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"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 4: And it all Came Crashing Down...

   While the frenzied search for Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey settled down as night came, the hell was merely spreading to Angel Island.  While the three of them were perfectly safe, sleeping together under the boardwalk, as they had guessed, their parents had only begun to panic.  As it got later, with no sign of any of them returning, Knuckles and Amy, Hidama and Delilah, really began to worry for their children.

   While Knuckles and Hidama both searched the island, Delilah and Amy tried to comfort each other as worry consumed them.  “Oh Delilah…what could have happened to them?  Do you think maybe they tried climbing to Sky Sanctuary and got stuck again?  Or, maybe they fell and are stranded up there.  Oh Delilah!  What if one of them fell off the island, heaven forbid, and the other two went to try and help them?  Oh my God Delilah, why won’t they come home?” Amy cried.

   Amy was consumed with grief, as a number of terrible possibilities of what could have happened to the children raced through her head.  She sat on the couch in her living room, clutching one of Mikomi’s black jackets to her chest, and wept hysterically.  Delilah held her black cap in her hands, wringing it nervously as she paced the living room, as equally filled with grief as Amy was.

   She sighed heavily and sadly and said, “I…I just don’t know Amy.  Oh Lord, I hope Knuckles and Hidama find them soon.  For all we know they could have just gotten lost when it got dark or something.”  Delilah fell silent, unable to speak as thoughts of Kelsey flooded her mind, bringing another wave of tears to her eyes, worried sick for her daughter, as well as her niece and nephew.

   Knuckles and Hidama had told Amy and Delilah that they would look for them, but after so much time passed, the girls were tired of waiting, and though they were frantic, they simply had to go look for their children.  Sitting and crying only made them feel worse, and didn’t help things.

   Delilah did her best to dry her tears, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.  She smoothed out her cap, and put it on her head, though it still remained wrinkled, and sat down beside Amy, putting a comforting arm around Amy as she wept and hugging her tightly.  “Come on Amy,” she whispered, “It’s not doing us or them any good to sit here and cry.  Remember when you were younger?  You wouldn’t let anything keep you from trying to make things right.  You were never one to sit around…just because you’re a mother now shouldn’t change that.  Let’s go look for them.  We haven’t heard back from Knuckles or Hidama yet, so I say let’s go and find our children.”

   Amy looked up at Delilah, her eyes red from tears, and her cheeks stained by them, having a hard time catching her staggered breaths.  Delilah smiled at her, wiping the tears from her eyes and said, “Come on Amy, let’s go find the kids.  Nothing’s stopped us before and it won’t stop us now.  We’ll find them safe and sound.”

   After catching her breath, Amy managed a brave smile, and said, “You’re right Delilah…we should be out looking for them, instead of crying our eyes out hysterically and helplessly.”  She stood up, and said, “Let’s go look for them.”

   Both Amy and Delilah stepped out into the night, looking around them for an idea on where to start.  Delilah pointed towards Emerald Lake, and said, “Let’s search around the lake…their club house is near there isn’t it?  Maybe that’s where they went.”

   “Right,” Amy said.  The two girls walked off into the night, deeper into Angel Island, leaving their houses behind, lights burning in the windows, and the Master Emerald glowing bright, yet unprotected, at the top of the altar.

   In their worry, both Knuckles and Hidama cared little for the Master Emerald at this point, and were searching desperately for their children, walking paths they knew well, and hadn’t crossed for many years.  They climbed to Sky Sanctuary, searching all through the mountains, down the rock slopes, into the deep woods, growing more frantic as no trace of the children could be found.

   Hidama was sweating terribly, leaning up against a tree, trying to catch his breath, after going non-stop on a search though the mountains of Angel Island.  Knuckles slowly caught up to him, equally as exhausted as his brother, and both were as shaken as Amy and Delilah.

   “Hidama…oh Hidama, where on earth are they?” Knuckles asked, trying to catch his breath.  As he walked up to stand beside Hidama, he continued, “Do…do you really think one of them fell off the island, and the others went to go help them?  I just don’t understand why they haven’t come home yet.”

   The moonlight illuminated Hidama’s soft, sapphire blue eyes, giving them the appearance of having a glow from within.  He exhaled slowly, using the corner of his cape to wipe his brow dry, before hanging his head, staring at the ground in silence for a moment, before closing his eyes, using his mind’s eye to search for any sign of the children.  He had not used his power like this in quite some time, but even so, he began to realize that there was no way that the kids could be on the island, and his stomach began to ache him terribly to the point where he felt the need to throw up.

   He opened his eyes, the visions fading away, and turned to regurgitate behind the tree.  “Hidama!” Knuckles cried, stepping up to comfort his brother, putting an arm around him to help balance him, and then to help him stand.

   Hidama wiped his mouth clean with his arm, and then looked to Knuckles, sheer terror and sadness plaguing his face.  He stood erect, as Knuckles stepped back from him, waiting for an answer.  Hidama closed his eyes once more and sighed, saying, “Knuckles…Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey…bless their souls, cannot possibly be anywhere on this island; I would have picked up on them by now…especially Amarie.  With her powers she’s like a beacon…we’d immediately pick up on each other, and even so, I could spot Mikomi and Kelsey easily were they here…but there’s no way that they’re on this island.”  He looked up to the stars, the few that he could see through the canopy of trees and said, “All I can say, is they simply must be on the mainland below…and when you think about it…it’s not that unrealistic.”

   At first, Knuckles was filled with terror at Hidama’s words, but then, he paused, pondering his brother’s last statement.  He grabbed Hidama’s arm and said, “What do you mean it isn’t that unrealistic?  Don’t be vague with me now Hidama please.”

   The echidna looked to his brother, about ready to laugh and said, “Oh please Knuckles…don’t let your worry cloud your better judgment.  You know your own children better than that I hope.  Don’t you understand?  Yesterday Mikomi and Kelsey asked Amy and Delilah out of the blue if they could go to Station Square, and perhaps I mistakenly prevented Amarie from accompanying them.  At the time I thought it wise for her not to go, but I can only surmise this angered Mikomi and Kelsey to some degree, despite how little they let it affect them outwardly.”

   Knuckles loosened his grip on Hidama’s arm, and looked away from him, though Hidama kept his eyes on his brother through his silence.  Finally, Knuckles stood up straight, looking towards the western horizon and said, “Yes…Amy and Delilah had to show Mikomi and Kelsey how to get off the island, revealing the secret to them.  Then, they used this day trip as a way to get away from our attention for the day, but instead they took Amarie with them off the island and to Station Square.”

   The brothers locked eyes, and Hidama said, “Seems we’ve underestimated them Knuckles.  They have every bit of intelligence and daring as we do, the “go for it” spirit of their mothers, and, like any teenager are terribly defiant to control.  I don’t blame them for wanting to break free of Angel Island, but my God, I wish they had asked us instead of going about it like this.  Since they are not back yet I can only guess things have gone horribly wrong.  We have to get to Station Square fast.”

   Without another word, the brothers took off for the edge of the island, too worried for Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey to think to tell Amy and Delilah where they were going.  As they ran, Knuckles said, “Gee Hidama, what do you think might have happened to them?  Maybe they just got distracted or went to a movie or something.”

   “I don’t think so Knuckles.  Remember they had a charade to hold up.  They wouldn’t have had many excuses for being late to return home if all they were doing was hiking around the island.  They needed to make a point to get home before dark, and they’re smart kids; they wouldn’t have let themselves get distracted.  Unfortunately, I think by just being there they attracted negative attention to themselves.  I don’t care if all of Station Square sees us there, we just have to help them,” Hidama explained, “Even if it means blowing both ours and the Master Emerald’s covers, I couldn’t care less.  Kelsey, Mikomi and Amarie are much more important to me.  They mean more to me than my own life.”

   Knuckles nodded, murmuring, “Yes, I feel the same way about them,” in reply.  Yet by the time they made it to the edge of the island, they would be met with an even bigger disaster, one that the decision to go to Station Square would save Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey from falling victim to, even if their appearance there was partly to blame for sparking its occurrence.

   “Okay, let’s get down to the mainland fast!” Knuckles shouted.  But before he and Hidama could leave the island, their eyes were drawn to the sky, where two jet-sized aircraft approached the island.  They were painted dark grey, and no lights could be seen anywhere on the planes, yet they were zooming towards Angel Island like one of Kelsey’s arrows aimed for the bullseye. Whoever these people were, one thing was clear; they were about to attack Angel Island.

