It was late one night, and Collin was doing one of his private missions. He didn't like worrying the children by telling them that he went to Robotropolis most nights. He was using his cloak once more as he often felt more comfortable in it, and he wanted to work on his armor some more. He was actually going through some scraps for parts for his armor. He froze as he noticed the sound of robots. He quickly sprinted for a nearby building that hadn't yet been remade into something for Robotnik. Hiding behind the wall, his eyes widened as he realized where he was. He was in the old lab of the royal scientists, where he had spent a lot of his childhood. Collin heard more robots coming closer and made his way further into the dark hallways, having memorized the layout by the time he was five. He hid in the lab of Dr. Ellidy Lynx, a Royal Scientist that had died just before the Roboticization of the city. Collin had liked working with the scientist, but he had become mysteriously ill before his death. Collin sometimes suspected Robotnik, but he never found proof. Collin hadn't been in that lab since. Looking around, it was almost trashed, but he was surprised because he found something on the table.
"What the…" It was a small phone like device with a note on it. "For Collin H., I finished this for the princess, just as you recommended. Hope you find this in good health. Sincerely, Dr. Ellidy…" Collin scratched his head before his mind quickly recognized the device in his hand. "Wait… this is…" Collin's eyes lit up before he pocketed the device. "He always did come through… The princess will make good use of this!" Collin adjusted his cloak and made his way out of the lab through the emergency exits.
The shadows were his friend as he made his way to his dad's old lab. He paused to look through it for anything helpful as well. He sighed as the only thing he had found that held any interest for him was a couple of pictures from the before times. He pocketed them as well before going out the back and looking at a river of radioactive slime in front of him. Collin rolled his eyes and made to climb to the top of the building. There was a broken ladder nearby, which he used to get to the top, grateful once more for his strange lack of weight. He used a device that looked like a hairdryer to shoot a grappling hook to the other side of the river. It'd be a close call, but Collin was used to taking risks. He tied the other end of the rope to the antennae pole that was still there and pulled to see if it held. It would hold. He then took off his cloak and ziplined down the rope to the other side before taking the rope out of the ground where it had lodged the hook. His bag had a few items to help his own inventions now, and that had been his goal. The handheld computer in his hand and the pictures were a nice bonus.
He was approaching Knothole when he spotted Princess Sally trying to figure out the answers to life in a way, or more accurately, if Sonic really cared for her as she loved him. Collin sighed and made his way over to her. Things had been much simpler for the children in the before times. Princess Sally and Sonic would be able to play without worry, Rotor and Antoine would sometimes join in as well. Collin even played with them on occasion when he wasn't helping out someone or volunteering at the hospital or labs. Princess Sally had been groomed since birth to be ready to take her place on the throne, something that only Collin had seemed reluctant about at the time. Now, Collin was one of her biggest supporters, always there to back her up and assist her, but… he couldn't always be there, could he? How many times recently had he come into a close encounter with the fat man who had taken everything from them, and almost lost his own life? Collin sighed. He wished desperately that he could make things easier for her and the other Freedom Fighters, but knowing he couldn't always be there for them scared him. He clutched at the device Dr. Ellidy had left for him to find.
"Princess Sally…" Sally looked up, slightly surprised to see her dark cloaked friend. "Are you alright?"
"I… I'm fine, Collin. I was just… oohhh… I was just remembering… before Robotnik… you know?"
"Indeed." He pulled out the small device that looked like a flip-phone. "This is for you. I had been working with Dr. Ellidy Lynx before the coup and he finished it up just before he died. I found it tonight while looking for supplies."
"Collin! You know you shouldn't go to Robotropolis alone!" Sally's blue eyes widened with shock. Collin was one of the weakest Freedom Fighters in a sense due to his overlander genetics not being as stubborn as a Mobian's.
Collin put up a hand. "Princess, I'm almost an adult. We all have risks we must take in order for us to survive. You kids are getting older. You've recently turned 14, and I'm afraid that I can't always be there for you all. I don't just mean on my little trips anymore. Now that we know I'm a chaos emerald, I need to plan accordingly and train with this so that I don't hurt any of you. I also need to make sure that you all are still safe. This device here… this AI, is meant to be your own personal assistant. You'll learn how helpful they can be." Sally took the small device with wide eyes. "Come now, we'd better go in." Suddenly, Collin froze, tears rolling from his eyes as he clutched where his heart was.
"Collin?"
Collin took a seat on the rock Sally had been sitting on. "You… you need to check on Julayla… and you'd better hurry… she doesn't have much longer…"
Sally's eyes widened. Instead of questioning him as she wanted to, she ran into the caverns to find Julayla. "Julayla?" Rosie had gone out to find the princess, but Collin had found Sally first. Collin had then gone off to track down Rosie to let her know that Sally was aware.
Julayla was sick, and in her bed, one of the better bedrooms near the surface so she could have a window. She was propped up on pillows and wearing a purple turtleneck. She looked at the young princess with a small smile. "Sally… come closer, my child, that these aged eyes might more clearly see." She sounded a little hoarse, and very weak.
"Are… you…" Sally asked as she came closer.
"Hush, favored one. There are, to all things, a season… and time is in short supply." The chipmunk sighed. "You bear the mantle of leadership with honor and grace. Though you might have longed for other paths, the duties of your birthright could not be denied. From the first, you studied long and hard, ever growing in knowledge and spirit, and as your teacher, I would have accepted no less. Each day brought new lessons… and fresh challenges." Both recalled the day that Julayla had asked her to snatch an acorn from her paw. Sally hadn't managed it then.
"I remember that day, and many others like it… you never let up for a moment." Sally couldn't help but whisper, trying hard not to cry.
"Only because I cared… and knew you to carry the seeds of greatness. None were prouder than I at your commencement ball… nor more sorrowful on the day your father the king was taken from us. That was long ago, and you have since grown much." The chipmunk then held out her hand. "Let us discover together…" Her hand opened to reveal an acorn. "…exactly how much!" Sally looked at the acorn and kneed the hand holding it, snatching it before it could land back in the chipmunk's hand. Julayla smiled. "An elegant solution. Such wisdom cannot be taught… it must be acquired! You are ready…" Julayla started to fade then. "Farewell, beloved one…" With that, her blue eyes closed for the last time, and Julayla Chipmunk fell into a peaceful eternal slumber.
Sally slowly left the chamber, tears running down her cheeks as she made her way up to the surface to think about everything. She ran into Collin, who was sitting there with his own tear filled face, looking up at the stars. "Collin?"
The human looked a little surprised, but was still calm as he turned to look at Sally, both their blue eyes filled with tears. "How are you feeling, Princess?"
"I'll be fine… I guess… I just feel a little lonelier tonight than usual."
"I feel the same." Collin's gaze then returned to the setting moon. "Tonight is soon to become yesterday though… and there are many more tomorrows ahead of us."
"You're right… she wouldn't want us to stay sad forever."
"No… heh, she'd snap at me for crying so much, saying I was being silly." Collin tried to wipe away his tears. Julayla and Rosie were as close to mothering figures as he ever had. "Take your time with that device. You'll find it quite helpful, I'm sure."
"Right…" The device in question would remain in her room for a few months, but she'd get to it before long, and soon, it would help her learn even more lessons.