The Legend Of The White Tiger
By Lil Espio


“Where am I?” Fleia asked, sitting up. She realized she was in a cage. She stood quickly, only to cause herself to get dizzy and fall to her knees rubbing her head. She grasped the side of the cage and stood slowly. She knew she must’ve been drugged. How long has she been here? Better yet, where was she before this stupid situation. She realized she lost her memory. A screen lowered from the roof and stopped in front of her.

“About time you’ve awaking.” A voice said. Dr. Robotnic came onto the screen. “Let’s see, what do we have about you? Oh, here it is. You are the last of your kind. A white tiger, height unknown, weight unknown. Name is Fleia Trion. Well, well.” He said. “Time for an experiment.” He said. A needle came from the roof, filled with a green liquid. An echidna of some kind walked in, arms crossed. He was half robot.

“Robotnic, what do you think you’ll accomplish testing on her?” He asked.

“Can the small talk, Dimitri. I’m going to she what makes her tick!” Dr. Robotnic said. The needle was in attacking range. Fleia swung her tail, breaking the needle into pieces. She jumped to the other side of the cage and pulled hard on the bars, trying to shake them loose. No luck. As more needles came down, she broke them all.

“I will not be an experiment! You’ll just have to suffer!” She shouted.


Meanwhile, the Chaotix were having a picnic. Ray was trying to carry Mighty while he flew for some fun. Vector was listening to his music, ignoring Julie – su who was scolding him for taking a cookie before desert. Knuckles and Espio left for a walk together.

“Man! Vector isn’t even bothered by what Julie – su is saying!” Knuckles said, looking back. Espio laughed.

“He’s not even listening! Look at him nodding his head, he’s listening to music lowly!” Espio laughed. They both laughed and walked down the path. Suddenly, when they both were silent, the ground had a tremor.

“What the heck?” Knuckles asked.

“Holy -!” Espio shouted as the ground caved in and they began to fall. Espio grabbed Knuckles ankle and Knuckles switched to gliding mode. They landed softly. They looked up and saw the hole they fell through close up.

“Terrific!” Knuckles muttered. Espio looked around.

“Hey, this place looks familiar.” He said. Knuckles also looked around. They both recognized the place now. It was the place where Knuckles saved Espio from Robotnic a few years back.

“Wasn’t this place on the planet, not the island?” Knuckles asked. Espio nodded.

“Well, let’s check this thing out. Be quiet and follow close.” Espio said, preparing to go invisible. Knuckles sighed and walked down the hall.

“Great, following something you can’t see!” He muttered. He continued to walk down the hall until he hit something. Espio came back into view with his hand out to stop Knuckles.

“Shush! I hear voices.” He said. They both listened quietly and peeked from the corner.

“You can’t win!” Dr. Robotnic shouted. They say a white tiger jump backward and nearly got hit by a laser.

“Who says I’m losing!” She shouted. Suddenly, a laser shot her in the back. She screamed out and fell to the ground unconscious. Dimitri laughed.

“Ha! It took you long enough! I’ll go get the preparations for the experiment.” He said, walking down another hall. Espio’s eyes turned to anger.

“Experiment?” He growled. “Stay here, I’ll handle this. Cover me!” He said, going invisible. Knuckles nodded and peeked over the corner. Espio jumped onto the cage and grasped the lock in his hands. Robotnic saw the lock rise on it’s own.

“What in blazes?” He asked. Espio came into view after kicking the lock off and lifted the cage. He jumped inside and grabbed Fleia, picking her up. “You! That little test that got out years back! Now you’ll pay!” He shouted. Espio smiled and prepared to jump out.

“In yer dreams!” Espio shouted. As Espio jumped up, the cage fell down, hitting Espio in the head and knocked him to the ground. Espio stood again and realized that the cage was locked. “Oh no.” He muttered. Knuckles ran in.

“Let them go!” He shouted. He slammed his fist into the bars, breaking two of them. Espio grabbed Fleia and ran out of the cage. Dr. Robotnic shouted out.

“Not you again! Dimitri! Your nephew is here!” He shouted. A door opened and Dimitri walked into the room.

“Knuckles.” He growled. He ran at Knuckles, preparing to fight. “You’ll pay!” He shouted. Espio shoved Knuckles to the side, away from Dimitri.

“Let’s get going!” He shouted. They ran down the hall with Dimitri on their heels.

“How are we going to get out?” Knuckles asked.

