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"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 8: Learning to Forgive, and Rising to Protect

   As the past few days passed, Sir Burns had made quick work of torturing the echidna brothers, in every way imaginable, far worse than Feldmort’s persecution of Hidama, as his was slower, taking place over a twelve year stretch in order to break Hidama’s will.  Sir Burns had far less time, and yet his method of breakdown was both methodical and effective.

   Wearing a white jumpsuit and black boots, he strolled casually down a silent hallway; he had now separated Hidama and Knuckles, locking them in the same fashion, if not with even more agonizing restraints, in smaller, mind-breaking rooms, dimly lit, the little light in the room flickering on and off occasionally, leaving them in the dark for minutes at a time.

   Sighing, he muttered, “This is becoming nothing more than a bore for me.  These two are easier to break than I suspected; beat them and curse them enough and they’ll fall weak quicker than a tree scorched by white flames.”  He ran his fingers through his hair, pausing and taking a black rubber band to pull back his chestnut red hair, which ran to his lower-back.  He shook his head slowly, sighing again, and chuckling softly.  He pulled two black gloves over his hands, tugging on them so they fit snuggly, and glanced between two seamless doors on either side of the hallway.

   “Feh; I really wanted to beat on the younger brother some more…considering he is perhaps the weakest of the two, and really the only fun one to torture since his brother is used to this kind of thing…but…ugh, I guess I better work on Hidama some more,” Sir Burns said.  Repositioning his black cape, lined with off-white satin, so it fit better on his soldiers, he reached to open the key-coded locked door to Hidama’s chamber.

   As he punched the keyword in the number panel, Sir Burns laughed softly, shaking his head.  He whispered, “I might have exaggerated it a little; it is Knuckles who is the easiest to break by far…but Hidama…I have his tortured past working against me.  Being the eldest of the brothers he possesses by far much more control over the Master Emerald than Knuckles, so it is he, who I must force to submit first…”

   The keyword was accepted, and as the unlocked light flashed on, Sir Burns opened the door, pausing for a moment, then murmuring, “Heh, once his brother has fallen, Knuckles shall crumble helpless before me…of course, I could always turn it the other way I’m sure…foolish Hinsei Hidama…as much as he loves his wife and daughter, so much more will he fall apart at Knuckles’ suffering, seeing as he already blames himself for both his and his brother’s pain; it shouldn’t take much more to break him apart once more.”

   Then, as he took a step into the room, a wide, twisted smile graced his face, as he was hit with a sudden inspiration on how to break them both at once.  He flipped open the top of his wrist-watch style communicator, and speaking to one of his cohorts he whispered, “Nelson, you and Richards get to the control booth over Knuckles’ holding chamber.  Get the video cameras online and send the data feed over to Hidama’s chamber.  I want him to, well, have a front row seat to…how you say…a complimentary lightning and pyrotechnics show with his brother, as well…the unwitting volunteer, if you catch my drift.”

   Meanwhile, a bloodied, bruised and exhausted Hidama remained chained and fastened to the wall.  Hearing the door open and the whispers of Sir Burns nearby, he struggled to lift his head to look at him.  As simple as it may seem, simply having to hang, largely unsupported from the cold, steel walls, was exhausting for both Knuckles and Hidama to have to bear, and was doing a large part towards breaking their spirits, while physical and mental bullets, compliments of Sir Burns, did the rest.

   Though he had tortured both brothers equally, both before and after he separated him, he had done the most physical damage to Hidama.  He tortured them both a little differently; with Knuckles it was mostly mental and emotional anguish, while Hidama suffered the brunt of physical pain.  A frightful red stain surrounded the floor below Hidama’s feet, the remnants of where the blood he lost had formed a pool on the floor, only to slowly dry away, leaving only the stain to tell the horrible tale of the past days.

   He slowly opened his blackened eyes, his sapphire blue irises pale and worn with exhaustion and pain.  He slowly flexed his fingers, stiff and aching under his gloves as he inhaled deeply, groaning softly, and struggling to get a good breath as his chest was wracked with pain, and simply having to hang, his weight largely unsupported, making it hard to breathe to begin with.  Blinking slowly, he hacked painfully, flinching as his lungs began to burn; it was becoming undeniably clear, even for Hidama’s strong will that Sir Burns’ vindictive form of torture, was perhaps the most extreme he had ever known, even after spending nearly thirteen years in Feldmort’s prisons.  Feldmort’s form of torture, was nothing but a teenager’s practical joke compared to this.

   Sir Burns paused, looking up from his wrist communicator at hearing Hidama’s painful gasps for breath.  He could barely crack a devious grin despite how much pain the guardian prince was clearly in.  Truly it seemed that this was hardly fun for him anymore; torturing the brothers had become nothing more than a loathsome chore, and the sooner he could break them, the better.

   “Be quick about it!” he whispered into the communicator.  He then turned the communicator off, looking back to Hidama and rolling his eyes in annoyance.  “And I thought this would be fun…damn these two; I need their powers in order to use the Master Emerald, and until I push them over the breaking point, there’s no way the holding chambers can sap their power from them.  I can’t get the power I need unless they are willing to submit,” he muttered softly.  He glared at Hidama with hatred not even King Olermere could ever hope to approach.  Sir Burns, he wasn’t out for revenge, nor did he have any reason to hate the echidna brothers otherwise.  He was out for blood, and his hatred for them, was pure, deep, and intensifying.  He would break them both, no matter what it took.

   He glared coldly at Hinsei Hidama, walking up slowly to him, the evil in his heart burning ever stronger.  Hidama’s eyes followed Sir Burns’ every step; even though he was in pain, he was far from ready to submit to him yet.  It would take a lot more than that to break Hidama, and Sir Burns, it appeared, had finally figured this out.

   Standing still a few paces in front of Hidama, there was an awkward and intense silence between the two as they stared each other down.  Finally, the silence was broken as Sir Burns let out a somewhat quiet, devious cackle.  The echidna’s eyes widened as much as they could as he pondered his persecutor’s actions.  Hacking a bit to clear his throat, he asked, “What is so funny…Sir Burns?  I have not seen any sort of genuine pleasure such as this come from you in my entire stay here.  What—,” he paused, coughing hard as his breath ran short and his chest began to ache with dull pain.  As he caught his breath, he continued, “What has got you so happy?”  His breathing was labored as he spoke; he winced as pain rolled through his body, from his chest, all the way to the tips of his fingers and his heels.

   Sir Burns slowly stopped laughing, waiting to speak as he watch Hidama suffer, even as he tried to talk.  As the echidna closed his eyes, turning his head to cough again, a trickle of blood poured from a wound on his forehead.  The wound had stopped bleeding, and yet the force of his gasps for breath had forced it into bleeding once more.  The stream of blood ran down between his eyes, down his muzzle, coming to a slow stop once it got to his nose.  His coughing slowed, but before the echidna could try for an easy breath, his aching throat and need for breath caused him to cough hard once more, and with this sudden shutter, the blood finally fell clear from Hidama’s nose, flying and landing in five or so drops on Sir Burns’ clean, white jumpsuit.

   Then, silence; no longer did Sir Burns laugh, or even grin.  He merely glared at Hidama, as he slowly opened his eyes, able to breathe a bit smoother again.  Once they made eye contact, Sir Burns slowly lowered his eyes to the stain Hidama’s blood made on his jumpsuit.  The echidna looked at this too, and though the stains were small, they still stood out against the white threads of his outfit.  As trivial as it looked, this was taken as an insult by Sir Burns.  His uniform, his sign of authority, was now stained; it was corrupt, and no longer perfect, exemplifying his perfect rule over Team Maniacal.  It disrupted his superiority; it was as bad as dishonoring the Master Emerald’s guardian by using his ornamental weaponry, and in the same way, was deserving of vile punishment.

   Yet, instead of lashing out in fury, Sir Burns closed his eyes, shaking his head, trying to brush off his anger in favor of another, more extreme form of punishment.  He cackled softly, slowly raising his head to look at Hidama, who continued to gaze at him intensely and confused.

   “Oh Hidama…fool-hardy, misguided, and dim-witted Hidama; I’m merely…laughing out of expression of pleasure.  I mean, I have plenty of reasons to be jubilant; I have captured the Master Emerald, both its guardians, and their wives, and could just as easily capture their children so they can all go down together once I launch my rule over this world.  Even you could not deny I have many reasons to be happy now could you?” he asked.

   The guardian growled softly; despite the pain he was in, his anger was no softer in intensity.  He growled, “Go on…it’ll take more than weak intimidation to bring me down.  Seems you’re running out of options Sir Burns.  Mmm, Feldmort was much more terrifying, and even now I have come to forgive him for it.  Your attempts are not only futile, they’re laughable.  Were my lungs not ailing me so, I’d do some laughing of my own about now.  When are you going to wise up?  You’ll have to kill me before I’ll submit to you.”

   Both of them fell silent, returning to a vicious stare down, the eyes of both blazing with a fire of rage towards the other.  Sir Burns, however, finally finding pleasure in the situation it seems, abruptly broke the silence with another vicious laugh, startling Hidama a bit.  Sir Burns turned away from him, walking towards the opposing wall, coming to a stop a few steps from touching it.

   He slowly relaxed his laugh and continued, “Oh Hinsei…let’s forget for a minute that you are helplessly chained to a wall, barely able to breathe without pain and a labored sputter, staining my perfect uniform with your lowly blood.  Were you and Knuckles both able to fight my team, let us not forget how things on Angel Island went down.  There’s no hope for escape, I can assure you…so now I guess you only have two options.  You can submit to me, or die, only after I destroy everything you love and care about first.  I can use the Master Emerald with or without you…because…,”

   He paused, turning around to look at Hidama as he pressed a button on his wristwatch communicator, grinning wryly.  “I’ll always have your brother…,” he whispered, cackling softly.  Hidama’s eyes widened in horror, for now he realized that Sir Burns had something that Feldmort did not when it came to torturing him.  Sir Burns had his baby brother Knuckles, and every medium imaginable to torture him as well…including lightning and fire.

   The wall Sir Burns stood before suddenly opened up, parting down the center to reveal a television screen behind the panels.  As it flickered on, Hidama tried to focus his tired and burning eyes, only to widen them in horror once he saw what was on the screen.  The camera was focused on the room Knuckles was moved to; he was equally as bloodied and bruised, but was far more angry than Hidama was.  While Hidama remained calm and relatively passive through his anger, Knuckles was having a much harder time restraining his rage, if he was even trying to in the first place.

   Poor Knuckles, by this point he was provoked to an intense rage.  Despite his injuries and fatigue, he fought against the chains and latches that retrained him, but…something was different. Hidama squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the metal bands around his brother’s wrists and ankles.  These bands were different; Hidama looked and only saw metal clamps holding him to the wall.  The bands around his brother’s wrists were different.  They were black, and on closer inspection, Hidama could make out long, thin cords coming from each of the black bands; the cords ran down and disappeared into the wall, to where, Hidama didn’t know, but something was making Knuckles fight so violently against them.

   Sir Burns looked down to his communicator and whispered, “You have my permission to proceed as I told you earlier.  Just…zap away as you please until…I give the order to stop.”