   Hidama’s eyes widened out of fear.  He cried out, “The Master Emerald!  Knuckles!  They’re heading for the altar!  Quickly, we have to get back fast!”

   He turned and ran for the altar immediately after he spoke, while Knuckles lingered for only a moment or two, gazing in awe and confusion at these mysterious assailants.  He murmured, “Who are they?  Why are they attacking us now of all times?”  He looked around, and seeing Hidama had already raced off without him, he cried out, “I’m coming Hidama!  Wait up!”  He raced off after his brother, and a rush of confusion and worry ran through both their minds.  They now worried for their children even worse than before; but they were still guardians, and they had to protect the Master Emerald from any threat of danger.

   As the planes got closer, they suddenly weren’t a silent menace anymore.  Their engines roared loud and angrily as they took aim for landing on the floating island.  These humans, they didn’t care what they had to destroy.  This time, they weren’t leaving Angel Island without the Master Emerald, as well as both of the guardians.

   Sir Burns, the leader of Team Maniacal, stood in the cockpit of one of the planes.  The captain asked, “Where should we land Sir Burns?  The whole island is covered in a blanket of trees.”

   “Feh, land wherever; crush those damn trees for all I care.  The Master Emerald is all I’m after.  I couldn’t care less about anything or anyone who stands in my way, save the guardians alone,” Sir Burns explained.  Walking towards the middle of the plane, half of the team’s seventy-five members, stood ready for orders.  Sir Burns stood before them, with the remaining members on the other plane present by radio, and shouted, “Did you hear that?  I only care about those guardian brothers, for we’re going to need them later.  If any of those children or their mothers stand in our way, I don’t know, kill them for all I care, kidnap them even, but let’s not forget to capture the brothers relatively unharmed.  Those of you who are to capture the Master Emerald…just follow the plan as I laid it out to you.”

   Every member of Team Maniacal cheered in a violent roar, and the planes made ready to land on the island, threatening to crush numerous trees under the impact, beginning the night of hell on Angel Island.  As the planes started to land, Knuckles and Hidama continued to race with all speed back to the altar, but still had a good ways to go, when the island began to shake violently under the heavy and rough landing of the planes.

   Amy and Delilah, who just arrived at Emerald Lake, had not seen the planes, but felt the terrible shutter, and like Knuckles and Hidama, knew it had to do with the Master Emerald, and that something was incredibly awry.  Though they worried for their children, both of them knew that if anything happened to the Master Emerald, that it meant certain doom.

   The violent shaking came from these two aircraft landing hard on the forest of trees, crushing some, many of which had been growing since long before Knuckles and Hidama were born, under their weight, breaking them in two, and in some instances, shattering them into piles of slivers.  Once they came to rest, large doors on the sides of each unlatched and slammed down on even more trees as they opened, creating large holes in the ground below under their weight.  The seventy-five members of Team Maniacal, and their leader Sir Burns, poured out of the planes, their weapons in hand; the storm of hatred had come to Angel Island, the end was near.

   Meanwhile, Knuckles and Hidama were almost to the altar, yet the violent shaking was enough to knock them to their knees.  Looking to the trees on the horizon, they could now see that the two planes from earlier had infact landed on the island, crushing a large part of the western forest under the weight of their landing.  They could hear the frightful screaming and shouting of the invaders, and indeed, it appeared that doomsday had arrived.

   Hidama began to panic; he jumped to his feet, quickly pulling Knuckles up behind him.  Terrified, Hidama shouted, “Hurry Knuckles, we have to get to the altar!”

   But as Hidama tried to pull Knuckles in the direction of the altar, Knuckles surprisingly resisted.  When a distressed Hidama turned to him to see why he wouldn’t move, Knuckles shouted, “What about Amy and Delilah!?  We can’t leave them defenseless against these people!  I have to go help them!”

   “Knuckles…,” Hidama whispered.  He then growled angrily and shouted, “You’re a guardian Knuckles!  The Master Emerald belongs to all of the world, but we are meant to protect it from all who would use it for ill intentions.  I’m sorry Knuckles, but the fate of the world is more important than our own, and Amy’s and Delilah’s.  As much as it hurts, we have to ensure its safety before our own.”

   Still Knuckles wouldn’t move, and the two brothers, in this time of desperation and confusion, were on the verge of fighting with each other.  Finally Hidama screamed at him, shaking him violently and said, “Don’t you think that father wanted to protect mother, you and I?  He wanted to help us, because he loved us more than life itself; but he was a guardian Knuckles!  He had to stand and fight, and he died for the Master Emerald, and mother, as much as she loved him, understood this, and thus she knew it was up to her to protect us!  We’re guardians Knuckles, and as hard as it may be, if anything bad happens to the Master Emerald, it’ll be more than just our lives that are at risk!”

   Knuckles looked at his brother in disbelief, ready to cry, for this was the exactly same choice their father had to make when Angel Island was attacked the last time.  Both of them were brought to tears, but as the thunderous cries and march of footsteps grew louder, and the embers of lit torches grew closer in the distance, they knew they had no more time to mourn the situation, and as the final guardians of the Master Emerald, had to carry out the duties they were born and doomed to bear.

   They turned, and ran the rest of the way to the altar, as the invaders, torches and guns in hand, led by Sir Burns, approached the small area around the altar where Knuckles and Hidama built their homes.  Amy and Delilah were racing back from the direction of Emerald Lake, and made it to the clearing in front of their houses with only moments to spare as the mob grew closer.  With Knuckles and Hidama nowhere in sight, Amy wielded her hammer for the first time in many years, and was ready to fight.

   She growled softly, and shouted, “Nobody is gonna invade our home without a fight!  If they want to take the Master Emerald and destroy our houses, they’re gonna have me to deal with first!”

   Delilah ran back to Amy’s side after retrieving Hidama’s bow and quiver of arrows.  As she stood beside Amy, stringing an arrow to the bow string, she said, “I’ll have use Hidama’s bow and arrows…I can’t take the time to search for my own.”  She paused, looking to Amy and said, “We’ll take them down Amy!  I’m sure Hidama and Knuckles are already on their way back to the altar…”

   Amy placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “If anything…we can stall long enough for them to have the upper hand in this fight.  We are the wives of the guardians after all…and they have their duty to protect the Master Emerald.  But no worries, we can protect ourselves, and them as well, right Delilah?!”

   “Right!” Delilah shouted in reply.  As the terrifying screams got louder, the pounding footsteps grew closer, and the flaming torches close enough to light up their eyes, they stood ready.  Delilah took aim with her bow, and Amy raised her hammer, ready to swing at the first person to come too close.

   As Sir Burns and the seventy-five members of Team Maniacal thundered into the clearing, they paused, staring curiously at Amy and Delilah, a small, and yet bold first defense.  Sir Burns stepped forward, grinning deviously, for he knew just how to break Amy and Delilah.  Had the three hybrid children he saw earlier that day come home, surely they would be standing beside their mothers to defend their home.  He would use their absence to his advantage.

   “My, my ladies…what kind of guardian puts his wife up to face the first gun shots?  Indeed, where are your husbands ladies?  What kind of guardian leaves his post for even a minute, especially when there are two to divide the burden?” he asked.  He saw Delilah pull back tighter on her bowstring, and Amy tighten her grip on her hammer, ready to fight.

   “Shut up!  Knuckles and Hidama are close by I can assure you.  You just wait!  They’ll get back here and destroy you all!” Amy shouted.

   Sir Burns grinned devilishly, and laughed with an even more wicked insinuation than his smile could express as to the evil in his heart.  He was ready to unleash the first, terrible blow.  Bringing a hand to his chin, he said, “Mmm, indeed.  Perhaps they are out looking for your children maybe?  Perhaps they are looking for a son and two daughters, who have gone missing, and would surely be fighting with you were they not…absent?”

   It was just what he wanted; Amy and Delilah both gasped.  Amy almost dropped her hammer as her grip on it melted and her knees began to shake.  Delilah felt equally as sick, her arrow falling to the ground, her knees buckling as she fell to them, grasping Hidama’s bow to her chest, barely able to look Sir Burns in the eyes.  He continued to glare at them with such an evil gaze, he knew he had broken them, and only had to put more salt in the wound, in preparation for breaking the strong wills of the echidna brothers.

   Amy tried to stay strong, raising her hammer halfway in the air again, though she continued to quiver, and her voice shake, as she said, “What…what do you care?  Our children are fine and are none of your business.  Why don’t you show us some of your power instead of trying to talk us to tears.”