“Up!” Espio said. He jumped onto the wall and started running up. Knuckles stabbed his fist into the metal and began climbing up. Dimitri stopped and jumped at them, barley missing Knuckles. Espio got to where the hole was. He stood on the roof and jumped on it, the hole opened up and they jumped out, allowing it to close behind them. Panting, they both looked at Fleia, who was still unconscious. Espio picked her up and they walked back to the picnic site.


“-And further more, are you listening to me?” Julie – su shouted. Vector just nodded his head, not even knowing what she said. Ray dropped Mighty on accident.

“Look out!” He shouted, flying back down to catch Mighty.

“Whoa!” Mighty shouted. He landed on his feet, but leaned forward, causing himself to roll down the hill toward Julie – su and Vector. Julie – su was ready to slap Vector, but saw Mighty and jumped out of the way. Vector looked up and before her could move, Mighty ran into him. They both fell forward and laid on the ground in pain. Vector moaned and turned off his headphones.

“What’s with the rollin’ stones?” He asked, sitting up and rubbing his head. Mighty moaned and sat up.

“Sorry man, last minute resort.” He said, pointing to Ray who landed next to Julie – su. Vector was about to shout at Ray when Mighty pointed to Knuckles and Espio. “Here they come!” He shouted. Everyone looked and saw Espio carrying Fleia. They jumped up and ran to the two.

“What happened?” Julie – su asked.

“Who’s she?” Vector asked, pointing to Fleia.

“Did you guys get into trouble?” Ray asked.

“Are you guys okay?” Mighty asked. They all started talking at the same time. Finally, Espio ended up shouting.

“Will you guys talk one at a time?” He shouted out. He pushed his way past everyone and placed Fleia to lean on a tree. Julie – su knelt beside Fleia.

“What happened?” She asked. Knuckles decided to talk after glancing Espio’s look in his eyes.

“Robotnic and Dimitri are on the island. They tried to use her as an experiment.” Knuckles explained.

“Poor thing!” Julie – su said in sympathetic. She ran to the picnic basket and pulled out a towel and wetted it in the stream. She came back and dabbed Fleia’s head.

“How did you guys find them?” Vector asked. Espio sighed.

“We fell through a hole not far from here. My best idea is to get as far away from here before something else happens.” He said as he started to pick up Fleia. Vector stopped him.

“Yo man, you rest a bit. I’ll carry her fer a few.” He offered.

“Vector?” Ray said in shock.

“Offering to carry a girl?” Mighty said in shock. Both of the two acted like they fainted. Everyone but Vector laughed.

“Quiet! She’s not any girl!” He hissed. He picked Fleia up. “She’s an old friend of mine.” He said. Might and Ray sat up.

“Old friend?” Mighty asked.

“You know her?” Espio asked.

“Yep. I’ll explain later. Let’s just scat before Eggman attacks!” He said. They all agreed. Julie – su and Knuckles packed and they set off. Later, they arrived at the nearest house, Mighty’s. After the climb, Vector laid Fleia on Mighty’s couch. Julie – su sat next to her in a chair with a bowl of water and a towel that she kept on Fleia’s head.

“Okay croc, explain.” Espio said, sitting down at the table in the next room. They left the door open so Julie – su could hear.

“Alright. But you better listen good ‘cause I’m only saying this once!” Vector warned.

“Okay.” Ray said. Vector cleared his throat.

“It all started when I was about 13. My folks and me were moving away from our original swap lands to the ones Knuckles found me. On the way, we were attacked by that good fer nothin’ Fang! He chased us into the forest but I was separated from my folks. After searching, I sat on a log to rest. The log broke and I fell into a tunnel. I landed in a jungle below a cliff. I looked around shocked. I mean this place was huge! It was like looking at, oh I don’t know, a mountain of treasure. That was how cool this place looked.” Vector explained. Ray was at the edge of his seat, interesting in the story.

“Wow! I need to visit that place.” Ray said. Vector looked at Ray.

“Any how, all of a sudden, a white tiger attacks me from behind, knocking me to the ground. She stood on a tree branch, growling at me. I stood up and looked at her. She didn’t move, but I did. Not knowing what I was up against, I ran. She threw some stick that stabbed right at my feet, stopping me. She walked up to me, before she made a move to attack; I hit her with the back of my fist, knocking her down. As she started to climb to her feet, I pointed the phones at her. I told her that if she moved, she’d be blasted to a nearby swamp. She didn’t move, but kept her pose. She asked me why I was in here territory. I told her I wasn’t explain’ nothin’ unless I could trust her. She stood up and faced me. She said she shouldn’t be telling me nothin’ fer tramping in her area. I gave in and told her that I fell through a hole and landed here. She said it was a likely story. After about what seemed an hour, I was able to talk her into believing me and told her my story. She raised her hand fer me ta shake. She said her name’s Fleia, guardian of the great kingdom of light.” Vector said. Espio sat in thought.

