The Brotherhood returns   von Aqua111
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                                  Kapitel 1: 
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The smell of sweat and blood was in his nose when Spectre slowly regained
consciousness. Every single muscle in his body was hurting. When he opened his
eyes he saw darkness around him. There was only a small stripe of light a few
steps away from him that came from the gap between a door and the floor. He
weakly reached out a hand and touched another body. It was warm and he thought
he could even feel a light heartbeat. He had no clue who was lying close to him
but he believed it was one of the other Brotherhood members.
Spectre stared into the darkness. How did they even get into this dark place? He
could remember the fight in the Emerald Chamber, could remember the portal that
hauled them into the Twilight Zone and how they landed right in the middle of a
Dark Legion camp. But what happened between the fight and their exile and what
happened after? His memory  was too blurry but he could imagine what followed.
The Legions on Mobius might have agreed to peace for some time but the people
who still had remained in the Twilight Zone did not know about that - and
possibly also did not care, especially not with their recent Grandmaster. Four
weakened Guardians surrounded by an army of Dark Legionnaires commanded by
Moritori - they would have never stood a chance. How long had they already been
lying here unconscious? Just a few minutes? Hours? Days? But then again - was
there really a way to measure time in this zone? As far as he knew years could
pass by in the rest of the world while it just felt like a little moment in the
Twilight Zone.
The other Echidna - he still didn't believe that it was anyone else than one of
his fellow Guardians - slightly moaned and moved a bit.
"Hey, are you okay?" Spectre whispered.
"S-Spectre? Is that you?" Thunderhawk's voice still sounded weak. "Where are the
others?"
"Don't know. I first wanted to wait until I was able to move again before
searching for them."
Normally his Chaos powers would have healed him in no time but now he started to
notice that something was missing, that something inside him was gone.
"This room is a Chaos Siphon", he said, "Of course - they don't want us to get
away that easily."
The dark Echidna tried to scan the area for other Guardians but it was only
causing his head to hurt even more.
"What I wonder is why they still left us alive", Thunderhawk said and tried to
turn around but gave it up with a pained groan.
"They did what their Grandmaster ordered them to do and it is Moritori we are
speaking of." Spectre laughed humourless. "I bet he wants to toy a bit with his
prey before slaughtering it."
The door opened and a Legionnaire was standing in front of it. "Are you finally
awake?" he asked. Spectre suddenly could feel a bit of the Chaos force returning
into his body. It was sucked away by the Siphon again but it still had felt like
a warm streak of sun on a cold day and gave him the chance to start healing up.
"Hard to believe that our Grandmaster didn't order us to kill you immediately",
the Legionnaire continued, "but he must have his reasons. Anyways, he wants
..."
But Spectre didn't even want to listen. As soon as his eyes got used to the
sudden brightness he looked around and searched the cell they had been locked up
in for the other Guardians. Sojourner was lying at his other side but further
away than Thunderhawk. Part of his body was scratched so it looked as if he had
been in a fight with an angry cat. Close to the wall there was Sabre. Spectre
felt as if his blood was freezing when his eyes fell on him.
The door suddenly was slammed shut again and from outside a second voice could
be heard, "Are you crazy? You know that the Siphon is only working correctly
when the door stays shut."
"Calm down, they were still wounded."
"We have the order to come in groups of at least three when we need to get one
of them."
It sounded as if they were slowly walking away.
Though covered in darkness again Spectre still stared at the place where Sabre
was lying, still could see the picture in his head: Sabre lying on his stomach,
his fur and clothes covered in dried blood. His muscles were still hurting but
not as bad as before so he managed to get onto his knees and crawled over to the
badly wounded Guardian.
"What in Edmund's name happened to him?" he whispered while he carefully checked
Sabre for signs of life. He was breathing but it was weak.
"Moritori knew that a bunch of Guardians would arrive to this damn zone and in
this damn camp only shortly after him and he ordered an immediate attack as soon
as one of us showed up in their middle", Thunderhawk said. "Sabre was the
unlucky one who landed at the spot most Legionnaires were aiming at. The only
reason why he's still alive is because he instinctively built up a shield around
him while we were in the portal. There were enough blasts to hit him but none of
them reached a deadly force when they had to go through that shield. He was the
first to break down. You passed out only seconds later, yet I have to admire
you. This zone nearly cuts our bond to the Master Emerald and we're weaker than
usually but you managed to get enough energy and blast away the Legionnaires
close to us. I was busy protecting myself against the assault of a whole army
but the bit I saw from your fight looked like you were able to battle with the
same brute force as usual. For a second I was even afraid you could overload
with Chaos energy - the same that happened to Knuckles when he became Chaos
Knuckles - but obviously it was too much for your body to bear and after another
mighty Chaos blast that took out several Legionnaires at once you broke down.
Sojourner and I were the next after they didn't have to mostly concentrate on a
too mighty enemy anymore."
"Thunderhawk?" Sojourner's weak voice was heard.
"I'm here. We're all here."
"That's good", he mumbled. "Gosh, it's dark in here."
Spectre looked down where the still lifeless Sabre was lying and wished he had
enough Chaos energy left to help the other one healing. Then he felt that the
younger male was moving a bit.
"Sabre, can you hear me?"
"Hm..." He sounded very weak but still made a try to get up.
"Don't move too much ", Spectre quickly said. "You lost a lot of blood and I'm
not sure if your wounds had enough time to heal."
Steps were heard outside and the door opened another time. Again this warm
feeling flooded through Spectre's body and the pain in his muscles slowly
faded.
"He didn't specify which one so let's just take the one nearest to the door or
the weakest." It was the voice of the Legionnaire who had opened the door before
and this time two colleagues were with him.
Immediately Spectre got up and stood protectively in front of Sabre, Thunderhawk
and Sojourner were on their feet too although they all knew that they couldn't
even try to fight. They had no powers and their enemy was fully armed.
"Oh, so many volunteers", the Legionnaire said with a chuckle. Then he went into
the cell, grabbed Sojourners arm and dragged him with him.
"You don't even think about attacking or your friend is dead", he said to the
other Guardians then turned his head to Sojourner who stared at him with a look
full of hate, "And you don't even try to escape or else they will be executed
immediately." The door was slammed shut again.
Spectre was shivering with anger. His whole life he had been a fighter and now
all he was able to do was standing there, helplessly watching. He was longing
for revenge on Moritori for such a long time. Revenge for his ruined childhood,
revenge for the early death of his parents, revenge for the invasion into Haven,
revenge for absolutely everything he had done. But instead the Grandmaster got
his hands on four of the remaining Brotherhood members, got the chance to
torture and kill them in a world where they could barely defend themselves.
He felt Sabre walking pass him. The door had been opened long enough to make his
strength return although he still was standing a bit unsecure and had to hold on
Spectre's shoulder for a second.
"We need to find a way out of here", he said. "At least a way out of the camp."
"But how?" Spectre said with a grim look at the small stripe of light at the
bottom of the door. "We would need our powers to get out of this room in first
place and unfortunately the only way to regain part of them is behind a closed
door."
"Those doors are just locked. I heard them turn a key after they shut it."
"Yes, great, now we only have to get that key. Oh, wait, nearly forgot that the
key is behind a locked door as well." Spectre hadn't wanted to give Sabre a
sarcastic sassback but his anger let him blurt it out before he could think.
"You forget who my father is", Sabre calmly replied. "I grew up in a tribe of
nomads and was taught a lot of little stuff someone who was raised as Guardian
from early childhood on would never learn because you rely on your powers too
much. Do we have something long and thin?"
Thunderhawk opened the little bag he always wore on his belt.
"Is something that feels like a paper clip good enough?"
"Better than I thought."
The two other Guardians heard how he was working around at the door. Was he
really trying to break the door open like a thief? With a paper clip? In
complete darkness?
Spectre tried to count the seconds how long they were already silently waiting
but he gave it up after a few minutes. And then a silent click was heard and the
door slightly opened.
"Sorry that it took me that long", Sabre said, "I'm a bit out of practice."
The others just stared at the door for a few seconds then Spectre said, "The
next time Athair shows up in Haven 2 I'll tell him he has a son to be proud
of."

They could move through the corridors without making a sound - their powers
allowed them to levitate and talk through telepathy again.
"I don't trust this at all", Sabre thought. "We haven't met any guards yet and
that in a house where they have locked up prisoners."
"This is Moritori's house I would say", Spectre replied, "The whole thing is a
camp and normally there aren't any people other than Dark Legionnaires sent to
this zone which means there would be no reason to build a prison. So I guess the
only reason why they have built this house is because their Grandmaster didn't
want to sleep in a tent. And Moritori either doesn't want too many Legionnaires
in his house or he feels too secure."
"Secure? He kept a bunch of Guardians imprisoned."
"In a room with a Chaos Siphon and he believed them to be normal Guardians who
rely too much on their powers but are completely helpless without them."
"But he was in Haven long enough. He also knows where I grew up."
"Actually I don't think he was ever interested in us unless it was about our
weaknesses. Your father teaching you how to survive on the streets was nothing
he cared about."
A bloodcurdling scream interrupted them.
"Sojourner!"
They rushed into the direction where it had come from until they reached a room
with opened doors. The three Legionnaires they had already seen before were
leaning against a wall, looking amused. Sojourner was lying coiled up on the
floor, his arms wrapped around his belly. Moritori stood over him with a cold
smile, in his hand a dagger. Blood dripped from it on the floor. The Guardian's
powers could heal the wound within seconds but still the pain remained.
"Somewhere in this room there must be another Chaos Siphon. It allows him to
heal but nothing else", Thunderhawk thought. Even his thoughts sounded
horrified.
Spectre maltreated his brain for ideas how to get Sojourner out, how to get them
all out alive but but he could think of nothing else than the desperate wish to
make Moritori pay for everything. He could still hear what Sabre was thinking -
disjointed parts of plans how to help Sojourner - and in a reflex movement he
was covering his ears although he knew this wouldn't help as long as the voice
was in his mind and so he let his hands sink down again.
"Sabre, please stop that", now Thunderhawk was heard as well. "You are still
sharing a telepathic bond with us so either cut it down or think straight. This
is disturbing."
"Sorry."
