"Y-You…!"
Julie-Su knew she should feel something while standing over Lien-Da, who was on the ground glaring at her while clutching her side. If it weren't for the fact that the blaster bolt cauterized the wounds it passed through and the portion that her half-sister was shot lacked cybernetics, the Kommissar of the Dark Legion would be dead.
The pink echidna knew she should feel an almost sadistic joy in the hate and confusion in Lien-Da's eyes. At the fact that her half-sister was wracking her brain as to why Julie-Su was still standing despite so clearly attacking her 'master'.
She should feel hate towards the pathetic thing in front of her, who lorded over the fact that she held Julie-Su and the others' lives in her hands.
But honestly?
She felt nothing.
"Julie?" Saffron asked behind her. "Did it…?"
"Seems like it." She responded without turning around. "Get back into Cyber Space with the others. I'll meet you there."
"Roger." The bee seemed to hesitate for a second before flying to the gateway. She heard the sound of the gateway taking in her friend and the others aligned with their group, and was glad that she heard nobody besides the moaning Dark Legionnaires still loyal to Lien-Da on the sand of this alien beach.
She didn't want them to watch.
"How?!" Lien-Da cried out. "How could you…?!"
The ex-Dark Legionnaire did something she wanted to do ever since the desert.
She kicked her half-sister in the face.
The Kommissar cried out in pain, but did not move to cover her mouth. She couldn't. She was in too much pain from the blaster wound.
"Shut. Up." The pink echidna hissed out. "I want you to shut up and listen to me, Lien-Da."
Her half-sister seemed ready to snap back at her, but seemed to realize that more back talk would earn her another boot to the face. So instead she simply glared up at Julie-Su.
"You suck as a leader." Julie-Su pointed at the gateway. "You're stupid, arrogant, and cruel. You've had us go from Zone to Zone, take unnecessary risk after unnecessary risk, let echidna after echidna die, and for what? Just because you could?! Because you wanted to seem like a big shot?!" The pink echidna's left hand clenched into a fist. "Do you have any idea what you put our people through?! Do you even care?!"
"I was doing what needed to be done for our peo-!"
She kicked the leader of the Dark Legion in the face again.
"You did it for yourself!" She screamed down at the Kommissar. "You did it because you thought other mobians were inferior to you! Don't you DARE say you did it for the echidna race! You let echidnas die because of your crap!" She crouched down and grabbed her half sister by her hair, making her look up at her face. "You made us fight the natives of Zones that would've helped us if we just asked! All we needed were supplies and you made us fight to take everything from them! But you know what? I should thank you! The fact that you gave so little of a crap about how many echidnas in the Dark Legion died because of your stupid decisions made it easy for us to convince enough of them to arrange this!"
Lien-Da's eyes widened before they narrowed. "T-Those traitors! The scientists… they changed the master codes?!"
"Yeah. The fact that they just found out about the bombs gave them extra motivation to figure out a solution." Julie-Su remembered those nights of uncertainty. Thinking that those they spoke to would pass the message to Lien-Da about the plan. Staying awake and keeping an eye on those that seemed on the fence, and in the most extreme cases making sure that they stayed permanently silent about the plan. "Helped us to hack into your cybernetics and make sure that your loyalists would go down nice and easy. As for you…" She placed the barrel of her blaster to the side of the Kommissar's head. "…I wanted to take care of you personally."
Lien-Da glared at her and hissed out, "You expect me to beg, you impudent brat?"
She wanted to do it.
She remembered the joy Lien-Da had in mocking her over the power she held over the other echidnas during the march of the desert while Julie-Su fought tears over leaving the fallen behind. She remembered the sadistic glee on her half-sister's face when they implanted her new eye and bragged about the explosive inside. She remembered the sarcastic praises whenever she returned from a Zone that had evil versions of her friends, her upgraded arm's chainsaw still activated from the fight.
Julie-Su really wanted to just shoot this monster and blow her head clean off.
"…No. Not really." She let go of her half-sister's hair, making her fall face-first into the sand. "And I already decided that just blowing your head off would be too quick and too good for you."
While her half-sister spat out sand Julie-Su walked over to the bag she brought along and opened it. She took out the cylinder bomb and held it in her left hand, glancing back to see Lien-Da staring at her with wide and disbelieving eyes.
"No…" The Kommissar whispered. "You wouldn't…"
"I did a lot of things I thought I wouldn't do during this whole trip." Julie-Su walked over to the gateway and placed the bomb on its side. "Mostly because of you. So thanks for that, 'sis'."
"Y-You think they'll accept you after this?!" Lien-Da screamed at the ex-Dark Legionnaire.. "Once your precious guardian and your friends find out what you did here, they'll see you as a monster! They'll look at you as the disgusting thing I always knew you were and reject you!"
The pink echidna closed her eye.
She knew that Lien-Da was right.
When Knuckles and the others learned about this… they wouldn't look at her the same way again.
But…
"At the very least, they won't hear it from you." Julie-Su pressed the top of the bomb and began the countdown. "You can run over and try to disarm it, or you can crawl away and maybe survive for a bit longer." She placed her hand on the gateway while holstering her blaster. "Either way, you're not leaving this Zone or this island alive."
The other Dark Legionnaires on the beach seemed to get the picture.
"N-No! Don't do this!"
"Please! My baby! He's back there! Just take me back and…!"
"You can't do this to us! We're your people!"
"DAMN YOU!" Lien-Da screamed after her. "DAMN YOU! I SHOULD'VE JUST KILLED YOU ALL THOSE YEARS AGO! YOU DIDN"T DESERVE FATHER'S LOVE, YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE BI-!"
Her half-sister's screams cut out when Julie-Su turned into data and was taken into Cyber Space again.
This would be the final horror she would commit.
Soon, she would be back home.
She would be back on Mobius and with Knuckles again.
She would see Sonic and the others again.
She would be with the Chaotix again.
She would be with her family…
Saffron Bee was very confused.
"Ow! Ow!" She cried out as the blue and brown Chao kept slamming into her. "Would you please stop that!"
"Chao-Chao!" The blue Chao shouted while slamming its tiny shoulder into her face.
"Chao!" The brown Chao launched itself into her midsection. "CHAO!"
