Rise of the Guardians   von Aqua111
================================================================================
                         Kapitel 3: Meeting with fate
                         ----------------------------


Rise of the Guardians
Chapter 03 - Meeting with fate

Now the wide fields of high grass with a few trees here and there lay before
him. It wasn't like Sabre never had left the city before but he never did it
without company and their walks weren't leading too far away. And now he had to
go all alone to a place that wasn't just far away but also forbidden for anyone
to enter - not because anyone still feared that the Master Emerald could be
harmed but rather because it was said to go near it was as dangerous as to go
near an atomic bomb shortly before detonation. But Sabre had the allowance of
three gods and since they hadn't seen it necessary to warn him it couldn't be
more dangerous than facing anyone from the Dark Legion.

He hadn't wandered for too long when he suddenly heard something behind him.
Someone was running towards him. For a second he thought about dodging into the
high grass but this cover would have been of little avail since his follower
already had seen where he was.
"Sabre! Wait!"
Sabre spun around when he heard his name. He knew this voice and his presumption
was confirmed when he saw the flaming red fur and the white coat of the younger
Echidna.
Heavily breathing Locke stopped in front of him.
"I ... I didn't know where to find you in the city ... and then I wasn't even
sure if ... you got the message as well", he brought out gasping. "But if you
don't mind ... I want to travel with you."
Sabre felt relieved for it meant he now didn't have to go all alone but he was
also worried. If the gods had seen him, Sabre, as too young what had they
thought about Locke? And what about his family? He couldn't imagine that they
would have let him go that easily. He put his hands on Locke's shoulders.
"I'm glad to have you with me and I also know that you don't have any other
choice than starting this journey too but still I wished you didn't have to.
Someone so young shouldn't carry such a burden on his shoulders. Not even I feel
actually ready for it. And what about your parents? Do they even know what their
son is going to face?"
The expression on Locke's face darkened.
"The Guardians were much younger than me when they were left all on their own."
He hesitated shortly but then he continued, "And my parents are dead. My mother
died when I was still a little kid and my father ... I hope he's dead too. Not
because I hate him so much I wish for his death but that at least would mean he
hadn't just run away from his family before I even was born. I'm sure no one at
the orphanage would miss me. To the other kids I'm just the strange nerd and the
supervisors wouldn't mind too much if a kid disappeared. Wouldn't be the first
time that happened. In the best case we later see the missing kids as the newest
members of thief gangs."
Sabre stared at him unbelievingly.
"But ... there has to be at least someone. I guess you're still going to school.
Wouldn't your teachers or at least your classmates notice your absence?"
"No, I'm not going to school anymore. You might have noticed that these guys I
called my former classmates have been older than me. They were from the class
that graduated this year."
"You already... But you can't be older than sixteen."
"To be honest, I'm fifteen. But I used nearly every second of spare time to
study - not just the things we would have learned at the moment but rather
everything I could lay my hands on. That way I was able to skip grades.
Everything because I wanted to prove that orphans aren't just a worthless burden
to society like they always said in the orphanage but can also be successful in
their lives." A sparkle of determination was glowing in his eyes.
Sabre tightened his grip on Locke's shoulders.
"How could they say something like that? You are not worthless. No one is. And
anyone who wants to argue the converse we will show the truth. We are members of
the new Brotherhood of Guardians. I don't think there's a better position for
orphans like us - or anyone."
The corners of Locke's mouth twitched upwards to a smile but then he quickly
became serious again when he said, "Orphans like us... Does that mean you grew
up in that misery too?"
"No, not at all. I used to live with my grandparents."
'I was able to experience all the love you had been missing for nearly all of
your life', he added in his thoughts and felt a sting in his heart. Whatever
dangers lay before them - he rather wanted to go through them with Locke at his
side than to leave him back where it might have been safer but where the boy
also was alone again. It was strange - he knew Locke for only one day now but
still felt some kind of connection between them. Was it the same bond their
Guardian namesakes once had shared? No, not really because Sabre felt still too
young to be a father - and Locke was too old to be his son. In their case it was
rather a bond of brothers.