   “Oh, but Miss Amy…I think they are of terrible interest to me…and of dire interest to you and Miss Lynn here.  For you see, they were the ones who informed me that a guardian or two yet lived.  In my last preparations in Station Square, I was informed that those hybrid children were descendents of the last echidnas to live…meaning I can now take the Master Emerald as my own with their power to use it.  Funny…the girls sure did look a lot like you do now…when I saw them,” he explained, treating it as a casual, but dreadful matter.  Sir Burns had no doubt seen the children before, but making it look like he had dealt them great pain, was second nature to him and his story telling.

   It was another shocking blow in this web of lies and a story he was telling, but it was a good enough lie to cause Delilah to cry out Kelsey’s name, continuing to clutch Hidama’s bow as if it was her only life line.  It was enough too, to cause Amy to lose all her grip on her hammer; it fell to the ground beside her, and she was next to tears.  She appeared to clasp her hands to her chest out of grief, but was reaching for a locket she wore; she didn’t open it, but there was a picture of her and Knuckles on one side, and Mikomi and Amarie in the other.  Instead, she held it in her clenched fists, and finally dropped to her knees, fearing the worst; had one part of her life already fallen apart, and this just the finishing blow?

   He had done it; he not only broke both Amy’s and Delilah’s spirits, but did it well enough to convince them he not only captured their children, but had either tortured them or killed them.  This was just too easy.  Now he had plenty of ammo to take down Knuckles and Hidama.  All the members of Team Maniacal laughed at Amy and Delilah as they wept, and Sir Burns cackled the wildest of them all.

   “Feh!  So much for your brave stand.  You’re just as weak as your dammed children!” Sir Burns shouted.  Laughing again, he turned to his colleagues and said, “Why don’t you let us take you so you can join them?”  He then signaled to his henchmen to apprehend Amy and Delilah, knowing full well he didn’t bother to capture the children, but that his lie was still wreaking havoc on them both, and would do the same to break Hidama and Knuckles.

   But before the henchmen could apprehend Amy, Delilah looked up, done crying and ready to fight once more.  Over the years, Hidama’s love for her had toughened her up to a great deal, and she wasn’t going to be brought down this easy.  She stood up quickly, and reached for the arrow she dropped, stringing it to the bow string and firing it in mere seconds.  Before one of the thugs could blink, the arrow pierced him between the eyes, killing him instantly, and before the other one could react, Delilah had already strung another, and stood, glaring at them furiously, her eyes met by the fiery rage of Sir Burns’ as he turned to look at this last brave stand.

   “If you wanna capture me and Amy, you’re gonna still have to go through me,” Delilah said, not exactly shouting, but with a strong presence nonetheless, despite the fact that the barrels of seventy or so guns threatened to take her down.  They simply had to buy time for Knuckles and Hidama to get back to the altar, and it would be this final stand that did it.

   Sir Burns was disgusted by them, but Delilah the most, for she hadn’t made much of a stand until now.  In his mind she did nothing but feign tears to fool him, and anybody that dared try and trick Sir Burns had already gone too far, and here, she had killed one of his henchmen.  The insult was unforgivable.  He held his hand high in the air to silence his team, and prevent them from firing upon her.  His cold glare remained locked on her as he stepped closer, unafraid of her bow and arrow.  As she fired it at him, he caught it in his bare hands mid flight, right before it would have hit him in the chest.

   Delilah was taken aback by this, but before she could string another arrow he took two large steps forward and grabbed her by her neck, ripping her bow away from her, holding her aloft by her neck alone.  He was practically hissing at her when he said, “How dare you, you dammed wench.  For that, I can guarantee you you’ll see your daughter again…in the pits of hell!”  He was close to strangling her, but before anything else could be said, both Knuckles and Hidama emerged from the woods, horrified by the site.

   “No…,” Hidama whispered.  He took a step forward, out stretching his hand, and cried, “Delilah!  Delilah!  No!”  His cries, they were so desperate, so battered.  He was ready to sacrifice his life to save hers…but he couldn’t.  Like their father, there was simply nothing he could do to save her, for Hidama was a guardian, and yet…

   “Hidama, go help her, and I can protect the Master Emerald,” Knuckles said, “Even so as you fight them you’ll be protecting it in the process, so go!”

   Hidama was almost unwilling to leave his brother, oddly enough it was leaving him in the last attack that almost separated them forever, and yet, he knew Knuckles was right, and couldn’t bear the thought of losing Delilah.  He nodded, and said, “I’ve got your back okay?  Don’t let them get to the altar, and if you must, be sure to activate the security system!”

   With that, Hidama turned to Team Maniacal and Sir Burns, ready to fight to the death for his family and the Master Emerald.  He shouted, “Let her go now!  It’s the blood of the guardian you want!  Come and get it if you can!”

   Sir Burns dropped Delilah, where she fell hard to the ground and didn’t move, having fainted from lack of oxygen as she was choked.  Yet, before Hidama could run to her, Sir Burns shouted back, “You’re right echidna, I do need the blood of the guardian, as well as the Master Emerald…but who’s to say I can’t come away without a free gift or two hmm?”

   He signaled to his henchmen once more, and this time, one of them easily scooped up Delilah, and apprehended Amy kicking and screaming.  Hidama went pale, his eyes filled with terror, and he shouted, “No!  Amy!  Delilah!  You let them go!”  Looking back to Sir Burns, intense anger filled his heart, anger to make his rage blaze strongly and his blood burn.  He shouted, “I swear!  I’ll make you pay for this!  Whoever you are, against the power of the Guardian, you will not take the Master Emerald, or my family, or this island!  Stand up and fight me you coward!”

   As Amy and Delilah were taken off to one of the planes, secretly, half of his team snuck through the woods and behind the houses to get to the altar.  This didn’t go outside of Hidama’s notice, but as Sit Burns approached him, step by step, he found himself quickly surrounded by the rest of the team, who began to attack him with their guns, swipe at him with their lit torches, and lunge at him with their fists.

   Knuckles was also swamped.  He was surrounded, and had to protect himself and the Master Emerald.  He attacked the thugs in groups, knocking them off the altar, and yet this wasn’t enough to kill them.  Delilah’s arrow was different, for any blow between the eyes is always fatal; no, these people had armor, it was light, but it was strong, and Hidama’s and Knuckles’ attacks did next to nothing as far as hurting them or slowing them down.

   Sir Burns cackled wildly, for this take over was way too easy.  Every time Knuckles and Hidama knocked a group back, another fired at them, while that group got back on its feet, the cycle continuing once more.  They had to dodge bullet and embers, and were slowly becoming overwhelmed.  Hidama, on a run of luck, managed to disarm all of his attackers, but still, their armor did little to help his attempts.  Knuckles had the same fortune, but, they were slowly losing the fight, and that was the plan…to wear them down.  Team Maniacal wasn’t even using their full, and frightful strength, and after prolonged minutes of watching Hidama and Knuckles struggle to gain control, Sir Burns stepped in, delivering such a powerful blow to Hidama, that it flung him into the air, where he landed on top of the altar, at his brother’s feet.

   “Hidama!” Knuckles cried out.  Yet before he could react, one of the team members gave him a swift kick to the chest, flinging him hard into the Master Emerald and almost knocking him out.  He collapsed on the body of his brother, and though they were both still conscious, they had little left to offer in resistance.  They both struggled to rise, and when they were finally able to sit up, bloodied and bruised, they were met with Sir Burns standing before them, Team Maniacal lining the altar in a circle with torches in hand; there was nowhere to run, nothing to do…and Sir Burns was going to ensure it.  He was going to deal the final blow.

   “You know…Knuckles, Hidama…this doesn’t have to be all bad.  Seeing as I need your power in order to work this thing, at least you’ll be able to accompany your wives along the trip, hmm?  I’m doing you a favor aren’t I…and perhaps, if you are willing to cooperate with and be nice to me and my team, I can solve the problem of your missing children…,” Sir Burns said, casually holding his chin as if pondering whether to divulge something they wanted to know, even though he knew nothing of it.  It was all part of his mind game, and Knuckles and Hidama fell for it.

   Knuckles froze with fear, staring at Sir Burns with hatred and disbelief, while Hidama stared at the ground, with as much disbelief, while trying to figure out how to get rid of them, or at least activate the security system so if the Master Emerald was taken, Angel Island would glide to safety as it had in the passed, instead of violently tumbling to the earth below.  In his heart, he didn’t want to believe that these horrible people had captured the kids, and he wouldn’t believe it.  Standing up, he backed up against the Master Emerald, ready to tap into its powers to end this fight.  He shouted, “You haven’t captured Kelsey!  You haven’t taken her or Mikomi and Amarie you liar!  Why would you need to, and what are the odds you would have run into them!”

