Chapter 3

"Speaking of which, here comes her royal highness as we speak." Nicole glibly replied with a smirk, moving out of the red-headed chipmunk's way with a light curtsy. Sally was in high spirits, all things considered as she giggled at the lynx's attempt at levity. The two embraced for a brief moment, before engaging in friendly banter that the pink echidna present was tuning out, almost involuntarily.

She wasn't trying to be rude. It was just something that Julie-Su found herself missing after recent events—that camaraderie... Usually, all the Chaotix would get together and chat up about how crazy the mission was. Vector would blast his music, Espio would attempt to dance and only come up with random ninja poses, Charmy would do some improvised loops in the air, and Knuckles... "Earth to Julie-Su! Hello...?"

The princess's voice snapped her out of her delirium as she focused on the concerned expression Sally was now wearing. Oh great, here comes the doting... "I'm fine. Me and Nicole were just talking about how crazy everything got when..."

"Are you going to be okay? She said you had a bit of an episode in the library..." Julie-Su shot Nicole a stern glare, but relented almost as quickly. No...I was out of line this time. She rubbed her shoulder, looking downward toward a few stray pebbles.

"I said I'm fine. I'm over it." She nodded to Nicole and she returned the gesture in approval. Turning back to the chipmunk, she felt the urge to move things along as quick as possible. There were more pressing matters at hand. "Also, I did need to get in touch with you. It's urgent."

"Oh...?" Sally seemed pleasantly surprised to see the echidna without her usual surly exterior.

"Yeah, I need to borrow that jet of yours."

–

As she began to board the Freedom Fighter Special, a sleek silver jet that somehow survived Knothole's destruction, Julie-Su found herself stopped by the Holo-Lynx once more, appearing before her at the entrance with a warm smile. I'm never going to get used to that.

"Before you go, I have a little going away present for you." In one outstretched hand, she held a small transmitter no smaller than a Mobium coin. The attachments on the back matched a few open ports on her legionized dread. "Don't worry. I did the measurements while we were conversing. I hope you don't mind!"

"Nanites, I assume? No offense, but I don't play well with foreign tech." Julie-Su tersely replied with eyebrow raised, as she moved to brush away the small device. Nicole playfully kept it out of reach, tutting her with an index finger.

"Don't worry. I made sure that Dimitri gave me the proper schematics to your dreads before he made his impromptu exit. Despite our...differences, he still cared for you and Knuckles well being at the end of the day." The sound of that old bot's name caused the pink one's lips to curl into a snarl for but a moment. Last she heard, old "Iron Dreads" had defected to Eggman's side. What does he think he's going to get out of the deal? A stand for that fishbowl of a head? Spare me.

"Give it to me. I'd rather do the honors myself anyway." She finally replied, swiping the gadget out the Lynx's hand and quickly applying it with a satisfying "click". "And...thank you. This means the Freedom Fighters will have my back—right?"

"Sally is already in talks with the council over the matter. We're expecting an expedient approval, since you're helping Knuckles recover." Nicole's words rung in her ear like a banging gavel. They were holding her responsible for keeping an eye on him. That's what they meant. "Safe travels, Julie-Su."

"Yeah. See you later 'cyber-cat'." Before the Lynx was able to respond, she was already aboard the jet as the engines hummed to life...

–

Looking out a nearby window, Julie-Su could see the clouds breaking, revealing the expanse of green below, dotted by small pockets of civilization. It was a view she had grown to cherish, although usually from the edge of the floating island she now called home, in the arms of the one she loved. The large sigh that erupted from the echidna caught the attention of the Royal Guard that was her pilot, a young blond coyote in a slightly ill-fitting uniform. Antoine was one of the Freedom Fighters, although he had fallen into a more supportive role in recent times. "We will be approaching ze drop point in about...oh...five minutes. Give or take. Are you feeling well, mademoiselle?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just doing some thinkin', that's all." Peering out the glass portal to the outside, a strange shadow caught her attention. Almost leaping out of the seat, she watched as it danced across the sides of the jet. A fleck of black cloth slid past the window for but a second, but she knew immediately that they had been followed! "Keep driving, Ant. We might have a hitchhiker on our hands!"

"A handkerchief!? No, this will not be doing! Keep your hands and feet in the seat, I'll make a dive and shake off this intruder!" It was too late, as she was already at the airlock, undoing the safety. It slid open as the trained soldier braced herself at the edge and briefly checked her equipment on hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the poor man scrambling to apprehend her. "You fu-el!? What are you-!?"

Leaping out, she aimed her pistol at the right wing of the jet as a grappling hook launched out of the port above the barrels. It latched on with ease as she was forcibly drug backwards, flipping onto the wing just before impact. The wind buffeted her as the hook retracted back into the gun. Looking down, she realized that they had already cleared the edge of Angel Island. A good sign.

A sudden kick nearly knocked the echidna off the platform, finding traction on one of its many vents. Peering upwards, she found herself face-to-face with that masked intruder once again. No time for words. Leaping forward, the two grappled with each other as the jet slowed down for its descent. She grasped at the fabric, wanting to identify her target at last, but was disappointed to find that it was harder to tear apart than she thought!

"Just...tell me who you are!", was all Julie-Su could muster before she was thrown off the mysterious figure by their surprisingly strong legs. Grabbing another vent, she then took aim with her pistol. "Dodge this!", she cried out as she fired at those same limbs, aiming to disable them for capture. To her surprise, the black cloaked figure leapt off the side of the plane! Bits of the clothing flared to the side, catching the updraft akin to a hang-glider. "You're crazy!"

The pink echidna contemplated how long it would take for the aircraft to land as she saw the panicked coyote frantically waving from the airlock for her to return. Shaking her head and shielding her hair from the wind, Julie-Su decided to take a cue from Rad Red this time, running to the tip of the wing and taking a flying leap! Hope my good arm is ready for this. This has to be one of the stupidest things you've done, Julie-Su...