-Chapter 79-

Titans Fall

Techno Tower

Julie-Su was seated in her quarters when the door was suddenly kicked open. She jumped to her feet, turning to see Lien-Da entering with a cold expression on her face.

"The Angel Islander and the other prisoners are all running loose through the tower! What happened, Julie-Su?!"

"They escaped, what do you think?!" Julie snapped. "It's not like I didn't try to stop them!"

"Clearly you didn't, given the fact that you're sitting in your room like some lovestruck teenager instead of trying to find them!"

At the word "lovestruck", Julie-Su went pale. Lien-Da noticed this and her expression went from cold to downright murderous.

"So that's it…" the older Echidna hissed. "You've fallen for the islander, haven't you?"

"No! I-!"

"You let him and his band escape!"

"I'm not-!"

"You betrayed us for an Islander sellout!"

"It wasn't my fault! It was a Soultouch!"

Lien-Da was beyond caring, brandishing her whip at that. Julie-Su scowled.

"Of course you wouldn't listen to me! You never liked me, Lien-Da! Ever since Dad remarried and had me with my mom, you've treated me as anything but family! Honestly, I don't know why I didn't think of leaving the Legion sooner!"

"So you admit it. You would turn your back on the only life you've ever known… all because of one islander..." Lien-Da scoffed. "You're weak, Julie-Su. And the Dark Legion has no place for weakness."

Julie-Su got into a fighting stance. "I'm not just gonna lay down and let you kill me, Lien-Da! You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this!"

"Then bring it on, 'little sister'. I'll relish finally putting you in your place!"

The echidna charged at one another, clashing violently…

-X-

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Kat hurried into the basement, regrouping with the Chaotix.

"We smashed every machine we could get our hands on," Mighty told the pair. "No more Dark Rings, or Mechanauts."

"That's good," Knuckles nodded. "But the Dark Legion is still a threat. We need to get Dr. Ellidy out of here and make sure they can't use the Red Star Ring lake again."

They hurried upstairs, only to hear loud shouts, crashes, and a whip cracking until silence reached their ears. They hid around a corner, looking as Lien-Da exited a nearby room, glaring at the occupant inside.

"No matter what you do for the rest of your life…" she hissed, "you'll always be garbage."

With that, she stormed off, not looking back.

"Sheesh, she must really hate whomever's in there," Vector let out.

"We should check it out," Kat insisted. "Someone could be in trouble."

Knuckles nodded, and the two hurried to the door, opening it and recoiling to see the battered Julie-Su, lying limp on her stomach on her bed. She was covered in whip marks and looked beyond worse for wear..

"Oh, Aurora…" Knuckles managed.

The others approached the door, gasping.

"Hey, it's Knuckles' girlfriend!" Charmy realized.

"That other Echidna did that to her?" Ray questioned. "Oh man..."

"We gotta help her," Mighty said. "We can't just leave her like this. It's not right."

"Uh, need I remind you that she's the reason we're in this mess and attached at the hip?" Vector pointed out.

"Vector, look at her," Espio indicated her injuries. "One of her own comrades just beat her within an inch of her life."

"So?"

"So, if we leave her here, no one will help her and she'll die," Kat declared.

"As my master used to tell me, there is no greater monster than a lack of compassion," Espio added.

"She's coming with us," Knuckles declared, carefully scooping up Julie and arranging her on his back.

Vector sighed in resignation. "Fine. But if she tries to shoot us when she comes to, it's on you, Knuckles."

Before the argument could continue, there was an ominous shaking in the distance.

"Uh-oh…" Charmy let out. "That doesn't sound good."

They hurried to the window, looking out to see Metal, now two stories tall and heading their way. He now resembled his Giga Metal form from the Phantom Ruby incident, but red, yellow, and silver rather than his normal colors. He also had a mouth, bearing razor-sharp fangs, and the intake on his abdomen was now completely yellow. The Link Ring he had on was now resting on his upper arm, Eggatha sitting on his shoulder as he strode towards the tower.

"Metal Sonic?!" Knuckles yelled. "He's already rebooted?!"

"How'd he get so huge?!" Charmy asked.

"The Red Star Ring!" Vector declared. "He must be using it to supercharge himself!"

Both Knuckles and Kat looked at Vector in surprise.

