Chapter 30 - The Next guardian Issue # 30!!!

Ekyt had been training only physically to be a guardian. He needed mental and spiritual strength as well. Knuckles' latest exercise was a test of Ekyt's instincts to protect the emerald.

Ekyt was blindfolded and walked around. “Okay, I'm sure I'm in the chaos chamber. Now what?” Knuckles checked the video monitor he was watching Ekyt on. “You are in the room with the emerald. Now, concentrate.” Ekyt took a comfortable stance, with his weight centered. He heard a whirring sound. He moved in front of where he thought the emerald was and took a fighting stance. The whirr came closer. Robot? At least one. The whirr got closer. Ekyt showed no sign that he heard it until he threw a kick. He missed by about an inch. He ripped the blindfold off and kicked the robot, sending it flying into the wall. Knuckles came in and tried to calm Ekyt down. “Relax, everyone misses. You were only, like, an inch off. You did everything else right. Well, except the whole temper thing. It happens to the best of us.” He looked his watch. “That's enough for now. Take a rest. We'll try again later.”

Ekyt left the chamber and went for a short walk to mount fate. He looked down through a pair of binoculars. He considered himself a vigilante of sorts. A threat to the emerald, or his friends, was a reason for a fight. Knothole was quiet.
Ekyt gazed a little longer, then took a walk to a new casino that had opened. The name was Double N's Playtime Palace. Ekyt walked through the doors. The place was shimmering. Slot machines. BlackJack tables. The whole deal. The manager's office was in the corner.

The dealers all wore strange smiles, as if fixed. They smiled, win, lose, or draw. Ekyt stuffed a coin bearing the princess in a slot machine and pulled the lever. Lemon, Lemon,… Seven. Rats, thought Ekyt. He moved on to a blackjack table. After losing a couple hands, he moved on again to poker.

Ekyt couldn't win. Not my night, he thought. He walked toward the bathroom, when he heard a voice from the manager's office. Two, actually. Australian accent.

“So, we kidnap the guardian, steal the emerald, and give it to our employer? Easy. Knuckles and that kid oughta be easy pickings for us. When do we pull it off?” A female voice answered “Tonight.” They laughed. Until Ekyt kicked the door open. “You were saying?” Ekyt stared Nic and Nack the weasels in the face. They drew weapons. Ekyt jumped out of the room and hit the dirt. He started to tell the dealers to get out. But they just grinned. He yanked on one. Off came it's mask. Robots! Aw crap, another long night. He thought.



To Be continued.

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