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"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 3: The Uncertain Adventure

   The following morning, the kids carried out their plan, packing what they would need for their day trip to the mainland.  The excitement was close to overflowing from their hearts, and they still had to contain it as to not give themselves away.  Kelsey quickly packed up her backpack with what she would need, and then helped Amy and Delilah to pack their picnic lunch while Mikomi and Amarie finished packing.

   “This is gonna be so cool Mikomi!  I just can’t wait to see Station Square…it’s where Mommy grew up right?” Amarie asked.

   Mikomi’s ears twitched a bit as he fitted his backpack on his shoulders.  He said, “Umm…actually, she spent a lot of her childhood on Little Planet.  She moved to Station Square when she was around your age I guess.  Actually…I’d love to see the apartment where she lived.  She and Dad stayed there together a lot before they moved back to Angel Island permanently…and it’s where Dad found Kelerai too…so we’ll have to see if we can find her old apartment.”

   Amarie’s eyes widened with wonder and romance; “Oh that is so sweet!  It’s where they first fell in love!” she said, her eyes sparkling.

   “Amarie…heh, they first fell in love here on Angel Island,” Mikomi said laughing.  The hopeless romantic sparkle left Amarie’s eyes as she looked at her brother, as confused as all get out.  “It’s true. Mom was camping with her parents nearby when she was like…five…and wandered onto Angel Island, which had crashed onto a cliff below after the attack.  She met Dad here and they became friends.  Years later they got reacquainted, and it wasn’t until Dad was sixteen that they shared that apartment for awhile…but yeah, I guess they did rekindle their romance there you could say,” he explained.

   Just then, Kelsey poked her head into the room and said, “Well come on!  Are you guys ready or what!?”  She had the finished picnic basket in hand, and her black backpack on her shoulders.  “I cannot wait to get going!  This is so exciting!”

   Fitting her pink backpack on her shoulders, Amarie smiled and said, “Yep!  We’re ready Kelsey…Mikomi and I were just talking about finding Mommy’s old apartment when we get there.”

   Mikomi shook his head, laughing and said, “Just a minute…I need to get the grey headband set Uncle Hidama gave me.”

   As he left Amarie’s bedroom to go to his own, Kelsey grinned, nudging his arm as he passed and said, “I’m surprised you’re taking a break from wearing it now.  I thought it had become one with your hair, or melted into your skull or something.”

   He gave her a look, and nudged her back and said, “Oh get real Kelsey.  That’s not even funny.”

   “Oh?  Then why are you trying to hold back a laugh and a smile might I ask?”

   “Mmm, heh…I am not…I’m just holding in a yawn.”

   “Sure you are,” Kelsey said, running her hand up his chest along his backpack strap before casually tweaking his nose.

   “Hey!  Cut it out Kelsey…gimme a break,” he said, swatting lightly at her hand in annoyance.  She giggled at his reaction, for this was casual teasing, the kind they were used to, and had traded between each other for years.  It never got old, no matter how much either appeared to let it bother them.

   She shook her head, smiled and said, “I’m sorry Mikomi.  Go ahead and get your headband and Amarie and I will see you outside.”

   Mikomi smiled back, nodding in reply, and saying, “It’s okay.  It’s not like it bothered me that much anyway.”

   While he went to retrieve his headband set, Amarie and Kelsey went outside and waited for Mikomi, sitting in the swing on the front porch, looking towards the few parts of the horizon that they could see through the thick forest of trees.  Amarie swung her legs a bit as they dangled over the side.  “Hey Kelsey…why do you flirt with Mikomi so much?” she asked.

    Kelsey froze, flushed red slightly, then turned to look at her young cousin, the only girl friend she had on Angel Island.  “What are you talking about Amarie?  Mikomi and I always tease each other like that; why does it strike you as flirting?”

    Amarie stared intently into Kelsey’s eyes, strangely having the ability to see into someone’s true feelings, almost like her Uncle Hidama could see into people’s souls, read their minds, and find out anything about them or their lives that he wished to.  Of course, Amarie told Hidama about this power she had, and over the years he had taught her to harness it, use it properly, and most importantly how to respect it.  She knew never to use it as a method of spying on someone, and that this kind of power, was only entrusted to people who wouldn’t abuse it.

   “Maybe it’s why your father doesn’t have those abilities…I’m not sure.  But I do know this, Amarie; that people like us are given this gift for a reason, and the most important thing about receiving a gift like this, is you have to use it correctly, nor should you take advantage of such a precious gift, an opportunity, which is reserved for a blessed few, and wondered about curiously by the rest,” Hidama said once.

   She understood what this meant, but being a twelve year old girl she couldn’t help but probe her cousin’s feelings for an innocent giggle.  She smiled and said, “I dunno Kelsey, maybe it’s because the minute I mentioned it, you stiffened up from your head to your tail bone, and your face flushed redder than a late summer sunburn.  Just a theory I guess.”

   This only caused Kelsey to flush even heavier.  She frowned and said, “Amarie, stop probing my feelings; I’ll tell Uncle Hidama on you I swear and he’ll give you a brain ache like you’ll never forget, because it’ll be ingrained on your memory like a brand on a filly in heat.”

   Amarie scooted back a bit, going slightly pale, a sweat drop forming on her brow.  “I know you don’t really like him like that Kelsey, I don’t think you ever could.  I was just kidding!” she exclaimed, holding her head as she imagined Hidama’s punishing powers.

   “I know…,” Kelsey said, laughing, “And you said it because Mikomi’s the only guy around while he and I reach that ‘stage’ in our lives, which gives you the perfect opportunity to tease us about it,” with a smirk on her face.

   “Umm…right,” Amarie said, “Although, on one hand I wasn’t going to go that deep into the subject, and on the second hand I didn’t even know how to phrase it.”

   Kelsey laughed, any tension melting away.  She brushed one of Amarie’s bangs out of her eyes and said, “Aww, it’s okay Amarie.  I was just teasing earlier…I doubt Hidama would use that attack on you anyway…or any attack for that matter.  That power, whatever it is, it’ll make your head hurt so bad you feel it’s about to implode he told me.  He’s honed his powers so much over the years, he's more frightful than he’s ever been, and, heaven forbid were we attacked, I think our invaders wouldn’t last long…not with Dad and Uncle Knuckles here to defend us.  I don’t know anyone more powerful.”

   The two girls laughed together after that, the stopped, for they could hear Mikomi saying goodbye to his mother and Aunt Delilah.  They stood up, and stepped off the porch as the front door opened. Kelsey, bent over, and whispered, “Actually Amarie, to answer your question; He’s like a brother to me.  I could never fall for him like that.  I know neither of us care about that stuff right now anyway.”

   She stood up, going up to her mother to say goodbye, leaving Amarie to stand there, and look back and forth between Mikomi and Kelsey.  She sighed, rubbing the back of her hair and said, “Sure Kelsey…and the minute some girl catches Mikomi’s eyes, I’d love to see you let it go unjustified.  Same goes for him; he wouldn’t let any guy look at you that way without protest…I know it.  Even if you two were to ignore it, it would burn you up inside, I just know it, siblings or not.  He’d get mad if someone looked at me too.  We’re all so protective of each other.  Gee, we really need to make new friends.”

   Amarie shook her thoughts away, and went to hug her mother and aunt goodbye, before the three began their trek to Station Square.  First, however, they had to give their parents the impression that they were going to the other side of the island.  They still had to get past Knuckles and Hidama, who were both at the top of the altar, watching the world around them go by as they talked.

   “Amarie…what are the chances that Uncle Hidama is gonna try and read our minds to see if we’re lying to them?” Mikomi asked.

   They kept walking, but their paces slowed, as they took in what Mikomi had said.  Kelsey shook her head, laughing, and said, “Aww come on Mikomi. Dad and Uncle Knuckles trust us, and so do Mom and Aunt Amy.  They aren’t going to be searching our thoughts or anything; let’s just walk by the altar, wave goodbye, and be on our way!”

   Their confidence reinforced, the kids went on their way, their secret tucked away safely in their hearts, hidden by their smiles, and nurtured by their parents’ trust.  It was just so easy to lie to them when they knew their integrity wouldn’t be questioned, and besides, what harm was there in going to Station Square?

   They got past Hidama and Knuckles with nothing more than goodbyes exchanged and the usual, “Be careful” from both of them.  Finally past the last hurdle, the three ran with excitement and vigor to the other side of the island, but quickly changed their path to the west side of the island, where Station Square shone like gold in the distance.

   Amarie, as well as Kelsey and Mikomi, had seen Station Square in the distance numerous times before, and yet, finally she was going to set foot in the city, which until now, was the subject of her fairy tales.  As they prepared to leave the island, she said, “I can’t believe it…I’m finally going to get off this island…it’s just like in my dreams, only this time it’s a miracle to be real.”

   Mikomi laughed, standing beside her with a hand on her shoulder.  “Yeah Amarie…our parents can’t hold us back anymore…I don’t care who they think they are.  Even if they’re trying to protect us, they can’t keep us chained to this island forever…not when they got to wander the wide world for so many years, and still have the privilege to today.  You’re going to love it Amarie.  We’ll find Mom’s old apartment in no time.”

   With one final gaze at the horizon, they gave a casual glance back towards the Master Emerald’s altar, carrying their lie with them off Angel Island once they made it to the mainland below.  They raced off into the distance, and in no time, they left their floating island prison and cares behind them, and arrived in the city of Station Square once more.

   Again, they were blind to all the bewildered stares of all that passed them by, and this time, they didn’t have Amy or Delilah to break their fears of the hybrid kids.  Most of the people went on their way, doing their best to avoid crossing their paths, or catching them in their gaze, and yet, a few of the people began to silently stalk the children, interested in more than just their curious appearance.  These people were hell bent on discovering the species of their fathers; fully aware that echidnas went extinct many years ago, they knew there was a small chance at least some of them survived, which also meant the fabled Master Emerald was around still.

   One of these people was a man in a black overcoat; he was waiting in a nearby alley for the children to appear, for he could see them approaching the city from afar, with Angel Island in the distance.  Most people paid no attention to the island, for as they forgot about the echidnas and the Master Emerald, they forgot that it was necessary to keep it floating in the sky, and thus it interested them little, but not this mysterious man, for he was wise in the ways of the echidnas and the Master Emerald, and also one of the souls that was hungry and desperate for its limitless powers.   He knew now that these kids and the secret they carried in their blood, were his keys to finally taking the Master Emerald for his own.

