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Sonia came in to visit Kayonis, however, he wasn't around. "ROUGE!" She called out. Rouge ran in. "What is..." She started and instantly knew. "Come on, we have to find him" She half said half groaned and started looking. Sonia wasn't really worried and neither was Rouge, but concerned. Kayonis was as tough as they came so he was probably alright.

~*~

Alright he was, for he was sitting on the roof watching birds play. He smiled slightly and leaned back a little. 'Relaxed aren't you?' Chaos spoke. "You! Oh yeah, you promised me some answers. Spill them." Kayonis spoke. "That I did. Listen, I know that it seems I deceived you, but I did not. If not for Flage and Knighty, even with the dimensional tear, things would've been ok. When they ripped me out of you, they had accelerated the process of the tear. An almost killed you. If they had not, we could have stopped Chiro and we could have separated of our own free will and then never had to have dealt with the tear and your friends Knighty would probably still be alive. There's nothing we can do about that now though." He explained. "I see, so you truly meant me no ill will. You simply faked a betrayal to find Chiro's weak point." Kayonis said. "Precisely. You're still as sharp as ever even with the concussion." He said. "Yeah well, comes with the territory." He said. "I see. Anyways, I heard a little kid speak of a cruise earlier while you were unconscious. I'd say we all go. It seems like it'd be a good time for relaxing." Chaos said. "But what about Damian, and Delrag?" Kayonis asked. "I don't think they will be cause for much concern at the moment. It's more your father I'm worried about." Chaos spoke. "Huh?" Kayonis asked.

~*~

Knuckles had found Damian once again at the creek. "Damian! I demand my son to have his role as guardian back!" He yelled. Damian stood up not facing him. "I've already said, a deal is a deal. I gave you your health at the sacrifice of the boy's role as guardian. It's already done and you are powerless to stop it!" Damian said. "Want to bet on that?!" Knuckles said charging at Damian. Damian never turned. "Eat this you!" Knuckles yelled throwing one of his strongest punches. It connected, but Damian never flinched, instead, Knuckles found his fist trapped in a block of lead and he was instantly weighted to the ground. "Foolish Echidna. What makes you think you have a chance against me?" Damian asked. He walked slowly up to Knuckles. "So you wish for your son to have his guardian role back and his powers. Are you willing to die for it?!" Damian asked. Knuckles struggled to get his fist loose, but to no avail. "Answer me you foolish rodent." Damian commanded. "I would choose death over my son not having his rightful roles and powers! I already passed th role on to him. I could have cared less about my health, but I did what I had to to protect my son and my family!" Knuckles roared. "Besides, you only got rid of the sickness! You didn't return my true strength." Knuckles said. Damian smirked. "You're not as dumb as I thought you were. You figured me out. Yes, I returned your health to you, but you were a fool to think I'd return your strength. You're nothing now!" Damian roared. "True power if from the heart!" Knuckles yelled. The lead block started to crack. "That was something my closest friend and rival taught me! And having my son confirmed it!" He yelled out breaking the lead. Damian just stood there unfazed. Knuckles then rushed much faster with the same attack and connected. Damian started to try to sit up, but was pinned by Knuckles. "I'll break you in two!" He said. "Oh please!" Damian scoffed and blew him off with a telekinetic blast. "Come on, do you really believe you could have held me. I've already told your friends, I'm a threat far worse than Eggman or Black Doom could have comprehended." He bellowed. Knuckles struggled up. Damian struck him in the stomach so fast it was like he didn't move. Knuckles was getting attacked from all angles so fast, it looked as if Damian was just walking towards Knuckles. "You want things back to normal, that's fine by me, your son isn't a match for me. Just like you aren't old man!" Damian scoffed. Damian made several hand signs as Knuckles finally stood up. "Release!" Damian said. Knuckles fell down unable to move. The green energy of the Master Emerald took to the sky and Flowed into Kayonis. "I hope you'll find your life in the after world more beneficial than here!" Damian yelled and snapped Knuckles neck.

