Tailstories: Remington's Secret Remington has a dark secret that he decides to share with the group: He was once a Legionnaire before becoming a police officer! But, the Dark Legion and Dingoes learn of his confession and treat Remington like a loose cannon, so they try to kill him. Knuckles almost kills Stryker, and an Echidna-Vs-Dingo war erupts on Angel Island. Who will win? Rated R for Violence, Adult Situations, and Language All Characters are (c) Archie Comics, Sonic Team, SEGA, and Fleetway UK Comics, unless specified. Cast: Officer Remington Age: 39 Officer Zachary Age: 34 Knuckles The Echidna Age: 39 Lara-Su The Echidna Age: 17 Lance The Echidna: Age: 19 [(c) me] Julie-Su The Echidna Age: 40 Simon The Echidna Age: ?? (Julie-Su's father) Floren-Ca The Echidna Age: ?? (Julie-Su's mother) Lara-Le The Echidna Age: 59 Tikal The Echidna Age: ?? Yanar The Echidna Age: ?? Gala-Na The Echidna Age: ?? Locke The Echidna Age: 58 Sabre The Echidna Age: 77 Wynmacher Age: 57 Vector The Crocodile Age: 36 Mighty The Armadillo Age: 37 Ray The Squirrel Age: 35 Espio The Chameleon Age: 35 Brooke The Echidna Age: 40 Komi-Ko The Echidna Age: 40 Kragok The Echidna Age: 45? Komissar The Echidna Age: 41? Enerjak The Echidna Age: ?? Moritori-Rex ("Rex") Age: ?? Doctor Robotnik Age: ?? General Stryker Age: 67 Field Marshall Maxwell Age: 47 [(c) me] Mina The Mongoose Age: 39 Shadow The Hedgehog Age: ?? Sonic The Hedgehog Age: 41 Stephen The Hedgehog Age: 14 [(c) me] Alex The Hedgehog Age: 15 [(c) me] Manic The Hedgehog Age: 39 Sonia The Hedgehog Age: 38 Miles "Tails" Prower Age: 36 Taylor Prower Age: 16 [(c) me] Leon Prower Age: 13 [(c) me] Violet Prower Age: 14 [(c) me] Lisa Prower Age: 35 [(c) me] Mike Prower Age: 39 [(c) me] Chris Prower Age: 34 [(c) me] Luther Prower Age: 54 [(c) me] Merlin Prower Age: 62 Amadeus Prower Age: 58 Rosemary Prower Age: 57 Nicolette The Weasel Age: 34 Fang The Sniper (Nack) Age: 37 Amy Rose The Hedgehog Age: 34 Rob O' The Hedge Age: 41? Warren (Fang's son) Age: 14 [(c) me] "StarFox" Fox McCloud Age: 35 Krystal McCloud Age: 34 Harry The Cab Driver Age: 47? Walter Wallaby Age: 43? Joey Wallaby Age: 15 Barby Koala Age: 40? Duck "Bill" Platypus Age: 37 Wombat Stu Age: 29 Guru Emu Age: 42 Rotor The Walrus Age: 42 Antoine D'Coolette Age: 44 Charles D'Coolette Age: 18 Bunnie Rabbot Age: 42 Arthur Brenner Age: 27 [(c) me] Sheila Russel Age: 26 [(c) me] Richard Thomson Age: 34 [(c) me] Kit Foxx Age: 21 [(c) me] Peter Wolfe Age: 41 [(c) me] Brian Grant Age: 47 [(c) me] (half wolf, half badger) Robert Steele Age: 22 [(c) me] (half bat, half sable) Johnny Lightfoot Age: 39? Geoffrey St. John Age: 54? Hershey Age: 49 Lupe Age: 41? Reynard Age: 37? Diablo Age: 29? King Maximillian Acorn Age: 62 Prince Elias Acorn Age: 43 Princess Sally Acorn Age: 41 Queen Alicia Age: 59 Athair Age: 95? Thunderhawk Age: ?? Spectre Age: ?? Sojuourner Age: ?? Chaos: Age: ?? Orion: Age: ?? Arcturus: Age: ?? All Copyrights are (c) their respective owners, and are acknowledged. And Now, the story. Part I: Introductions It is a nice summer night in Echidnaopolis. Around 75 F. Not a bad summer night, and nothing much is happening on the Lower East Side. This is were Knuckles' family and friends live. "Hey, mom, I'm going out! Do you want anything?" Knuckles asks his mother, about to walk out the door. "Sure. Can you pick up some tape?" She asks. "Okay." knuckles says, walking out the door, and down the hall. He walks out of the 35-story apartment building, and sees Remington sitting in his cruiser, with something on his mind. He looks all distressed. Knuckles walks up and pokes his head in the car. "Remington, are you alright? You don't look well." He says. "Knuckles, it's just stress from my work. It's getting to me. I need a rest or a vacation." He says. "Well, Remington, come inside. You look like you're gonna have a nervous breakdown." Knuckles says. Remington steps out, and locks the door. "Well, maybe for a few minutes, Guardian, because I AM a police officer and I can not leave my post." Remington tells his friend. They walk into knuckles' apartment. "Knuckles, I thought you went out?" Lara-Le asks her son. "Well, it's kind of an emergency." Knuckles says. "Sorry to Burst in on you like this." Remington says. "With you and Knuckles' friends, it's alright." She says, closing the door. Remington sits down on the burgundy couch. "Knuckles, I-I have a confession to make, but it is so big, you might want to get the other members of the Chaotix here." Remington