   The man removed his sunglasses, his dark brown eyes glinting in the light of the sun.  A wry smile formed on his lips as he stared at the blissful hybrid children.  He removed his hat, running his fingers through his vibrant red hair and chuckled softly.  “You…you three children are my keys to ultimate power.  Once the identities of your fathers are confirmed, my followers and I, shall storm Angel Island, and take the power which belongs in the hands of man,” he whispered softly.  He put his sunglasses and hat back on, then pulled his coat collar up around his neck, before silently tracking the children as they walked.

   Amarie was filled with excitement at everything around her.  Mikomi and Kelsey were equally as thrilled, for this time, they could explore the town without their mothers keeping them close by.  To start, everything went wonderfully.  The kids made their way to the local shopping center, and again, caught the attention of more of the natives.  Local teenagers gave a queer eye at them, immediately thinking poorly of them.  All three of them looked so weird, it was enough to make the teenagers angry, disapproving of them, based on just appearance alone.  Yet they didn’t approach them in the mall; they couldn’t do anything with so many people around, so they, like the mysterious man, began to stalk the kids as they went on their way.

   Using their allowances, Amarie, Mikomi, and Kelsey had fun shopping for things they wanted, since usually they had to beg and plead with their mothers for what they wanted.  They loved this newfound freedom, and the rush of the city around them.  Having left their picnic basket in the woods of Angel Island, they had lunch at the local burger joint, before beginning their search for Amy’s old apartment.

   After lunch, with shopping bags in their hands, as well as shakes they had with lunch, they started walking the streets, looking for the apartment building that was such a big part of their family history, at least for Amarie and Mikomi, as it was where Amy and Knuckles rekindled their love.

   “Gosh, I didn’t realize her apartment was this close to the center of town.  The streets have gotten quiet the further in we’ve gone,” Kelsey said.

   Mikomi took a sip of his shake and said, “Right…but the coast is still pretty close…Mom said her building was between two buildings that didn’t have balcony’s overlooking the beach for whatever reason.  Probably because they were businesses, so…it should be pretty easy to find it.”

   Amarie took the last few sips of her shake, then, looking to one of the buildings, she saw that this one was between two buildings with no balconies.  She tugged on Mikomi’s arm and said, “Hey, I think that one ahead is the one.  It looks just like the one in the pictures she showed us.”

   Both Kelsey and Mikomi recognized the building from the pictures, but before they could be excited about it, they paused, and looked at a sign nailed onto the wall of the building.  Running up to it, they were horrified by what the words said.  “Closed indefinitely.  Quarantined for demolition.”

   “My word…why are they gonna tear it down?” Kelsey said, finally breaking the silence that surrounded them.

   The three of them exchanged shocked glances, unable to speak, as the words on this sign had them trapped in shock and disbelief.  Suddenly, a stout man wearing a grey carpenter’s apron over blue jeans and a black T-shirt, peered at the three adolescents from around the corner of the building.  Overhearing what Kelsey said, he stepped around the corner and said, “Aye miss, it is because this part of town simply isn’t what it used to be.  Bigger and better hotels and apartment buildings have sprung up further down the beach, closer to the mall and other attractions, and this part of town reduced to little more than a business district for those who choose to work outside of tourism and merchandising.  Nobody wants to live down here anymore…and so the owner sold this building for a pretty penny, and soon developers will complete the chain of businesses in its demise.”

   Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey turned to look at this man, who was the first human who chose to speak to them voluntarily.  He did look at them curiously, but not out of fear or disgust.  He looked at them almost as if he was reminded of an old friend or a happy memory when he looked into their eyes.  Mikomi blinked a few times, threw this empty cup away in a trash can and said, “Well…that’s understandable.”  He paused, inhaling and exhaling deeply, before stepping forward and saying, “Excuse me sir, but do you think we could find the owner and see if he’ll let us look around?  Our mother used to live here long ago, and we wanted to see it…her old apartment I mean.”

   The man’s eyes widened as he rubbed the top of his nearly bald head.  “Oh my word…,” he paused, looking at them carefully, but with the most interest at Amarie, with her pink fur and lime green eyes.  He shook his head then looked to them and said, “Listen, your mother wouldn’t happen to be a hedgehog by the name of Amy Rose would she?”

   Amarie’s eyes brightened up, her smile widened, and she jumped in the air and said, “Yeah!  That’s our mother…well, Kelsey’s aunt, but she’s mine and Mikomi’s mom!  Do you know her?”

   Kelsey and Mikomi were equally excited, and the man smiled warmly and said, “Aye, I do young miss.  You see, I am the owner of this building. In the years after your mother left, business just fell apart, and I sold out for reasons I already gave, but I sure do remember Miss Rose, or Missis seeing as she has children.”  He paused, and said, “I’m assuming your father is the echidna who stayed with her in the last months she was here.”

   Mikomi felt ready to burst; he nodded and said, “That’s right, he’s our father Knuckles…well, he’s Kelsey’s uncle.  Her father is our dad’s brother Hidama.”  Mikomi paused, feeling slightly apprehensive, then said, “Wait, you know our father is an echidna?  I guess we just assumed that everybody had forgotten about the echidnas since that attack.”

   The man nodded, placing a hand on Mikomi’s shoulder and said, “And with good reason, son, for he has a secret he carefully guards, I know that for sure, and I can only assume your uncle guards the same secret.  It is the Master Emerald, and they are the final guardians of it I can only presume, being the last of full blood.”  He paused, looking around and said, “Come inside, I’ll gladly show you your mother’s old apartment.  By the way, you can call me Mr. Marks.”

   He smiled, and showed the three of them inside; as they entered the building, they didn’t see their mysterious stalker, tucked safely behind the corner watching them.  Again, he removed his glasses, grinning deviously at them.  “So…I’ve learned all that I need to know…their father, AND their uncle are guardians!  This makes the game even more interesting.  Now…all I have to do, is gather up the team, and storm Angel Island.”  He cackled softly, walking to the end of the alley, where he could see Angel Island floating in the distance.

   “Finally,” he murmured, “Years ago the Master Emerald escaped my grasp.  How long did my team search for it, hungry for absolute power.” He took off his black overcoat and hat, wearing a grey jumpsuit underneath, and black boots with a matching black cape and white gloves.  “Not even that fool Eggman could successfully capture the Master Emerald.  Psshh, that joke of a scientist…thank heavens we expelled him from our ranks years ago…the fool.  We all knew the Master Emerald had not yet perished, and that ingrate reported nothing of an echidna that still lived…let alone that two managed to survive.  The idiot, he’d much rather play tag and steal with that blasted hedgehog Sonic.  Humph, his intelligence is hardly worth crying over losing.  Even without him, we shall finally capture that Master Emerald…as well as the keys to unlocking its powers; those echidna brothers, the final guardians of the blessed gem, just what we need for ultimate domination.”

   The mysterious man obviously had terrible intentions.  Who he was and this team he was affiliated with, and perhaps even was the leader of, was still unknown, but unfortunately Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey’s appearance here filled in the holes of his knowledge of the situation.  Now, he was confirmed not only that the Master Emerald still had a guardian to protect it, but two, and he was fully aware too that he needed at least one of them to wield its powers.  He wouldn’t make the same mistakes as the mutants did when they ensnared Hidama; it was unclear on how he meant to gain control of Knuckles and Hidama, but having mentioned being friends with Dr. Eggman at one point, it was a sure thing that he already developed a plan, not only to storm Angel Island and take the Master Emerald, but to take control of the gem for himself for whatever his dastardly plans for it were.

   So the man disappeared from that alley, hopping on to a scooter nearby and zooming off towards the west side of the city, nestled up against some low mountains.  This was the location of his lair and team base no doubt, yet while he finalized his plans, Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey remained unaware of the danger they had awoken in their innocent trip to the city, for Mr. Marks had shown them to Amy’s old apartment, and was showing them around.

   “Aye, I knew your father well.  He stayed here with her in those final months…he was a noble echidna, and he trusted me with secrets I doubt he would divulge to any human.  He told me of the ancient security system that protected him and the Master Emerald following the attack, explaining why even the most thorough search could never locate it or any living echidna…which is why they were dubbed extinct, and why the human race was convinced what ever happened to the island had destroyed the Master Emerald as well.  This is good because many evil people searched for it, including the most vile of them, a man who called himself Herman Burns.  He was the leader of a terrible crime ring, a large group criminals known as Team Maniacal, hell bent on world domination, and they knew, the Master Emerald could do this for them,” Mr. Marks explained.

   Mikomi turned away from the hearth to look at Mr. Marks and said, “Gee…do you think if they ever learned the Master Emerald and a guardian had survived that they’d try to capture it?”

   “I don’t doubt it Mikomi, and I warned him of this, especially after he told me he was attacked by one of their ex-members, Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Mr. Marks replied.

   Kelsey came in from the kitchenette and said, “Whoa…Dr. Eggman was part of those guys?  Hey…why did he leave the group?”

   Mr. Marks laughed softly and said, “Dear Miss, he didn’t leave the group, they kicked him out.  He constantly chased after the chaos emeralds, believing they held more power than the Master Emerald did, and they finally got tired of him, and gave him one last chance to capture the Master Emerald.  Upon failing, he pleaded once more that the chaos emeralds were the key to success, but was immediately dismissed and expelled from the group.  Mind you this was before the attack and not after.  Once Angel Island crashed on the cliffs, the group, minus Robotnik, went to retrieve it, but the security system, as your father told me, protected it and him.”

   Both Mikomi and Kelsey were sitting on stools, the only furniture left in the room.  They glanced at each other as Amarie looked around on the balcony.  “Mr. Marks, what happened after they didn’t find it then?” Kelsey asked.

   Laughing softly, Mr. Marks said, “Well, they never knew what became of the Master Emerald or the echidnas, nobody did; so they were declared extinct and the Master Emerald lost forever.  After that, more and more fights erupted over the chaos emeralds, and when Sonic the Hedgehog came along we slowly began to get some order.  Team Maniacal were hardly interested in the chaos emeralds, and continued with their crimes, still trying to figure out how to rule the world.  Of course, Robotnik still believed in their power, and chased after them, fighting off that hedgehog in the process.”

   Mikomi laughed and said, “Yeah, Sonic and Eggman have been fighting for years.  So wait, I’m guessing that when Eggman found himself on Angel Island again, this time back in the sky, that he found the Master Emerald again, right?”