But now with the voices gone Spectre could hear even better what was going on in
the room.
"Do you have enough, little Guardian? Do you want me to stop the pain, huh? I
said do you want me to stop", he heard Moritori saying then steps; someone was
forcing Sojourner to his feet again, and another cry of pain. If Thunderhawk
hadn't grabbed his arm that moment Spectre would just have stormed into the room
not caring if he would be powerless then and his enemies were fully armed.
"It is insane and we might only be able to get out of the building together that
way and I have no idea how we will get through the camp but it is the only way I
can think of how to help Sojourner." Sabre's thoughts were fast and it sounded
as if he had problems wording them clear enough for the others to understand and
not thinking about two or more words exactly the same time. "Outside our powers
are working so one of us stays back and starts an attack or holds the enemies in
line as long as possible while two get in there and get Sojourner out. I will be
the one attacking because I'm not sure I fast I can run or if I can carry any
weight."
The others looked at him.
"But do you feel strong enough to use your powers?" Thunderhawk asked.
"Of course. It was my body that was attacked and still feels weak, not my
powers." He also looked at Spectre for his approval and when the dark Echidna
nodded Sabre took a deep breath, stepped in front of the door, spread his arms
and closed his eyes. Beams of green light shot into the room, nailed the guards
against the walls and pushed Moritori back a few steps. The Siphon was only
built to suck up powers hidden inside not to deal with free flying ones.
Thunderhawk and Spectre stormed the room, helped Sojourner to stand up and
supported him while walking out again.
"You..." Moritori snarled. "You will never leave the camp alive. In the Twilight
Zone your powers are worth a damn."
"Quick ... I can't hold it any longer", Sabre cried out.
"See?" the Grandmaster asked with a cold smile and Spectre noticed that he and
the three Legionnaires started to move closer again, slowly because they still
had to fight against Sabre's attack but still it was clear that its effects were
fading.
As soon as they were out of the room Sabre completely stopped his attack and
they ran as fast as they could which unfortunately wasn't fast enough after they
didn't want to leave the still weakened Sojourner and Sabre behind. Before them
troops were storming the building, behind them there were Moritori and the three
guards. Once again they were surrounded.
They were standing back to back, weapons aimed at them. Then Moritori's words
were heard. "Execute them."
And Spectre felt the familiar rage burning inside of him. It was filling him up
with energy but instead of an attack clouds of smoke shot out of the floor and
the four Guardians were pressed against each other. When the smoke disappeared
and they could move freely again the surrounding had changed. Now they were
standing in a plain empty desert made of dark grey sand. The sky above was grey
too but much lighter.
"Where ... are we?" Sojourner asked, looking around. "Or better, how did we even
manage to get there? I thought our powers were worth nothing here but a
teleportation would be one of the mightiest... Spectre!"
Now they had noticed that the dark Echidna had sunken to his knees.
"It's okay..." Spectre mumbled. "Just a sudden feeling of faintness. I guess
this outburst of energy was too much for my body again."
Thunderhawk looked up the sky. "There must be another way to get out of the
Twilight Zone. We can't wait for an energy source coming from Mobius to open the
portal again. One Guardian alone hasn't enough strength but maybe if we combine
our powers it will work. Not you", he quickly added when he saw that Spectre had
stood up again, "You still need to rest."
"But what about you? You are exhausted too", Spectre tried to argue.
"Like I already said, only our bodies are wounded, not our powers", Sabre
exclaimed, "You on the other hand..."
"Alright, alright, I understood", the dark Echidna said and sat down again.
He watched how three beams of green light were shot into the sky but it had no
other effect than colouring the clouds.
"It's useless", Sojourner sighed after a while and sat down into the sand too.
"And even if we were able to create a portal Spectre would have been the only
one who could have walked through it because I bet we would have needed three
Guardians to keep it open all the time."
Spectre had started meditating to recover faster and barely listened to what the
others were talking about. He had a bad feeling in his guts but at first he
didn't know why and guessed it was because he was as worried about how to get
out as the others but then his eyes snapped open. All of his senses were
alarmed. Of course they have searched the zone before and of course they have
noticed the green beams.
"They are coming..." he whispered.
The others stared at him with widened eyes but he didn't look back at them and
stood up. Again Chaos energy was rushing through his veins like adrenaline. The
idea he just had was insane and it could kill him, he knew it, but better one
dead Guardian and three back to Mobius than all of them dead.
A single Legionnaire appeared out of nothing and when he saw them he shouted
into his communicator, "Sir, they are here..." He couldn't say more than that
because Thunderhawk shot him with a blast but they knew those few words were
enough to tell Moritori that they were where he presumed. Only a moment later
the first few Legionnaires appeared and with each second more and more were
following. Spectre lifted his hand and shot a Chaos blast but it wasn't hitting
anyone. Instead it stopped a few steps away from him and formed a glowing ball
of energy that was becoming larger and larger.
"What the heck are you doing?" Thunderhawk shouted but then he already saw what.
The ball now turned into a ring but instead of seeing the grey desert and the
appearing Legionnaires when they looked through it they saw a tunnel and
something that looked like a white city at the end.
"Go...", Spectre grinded out. His arm was shivering and sweat ran over his face
but he still concentrated on holding the gate open.
"B-but we can't leave you", Sojourner stuttered.
"I said GO!" the dark Echidna screamed. Now his whole body was shaking and he
tried his best to keep standing. Sabre grabbed Sojourner's arm and dragged him
into the tunnel, Thunderhawk was close behind them. They had only run a few
steps when they heard a shotgun blast behind them. The whole tunnel was
shivering. Sojourner turned around, eyes widened in horror when he saw Spectre
breaking down.
"NO!"
He wanted to run back but now Thunderhawk also grabbed his arm and held him
back. "The tunnel is closing. We have to move on. There's nothing we can do."
His voice was trembling and he quickly turned his face away. The tunnel was
shaking stronger and they knew they couldn't stay here for much longer, knew
they had to reach Mobius as fast as possible.

Spectre was lying on his stomach, heavily breathing. His back burned and he
could feel that they were coming closer but he knew he couldn't defend himself.
He couldn't even get up anymore. And then he felt a new source of energy around
him. The world got blurry but not as if he was fainting. More as if he was
surrounded by thick fog. The pain in his back slowly faded and his strength
returned. Carefully he stood up and looked around. He still could feel the sand
under his feet so he must have stayed in the desert but the Dark Legion was gone
and he could see nothing more than the light grey fog. Steps were heard in the
distance and although he knew that he was in a hostile area and still had been
surrounded by enemies moments ago he was sure that he didn't have to fear
whoever was approaching him. Actually he never had felt more secure than in this
thick fog together with the stranger. Now he saw the figure of a male Echidna, a
few steps later he could also see colours - a red Echidna with blue eyes who
wore a green tunic and green boots.
"Who are you?" Spectre asked when the stranger was standing right in front of
him.
"I think you know", was the reply and the unknown Echidna smiled.
Suddenly memories were shooting through Spectre's mind, memories of a long lost
childhood, memories buried long time ago. He was a little child sitting on
someone's lap, someone who wasn't his mother or one of his grandparents and he
heard the same warm voice, looked into the same blue eyes.
"Tobor..." he whispered. For a split-second he had the word "father" in his mind
but he pushed it aside. This was the word he used to call the imposter Moritori
for decades and he didn't want to use it for someone he once had loved. At least
not yet.
"What happened? Why are you here? I thought you were dead."
"I am dead, more or less, but that doesn't mean I can't return. A dead Guardian
moves to a higher level of existence. We can still walk around freely on the
planet, watch over the island, whatever we feel like to do until the heralds are
calling us and Aurora wants us by her side, but we are not allowed to interfere
in anything no matter what. When I return you can bet I will be in a hell lot of
trouble."
Spectre didn't understand. Inside of him sadness, happiness and confusion were
having a fierce battle. His father had broken the rules to save his life and now
he was breaking them even more and showed himself. But why? If he really wanted
to see his son and talk to him again why didn't he wait until he had reached a
higher level of existence as well?
"Why did you intervene?"
"Don't tell me, you wanted to die."
"No but..." The riot of feelings wasn't making it easy to find the right words
but Tobor seemed to understand.
"My greatest wish since I returned to the Floating Island was to see you in
person and to talk to you at least one more time. Thanks to Kragok it never came
true. But since that time I was there by your side to watch over you. I never
had much time to be a father so I at least wanted to be something like a
guardian angel. I also was with you in the Twilight Zone and I hoped you would
be able to escape with the others but when I saw you were shot and knew you
would die if no one would come to help I couldn't stay back anymore. Sure that
it was my greatest wish to meet you again, sure we would have met in the
afterlife but it would have been egoistic if your guardian angel let you die
just because of his own wishes. Your time hasn't come, I know it. And there are
still people outside who need you."
Spectre was staring at the floor. He tried to control his voice when he was
speaking again but still he couldn't avoid that it was trembling a bit.
"Your time also hadn't come. You still should have been alive."
"It has because I decided to die and take Kragok with me. Believe me, it was a
hard decision and I didn't want to die but I had no other choice. Better we both
dead and one dangerous Grandmaster less than we both alive and he able to join
forces with Lien-Da and Dimitri. Each one of those alone is dangerous enough but
when they are together they are absolutely deadly."
Spectre remembered what he had thought many moments ago before he had opened the
portal. 'Better one dead Guardian and three back to Mobius than all of them
dead.' So his father had had a similar thought before his death. Then something
else came to his mind. "You said that you watched over me. Then you also have
seen what has become of me. What would you think of me now?"
Tobor tilted his head. "I know what I'm thinking of you now but I don't think
it's the same that you think it is. So what are you afraid I could think of
you?"
"Well ... I am dark, aggressive, illiberal and lose my temper too easily. I hate
the Dark Legion and still I am dressing like one of them because I was used to
it since my early childhood and even though I now know that the one I called my
father all those years was an imposter I didn't change my style. Just because it
was perfect to hide me. What do you think of a son who is too frightened to show
himself, too weak to show his true feelings and tries to cover everything with
aggression?"