It didn't hurt much. They were, after all, just Chao. It was like getting hit by a small child.
But still!
"Please!" Saffron shouted while flying out of her range. "You have to let me go out there! It isn't safe for Cream! She's in danger!"
She'd been just as shocked seeing a gizoid here on Mobius. From what she had gathered during her and Julie-Su's encounters with the Dark Brotherhood in the desert, they hadn't launched any sort of attack on their Zone yet. Apparently, the Nocturnus Clan wanted to tie up loose ends before they went on to accomplish their true goal.
Said loose end being the utter eradication of the Dark Legion.
Her friend had explained it to her after the first battle that cost the pink echidna her eye. The Dark Legion had simply claimed that they found their own way out of the Twilight Zone, but the reality was that they had stolen the technology of a much older and far more insane banished clan of echidnas.
While the Dark Legion and the Dark Brotherhood were similar in their belief of the superiority of the echidna race and the use of forbidden technology, the Dark Brotherhood went farther in their ambitions. The culling of the weak within their own people, the enslavement and eventual eradication of other races, their plans to expand to the stars once they were done with Mobius…
…it really wasn't hard to see why Julie-Su believed that the Dark Brotherhood made the Dark Legion look sane.
And their first line of attack was always the gizoids. Mass produced and expendable robots that were far more powerful and deadly than they initially appeared. Ones that were able to copy the abilities and powers of any of their opponents. It shocked and horrified Saffron when she watched one of them sprout wings and fly like her after just one look.
And they were utterly cold in the execution of their tasks. Which was why they needed to get Cream and the other civilians to safety! If a gizoid was here then there were more! There had to be a cell of Nocturnus Clan marauders that were nearby!
"Please, Julie! Please be safe! Please wrap this up before that poor little gi-!"
Saffron's panicked thoughts were interrupted when a boomerang smashed into the back of her head, causing her to fall to the floor and crash into a wall. Shaking her head, she looked up to see Sticks the Badger catching her boomerang while standing in front of the adult rabbit that was covering her mouth.
"Da only danger I see is you, ya crazy bee!" Sticks screamed while pointing at Saffron. "Look, I don't trust da walkin' robot apocalypse much but I'll only strike when he reveals his true colors! You just attacked him outta nowhere like a psycho!"
Saffron blinked in shock. Why was Sticks acting like that gizoid had always been there? "I-It's a gizoid! One of the Nocturnus Clan's weapons!"
Sticks blinked. 'Da what?"
"Wait… she doesn't know what the Nocturnus Clan is?" Shaking her head, Saffron got up. The Chao floated next to the badger, glaring with their tiny hands raised as if they were ready to fight. "T-The echidnas that were here before me and Julie-Su came!"
"Echidnas? Da heck are ya…?"
"Wait, Ms. Sticks!" The adult woman shouted, putting her hand on the badger's shoulder. "There is no need for this fight."
"But, Ms. Vanilla!" Sticks pointed at Saffron with an accusing finger. "She's crazy! She just took me an' Cream and shoved us in here while that other cyborg went after Gemerl!"
"Gemerl?" The bee repeated, her eyes widening. They… were referring to the gizoid by a name? Why?
And there was Sticks' reaction when she mentioned echidnas. It was just like Honey's reaction. That pure surprise and fascination, as if they had just stumbled into something incredible. Something that just didn't exist as a possibility until just now.
"It isn't just Honey… It's Sticks too. They never thought there were any echidnas other than Knuckles." Saffron's eyes widened as a cold pit in her stomach formed. "And… and with how Sticks has acted on the trip over here, she would've brought up the echidnas being in hiding rather than banished or something!"
It was as if, even to the mind of a conspiracy theorist like the badger, the possibility of there being any other echidnas besides Knuckles was simply impossible.
Stepping around the badger, Vanilla looked at the two Chao and nodded at them. Hesitatingly, they parted and allowed her to step past them.
"Ma'am." The adult rabbit leaned down and stared at her with firm scolding eyes. "I believe there has been a misunderstanding."
The bee's mouth suddenly went dry. "I…"
"Gemerl may have been created to fight for that horrible Dr. Eggman, but he's been nothing but kind and helpful to me and my daughter ever since Tails fixed him." Vanilla explained slowly. "He is a part of our family, who has helped our house be a home and protected us as best as he could. He has never been a threat to us, and certainly wouldn't have fought against you or your friend if you hadn't attacked first."
Saffron put her hand to her forehead. The gizoid had been created to fight for Eggman? "Then… then you haven't heard of the Nocturnus Clan?"
"I have never heard of that name in my life."
The bee stared into Vanilla's eyes and saw there was no doubt in them. The mother of Cream truly had no idea what she was talking about.
The fueling outpost, the radio station, the existence of that city, Honey's reaction to the news of echidnas, the Chaotix Detective Agency, and now this…
"What does this mean?" The bee felt like she was breaking out in a sweat. "I… I know nothing felt right, and I knew things were strange but… are we in different…?"
"W-What are you guys doing?!" Julie-Su's voice came from outside. "It's me! Julie-Su!"
Saffron turned her head to the window and flew towards it.
"Hey! Don't move!" Sticks shouted from behind her. "We ain't done with you, ya…!"
"Ms. Sticks, that's enough!" Vanilla said, only barely raising her voice. "That young woman isn't going to harm us."
Honestly? Sticks and Vanilla were the last thing on Saffron's mind.
She looked through the window and saw Cream being pulled back slightly by the black and yellow gizoid while the pink echidna was jabbing her chainsaw arm at the two.
"The gizoid's right there!" The ex-Dark Legionnaire shouted at the purple chameleon and giant green crocodile in front of her. Saffron instantly recognized them. Espio and Vector! They were here! "Can't you see it?! It's taking Cream away!"
"Yeah, away from you!" Vector shouted at the pink echidna. "You're the one that tried to start trouble, tried to take Gemerl apart, and now you come to us acting like we're gonna help you?! What planet are you living on?!"
"Why aren't you helping me?!" Julie-Su screamed at the giant crocodile. "Damn it, Vector! Stop acting like you don't know me! We're teammates! We're the Chaotix! We're…!"
"Teammates?" Espio glared at the pink echidna. "We've never met you."
Saffron's eyes widened in shock and horror.
