Chapter eighteen: "Looking Back"
"... Hey Loopy, can we talk?"
"Vaya al infierno." She growled back in Spanish, not looking at him from where she sat
cross-legged on the ground on the edge of the courtyard, away from where the rest of the Amazons
were eating the evening's meal.
"No thanks." Clawz replied, casually.
She turned and frowned at him. "Do you have any idea what I just said?"
"No." He said simply, and smiled at her as he sat down beside her.
She shook her head. "Eres un idiota."
"Look woman, I come over here to talk and you jus'--" He began.
"If you're going to say something to me, go ahead. I'm listening." She cut off.
He frowned. "Fine den..." He cleared his throat, "Ahem. Well... Uh... Lemme think a
minute..." He mumbled.
"Goodbye." She said standing up.
"Hold up, woman!" He said, grabbing her arm, "I had it a second ago, just... C'mon,
give me a chance."
"I all ready gave you a chance, Wildcat, and you blew it big-time! You don't deserve
another one!" She snapped, still standing.
"Aw, c'mon, Loopy! Everybody d'serves a second chance!" He pleaded.
"Not you! And will you quit calling me that!?" She growled, trying to pry him off her
arm, and only half succeeding.
He caught her other arm. "Look, at least let me tell you what really happened! Really
it wasn't my idea t'leave like that!"
"Hmph!" She snorted, but didn't move away any further.
He sighed. "... Y'see..." He began, "... Nack woke me up in th'middle of the night,
said we had to go to pick up a shipment uh parts before we lost our deal. I did't wanna leave
ya. I didn't know he took your diamond until later! Honest! I wouldn't let him sell it. I wanted
to give it back..."
She was still frowning. "...And why didn't you?" She asked in a low voice.
"Uh welll... I was going to, but... We had work to do, and we never came through the
Southern Desert again. I never had a chance..." He explained in a mumble.
"And where is it now? That diamond was my father's legacy! My family was trusted to
protect it... I need it back." Lupe said firmly.
"...I don't have it anymore..." He said softly.
"WHAT??!" She growled.
"B-but don't worry yer lil' head Loops, it's safe. Knux has it." He said quickly, backing
away slightly.
"Who??" She questioned, still snarling.
"Knux... Er, Knuckles, my pal. He's the guardian of the Floating Island." Clawz stammered.
Lupe blinked. "...Guardian...?" She almost whispered, suddenly awestruck, "The one of the
legend?"
"Uh... I dunno." Clawz said, giving her a strange look. "But he'll take care of it. He's
a good guy."
"If it is safe with the Guardian..." She said, trailing off.
He stared at her silently for a moment.
"Sooo... You forgive me?" He asked finally.
She shot him a sour look. "I don't think I can ever forgive you." She said, her voice
deep and serious again, "You took so much more from me than just my father's diamond."
He cringed. "I said I was sorry. I did care about you Loops. A lot..." He admitted.
"Can't we get back together?"
She laughed. "I don't think so. Besides, I am engaged."
"Engaged?!" He said loudly, "As in you're getting married? To who?"
"Maybe you'll meet him someday. He did not come with us to the tournament. He is back
in the desert attending to the rest of the pack." She said, smiling slightly.
"I feel so betrayed." He said, only half-sarcastically.
She laughed again. "Sorry. You missed you're chance... But I suppose, in all fairness,
it was not your fault... Nack is a manipulating little bastard."
"Yup. Correct there." He agreed.
"...And we were young, and reckless back then."
"Still am." He said grinning.
"So..." She began.
"Sooooo?"
"So... Maybe, even if I can't forgive you... Perhaps we can call a truce." She sighed.
"It was even a little my fault, I guess... Trusting a wildcat... What was I thinking?"
"So we're cool?" She asked, eagerly.
"As long as the diamond is safe..." She complied.
"It is! I promise!" He insisted, crushing her in a hug, "You can even ask Shelia!"
"Shelia?" She said, pushing him away roughly, "You mean the red fox who fainted at the
shot event? What does she have to do with anything?"
"She's Knux's girl. She can tell you about the diamond." He explained, in his typical
non-informant fashion. "She had some of those big jewels herself... Ha ha, hey that's kinda
funny, y'know because she's got--"
"You mean she was a keeper?" Lupe asked, shocked.
"Uh... Yeah, sure." Clawz answered, cluelessly.
"Hmm. That's interesting."
"...Very." Replied, even though he had no idea what she was talking about.
She frowned at him.
"What?" He asked.
She sighed. "You haven't changed a bit."
"Sure I have... You just gotta... 'get to know me'..." He laughed, winking.
"Not one bit."
* * * * *
"Holy--!" Julie gasped, grabbing at her side for her weapon, but finding nothing.
Knuckles gulped. "Hey, wait a minute, we--"
"Silence!" The one in charge yelled. "Put your hands above your head and don't try
anything funny, intruders!"