For a few moments Tobor was silent as if he was thinking Spectre's words over,
then he spoke again. "First of all, there had hardly been any Guardians who
didn't lose their temper easily. We're a big family of hot-heads. Second, all of
us had our individual style and didn't change that over the years no matter what
the others thought about it. Let's take Rembrandt as an example. Every time I
look at him I think of a holiday decoration in a pullover. And why in Edmund's
name is he wearing oven mittens? Is he baking cookies the whole time?"
He smiled. Also the corners of Spectre's mouth twitched lightly but he still
stared at the floor.
"No, seriously", Tobor continued, "You never hid anything. I noticed that the
others always or at least most of the time knew how you were feeling although
it's a lot harder to see emotions under that kind of wardrobe. But now let me
tell you what I found out about you and what I see in you now after I have
watched you for a while. In your early childhood your father was replaced by one
of the enemies, your mother and grandmother died soon after that, your
grandfather was broken-hearted because of the recent losses and the way his
'son' changed to the worst so he couldn't take care of you. You were left in the
care of an Echidna who never wanted to raise a Guardian. He couldn't kill you
because the other Brotherhood members were still there and he didn't want to
lose his camouflage that early, not before he had gathered enough information
about them and everything was set up and ready. Instead he tried to break you
from inside. A weakened line of Guardians after him because they were stemming
from a broken one would have been perfect. But instead he made you stronger,
made you a fighter. In the following years you trained harder than anyone before
in the hope to make your 'father' proud of you. Of course no Grandmaster would
be proud of a Guardian offspring but while anyone else would have given up you
didn't and worked even harder. I'm proud to tell you that all this made you one
of the most powerful Guardians that have ever lived. Only Knuckles would be
stronger but his strength comes from Locke's experiments, not from training."
Spectre bit his lips. It felt as if something large was stuck in his throat and
it was hurting.
"This already leads us to a newer part of your life", Tobor continued, "Weren't
you the only one who voiced his concerns about Locke continuing the experiments
on himself and his son's egg while all the others had their concerns too but
stayed quiet about it?"
"It ... didn't help", Spectre whispered so quiet he could barely be heard.
Whispering was the only way he could hide his strong trembling voice and how
much it already hurt to speak with that lump in his throat. "He still ...
continued."
"Yes, I know. Forgive him his youth. Younger ones tend to think they can do
better than their ancestors and while trying hard to avoid their family members'
mistakes they make a lot of wrong choices themselves. Anyways, I was talking
about you, not him. You also showed a lot of positive things in your later life.
The people can account themselves lucky to have such a powerful Guardian on your
side. You called yourself weak and frightened? But still you protected you
people often enough from grave danger. While the other Guardians tried their
best to always act in the background you appeared as a leader to your people,
led them to escape when the cities were under attack, held speeches before them
in times of crisis. You called yourself illiberal? But still you are more open
minded and willing to criticize previous Brotherhood decisions while your
descendants hold on to most of them as if they were strict rules. Furthermore
since the time you were old enough to be counted as a full Guardian and had the
allowance to enter Haven you had an eye on the imposter Tobor. You might not
have known why at that time but I'm sure you mistrusted him more and more.
Thanks to your mistrust Haven was prevented from being taken over by the Dark
Legion later on. In the years that followed there had been more crises and civil
wars than during all of the centuries since the Guardians existed and you kept
fighting until Finitevus banished you to the Twilight Zone but even then it was
far from over. You still didn't give up hope although everything looked
hopeless, even would have sacrificed your life to save your son and grandsons.
And you still are afraid of what I could think of you? Sure, you also have your
flaws like we all have. But you would hardly find a father who is prouder of his
son than the one who is standing in front of you right now."
Spectre was standing there with clenched fists, his whole body was now shivering
slightly and if he bit his lower lip a little bit harder it would start
bleeding. The pain in his chest and throat had grown stronger with every moment
Tobor had talked. And now hot tears were welling up, tears he already had hold
in for decades. He couldn't choke them back any longer. Tobor laid his arms
around his shoulders and pulled him into embrace. For a few moments they just
stood there without speaking, Spectre weeping silently into his father's
shoulder. Tobor's near was warm and soothing, a new yet familiar feeling to the
dark Echidna. After what seemed like an eternity he finally could lift up his
head and look into his father's eyes. His face was still wet with tears but at
least he felt calm enough again to speak.
"What will happen to you now?"
"I don't know what will happen to me. I will be punished for breaking the rules
but I don't know how. The only one who ever did something similar was Athair and
he's something completely different because he might be on another level of
existence as well but he isn't dead yet. But whatever it is they can't kill me.
A dead Echidna can't get deader." He chuckled but still there was sadness in his
eyes. "Maybe they will keep me away from you and I can't be your Guardian Angel
anymore. For sure we won't be able to see each other again before your time has
come."
"I have expected something like that but at least we will meet again in
afterlife. And you can be assured that I take good care of myself until then",
Spectre said with a smile but then he looked serious again, "But first I guess I
will have to find a way out of this zone. Can't you help me with that?"
The fog around them had lightened up a bit and also Tobor now looked as if he
was fading.
"No, unfortunately not. My power was limited and I used it all to get you out of
danger. Now you will have to find your own way. And also my time here is limited
because by now they have found out where I am and what I have done and they are
calling me back. It's a call I can't withstand."
Spectre sadly nodded. He didn't know anything else to say any more than a last
goodbye but when he opened his mouth something else shot into his mind.
"I have one last question. Do you know why I was able to use such powerful
abilities like teleportation or opening a gate to Mobius although our powers are
limited in this zone?"
Tobor tilted his head while thinking then he said, "In times of great danger the
Emerald can give a Guardian more power than usual. You might have been the only
one to feel and actually use it because of your sensitivity."
"Sensitivity? Me?"
"Yes, you can feel approaching danger and you also felt that two Guardians had
died - namely Hawking and me - long before the others knew it. How else would
you explain that?"
The fog was now nearly gone and also Tobor could hardly be seen anymore.
"It's time to say farewell, Spectre. I wish you good luck and take care of
you."
"Goodbye, and take care of you too ... father."

He was alone in the grey desert again. What should he do? His strength still
hadn't fully returned and even if he could open a gate how should he keep it
open and go through it the same time? Standing still didn't help him thinking so
he started walking. Beside the more he moved around the harder he would be to
find.
He had only been walking for what seemed like a few minutes when his senses were
alarmed again. Someone had found him and it was only a matter of seconds until
he was here. Spectre stood ready for a fight when a cloud of smoke shot out of
the floor in front of him but before he could do anything something flew out of
the cloud, hit his neck and snapped shut with a click. He touched it and it felt
like a collar. The smoke disappeared and now Moritori was standing there with a
cold grin on his face.
"Thank goodness that it was me finding one of you first this time. I might have
ordered my troops to immediately kill you should they see one of you but on the
other hand I also want to look you in the eyes before you're dying."
"That's what I've waited for a long time", Spectre growled, "Just you and me in
a battle for life and death. And don't play coward again and cry for your
troops."
"Haven't even thought about it."
There was something in his voice that made the dark Echidna suspicious. He tried
to ready his first Chaos attack but it wasn't working. He still could feel it
inside of him so there was no Siphon around but it still seemed to be blocked.
The collar! His hands shot to his neck and he tried to rip it off but it was of
a sturdy material and he also couldn't find a way to open it. Instead it now
started choking him and he had the feeling as if it had gotten tighter.
"Go on, Guardian", Moritori said slightly amused. "It was built to get tighter
over time anyways but if someone touches it, it will tighten even faster."
Slowly Spectre let his hands sink down and glowered at the Grandmaster then he
clenched his fists. He never had been too fond of fights that didn't involve
Chaos powers. A fist fight was something other people were doing but it wasn't
appropriate for a well-trained Guardian. But now he had no other choice. His
ancestors had died fulfilling their duties and he didn't want to be the only one
waiting to be choked to death while a Grandmaster was watching.
Moritori could avoid his first blow; the next one hit him in the stomach. He
stumbled back a few steps. The grin hadn't been wiped from his face completely
but now it rather looked like a grimace. His lack of defence was making Spectre
furious. Had this traitor really believed a Guardian would give up that easily?
Another hit right into his face and this time Moritori finally started a counter
attack, rammed his fists against Spectre's chest and made him stumble back. 'He
also doesn't use Chaos attacks', Spectre grimly thought, 'Thinks the fey
Guardian isn't worth wasting those powers and that his little collar will do the
dirty work anyways.' He charged at him again but Moritori jumped out of the way,
kicked him in the back and made him fall into the sand. Spectre jumped up again
but instead of attacking him another time he was just standing and breathing
heavily. The fight was costing his last bit of air and it was already very hard
to breathe.
"What's up, Guardian? Don't tell me that it's already over."
Spectre made a few unsecure steps but then broke down to his knees. Bright dots
appeared in his vision. It was over. He would die only moments after his father
had risked everything to save his life.
"Aw, what a pity", he heard Moritori's mockingly voice. "But with the most
fearsome of you fearsome foursome out of the way I can start taking care of the
rest. Hm, who shall I chose next. What about that weakling Sojourner? I already
had the pleasure of torturing him. He will be easy to break."
Something inside Spectre snapped in with a click. He could feel the Chaos energy
raging through his body and tingling on his skin although he still couldn't use
it. Grindingly he brought out, "You already ruined ... my childhood. You were
... the reason my mother ... died young. You were ... responsible for my ...
father's death. But from now on ... Stay the hell away from my family!"
The last few words he had screamed out. The collar was exploding. Chaos energy
burst out of his body.

~~~***~~~

Three Echidnas stumbled out of the portal and fell into the sand. Behind them
the last part of the tunnel collapsed and the portal closed. For a moment they
remained lying on the floor, heavily breathing then Thunderhawk slowly got up
and looked around. They were at the shore of a lake. In the distance he could
see a city on an island. Could that be Albion? Something was wrong about that
picture. After the war the Echidnas had started rebuilding the city and that was
months ago - maybe longer depending on how much time had passed on the rest of
Mobius while the Guardians had been in the Twilight Zone. So why did it still
look as if the city was in ruins? Sojourner and Sabre had gotten up too and now
appeared at his sides. Their gazes were on the island as well.
"Is that smoke?" Sojourner asked.
