Well... I have a few announcements before I start up again. Just tonight I agreed to let someone work with the idea for one of my fics, since I wasn't planning on doing anything with the fic so I was like "What the heck."?
Anyway, I was wondering... should I do a squeal or leave the story as a stand alone? I'm really not sure... but this chapter really gets the story movin'. Go ahead and enjoy it. It might be the last chapter for a while since I'm working on a idea for my next fic, which is going to be a Romance/Drama fic called "Shock and Awe". Its really a Action Adventure/Drama/Romance, but we don't have all the spaces for that.
Oh yeah, if anyone wants to talk to me about just about anything that I put in my fics... or about the Archie-Verse, Sonic Adventure verse, or even Sonic X , then my E-Mail is always opened for that kind of talk. I ushally respond in a day from sending.
Now that I'm done editing this author's note, I can start...
-----------------------------Heart To No Heart: The Heart to Heart
Mighty leaned over and picked Espio up, lifting him over his shoulder before turning to look at the Guardianship as well as Charmy. He walked over to them and spoke to Charmy first.
"Watch Locke, I'll be back... "Mighty looked over his shoulder at Locke who was still stuck in that glass chamber.
Charmy nodded at first, but then had to ask. "Wait a second! Where are you going?"
"I have to get Espio out of here. I'm taking the Brotherhood with me." Mighty walked towards the door, and stopped when he heard a rumbling sound under his feet... directly under his feet!
His eyes widened and he suddenly jumped back, just in time since the ground under him started to break away and fly up towards the ceiling. What the hell? Something was breaking into the room from the level below them! At first, it looked like a shard of metal, but then it became clear that it was one of the Legion's ships!
Charmy flew around to the door, getting ready for an attack on whoever came out first... but to his surprise a white flag was wagged around before a very familiar Croc poked his head out from behind the door.
"Ah guess I need a little bit more trainin' in this kinda thing... "He smirked, but then was hugged around his neck by Charmy.
"You came to save us! That's amazing!" He yelled.
Mighty sighed before walking up to the ship. "We already saved ourselves. He just picked a convenient time to show up!"
"Ya'll ani't saved yet, the Legion's coming on up here for their plane back! They probably won't mind shootin' us while they're at it neither!"
Mighty then rushed past Vector and onto the ship. Vector looked back at him confused before he spotted Espio in his arms and then put on a table in the ship. "What the hell happened to him?"
Thunderhawk walked into the ship, followed by Saber and the rest of the Brotherhood. " He got shot in the struggle back here. Least we got Lien-Da. "He motioned over to the female echidna still unconscious on the floor of the room.
Charmy passed by Vector and looked in the ship, and then looked back at Vector. "Where's Julie-Su? Didn't she and Lara-Le come with you?"
Locke perked up at the mention of Lara-Le, especially at the fact that she wasn't there along with the rest of them. He pounded on the glass and shouted towards them from the other side of the room. "Lara's not there? Where is she? Did the Legion get to her?" That was all they could understand since from that point he was muttering to himself.
Vector shook his head. "Lara-Le is back at the airstrip, we told her to stay put until we got back!"
Suddenly, from above in the vents was a sharp yelp before the cover of the vent would gave in. A dirty red and yellow dressed Echidna dropped down from the vent and landed on her butt on the floor. She yelped and looked around in pain.
Vector yelled at her first. "I thought Julie-Su told you to stay put!"
"Julie-Su got captured! I saw her being dragged away from the vents!" She yelled before getting onto her feet and looking over her shoulder to see Locke. "Locke! You're alright... "
She thought about that a moment before she folded her arms over her chest and looked at him. "Yeah... you're alright..."
Locke smiled and leaned forward so he was looking directly at her. "Aw, it seems that someone still cares about this ol' Echidna."
Lara-Le folded her arms over her chest. "You keep thinking like that and I won't get you out of there!"
Vector leaned over from the doorframe of the ship and whispered towards Mighty. "Where is you-know-who?"
Mighty looked back at Vector from the table, which was obviously a station for helping the Legion deal with the injured back on the field when they used the ship. "You-know-who? I don't know, he must've ducked out during the fight!"
"Well I'm going to go look for him!" He said before he jumped from the ship and walked onto the ground of the robotization room.
"Wait a second!" Sabre said from his seat inside of the ship. "Who's going to fly the ship if you go?"
The Croc walked over to the female behind the panel and picked her up by the wrist. He moved his paw over her neck and pulled the needle that was Charmy's stinger out of her neck. In a few seconds she was awake and screaming in his arms.
"Put me down!"
"Do you know how to fly that ship?"
"What ship!?" She screamed trying to kick at him with her feet flailing.
He motioned over her shoulder and she looked there to find the ship. "That one!"
"...I might..."
"You better, the bee can sting you again!"
Charmy flew up close to her ear so he could hear the sharp buzzing sound that he made with his wings. "I will too!"
The Echidna female frowned slightly before backing up so she was looking back at Vector. "I can do it! I can do it! Just don't hurt me!"
"Good!" He walked over to the ship and put her inside. "Bye guys, I'll hopefully see you after this is over. "
Mighty gave Vector a thumbs up before grabbing the door so he could pull it back shut. "I'll be back to help after we get Espio to the hospital. Don't worry about it man, I still got ya back!" Mighty thought that over before he shook his head. "I got your back!"
Vector and Charmy just chuckled from the outside before waving.
"He's having that influence on ya... you!" Charmy corrected himself quick. He couldn't be talking like that, he was a Prince after all!
