Too Many Questions…

Knuckles paced back and forth along the entire length of Haven’s conference room. The Brotherhood, in their ultimate wisdom, had decided to call him back into their midst. Knuckles had no idea just why they had decided to do this, because, in their ultimate wisdom, they hadn’t decided to share their reasons with him.

He’s been waiting for some time now. He was getting bored and more than a little frustrated. Though he didn’t particularly relish the idea of getting back to his overwhelming responsibilities as Guardian of the Floating Island, he had also long ago accepted his lot in life.

“You’ve got way too much excess energy.” A familiar voice chuckled in his ear.

Knuckles glanced at Archimedes who had just materialised on his shoulder. “What do you expect?” He sighed. “I’ve been waiting here for hours.”

“Knuckles, it’s barely been fifteen minutes.” The fire ant smiled.

“Why’d they call me back anyway?” He questioned. “I’ve got a job to do out there.” He gestured towards the far wall, in the direction he hoped the rest of the Island was. He still wasn’t totally familiar with Haven’s layout. It was easy to get turned around.

“I don’t know.” Archimedes admitted. “But I’m sure it was for the best.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Knuckles grumbled.

He’d never been given what he’d consider good news during his visits to Haven. And it was only recently that he was even getting what he considered a warm welcome.

The first time he’d come here, though, admittedly it had been uninvited and unintentional, they had basically wanted to throw him out, believing him too ‘undisciplined’. Though he had been allowed to stay, he had almost been murdered by Moritori Rex who had been masquerading as Tobor for some time.

The second time, his father had explained a lot about the place, about his family history, and about himself. At first, he just accepted what Locke had said. He’d just been so glad to be back with his father he would have taken just about anything he’d been told as gospel.

But when he’d had a chance to think about it, when he realised the implications of what his father had done, he’d become a little outraged, and more than a little scared.

Locke had used long forbidden techniques on himself before he sired his son. Biological enhancements that were so frightening they’d been outlawed. He’d passed on this unpredictably altered DNA to his son. But even then, Locke’s experiments weren’t finished.

When he’d entered into this world, still in the egg like any other echidna, Locke exposed his unhatched child to the full radiation of the Island’s Chaos Emerald. There was no way of telling just what this would do to the infant nestled within the creamy orb, even Locke was working purely on instinct, led by a dream he believed induced by the Ancient Walkers.

It wasn’t until recently that Knuckles had discovered he was different. The only echidna he really remembered from his youth was his father, and Locke had always been careful enough to never let his boy see his hands uncovered. Knuckles had grown up logically assuming that all echidnas had spurs on their hands. That all echidnas could shatter stone and knock down trees with a single punch. And that all echidnas could catch the wind with their dreadlocks and glide.

How wrong he’d been.

The Dark Legion proved that. Even with their cybernetically enhanced bodies, none could match his strength. None could fly. And none had spurs.

On meeting Constable Remington and his distant grandfather, Hawking, he came to assume that his abilities were limited to his family line, that they were Guardian traits. Remington had informed him that he was far from ordinary, though never explained just why he believed that. Hawking was ancient, but still extremely powerful. Knuckles had noticed that his distant grandfather didn’t possess the fist spurs, but had passed it off as a result of the ageing process.

But Hawking had also informed him that he was not like other Guardians, that there was something special about him. But, thanks to an attack by the dingoes, Knuckles never got to learn what it was, at least at the time.

Athair, also of his line, but rarely spoken of due to his decision to abandon his heritage for another calling, also, subtly, hinted at this…‘specialness’. He had more or less kidnapped his great-grandson when need for him arose on the planetary surface. During his trek with the Forgotten Tribe, Knuckles had instinctively called on powers he didn’t even know he possessed. He had healed himself from severe burns that would have proven fatal to any other. He had defeated a group of bikers without even raising a sweat. And he’d returned home by opening up a hole in space.

Dimitri had pondered Knuckles’ abilities for sometime. The Chaos Emeralds had always fascinated him, so when he’d managed to capture his distant nephew, he’d ordered tests so he could find out just what made the youngest Guardian tick.

Knuckles didn’t learn the outcome of these tests until after his father had revealed the truth to him. In order to save a future that might not even come to pass, Locke had deliberately created a biologically enhanced offspring. A child that would possess abilities that others could only dream of. A Guardian that would be far more powerful than any that had come before. An echidna that could, quite literally, save the world…

Knuckles had been overwhelmed at first. This news had answered a lot of questions. But, as he thought about it, raised far more. Knuckles knew what he was now.

