resisting the urge to complete his sarcasm with a half-roll of his eyes. The skunk-mobian did not like the Minister of Mobian Defence. In Commander St John's eyes the Mobian Council had elected the wrong guy for the job. Kodos was a great soldier and a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield but he was also known to be bigoted, arrogant and his loyalties towards the kingdom were often questionable. He'd been known in his combat days as 'Wild Lion' due to his violence beyond reason and attacking his enemies without thought or strategy. Even now the seven-foot mobian-lion reigned over the military sectors of Mobius with an iron-tight fist, nobody could do anything without him knowing first… or so he thought. Ian St John's mauve eyes narrowed as he smiled inwardly to himself…

'We know for a fact that the furless will not use our 'primitive' boats, they will most likely resource their own more advanced ships-' The light-blonde-maned lion used air-quotes while his expression clearly expressed how much he despised the Overlanders.

'Must we resort to racism?' Ian St John kinked a single brow at his member of council.

'Indeed. Stick to the politically correct terms Kodos.' King Ogilvie interjected at this point with a slight frown. 'We mobians do not need to sink to their level of hatred.'

'Very well.' The large mobian-lion sighed heavily as if he were being put upon before continuing. 'The Overlanders won't be inactive for long. Commander St John has scouts positioned at the Point of Jabrolta and along the borderline points of Zicily and the Dark Sea near the borderlines of Tashistan. We will know when these… beings make their move and be ready for them.' Kodos' expression darkened severally as he held back and kept to the politically correct term for the furless aliens he was up against.

'We have heard nothing from them this last week. The Overlanders could make their assault at any given moment your majesties and this 'calm before the storm' has a lot of our boys sitting tense..' Ian St John added gravely, even now the pit of anxiety over the upcoming battle for Mercian soil had him worried. This battle would be the difference between victory and the order of conscription if the Overlanders pursued them to Mobius itself, the continental-capital of the world.

'I see.' King Ogilvie the Third mused thoughtfully as he stroked his clean-shaven chin as Kodos Lion and Ian St John resumed their seats.

'Ogilvie, we must be ready for the assault.' Prince Robin spoke in a soft voice laced with a slight edge of desperation. 'We have already witnessed the fall of two great nations..' The dark-teal royal hedgehog gestured to Tashistan and Efrikan leaders. '-we cannot afford a third.'

'I know this Robin. When you return home I will sign Mercia's order of conscription and you, my brother, will rally the troops.'

'And then lead them into battle myself.' Prince Robin replied with a stubborn glint in his lavender eyes. Before his marriage to the late Queen Bernadette's younger sister Princess Sybil, Sir Robin the Brave of Knottingham had been a great knight and had been given the title Guardian of the Realm. It was a title that he still held now and the mobians of Mercia would look for him to lead them into war. King Ogilvie sighed, knowing there was no way he could deter his tenacious brother-in-law. His stubbornness was part of what made him great. Instead King Ogilvie rose from his seat and moved into the centre-circle of floor. The emerald-green-quills of this royal hedgehog glinted in the dim light of the large temple-room they were using to host this meeting. The King of Mobius turned to face the World Leaders.

'This war has been trying for most of us but we must persevere or we will perish at the hands of these beings. They have made that message all too clear but we will stand our ground. We are mobians not cowards..' King Ogilvie the Third declared as he held up a white-gloved fist with four golden bands on each finger, each set with a small but different coloured power-stone. 'Who will stand with me?'

'All the way brother..' Prince Robin O'Hedge declared proudly being the first to declare loyalty and was followed swiftly by the First Minister of Downunda.

'We're behind you too..' The dingo-mobian in a sharp grey suit sounded seriously. 'Downunda has already dispatched a large fleet of its own Air Force to Mercia to aid them in dealing with the Overlanders from the sky.' The Efrikan President and the Sultan of Tashistan both followed suit stating that even though their continents had been seized; they're mobians either dead, in hiding or ostracized into neighbouring Mercian territory, they would try to help out as best they could. They may be down but they still had a few rebel groups that could sabotage Overlander activities and buy Mercia precious time to prepare for battle. The Leader of the Artic Regions also pledged to send a fleet of ships and submarines to aid Mercia at the Point of Jabrolta and surprise them from the eastern side of the Sapphire Ocean. Finally, King Ogilvie the Third turned around to face High Councillor Gala-Na and her three accompanying male echidna council members.

'High Councillor Gala-Na, we must ask even though we fear the answer shall be the same as before; will you and your kind aid us in this war on terror?' The green-quilled King of Mobius' maroon eyes were as level as his voice though there seemed to be little hope behind his gaze.

'I'm afraid we will once again not be acquiescing your request.' Gala-Na shook her long red-quills and sweeping fringe, her profound blue eyes looked serious yet there was a slight hint of reluctant sympathy with Mobius' plight. 'My fellow council members and I discussed the issue but we're in agreement, we can do nothing to help.'

'Then you have doomed us all!' Kodos roared, pushing himself out of his seat.

'Kodos, that's enough!' King Ogilvie the Third snarled pointing his royal sceptre at the seven-foot mobian-lion, immobilizing him in a bright pink light that came from the round-cut purple power-stone that was now growing pink. 'The echidnae are an independent republic race and are at liberty to pick and choose their wars, we must respect their decision..' The green-quilled royal hedgehog kept his arm aloft so that the force-field holding Warlord Kodos Lion and keeping him still and silent.

'With all due respect High Counsellor Gala-Na..' Prince Robin sounded, standing up for the first time. '-the echidna race are known to be great warriors and your race is the most technically advanced of all of Mobius.'

'Maybe so Prince Robin the Brave..' The red-quilled echidna on Gala-Na's left spoke up, his dark-brown eyes gazing at the Prince of Mercia solidly. '-but we cannot intervene. Our wisest sage has predicted that if we involve ourselves we will make the 'gathering storm' much worse than it is already prophesied to be.' The rest of the Mobius World Leaders looked on with confusion as did both the Minister of Mobian Defence and the Head of the Mobius Intelligence Agency. King Ogilvie the Third slowly lowered his royal sceptre, releasing Kodos from the glowing pink force-field as he gazed at the three echidnae in surprise. The Minister of Mobian Defence immediately took his seat next to Commander Ian St John but scowled hard at the echidnae across from him, he dared not to say anything and provoke the King of Mobius.

'Grandmaster Dimitri, could you please elaborate on this 'gathering storm' your kind has predicted?' King Ogilvie asked politely and both the red-furred echidna with brown bands lining his quills and the other three echidnae turned and blinked at each other before turning back.

'Our kind did not predict this 'gathering storm'.' Grandmaster Dimitri replied plainly. The albino-white echidna with gold irises in black sclera and small rounded specticals kinked a brow.

'It was the hedgehog prophet Amanrapi that predicted the 'dark storm'.' The albino echidna said plainly.

'Do you know what it was he predicted then Doctor Finitevus?' King Ogilvie spoke with a hint of curiosity.

'No. No-one does. The scroll he wrote his predictions on was buried in his tomb with him.' Doctor Finitevus replied a twinkle shone in his creepy golden irises.

'Although there is an old rumour that suggests his predictions not only spoke of the 'gathering storm' but included a way to defeat it too.' The brown-furred echidna with bright blue eyes said solemnly.

'But alas Mitre Yanar..' Doctor Finitevus added with a gloomy hint in his voice. '-these are merely rumours and nothing more..'

'And the answers lie in his burial tomb in Mobigypt Efrika.' King Ogilvie sounded sadly; there was no way they'd be able to recover the scroll without finding a way to end this war first. 'So there is nothing we can do to convince you to help us with our plight?' King Ogilvie the Third finally added, getting back to the immediate matter at hand.

'No.' Gala-Na replied. 'This is not our war to fight but we sympathize with you greatly.'

'Oh yeh…' Kodos groaned inwardly from the other side of the circular table arrangement. 'Because it's your sympathy we really need…'

---

It was Jules Hedgehog's first day off since arriving on Angel Island and since he was somewhere new, what he really wanted to do was go exploring. Unfortunately King Ogilvie the Third's promise that all his faction would remain inside a set radius was preventing the cobalt-quilled teenage hedgehog from doing this. With his fast feet were itching to tread some miles Jules felt trapped within the small radius of land so instead of exploring the seventeen year old hedgehog used his free time to work out and test his swiftness. He started with a brusque warm-up session which started with some cardio exercises before moving into resistance-band jumping-jacks, a move that helped tone his muscles and lungs. It was a brutal move that Jules could only do in short bursts of reps before breaking for at least ten seconds and then continuing another set. By the time he came to his one-handed push-ups the cobalt-blue hedgehog was thoroughly sick of working out. He'd only been working out for half an hour but in that time he had managed to speed through a full body workout that would take any other mobian at least an hour and a half.