“I thought the Kingdom of Light was just a legend?” Espio asked. Vector raised his head.

“Hey, I’m gett’n to it!” He said. “Well, I told her my name and we shook hands. A sudden blast knocked us both backwards from each other. Fang came and raised his gun at Fleia. He said he knew I’d lead him to her. He told me thanks. Fleia glared at me in anger. She accused me of lying to her and being on Fang’s side. Before I could say another word, Fang shot at her. She dodged the blast and kicked him into a tree. He pulled out another gun and fired at Fleia. I used my phones and blasted the beam off course into a tree. She gave me a look of disbelieves. As Fang was preparing to fire again, I grabbed her wrist and took off hiding behind trees. I asked her does she know a way outta here. She said yes and told me to follow her. She opened up a tree side and jumped in. I followed quickly. Soon, we were in front of the castle of Light. She said I mustn’t show anyone the way and if I did, I would be killed. They gave me a place to stay at the kingdom and I missed my home. She led me back up to the swaps on the island and we said good bye.” Vector said. Knuckles nodded his head.

“So what your saying is true, then she’s an guardian to the castle of Light, then that means that Dimitri is looking for it!” He said. Mighty agreed.

“That has to be the only reason!” He said. Julie – su nodded at Vector’s story. She looked at Fleia.

“Is it me, or is Vector leaving out a big gap in that story?” Julie – su muttered. Fleia moaned. “Guys! She’s coming through!” Julie – su shouted. Everyone ran in. Fleia opened her eyes slowly. Once she saw everyone, she jumped up and landed on top of the couch.

“Where am I?” She shouted. The couch began to tip from the weight so she jumped back and landed on the coffee table.

“Whoa! Chill it! We’re here to help!” Espio said.

“Yeah, here to help experiment on me! I won’t have it!” She shouted. She let out a growl. Mighty stopped Espio from arguing back.

“Listen, I know we won’t be able to get anything through to ya-“ Mighty started. Fleia interrupted him.

“Save the talk! Let me go if you want to see tomorrow!” She shouted, preparing to attack. Mighty raised his hand.

“We’re not look’n for a fight!” He said. Fleia let out a growl.

“Liar!” She shouted. She lunged forward, but a blast of loud music and wind came, knocking her off course into the wall. She fell to the ground. She shook her head and began to stand up, but stopped. “That technique. It’s not like any others.” She muttered.

“You got that right! Now calm yerself, fuzz face!” Vector shouted, putting his headphones back on. Fleia looked up at Vector. She stared at Vector quietly. No one said anything nor moved as she took a step forward. She tilted her head looking at Vector.

“Do I know you?” She asked. “You look familiar.” She said. Vector smiled.

“You mean you don’t remember me?” He asked. Fleia rubbed the back of her head.

“Honestly that crazy guy in the lab must’ve drugged me. The only thing I remember is my name and I didn’t belong there. Then when you hit me with that blast, it seemed so familiar.” Fleia explained. Vector looked at bit disappointed. Suddenly, it was like he had a mood change. He stormed out to the deck with Mighty and Espio right behind him. Fleia looked at Knuckles. “Was it something I said?” She asked.

“With him? Who knows.” Julie-su said. Vector slammed his fist on the banister.

“I’ll kill him!” He shouted. He was ready to climb down the cliff, Mighty grabbed his wrist and yanked him back up.

“No you don’t!” He shouted.

“What’s wrong now?” Vector asked. Mighty pointed to the door.

“If she truly is your friend, you wouldn’t go to get yourself killed!” Mighty said. Espio nodded in agreement.

“You also can’t leave her in this state. If Dimitri is with Robotnic then we’ll have to wait until her memory comes back. She may be a great ally. Besides, someone has to stay with her until then.” Espio said.

“Well she can’t stay with me! I live in a swamp. No house for shelter so if it rains she’ll get sick.” Vector noted.

“Well, I won’t be able to keep her here, I got Ray with me.” Mighty said.