A mutant.

He wondered what this would actually mean for him. How would it effect him? How would it effect those he cared about?

Thinking all this again, he thought about his most recent visit to Haven. They had tested him, to make sure he was healthy after his miraculous return from the dead, and also to ascertain if he truly was who he appeared to be. With Robotnik and the Dark Legion’s talents with technology, be it through robotic constructions or cloning techniques, an artificial construct was not outside their means. So he’d felt this was fair enough.

But they had also raised questions about the future. Most specifically, the future of the family line.

He hadn’t considered marriage. Most Mobians of his age didn’t. He and Julie-Su had only just admitted their feelings, thought neither had actually vocalised it. He was fairly certain where their budding relationship would lead, eventually. But the Brotherhood seemed to want that eventuality to occur now. Knuckles knew he wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to repeat his father’s mistakes. He wanted to be sure. He wasn’t about to walk into something so important with his eyes shut.

But the main reason they wanted this nuptial to take place was to guarantee the continuation of the line.

They weren’t thinking of him, or Julie-Su, or their happiness, or even what they wanted. All they wanted was an heir, which made him think of what his father had done. Even though he knew without a doubt that he was no way near ready to be a father, he wondered what his mutated genes would do. How would it effect Julie-Su? Would the child be healthy? Would it even survive?

But then, during his recent absence, he had met…

“Knuckles?” Archimedes frowned as he waved his two right hands across his face. The young echidna was staring into space, obviously thinking about something, with a strange, almost dreamy smile on his face.

“Wha?” He blinked, rudely awoken from his reverie. “Sorry…just…thinking…”

“I could see that.” Archimedes said. “Anything in particular?”

“Not really.” Knuckles shrugged. Archimedes grabbed one of his thick red spines so as not to be thrown off.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Spectre said, as he swept into the room in his familiar shroud of mist. Sojourner, Thunderhawk and Sabre followed in his wake. The quartet took their seats at the table.

Knuckles frowned as he noticed the obvious absence. “Where’s my father?” He asked, almost suspiciously. Locke always stuck up for him at these meetings, and Knuckles feared they were keeping him out of the loop for some reason.

“Take a seat.” Spectre gestured towards an empty chair.

“Where’s my father?” Knuckles repeated, a little threateningly as he sat down.

“We decided it would be best to return him to active duty.” Spectre said solemnly.

“You’re firing me?” Knuckles asked, a little confused. This had not been what he’d expected at all.

“No.” Spectre smiled. “It’s only for the time being.”

“We thought it best if we eased you back into your duties.” Sojourner added.

“You are, after all, twelve months out of synch.” Thunderhawk tried to smile reassuringly.

“You don’t know what’s been happening lately.” Sabre put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re just going to bring you up to speed…”

“And…” Spectre steepled his hands. “To put it bluntly…you’re scaring people.”

“I’m what?” Knuckles eyes widened incredulously. “What did I do?”

“You returned from the dead.” Spectre shrugged.

“It’s raised a lot of questions.” Sojourner added.

“Like what?” Knuckles asked.

“How you did it for a start.” Thunderhawk said. “The religious fanatics are in an uproar. They think you’re the second coming or something.”

“And others are beginning to question their own mortality.” Sabre sighed. “They figure if you can do it, then they can probably do it too. It’ll only be a matter of time before some idiot tried to prove their equally idiotic theory…”

“But I thought they considered us…different…” Knuckles said in a whisper.

“And the ex-Legionnaires are terrified.” Spectre sighed. “They think that if you survived, of returned, or whatever, that Dimitri might have as well. And they fear what kind of havoc he’ll wreak upon them. The Legion aren’t exactly tolerant on defectors after all.”

“We got Legionnaires on the Island?” Knuckles asked.

The Brotherhood exchanged glances.

“You’ve seen the change in Julie-Su?” Sabre asked, lifting up his first left-hand dreadlock for emphasis. Knuckles nodded. “Well, when the Blade of Order mixed with your Chaos enhanced blood…”

“That’s our theory, anyway…” Sojourner interrupted briefly.

“There was some kind of power surge…a mixture of Chaos and Order which dramatically altered just about everything in its path.” Sabre went on. “All Legionnaires present were basically returned to what they were, what they should have been, if they hadn’t…ENHANCED themselves.”