Mighty rolled his eyes before closing the door. They could just faintly hear him saying. " I know... I know..."
------------------Legion War Room
Julie-Su slowly came to, her eyes opening before she tried to test her arms to see if she could move them. Nothing, just like she expected. Her wrists were bound on either side of her along with her ankles, stomach, and neck.
She looked up and around her... and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw: Weapons, weapons of torture as well as weapons she seen the Legion use in combat.
"I'm glad you choose to join me, Julie-Su."
She knew that voice, but the tone of voice was something completely different to her! She turned to the right to see Knuckles, or the guy who looked like Knuckles, sitting in a chair with a cup of wine in his paw. Beside him on a table was a small bottle of red tinted light... like a firefly in a jar.
Her eyes narrowed and she backed up against the wall she was chained again. "What the hell do you want with me?"
"Someone to talk to. Especially during these final hours in Echidna pre-history." He said simply before looking back at her directly. "It's the last couple of hours before the Legion completely takes control of Echindaopolis."
"What are you talking about? We stopped your attack on Echindaopolis a while ago!" Even she remembered that, maybe he was just a little slow.
Knuckles just smirked and shook his head. "You stopped the attack, Julie-Su. You didn't stop my plans. All around the city I had workers scattered for months getting close to the tools they need. Now... they'll all reveal themselves and take down any resistance they find in the city. Doctors, Teachers... even policemen. The Legion outnumbers regular Echidna five to one!"
Julie-Su's eyes widened before she looked down at the ground. No, it was over... all over... " No..."
"Yes!" He shouted. "Once the city is taken over, the helpless Echidnas will aide in the Legion's Ultimate goal: Echidna dominance over the entire planet of Mobious, which means..."
The muttered under her breath, completely awed by this change of events. "You'll attack the Castle of Acorns... in Knothole."
He just smirked and took a sip of what he was drinking. "You're a smart girl. After Knothole is under our control, we can take down the resistance in every other part of the world."
What he said was so distant to her, because she was thinking of all the innocent mobians on the surface who suffered so much... and they were going to die now. "You can't do this..."
"To think that a month ago I wouldn't have lived to see this day... four hundred years and my body couldn't hold out a few weeks more..."
Her head suddenly shot up and she was staring right at him wide eyed. "F-four hundred years? T-then you're not Knuckles!" She knew it, she just didn't have any proof of the matter until now.
"You found out about an hour too late to do anything about it..." He looked at his empty glass and then slammed the cup against the table, breaking it. There was now a pointed edge which was sharp enough to impale her pointing out at her.
"I'll make sure that no one else figures it out as well..."
--------------------
"Vector, I have a question..."
Charmy and Vector were heading down the deserted hallway of the Legion's headquarters. Just a couple of minutes ago this place was swarming with soldiers, but now they were all gone. Vanished out of thin air, not as if either of them minded the fact that they were gone.
He looked over to Charmy and asked. "If its about the walkman, ah told you..."
"No... its about Julie-Su."
His tone got a bit rough after the mention of her." Wut about her?"
Charmy moved his hands in front of him, poking his index fingers together before looking back towards him. "Well... it's about the other night..."
"Wut about the other night?" He shot back before moving his hands down to his sides.
Aurora he's defensive about this. "The night that Espio waited up for you... but you didn't come out. Why didn't you come out?"
The croc cringed slightly before he looked back at her. "Are you implying something?"
"No, not at all! I was just wondering!" He squeaked before turning to face him completely. "I was just wondering why you didn't go home from her apartment! I'm sure you have a pretty good reason for it. I just wanted to hear it!"
"Ah got caught up in somethin'... " He put it simply before he started to walk back down the hallway towards the end.
Charmy looked at him for a second before flying after him.
He's hiding something...
----------------------------
"Lara, just give it up..."
Lara-Le had been struggling to find a way to release him for the last ten minutes. She was now down near the bottom of the tipped over Robotizer messing with the parts near the bottom with a screwdriver she found. She looked desperate, since she was prying around in the panel she found down there.
"No, I'm going to get you out..." She put in simply and went back to work. She found a screw in there, which she started to unscrew with a little hope still in her eyes.
Locke looked down at her with a light smile on his face. Even after all these years... after being divorced and yelled at by her... he can still say that he's still pretty much in love with her. He had complete faith in her that she'll see that someday.
"Why do you bother with that? I thought you didn't like old Locke anymore!" He keeps stressing the world 'old' because her husband was ten years younger then him at 28.
"I still love you..." She found another screw closer to her and started to work with that one. "I just didn't like what you were doing to our child... and I still don't like it!"
Locke's heart fluttered, but he just moved his injured paw up to his chest and held it there. "Then why don't you re-marry me, Lara? His training's over... we can be a family again. "
She stopped her work for a moment, and looked down at the ground near her boots. Then she raised the screwdriver to finish off her work. "Its out of the question... "
"Out of the question? WHY!?" He slammed his paws against the glass and caused her to jump. The bumps along his knuckles were becoming longer... having a slight point to them now. He examined them a second before lowering his hands.
"Because I'm already married and about to have a baby!"
"That didn't stop you from seeing Winchester or whatever his name is while YOU WERE STILL MARRIED TO ME!"
"I didn't! I didn't!" She screamed before the screw she was working on fell to the ground.
The screw was the only thing in the room that could be heard for a moment... and then the whole foundation at the bottom of the Robotizer completely broke. The whole bottom feel out and soon Locke along with it.