   Sir Burns knew what was happening, but saw Knuckles was starting to get his strength back from Hidama’s bravery.  He had underestimated the echidna brothers, but was able to use actual truth to stun them once more.  “Why, Hidama…dear Hinsei Hidama, I saw them in Station Square today as I planned the attack…I mean…how else would I know a guardian yet lived, let alone two?  How was I to know, unless their children revealed to me the secret of their lineage?” he asked.

   It worked, for Hidama and Knuckles had discussed it only minutes before the attack started.  They both knew their children had gone to Station Square, and if what this man said was true…he most certainly could have captured Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey for this information.  Their eyes met, and as they struggled to maintain their strength and restrain their tears, two of the henchmen took this opportunity, where both Knuckles and Hidama had their guard down, to shoot them with capsules, which upon impact with their chests, exploded into a cloud of vapor, and as the echidnas inhaled it, the toxins slowly began to paralyze them, bringing both echidnas to their knees, though they fought the toxins with all their strength, it was the final thing to bring them down.

   Using the last of their strength as they were slowly paralyzed to fall against the Master Emerald, the brothers knew tapping into the Master Emerald’s power was their last resort, but before they could call upon its power Sir Burns stepped on Hidama’s chest, and grabbed Knuckles by his throat, much as he did with Delilah, causing both to cringe and unwillingly look him in the eyes.

   “You’ll learn this, echidnas, in the coming days we’ll spend together, that I always get what I want, and I am always fully prepared.  I mean, see how clever I was to prepare these paralysis gases to stop you?  Sure, it’ll wear off, but only after I have you properly restrained.  You might as well rest while you can, for you are coming to the base of Team Maniacal, and so is the Master Emerald.  You might as well say goodbye to this God-forsaken island…for I do not care if it is destroyed.  You should be happy…it is nothing but a prison and a hell of bad memories for you both.  Say goodbye, blood of the Guardian, fufufu,” Sir Burns cackled.

   Hidama and Knuckles glared at him, both growling angrily, for now it was all they could do.  The toxins had coursed through their veins, and now they couldn’t feel their arms, their legs, or even their faces. They could barely blink or even growl, and were just fortunate enough to still be able to breathe.  Oh how brutally were they beaten down, just like their father…yet unfortunately, he was able to activate the security system, which prevented the Master Emerald’s capture and saved the island as it fell.  Knuckles and Hidama, were not so fortunate.

   Finally, they were overtaken by the urge to faint, and Knuckles closed his eyes, his body and breathing relaxing as he went unconscious.  Hidama fought a little longer, the power of his mind’s eye still free.  He glared at Sir Burns with his failing sight, and thought, “The liar…he may have seen Kelsey, Mikomi, and Amarie, but they are safe…yet still in trouble.  They need help…oh Mikomi, Kelsey…Amarie…you, …you must go and find Shadow the Hedgehog.  He helped me in my plight, and he’ll help you.  Oh Shadow, please, hear my cries; help them, for the fate of the world is in danger.  Help them…please…”

   But at last, Hidama lost control, his prayer fading away into the wind as he collapsed.  The battle was won; Team Maniacal had taken down both of the guardians, and now, they need only take the Master Emerald and both brothers to the plane and fly away.  They cared not what happened to the island in wake of this disaster.  Sir Burns, his eyes went alight with obsession and sick pleasure when he beheld the Master Emerald, the object of all his crimes and sins ever since he first heard of it.  At last, it was his.  Now all he had to do was break Knuckles’ and Hidama’s wills so its power would be his own, and thus, he could rule the world.

   “Take those echidnas on the plane…but be gentle…we can’t risk hurting them can we?  They are the keys to unlocking the Master Emerald’s power, so be careful!  Feh, we’re lucky we were able to strike now.  Once these echidnas are dead, the line of the guardians is over.  Those stupid hybrid children will never be able to control it…once its power is mine, the world will be better for it.  Hee, hee; who ever trusted the stupid echidnas with it in the first place, when it belongs to mankind?” Sir Burns hissed.

   As two henchmen carried Knuckles and Hidama off to the planes, he turned to the rest of the team and said, “Four of you, you carry the Master Emerald…be careful, but quick, for the island is going to rapidly fall.  Now let’s move!”

   Four of the team members picked up the massive gem, and as soon as they took it, a low rumble could be heard.  The team raced with precision and skill down the stairs, carefully holding the Master Emerald as they ran.  The remaining team members dropped their torches on the ground, setting the island ablaze with monstrous flames.  The planes were started up as they carried the Master Emerald on board one of them, and Sir Burns and the rest of the team scurried on to either one.

   The Master Emerald was sat down, and Sir Burns immediately knelt beside it, running his hand over the surface gently; he loved the gem, for it was the key to his power, and now it was the object of his care.  No one would ever be allowed to touch it once sat in its new pedestal in the Team Maniacal base; it was his, even though he said it belonged to mankind, it was his own, and nobody else’s.

   “Hurry you fools!  Take to the air!” he shouted.  Standing up, he said, “That cursed island is going to fall to the ground, break up, and burn into nothing.  A fitting end to a filthy race.  Now let’s move!”

   As the planes took to the air, one of the team members said, “But Sir Burns, what about their children?  Surely when they come home to this they shall try and form an opposition?”

   Sir Burns glared at the man, and almost looked ready to die from laughter.  “Are you kidding me Nelson?  Why should I be afraid of those pathetic hybrid children?  If anything I should be mad for not capturing them in order to torture their fathers and their mothers.  Feh, those dammed hybrid children will meet the fates of all who oppose me and my power.  I could crush them as easily as I did their parents and with even less effort.  Besides, what can they do about it?  Fufufu…”

   Poor Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey; as they slept underneath the boardwalk in Station Square, haunted by the attack on them from the afternoon before, they didn’t realize that disobeying their parents and leaving Angel Island had saved their lives.  Beyond their sight in the moonless night, Angel Island began to quake violently, and instead of gliding gently to the ground as it did before, when Knuckles was a child, the security system was not there to steady it, and it began to tumble violently to the ground below.  The floating giant, which normally hovered gracefully, much like an angel in flight, was now up in flames from the torches that burned it, and after shaking with the power of the most intense earthquake ever to rattle the earth, it crashed to the ground, with the intensity of an asteroid plummeting from space.

   As Angel Island fell to the ground, it created a gorge deeper than the highest peak on the island was tall, and sent out shockwaves rattling the earth around it for several miles from the epicenter.  The island then began to crumble, collapsing from the force of the impact, from the violent shaking, the raging fire, or from its own weight…it was uncertain if one or all of these factors caused it to crumble, like a sandcastle, sand cast into the wind.  When the crumbling and shaking finally subsided, the fires continued to rage, but finally by miracle or sheer fortune, the fires began to die, but not after burning away much that was able to survive the shaking, the tumble, and the collapse.

   Many people in Station Square were awakened, emerging from their houses to see what caused all the shaking, and were horrified when they saw the floating island, which had become part of their landscape if anything else, crumbled into nothing on the ground.  If Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey heard or felt anything, they most likely brushed it off as an earthquake, and were unable to emerge anyway with all the voices around, and so stayed lulled in their uneasy sleep.

   Heaven bless their souls…for when they would emerge that next morning, they would be sickened to see that Angel Island, and everything they had ever known, had all come crashing down.  Their lives had changed forever; like their fathers, they had suffered such a violent change, and certainly miseries that they didn’t deserve, and all because of the Master Emerald.  It was a fate that nobody deserved to bear…and yet, they would have to.

   With their mothers and fathers gone, and their home destroyed, what would Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey have left to cling to?  Perhaps, only Hidama’s final, desperate prayer would save them.  Perhaps, just perchance, they would be able to find Shadow, and with his help, and the help of others, they would be able to build up a resistance, not only to rescue Knuckles and Amy, and Hidama and Delilah, but fight the final battle for power…the final struggle for control over the Master Emerald.  This would be the last time that it would wreak havoc on the world again.  The Master Emerald, simply had to be done away with, destroyed, as so much had already, and so much more was fated to be; the ruins of Angel Island were only a hint of the destruction that was to come.

   And so Mikomi, Kelsey, and Amarie would dream their last peaceful dreams that night, for now, their lives had been changed forever, the night that Angel Island, was brought out of the sky, and the guardian brothers, helpless to save it.