"That… is a surprisingly competent deduction," Kat let out.

"I did tell you he was an ace detective for a reason," Epsio reminded her.

"How are we gonna stop him?" Mighty demanded.

Knuckles furrowed his brow, thinking before an idea came to him.

"The Lake of Rings!" he exclaimed. "If he could power up using a Red Star Ring, then I say we fight fire with fire."

"You mean go Hyper Knuckles on him?" Kat asked. "But we're still attached. Can you even fight as Hyper Knux with me on you?"

"We don't really have a choice, Kat," Knuckles insisted. "We'll find a way."

"Well let's not stand around here flapping our gums, let's go!" Vector shouted.

-X-

As Metal reached the tower, Kragok and Lien-Da came out, looking up at him.

"Metal Sonic?!" Kragok exclaimed.

"No," Metal replied. "Titan Metal Sonic. Reborn and stronger than ever thanks to the power of the Red Star Ring."

"Hi Kragok!" Eggatha waved from Titan Metal's shoulders. "Hey, I have a question! How do you remove Link Rings? I'm kinda stuck!"

"Not now, Agatha," Metal told her. "That Link Ring is what's keeping you secured to my shoulder, so it stays for now."

"Metal, you traitor!" Lien-Da shouted. "We had a deal! A sharing of resources, of Robotnik's support!"

"Mobius is ours, you fool!" Metal shot back. "You think we're going to share it?! You and your Legion were simple pawns! Nothing more, nothing less!"

Lien-Da remembered Mighty's words from before.

"You don't work with Eggman, you work for him."

Lien-Da gritted her teeth in rage. "You lied to us… you tricked us…"

"And you bought it," Metal boasted. "Puppets that can no longer be used are mere garbage… and it's time to cut your strings."

His chest intake began glowing, powering up a laser to obliterate the tower before Eggatha tapped his shoulder, getting his attention as she looked down at something else.

"Look, it's the others!" she told him, pointing down at Team Chaotix and co. as they rushed away from the tower. "They're not headed for the pier. I think they're going back to the Botanic Base, and the Lake of Rings there."

Metal powered down his laser at that, looking at Lien-Da and Kragok. "It seems I have other priorities to take care of at the moment. You and your Legion will live a little longer. After all, dealing with your attempts to take the world from Dr. Robotnik will make for an amusing little diversion and keep us on our toes."

With that, Metal turned away, stomping in the direction of the Botanic Base.

Botanic Base

Knuckles, Kat, and the Chaotix hurried to Ellidy's lab, throwing it open. Much to their relief, Ellidy was alive and unharmed, albeit a little shaken.

"Doc!" Vector shouted. "You alright?"

"No, I'm not. I gave that monster a Red Star Ring… that poor child..."

"You mean Eggatha?" Knuckles asked, getting a nod. "Uh, Doc, that girl wasn't a hostage. Metal Sonic's basically her bodyguard."

"Yeah, she's Eggman's niece," Kat added.

Now Ellidy looked less shaken and more shocked and horrified. He facepalmed at that.

"I'm a fool…" he let out.

"Hey, it's alright, you didn't know," Mighty insisted. "Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Besides, you can still help us," Espio insisted.

"First off," Knuckles interjected, laying Julie-Su down on one of the lab tables. "Do you have any normal Power Rings I can use?"

Ellidy nodded, looking through his lab before managing to find one. He took it and held it out, Knuckles picking it up and holding it over Julie-Su.

"Time to wake up," he insisted. "Heal…"

The Power Ring bathed Julie-Su in its glow, closing up her wounds. She let out a low groan, her eyes slowly opening. Knuckles smirked at her as she sat up, rubbing her head.

"What… how am I-?"

"Not dead?" Knuckles finished. "We found you after Lien-Da finished her work. Couldn't exactly leave you there, especially since you giving us that headstart was clearly why you ended up like that."

"You… saved me?" Julie-Su asked, looking herself over.

"I said we should leave you," Vector insisted, getting an elbow from Espio.

"That's not how we do things," Kat snapped. "No one gets left behind. That's our rule."

"So what're you gonna do now, Julie?" Charmy asked. "You're not gonna go back to those big meanies in the Dark Legion, are ya?"

Julie-Su scoffed at the idea.