“Julie-su lives in a boarding house and Knuckles lives with his mom since his house was burnt down…” Espio said in thought. Vector and Mighty looked at each other and smiled.

“We have one left…” Vector said. They both looked at Espio. Espio looked at the two.

“Oh no! No way, uh-uh! I can’t take care of a girl!” He said, shaking his head.

“C’mon man, just for nights. I’ll come and get her in the morn’ and drop her off at night. Deal?” Vector said. Espio bit his lower lip in thought. Finally, he agreed.

“Fine, but you better keep yer promise!” Espio said. They walked back into the room. Fleia still didn’t move from her spot, but Knuckles was about to walk out the door.

“I was about to come and get you.” He said.

“We see that.” Vector said. He walked to Fleia. “Listen, we’re going to help you get yer memory back. You’ll be hangin’ with me during the day and at night you’ll be staying with Espio.” Vector said. Fleia nodded.

“I guess I got no choice but to trust you.” She said. It was started to get dark so Espio left with Fleia. They waved bye and climbed down. At the bottom, Fleia looked up at the top.

“C’mon! Unless you want to get there tomorrow!” Espio said. Fleia ran to catch up.

“So, how did you guys become friends?” She asked. Espio looked at her from the corner of his eye.

“Well, Robotnic attacked with a fake carnival. We all just met up there and became the group Chaotix.” Espio said. Fleia nodded.


“I still can’t believe she got away! She would become a great ally against that hedgehog!” Robotnic shouted. Dimitri rolled his eyes.

“You think I’m just peachy about this too? You got another thing coming.” Dimitri said. Robotnic didn’t look at Dimitri. “We need to think a moment you freak. We have to get that tiger back. The only reason I agreed to join forces with you was to find that emerald she poses!” Dimitri shouted.

“What emerald?” Robotnic asked.

“It’s just a legend, but then again, so were white tigers. You just saw one so the legend of the castle of light must be true! The drug left her with amnesia so the only thing to do is get her from the guardian’s clutches.” Dimitri said.

“I’ll send a spy to find out how the been treating her. They probably letting her go home.” Robotnic said as the screen went off.


“So, you live in a tree.” Fleia said. Espio started to climb up an invisible ladder.

“It seems that, but my house is in the tree for disguise.” Espio said. Fleia felt the ladder and took one step at a time up the ladder so she wouldn’t fall. Espio helped her up and they went into the house. Espio moved the coffee table aside and pulled out a bed from the couch. He left and came back with blankets and a pillow. She helped make the bed.

“Um…For what it’s worth, thanks.” She said.

“No problem. What a minute, for what?” Espio asked. Fleia looked away.

“For saving me.” She said. Espio smiled.

“Like I said, no problem.” He said.


Vector laid back onto the trunk of the tree and looked up at the sky. He couldn’t believe she came here. He smiled when he began to remember the past of when they met. It was strange how Fang knew that he would’ve brought him there. He opened his eyes and realized it was morning.

“Man, I don’t recall falling asleep. Oh well.” He said, standing up and headed to Espio’s place. He knocked on Espio’s door.

“Who is it?” Espio shouted from the door.

“Who do you think it is? I came for Fleia!” Vector said, opening the door. Espio appeared behind him and shoved him then went invisible. “You little-!” Vector shouted, swinging his tail. He felt it hit something that couldn’t be seen. Espio appeared again, rubbing his head.

“Sorry man, I was just messin’ with ya!” Espio said. The two shook hands for friendship.

“I’m sorry too. Didn’t know you bent down to try and dodge it. Where’s Fleia?” He asked, looking around. She wasn’t anywhere in sight. Vector went into the kitchen. Espio looked at the ceiling and raised a finger to his lips to signal not yet. She was on the ceiling, waiting for Vector to stand on the X on the floor. Vector walked back in. Espio shrugged.

“She’s probably hiding. She did that when I woke up and couldn’t find her. Stay here, I’ll look.” Espio said, disappearing. Vector sighed and walked around. He stopped on the X. Fleia jumped from the ceiling and knocked Vector onto the couch.

“Holy-!” Vector shouted in shock. Fleia laughed as she stood. Espio reappeared again, laughing. “I should’ve known!” Vector shouted. Fleia stopped laughing at an instant, but frowned. She stared at the ceiling, then back at Vector. The attack and Vector’s look on his face had giving her a memory.

“That attack…from the tree.” She started. Vector rubbed his head then realized what she said.