   Hidama’s eyes widened in horror when he realized what was about to happen.  No longer would he remain calm, even if he could.  The anger and rage in his heart burst free, and he growled low as he glared at Sir Burns.  The Maniacal leader looked to Hidama, a crooked smile gracing his face.  He laughed softly and said, “Finally, you understand do you Hinsei Hidama?  I told you I was more than capable of getting what I want…am I right?”  He shut the communicator and walked back up to Hidama and said, “Mmm, poor fellow; did I mention there’s a clamp around his neck as well?  Mwahaha, too late to change things now eh Hidama? Ah hah!”

   The echidna let out a violent scream, and like Knuckles, despite his wounds and weariness, began to fight against the chains in a mad attempt to bring Sir Burns down.  As Hidama fought, Sir Burns looked back to the screen, shaking his finger at Hidama and said, “No, no, no Hidama…I wouldn’t fight if I were you…unless you want me to turn the voltage up even higher…”

   Suddenly, Hidama’s screams were drowned out by the bloodcurdling cries of his brother.  He looked up in horror only to see that on the screen before him, Knuckles had just had a wave of high voltage electricity surge through him, singeing his fur all around the clamps and causing some of his bones to fracture.  It was almost as if he had suffered a direct hit by a bolt of lightening, almost enough to kill him.  Even after that, it seemed that Sir Burns still wasn’t satisfied.

   Opening up his communicator he shouted, “Nelson!  Is that the best you and Richards can do?   Get the pyrotechnics going!  I want to make sure Knuckles is fried, well…before I throw Delilah in there next…”  His voice fell off as he looked back to Hidama, closing the communicator slowly, and chuckling softly and menacingly, knowing now that Hidama was nearing his breaking point, and only needed a little bit more to push him over.

   Hidama froze.  A lone tear fell from his eyes as he stared at Sir Burns in disbelief.  Here he was, the eldest son of the guardian, with so much power to his disposal, so much to protect, and he couldn’t even save Angel Island from its destruction.  His daughter was lost and in danger; his nephew and niece suffered the same fate.  His wife and sister-in-law were nothing but tools in Sir Burns’ sick plans, and now, he couldn’t even save his brother, or himself from this suffering.

   What kind of guardian was he?  Now the world was in danger from the one thing he was meant to guard and protect it from.  Now at last, he began to despair; with so much misery and anguish surrounding and enveloping his heart, he began to lose the will to fight.  What was the point anyway?  He had failed so far…what good would fighting do but cause more unnecessary pain?  The end was in sight anyway…the least he could do was protect his brother and loved ones for a little bit longer.  If he managed to fail fighting off the opposition now, what good would it be to continue?  He was a failure…

   Sir Burns stared at Hidama with a glint in his eyes; he knew now Hidama was melting inside.  He opened the communicator once more, glancing at the screen over his shoulder, where Knuckles continued to scream, in both pain and anger.  He whispered, “Shut him up…hard.”

   But Hidama heard this; he looked up at Sir Burns and began to plead, “No!  Stop!  Don’t hurt him anymore!  He doesn’t deserve this!  Stop!  I—I beg of you…”  He slowly hung his head in shame at what he was reduced to…pleading with his persecutor for his brother to be spared.  Yet, Sir Burns wouldn’t listen to his cries; instead, he allowed Knuckles to be shocked one final, brutal time.  This time, the shock was so violent, it surged through Knuckles with the intensity of a lightning strike, causing him to stiffen up, screaming in terror until finally he submitted to unconsciousness, falling limp, and silent as he hung from the wall, his fur smoking, and blood streaming from several wounds on his body, dripping to the floor like the morning dew off the leaves of a tree.

   “Knuckles!  Knuckles, no!” Hidama cried.  The guardian prince was finally brought to tears, his will and strength succumb to overflowing sadness and depression from the depths of his heart.  As he wept, his tears and blood falling to the floor, he whimpered, “I’ve failed you…I’ve failed everyone…this is all my fault.  The world is in danger because of me.  I’m the guardian, and I could do nothing to stop this.  I’ve failed us all…I’m nothing but a shame to the guardians who came before me.  Forgive me, my ancestors…father and mother.  I’m nothing but a failure to you all.”

   Sir Burns cackled softly; he whispered into the communicator, “Prepare the holding chambers.  Our guests have finally decided to submit.  Go ahead and lock up Knuckles; I want a few more, parting minutes with the ‘proud guardian’ Hidama.”

   Closing the communicator, he walked up to Hidama and said, “What’s this Hidama?  I do believe you are crying now?  Whatever is the matter?  Hmm, could it be you finally realize exactly how great a failure you are?  You were pronounced, the ‘doomed guardian’ after all…perhaps you really were better off dead and forgotten do you think?”

   Though pain, both physical and emotional flowed through him, Hidama managed to look up at Sir Burns once more, his eyes filled with tears, tears that stung the cuts on his face as they hit them, and blood flowing down his cheeks.  Though tired and defeated, he still held on to his honor, and murmured, “I—I feel shame, only for having succumb to an idiot like you.  You’re nothing but a coward and a fool Burns…for without your technology and followers to help you, Angel Island, and the guardians would never have fallen to your wishes…therefore, I still retain my honor.  Though I have lost, it is not because I didn’t try to the best of my ability…your dreams will eventually come to naught, and that knowledge alone comforts me though I fall.”

   At first, Sir Burns didn’t speak, more angered by Hidama’s persistence to try and remain positive even in the face in defeat; it ruined his fun, but he had one more surprise in store.  However, before he could speak, the seamless door flew open, and a Maniacal member ran in.

   “Sir Burns!  I have an important message for you!” he cried.

   Frustrated, Sir Burns whipped around and shouted, “Auggh!  Can’t this wait until after I get finished with Hidama?  Ugh, you all have the most intolerable timing!”

   Folding his arms across his chest in disgust, Sir Burns turned back to Hidama, but the messenger wasn’t ready to leave just yet.  He stepped around and up to Sir Burns and said, “But sir!  This is important!  Something’s happened to the base in Emerald Hills!  All of it’s members have fled, and, umm, there are reports that it was attacked by a black hedgehog, a white bat, and a bunch of kids.”

   At hearing this, Hidama went pale, for he knew that this could only mean Shadow had indeed heard his cries for help, and he and Rouge had met up with Kelsey, Mikomi and Amarie in order to form a resistance.  Hidama hoped he could send a message to them before he was taken, but at the same time, Sir Burns could recognize the renewed hope in Hidama’s eyes, and knew it was about time Hidama was silenced…for the time being.

   “Argh!  We’ll handle this later!  Now get out!” Sir Burns shouted.  The messenger bowed, though he looked shaken, and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.  Sir Burns, angry and ready to set things in motion, walked up to Hidama and shouted, “Don’t get optimistic on me Hidama!  It’s time I silenced both you and your brother!”

   Before Hidama could react, Sir Burns flipped open his communicator one last time, hitting a switch on it, which made five mechanical arms come out of the wall.  They clamped black bands around Hidama’s wrists, ankles, and neck, and electrocuted him with the same voltage as Knuckles was given, causing him to let out a frightful, scream of pain, before knocking him out cold.  His strength and spirit broken, both he and Knuckles were worn down to their limits, and now would offer little resistance when placed in these chambers….chambers that were outfitted with the technology of Team Maniacal, and would sap the brothers of their power over the Master Emerald, powering it up, and allowing the team to use it however they wished.  Finally, after all the work, it was time to set their plan in motion.

   Sir Burns laughed softly; he waved for two members to come in and carry Hidama off to the second chamber.  He said, “Be gentle with him now…just because I had to beat the life out of him doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat him special right?  Without him, we wouldn’t be able to achieve world domination right?  Mwahaha!  Carry him off!  Now!”

   Released from the chains and clamps, Hidama was lifted carefully off the wall, and the two team members carried him off in the same direction as his brother, to be placed in the other chamber, high above the Master Emerald.  Sir Burns stepped outside, where the messenger was still waiting, much to his annoyance.

   “Ugh, why must you bother me so?  Who cares about some random hedgehog and bat, and a bunch of bratty children no less?” Sir Burns groaned.  He walked down the hall towards where Delilah and Amy were being held, still bound in their cages, trying to sleep off the pain.

   Amy started to stir as Sir Burns and the messenger approached.  She nuzzled Delilah’s arm as best she could and whispered, “Delilah, shh, listen!  It’s Sir Burns!”

   The light blue hedgehog slowly stirred from her restless dreams, her cheeks stained with tears as she wept for Hidama and Kelsey.  Yet when she and Amy heard the two men approach, they fell silent, unaware of how chilling the conversation would be, and the depth of horror it would reveal.

   “I’m sorry sir, but…whoever they are, they attacked for no apparent reason.  They didn’t steal anything, but did kill around five or so of our men down there, including the leader of the base before taking off.  This is all we could find out before the remainder of the men fled,” the messenger explained.

   The two men stopped outside of the room Amy and Delilah were in, unaware that they were awake and listening to their every word.  “So…those cretins killed that ingrate Mr. Rose eh?  Feh…serves him right.  He was only out to hurt his daughter and son-in-law; he never had the potential to be a great leader…I don’t pity him.”

   Amy gasped in shock, trying to keep her voice down, and thankfully went unnoticed by Burns and the messenger.  She looked to Delilah and said, “That…that was my father.  Why, why would he join up with these fiends?  Did he really want to hurt Knuckles and I that badly?  Oh Delilah…I know we had grown apart…but I wish I could have met up with him again so we could sort things out.  Oh, I wonder what happened to my mother…oh why…”

   Delilah did her best to comfort Amy as she began to weep silently, and yet they both had to keep quiet, as they continued to listen to what was being said.

   “Aye, but sir, that’s not all.  Apparently this black hedgehog not only knew who Mr. Rose was, but had every intention of coming to rescue Knuckles and Hidama, and the girls of course, and was simply unfortunate to have mistaken that base for this one.  Supposedly this black hedgehog, white bat, and group of four children are on their way here right now to rescue them,” the messenger continued.

   “Amy!” Delilah cried softly, “Doesn’t that sound like Shadow and Rouge to you?  Do you think that…maybe they found the children and are coming to save us?”

   Sir Burns paused, bringing a hand to his chin, almost as if he realized the exact same thing. “Johnson…didn’t a black hedgehog also free Hidama from that mutant Feldmort’s prisons?  No…could it be…Shadow the Hedgehog has risen from the dust to save the echidna brothers once more?”  He paused, thinking it over and soon cackled wildly.  He shouted, “Will the fun never stop?  Fools!  That Hidama must have sent a message to him before we left…and that bat must be Shadow’s wife or something…wait…four children you say?  Oh my…”

   Amy and Delilah gasped as Sir Burns paused to think once more; he murmured, “One child must be his own…the other three, surely Hidama prayed for someone to come protect his daughter, niece and nephew.  That stupid echidna would never ask for help for himself before his children…but knowing how close Shadow is to those brothers he’d never let this go unjustified.  So…they’re on their way here are they?  That makes the game more interesting…better than I could have planned it even!”

