"What's the big deal with this anyway?" Sonic asked in a disgruntled tone.
"After all we've been through lately, I just thought it'd be fun to do something NORMAL for a change." Sally smiled.
"Aren't you a little old for a slumber party?" He raised a brow.
"It's a normal part of a girl's childhood." She explained. "And we never really got to have a real childhood."
"So whatta ya gonna do?"
"Girl stuff."
"Like what?"
"Do our hair, paint our nails…girl stuff."
"You're gonna talk about boys, aren't you?"
She rolled her eyes. "We've got better things to talk about than boys, Sonic."
Bunnie dug through her bag. "Brushes…mousse…rollers…"
"I've got the munchies." Penelope announced, a smile curling around her duck-billed face.
"Well, then, we're all set." Amy Rose was over the moon to have been invited to spend time with the big girls.
"Not yet," Sally announced. "We're not all here yet."
"Who else is there?" Penelope asked. "We female Freedom Fighters are pretty thin on the ground."
"She's not a Freedom Fighter," Sally smiled.
"Then who…" Amy Rose began.
"If you require group affiliation, I guess the closest I'd be is a Chaotix."
The little group turned to the sound of the voice. The dusty pink echidna studied them from her position in the doorway. She seemed surprisingly wary of the group.
"Who is she?" Penelope whispered to Bunnie. Before the rabbit could answer the purple platypus, a beaming Sally greeted the newcomer.
"Julie-Su! I'm so glad you could make it." She grabbed her hands and forcibly dragged her into the room.
"I was kind of surprised to get an invitation…" She began.
"It's about time we got to know each other better," Sally countered. "Besides, you spend too much time around those obnoxious guys…"
"Vector's the only one who's obnoxious." Julie-Su corrected.
"You spend all your time with obnoxious guys?" Amy Rose asked.
"That would explain the hair." Bunnie nodded.
"And the dress sense." Penelope added.
Julie-Su's eyes narrowed, her mouth curling into a sneer. Sally's eyes widened at the sight of the obviously angry echidna. 'Must have something to do with the species,' she thought. "Come on, you guys," she said. "Julie-Su didn't come all this way to be insulted."
"We all didn't mean nothin'," Bunnie said, shyly tracing circles on the floor with her robotic foot. "In fact, I'd love to get ahold of that hair." She smiled warmly at the echidna. "I always wanted to be a hairdresser and such, and none of the gals around here have got long hair."
"It's not exactly hair." Julie-Su said softly, as Bunnie reached for her long, rope-like spines. Julie-Su backed away cautiously.
"You echidnas don't exactly trust folks easy, do you."
"It's just the life I've led."
"I hear that." Sally sighed. "But hopefully things will get better." She smiled as she looked around the room. "I guess I should introduce you to everyone…you've already met Bunnie…when you came to dinner with Knuckles… this is Amy Rose…but I think you've met her, too…" she indicated the young pink hedgehog.
"We almost match." The little hedgehog beamed, comparing her own pink fur to the echidna's.
"This is Hershey…" she indicated the black and white cat that sat silently nearby. The two raised an eyebrow as they studied each other, but said nothing. "And this is Penelope…" she placed a hand on the purple platypus's shoulder.
"Nice to meet you, cousin." The platypus said.
"Cousin?" Sally queried.
"Echidnas and platypuses are related." Penelope explained.
"Distantly." Julie-Su added. She looked pointedly at Sally. "Like squirrels are related to rats."
Sally's eyes narrowed as she studied the echidna. 'Is she insinuating that I'm a rat,' she wondered, 'or is she testing me?' A tiny, wicked smile curled around Julie-Su's softly pointed muzzle. Sally raised a brow. 'She's got that same look that Knuckles gets,' she mused. She felt her own smile as the two began to chuckle.
The group relaxed as the evening wore on. Bunnie was busily painting Hershey's toenails, her tongue stuck in the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on her task. Despite Sally's words to the contrary, the conversation had turned to the males in their lives.