"If I did, I'd be signing my own death warrant. The way I see it, if I want to live, I stick with you."

"Fair assumption," Knuckles agreed.

"I do hate to interrupt," Dr. Ellidy spoke up, looking out the window of his lab, "but that metal monstrosity is on its way here."

"Crap!" Ray let out. "Doc, where's the Lake of Rings?"
Ellidy blinked. "The Lake of Rings?"

"The only way we're stopping him is if we fight fire with fire," Knuckles told him. "We need another Red Star Ring."

"Of course, follow me."

-X-

Ellidy led them outside the base and into the woods, soon coming across the Lake of Rings. Everyone gathered on the shores, watching the water and waiting. As they did, Julie-Su looked among the group before seemingly coming to a decision. She reached over for Knuckles, taking his hand in hers before fiddling with the Link Ring on his wrist. There was a slight spark from her metal hand, and the ring fell away.

"You may be good with this Link Ring in a fight, but I get the feeling you'll need both hands free for this battle."

Knuckles rubbed his now free wrist, while Julie-Su went to free the others. All of the Link Rings dropped to the ground, everyone rubbing their wrists and enjoying free movement once more. Ellidy scooped up the Link Rings, sliding them into his lab coat.

"They might come in handy one day," he justified. "Waste not, want not."

At that very moment, a red glow came from the waters of the lake. They watched in bated breath as a Red Star Ring emerged. Knuckles snatched it out of midair, his fist glowing brightly. A golden bubble of energy then extended outward, surrounding his fist before extending to swallow his entire body.

"Not as strong as Hyper, but it'll do," he remarked.

"What can we do?" Vector asked.

"Find a way to ensure this Lake can't be used again," Knuckles answered. "It's too dangerous." He turned to Ellidy at that. "Sorry to ruin your research, Doc, but it's the truth. Better to take out the rings than let people like Eggman or the Legion use them for evil."

"You will hear no complaint from me, dear boy," Ellidy assured. "Just stop that monster before anyone gets hurt."

At that very moment, several trees were ripped out of the ground. Metal glared down at them as he threw one aside.

"There you are…" the giant robot growled.

"Hello, tin can," Knuckles replied. "Ready to return to the scrap heap?"

He began lifting off the ground, cracking his knuckles as he rose to eye level with the titanic mech. Metal snatched him out of the air, holding him between two fingers.

"You are a pest, and deserve to be crushed like one!" he shouted before trying to squash Knuckles between his thumb and index finger. Knuckles threw out both hands, pushing against the force. He then flew at Titan Metal's face, punching as hard as he could and sending the bot back a step.

"Well, this 'pest' isn't going down without a fight!" Knuckles declared. "You really think bigger is better, eh? Well, you already tried that shtick with the Phantom Ruby, and you still lost!"

Metal rubbed his nose, scowling.

-X-

Meanwhile, down below, the Chaotix, Kat, and Julie-Su were trying to figure out how to destroy the lake.

"What're we gonna do?" Charmy asked. "Get a big heat lamp and dry up the water?"

"There's no time to wait for the water to evaporate, even if we did have a heat lamp," Julie-Su pointed out.

Vector looked around the lake, his eyes eventually drifting to a rocky cliff that surrounded half of it.

"What about a big rock slide?" he suggested.

Everyone else looked up at the rocks, seeing what he was suggesting.

"That could work," Espio admitted.

"Mighty, we need to get to smashing," Kat insisted.

"After you," Mighty replied, gesturing to the cliff.

Kat grinned, then jumped up onto the cliff, scaling it and punching through the rock at weak points. Mighty did the same from the foot, the entire cliffside beginning to crumble and collapse. Kat lost her grip and began falling as well. Espio ran in, sliding and catching her before she hit the ground. Kat let out a breath, turning to her rescuer.

"Thanks," she said.

"Get back!" Ray shouted. "The cliff's coming down!"

Everyone retreated as the cliff completely crumbled, burying the lake under tons of rock and dirt.

"That oughta do it," Julie-Su declared.

"Now we just need to wait and see how Knuckles handles Metal," said Kat.

"Do you think he stands a chance?" Charmy questioned.

Kat grinned. "Absolutely."

-X-

Knuckles was flying around Metal, dodging the Titan's attempts to catch him.

