Chapter 89 - Issue 89: Digging Deeper

bsp;           Locke, Sojourner, Hawking, and Sabre welcomed him.  Thunderhawk didn’t trust him.  Not that Ekyt cared.  Not anymore. Locke seemed to have taken personal control over Ekyt’s situation.  He showed the kid his part of Haven, a large room with some video monitors, a library with Echidna history, and a side room for training privately.  The seventeen year old sat down on his bed.  “She’ll come back.”  Locke said to him, smiling slightly.  “How did you know.”  “Lad, I’ve had my girl trouble too.  Chances are Linda realized what it means to be married to a guardian, and she balked.  Give her time.”  “Locke, I’ve come to realize trust is a rare commodity.  One that should be called upon sparingly, lest it buckle when you really can’t afford it.”  Locke was impressed by the statement, but saddened at the same time.  He was older, him thinking like that was one thing.  He had years of knowledge to call upon.  But from a young man, it was profound.  Locke sighed, and handed him a package.  “Most of the brotherhood have chosen to wear masks.  This one is different.  Plainer, but chilling in it’s simplicity.  You can wear it if you wish.  You can certainly say no.”  Locke got up.  “I’ll leave you to get settled.  Let me know if you need anything.”  “I’m gonna get my stuff, then come back.”  “That’s okay.”Ekyt walked back to the house that was…no longer his.  He had decided it was Linda-Su’s now.  He had no use for it, and, as bitter as he felt, he still loved her.  Unfortunately, she was home when he came to get his stuff.  “I suppose you want me out.”  She said.  “No.  This house is yours.”  “But what about you?”  He stopped and pulled the mask out of his pocket.  He put it on.  “I’ve retired from active guardian duty.  I live in Haven now, with the brotherhood.”  Linda was choked up, and jumbled her words, but he heard “mask” in that sentence.  “The mask is kind of ceremonial.  But more importantly, it disguises the past.  It hides the scars.”  “What scars, Ekyt.”  “Not the kind you can see.  Emotional.  Deep.  I don’t understand…”  He stopped.  “The house is yours.  I’m not angry with you, if that’s what you’re worried about.  I care for you.  It’s just not the same as before.  But that’s the price you pay…When you give in to desire, primal urges.  You trust, you hope.  To me, that’s gone Linda.  All gone.”  He paused.  “It’s not your fault.  Just, take care of yourself.”  He left.  Linda stared at the door, hoping against her better judgment that he would come back.  He didn’t.Ekyt carried his stuff, declining help from everyone.  Everyone but Tails and Amy.  Tails was smart, and he called Ekyt on the mask, as well as why he didn’t trust anyone.  Ekyt, feeling like an older brother, told him what happened, and then used a quote.  Not one he used often.  “Better to have loved and lost, that to have never loved at all.  Just remember that.”  Amy, being sensitive, caught up to his pace.  “What about you?  You don’t miss her.”  “I miss her.  It tears me up.  But the choice is hers. I love her Amy.  Love isn’t something that comes and goes.  I do miss her.  More than you could know.  But I’ve made my decision, and, for better or worse, this is how it has to be.  Unless she changes her mind.”  Ekyt thanked them for their help, and entered to Haven.The mask itself was black, with red slashed going through the eyes.  Thunderhawk had warmed to him since he started to wear the mask.  Locke trained Ekyt almost exclusively.    Archimedes also helped, spending hours with the human, helping him learn history.  Ekyt himself spent hours alone in the gym.  He was in good shape.  Physically.Kragok, who could see guardians through his staff’s emerald, watched the human.  “Hmmm.  Interesting.  It seems he’s been broken emotionally.  Perfect time to strike.  Prepare a force.  And keep it quiet this time.  We don’t want any surprise help this time.  Lien-Da!”  He called to his sister.  “Yes, brother?”  “The human will be yours.  If he refuses, he dies.  Not right away, mind you.  But slowly.  Painfully.”  Lien-Da laughed cruelly with her brother.Things weren’t looking good…

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