Thunderhawk took a closer look and now saw the clouds of smoke as well. It
looked like someone had recently put out a large fire.

"Guardians!"
They winced and quickly turned around. Another male Echidna ran closer and they
needed a while before they recognised Remington. Without his uniform he looked
so unfamiliar.
"Guardians, I'm so glad you are back. Where have you ... What in Aurora's name
has happened to you?"
Thunderhawk knew how terrible they must have looked to Remington. Fur and
clothes of one were covered in dry blood, the other two were scratched and
bruised - one of them had been bleeding too but his fur was too bright red and
he was wearing too few clothes to see it.
"Let's just say we had a few fights before we managed to escape the Twilight
Zone", Thunderhawk said. "But that's not important right now. What has happened
to the city?"
"We were attacked by the Flame Legion, sir, but fortunately we could fight them
back after Knuckles and the Chaotix joined our forces as well. Buildings are
damaged and people were injured but no one died", the former Constable
reported.
"The Flame Legion? But I thought we had an agreement with Lien-Da."
"This wasn't her order, sir. The Flame Legion is out of her control. She doesn't
even think that they are acting out of free will anymore. Knuckles and one of
his friends are now secretly following the retreating troops to find out who is
behind all this."
"We have to find Locke", Sabre said, "My boy has his eyes on the surveilling
monitors all the time. He might have a clue."
When Locke's name fell Thunderhawk noticed the sudden change in Remington's
face. He now was looking as if he was afraid of something.
"Constable, where is Locke?" Sabre said ignoring the fact that Remington stopped
being Constable since the EST stopped existing.
"I ... Guardians, I'm so ... so sorry", Remington stuttered quickly looking from
one to another, "Months ago Knuckles became the new Enerjak ... Finnitevus had
put a hex on the Master Emerald and he was controlling the boy. Locke performed
some kind of ritual to break the hex and it worked - Knuckles was freed - but
... but ..."
Sabre was clinging to Thunderhawk's arm. His grip was so tight that it hurt.
"The Master Emerald released all its powers at once as soon as the hex was
broken", Remington continued. "Locke never had a chance."
Thunderhawk felt as if he was falling. First they had lost Spectre and now they
learned about Locke's death. How much more did they still have to bear within
such a short timespan? Sabre had loosened his grip and sunken to his knees and
Sojourner knelt beside him and put his arms around him.
Now after Remington had finished the fear was gone from his eyes only to be
replaced by sadness. He mainly looked at Sabre when he silently repeated, "I'm
very sorry."
Thunderhawk tried to direct his thoughts towards the present situation again. He
yearned for not having to feel anything anymore and also knew how much pain the
others must have felt but they still were Guardians. Spectre and Locke fell in
the line of duty and it wouldn't help if the rest of the Brotherhood was
drowning in grief. With Spectre gone someone had to take the lead instead and
after neither Sojourner nor Sabre looked as if they were able to it was up to
the purple furred Guardian.
"Thank you Remington", he tried to say as calm as possible. "You can go now.
They might need you in the city. And we will take care of the Flame Legion."
After the former Constable was gone he turned to the others who were still
kneeling on the floor. Sabre hadn't said a single word so far nor had he shed a
single tear. In fact he just stared into space with empty eyes.
"Come", Thunderhawk gently said, "We can't stay here forever."
Sojourner looked at him then he stood up and reached out a hand to help Sabre
up.

They walked silently without really having a destiny. All they knew was that
they had to find the Flame Legion but no one had a clue what to do if they found
them. But at least they had something to do, something that could distract them.
Or at least it was distraction for Sojourner and Thunderhawk while Sabre on the
other hand...
The brown male might have taken Sojourner's hand, he might have gotten up and
now might walk with them but he still looked as if he was far, far away.
The forest they had been walking through brightened after a while but instead of
reaching a glade they soon stood in front of a high wall.
"Where did that come from?" Sojourner asked. "I can't remember anyone ever
building something in that part of the woods."
"Let's get up and get a better view over it", Thunderhawk said.
They flew up and landed on a high tree. Hidden behind the leaves they could get
a look over the wall and their mouths opened in surprise and shock. They saw
something that was already a town of barracks and tents and dozens of soldiers
dressed in the cloaks of the Flame Legion. In the middle of the town there was a
tower; similar to the one Enerjak had created after his first return. It all
must have been created by magic - no one was able to build a fortress of that
size that fast and still stay unnoticed all the time.
"Holy ship..." Sojourner mumbled. "How are three Guardians supposed to handle an
army?"
"We don't have to", Thunderhawk meant thoughtfully. "Maybe just a few guards but
only until the spell they are under is broken. You have heard Remington. They
haven't left the Dark Legion and joined another force because they wanted to. As
soon as the ban is broken they have no reason to attack us anymore unless their
true Grandmaster - either Lien-Da or Dimitri - gives the order. All we have to
do is to destroy the source of magic. It's either inside of the tower or the
tower itself, I can feel it."
Something made Thunderhawk suspicious. What he felt from the tower was not magic
- it was Emerald power. The only living being that could control the Master
Emerald like the Guardians was Dr Finitevus.
'Even better', Thunderhawk grimly thought, 'You still have to pay for a lot of
things, Doctor.'
"Oh yes, good, we only have to walk into this place, risk to be killed from all
sides and take a damn tower down and I'm sure we will have to sacrifice our
lives for real when that thing falls."
Thunderhawk and Sojourner turned around just to see if it was really still Sabre
who was standing beside them and not someone else. No one would ever have
awaited such a rough and sarcastic tone from him.
"Sabre, it's our duty as Guardians", Sojourner started but he was cut off by the
brown male again.
"Oh yes, we're Guardians. The people worship us like kings, no nearly like gods
- or at least they do as if. But the real thing is that they just needed a bunch
of victims. A group of chosen ones - chosen to be sacrificed in case of danger.
The people will stay alive while we are led to the slaughtering block.
Everything for the greater weal."
"Now listen up." Sojourner stood in front of his great-grandson with the hands
put on his hips and anger in his eyes. "Grief as much as you want, but don't
make innocent people responsible for our losses. Yes, we are Guardians. Yes, all
of the Guardians died while fulfilling their duties. But they aren't the only
ones. Hadn't it always been like that? Think of the many civil wars on Angel
Island. Guardians weren't the only ones who were fighting against the Dark
Legion. A lot of other Echidnas died just to protect their families and friends
and only because of those sacrifices the Echidna race was able to survive. Had
none of us been brave enough to stand up against our attackers, had we all given
up immediately then our race would have died out long ago. The Guardians are
honoured because they have sworn to always protect their people no matter
what."
"Not all of them also want to take that duty. They were born as Guardians; no
one asked them if they wanted to become Guardians. They had no other choice."
"You had the choice!" Sojourner shouted so loud that Thunderhawk feared that the
soldiers behind the wall could hear them but he also didn't want to interfere.
Not as long as a normally hard to anger Guardian was in such a rage. "Athair
retired and became the leader of a nomad tribe instead. You were born in that
tribe, you were raised like one of them and your father would have never forced
you to start your training. It was your own choice to come back."
"I was a young fool. You know what fights my father and me had and I thought it
would anger him the most if I returned to somewhere he never wanted to go back
to."
"Steppenwolf also had the choice after he was the first Guardian. He took the
mantle of duty right after his father died. And Rembrandt lost a son, just like
you, but he also didn't give up that easily."
"But..."
"And do you think Locke didn't know exactly what he was doing when he decided to
sacrifice himself? Do you believe Spectre would have let us die just because he
had the ability to teleport out of the danger zone? Maybe they both couldn't
choose if they wanted to be Guardians but they had the choice to either save
their own lives or to die for others." He took a deep breath. His anger now
slowly faded. "Sabre, I know this isn't really you who's speaking. You're mad
with grief. But you have to stay strong. You mustn't let it take over your whole
heart and soul. Locke died to free Knuckles, Spectre died to save us and they
gave us four the chance to carry on. Now get a grip on yourself, old man, and
don't let their sacrifice be worth a crap."
Thunderhawk started chuckling. Had he really just heard Sojourner calling his
own great-grandson an "old man"? The others now noticed that he was still there
and stared at him but once he had started laughing he couldn't stop that easily
anymore.
"What the heck is so funny?" Sojourner asked.
"You have to talk 'old man'", Thunderhawk brought out between his chuckles.
"Oh you're so childish, Hawk." Sojourner rolled his eyes but now he was smiling
too.
Sabre remained serious but at least life had returned into his previously empty
eyes - a good sign. For a little while he stared at barracks then he said, "Hey,
I'm sorry. This really shouldn't have happened to me."
Sojourner just waved his hand. "It’s okay, it's okay. We all had been through
a lot of things lately. And we all have our own ways to deal with it. One gets
crazy, one explodes and one falls from the tree laughing."
Thunderhawk now bursted out laughing and had to cling to the branches or else he
would have fallen from the tree for real and this time even Sabre slightly
grinned.
"Gosh", the purple Echidna hiccuped after a while, "this is the strangest thing
Guardians might ever have done. We are sitting in a tree, fighting at first and
then bursting into laughter and that all in front of an enemy camp. If we told
people about that they will think we've completely lost it."
"So, I guess it’s time to get back to the a bit more serious themes",
Sojourner said. "We should retreat to a safer place for now and think of a way
how to get to that tower. Shall we go back to Albion?"
Thunderhawk lifted his head and searched the sky until he could see the
well-known Floating Island. "No, we're flying up even higher. We're returning to
Haven 2."

After no one had been there for months Haven 2 was dusty and full of spider webs
but still the three Guardians felt as if they had come home again. Sabre wiped
the dust cover off a computer and thought about what the tech wiz Locke would
have said if he knew how his precious electronics were going to rack and ruin.
The memory of his son gave him a sting in his heart and he knew that it would
pain him even more when they had to work with things Locke had made or built up
but he had to stay strong. He turned on the computer he just had de-dusted and
started searching for something.
"A lot of useful things had been programmed on the workstations in Haven during
the last few years", he explained while letting his eyes wander over the screen.