"Shall we continue our journey?" Sabre said and nodded to the forest that was
seen in the far distance. "I at least know where to go now but as soon as we
reach the forest I would have to guess the rest of the way because I never have
gone further and only know the approximate direction where the chamber could be
but not where it actually is."
A little smile wandered over Locke's face. "Don't worry; the Guardians' records
gave me enough information to lead us there."

~~~***~~~

Under a lone tree in the sea of high grass they rested. The sun stood high above
them but the forest now wasn't too far away anymore. In the best case they would
reach the chamber of the Master Emerald in the late afternoon.
The past hours Sabre had learned more about the Brotherhood of Guardians than
his whole life before, things no one could have told him except a history expert
- and except Locke. For example to Sabre it always had seemed as if Steppenwolf
had been known as "the great Steppenwolf" from the time he assumed the mantle of
being a Guardian. There were statues of him in the city, streets and places were
named after him and even centuries, millenniums after his death people
remembered him as a great one. Sabre never would have expected the grave
problems and prejudices Steppenwolf had to fight among the people he had sworn
to protect. Even one of the High Council threatened to kill him and the other
Council members simply stood by because they felt the same way.
"How did you get all these information? I thought most about Guardian history
was either lost or always had been kept a secret by the Guardians themselves?"
he asked.
"Not lost", Locke corrected, "just really hard to find. And secrets can be
leaking sometimes. Even the Guardians recorded something from time to time and
didn't keep everything in their heads only. Some of the terminals they had used
in Haven II had been found and their protections had been cracked. Most records
are now open to the public though I doubt too many people are interested in it
or even have noticed it."
"You've got a point there. I also didn't know about it. Sometimes I wished I had
learned about it earlier..."

He was brought up short by a sudden noise. It had been short and silent but he
was sure it had been there - something that sounded like ripping grass and
breaking open earth. Unless this grass field was the territory of very big moles
this sound was nothing that could have been heard in an open field too often.
Sabre stood up, signalled Locke to follow him silently and walked back into the
high grass. Everything was silent except for the usual sound of the wind and the
chirping birds and insects but all of his senses were alarmed.
"Down", he whispered all out of sudden, grabbed Locke's arm and dragged him to
the ground.
Cowering under the cover of the high grass they suddenly heard someone walking
around. It must have been at least two persons and from the sound of their slow
dragging steps they weren't used to walking on this kind of terrain - or walking
in general. The two Echidnas exchanged frightened gazes. Where had these two
strangers come from without getting noticed? Had they crawled through the grass?
Or maybe - Sabre remembered the sound he had heard - they had been under the
earth the whole time.
The steps came closer. If they kept walking that way it was only a matter of
seconds until they could see the two Echidnas. Sabre protectively wrapped his
arms around Locke. Whatever Chaos attack he had used to get rid of Locke's
attackers, he hoped he was able to do it another time.
And then they slowly could see one of their followers. He wore the cloak of a
Dark Legionnaire, half of his face was replaced by cybernetics but maybe it
would have been better if the other half had been covered in metal as well. Part
of the fur there was missing; the rest was clotted with earth and the skin
underneath looked dark brown and somehow dead. He turned his milky white eye
towards the two Echidnas and a sound like a low hiss escaped his lips when he
reached into his robe to fetch a weapon. That second a wave of Chaos energy
broke out of Sabre's body - he could neither control nor stop it, it was purely
instinctive - and pushed the Legionnaire back several steps. Locke jumped up the
same time as Sabre did.
"To the forest!" he cried out and started running.
Sabre spun around and followed the younger Echidna. They might have been two
Guardians against one Dark Legionnaire - the second they only had heard moments
ago was nowhere to be seen - but they also knew they were a Guardian with basic
knowledge of close combat and another Guardian whose only ability was an
uncontrolled shield that could just push back but not hurt anyone against an
armed Dark Legionnaire with probably years of fighting experience.