Description
"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 4: And it all Came Crashing Down...

   While the frenzied search for Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey settled down as night came, the hell was merely spreading to Angel Island.  While the three of them were perfectly safe, sleeping together under the boardwalk, as they had guessed, their parents had only begun to panic.  As it got later, with no sign of any of them returning, Knuckles and Amy, Hidama and Delilah, really began to worry for their children.

   While Knuckles and Hidama both searched the island, Delilah and Amy tried to comfort each other as worry consumed them.  “Oh Delilah…what could have happened to them?  Do you think maybe they tried climbing to Sky Sanctuary and got stuck again?  Or, maybe they fell and are stranded up there.  Oh Delilah!  What if one of them fell off the island, heaven forbid, and the other two went to try and help them?  Oh my God Delilah, why won’t they come home?” Amy cried.

   Amy was consumed with grief, as a number of terrible possibilities of what could have happened to the children raced through her head.  She sat on the couch in her living room, clutching one of Mikomi’s black jackets to her chest, and wept hysterically.  Delilah held her black cap in her hands, wringing it nervously as she paced the living room, as equally filled with grief as Amy was.

   She sighed heavily and sadly and said, “I…I just don’t know Amy.  Oh Lord, I hope Knuckles and Hidama find them soon.  For all we know they could have just gotten lost when it got dark or something.”  Delilah fell silent, unable to speak as thoughts of Kelsey flooded her mind, bringing another wave of tears to her eyes, worried sick for her daughter, as well as her niece and nephew.

   Knuckles and Hidama had told Amy and Delilah that they would look for them, but after so much time passed, the girls were tired of waiting, and though they were frantic, they simply had to go look for their children.  Sitting and crying only made them feel worse, and didn’t help things.

   Delilah did her best to dry her tears, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.  She smoothed out her cap, and put it on her head, though it still remained wrinkled, and sat down beside Amy, putting a comforting arm around Amy as she wept and hugging her tightly.  “Come on Amy,” she whispered, “It’s not doing us or them any good to sit here and cry.  Remember when you were younger?  You wouldn’t let anything keep you from trying to make things right.  You were never one to sit around…just because you’re a mother now shouldn’t change that.  Let’s go look for them.  We haven’t heard back from Knuckles or Hidama yet, so I say let’s go and find our children.”

   Amy looked up at Delilah, her eyes red from tears, and her cheeks stained by them, having a hard time catching her staggered breaths.  Delilah smiled at her, wiping the tears from her eyes and said, “Come on Amy, let’s go find the kids.  Nothing’s stopped us before and it won’t stop us now.  We’ll find them safe and sound.”

   After catching her breath, Amy managed a brave smile, and said, “You’re right Delilah…we should be out looking for them, instead of crying our eyes out hysterically and helplessly.”  She stood up, and said, “Let’s go look for them.”

   Both Amy and Delilah stepped out into the night, looking around them for an idea on where to start.  Delilah pointed towards Emerald Lake, and said, “Let’s search around the lake…their club house is near there isn’t it?  Maybe that’s where they went.”

   “Right,” Amy said.  The two girls walked off into the night, deeper into Angel Island, leaving their houses behind, lights burning in the windows, and the Master Emerald glowing bright, yet unprotected, at the top of the altar.

   In their worry, both Knuckles and Hidama cared little for the Master Emerald at this point, and were searching desperately for their children, walking paths they knew well, and hadn’t crossed for many years.  They climbed to Sky Sanctuary, searching all through the mountains, down the rock slopes, into the deep woods, growing more frantic as no trace of the children could be found.

   Hidama was sweating terribly, leaning up against a tree, trying to catch his breath, after going non-stop on a search though the mountains of Angel Island.  Knuckles slowly caught up to him, equally as exhausted as his brother, and both were as shaken as Amy and Delilah.

   “Hidama…oh Hidama, where on earth are they?” Knuckles asked, trying to catch his breath.  As he walked up to stand beside Hidama, he continued, “Do…do you really think one of them fell off the island, and the others went to go help them?  I just don’t understand why they haven’t come home yet.”

   The moonlight illuminated Hidama’s soft, sapphire blue eyes, giving them the appearance of having a glow from within.  He exhaled slowly, using the corner of his cape to wipe his brow dry, before hanging his head, staring at the ground in silence for a moment, before closing his eyes, using his mind’s eye to search for any sign of the children.  He had not used his power like this in quite some time, but even so, he began to realize that there was no way that the kids could be on the island, and his stomach began to ache him terribly to the point where he felt the need to throw up.

   He opened his eyes, the visions fading away, and turned to regurgitate behind the tree.  “Hidama!” Knuckles cried, stepping up to comfort his brother, putting an arm around him to help balance him, and then to help him stand.

   Hidama wiped his mouth clean with his arm, and then looked to Knuckles, sheer terror and sadness plaguing his face.  He stood erect, as Knuckles stepped back from him, waiting for an answer.  Hidama closed his eyes once more and sighed, saying, “Knuckles…Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey…bless their souls, cannot possibly be anywhere on this island; I would have picked up on them by now…especially Amarie.  With her powers she’s like a beacon…we’d immediately pick up on each other, and even so, I could spot Mikomi and Kelsey easily were they here…but there’s no way that they’re on this island.”  He looked up to the stars, the few that he could see through the canopy of trees and said, “All I can say, is they simply must be on the mainland below…and when you think about it…it’s not that unrealistic.”

   At first, Knuckles was filled with terror at Hidama’s words, but then, he paused, pondering his brother’s last statement.  He grabbed Hidama’s arm and said, “What do you mean it isn’t that unrealistic?  Don’t be vague with me now Hidama please.”

   The echidna looked to his brother, about ready to laugh and said, “Oh please Knuckles…don’t let your worry cloud your better judgment.  You know your own children better than that I hope.  Don’t you understand?  Yesterday Mikomi and Kelsey asked Amy and Delilah out of the blue if they could go to Station Square, and perhaps I mistakenly prevented Amarie from accompanying them.  At the time I thought it wise for her not to go, but I can only surmise this angered Mikomi and Kelsey to some degree, despite how little they let it affect them outwardly.”

   Knuckles loosened his grip on Hidama’s arm, and looked away from him, though Hidama kept his eyes on his brother through his silence.  Finally, Knuckles stood up straight, looking towards the western horizon and said, “Yes…Amy and Delilah had to show Mikomi and Kelsey how to get off the island, revealing the secret to them.  Then, they used this day trip as a way to get away from our attention for the day, but instead they took Amarie with them off the island and to Station Square.”

   The brothers locked eyes, and Hidama said, “Seems we’ve underestimated them Knuckles.  They have every bit of intelligence and daring as we do, the “go for it” spirit of their mothers, and, like any teenager are terribly defiant to control.  I don’t blame them for wanting to break free of Angel Island, but my God, I wish they had asked us instead of going about it like this.  Since they are not back yet I can only guess things have gone horribly wrong.  We have to get to Station Square fast.”

   Without another word, the brothers took off for the edge of the island, too worried for Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey to think to tell Amy and Delilah where they were going.  As they ran, Knuckles said, “Gee Hidama, what do you think might have happened to them?  Maybe they just got distracted or went to a movie or something.”

   “I don’t think so Knuckles.  Remember they had a charade to hold up.  They wouldn’t have had many excuses for being late to return home if all they were doing was hiking around the island.  They needed to make a point to get home before dark, and they’re smart kids; they wouldn’t have let themselves get distracted.  Unfortunately, I think by just being there they attracted negative attention to themselves.  I don’t care if all of Station Square sees us there, we just have to help them,” Hidama explained, “Even if it means blowing both ours and the Master Emerald’s covers, I couldn’t care less.  Kelsey, Mikomi and Amarie are much more important to me.  They mean more to me than my own life.”

   Knuckles nodded, murmuring, “Yes, I feel the same way about them,” in reply.  Yet by the time they made it to the edge of the island, they would be met with an even bigger disaster, one that the decision to go to Station Square would save Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey from falling victim to, even if their appearance there was partly to blame for sparking its occurrence.

   “Okay, let’s get down to the mainland fast!” Knuckles shouted.  But before he and Hidama could leave the island, their eyes were drawn to the sky, where two jet-sized aircraft approached the island.  They were painted dark grey, and no lights could be seen anywhere on the planes, yet they were zooming towards Angel Island like one of Kelsey’s arrows aimed for the bullseye. Whoever these people were, one thing was clear; they were about to attack Angel Island.