~*~

Kayonis had a strange feeling after the energy flowed back into him. "Hm...so the deal has been reversed, but at what price?" Chaos spoke. "I don't know, but it feels like I'm guardian again." Kayonis spoke. "Yes you are. It seems Knuckles finally found Damian and the deal was cut off." Chaos said. "Damian? Oh no!" Kayonis said standing too fast and thus falling down fron the concussion. After regaining his balance, he took off into the air just as Sonia and Rouge arrived. Sonia started to go but was stopped by Rouge. "Let him go. There's a reason." She said turning away and walking towards the mansion. She arrived and saw Archimedes sitting on the bed. "Greetings Mrs. Rouge." He said. "I already know she said. "Knuckles." She whispered and started to cry.

Kayonis arrived by the creek and looked around. "DAD!" He called out. There was no response. He went towards the creek and noticed there was a reddish trail. He followed the trail to the source. There he saw his father. "No please no!" He cried out. He ran as fast as he could and knelt down to his father's corpse. He cradled the head in his lap. "Dad, please wake up!" He said. Chaos came out of Kayonis. "It's alright, let it all out." He said. Kayonis started crying. He didn't care if anyone saw or not. After about two minutes he caught Damian's scent. "b*****d...b*****d!!!!" He yelled out. "ARRRGHHHHH!" He yelled and a figure was seen coming out of him. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!" He yelled out into the sky. "DAMAIAN!!!!!" Kayonis yelled and broke down crying again at his father's side.

Yata flinched. "Someone is about to awaken. But it's not Sonia." Yata whispered. He looked to Kuhn and Pi. "You can feel that right?" He asked them. "Kuhn, get Rasu now! Tell him to meet us outside the mansion. Pi, get Sonia, she needs to be her for this!" The two rushed out of the room. Yata was downstairs and out the door. Within that minute the four met Yata. "Now I'm sure you can feel it, Rasu since you've already awakened." Sonia looked at Rasu and thought, "Damn he beat me, heh." "But Sonia, can you feel a power similar to the one inside of you anywhere in the direction." Yata asked, pointing towards the lake. Sonia focused for a bit then looked back at Yata. "Yes, I think I can. It's faint, but it's definitely there." She replied. "Good. That is another Epitaph user, but that person is close to awkening. Without the training and the knowledge you two have had, it is likely that the avatar will immediately go berserk." Yata said. "We must hurry. Rasu, Sonia since you two are the fastest, go on ahead we will meet you there. If we are not there in time, Rasu you must use your avatar and control the situation. Reframe from using Data Drain as well." He said. The two nodded and dashed off towards the lake. "Come on, we have to hurry you two." Yata said. Pi and Kuhn nodded, and they headed towards the lake.