"Intruders?" Knuckles said, frowning, "But I'm the--"
"I said silence!" The leader growled, shoving his pistol in the young echidna's face. He
was a tall, but thin dark-furred male echidna, probably in his late twenties and with an obvious
superiority complex. A small gold pin on his jacket pocket read: 'E.S.T. Captain Braxton Oxford'.
Knuckles shut his mouth, and raised his hands slowly, but his frown furrowed deeper.
Julie watched him carefully, then raised her own hands.
"All right, cuff 'em boys." The captain instructed, gesturing with his gun towards the
so-called 'intruders'.
Knuckles' eyes narrowed. Nobody pushed him around, much less accused him of trespassing,
on his own island...
Two officers approached him with a set off rather uncomfortable-looking handcuffs. Just
when they got close enough for Knuckles to get in range for a good swing, another figure stepped
in front of him, blocking his opportunity.
"That's quite enough Captain!" The older-looking female echidna said sourly, frowning
in a strangely familiar way.
The captain and his troops stepped back in shock, and quickly saluted. "My Lady! What
do you mean?" The captain stuttered, still in his formal position, "We were just arresting these
intruders!"
"He is not an intruder." She said, pointing back at Knuckles, "He happens to be the
island's young guardian. Does not his mark show this to be true?"
The soldiers gaped for a moment, staring quizzically at Knuckles chest and the white
crescent under his neck.
"B-but... He can't be..." The captain mumbled.
"And yet he is!" The lady said smugly, "Now begone with you!"
"...But the girl, m'lady! She is a Dark Legionnaire!" The captain pointed out, making
reference to Julie-Su's metallic 'enhancements'.
The lady echidna turned to her, and examined her up and down curiously.
Julie huffed. "I am not a Dark Legionnaire!"
Knuckles looked at her.
"...Anymore." She added.
"I'm afraid we'll have to take her into custody, m'Lady." The captain informed.
"No way!" Julie shouted. "C'mon Mr. Guardian! Tell 'em! I'm with you."
Knuckles was silent.
"Well??!" She hissed.
"Maybe you better go with them. For now." He answered finally.
"Are you crazy!? They'll lock me up!" She yelled.
"Don't worry. I'll come back for you later... Right now I have to check something out."
Knuckles said.
"You heard the Guardian, boys! Let's take her in!" The Captain ordered.
"Wait a second! This isn't fair! I didn't even do anything!" She pleaded.
"Go with them Julie-Su." Knuckles said firmly. "I'll take care of things."
"B-but I..." She stammered, as the officers clamped the cuffs around her wrists. "Get
offa me! I didn't do anything!!" She growled, tugging away, preparing to give one of the
haughty officers a good kick in the stomach.
"Go." Knuckles repeated, giving her his iciest gaze.
She frowned staring back at him for a moment. She snorted, then finally, she stopped
struggling and allowed herself to be restrained. Her expression was more than reluctant.
Knuckles watched them as they took her back into one of the tall white and green
buildings. He noted the location in the back of his mind, then sighed. She was a Dark
Legionnaire after all. Maybe they would be able to deal with her better than he could. He
would check up on her later... But for now, he had some questions to ask.
He turned and met the gaze of the regal lady echidna. She was tall, and slender, and
would have been quite attractive to him if she wasn't at least twenty years his senior. She
was wearing a floor-length yellow dress, tied at the front bodice in an elegant, classic fashion.
She had long, deep red quills that reached her tail, and soft, feathery-looking brown bangs,
with a thin braid flowing down her back. She had a curved face, softly marked with thin lines
of age beside her eyes and mouth, but making her no less exquisite.
He stared at her, squinting. He had never seen this woman in his life to his
recollection, but for some odd reason... For some odd reason, she seemed so familiar.
She stared back at him, with the same awestruck gaze, hers a brilliant green and his a
icy blue. Finally, she looked away, and shook her head.
She sighed. "You had to turn out looking so much like your father, didn't you?"
He tilted his head in confusion. "... You knew my father?"
She laughed softly, but it had a undertone of sadness and lamentation. "I suppose you
could say I knew him very well..."
Knuckles stepped closer to her, trying to figure out how he somehow knew her. "I don't
follow you..." He said, blinking.
She smiled a melancholy smile, almost as if she was forcing back tears. "You really
don't remember me...?"
Knuckles swallowed. Oh great. He hated it when females cried. "I'm sorry..." He said
gently, "But... You do seem familiar... Somehow... But I just can't remember. Where you a
friend of my father's?"
"More than just a friend..."
Now Knuckles was just plain uncomfortable. "Oh... I didn't know he... Uh... Had any...
Uh..." He mumbled. A girlfriend? Was this woman one of his father's old girlfriends or something?
How would she know him though? This was just too weird.
She laughed softly again, in that sad way. "You still don't know me?"
Knuckles shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no..."
She stepped towards him, and put her hands on his shoulders and looked down into his
eyes with tears in her own. "Knuckles..." She said in almost a whisper, "I am your mother."
* * * * *