'Fifty-eight…. Fifty-nine..' Jules grunted through gritted teeth as he pushed up shakily with his right hand, his left arm curled behind his back. He paused with his right hand holding his weight, not wanting to let go even though the strain was killing him and he could feel a bead of sweat roll down his already damp facial fur. 'Just one more, just one more..' The cobalt hedgehog uttered breathlessly, trying to encourage himself and slowly he moved his arm down, letting his weight drop down before his teeth grit harder as he pushed himself back up. 'Sixty..' Jules gasped out in breathless relief and slumped onto the grass below him, letting the soft green blades lightly tickle his clean-shaven muzzle as he took in their fresh smell. He shut his hazel eyes and concentrated on his heavy breathing, allowing the warm sunshine to warm his cobalt fur and long quills. He remained this way for a long while after his breathing returned to normal. Jules liked soaking up the sun's rays as he lay there in the grass, he could almost forget about wanting to explore the island… almost.

It didn't take much for that itching feeling in the soles of his size eleven feet to return, coming with the deep-down desire to just keep running in a straight line until he got to the opposite side of the island then turn back. The call was just irresistible… insistently banging inside his own head like a caged beast desperate for freedom. Groaning with slight reluctance Jules picked himself up off the grass and got slowly to his feet, his sock-covered toes curling in his shoes. He glanced down the meadow to land's edge and the massive drop-off into the ocean below, his feet almost tingling with anticipation at what a run around land's edge would be like..

His hazel eyes closed as a smile curved his muzzle; he could picture the wind in his quills, the salty smell of the ocean that evaporated from the water mass far below, the warm sun's rays beating down on him from above and the feel of the terra as his feet moved with no care for direction. It was freedom in every sense of the word… and he wanted desperately to taste it. His hazel eyes opened as he remembered King Ogilvie's promise to the Echidna Council. Jules made an uneasy noise in the back of his throat. He had never ignored an inner-call to go for a run before… it was so hard to switch it off. It was like asking an alcoholic to just suddenly stop drinking, the desire to run was pounding the back of his skull, his toes curled and uncurled repeatedly, even his fingers were twitching restlessly now.. His whole body was screaming for him to just run..

…Just do it… just do it… who will know…

'I will know..' Jules uttered to himself as he curled his fists tightly and summoned all his willpower to turn away from the open space. His large brown-booted feet felt oddly heavy as he walked back towards the lodgings he shared with the rest of his fellow Royal Guards.

Perhaps he would feel better after a shower…

…He didn't!

Jules just couldn't get rid of the deeply ingrained desire to run without care or thought to where he went. He'd never had to consider where he went during a run before and the only time he'd ever had to consider his speed was at work. It had taken him a while but the cobalt-blue hedgehog had finally managed to keep his speed down inside the palace. What made this even harder was that this was his day off, this was his time to do whatever he wanted but the radius restriction meant that he just felt confined..

Shoving his still twitching fingers in the pockets of his bright-red vest the cobalt-blue hedgehog began to walk briskly down towards land's edge. He hadn't intended to move so rapidly but it seemed his feet didn't understand the meaning of taking a stroll. Once he reached the edge of the floating island Jules sighed heavily, closing his eyes as the salty ocean smell tweaked his nostrils and the warm sunny breeze ruffled through his long cobalt-blue head-quills. His hazel eyes opened and he turned in the direction of the wind so his fringe and head-quills shot straight out behind him and gazed almost longingly down the grassy terra of the island edge. He could feel his resolve weakening at the sight of the open ground before him. He hadn't been on a proper run since arriving on the island five days ago and Jules could feel how restless his body was, he'd been working out to try and tire himself out to take his mind off of going for a run but that was no longer effective. These extra workouts had improved his stamina greatly, even in the short time as he'd done multiple work-outs in a day. Jules often did one just before sleeping so that he didn't get restless-leg-syndrome which he was prone to when he didn't take regular runs. However his improving stamina meant it was becoming harder and harder to sate his inner-desire to run freely and his sleep was becoming restless..

Now there it was… the wide open road… just looking so tempting… who would know…

Jules shivered with the temptation that was right in front of his nose. The very last of his willpower was crumbling; all those weeks learning discipline with Mobijitzu were not helping. He just couldn't clear his mind of this. His left leg jerked slightly, his foot drummed on the ground for a few seconds before it stopped. He closed his eyes… don't look… don't look… don't look… Jules grit his teeth tightly together, his fists balling tighter…

He wasn't going to go…

He wasn't going to go…

The cobalt-blue hedgehog could feel the wind in his face, the smell of salt and dirt filling his lungs, the softness of the soil moving beneath his feet…

Moving beneath him?!

His hazel eyes opened wide and the blurring landscape on his left-hand side proved that it had all been too much for Jules to resist but he couldn't help but smile. His feet were blurring faster than his naked eye could see but the ground felt so right, his anxieties of the last few days were quickly slipping away… He was free…

---

The seventeen cobalt-blue hedgehog figured that if he stuck to land's edge and just ran around the skyline of Angel Island the native guardians couldn't get too annoyed with him as he was not going inland. If he could prove that he wasn't interested in whatever they were guarding they couldn't be too mad with him. He was curious about what they were guarding but he wasn't prepared to be accused of being a thief when he was the furthest thing from one. Jules braked and slid across the ground a little way, deciding that running a short circumference of the island's edge was far enough. The cobalt-blue hedgehog didn't want to anger the native guardians too much.

Before turning back to run in the other direction the cobalt-quilled teenage hedgehog turned to look inland at the view since the sea scenery hadn't changed that much in the last few minutes…

'Whoa…' Jules' warm-hazel eyes widened at the sight that greeted him as the landscape had changed drastically in the short distance he had travelled. He was now stood on a beech of gritty sand which could only have been created by wind chipping away at the top-layer of sandstone on this part of Angel Island. However what had really caught his eyes was an ancient echidnae shrine that he could see standing proudly slightly further inland. It was built using stone that had obviously been cut from the mountains behind him forming a huge circular ceremonial-shrine was surrounded by seven tall, thin, pillars in a circle outside it and another circle of small stones outside of them. The echidnae shrine was three circular-stories high with a colossal stone-staircase and both the first and second levels had a one-foot ledge around the edge just wide enough for someone to stand on. The third level was completely open to the elements and judging by the three small steps that Jules could just make out circling the top step. The cobalt-blue hedgehog wondered if this ceremonial-shire was supposed to hold something as the top level seemed to be missing something, as did the seven empty columns surrounding it.

Suddenly a rustling noise nearby caught Jules' attention and his swift hazel-eyes swivelled around to the wide-leafed shrubbery and tall trees with thick green vines that draped from their heavy-leafed branches. His cobalt-furred brow furrowed as the seventeen year old grounds patrol private scanned the thick vegetated area surrounding the open-space where he and the ceremonial-shine stood with the massive island drop-off directly behind them. For a moment everything was peaceful before the cobalt-quilled hedgehog's eyes caught sight of a pair of purple eyes staring at him from a dark patch in the thick shrubbery..

Jules gave a start, feeling slightly unsure on what to do as he had left his sword back in his lodgings. He hadn't really been expecting to have to defend himself on this run. The cobalt-blue hedgehog could hold his own in a fight easily enough but he was a little out of practise with unarmed combat. After a few moments Jules felt himself relax a little but remained cautious as the purple eyes did nothing more than stare unblinkingly at him from these bushes. It was slightly unnerving but whatever these eyes belonged to seemed to just be watching him right now, perhaps waiting to see what he was going to do next.