   Hidama’s eyes widened out of fear.  He cried out, “The Master Emerald!  Knuckles!  They’re heading for the altar!  Quickly, we have to get back fast!”

   He turned and ran for the altar immediately after he spoke, while Knuckles lingered for only a moment or two, gazing in awe and confusion at these mysterious assailants.  He murmured, “Who are they?  Why are they attacking us now of all times?”  He looked around, and seeing Hidama had already raced off without him, he cried out, “I’m coming Hidama!  Wait up!”  He raced off after his brother, and a rush of confusion and worry ran through both their minds.  They now worried for their children even worse than before; but they were still guardians, and they had to protect the Master Emerald from any threat of danger.

   As the planes got closer, they suddenly weren’t a silent menace anymore.  Their engines roared loud and angrily as they took aim for landing on the floating island.  These humans, they didn’t care what they had to destroy.  This time, they weren’t leaving Angel Island without the Master Emerald, as well as both of the guardians.

   Sir Burns, the leader of Team Maniacal, stood in the cockpit of one of the planes.  The captain asked, “Where should we land Sir Burns?  The whole island is covered in a blanket of trees.”

   “Feh, land wherever; crush those damn trees for all I care.  The Master Emerald is all I’m after.  I couldn’t care less about anything or anyone who stands in my way, save the guardians alone,” Sir Burns explained.  Walking towards the middle of the plane, half of the team’s seventy-five members, stood ready for orders.  Sir Burns stood before them, with the remaining members on the other plane present by radio, and shouted, “Did you hear that?  I only care about those guardian brothers, for we’re going to need them later.  If any of those children or their mothers stand in our way, I don’t know, kill them for all I care, kidnap them even, but let’s not forget to capture the brothers relatively unharmed.  Those of you who are to capture the Master Emerald…just follow the plan as I laid it out to you.”

   Every member of Team Maniacal cheered in a violent roar, and the planes made ready to land on the island, threatening to crush numerous trees under the impact, beginning the night of hell on Angel Island.  As the planes started to land, Knuckles and Hidama continued to race with all speed back to the altar, but still had a good ways to go, when the island began to shake violently under the heavy and rough landing of the planes.

   Amy and Delilah, who just arrived at Emerald Lake, had not seen the planes, but felt the terrible shutter, and like Knuckles and Hidama, knew it had to do with the Master Emerald, and that something was incredibly awry.  Though they worried for their children, both of them knew that if anything happened to the Master Emerald, that it meant certain doom.

   The violent shaking came from these two aircraft landing hard on the forest of trees, crushing some, many of which had been growing since long before Knuckles and Hidama were born, under their weight, breaking them in two, and in some instances, shattering them into piles of slivers.  Once they came to rest, large doors on the sides of each unlatched and slammed down on even more trees as they opened, creating large holes in the ground below under their weight.  The seventy-five members of Team Maniacal, and their leader Sir Burns, poured out of the planes, their weapons in hand; the storm of hatred had come to Angel Island, the end was near.

   Meanwhile, Knuckles and Hidama were almost to the altar, yet the violent shaking was enough to knock them to their knees.  Looking to the trees on the horizon, they could now see that the two planes from earlier had infact landed on the island, crushing a large part of the western forest under the weight of their landing.  They could hear the frightful screaming and shouting of the invaders, and indeed, it appeared that doomsday had arrived.

   Hidama began to panic; he jumped to his feet, quickly pulling Knuckles up behind him.  Terrified, Hidama shouted, “Hurry Knuckles, we have to get to the altar!”

   But as Hidama tried to pull Knuckles in the direction of the altar, Knuckles surprisingly resisted.  When a distressed Hidama turned to him to see why he wouldn’t move, Knuckles shouted, “What about Amy and Delilah!?  We can’t leave them defenseless against these people!  I have to go help them!”

   “Knuckles…,” Hidama whispered.  He then growled angrily and shouted, “You’re a guardian Knuckles!  The Master Emerald belongs to all of the world, but we are meant to protect it from all who would use it for ill intentions.  I’m sorry Knuckles, but the fate of the world is more important than our own, and Amy’s and Delilah’s.  As much as it hurts, we have to ensure its safety before our own.”

   Still Knuckles wouldn’t move, and the two brothers, in this time of desperation and confusion, were on the verge of fighting with each other.  Finally Hidama screamed at him, shaking him violently and said, “Don’t you think that father wanted to protect mother, you and I?  He wanted to help us, because he loved us more than life itself; but he was a guardian Knuckles!  He had to stand and fight, and he died for the Master Emerald, and mother, as much as she loved him, understood this, and thus she knew it was up to her to protect us!  We’re guardians Knuckles, and as hard as it may be, if anything bad happens to the Master Emerald, it’ll be more than just our lives that are at risk!”

   Knuckles looked at his brother in disbelief, ready to cry, for this was the exactly same choice their father had to make when Angel Island was attacked the last time.  Both of them were brought to tears, but as the thunderous cries and march of footsteps grew louder, and the embers of lit torches grew closer in the distance, they knew they had no more time to mourn the situation, and as the final guardians of the Master Emerald, had to carry out the duties they were born and doomed to bear.

   They turned, and ran the rest of the way to the altar, as the invaders, torches and guns in hand, led by Sir Burns, approached the small area around the altar where Knuckles and Hidama built their homes.  Amy and Delilah were racing back from the direction of Emerald Lake, and made it to the clearing in front of their houses with only moments to spare as the mob grew closer.  With Knuckles and Hidama nowhere in sight, Amy wielded her hammer for the first time in many years, and was ready to fight.

   She growled softly, and shouted, “Nobody is gonna invade our home without a fight!  If they want to take the Master Emerald and destroy our houses, they’re gonna have me to deal with first!”

   Delilah ran back to Amy’s side after retrieving Hidama’s bow and quiver of arrows.  As she stood beside Amy, stringing an arrow to the bow string, she said, “I’ll have use Hidama’s bow and arrows…I can’t take the time to search for my own.”  She paused, looking to Amy and said, “We’ll take them down Amy!  I’m sure Hidama and Knuckles are already on their way back to the altar…”

   Amy placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “If anything…we can stall long enough for them to have the upper hand in this fight.  We are the wives of the guardians after all…and they have their duty to protect the Master Emerald.  But no worries, we can protect ourselves, and them as well, right Delilah?!”

   “Right!” Delilah shouted in reply.  As the terrifying screams got louder, the pounding footsteps grew closer, and the flaming torches close enough to light up their eyes, they stood ready.  Delilah took aim with her bow, and Amy raised her hammer, ready to swing at the first person to come too close.

   As Sir Burns and the seventy-five members of Team Maniacal thundered into the clearing, they paused, staring curiously at Amy and Delilah, a small, and yet bold first defense.  Sir Burns stepped forward, grinning deviously, for he knew just how to break Amy and Delilah.  Had the three hybrid children he saw earlier that day come home, surely they would be standing beside their mothers to defend their home.  He would use their absence to his advantage.

   “My, my ladies…what kind of guardian puts his wife up to face the first gun shots?  Indeed, where are your husbands ladies?  What kind of guardian leaves his post for even a minute, especially when there are two to divide the burden?” he asked.  He saw Delilah pull back tighter on her bowstring, and Amy tighten her grip on her hammer, ready to fight.

   “Shut up!  Knuckles and Hidama are close by I can assure you.  You just wait!  They’ll get back here and destroy you all!” Amy shouted.

   Sir Burns grinned devilishly, and laughed with an even more wicked insinuation than his smile could express as to the evil in his heart.  He was ready to unleash the first, terrible blow.  Bringing a hand to his chin, he said, “Mmm, indeed.  Perhaps they are out looking for your children maybe?  Perhaps they are looking for a son and two daughters, who have gone missing, and would surely be fighting with you were they not…absent?”

   It was just what he wanted; Amy and Delilah both gasped.  Amy almost dropped her hammer as her grip on it melted and her knees began to shake.  Delilah felt equally as sick, her arrow falling to the ground, her knees buckling as she fell to them, grasping Hidama’s bow to her chest, barely able to look Sir Burns in the eyes.  He continued to glare at them with such an evil gaze, he knew he had broken them, and only had to put more salt in the wound, in preparation for breaking the strong wills of the echidna brothers.

   Amy tried to stay strong, raising her hammer halfway in the air again, though she continued to quiver, and her voice shake, as she said, “What…what do you care?  Our children are fine and are none of your business.  Why don’t you show us some of your power instead of trying to talk us to tears.”