"You were faster when you were smaller!" he taunted.

"Silence, you gnat!" Metal shouted. "I will squash you, and send your splattered remains to Sonic!"

Knuckles kept flying around, surveying the giant bot until his eyes fell on the intake in his chest.

"The ring's gotta be in there," he deduced.

He dove for the intake, his fist out as he let out a war cry. Metal moved his arms to shield himself, but was too slow. Knuckles plowed through him, coming out with the Red Star Ring in hand.

"No!" Metal shouted, his body beginning to contort and shrink.

"Whoa!" Eggatha shrieked. "Metal!"

As he grew smaller, Eggatha slipped off his shoulder. Metal quickly dove for her. He caught her, rolling so he took the brunt of the impact as they fell. Knuckles crushed the Red Star Ring in his hands before descending on the pair.

"Get lost," he ordered. "You're not welcome here anymore."

Metal punched the ground in a rage. "How could I lose to the likes of you again?!"

"You fight because you're programmed to. Because you're forced to," Knuckles replied. "We fight because we choose to."

"And we choose vengeance!"

The three turned, seeing Kragok and Lien-Da approaching and out for blood.

"Oh yeah, you," Knuckles cracked his knuckles. "Lien-Da, right? So what does that make you?"

"That's Kragok," Eggatha replied. "He's their grand poobah or whatever."

"Grandmaster to you, brat!" Kragok snapped.

Eggatha glared at him, crossing her arms as best she could.

"I don't like you…" she hissed.

With that, Knuckles scowled at Lien-Da.

"You'll pay for what you did to Julie-Su," he spat. "There was no reason for that!"

"Cowards and traitors like her deserve no second thought," Lien-Da said flippantly. "Only their complete annihilation."

Eggatha looked at Knuckles, then at Lien-Da. Her gaze hardened.

"Metal, we're leaving," she declared, her voice shockingly cold. "There's nothing for us here anymore."

"We can't go back to the doctor with nothing, Agatha," Metal pointed out.

"Then we'll take one of the Legionnaires for interrogation," Eggatha decided, pointing right at Lien-Da. "That one."

Before anyone could react, Metal darted forward, grabbing Lien-Da by the throat and arm with both hands.

"Take your stinking paws off me, you junk pile!" Lien-Da demanded.

Eggatha clambered onto Metal's back. "Let's go, Metal. Uncle Ivo's waiting."

Lien-Da looked to Kragok, who stood there and did nothing as they flew away.

"Kragok!" she screamed. "You dirty bastard!"

Knuckles watched the trio fly off, then turned to Kragok.

"You sick, cold-hearted bastard," he spat. "You didn't even try to help your Kommissar."

"I'm beyond caring by this point," Kragok shot back. "Just take your friends and get off my island."

He growled and marched off, flipping his cloak dramatically as he did. Knuckles watched him go, then flew back towards the lake.

-X-

"Way to go, Knux!" Kat cheered as Knuckles landed.

"Glad to see you pulled off your part," Knuckles noted as he surveyed the rockslide and the buried lake.

"Didn't even break a sweat!" Vector boasted.

"Because you didn't do anything," Charmy said.

"Well, now that that's done, I'd say it's time to leave the island," Ellidy cut in.

Some time later, they piled into the tugboat. Ellidy fiddled with the radio, trying to call someone.

"Try frequency 06-23-91 (1)," Knuckles suggested. "It's the Freedom Fighter's emergency frequency."

Ellidy nodded, tuning into that frequency.

"S.O.S. coming from the Isolated Island," he said. "This is Dr. Ellidy speaking. Can anyone read me?"

"Dr. Ellidy, this is Princess Sally Acorn," came Sally's voice. "What's your situation?"

"Your friend Knuckles just saved me from evil forces here," Ellidy answered. "We need a ride off the island."

"10-4," Sally replied. "We'll be en route soon. And Dr. Ellidy? It's good to hear from you again."

-X-

It wasn't long before the Freedom Fighter Special flew in, coming in for a landing near the pier. As the door opened and the walkway extended, Sonic appeared, leaning against the wall.

"Somebody call for a taxi?" he quipped.

"Sonic!" Mighty and Ray called out.

"Good to see you again, Sonic," Vector greeted. "Nice duds."

