Chapter Nineteen
Kay flung open the door and stepped into the afternoon sunlight, taking in a huge breath of fresh air to clear her spinning mind. Vector and Espio were right behind her.
“Do you mind telling me what that was all about?” Vector asked her. He sounded irritated. Kay glanced at him for a moment and then looked at the city. Naugus’ words still rang in her head. Emerald’s Chosen…she frowned seriously and said, “I need to talk to Knuckles.”
“I’ve been trying to contact him for days,” Espio replied. “I haven’t gotten a response.”
Kay paused to think. Knuckles had been in the city when she first arrived, which meant that someone else had to be guarding the Master Emerald in his absence. Someone she had met when she jumped out of Eggman’s carrier and onto the island.
She looked at Espio. “What about Valdez?”
Espio seemed confused. “What about him?”
“He knows a lot about the Master Emerald, right? He guards it when Knuckles is gone?”
“Yes.”
If I can’t talk to Knuckles, I should talk to Valdez, she decided. Then she asked, “Could you try to contact him for me?”
Espio looked at her carefully, skepticism written all over his face. Kay knew he was still having a hard time believing that she could see the future, but she also knew that he’d wanted to find out why. That was the reason he had been trying to get in touch with Knuckles in the first place. The chameleon averted his gaze from her to look at Vector for a moment. Finally his golden eyes made their way back to her and he nodded slowly. “I will try.”
“Thank you,” Kay replied with relief. Espio turned from her and began to make his way back to Freedom HQ outside the city limits. Kay let him go a few paces before she started to follow.
“Kay.” Vector’s voice stopped her in her tracks. She briefly remembered how she had run off at the concert and turned to him slowly. He seemed both baffled and hurt. “What was that…with Geoffrey…?”
“I know how that must have looked back there, but…” Kay paused. How was she supposed to explain this? Vector had no idea that Geoffrey wasn’t really Geoffrey. “I just met him today.”
Vector observed her for a second or two. “Where were you? Were you with him this whole time?”
Kay remembered how Naugus had left her alone for quite some time. “No.”
“Why did you run off without telling me?”
“You were preoccupied with Team Freedom. I didn’t want to intervene.”
“You know you almost gave me a heart attack, right?” Vector asked her. She looked at him sadly. She knew how much she must have worried him when she left without saying anything, but she also didn’t have time to talk about it right now. She needed to talk to Valdez.
“Look, Vector,” she sighed, “I’m sorry I made you panic, but…” Again the words were there. Emerald’s Chosen. Why was something in her heart telling her that name was was important? “I need to talk to someone from Angel Island.” With that being said, she turned from him and started walking in the direction of HQ.
“Why?” Vector spoke up again from behind her. She heard him hurrying to catch up so he could walk by her side. He gazed down at her in confusion. “What did Geoff tell you?”
“Things have changed. I might be…” Kay stopped herself. She thought about what it would look like if she told him of her supposed title and ended up not being it after all. She shook her head. “Never mind.”
But Vector was insistent. “What? You might be what?”
“I don’t want to say anything more until I have proof,” she told him simply.
“Proof of what?” Kay didn’t answer. She simply kept walking. “Kay!”
Finally she whirled around and stared up into his dark brown eyes. “Just trust me, okay?”
Vector stopped and glanced down at her, misunderstanding showing clearly in his eyes. For a moment he just stood there observing her, seeming to resolve whether or not to believe her. She, in turn, never tore her gaze from his, silently willing him to go along with her. She also hoped he wouldn’t think she was working with Geoffrey/Naugus.
At last, after a long, tense pause, Vector nodded slowly. Kay gave him a small smile to show she was grateful for his understanding and then focused her mind once again on heading out to Freedom HQ, where, hopefully, she would be able to talk to an expert.
About an hour later, once they’d all gotten safely to the base of operations, Espio was able to contact his old mentor. Kay stood by his side as the video feed came through, while Vector stood quietly off to the side. He hadn’t said a word since his conversation with Kay.
“This is Valdez,” the voice on the feed said. There was some static, but not enough to be distracting. “Please identify yourself.”
“Hello, old friend,” Espio said in response. Valdez, whose face was coming through clearly now, smiled and shook his head.
“Espio. To what do I owe the honor?”
“Kay requested that I contact you,” the chameleon answered, stepping aside so Kay was the center of attention. Again a knowing look crossed Valdez’s face.
“Ah, the girl who fell from the sky,” he said with a grin. “How are you?”
Kay didn’t waste a second and got right to the point. “Is Knuckles on Angel Island?”
Valdez seemed to be caught off-guard. “I believe so. Why?”
“We have not been able to reach him,” Espio replied for her. Valdez frowned.
“That’s odd.” He appeared to consider this new information for a moment before continuing. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Espio rotated his head to look at Kay, who glanced at him briefly before asking, “Valdez, do you know anything about the old Albion prophecies?”
“I have a fair understanding. Why?”
Kay took a deep breath. “Have you heard of Emerald’s Chosen?”
“Emerald’s Chosen…” Valdez took a moment to think. “It’s a reasonably ancient prophecy. It claims that—” Suddenly the blue chameleon stopped mid-sentence and took a good, long look at Kay. He seemed to be seeing her – really seeing her – for the first time. His mouth gradually dropped open. “Emerald’s Chosen.”
Kay looked into his astonished eyes and nodded once – so slowly that she almost didn’t realize she was doing it. Valdez leaned back in his chair and gaped at her in disbelief. Then his eyes darted just about everywhere as he considered the new idea. At length he leaned forward again and opened his mouth as if to say something, then reconsidered. Finally he spoke. “Perhaps you should return to Angel Island.”
“I agree,” Kay concurred immediately.
Valdez fixed his gaze on his old student next. “Espio, do you have a warp ring?”
“Not at the moment,” Espio replied.
“I’ll open one for you. Just give me a minute.”
“Understood.” The screen went black, erasing Valdez’s face from view. Kay shifted so that she was standing with her back to the darkened monitor. “Kay.” Espio’s voice was gentle for the first time in three days. Slightly surprised, she twisted her head to the side to silently acknowledge that she’d heard him. She heard his footsteps as he neared her and eventually saw his form standing directly by her side. He reached out and kindly touched her shoulder, indicating for her to face him completely. She did so without a word. After a minute of tense stillness he said softly, “Emerald’s Chosen.”
It was then that Kay tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “You’ve heard of it?”
“Yes,” he replied. He then took a minute to observe her with new eyes, all suspicion removed from his features. “That would sure explain a lot about you.”
Kay averted her eyes so she could think. Of course she was glad Espio was talking to her again, but she didn’t want him to think of her as some long-awaited hero. She was just a girl.
“We don’t know if it’s true yet,” she told him softly. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Espio.”
“Right,” he replied quietly. She couldn’t help but notice that he was standing very close to her. Kay lifted her eyes to meet his, and the two regarded each other for an instant.
Just then there was a sudden flash of light, and a warp ring appeared directly next to them. Kay was glad for the distraction. She watched the swirling light for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and stepped through the ring.