   He laughed again and cried, “This is perfect Johnson!  Let them come unopposed!  They can be the first to witness our rise to absolute power!  They can watch me sap their fathers dry of their powers…and they can be the first to die under it as well!”  He paused, smiling wryly and murmured, “Yes…them and their dammed mothers.  Bastard children like them don’t deserve to live anyway.  As for Shadow…mmm, he and that bat girl might be useful to me during the take over, but, feh, kill the hybrid children and their mothers…I promised Hidama I’d take out everything that was important to him after all.  It’s his fault anyway, we might as well satisfy his depression and sense of failure right?  Fwahaha!”

   Amy and Delilah couldn’t stand it anymore.  Both of them cried out, “No!” tears streaming down their faces, and anger and fear plaguing their hearts.

   Upon hearing this, Sir Burns became aware of their presence, listening in on his plans. He whipped around fast, glaring at them under the dim light.  He walked up to within inches of the cages, kneeling down to their eye-level, and snickered at them.  He whispered, “Aye…did you hear that ladies?  You shall see your children again…and, mmm, even your husbands once more before…I annihilate you all!”

   Laughing wildly, Sir Burns sat crouched before them for a few brief seconds before rising.  While Amy immediately began to shout at him in disbelief and panic, Delilah paused, looking near the collar of Sir Burns’ jumpsuit.  She could see five or so drops of blood spattered about near his right shoulder.  Something inside her could recognize how and whence these blood droplets came to stain his perfect uniform, and she knew now that the real danger was soon to come.

   She stared at Sir Burns, much as she had that night on Angel Island, and eventually, they made eye contact with one another; the laughing and crying stopped, and Delilah murmured, “You unimaginable bastard…”  Raising her voice to a terrifying scream, she shouted, “Don’t you understand?  You’ll destroy us all!  You’ll destroy yourself!  You’ll destroy the world and everything in it!  If you use the Master Emerald this way, it’ll be the death of us all, including you!”

   Though a bit startled by this sudden burst of anger and confidence from Sir Burns, he was too proud and arrogant to heed warning from anyone, even his own men.  He stood up, laughing at her once more and said, “Ladies, do rest up…for when this so called ‘resistance’ arrives to confront me, I want you to have front row seats to the first casualties of my new world order.  Fufufu.”

   Delilah growled angrily, her fear turned to anger.  As Sir Burns walked away, Delilah, who before she met Hidama would have never had the courage to fight, rose to her knees, though cuffed and shackled, and pressed herself against the cage bars, and shouted, “It’ll be the death of us all Burns!  You just don’t get it do you!?  Stop!!”

   As he and the messenger walked off, laughing joyfully at the expense of the girls, Delilah panted heavily to get her breath back.  She slowly slid back down, looking at Amy helplessly, as Amy had retreated to silence, and tears.  Delilah scooted over to Amy, trying to comfort her, and said, “Oh Amy…the children will be okay…to—to tell you the truth, I’m worried more for Hidama and Knuckles.  I know that was Hidama’s blood on his uniform…his and Knuckles’ blood was always a little bit darker than everyone else’s for whatever reason.”

   Delilah sighed, her voice reduced to a whimper, “These fiends…whatever they’re planning to do with the Master Emerald, they’re almost ready to do it.  Now they’re just waiting for the kids to get here…don’t they understand?  Only the guardian can properly control its power.  It isn’t just the power of the guardian that you need…you need to know the commands and learn how to control it properly.  No computer could ever replace the studies and years of training each new guardian must undertake.  Sir Burns just doesn’t understand it.  The minute Hidama and Knuckles are sapped and the Master Emerald powered up again, without their knowledge and experience to control it…with a stupid computer and Sir Burns trying vainly to control it…it’ll destroy us all…not just us…but the entire world.”

   Neither of them could find the words to speak after this; in their hearts, they were torn apart.  They were fearful for their children, but at the same time had their husbands to worry for, and with the threat of Team Maniacal’s misuse of the Master Emerald putting the fate of the world at stake, all either of them could do for the moment, was weep.

   Yet with all the preparations going on at the base in Thundercrash Bay, Team Maniacal it seemed still underestimated the force that now approached them.  With Sonic came the reunion of all seven chaos emeralds, perhaps the only thing now that even stood a hopeful chance of counteracting the wild and uncontrolled power of the Master Emerald.  The group was now only one more night away from arriving at the base, confronting Team Maniacal, and doing whatever they could to save their loved ones, and the world.

   Shadow, Sonic, and Rouge now walked together.  While Rouge would take one chaos emerald at a time from Shadow and Sonic, holding it up to the sunlight and gazing at it adoringly, the two of them did more than just discuss a battle plan; they also caught up on old times.

   “I swear…once Tails and I perfected inter-dimensional travel, there was just no more holding me back.  The times Blaze and I had seen each other in between only furthered to cement the bond we had formed…so…I pretty much just stayed in her dimension.  You remember the wedding we had, and of course it wasn’t long before Aries was born.  Course…Blaze wouldn’t do without a reflection of myself to call her own, so when Pyro came along…I guess you could say I had granted every wish she had.  It’s been nothing but a fairy tale for us…of course, I guess I could have come back once in awhile to check up on things…how have Knuckles and Hidama been up until now do you know?” Sonic asked.

   Shadow laughed softly, murmuring, “A little reflection of you…that’s exactly what she got, and perhaps more I think.”  Sonic gave him a look, but ended up letting out a chuckle.  Shadow then said, “I’m sorry Sonic, I couldn’t resist…Pyro’s certainly a feisty one, and I doubt no less defiant than you used to be am I right?”

   Sonic could only nod sheepishly, sighing a bit in response.  Shadow let out another laugh, but then had to sigh as well.  He shook his head, glancing at Rouge and Amberly and explained, “Unfortunately Sonic, I’ve been just as disjointed from their lives as you have.  Once Rouge and I were on our way, we pretty much didn’t look back.  When Amberly was born, and her wing, well…crippled, we decided to dedicate the whole of our love to her, and not have another child.  I guess in wanting to protect them, I did the best I could to remain in isolation, so I know no more about their doings than you do.  I also doubt anyone in Starshine Town know anything, nor do Tails, Cream, and their son.  I haven’t heard from anyone in years, not even my friends in Radical City.  As for those in Starshine Town, I wonder if they’re even still together.  When I last saw Elianaron he said Auron and Lairen had moved away, as had Lucie and Isaac, so I do believe only he, his son Jeremy, and Aranelion’s family are left.  We all became isolated and lost to each other.  We should learn from this, and come together at least once a year, so we do not fall apart again.”

   The two hedgehogs were interrupted by cries; Amarie suddenly ran between and ahead of them, with Pyro chasing after her, fire blazing from his finger tips like a pistol.  He shouted after her, “Oh you big baby!  It won’t hurt you!  I swear!  Come back here!”

   Both Shadow and Sonic paused, watching the scene helplessly; Sonic, his face flushing slightly red with embarrassment, hung his head, groaned and shouted, “Pyro Hedgehog!  You stop that right now!  What have I told you about using your powers?”

   Pyro slowed only long enough to look back at his father and pout.  “But Dad!  I’m just trying to show her my flame throwers!  She’s such a wimp!”

   At hearing this, Amarie stopped.  She turned around, her face red with anger and shouted, “I’m no baby!  And I’m certainly no wimp!  I’ll make you eat those words fire boy!”  She then pulled out her little hammer and took aim for Pyro, who was now switched from hunter to hunted.

   His eyes widened in fear, the flames subsided, and he let out a cry, “Whoa!  Daddy help me!  Make her stop!”

   Sonic rolled his eyes, slapping his forehead with his hands and letting out a groan.  “I can’t stand it…I can’t even control my own son, let alone Knuckles’ daughter.”

   Before Amarie could swing however, Mikomi and Aries dashed ahead of Shadow and Sonic, coming between their feuding siblings.  Aries put up a fire shield to keep Pyro from striking back, while Mikomi took hold of Amarie’s hammer, holding back the full force the swing before it could come down on Pyro.

   Mikomi kept a firm grip on his sister’s hammer and said, “Come on Amarie; hitting him back won’t solve anything…it’ll only make the fight worse.”

   “Yeah, Pyro, you should be trying to make friends with her and the others…their parents are good friends of our parents, so you’re not only embarrassing Daddy and Mom when you do this, you’re also being both impolite and inconsiderate.  I want you to apologize and make friends with Amarie…we can show everyone your pyrotechnics show tonight when it’s dark okay?” Aries explained.

   Aries let the fire barrier die down, and Mikomi loosened his grip on Amarie’s hammer, just barely until finally she decided to lower it completely.  After a few moments of Pyro pouting and Amarie scowling, Amarie sighed and walked over to Pyro, and said, “I’m sorry I tried to whack you Pyro…let’s try to be friends okay?”

   The hedgecat glanced between his sister, Mikomi, and Amarie, groaning softly, but finally unfolding his arms and sighing, said,  “Aww okay Amarie…I’m sorry for trying to burn you…well…show you my pyrotechnics skills without warning you.  See, I was really just trying to show you how I can make a butterfly with little sparks…I thought you’d like that…my mom and sister do, but I also like to make big dragons and eagles out of fire.  Like Aries said, maybe I can show you all later, okay?”

   “Aww wow!  That sounds awesome!  Now I can’t wait until it gets dark!” Amarie cried.

   Pyro let out a laugh and shouted, “Oh yeah, it’s gonna be awesome!”

   Their excitement subsided as Kelsey and Amberly, largely unbothered by the episode, passed them by, talking away about the usual subjects of girl talk.  Pyro and Amarie now started to chat away themselves, while Mikomi and Aries, a job done and peace restored, went back to walking, catching up to the others, while Rouge followed them, with Shadow and Sonic bringing up the rear.

   Shadow laughed and said, “Mmm that looked familiar.  Reminds me of the many times Amy would give you, and even Knuckles a swing with her hammer if you caused trouble.  Heh, it’s nice to see that the kids can handle their own problems though…it was certainly never a problem for their parents, that’s for sure.”

   Sonic laughed softly at Shadow’s words.  Indeed, Aries and Pyro were so much like him and Blaze, and while they had their own unique personalities, they were a perfect mix of their parents.  Aries ears were shaped like her mothers, but smaller, her hair was purple, lined with streaks of blue.  She had three feathered locks of hair on her head, in a style similar to her mothers, pulled back with a golden chain, with a tear-drop shaped diamond hanging from the chain.  Her hair was styled with bangs and two locks of hair on each side, while the rest of her hair ran long to her tail, pulled back near the tip.  She had green eyes, a purple furred tail tipped in blue, wore white gloves, a brown shirt with blue jeans, carried her guardian staff, and wore red shoes with a white stripe, three spikes coming out of the front and sides, giving a devastating zing to her kicks.

   Pyro, his personality was both feisty and fiery, perhaps more wild than Sonic’s ever was, and yet he was still a stunning reflection of his father.  While Aries took more of her mother’s features, Pyro took more of his father's.  He had hedgehog ears and blue fur, but had a cat tail, and a multi-feathered wave of hair between his ears, his tail tipped in purple, and his hair lined in the same shade.  He also had two locks of hair on either side of his face, and feathery, blue fur extending from his cheeks, affectionately called whiskers by his mother.  He had his mother’s piercing yellow eyes, his white gloves had a ring of black spikes going around his wrist; he wore an orange shirt with the words, “Burn baby burn!” written on it, which was perhaps his favorite, and most overused phrase.  His shorts were black with red trim, with chains hanging on both sides by the belt loops.  Continuing the trend of his outfit reflecting his personality, his shoes were orange with zigzags of yellow on them.