   Mr. Marks nodded, and continued, “Aye, Eggman chanced upon the Master Emerald in one of his clashes with Sonic and Miles Prower, and had plenty of knowledge on it from his years with the Maniacals, and seeing as his ultimate weapon was damaged, he turned your father Knuckles against Sonic and Miles, knowing he would keep them at bay while he repaired his Death Egg and stole the Master Emerald to power it.  Of course, he underestimated both Sonic’s power, and your father’s power, and was foiled once more, and so he went back to chasing the chaos emeralds. Of course, this encounter was not without consequence, for Team Maniacal managed to learn of his journeys, and discovered the Master Emerald was indeed still in existence.  I don’t know what has taken them so long to get themselves together to try and steal it…perhaps they needed more knowledge on the situation…like, in how they missed locating it before, or on working out on how to ensnare your father to wield its power.  I’m not sure when or how, but I don’t doubt that someday they plan to try and take it.”

   Amarie walked in off the balcony and said, “Oh thank you Mr. Marks for letting us see the apartment.  Daddy found Kelerai out there, and wow, Mommy lived here for so long, Daddy too.  I’m just happy we got to see it.”

   She had heard only a little of the conversation, but Mikomi and Kelsey had heard plenty, and were absolutely shocked, and a little scared too.  “So…does that mean that we’re in danger Mr. Marks?  Are those people really gonna try and steal the Master Emerald, and kidnap Dad and Uncle Hidama too?” Mikomi asked.

   Standing erect from leaning on the wall, Mr. Marks smiled weakly and said, “Again, I don’t doubt that someday they shall try and attack.  And yet, I also do not doubt the awesome powers of your fathers, and though they may be the final guardians, they are certainly no less powerful than the many noble generations that came before them.  It is for you three that I fear.  With your mothers close by I know people were less wary of you…but now…I don’t know.  Humans are a despicable race Mikomi, Kelsey, Amarie…we can be bitter and hateful on many different levels.  While we are not all evil like Team Maniacal and Robotnik, we can definitely be hurtful, so please, explore the wide world, for I know this is the secret desire of your hearts, but please, be careful, for there are plenty out there who may want to cause you harm…and these aren’t the mutants, the enemies of your fathers.  Humans have the capacity to be much worse, so be cautious through your joy, you promise?”

   Mikomi and Kelsey stood up and smiled.  Kelsey nodded and said, “You bet we will Mr. Marks.  We’ll have to warn Dad and Uncle Knuckles about this; just incase somebody does try to attack, they’ll be better prepared.  They’ve kinda relaxed over the years, so, they’ll be better off prepared for the worst I guess.  You’re right though; I don’t know anyone stronger than the two of them, so we’ll be okay.”

   Mr. Marks smiled and said, “That’s good.  I’m sorry the building has to be torn down, but I am happy you were able to take a look around before it was demolished. I do miss your mother and father, Mikomi.  Missis Rose was the best tenant I ever had, and I was so fortunate to meet one of the last echidnas to walk the world.  I feel even more lucky to get to meet their children and niece.  When you get home, be sure to tell your mother I said hello, and to drop by next time she’s in town shopping okay?  Shopping was always her favorite thing I recall.”

   All three of them exchanged quick glances, knowing full well they couldn’t do that without exposing their secret to Amy and Delilah, unless they could somehow work it in to their next visit, hoping that they would be able to come along next time.  Mikomi smiled and nodded, saying, “You bet we will Mr. Marks, and thank you so much for letting us take a look around.  It was always something we wanted to see when we got to visit here.  We appreciate it.”

   After that, they all said their goodbyes, and Mikomi, Kelsey, and Amarie went back to enjoying their day trip to Station Square.  Even though the mysterious man, whom they didn’t know was the man named Herman Burns Mr. Marks spoke of, was no longer tracking them, that group of wily teenagers were.  As they followed them, they made fun of all three of them, but for whatever reason, began to single out Amarie for their negativity.

   As late afternoon approached, Mikomi, Kelsey and Amarie found themselves on the boardwalk, having done a little more shopping in the gift shops and specialty stores along the walk.  They didn’t know it, but they were sitting on a bench that Amy and Knuckles found themselves sitting on, on many of an occasion in their youth; this was because of the picturesque view they had of the beach at night when they would walk together.

   “So, when do you think we should head back Mikomi, and more importantly, how do we sneak everything we’ve bought back inside?  Mom and Dad, and Uncle Knuckles and Aunt Amy…if they find any of the stuff we bought…what’ll they think?” Kelsey asked.

   Amarie finished her ice cream cone and said, “More like, how would we explain it Kelsey?  Personally I think we should hide the stuff in the club house.  None of them ever go up there so they won’t happen to find it without us able to guard it.  That way, we can sneak it back in later once we’ve gotten a chance to empty out our backpacks and put everything in them…even if it takes a couple trips.  It’s the safest thing to do in my opinion…unless we tried to sneak it all in at night or something.”

   “…Amarie’s got a point Kelsey.  We can make it to the tree house when we get home; that’s where we left the picnic basket anyway, so when we go to retrieve it, we’ll just leave our stuff there,” Mikomi said.  He laughed, finishing up his ice cream and said, “We better stop snacking so much…we said we’d eat the picnic lunch for dinner…we just can’t let food go to waste after all.”

   Both Kelsey and Amarie nodded in agreement.  Hopping down off the railing, which she had been standing on looking at the beach, Amarie laughed and said, “As for when we should go home…let’s just make sure to go walking on the beach first!  I’ve never gotten to walk on a beach before, and I wanna see what kinds of shells we can find.”

   Mikomi smiled at his sister and said, “Sure thing Amarie.  Why don’t we go ahead on down there?  It’s getting kinda late, and I think we should be back on Angel Island by nightfall, so…we should leave right after our walk, around sunset, okay?”

   “Sounds perfect to me!” Kelsey said standing up.  “We’ve certainly had an awesome day, and I don’t care what our parents think, absolutely nothing went wrong!”

   But as Mikomi and Kelsey walked down the boardwalk a bit to throw away their napkins and cups, those teenagers took advantage of the situation to start teasing Amarie.  Why they decided to be mean to Amarie wasn’t clear; she certainly didn’t look like a hybrid…certainly the attack on her was out of pure hatred more than anything else.  The perfect day was about to take a terrible turn around.

   The tallest of the group of five teenage boys came behind Amarie, pulling hard on her ponytail to get her attention, causing her to let out a small squeak of a cry, and whirl around to see what was behind her.  “Hey!” she cried out.  “Don’t pull on my ponytail!  That really hurt!”

   All the boys started laughing and began to taunt and mock her.  The supposed leader of them laughed and said, “Ha, look here little mouse, I can make it hurt much worse that that!”  Turning to his friends, he laughed and said, “My God, did you hear her squeak?  She really is a mouse!  All three of them must be hedgehog and mice children.  Who woulda thought their fathers were mice?!  Ah hah!”

   Amarie grew angry, not just at being teased, but for her father and Uncle Hidama being called mice.  She growled low, her face flushing red with anger, and she shouted, “My Daddy and Uncle aren’t mice you idiots!  Now shut up and stop teasing me!  I’ll make you regret it!”

   All the boys stopped laughing, and the leader tried his best to restrain a furious laugh.  “Oh my, you, you think you can make us stop?  Why don’t you try you little hybrid freak!  I don’t care if your father and uncle are both jackasses, but there’s no way you could ever take me on!  You’re nothing but a stupid, whiny little girl!”

   The boys laughed even harder, while the leader pulled down hard on Amarie’s bangs, then letting go causing her to stumble and fall backwards into the bench and let out another cry.  They continued to laugh, and now Amarie was just angry she had left her hammer at home.  She growled, jumping to her feet and shouting, “Don’t you dare say that about my Daddy and Uncle you stupid boys!  Shut up!”  She then ran for them, and pushed the leader down hard, causing him to fall hard into the others, bringing them all down to the ground.

   This finally caught Mikomi’s and Kelsey’s attention as they stepped out of one of the stores after using the restroom.  They saw Amarie standing with her fists clenched over this group of boys, who were now glaring at her with even more hatred in their eyes.

   The leader stood up, growling even worse than Amarie did.  None of the girls he knew ever stood up to him like that, nobody did, and yet this weird little hedgehog girl did.  He was ready to scream at her, and so he did, shouting, “Nobody pushes us around you little wench!  Now you shut up or I really will hurt you, you freak!”  He wasn’t kidding anymore either.  As brave as Amarie was, his scream was violent enough to make her flinch, but it wasn’t enough to prepare her for what he did next.

   He balled up his fist, punching her hard in the stomach, before pushing her backwards even harder than before, right in the path of the outstretched foot of one of his friends, causing her to fall backwards, and bang her head hard on the railing of the boardwalk.  This wasn’t enough to knock her out, but it did hurt, was enough to make her bleed, and definitely enough to make her cry.  She was still a girl after all, and so she burst into tears as the group of boys all started to laugh at her and mock her once more.

   Yet, Mikomi saw this, and he had never seen Amarie hurt so badly before.  This ignited a deep rage in him, similar to the rage of both his father and his uncle, bringing out both their fighting spirit and his.  He charged down the boardwalk at a pace Kelsey couldn’t keep up with.  This was eerily similar to the time Amy’s father punched her, and it would end in a similar fashion as well.

   The boys were unable to prepare for Mikomi’s rage and his furious strength.  He blasted through them like a speeding train through a car stalled on its tracks. Two of the boys were flung into the walls of the nearby buildings, and the other two flew high in the air, landing hard on the beach below.  The leader…Mikomi had pinned him to the ground and was attacking him furiously, screaming, “How dare you attack my sister like that you jerk!  Aren’t so tough now are ya?!  Why don’t you hit me you idiot!?  Go ahead!  Hit me!  Fight back you lamo jerk!”

   Even though Mikomi was throwing furious punches, the boy wasn’t smart enough to know not to fight back like Mr. Rose was.  He pulled his legs free and kicked Mikomi off of him, and then tried to charge Mikomi as he recovered.  The hybrid echidna was too quick for this, and immediately blocked the boy from attacking him.  They were quickly locked into a fist fight, drawing the attention of everyone around them, including those that went to help the other boys.  Oddly enough, just like nobody tried to help Amy that long ago night, nobody noticed Amarie’s tears, or the scratches on her face, or the blood in her hair from where she hit her head.

   Mikomi was locked deep in his rage.  He was hell bent on revenge for his sister, and never before was he this angry, this dead set on hurting someone, to the point where he was ignorant of Kelsey’s cries.  She had bent down to help Amarie, remembering Mr. Marks’ words from earlier, and knew that fighting was only making the situation worse.  She cried, “Please, Mikomi, stop!  You could really hurt him, or worse, you could really get hurt, please!  Mikomi listen to me!”