At this point the sound of distant voices made Jules' left-side pointed-ear twitch then swivel as he closed his eyes, trying to pinpoint where the voices were coming from. There were three voices, slightly further inland than he was in a north-easterly direction. Another rustling sound came from the dark-spot where the purple eyes had been watching him. This broke Jules' concentration and his hazel-eyes snapped open and swivelled back to see the eyes had gone. The cobalt-blue hedgehog quickly presumed that the owner of those purple eyes had gone to check out the voices further inland. Jules' cobalt-furred brow furrowed curiously, whoever those other guys were they were obviously considered more of a threat than he was. Perhaps he should check this group out for himself, just in case it was a group looking to infiltrate the G-Seven meeting. Jules may be off duty today but he had taken an oath to protect the royal family and if he had to go against his king's word to do it then so be it. The seventeen year old grounds patrol private swiftly moved across the clearing, passed the echidnae ceremonial-shrine and into the green leafy wilderness beyond.

After moving as quickly and noiselessly through the thick leafy wilderness Jules slowed down and crouched low behind a bush with wide leaves that could shield him from the view of the others here on the island. His left-side pointed-ear twitched as the voices grew closer to him, their words suddenly becoming more distinct the closer they got…

---

'Sweetheart, ya got this. You're a total knockout.' A light-grey-furred bat-mobian wearing a four-button jacket and matching trousers in a grey-charcoal that make his light-grey pelt stand out. Under his suit he wore a crisp white shirt with a black and silver tie. Following this smartly dressed male bat was a white-furred female bat-mobian. Though her waist was slender her hips and bust were generously proportioned and squeezed into a peach coloured skin-tight halter-neck dress. The long bangs of white fur growing from the top of her head were styled around her large bat ears in ringlets that just covered her rounded head. Her large wide-apart eyes were shadowed in a nude shade that complimented her caramel irises.

'Yeh, well you better not stiff me this time Fink.' The white-furred female bat frowned at her male comrade. 'We hadda deal. You steal me a rock and then I'll marry you!'

'Relax baby, you'll get your rock. All ya gotta do schmooze the guardian long enough for me t'get in an' nab it.' The grey-furred bat with turquoise eyes grinned at his female companion which displayed a golden-tooth right at the front of his crafty smile.

'Oh alright… but this rock better be worth it..' The white-furred female bat grumbled reluctantly as one hand went to her hips as they jutted out to the side.

'Trust me doll, this rock is t'die for..' Fink replied as his eyes narrowed further.

'Well in that case you can do the dyin' for it Fink..' The female bat sounded sweetly to her male companion. She then sashayed passed the grey-furred male bat-mobian in the dark-charcoal suit and blew a kiss then giggled with a wink as she carried on through the leafy wilderness. Fink's smile turned slightly dreamy and his narrowed turquoise eyes softened as he watched her nicely proportioned rear wiggle as she walked on.

'Oh yowza!' Fink sighed appreciatively. 'Lana babe, I'm already dyin'..'

...Bandits! Jules' warm-hazel eyes narrowed in annoyance at the criminal couple who were planning to steal some kind of 'rock' from this island. He felt relieved that they weren't after the royal family or any of the world leaders but the cobalt-blue hedgehog was concerned that they could accidently discover that there was more items of value on this island than just this 'rock'. Jules decided that in order to make sure that this 'rock' remained the only thing they were after he would have to follow them, so as noiselessly as he could the seventeen year old blue hedgehog tailed them swiftly through the thick leafy jungle-like wilderness. While he carefully pushed back the wide leathery leaves and listened to these two crooks converse with each other Jules wasn't quite sure what disgusted him more; the fact that they were hardened criminals or the fact that this 'couple' seemed to just be using each other to obtain this 'rock'. Whatever their reason for being together the cobalt-blue hedgehog couldn't help but settle on the fact that these two corrupt mobians actually deserved each other and if they ended up in jail, which was most likely, they should be locked away together.

'Stick close doll, these guardians are real sneaky..' Fink was saying to his comrade and 'fiancée' Lana as they approached the base of the central mountain range of Angel Island. 'They set traps. But the good news is we'll know that we're gettin' close..'

'Traps?' The white-furred female bat kinked a brow at her comrade and lover as he pushed back the final large leaf to reveal the first mountain which looked like a hill in comparison to the other three behind it. 'So this thing is pretty valuable, huh?'

'Damn right baby, there's no other stone like it on the whole of Mobius and this daddy-o knows ya gotta soft-spot for rare stones..' The grey-furred male bat added in a smooth tone as his grin was crafty but suave.

'Well 'daddy-o' let's see if you can nab it then..' Lana uttered breathlessly as she pushed herself seductively up against him and ran a finger down his pale-skinned muzzle, stopping on his lips.

…Jules rolled his eyes at the criminal 'couple' before shaking his head in disbelief at their messed up excuse for a relationship. The blue hedgehog then carefully tip-toed quickly behind them as they approached an unguarded cave entrance, wherever the guardian was he was not sitting in the open. Like the criminal bat-mobian couple who were now cautiously sticking to the cover of the large leaves of the mountain-forest wilderness that surrounded the open clearing around the huge rocky peaks at the centre of the floating isle.

'Where's the guardian I'm supposed to schmooze?' Lana said as her caramel coloured eyes widened as there was nobody guarding the huge cave-entrance that had been gouged out at the base of the central mountain-range.

'Not sure doll but he'll be around here somewhere..' Fink replied as his turquoise eyes narrowed and his large grey-furred bat-ears swivelled as he listened for movement behind them but nothing. 'Why don'tcha take a stroll out there and see if our friendly neighbourhood echidna shows up.' The male bat added with a suggestive wriggle of the brows.

'You think that will work?' Lana kinked her neatly pencilled brow at her male comrade.

'Are ya kiddin' babe.. if I knockout like you couldn't lure out the guardian nothing will.' Fink replied with a leer to his white-furred female companion and she smiled sweetly. 'Now get out there and wiggle what'cha mama gave ya.' The grey-furred bat-mobian added pointing a finger out at the open clearing.

A little way over from where they were hidden Jules remained hidden in the bushes though rather than listening to the two criminals plot their next move the cobalt-blue hedgehog was gazing with shrewd eyes out towards the open clearing, wondering whereabouts the guardian was hiding.. However before the cobalt-blue hedgehog could really consider the possibilities something sharp stabbed his backside just to the lower-right of his short cobalt-furred tail. A sharp gasp of pain hissed out from Jules' square teeth as he grimaced and a woozy feeling washed over him, making him wobble. With his last ounce of conciseness Jules reached around to his rear and pulled out the small object that had pricked his hide. His knees buckled and the cobalt-furred hedgehog dropped down with his empty hand now shakily supporting his upper body. He brought the object that had struck him around to his now slightly blurry vision, to see a wobbling small round capsule with a tiny needle syringe on the end. At this point whatever fast-acting poison that had been shot at him took effect and Jules lost consciousness…

---

…All he could see was darkness. Then slowly Jules Hedgehog could feel a pounding migraine settle within his head. It was like the worst hangover in history, like his skull had been placed in a vice and someone was slowly winching it closed as his brain was squeezed inside. His eyelids were heavy and his whole body felt like a massive dead weight. At this moment the distorted sound of voices speaking from somewhere nearby. Giving up on trying to find a way out of this darkness and focus on what the voices were saying… perhaps they would give him a clue about where he was and what had happened in the forest-wilderness.

'What about this one?' The gruff voice of a middle-aged mobian male asked from somewhere close by. 'Was he in cahoots with those despicable bats too?'

'I don't think so father.' A younger voice replied. 'I believe he's a Royal Guard of King Ogilvie's. I have seen him keeping company with Princess Aleena.'

…They were talking about him!... This realisation hit Jules hard. His brain stabbed with pain as the poison was wearing off. All the muscles of his body suddenly burst with pins and needles and the pain was almost unbearable but his mouth and voice were still numb.

'A Royal Guard? You're quite sure Locke? The Echidnae Council of Albion assured us that King Ogilvie the Third had given his word that his party would not leave the radius we laid out before their arrival.' The middle-aged voice of the elder mobian spoke an edge of disappointment was almost impossible to miss in his tone. 'What could he possibly want with the Master Emerald?'

…The Master-What?!... Jules' mind wasn't following this at all. The only Emerald he'd heard of was Chaos Emeralds and he wasn't even sure those were real.

'I don't think he was after the Master Emerald father, he seemed to just be following them.' The voice that belonged to 'Locke' spoke again. His was much softer sounding than his father and though he spoke with conviction there was a hint of nervousness in his tone too, making it painfully obvious that he was speaking with a strict parent.

'But for what reason if he wasn't after the Master Emerald?' The older mobian replied with a hint of both distrust and curiosity.