"One of those things once launched Enerjak's citadel into space and caused the
rest of Nekronopolis to vanish. Oh yes, this folder looks good. What do you
think will await us if we manage to get through the camp and close to the
tower?"
"I guess we have to enter it because I don't think Finitevus will come out when
we just ring the doorbell", Thunderhawk said. "Maybe there will also be guards
inside but it's way better if we had to take care of just a small group of
guards instead of a whole army. Then I guess there will be alarm systems or
traps. We will have to get rid of them or at least avoid them."
"Do you think there will be surveillance cameras? This program there once was
written to freeze the picture a camera is showing."
"But what if it's a turning camera? Won't our enemies get suspicious if they
always saw the same."
"Not really. As far as I know the picture can still change but the camera will
only show what it filmed during its last turn before it was frozen. I just have
to re-write it a bit because it only works for a certain amount of time and I
want to make sure it keeps working long enough for our cause or that we can
easily repeat it if we run out of time."
Sojourner watched Sabre's fingers flying over the keyboard and then stared at
something that looked like hieroglyphs to him on the screen. "Where in Edmund's
name did you learn to read program codes?"
"Well, you'll learn a lot of things if you are living for such a long time in
Haven together with... with..." Sabre's voice faded away. For a split-second
Locke's name had been in his mind but he couldn't say it out loud. Quickly he
turned his face away and looked at the screen again.

The next hours Sojourner and Thunderhawk discussed about plans while Sabre
searched for programs, did minor changes in codes, wrote a protocol of their
plans or when they had to use which program and only threw in things once in a
while. He didn't really have to write everything down but it was yet another way
to keep him busy.
"We now only need a way to get our little helping programs to the tower because
I don't think we can carry a whole workstation with us", Thunderhawk said after
Sabre had typed the last few letters and started copying everything to a memory
card.
"I can remember we once had some kind of mini computers in Haven", Sojourner
said, "Like the one princess Sally used to carry around. I think it's still
around somewhere."
Sabre stood up. "We will help you searching. After all there's not much else to
do while we wait until it has finished copying."

In the archives they finally found one of the little computers. The batteries
needed to be changed but after they had replaced them it was working fine. When
they returned to the computer room Sabre stopped in the door.
"What is it?" Sojourner asked.
The younger Guardian slowly shook his head. "Nothing. I only had the sudden
feeling that someone else was there only moments ago. Another Guardian."
"Maybe Knuckles?"
"Not sure. All I know is that he is gone now."
"And we should go now too", Thunderhawk said, put the memory card into the mini
computer and handed it Sabre.

The walls weren't protected because no one believed anyone could climb over them
- they were high and had sharp spikes on the top. No one had thought about the
flying abilities of the three Guardians. And why should they have thought about
it? The Guardians were believed to be dead and the only people who knew better
were Remington and meanwhile maybe also the people of Albion.
The three were dressed in cloaks looking similar to the ones of the Flame Legion
and the nightfall helped them to hide minor differences in their wardrobes.
Still their way through the camp wasn't less dangerous because they knew as soon
as someone decided to take a closer look at them their cover would be blown.
Finally they reached the tower and while Sabre used the minicomputer on the
control panel beside the door to crack the code the others stood in front of him
and shielded him from unwanted looks. A few passing soldiers took a quick glance
at them but obviously it was normal for guards to stand in front of the door
once in a while.
"I got it", Sabre whispered.
They waited until a bunch of Flame Legionnaires were out of sight then opened
the door a little bit and slipped in. It needed them a while until their eyes
got used to the sudden brightness. While Enerjak's tower rather had the look of
a dungeon the corridor in front of them consisted of white walls, white floor
tiles and light grey metal doors. It reminded them of a laboratory and with a
shudder Thunderhawk thought about how Dr Finitevus had thoroughly examined the
weakened Guardians before he had tossed them into the Twilight Zone. There also
were several monitors on the walls. All of them showed different parts of the
building. Sabre's program was working - the camera that was directed at them
still showed the entrance door without the three Echidnas in front of it.
As silent as possible they walked up a few stairs and through many other
corridors. Levitating would have been a quieter option but after Finitevus was
nearly a living Chaos Emerald he might have immediately noticed when another
Emerald source appeared in his tower.
"Guess I would feel much better if we had to hide from guards once in a while",
Sojourner mumbled. "The whole thing looks as if we're walking right into a trap.
And why do we even have to go up so many floors."
"I don't think Dr Finitevus would want to stay on one of the lower floors",
Thunderhawk explained. "An enemy who has to walk for a long time will easier be
spotted by a camera or guards than someone who just takes the door closest to
the entrance."
"But this is Finitevus we're talking about", Sabre said in a voice as if
something terrible had just come to his mind. "He would await an enemy to think
this and while said enemy loses a lot of precious time searching for him, he
really was in the room closest to the entrance all the time and has made sure
that the intruder won't be able to leave anymore."
Thunderhawk stopped so suddenly that the others were running into him. He could
have slapped himself - not only because he hadn't thought earlier about
Finitevus' unusual ways to think and act. At the beginning he hadn't even been
sure if the Emerald source was coming from inside the tower or the tower itself
but later he was totally concerned that Finitevus would have wanted to have an
eye on the controlled troops. But what if the albino already had left some time
ago and the tower really had become the source afterwards? Maybe all they would
have had to do to break the magic was to space a bunch of C4 on the ground
floor.
But before he could think any further sirens sounded through the building. A few
monitors showed the blinking letters "unauthorized entrance" and the cameras
also seemed to work again because on some screens they now could see guards
running through the corridors. Sabre smashed the keys of his minicomputer.
"Damn! The loop isn't working. I can neither stop the cameras nor the alarm
anymore."
Thunderhawk grabbed the arms of the two others and dragged them with him. They
ran as fast as they could, only tried to get out before being caught. A few
times they had to change directions because else they would have risked running
into the arms of their enemies. And then when they reached the first floor they
heard troops coming from both sides of the corridor.
"Back, we have to go back up!" Thunderhawk hissed but now they also heard steps
on the stairway. The purple Echidna noticed a smaller corridor to the left and
dragged the others with him. It was a dead end. There were two doors but both of
them were locked. They were trapped. It was over.
They stood with their backs against the wall waiting for the guards to come
closer and detect them. Sabre was now pushing the keys on his minicomputer again
and desperately tried to find something that could help them. Suddenly the
typing sounds stopped and when Thunderhawk turned his head he saw that the
younger Guardian was just staring at the little screen, mouth slightly opened.
"What is it?"
"I accidentally opened my protocol but there's something I haven't written and I
have no clue what it means."
He showed it to Thunderhawk and Sojourner. At the end of the document there was
a phrase they knew Sabre never had written: "Initiate space invasion".
Suddenly the alarm stopped and all of the screens darkened. The troops outside
stopped as well and were loudly talking with each other but the Guardians didn't
understand what they were saying because they all tried to talk at the same
time. And then sound and screens went on again but different. They heard beeping
sounds and white pixel figures were wandering over the screens.
"Who the hell is playing Space Invaders on our systems?" one of the guards
shouted.
"They have to be in the control room", another one loudly said. "Up, we have to
go up again."
The three Guardians heard that they were departing and running upstairs.
"I never ... never would have believed that I would be saved one day by ...
Space Invaders", Sojourner whispered breathless.
"I told you that I had felt the presence of another Guardian in Haven 2", Sabre
whispered, "But I don't think it was Knuckles. Maybe he knows how to write these
things but something like this is totally not his style."
"It rather looks like Athair's style", Thunderhawk said and listened if all
troops were gone now and it was safe to get out of the side corridor again.
"Athair can't write program codes."
A rumble went through the building, the floor and walls were shaking.
"The tower is about to collapse" Sojourner shouted. "Sabre, where the heck are
you going? The exit is one floor under us."
Sabre already had run out of the corridor and to the stairways but he didn't
take the way leading down.
"There are still people up there and it's our duty to make sure all of them will
get out. Haven't you told me that we have to think about our duties first?"
"Oh if we are dying just because we had helped them I swear I'm going to kill
you", Sojourner groaned and he and Thunderhawk followed him.

The three Guardians were the last to leave the building and outside they saw
what had caused it to shake. Green energy balls were shooting over their heads,
most of them hit the building. At first it looked as if the attack was directed
towards the tower but then they noticed that those which hit it were only stray
attacks of something that happened at the other side of the tower. For a few
seconds they were just standing like stunned, watching the spectacle above then
Thunderhawk yelled, "Down!" and dragged the others to the floor with him. Behind
them the tower exploded. Boulders flew over their heads and everything was
covered in dust.

~~~***~~~

Sitting on the Master Emerald he performed the ritual to break the hex upon it.
"The server are the seven chaos..."
He knew exactly what would happen once the Emerald was freed but he had no
choice. There was no other way to save the world from Enerjak, no other way to
save Knuckles.
"Chaos is power, enriched by the heart..."
Tears were running over his cheeks when he said the last sentences to finish the
ritual.
"Release my boy! Give him his own life to lead!"
The hex was broken and energy burst out of the Emerald, shot through his body.
Blinding light surrounded him and he felt as if he was burning from inside.
And then he fell into darkness... Numbing darkness...

Locke opened his eyes but he couldn't see anything. Everything around him was
black. He was floating through a world of blackness. At first he thought he had
become blind but then he looked down and still could see his body. Where had the
Master Emerald sent him to? He wished he at least could tell the difference
between up and down and as soon as he had thought this he felt a floor
underneath his feet. It was as if gravity had just come back from lunch break
and continued work.
"We have awaited you", a voice said behind him.
Locke turned around and saw Steppenwolf approaching him.
"I always thought I would be greeted by all former Guardians once I am dead." As
soon as he had seen the first Guardian it had dawned on him. He was dead, there
was no doubt anymore.
"No, unfortunately this time it's just me. We have to deal with a little problem
called Tobor at the moment."
"So the energy outburst killed me but what about the others who were close to
the Emerald? What about my son? Could I free him?" Strangely he didn't feel
worried about what could have happened to the others or his son. Actually he
couldn't feel anything at all anymore, no matter what he thought of. The only
reason why he had asked was because he was interested in the fate of those
living beings, the interest of a scientist.