   “Oh, but Miss Amy…I think they are of terrible interest to me…and of dire interest to you and Miss Lynn here.  For you see, they were the ones who informed me that a guardian or two yet lived.  In my last preparations in Station Square, I was informed that those hybrid children were descendents of the last echidnas to live…meaning I can now take the Master Emerald as my own with their power to use it.  Funny…the girls sure did look a lot like you do now…when I saw them,” he explained, treating it as a casual, but dreadful matter.  Sir Burns had no doubt seen the children before, but making it look like he had dealt them great pain, was second nature to him and his story telling.

   It was another shocking blow in this web of lies and a story he was telling, but it was a good enough lie to cause Delilah to cry out Kelsey’s name, continuing to clutch Hidama’s bow as if it was her only life line.  It was enough too, to cause Amy to lose all her grip on her hammer; it fell to the ground beside her, and she was next to tears.  She appeared to clasp her hands to her chest out of grief, but was reaching for a locket she wore; she didn’t open it, but there was a picture of her and Knuckles on one side, and Mikomi and Amarie in the other.  Instead, she held it in her clenched fists, and finally dropped to her knees, fearing the worst; had one part of her life already fallen apart, and this just the finishing blow?

   He had done it; he not only broke both Amy’s and Delilah’s spirits, but did it well enough to convince them he not only captured their children, but had either tortured them or killed them.  This was just too easy.  Now he had plenty of ammo to take down Knuckles and Hidama.  All the members of Team Maniacal laughed at Amy and Delilah as they wept, and Sir Burns cackled the wildest of them all.

   “Feh!  So much for your brave stand.  You’re just as weak as your dammed children!” Sir Burns shouted.  Laughing again, he turned to his colleagues and said, “Why don’t you let us take you so you can join them?”  He then signaled to his henchmen to apprehend Amy and Delilah, knowing full well he didn’t bother to capture the children, but that his lie was still wreaking havoc on them both, and would do the same to break Hidama and Knuckles.

   But before the henchmen could apprehend Amy, Delilah looked up, done crying and ready to fight once more.  Over the years, Hidama’s love for her had toughened her up to a great deal, and she wasn’t going to be brought down this easy.  She stood up quickly, and reached for the arrow she dropped, stringing it to the bow string and firing it in mere seconds.  Before one of the thugs could blink, the arrow pierced him between the eyes, killing him instantly, and before the other one could react, Delilah had already strung another, and stood, glaring at them furiously, her eyes met by the fiery rage of Sir Burns’ as he turned to look at this last brave stand.

   “If you wanna capture me and Amy, you’re gonna still have to go through me,” Delilah said, not exactly shouting, but with a strong presence nonetheless, despite the fact that the barrels of seventy or so guns threatened to take her down.  They simply had to buy time for Knuckles and Hidama to get back to the altar, and it would be this final stand that did it.

   Sir Burns was disgusted by them, but Delilah the most, for she hadn’t made much of a stand until now.  In his mind she did nothing but feign tears to fool him, and anybody that dared try and trick Sir Burns had already gone too far, and here, she had killed one of his henchmen.  The insult was unforgivable.  He held his hand high in the air to silence his team, and prevent them from firing upon her.  His cold glare remained locked on her as he stepped closer, unafraid of her bow and arrow.  As she fired it at him, he caught it in his bare hands mid flight, right before it would have hit him in the chest.

   Delilah was taken aback by this, but before she could string another arrow he took two large steps forward and grabbed her by her neck, ripping her bow away from her, holding her aloft by her neck alone.  He was practically hissing at her when he said, “How dare you, you dammed wench.  For that, I can guarantee you you’ll see your daughter again…in the pits of hell!”  He was close to strangling her, but before anything else could be said, both Knuckles and Hidama emerged from the woods, horrified by the site.

   “No…,” Hidama whispered.  He took a step forward, out stretching his hand, and cried, “Delilah!  Delilah!  No!”  His cries, they were so desperate, so battered.  He was ready to sacrifice his life to save hers…but he couldn’t.  Like their father, there was simply nothing he could do to save her, for Hidama was a guardian, and yet…

   “Hidama, go help her, and I can protect the Master Emerald,” Knuckles said, “Even so as you fight them you’ll be protecting it in the process, so go!”

   Hidama was almost unwilling to leave his brother, oddly enough it was leaving him in the last attack that almost separated them forever, and yet, he knew Knuckles was right, and couldn’t bear the thought of losing Delilah.  He nodded, and said, “I’ve got your back okay?  Don’t let them get to the altar, and if you must, be sure to activate the security system!”

   With that, Hidama turned to Team Maniacal and Sir Burns, ready to fight to the death for his family and the Master Emerald.  He shouted, “Let her go now!  It’s the blood of the guardian you want!  Come and get it if you can!”

   Sir Burns dropped Delilah, where she fell hard to the ground and didn’t move, having fainted from lack of oxygen as she was choked.  Yet, before Hidama could run to her, Sir Burns shouted back, “You’re right echidna, I do need the blood of the guardian, as well as the Master Emerald…but who’s to say I can’t come away without a free gift or two hmm?”

   He signaled to his henchmen once more, and this time, one of them easily scooped up Delilah, and apprehended Amy kicking and screaming.  Hidama went pale, his eyes filled with terror, and he shouted, “No!  Amy!  Delilah!  You let them go!”  Looking back to Sir Burns, intense anger filled his heart, anger to make his rage blaze strongly and his blood burn.  He shouted, “I swear!  I’ll make you pay for this!  Whoever you are, against the power of the Guardian, you will not take the Master Emerald, or my family, or this island!  Stand up and fight me you coward!”

   As Amy and Delilah were taken off to one of the planes, secretly, half of his team snuck through the woods and behind the houses to get to the altar.  This didn’t go outside of Hidama’s notice, but as Sit Burns approached him, step by step, he found himself quickly surrounded by the rest of the team, who began to attack him with their guns, swipe at him with their lit torches, and lunge at him with their fists.

   Knuckles was also swamped.  He was surrounded, and had to protect himself and the Master Emerald.  He attacked the thugs in groups, knocking them off the altar, and yet this wasn’t enough to kill them.  Delilah’s arrow was different, for any blow between the eyes is always fatal; no, these people had armor, it was light, but it was strong, and Hidama’s and Knuckles’ attacks did next to nothing as far as hurting them or slowing them down.

   Sir Burns cackled wildly, for this take over was way too easy.  Every time Knuckles and Hidama knocked a group back, another fired at them, while that group got back on its feet, the cycle continuing once more.  They had to dodge bullet and embers, and were slowly becoming overwhelmed.  Hidama, on a run of luck, managed to disarm all of his attackers, but still, their armor did little to help his attempts.  Knuckles had the same fortune, but, they were slowly losing the fight, and that was the plan…to wear them down.  Team Maniacal wasn’t even using their full, and frightful strength, and after prolonged minutes of watching Hidama and Knuckles struggle to gain control, Sir Burns stepped in, delivering such a powerful blow to Hidama, that it flung him into the air, where he landed on top of the altar, at his brother’s feet.

   “Hidama!” Knuckles cried out.  Yet before he could react, one of the team members gave him a swift kick to the chest, flinging him hard into the Master Emerald and almost knocking him out.  He collapsed on the body of his brother, and though they were both still conscious, they had little left to offer in resistance.  They both struggled to rise, and when they were finally able to sit up, bloodied and bruised, they were met with Sir Burns standing before them, Team Maniacal lining the altar in a circle with torches in hand; there was nowhere to run, nothing to do…and Sir Burns was going to ensure it.  He was going to deal the final blow.

   “You know…Knuckles, Hidama…this doesn’t have to be all bad.  Seeing as I need your power in order to work this thing, at least you’ll be able to accompany your wives along the trip, hmm?  I’m doing you a favor aren’t I…and perhaps, if you are willing to cooperate with and be nice to me and my team, I can solve the problem of your missing children…,” Sir Burns said, casually holding his chin as if pondering whether to divulge something they wanted to know, even though he knew nothing of it.  It was all part of his mind game, and Knuckles and Hidama fell for it.

   Knuckles froze with fear, staring at Sir Burns with hatred and disbelief, while Hidama stared at the ground, with as much disbelief, while trying to figure out how to get rid of them, or at least activate the security system so if the Master Emerald was taken, Angel Island would glide to safety as it had in the passed, instead of violently tumbling to the earth below.  In his heart, he didn’t want to believe that these horrible people had captured the kids, and he wouldn’t believe it.  Standing up, he backed up against the Master Emerald, ready to tap into its powers to end this fight.  He shouted, “You haven’t captured Kelsey!  You haven’t taken her or Mikomi and Amarie you liar!  Why would you need to, and what are the odds you would have run into them!”