   Either he didn’t hear his cousin’s cries, or his love for both her and Amarie was so strong he wasn’t going to pull out of a fight until his anger wore down, or he felt justice was served.  Seeing the fearful eyes locked on Mikomi, Kelsey knew that not only were they afraid of Mikomi, they were so afraid that they were too fearful to try and help the boy.  In their eyes, Mikomi was the monster, just because he was defending his sister; this was the same for Knuckles all those years ago, and yet it was different, because unlike Knuckles, it appeared Mikomi did not know when to stop, or even have the ability to.

   Kelsey left Amarie, and bravely stepped into the fray, tackling Mikomi to get him out of the fisticuff, where they both landed hard on the ground.  The people immediately went to help the boy, who glared angrily at both Mikomi and Kelsey, as well as Amarie and shouted, “You better hope I never see your freakin’ faces around here again, or I’ll beat the living crap out of you!  I swear!”

   As the spectators took him and the others off to get first aid, all three of the hybrid kids were met with cold and uncertain glares.  The people looked at them as if they were merely toxic waste wreaking havoc in their town.  They were more concerned for these boys who only had scrapes and bruises, while Amarie had a small gash in her head, a cut on her face, and a large bruise on her stomach from where she was punched. Mikomi now had a bloody nose, his headband set was torn, and his arm ached so badly that it burned.

   He looked up at Kelsey who was still on top of him and glared at her.  He growled and said, “Why did you do that Kelsey?  That idiot deserved everything he got!  Look how badly he hurt Amarie!  Now get off me dammit!”  In his anger, he pushed Kelsey off of him and stood to his feet quickly, holding his bleeding nose with the hand of his hurt arm, while he cradled it with his other arm.

   Kelsey frowned and said, “I’m not saying that he didn’t…it’s just, you were drawing so much negative attention to yourself Mikomi, I had to stop you somehow, and we need to get Amarie some help…hey, I just remembered, I packed my first aid kit…we can use that to bandage up her head and your nose.”  She went to her backpack to get the first aid kit, while Mikomi sat down beside his sister, who was hugging her knees and crying.

   “Aww Amarie…I’m so sorry.  I can’t believe what they did.  I woulda gotten him harder if Kelsey hadn’t stopped me,” Mikomi stroked his sister’s hair, cringing as little bits of her blood stained his glove as he did so.

   She looked up at him, sniffing hard and said, “I’m…I’m okay Mikomi…if I had my hammer…that guy woulda paid even worse.”  She sniffed heavily again and said, “I don’t know what I did, he just attacked me…Mr. Marks was right…humans are so mean…I…I wanna go home Mikomi!  I want Mommy and Daddy!”

   Amarie started to cry again as Kelsey returned with the first aid kit.  As she cleaned up Amarie’s head wound and bandaged it, she said, “Mikomi…I’m sorry that I tackled you like that…I just…didn’t want you to get hurt…and the way those humans were looking at you…I was afraid the moment they saw their chance that they were gonna beat you to a pulp.”

   Mikomi looked at her, but she couldn’t look him in the eyes.  She frowned, looking away from him and said, “Maybe we should just go home and tell Mom and Dad, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Knuckles what we did.  Right now, I’m not afraid of any punishment they can dish out…nothing is worse than this.  They attacked Amarie for no reason whatsoever.  Unless…they attacked her because she’s a hybrid.  That’s what it is isn’t it?  They’re all afraid of us…they think we’re freaks, and that we don’t belong here.  Maybe…our parents really were trying to protect us guys.  Nobody cares about us…at least our parents love us.  Maybe we’re better off never leaving Angel Island again…why come to a world where everyone hates us?  It’s not worth any adventure…prison is more comforting than this kind of freedom.”

   Kelsey then went on to bandage up Mikomi’s nose, while Amarie was encouraged to still walk on the beach and find a shell before they left.  Mikomi’s anger had dissipated, and as Kelsey bandaged his nose, he said, “You’re right Kelsey…but, why do people hate us just because we’re hybrids?  Why are humans so…so mean, and hateful, and hurtful?”  He sighed and said, “You’re right, I don’t care if we’re trapped on Angel Island for the rest of our lives, I’m never leaving it again…unless Mom or Dad are with me…or Uncle Hidama and Aunt Delilah…nobody will hurt us with them around, at least I hope not.”

   The cousins locked eyes; they could see the sadness they both felt, as well as that overwhelming sense of feeling they had no one they could trust.  They could always count on each other…did this mean they would never make friends, or find someone to love, or build their own lives?  Would they always be trapped on Angel Island?  Was that the best they could expect from a world that appeared to want nothing to do with them?

   Somehow though, they were able to see past their sadness.  Returning to awareness, they both smiled.  Mikomi said, “Umm, well, you don’t need to be sorry for pushing me; you did what you had to after all…I should thank you for it.”

   Kelsey leaned in closer to him to finish bandaging his nose, close enough for her own to wind up bumping his.  He cringed a bit, growling softly, while Kelsey, acting out of instinct, quickly pulled away and rubbed his nose, saying, “Whoops, my bad Mikomi.  I think you’ll be fine now.  As Kelsey started to pack up her backpack, she answered Mikomi, saying, “Nah, that’s okay Mikomi.  It’s no trouble…I’m always there to look out for you and Amarie.”

   As both she and Mikomi stood up, he smiled and said, “Right…of course.”  He sighed, looking at the now abandoned boardwalk and said, “Look, why don’t we go walk on the beach with Amarie, and then go on home.  I dunno how we’ll explain this to our parents though.”

   Kelsey immediately took his hand, and as the two looked from their hands to each other, they smiled and she said, “It’ll be just like when we ran away that one time remember?  We climbed up to the Sky Sanctuary and got lost…we cried for hours until Dad found us…they were furious with us at first, but Dad told us it was only because they loved us and didn’t want anything to ever hurt us…I guess in keeping us away from here they were doing the right thing again.  We’ll just…apologize.  They do love us Mikomi, and we just learned our lesson the hard way.”

   As Mikomi and Kelsey walked down onto the beach, Mikomi replied, “Yeah…they were just trying to protect us…I’m so sorry I disobeyed them now.  They’re probably the only people who love us, but hell, they love us well and a lot, and I’m grateful for that.  And like you said we always have each other.”

   Kelsey bent over, picking up a glossy, smooth and colorful Olive shell and said, “Gee, I’ll have to show this to Mom, she’ll know what this shell is.  I know it’s special.”  Sighing she said, “Oh Mikomi, I love our parents so much…what would we ever do without them in this world full of hate?”

   The two fell silent after that, and as they saw Amarie running towards them with a few shells in her hand, Mikomi looked to Angel Island in the distance and sighed, saying, “I don’t know Kelsey.  We’d probably be dead if anything ever happened to them, or the Master Emerald I guess…it is what makes the island float safely above all this crap after all.”  They looked to each other, and he said, “Let’s see what Amarie found, then we’ll go home.”

   Yet by the time they got to Amarie, they could hear sirens and shouting in the distance.  They stood together, their sensitive ears picking up a few words, “those hybrid hedgehogs” and, “they must be dealt with” the most frequent.  Amarie’s eyes widened, and she said, “They’re after us guys!  What are we gonna do?!”

   Mikomi began to panic, but realized that fighting them was not the thing to do, and with no ground cover they had nowhere to run.  He desperately looked for a place to hide, then saw there was a small space to hide underneath the boardwalk.  He shouted, “Kelsey!  Amarie!  We have to run get our stuff and hide under the boardwalk quickly before they find us!  Hurry!”

   Mikomi picked up Amarie, and he and Kelsey ran back to the boardwalk as fast as they could.  After sitting Amarie down, they began to grab their things and throw them under the boardwalk before slipping underneath it themselves and crawling as far back into the shadows as they could, and as they did so, they could no longer see Angel Island, and only a sliver of the darkening evening sky.

   After a few minutes, they heard shouting and the thundering of footsteps above them.  “Those freaks are hurting our children!  They must be done away with at any costs!  Whoever finds them, bring them back here, dead, or alive!  Hurry!  I don’t care what it takes, don’t let them get away!”

   As the murderous cries died down, people thundered all through the city, and thankfully stayed off the beach.  Yet, there were too many people about for them to try and escape, especially when they were willing to kill them in order to capture them.  Amarie clung to her brother and started to cry.  “Those stupid boys,” she cried softly, “They hurt me and now they’re faking it like you’re the bad one Mikomi.  Why do those people want to kill us Mikomi?  I want Mommy and Daddy!”

   Kelsey had started to cry as well, she murmured, “Mikomi, this isn’t your fault so don’t get started.”  She nuzzled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder and said, “I’m so scared Mikomi.  What happens if they find us?  And what’s worse, think about how worried our parents are gonna be when we don’t come home, and even worse when we aren’t on the island…I’m so scared.”

   Mikomi was shaking with fear, but knew he had to stay strong.  Yet before, being able to see Angel Island in the distance was able to comfort him; now all he had was the darkness of the shadows and a moonless night, with his sister and cousin to comfort, and the footsteps of hundreds of people hunting them down.  A few silent tears fell from his eyes, and he whispered, “Mr. Marks was right…humans are nothing but, hurtful, hateful, and evil souls.  All they care about is themselves; they care nothing for the world around them, or those souls that co-exist beside their own.  Why should we care for the future of a world that hates us?  I wish Dad and Uncle Hidama would let those humans destroy themselves with the Master Emerald.  Who cares what happens to them now?  They certainly don’t mind killing us over nothing.  I hope those damn humans use the Master Emerald and destroy themselves; it’s no less than what they’ll deserve for being so selfish and sinful.”

   He tried his best to comfort his sister and cousin, praying for their parents and themselves, sorry for ever disobeying them in the first place.  Perhaps out of anger and fear Mikomi uttered doom for the humans, when normally he wouldn’t be so negative towards anyone.  Yet as night came, the search for them broke down, and the people relaxed, as Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey slept safely underneath the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the terrible night did not end for them, for beyond their view of the sky, two small aircraft silently approached Angel Island.  The lives of these innocent souls, were about to be shattered forever, as the day of their uncertain adventure came to a frightful end, at least for them, for now, certain chaos was coming to Angel Island in the dark of the moonless night.

