THE SEARCH IS ON
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get these last chapters up. I've been swamped with Cross Country and homework. This goes out to Crazy the Echidna, my first reviewer. Thanx for the support, man! Anyway, here we go!
Mighty pushed back some branches as he walked through the woods. Today had been very eventful. He still couldn't get over the fact that Julie-Su had left without even saying goodbye. She was apparently more upset than anyone could have predicted. Right now, however, he wasn't looking for her. He was looking for another upset echidna.
He stepped out of the woods and saw Knuckles sitting on the edge of the island, looking off into the horizon. Mighty took a deep breath, walked over, and sat down next to his friend. For a long while, they sat there in silence. "...Sh-she's gone, Mighty," Knuckles finally said. "I know. I went to her apartment. How do you feel? And don't try lying to me," Mighty said, as he looked to see that Knuckles' eyes were very glassy. "I feel miserable..." he muttered. "Knux...there's no one else around. The others are still in the city. It's just you and me out here. All I'm saying is...if you need a shoulder to cry on...I'm here for you," Mighty said. He smiled slightly when he saw tears fall from his friends' eyes. He put his arm around him to let Knuckles know that he was there, and watched as the echidna buried his face in his hands. "There were so many things I never told her," Knuckles whispered. "It's okay, Knux. It's okay..." Knuckles wasn't sobbing or anything like that, but Mighty could feel his body tremble as he shuttered. "I'm such a jerk," Knuckles muttered.
Soon after, the two friends were walking through the woods, headed towards the city. Knuckles had decided to explain the whole story to Mighty, which made Mighty glad. Knuckles felt that he could trust him. "That would explain why she said you were sleazy," Mighty said with his head down. "Yeah..." Knuckles muttered. "But it's not true! Knux, she just blew things outta proportion! You didn't-""Yes I did. I wasn't honest with her. Keeping secrets from her was what tore us apart. Maybe I'm not a 'player' or anything like that, but I broke her trust...and her heart."
Mighty was about to say something, but watched as a familiar figure flew up to them. "Knuckles!" she said as she ran up and hugged him, a look of guilt painted on her face. "I am so, so sorry! I didn't realize you two were-""Rouge," Knuckles said as he interrupted her, "it's not your fault. I didn't tell her what happened between us. It was my responsibility to tell her, not yours." She looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. "I know, but I feel so terrible! I want to help you! And I know a way I can!" she said with a hopeful smile. "Back off, lady! You're the reason she-" "Mighty! I don't think that's what she meant!" Knuckles spat. "Right! Now listen, I know where she's going," Rouge said. "How could you know that?" Mighty asked, giving her a suspicious look. "Well, she's an ex-legionnaire, right? I could tell that at least. Right now she has no home, no place to stay, BUT she does have some 'old friends'. I'll give you three guesses who I'm talking about," Rouge said, now looking serious. Knuckles' eyes widened in realization and shock. "The 'hoods' have a new recruiting station three miles south of the island. She'll be going there," Rouge said. Knuckles ran over to Mighty and grabbed his shoulders. "Mighty! She's going back to the Legion! Who knows what'll happen to her??? I have to get her back!" Mighty was about to reassure his friend, but Knuckles quickly sped off into the woods before he could even open his mouth.
Knuckles burst through the door of his cave and ran in to grab what he needed. He went over to his drawer and pulled out a belt, which he quickly secured around his waist. It was a brown leather belt, but imbedded in the buckle was the guiding star gem. He looked on top of his dresser and saw a group picture of the Chaotix, her, and himself. His family. That's what they were. He took the picture, folded it in half, and tucked it into one of the many pouches in his belt. He opened his closet and pulled out something he hadn't looked at in a long time. The hat his great-grandfather Hawking had left him. A brown leather hat decorated with three stars above the brim in the front. "Great-grandfather Hawking," he muttered as he placed it on his head, "guide me." With this said, he ran out the door, all the way to the edge of the island, and leapt off.
The Freedom Fighters were looking over their ship, making sure there were no damages from the storm. A few dents, but otherwise it was fine. "Engine's purring like a kitten," Rotor said as he shut off the engine and walked out the hatch door. "So we're good to go?" Sonic said, anxious to leave. "Not yet. We need to wait for...there's Mighty now," Tails said as they all looked to see Mighty running towards them with Rouge gliding above him. "What's she doing here?" Amy said with a pout on her face. "She's here to help! Listen, there's not much time!" Mighty said as he began to explain the current situation. "We gotta stop her!" Sally yelled as they began to pile into the ship. They were all a little surprised when Rouge came onboard. "I didn't want any of this to happen. I wanna help out in any way I can," she said. "Then buckle up, everyone! Rouge, you give directions!" Sally said as she drove the jet off into the distance.
