Marching Orders

Sonic suppressed a shiver as he stepped out of the glowing emerald tunnel and into the crater on the Southern Continent. He hadn’t been back here since that time, over a year ago, when Knuckles’ noble sacrifice had inadvertently left him paralysed from the waist down. Even now, fully recovered, Sonic still felt a slight twinge of an emotion he couldn’t even begin to describe as he began to take in his surroundings. Fear, maybe? Or was it just an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu?

“Are you all right?” Tails asked, looking up with concern.

“Yeah, bud.” Sonic sighed. “Place just holds some bad memories, that’s all.”

“Tell me about it…” Tails said softly. He, after all, had been the one to discover Sonic’s broken body, one of the first to notice that Knuckles was gone…

“What the heck happened here?” Sonic suddenly questioned. Tails followed the hedgehog’s gaze, his eyes widening with surprise.

The last time he’d been here, for Knuckles’ funeral he remembered with a slight shudder, the crater had been a perfect concaved dome in the soil, smooth as glass, and just as slippery. Now the place was in a shambles, rock and earth strewn about. Jagged shards of the glass like surface stabbed upwards at the jungle canopy overhead.

“Looks like something burst up out of the ground…” Tails began. The pair looked at each other, then back at Knuckles, who was just stepping through his Chaos created tunnel.

He frowned at their look.

“What?” He turned around, watching as the tunnel collapsed soundlessly in on itself. He assumed that was what they were looking at.

Tails watched the echidna closely. He had seen how this place had affected Sonic and felt it would have an even greater impact on Knuckles. After all, Sonic may have been gravely injured, but Knuckles had died here. But Knuckles gave absolutely no sign of any ill feelings towards the area. If anything, the echidna just seemed tired.

‘I guess opening those portals takes a fair bit out of him.’ Tails thought.

“So where did you find it?” Knuckles asked, all business, as usual.

Sonic scratched his head. “Hard to tell in this mess.” He said, watching Knuckles for a reaction, but getting nothing.

When they first met the echidna, it seemed so long ago now when it really was only a couple of years, he had tunnelled up quickly through the earth, leaving a trail of devastation much like the one in the crater. The very centre of the crater was where Knuckles had been murdered, or so they had all thought at the time, by Dimitri. It had been where the Chaos energy surge that had remade the Dark Legion had originated.

Likewise, the epicentre of the destruction here now originated at the very centre of the crater. Sonic had begun to wonder. Had Knuckles somehow lain here for all the time he’d been missing, recuperating from his injures? Lying dormant while his Chaos enhanced body repaired itself?

He glanced at the echidna, but Knuckles was paying absolutely no attention to his surroundings.

Knuckles pulled the tiny Dark Legion computer from one of his many pockets. He mumbled something at it and a wire frame map of the landscape popped up. He turned slowly, matching the transparent computer-generated image to the scenery that surrounded them. Presently, the computer let out a tiny beep.

“According to this thing…” he said. “The entrance is that way.” He pointed towards a large clump of trees.

“Doesn’t look like the way we went in last time.” Tails said with a frown as the trio began walking in the indicated direction.

“Maybe there’s more than one way in.” Sonic suggested.

“Or maybe the locals are trying to hide it.” Knuckles said as he poked at the earth around the trees with the toe of his boot. “These are pretty freshly planted.”

“We didn’t meet any locals.” Sonic said. “We kinda assumed there was no one here.”

“You think they’re just gonna step out and greet what could have been an invading force?” Knuckles counted. He sniffed the air. “There’s been somebody around here…” He noticed the rather concerned look on Tails’ face as the young fox’s eyes began darting about. “Not recently though.” He added, to put his mind at rest. He pushed through the trees, the other two following close behind.

“Now THAT looks familiar.” Sonic said as they came to the broad cliff face.

“Looks like they reburied it.” Tails said, pointing out the large pile of earth, heaped at the base of the cliff.

“Guess we’ll have to dig it out again.” Sonic said.

“Guess so.” Tails agreed.

They both looked at Knuckles hopefully.