Description
"For the Love of Eternity"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 3: The Uncertain Adventure

   The following morning, the kids carried out their plan, packing what they would need for their day trip to the mainland.  The excitement was close to overflowing from their hearts, and they still had to contain it as to not give themselves away.  Kelsey quickly packed up her backpack with what she would need, and then helped Amy and Delilah to pack their picnic lunch while Mikomi and Amarie finished packing.

   “This is gonna be so cool Mikomi!  I just can’t wait to see Station Square…it’s where Mommy grew up right?” Amarie asked.

   Mikomi’s ears twitched a bit as he fitted his backpack on his shoulders.  He said, “Umm…actually, she spent a lot of her childhood on Little Planet.  She moved to Station Square when she was around your age I guess.  Actually…I’d love to see the apartment where she lived.  She and Dad stayed there together a lot before they moved back to Angel Island permanently…and it’s where Dad found Kelerai too…so we’ll have to see if we can find her old apartment.”

   Amarie’s eyes widened with wonder and romance; “Oh that is so sweet!  It’s where they first fell in love!” she said, her eyes sparkling.

   “Amarie…heh, they first fell in love here on Angel Island,” Mikomi said laughing.  The hopeless romantic sparkle left Amarie’s eyes as she looked at her brother, as confused as all get out.  “It’s true. Mom was camping with her parents nearby when she was like…five…and wandered onto Angel Island, which had crashed onto a cliff below after the attack.  She met Dad here and they became friends.  Years later they got reacquainted, and it wasn’t until Dad was sixteen that they shared that apartment for awhile…but yeah, I guess they did rekindle their romance there you could say,” he explained.

   Just then, Kelsey poked her head into the room and said, “Well come on!  Are you guys ready or what!?”  She had the finished picnic basket in hand, and her black backpack on her shoulders.  “I cannot wait to get going!  This is so exciting!”

   Fitting her pink backpack on her shoulders, Amarie smiled and said, “Yep!  We’re ready Kelsey…Mikomi and I were just talking about finding Mommy’s old apartment when we get there.”

   Mikomi shook his head, laughing and said, “Just a minute…I need to get the grey headband set Uncle Hidama gave me.”

   As he left Amarie’s bedroom to go to his own, Kelsey grinned, nudging his arm as he passed and said, “I’m surprised you’re taking a break from wearing it now.  I thought it had become one with your hair, or melted into your skull or something.”

   He gave her a look, and nudged her back and said, “Oh get real Kelsey.  That’s not even funny.”

   “Oh?  Then why are you trying to hold back a laugh and a smile might I ask?”

   “Mmm, heh…I am not…I’m just holding in a yawn.”

   “Sure you are,” Kelsey said, running her hand up his chest along his backpack strap before casually tweaking his nose.

   “Hey!  Cut it out Kelsey…gimme a break,” he said, swatting lightly at her hand in annoyance.  She giggled at his reaction, for this was casual teasing, the kind they were used to, and had traded between each other for years.  It never got old, no matter how much either appeared to let it bother them.

   She shook her head, smiled and said, “I’m sorry Mikomi.  Go ahead and get your headband and Amarie and I will see you outside.”

   Mikomi smiled back, nodding in reply, and saying, “It’s okay.  It’s not like it bothered me that much anyway.”

   While he went to retrieve his headband set, Amarie and Kelsey went outside and waited for Mikomi, sitting in the swing on the front porch, looking towards the few parts of the horizon that they could see through the thick forest of trees.  Amarie swung her legs a bit as they dangled over the side.  “Hey Kelsey…why do you flirt with Mikomi so much?” she asked.

    Kelsey froze, flushed red slightly, then turned to look at her young cousin, the only girl friend she had on Angel Island.  “What are you talking about Amarie?  Mikomi and I always tease each other like that; why does it strike you as flirting?”

    Amarie stared intently into Kelsey’s eyes, strangely having the ability to see into someone’s true feelings, almost like her Uncle Hidama could see into people’s souls, read their minds, and find out anything about them or their lives that he wished to.  Of course, Amarie told Hidama about this power she had, and over the years he had taught her to harness it, use it properly, and most importantly how to respect it.  She knew never to use it as a method of spying on someone, and that this kind of power, was only entrusted to people who wouldn’t abuse it.

   “Maybe it’s why your father doesn’t have those abilities…I’m not sure.  But I do know this, Amarie; that people like us are given this gift for a reason, and the most important thing about receiving a gift like this, is you have to use it correctly, nor should you take advantage of such a precious gift, an opportunity, which is reserved for a blessed few, and wondered about curiously by the rest,” Hidama said once.

   She understood what this meant, but being a twelve year old girl she couldn’t help but probe her cousin’s feelings for an innocent giggle.  She smiled and said, “I dunno Kelsey, maybe it’s because the minute I mentioned it, you stiffened up from your head to your tail bone, and your face flushed redder than a late summer sunburn.  Just a theory I guess.”

   This only caused Kelsey to flush even heavier.  She frowned and said, “Amarie, stop probing my feelings; I’ll tell Uncle Hidama on you I swear and he’ll give you a brain ache like you’ll never forget, because it’ll be ingrained on your memory like a brand on a filly in heat.”

   Amarie scooted back a bit, going slightly pale, a sweat drop forming on her brow.  “I know you don’t really like him like that Kelsey, I don’t think you ever could.  I was just kidding!” she exclaimed, holding her head as she imagined Hidama’s punishing powers.

   “I know…,” Kelsey said, laughing, “And you said it because Mikomi’s the only guy around while he and I reach that ‘stage’ in our lives, which gives you the perfect opportunity to tease us about it,” with a smirk on her face.

   “Umm…right,” Amarie said, “Although, on one hand I wasn’t going to go that deep into the subject, and on the second hand I didn’t even know how to phrase it.”

   Kelsey laughed, any tension melting away.  She brushed one of Amarie’s bangs out of her eyes and said, “Aww, it’s okay Amarie.  I was just teasing earlier…I doubt Hidama would use that attack on you anyway…or any attack for that matter.  That power, whatever it is, it’ll make your head hurt so bad you feel it’s about to implode he told me.  He’s honed his powers so much over the years, he's more frightful than he’s ever been, and, heaven forbid were we attacked, I think our invaders wouldn’t last long…not with Dad and Uncle Knuckles here to defend us.  I don’t know anyone more powerful.”

   The two girls laughed together after that, the stopped, for they could hear Mikomi saying goodbye to his mother and Aunt Delilah.  They stood up, and stepped off the porch as the front door opened. Kelsey, bent over, and whispered, “Actually Amarie, to answer your question; He’s like a brother to me.  I could never fall for him like that.  I know neither of us care about that stuff right now anyway.”

   She stood up, going up to her mother to say goodbye, leaving Amarie to stand there, and look back and forth between Mikomi and Kelsey.  She sighed, rubbing the back of her hair and said, “Sure Kelsey…and the minute some girl catches Mikomi’s eyes, I’d love to see you let it go unjustified.  Same goes for him; he wouldn’t let any guy look at you that way without protest…I know it.  Even if you two were to ignore it, it would burn you up inside, I just know it, siblings or not.  He’d get mad if someone looked at me too.  We’re all so protective of each other.  Gee, we really need to make new friends.”

   Amarie shook her thoughts away, and went to hug her mother and aunt goodbye, before the three began their trek to Station Square.  First, however, they had to give their parents the impression that they were going to the other side of the island.  They still had to get past Knuckles and Hidama, who were both at the top of the altar, watching the world around them go by as they talked.

   “Amarie…what are the chances that Uncle Hidama is gonna try and read our minds to see if we’re lying to them?” Mikomi asked.

   They kept walking, but their paces slowed, as they took in what Mikomi had said.  Kelsey shook her head, laughing, and said, “Aww come on Mikomi. Dad and Uncle Knuckles trust us, and so do Mom and Aunt Amy.  They aren’t going to be searching our thoughts or anything; let’s just walk by the altar, wave goodbye, and be on our way!”

   Their confidence reinforced, the kids went on their way, their secret tucked away safely in their hearts, hidden by their smiles, and nurtured by their parents’ trust.  It was just so easy to lie to them when they knew their integrity wouldn’t be questioned, and besides, what harm was there in going to Station Square?

   They got past Hidama and Knuckles with nothing more than goodbyes exchanged and the usual, “Be careful” from both of them.  Finally past the last hurdle, the three ran with excitement and vigor to the other side of the island, but quickly changed their path to the west side of the island, where Station Square shone like gold in the distance.

   Amarie, as well as Kelsey and Mikomi, had seen Station Square in the distance numerous times before, and yet, finally she was going to set foot in the city, which until now, was the subject of her fairy tales.  As they prepared to leave the island, she said, “I can’t believe it…I’m finally going to get off this island…it’s just like in my dreams, only this time it’s a miracle to be real.”

   Mikomi laughed, standing beside her with a hand on her shoulder.  “Yeah Amarie…our parents can’t hold us back anymore…I don’t care who they think they are.  Even if they’re trying to protect us, they can’t keep us chained to this island forever…not when they got to wander the wide world for so many years, and still have the privilege to today.  You’re going to love it Amarie.  We’ll find Mom’s old apartment in no time.”

   With one final gaze at the horizon, they gave a casual glance back towards the Master Emerald’s altar, carrying their lie with them off Angel Island once they made it to the mainland below.  They raced off into the distance, and in no time, they left their floating island prison and cares behind them, and arrived in the city of Station Square once more.

   Again, they were blind to all the bewildered stares of all that passed them by, and this time, they didn’t have Amy or Delilah to break their fears of the hybrid kids.  Most of the people went on their way, doing their best to avoid crossing their paths, or catching them in their gaze, and yet, a few of the people began to silently stalk the children, interested in more than just their curious appearance.  These people were hell bent on discovering the species of their fathers; fully aware that echidnas went extinct many years ago, they knew there was a small chance at least some of them survived, which also meant the fabled Master Emerald was around still.

   One of these people was a man in a black overcoat; he was waiting in a nearby alley for the children to appear, for he could see them approaching the city from afar, with Angel Island in the distance.  Most people paid no attention to the island, for as they forgot about the echidnas and the Master Emerald, they forgot that it was necessary to keep it floating in the sky, and thus it interested them little, but not this mysterious man, for he was wise in the ways of the echidnas and the Master Emerald, and also one of the souls that was hungry and desperate for its limitless powers.   He knew now that these kids and the secret they carried in their blood, were his keys to finally taking the Master Emerald for his own.