Sonic looked at Vector, then at Espio and Charmy before recognition dawned.

"Oh, right! The Chaotix Detective Agency. I remember you now. Been sometime."

"Yeah it has," Vector agreed, "but let's save the gabbing for after we put our tailfins between this island and us."

Everyone began climbing onboard, Knuckles and Kat boarding last. Things were a little tense until Knuckles spoke up.

"You look better," the echidna admitted.

"Thanks," Sonic answered. "Dr. Sorders has been a big help. But I gotta ask one question: why didn't you guys come get my help with this?

"This was more of a personal matter," Knuckles replied. "An old enemy of my clan, the Dark Legion. We had it handled."

Julie-Su let out a small snort from inside the Special as Knuckles turned red.

"Hey, we did!"

"That's not what I remember."

"Hey, we escaped, we destroyed your Mechanauts, and saved your life! I call that handled!"

"You were running around, handcuffed like you were in a chain gang."

"So what?! We still won!"

"Oookay…" Sonic let out. "Who's the chick?"

"That's Julie-Su," Kat introduced. "Knuckles' soulmate."

A dead silence followed at that, only being broken by Keith's confused "Say what?"

"Yeah, apparently Echidnas are so battle oriented that nature gave them something called a Soultouch so that when they meet their destined soulmate, they know. And Julie-Su is Knuckles'."

"You…" Sonic looked between the two Echidnas. "You and her… together?"

He suddenly collapsed to the ground, laughing uproariously.

"Hey, shut up!" Knuckles snapped, turning even redder in the face.

Sonic did no such thing, laughing even harder as tears came to his eyes.

"So, this is the big hero Sonic," Julie-Su noted. "He's not what I expected."

"He's a friend," Kat told her. "One of the best actually. Everyone on this ship owes him their lives."

"I see," Julie-Su replied, looking down at her hand. "So, you trust him. You care for him."

"Yeah, we do," Kat replied. "Maybe in time, you can feel the same about Knuckles, and maybe even me. I know this isn't gonna be easy for you, and I'm pretty sure Locke's gonna have an aneurysm, but we'll have your back."

Little by little, Sonic got himself under control. It was at that moment that Ellidy took notice of Nicole, standing beside Sally. The Holo-lynx was staring at Ellidy, looking surprised.

"Dr. Ellidy, it's good to see you again."

"Nicole, it's been some time," Ellidy replied.

Knuckles looked between the two, whistling slightly.

"Wow, they look so eerily similar, it's uncanny."

"Of course I do. I am the remnants of his daughter after all."

They all turned to her in shock, none more so than Ellidy. He blinked, looking at her.

"You… you remember?"

"After my holo-form was reintroduced and I began to experience life once more, old archive files began to surface. Files of my life… as Nikki."

"Wait…" Rotor cut in. "So, Nicole is your daughter's virtual ghost or something?"

"It's best to start at the beginning," Ellidy said, sitting down. "My daughter Nikki was the light of my life, and had the potential to be what I am now in half the time. She won a science fair at Empire City, and was the one who convinced me to make the Mobotropolis Grand Archive available to the public. Then… she fell ill."

Everyone fell silent, listening to Dr. Ellidy's tale. Nicole went and sat next to the doctor, placing a hand on his back in a comforting manner. He looked up at her, steeling himself before continuing.

"I was desperate to find a cure, to save her life, but no medicine worked..." he turned his gaze to Sonic. "So, I turned to Sir Charles, and his greatest invention."

Sonic perked.

"The Roboticizer…" he realized. "Uncle Chuck came up with the idea to try to save your daughter, didn't he?"

"Yes, but it was flawed, and I did not wish such a fate on my only child. So, I created my own device: the Digitizer."

"What's that do?" Tails asked.

"It uploads the user's mind and consciousness into cyberspace," Ellidy replied. "I uploaded Nikki's brainwaves and consciousness into the system, trying to preserve her as an AI. At first, I thought the attempt was a failure when the resulting AI responded with no emotion and noted that she had no designation. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to delete her, and passed her on to Princess Sally when I retired."

"Why'd you name her Nicole?" Amy questioned Sally. "Is it just a coincidence?"

"It was my dad's suggestion," Sally replied. "After a past queen of the House of Acorn."