   It was true; though the new generation of heroes were slightly different in both appearance and personality, it was only because in each of them, they had a mixture of the best and signature parts of their parents’ personalities; Mikomi had his mother’s gentleness and his father’s stubbornness; Amarie had her father’s determination and her mother’s firm resolve to never give up.  Kelsey had her father’s wisdom and courage, and her mother’s meekness and optimism; Amberly had her mother’s love and zest for life and adventure, and her father’s strength and sometimes brooding nature.  Aries, she was often shy and unsure like her mother, but once the outgoing and fun-loving nature of her father shined through, like Blaze, she was warm and caring for those she loved.  Even Pyro, once you got through his wild and fiery personality, as seen with his new friendship with Amarie, he could be both kind and caring, standing by his friends and protecting them until the end, no matter what, always willing to fight for what’s right, just like his father.

   They were going to need all the strength they could get.  Later that night, the group camped out on a hill, stars shining brightly overhead.  Pyro got his wish, and he and Aries put on a pyrotechnics show, using their fire powers to make shapes out of different strengths of flame, from blue flame florets, to a giant dragon made of orange and white fire, flying above them, taking both Aries and Pyro to get flying.

   While the kids entertained themselves, Shadow, Sonic and Rouge talked amongst each other, talking over their final battle plan.  Tomorrow, they would storm the team base at Thundercrash Bay.

   “It’s amazing what they can do with their powers Sonic…you and Blaze have taught them well,” Rouge commented, watching the show with wonder.

   Sonic grinned, and laughed saying, “Heh, it was their mother who did most of that.  I was responsible for training them for combat, and having to chase after them once they discovered their super speed.”  He frowned a bit and said, “Until now, they’ve never had to worry about using their powers to fight.  Aries, she can use both the Chaos and Sol Emeralds…and, one day she wants to use them together.  That should be…interesting to say the least.  That’s why she carries her guardian staff…it’s not just for fighting, it’s a sign of her power and rank.”

   Shadow smiled weakly, nodding his head and said, “I do hope we don’t need both the Sol and Chaos Emeralds…it would take too long to summon Blaze to bring them, even if she could.”  He sighed, and said, “No, Sonic, I do think this will take you and I to stop…a united effort of our super forms if anything else.  I have no idea how Sir Burns intends to use Knuckles and Hidama against us.  I only pray it’s nothing like Feldmort cooked up, for trying to take out both brothers then would be impossible.”

   The three were silent for a minute, but soon Rouge spoke up.  “Hey, what about them, …and better yet me?  Once we take out all the flunkies that stand in our way, can we really do nothing better but stand back and watch Shadow?” she asked.

   The hedgehog sighed, but laughed softly.  He said, “I’m not sure just yet Rouge; we’ll all have to fight off the flunkies, but depending on exactly what we’ll have to face come the showdown with Sir Burns, there may or may not be anything they can do to help.  I mean, only the chaos emeralds can counter the power of the Master Emerald, so only Sonic and I could stand any sort of chance against Knuckles and Hidama should they somehow be pitted against us.  If he throws anything else at us, I’m not sure what we’ll do just yet. We’ll certainly need help for sure…but, until we get there, the best any of us can do is just get ready to face the worst, and once again, save the world.”

   “Oh…,” Rouge murmured.  None of them were sure of what to say.  Their eyes fell back to the kids as Pyro and Aries prepared the finale of their show.  Rouge lowered her eyes, resting her hand on Shadow’s and scooting up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

   He glanced at her, nuzzling her head gently, and kissing her head softly, before looking back down at them, the fires dieing down, and the kids cheering and laughing after such a spectacular show.  As they settled down, setting a small campfire that they would camp around that night, Shadow sighed, whispering, “The poor kids…it was always my hope that come their generation they wouldn’t have to worry with danger like this.  Seems if anything the danger’s only gotten worse.  I mean, these people dumped Eggman…and now they have to face this peril, a threat that not even Hidama and Knuckles could conquer.”

   Sonic let out a peaceful sigh, shook his head and said, “Well, if they’re anything like their parents Shadow, they stand a better chance than any to see this through to a peaceful end.  They do have the best of us all going for them, and one of the best leaders around to guide them you know.”

   The two looked at each other and laughed, both letting out a yawn as they quieted down.  Shadow replied, “Heh, I agree with you there.”  They both laughed softly, and then Shadow whispered, “It looks like they’re all settling down to sleep…I say we do the same.  Come tomorrow, they have the battle of their lives ahead of them after all.”

   Sonic nodded in response, yawning again, before lying down on the grass, the chaos emeralds gathered between him, and where Shadow chose to lie down, placing himself between the emeralds and Rouge.  He was slow to drift off, and yet, was not the last soul to succumb to sleep that night.

   Only yards away from him, as the fire died low, Mikomi lay on the grassy ground, staring up at the stars, pondering over what Shadow had told him a few days before…how he should be more forgiving towards those who hurt him, and not so quick to judge those who haven’t.  He now remembered stories Hidama told him, of the mutants…about why they attack their own kindred, and how Hidama was able to forgive them, even after so much bad had happened.

   “Uncle Hidama,” he murmured, “How could you forgive them after they killed your parents, your entire tribe, nearly killed both you and your brother, and threatened to do it again out of hate alone?  How could you just let it go?  I just don’t understand…sure the mutants were hurt and out for revenge, but it gave them no excuse to kill every echidna alive…all your kindred did was punish them for trying to kill the guardian…and yet you forgave them for killing your entire race?  How could you just let it go?”

   Mikomi groaned, unable to sleep as these questions raced through his mind.  He rolled over on his side, trying not to wake the others.  Amberly and Kelsey slept soundly, already becoming close friends, their fight over Mikomi over and done with.  On his other side, Amarie and Pyro had fallen asleep side by side, picking out constellations above them, while Aries slept soundly near her brother, but beside Amberly, as she was also becoming fast friends with her and Kelsey.

   It seemed he was the only one not at peace.  He struggled to his feet, tired but restless, and ran a few yards ahead of him, tears of frustration forming in his eyes as he ran.  He was so confused.  Why in the world should he forgive these people who had torn his life apart?  They deserved to hurt just as badly as he did right?

   Suddenly, Mikomi tripped, landing hard on his chest, only yards away from the campsite.  His chest pained him, and as he coughed to get his breath back and dry his eyes, he rolled over on his back, looking at the stars above him, stars he used to look at every night with both Hidama and Knuckles, and often times, his entire family.

   Things were slowly starting to clear up for Mikomi.  As he stared sadly at the stars, he began to realize, in Hidama’s case, both he and the mutants had suffered.  The mutants were once beautiful, noble echidnas just like his ancestors, but because of how cruelly they were treated, had formed into these loathsome creatures hell bent on revenge, which they almost got in full, and yet when Hidama extended love and forgiveness to the last survivor, all the hatred and wounds were healed…it wasn’t just that Hidama was able to forgive them because he had won the fight, it was this forgiveness that healed not only his heart, but the hearts of those who had persecuted them.  There was no more need for anger, grudges, and pain, nor did Knuckles or Hidama have any reason to dwell on the miseries of their past.  It was this forgiveness, both offered and returned that allowed them to move on and live such happy lives.

   It was beginning to become apparent to Mikomi that even though the Maniacals had hurt him so terribly and deserved the punishment they were about to get that he still needed to forgive them for their sins, because it was the same thing that drove the mutants to their madness, which also drove these humans to what they did.  Both groups attacked Angel Island and destroyed so many lives, all for the Master Emerald.

   And yet Mikomi held no anger towards the Master Emerald either.  It was just a basic tendency to crave and obsess over it, and that’s why it was enough to turn Olermere and Feldmort against their own brethren, and enough to turn humans just like Mr. Marks, into the wild and hurtful men and women that made up Team Maniacal.

   “That’s it…isn’t it?” Mikomi murmured, “It’s the Master Emerald, not all humans, to which I should direct my disgust isn’t it?”  He sat up, sighing and said, “I don’t know how many of my ancestors are listening…but…it’s not our fault that all this happened.  When the Master Emerald was created, it was intended to protect and save all life, not just the echidnas, from evil and danger.  Yet…we underestimated how much everyone would be affected by their hunger for its power…how some people would want to use it for their benefit rather than the benefit of all life, and now we’re paying for it.”

   Standing up, he was finally able to smile as he prayed to his ancestors.  He walked over to the campsite slowly as he continued, “Heh…I think it’s about time we started to protect and save mankind, rather than protect and save the Master Emerald.  I mean, crime and sins go on everyday…and the Master Emerald can never undo evil completely.  What good is it other than attracting unfriendly eyes and danger?  Already, it’s shattered so many lives, and now, it’s threatening to destroy the very world it’s meant to protect.  The chaos emeralds are easier to control…but the Master Emerald…I think now, with only my father and uncle to guard it, it’s more dangerous than it is any sort of benefit.  Perhaps it would be better if it departed from the world, leaving with the race that created it.  Like the echidnas, it should become nothing more than another story in the history of the world.  Who knows?  Maybe things will be better once it’s gone.  Maybe humans and all creatures can be friends and allies, all of us fighting evil together, rather than fighting it on our own…or with each other.  Uncle Hidama knew that…and now, I do too…and only wish I did sooner.”

   He fell silent, stopping once he got to the spot where he chose to sleep.  He laid down slowly, finally comfortable and able to rest.  He yawned deeply, giving one more look to the sky and said, “Thank you…everyone who was listening…it helped to have you with me in my plight.”   He rested his head, closing his eyes and whispered, “Now, with your souls to guide and protect me and everyone here, we’re going to save my parents, uncle and aunt…as well as the world, because…that’s what the guardians are supposed to do, not the Master Emerald; the guardians only use it to protect the world…it doesn’t do it itself, so, with or without it, we have to save the world from any danger, no matter what…even if no one ever knows the great lengths we have suffered to keep their lives safe and at peace, sacrificing our own in the process.”

   Now, he was able to fall asleep, and sleep peacefully, unlike the previous days where his dreams were plagued with nightmares.  Whether it was Shadow’s guidance, Hidama’s lessons, or just his own maturing wisdom shining through, Mikomi was finally beginning to realize several things.  One, that he wasn’t the only victim in this case; his family, his friends, everyone on the planet, they were all victims of the malice and selfishness of this one man, and if he should hate anyone, it should be Sir Burns and the Maniacals alone, not every human in the world.  They didn’t deserve his hatred, and if anything, he felt now more than ever that it was his duty to protect them, saving not just his family, but the lives of everyone in the world from destruction, even if they would never know how much he and his loved ones had suffered for their sake.

   Yet, the battle would still be intense.  Despite his guardian heart, Mikomi was not the guardian his father and uncle were, and it would take the power of both Shadow’s and Sonic’s super forms to thwart the power of the Master Emerald.  However, Mikomi was going to play an even bigger role than he realized, a role that would test this newfound optimism, and acceptance of mankind, testing him and how far he was willing to go to save the future of the world, a world that may or may not love him in return.