says. "Sure." Knuckles says, walking to the phone. He dial's Julie-Su's home downtown. As luck would have it, all of the Chaotix are hanging out there. They are throwing a party, when the phone rings. "Alright, guys! Turn it down! I think the phone is ringing!" She yells over the music. She picks up the phone. "Hello?" She asks. "Hey, Julie-Su. Can you get the Chaotix and meet me at my apartment?" He asks. "Alright. Is something wrong? Did something happen?" She asks her boyfriend. "No, but this could develop into a situation." Knuckles says. "Alright." She says. She walks up to the stereo and turns it down. "Listen up! Knuckles wants us to go to his place right away. That means the party is over until we get back." She tells them. They take a bus across downtown from the Lower West Side, to the Lower East Side, in about 10 minutes, thanks to the heavy traffic. They finally arrive, and Knuckles opens the door, and lets them in. "Good. you're all here. I suppose you are wondering why you are all here." Knuckles says. "Well, it is because I have a confession that I felt you all should hear." Remington says. "Sure." Ray says. "Alright. I-I used to be a member of the Dark Legion before I became a police officer!" He says. Everyone gasps from this stunning new revelation. "That's why I kept my past so obscure, and never talked about it. I thought that everyone would hate me and I would be fired. I wanted to be forgiven, so I became an officer to Protect And Serve." He says. Julie-Su and Knuckles look at each other. "Are you going to be okay?" Julie-Su asks, sitting down next to him. "I don't know. I don't even know who my father is." Remington says to her. "Well, Remington, I don't want to do this, but I have to. Remington... I-I hereby place you under arrest as Guardian Of The Floating Island." Knuckles says. "That's alright. I deserve this." He says, sticking his hands out in front to be cuffed. Knuckles grabs the handcuffs, and is about to arrest his friend, when he stops. "I can't do this! Remington is a good friend to me. And even IF he was a Legionnaire, he was very friendly to me. This shows that he isn't bad at all." Knuckles says. "But Knuckles! He was one of them!" Ray says. "WAS! And besides, Julie-Su was a Legionnaire, and you all don't have a problem with that." Knuckles says. "The thing is, Knux. We trusted Remington...as an Officer of the Law. He betrayed us. Besides, how can we be so sure that he's not just pretending to be who he really is. For all we know, that can be a cover for an attack." Espio says. "Hmm. He does have a point." Knuckles says. "But take a look at Julie-Su. She joined the Echidna Security Team 5 months ago." Knuckles says. "Knuckles, we aren't chauvinists or sexists, or anything like that. It's also that Remington...if that's his real name.. is very high up on the EST ladder. He's third in command." Mighty explains. "Yeah, and he also has been loyal to the Chaotix. He has pulled us out of a jam lots of times. He even saved my life once." Knuckles says. "Officer Remington, is it TRUE that you were a Legionnaire?" Lara-Le asks, in complete shock and disbelief. "Yes. It's all true." Remington says. "Knuckles, you have to believe me, if I could change the past or turn back the clock of life, I most certainly WOULD!" Remington says, trying to convince his best friend, Knuckles. "Remington, I'm not going to lie to you. You and I are like brothers, but after tonight, I don't know what to believe, or if I can even trust you." Knuckles says. Remington looks at Knuckles, in disbelief, not anger, but in sadness. "Here strip me of the authority that I have used, but never deserved. I have abused my rights to gain this sort of power." He says, handing over his badge and EST patches from his sleeves to Knuckles. Knuckles bites his lip on whether or not to even take these symbols of power from his long-time friend. He decides to confiscate them. "I'm sorry, Remington, but this has to be done." He tells his friend, as he accepts the badge and patches. "Here. Take these, too I won't need them in Prison." Remington says, taking off his CB Radio, and belt buckles that hold his gun and equipment. He puts then down on the coffee table in front of him. The Chaotix are just amazed of how armed Remington was. Remington then takes off his hat, and places it on the gun and CB Radio. "There. That's it. That's all of it. Now you can call Zachary and Brooke to arrest me, Guardian." Remington says. "I won't do that." Knuckles shocks all