"I don't know but we can watch them once we reached a higher level of existence
if you're still interested then. Now take my hand."
"Don't take his hand", something whispered beside the younger Guardian. He could
feel a presence at his side but he couldn't see anything.
"What are you doing here?" Steppenwolf asked and looked at a spot beside Locke.
Could he see someone or did he just feel a presence as well and looked at where
it came from? "You don't belong here."
"Take my hand and hold on tight", the voice said again and Locke felt that
fingers wrapped around his hand.
Within a beat of the heart Steppenwolf and the darkness were gone. Bright light
surrounded him and feelings he had lost with his death returned with such a
force that he screamed in pain. He fell to the floor, coiled up and only wished
he could still be dead just to make the pain stop. And then it suddenly was
over. Locke remained lying on the floor heavily breathing and shivering.
"I'm sorry that this happened but there was nothing I could do to prevent it."
There was this voice again.
Locke slowly lifted his head and looked at the brown Echidna who was standing by
his side.
"Athair... What is this place?"
"My own private place. I might be part of the Neo Walkers now but even some kind
of more or less godly being needs his privacy once in a while especially after
he wasn't born as a more or less godly being and became it all out of sudden.
It's quite comfortable but unfortunately only Aurora and Merlin, maybe some
other godly beings as well if there are still some others existing, can see it.
You as a mortal on the other hand... By the way, you are lying on my bed right
now. I guessed the pain will lead you to a breakdown and brought you somewhere
where you can have a soft landing."
Locke now noticed that he was lying a few centimeters over the floor. If he
turned his head he would have looked at Athair's knees, not his feet. He was
shivering again but now because of the coldness around him. Now he also noticed
that he wasn't wearing clothes anymore and his fur wasn't thick enough to
prevent him from the cold.
"Sorry, but this happens when someone is brought back from the dead. Here, take
this", Athair said and reached him a fluffy white bathrobe. "You should thank me
that you got rid of your tribal clothes. Those were looking really stupid and
besides I don't really like brown."
"Uhm, your fur is brown and you wore brown clothes once as well", Locke said and
put on the bathrobe. If it hadn't been so fluffy it would have looked as if he
was wearing his old lab coat again.
"I only wore brown because it was the fashion of my tribe and the only things I
could have done to avoid a brown fur would have been to shave it off or to dye
it green and both would have looked ridiculous. At least it made me look forward
instead of staring down all the time."
"So why have you even brought me here if I was dead anyways?" Locke changed the
subject.
"Did you want to die?"
"Well, I had no other choice."
"I didn't ask you if you had the choice. I asked you if you really wanted to die
like in 'I was finished with the world and so I committed suicide'."
"No, I did not commit suicide but still I willingly gave my life. I did it for
Knuckles."
"So you still had a reason to live. And I'm telling you your dead was too early
and your time hadn't come yet."
"You are telling me?"
"Boy, I once was chosen by the Ancient Walkers and now I'm walking through time
and space at Aurora's side and both of them had been gods since I know so I
think this makes me godly somehow as well."
"Alright..." Locke had never been standing in front of a stranger god,
especially not a god who was his grandfather. "So you will send me back to
Mobius, right?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure how much time I can give you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It just means that even as a god I only can send you back once. If you get
killed immediately after your return I can't do anything for you anymore
although your time still hasn't come. Maybe you will also die way sooner than
any other Guardian because of what you have done to your body. It was damaged by
years of experiments with the Master Emerald. No Guardian had gone that far
before and I really can't tell you the outcome of it. So try to make the best of
your borrowed time."
Locke nodded.
"Oh, and there is something you also have to do when you return. Avoid to be
recognized until the right time has come."
"And when will the right time come?"
"You will know. But until it's there you can show yourself or walk around among
people if you want to but no one should know who you are."
"But why?"
"Because I'm breaking the rules. I know, my whole life I had been a rule breaker
but I never tried to do this with a godly rule. Normally you would have to find
your own way back to life and you would lose all your abilities in the progress
and then have to relearn them later. But by then it will already be too late. We
only might have spoken for something that felt like minutes but during that time
weeks, maybe months have passed by in the mortal world. I will send you back to
life immediately so you don't lose time and you will also keep your abilities
because you might need them. I don't know why but I somehow have the feeling
that this night there will be more than one Guardian life be saved." He smiled
and reached out a hand. "Come, it's time."
And before the younger Echidna could say anything they had disappeared into the
darkness again.

Another time Locke landed on his stomach but this time it was on a ground made
of rocks and dust.
'Darn, I thought I had learned how to land properly well enough during the years
of training. Guess not', he thought while getting up and wiping the dust from
his bathrobe. 'At least my clothes stayed this time. Maybe because they're godly
or whatsoever.'
He looked around and in the light of dusk he could see the ruins of a city
around him? Echidnaopolis? But why had Athair brought him here? Should he return
to the Master Emerald or... Haven! The thought was there so fast as if Athair
had whispered into his ear. Yes, why not? If no one should recognise him he
might need a change of clothes or at least something to cover his face without
looking too eye-catching. And then he wanted to go to Albion. Something inside
him told him that Knuckles was alright but he wanted to see it with his own
eyes, wanted to hear it with his own ears. Where else could he find better
information than in the new city of Echidnas?

Haven was dusty too. For months no one had been there anymore. Normally the
sight of the dusted and slowly falling apart machines and electronic devices
would have bothered Locke more but right now he had other problems to deal with.
Later when he was allowed to show again he would return to clean Haven and
repair everything.
The wardrobe in his room was full of older clothes, but not a sign of the tribal
outfit he used to wear during the last weeks before his death. Sure, the last
few weeks he had rarely been in Haven and had mostly spent wandering around
outside or in the Emerald Chamber so he also never had hung those clothes in his
wardrobe. He put on one of his lab coats - a lot of Echidna scientists wore
these so he wouldn't be an eye-catcher to anyone - but he took white boots
instead of his formerly blue ones - the combination of white coat and blue boots
would have looked too much like Locke.
While walking through the rooms he found something else: Hawking's hat. The old
Guardian once had given it to Knuckles but the boy never wore it so it first
remained in his former residence and then moved to the Grand Conservatory - the
place that was later used as Haven 2. He decided to take it with him too. Maybe
he would have looked a bit strange because it wasn't fitting to the rest of his
outfit but at least it was big enough to cover his face if needed.
Now Locke could have left but the tech wiz inside him told him to at least take
a look into the main control room. He had awaited nothing but dust and silence.
The more surprised he was when he saw one of the systems running. Someone had
been here not too long ago. Knuckles? It must have been him because there were
no other Guardians left and only a Guardian would have known how to get through
the safety measures of Haven. He took a closer look and saw that someone had
been writing on a program to crack an entry code and shut down alarm and
surveillance cameras. Instead of finally leaving for Albion Lock was now even
more interested and opened one of the sub-programs and something that looked
like a time table. The time table showed him what the author of it had planned
to do when but when he compared it to the sub-program he noticed that there
would never be enough time until the alarms were functioning again. At the end
there was a loop but that would never work just because of one little typo. He
tried to correct it.
Access denied!
Well, that didn't work. What if he copied the whole code into the main program?
Access denied!
Locke silently cursed. The sub-program wouldn't even let him copy anything. And
if he tried to type the whole code into the main he would have needed hours. So
what else could he do? He racked his brain until he finally had a little idea.
There was another program he once had written just for fun - it wasn't helpful
if someone wanted to continue with their mission but it would give them enough
time to escape and then they could try to think of another and better working
plan. A few little clicks, a few little codes and it was finished. He entered a
few little words into the time table, not just to be as correct as the author of
it, also to show him that someone had worked on his program and give him a
little clue what could happen next - not that he also would be as startled as
his foes and miss his chance to escape. "Initiate space invasion." He smiled. If
that wouldn't confuse the enemies then nothing could.
Suddenly Locke heard steps outside. Whoever had entered Haven was still here and
now it was really time for him to leave. He took another door out of the room
and a few other corridors that led him out of Haven. That exit was close to the
edge of Angel Island and when he looked down he saw the white city of Albion not
too far away. He should be able to fly there within a few minutes.

Locke landed at a safe spot a few meters away from the beach. If he had flown
closer they might have recognised him as a Guardian. When he walked over the new
bridge to the island he noticed how destroyed the city looked. They had started
rebuilding it months ago but it looked like nothing changed. Had Robotnik
started another attack or the Dingoes broken their word once again? He didn't
think it was the Dark Legion because he still wanted to believe that Lien-Da was
the most trustworthy Grandmaster of them all. After all she had sworn to protect
the Master Emerald while Locke had been in war captivity and although it always
had been the plan of her kind to destroy this Emerald she had kept word and
protected it. And now she had promised that none of her Legion teams would
attack the other Echidnas until both sides had recovered. He just wanted to
believe it.
While he was thinking he accidentally bumped into someone. For a second he
looked into Julie-Su's eyes then he quickly dragged down his hat, mumbled "I'm
sorry, ma'am" and continued walking. He still could feel Julie's gaze in his
back and now he heard Mighty's voice.
"What is it, Jules?"
"Nothing", she answered, "For a second I just thought I looked right into
Knuckles' eyes but that was definitely not him. Besides I think he is still in
the fortress in the woods."
Fortress? Locke never heard about that fortress but he needed to get there. He
also could find out later what had happened to the city - maybe ask Knuckles
after he had found him. At first he had no clue where or how to find the
fortress but when he saw a taxi passing him by he got the idea that there were
probably a few people who knew the area around Albion better than anyone else.
He waved the cab but when it came closer he suddenly noticed who was driving it.
It seemed as if Harry had decided to live among the Echidnas again. This guy
knew Locke's face as well but it was already a bit too late to turn around and
walk away again - and maybe also impolite if he already called the taxi over and
now left without reason - so Locke dragged down his hat again and got in on the
nearside. If he had sat on the backseat Harry would have been able to watch him
through the mirror but on the co-driver seat the Dingo would have had to turn
his head and that was something he couldn't do too often while driving.
"I thought I heard you Dingoes moved to the desert. So one of your kind has
decided to come back again?" Locke asked.
"Yes, army life never had been the right thing for me. Besides I missed your
ugly Echidna mugs after a while. So where d'ya wanna go, guv?"