'Perhaps he just wanted to be sure they weren't going to infiltrate the G-Seven Summit meeting.' The younger mobian suggested and immediately the sound of a derisive snort followed.

'We would've taken those conbats down long before they would learn that the secret summit meeting between our world leaders was even here.' The elder mobian replied with a hint of pride in his voice. 'But that still wouldn't explain what this hedgehog was doing outside the radius we set out for him.' The older-sounding mobian added in a concerned voice.

'I guess you'll just have to ask him that when he comes to.' The one named 'Locke' replied in a soft voice. The intense pins and needles in Jules' body gradually began to wear off the cobalt-blue hedgehog let out an elongated low groan he became aware of the hard surface he was leant on.

'Looks like he's coming round now..' The older voice commented gently as Jules flexed his fingers, testing their dexterity and the moment. He realised they were no longer dead weights the cobalt-blue teenage-mobian moved his arms tentatively to his sides and gently pushing his weight down and sitting up slowly. Moaning softly as his head still felt heavy and was swimming.

'Take it easy kit.' The older mobian's voice sounded gently coming close to his right pointed-ear as a set of claw-like fingers rested on his shoulders keeping his body supported as his head slowly regained its balance. 'The venom of the kakos plant acts quickly but it can take a little while to wear off completely.'

'Aowww.. Man! I feel like I've been run over by a truck..' Jules groaned in a soft low voice as he carefully blinked his eyes opened. His vision was blurry at first but slowly his cobalt-furred legs, white sports-socks and large beige combat-boots came into focus.

'That's normal, it'll pass.' The older mobian's voice sounded from behind him and slowly Jules turned his wearily narrowed hazel-eyes around to see a ruby-furred middle-aged echidna sat on the stone-bench behind him. He smiled tightly at the teenage hedgehog, keeping a grip on his shoulders as he gazed at him through sharp blue eyes that seemed to pierce Jules' very soul and make the hedgehog feel a little uncomfortable. 'I am Sabre of the House of Edmund, Leader of the Brotherhood of Guardians. This-' One white-mittened hand, which seemed to have two long claw-like knuckles, left Jules' shoulder and gestured to the younger echidna standing next to him. '-is my son Locke, Guardian of the Master Emerald.' Jules turned his head gingerly to see the younger ruby-furred echidna who looked to be around twenty with bright purple eyes… the same purple eyes he had seen in the bushes earlier.

'Hi..' The younger echidna said casually with a half wave.

'You..' Jules gasped out in surprise, realising the truth immediately. 'You've been spying on me?'

'I was just protecting the island, it was nothing personal.' Locke replied in a soft but serious voice.

'Uh-huh..' The cobalt-blue hedgehog drawled as his warm-hazel eyes in slight disbelief, now wondering what exactly he'd seen between him and Princess Aleena.

'A more pressing question would be are you truly a member of King Ogilvie the Third's Royal Guard?' The elder echidna asked in a serious tone, his startling blue eyes narrowing at the teenage hedgehog sitting in front of him. Jules sighed heavily knowing he was in trouble now…

'Yes. Private Jules T. Hedgehog.' He responded a little reluctantly with a lacklustre salute. 'Though technically today is my day off.' The cobalt-furred hedgehog added offhandedly with a slight smile to the elder echidna. It quickly vanished when Sabre's expression hardened towards him. This guy's glaring could put his own father's to shame.

'Tell me something Private Hedgehog..' The middle-aged echidna with incredibly long ruby-quills was saying in the same stern voice. 'Why did you see fit to break the agreement that we have with King Ogilvie the Third and leave the safe radius that the brotherhood set out for you?' Sabre kinked a brow at the teenager in front of him and immediately Jules' cobalt pointed-ears dipped as a sheepish grin twisted his lips.

'I didn't mean to I swear..' Jules replied earnestly, hoping that the truth would absolve him a little from the trouble he was going to be in once Captain Prower and King Ogilvie found out he was out here. 'I just felt so… trapped. Confined in that little circle of space, I just needed to stretch my legs and feel some speed. I thought if I stayed at the land's edge I wouldn't be disturbing you too much. Then I heard voices so I followed them and when I discovered they were bandits I wanted to be sure they wouldn't find out about the royals on the island.' For a long moment Sabre considered the teenage cobalt-quilled hedgehog, his sharp-blue eyes still shrewdly gazing at him as if assessing his words for truth.

'You see father..' Locke spoke up at this point, his own purple eyes looking solemnly up at the middle-aged echidna who was sitting beside the teenage hedgehog. 'I told you he was not after the Master Emerald-'

'Locke, be silent!' Sabre sounded sternly, his blue eyes flashing dangerously at his son and the younger echidna winced, knowing he'd said too much.

'So what happened to those to bat-bandits anyway?' Jules' hazel eyes frowned in annoyance at the two echidnae and Locke immediately turned his purple eyes to his father, not daring to answer this after already being reprimanded for speaking out of turn.

'Do not worry. I had those two forcefully ejected from the island. Sent them back to the mainland of Mobius; they won't be bothering us again anytime soon.' Sabre spoke gently as he removed his hand from Jules' shoulders satisfied that the young hedgehog had managed to regain his sense of balance.

'Oh. Far out..' Jules sounded with a slight smile; at least the crooks were no longer on Angel Island. 'So, uh, what happens to me then?' His cobalt brow suddenly kinked as his small smile turned into a serious line. He knew that since he was speaking to the Leader of the Brotherhood of Guardians this was the guy who would no doubt be telling his captain what he'd been up too.

'Truthfully, I'm not sure. This is a situation we did not expect to be in and the brotherhood and I will have to convene and deliberate on how best to explain this to your captain and king.' Sabre responded as he rubbed his chin with his white-mittened hand. 'In the meantime you will remain in the custody of my son Locke until we are ready to escort you back to your regiment.' The middle-aged echidna added.

'And how long will that take?' The cobalt-blue hedgehog asked curiously.

'As long as it takes.' Sabre said with a bite of annoyance in his voice along with a flash of warning in his sharp-blue eyes, clearly this echidna was not used to back-chat. Without another word the older ruby-furred echidna in blue robes swivelled around and walked away without saying anything further.

'You shouldn't test him like that.' Locke's voice sounded drawing Jules' attention back to the younger echidna standing beside him. 'Especially since he's allowing you to stay, father doesn't usually allow outsiders to see our work, you should consider it an honour.' A genuine smile tweaked the older mobian's pale-skinned muzzle, suddenly making his narrow long nose and heavy brow more approachable.

'But he never said anything about letting me see what you guys do.' Jules replied as both his brows rose in slight confusion at the ruby-furred echidna's word.

'True. But I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald; if he expects me to still do my duty while you are here I will have to show you around.' Locke replied and his smile tweaked a little wider as if proving that this was as close to permission as the hedgehog was going to get.

'What exactly is the Master Emerald?' Jules asked curiously and at his words the twenty-looking echidna in a short white robe beckoned the cobalt-blue teenager to follow him.

'Come, I'll introduce you..' Locke said lightly as the two young mobians moved out of the cavernous chamber where Jules had been resting and further into the labyrinth of tunnels that ran through the mountain range in the centre of Angel Island.

---

For a short while Jules Hedgehog followed the Guardian of the Master Emerald as he led him through a complex maze of darkened tunnels that made up a network inside the huge mountains. From the outside nobody would have ever suspected that such an intricate warren was concealed inside those solid rocky peaks, it was mind-boggling. Locke was leading him while holding a single torch of fire that was basically a burning rag on a broad stick.

'Y'know that stone temple out by land's edge where I saw you earlier..' Jules finally spoke as they turned off into another tributary tunnel and carried on with darkness surrounding the small circle of dull orange light.

'You mean Mystic Ruins. What about it?' Locke replied kinking a ruby-furred brow curiously at the cobalt-furred hedgehog next to him.

'It's a shrine of sorts, right? What was it used for?' The seventeen year-old hedgehog's hazel eyes had a curious glint in them now.

'It's the ceremonial alter of the Master Emerald and the tall pillars around it are for the seven servers.' Locke replied in an amiable tone and a half-glance towards Jules before his eyes returned to concentrate on where they were going.

'The seven servers?' The hedgehog asked and stopped still looking perplexed. Locke, who had continued walking, turned to give him a fleeting look and a smile.

'You might know them better as Chaos Emeralds.' The echidna replied continuing to walk away with a serene smile. Up ahead of them was a dimly glowing green light coming from a large chamber that seemed to be a natural formation in the mountain's geographical design.