   Sir Burns knew what was happening, but saw Knuckles was starting to get his strength back from Hidama’s bravery.  He had underestimated the echidna brothers, but was able to use actual truth to stun them once more.  “Why, Hidama…dear Hinsei Hidama, I saw them in Station Square today as I planned the attack…I mean…how else would I know a guardian yet lived, let alone two?  How was I to know, unless their children revealed to me the secret of their lineage?” he asked.

   It worked, for Hidama and Knuckles had discussed it only minutes before the attack started.  They both knew their children had gone to Station Square, and if what this man said was true…he most certainly could have captured Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey for this information.  Their eyes met, and as they struggled to maintain their strength and restrain their tears, two of the henchmen took this opportunity, where both Knuckles and Hidama had their guard down, to shoot them with capsules, which upon impact with their chests, exploded into a cloud of vapor, and as the echidnas inhaled it, the toxins slowly began to paralyze them, bringing both echidnas to their knees, though they fought the toxins with all their strength, it was the final thing to bring them down.

   Using the last of their strength as they were slowly paralyzed to fall against the Master Emerald, the brothers knew tapping into the Master Emerald’s power was their last resort, but before they could call upon its power Sir Burns stepped on Hidama’s chest, and grabbed Knuckles by his throat, much as he did with Delilah, causing both to cringe and unwillingly look him in the eyes.

   “You’ll learn this, echidnas, in the coming days we’ll spend together, that I always get what I want, and I am always fully prepared.  I mean, see how clever I was to prepare these paralysis gases to stop you?  Sure, it’ll wear off, but only after I have you properly restrained.  You might as well rest while you can, for you are coming to the base of Team Maniacal, and so is the Master Emerald.  You might as well say goodbye to this God-forsaken island…for I do not care if it is destroyed.  You should be happy…it is nothing but a prison and a hell of bad memories for you both.  Say goodbye, blood of the Guardian, fufufu,” Sir Burns cackled.

   Hidama and Knuckles glared at him, both growling angrily, for now it was all they could do.  The toxins had coursed through their veins, and now they couldn’t feel their arms, their legs, or even their faces. They could barely blink or even growl, and were just fortunate enough to still be able to breathe.  Oh how brutally were they beaten down, just like their father…yet unfortunately, he was able to activate the security system, which prevented the Master Emerald’s capture and saved the island as it fell.  Knuckles and Hidama, were not so fortunate.

   Finally, they were overtaken by the urge to faint, and Knuckles closed his eyes, his body and breathing relaxing as he went unconscious.  Hidama fought a little longer, the power of his mind’s eye still free.  He glared at Sir Burns with his failing sight, and thought, “The liar…he may have seen Kelsey, Mikomi, and Amarie, but they are safe…yet still in trouble.  They need help…oh Mikomi, Kelsey…Amarie…you, …you must go and find Shadow the Hedgehog.  He helped me in my plight, and he’ll help you.  Oh Shadow, please, hear my cries; help them, for the fate of the world is in danger.  Help them…please…”

   But at last, Hidama lost control, his prayer fading away into the wind as he collapsed.  The battle was won; Team Maniacal had taken down both of the guardians, and now, they need only take the Master Emerald and both brothers to the plane and fly away.  They cared not what happened to the island in wake of this disaster.  Sir Burns, his eyes went alight with obsession and sick pleasure when he beheld the Master Emerald, the object of all his crimes and sins ever since he first heard of it.  At last, it was his.  Now all he had to do was break Knuckles’ and Hidama’s wills so its power would be his own, and thus, he could rule the world.

   “Take those echidnas on the plane…but be gentle…we can’t risk hurting them can we?  They are the keys to unlocking the Master Emerald’s power, so be careful!  Feh, we’re lucky we were able to strike now.  Once these echidnas are dead, the line of the guardians is over.  Those stupid hybrid children will never be able to control it…once its power is mine, the world will be better for it.  Hee, hee; who ever trusted the stupid echidnas with it in the first place, when it belongs to mankind?” Sir Burns hissed.

   As two henchmen carried Knuckles and Hidama off to the planes, he turned to the rest of the team and said, “Four of you, you carry the Master Emerald…be careful, but quick, for the island is going to rapidly fall.  Now let’s move!”

   Four of the team members picked up the massive gem, and as soon as they took it, a low rumble could be heard.  The team raced with precision and skill down the stairs, carefully holding the Master Emerald as they ran.  The remaining team members dropped their torches on the ground, setting the island ablaze with monstrous flames.  The planes were started up as they carried the Master Emerald on board one of them, and Sir Burns and the rest of the team scurried on to either one.

   The Master Emerald was sat down, and Sir Burns immediately knelt beside it, running his hand over the surface gently; he loved the gem, for it was the key to his power, and now it was the object of his care.  No one would ever be allowed to touch it once sat in its new pedestal in the Team Maniacal base; it was his, even though he said it belonged to mankind, it was his own, and nobody else’s.

   “Hurry you fools!  Take to the air!” he shouted.  Standing up, he said, “That cursed island is going to fall to the ground, break up, and burn into nothing.  A fitting end to a filthy race.  Now let’s move!”

   As the planes took to the air, one of the team members said, “But Sir Burns, what about their children?  Surely when they come home to this they shall try and form an opposition?”

   Sir Burns glared at the man, and almost looked ready to die from laughter.  “Are you kidding me Nelson?  Why should I be afraid of those pathetic hybrid children?  If anything I should be mad for not capturing them in order to torture their fathers and their mothers.  Feh, those dammed hybrid children will meet the fates of all who oppose me and my power.  I could crush them as easily as I did their parents and with even less effort.  Besides, what can they do about it?  Fufufu…”

   Poor Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey; as they slept underneath the boardwalk in Station Square, haunted by the attack on them from the afternoon before, they didn’t realize that disobeying their parents and leaving Angel Island had saved their lives.  Beyond their sight in the moonless night, Angel Island began to quake violently, and instead of gliding gently to the ground as it did before, when Knuckles was a child, the security system was not there to steady it, and it began to tumble violently to the ground below.  The floating giant, which normally hovered gracefully, much like an angel in flight, was now up in flames from the torches that burned it, and after shaking with the power of the most intense earthquake ever to rattle the earth, it crashed to the ground, with the intensity of an asteroid plummeting from space.

   As Angel Island fell to the ground, it created a gorge deeper than the highest peak on the island was tall, and sent out shockwaves rattling the earth around it for several miles from the epicenter.  The island then began to crumble, collapsing from the force of the impact, from the violent shaking, the raging fire, or from its own weight…it was uncertain if one or all of these factors caused it to crumble, like a sandcastle, sand cast into the wind.  When the crumbling and shaking finally subsided, the fires continued to rage, but finally by miracle or sheer fortune, the fires began to die, but not after burning away much that was able to survive the shaking, the tumble, and the collapse.

   Many people in Station Square were awakened, emerging from their houses to see what caused all the shaking, and were horrified when they saw the floating island, which had become part of their landscape if anything else, crumbled into nothing on the ground.  If Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey heard or felt anything, they most likely brushed it off as an earthquake, and were unable to emerge anyway with all the voices around, and so stayed lulled in their uneasy sleep.

   Heaven bless their souls…for when they would emerge that next morning, they would be sickened to see that Angel Island, and everything they had ever known, had all come crashing down.  Their lives had changed forever; like their fathers, they had suffered such a violent change, and certainly miseries that they didn’t deserve, and all because of the Master Emerald.  It was a fate that nobody deserved to bear…and yet, they would have to.

   With their mothers and fathers gone, and their home destroyed, what would Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey have left to cling to?  Perhaps, only Hidama’s final, desperate prayer would save them.  Perhaps, just perchance, they would be able to find Shadow, and with his help, and the help of others, they would be able to build up a resistance, not only to rescue Knuckles and Amy, and Hidama and Delilah, but fight the final battle for power…the final struggle for control over the Master Emerald.  This would be the last time that it would wreak havoc on the world again.  The Master Emerald, simply had to be done away with, destroyed, as so much had already, and so much more was fated to be; the ruins of Angel Island were only a hint of the destruction that was to come.

   And so Mikomi, Kelsey, and Amarie would dream their last peaceful dreams that night, for now, their lives had been changed forever, the night that Angel Island, was brought out of the sky, and the guardian brothers, helpless to save it.