Chapter twenty: "More Surprises"
Lysander stood before his master once again, his eyes down cast and his hood pulled
up to hide the paleness of his face. Helena was right, he needed to be brave, for her and Julie
now. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly with a shudder. Thankfully, Kragok's interest
was not focused on him at the moment, but instead of the huge viewscreen of the opposite side
of the room where he was conversing via laser satellite to a rather gruesome looking human with
an ill-groomed orange moustache.
"I did not share my technology with you for nothing, echidna." The man said in a low,
unnerving voice. "Where is my payment?"
Kragok was scowling. "You shared your technology with us, eh human?" He scoffed, leaning
forward in his black, throne-like chair.
"Exactly!" The human retorted, his large fleshy jowls shaking. "And I demand payment!"
Kragok's metallic eye flashed. "The Dark Legion owes you nothing Robotnik. You stole
our robotics years ago, before the war, and I am not about to pay you for it!"
The man stroked his messy moustache idly. "Do not try to trick me Kragok or you will
be very sorry for it." He said, his low voice deepening dangerously.
Kragok sneered. "A threat, Doctor?"
"You heard me, animal! Since the days of the Great War my accomplishments have flourished
across the surface of Mobius... While, it seems you have been reduced to hiding from your own,
the numbers of your followers dwindling. I believe it is clear whom has the advantage..."
Robotnik replied darkly.
Kragok stood up, flames of anger in his eyes.
"If I am not paid back, you will find yourself in quite a sticky situation. This time
I am not backing down. Get the Chaos Emerald or have your precious battleship and worthless
island blown to smithereens." Robotnik concluded, with an evil smirk and promptly cut off the
connection.
Kragok stood there, stiff and fiery, his eyes burning holes into the static of the
viewscreen. He snarled obscenities to himself, metal claw clutching the arm of the chair fiercely.
Finally he turned away from the screen in disgust and slammed the off panel roughly as he
stalked to the back of the room.
Lysander gulped. Judging by that conversation, Kragok was going to be in a foul mood.
It was scary just thinking of Kragok in his normal sour mood, but this was intensely frightening.
When Kragok was angry, the whole ship quaked with his fury. Once more, insubordinate soldiers
often ended up dead.
With Kragok deep in his anger, and all the way at the other end of the room... Maybe,
Lysander thought, he could just sneak away...
"Soldier!" Kragok bellowed suddenly, not turning away from the far wall where he was
inspecting his casks of wine with a burning eye.
Lysander shuddered again, and stepped forward hesitantly. "... Y-yes, Master?"
Kragok poured himself a tall glass of dark, almost black, red wine and took a long drink.
He set his glass back down empty, and let out a slow breath before turning to eye the young
legionnaire dully.
"Do you have any idea what your sister has been up to, soldier?" He asked, a dangerous
lightness to his voice.
Lysander gulped. "N-no, Master."
"Hmmph." Kragok grunted. "...Oh, then you might find this information interesting.
Recently, I sent out a few spies to find her. It seems that she has let herself be captured,
not only by the young Guardian, but also by the Echidnaopolis Security Team."
Lysander gasped. "But how...?!"
"Some other interesting things have been happening lately on the island..." Kragok
continued, as if Julie-Su's predicament meant nothing, "The hyperzone protector has broken
down, and the city has returned to the island..."
The young soldier felt rather sickly. 'Julie arrested... The city returned... How can
this be?' He thought.
"Anyway, it seems that Julie-Su will have to be destroyed."
Lysander's head shot up to stare incredulously at his Master. "W.. What?"
"She has been captured by the enemy, and will probably be forced to reveal our secrets
to them. She will have to be eliminated." The dark echidna master said, his voice emotionless.
"Such as shame."
Lysander's tightly clenched fists began to shake, this time with fury instead of fear.
"You can't... You can't--" He began.
Kragok raised an eyebrow, and smiled darkly. "Oh, can't I...?" He interrupted.
Lysander blinked, and his anger faded. What was he thinking...?? Was he trying to get
himself killed too? He stepped back. "Master, I... I didn't mean--"
"There was that spark again." Kragok interrupted again, still smiling with an evil
satisfaction. "That spark of boldness you seemed to possess when you stood up for your comrades
that time before... Do you have a rebellious streak in you, soldier?"