"They… they don't recognize…?"
The pink echidna took a step back, her body trembling while her arms hung limply to their sides.
"H-Hey, come on Espio." Julie-Su muttered, her voice cracking with every word. "This isn't funny. I-I know you're bad at jokes, but come on…"
"Uh, guys?" A high-pitched voice muttered. "I don't think she looks good…"
It was then that Saffron noticed the flying figure next to Vector.
The orange-amber eyes that glittered like jewels in the sunlight.
The slightly large yellow antennae with three black rings around them.
That childish and high-pitched voice that he used to feel embarrassed about, especially when he hung out with the other male members of the Chaotix.
Who she assured him meant nothing to her, because she always knew how strong and brave he was before…
…before…
"I-I'll be okay, Saffron."
"Charmy…?" Saffron's eyes watered before she flew out the window. "CHARMY!"
She crashed into him, her former fiancé crying out when they crashed into the ground. She held him close, tears spilling out of her eyes as she felt him against her. His warmth…
"I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed out. "I'm so sorry I was gone! I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to leave you all alone! Please, please forgive me! I know it was confusing and scary but… but I'm here now, honey! I'm here and I promise I'll never leave you again! I'll always be here!"
Now it would be alright. Charmy couldn't love her like he used to, but it would be alright. It was worth it, knowing that he was here. Knowing that he was safe and happy to see her, knowing that he loved her even if it was with the childish love one had for a big sister or a friend. Just so long as he was happy, she would be happy too.
That was all that mattered.
"W-What?!" Charmy cried out. "Who are you?! Lemme go!"
The peace Saffron felt shattered into a million pieces at the male bee's words.
The female bee opened her eyes and looked at Charmy's. They weren't filled with innocent delight at seeing her, nor with foggy confusion as he sifted through broken memories.
They were the eyes of a frightened and confused child.
He had absolutely no idea who she was.
"Release him!" Espio cried out before prying Saffron and Charmy apart. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Saffron stared at Charmy, who was looking back at her with those same uncomprehending eyes before the chameleon stood in front of him glaring at her.
"This isn't funny!" Julie-Su screamed. "Charmy, it's Saffron! You know her! She's your best friend! She's your fiancé!"
"Fiancé?!" Vector looked as if he was about to throw up. "Okay, that's it! I had enough of you craz-!"
"Espio." Saffron spoke through numb lips. "How old is Charmy?"
"Wha…?" Her friend chuckled. "What kind of question is that, Saffron? He's sixte-."
"Six." The chameleon Shinobi answered without hesitation. He looked at her eyes and it was almost like he could see her thoughts. He was relaxing, if only slightly. "He's only six."
"Oh."
Now it made sense.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she turned to Julie-Su.
Her friend looked like she had been struck by the revelation.
It was as if she couldn't lie to herself anymore either.
"Julie…? I… I don't think this is our Mobius…"
"This is a trick."
No, this couldn't be a trick.
"The Dark Brotherhood did this."
No, that wasn't the Brotherhood's style.
"They changed their style."
The mad clan of echidnas wasn't one that changed.
Julie-Su sat on the couch with her hands over her face. They were inside Cream and Vanilla's house, though the echidna could barely remember how she got here. Did Saffron bring her inside?
"So you're from another dimension?" Vector was pacing in front of her. "One where me and the boys were your teammates?"
"Yes." Saffron muttered quietly. "In… in our Zone, we were all members of the Chaotix."
"In what role?" Espio asked, his voice as firm and serious as ever. "I doubt that we are detectives in every dimension."
"Why not?" Charmy was buzzing around, simple and childish curiosity in his tone. "Being a detective is awesome!"
The ex-Dark Legionnaire's hands clenched into fists.
"They're playing a sick joke on us."
No. No, her friends would never do that!
"Then why are they pretending like they don't know us?!"
"We… we just helped Knuckles on Angel Island. Helped him to keep order and guard the Master Emerald." The bee's voice cracked as she shifted next to Julie-Su. "We were never detectives."
"What? That sounds super boring!" The male bee cried out. "I mean, nothing happens on Angel Island except for Eggman trying to take the Master Emerald once in a while! Knuckles only leaves when something major happens! Why would we want to stick around Angel Island all the time?"
Julie-Su brought her hands away from her face and glared at the three. "Because Knuckles is your friend! He's our family!" She shouted while getting up and pointing at the bee. "He gave you a home when that monster destroyed Saffron and your kingdom! When he took your family and threw them into his Egg Grapes! Don't you ever…!"
"Hey, don't yell at Charmy!" The crocodile got in front of Charmy and pointed at the echidna. "You're just going to sit there and answer our questions! You're lucky me and the boys didn't just kick your butts and throw you all into jail for the stuff you pulled!"
The pink echidna felt herself shake. This wasn't right. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Vector wouldn't talk to her like this!
"We're willing to entertain the possibility you're both from another dimension." The chameleon member of the Chaotix stopped leaning on the wall and walked beside Vector. "Blaze the Cat is a regular visitor to this world, and she's the princess of an empire in her dimension. Visitors from other dimensions aren't new to us."
"Yeah." Vector nodded. "But we gotta make sure that this isn't just a bunch of stuff you're making up just to weasel your way outta trouble!"
"Weasel our way out of trouble?" Julie-Su muttered, the shaking growing worse. Did… did they seriously think they were making stuff up?! "WEASEL OUR WAY OUT OF TROUBLE?!" She pointed to her eye and shouted, "Do you have any idea what we had to do to get home?! We've jumped from Zone to Zone while Lien-Da worked us like slaves! We survived the Chaos Wraiths in a Zone drowned by that thing! We avoided being torn apart by the Metarex Wave! I had to hide and pray when the psycho Super Sonic of a Zone thought it would be fun to hunt me and the rest of my people for sport!"
She remembered the last one vividly. That cackling laughter as a golden streak flew through the air, the swirling red in those white eyes before he blasted members of the Dark Legion with lasers that shot out of them. Members of her race were reduced to ash while the Tails and Amy of that Zone tried to formulate a plan to drain the chaos energy from their Sonic…
Honestly, Lien-Da calling for a retreat was probably the one smart thing her sister did in her entire tenure of leadership.