"I am happy with my designation, my chance to be part of the Freedom Fighters, and the opportunity to remember my old life," Nicole spoke up. "It was due to my interactions with all of you that my memories and emotions were able to develop and resurface."

"To think that's all you needed…" Ellidy turned to Nicole, sighing. "Nicole… forgive your foolish creator for casting you aside. If I had just tried harder, gotten to actually know you…"

Nicole cut him off with a hug.

"Like I said, being with the Freedom Fighters helped me out either way," she assured. "I don't hate you or blame you for that… Daddy."

Ellidy froze for a brief moment, then he buried his face in her shoulder and held her. Everyone watched the reunion, smiling happily. Sonic wiped a small tear from his eye as he and Sally held hands. Julie-Su watched them with mild envy, wringing her hands. As this went on, Knuckles turned to Team Chaotix.

"Y'know, we made a pretty good team out there," he admitted. "I couldn't have taken out the Legion's operations without you."

"Eh, all in a day's work," Vector replied.

"This was more than detective work, Vector," Espio insisted. "We made a difference today, fighting for more than just a paycheck."

"Yeah, we were heroes!" Charmy declared. "I wanna do it again!"

Sonic thought for a minute before approaching them.

"Maybe you can," he began. "There's always room for more Freedom Fighters. What do you say?"

"Why join another group when we can start our own?" Charmy suggested, turning to the other Chaotix members. "Team Chaotix, a Freedom Fighter group! What do you guys think?"

"Sounds like fun," Mighty declared. "I'm in."

"If Mighty's in, so am I!" Ray declared.

"What about you two?" Espio questioned, turning to Knuckles and Kat.

The two exchanged looks, thinking.

"Our own team," Knuckles mused. "Honestly, sounds like fun."

"I would like to get to know the team better, and I know I could learn a thing or two from Espio," Kat admitted. "But where would they stay? I mean, Knothole's getting kinda crowded, and there's no way Locke would let them stay in Echidnaopolis. He barely tolerates my presence."

"Angel Island's a big place, isn't it?" Charmy asked. "We could always find somewhere else on there."

Knuckles thought about it for a bit.

"Well… We could set you up with a headquarters near Azure Lake. It's always been neutral ground, so my dad can't complain about non-echidna setting up shop there."

"Of course, I'm still keeping our detective agency open," Vector cut in. "Being a hero's good, but it doesn't put money in the bank or food on the table."

"You know our money situation wouldn't be so bad if you didn't keep doing charitable jobs free of charge," Espio pointed out.

"Hey! I can't just turn away a client in need! It goes against my principles!"

They laughed at that, before Sonic turned to Knuckles and Kat.

"So, moving on from us, eh?" he teased. "Tired of Knothole already?"

"Nah, we're still part of the Knothole faction," Knuckles insisted. "Chaotix will be our personal reserves."

"Yeah, don't think you're getting rid of us that easily, Sonic," Kat ribbed.

Sonic chuckled at that, smiling.

"And what about her?" he asked, gesturing to Julie-Su, "What's gonna happen to her?"

Knuckles let out a long breath, rubbing his face.

"That… I'll have to take up with my father..."

Echidnaopolis

As they docked on Angel Island, the Chaotix departed to Azure Lake to begin building their new base as Knuckles and Kat took Julie-Su to the shrine, where Locke was waiting. He stood there, his arms folded as he gave them a cold stare.

"Dad…" Knuckles began, "I can explain everything."

"Yes," Locke nodded. "Please explain why you brought a Dark Legionnaire to our island!"

Julie-Su flinched at the harsh tone, noting several echidna guards surrounding the trio, their spears aimed right at her.

"Believe it or not, it was the Soultouch," Knuckles admitted. "Dad… Julie-Su is my life partner. She helped us escape."

Locke sputtered in absolute disbelief.

"You… this… WHAT?!"

"It's true!" Knuckles insisted. "And her own comrades beat her senseless and left her to die for it! What was I supposed to do, leave her to bleed out?"

"She's a Legionnaire! Our sworn enemy!"

"I want nothing to do with them anymore!" Julie-Su piped up. "Please… they'll kill me if I go back. I've got nowhere else to go."

"Whatever happens, I'll take full responsibility," Knuckles assured.