Description
"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 8: Learning to Forgive, and Rising to Protect

   As the past few days passed, Sir Burns had made quick work of torturing the echidna brothers, in every way imaginable, far worse than Feldmort’s persecution of Hidama, as his was slower, taking place over a twelve year stretch in order to break Hidama’s will.  Sir Burns had far less time, and yet his method of breakdown was both methodical and effective.

   Wearing a white jumpsuit and black boots, he strolled casually down a silent hallway; he had now separated Hidama and Knuckles, locking them in the same fashion, if not with even more agonizing restraints, in smaller, mind-breaking rooms, dimly lit, the little light in the room flickering on and off occasionally, leaving them in the dark for minutes at a time.

   Sighing, he muttered, “This is becoming nothing more than a bore for me.  These two are easier to break than I suspected; beat them and curse them enough and they’ll fall weak quicker than a tree scorched by white flames.”  He ran his fingers through his hair, pausing and taking a black rubber band to pull back his chestnut red hair, which ran to his lower-back.  He shook his head slowly, sighing again, and chuckling softly.  He pulled two black gloves over his hands, tugging on them so they fit snuggly, and glanced between two seamless doors on either side of the hallway.

   “Feh; I really wanted to beat on the younger brother some more…considering he is perhaps the weakest of the two, and really the only fun one to torture since his brother is used to this kind of thing…but…ugh, I guess I better work on Hidama some more,” Sir Burns said.  Repositioning his black cape, lined with off-white satin, so it fit better on his soldiers, he reached to open the key-coded locked door to Hidama’s chamber.

   As he punched the keyword in the number panel, Sir Burns laughed softly, shaking his head.  He whispered, “I might have exaggerated it a little; it is Knuckles who is the easiest to break by far…but Hidama…I have his tortured past working against me.  Being the eldest of the brothers he possesses by far much more control over the Master Emerald than Knuckles, so it is he, who I must force to submit first…”

   The keyword was accepted, and as the unlocked light flashed on, Sir Burns opened the door, pausing for a moment, then murmuring, “Heh, once his brother has fallen, Knuckles shall crumble helpless before me…of course, I could always turn it the other way I’m sure…foolish Hinsei Hidama…as much as he loves his wife and daughter, so much more will he fall apart at Knuckles’ suffering, seeing as he already blames himself for both his and his brother’s pain; it shouldn’t take much more to break him apart once more.”

   Then, as he took a step into the room, a wide, twisted smile graced his face, as he was hit with a sudden inspiration on how to break them both at once.  He flipped open the top of his wrist-watch style communicator, and speaking to one of his cohorts he whispered, “Nelson, you and Richards get to the control booth over Knuckles’ holding chamber.  Get the video cameras online and send the data feed over to Hidama’s chamber.  I want him to, well, have a front row seat to…how you say…a complimentary lightning and pyrotechnics show with his brother, as well…the unwitting volunteer, if you catch my drift.”

   Meanwhile, a bloodied, bruised and exhausted Hidama remained chained and fastened to the wall.  Hearing the door open and the whispers of Sir Burns nearby, he struggled to lift his head to look at him.  As simple as it may seem, simply having to hang, largely unsupported from the cold, steel walls, was exhausting for both Knuckles and Hidama to have to bear, and was doing a large part towards breaking their spirits, while physical and mental bullets, compliments of Sir Burns, did the rest.

   Though he had tortured both brothers equally, both before and after he separated him, he had done the most physical damage to Hidama.  He tortured them both a little differently; with Knuckles it was mostly mental and emotional anguish, while Hidama suffered the brunt of physical pain.  A frightful red stain surrounded the floor below Hidama’s feet, the remnants of where the blood he lost had formed a pool on the floor, only to slowly dry away, leaving only the stain to tell the horrible tale of the past days.

   He slowly opened his blackened eyes, his sapphire blue irises pale and worn with exhaustion and pain.  He slowly flexed his fingers, stiff and aching under his gloves as he inhaled deeply, groaning softly, and struggling to get a good breath as his chest was wracked with pain, and simply having to hang, his weight largely unsupported, making it hard to breathe to begin with.  Blinking slowly, he hacked painfully, flinching as his lungs began to burn; it was becoming undeniably clear, even for Hidama’s strong will that Sir Burns’ vindictive form of torture, was perhaps the most extreme he had ever known, even after spending nearly thirteen years in Feldmort’s prisons.  Feldmort’s form of torture, was nothing but a teenager’s practical joke compared to this.

   Sir Burns paused, looking up from his wrist communicator at hearing Hidama’s painful gasps for breath.  He could barely crack a devious grin despite how much pain the guardian prince was clearly in.  Truly it seemed that this was hardly fun for him anymore; torturing the brothers had become nothing more than a loathsome chore, and the sooner he could break them, the better.

   “Be quick about it!” he whispered into the communicator.  He then turned the communicator off, looking back to Hidama and rolling his eyes in annoyance.  “And I thought this would be fun…damn these two; I need their powers in order to use the Master Emerald, and until I push them over the breaking point, there’s no way the holding chambers can sap their power from them.  I can’t get the power I need unless they are willing to submit,” he muttered softly.  He glared at Hidama with hatred not even King Olermere could ever hope to approach.  Sir Burns, he wasn’t out for revenge, nor did he have any reason to hate the echidna brothers otherwise.  He was out for blood, and his hatred for them, was pure, deep, and intensifying.  He would break them both, no matter what it took.

   He glared coldly at Hinsei Hidama, walking up slowly to him, the evil in his heart burning ever stronger.  Hidama’s eyes followed Sir Burns’ every step; even though he was in pain, he was far from ready to submit to him yet.  It would take a lot more than that to break Hidama, and Sir Burns, it appeared, had finally figured this out.

   Standing still a few paces in front of Hidama, there was an awkward and intense silence between the two as they stared each other down.  Finally, the silence was broken as Sir Burns let out a somewhat quiet, devious cackle.  The echidna’s eyes widened as much as they could as he pondered his persecutor’s actions.  Hacking a bit to clear his throat, he asked, “What is so funny…Sir Burns?  I have not seen any sort of genuine pleasure such as this come from you in my entire stay here.  What—,” he paused, coughing hard as his breath ran short and his chest began to ache with dull pain.  As he caught his breath, he continued, “What has got you so happy?”  His breathing was labored as he spoke; he winced as pain rolled through his body, from his chest, all the way to the tips of his fingers and his heels.

   Sir Burns slowly stopped laughing, waiting to speak as he watch Hidama suffer, even as he tried to talk.  As the echidna closed his eyes, turning his head to cough again, a trickle of blood poured from a wound on his forehead.  The wound had stopped bleeding, and yet the force of his gasps for breath had forced it into bleeding once more.  The stream of blood ran down between his eyes, down his muzzle, coming to a slow stop once it got to his nose.  His coughing slowed, but before the echidna could try for an easy breath, his aching throat and need for breath caused him to cough hard once more, and with this sudden shutter, the blood finally fell clear from Hidama’s nose, flying and landing in five or so drops on Sir Burns’ clean, white jumpsuit.

   Then, silence; no longer did Sir Burns laugh, or even grin.  He merely glared at Hidama, as he slowly opened his eyes, able to breathe a bit smoother again.  Once they made eye contact, Sir Burns slowly lowered his eyes to the stain Hidama’s blood made on his jumpsuit.  The echidna looked at this too, and though the stains were small, they still stood out against the white threads of his outfit.  As trivial as it looked, this was taken as an insult by Sir Burns.  His uniform, his sign of authority, was now stained; it was corrupt, and no longer perfect, exemplifying his perfect rule over Team Maniacal.  It disrupted his superiority; it was as bad as dishonoring the Master Emerald’s guardian by using his ornamental weaponry, and in the same way, was deserving of vile punishment.

   Yet, instead of lashing out in fury, Sir Burns closed his eyes, shaking his head, trying to brush off his anger in favor of another, more extreme form of punishment.  He cackled softly, slowly raising his head to look at Hidama, who continued to gaze at him intensely and confused.

   “Oh Hidama…fool-hardy, misguided, and dim-witted Hidama; I’m merely…laughing out of expression of pleasure.  I mean, I have plenty of reasons to be jubilant; I have captured the Master Emerald, both its guardians, and their wives, and could just as easily capture their children so they can all go down together once I launch my rule over this world.  Even you could not deny I have many reasons to be happy now could you?” he asked.

   The guardian growled softly; despite the pain he was in, his anger was no softer in intensity.  He growled, “Go on…it’ll take more than weak intimidation to bring me down.  Seems you’re running out of options Sir Burns.  Mmm, Feldmort was much more terrifying, and even now I have come to forgive him for it.  Your attempts are not only futile, they’re laughable.  Were my lungs not ailing me so, I’d do some laughing of my own about now.  When are you going to wise up?  You’ll have to kill me before I’ll submit to you.”

   Both of them fell silent, returning to a vicious stare down, the eyes of both blazing with a fire of rage towards the other.  Sir Burns, however, finally finding pleasure in the situation it seems, abruptly broke the silence with another vicious laugh, startling Hidama a bit.  Sir Burns turned away from him, walking towards the opposing wall, coming to a stop a few steps from touching it.

   He slowly relaxed his laugh and continued, “Oh Hinsei…let’s forget for a minute that you are helplessly chained to a wall, barely able to breathe without pain and a labored sputter, staining my perfect uniform with your lowly blood.  Were you and Knuckles both able to fight my team, let us not forget how things on Angel Island went down.  There’s no hope for escape, I can assure you…so now I guess you only have two options.  You can submit to me, or die, only after I destroy everything you love and care about first.  I can use the Master Emerald with or without you…because…,”

   He paused, turning around to look at Hidama as he pressed a button on his wristwatch communicator, grinning wryly.  “I’ll always have your brother…,” he whispered, cackling softly.  Hidama’s eyes widened in horror, for now he realized that Sir Burns had something that Feldmort did not when it came to torturing him.  Sir Burns had his baby brother Knuckles, and every medium imaginable to torture him as well…including lightning and fire.

   The wall Sir Burns stood before suddenly opened up, parting down the center to reveal a television screen behind the panels.  As it flickered on, Hidama tried to focus his tired and burning eyes, only to widen them in horror once he saw what was on the screen.  The camera was focused on the room Knuckles was moved to; he was equally as bloodied and bruised, but was far more angry than Hidama was.  While Hidama remained calm and relatively passive through his anger, Knuckles was having a much harder time restraining his rage, if he was even trying to in the first place.

   Poor Knuckles, by this point he was provoked to an intense rage.  Despite his injuries and fatigue, he fought against the chains and latches that retrained him, but…something was different. Hidama squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the metal bands around his brother’s wrists and ankles.  These bands were different; Hidama looked and only saw metal clamps holding him to the wall.  The bands around his brother’s wrists were different.  They were black, and on closer inspection, Hidama could make out long, thin cords coming from each of the black bands; the cords ran down and disappeared into the wall, to where, Hidama didn’t know, but something was making Knuckles fight so violently against them.

   Sir Burns looked down to his communicator and whispered, “You have my permission to proceed as I told you earlier.  Just…zap away as you please until…I give the order to stop.”