"I don't know…" Penelope said. "Dylan IS kinda cute, but how can you get around those quills? You'd be forever jabbing yourself."
All eyes looked to Sally as she smiled knowingly. "It IS a problem," she admitted. "It just takes practice."
"Yeah, but is it worth it?" Hershey asked. Sally's smile got dreamier as she sighed, causing the others to burst into a fit of giggles.
Julie-Su sat, rather stiffly, watching, but adding little. She didn't really know these girls, and wasn't feeling very comfortable, despite their friendliness towards her. She was reminded of her friends when she was growing up. Friends, she suddenly realised, that she'd probably never see again. She was an outcast now, a traitor to everything she'd been brought up to believe in. She sighed.
"If you don't like the quills there are plenty of other guys out there." Sally said.
"Julie-Su's the lucky one." Exclaimed Bunnie. The echidna raised a brow as she was unwillingly bought into the conversation. "She's got her pick, what with being the only girl in a group of guys. And I gotta say, Mighty's kinda cute." She smiled. "And he's so strong…"
"Better not let Antoine hear you say that," Sally warned.
"Hey," Bunnie protested. "A girl can look."
"Who's Mighty?" Hershey asked.
"He's an armadillo," Bunnie said. "Black and red. Actually he looks a lot like Sonic, without the spines."
"And there's Espio, he's a friend of Valdez'." Sally added, immediately regretting it when she noticed the somewhat pained look on Hershey's face.
"And there was the one you mentioned…the obnoxious one…what was it…Vector?" Penelope looked at Julie-Su.
"And then of course, there's Knuckles." Sally smiled mischievously at the echidna, looking for some kind of reaction. She had her suspicions that there was something between the dreadlocked pair, even when they'd come to dinner months ago, claiming to be 'just buddies'.
"Now him I know," Hershey smiled. "The strong silent type. And he has the most beautiful deep blue eyes…."
"Violet."
They all turned towards Julie-Su.
"What was that?" Hershey asked. It was the first time in an hour that the echidna had spoken.
"Knuckles' eyes," she explained. "They're not blue, they're violet."
"And how do you know that?" Hershey smirked.
"I do spend some time with him you know."
Sally awoke just before dawn, the soft snores of her friends around her. But she noticed almost immediately that one of her guests was missing.
She found her outside, staring up at the sky. The wind blew softly through her thick spines, making a gentle clinking, almost musical sound as the metallic pieces clanked together.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just not sleepy. We live in different hemispheres. It's around lunch time back home."
"I didn't think about that." She admitted as she sat down beside her. She studied the echidna's face. There were so many emotions visible, it was impossible to determine just how she was feeling. "But somehow I think there's more to it than that."
"Maybe."
"You're not very comfortable here are you?"
"I don't really know you."
"Why did you come?"
"It was Knuckles' idea. He thinks I need some female friends."
"You think he's wrong?"
"No. It's just that I…" she shook her head, unable to verbalise what she was thinking. "When I saw you and your friends tonight, laughing, having fun, I thought about my old friends, friends I'll never see again, because of…" her voice trailed off. She sighed deeply, "…him." She finished softly.
"Him?" Sally queried.
"Knuckles."
"Just what IS the deal with you two anyway?"
"I wish I knew."
"I take it you two aren't 'just buddies' anymore?"
Julie-Su sighed deeply. "Truth is, Princess…"
Sally lay her hand on her arm. "My friends call me Sally."
"The truth is, Sally, we never were 'just buddies'. When we realised we'd been struck by the Soultouch, I think he got scared." She sighed again. "Heaven knows, it scared me."
"What's the Soultouch?"
"Nature's way of making amends." Julie-Su explained. "Our kind tend to develop their intellect above all else. As a result, we've become the most technologically advance society on this planet. We were reaching for the stars while others were still smashing rocks together. But we were so intent on our scientific marvels, we started to die out."