“That would explain Bunnie…” Knuckles said absently. He looked up. “Is that what happened to Sonic? Was he returned to a ‘normal’ state as well?”

“No, he was injured by it.” Spectre said.

“He caught the blast full in the face.” Sojourner explained. “He saw what Dimitri was going to do…and like the hero he is…”

“Raced to my rescue…” Knuckles finished. “Yeah, Julie-Su told me…”

“But we hear he’s made a full recovery since you returned.” Thunderhawk raised a brow. “You have anything to do with that?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Knuckles said softly.

“I’m sure.” Spectre said. “Sabre, if you could begin…bringing him up to speed…?”

“Of course,” he nodded to his elder. “Come along lad.”

The remaining trio watched in silence as the pair left the room.

“So,” Sojourner raised a brow as he looked at his father. “What do you think?”

“He’s definitely hiding something…” Spectre nodded his head.

“I agree.” Thunderhawk added. “He knows far more than he’s letting on.”

“Do you think we should push him for answers?” Sojourner asked.

“No.” Spectre shook his head. “It wouldn’t do any good. He’s as stubborn as any of us, pushing him will only make him more reluctant. He’ll tell us in his own time. Right now we have to come up with a plausible explanation for his… resurrection…”

~~~~~

Knuckles yawned and rubbed his weary eyes. He’d been staring at the computer screen for hours now, going through file upon file of Island events occurring during his absence. And though he’s learned a lot he found it wasn’t exactly a riveting read. It seemed the Chaotix had been right when they’d told him that things had been quite.

There was some political unrest. Some altercations between the newly settled former Dark Legionnaires and some more vocally apposed members of the community, neither truly trusting the other. And the dingoes were unhappy, and rightfully so, Knuckles thought, that the echidna refugees had been given housing before them, when they’d been waiting so long for it. But this was not the kind of things that the Guardian usually got involved in.

Sighing, he rose from the table. Uncricking his back he began a slow walk around the common room. There were a lot of technological devices that he couldn’t even guess as to the purpose of, but at one end was a small bank of monitors, a secondary surveillance station, showing a selection of varied locations on the Island. He stared at them for a moment, wondering just how his father managed to sit and watch them for hours on end. A flash of green and purple caught his peripheral vision. He turned towards the small screen, frowning slightly at what he saw.

It was Vector and Espio, arguing about something. The monitors, it seemed, did not come equipped with sound. ‘At least they leave us with some privacy…’ he thought. He studied the array of buttons on the console before him. He pushed one at random, watching as the picture on one of the monitors changed. He began a systematic search through all the camera locations, not even sure what he was looking for…

~~~~~

Sabre approached the common room. He’d left Knuckles there with enough reading material to keep him occupied for most of the day, but it was lunchtime, and the boy deserved a break.

He smiled as he entered the room, preparing to alleviate his grandson’s suffering, but he was not at the table where he’d left him. Sabre noticed almost immediately that the entire selection of files had already been opened and read. ‘Boy’s a speed reader…’ Sabre thought as he picked up the small laptop computer. ‘But where has he gone off…’

He turned and almost dropped the computer he was holding.

Knuckles was at the far end of the room, slumped over the monitor console, his cheek against the cold glass of the largest screen, his eyes closed, his expression one of grief.

On the screens that surrounded him were pictures of everybody on the Island he cared about. Lara-Le was reading a book on the balcony of her apartment. Locke was discussing something with Remington. Mighty and Ray were seated at a table in the food court, Espio and Vector were entering through the northwest entrance, obviously meeting them for lunch.