He landed on his rear, and his eyes shot open with sudden pain since he landed on that piece of machinery.
Lara-Le leaned over and took his burnt injured hands in hers to help him to his feet. "I didn't see him while I was married to you... not like that. "
Locke looked down at his robe before looking back to her with softened eyes. "You... didn't.?"
"No... because I still had faith that you'd change before the paperwork got done... "
Locke smirked a bit, a grin that was more common along their son then with him. "I can change now you know..."
Lara chuckled and shook her head, heading over to the door with him. "We'll see about that... we'll see..."
-----------------------------
"Where is he?" Julie-Su looked up at the creature posing at the guardian of Angel Island. "Where is Knuckles!?"
"He's dead, you already knew that. " The Echidna was now playing with the piece of glass that he broke from before. " You just didn't want to admit, and still won't admit it now."
Julie-Su hung her head again, knowing that was true as well.
"Technically he is dead, but I need his soul on Mobious so his body won't decompose while I'm using it! I'm just using this as a temporary until I can get a real body to use, a living soul that I can posses!"
The Echidna then put his heavy paw over the small jar that was beside him. "This is...the materialization of Knuckles' soul into something that can visibly be seen. This is all that's left, and will be left of Knuckles."
She just moved her eyes so she was looking at the little bit of light that was in the jar. It reminded her of when Knuckles told her about 'The Tikal Light', which was the same thing that this Echidna described. So there was only one thing left.
"Who are you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The Echidna smiled and turned towards her with the jaw in his paws. He threw it up and down, as if he was threatening to end this little soul's existence right in front of her. "I am the mastermind behind this group, behind the Legion!"
A dark cloud suddenly fell over Julie-Su, which caused her to stare right at him out of shock. She knew who it was...but how did he pull it off.
"D-Dimitri?"
"Alright fine... I'll tell you..." Vector slowly moved to the side of the long hallway, panting slightly from the long trip. "Just don't... sing anymore!"
Charmy smiled, even though he thought his own singing was good... it wasn't exactly pleasant to non-insectoid Mobians. "Alright, go ahead!"
--------------------Two Nights Ago
Vector was about to head off, when he was called upstairs by Julie-Su for some reason or another. He wasn't too sure himself, but went up anyway since he rarely been inside an apartment (he lives out in the swamps).
Julie-Su was holding the door, and when she seen him coming she slowly backed away and sat down on the couch. The door closed slightly, but he caught it with his hand.
"Can't you hold the door for me?"
"Are you a woman? I don't have to hold nothin' for you unless you're a lady... " She leaned back on the couch with her hands behind her head. " Of course, if you're admitting to being a lady."
"Did you call me up here just to yell at me?"
Julie-Su moved one hand around her robotic dread and tugged on the metal. " I might've... but then again I might've wanted to talk to you..."
She stopped early when she seen him walking around the house, away from her.
He was sniffing around the door of the kitchen, starting low and working his way up towards the ceiling.
"You got some candy in there?"
"Candy's for children... but there is some melted chocolate in a pot on the stove."
The croc frowned and sniffed around again. "Got some... ham or chicken or somethin'?"
"I didn't call you up here to eat!" She snapped, quickly moving to her feet in front of the couch.
"Then what do you want from me?" He looked over his shoulder at her.
She paused for a moment, and then looked down at the ground. "I wanted... to say I was..."
"Sorry for being natural a while ago? I understand. " He jumped to that assumption. It was what Julie-Su wanted to do, but she wanted to say it obviously.
She glared up at him and shouted. "Being natural? What's 'natural' for me?"
He folded his arms over his chest and turned around in full to face her. " Being a..." He leaned in forward and mouthed the last word quietly.
A Normal human couldn't hear the word, but a Mobian can with their sensitive hearing. What he said though was what sent her thought a rage...
---------Present Time
"You called her a bitch?" Charmy repeated the word, but with a normal tone. On Mobious' surface, it was less of a insult then expected. On Angel Island, though, it was considered the worst thing you could say to anyone!
He nodded slightly. " Yeah, but that ani't all of it."
---------Back to the Past
She was set off by that, and leaned down to grab the closest thing she could. Unfortunately for Vector, it was a pretty sharp writing pen. He caught only a glimpse of it before she suddenly ran across the room and tackled him.
He was caught by surprise and slammed against the ground, but he had to quickly grab her wrists so she wouldn't drive that pen though his neck!
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" She screamed while she tried to put more pressure onto her grip.
Espio was still outside, and heard the sudden scream from where he was waiting on the edge of the light post. He stood up and looked up, but he couldn't see anything from there.
Vector growled and slowly shifted his hands so one was around both of her wrists and holding her tightly.
"God damnit, chill for a sec'!"
He slowly made his way onto his feet, and with his height she was left at least a foot off the ground. She stared down at the ground before looking up at him and struggling.
"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"
"NO!" She swayed back suddenly and then forward with her legs out in front of her. She slammed her feet into his stomach and caused him to stumble back and drop her.
She landed on her feet and scooped up the pen again, though she wished she could take the time to get a knife.
He was in a corner, so would throw a wild card at her. " Knuckles was right... I'm not that much of a fighter..." He groaned and tried to push himself up from that sudden blow.
When he was finally sitting up, Julie-Su was looking down at the pen. She passed a look over to him and then promptly dropped the pen.
"You... can't fight?"
The croc shook his head. "Naw... not nowhere near as good as everyone else..."