"Uhm ... do you know something about a fortres near the city?"
"Oh, bad place. Knux discovered it a few hours ago in the fawerst due west. I
approximately know where it is but I won't suggest ya ter go there. They are out
for Echidnas, ya know, but so far they ignored any uvver species."
"But I need to get there. And I can take care of myself very well."
"Alright, it's your head what is risked, just saying."

While other cars might have gotten stuck already Harry had no problems driving
his cab through the forest because the taxi was still one of those they had used
in Echidnaopolis once - a hovering car. As long as the gaps between the trees
were wide enough there was no way to stop it from moving forward. As long as
they were driving Locke still had the chance to ask what had happened to the
city.
For a second Harry stared at him and nearly crashed into a tree.
"In the name of the Ancient Walkers, have you lived under a rock for the last 24
hours? The city had been attacked by the Flame Legion. Not Lien-Da, before you
ask. They are suddenly out of her control. Knux followed a group of 'em when
they retreated from their last attack to find out where they are goin' an' as
far as I know from the Chaotix he found their base in this forest - straight
west from Albion."
Thoughtfully Locke played with the brim of his hat and dragged it even deeper
over his eyes. So the Flame Legion was out of control, they attacked a city
where a few of their own kind were still living and built a fortress within a
very short time. The only explanation he had for this was very powerful magic
and he knew only one mage evil and powerful enough: Finitevus.

When they reached the wall Locke got out of the taxi - the coins he found in his
coat were enough to pay Harry's price - and waited until the car disappeared
between the trees again before he flew to the top of the wall. He wasn't sure
what he had awaited but definitely not that - enough tents and barracks for
hundreds of soldiers, in the middle a dark tower - Locke could feel the chaos
force originating from it - and somewhere in this town among all those soldiers
there was his son. If he was all alone or with his friends, it didn't matter.
After all they were just a bunch of teenagers in a camp full of well-trained
soldiers.
Locke carefully glided off the wall and hid between the tents. Silently he
cursed his white lab coat and the white boots - even in the night they were
bright enough to be seen. But the Flame Legionnaires were busy with something
else right now. Several soldiers ran to the tower. In the distance he could hear
something that sounded like an alarm. He kept his fingers crossed that his
little extra program would work and secretly followed the other Echidnas. He
climbed up the stairs on the outside of a barrack. On the roof he not only had a
better view but he also could stay out of the way and prevent being detected in
this chaos. Commandos were shouted and then a voice sounded over the camp louder
than everything else. Locke was sure it was coming from the tower.
"The intruders are not just in the tower. Look among our own lines and take him
prisoner."
At first only heads were turned then a few moved into the same direction and one
stumbled back a few steps then turned around and started running. A blast hit
his back and he fell but it was not meant to kill him, only to stop him. Now
Espio, who at first still had been invisible, jumped off a tent, ran to his
friend and tried to help him up again but Knuckles could barely stand and Espio
would have never been able to carry him. Within seconds they were surrounded.
And then the voice from the tower sounded again.
"It's a Guardian. The last remaining Guardian. Let the tower take care of him."
The walls of the giant building were glowing and an orb formed in front of it,
slowly got bigger and bigger. It looked as if the largest Chaos blast that had
ever been seen was charging up. Chaos energy tingled on Locke's skin. Now it
didn't matter anymore if Athair had told him to stay hidden or if the right time
already had come or not. All he knew was that he didn't want to just stand back
and watch the two boys dying. He ran to the edge of the roof, jumped, flew over
the heads of the Legionnaires and landed in front of Knuckles and Espio.
"Stay behind me!" he shouted over his shoulder and formed an energy shield
around them. He saw Knuckles' jaw drop in astonishment but he had turned his
head too quickly to see if his son had really recognized him or if he was just
astounded that another spy was there right in time to help them. Right now all
of his concentration was on the shield although he knew that a blast of this
force would easily break through it. And then? Well, then his own body would be
the next shield. He already had taken a Chaos overload once, he knew what
awaited him and again he was ready to give his life for his son. The blast was
fully loaded and shot against them.
And then the sky ripped open. A bright gash split the dark sky and blinding
light shot out of it. Locke had to close his eyes and when he could open them
again he saw Chaos beams shooting everywhere but none was aimed against them.
Over their heads two flying figures were locked in a battle for life or death.
Locke couldn't recognize the other fighter but for one he was completely sure -
he could see that he was dressed in cloak and helmet and who else wore this
combination other than Spectre.
Another orb started charging. Spectre grabbed his opponent, held him tight and
let himself fall down right into the glowing orb. The tower exploded.

~~~***~~~

When Spectre opened his eyes again he found himself floating through darkness.
'Good', he grimly thought, 'if this is really the after world then I have at
least taken Moritori with me. And now I have to pick another bone with a few
dead Guardians.'
He stretched his legs and felt a floor under his feet. Around him figures became
visible - his deceased ancestors. Only Tobor was missing. Steppenwolf came
closer.
"Spectre, we have awaited you. I want to welcome you in the name of all..."
"Cut it and tell me where Tobor is", the dark Echidna snapped. He knew this was
the first real Guardian he was shouting at, he also knew that he was surrounded
by ancestors and that maybe reverence was awaited from him but he didn't feel
awed at all. His anger was overlaying nearly everything.
Steppenwolf lifted his hands in a defensive gesture. "Wow, we knew you were a
hot-head but I guess nothing would have been able to prepare us for this. The
level you are in at the moment is the level of unfeelingness - the first before
reaching our higher level of existence. You shouldn't be able to feel anything
at all."
"Well, actually I feel close to an explosion. Maybe you made something wrong and
I'm not completely dead." Spectre knew he was right. He felt something inside of
his chest that was dragging him back - tried to drag his soul back into his
body. Well, he already had found a way out of the Twilight Zone so why not
escape death as well?
"We did nothing wrong", now Moonwatcher threw in and put extra emphasis on the
'we'. "We are only here to guide you to your afterlife and haven't killed you."
"You already let so many little deaths from inside happen when you were still
alive so how should I know you don't continue after your death?"
"What do you mean?" Harlan asked.
"I'm now speaking to those who were active Guardians during the time when Tobor
was replaced by Moritori. I thought you at least were sometimes watching over
the younger ones and over their training when you are in Haven. Don't tell me
that no one had been in Haven for years during that time. You saw someone of
your own kind - or at least back then he was believed to be one of our kind -
slowly destroying his family. You must have heard about my mother's early death
and that grandfather Hawking was cocooning in his own underground lair in the
city, too broken to train me. So I was left all alone with someone who never
wanted to raise a Guardian. He couldn't kill me but he tried to break me. I was
afraid of my own 'father', of my own home but where else should I have gone? I
was a little child and I knew nowhere else to go."
"We really didn't know about it", Rembrandt silently said. "Back then we didn't
watch over our youngest Guardians as much as you do today. Those few times we
had you and Moritori on the screen we couldn't see anything wrong. He even
started your training. Maybe he was way too harsh and nothing you did was good
enough for him but why should we have intervened just because of too strict
training methods?"
"It's getting even better", Spectre said with a smile that couldn't ban the cold
from his eyes. "After he saw that he couldn't kill me and every try to break me
only made me a fighter he changed his tactics and tried to make me one of his
kind. I already told Tobor that the cloak and helmet were good to hide and now
the time has come to reveal what they are hiding."
He watched the others exchanging gazes while his hands slowly wandered to his
helmet. For decades he only had taken it off when he had been sure to be
completely alone and no one could disturb his loneliness but he already had
started with the truth and now he would stand it through. He took off his helmet
and watched their surprised or shocked moods. Parts of his dreads were
cybernetic.
"Moriori just cut them off. He explained that he wanted to make me more
impervious to pain. I also have other metal parts on my body but those at least
were only made to replace part of the skin and not complete body parts. All the
time I was a Guardian at heart but I had the body of a Dark Legionnaire. It was
making everything even worse for me - knowing that it was one of that damn
Legion who had turned my once loving father into a monster and then having to
walk around with implants like one of them. Maybe a lot of pains could have been
prevented if you sometimes just cared about your own family a bit more than
about your duties and traditions. I'm not just speaking of my own pains. Guess
all of you had the one or other feeling to hide. We're the Brotherhood of the
broken hearted. And then some of those rules... I know rules are neccessary for
an organisation like ours but some of them sound so ... illogical to me. I guess
most of us only obeyed to the rules because they were, well, rules although we
never understood why they existed. For example, why do we have to leave our
children all alone at a very young age? They also would become good fighters if
they could stay with their family until they were grown up. Why aren't the
partners of Guardians allowed to take part in their children's education as
well? It isn't like a loving none-Guardian mother or father could do harm. And
why do we have to hide in a hidden base if it is one of our duties to protect
our people? Shouldn't we rather live among them instead?"
Spectre looked around, saw his grandfather nod in agreement - Hawking first had
stayed with Tobor until he had grown up and then after his son's rapid
personality change moved to his own base in the city - saw Steppenwolf,
Moonwatcher and Harlan exchange gazes - after all they were the first to be
concerned about the rapid change among the Brotherhood but they never did
anything to stop it. The others stared at the floor, thinking Spectre's words
over.
Jordan was the first to speak again. "I was the first to go through the new
system - I mean being left alone at a young age and I think it was only to my
best. I learned self-reliance and I don't think I would be the individual I am
now if I weren't allowed the opportunity to succeed or fail on my own."
"Yes, maybe Sojourner also wouldn't have been the individual he is now if I had
decided to stay with him", Spectre coldly said, "but at least it would have
spared him a trauma during his childhood - watching his father leave without
knowing when or if he would see him again. If you ever had visited a city, not
necessarily Echidnaopolis, any place would have been alright, you would have
noticed that the kids there also have the opportunity to succeed and fail on
their own, learn how to live their own lives and that all while staying with
their families. Having to go through life all alone can make you a fighter but
so can a good training as well."
Spectre deeply sighed. Seeing his ancestors taken aback by his words made him
feel a bit bad but at least he now was a lot calmer again.
"We are aware of what we have done wrong in our lives", Steppenwolf said, "but
we can't change it anymore so why did you want to talk to us about it?"