Tears formed in the ex-Dark Legionnaire's right eye as she continued. "We… we had to do so much just to get back home! And now we're back and you're doing this to us! Why? Why are you all lying?! Why are you pretending that Charmy is six?! Why?! WHY?!"
"Julie! Stop!" Saffron cried out, flying off the couch and getting in front of the pink echidna. Her own eyes were brimming with tears. "They didn't do anything wrong! They don't know us because this isn't our Mobius!"
There it was again.
"This isn't our Mobius."
"This IS our Mobius!" Julie-Su screamed at the bee. "I checked! I triple checked! Our vibrational frequency matches perfectly with this Zone! This is Mobius!"
"What's a Mobius?" Charmy asked, only for Espio to hush him.
"You know what Mobius is!" The pink echidna shouted at the other members of the Chaotix. "It's our planet! It's the planet we live on!"
Vector shook his head. "Our planet's called Earth, lady!"
Julie-Su grit her teeth. Why?! Why were they continuing this joke? Why were they calling Mobius by its name from before the Day of Fury?
"Stop lyin-!"
"Julie, are you even listening to yourself?!" Saffron asked, her hands clenched into fists as she sobbed. "Why would they lie?! To them, Charmy's always been six and this planet has always been called Earth! This is their Zone! It's not… it's not ours!"
She couldn't believe it.
She didn't want to believe it.
"Saffron… have you just given up?" After everything they've been through, Saffron was just accepting this… this sick joke? "THAT'S A LOAD OF…!"
"Stop fighting!" The small voice of Cream the Rabbit cut Julie-Su off and they all turned to the rabbit who was running towards them. She looked like she was on the verge of tears while Cheese floated next to her. "Please… please, I don't understand what you're talking about but you're both hurt! And all this shouting is just making you hurt each other! So please…" Tears were forming in the little girl's eyes. "…please stop fighting."
But Julie-Su wanted to. She wanted to keep screaming, to keep fighting against this… this lie.
They were back home! They had to be! Something was screwing with their heads, and Saffron was just accepting it!
And yet…
The pink echidna closed her eye, raised her hands, and growled out, "I can't deal with this." She turned to the right and walked past Cream before heading into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry." Saffron hiccuped from behind her. "I'm sorry. W-We didn't mean to… to…"
"Please don't cry, Ms. Saffron!" Cream consoled the bee. "I'm sure Ms. Julie-Su just needs a minute and then she'll apologize! You're friends, right? Friends do not stay angry with each other!"
"I think that kinda went beyond just upset, though." Charmy muttered half to himself.
Honestly? Julie-Su decided it was best to tune them all out.
When she entered the kitchen the gizoid was there sweeping the floor while Sticks and the brown Chao were helping Vanilla place cups on a tray. When she entered the room the badger froze before tensing up.
"I'm not going to just attack you, if that's what you're thinking." Julie-Su walked towards the back door. "I'm getting some air."
"Ya better not be plottin' anything with your masters." Sticks hissed out. "I'm watching you now, cyborg."
"Ms. Sticks, that's quite enough." Vanilla chided before crying out after her, "Ms. Julie-Su, would you like some tea or…?"
"No." She opened the back door and closed it behind her. Then, she sat down on the steps and looked at the trees which would lead to the forest.
A forest that reminded her so much of the Great Forest that hid Knothole before Eggman had wiped it off the map.
"We have to be home. We've got to be."
They didn't go through all that just to be rewarded with… with whatever the hell this was.
The door opened and Julie-Su heard the metal steps of the gizoid. She tensed and snarled out, "What do you want?"
"Statement: Vanilla requested for me to provide you with some tea. She stated that it could potentially help with your emotional distress." The gizoid, Gemerl, set down the cup of tea and the small ceramic plate it was set on. The aroma of tea and honey hit the echidna's nose as the steam rose from the top of the hot liquid.
"I told her I didn't want it." The pink echidna muttered. "And I wouldn't have wanted it from you."
She was half tempted to just turn around and continue what she started. To take it apart piece by piece and save both herself and the others from the danger.
But for whatever reason, the rabbit family and the Chaotix just accepted it. Acted as if it were a living thing rather than just a tool for destruction and murder.
Gemerl paused as it stood up. "What you'd like is irrelevant. Vanilla requested for me to bring this to you, and I have."
"Great, so you fulfilled your objective." Julie-Su clicked her tongue. "Now get out of here."
"Currently, you are designated as Friend as per Cream's wishes." Gemerl did not move an inch as it continued. "Observation: Despite knowing I'm not a threat to my family…"
"They aren't your family." The pink echidna glared at the robot. "You're just their helper. Nothing else."
The robot said nothing, but she could see one of the hands clench into a fist before unclenching. Then it said, "…you still wish to decommission me."
"Yeah, I do."
As if she'd lie to this thing.
The gizoid nodded. "Acknowledged. Statement: Just know one thing, echidna." It turned around and began walking to the door. "If you endanger my family again, I will redesignate you as Enemy and will deal with you as quickly and as efficiently as possible."
She said nothing and just watched the gizoid enter the house again before closing the door.
Slowly, she took the cup of tea and took a sip.
"It's warm…"
She didn't try to stop the tears from flowing.
It'd been so long since she had something warm.
Saffron wiped the tears from her eyes when she heard the door slam shut.
"Look…" Vector, but not the Vector she knew, muttered softly. "Why don't you sit down? I'm not good with stuff like this, but…"
"Okay." Slowly, the female bee descended before her feet touched the floor and she hopped onto the couch. She looked down at her hands, which were clasped together on her lap. "I'm really sorry. It's just… Julie-Su has been through a lot."
That was an understatement.
"That much we can tell." She looked up and saw that Espio was looking at where Julie-Su had left. "From the way she described it, you have both struggled on your journey home."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Cream asked politely, patting the space next to the Chaotix member. "The doctor I go to says it's good to talk about stuff that's hurting inside"
"Chao…" Cheese whined, placing its tiny right arm on the rabbit's head and rubbing it.
She couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the young girl. What had happened in this Zone that a child like Cream would need a therapist?
Still, it was nice hearing that from someone else.
"It's your house." She gave a small smile to the rabbit. "Help yourself."
The rabbit nodded and sat beside Saffron, kicking her legs that were dangling from the edge.