They weren't at all surprised at the condition of the recruiting station when they got there. Blaster holes all over the walls, unconscious legionnaires all over the place, and a familiar voice yelling in the next room. "I'm looking! I'm looking! I know her file is in here somewhere!" a fright filled voice said. "It better be if you value your health!" Knuckles yelled. They walked into the next room to see more legionnaires on the ground. In the corner of the room, Knuckles stood over the one conscious legionnaire, who was nervously typing on the computer. "Yeesh! He really did a number on this place, huh?" Tails said as he looked around at the legionnaires scattered across the room. "He iz...not in ze best of moods, eh?" Antoine said to Tails. "I found it! She's been assigned to...Lord Dimitri's mountain fortress!" the legionnaire said in amazement. "Dimitri..." Knuckles growled, "Where is it?" Knuckles spat at the frightened legionnaire. "I-it's about a hundred miles west of here," the legionnaire replied. "Thanks for the info," Knuckles said as he struck him in the side of the head, knocking him out cold.
Knuckles didn't seem to even notice the others as he walked past them. They could see in his eyes that he was focussed on one thing. Getting her back. "Knux! What're ya doin'? You planning to trek a hundred miles and then take on a base full of 'hoods'?" Vector yelled. "Yeah! Come on and we'll fly over in the ship! She's our friend too, and we're going no matter what!" Sally yelled as he walked farther away. He stopped, looked back and said, "Fine. Then let's move!" Everyone looked back at Knuckles every so often during the flight. He never budged an inch. He just sat there, glaring into space. Sally frowned when she saw him like this, and frowned even more when it began to snow outside. "Guys, I think we're flying into a blizzard," Sally said uneasily. They all cringed when they heard Knuckles growl. "Don't worry. I'll see what I can do, but if it gets too bad, then we'll have to land," Sally said, trying to reassure Knuckles.
It was five minutes before they could hardly see in front of them. Sally knew the reaction she would get would be bad, but she couldn't risk flying in this weather. The elements were obviously against them. "Alright! We have to land!" Sally yelled as she flipped some switches to prepare the landing gear. "Land?!?! It could be hours before this storm blows over!" Knuckles yelled.
As the ship touched the ground, Knuckles unbuckled his seatbelt and walked towards the hatch door. He pushed the button to open it, but Sonic stood in the way of the door. "Are you crazy?!?! What are you doin' opening the door?!?!" Sonic yelled over the howling wind outside. "I'm going out and finding Julie-Su!!! Outta my way!!!" Knuckles yelled as he tried to push past Sonic. "You're nuts!!! You'll never make it!!! It's fifty miles through a blizzard!!! I wouldn't make that!!! Knux, she's my friend and she means a lot to me too, but-""She could never mean as much to you as she does to me!!! Now get outta my way!!!" Knuckles shouted as he pushed Sonic out the door. Knuckles began to walk away from the ship when Sonic came up from behind and punched him. Knuckles quickly recovered, and tackled Sonic into a tree. Sonic fell to the ground, his back aching, and tried desperately to block the barrage of punches that were being thrown at him. "You've chosen the WRONG day to piss me off!!!" Knuckles yelled as he struck Sonic several times. Mighty came out and secured Knuckles in a full nelson as Sonic scrambled to his feet. Mighty let Knuckles go and was surprised that he didn't charge Sonic again. "Think you're so tough, hedgehog?!?! Huh?!?! Looking pretty pathetic now!!! Go back to Knothole so those morons can worship you for your useless speed!!!" Knuckles spat as he turned and began to run into the woods. "JULIE!!! I'M COMING!!! JUST HANG ON!!!" they heard him yelling.
Sally ran out to him to see that he was already starting to shiver. "Knux, come back to the ship! It's not worth it! You're gonna get hypothermia!" "B-b-but...J-Julie i-s-s-""We'll find her, I promise. But you can't find her if you die out here. Come on before you catch a cold," she said, putting her arm around him as they headed back to the ship. Knuckles didn't look at anyone when he stepped back onto the ship. He just kept staring at the ground with a look of sadness on his face. He sat down in his seat again and stared out the window. Nobody said a word. Sally brought a blanket to keep him warm, since he was still freezing, but had to chuck it at him when he refused it. No one could tell whether he was shivering or shuttering as he looked out the window. 'Julie...' he thought to himself, 'Please be okay.'