-----------------

Rasu and Sonia arrived at the lake. "I can sense that the User is definitely here." He said. "DAMIAAAAAAN!!" They heard someone yelled. "That must be him." Rasu said, completely unable to tell whose voice that was. Sonia froze. 'That's....' She came to her senses. "Rasu, hurry, I think that's Kayonis!" She said. "It is? Lets go!" He replied. They searched around the lake and finally found Kayonis holding Knuckles. They noticed immediately that something was wrong with Knuckles, as his head was in an awkward position. "Oh no..." Rasu said, understanding the situation. "Kayonis...!" Sonia said. Kayonis started a low growl. "Kayonis..? What's wrong?" Sonia asked. "Stay back Sonia! Kayonis is about to awaken! Stay back!" Rasu said grabbing Sonia's arm and pulling her back behind him. "I'll supress his avatar when it comes out." He said. Sonia reluctantly agreed and stayed back. Kayonis turned towards the two, his eyes were glowing. They were green at first, but slowly turned to pink. he gently set down Knuckles' corpse. He stood up and glared at the two. "I WILL AVENGE HIM!!" He yelled in a voice that had half of his and half of someone elses voice. He started to glow pink and pink runes spread across his body. "DON'T GET IN MY WAY!" He yelled. Kayonis started to hover off of the ground a bit. "AGGH! I'M TARVOS!! He yelled. The flash of light, and Kayonis' avatar, Tarvos appeared. " I AM TARVOS, THE AVENGER!!" It yelled. The voice was lightly less booming than Skeith's, but still booming none-the-less. "This is bad! Sonia get father back, I'll handle this!!" Rasu said. Sonia nodded and got to a safe distance. "Now, to you." He said and turned to Tarvos. "You're not going anywhere Tarvos!" Rasu yelled. "HAHA! What can you do little creature?!" It asked between laughs. "This." He whispered. Rasu started glowing red and the runes enveloped his body. "Huh?" Tarvos said. Rasu grabbed his forehead. "Come on, come on! I'm...right here. SKEEEEEEITH!!" Rasu said. The flash of light and Skeith appeared. "What?!" Tarvos asked. "Your going down!" Skeith boomed. "We can't use Data Drain, Skeith, We just have to suppress it." Rasu said. "Aww, where's the fun in that." Skeith muttered. "Whatever, lets go!" Rasu yelled. Skeith formed his scythe and gripped it tightly. "Right." Skeith replied. They charged into battle. Tarvos immediately realised it's danger and used it's wing-like arms as a powerful shield. "You won't be able to get past my defense!" It yelled. "We'll see about that!" Rasu yelled back. After several attempts to break through Tarvos' shield, Rasu realised it was futile. "There has to be a way past that shield." Rasu said. "I do have speed on my side Rasu, use it to your advantage! Skeith said. That gave Rasu an idea. Skeith charged again. Just when he was about to slash his scythe, he vanished. Tarvos paniced and was unable to see where Skeith had gone to. "Where are you?!" It yelled. "Behind you." Skeith said. Before Tarvos could turn around, Skeith launched a brutal attack, that got Tarvos in the back, dealing massive damage. "Why you!" Tarvos yelled. Rasu smirked. "Is that all you got?!" Rasu yelled. "Hardly!" Tarvos yelled back. A ring of light blades formed behind Tarvos, ten in all. "Try this!" Tarvos yelled and shot off the blades at Skeith. Each of the blades arked and headed for Skeith. He was able to deflect 4 of them, but the other 6 slashed him. "AAGGGH!" Skeith yelled. The remaining six returned to Tarvos, and combined to form a bigger one. "This one won't be as easy!" Tarvos yelled. He the big light blade directly and Skeith. He managed to move a bit to the right, but was hit hard on the left side of him. "GAAAAHHH!" Both Skeith and Rasu yelled. The shot had hit the same arm that Rasu had recently crippled, and re-broke it. "Not again!" Rasu yelled. Rasu noticed that Tarvos had became some what fatigued. Rasu took advantage of that and charged in and slashed Tarvos a couple of times with his right arm. Skeith turned around made his scythe disappear. He shot off his energy blasts and stunned Tarvos. "AARRGHHH!" Tarvos yelled. The yellow cannon-like weapon formed on Skeith's right arm and he charged the shot. He shot a huge blast at Tarvos and hit him. The shot completely immobolized Tarvos, and Skeith dispersed the weapon. Tarvos was still yelling, but the voice was becoming Kayonis' again. "AAAAAGGHHH!" Kayonis yelled. The flash of light and Kayonis hovered to the ground and was on his back. "Done." Rasu said exhaustedly. Another flash of light and Rasu hovered back to the ground. He ran over to Kayonis and so did Sonia. Sonia sat down next to Kayonis. Sonia lifted up Kayonis' head and rested it on her lap. Rasu began checking him for injuries and was glad to find none, other than his concussion. "Kayonis, are you ok?" Sonia asked. But had no response. She checked his pulse and was relieved to find one. "Come on Kayonis, wake up!" She said. "Kayonis, wake up man! Rasu said patting him on the shoulder. Still no response. "Please, Kayonis wake up." Sonia said softly, and starting rubbing Kayonis' head. Kayonis' finger flinched and he slowly opened his eyes.

Rasu nodded. "Take care of him." Rasu said. He took one last look at Knuckles and left with Kayonis and Sonia.

-------------

"Told ya we wouldn't have to do a thing." Kuhn said. "True." Pi said. "Lets head back." Yata said. The three returned to the mansion and went straight to their rooms.