She had no idea! She thought he was a great fighter by the way he was talking and bragging about himself. Slowly, she dropped the pen and made her way to her feet.
"I-I didn't know..."
"Yah, it ani't somethin' I like to admit often... it cramps my style." He looked up to find that her hand was extended towards him.
He blinked lightly before taking her hand, and she pulled backwards so he was pushed onto his feet. "Thanks..."
She was smiling for a moment, and then she quickly slapped him on the back of his head.
"AHHHH! What the hell?" He held his head and looked at her with one eye.
"You still called me a bitch... " She then walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing her legs in front of her. "But now I'm cool."
-----------------Present Time
"Was that it?" Charmy asked. They were now heading back down the hallway again, and almost at the end as well.
He shook his head before looking up at the darkened lights along the ceiling. "Naw, we talked for a while... Then she fell asleep on me."
"Sure she did..." Charmy passed him a look.
"She DID!"
"Riiiight."
Mighty was looking down on the city of Echindaopolis, which wasn't the way that they left it earlier. There were Echidnas running though the street, there were buildings on fire! It looked like total chaos, like Mobotropoilis was after Robotnik started to gather up the mobians.
The radio turned on, and it was Remington's panicked voice on the other end. "What the hell do you want with Echindaopolis?"
Mighty looked over the com and then grabbed the receiver to yell into it. " Remington its us!"
The female Echidna looked over to Mighty and then pressed the red button on the front of the box. "Try it again..." Then she went back to flying the ship.
"Remington, its us! The Chaotix! We have an emergency here!"
"You're not the only one... it turns out there's traitors who allied with the Legion everywhere! I gathered up everyone I can, and we're holding off in the stadium now! Its only about five thousand of us out here... and I don't know how long the forces will be able to hold the legion off from here."
"Remington, I think this ship's large enough to hold the Echidnas if I go in loads. We'll take them to Knothole if I can land inside of the stadium." He looked back to Espio, who was now moving a bit, but still barely hanging on.
"Look, my friend needs some help. He got messed up real bad, and we need some doctors here."
The brown Echidna looked back at the worried crowd who was huddled in the middle of the football field and then back to the radio. "I think I can find a doctor or two in this crowd. When will you be here?"
"Five minutes, we're over the city now..."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
It was time for Remington to get in control of the situation. He looked around and found a large megaphone that he could talk to the people with. He grabbed it and headed out into the field.
"Can I have your attention please?"
The crowd still chattered on worried.
He breathed in deeply, and then yelled. " CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!?"
The crowd gradually calmed down to a short whisper.
"We're in an emergency situation. I'll need all the women and small children to follow me, and the men to clear the field so a plane could land to airlift them from Angel Island."
"Leave Angel Island?" One nervous voice said.
"We never left the island!" Another chipped in.
"The other mobians hate us for leaving them all those years ago!"
"They'll kill us!"
Remington felt a bit of doubt in his mind, but then spoke up. "I promise you won't get hurt. You'll be safer in Knothole then you'll be here in Echindaopolis now.
The crowd quieted down again, once again to a small whisper of fear and doubt. Then suddenly a scream rang though the crowd, and an explosion near the back of the field could be clearly seen.
"Remington! They broke though! They broke though!" One of the officers was yelling from the back of the crowd.
He didn't get far though, in a second he was hit with a beam which effected him almost instantly. He glowed a yellow color and was soon a completely robotized Mobian.
The sight of the Robotization was enough to send the crowd into a state of panic, they charged towards the exit where Remington was.
"What's going on down there?" The female Echinda looked over the control panel down on the chaos below them. They were hovering right over the stadium. She looked back towards Mighty and yelled. "We can't land down there, there's no clear space!"
Mighty knew this, but what could he do to calm the crowd? He looked around the dashboard and fumbled though the things along there, that was before he found something there that made him smirk.
Finally... something inspired him.
--------------------------
"There it is..."
Charmy flew over to the war room door and looked at the lock. After some careful inspection, he turned to Vector and shook his head. "The door's locked."
"Ah could've told ya that, mah man. " He walked over to the door and looked it over himself. "Knuxman... or whoever that man is, wouldn't want us to bust in on his operations no way."
So it was out, Dimitri was found out by Julie-Su, but there was nothing that she could do about it in her situation. He looked along the wall of weapons and took off a pretty good automatic rifle, loading it up and turning to face Julie-Su.
"I don't want to make the guardian look bad, since I'll still pose as him in this body." His grin turned dark as he raised the gun up towards her chest area. "The Legion on the other hand... is prone to using guns... So they'll just call you a causality to the war!"
"WATCH OUT!"
Dimitri suddenly whipped his head to the door to see that it suddenly caved inside and a familar green Croc was stumble though the doorway.
Julie-Su looked towards the door and tried to warn him before Dimitri could aim. " Vector get DOWN!"
Vector didn't see the gun, but Charmy did from his angle flying behind Vector. He didn't know if the croc could dodge that or not, especially with his less then desireable speed.
"Oh no..."
-----------------------------------------------To Be continued
Hmmmm, one more thing I didn't mention up at the top. I need a name for the Female Legionare Echinda, since I plan to keep her with the Chaotix for the rest of the fic. Let me give a few suggestions though from the Sonichq Message Boards: A female Echinda's name is always a simple female name followed by a hypen and then constant and a vowel in that order. Like Julie-Su, Lien-Da, Lara-Le. And another thing, the daughters of Echindas inherit the final two letters of thier names from thier mothers. Lara-Su got her last two letters from Julie-Su. This is all just confusing to me though x.X
Anyway, I was wondering... should I do a squeal or leave the story as a stand alone? I'm really not sure... but this chapter really gets the story movin'. Go ahead and enjoy it. It might be the last chapter for a while since I'm working on a idea for my next fic, which is going to be a Romance/Drama fic called "Shock and Awe". Its really a Action Adventure/Drama/Romance, but we don't have all the spaces for that.