Lysander shook his head vigorously. "My loyalty lies with the legion!" He insisted, but
he couldn't help feeling that he was not only lying to Kragok, but himself as well.
"Of course," Kragok said slowly, his voice dripping with skepticism.
Lysander stared at his master coldly, the fear dying away slowly. He couldn't just let
him kill his only sister just because she dared to dream of freedom. Helena was right, he need
to do something, anything, and stand up for her... Without getting himself shot.
* * * * *
Knuckles' mouth dropped open. "Wha...?"
"Why do you seem so surprised...?" She said softly, "Did you not know you had a mother?"
"I..." Knuckles struggled, now completely unsure of what to say. Confusion seemed to
collapsing his thoughts. "I knew I had a mother... Once." He mumbled, "But... I thought she...
You..." His brain finally made the connection,"...Were dead."
She seemed about to cry again. "Is that what he told you? That I was dead?"
"No... No..." Knuckles shook his head, as much as to clear his thoughts as to signify
the negative, "Father never said that... Specifically... I just kind of assumed. He never liked
to talk about his life before I was born... He said that his past didn't matter, and only my
future was important..."
She stared at him a moment, then sighed. "Typical Locke..." She said softly.
"I... I don't understand... Why...?" Knuckles began.
"Come with me." She said turning and walking down the street towards the heart of the
city... "We have a lot to talk about..."
"Umm..."
She turned back, realizing his hesitation. "What's the matter...? You don't want to
come with me?"
"No, it's not that..." He said, "But do you mind if we go out of the city?"
She blinked. "...Out of the city?" She asked, as if the idea was inconceivable.
"Yeah..." Knuckles mumbled.
"I... I suppose we can."
She followed him back to the edge where the city ended and suddenly lush forests began.
Knuckles, sighing with relief, sat down under a tree tiredly. The female claiming to be his
mother stayed on the pavement staring at the foliage in disbelief.
"So... We really are back on the island..." She said to herself.
Knuckles looked up at her, his mind clearing considerably now that he was out of the
middle of all those confusing streets and buildings. "That's another thing I don't understand...
I thought Echidnaopolis was destroyed a long time ago."
She shook her head. "No. Our city was almost destroyed by the Overlanders, a little less
than a century ago, but our guardian at the time, Hawking, saved the city with the hyperzone
protector..."
"Hyperzone protector?" He repeated, thoughtfully.
She nodded. "Yes. It's kind of like a protective bubble that surrounds... Er, surrounded
the entire city. The city was transported to Haven, another zone, where it has been for almost
a hundred years... Well, until now. What happened?"
He stared at the buildings, lost in his thoughts as he tried to sort it all out. "I don't
know..." He said, "Your story makes sense... But... If that's true, how... How come my father and I
lived here on the Floating Island?"
She took a deep breath. "Your father ran away from his problems..."
He turned back to her. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, almost challengingly.
She returned his questioning glare more than evenly. "He was a stubborn man, your
father. I don't know why I ever thought it would work for us... But I suppose I was young and
enthralled with the idea of being the wife of a Guardian... And I suppose I even loved him, for
a time..."
Knuckles felt that sick feeling returning.
She noticed his uneasiness. "But... To put it short, your father and I, we had our
differences. After you were born, I wanted to divorce him and keep custody of you, but he
wouldn't have it... And neither would the courts. After all, you were a young guardian, and you
*had* to be trained by an experienced senior guardian..."
"So... You're saying my father just left you?" Knuckles asked.
"Not exactly... I left him."
"Huh?"
"It's complicated." She sighed, "I just couldn't accept that I couldn't be a true mother
to you. He wouldn't let me. The... Rules..." She said with disgust, "The rules say that a
young guardian's sole source of education must be his father... I wasn't allowed to see you
for half the time, and then, only when you needed to be fed or cleaned or--"
He was frowning. "So... You just left? Because of that?"
She frowned back, with obvious tears of frustration beginning in her eyes. "Don't make
it sound like it was nothing for a mother to have her son taken away from her... I left to
appeal to the courts... And when they denied me, I tried to go back to Locke and reason with
him... But by that time he was gone, and so were you."
His face softened. "Oh..."