Dessenger slowly woke up and instantly wished he hadn't. Letting out a scream of pain he clenched his teeth every muscle in his body voiceing there protest at the movment.Shakinghis head he relized that the battle of the day before had taken there toll. "I haven't hurt like this for as long as I can remember."

"Flage, look," said Sophie pointing at the sky in Mobius. It was as if the sun was setting and rising at the same time as at 2 ends of the sky were the effects.
"So, I wonder who is taking on the role of Nature's Guardian now, the person has accepted and this should last for about an hour," said Flage.
"Pretty!" yelled Rebecca looking at the sky. Sophie smiled and picked Rebecca up.
"We should get some rest, it is nearing night," Sophie said going inside the house.
Flage wanted outside for a moment.
"I sense, death," he said as he listened to the wind. He knew a guardian had died but not that it was Knuckles...

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"Doctor, it seems this creature is going to cause problems," said Shadrik looking at the monitors and pointing to some areas of it.
"It seems it is naturally awakening but it should be sealed more than the biolizard even and that had to be awakened with the 7 chaos emeralds," said Eggman looking at the figures,"Anyway it is not a problem yet, we still have more than enough time to do our plan till it wakes,"
"It seems so, at least it is stable for now," said Shadrik walking off away from the center of the main room of the base.

Kayonis had awoken at four the next morning and started packing his things for the trip. He couldn't keep his mind off of his father though. Sally had told him what they did, but it just didn't do any good. Tears quietly streamed down Kayonis's face when he heard Mitsugo cry. She was in her crib and Kayonis took her out gently rocking and holding her. He sang a song that Rouge would always sing and Mitsugo fell asleep in her brother's arms. He gently put her back in the crib. "I'm surprised you remember that song." Rouge whispered. "It's hard to forget. You basically raised me in early childhood until father took me to train." He said. "I've always raised you and I still am." She said. "I know mom." He said. "What are you doing up though son?" She asked. "I just can't seem to sleep with father's death and the fact that we leave for the cruise today." He said. "I know honey, but you need your sleep. Would you like me to sing to you?" She asked and invited him to lay down. "Yeah, please. Maybe it'll help." He said and laid down forgetting about packing his stuff.

"How can I just let you walk away,
just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you, ooh
You're the only one who really knew me at all

How can you just walk away from me,
when all I can do is watch you leave
Cos we've shared the laughter and the pain,
and even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now,
'cos there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me,
just the memory of your face
Take a look at me now,
'cos there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me
is against all odds and that's what I've got to face

I wish I could just make you turn around,
turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you,
so many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now,
'cos there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me,
just the memory of your face
Take a look at me now,
'cos there's just an empty space
But to wait for you,
well that's all I can do and that's what I've got to face
Take a good look at me now,
'cos I'll still be standing here
And you coming back to me is against all odds
That's the chance I've got to take, oh, oho

Just take a look at me now"

He didn't fall asleep, but was close. "Who came up with that?" He asked. "Your father." She responded. "He did?" He asked. "Yes, he wrote those words when we started dating, I just turned it into a song for you." Rouge said. "And dad was fine with that?" He asked. "Yes, though he did wish there was music for it." She responded.

(I don't claim those lyrics. They belong to Phil Collins. Look it up, the son is called Against All Odds: Look at me Now.)

Seriku packed a small backpack for the cruise. It was still quite a few hours till the cruise so Seriku decided to go for a run. He was getting faster and faster every time. He quickly picked up some pizza and was running beyond any speed he had ever reached before. He was soon running over the ocean, he did a flip as he ran over a wave and surfed down it before running on some more.
"Now this is speed," Seriku yelled with excitement. He sped off even faster managing to surf with his feet more.

Something sped past Manic at such speed that he was almost lifted off his feet. It stopped.
"Sorry about that Manic," said Seriku stopping," Just done 3 laps of this planet," he said taking off a shoe and emptying the water from it and sand also came out.
"Anyway back to running," Seriku said as he instantly did a sonic-boom that managed to lift Manic off his feet slightly and even the light around Seriku had distorted a little.