The echidna rolled his eyes and let out a disgusted snort.

~~~~~~

It didn’t take Knuckles long to dig down to the door. The earth was not so nearly compacted as previously, and, coupled with the fact that he was more or less designed for digging, it was a simple enough task for the echidna.

“Hmmm…” Knuckles mused at what he’d uncovered. “A door without a handle.”

“You just have to…” Tails began, but Knuckles had already found the carved handprint and shoved the door aside. It made a loud, hollow sound as it slammed against the inner wall.

“Don’t know your own strength, huh?” Sonic smirked.

Knuckles was studying the door. “It’s counter weighted…” he said. “Any of us could have done that.

“And only us.” Tails said. Knuckles frowned at his comment. “It’s in there…” he pointed at the computer that Sonic was holding. “Only one of the three can open the door.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Sal read something about it in here…” Sonic was nosing about the computer’s files. “Here it is… ‘One who outstrips the tsunami’s might. One full of fire and mystic sight. One who dances in the sun’s pure light. Three as one set all things right.’”

“You’re saying that’s us?” Knuckles raised a brow.

“If the sneaker fits…” Sonic shrugged.

“And Merlin called you the fire child.” Tails piped up.

“Merlin?” Knuckles rubbed his chin. “Why does that sound familiar…oh, yeah, the old fox in the woods…the charlatan…Merlin Prower…met him when I was looking for the Sword Of Acorns…pretty weird…” He trailed off when he noticed Sonic and Tails’ expressions. Both were gaping at him. He raised a brow, confused by their reaction.

“Did you say Prower?” Tails questioned.

“Yeah.” Knuckles confirmed, still not catching on.

“Do you think…?” Tails looked at Sonic.

“A fox named Prower?” Sonic arched a brow. “I’d say he has to be.”

“Has to be what?” Knuckles demanded softly. He didn’t particularly like being out of the loop.

“That’s right…” Sonic suddenly realised. “You probably only know Tails as Tails…”

“You’re saying his name’s Prower?” Knuckles nodded to himself as he figured it out.

“Miles Prower.” Tails confirmed with a bow.

Knuckles rolled the name about in his head for a moment, and began to chuckle. Tails wasn’t impressed.

“You find that funny?” He growled.

“Oh, c’mon…Miles Prower…you gotta admit…it’s kinda…”

“I happen to think Miles is a nice name.” The fox sniffed, folding his arms across his chest. “And a sight better than being named after a body part.”

“HEY!” Knuckles frowned angrily. “I was named after a highly respected warrior tribe of echidnas.”

“Ah, guys?” Sonic stepped in between them before things got truly out of hand. “I’m supposed to be the irrational one, remember?”

“He started it!” Tails protested.

“Act your age.” Sonic countered.

“He’s eleven,” Knuckles pointed out. “He IS acting his age. And I didn’t mean to offend you…it’s just…well…Miles…Pr…ow…er…” he deliberately emphasised each syllable.

Sonic covered his mouth. “I never noticed that before.” He chuckled. “But then, I don’t use your real name all that much.”

Tails sighed and pulled a face at the older pair.

“Maybe we should get back to business?” He suggested, gesturing towards the open door. The trio peered into the musty gloom.

“You think Elle thought to pack some flashlights or something?” Sonic asked. He slipped the pack from his back and began rifling through the contents, the other two following suit.

“Looks like it.” Tails announced pulling out a slim, black metal tube. He flicked it on, accidentally flashing it in Knuckles’ highly sensitive eyes.

“Watch it!” He growled, winching. He blinked rapidly in an effort to eradicate the spots that floated in his vision.

“Sorry.” Tails said sheepishly.

“Pretty potent little things.” Sonic said, pointing the one he’d found in his own backpack into the darkness. It cut through the gloom for several meters. “May as well get moving.”

~~~~~~

“I’d forgotten how cheery this place was.” Sonic mumbled as the walked carefully through the darkness.

Knuckles had moved a little ahead and was scanning the walls with his flashlight. “I think it’s kinda homey.” He said with a brief smile.

“Yeah,” Sonic grumbled. “But you live in a hole in the ground.”

“Awful lot of hieroglyphs around here.” Knuckles commented absently, ignoring Sonic’s comment on his choice of dwelling. He touched the wall gently with his gloved finger, following the curve of the carvings. He frowned.

“Can you read it?” Tails asked, noticing the echidna’s expression of deep concentration.

“It DOES look familiar…” He admitted. “I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere before…the ruins in Sandopolis maybe…but no…I can’t actually read it.”

“Anything in the computer?” Sonic asked.

Knuckles pulled out the mentioned item. “Hieroglyphs.” He said to it. A bright funnel of light coiled out from the computer’s screen, illuminating the entire tunnel as it scanned the walls.

“Translating.” It said in its flat emotionless voice. “Approximate time required…one hour and thirty six minutes…”

“Well…I wasn’t expecting that.” Knuckles said softly. “Might be handy to know what this all says…”

“Abandon all hope ye who enter here?” Sonic suggested.

“Guess we may as well move on.” Tails said. “It’s not much further to where we found the Blade.”

The corridor opened up just ahead into the vast chamber that had, until recently, been the resting place of the Blade Of Order.

“Now that’s an interesting piece of pre-historical art.” Knuckles raised a brow as he studied the mural on the wall.

“It’s kinda frightening isn’t it?” Tails said. “It must have been painted centuries ago, but they look just like us.”

“Yeah, if you froze Sonic and set me on fire.” Knuckles said. The echidna leaned in closer, squinting at the globe the golden fox creature was holding. Knuckles’ eyes were better suited to the dark than either of his friends’, and he could make out details that they couldn’t. “Wonder what that is…”

“What?” Sonic asked, leaning in and directing his torch at the point on the mural that the echidna was focusing on.