   The man removed his sunglasses, his dark brown eyes glinting in the light of the sun.  A wry smile formed on his lips as he stared at the blissful hybrid children.  He removed his hat, running his fingers through his vibrant red hair and chuckled softly.  “You…you three children are my keys to ultimate power.  Once the identities of your fathers are confirmed, my followers and I, shall storm Angel Island, and take the power which belongs in the hands of man,” he whispered softly.  He put his sunglasses and hat back on, then pulled his coat collar up around his neck, before silently tracking the children as they walked.

   Amarie was filled with excitement at everything around her.  Mikomi and Kelsey were equally as thrilled, for this time, they could explore the town without their mothers keeping them close by.  To start, everything went wonderfully.  The kids made their way to the local shopping center, and again, caught the attention of more of the natives.  Local teenagers gave a queer eye at them, immediately thinking poorly of them.  All three of them looked so weird, it was enough to make the teenagers angry, disapproving of them, based on just appearance alone.  Yet they didn’t approach them in the mall; they couldn’t do anything with so many people around, so they, like the mysterious man, began to stalk the kids as they went on their way.

   Using their allowances, Amarie, Mikomi, and Kelsey had fun shopping for things they wanted, since usually they had to beg and plead with their mothers for what they wanted.  They loved this newfound freedom, and the rush of the city around them.  Having left their picnic basket in the woods of Angel Island, they had lunch at the local burger joint, before beginning their search for Amy’s old apartment.

   After lunch, with shopping bags in their hands, as well as shakes they had with lunch, they started walking the streets, looking for the apartment building that was such a big part of their family history, at least for Amarie and Mikomi, as it was where Amy and Knuckles rekindled their love.

   “Gosh, I didn’t realize her apartment was this close to the center of town.  The streets have gotten quiet the further in we’ve gone,” Kelsey said.

   Mikomi took a sip of his shake and said, “Right…but the coast is still pretty close…Mom said her building was between two buildings that didn’t have balcony’s overlooking the beach for whatever reason.  Probably because they were businesses, so…it should be pretty easy to find it.”

   Amarie took the last few sips of her shake, then, looking to one of the buildings, she saw that this one was between two buildings with no balconies.  She tugged on Mikomi’s arm and said, “Hey, I think that one ahead is the one.  It looks just like the one in the pictures she showed us.”

   Both Kelsey and Mikomi recognized the building from the pictures, but before they could be excited about it, they paused, and looked at a sign nailed onto the wall of the building.  Running up to it, they were horrified by what the words said.  “Closed indefinitely.  Quarantined for demolition.”

   “My word…why are they gonna tear it down?” Kelsey said, finally breaking the silence that surrounded them.

   The three of them exchanged shocked glances, unable to speak, as the words on this sign had them trapped in shock and disbelief.  Suddenly, a stout man wearing a grey carpenter’s apron over blue jeans and a black T-shirt, peered at the three adolescents from around the corner of the building.  Overhearing what Kelsey said, he stepped around the corner and said, “Aye miss, it is because this part of town simply isn’t what it used to be.  Bigger and better hotels and apartment buildings have sprung up further down the beach, closer to the mall and other attractions, and this part of town reduced to little more than a business district for those who choose to work outside of tourism and merchandising.  Nobody wants to live down here anymore…and so the owner sold this building for a pretty penny, and soon developers will complete the chain of businesses in its demise.”

   Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey turned to look at this man, who was the first human who chose to speak to them voluntarily.  He did look at them curiously, but not out of fear or disgust.  He looked at them almost as if he was reminded of an old friend or a happy memory when he looked into their eyes.  Mikomi blinked a few times, threw this empty cup away in a trash can and said, “Well…that’s understandable.”  He paused, inhaling and exhaling deeply, before stepping forward and saying, “Excuse me sir, but do you think we could find the owner and see if he’ll let us look around?  Our mother used to live here long ago, and we wanted to see it…her old apartment I mean.”

   The man’s eyes widened as he rubbed the top of his nearly bald head.  “Oh my word…,” he paused, looking at them carefully, but with the most interest at Amarie, with her pink fur and lime green eyes.  He shook his head then looked to them and said, “Listen, your mother wouldn’t happen to be a hedgehog by the name of Amy Rose would she?”

   Amarie’s eyes brightened up, her smile widened, and she jumped in the air and said, “Yeah!  That’s our mother…well, Kelsey’s aunt, but she’s mine and Mikomi’s mom!  Do you know her?”

   Kelsey and Mikomi were equally excited, and the man smiled warmly and said, “Aye, I do young miss.  You see, I am the owner of this building. In the years after your mother left, business just fell apart, and I sold out for reasons I already gave, but I sure do remember Miss Rose, or Missis seeing as she has children.”  He paused, and said, “I’m assuming your father is the echidna who stayed with her in the last months she was here.”

   Mikomi felt ready to burst; he nodded and said, “That’s right, he’s our father Knuckles…well, he’s Kelsey’s uncle.  Her father is our dad’s brother Hidama.”  Mikomi paused, feeling slightly apprehensive, then said, “Wait, you know our father is an echidna?  I guess we just assumed that everybody had forgotten about the echidnas since that attack.”

   The man nodded, placing a hand on Mikomi’s shoulder and said, “And with good reason, son, for he has a secret he carefully guards, I know that for sure, and I can only assume your uncle guards the same secret.  It is the Master Emerald, and they are the final guardians of it I can only presume, being the last of full blood.”  He paused, looking around and said, “Come inside, I’ll gladly show you your mother’s old apartment.  By the way, you can call me Mr. Marks.”

   He smiled, and showed the three of them inside; as they entered the building, they didn’t see their mysterious stalker, tucked safely behind the corner watching them.  Again, he removed his glasses, grinning deviously at them.  “So…I’ve learned all that I need to know…their father, AND their uncle are guardians!  This makes the game even more interesting.  Now…all I have to do, is gather up the team, and storm Angel Island.”  He cackled softly, walking to the end of the alley, where he could see Angel Island floating in the distance.

   “Finally,” he murmured, “Years ago the Master Emerald escaped my grasp.  How long did my team search for it, hungry for absolute power.” He took off his black overcoat and hat, wearing a grey jumpsuit underneath, and black boots with a matching black cape and white gloves.  “Not even that fool Eggman could successfully capture the Master Emerald.  Psshh, that joke of a scientist…thank heavens we expelled him from our ranks years ago…the fool.  We all knew the Master Emerald had not yet perished, and that ingrate reported nothing of an echidna that still lived…let alone that two managed to survive.  The idiot, he’d much rather play tag and steal with that blasted hedgehog Sonic.  Humph, his intelligence is hardly worth crying over losing.  Even without him, we shall finally capture that Master Emerald…as well as the keys to unlocking its powers; those echidna brothers, the final guardians of the blessed gem, just what we need for ultimate domination.”

   The mysterious man obviously had terrible intentions.  Who he was and this team he was affiliated with, and perhaps even was the leader of, was still unknown, but unfortunately Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey’s appearance here filled in the holes of his knowledge of the situation.  Now, he was confirmed not only that the Master Emerald still had a guardian to protect it, but two, and he was fully aware too that he needed at least one of them to wield its powers.  He wouldn’t make the same mistakes as the mutants did when they ensnared Hidama; it was unclear on how he meant to gain control of Knuckles and Hidama, but having mentioned being friends with Dr. Eggman at one point, it was a sure thing that he already developed a plan, not only to storm Angel Island and take the Master Emerald, but to take control of the gem for himself for whatever his dastardly plans for it were.

   So the man disappeared from that alley, hopping on to a scooter nearby and zooming off towards the west side of the city, nestled up against some low mountains.  This was the location of his lair and team base no doubt, yet while he finalized his plans, Mikomi, Amarie, and Kelsey remained unaware of the danger they had awoken in their innocent trip to the city, for Mr. Marks had shown them to Amy’s old apartment, and was showing them around.

   “Aye, I knew your father well.  He stayed here with her in those final months…he was a noble echidna, and he trusted me with secrets I doubt he would divulge to any human.  He told me of the ancient security system that protected him and the Master Emerald following the attack, explaining why even the most thorough search could never locate it or any living echidna…which is why they were dubbed extinct, and why the human race was convinced what ever happened to the island had destroyed the Master Emerald as well.  This is good because many evil people searched for it, including the most vile of them, a man who called himself Herman Burns.  He was the leader of a terrible crime ring, a large group criminals known as Team Maniacal, hell bent on world domination, and they knew, the Master Emerald could do this for them,” Mr. Marks explained.

   Mikomi turned away from the hearth to look at Mr. Marks and said, “Gee…do you think if they ever learned the Master Emerald and a guardian had survived that they’d try to capture it?”

   “I don’t doubt it Mikomi, and I warned him of this, especially after he told me he was attacked by one of their ex-members, Dr. Ivo Robotnik,” Mr. Marks replied.

   Kelsey came in from the kitchenette and said, “Whoa…Dr. Eggman was part of those guys?  Hey…why did he leave the group?”

   Mr. Marks laughed softly and said, “Dear Miss, he didn’t leave the group, they kicked him out.  He constantly chased after the chaos emeralds, believing they held more power than the Master Emerald did, and they finally got tired of him, and gave him one last chance to capture the Master Emerald.  Upon failing, he pleaded once more that the chaos emeralds were the key to success, but was immediately dismissed and expelled from the group.  Mind you this was before the attack and not after.  Once Angel Island crashed on the cliffs, the group, minus Robotnik, went to retrieve it, but the security system, as your father told me, protected it and him.”

   Both Mikomi and Kelsey were sitting on stools, the only furniture left in the room.  They glanced at each other as Amarie looked around on the balcony.  “Mr. Marks, what happened after they didn’t find it then?” Kelsey asked.

   Laughing softly, Mr. Marks said, “Well, they never knew what became of the Master Emerald or the echidnas, nobody did; so they were declared extinct and the Master Emerald lost forever.  After that, more and more fights erupted over the chaos emeralds, and when Sonic the Hedgehog came along we slowly began to get some order.  Team Maniacal were hardly interested in the chaos emeralds, and continued with their crimes, still trying to figure out how to rule the world.  Of course, Robotnik still believed in their power, and chased after them, fighting off that hedgehog in the process.”

   Mikomi laughed and said, “Yeah, Sonic and Eggman have been fighting for years.  So wait, I’m guessing that when Eggman found himself on Angel Island again, this time back in the sky, that he found the Master Emerald again, right?”