Locke looked at Julie-Su, then at Knuckles. He let out a very long breath, pinching the bridge of his snout.

"Your propensity for bringing home strays will be the death of me..." he gave in. "Fine. But I warn you, one slip-up, one step backward… she gives me even one reason to believe she's a threat or still with the Legion, I won't hesitate to cast her off the island."

"I swear, I won't do anything to harm your people," Julie-Su promised. "All I want is to live."

Locke shot her a look before turning to Knuckles.

"She stays in Echidnaopolis for now," he told his son. "Consider this her probation."

"Well, at least you're not throwing her to the Devil Dogs," Knuckles replied.

The guards took Julie-Su by the arm, escorting her off. Kat gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about all this."

"I expected nothing less," Julie-Su replied. "I will earn my place here, as you did."

As they departed, Knuckles sighed, a hand to his chest as he turned to Kat.

"Well… that went better than I expected."

Robotropolis

Meanwhile, Eggatha and Metal had returned to Robotropolis. Metal dumped the captive Lien-Da at the doctor's feet.

"And who is this?" Robotnik asked.

"A prisoner," Metal replied. "A wealth of useful information for us."

"And a really nasty echidna I really wanna play with," Eggatha added.

Lien-Da looked up, seeing Robotnik.

"So I finally meet the big bad Dr. Robotnik in person," she mused. "I was expecting someone a little less… buffoonish-looking."

Robotnik scowled, and Metal smacked Lien-Da hard with his free claw.

"How dare you address Dr. Robotnik in such a manner!"

Lien-Da scoffed, rubbing her head.

"This Echidna girl is part of a group called the Dark Legion," Eggatha told her uncle. "They were on Isolated Island before we showed up, and from what we can gather, their technological prowess rivals our own."

She then held up her hand, revealing the Link ring still attached to her wrist.

"They even made these! They're made from Power Rings, and I've tried everything I can think of to remove it and I can't."

Robotnik nodded before looking at Lien-Da. "Remove those rings from my niece and robot, immediately."

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I will ensure you suffer until you beg for the opportunity to do so, just for a break from the pain."

For emphasis, Robotnik removed his glove, revealing his cybernetic arm, the finger laser prepped and glowing. Self-preservation kicked in, and Lien-Da fiddled with the rings for a minute until they snapped open and dropped to the ground. Eggatha scooped them up, then grabbed Lien-Da's metal hand.

"Oh! A key in your finger! Awesome! Metal, remove the finger please."

Lien-Da panicked as Metal approached and she quickly popped the key out of her finger, handing it over.

"Here, just take it."

"Awww," Eggatha pouted as she took the key. "I wanted to see if your implants were connected to your nervous system."

Lien-Da glared at her. "Impudent brat. The difference between your cute voice and appearance and such talk... I find it quite vexing. One day, I promise I shall reign over you."

"There's only room for one ruler of Mobius, my dear," Robotnik cut in. "And that ruler is going to be me."

Metal took the opportunity to slap the Link Rings on Lien-Da, cuffing her hands together.

"Now, take her away," Robotnik ordered. "Let's find out everything we can about this Dark Legion she comes from… and those implants."

Eggatha grinned, rubbing her hands together.

"This is gonna be fun," she giggled. "Come on Metal! I need to get my lab ready! Do you remember where I put my dissection kit?"

Despite herself, Lien-Da went pale as she was led away. Nonetheless, she kept up a brave face.

"Enjoy this while you can, little girl," she growled. "When I get out of here, you'll rue the day you crossed Lien-Da!"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah. Let's go!"

"Don't go too crazy, Agatha!" Robotnik called after her. "We do need her alive for questioning."

"Okay Uncle Ivo!"

They headed off, the door closing behind the trio as Robotnik was left to stew on this new discovery.

"So, there are others who seek to take Mobius for themselves… no matter. Mobius is mine to rule, and I will crush anyone who stands in my way."

Author's Note:

(1): The release date of the original Sonic game on Genesis.

Well, Lien-Da's in a tight spot, isn't she? But she'll bounce back sooner or later.

In the meantime, we've discovered Nicole's full origin, Julie-Su has defected from the Dark Legion, and the Chaotix have become Knuckles' personal Freedom Fighter faction like in the comics. Stay tuned…

Please R&R. Until next time!