Knuckles pulled of his mitten and scratched some of the centuries old grime from the wall with his sharp, taloned fingernail. “This looks pretty accurate.” He said, indicating the surface of the painted globe. He pulled out the computer. “Hopefully this thing’s not using all its power translating those hieroglyphs…” he mumbled. “Map overlay, Southern Continent.” He said to it. It must have still had power to spare, as it projected a wire frame map over the globe painted on the wall. It was an almost perfect fit.

“How did you know it was accurate?” Sonic asked, a little amazed.

“My usual view of the world is from above.” Knuckles said with a shrug. “Show our current location.” He ordered the computer. A bright golden blip appeared on the projected overlay.

“This is where we are.” Knuckles scraped away some more moss, revealing a mark on the painting in the corresponding point. “And look here…” He pointed at the icy being. He ran a finger along the painted creature’s line of sight. “You’re looking at it.”

“Yeah…” Sonic nodded. The painted representation of him was indeed looking directly at the speck of gold.

“And I’m kinda looking at the whole globe.” Tails added.

“Yep.” Sonic nodded in agreement.

“So let’s see what I’m looking at…” Knuckles suggested, running his talon along the fiery creature’s line of sight, stopping when he came to another mark on the map. He scratched some more moss away. “Display approximate coordinates of this location.” He said to the computer as he tapped the speck on the map.

A second golden speck appeared over the mark, along with the coordinates in longitude and latitude.

Sonic studied it for a moment. “You realise that that point isn’t all that far from Knothole…” He said. He tapped a spot on the upper part of the map where he knew his home lay.

“It’s further than you think.” Knuckles said. “But a lot closer than here.”

“You think that’s the place?” Tails asked as he gazed at the dot.

“Who can say?” Sonic shrugged. “But it’s somewhere to start looking.” He turned to Knuckles. “Can you open one of those swirly tunnel things to get us there?”

“I told you before, Sonic, I can only open a portal to a specific place if I’ve been before.” He looked at the spot on the wall. “But I can probably get us pretty close…and we DO have the coordinates…”

“Are you up to it?” Tails asked.

“What do you mean?” Knuckles frowned.

“Well, when we arrived here,” Tails explained. “You looked a little wasted.”

Knuckles raised a surprised brow. “Yeah, they do wear me out a bit.” He admitted. “But I’m pretty well rested now. But let’s take it outside…”

~~~~~~

“You know,” Knuckles commented as they made their way out. “Given the power of the Blade, I figured this place would have been laden with all sorts of defences. Falling rocks…collapsing walls…fall away floors…spears springing out of the walls…”

“I’m actually kinda happy it doesn’t.” Sonic admitted. “I don’t mind a good adrenaline rush, but I prefer my flirts with death to be a little less, well, permanent.”

“Death ain’t so bad…” Knuckles said with a wicked smirk.

“I guess you’d know.” Sonic said.

Knuckles stopped suddenly, sniffing the air.

“What is it?” Tails asked.

“Your spider-sense tingling?” Sonic added.

“My what?” Knuckles cast a confused frown at the hedgehog.

“Never mind,” Sonic chuckled. “What IS it?”

“We got company.” Knuckles said in a whisper.

Sonic and Tails exchanged a worried glance. “What kind of company?” Sonic asked, keeping his voice low like the echidna’s.

“Not sure.” He admitted. “They’re just waiting for us.”

“You think there’s another way out?” Tails asked.

“Didn’t look like it.” Sonic said.

“Doesn’t feel like it, either.” Knuckles added. When the pair looked at him with confused eyes, he added with a shrug. “We’d be able to feel a breeze or hear the world outside if there were another opening.”

“Well, you might.” Sonic said.

“So, what do we do?” Tails asked.

“We can’t stay here forever.” Sonic said.

“Agreed.” Knuckles nodded.

“Can you tell how many are out there?” Sonic asked him.

“Can’t be more than half a dozen.” He said.

“Two on one odds don’t sound so bad.” Sonic said.

“We don’t know WHAT they are, Sonic.” Knuckles pointed out. “Besides, I don’t think they’re a threat to us.”

“How come?” Tails asked.

“If they wanted to do us in they could just lock us in.” Knuckles said. “Who knows if we can open that door from the inside? This place may not be airtight, but we’d soon starve to death.”

“That’s a cheery thought.” Sonic said. “You take classes in coming up with the worse case scenario or something?”

“I’m sure I could come up with something worse than that.” Knuckles smirked. “And anyway, I’d soon dig us out.” He brandished his fists for emphasis.

“Guys?” Tails hissed at them. “Can we get back to getting out of here?”

“Yeah.” Sonic agreed. “Like I said…we can’t stay in here forever. So I say we just walk on out.”

“Walk out?” Tails protested. “But…”

“Knux said they weren’t threatening.” Sonic pointed out with a shrug.

“Then let’s go.” The echidna said as he began towards the exit, and whatever it was that waited outside.

~~~~~~

They stepped out into the sunlight to find themselves face to face with several stern faced, and heavily armed, armadillos. Each took a step forward, levelling their weapons at the trio.

Sonic took in the various sharply pointed items now pointed at them. He looked at his companions.

“This can’t be good.”