But on the largest screen, the one Knuckles was leaning against, was Julie-Su. Even in the company of her two echidna friends she looked as downcast as Knuckles did. Sabre backed out of the room quietly, fairly sure that his grandson wasn’t even aware of his presence.

~~~~~

“Couldn’t we just say that he was so badly hurt that we thought it best that everybody thought he was killed so as to not give them false hope, in case the worst happened?” Sojourner suggested.

“Like Doctor Quack did with Princess Sally when she fell in Robotropolis?” Thunderhawk queried.

“It worked then.” Sojourner shrugged.

“It’s already been done.” Spectre sighed. “Do you really believe they’d fall for it again?”

“Most are just so happy to have him back I think they’d accept just about anything.” Thunderhawk reasoned. “Besides, it was the Mobians that were fed that story. Most Islanders weren’t even aware of the Princess’s accident.”

“Perhaps.” Spectre nodded. “Or we could say that he was in training so secret that he couldn’t be disturbed, so we faked his death so he wouldn’t be interrupted.”

“No,” Sojourner shook his head. “That would be too cruel…”

“We have to bring in the girl.” Sabre said as he strode into the room.

“You think she could come up with something more plausible?” Spectre raised a brow. Sabre stared at him blankly. “To explain where the boy’s been.”

“No,” Sabre shook his head savagely. “Have you even seen the boy lately?”

“He’s in perfect health, Sabre.” Thunderhawk raised a brow.

“Physically, yes.” Sabre agreed. “But he’s miserable. He’s been separated from everything and everyone he cares about for the past year. Who knows what he went through to get back to them…and then we go and separate him from them all over again. We can’t keep him locked up in here.”

“But, the people…” Sojourner began to protest.

“Stuff them!” Sabre growled. “All his life he’s had to put others needs before his own. I say we let him be selfish for once. If we do have to keep him here, the least we can do is give him a little company his own age.”

Sojourner and Thunderhawk looked at each other, uncertain about what Sabre was suggesting.

“You want to bring in an outsider?” Thunderhawk folded his arms across his chest. “And a Dark Legionnaire at that.”

“FORMER Dark Legionnaire.” Spectre corrected.

“It’s against protocols…” Sojourner shook his head.

“They’re OUR protocols.” Sabre pointed out. “To make or break as we see fit.”

“The only problem I can see,” Spectre mused, “is with two young, Soultouched echidnas that have been separated for a year, under the same roof…” he smiled mischievously. “Will they behave themselves?”

Sabre shrugged. “We DO want him to commit himself to her…”

~~~~~

“Man.” Vector moaned through a mouthful of burger. “I can’t believe he ditched us again. I mean, he just got home…you think he’d spend some time with his buds…”

“You mean you think they’d LET him spend some times with his buds…” Espio grumbled under his breath.

“I thought this was normal procedure…” Moni-Ca looked from one Chaotix to the other. “You make plans, and then something comes up and he can’t make it.”

“Yeah,” Ellie-Za shrugged. “But you think he’d at least call or something…”

“He never did before,” Mighty told her. “Unless he needed our help.”

“This is different.” Julie-Su said quietly. “He was…collected by the Brotherhood.”

Vector raised a brow. He glanced at Espio, remembering the chameleon’s comment of ‘you think THEY’D let him’. “You knew about this?”

“Yeah,” Espio admitted. “I ran into Locke earlier. He wasn’t too forthcoming with any answers to why they did it, but he did admit that Knuckles has been taken off active duty for now.”

“But they gave him the all clear.” Mighty protested.

There was the sudden pop of imploding air heralding the arrival of Archimedes. “It’s about something else.” The ant admitted, referring to the comment the armadillo had just made.

“Is he okay?” Julie-Su asked. She didn’t like it when the Brotherhood was involved. They were so secretive, and she had no power over anything they did.

“As well as can be expected.” Archimedes sighed.

“So what do the old farts…ah…I mean…Brotherhood… want with the dude now?” Vector stumbled, mentally kicking himself for using the derogative term the Chaotix had adopted when referring to Knuckles’ family. Archimedes only chuckled.

“I’m not sure.” He said. “I think it has something to do with filling him in on what’s been happening while he was away.”

“But that’ll take ages.” Mighty frowned.

“You’re telling me.” Archimedes sighed. “I figure it’ll be at least two weeks before he gets everything read.”

“So he’s gonna be holed up in Haven for a fortnight?” Vector asked. Archimedes nodded. “He will be let out for a little R & R though, right?”

Archimedes shook his head.

“We won’t see him for two weeks?” Julie-Su’s face showed her anguish and fear. After so long apart, to lose him again, even for a sort time, was unthinkable.

“Pretty much,” Archimedes confirmed. But then he smiled at her reassuringly. “Most of you, any way.” She raised a brow at his comment. He jumped onto her shoulder. “They sent me to get you.”

“What?” She was wide eyed in her confusion. The Brotherhood NEVER let outsiders into Haven if they could avoid it, especially after the Tobor/Moritori Rex fiasco. They were extremely careful now, to the extent that they performed DNA tests before giving any visitor access. This even applied to the Brotherhood themselves. Any time any of them left Haven, for whatever reason, they were subjugated to a DNA test immediately on their return.