"So…" Charmy, but not her Charmy, drew in closer and asked, "Was all that stuff the pink lady said true? Did you guys just go from universe to universe fighting?"
It was so hard to look at him.
This child… this literal child looked and sounded so much like her Charmy. He acted just like Charmy did back when they were kids, back in the Golden Hive Colony before his desire for adventure and wish to avoid his responsibilities took him away.
"Yes. But… Julie-Su did most of the fighting." The female bee bit her lip. "Lien-Da, her half-sister and the leader of the Dark Legion, resented her. There is a bomb in Julie-Su's new eye…"
"Wait, that thing had a bomb?!" Vector cried out in horror. "That's just…!"
Espio hushed him and motioned her to continue.
"…just like how there's a bomb in mine." Saffron brushed her hand over her cybernetic antennae. "The Dark Legion forced all of the adults in the tribe, and me, to become Legionized. They said it was to increase our chances of survival, and it did, but really Lien-Da just wanted to control us." The female bee gripped her skirt. "She… she always held the survival of the echidnas over Julie-Su. Made her go out, again and again, to fight in the frontlines. Whether it was to defend us when we entered a hostile Zone… or to attack the locals and take supplies."
Those days were horrible. All those Zones where nothing was wrong aside from Eggman or some other monster being the primary threat of those versions of their friends. There was one where Sonic had siblings and played magic instruments against them while asking their version of Knuckles why his people were attacking them. Or that one where Sally and the others were younger, and Julie-Su had been forced to knock out that version of Knuckles who was pursuing them to the gateway…
None of them knew what was going on. None of them understood why a bunch of echidnas and a bee were attacking them. All they could do was fight…
Sometimes, Lien-Da wasn't paying attention and they could afford to just knock those alternate versions of their friends out.
Other times…
"We didn't want to do it." Saffron muttered. "But we didn't have a choice."
"And this Lien-Da?" Espio asked, an eyebrow raised. "Is she with your group?"
"No."
They made sure of that.
The chameleon and crocodile gave each other a look that conveyed their suspicion of what happened. There was an unease in the air that flew over this Zone's Charmy and Cream's heads, and while Saffron knew she should've expected this even from her Zone's versions of them it still hurt.
Would her Vector and Espio also see them in this new light?
"Julie-Su saw it as her responsibility to make sure that we made it through this." She continued. "That… that all she had to do was keep fighting and put up with Lien-Da's cruelty, because she was the primary target of it. That sooner or later, we would find our way back to our universe or our Knuckles would find us. But… but the fighting just kept going on and on…"
Her echidna friend thought that Saffron didn't notice those nights when she would lie there in a cold sweat. That she didn't see those moments when she would just stare off into the distance as her mind went somewhere else. Every time Saffron tried to bring it up, Julie-Su would pretend like it was no big deal.
In the beginning, she and Julie-Su would talk a lot about their worries. They would confide in eachother about how worried they were over Knuckles, Charmy, and the Chaotix. How they hoped that Team Fighters and Knuckles were coordinating a hunt for Thrash or would try to find Dr. Finitevus and potentially learn about the Ancients. They would talk about how scared they were and how they could cope with what they were going through.
But as time went on, those conversations happened less and less. Julie-Su just didn't want to talk about anything besides the latest mission or the secret plan to get rid of Lien-Da and her followers. The only time home was brought up was when the pink echidna said doing this would bring them one step closer to getting there.
That Knuckles and the Chaotix would welcome them with open arms and help the echidna race rebuild. About how everything would be alright as soon as they got back to Mobius.
Her eye always looked so… fogged over whenever she talked about those things. Like she was lost in some sort of mental image of that possibility.
"I should've helped her more." Saffron said, sniffling. "If I… if I just tried to be stronger, tried to show that she wasn't struggling alone, tried to make it clear that she could rely on me throughout all that…"
Cream wrapped her arms around the bee and hugged her.
"My… My doctor said that if I feel bad it's okay to give Mother and my friends hugs." The rabbit whispered. "And… and you and Ms. Julie-Su could use a hug."
For a moment, Saffron didn't know what to do.
This wasn't her Zone's Cream. She didn't even know the rabbit girl in her own Zone. She'd never met her.
They had only met today, and she along with Julie-Su just attacked their helper robot that they treated like a member of the family.
Yet…
She hugged the rabbit girl back and muttered, "Thank you."
"I'm sorry for interrupting…" Vanilla's voice spoke up, and Saffron turned her head to see the older rabbit approaching them with a tray full of steaming tea cups on top of it with the brown Chao following her. Sticks was following her carrying a tray full of cookies, frowning at Saffron but no longer looking at her with those same distrustful eyes. "…But I think you all could use some refreshments."
"O-Oh!" Vector, startled slightly over the older woman's presence, gladly took one of the offered cups. The female bee couldn't help but notice the fierce blush on the crocodile's face and she sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks a ton, ma'am!"
"Oh, please." Vanilla smiled at the crocodile. "I thought I told you to just call me Vanilla."
"R-Right, ma-Vanilla!"
Saffron couldn't help but blink incredulously as the other members of this Zone's Chaotix took a cup of tea and a cookie while Vanilla and Vector continued their small talk.
"…Does this Vector like older women?"
Did her Vector like older women?
She shivered slightly over thinking about her friend's love life. Sure, she didn't mind being happy over her friends hooking up but contemplating their preferences was a bit creepy.
"Thank you for helping Mother with the kitchen, Ms. Sticks!" Cream got off from the couch and went over to the badger. "I'm sorry I couldn't help with bringing the refreshments here."
"Aw, it's nothin'." Sticks rolled her eyes. "Besides, I got to eat da cookie dough!"
"Aw, man!" Charmy snapped his fingers. "I wanted in on that!"
"Then you shoulda helped!"
Saffron took one of the cups that Vanilla offered and asked, "Did you…?"
"Gemerl went to give it to her." Vanilla glanced at the door. "I know that the poor girl wants to be alone, but I thought that it might help. A good cup of tea always helped me when I'm feeling bad."
Saffron took a sip of the tea.
It wouldn't really help, but the simple fact that they could now get tea made her feel a bit better.