Oh yeah, if anyone wants to talk to me about just about anything that I put in my fics... or about the Archie-Verse, Sonic Adventure verse, or even Sonic X , then my E-Mail is always opened for that kind of talk. I ushally respond in a day from sending.
Now that I'm done editing this author's note, I can start...
-----------------------------Heart To No Heart: The Heart to Heart
Mighty leaned over and picked Espio up, lifting him over his shoulder before turning to look at the Guardianship as well as Charmy. He walked over to them and spoke to Charmy first.
"Watch Locke, I'll be back... "Mighty looked over his shoulder at Locke who was still stuck in that glass chamber.
Charmy nodded at first, but then had to ask. "Wait a second! Where are you going?"
"I have to get Espio out of here. I'm taking the Brotherhood with me." Mighty walked towards the door, and stopped when he heard a rumbling sound under his feet... directly under his feet!
His eyes widened and he suddenly jumped back, just in time since the ground under him started to break away and fly up towards the ceiling. What the hell? Something was breaking into the room from the level below them! At first, it looked like a shard of metal, but then it became clear that it was one of the Legion's ships!
Charmy flew around to the door, getting ready for an attack on whoever came out first... but to his surprise a white flag was wagged around before a very familiar Croc poked his head out from behind the door.
"Ah guess I need a little bit more trainin' in this kinda thing... "He smirked, but then was hugged around his neck by Charmy.
"You came to save us! That's amazing!" He yelled.
Mighty sighed before walking up to the ship. "We already saved ourselves. He just picked a convenient time to show up!"
"Ya'll ani't saved yet, the Legion's coming on up here for their plane back! They probably won't mind shootin' us while they're at it neither!"
Mighty then rushed past Vector and onto the ship. Vector looked back at him confused before he spotted Espio in his arms and then put on a table in the ship. "What the hell happened to him?"
Thunderhawk walked into the ship, followed by Saber and the rest of the Brotherhood. " He got shot in the struggle back here. Least we got Lien-Da. "He motioned over to the female echidna still unconscious on the floor of the room.
Charmy passed by Vector and looked in the ship, and then looked back at Vector. "Where's Julie-Su? Didn't she and Lara-Le come with you?"
Locke perked up at the mention of Lara-Le, especially at the fact that she wasn't there along with the rest of them. He pounded on the glass and shouted towards them from the other side of the room. "Lara's not there? Where is she? Did the Legion get to her?" That was all they could understand since from that point he was muttering to himself.
Vector shook his head. "Lara-Le is back at the airstrip, we told her to stay put until we got back!"
Suddenly, from above in the vents was a sharp yelp before the cover of the vent would gave in. A dirty red and yellow dressed Echidna dropped down from the vent and landed on her butt on the floor. She yelped and looked around in pain.
Vector yelled at her first. "I thought Julie-Su told you to stay put!"
"Julie-Su got captured! I saw her being dragged away from the vents!" She yelled before getting onto her feet and looking over her shoulder to see Locke. "Locke! You're alright... "
She thought about that a moment before she folded her arms over her chest and looked at him. "Yeah... you're alright..."
Locke smiled and leaned forward so he was looking directly at her. "Aw, it seems that someone still cares about this ol' Echidna."
Lara-Le folded her arms over her chest. "You keep thinking like that and I won't get you out of there!"
Vector leaned over from the doorframe of the ship and whispered towards Mighty. "Where is you-know-who?"
Mighty looked back at Vector from the table, which was obviously a station for helping the Legion deal with the injured back on the field when they used the ship. "You-know-who? I don't know, he must've ducked out during the fight!"
"Well I'm going to go look for him!" He said before he jumped from the ship and walked onto the ground of the robotization room.
"Wait a second!" Sabre said from his seat inside of the ship. "Who's going to fly the ship if you go?"
The Croc walked over to the female behind the panel and picked her up by the wrist. He moved his paw over her neck and pulled the needle that was Charmy's stinger out of her neck. In a few seconds she was awake and screaming in his arms.
"Put me down!"
"Do you know how to fly that ship?"
"What ship!?" She screamed trying to kick at him with her feet flailing.
He motioned over her shoulder and she looked there to find the ship. "That one!"
"...I might..."
"You better, the bee can sting you again!"
Charmy flew up close to her ear so he could hear the sharp buzzing sound that he made with his wings. "I will too!"
The Echidna female frowned slightly before backing up so she was looking back at Vector. "I can do it! I can do it! Just don't hurt me!"
"Good!" He walked over to the ship and put her inside. "Bye guys, I'll hopefully see you after this is over. "
Mighty gave Vector a thumbs up before grabbing the door so he could pull it back shut. "I'll be back to help after we get Espio to the hospital. Don't worry about it man, I still got ya back!" Mighty thought that over before he shook his head. "I got your back!"
Vector and Charmy just chuckled from the outside before waving.
"He's having that influence on ya... you!" Charmy corrected himself quick. He couldn't be talking like that, he was a Prince after all!