"I don't know how he bypassed the shield and got back to the island..." She wiped her
eyes. "But... That doesn't matter now." She smiled at him weakly. "Now that we've found each
other again."
He stood up, smiling back at her. Yes. She was his mother. He wasn't sure how he knew,
but she was. She was telling the truth. Perhaps she was the only one who had ever told him
the truth...
She stepped down from the payment and stood in front of him, staring at him.
"... What is your name?" He asked, softly.
"My name is Lara-Le... But you can call me 'Mom'..." She said, grinning.
"Okay." He nodded, still smiling, "...Mom."
The tears returned to her eyes and she broke down, hugging him intensely and sobbing
into his shoulder.
Rather surprised, Knuckles slowly put his arms around her.
"... You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that..." She whispered.
His uneasiness faded. "... I wish I could have said it sooner."
She sniffled, and released him slowly. "... Thank you... I'm sorry, I just got a bit
carried away..."
"It's okay." He replied.
"Now..." She said, "There is so much more to talk about..."
Knuckles glanced back at the city and sighed. "Yes... There is. But... First I need to
find out what caused the city to return. I don't want anymore of those earthquakes to damage
anything else. Do you have any idea what could have happened?"
She shook her head sadly. "Not really..." She said, "But I suppose something must have
made the hyperzone protector malfunction... I suppose we are lucky to have arrived back on
the island alive... If not exactly in one piece..." She finished, indicating the cracks in the
streets.
"Where can I find it?"
"In the center of the city. There's a huge monument in front of the capital. I'm
sure they will let you in to see laboratory if you state your position... And if that doesn't
work, you can always say that I have sent you..."
He nodded. "Thank you." He said, and began to walk back into the city.
"...Wait." She called as he stepped up onto the pavement.
"Yeah?" He said turning back to face her.
"After you are done... Will you come to my apartment so we can talk a little more?" She
asked meekly.
"Of course." He said, nodding again.
"It's on the corner of Emerald Terrace and Main Street. I'm sure someone will be able
to help you find it..."
"Right. I'll come right over after I make sure things are safe here... It seems I've
inherited a few more citizens to guard."
And with that, he left, leaving her on the edge of the thick forest, staring after him
wistfully.
"Yes..." She said, the sadness in her voice returning ever so slightly. "Too much like
his father..."
* * * * *
A tall, darkly handsome male echidna strode down the office hallway in an obvious huff.
He was wearing a green uniform vest, similar to the one of the haughty captain, but slightly
more decorated, with golden knots adorning his shoulders and his wide-brimmed hat, the tassels
hanging off to one side. His tall green buckled boots and the gold badge on his chest reflected
the weak glow of the electric lights above. His brown eyes, hidden beneath his dark bangs
were angry. He stopped in front of a windowless doorway at the end of the hall and took a
moment to compose himself.
He was going to get a confession out of this tough guy. Finally the troops had been able
to capture a member of the nefarious Dark Legion, a gang of miscreants that had been a thorn in
his side since before he could remember. Finally, with the aid of this renegade soldier's
confession, he would find their untraceable lines of informants and ultimately lead him to
their base of operations and their infamous leader. He was going to be hard on this so-called
soldier, and put him under the lights until he spilled.
Feeling confident, he put on a scowl and opened the door and stepped inside the
containment room.
He blinked in confusion at the scene in front of him.
Sitting at the table in the center of the otherwise empty room, was a stunningly
beautiful, teenage female echidna handcuffed to her chair. Her fur was a light rose hue and
her eyes a dark violet, the same color as her soft-looking bangs that fell lightly over her
slightly pale face. Her quills, half of them roboticized into metallic locks, fell just past
her shoulders. She was tall, as much as he could tell, she being seated, and nicely
proportioned. Her legs were long and thin, and well-muscled. Her arms were crossed tightly
in front of her chest, in a defiant stance. She had been stripped, so her clothing could be
inspected and searched for weapons and hidden devices, so she was left sitting there in the
cold room wearing practically nothing except her tight black halter top.
She looked up at him suddenly, pretty eyes fierce. "What are you staring at, asshole?"
She spat.
Now, he definitely wasn't ready for that.
