#dark mobius

The thought of raising a puggle with this man who was so willing to resort to violence, it terrified her. Of course, she knew in her heart that he would never harm her, or their child; she could see it in his eyes that he was devoted to her. His love was unending; as was hers. As it was, however, it was impossible to acknowledge the growing resentment for the world that took over his heart and mind. She found herself unable to call him by his name - it was as if somebody else had taken over. She knew this man by one name, now… Enerjak.

And now, in the middle of the night, she found herself on the surface - one last chance, one last hope, one last place. She had nothing else left. Knuckles was the only one who had made her feel like anything other than the Soldier she was brought up to be - now, without him… What else was left, other than to secure a future for herself, for her puggle?

She was aware that the largest settlement was a large fortress in the Acorn Kingdom; the Chaotix had invited her a long time ago. Espio had slipped into her room late one evening; one last-ditch effort.. She had wondered then what they were seeing, that they were insane as to not trust Knuckles. She had blamed them for tearing them all apart. Though, one thought in particular lingered in her mind now; she had kept this meeting a secret, as if she had already accepted it,  deep down…

She felt sick to her stomach. How could she face them now? For every part that felt deceived, there was another that hurt even more - it was that she knew that she was following his side willingly. She knew that she was selfish, that she acted in her own best interest. How could they ever forgive her? She didn’t even forgive herself. She stared at the great drawbridge, not making an effort either way as to enter, or abscond.

Inside of the fortress, pandemonium was brewing. The guards had long since alerted the solitary Queen as to the threat lingering outside. Enerjak was a growing threat, one that they had been preparing for heavily. And here, now, was his life partner, unannounced. Her presence alone had set the sleepy fortress town to their stations, ready for the worst. Except, the worst wasn’t coming - it had been over an hour since she had crossed the horizon; surely, if she had any nefarious motives, she would have shown any inclination of them by now. 

By the front gates, heavy debates as to who might be the one to investigate were taking place; all of their threats thus far had been simple. Smash it, deceive it, ignore it - never just… Talk to it.

It was hurting Queen Sally to even consider this girl as a threat; they once had a friendship, as unlikely as it seemed. It felt odd to her to consider those times as ‘simpler’ - but it did almost feel as such; one solitary threat, even if it had many writhing arms from all angles. Talking had to be the first step; she owed it to her to try. It only made it harder, that their strongest opposing force was vehemently against her doing just that. Sonic stood in front of her, arms crossed. “No way, no how, Sal. I ain’t letting you go out there on your own.” He shook his head, doing this dance with her - he wouldn’t let her pass. “And I’m not letting you try any kind of negotiating.” Sally squinted, rolling her neck. “Sonic… I can handle myself out there. We need to know what she wants… Somebody who can talk to her.”

“Oh, I’ve got some choice words for that girl, alright.” From the crowd emerged none other than Vector. Following behind was a hurried Espio and Charmy, holding him by the arms. Vector seemed oddly stoic and silent - a stark difference from his usual self.

Espio jerked him back, to little avail. “Vector, don’t. It’s not worth it.” He signalled to Mighty, who was now hurrying over with Ray in tow.

The crowds cleared around them, settling down; it was the least they could all do. Anybody not living under a rock was aware of their significance; her old team members. Once upon a time, they seemed unbreakable, inseparable… It was a dark sign when The Chaotix had turned up to the fortress, sans two echidnas.

Sally hated to admit it; they were her best option. She held the bridge of her nose, running it through her mind. “Open the gates.” She sounded dire as she gestured to the men standing guard, staring at the ragtag group in front of her. “Do not mess this up.” She knew, deep down, that she owed this confrontation to them, too. It was their right; she just hoped that it was the right call.

“Nice one, Sal.” Sonic winked; much too jovial for such a tragic situation. He turned to The Chaotix, folding his arms and rocking on the balls of his feet. “I’ll hang back, scope out for ole ‘Rad Red’... Just in case.”

“Thank you, Queen Sally, Sonic… But, are you sure?” Espio looked from them, to Mighty and Charmy, who were still fighting against the croc.

Vector shook his head, trying to power through. “She said what she said, good ‘nuff for me! Let. Me. At. Her.”

“Are we really doing this..?” Mighty looked helplessly at Sally, who simply nodded. He gulped, releasing his grip, all of them following in tow behind the unrelenting Vector as the drawbridge lowered itself. Chk-chk-chk-THOOM.

There, across the way, the two parties stood in standstill. Vector stoically put his head up, silent. Julie-Su stared directly at him, equally silent.

Waiting.

The rest of The Chaotix looked at each other nervously as Vector set off towards her; it was only a short distance, but it felt like it took decades. None of them knew what to expect, they only knew that whatever was about to happen, it had to come from Vector. None of them were sure they would have the right words, anyways…

“Julie-Su.” Vector spoke in a quiet, serious voice; one which certainly didn’t sound like it belonged to him. Julie-Su couldn’t parse his emotions at all, but she had a sense that she knew what was about to happen. She deserved it; for once, she’d have no qualms about his hatred towards her. She stared into his eyes, tired, waiting. She relayed his call; “Vector.” Her voice was exhausted and defeated in its tone.

They stared in silence; the whole world seemed to go quiet, watching with bated breath. Then, finally, just like that - it happened.

Vector lurched forwards, scooping the girl up into a hug, suddenly sobbing out - “WE MISSED YOU, GIRL! What were you thinkin’?! You’re coming back to join us, right?!” She gasped as he jolted her around, surprising herself with a laugh. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she had done that. “AUGH! Vector! Get OFF of me, you big lug!” She pushed his great crocodilian muzzle away, wrestling against him. He put her down; she touched safe ground, biffing his nose gently. “Of course I’m coming back to join you, ya glorified handbag..” she paused, getting silent once more. “If you’ll even want me back.”