   Hidama’s eyes widened in horror when he realized what was about to happen.  No longer would he remain calm, even if he could.  The anger and rage in his heart burst free, and he growled low as he glared at Sir Burns.  The Maniacal leader looked to Hidama, a crooked smile gracing his face.  He laughed softly and said, “Finally, you understand do you Hinsei Hidama?  I told you I was more than capable of getting what I want…am I right?”  He shut the communicator and walked back up to Hidama and said, “Mmm, poor fellow; did I mention there’s a clamp around his neck as well?  Mwahaha, too late to change things now eh Hidama? Ah hah!”

   The echidna let out a violent scream, and like Knuckles, despite his wounds and weariness, began to fight against the chains in a mad attempt to bring Sir Burns down.  As Hidama fought, Sir Burns looked back to the screen, shaking his finger at Hidama and said, “No, no, no Hidama…I wouldn’t fight if I were you…unless you want me to turn the voltage up even higher…”

   Suddenly, Hidama’s screams were drowned out by the bloodcurdling cries of his brother.  He looked up in horror only to see that on the screen before him, Knuckles had just had a wave of high voltage electricity surge through him, singeing his fur all around the clamps and causing some of his bones to fracture.  It was almost as if he had suffered a direct hit by a bolt of lightening, almost enough to kill him.  Even after that, it seemed that Sir Burns still wasn’t satisfied.

   Opening up his communicator he shouted, “Nelson!  Is that the best you and Richards can do?   Get the pyrotechnics going!  I want to make sure Knuckles is fried, well…before I throw Delilah in there next…”  His voice fell off as he looked back to Hidama, closing the communicator slowly, and chuckling softly and menacingly, knowing now that Hidama was nearing his breaking point, and only needed a little bit more to push him over.

   Hidama froze.  A lone tear fell from his eyes as he stared at Sir Burns in disbelief.  Here he was, the eldest son of the guardian, with so much power to his disposal, so much to protect, and he couldn’t even save Angel Island from its destruction.  His daughter was lost and in danger; his nephew and niece suffered the same fate.  His wife and sister-in-law were nothing but tools in Sir Burns’ sick plans, and now, he couldn’t even save his brother, or himself from this suffering.

   What kind of guardian was he?  Now the world was in danger from the one thing he was meant to guard and protect it from.  Now at last, he began to despair; with so much misery and anguish surrounding and enveloping his heart, he began to lose the will to fight.  What was the point anyway?  He had failed so far…what good would fighting do but cause more unnecessary pain?  The end was in sight anyway…the least he could do was protect his brother and loved ones for a little bit longer.  If he managed to fail fighting off the opposition now, what good would it be to continue?  He was a failure…

   Sir Burns stared at Hidama with a glint in his eyes; he knew now Hidama was melting inside.  He opened the communicator once more, glancing at the screen over his shoulder, where Knuckles continued to scream, in both pain and anger.  He whispered, “Shut him up…hard.”

   But Hidama heard this; he looked up at Sir Burns and began to plead, “No!  Stop!  Don’t hurt him anymore!  He doesn’t deserve this!  Stop!  I—I beg of you…”  He slowly hung his head in shame at what he was reduced to…pleading with his persecutor for his brother to be spared.  Yet, Sir Burns wouldn’t listen to his cries; instead, he allowed Knuckles to be shocked one final, brutal time.  This time, the shock was so violent, it surged through Knuckles with the intensity of a lightning strike, causing him to stiffen up, screaming in terror until finally he submitted to unconsciousness, falling limp, and silent as he hung from the wall, his fur smoking, and blood streaming from several wounds on his body, dripping to the floor like the morning dew off the leaves of a tree.

   “Knuckles!  Knuckles, no!” Hidama cried.  The guardian prince was finally brought to tears, his will and strength succumb to overflowing sadness and depression from the depths of his heart.  As he wept, his tears and blood falling to the floor, he whimpered, “I’ve failed you…I’ve failed everyone…this is all my fault.  The world is in danger because of me.  I’m the guardian, and I could do nothing to stop this.  I’ve failed us all…I’m nothing but a shame to the guardians who came before me.  Forgive me, my ancestors…father and mother.  I’m nothing but a failure to you all.”

   Sir Burns cackled softly; he whispered into the communicator, “Prepare the holding chambers.  Our guests have finally decided to submit.  Go ahead and lock up Knuckles; I want a few more, parting minutes with the ‘proud guardian’ Hidama.”

   Closing the communicator, he walked up to Hidama and said, “What’s this Hidama?  I do believe you are crying now?  Whatever is the matter?  Hmm, could it be you finally realize exactly how great a failure you are?  You were pronounced, the ‘doomed guardian’ after all…perhaps you really were better off dead and forgotten do you think?”

   Though pain, both physical and emotional flowed through him, Hidama managed to look up at Sir Burns once more, his eyes filled with tears, tears that stung the cuts on his face as they hit them, and blood flowing down his cheeks.  Though tired and defeated, he still held on to his honor, and murmured, “I—I feel shame, only for having succumb to an idiot like you.  You’re nothing but a coward and a fool Burns…for without your technology and followers to help you, Angel Island, and the guardians would never have fallen to your wishes…therefore, I still retain my honor.  Though I have lost, it is not because I didn’t try to the best of my ability…your dreams will eventually come to naught, and that knowledge alone comforts me though I fall.”

   At first, Sir Burns didn’t speak, more angered by Hidama’s persistence to try and remain positive even in the face in defeat; it ruined his fun, but he had one more surprise in store.  However, before he could speak, the seamless door flew open, and a Maniacal member ran in.

   “Sir Burns!  I have an important message for you!” he cried.

   Frustrated, Sir Burns whipped around and shouted, “Auggh!  Can’t this wait until after I get finished with Hidama?  Ugh, you all have the most intolerable timing!”

   Folding his arms across his chest in disgust, Sir Burns turned back to Hidama, but the messenger wasn’t ready to leave just yet.  He stepped around and up to Sir Burns and said, “But sir!  This is important!  Something’s happened to the base in Emerald Hills!  All of it’s members have fled, and, umm, there are reports that it was attacked by a black hedgehog, a white bat, and a bunch of kids.”

   At hearing this, Hidama went pale, for he knew that this could only mean Shadow had indeed heard his cries for help, and he and Rouge had met up with Kelsey, Mikomi and Amarie in order to form a resistance.  Hidama hoped he could send a message to them before he was taken, but at the same time, Sir Burns could recognize the renewed hope in Hidama’s eyes, and knew it was about time Hidama was silenced…for the time being.

   “Argh!  We’ll handle this later!  Now get out!” Sir Burns shouted.  The messenger bowed, though he looked shaken, and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.  Sir Burns, angry and ready to set things in motion, walked up to Hidama and shouted, “Don’t get optimistic on me Hidama!  It’s time I silenced both you and your brother!”

   Before Hidama could react, Sir Burns flipped open his communicator one last time, hitting a switch on it, which made five mechanical arms come out of the wall.  They clamped black bands around Hidama’s wrists, ankles, and neck, and electrocuted him with the same voltage as Knuckles was given, causing him to let out a frightful, scream of pain, before knocking him out cold.  His strength and spirit broken, both he and Knuckles were worn down to their limits, and now would offer little resistance when placed in these chambers….chambers that were outfitted with the technology of Team Maniacal, and would sap the brothers of their power over the Master Emerald, powering it up, and allowing the team to use it however they wished.  Finally, after all the work, it was time to set their plan in motion.

   Sir Burns laughed softly; he waved for two members to come in and carry Hidama off to the second chamber.  He said, “Be gentle with him now…just because I had to beat the life out of him doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat him special right?  Without him, we wouldn’t be able to achieve world domination right?  Mwahaha!  Carry him off!  Now!”

   Released from the chains and clamps, Hidama was lifted carefully off the wall, and the two team members carried him off in the same direction as his brother, to be placed in the other chamber, high above the Master Emerald.  Sir Burns stepped outside, where the messenger was still waiting, much to his annoyance.

   “Ugh, why must you bother me so?  Who cares about some random hedgehog and bat, and a bunch of bratty children no less?” Sir Burns groaned.  He walked down the hall towards where Delilah and Amy were being held, still bound in their cages, trying to sleep off the pain.

   Amy started to stir as Sir Burns and the messenger approached.  She nuzzled Delilah’s arm as best she could and whispered, “Delilah, shh, listen!  It’s Sir Burns!”

   The light blue hedgehog slowly stirred from her restless dreams, her cheeks stained with tears as she wept for Hidama and Kelsey.  Yet when she and Amy heard the two men approach, they fell silent, unaware of how chilling the conversation would be, and the depth of horror it would reveal.

   “I’m sorry sir, but…whoever they are, they attacked for no apparent reason.  They didn’t steal anything, but did kill around five or so of our men down there, including the leader of the base before taking off.  This is all we could find out before the remainder of the men fled,” the messenger explained.

   The two men stopped outside of the room Amy and Delilah were in, unaware that they were awake and listening to their every word.  “So…those cretins killed that ingrate Mr. Rose eh?  Feh…serves him right.  He was only out to hurt his daughter and son-in-law; he never had the potential to be a great leader…I don’t pity him.”

   Amy gasped in shock, trying to keep her voice down, and thankfully went unnoticed by Burns and the messenger.  She looked to Delilah and said, “That…that was my father.  Why, why would he join up with these fiends?  Did he really want to hurt Knuckles and I that badly?  Oh Delilah…I know we had grown apart…but I wish I could have met up with him again so we could sort things out.  Oh, I wonder what happened to my mother…oh why…”

   Delilah did her best to comfort Amy as she began to weep silently, and yet they both had to keep quiet, as they continued to listen to what was being said.

   “Aye, but sir, that’s not all.  Apparently this black hedgehog not only knew who Mr. Rose was, but had every intention of coming to rescue Knuckles and Hidama, and the girls of course, and was simply unfortunate to have mistaken that base for this one.  Supposedly this black hedgehog, white bat, and group of four children are on their way here right now to rescue them,” the messenger continued.

   “Amy!” Delilah cried softly, “Doesn’t that sound like Shadow and Rouge to you?  Do you think that…maybe they found the children and are coming to save us?”

   Sir Burns paused, bringing a hand to his chin, almost as if he realized the exact same thing. “Johnson…didn’t a black hedgehog also free Hidama from that mutant Feldmort’s prisons?  No…could it be…Shadow the Hedgehog has risen from the dust to save the echidna brothers once more?”  He paused, thinking it over and soon cackled wildly.  He shouted, “Will the fun never stop?  Fools!  That Hidama must have sent a message to him before we left…and that bat must be Shadow’s wife or something…wait…four children you say?  Oh my…”

   Amy and Delilah gasped as Sir Burns paused to think once more; he murmured, “One child must be his own…the other three, surely Hidama prayed for someone to come protect his daughter, niece and nephew.  That stupid echidna would never ask for help for himself before his children…but knowing how close Shadow is to those brothers he’d never let this go unjustified.  So…they’re on their way here are they?  That makes the game more interesting…better than I could have planned it even!”