'Chaos Emeralds?!' Jules yelped out in shock, having heard of them before he hurried after Locke. 'Those things are really real?' He added thoughtlessly as no one had ever seen one back on the mainland and they had become nothing more than a myth now.

'What do you mean? Of course they're real.' Locke frowned slightly at the cobalt hedgehog as he was quick to catch him up. 'They're a source of unlimited power and rumour has it that when all seven servers are united the possibilities could be endless.' Locke replied. 'I have served the Master Emerald ever since I was ten years old and I know that no-one in my living family has ever seen more than two Chaos Emeralds reunited at once but I know that on the Day of Ascension..' The twenty-looking echidna paused as he realised Jules may not know the story behind the rise of Angel Island. 'That's the day our ancestors raised the island from the waters below to protect it from the danger of a meteor that would have destroyed it.' Locke added the explanation and continued. 'They used all seven servers of Chaos and controlled the power with the Master Emerald. Once the deed was done the servers of Chaos disappeared and the Master Emerald has held up the island on its own ever since.' Locke smiled slightly as they approached the entrance to the huge chamber with huge crystalized stalagmites and natural zirconia-like formations around the edges of the cavern leading up to a stone-platform that appeared to be roughly gouged out of the solid-rock flooring. The ruby-furred echidna set his torch in a nearby empty bracket before entering the chamber with his cobalt-blue companion right behind him. Sitting on this platform was the source of the glowing green light that was brightening the huge chamber and being reflected by the crystals around it.

'Wow…' Jules gasped as his hazel eyes took in the massive glowing green power-stone that seemed to just dominate the chamber. Though he couldn't tear his eyes away from the Master Emerald he suddenly understood what 'rock' the two criminal bat-mobians had been after.

'Yeh.. It's really something to look at isn't it?' There was a definite note of pride in Locke's voice as he folded his arms casually across his chest. 'You should see it when it sits on Mystic Ruins. When the light catches it just right it sends prisms of light all over the entire night's sky. It's really beautiful.'

'Prisms of Light? Wait a second, do you take the Master Emerald outside a week before the New Year celebrations?' Jules suddenly asked and the ruby-furred echidna blinked in surprise before frowning in confusion.

'Yes. How did you know that?' Locke asked in amazement.

'That's the same time that the mainland of Mobius celebrates the Festival of Light. I guess when you guys bring out the Master Emerald it must reflect the winter sun's light and cause a kaleidoscope of lights to mirror back across to us on the mainland.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog said in a matter-of-fact voice as the whole phenomenon seemed to suddenly make a lot of sense. Mobotroplis was too far south to experience Aroura's Borealis that Mercia got to experience when they celebrated their Festival of Light on the week of New Year.

'Incredible.' Locke sounded a little awestruck by all this new information. 'We were lead to believe that those on the mainland no longer celebrated the servers of Chaos. That they had become long forgotten relics of the past but somehow, however unknowingly, you've still been celebrating their power.' The ruby-furred echidna then threw the slightly younger cobalt-blue hedgehog beside him a smile. 'Perhaps you're not quite as out of touch as we thought.'

'I dunno about that..' Jules drawled unsurely as one white-gloved hand reached up and scratched the side of the long head-quills that formed the top-most point of the three-point natural formation of quills at the back of his head. 'To be honest the Festival of Lights is mostly just about coming together and showing goodwill to your fellow mobians. Most of us just use it as an excuse to get drunk and exchange gifts.'

'But that is what the servers of Chaos stand for: Unity.' Locke replied as his purple eyes closed for a moment so he could think on how best to continue. 'The powers of Chaos are influenced by the power of the hearts that control them. If we let them fall into the wrong hands they could spell disaster for us all. This is why my family guards the Master Emerald, so that we can make sure its powers are only used for the greater good.'

'Hmmm…' Jules drawled thoughtfully. 'Maybe that's why the flag of Mobius has a Chaos Emerald in the centre of it.' The hedgehog had never understood why King Thomas and his First Minister Alexander Acorn had picked this to represent Mobius. But of course they had sought to unite as many mobians as possible in their quest for a new world order.

'It's quite possible. Back then mobians were more reliant on myth and magic rather than reason and science.' Locke sounded amiably before turning away from the Master Emerald and heading towards another cavernous opening at the opposite side of the chamber which Jules hadn't noticed as the huge Master Emerald had been obscuring it. He then turned to the younger cobalt-hedgehog and spoke in an amiable voice. 'I want to do an island sweep. Come along and I'll give you the grand tour.' The ruby-furred echidna smiled warmly at his new companion.

'Far out.' Jules declared and dashed over to Locke who blinked in bemusement as the swift blue hedgehog was beside him in nanoseconds.

'Far… out?' Locke repeated confused. 'You said that before. What does it mean?' One ruby-furred brow kinked upwards.

'Oh. It's just modern slang.' Jules answered with a casual wave of the hand then when Locke still looked unsure at what he meant. The cobalt-furred hedgehog blinked suddenly realising that as this echidna had been isolated from his peers at such a young age he would not know about slang words. 'It's words we use to make us seem 'cool' or 'with it' that separate us from the generation before us.' He then grinned and wrapped an arm around Locke's shoulders and steered the older mobian towards the tunnel. 'Tell you what; while you show me around I'll catch you up on the latest lingo.'

'Um... Sure, why not?' Locke shrugged with a slight smile of his own. 'At least that way I'd know what you meant.' Both mobians chuckled in amusement as they left the Master Emerald alone in its protected chamber.

---

'And this is Mystic Falls..' The ruby-furred echidna with long thin quills said as the two of them finally arrived at a tall waterfall that flowed not too far away from where the ceremonial alter of Mystic Ruins stood. It had not taken long to show Jules around the island. With the hedgehog's speed and the echidna's knowledge of short-cuts and hidden 'traps' on the island the two of them were able to cover the tour in double-quick time. Locke had taken Jules around the mountain range and shared their names from Ooyama which was the tallest, to Koyama which was the smallest. The Guardian of the Master Emerald then took Jules around to see the south-side of the island which was known as the Sandopolis Desert as it was just a large expanse of uninhabited sandy wasteland with a few crumbling temples of some long forgotten tribe of echidnae. Along the way the Jules not only shared the slang words that he and his friends used back home he also shared stories with Locke of some of their adventures together and in return the ruby-furred echidna shared stories of his time guarding the Master Emerald and of his family. Apparently his grandfather Athair was a greatly revered seer whose predictions were usually accurate. He had apparently seen bad fortunes for the Brotherhood if he became the leader of them so he left. This caused a rift between father and son as Sabre had not been happy as nobody had left the Brotherhood before and he'd felt as if he'd been left to pick up the pieces. Athair had moved to the mainland and the two had never spoken again.

'Oh radical..' Jules gasped out in awe as he gazed at the huge waterfall that was surrounded by lush green, leafy vegetation and tall trees. As the clear waters of Mystic Falls cascaded over the drop-off point it seemed to glimmer in the light of the sun giving the waters an almost green touch to the surface as it reflected the leafy wilderness around it. The two young mobians strolled casually over to the edge of the waterfall's gorge and settled themselves on the dirt ground, hidden from immediate view by the vegetation around them.

Locke smiled at the seventeen year old hedgehog beside him, now understanding that 'radical' was another way of expressing how impressed he was by the waterfall's beauty.

'The old ones say that if you look deep into the waters of Mystic Falls you can see a vision of your heart's true desire.' The red-furred echidna then gave a little sigh and turned his head away, pretending to watch the leaves of a nearby palm-tree rustle in the warm island breeze.

'What's up?' Jules asked as his warm-hazel eyes studied his tour guide and new friend with concern.

'Huh? Oh it's nothing.' Locke replied, keeping his purple eyes fixed on the moving long, leather-like leaves of the tree nearby.

'C'mon bud, you can talk to me.' The seventeen year old hedgehog said in a coaxing tone causing the slightly older ruby-furred echidna to finally look back and frown at him. Jules kept on smiling pleasantly despite this open glare of confusion and distrust.

'Why do you care?' Locke expressed his disbelief with a slightly irritated tone, clearly thinking that Jules was crossing some unseen boundary on his privacy.

'Because I'm your friend.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog said as his eyes closed and a self-assured smirk twisted his slightly-tanned muzzle before his hazel eyes reopened and his look hardened a little. 'Now are you gonna tell me what's up or what?' His tone turned slightly accusing now as he looked a little less patient.