Mighty rolled his eyes before closing the door. They could just faintly hear him saying. " I know... I know..."
------------------Legion War Room
Julie-Su slowly came to, her eyes opening before she tried to test her arms to see if she could move them. Nothing, just like she expected. Her wrists were bound on either side of her along with her ankles, stomach, and neck.
She looked up and around her... and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw: Weapons, weapons of torture as well as weapons she seen the Legion use in combat.
"I'm glad you choose to join me, Julie-Su."
She knew that voice, but the tone of voice was something completely different to her! She turned to the right to see Knuckles, or the guy who looked like Knuckles, sitting in a chair with a cup of wine in his paw. Beside him on a table was a small bottle of red tinted light... like a firefly in a jar.
Her eyes narrowed and she backed up against the wall she was chained again. "What the hell do you want with me?"
"Someone to talk to. Especially during these final hours in Echidna pre-history." He said simply before looking back at her directly. "It's the last couple of hours before the Legion completely takes control of Echindaopolis."
"What are you talking about? We stopped your attack on Echindaopolis a while ago!" Even she remembered that, maybe he was just a little slow.
Knuckles just smirked and shook his head. "You stopped the attack, Julie-Su. You didn't stop my plans. All around the city I had workers scattered for months getting close to the tools they need. Now... they'll all reveal themselves and take down any resistance they find in the city. Doctors, Teachers... even policemen. The Legion outnumbers regular Echidna five to one!"
Julie-Su's eyes widened before she looked down at the ground. No, it was over... all over... " No..."
"Yes!" He shouted. "Once the city is taken over, the helpless Echidnas will aide in the Legion's Ultimate goal: Echidna dominance over the entire planet of Mobious, which means..."
The muttered under her breath, completely awed by this change of events. "You'll attack the Castle of Acorns... in Knothole."
He just smirked and took a sip of what he was drinking. "You're a smart girl. After Knothole is under our control, we can take down the resistance in every other part of the world."
What he said was so distant to her, because she was thinking of all the innocent mobians on the surface who suffered so much... and they were going to die now. "You can't do this..."
"To think that a month ago I wouldn't have lived to see this day... four hundred years and my body couldn't hold out a few weeks more..."
Her head suddenly shot up and she was staring right at him wide eyed. "F-four hundred years? T-then you're not Knuckles!" She knew it, she just didn't have any proof of the matter until now.
"You found out about an hour too late to do anything about it..." He looked at his empty glass and then slammed the cup against the table, breaking it. There was now a pointed edge which was sharp enough to impale her pointing out at her.
"I'll make sure that no one else figures it out as well..."
--------------------
"Vector, I have a question..."
Charmy and Vector were heading down the deserted hallway of the Legion's headquarters. Just a couple of minutes ago this place was swarming with soldiers, but now they were all gone. Vanished out of thin air, not as if either of them minded the fact that they were gone.
He looked over to Charmy and asked. "If its about the walkman, ah told you..."
"No... its about Julie-Su."
His tone got a bit rough after the mention of her." Wut about her?"
Charmy moved his hands in front of him, poking his index fingers together before looking back towards him. "Well... it's about the other night..."
"Wut about the other night?" He shot back before moving his hands down to his sides.
Aurora he's defensive about this. "The night that Espio waited up for you... but you didn't come out. Why didn't you come out?"
The croc cringed slightly before he looked back at her. "Are you implying something?"
"No, not at all! I was just wondering!" He squeaked before turning to face him completely. "I was just wondering why you didn't go home from her apartment! I'm sure you have a pretty good reason for it. I just wanted to hear it!"
"Ah got caught up in somethin'... " He put it simply before he started to walk back down the hallway towards the end.
Charmy looked at him for a second before flying after him.
He's hiding something...
----------------------------
"Lara, just give it up..."
Lara-Le had been struggling to find a way to release him for the last ten minutes. She was now down near the bottom of the tipped over Robotizer messing with the parts near the bottom with a screwdriver she found. She looked desperate, since she was prying around in the panel she found down there.
"No, I'm going to get you out..." She put in simply and went back to work. She found a screw in there, which she started to unscrew with a little hope still in her eyes.
Locke looked down at her with a light smile on his face. Even after all these years... after being divorced and yelled at by her... he can still say that he's still pretty much in love with her. He had complete faith in her that she'll see that someday.
"Why do you bother with that? I thought you didn't like old Locke anymore!" He keeps stressing the world 'old' because her husband was ten years younger then him at 28.
"I still love you..." She found another screw closer to her and started to work with that one. "I just didn't like what you were doing to our child... and I still don't like it!"
Locke's heart fluttered, but he just moved his injured paw up to his chest and held it there. "Then why don't you re-marry me, Lara? His training's over... we can be a family again. "
She stopped her work for a moment, and looked down at the ground near her boots. Then she raised the screwdriver to finish off her work. "Its out of the question... "
"Out of the question? WHY!?" He slammed his paws against the glass and caused her to jump. The bumps along his knuckles were becoming longer... having a slight point to them now. He examined them a second before lowering his hands.
"Because I'm already married and about to have a baby!"
"That didn't stop you from seeing Winchester or whatever his name is while YOU WERE STILL MARRIED TO ME!"
"I didn't! I didn't!" She screamed before the screw she was working on fell to the ground.
The screw was the only thing in the room that could be heard for a moment... and then the whole foundation at the bottom of the Robotizer completely broke. The whole bottom feel out and soon Locke along with it.
He landed on his rear, and his eyes shot open with sudden pain since he landed on that piece of machinery.