“She got some part of her memory back!” Espio said. Vector jumped up happily.

“What do you remember from the attack?” He asked.

“I knocked someone down after attacking him in a tree.” She said. Vector let out a cry of joy and swung Fleia around and put her down again.

“She remembered!” He shouted. Little did he know, Espio had a camera on…


“Who’s the actor?” Knuckles said through a laugh. Everyone was watching the video, except Fleia and Vector who already left an hour ago.

“I couldn’t believe it myself!” Espio said. Julie-su stopped laughing and an evil grin came on her face.

“Say, Espio, did Vector mention where he was going to do today with Fleia?” She asked. Espio and Knuckles looked at each other. They both smiled and Espio took out the tape.

“I think I might need another tape for this!” He said. They quickly left, running into Ray and Mighty.

“Where ya guys go’n?” Ray asked, landing. Mighty nodded in agreement.

“We’re going ta spy on Vector!” Knuckles said.

“We’ll come with ya!” Mighty said. They all headed out. Ray jogged up to Knuckles.

“Do you know where he is?” Ray asked.

“He’s going to take her to Happy Land.” Knuckles said.


“I hope being with that castle didn’t turn your teenage years to mush!” Vector said as they sat in a roller coaster.

“What do you do?” She asked.

“You’ll see.” He said. The ride started. They started to go up the roller coaster slowly. As they got to the top, they slowed to a stop. Fleia was about to ask a question, but was cut short when the roller coaster shot down the hill. Fleia grabbed the bar tightly in shock. Vector laughed how she was scared.

“How do you stop this thing?” She asked.

“You don’t!” Vector shouted. The ride soon came to a stop. Fleia looked at the coaster.

“Well, you don’t see that everyday.” She said.

“You don’t if you live in the castle you live in.” He said.

“I live in a castle?” She asked.

“Yeah, you’re the guardian. Too bad you don’t remember it.” Vector said. They walked to the next ride. Espio peeked from the corner of a store.

“Easy!” He said, and started taping more of the two. “I need a closer place to catch what they’re saying.” He said. As he started to go invisible, he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Knuckles asked. Espio pointed to a round ball that flew on it’s own.

“Looks like we’re not the only ones taping!” He said. The others saw the spy camera follow Vector and Fleia.

“Let’s get it!” Mighty said as he began running after it. Ray stopped him.

“No! We need a plan! Who knows how close the enemy is now!” Ray said. Mighty stopped.

“We can destroy it, but was can’t let it see us. Then we’ll warn Vector about it and we’ll get somewhere else.” Knuckles said. Espio snapped.

“Leave the cam ta me!” He said and disappeared. Mighty crossed his arms.

“Man, Espio gets all the fun!” He muttered.

“Then you go and warn Vec and get him over here.” Knuckles said. Mighty nodded and ran off with Ray behind him. Espio snuck up to the camera from behind and grabbed it and crushed it in his palms. He took the remains of it and threw them away in a trashcan before he reappeared. Mighty grabbed Vector before he and Fleia left onto another ride.

“Vec, there was a camera spying on you two!” He said.

“Espio needs to keep that camera to himself!” He shouted to Espio, who shrugged. Mighty shook his head.

“Not that camera! One of Robotnic’s!” He shouted.

“How do you know this?” Vector asked. Julie-su heard what Vector said and shouted out at him.

“Get yer scaly hide over here!” She shouted. Vector growled and started saying things under his breath as he jumped over the bar with Fleia right behind him.

“What did you say?” He said to Julie – su.

“You heard me!” She shouted. Ray stood in between the two.

“This is no time to fight! For all we know, Robotnic could have another camera on us now!” He shouted. Fleia nodded.

“He’s right.” She said. Vector looked at her then sighed.

“Fine!” He said as he glared at Julie-su then turned away. “Let’s go and find something ta do before I die of boredom.” He complained. Espio chuckled.

“It hasn’t even been a minute yet.” He said. Vector looked at him from the corner of his eye.

“So? I’m board!” He said. They left, walking to the park nearby. The rest of the day the group messed around, telling jokes and things like that. Espio and Vector got into a fight of who could dance better so they got into a dancing contest. It was a tie. That night, everyone separated and went to their homes.

“You’ve been quiet lately, or are you always this quiet?” Espio asked Fleia.

“How should I know?” She asked. He nodded.

“Sorry, I forgot.” He said. They walked further down the path when a slight tremor knocked them both down.

“What was that?’ Fleia asked.