"Maybe you can't do anything about it anymore", the dark Echidna answered, "but
I can. And to change my future I have to reconcile with my past first."
"Steppenwolf, may I say something?" a shy female voice was heard behind
Spectre's back. He turned around and saw Janelle-Li. He couldn't remember
noticing her before so either she must have stayed hidden somewhere all the time
or had just arrived in this world.
Steppenwolf nodded and so she continued, "Aurora contacted me. She wants to talk
to Spectre."
The first Guardian took a deep breath. "This is the second time in a row where a
deceased Guardian is taken away by one of the Neo Walkers instead of going with
us to another level of existence. I'm okay with it this time because it's
Aurora's right to speak to the dead Guardian's but if the next time Merlin also
shows up here I might get a bit mad. Alright, you may go, Spectre."

The dark Echidna followed his great-granddaughter until they came to a tall
gate. There was only the gate and nothing to be seen behind or beside it.
"When you open it you will reach Aurora's realm", Janelle said. "Unfortunately I
can't go with you any further."
Spectre wasn't sure what to say. The thought that she might have heard
everything he previously said made him feel guilty. He only had wanted to
address his ancestors and completely forgot that one of his descendants might
have been among them as well.
"Listen, I don't know how much you heard but if I said anything that made you
upset... It shouldn’t mean that I want to abandon my duties, not at all. I
know how important they are. There are just some rules I disagree with."
"I heard everything you said up to the part where you started questioning our
behaviour. You know, why we have to leave our children at an early age and why
we don't live among the people we protect and so on. Then Aurora called me and I
didn’t hear the rest of it. But don't mind, I'm not upset. You are right. And
somehow we are all culprits and victims the same time. Either we make the wrong
decisions and rules or we follow them blindly like sheep would run after the
bellwether. I have heard that Knuckles thinks a lot like you about this system
and even if you can't change a lot about the now existing Brotherhood you can be
sure that the next generation grows up with a change - hopefully to the better."
She warmly smiled. "And don't be worried about your father. That he couldn't
come to see you right now was his only punishment. The elders just had a talk
with him about his reasons why he had felt the need to interfere. He told us
that he was sure your time hadn't come yet and it was enough to forgive him.
Those feelings have a reason."
"If they have forgiven him what was the punishment for?"
"They only forgave him saving you, not staying and talking."
Spectre shook his head. "I guess not only the living Brotherhood needs a change.
Who would have known that life after death is that complicated as well?"
Janelle chuckled then she looked at the gate. "I think you should better go now.
It's not too polite to let a lady wait especially not if she's a goddess."

After Spectre went through the gate he found himself in Albion. No, this
couldn't be the real city. All the streets were empty.
"Spectre, there you are. You are a bit late. When you didn't show up I got a bit
worried you might have lost your way."
Aurora walked down the steps of the council hall. She smiled - a good sign.
Spectre took a bow and was glad that he already let his anger out on the other
Guardians. It was one thing to behave like a jerk in front of his ancestors but
it was better to encounter a goddess with politeness. After all she was the one
to decide over his future fate.
"Young Guardian..."
He looked up again. The last time that someone addressed him that way had been
over a century ago. But then again compared to her own age he was still very
young.
"You have been through many fights, always have been a brave warrior and gave
your life for others. And you also haven't been afraid to confront your past."
"I'm sorry for that. I was driven by my anger."
"Oh yes, I noticed." Aurora looked amused. "Maybe I'm not too used with Guardian
rules but I guess you had your reasons for such a fierce talk with your
ancestors." Her expression became a bit more serious but she still didn't lose
her warm smile. "It was exactly this anger outburst why I ordered you to my
realm. Steppenwolf was right when he said you shouldn't be able to feel anything
at all. Even after your 'death' you remain a fighter. Something inside of you is
fighting to get you back to life."
Spectre touched his chest. When he had been talking to the other Guardians he
had nearly forgotten about it, but now the dragging feeling was there again and
stronger than before.
"So will you send me back to life?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, and I don't even need to send you back on the usual way. Your body is
calling your soul back and the only thing you have to do is being serious about
following that call."
"I don't want to say that I'm afraid of death - not at all. But yes, my feelings
tell me that my time on Mobius isn't over yet and I'm giving in to the call."
"Good."
"May I ask one more question?"
"Yes?"
"Normally you have heralds to spread your messages. Why did you ask Janelle-Li
to lead me to you?"
"Heralds are mainly there for calling the dead to me. But after I noticed you
also knew that you aren’t completely dead I didn’t want to worry you by
sending heralds of death and chose someone you trusted instead."
"What do I have to do to get back now?"
"It’s a lot like teleportation. Close your eyes and concentrate on your
destination."
The Guardian closed his eyes.

"Spectre ... please ... wake up!"
"Sojourner... It's useless..."
Spectre heard the desperate calls of his son, the hopelessness in Thunderhawk's
voice, he felt the cool air on his skin, felt that his wounds started to heal,
he could also hear many other different voices but he didn't understand what
they were saying. His eyelids felt so heavy but he had to force them open a bit,
wanted to see what had happened around him, wanted to show that he was still
alive.
"So-Sojourner, he's breathing. His eyes are opening." That was Sabre's voice.
The dark Echidna now forced his eyes fully open. He saw Sojourner, Thunderhawk
and Sabre kneeling beside him, Knuckles supported by Espio standing just a few
steps away. Flame Legionnaires were running around, most of them looking
completely confused. He wanted to sit up a bit but that moment Sojourner lunged
at him with a cry of joy and pressed him down to the floor again.
"Easy, you're choking him", Sabre said and tried to get Sojourner off Spectre's
chest but only caused him to grab the dark Echidna's cloak even tighter.
"We thought we lost you. We really thought we lost you", he mumbled over and
over again with choked voice.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily", Spectre said with a weak smile, "If
death really wants to get me he would have to battle me first."

Knuckles felt torn. First he would have wanted to take a closer look at the
stranger who had been willing to give his own life for the young Guardian but
when the dust had faded the stranger had disappeared. Then he had noticed the
other Guardians fighting their way out the ruins, had seen Spectre lying on the
ground motionless. He wanted to find the stranger, wanted to know how his
relatives made it back from the Twilight Zone and wanted to see if Spectre was
alright - all at the same time.
He was relieved to see that Spectre was still alive but now he started to look
around again in hope the stranger was still there somewhere. And then he saw him
between the tents a few meters away. Between the dark grey tents and in the dim
light of the early morning his white coat was like a flashlight. Their gazes met
for a second then the stranger turned around and wanted to walk away again.
"Wait!" Knuckles shouted. He quickly told Espio that he already felt strong
enough to securely stand on his own feet then ran to the tents as fast as he
could. The wound at his back was still burning like hell but he bit the pain
down. He wanted to know it, wanted to be sure.

At first Locke wanted to use the dust of the explosion to get away unnoticed but
then he risked a look back and what he saw made him completely forget about his
plan. He had searched for his relatives for such a long time, nearly given up
hope to ever see them again and now they stepped out of the ruins. And then he
noticed someone lying on the ground. It was still too dark and he was too far
away but he was sure it was Spectre. His gut twisted. Now the others had seen
the fallen Guardian as well and knelt beside him. Locke knew that he ran the
risk to be detected but he had to stay at least until he knew what had happened
to Spectre. His tense nerves made every second feel like an eternity. But then
he heard Sabre's call that Spectre opened his eyes, heard Sojourner's cry of
happiness and let out the breath he had hold without noticing. He now remembered
that he had wanted to get away but before he could even make a single step he
noticed that Knuckles looked straight at him. Quickly he turned around.
"Wait!"
He remained on the spot; neither could nor wanted to run away anymore, slowly
turned around and took the hat off. Knuckles didn't even stop and fell right
into his arms. Locke hugged him too but more carefully because of the wound on
his son's back.
"I-I missed you so much, dad. It was so hard to live on ... k-knowing you gave
your life for ... for me and the last time we t-talked to each other was ... a
stupid fight and I ... I never had the chance to say s-sorry", Knuckles
stuttered, tears running over his face.
"It's okay", Locke whispered, "It was a fight about something stupid after all
and I know what hot-head you are. Just like me. We're both such knuckleheads."
Now someone else noticed the two as well. Sabre stood up and came closer, slowly
because he wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation.
"Locke...?"
The addressed turned his head. For a few seconds they were just staring at each
other and then with a few quick steps Sabre closed the gap between them and
hugged Locke - and Knuckles - as well.
"Group hug?" Spectre's voice was heard. "What? It was just a suggestion."
"But how ... Remington said you are dead", Sabre said after a while.
"Well, thank Athair."
"Athair?"
"Guess we all have a lot to tell."
He looked around. There were still the confused Flame Legionnaires who waited
for an explanation why they were standing in ruins, he also wanted to hear what
Knuckles had been doing, how his other relatives escaped the Twilight Zone and
of course there was his own story. So much to tell but now there also was enough
time for it.

~~~***~~~

The cyborg opened his eyes or better said he opened his left eye while the
cybernetic right eye started glowing. He already looked more like an robot than
Echidna. Except for a few small parts of his body, his muzzle, his left eye and
a small area around it everything was replaced or covered by metal. A tank on
two legs.
"Get up", a cold voice said.
He followed the order, jumped off the laboratory bench he had been lying on and
turned to the albino beside the bench.
"You know your orders, Xenin", Finitevus said, "I gave them to you while I was
still working on you. Now go."
Xenin just nodded then turned around and left.
Finitevus went to another laboratory bench. An Echidna cyborg was lying there as
well but he only had his left arm and eye replaced.
The albino knew that his tower had been destroyed but he didn't care. It was
mere a diversionary tactic that would give him enough time to work on his main
plan. Xenin already was a beginning of it, a first step to weaken the other side
but the bigger part was still lying in front of him and it also would need a lot
of work to make him function the way he wanted. Xenin had been easy - he was a
soldier and used to taking orders. But this one... A grandmaster would take
orders from no one except Dimitri and after there also was no way to persuade
him he had to do a lot of brainwash. But it was possible after all and sooner or
later even Kragok would have to bow to his command.

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