   Mr. Marks nodded, and continued, “Aye, Eggman chanced upon the Master Emerald in one of his clashes with Sonic and Miles Prower, and had plenty of knowledge on it from his years with the Maniacals, and seeing as his ultimate weapon was damaged, he turned your father Knuckles against Sonic and Miles, knowing he would keep them at bay while he repaired his Death Egg and stole the Master Emerald to power it.  Of course, he underestimated both Sonic’s power, and your father’s power, and was foiled once more, and so he went back to chasing the chaos emeralds. Of course, this encounter was not without consequence, for Team Maniacal managed to learn of his journeys, and discovered the Master Emerald was indeed still in existence.  I don’t know what has taken them so long to get themselves together to try and steal it…perhaps they needed more knowledge on the situation…like, in how they missed locating it before, or on working out on how to ensnare your father to wield its power.  I’m not sure when or how, but I don’t doubt that someday they plan to try and take it.”

   Amarie walked in off the balcony and said, “Oh thank you Mr. Marks for letting us see the apartment.  Daddy found Kelerai out there, and wow, Mommy lived here for so long, Daddy too.  I’m just happy we got to see it.”

   She had heard only a little of the conversation, but Mikomi and Kelsey had heard plenty, and were absolutely shocked, and a little scared too.  “So…does that mean that we’re in danger Mr. Marks?  Are those people really gonna try and steal the Master Emerald, and kidnap Dad and Uncle Hidama too?” Mikomi asked.

   Standing erect from leaning on the wall, Mr. Marks smiled weakly and said, “Again, I don’t doubt that someday they shall try and attack.  And yet, I also do not doubt the awesome powers of your fathers, and though they may be the final guardians, they are certainly no less powerful than the many noble generations that came before them.  It is for you three that I fear.  With your mothers close by I know people were less wary of you…but now…I don’t know.  Humans are a despicable race Mikomi, Kelsey, Amarie…we can be bitter and hateful on many different levels.  While we are not all evil like Team Maniacal and Robotnik, we can definitely be hurtful, so please, explore the wide world, for I know this is the secret desire of your hearts, but please, be careful, for there are plenty out there who may want to cause you harm…and these aren’t the mutants, the enemies of your fathers.  Humans have the capacity to be much worse, so be cautious through your joy, you promise?”

   Mikomi and Kelsey stood up and smiled.  Kelsey nodded and said, “You bet we will Mr. Marks.  We’ll have to warn Dad and Uncle Knuckles about this; just incase somebody does try to attack, they’ll be better prepared.  They’ve kinda relaxed over the years, so, they’ll be better off prepared for the worst I guess.  You’re right though; I don’t know anyone stronger than the two of them, so we’ll be okay.”

   Mr. Marks smiled and said, “That’s good.  I’m sorry the building has to be torn down, but I am happy you were able to take a look around before it was demolished. I do miss your mother and father, Mikomi.  Missis Rose was the best tenant I ever had, and I was so fortunate to meet one of the last echidnas to walk the world.  I feel even more lucky to get to meet their children and niece.  When you get home, be sure to tell your mother I said hello, and to drop by next time she’s in town shopping okay?  Shopping was always her favorite thing I recall.”

   All three of them exchanged quick glances, knowing full well they couldn’t do that without exposing their secret to Amy and Delilah, unless they could somehow work it in to their next visit, hoping that they would be able to come along next time.  Mikomi smiled and nodded, saying, “You bet we will Mr. Marks, and thank you so much for letting us take a look around.  It was always something we wanted to see when we got to visit here.  We appreciate it.”

   After that, they all said their goodbyes, and Mikomi, Kelsey, and Amarie went back to enjoying their day trip to Station Square.  Even though the mysterious man, whom they didn’t know was the man named Herman Burns Mr. Marks spoke of, was no longer tracking them, that group of wily teenagers were.  As they followed them, they made fun of all three of them, but for whatever reason, began to single out Amarie for their negativity.

   As late afternoon approached, Mikomi, Kelsey and Amarie found themselves on the boardwalk, having done a little more shopping in the gift shops and specialty stores along the walk.  They didn’t know it, but they were sitting on a bench that Amy and Knuckles found themselves sitting on, on many of an occasion in their youth; this was because of the picturesque view they had of the beach at night when they would walk together.

   “So, when do you think we should head back Mikomi, and more importantly, how do we sneak everything we’ve bought back inside?  Mom and Dad, and Uncle Knuckles and Aunt Amy…if they find any of the stuff we bought…what’ll they think?” Kelsey asked.

   Amarie finished her ice cream cone and said, “More like, how would we explain it Kelsey?  Personally I think we should hide the stuff in the club house.  None of them ever go up there so they won’t happen to find it without us able to guard it.  That way, we can sneak it back in later once we’ve gotten a chance to empty out our backpacks and put everything in them…even if it takes a couple trips.  It’s the safest thing to do in my opinion…unless we tried to sneak it all in at night or something.”

   “…Amarie’s got a point Kelsey.  We can make it to the tree house when we get home; that’s where we left the picnic basket anyway, so when we go to retrieve it, we’ll just leave our stuff there,” Mikomi said.  He laughed, finishing up his ice cream and said, “We better stop snacking so much…we said we’d eat the picnic lunch for dinner…we just can’t let food go to waste after all.”

   Both Kelsey and Amarie nodded in agreement.  Hopping down off the railing, which she had been standing on looking at the beach, Amarie laughed and said, “As for when we should go home…let’s just make sure to go walking on the beach first!  I’ve never gotten to walk on a beach before, and I wanna see what kinds of shells we can find.”

   Mikomi smiled at his sister and said, “Sure thing Amarie.  Why don’t we go ahead on down there?  It’s getting kinda late, and I think we should be back on Angel Island by nightfall, so…we should leave right after our walk, around sunset, okay?”

   “Sounds perfect to me!” Kelsey said standing up.  “We’ve certainly had an awesome day, and I don’t care what our parents think, absolutely nothing went wrong!”

   But as Mikomi and Kelsey walked down the boardwalk a bit to throw away their napkins and cups, those teenagers took advantage of the situation to start teasing Amarie.  Why they decided to be mean to Amarie wasn’t clear; she certainly didn’t look like a hybrid…certainly the attack on her was out of pure hatred more than anything else.  The perfect day was about to take a terrible turn around.

   The tallest of the group of five teenage boys came behind Amarie, pulling hard on her ponytail to get her attention, causing her to let out a small squeak of a cry, and whirl around to see what was behind her.  “Hey!” she cried out.  “Don’t pull on my ponytail!  That really hurt!”

   All the boys started laughing and began to taunt and mock her.  The supposed leader of them laughed and said, “Ha, look here little mouse, I can make it hurt much worse that that!”  Turning to his friends, he laughed and said, “My God, did you hear her squeak?  She really is a mouse!  All three of them must be hedgehog and mice children.  Who woulda thought their fathers were mice?!  Ah hah!”

   Amarie grew angry, not just at being teased, but for her father and Uncle Hidama being called mice.  She growled low, her face flushing red with anger, and she shouted, “My Daddy and Uncle aren’t mice you idiots!  Now shut up and stop teasing me!  I’ll make you regret it!”

   All the boys stopped laughing, and the leader tried his best to restrain a furious laugh.  “Oh my, you, you think you can make us stop?  Why don’t you try you little hybrid freak!  I don’t care if your father and uncle are both jackasses, but there’s no way you could ever take me on!  You’re nothing but a stupid, whiny little girl!”

   The boys laughed even harder, while the leader pulled down hard on Amarie’s bangs, then letting go causing her to stumble and fall backwards into the bench and let out another cry.  They continued to laugh, and now Amarie was just angry she had left her hammer at home.  She growled, jumping to her feet and shouting, “Don’t you dare say that about my Daddy and Uncle you stupid boys!  Shut up!”  She then ran for them, and pushed the leader down hard, causing him to fall hard into the others, bringing them all down to the ground.

   This finally caught Mikomi’s and Kelsey’s attention as they stepped out of one of the stores after using the restroom.  They saw Amarie standing with her fists clenched over this group of boys, who were now glaring at her with even more hatred in their eyes.

   The leader stood up, growling even worse than Amarie did.  None of the girls he knew ever stood up to him like that, nobody did, and yet this weird little hedgehog girl did.  He was ready to scream at her, and so he did, shouting, “Nobody pushes us around you little wench!  Now you shut up or I really will hurt you, you freak!”  He wasn’t kidding anymore either.  As brave as Amarie was, his scream was violent enough to make her flinch, but it wasn’t enough to prepare her for what he did next.

   He balled up his fist, punching her hard in the stomach, before pushing her backwards even harder than before, right in the path of the outstretched foot of one of his friends, causing her to fall backwards, and bang her head hard on the railing of the boardwalk.  This wasn’t enough to knock her out, but it did hurt, was enough to make her bleed, and definitely enough to make her cry.  She was still a girl after all, and so she burst into tears as the group of boys all started to laugh at her and mock her once more.

   Yet, Mikomi saw this, and he had never seen Amarie hurt so badly before.  This ignited a deep rage in him, similar to the rage of both his father and his uncle, bringing out both their fighting spirit and his.  He charged down the boardwalk at a pace Kelsey couldn’t keep up with.  This was eerily similar to the time Amy’s father punched her, and it would end in a similar fashion as well.

   The boys were unable to prepare for Mikomi’s rage and his furious strength.  He blasted through them like a speeding train through a car stalled on its tracks. Two of the boys were flung into the walls of the nearby buildings, and the other two flew high in the air, landing hard on the beach below.  The leader…Mikomi had pinned him to the ground and was attacking him furiously, screaming, “How dare you attack my sister like that you jerk!  Aren’t so tough now are ya?!  Why don’t you hit me you idiot!?  Go ahead!  Hit me!  Fight back you lamo jerk!”

   Even though Mikomi was throwing furious punches, the boy wasn’t smart enough to know not to fight back like Mr. Rose was.  He pulled his legs free and kicked Mikomi off of him, and then tried to charge Mikomi as he recovered.  The hybrid echidna was too quick for this, and immediately blocked the boy from attacking him.  They were quickly locked into a fist fight, drawing the attention of everyone around them, including those that went to help the other boys.  Oddly enough, just like nobody tried to help Amy that long ago night, nobody noticed Amarie’s tears, or the scratches on her face, or the blood in her hair from where she hit her head.