Julie-Su walked slowly into her quarters and flopped down onto her small cot. Today had been terrible, and it was only the first day she had been there. It seemed like everyone was against her. The drill sergeants though she was weak for working with the Guardian, so they worked her extra hard. Everyone insulted her for working against them in the past months. Her old friends weren't stationed here, and all of these troops were ruthless. Nobody ate with her, nobody spoke to her. It was just like Echidnapolis. She was an outcast. She walked over to her small, broken mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was a mess, she was sweaty, her eyes were red from crying when she was alone, and the only other thing you could see was the black cloak that she wore. She couldn't even recognize herself now.
Suddenly, there was a knocking at her door. When she opened it, she was startled. "Welcome back, little sister," her visitor said with an evil grin. "What do you want, Kommisar?" Julie-Su asked. "Oh, nothing. So, why did you decide to come back? Word has it you got dumped," Kommisar said, enjoying every second of her stepsister's suffering. "No! I-I just..." Julie-Su began, tears building in her eyes. "Oh, please! You can't fool anyone! The red eyes prove it! You've been crying your poor little heart out over him!" "Shut up! He didn't dump me! I dumped him!" Kommisar grinned even more. The emotional torment of her stepsister was invigorating to her. "Oh? And why is that? You two made such a cute couple! And he's so...attractive" Kommisar said, hoping to get a rise out of Julie-Su.
"STOP IT!!! I feel stupid enough for trusting him, let alone falling in love with him! I quit the legion because of him! I left everything I had for him, and he turns out to be a backstabbing-""Ooh! Looks AND an attitude, all in one package! I should give him my number. Personally, I don't know what he saw in you, anyway. I mean, you aren't even remotely pretty...so I don't know what he ever saw," Kommisar said, smiling as she watched tears fall from Julie-Su's face. Before she left, Kommisar said, "Maybe I'll give him a whirl. I'm sure he'd rather have a REAL woman. Not an ugly little tramp like you." When Kommisar had left, Julie-Su reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture of her and him. The one from his birthday. She tore it in half, leaving him on one half and herself on another. She curled up on her bed and began to sob, until she eventually cried herself to sleep.
When Amy woke up, she looked around to see that everyone else was up and the ship was already in the air. "How long have we been flying?" Amy asked. She was surprised when everyone turned around and shushed her. She looked at the seat in front of her to see Knuckles sleeping. "He didn't sleep at all last night. He finally dosed off before we were all awake. Let him sleep a bit," Tails said. "Look at that," Rotor exclaimed, causing all of them to look at the computer monitor in front of him. "According to this, there's a huge base a few kilometers ahead. That must be it," Sally said. "Then let's get ready to rumble," Knuckles said. They all jumped at the sound of his voice. "H-how long have you been aw-wake?" Ray asked. "Few minutes. Listen up! Dimitri is in there, so security is gonna be tight. We just gotta hammer through them and get her outta there," Knuckles said.
Julie-Su was greatly surprised when Dimitri himself wanted to see her. She was nervous, though. Dimitri was ruthless and unforgiving. Maybe she was going to be punished for working with the enemy for so long. When she was let into his throne room, she gulped. "Ah! Julie-Su. How are you feeling, great-granddaughter?" Dimitri asked in his metallic voice. "F-fine, Lord Dimitri," she said as she bowed to him. "Please! Call me great-grandfather. Now, it has come to my attention that you have returned to us because of the Guardian, Knuckles?" Dimitri asked. "Y-yes Lord-I mean great-grandfather. I thought that I knew him, but I was wrong," she said with her head down, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. "Love can be a very tricky thing. I never fully grasped it myself. But now you're with family," he said as he pointed out Kommisar behind him. Xenin stepped forward and whispered something into Dimitri's ear.
"Interesting," Dimitri said with a smile, "Julie-Su, how would you like to get back at Knuckles?" Julie-Su looked at him with great surprise. "I-I don't know...I-""Take a look on that monitor," Dimitri said as he pointed to a screen that was dropping from the ceiling. When it came on, Julie-Su gasped. The main lobby of the base was under siege by the Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters and leading them was none other than Knuckles. Rouge was also with them in their attack, which confused and angered Julie-Su. "It seems that Knuckles has come for you. Probably for rejoining the legion. However, I have other plans for him. Would you like to assist me with them?" Dimitri asked as he stepped in front of Julie-Su and put his hands on her sagging shoulders. "Wh-what are you going to do to him? Just out of interest," she asked. "I wish to conduct some tests. I believe that Knuckles holds the key to unlocking our goal of domination. Well? Will you help?" he asked. Julie-Su looked up at the screen. All of the creatures that really cared about her were on it. But then Knuckles' glaring face came up onto the screen and a second later, there was only static. She sighed, turned to Dimitri, and muttered, "Yes,"