The earth before Sabre's feet suddenly ripped open. The second Legionnaire shot
out of it, rammed Sabre and pinned him to the ground. Sickening sweet smell of
putrefaction suddenly was in the Guardian's nose.
With a cry Locke returned and tackled the attacker off Sabre. The Legionnaire
recovered quickly and grabbed Locke's leg when the young Echidna tried to rob
away. With all his strength Locke slammed his boot into the Legionnaire's face.
A blow like that normally either would have knocked out anyone or at least would
have made them coil up covering their face in pain but the Legionnaire only
flinched as if he was surprised by the attack and gave Locke enough time to pull
his leg out of reach before returning for another strike. Locke rolled out of
the way and the attacker was pushed back by another Chaos shield.
Sabre pulled Locke back to his feet and dragged the younger Echidna with him
when he headed for the forest again.
"We can make it. They aren't fast runners."

But obviously they were fast learners. Their running skills had improved since
they appeared in the grass field for the first time. The forest slowed them down
a bit because they avoided obstacles instead of jumping over them like the two
Guardians but they never lost their tracks and even if they were out of sight
the Guardians could still hear them. Sabre's lungs were burning and he knew he
wouldn't be able to run for much longer before his legs gave in. Locke at his
side seemed to have the same problems. Only seconds later the boy fell to his
knees but when Sabre stopped he saw that he hadn't fallen or simply given up.
The younger male had started shoving leaves and earth to the side until a rusty
metal plate became visible.
"Help me with that", he gasped, grabbed the handle and tried to pull it open.
With their last strength they managed to open it wide enough to slip through and
pull it close again from the inside. The wet slippery path led down, deeper
underground. They followed it half running, half sliding and at the end of the
slope they broke down on the moist rocky floor heavily gasping.
"Wouldn't they find the trapdoor too and follow us?" Sabre asked as soon as he
was able to breath slower again.
"No, not if the old protection systems are still working. Just like the one
entrance of Haven in the northern part of the Sandopolis Zone can only be paced
when you're a Guardian this path can also only be entered by them", Locke
explained. "They can open the door but they won't see more than the forest
ground underneath it. Even if they go back under the earth they wouldn't be able
to enter any part of the tunnel. It's protected all around."
He breathed deeply for a few more seconds before he spoke again. "What in
Edmund's name have they even been? Zombies?"
Despite the seriousness of their situation Sabre had to smile. In Edmund's name
- that phrase had only been used by the Guardians which meant it hadn't been
heard anymore for centuries.
He turned his head and his gaze followed the tunnel. Actually he had awaited
darkness all around them but the whole corridor was filled with a dim green
light.
"Why is this place so good protected after all? Where are we?"
Slowly, shakingly Locke stood up.
"We are right where we wanted to be. This is one of the entrances to the Chaos
Chamber. Now it's just a short march before we reach our destiny."

~~~***~~~

When they entered the brightly lit Chamber they saw that two other Echidnas
already were in there. The red furred male with the green vest leaned against
the wall, the other one with the blue tunic and the unusual lavender fur sat on
top of the Master Emerald.
"You again?" Sabre said mostly surprised but also with a hint of anger in his
voice.
"Hey, get down! Don't you know it's dangerous to even touch it for someone
without experience?" Locke called out looking terrified.
"Put a cork in it, youngster", the lavender furred male answered. "I keep
sitting where it is comfortable and as long as this gem doesn't burn my butt it
still IS comfortable. And to your question", he continued and gave Sabre a wry
smile, "yes, we again. You won't get rid of the burglar twins that easily."
"Twins?" Sabre asked. "You don't look very much alike."
"We aren't even the same age, let alone brothers", the male in the green vest
now answered. "But we like to call ourselves that way because we stick together
like twins."