"Why?"
"No time for the birds and the bees, if you get my drift."
Sally arched an eyebrow. "I think I know what you're getting at."
"So, somehow, we developed this way of recognising our heart's mate…the one we're destined to be with."
"You mean you just know?" Sally questioned. "It just hits you, like a thunderbolt?"
"Sometimes it's that strong, but they tend to burn out just as quickly, the Soultouch isn't perfect. If it was, Locke and Lara-Le would never have split up."
"Who are…"
"His parents."
"So how was it with you?"
"It was just this niggling compulsion. The first time I had anything to do with him, he'd just ruined the Dark Legion's plans. I was always loyal to them, the Dark Legion was the only family I'd ever known. And Knuckles is the physical embodiment of everything I'd been raised to despise.
"But I just felt this NEED to follow him instead of my family. At first I convinced myself that it was a revenge thing, I even tried to take him down. But as I got to know him better…I realised it was something else.
"We were just so much alike. At odds with the world. Angry at just about everything. Each other. Even ourselves." She chuckled. "I guess some things haven't changed." She looked up at the stars again, sighing deeply. "Even now, when I'm near him, I feel this sort of comforting hum," she placed a hand over her heart. "Like he's telling me he'll always be there for me."
"So you two are MEANT to be together?" Sally asked.
"That's the way it's supposed to work. But I don't think it can."
"Why not?" Sally questioned.
"It's not that I don't care for the guy," she sighed, "it's just that he, well…"
"Has trouble expressing his feelings?" Sally suggested. "Especially in front of others." She added in a mumble, thinking of her own relationship.
"No," Julie-Su frowned. "I know how he feels. He hasn't exactly said anything, but, the first time he kissed me, and I mean, REALLY kissed me, was in front of EVERYBODY. His parents, the Chaotix…Espio said Vector had such a look on his face…" she chuckled.
"I have to tell you, the pair of you are perfect for each other." Sally smiled.
"Try telling the populace of Echidnaopolis that." She sighed. "The Guardian and a Dark Legionnaire? After all this time, they still look at me like I'm something they scraped off the bottom of their boots. And the Legion have orders to shoot to kill. I don't belong anywhere."
"How does he feel about the citizens reaction to you?"
"He's aware of it. He's sympathetic. But he seems to think if he ignores it it'll just go away."
"If you could, would you give it all up to go back to the way things were?" Sally asked. "You know, go back with your family."
"I don't honestly know." She sighed. "Life was always though with the Legion. I've got a lot more freedom to do what I want now." She smiled. "And he can be awfully sweet."
"Knuckles?" Sally asked incredulously.
"Yeah, when the guys aren't around, and he doesn't have to prove how macho he is, he gets all sort of shy and tongue-tied." She sighed. "I guess it's because he's spent so much time on his own, he's got no real social skills to speak of." An impish look came into her lavender eyes. "But I tell you, the little beggar sure can kiss!"
Sally laughed out loud.
It wasn't until the sun was beginning to rise that Julie-Su was actually showing signs that she was getting sleepy. By this time, of course, everybody else was waking up.
"Great," Sally smiled. "NOW you want to sleep."
The pink echidna yawned. "It's okay," she said, "Knux'll be here soon to take me home."
"You want something to eat before you go?" Sally asked. "We're about to have breakfast. But I guess that would be supper for you."
"Sounds good."
As mid morning rolled around, Julie-Su began to get worried. Knuckles wasn't always the most punctual of creatures, so when he'd failed to arrived at the appointed time, she'd just assumed that some emergency had delayed him.
"Maybe we should call?" Sally suggested.
Julie-Su shrugged. "I'm sure he just got caught up with something."
"He's probably just hanging around with the guys and forgot the time." Sonic agreed.
"It won't take much to check." Sally said.
"Well, if it'll make you feel better." Julie-Su said, not wishing to show her growing fears to the others.