Lara-Le leaned over and took his burnt injured hands in hers to help him to his feet. "I didn't see him while I was married to you... not like that. "
Locke looked down at his robe before looking back to her with softened eyes. "You... didn't.?"
"No... because I still had faith that you'd change before the paperwork got done... "
Locke smirked a bit, a grin that was more common along their son then with him. "I can change now you know..."
Lara chuckled and shook her head, heading over to the door with him. "We'll see about that... we'll see..."
-----------------------------
"Where is he?" Julie-Su looked up at the creature posing at the guardian of Angel Island. "Where is Knuckles!?"
"He's dead, you already knew that. " The Echidna was now playing with the piece of glass that he broke from before. " You just didn't want to admit, and still won't admit it now."
Julie-Su hung her head again, knowing that was true as well.
"Technically he is dead, but I need his soul on Mobious so his body won't decompose while I'm using it! I'm just using this as a temporary until I can get a real body to use, a living soul that I can posses!"
The Echidna then put his heavy paw over the small jar that was beside him. "This is...the materialization of Knuckles' soul into something that can visibly be seen. This is all that's left, and will be left of Knuckles."
She just moved her eyes so she was looking at the little bit of light that was in the jar. It reminded her of when Knuckles told her about 'The Tikal Light', which was the same thing that this Echidna described. So there was only one thing left.
"Who are you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The Echidna smiled and turned towards her with the jaw in his paws. He threw it up and down, as if he was threatening to end this little soul's existence right in front of her. "I am the mastermind behind this group, behind the Legion!"
A dark cloud suddenly fell over Julie-Su, which caused her to stare right at him out of shock. She knew who it was...but how did he pull it off.
"D-Dimitri?"
"Alright fine... I'll tell you..." Vector slowly moved to the side of the long hallway, panting slightly from the long trip. "Just don't... sing anymore!"
Charmy smiled, even though he thought his own singing was good... it wasn't exactly pleasant to non-insectoid Mobians. "Alright, go ahead!"
--------------------Two Nights Ago
Vector was about to head off, when he was called upstairs by Julie-Su for some reason or another. He wasn't too sure himself, but went up anyway since he rarely been inside an apartment (he lives out in the swamps).
Julie-Su was holding the door, and when she seen him coming she slowly backed away and sat down on the couch. The door closed slightly, but he caught it with his hand.
"Can't you hold the door for me?"
"Are you a woman? I don't have to hold nothin' for you unless you're a lady... " She leaned back on the couch with her hands behind her head. " Of course, if you're admitting to being a lady."
"Did you call me up here just to yell at me?"
Julie-Su moved one hand around her robotic dread and tugged on the metal. " I might've... but then again I might've wanted to talk to you..."
She stopped early when she seen him walking around the house, away from her.
He was sniffing around the door of the kitchen, starting low and working his way up towards the ceiling.
"You got some candy in there?"
"Candy's for children... but there is some melted chocolate in a pot on the stove."
The croc frowned and sniffed around again. "Got some... ham or chicken or somethin'?"
"I didn't call you up here to eat!" She snapped, quickly moving to her feet in front of the couch.
"Then what do you want from me?" He looked over his shoulder at her.
She paused for a moment, and then looked down at the ground. "I wanted... to say I was..."
"Sorry for being natural a while ago? I understand. " He jumped to that assumption. It was what Julie-Su wanted to do, but she wanted to say it obviously.
She glared up at him and shouted. "Being natural? What's 'natural' for me?"
He folded his arms over his chest and turned around in full to face her. " Being a..." He leaned in forward and mouthed the last word quietly.
A Normal human couldn't hear the word, but a Mobian can with their sensitive hearing. What he said though was what sent her thought a rage...
---------Present Time
"You called her a bitch?" Charmy repeated the word, but with a normal tone. On Mobious' surface, it was less of a insult then expected. On Angel Island, though, it was considered the worst thing you could say to anyone!
He nodded slightly. " Yeah, but that ani't all of it."
---------Back to the Past
She was set off by that, and leaned down to grab the closest thing she could. Unfortunately for Vector, it was a pretty sharp writing pen. He caught only a glimpse of it before she suddenly ran across the room and tackled him.
He was caught by surprise and slammed against the ground, but he had to quickly grab her wrists so she wouldn't drive that pen though his neck!
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" She screamed while she tried to put more pressure onto her grip.
Espio was still outside, and heard the sudden scream from where he was waiting on the edge of the light post. He stood up and looked up, but he couldn't see anything from there.
Vector growled and slowly shifted his hands so one was around both of her wrists and holding her tightly.
"God damnit, chill for a sec'!"
He slowly made his way onto his feet, and with his height she was left at least a foot off the ground. She stared down at the ground before looking up at him and struggling.
"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"
"NO!" She swayed back suddenly and then forward with her legs out in front of her. She slammed her feet into his stomach and caused him to stumble back and drop her.
She landed on her feet and scooped up the pen again, though she wished she could take the time to get a knife.
He was in a corner, so would throw a wild card at her. " Knuckles was right... I'm not that much of a fighter..." He groaned and tried to push himself up from that sudden blow.
When he was finally sitting up, Julie-Su was looking down at the pen. She passed a look over to him and then promptly dropped the pen.
"You... can't fight?"
The croc shook his head. "Naw... not nowhere near as good as everyone else..."
She had no idea! She thought he was a great fighter by the way he was talking and bragging about himself. Slowly, she dropped the pen and made her way to her feet.