"Statement: I have brought the echidna her tea." Gemerl was now in the living room and staring at the older woman. "Query: Do you wish for me to continue assisting with cleaning up, or would you prefer me to observe our new guests?"
"No. It'll be alright." Cream's mother glanced at Saffron before staring at the robot's eyes. "Why don't you help me with washing the dishes?"
"New Mission Parameters: Accepted."
The gizoid took the tray of cookies from Sticks and followed the rabbit into the kitchen.
"…it doesn't trust us." And, honestly, the feeling was mutual. Even if everyone in this Zone insisted that Gemerl wasn't a threat, Saffron wasn't exactly going to just trust a gizoid. Not after all they went through with the Dark Brotherhood.
Saffron knew it was a horrible thought, but it didn't stop those thoughts from cropping up in her mind.
"Alright." Vector put his tea cup on the tray and said, "Okay. So you guys aren't just makin' this up. That's good."
The female bee looked up and smiled. "Thank you for believing us."
"Hard not to with a story like that." The crocodile sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for grillin' you and your friend but ya gotta understand that it's all part of the job of being a detective."
"Plus it did look kinda bad when we showed up." Charmy chimed in, glancing at Sticks. "Like, really really bad."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know that they'd go and attack da robot apocalypse?!" The badger cried out. "They said that they were your teammates!"
"If we had two women in our organization, we would've brought it up previously." Espio chided with a shake of his head. "And Vector would've made them star and voice in the commercials."
Charmy stuck out his tongue. "Which is gross."
"H-hey! Shuddup!" Shaking his head, Vector looked at Sticks. "Anyways, why were you at the agency office?"
"Because I had big news!" Sticks cried out, waving her arms. "I found out where that Wolf Pack girl, Lupe, got dragged off to!"
"Wait, the Lupe of this Zone was missing?"
Everyone in the Chaotix Detective Agency stared at the badger with jaws agape.
"What?!" All three shouted, and the badger looked more than a little smug while having her hands on her hips.
"Yup! Never underestimate da power of da forums and non-mainstream sources!" Sticks nodded her head. "Posters on my forum saw a wolf bein' dragged off by shadowy figures, probably aliens, an' those same shadowy figures were spotted around da Mirage Desert Zone! Probably to conduct nasty experiments on them for their empire!"
"…"
The crocodile glanced at Espio, who sighed and said, "She means that individuals matching the description of those that kidnapped the Wolf Pack girl were seen in the same area. Aliens aren't involved."
"Says you!" The badger shouted. "They wanna take us apart an' learn what makes us tick! To see why da Wisps like us so much besides psychically feeding off of our brainwaves!"
"I'm pretty sure they like us just because we're friendly, Ms. Sticks." Cream muttered while Cheese nodded his head.
"Chao-Chao!"
"Okay." Vector glanced at Saffron and said, "I'm gonna call Jewel. She's the lady in charge of the Restoration. She can figure out somethin' that can help you and Julie-Su find a way back to your universe or whatever. Then, once we figure that out, me and the boys are gonna take a trip with Sticks to pick up the Wolf Pack girl, alright?"
A small smile formed on Saffron's face. Even in this Zone, Vector was still a real leader. He cared about others just as much as his teammates, and could figure out a game plan on the fly. "Thanks."
The crocodile gave her a thumbs up before bending down and taking out a small black rectangle from his boot. He tapped a button on the side… and then frowned.
"Oh man." Vector groaned. "I forgot to charge this thing! Hey, Cream?" He smiled nervously at her. "You guys got a charger?"
"Of course!" Cream walked over and pointed to a small square on the wall's outlet that had a thin white wire snaking out. "It's right here. I hope it's for your model, Mr. Vector!"
"Thanks!" The crocodile rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at Saffron. "The boys don't have cells because of how expensive they're getting nowadays. And we're already pushing the phone budget with the cell and the landline phone…"
"You shouldn't have any phone!" Sticks hissed while pointing at the cellphone. "That's how da government spies on all of us!"
"That's a cellphone?" The female bee stared incredulously at the black rectangle. "It's so… small! And thin!"
"…What century are you from?" Charmy asked, and for whatever reason Saffron felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment.
Was commercial technology advanced in this Zone? Was it because Eggman wasn't in power like he was in theirs?
Vector plugged in his cellphone and waited while tapping his foot.
"Um, Ms. Saffron?"
Saffron turned her head and stared at Charmy, who was smiling nervously at her.
"You… you kinda hinted that the Charmy of your universe was older." He smiled sheepishly and asked, "And… I was just kinda wondering… is he cool? A cool hero, I mean?"
"…" Saffron looked down and bit her lip.
Thinking about her Charmy… it still hurt. It hurt knowing that she still couldn't see him. Hurt knowing that he was still in their Zone, likely sad and wondering why Saffron had left him. Hurt knowing that he would never return to normal like she had hoped he would, once upon a time.
What could she tell this Charmy?
Taking in a deep breath, she focused on a single moment. Of Charmy, back during happier times, holding up a flower to her.
"I'm… I'm sad about the Golden Hive Colony too, Saffron. But so long as you're here, I know we can get through this. Because… because I love you, Saffron. No matter what happens, I'll always love you."
"…He's very kind. He loves flowers and having fun with his friends, even when it involves fighting bad guys. And… and he's very brave. Even when he loses everything, even when he feels like there's no hope, even when he's confused and lost…" She smiled at this younger counterpart of her fiancé and said, "…he never stops fighting for the people he loves."
Charmy smiled back at her. "Yeah, that sounds like I'm cool." He turned to Espio and smirked. "Hear that, Espio? I'm a big kid AND cool in another universe!"
"I heard." However, the chameleon was staring at Saffron and frowning.
Did he suspect something?
"What the…?!" Vector cried out, causing all of them to look towards him. "There's like a billion messages from Jewel!"
She saw that Vector was flicking his numb across the glass screen, looking flabbergasted at all the tiny little speech bubbles scrolling past.
"How long has that phone been out of power?" Espio asked, walking to stand beside the crocodile.
"Uh, I dunno. We were so busy with that job in Soleanna a couple of days ago…"
Then, the phone began to vibrate and on the screen was the picture of a Jeweled Beetle Mobian smiling shyly. Groaning, the crocodile tapped on the phone twice before saying, "Hey, Jewel! Sorry we couldn't answer but…"
"FINALLY!" A female voice cried out from the device. There were the sounds of ringing phones and other voices crying out in the background of the woman's screams. "Do you have any idea how long we've been trying to reach out to you?!"