   He laughed again and cried, “This is perfect Johnson!  Let them come unopposed!  They can be the first to witness our rise to absolute power!  They can watch me sap their fathers dry of their powers…and they can be the first to die under it as well!”  He paused, smiling wryly and murmured, “Yes…them and their dammed mothers.  Bastard children like them don’t deserve to live anyway.  As for Shadow…mmm, he and that bat girl might be useful to me during the take over, but, feh, kill the hybrid children and their mothers…I promised Hidama I’d take out everything that was important to him after all.  It’s his fault anyway, we might as well satisfy his depression and sense of failure right?  Fwahaha!”

   Amy and Delilah couldn’t stand it anymore.  Both of them cried out, “No!” tears streaming down their faces, and anger and fear plaguing their hearts.

   Upon hearing this, Sir Burns became aware of their presence, listening in on his plans. He whipped around fast, glaring at them under the dim light.  He walked up to within inches of the cages, kneeling down to their eye-level, and snickered at them.  He whispered, “Aye…did you hear that ladies?  You shall see your children again…and, mmm, even your husbands once more before…I annihilate you all!”

   Laughing wildly, Sir Burns sat crouched before them for a few brief seconds before rising.  While Amy immediately began to shout at him in disbelief and panic, Delilah paused, looking near the collar of Sir Burns’ jumpsuit.  She could see five or so drops of blood spattered about near his right shoulder.  Something inside her could recognize how and whence these blood droplets came to stain his perfect uniform, and she knew now that the real danger was soon to come.

   She stared at Sir Burns, much as she had that night on Angel Island, and eventually, they made eye contact with one another; the laughing and crying stopped, and Delilah murmured, “You unimaginable bastard…”  Raising her voice to a terrifying scream, she shouted, “Don’t you understand?  You’ll destroy us all!  You’ll destroy yourself!  You’ll destroy the world and everything in it!  If you use the Master Emerald this way, it’ll be the death of us all, including you!”

   Though a bit startled by this sudden burst of anger and confidence from Sir Burns, he was too proud and arrogant to heed warning from anyone, even his own men.  He stood up, laughing at her once more and said, “Ladies, do rest up…for when this so called ‘resistance’ arrives to confront me, I want you to have front row seats to the first casualties of my new world order.  Fufufu.”

   Delilah growled angrily, her fear turned to anger.  As Sir Burns walked away, Delilah, who before she met Hidama would have never had the courage to fight, rose to her knees, though cuffed and shackled, and pressed herself against the cage bars, and shouted, “It’ll be the death of us all Burns!  You just don’t get it do you!?  Stop!!”

   As he and the messenger walked off, laughing joyfully at the expense of the girls, Delilah panted heavily to get her breath back.  She slowly slid back down, looking at Amy helplessly, as Amy had retreated to silence, and tears.  Delilah scooted over to Amy, trying to comfort her, and said, “Oh Amy…the children will be okay…to—to tell you the truth, I’m worried more for Hidama and Knuckles.  I know that was Hidama’s blood on his uniform…his and Knuckles’ blood was always a little bit darker than everyone else’s for whatever reason.”

   Delilah sighed, her voice reduced to a whimper, “These fiends…whatever they’re planning to do with the Master Emerald, they’re almost ready to do it.  Now they’re just waiting for the kids to get here…don’t they understand?  Only the guardian can properly control its power.  It isn’t just the power of the guardian that you need…you need to know the commands and learn how to control it properly.  No computer could ever replace the studies and years of training each new guardian must undertake.  Sir Burns just doesn’t understand it.  The minute Hidama and Knuckles are sapped and the Master Emerald powered up again, without their knowledge and experience to control it…with a stupid computer and Sir Burns trying vainly to control it…it’ll destroy us all…not just us…but the entire world.”

   Neither of them could find the words to speak after this; in their hearts, they were torn apart.  They were fearful for their children, but at the same time had their husbands to worry for, and with the threat of Team Maniacal’s misuse of the Master Emerald putting the fate of the world at stake, all either of them could do for the moment, was weep.

   Yet with all the preparations going on at the base in Thundercrash Bay, Team Maniacal it seemed still underestimated the force that now approached them.  With Sonic came the reunion of all seven chaos emeralds, perhaps the only thing now that even stood a hopeful chance of counteracting the wild and uncontrolled power of the Master Emerald.  The group was now only one more night away from arriving at the base, confronting Team Maniacal, and doing whatever they could to save their loved ones, and the world.

   Shadow, Sonic, and Rouge now walked together.  While Rouge would take one chaos emerald at a time from Shadow and Sonic, holding it up to the sunlight and gazing at it adoringly, the two of them did more than just discuss a battle plan; they also caught up on old times.

   “I swear…once Tails and I perfected inter-dimensional travel, there was just no more holding me back.  The times Blaze and I had seen each other in between only furthered to cement the bond we had formed…so…I pretty much just stayed in her dimension.  You remember the wedding we had, and of course it wasn’t long before Aries was born.  Course…Blaze wouldn’t do without a reflection of myself to call her own, so when Pyro came along…I guess you could say I had granted every wish she had.  It’s been nothing but a fairy tale for us…of course, I guess I could have come back once in awhile to check up on things…how have Knuckles and Hidama been up until now do you know?” Sonic asked.

   Shadow laughed softly, murmuring, “A little reflection of you…that’s exactly what she got, and perhaps more I think.”  Sonic gave him a look, but ended up letting out a chuckle.  Shadow then said, “I’m sorry Sonic, I couldn’t resist…Pyro’s certainly a feisty one, and I doubt no less defiant than you used to be am I right?”

   Sonic could only nod sheepishly, sighing a bit in response.  Shadow let out another laugh, but then had to sigh as well.  He shook his head, glancing at Rouge and Amberly and explained, “Unfortunately Sonic, I’ve been just as disjointed from their lives as you have.  Once Rouge and I were on our way, we pretty much didn’t look back.  When Amberly was born, and her wing, well…crippled, we decided to dedicate the whole of our love to her, and not have another child.  I guess in wanting to protect them, I did the best I could to remain in isolation, so I know no more about their doings than you do.  I also doubt anyone in Starshine Town know anything, nor do Tails, Cream, and their son.  I haven’t heard from anyone in years, not even my friends in Radical City.  As for those in Starshine Town, I wonder if they’re even still together.  When I last saw Elianaron he said Auron and Lairen had moved away, as had Lucie and Isaac, so I do believe only he, his son Jeremy, and Aranelion’s family are left.  We all became isolated and lost to each other.  We should learn from this, and come together at least once a year, so we do not fall apart again.”

   The two hedgehogs were interrupted by cries; Amarie suddenly ran between and ahead of them, with Pyro chasing after her, fire blazing from his finger tips like a pistol.  He shouted after her, “Oh you big baby!  It won’t hurt you!  I swear!  Come back here!”

   Both Shadow and Sonic paused, watching the scene helplessly; Sonic, his face flushing slightly red with embarrassment, hung his head, groaned and shouted, “Pyro Hedgehog!  You stop that right now!  What have I told you about using your powers?”

   Pyro slowed only long enough to look back at his father and pout.  “But Dad!  I’m just trying to show her my flame throwers!  She’s such a wimp!”

   At hearing this, Amarie stopped.  She turned around, her face red with anger and shouted, “I’m no baby!  And I’m certainly no wimp!  I’ll make you eat those words fire boy!”  She then pulled out her little hammer and took aim for Pyro, who was now switched from hunter to hunted.

   His eyes widened in fear, the flames subsided, and he let out a cry, “Whoa!  Daddy help me!  Make her stop!”

   Sonic rolled his eyes, slapping his forehead with his hands and letting out a groan.  “I can’t stand it…I can’t even control my own son, let alone Knuckles’ daughter.”

   Before Amarie could swing however, Mikomi and Aries dashed ahead of Shadow and Sonic, coming between their feuding siblings.  Aries put up a fire shield to keep Pyro from striking back, while Mikomi took hold of Amarie’s hammer, holding back the full force the swing before it could come down on Pyro.

   Mikomi kept a firm grip on his sister’s hammer and said, “Come on Amarie; hitting him back won’t solve anything…it’ll only make the fight worse.”

   “Yeah, Pyro, you should be trying to make friends with her and the others…their parents are good friends of our parents, so you’re not only embarrassing Daddy and Mom when you do this, you’re also being both impolite and inconsiderate.  I want you to apologize and make friends with Amarie…we can show everyone your pyrotechnics show tonight when it’s dark okay?” Aries explained.

   Aries let the fire barrier die down, and Mikomi loosened his grip on Amarie’s hammer, just barely until finally she decided to lower it completely.  After a few moments of Pyro pouting and Amarie scowling, Amarie sighed and walked over to Pyro, and said, “I’m sorry I tried to whack you Pyro…let’s try to be friends okay?”

   The hedgecat glanced between his sister, Mikomi, and Amarie, groaning softly, but finally unfolding his arms and sighing, said,  “Aww okay Amarie…I’m sorry for trying to burn you…well…show you my pyrotechnics skills without warning you.  See, I was really just trying to show you how I can make a butterfly with little sparks…I thought you’d like that…my mom and sister do, but I also like to make big dragons and eagles out of fire.  Like Aries said, maybe I can show you all later, okay?”

   “Aww wow!  That sounds awesome!  Now I can’t wait until it gets dark!” Amarie cried.

   Pyro let out a laugh and shouted, “Oh yeah, it’s gonna be awesome!”

   Their excitement subsided as Kelsey and Amberly, largely unbothered by the episode, passed them by, talking away about the usual subjects of girl talk.  Pyro and Amarie now started to chat away themselves, while Mikomi and Aries, a job done and peace restored, went back to walking, catching up to the others, while Rouge followed them, with Shadow and Sonic bringing up the rear.

   Shadow laughed and said, “Mmm that looked familiar.  Reminds me of the many times Amy would give you, and even Knuckles a swing with her hammer if you caused trouble.  Heh, it’s nice to see that the kids can handle their own problems though…it was certainly never a problem for their parents, that’s for sure.”

   Sonic laughed softly at Shadow’s words.  Indeed, Aries and Pyro were so much like him and Blaze, and while they had their own unique personalities, they were a perfect mix of their parents.  Aries ears were shaped like her mothers, but smaller, her hair was purple, lined with streaks of blue.  She had three feathered locks of hair on her head, in a style similar to her mothers, pulled back with a golden chain, with a tear-drop shaped diamond hanging from the chain.  Her hair was styled with bangs and two locks of hair on each side, while the rest of her hair ran long to her tail, pulled back near the tip.  She had green eyes, a purple furred tail tipped in blue, wore white gloves, a brown shirt with blue jeans, carried her guardian staff, and wore red shoes with a white stripe, three spikes coming out of the front and sides, giving a devastating zing to her kicks.

   Pyro, his personality was both feisty and fiery, perhaps more wild than Sonic’s ever was, and yet he was still a stunning reflection of his father.  While Aries took more of her mother’s features, Pyro took more of his father's.  He had hedgehog ears and blue fur, but had a cat tail, and a multi-feathered wave of hair between his ears, his tail tipped in purple, and his hair lined in the same shade.  He also had two locks of hair on either side of his face, and feathery, blue fur extending from his cheeks, affectionately called whiskers by his mother.  He had his mother’s piercing yellow eyes, his white gloves had a ring of black spikes going around his wrist; he wore an orange shirt with the words, “Burn baby burn!” written on it, which was perhaps his favorite, and most overused phrase.  His shorts were black with red trim, with chains hanging on both sides by the belt loops.  Continuing the trend of his outfit reflecting his personality, his shoes were orange with zigzags of yellow on them.