“I have no idea!” Espio said. The ground began to shake again and much more violent. Both of them were flung in different directions as a Dark Legion ship came up from the ground. More followed it and surrounded them.

“Surrender the tiger, now!” One shouted as they all pulled out guns. Espio went invisible. Fleia watched as the men from one ship was knocked off onto the ground unconscious. More followed. One started shooting beams in all directions. One made its target. Espio shouted out in pain as the bean struck him in the chest, knocking him off the ship he was on and onto the ground unconscious.

“Espio!” Fleia shouted, running to his side. He moaned but didn’t open his eyes. Fleia felt anger rising in her as she stood up. “You’ll be okay. I’ll get them this time.” She said. She faced the Dark Legion men. They all had a gun pointed to her.

“Surrender now!” One shouted.


Vector heard the noise and was running as fast as he could to see what happened. He saw Fleia surrounded by the Dark Legion. He started to sneak up quietly, but stopped once the Dark Legion started to fire at her. She smiled and dodged them all by moving only one hand.

“You guys really need to work on your aim!” She said. She smiled and disappeared. She reappeared behind the whole group and kick three of them into the group, knocking some down. She snapped and flicked out her wrist. A staff with a sun on the top and a moon on the bottom came. She spun it above her head then hit a group of Dark legion down in one swipe. Some more men came and she was surrounded. She jumped up from one of the fires and stood on her staff. Most of the Dark Legion was surprised at her abilities. She hopped backwards and landed on the ground and kicked up her staff into the air. She bent down and tripped a good number of Dark Legion. She stood and punched one in the face and backed kicked another to the ground. One shot at her which she did a back flip into the air and grabbed her staff.

“Shoot her!” One shouted. She spun the staff as she started to come back to the ground. They shot at her and she reflected them all back, knocking the rest of them unconscious. She stood in the middle with her staff in her hand, which dissolved into glitter and disappeared. Vector walked up to her.

“That was good.” He said. He looked at Espio and ran to his side. “Espio, buddy, are you okay?” He asked. Espio moaned and woke up.

“I’ve been better.” He gasped and sat up quickly. “What happened?” He asked.

“Our little guardian is getting her powers back.” Vector said, pointing at Fleia. Fleia nodded, her eyes weren’t normal, but were glowing white.

“Bring the others to me, now.” She said. Vector nodded and ran off. A few minutes later, everyone was standing around Fleia, who didn’t move from her spot at all. “I would like to thank you all for helping me.” She said. Everyone gasped.

“You got your memory back?” Julie-Su asked. Fleia nodded.

“Yes. It’s time you all knew who I really am. I’m-” Before she could started, a net went around everyone.

“Ha! Gottcha this time, sugah!” Nack said, walkin out into site. Fleia and Vector let out a growl.

“Fang…” Vector muttered.

“Yep, that be me! You guys would fetch a hefty price fer Robotnic and Dimitri!” He laughed. He pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. “Hello? This Robotnic or Dimitri? I’m Nack, otherwise Fang. I got a deal to make. I have caught the guardians and their friends. I would like to know the price ya would want them at? What price? How about a thousand each? Yes. Nah, well…. Okay. I’m in the field. Bring the money!” He said, hanging up the phone. “They’ll be here shortly.” He said.

“I’ll kill you for this!” Fleia shouted.

“Not likely. From what I remember, Robotnic wants all of you as testing toys.” Nack said.

“I’m never going back!” Espio shouted. He started to tear at the netting, which happened to be chains.

“Do you think I’ll let myself down like that?” He asked, pointing to the net. “Tis babe is great fer capturing string animals like that armadillo.” He said. Suddenly, Robotnic and Dimitri showed up in the Deathegg ship. A hook lowered with Dimitri on it. He jumped off it and landed next to the group.

“I don’t know how you did it, but that’s some trick you got. Here’s the money. Forget this ever happened.” Dimitri warned. Nack took the money, tipped his hat, and left. Dimitri took the ends of the net and hooked it onto the hook. He climbed back onto the hook at it raised up to the ship.

“Just like the legend.” Fleia muttered.

“What legend?” Ray asked.

“No time to talk, we must prepare for the worst.” She said. They rose into the ship. The chains were vaporized once they were trapped inside a room and everyone stood. Holes opened up under everyone’s feet and they all fell down holes. They hit the ground and were in bulletproof shields.

“Let us go!” Ray shouted, banging on his.