* * * * *
The sun had long set over the horizon in the distance of the Amazon's swamp, and the
glowing essence of the planet's moons was cast upon the trees, giving the forest an almost
ethereal presence. The stars were shining in the dark sky above, and most of the residents
and visitors of the tribe's village were fast asleep under their blankets.
But some were not.
Shelia, again had found herself unable to sleep. She couldn't help but to continue to
puzzle over Knuckles' actions. Why had he done this to her? She had felt the emotion in his
own kiss, but yet, for some strange reason, he had run away from her when she expressed her
own emotions in a simple phrase. She was so sure that she had finally fell in love...
She jumped, startled suddenly when she came upon Clawz sitting alone in front of the
fire. He looked up at her, the same amount of surprise in his big green eyes.
"Hello." She said softly.
"Hiya, Shells. Howsit goin'?" He said, half-heartedly.
"Okay, I guess..." She sighed, taking a seat beside him. "What are you doing up?"
"I was gonna ask you th'same thing..."
"I guess I couldn't sleep." She replied.
"Me neither." He said.
"...How come? What's bothering you?" She began, watching him with interest. Nothing
seemed to ever bother the cheerful feline. "If you don't mind me asking..."
He turned and ginned at her. "Naw, I never mind it when pretty girls pry inta my private
life." He laughed softly.
She blushed, "Well, uh..."
"I'm just kiddin'," He said grinning wider, "I ain't intruding on Knux's territory. No
way. I ain't that dumb."
"...Oh." She mumbled.
"Anyway, as I was sayin'..." He continued, "I've just been up thinkin'..."
"About what?" She asked.
"A lotta things. Life in general, I guess." He said, staring up at the stars almost
wistfully. "It's a crazy world, ain't it?"
She nodded. "Yeah, just when you think you're getting things together, everything
suddenly breaks apart..." She sighed.
He blinked at her in surprise. "Exactly! Y'know? Everything was goin fine with me and
the Freedom Fighters till Nack and Loopy showed up. Now everything's totally screwed."
"Knuckles said that Nack was your brother...? Uh, how can that be?" She asked, hesitantly.
"Oh, well he ain't my real brother. Kinda like an adopted brother or somthin'. After my
dad was robotocized, Nack and his dad kinda took care of me... Then, when Nack's dad got
'botcized too, he took care of me all by hisself..."
"Really?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"Yeah." He laughed, "Take it he waddn't the most lovin' brother in th'world, but he
was all I had. Then, o'course, he almost killed me..."
"Oh my." Shelia said, eyes still wide.
"Yeah... Tell me about it. But I forgive'em... I gotta. He's family."
"No wonder you can't sleep." She said, in awe.
He laughed again. "Yeah, really. But that's not all of it, neither."
"Oh?" She said, still oddly interested.
"It's Loopy... You know her?" He asked.
"You mean Lupe, the leader of the Wolf Pack?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Me and her go way back." He sighed, his grin fading slowly.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. She was th'first girl I was ever really serious about... Correction, the only
girl I was ever serious about..." Clawz said, still in his always cheerful voice, but with
a rather lackluster enthusiasm.
"Did you love her?" Shelia asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Love?" He asked, halfway to himself. "I really don't know. Love's a complicated thing
y'know. I cared a lot about her, and she's a real babe and all... I wish I could have got to
know her better before we..." He blinked, suddenly realizing who he was rambling on to. "Eh,
nevermind, you don't want to hear about all dis..."
Shelia's black-tipped ears perked up. "Sure I do!" She assured.
"Well... Uh, it was kinda a fast relationship, if you know what I mean... We kinda 'got
to know each other' before we actually got to really know each other..." He said, trying to
water down the subject as much as possible.
"Huh...?"
He laughed softly. He had known that was coming. He tried to be more specific for the
rather naive fox. "Well, uh... Let's just say this. Me and Loops, we had a... Uh... Physical
relationship..."
Shelia blinked. "Oh..." She mumbled, then blushing, "Oh!"
He chuckled again. "Yeah. But it was short. I wish it could've been more than that...
Before I could even really fall in love with her, I guess Nack hauled me off halfway across
th'planet... And when we came back this way, well... I couldn't really face her, y'know...?"
"I understand." She said softly.
"And now she's gettin' married. Man, life is crazy."
Shelia smiled a little. "Yeah. Crazy..."
* * * * *