'Friend?' Locke blinked as this word seemed to have completely thrown him now. His look had instantly softened and he seemed to be gazing at Jules with confusion and slight assurance. 'I've never had a friend before..' He added as his white-mittened hand scratched his pale-skinned muzzle, the large claw-like knuckles of that hand now pointing down his chin as he did this.

'Yeh, I can tell..' Jules' hazel eyes narrowed. It was kind of obvious by Locke's lack of social skills that he was not used to interacting with those his own age, he was just lucky that Jules had an older brother with a similar problem. 'Now tell me what's bothering you..'

Ok, ok, I'll tell you…' Locke sighed heavily, feeling slightly beaten down by his new 'friend'. 'Are you always this relentless?' He then added with a slight frown towards the younger hedgehog beside him.

'What can I say? It's just something you're gonna have to learn to deal with..' Jules replied with a dismissive shrug before waiting for the ruby-furred echidna to share what was eating him inside.

'My father is arranging for me to marry a girl from the mainland who the Brotherhood have deemed 'suitable enough' to carry the next guardian..' Locke suddenly paused as he realised that this must sound strange to the seventeen year old hedgehog. He then raised both his white-mittened hands as he explained himself further. 'Don't get me wrong; when I met her she seemed really nice, a little shy perhaps but still nice. Anyway, I guess I just have doubts about if this is truly what I want..' Jules nodded slightly as he took in the ruby-furred echidna's words. The laws around echidnae-marriage sounded just as messed up from Locke's perspective. It seemed like the entire thing was controlled entirely by the parents and the pair getting married had little or no say in the matter at all.

'Have you said anything to your father?' The hedgehog asked tentatively but had a feeling he knew what the answer was before Locke spoke.

'Yeh right, he wouldn't listen to me. Besides the wedding has been arranged and the House of Arian have already gone on to Albion to see to the bride's ceremonial robes and dowry.' Locke replied before adding as his look seemed to toughen once more. 'Our family took a sacred oath to protect the Master Emerald and its servers. I must do my bit to ensure our continuation.'

'Oh man, that's heavy..' Jules sounded in a low voice as he contemplated the amount of responsibility and pressure that had been placed squarely on his new friend's shoulders, unable to imagine what a load like that must feel like. Then before he could truly consider such a thing his mind picked up on something else that Locke had said and his hazel eyes turned back.

'The House of Arian? Wait, you're the guy that Lara-Le is marrying..' Jules uttered out thoughtlessly and immediately Locke's purple eyes widened in surprise.

'You know her?' He asked in amazement and Jules smiled widely and continued.

'Oh sure. She's friends with..' He then tailed off as his mind suddenly caught up with what he was about to divulge then swiftly Jules came to his senses and switched to a more serious face and continued. 'I-I mean yeh, I've seen her around with King Ogilvie's daughter from time to time.' Locke frowned deeply at the cobalt-blue hedgehog before a smirk twisted his narrow muzzle, realising that now he had the advantage here.

'I've been meaning to ask you about her.' The ruby-furred echidna sounded in a tone laced with the kind of curiosity that Jules did not like.

'What about her?' The seventeen year old hedgehog asked carefully, unsure of whether or not this was going to be a conversation he was going to like. Locke kinked a heavy ruby-furred brow at his new friend and gave a small smile.

'There's something going on between you and Princess Aleena isn't there?' The ruby-furred echidna asked bluntly and gazing at the cobalt hedgehog curiously. 'Don't be offended but from what I've seen your relationship with her seems far from professional.' It was Jules' turn to sigh and feel uncomfortable. Clearly Locke had seen more than what he'd been letting on to his father Sabre earlier. And since Locke was also a guard-of-sorts himself, he would easily know what behaviour would be called 'stepping beyond the call of duty'. The hedgehog closed his hazel eyes, bending his cobalt-furred legs up and curling his white-gloved hands around his knees as he considered how best to respond to Locke's words.

'If I am indeed your friend, you can tell me and I swear no word of this will reach the Brotherhood.' The ruby-furred echidna added when Jules failed to answer immediately and this caused the hedgehog's warm-hazel eyes to open and look at him, mirroring the doubt and mistrust that Locke had shown him earlier. 'There are two things echidnae are renowned for; being treasure hunters and keeping secrets.' He added solemnly as if hoping to sway the younger mobian's faith in him and it seemed to work.

'Alright, fine..' Jules sighed reluctantly before suddenly launching into a huge well-prepared defensive rant, his white gloved hands flailing and jabbing wildly to express his long pent-up frustrations. 'So I do care for the princess a little more than I should and I know it's grossly inappropriate and if the king ever found out I'll be out on my hide..' The hedgehog paused and took a deep breath before continuing on with his raging, getting more wound up at himself by the second. 'I've tried to break it off but I can't, ok, I just can't… I-I…' Jules seemed to just lose all steam now and he let out a huge sigh of defeat, his shoulders drooping down as he concluded morosely. 'I care too much..' He then dropped his head into his large white-gloved hands and his whole body seemed to shudder with the enormity of what he'd just openly admitted to another mobian.

'Wow.' Locke sounded in surprise before his face quickly returned to concern. 'Why do I get the feeling that speech was not meant for me?' He asked with a slight edge of dryness in his tone. Jules didn't respond to these words but knew what Locke was saying was true. He didn't even lift his head out of his hands; instead he just sat there like a cobalt-blue, spikey ball of long, jagged quills.

'Ok, look…' Locke finally huffed, losing a bit of patience when Jules refused to come out of the spiny-ball he had curled up into. 'We both know this can only end badly, right?' He added, looking down at the cobalt-blue ball of spines beside him.

'Yes. I understand that.' Came a muffled sigh from inside the head-spines of the curled up hedgehog before he finally lifted his head out of the ball and straightened back into a sitting position. 'I've always sort of just lived in the moment. I guess I'm not ready to face the consequences of my actions just yet.'

'You'll have to face it at some time.' Locke replied solemnly.

'I know and I'll accept the consequences when they come but right now, I'd rather not worry.' Jules replied in a serious voice and though the ruby-furred echidna continued to look concerned he fell into a considerate silence. As long as Jules knew where he stood Locke could respect his decision and wouldn't push the subject.

'Well, since it's getting late and we've not been summoned back I'm going to assume you have an extended dinner invitation.' Locke finally sighed as his purple eyes took in the position of the waning sun. The ruby-furred echidna then pulled himself up off the ground and extended a white-mittened hand towards the cobalt-blue hedgehog still sat on the ground beside him. 'Come on, I think it's time I introduced you to my mother and grandmother.'

---

'Ma..' Locke's voice sounded attracting the attention of a lithe female echidna who had soft-red-fur and floor-length quills and two long bangs that framed her large green eyes. She smiled sweetly as her son appeared over the pathway leading up towards their home cavern at the base of Mount Koyama. Coming up behind Locke was a young cobalt-blue hedgehog who looked around a similar age and was perhaps just a little taller than her son. The middle-aged echidna put down the stack of wooden plates she had been carrying to her mother-in-law and extended her dainty white-mittened hands out towards her son, her own knuckle-claws were more like dull nubs in comparison to her son's much larger ones.

'Locke..' The female echidna sounded sweetly as her soft-green eyes darted from her son to his companion. '-you've brought home a friend. How nice.'

'He's never brought a friend home before..' The elder female echidna who had a fringe with greying highlights smiled kindly as she looked around from the rack of meat she was carefully turning on the spit that hung over the open flames, her interest peeked by this new arrival. Both womobians were wearing plain robes that were synched in at the waist and consisted of a skirt and shirt section which covered them modestly.

'Is he staying for dinner?' Locke's grandmother asked her grandson conversationally as she checked the amount of wooden plates that her daughter-in-law had brought from inside.

'I think so. Father still hasn't contacted me to say otherwise.' Locke scratched the side of his flat-lying head-quills unsurely.

'Oh.' Locke's mother added, looking concerned. 'Well you best find out for sure before we serve up. We wouldn't want to upset him now, would we?'

'I'm sure Sabre will be down soon to inform us of the situation.' Locke's grandmother added gently and her daughter-in-law nodded softly in agreement.