“Save you energy, kiddo!” Mighty said through his. Ray stopped.

“Where are we?” Julie-Su asked.

“The one place where no one should be.” Fleia said sadly. “I must tell you guys this now. I know what Vector has told you and yes, I am the guardian of the castle of light. The reason I am not there is because when Robotnic attack the castle, I lost the battle because of our crystal was shattered into two pieces. In the legend, once that happens, the only way to save the kingdom is for the two hearts of friendship to become one once again.” Fleia explained.

“Become one?” Knuckles asked.

“Ha! I knew Vector left out a part in his story he told!” Julie-Su blamed. Before Vector shouted anything, Fleia interrupted.

“It’s not his fault. The power of the crystal exploding caused him to forget. He will remember once the crystal is back together.” Fleia said. Robotnic appeared.

“Which shall we start on?” He asked.

“Here, throw this into the air and where ever the end points at will be the one first. Dimitri said, handing him a pipe. Robotnic threw it and it spun on the ground. It stopped slowly in front of Vector.

“No!” Fleia shouted. Suddenly, some kind of stretcher came out of the ground and slammed into Vector’s back, causing hi to get stuck to it and bands came around him and pinned him to it as it went flat, preparing Vector for the operation. Vector kept struggling to get free.

‘Let me go!” He shouted.

“Vector!” Espio shouted. He started to punch the glass, trying to get through. Fleia had her staff come and started to slam it onto the glass.

“Hold on!” Fleia shouted. Everyone started to try and get out. A laser came and pointed at Vector’s heart.

“We’ll kill him and use his body for experiments.” Robotnic said.

“No!” Mighty shouted.

“We won’t let you!” Knuckles shouted as well.

“Don’t worry about me!” Vector shouted. The beam fired at Vector.

“Vector!” Everyone shouted as it pierced through Vector. He closed his eyes in pain and fell limp.

“On no…”Julie-su said.

“No!” Espio shouted, still punching at the glass.

“It can’t be!” Mighty shouted.

“Don’t do this!” Ray shouted.

“Vector!” Knuckles shouted. Fleia was shocked. Her eyes glew white and a white light surrounded her. The glass broke around her from her power; it broke everyone else’s as well. Everyone ran to Vector, but a shield went over it, one that Fleia couldn’t break. Fleia faced Robotnic.

“You’ll die for this!” She shouted. She raised her staff and swung it at Robotnic, but it went through. “A hologram.” She muttered. She knew Dimitri wasn’t and went after him. She swung the staff. But Dimitri dodged it.

“I’ll kill you just as easily!” He shouted. Fleia felt herself begin to drain of her powers. Her eyes went to regular as she glared at Dimitri.

“No magic, just strength, speed, and any weapon handy.” She said. “You guys cover me.” She said, facing the others.

“We’ll try to get to Vec.” Knuckles said. Everyone started to attack the shield. Dimitri shot a laser at her, which she easily dodged. His laser morphed into a machine gun laser. He started to shoot at her quickly. She threw her staff into the air and dodged a beam.

“Evil as they come! You shall die where you stand!” She shouted. She grabbed her staff and threw it. It split into two and flew straight at Dimitri. It cut into him and he fell. The shield broke and everyone ran to Vector. Mighty busted off the bands and Knuckles and Espio helped him lie down. Fleia landed beside Vector.

“Vec?” Mighty asked. He didn’t move. He wasn’t even breathing.

“C’mon man, don’t do this. You can’t break up the ac. Not as long as we’ve been together.” Espio said. Julie-su was fighting back her tears.

“Stupid Robotnic!” She shouted. Tears ran down Fleia’s face as she knelt beside Vector.

“Wake up.” She said. She shook him a bit. “C’mon, wake up.” She said. She felt herself crying. “Wake up!” She shouted, slapping him across the face. She started to cry. “Wake up!” She shouted again. She was going to try and slap him again, but stopped.

“I can’t believe this! After all we have been through!” Knuckles shouted. Tears ran down his cheeks, which he didn’t bother to wipe away.

“This is my fault.” Fleia said.

“No it isn’t. It’s Robotnic’s fault.” Espio said.

“No, it’s my fault because Fang knew our secret!” She said.

“What secret?” Ray asked. Fleia took off her brooch that was tied on her cape.