“They actually agreed to that?” Ellie-Za asked. When she had first come to the Island, she had helped the Brotherhood update their systems so they’d be better prepared if the few Dark Legionnaires that were left decided to launch any kind of attack. Though they’d asked for her help, at least one of them always hovered around her as she worked. They claimed it was to see what she was doing, to learn how to operate and repair any changes she was making. But she knew it was because they didn’t truly trust her. She knew that they didn’t trust ANYBODY.

“Not entirely.” Archimedes admitted. “It was Sabre’s idea. Knuckles, as you can guess, isn’t too happy about the whole situation, so Sabre figured having a friend there with him would help.”

“I think SHE’LL be a distraction.” Vector mumbled.

“That’s what Sojourner and Thunderhawk said.” Archimedes said in reply to the crocodile’s comment. “They were against it. But they were out voted.”

“But, with Locke out here, there’s only four of them.” Ellie-Za pointed out. “How could they be outvoted?”

“I cast the decider.” Archimedes smiled.

~~~~~

Julie-Su winched as Sabre pricked her fingertip with a sharp needle.

“Sorry,” he said when he noticed her reaction. “But it’s procedure upon entering Haven.”

“I know.” She said softly. She knew she shouldn’t be, but she felt intimidated by the brown-furred echidna. He hadn’t done anything to make her feel unwelcome, to the contrary, he’d been warm and friendly. She watched him as he checked the DNA from the fresh blood sample he’d just taken with the one they had on file, taken when she’d been brought here just after what they had assumed was his death.

He looked up at her, smiling even more welcomingly. “Perfect match.” He announced.

“You don’t trust easily, do you?” She noted.

“I could say the same of you.” He replied. “Come.” He gestured towards the door. She rose and followed him.

“As you’re probably fully aware,” he said as they walked. “This goes totally against our protocols, but then, we don’t really have a protocol for one of our number coming back from the dead…” He chuckled lightly.

“I’m a little surprised to be invited.” She admitted. “It would be nice to know why…”

“He needs to learn what’s happened while he’s been gone, so he can be prepared to do his job as the need arises. And we need to come up with a way to explain his absence. The truth, or at least what we can piece together from what he’s told us, will just scare everybody, and we don’t want that. It could cause a panic. At the moment we’re leaning towards the ‘Princess Sally’ defence…”

“Princess Sally defence?” Julie-Su echoed.

“Shortly before your arrival, Princess Sally was badly injured during a mission to Robotropolis. So much so that Doctor Quack decided it was better to have everybody believe that she’d succumbed to her injures in case she didn’t survive. That way he wouldn’t give them any false hope.”

“You think they’ll believe that?”

“He’s unable to give us an explanation.” He sighed. “Do you have a better suggestion?”

“Nothing comes to mind.” She admitted. “But you still haven’t told me what I’m doing here.”

Sabre stopped, turned towards her. “Well…you are considered a member of the Chaotix, though, at times, why you’d want to hang around with those fellows is beyond me, and as such, you’re kind of part of his back-up when needed, and with you spending most of the past year on the surface, it wouldn’t hurt for you to study up on what’s been happening as well.” He smiled gently when he noticed her less than enthusiastic expression. “Also, believe it or not, I was young and in love once. I wouldn’t have wanted to be separated from Jenna-Lu, and I wouldn’t wish the same thing on anybody. Especially my grandson.”

She gaped at him for a moment, feeling the rising warmth in her cheeks at what he was suggesting. Sabre’s smile only deepened.

He passed his hand across a small panel set in the wall and a door slid silently open before him. Accustomed to him now, Julie-Su followed him into the room beyond, and found herself face-to-face with the remaining members of the Brotherhood.

“Before we take you to him,” Spectre began. “We have a few questions, concerns mostly, about him.”

“Okay…” Julie-Su said, a little haltingly as she took the seat the dark-robed Guardian gestured towards.

“Have you noticed anything…unusual… about him since his return?” Spectre asked.

“Well…he’s a little…flighty…” She admitted. “He seems to shift from one mood to another very quickly. It doesn’t seem to take much to set him off either…I mean, he’s not violent or anything, and he’s always been kind of quick to anger…” She glanced around her. Each of the quartet was nodding sagely. “And he seems a little bit more…I don’t know…innocent…”

“Innocent?” Spectre queried.

“Yeah, he acts a little playful sometimes, walks along the tops of fences, slides down banisters…things like that…”

“Like he’s living the childhood his position never let him have…” Sabre mused quietly.

“And he notices things…like the sunrise, or the rainbow in the mist stirred up by a waterfall…” She smiled, a little dreamily. Remembering where she was, she sat up suddenly, very straight. “Nothing that causes me any concern, though.”

Spectre smiled. “Yes,” he nodded. “We’re inclined to agree with you.” He turned towards Sabre. “Where is the boy?”

Sabre made a sound, somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle. “I assigned him perfectly serviceable quarters, but he doesn’t seem too interested. He appears to have taken up residence in the arboretum.”

“Well that’s certainly par for the course.” Spectre chuckled. “Can you show our guest the way?” He smiled warmly at Julie-Su. She looked at him, a little taken aback to see the expression on his face. She knew he was being friendly, but somehow, after all Knuckles had said about him, it still looked rather threatening. She really couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Sabre noticed the look on the young female’s face as they entered the corridor. He chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “He really not as intimidating as he seems…”

“I’m sure…” She mumbled.

“This way…” Sabre gestured with his hand. Neither noticed the shadow detach itself from where it had been wedged against the ceiling.

Knuckles landed soundlessly on the highly polished floor. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he listened briefly to the three Guardians in the room beyond. They were discussing him and his apparent strange behaviour. He would have liked to stay and eavesdrop some more, but he had to beat Sabre and Julie-Su to the arboretum. He slipped along the corridor, in the opposite direction, breaking into a sprint when he knew he was safely beyond the hearing range of the Brotherhood.