   It was true; though the new generation of heroes were slightly different in both appearance and personality, it was only because in each of them, they had a mixture of the best and signature parts of their parents’ personalities; Mikomi had his mother’s gentleness and his father’s stubbornness; Amarie had her father’s determination and her mother’s firm resolve to never give up.  Kelsey had her father’s wisdom and courage, and her mother’s meekness and optimism; Amberly had her mother’s love and zest for life and adventure, and her father’s strength and sometimes brooding nature.  Aries, she was often shy and unsure like her mother, but once the outgoing and fun-loving nature of her father shined through, like Blaze, she was warm and caring for those she loved.  Even Pyro, once you got through his wild and fiery personality, as seen with his new friendship with Amarie, he could be both kind and caring, standing by his friends and protecting them until the end, no matter what, always willing to fight for what’s right, just like his father.

   They were going to need all the strength they could get.  Later that night, the group camped out on a hill, stars shining brightly overhead.  Pyro got his wish, and he and Aries put on a pyrotechnics show, using their fire powers to make shapes out of different strengths of flame, from blue flame florets, to a giant dragon made of orange and white fire, flying above them, taking both Aries and Pyro to get flying.

   While the kids entertained themselves, Shadow, Sonic and Rouge talked amongst each other, talking over their final battle plan.  Tomorrow, they would storm the team base at Thundercrash Bay.

   “It’s amazing what they can do with their powers Sonic…you and Blaze have taught them well,” Rouge commented, watching the show with wonder.

   Sonic grinned, and laughed saying, “Heh, it was their mother who did most of that.  I was responsible for training them for combat, and having to chase after them once they discovered their super speed.”  He frowned a bit and said, “Until now, they’ve never had to worry about using their powers to fight.  Aries, she can use both the Chaos and Sol Emeralds…and, one day she wants to use them together.  That should be…interesting to say the least.  That’s why she carries her guardian staff…it’s not just for fighting, it’s a sign of her power and rank.”

   Shadow smiled weakly, nodding his head and said, “I do hope we don’t need both the Sol and Chaos Emeralds…it would take too long to summon Blaze to bring them, even if she could.”  He sighed, and said, “No, Sonic, I do think this will take you and I to stop…a united effort of our super forms if anything else.  I have no idea how Sir Burns intends to use Knuckles and Hidama against us.  I only pray it’s nothing like Feldmort cooked up, for trying to take out both brothers then would be impossible.”

   The three were silent for a minute, but soon Rouge spoke up.  “Hey, what about them, …and better yet me?  Once we take out all the flunkies that stand in our way, can we really do nothing better but stand back and watch Shadow?” she asked.

   The hedgehog sighed, but laughed softly.  He said, “I’m not sure just yet Rouge; we’ll all have to fight off the flunkies, but depending on exactly what we’ll have to face come the showdown with Sir Burns, there may or may not be anything they can do to help.  I mean, only the chaos emeralds can counter the power of the Master Emerald, so only Sonic and I could stand any sort of chance against Knuckles and Hidama should they somehow be pitted against us.  If he throws anything else at us, I’m not sure what we’ll do just yet. We’ll certainly need help for sure…but, until we get there, the best any of us can do is just get ready to face the worst, and once again, save the world.”

   “Oh…,” Rouge murmured.  None of them were sure of what to say.  Their eyes fell back to the kids as Pyro and Aries prepared the finale of their show.  Rouge lowered her eyes, resting her hand on Shadow’s and scooting up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

   He glanced at her, nuzzling her head gently, and kissing her head softly, before looking back down at them, the fires dieing down, and the kids cheering and laughing after such a spectacular show.  As they settled down, setting a small campfire that they would camp around that night, Shadow sighed, whispering, “The poor kids…it was always my hope that come their generation they wouldn’t have to worry with danger like this.  Seems if anything the danger’s only gotten worse.  I mean, these people dumped Eggman…and now they have to face this peril, a threat that not even Hidama and Knuckles could conquer.”

   Sonic let out a peaceful sigh, shook his head and said, “Well, if they’re anything like their parents Shadow, they stand a better chance than any to see this through to a peaceful end.  They do have the best of us all going for them, and one of the best leaders around to guide them you know.”

   The two looked at each other and laughed, both letting out a yawn as they quieted down.  Shadow replied, “Heh, I agree with you there.”  They both laughed softly, and then Shadow whispered, “It looks like they’re all settling down to sleep…I say we do the same.  Come tomorrow, they have the battle of their lives ahead of them after all.”

   Sonic nodded in response, yawning again, before lying down on the grass, the chaos emeralds gathered between him, and where Shadow chose to lie down, placing himself between the emeralds and Rouge.  He was slow to drift off, and yet, was not the last soul to succumb to sleep that night.

   Only yards away from him, as the fire died low, Mikomi lay on the grassy ground, staring up at the stars, pondering over what Shadow had told him a few days before…how he should be more forgiving towards those who hurt him, and not so quick to judge those who haven’t.  He now remembered stories Hidama told him, of the mutants…about why they attack their own kindred, and how Hidama was able to forgive them, even after so much bad had happened.

   “Uncle Hidama,” he murmured, “How could you forgive them after they killed your parents, your entire tribe, nearly killed both you and your brother, and threatened to do it again out of hate alone?  How could you just let it go?  I just don’t understand…sure the mutants were hurt and out for revenge, but it gave them no excuse to kill every echidna alive…all your kindred did was punish them for trying to kill the guardian…and yet you forgave them for killing your entire race?  How could you just let it go?”

   Mikomi groaned, unable to sleep as these questions raced through his mind.  He rolled over on his side, trying not to wake the others.  Amberly and Kelsey slept soundly, already becoming close friends, their fight over Mikomi over and done with.  On his other side, Amarie and Pyro had fallen asleep side by side, picking out constellations above them, while Aries slept soundly near her brother, but beside Amberly, as she was also becoming fast friends with her and Kelsey.

   It seemed he was the only one not at peace.  He struggled to his feet, tired but restless, and ran a few yards ahead of him, tears of frustration forming in his eyes as he ran.  He was so confused.  Why in the world should he forgive these people who had torn his life apart?  They deserved to hurt just as badly as he did right?

   Suddenly, Mikomi tripped, landing hard on his chest, only yards away from the campsite.  His chest pained him, and as he coughed to get his breath back and dry his eyes, he rolled over on his back, looking at the stars above him, stars he used to look at every night with both Hidama and Knuckles, and often times, his entire family.

   Things were slowly starting to clear up for Mikomi.  As he stared sadly at the stars, he began to realize, in Hidama’s case, both he and the mutants had suffered.  The mutants were once beautiful, noble echidnas just like his ancestors, but because of how cruelly they were treated, had formed into these loathsome creatures hell bent on revenge, which they almost got in full, and yet when Hidama extended love and forgiveness to the last survivor, all the hatred and wounds were healed…it wasn’t just that Hidama was able to forgive them because he had won the fight, it was this forgiveness that healed not only his heart, but the hearts of those who had persecuted them.  There was no more need for anger, grudges, and pain, nor did Knuckles or Hidama have any reason to dwell on the miseries of their past.  It was this forgiveness, both offered and returned that allowed them to move on and live such happy lives.

   It was beginning to become apparent to Mikomi that even though the Maniacals had hurt him so terribly and deserved the punishment they were about to get that he still needed to forgive them for their sins, because it was the same thing that drove the mutants to their madness, which also drove these humans to what they did.  Both groups attacked Angel Island and destroyed so many lives, all for the Master Emerald.

   And yet Mikomi held no anger towards the Master Emerald either.  It was just a basic tendency to crave and obsess over it, and that’s why it was enough to turn Olermere and Feldmort against their own brethren, and enough to turn humans just like Mr. Marks, into the wild and hurtful men and women that made up Team Maniacal.

   “That’s it…isn’t it?” Mikomi murmured, “It’s the Master Emerald, not all humans, to which I should direct my disgust isn’t it?”  He sat up, sighing and said, “I don’t know how many of my ancestors are listening…but…it’s not our fault that all this happened.  When the Master Emerald was created, it was intended to protect and save all life, not just the echidnas, from evil and danger.  Yet…we underestimated how much everyone would be affected by their hunger for its power…how some people would want to use it for their benefit rather than the benefit of all life, and now we’re paying for it.”

   Standing up, he was finally able to smile as he prayed to his ancestors.  He walked over to the campsite slowly as he continued, “Heh…I think it’s about time we started to protect and save mankind, rather than protect and save the Master Emerald.  I mean, crime and sins go on everyday…and the Master Emerald can never undo evil completely.  What good is it other than attracting unfriendly eyes and danger?  Already, it’s shattered so many lives, and now, it’s threatening to destroy the very world it’s meant to protect.  The chaos emeralds are easier to control…but the Master Emerald…I think now, with only my father and uncle to guard it, it’s more dangerous than it is any sort of benefit.  Perhaps it would be better if it departed from the world, leaving with the race that created it.  Like the echidnas, it should become nothing more than another story in the history of the world.  Who knows?  Maybe things will be better once it’s gone.  Maybe humans and all creatures can be friends and allies, all of us fighting evil together, rather than fighting it on our own…or with each other.  Uncle Hidama knew that…and now, I do too…and only wish I did sooner.”

   He fell silent, stopping once he got to the spot where he chose to sleep.  He laid down slowly, finally comfortable and able to rest.  He yawned deeply, giving one more look to the sky and said, “Thank you…everyone who was listening…it helped to have you with me in my plight.”   He rested his head, closing his eyes and whispered, “Now, with your souls to guide and protect me and everyone here, we’re going to save my parents, uncle and aunt…as well as the world, because…that’s what the guardians are supposed to do, not the Master Emerald; the guardians only use it to protect the world…it doesn’t do it itself, so, with or without it, we have to save the world from any danger, no matter what…even if no one ever knows the great lengths we have suffered to keep their lives safe and at peace, sacrificing our own in the process.”

   Now, he was able to fall asleep, and sleep peacefully, unlike the previous days where his dreams were plagued with nightmares.  Whether it was Shadow’s guidance, Hidama’s lessons, or just his own maturing wisdom shining through, Mikomi was finally beginning to realize several things.  One, that he wasn’t the only victim in this case; his family, his friends, everyone on the planet, they were all victims of the malice and selfishness of this one man, and if he should hate anyone, it should be Sir Burns and the Maniacals alone, not every human in the world.  They didn’t deserve his hatred, and if anything, he felt now more than ever that it was his duty to protect them, saving not just his family, but the lives of everyone in the world from destruction, even if they would never know how much he and his loved ones had suffered for their sake.

   Yet, the battle would still be intense.  Despite his guardian heart, Mikomi was not the guardian his father and uncle were, and it would take the power of both Shadow’s and Sonic’s super forms to thwart the power of the Master Emerald.  However, Mikomi was going to play an even bigger role than he realized, a role that would test this newfound optimism, and acceptance of mankind, testing him and how far he was willing to go to save the future of the world, a world that may or may not love him in return.