'Yes. Your right Crystal..' The younger female echidna sounded amiably before her attention turned to the young hedgehog next to her son. 'And what might your name be young sir?' Her voice was strangely docile as well as polite, it as if she were speaking to a superior though Jules did not feel like he was better than her; after all he was the one in her home. His mind then quickly remembered how shy and unassuming that Lara-Le was and realised that this could very well be how most echidna females were brought up, to see their males as better than them.

'Jules, Jules Hedgehog ma'am and it's nice to meet you.' The cobalt-blue hedgehog made a polite bow to her which seemed to confuse both the female echidnae and make Locke raise a brow at him. 'May I say that your island is lovely..' Jules added politely as he straightened and ignored their moment of confusion, knowing that his mainland manners were not the norm here.

'Thank you but if you please, the island is not ours.' The soft-furred echidna sounded as her green eyes closed momentarily as she spoke in a gentle voice while subtly trying to correct him without causing offense, not that she would have in the first place. 'It belongs to the Master Emerald and we are merely humble servants who take refugee on its terra. My name is Jenna-Lu, wife of Sabre and this is my mother-in-law Crystal-La, wife of Sabre's father Athair who sadly, no longer dwells with us on the island.'

'Aurora had different plans for my husband but my son was insistent that I stay here with him.' Crystal-La added and although there was a hint of sorrow in her purple eyes for the loss of her estranged husband she did seem happy to have been left behind to care for the rest of her family. 'Where is it that you hail from young Hedgehog?' She then added smiling at the cobalt-blue hedgehog warmly.

'I come from Knothole.' Jules answered politely then went on to explain it in more detail. 'It's a tiny hamlet nestled in the Green Hill mountain range south of Mobotroplis.'

'Ah, yes... And what brings you to Angel Island?' Jenna-Lu nodded, though she may not have known where Knothole was she had heard of Mobius' capital and the mountain range to the south of it.

'Ma, Jules is a guard in King Ogilvie's faction at the summit meeting taking place over on the safe-radius that the Brotherhood marked out for their arrival.' Locke explained chosing to fill his mother in on their unusual situation at this moment. 'He strayed out here around the same time as a couple of bat-bandits who were trying to steal the Master Emerald. I managed to convince father that he had nothing to do with that but now father and the Brotherhood are deliberating on how best to explain this situation to Jules' superiors back at our clan's former temple-lodgings.' His words were met with silence by the two older female echidnae.

'I see..' Jenna-Lu finally said.

'Then we must await Sabre's arrival before we eat.' Crystal-La added and her daughter-in-law gave a gentle nod of agreement.

'Agreed.' Locke said solemnly. 'It would be dishonourable to start without him.' He then sat down on a grey boulder nearby and folded his arms across his chest, his purple eyes closing as he seemed to be waiting for his father's arrival.

'With any luck he won't be much longer..' Jenna-Lu said hopefully then turned to her mother-in-law. 'Let's finish preparing the dinner so everything is ready for my husband's arrival.' The two females then moved together and removed the roasting meat from the spit and let it rest as they quickly began to pull out ready prepared wooden plates and just when they were getting ready to carve the meat they had now removed from the spit the middle-aged echidna with startling blue eyes and matching robes appeared from inside the cavern into Mount Koyama. He had clearly taken a direct route to them from somewhere in the huge network of tunnels in the mountain range.

'Ah! You brought Hedgehog here Locke. Good, we can discuss the direction the Brotherhood has gone in over dinner.' Sabre sounded as his sharp blue eyes remained solidly on Jules as he spoke. Jenna-Lu carefully approached her husband in a pliant and submissive manner and smiled gently at him.

'Are we to take it that our young guest here is to stay for dinner dear?' She asked as her green eyes turned towards her provider's face. Sabre slowly turned to face his mater and the moment his blue eyes connected with her soft green eyes his solemn look softened and his expression warmed.

'Yes, he will be joining us.' He replied softly and Jenna-Lu smiled a little wider then leaned up to her husband and kissed the skin of his pale-skinned cheek above his red-quilled beard…

…It didn't take long for the two echidnae womobians to serve up dinner and soon Jules found himself sitting on a sideways wooden log in front of the fire in-between Locke with Sabre sitting on a stump at the head of the group while Jenna-Lu and Crystal-La sat opposite them on the elder echidna's other side.

'I have already explained to both King Ogilvie and the Echidnae Council about your presence here with us. In light of the fact that you had no intentions of disturbing the Brotherhood or the Master Emerald we have ensured both your king and our council that we are not upset with your presence amongst us and that we have decided not to punish you for breaking the curfew we had set, though we did caution the King of Mobius against allowing others outside the radius.' Sabre spoke solemnly towards Jules and the cobalt-blue hedgehog breathed a slight sigh of relief as he realised the stern-looking echidna had saved him from a heap of trouble.

'Thank you, sir.' He replied politely as he was merely holding his plate of food while Locke and the female echidnae ate theirs while listening.

'Does this mean that he can leave the radius while he remains on the island?' The twenty year old echidna asked once he'd swallowed his mouthful of meat and bread, throwing his father a curious look.

'I believe your son has finally made a friend Sabre dear..' Jenna-Lu added as she placed a hand and looked imploringly up at her husband as he gazed in slight confusion by his son's question and the hopeful look in his face. Sabre immediately turned his head at the sound of his mater's voice and was met with her wide pleading green eyes.

'I suppose I can make an allowance as long as he promises to stay in your company Locke, we cannot have him wandering off alone. This island is fraught with dangers to those who do not know its terra.' The elder echidna sounded after a reluctant sigh then resuming his stern demeanour.

'That's no problem at all sir.' Jules grinned widely before suddenly frowning in puzzlement at the unidentifiable meat on his plate next to the greyish home-baked bread he'd also been served. 'So what exactly is this?' He asked in general curiosity to the group as a whole.

'It's kripnik..' Locke immediately smiled widely before he finished off what was on his plate. 'It's good, try it.' He added holding his plate.

'Would you like some more Locke?' Crystal-Le asked her grandson immediately and he smiled at her.

'Please.' He said gratefully and handed his plate to her as Crystal-La put down her own half-finished plate and took his, moving swiftly to the carcass of the kripnik beast and dishing up her grandson another serving of food before bringing it back and resuming her own dinner. While Locke had been waiting Jules broke off a piece of the kripnik and lifted it gingerly to his mouth, very aware that Locke's father Sabre was watching him closely. The cobalt-blue hedgehog chewed the piece of meat slowly, trying to find something that he had eaten before to compare it to but it tasted like nothing he had eaten before. It wasn't unpleasant in fact it was an incredibly sweet meat, almost sugary sweet and juicy despite it's time roasting on the spit.

'It's nice but really sweet..' Jules murmured as he chewed with difficulty and swallowed hard.

'It is but try it with the sourbread.' Locke suggested helpfully with a sympathetic smile, gesturing to the almost grey coloured bread on the plate next to him. 'It dulls the sweetness of the meat.'

'Oh, is that what that is?' He added dimly then grinned at the young ruby-furred echidna next to him. 'Thanks for the tip bud.' Jules did as Locke suggested and pulled off some of the bread and kripnik with his fingers and put them in his mouth together. He'd been right; the sour and savoury taste of the bread balanced the sweetness of the meat making it more bearable in his mouth.

---

Once they had all finished eating Jules Hedgehog found himself being escorted back to the temples where those who were here for the G-Seven summit meeting were residing while staying on the island. Sabre was leading the way with Jules in the middle and Locke bringing up the rear. It didn't take the threesome long to return the seventeen year old to his company and king. They soon entered the clearing and were instantly spotted by a couple of Mercian Guards who raised the alarm drawing the attention of those nearby. This included Captain Prower, Argus Fletcher, a couple more Mercian Guards and Prince Robin, his wife Princess Sybil who had pale-blue fur and blonde quills and young Prince Robert.

Immediately Captain Prower approached Sabre looking almost as solemn as the elder echidna who was standing in front of Jules waiting for his superior.

'Thank you for returning him safely.' Captain Prower said politely offering Sabre his hand which the echidna accepted and they shook firmly.

'Keep an eye on this one, by Aurora he's a wilful spirit.' Sabre said with a glance around to the cobalt-blue hedgehog behind him.

'I always do.' Captain Prower replied with a roguish smirk as he and Sabre let go of each other.

'And ell your king that he has my consent to leave this radius but only in the company of the Guardian.' He gestured to his son Locke and the golden-furred fox with light-brown head-fur kinked a brow.