The princess led the way to the communications centre. Rotor was fiddling with some new equipment, hoping to boost their reception. "'Morning." He said absently as the trio entered, not looking up from his work. "What'd ya need?"
"Knuckles was due a couple of hours ago," Sonic said, "we're just gonna call up the Island and find out why he's draggin' his red butt."
"Shouldn't be a problem," the big walrus said as he began flipping switches and turning dials. He put a large set of headphones over his ears. He frowned. "That's odd." He said quietly.
"What's odd?" Sally asked.
"We're not getting anything, not even static."
"You've got the right frequency?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "I know it by heart. It's gotta be the one we use the most." Despite his own words, he double-checked the readouts.
"Must be some kind of interference." Sally mused. "Could Robotnik be behind it?"
"With their technology?" Sonic asked. "It'd have to bury his."
"Could be atmospheric conditions." Julie-Su suggested.
"Then we'd get static." Rotor shook his head. "This is totally dead. It's like the Island isn't even there anymore." He winced as Sally kicked his foot. He looked at her, frowning at the treatment. She flicked her eyes towards Julie-Su. "Uh, I guess it could be a solar flare." He shrugged.
"Should we go check it out?" Sonic asked looking at Sally.
"Not yet, we'll give Knuckles another hour," she looked at Rotor, "keep trying to raise them."
"Right, Sal."
"I dunno, Sal," Sonic shook his head, "I got a bad feeling about this."
Julie-Su pulled the headphones off Rotor's head. "May I?" She asked, gesturing for the walrus to give up his seat.
"Sure," he said rising to his feet.
"What are you doing?" Sally asked as Julie-Su began to alter frequencies.
"Calling Haven," she explained.
"Where?" Sonic asked.
"If anyone's operational up there, it'll be the Brotherhood."
"The who?" Rotor asked.
The two females looked at the dumbfounded males. "You explain it." Julie-Su said, returning her attention to the transmitter.
"Okay," Sally said, "what I'm about to tell you is very privileged information. It does not leave this room, okay?" The hedgehog and walrus nodded. "The Brotherhood are Knuckles' family. His father, grandfather, I think there's about seven generations of them…"
"Seven generations?" Sonic said incredulously. "How long do echidnas live?"
"Normally, quite a while, about a hundred and fifty to two hundred years." Sally explained. "Those in Knuckles' family live considerably longer than that."
"The Emerald give them a boost or something?" Sonic asked.
"Probably," Sally frowned, she'd never thought too much about it. "Haven's where they live."
"Why doesn't Knuckles live there too?" Rotor asked.
"The youngest is on active duty, so he won't go there…"
"Until his own kid takes his place." Sonic finished.
"Nothing," Julie-Su said softly as she placed the headphones gently on the console. "You're right," she looked at Rotor, "it's like they're not even there."
Sally frowned. She didn't want to voice her fears, especially in front of Julie-Su, but she was beginning to think something terrible had happened. And where was the problem? Was it with the Island or somewhere closer?
"Is our equipment operational?" She asked. "Maybe the problem's here."
"I'm pretty sure everything's okay," Rotor shrugged, "but I'll check it out." He crawled under the console and began checking the connections.
Sonic noticed the steadily deepening expressions of worry on the two females' faces. "Oh, c'mon you guys," he said, "there's precious little the red dude can't handle, and with the Chaotix to back him up…"
"I hope you're right." Sally said softly.
Author's Notes
Almost twenty years ago, this work was my introduction to fan fiction. Since that time, the original author, the Echidna Aficionado, moved on to parts unknown and her website fell into disrepair, finally being lost to the ether when flash - which was the basis for the site - was discontinued.
The waybackmachine, however, provides an archive, and, after searching through both her original site and one of my former stomping grounds, Knuckles' Haven, I managed to track down most of the original work, piecing together various chapters from different archived versions as a labour of love.
I post this story as a memento and a tribute, trying to save a story that shaped me as a child and the echoes of which still resound years later.