~~~~~

Sabre opened the large door to the space that housed Haven’s arboretum. Julie-Su’s jaw dropped as she entered. She hadn’t known what an arboretum was when they mentioned it, but she had to agree with Spectre now that she’d seen it. It suited Knuckles down to the ground.

It was, essentially, a small scale, indoor version of the Island’s wilderness. The ceiling, high above, appeared to be made of a large, segmented glass bubble. Despite the sun’s brightness, something she knew caused him discomfort, thanks to his highly acute senses, the room was still quite dark, thanks to the green shadows of the trees.

“A perfect place for my Nature Boy.” She chuckled.

“What was that?” Sabre asked.

“I was just saying that I can see why he likes it in here.” She smiled.

“Yes,” Sabre agreed. “You know they saying, ‘You can take the boy out of the wilderness’…”

“‘But you can’t take the wilderness out of the boy’…” Julie-Su finished.

“Only problem now is finding him in all this.” Sabre sighed.

“I’m sure he’ll find us.”

“He seems to have set up camp by the waterfall.” Sabre told her as he set off towards the distant sound of falling water.

Julie-Su glanced about her as she followed the older echidna. It might have been winter out on the Island, but in here it seemed to be spring. Flowers bloomed everywhere, their fragrance hanging heavy in the air. She heard something scuttling in the underbrush.

“There’s livestock in here?” She asked Sabre, quickening her pace to catch up with the surprisingly swift elder.

“Yes.” He confirmed. “But nothing dangerous. It helps to keep the place healthy. Insects and birds mostly, though there are some small furred animals, and fish in the stream. It’s a fully contained and sustainable environment. And with Robotnik’s poisoning of the planet, we feel it may become a necessity just to keep more fragile and unique species alive.”

“Like Knuckles?” She asked with a chuckle.

“I hardly think he’s fragile.” Sabre smiled.

“But he definitely is one of a kind.”

Sabre sniffed the air. “You’re right.” He said.

“That Knuckles is one of a kind?”

“Well, yes…” Sabre confirmed. “But also that he’d find us.”

The pair turned to find Knuckles perched on a rock just behind and above them, studying them with curious eyes. He racked the toenails of his bare feet across its rough surface before jumping down to join them. Sabre raised a brow at his grandson’s current attire. He was wearing the vest, but nothing else. Both his hands and feet were bare.

He noticed his grandfather’s expression and shrugged. “I like the way the grass feels beneath my feet.” He looked at Julie-Su with a slight smile, and then back at Sabre, looking for an explanation.

It was Sabre’s turn to shrug. “We figured you could use some company.”

Knuckles folded his arms across his chest. “Uh huh…and this has nothing to do with what we discussed the other day?”