'Very well, I'll make sure he is well informed.' Captain Prower added before they bade each other farewell politely and turned from each other. At this point Jules took Locke aside and grinned at his new friend.

'Hold out your hand bud..' Jules sounded casually and Locke blinked confused.

'What for?' He asked and the cobalt-blue hedgehog sighed.

'Just do it Locke.' The seventeen year old hedgehog rolled his warm-hazel eyes with exasperation, there were a few downsides to having a friend who wasn't quite 'with it' in the social grand scheme of things.

'Ok, ok..' Locke held out his white-mittened hand and Jules immediately slapped him five. The ruby-furred echidna gasped out in surprise at this hand slap action.

'Ah! What was that for?' He scowled pulling his hand away sharply. It hadn't hurt him but he certainly hadn't been expecting it. Jules only laughed at his facial expression then waved his goodbye and turned away.

'I'll tell you tomorrow, later bud..' He added as his captain turned away from Sabre and the two of them walked back to their temple-lodgings.

'You certainly know how to cause a commotion. You're lucky that Sabre was able to convince the Echidnae Council that you meant no harm. They are not happy with you. I've had to go before them and speak on your behalf and they seem appeased for now. Just don't do anything to jeopardize that.' The golden-furred fox frowned slightly as he said this, a flash of disappointment and concern was badly hidden in his gaze.

'Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, sir.' Jules said honestly, feeling awful for what had happened. He hadn't realised just what an effect his misadventure would have had on everybody else.

'At least warn me in future, alright Jules.' Amadeus sighed then threw his private a smile and slapped his back. 'Now I must inform the king of your return. Amazingly that seemed to be his highest concern..' He then bade Jules goodnight and turned away, gesturing to Argus and the princess to follow him, which they did but not before throwing the hedgehog a curious glance. Prince Robin and Princess Sybil were about to turn in for the night too when Prince Robin broke away from his parents and ran towards the cobalt-blue hedgehog as he was heading back to the guards lodgings.

'Mr Hedgehog ye have returned sir!' The ten year old teal-furred hedgehog beamed widely at his new favourite guard causing Jules to stop and turn to him. 'Pray tell, what is the island like? And was that the Guardian of the Master Emerald? Is thou acquaintances now?' The young hedgehoglet bombarded the teenage hedgehog with curious questions causing the teenage cobalt-blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes as his lips in slight amusement.

'Nice to see you too kit..' Jules said as he ruffled the long quills on top of Prince Robert's head causing the hood of his brow cloak to fall back. 'But do me a favour and call me Jules, Mr Hedgehog was my father.' And now he's dead… The cobalt-blue hedgehog's mind added and a slightly uncomfortable edge twitched in his smile. Prince Robert didn't fail to notice this slight fall in his smile but the young hedgehoglet merely assumed it was due to being called 'Mr Hedgehog'.

'Ok Jules but only if ye will call me Rob..' Prince Robert added with a grin.

'You got it shorty..' Jules winked as his grin widened and flashed his chipped premolar.

'Robert darling, tis time to turn in!' Princess Sybil called out and immediately the young hedgehoglet turned around to his pale-blue furred mother who was waiting with her deep-teal-quilled husband.

'You better go Rob.' Jules said as his eyes glanced over to the young prince's parents and their two guard-escorts.

'Ye promise to tell of the island the 'morrow..' Prince Robert immediately asked, his green eyes looking hopefully up at the elder cobalt-blue hedgehog.

'Sure why not?' Jules laughed lightly at his persistent, Prince Robert was definitely a lot like him. 'Now you better turn in before I getcha into trouble Rob..'

'Ok, night Jules..' The teal-quilled hedgehoglet waved him off and ran back towards his parents. While Princess Sybil embraced her son warmly and took his hand, leading him away to their room in the temple, Prince Robin's lavender eyes locked with Jules' warm-hazel ones. For a moment the Prince of Mercia merely gazed curiously at the cobalt-blue hedgehog before he eventually nodded with a slight smile then turned away and following his wife, son and guards back inside. Jules was about to turn back and head inside the guard-lodgings to the room he shared with Argus when his communicator started buzzing. Jules pulled the small red device out of the pocket of his bright-red vest and saw that his older brother was trying to reach him and his digital-signal was almost none-existent. The cobalt-blue hedgehog then turned and swiftly jogged down to lands-edge and answered his brother's call…

…Jules grinned at widely at the curiosity in his brother's tone as he asked about how Angel Island floated; he could just picture the look on his older Charles' face right now. The cobalt-blue hedgehog casually looked down over the edge of the huge drop-off point to the serene Sapphire Ocean below.

'Sure Charlie, the Guardian of the Master Emerald told me about that when he gave me a tour of the island..' Jules suddenly broke off when movement caught his peripheral vision and his warm-hazel eyes turned in surprise top find several guards from both Mercia and Mobius including Argus moving swiftly in his direction. 'Whoa, hey..' Jules added turning quickly back with his communicator still held at his mouth and the detachable earpiece still in his left pointed-ear. '-I gotta run bro but I promise to fill you in about that when I'm home next week 'kay.' The sound of their boisterous voices grew louder and Argus and a couple of others surprised the cobalt-blue hedgehog by lifting him up in the air causing the communicator in his hand to pull away from his mouth momentarily.

'Come on Jules..' Argus sounded brightly. 'We're having drinks in Hammy's room..' There was the faint sound of agreement from the mobian-pig called Hammy and immediately Jules pulled the communicator back to his mouth as the crowd of guys dragged him back towards the temples chanting loudly. 'I'll see you then..' Jules said his goodbye to his brother before ending the call and grinning as he stuffed his communicator back in his pocket, a drink with the guys sounded like the perfect way to finish off this day..

---

Little Notes:

Hey peeps, I've noticed a couple of new followers have joined my small story following and to them I'd like to say welcome and feel free to leave a comment (if you feel like it of course, I'm not fishing as I don't believe it works) and I will always reply as I believe it's only polite. If you take the time to write I will write back (including guest reviews)… Anyway, I would like to apologise for overshooting my own deadline (which was last week)… I know, I know, broken record but I do feel bad when I don't update when I mean to, kinda feels like I'm letting you guys down a little. My only defence is that even though my life is a little hectic I put my heart and soul into my writing and am not happy to post unless my storyline is running flawless. I have been known to tear down entire chapters and rewrite them so my story can stand tall… my grammar may not be perfect but I think a strong story structure is more important than a few spelling and sentence mistakes..

I offer you this gloriously long chapter as an attempt to appease my long absence and hopefully some of you will forgive me…

Ok back to the chapter at hand.. This chapter was a complete nightmare to write and has gone through several rewrites to get it perfect. It not only introduces Locke and his family but also to the two bat-bandits who were after the Master Emerald (do they remind you of someone?), and Prince Robin and his wife Princess Sybil, whose name was taken from one of the names that bounty hunter Sleet mistakenly calls Sonia, it felt relevant to use that name so it seemed more like a genuine mix-up rather than a completely stupid mistake like it appears in the Sonic Underground series. I thought it was also relevant to make Prince Robin a hero of the Mercian realm who earned his right to marry Princess Sybil though doing great deeds and earning the approval of her father through them.

It made sense to me to give Locke a similar background to Knuckles as he spoke in Archie repeatedly of tradition and following some grand destiny, of course I have changed his story and personality (like all the others I've borrowed) to suit my needs so the only real similarities he will resemble with the Archie character are looks and name, everything else is mine... Of course I had to make Locke a little clueless to some modern cultures and slang as he's been isolated on an island with no others his age for company. This was always the part that bugged me most about Knuckles. To start with they made him a solitary being on an island by himself Guarding the Master Emerald with no other reason than it was 'destined' to be that way, yet somehow he seems to completely understand modern slang and up-to-date events… how is that Archie? Then suddenly you find out he was never alone, the island is crawling with other beings including his family (who also happen to guard the Master Emerald)… Really Archie? Just how bad is your story planning? Almost as bad as the fantastic job you did of screwing up Angel Island in the Sonic Underground series, which was written by the same guys.. You see what I mean by bad story writing people? If you're going to write a story at least make sure your plot makes sense… don't insult the readers intelligence!

Ok… deep breaths, deep breaths, rant is officially over. The next chapter will be taking a serious time jump (much larger than any I have written yet) and hopefully will be up before the year is out.

Until next time…

~Ditzy x