"Woah! Woah, take it easy!" Vector raised his hands as if to hold back the utter fury in the beetle's voice. "Look, we were on an important job and I forgot to charge the phone! I'm sorry, but that's the truth!"
An exasperated sigh came out of the phone. They heard a door closing and the voice continued. "…Okay, okay fine. I'm sorry for raising my voice, but things are going crazy at the Restoration right now and we need all the help we can get! I have Honey the Cat breaking it to the world on both every social media site and the news that the echidnas are not only alive, but are back on Angel Island!"
"She did it!" Saffron cried out, grinning from ear to ear. "She actually did it!"
She didn't doubt the cat's honest desire to help the echidnas on Angel Island, but she hadn't expected things to happen so soon!
"I've got every news station calling up Restoration HQ asking how the Restoration is going to help Honey's call for aid and…" Jewel paused and asked, "Wait, Vector, do you have me on speakerphone?"
"Uh, yeah!" He glanced over to Saffron. "Y'see, we've been dealing with some crazy stuff too! There are these two girls, Julie-Su and Saffron. One's an echidna and the other's a bee! They say they're from another dimension like Blaze. They're tryin' to get to their home called Mobius…"
"Mobius?"
The voice was so small and quiet that it sent a shiver down the female bee's spine.
"Yeah! That's what they call their planet!" Vector grinned at her. "It's a cool name, by the way!"
"Way cooler than Earth!" Charmy agreed. "Seriously, why don't we call out planet something cool?!"
"…Do they… do they know someone named Sally Acorn? Someone that was… uh, what was it called… roboticized?"
Saffron's eyes widened in shock. "Yes! Yes, we know her!" She knew from Knuckles and Julie-Su that Sally Acorn, the princess of the Kingdom of Acorn and leader of the Freedom Fighters, had been roboticized while trying to stop Eggman. "But… but how do you know her? Or that she was roboticized? Did something similar happen in this Zone? Did… did someone from our Zone visit this one?"
"…Is your friend with you?"
The female bee blinked. "No. She's outside. Why?"
A tired sigh escaped from the phone.
"Because I think you both need to hear something… and you might want to sit down while I tell it."
"…You don't have to lie, you know."
Julie-Su watched as Knuckles glanced at her while standing in front of the Master Emerald.
"…I don't know what you mean." He grunted out. "I said what I meant. We've got to be patient and wait in case Finitevus makes a move."
The pink echidna rolled her eyes. She hated it when her boyfriend thought he needed to act tough. "Come on, Knux. I know you want to go out there and save Sally."
Sonic had left a short while ago, asking for Knuckles and the Chaotix's aid in rescuing the roboticized Sally. She understood how upset both Knuckles and Sonic were about the chipmunk they both cared for was now Eggman's metal slave. The hedgehog was angry that Knuckles wasn't dropping everything to save Sally while Knuckles was blaming Sonic for what had happened. It devolved into a whole stupid argument, one that she got in on when Sonic accused the guardian that things would be different if it involved their ancestors.
She understood that Sonic was upset and desperate, but something like that was uncalled for. Especially when the Chaotix were dealing with their own problems.
Still, a part of Julie-Su was ashamed of herself for only adding to her friend's misery.
Worst of all, Knuckles was closing himself off. Trying to pretend that all that mattered was the island being secure against an attack.
The red echidna shook his head. "Guarding the Master Emerald is more important. If Sally really is a robian and is now working for Eggman, it means he's got one of the best tacticians on his beck and call. We can't afford to leave the Master Emerald unguarded, and that goes double if we can't track down Finitevus."
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "I know. But… Knuckles, Sally's your friend. And… and I know you loved her."
A blush formed on his face. Honestly, it was kind of cute.
"How did you…?"
"Come on, a girl can tell when her boyfriend had a history with a girl." She smirked and said, "I'm not stupid."
Knuckles sputtered out some incoherent babble before letting out a groan and rubbing his head. "Fine… fine, yeah back then I might've felt something." He glanced at her. "You're not mad?"
"My self-esteem isn't that low. Besides, I trust you." She frowned. "But it's because of that I know you want to help Sonic save her."
The Guardian of the Master Emerald hesitated for a second before nodding. "…A part of me wants to, yeah." He looked up. "Just like how a part of me wanted to run off with Sonic after the original Robotnik died. To go on adventures and beat up bad guys… to leave the island and go on an adventure. But…" His gloved hands clenched into fists. "…I've got responsibilities. I can't just shirk them off. Not after Enerjak and… and Dad."
They were silent for a few seconds at that. Even with the passage of time, Knuckles' actions thanks to Finitevus' machinations and the death of Locke still weighed on them.
Julie-Su hadn't liked Locke. Especially after hearing and witnessing all his little manipulations of Knuckles to mold him into the person he wanted his son to be, rather than wanting to see him grow and be proud of what he became.
Seriously, a good father wouldn't experiment on their son's egg!
But… but Locke did also still love Knuckles. And despite everything… Knuckles still loved his father.
"Besides." Knuckles looked over to Julie-Su and smiled. "A part of me loves Sally, sure. But… there is someone who I love more that's with me here, right now. And as a bonus, it's someone who is willing to put up with my crap."
She smiled and drew in closer. "You're such a dork."
Without any warning or prompting, Julie-Su kissed him.
They stayed like that, holding each other and looking at the sky.
She loved it here.
Even when the world and their lives grew increasingly complicated and messy… she could be here in his arms and feeling his warmth. His love for her.
Two souls bound together in a way that transcended mere biological and mental impulses.
"Sonic will figure things out. He usually does." Knuckles whispered. "Until then… we'll handle things on our end our own way."
That was the last real conversation they had together.
Before everything went wrong.
"Um… Ms. Julie-Su?"
Julie-Su's eyes shot open as she reached for her blaster. Before she could pull it out she remembered where she was and let out a sigh. Turning, she saw that Cream and Cheese were behind her.
"Oh, hey." Slowly removing her hand from her thigh she asked, "Do you want something?"