"I-I didn't know..."
"Yah, it ani't somethin' I like to admit often... it cramps my style." He looked up to find that her hand was extended towards him.
He blinked lightly before taking her hand, and she pulled backwards so he was pushed onto his feet. "Thanks..."
She was smiling for a moment, and then she quickly slapped him on the back of his head.
"AHHHH! What the hell?" He held his head and looked at her with one eye.
"You still called me a bitch... " She then walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing her legs in front of her. "But now I'm cool."
-----------------Present Time
"Was that it?" Charmy asked. They were now heading back down the hallway again, and almost at the end as well.
He shook his head before looking up at the darkened lights along the ceiling. "Naw, we talked for a while... Then she fell asleep on me."
"Sure she did..." Charmy passed him a look.
"She DID!"
"Riiiight."
Mighty was looking down on the city of Echindaopolis, which wasn't the way that they left it earlier. There were Echidnas running though the street, there were buildings on fire! It looked like total chaos, like Mobotropoilis was after Robotnik started to gather up the mobians.
The radio turned on, and it was Remington's panicked voice on the other end. "What the hell do you want with Echindaopolis?"
Mighty looked over the com and then grabbed the receiver to yell into it. " Remington its us!"
The female Echidna looked over to Mighty and then pressed the red button on the front of the box. "Try it again..." Then she went back to flying the ship.
"Remington, its us! The Chaotix! We have an emergency here!"
"You're not the only one... it turns out there's traitors who allied with the Legion everywhere! I gathered up everyone I can, and we're holding off in the stadium now! Its only about five thousand of us out here... and I don't know how long the forces will be able to hold the legion off from here."
"Remington, I think this ship's large enough to hold the Echidnas if I go in loads. We'll take them to Knothole if I can land inside of the stadium." He looked back to Espio, who was now moving a bit, but still barely hanging on.
"Look, my friend needs some help. He got messed up real bad, and we need some doctors here."
The brown Echidna looked back at the worried crowd who was huddled in the middle of the football field and then back to the radio. "I think I can find a doctor or two in this crowd. When will you be here?"
"Five minutes, we're over the city now..."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
It was time for Remington to get in control of the situation. He looked around and found a large megaphone that he could talk to the people with. He grabbed it and headed out into the field.
"Can I have your attention please?"
The crowd still chattered on worried.
He breathed in deeply, and then yelled. " CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!?"
The crowd gradually calmed down to a short whisper.
"We're in an emergency situation. I'll need all the women and small children to follow me, and the men to clear the field so a plane could land to airlift them from Angel Island."
"Leave Angel Island?" One nervous voice said.
"We never left the island!" Another chipped in.
"The other mobians hate us for leaving them all those years ago!"
"They'll kill us!"
Remington felt a bit of doubt in his mind, but then spoke up. "I promise you won't get hurt. You'll be safer in Knothole then you'll be here in Echindaopolis now.
The crowd quieted down again, once again to a small whisper of fear and doubt. Then suddenly a scream rang though the crowd, and an explosion near the back of the field could be clearly seen.
"Remington! They broke though! They broke though!" One of the officers was yelling from the back of the crowd.
He didn't get far though, in a second he was hit with a beam which effected him almost instantly. He glowed a yellow color and was soon a completely robotized Mobian.
The sight of the Robotization was enough to send the crowd into a state of panic, they charged towards the exit where Remington was.
"What's going on down there?" The female Echinda looked over the control panel down on the chaos below them. They were hovering right over the stadium. She looked back towards Mighty and yelled. "We can't land down there, there's no clear space!"
Mighty knew this, but what could he do to calm the crowd? He looked around the dashboard and fumbled though the things along there, that was before he found something there that made him smirk.
Finally... something inspired him.
--------------------------
"There it is..."
Charmy flew over to the war room door and looked at the lock. After some careful inspection, he turned to Vector and shook his head. "The door's locked."
"Ah could've told ya that, mah man. " He walked over to the door and looked it over himself. "Knuxman... or whoever that man is, wouldn't want us to bust in on his operations no way."
So it was out, Dimitri was found out by Julie-Su, but there was nothing that she could do about it in her situation. He looked along the wall of weapons and took off a pretty good automatic rifle, loading it up and turning to face Julie-Su.
"I don't want to make the guardian look bad, since I'll still pose as him in this body." His grin turned dark as he raised the gun up towards her chest area. "The Legion on the other hand... is prone to using guns... So they'll just call you a causality to the war!"
"WATCH OUT!"
Dimitri suddenly whipped his head to the door to see that it suddenly caved inside and a familar green Croc was stumble though the doorway.
Julie-Su looked towards the door and tried to warn him before Dimitri could aim. " Vector get DOWN!"
Vector didn't see the gun, but Charmy did from his angle flying behind Vector. He didn't know if the croc could dodge that or not, especially with his less then desireable speed.
"Oh no..."
-----------------------------------------------To Be continued
Hmmmm, one more thing I didn't mention up at the top. I need a name for the Female Legionare Echinda, since I plan to keep her with the Chaotix for the rest of the fic. Let me give a few suggestions though from the Sonichq Message Boards: A female Echinda's name is always a simple female name followed by a hypen and then constant and a vowel in that order. Like Julie-Su, Lien-Da, Lara-Le. And another thing, the daughters of Echindas inherit the final two letters of thier names from thier mothers. Lara-Su got her last two letters from Julie-Su. This is all just confusing to me though x.X