"And after we got the call we are Guardians too." The lavender male tried to
make a bow while remaining sitting. "Allow me to introduce, Sojourner and
Thunderhawk, the one and only Guardian twins."
"And we are Locke and Sabre", Sabre replied.
"Since you two made it that far as well and also are named after Guardians I
guess we are colleagues from now on", Thunderhawk said and loosened a small and
to Sabre well-known bag off his belt. "Our codex says we don't steal from
members of our gang and since we belong together now you can have it back. Only
the money I can't return."
Sabre just shrugged, "You can keep the bag too if you want to. It was nothing of
great importance."
"Whatever you want", Thunderhawk said and put it back onto his belt.
"So, does anyone know what we shall do now?" Sojourner asked curiously. "The
three gods only told us to come here and gain our strength but nothing happened
so far."
"I wished I knew", Sabre said heavy-heartedly. He should have known that it
wasn't so easy to gain Guardian strength.
"The Guardian Harlan came to develop a deeper understanding of the Chaos Force
through deep meditations", Locke said. "Maybe we are supposed to do that too. It
helped the first few Guardians to get a better control over Chaos Energy after
all. Well, except for Steppenwolf maybe because someone who was able to rip open
a passage to the Twilight Zone single handedly must have had outstanding
knowledge of the Chaos Force."
Sabre smiled and rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming now - the other two
would get a crash course in Guardian history as well.
But then Thunderhawk interrupted. "Heck, stop that, you wannabe nerd. I neither
have enough patience for meditation nor for history lessons. Both won't help us
far in this case."
"Hey, don't call him like that", Sabre sharply said.
Locke only lowered his head. "It's okay", he bleakly said. "I have gotten far
worse names in my life. Compared to them it's nearly a sweet nickname. It's only
that I had hoped something would change now that I am a Guardian. But I was
probably wrong."
Sabre turned around.
"No, it is definitely NOT okay. You are a Guardian and with no matter of age or
knowledge shall be treated like one. This wannabe on the Emerald has to learn
some manners before he can become a member of the Brotherhood."
Now Sojourner left his place at the wall and stepped between Sabre and the
Master Emerald.
"Listen, I don't want to start our task, whatever we have to do, with problems.
We will get into them soon enough anyways", he silently said. "Thunderhawk might
be a loudmouth at times but he normally doesn't attack people psychically on
purpose. It's just ... He's as insecure as all of us and I think he wants to
cover that up. I'm sure he's sorry."
"Sorry, if I hurt you, colleague", Thunderhawk suddenly said as if he had heard
Sojourner. He sighed and leaned back. "This is hopeless. I'm sitting on top of
it and still I'm not feeling any strength. We all are grown-up Guardians and
don't know a bit about the things we should be able to control. We are
pathetic."
"Oh, I wouldn't see it that way", Locke, now in a slightly better mood again,
replied. "Think about Steppenwolf. He was an adult too before he even started
his training and he became one of the best." A sparkle was glowing in his eyes
when he added, "Just imagine we could also get as good as him one day. Then the
new Brotherhood would start with four times Steppenwolf."

"Make that five times", a voice suddenly said.
Four heads were spinning around and even without asking for a name they knew
immediately who was walking towards them. He was dressed in a dark violet
long-sleeved tunic instead of the cloak and his boots weren't surrounded by a
cloud of smoke but he wore a silver helmet and his red eyes and a fur of such a
dark red that it appeared to be black if it hadn't been for a little bit of red
shine in the light of the Chamber added the rest of a very Spectre-like
appearance.
"Is something wrong?" he asked and tried to suppress a mocking grin when he saw
their faces. "You look as if you have seen a ghost. Or have you rather seen ...
a Spectre?"
Locke was the quickest to recover from his surprise. "No, we just didn't expect
you anymore, especially not with an appearance so all out of sudden."
"Well, let's say I was kept up by a bunch of Legionnaires."