Honestly, she hoped she didn't. She'd prefer it if she was just left alone.
She couldn't deal with what was happening inside. With the Chaotix not recognizing her or Saffron for some reason and her friend just giving up.
But at the same time, she didn't want to be rude to the kid. She didn't deserve that. She didn't know any better.
"I… I think you need to go inside." Cream looked down and said, "Ms. Jewel wants to talk with you and Ms. Saffron about your home."
"Jewel?"
"She's in charge of the Restoration."
"I thought that was Amy."
"Oh, she was! But Ms. Rose let Ms. Jewel be the person in charge after…" Cream was now shaking as she reached up and hugged Cheese. "…After the Metal Virus…"
"Chao-Chao…" The Chao whined while hugging the rabbit back.
She'd seen stuff like this. Especially from the younger members of her people. The kids who weren't handling things well. The ones who would cry and ask for their parents, despite knowing that their parents died in the latest raid or back in the desert.
"Hey." She turned around and put her hand on the rabbit's shoulder. "It's going okay, alright? You've got your mom, right?"
"Y-Yes…"
"And you've got your friends?"
"Yes."
Julie-Su grinned at her. "Plus, I'm here. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. So just trust me when I say that I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."
It's what she told all the kids.
They didn't have to worry about anything. She was a member of the Chaotix. She fought alongside Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna, She was a hero.
And so long as she was there, they'd all be safe. That no matter how scary things got, she'd be the one to fight off the monsters and bring them all back home.
And she kept her promise.
Both to those kids… and to herself.
"But… but what about you?" Cream asked. "You were upset before and…"
"Just adult stuff. Don't worry about it." With that, Julie-Su got up and walked to the back door. She opened it and saw that Saffron and her brainwashed team were sitting in front of a weird portable computer. It was a lot sleeker than anything she saw before, and a part of her wondered if Tails or Rotor made it.
"I'll go out and give you all some privacy." Vanilla walked past Julie-Su with the brown Chao following behind. "Gemerl? Ms. Sticks? Would you mind…?"
The gizoid stared at Julie-Su for a second before nodding and following the adult rabbit. Sticks followed without complaint, but she did have a frown on her face while walking alongside the gizoid. The pink echidna glared at its back while going to the table.
"It wants to spy on us. Report us to the Dark Brotherhood. It's just waiting for an opportunity…"
"Are you Julie-Su?" She turned towards the laptop and saw on the screen a Jeweled Beetle Mobian wearing a pink suit. She was sitting in front of a desk with bags under her eyes, as if she wanted to go to sleep but was forcing herself to stay up. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, I guess." The pink echidna glanced at Saffron, who was sitting down with a frown on her face. She took an empty chair next to the bee and asked, "So who are you?"
"My name is Jewel. I'm the director of the Restoration."
"The newest division of the Freedom Fighters, right?"
"Julie…" Saffron muttered sadly.
She glared at the bee. Why was she treating her like she was crazy or something! The Restoration being a part of the Freedom Fighters made sense!
"…No. No, we're not a part of the Freedom Fighters. Nor are we associated with an organization that has that name."
She stared at the screen for a second before sneering.
"Oh great." She growled. "You're in on this too, huh?"
How many people were in on this sick joke? On this torture of her and Saffron?
How far did this go?!
"I'm not in on anything." Jewel said, a sad frown forming on her face. "It is to my understanding from one of our new members, Sally Acorn, that you come from a world called Mobius."
"We're not 'from a world' called Mobius!" Julie-Su slammed her metal left fist on the table. "We're from this world! This is Mobius!"
Charmy looked like he was about to say something, but Espio clamped his hand over the bee's mouth.
"And… and how could you hear from Sally? Eggman roboticized her! Wait…" She grit her teeth. "Is he the one doing this?!"
"…Yes and no." Jewel sighed and intertwined her fingers in front of her. She chewed on her lip before letting it go. "Ms. Saffron… Ms. Julie-Su is right in a sense. This world was called Mobius once."
The pink echidna's blood ran cold.
"Was called Mobius once?"
"What do you mean by that?" Her friend asked, her eyes wide and confused. "I though… I thought you people call the planet Earth in this Zone!"
"Yeah!" Vector shouted while nodding in agreement. "I may not have been the best student, but I'm pretty sure the planet bein' called something else would've been brought up in history class!"
"That's because, from what I understand from Sally, we never called it that in this timeline." The jeweled beetle looked at Saffron. "Ms. Saffron… she isn't wrong saying that you're from this world. From this planet. From this… Zone, as you call it."
"What's going on?" What was this crazy beetle getting at?
"What do you mean?" A nervous smile spread across Saffron's face. "That… that doesn't make any sense. This can't be Mobius. You… you don't even call it that! Charmy is six here! He's sixteen in our Zone! There's no New Mobotropolis or…"
Jewel closed her eyes, stayed quiet for a few seconds, and then opened them.
"There's no easy way to say this. So… I'll just say it. This is your universe. The world was… rebooted, for lack of a better term, because of the old version of Eggman. The Sonic of the old world stopped the worst of it, but… but it still changed things. To us, this planet was always called Earth, Eggman never controlled the planet for more than six months, there was never an organization known as the Freedom Fighters, and Knuckles was always the last Echidna. I'm sorry, but this isn't an alternate universe. There isn't a 'correct' universe you can return to. This IS your universe."
Julie-Su sat there looking at the screen. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hurl. She wanted to throw insults at the beetle trying to mess with her brain. She wanted to run.
But all she could do was say in a small and quiet voice one word.
"What?"
To Be Continued…
Notes: And once again, what started as an intended two-parter has become a three parter. I think the thing that killed me was wanting to give Saffron some more POV stuff since we didn't have any last chapter. It's… an interesting experience, since we never really got a look into how she felt about her rather crappy situation. Like, imagine you loved someone then all of a sudden they get brain damage. They're mentally a child and sure they remember you but the love's not the same. So you love them and you become their caretaker. But still, imagine what's going through Saffron's head during that whole time.
Then put on top of that being ripped away from your loved one who needs help and needed you.
Anyways, I truly hope I conveyed that in spite of their trauma and experiences, Julie-Su and Saffron are just two good people that were forced into really bad situations. And in spite of that they are STILL good people.
Hope you all enjoyed that.
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