   Mikomi was locked deep in his rage.  He was hell bent on revenge for his sister, and never before was he this angry, this dead set on hurting someone, to the point where he was ignorant of Kelsey’s cries.  She had bent down to help Amarie, remembering Mr. Marks’ words from earlier, and knew that fighting was only making the situation worse.  She cried, “Please, Mikomi, stop!  You could really hurt him, or worse, you could really get hurt, please!  Mikomi listen to me!”

   Either he didn’t hear his cousin’s cries, or his love for both her and Amarie was so strong he wasn’t going to pull out of a fight until his anger wore down, or he felt justice was served.  Seeing the fearful eyes locked on Mikomi, Kelsey knew that not only were they afraid of Mikomi, they were so afraid that they were too fearful to try and help the boy.  In their eyes, Mikomi was the monster, just because he was defending his sister; this was the same for Knuckles all those years ago, and yet it was different, because unlike Knuckles, it appeared Mikomi did not know when to stop, or even have the ability to.

   Kelsey left Amarie, and bravely stepped into the fray, tackling Mikomi to get him out of the fisticuff, where they both landed hard on the ground.  The people immediately went to help the boy, who glared angrily at both Mikomi and Kelsey, as well as Amarie and shouted, “You better hope I never see your freakin’ faces around here again, or I’ll beat the living crap out of you!  I swear!”

   As the spectators took him and the others off to get first aid, all three of the hybrid kids were met with cold and uncertain glares.  The people looked at them as if they were merely toxic waste wreaking havoc in their town.  They were more concerned for these boys who only had scrapes and bruises, while Amarie had a small gash in her head, a cut on her face, and a large bruise on her stomach from where she was punched. Mikomi now had a bloody nose, his headband set was torn, and his arm ached so badly that it burned.

   He looked up at Kelsey who was still on top of him and glared at her.  He growled and said, “Why did you do that Kelsey?  That idiot deserved everything he got!  Look how badly he hurt Amarie!  Now get off me dammit!”  In his anger, he pushed Kelsey off of him and stood to his feet quickly, holding his bleeding nose with the hand of his hurt arm, while he cradled it with his other arm.

   Kelsey frowned and said, “I’m not saying that he didn’t…it’s just, you were drawing so much negative attention to yourself Mikomi, I had to stop you somehow, and we need to get Amarie some help…hey, I just remembered, I packed my first aid kit…we can use that to bandage up her head and your nose.”  She went to her backpack to get the first aid kit, while Mikomi sat down beside his sister, who was hugging her knees and crying.

   “Aww Amarie…I’m so sorry.  I can’t believe what they did.  I woulda gotten him harder if Kelsey hadn’t stopped me,” Mikomi stroked his sister’s hair, cringing as little bits of her blood stained his glove as he did so.

   She looked up at him, sniffing hard and said, “I’m…I’m okay Mikomi…if I had my hammer…that guy woulda paid even worse.”  She sniffed heavily again and said, “I don’t know what I did, he just attacked me…Mr. Marks was right…humans are so mean…I…I wanna go home Mikomi!  I want Mommy and Daddy!”

   Amarie started to cry again as Kelsey returned with the first aid kit.  As she cleaned up Amarie’s head wound and bandaged it, she said, “Mikomi…I’m sorry that I tackled you like that…I just…didn’t want you to get hurt…and the way those humans were looking at you…I was afraid the moment they saw their chance that they were gonna beat you to a pulp.”

   Mikomi looked at her, but she couldn’t look him in the eyes.  She frowned, looking away from him and said, “Maybe we should just go home and tell Mom and Dad, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Knuckles what we did.  Right now, I’m not afraid of any punishment they can dish out…nothing is worse than this.  They attacked Amarie for no reason whatsoever.  Unless…they attacked her because she’s a hybrid.  That’s what it is isn’t it?  They’re all afraid of us…they think we’re freaks, and that we don’t belong here.  Maybe…our parents really were trying to protect us guys.  Nobody cares about us…at least our parents love us.  Maybe we’re better off never leaving Angel Island again…why come to a world where everyone hates us?  It’s not worth any adventure…prison is more comforting than this kind of freedom.”

   Kelsey then went on to bandage up Mikomi’s nose, while Amarie was encouraged to still walk on the beach and find a shell before they left.  Mikomi’s anger had dissipated, and as Kelsey bandaged his nose, he said, “You’re right Kelsey…but, why do people hate us just because we’re hybrids?  Why are humans so…so mean, and hateful, and hurtful?”  He sighed and said, “You’re right, I don’t care if we’re trapped on Angel Island for the rest of our lives, I’m never leaving it again…unless Mom or Dad are with me…or Uncle Hidama and Aunt Delilah…nobody will hurt us with them around, at least I hope not.”

   The cousins locked eyes; they could see the sadness they both felt, as well as that overwhelming sense of feeling they had no one they could trust.  They could always count on each other…did this mean they would never make friends, or find someone to love, or build their own lives?  Would they always be trapped on Angel Island?  Was that the best they could expect from a world that appeared to want nothing to do with them?

   Somehow though, they were able to see past their sadness.  Returning to awareness, they both smiled.  Mikomi said, “Umm, well, you don’t need to be sorry for pushing me; you did what you had to after all…I should thank you for it.”

   Kelsey leaned in closer to him to finish bandaging his nose, close enough for her own to wind up bumping his.  He cringed a bit, growling softly, while Kelsey, acting out of instinct, quickly pulled away and rubbed his nose, saying, “Whoops, my bad Mikomi.  I think you’ll be fine now.  As Kelsey started to pack up her backpack, she answered Mikomi, saying, “Nah, that’s okay Mikomi.  It’s no trouble…I’m always there to look out for you and Amarie.”

   As both she and Mikomi stood up, he smiled and said, “Right…of course.”  He sighed, looking at the now abandoned boardwalk and said, “Look, why don’t we go walk on the beach with Amarie, and then go on home.  I dunno how we’ll explain this to our parents though.”

   Kelsey immediately took his hand, and as the two looked from their hands to each other, they smiled and she said, “It’ll be just like when we ran away that one time remember?  We climbed up to the Sky Sanctuary and got lost…we cried for hours until Dad found us…they were furious with us at first, but Dad told us it was only because they loved us and didn’t want anything to ever hurt us…I guess in keeping us away from here they were doing the right thing again.  We’ll just…apologize.  They do love us Mikomi, and we just learned our lesson the hard way.”

   As Mikomi and Kelsey walked down onto the beach, Mikomi replied, “Yeah…they were just trying to protect us…I’m so sorry I disobeyed them now.  They’re probably the only people who love us, but hell, they love us well and a lot, and I’m grateful for that.  And like you said we always have each other.”

   Kelsey bent over, picking up a glossy, smooth and colorful Olive shell and said, “Gee, I’ll have to show this to Mom, she’ll know what this shell is.  I know it’s special.”  Sighing she said, “Oh Mikomi, I love our parents so much…what would we ever do without them in this world full of hate?”

   The two fell silent after that, and as they saw Amarie running towards them with a few shells in her hand, Mikomi looked to Angel Island in the distance and sighed, saying, “I don’t know Kelsey.  We’d probably be dead if anything ever happened to them, or the Master Emerald I guess…it is what makes the island float safely above all this crap after all.”  They looked to each other, and he said, “Let’s see what Amarie found, then we’ll go home.”

   Yet by the time they got to Amarie, they could hear sirens and shouting in the distance.  They stood together, their sensitive ears picking up a few words, “those hybrid hedgehogs” and, “they must be dealt with” the most frequent.  Amarie’s eyes widened, and she said, “They’re after us guys!  What are we gonna do?!”

   Mikomi began to panic, but realized that fighting them was not the thing to do, and with no ground cover they had nowhere to run.  He desperately looked for a place to hide, then saw there was a small space to hide underneath the boardwalk.  He shouted, “Kelsey!  Amarie!  We have to run get our stuff and hide under the boardwalk quickly before they find us!  Hurry!”

   Mikomi picked up Amarie, and he and Kelsey ran back to the boardwalk as fast as they could.  After sitting Amarie down, they began to grab their things and throw them under the boardwalk before slipping underneath it themselves and crawling as far back into the shadows as they could, and as they did so, they could no longer see Angel Island, and only a sliver of the darkening evening sky.

   After a few minutes, they heard shouting and the thundering of footsteps above them.  “Those freaks are hurting our children!  They must be done away with at any costs!  Whoever finds them, bring them back here, dead, or alive!  Hurry!  I don’t care what it takes, don’t let them get away!”

   As the murderous cries died down, people thundered all through the city, and thankfully stayed off the beach.  Yet, there were too many people about for them to try and escape, especially when they were willing to kill them in order to capture them.  Amarie clung to her brother and started to cry.  “Those stupid boys,” she cried softly, “They hurt me and now they’re faking it like you’re the bad one Mikomi.  Why do those people want to kill us Mikomi?  I want Mommy and Daddy!”

   Kelsey had started to cry as well, she murmured, “Mikomi, this isn’t your fault so don’t get started.”  She nuzzled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder and said, “I’m so scared Mikomi.  What happens if they find us?  And what’s worse, think about how worried our parents are gonna be when we don’t come home, and even worse when we aren’t on the island…I’m so scared.”

   Mikomi was shaking with fear, but knew he had to stay strong.  Yet before, being able to see Angel Island in the distance was able to comfort him; now all he had was the darkness of the shadows and a moonless night, with his sister and cousin to comfort, and the footsteps of hundreds of people hunting them down.  A few silent tears fell from his eyes, and he whispered, “Mr. Marks was right…humans are nothing but, hurtful, hateful, and evil souls.  All they care about is themselves; they care nothing for the world around them, or those souls that co-exist beside their own.  Why should we care for the future of a world that hates us?  I wish Dad and Uncle Hidama would let those humans destroy themselves with the Master Emerald.  Who cares what happens to them now?  They certainly don’t mind killing us over nothing.  I hope those damn humans use the Master Emerald and destroy themselves; it’s no less than what they’ll deserve for being so selfish and sinful.”

   He tried his best to comfort his sister and cousin, praying for their parents and themselves, sorry for ever disobeying them in the first place.  Perhaps out of anger and fear Mikomi uttered doom for the humans, when normally he wouldn’t be so negative towards anyone.  Yet as night came, the search for them broke down, and the people relaxed, as Mikomi, Amarie and Kelsey slept safely underneath the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the terrible night did not end for them, for beyond their view of the sky, two small aircraft silently approached Angel Island.  The lives of these innocent souls, were about to be shattered forever, as the day of their uncertain adventure came to a frightful end, at least for them, for now, certain chaos was coming to Angel Island in the dark of the moonless night.