“Vector saved my life by jumping in front of that beam Fang shot at me. Not what he told you. I took him back to the castle. The only way to save him was to use the energy of the emerald of light. That energy, if there’s any left, flows through him.” Fleia said, holding up her brooch to the light. A small, half emerald was in it. She let it go and it shown brightly. Everyone watched the other half of the emerald went through Vector’s body. The two pieces fused together. Fleia held the crystal in front of her. “He needs this more then I do.” She said. She lowered her hand to Vector’s wound. The crystal went into Vector’s body and the wound healed. Vector began to slowly breath, and then moaned as he sat up.

“Vector!” Everyone cried out happily. Espio and Mighty were the first to hug him. Knuckles patted his back while Ray nearly knocked him down in a hug. Julie-su and Vector looked at each other. She smiled and held out her hand. Vector took it and she helped him to his feet.

“Good ta have you back.” She said.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Same as what happened years ago, Vector.” Fleia said. Vector turned to look at her. She smiled, which quickly faded away. Her eyes widened in shock. She jumped over Vector and landed in front of everyone and held out her hands. A huge energy blast came. She blocked it with power. Everyone saw that Dimitri still lived and gained magic. Fleia was blocking the attack. “Run! Get outta here!” She shouted.

“What about you?” Vector shouted out.

“Don’t worry! Get going now!” She shouted. Everyone turned to run. Vector stopped and looked back. Espio grabbed his arm and Vector left with him. Vector stopped, as everyone was about to climb out.

“I can’t take it! I’m going to go back!” He said. He took off running with Mighty and Espio after him. The others had to leave immediately. Ray flew Julie-su down first then came back up for Knuckles.

“Go on and stay down there until we come back. Watch for us.” He said. Ray nodded and flew back down and Knuckles ran after the others. Fleia shot out a blast, which hit Dimitri’s arm.

“That was supposed to hurt?” He asked. Fleia knew without neither her crystal nor staff she was helpless. Dimitri spun the staff and threw both ends at her. She dodged the sun one, but the one with the moon ran through her heart. Her eyes widened in shock and pain.

“Fleia!” Vector shouted. He ran to Fleia’s side as she fell to the ground. Espio and Mighty blocked Dimitri’s way to get to the two. Once Knuckles came, they started to fight him. Dimitri ran away, with a steel door closing behind him. Vector held Fleia up in his arms. “Are you okay? You’ll live.” He said.

“No…I…won’t….” She said weakly in between breaths.

“You have to! You’re apart of the group now. Your, you’re a friend to everyone.” Vector said.

“I know….But, I can’t….help my destiny.” She said. Vector felt tears roll down his face.

“I don’t want to loose you.” He said. Fleia raised her hand slowly and touched Vector’s cheek. He grasped her hand.

“I’ll never die….I must live…. To protect the….crystal.” She said. She started to fade away. “Thank you for….The fun.” She said. She leaned her head on his chest. “You chest…Is warm.” She said and disappeared into glitter, which faded away. Vector started to cry.

“Fleia! No! Not you!” He shouted out. He hugged himself and bent his head low, crying. “Fleia…” He cried softly. Everyone heard a voice.

“Vector.” It said. Vector looked up. A faded form of Fleia came. She held her staff in her hands. “Vector, don’t cry.” She said.

“Fleia?” Vector asked. She smiled.

“I told you, I couldn’t die. I was put on this world at the dawn of time to protect the strongest crystal ever. Even though I die, my sprit lives with the crystal, which lives in you!” She said. “Just because I’m not alive anymore doesn’t mean I’m not with you.” She said.

“Will we meet again? When you become alive with a form?” Vector asked. She nodded.

“I will become two things in the future that you will love more then anything in the world. Once trouble comes, I will supply both with the power to fight and I may come back just to protect them.” She explained. She smiled and floated to Vector. She disappeared into him. Vector wiped away his tears and stood up.

“If you caught that on tape, I’ll stalk you and destroy everything until I destroy that tape!” He warned Espio. Espio held up his hands.

“I don’t got my camera with me. I ran it home.” Espio said. They left and Ray flew them all down to the ground.

“What happened?” Julie-su asked.

“Dimitri ran off. But Fleia…”Knuckles faded off, remembering how she went into Vector’s heart. “Fleia disappeared. We couldn’t find her.” Knuckles said. “She said we’ll see her again in the future.” Knuckles said. He looked at Vector, who nodded. Vector smiled.

“Whose hungry? I’m in the mood for pizza!” Everyone cheered and headed to the nearest restaurant. As they left, Vector smiled and remembered Fleia. He knew that she would appear again someday.



The End…or is it?