"You too?" Sabre asked alarmed. "Were they ordinary Legionnaires or did they
look like the zombies we met in the high grass on our way from Echidnaopolis."
With widened eyes Spectre stared at him. "They have reached the grasslands
already? Enerjak's dark waves are spreading quicker than I thought. Before I
left I only knew of the desert mummies."
"There are more of them?" Locke asked unbelievingly.
"There's an army of them, enough to raze all of the desert towns to the ground.
But the living Legionnaires keep attacking like the bandits they had been before
so they don't draw too much attention since they can't cope with Echidnaopolis'
army combined with backup from the other villages - yet."
"But what shall we do?" Sabre asked desperately. "We neither know how to use our
abilities nor where we can find Enerjak."
"The dark shadow started spreading from the desert and the last information I
had about Enerjak's location was a Legion camp in the south of the Sandopolis
Zone. But it is a well protected and very large camp. Even with my lead we
wouldn't have the slightest chance to get out alive again if we don't know a few
good attacks." The dark furred Echidna looked at the Master Emerald and shot
Thunderhawk on top of it a disapproving glance. "It really showed no reaction? I
thought we would get help from it."
Locke shook his head. "Maybe a bit of a tingle on the skin but else nothing at
all."
"Then we have to learn it all by ourselves on our journey to the south. We
wouldn't be the first Guardians who had to learn by themselves. If we stand
around here and wait for a miracle we will only waste precious time."
Locke and Sabre just looked at each other and nodded but Sojourner and
Thunderhawk exchanged sceptical gazes.
"Who says we can trust you?" Sojourner asked and crossed his arms in front of
his chest. "Just because you look like a Guardian doesn't mean we immediately
have to follow you. You seem to know awfully lot about the Dark Legion and
Enerjak."
"I know how to listen", was Spectre's short answer.
"And you have a very good knowledge about that Legion camp or why else do you
think you are able to lead us in there? Or will you rather lead us into a trap?"
Thunderhawk added.
"I have been a spy for years and know what ways we could go without being
detected."
"A spy ... maybe", Sojourner said. "But I would rather say you are a Dark
Legionnaire."
Within the blink of an eye Spectre's behaviour changed. Before he had rather
been defiant and it seemed as if he wished this conversation to be over as fast
as possible but now his eyes narrowed and he looked as if he wanted to go for
their throats but only hadn't done it so far because Sabre and Locke were still
standing in his way.
"Call me a Dark Legionnaire again and you'll be sorry for the rest of your life
- both seconds of it", he snarled. "And you get down the Emerald immediately or
I'm going to fillet you."
Thunderhawk scowled at him but slid down the Master Emerald anyways.
Sabre quickly stepped between Spectre and the two others.
"Calm down, please. We already had a bad start before and I don't want this to
escalate now. I also don't say that I fully trust you but that's just because I
don't know you yet. Still I will go with you since you are the only one with
information about Enerjak so far."
"I trust you. You are Spectre", Locke said as if carrying a Guardian name was
explanation enough.
The dark male at first shot him a slightly surprised gaze but then took Locke's
unbreakable belief in pure and honourable Guardians for granted.
"Well, looks like we don't have any other choice if we don't want to split the
Brotherhood from the beginning", Thunderhawk sighed reluctantly. "But be assured
we will keep an eye on you."
"Rather keep that eye attached where it belongs to and watch out for
Legionnaires", Spectre grumbled.

Suddenly a cracking noise was heard and it sounded as if it came from the
floor.
"Oh no ... not that again..." Sabre whispered and turned his horrified gaze at
Locke. "I thought they couldn't get in here."
"Not as long as you don't carry a little part of Chaos Energy in you, just like
Guardians do", Spectre exclaimed instead of the youngest Brotherhood member.
"But Enerjak is purest Chaos Energy and these creatures are only alive because
they are fuelled by his might."
The cracks in the floor opened wider and slowly the mummified warriors crawled
out.

Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)