of his friends by saying that. "What?" Remington asks, just as confused as the rest of the group. "I won't let that happen. You have been a good friend to me, and I don't think you should be arrested or be put in some remote area or island in exile, just because of your past. You are a good echidna, and I will testify that if we have to go to court to clear your name." Knuckles says. "You would do that for me? Even after you knew my dark secret?" Remington asks. "Of course he would! You said it yourself: you and Knuckles are like brothers. You two are both very good echidnas that put your lives on the line every day to ensure public safety in the city." Julie-Su says. "And also, Remington, what you seem to be forgetting is that you had all the time in the world to stage an attack from the perfect spot within our city's government, but you didn't. WHY? Because you aren't like that. You risked your life and proved yourself out there on the mean streets of Downtown. And if that isn't a good echidna who wants to be forgiven, then I don't know what is!" Vector says. "Thanks, you guys." Remington says. "No problem, Remington. You see, we Chaotix Team members are like a family, and we stick with each other through thick and thin, through good times and bad!" Ray says, being in touch with his poetic side. "Thanks. Let's go down to the station and I'll tell my colleagues what I have told you. I at least have the confidence to do it now." Remington says, opening the door. He sees Constable Zachary and Captain Brooke. "This isn't good, is it?" Vector asks Knuckles. "I don't think so." The Guardian says. "Constable Remington, we heard your confession from our cruisers." Brooke says. "How, sir?" Remington asks. "You left your CB on." Zachary points out. "Oh. Well, I guess I'm let go." Remington says. "Not at all. It takes courage to do a confession like that, even if you are aware of the consequences." Brook says. "It IS?" The confused echidna asks. "Your friends...The Chaotix are good friends to be hanging out with, Constable. They said they'd stick up for you, and it's good to have the Guardian and His friends on your side." Brooke says. "So, you're NOT going to imprison Remington or send him out in exile to live in Knothole with the Freedom Fighters?" Knuckles asks. "No, Guardian. I wouldn't let such a thing happen." Brooke says. "That's good." Remington says, breathing a sigh of relief. "Yes. Well, Remington, we still expect you to show your stellar performance on the force downtown." Zachary tells his contemporary. "Yes. You'll see me on the beat in the morning." Remington says. "And Lara-Le, Knuckles, sorry to burst in like this." Brooke apologizes. "That's alright." She says. "No problem, Brooke." Knuckles says. The two other officers leave the apartment building. "So, Remington, are you going to prison?" Lara-Le asks. "No. I'm a luck echidna. I get to keep my badge, family and friends, and my prestige." Remington says. "Hey, Remington. One thing: None of us are going to breathe a word of what happened tonight to anyone." Julie-Su says. "Thanks. I don't want people to know I was a Legionnaire." The officer says. After talking for a few minutes, the group leaves to go home for the night. "Well, it's now 10:00. I should be heading home." Remington says. "Same here." Julie-Su says, walking out the door. "Julie-Su, it's late. Why don't you spend the night? Remington, if you want, you're more than welcome to, as well." Knuckles offers. "Thanks, Knuckles. I am kinda tired." Julie-Su nods. "Oh, thank you Guardian, but I have my police car to get me home." Remington says. "Alright. But feel free to stop by the Guardian Hotel." Knuckles jokes with his friend. "Thanks. I'll see you later on the beat, Knuckles. Julie-Su. Thanks for letting me stay this long, Lara-Le." He says. "Remington, it's no problem. You are a family friend. You are welcome here, no matter what." She says. "Thanks. And Knuckles, I'd stay longer, but I think I have out stayed my welcome, and Komi-Ko is probably worried of where I am." He says. "You didn't out stay your welcome." Knuckles says. "Alright. Well, I'll see you two tomorrow!" Remington says, walking out the door. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow!" Knuckles says. Julie-Su could walk back to her home, since it's only 9 blocks. Remington, however, lives all the way Downtown. He walks out to his police car, only to see his tires are all slashed. "Oh no! Who did this? I can't get home now. No buses are running, and I don't have enough for a cab." Remington mutters, looking through his wallet. "Damn." He says, walking back in. He buzzes Knuckles through the intercom. "Hey, Knux!" He says. "What's up?" Knuckles asks. "Well, someone slashed my tires. I'm going to have my Crown Victoria towed." Remington says. "Feel free to crash here. We have an extra place for you to sleep." Knuckles says. "Really? Thanks. I owe you." He says, being let in, amazed from his best friend's compassion. He truly didn't expect Knuckles to let him stay overnight. "Knuckles opens the door. "Morning duty already?" Knuckles says, opening the door for his friend. "Remington laughs. "Yeah, in Detroit it is." Remington says. Knuckles unfolds the couch in to a bed for his friend. "Guardian, can I make a quick phone call?" Remington asks. "Sure. Take all the time you need." Knuckles says. Remington calls his fiancee. Komi-Ko at his house. That morning...Knuckles wakes up and stretches. "Yawwwwwn. It's a good day. Sunny, and only a few clouds." he says, looking out the balcony. "Well, it's 7:00. We should be getting ready for work." Knuckles says, putting his police uniform on. Julie-Su picks up the newspaper form the doormat and puts it on the nearby chair. They leave for work after having a quick breakfast. Remington finds his car has new tires. "Wow. Who did this?" He asks. "Just the guys." Knuckles says, meaning the Chaotix. "Why, thanks, Knuckles! This is great!" Remington says, shaking Knuckles' hand. They get into downtown, and Remington parks the car under the Echidna Security Team Building underground car park at Park Street and Angel Island Greenway. The EST base is in the very busy part of Downtown, and secretly also the location of Haven, where the Guardians and the Master Emerald operate, in cognito within the tall buildings, that look like they were plucked from Toronto or Manhattan. Knuckles, Remington and Julie-Su walk up to the 8th floor. When they arrive, they go to Captain Brooke's office. "Sir, we're ready for our duty." Remington says, poking his head in through the slightly opened door. "Alright. I want you to be on foot patrol right at the corner of Park and Angel Island Greenway." Brook says. Remington agrees and walks over to Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Zachary. He sees Knuckles punching a pop can machine for eating a quarter he put in. "Alright everyone, listen up. Time to leave! Foot beat." Remington says, interrupting the echidna. "Oh. Alright." Knuckles says, walking towards the door, with Remington and Julie-Su close behind. They walk out of the building and wait at the light of the two busy streets for the light to change so they can cross. Knuckles looks down Park Street, and notices that it looks a lot like Michigan Avenue in Detroit. Angel Island Greenway looks like a very wide boulevard with 3 lanes in each direction, and is covered with Trees and is in a park setting. Both streets are very busy with midmorning traffic, and are lined with tall buildings. Knuckles sees the three 164 story Echidna Island Buildings off in downtown, in the distance 3 kilometers away. "Knuckles. Remington, it's green." Julie-Su says, telling them that the "WALK" sign is glowing. Knuckles looks at the stopped cars. Buicks and Chryslers. FedEx Delivery Vans and buses. Knuckles is amazed of the quality of life in the largest city this side of Knothole. A Chevrolet tries to turn onto the Greenway, while Knuckles is crossing the street. He is almost on the other side. The driver slams on the brakes and lays on the horn. "Hey! Learn how to drive!" Knuckles shouts, slamming his fist on the hood, ruining the ornament. "Damn idiots. We give them roads, cars, and transit, and all they do is give you grief." Remington says. "That dingo really needs to learn patience." Julie-Su says. They don't know that the driver was General Von Striker, the Leader of the Dingoes, and he has a plan in store for the three echidnas. "Blah, blah, whatever." He mocks Julie-Su and Remington, chuckling and growling slightly. He abruptly cuts off a Cadillac and parks his car. "Oh, those three are dead for ruining my plans of Dingo independence in Albion and the Floating Island." He grumbles, opening the trunk and getting a sniper rifle and some bullets. He has the weapon concealed under some towels and a blanket. He crosses Park Street, and walks into a building. He waits until Knuckles and his friends cross the Greenway again. He calls one of his assistants to get a tow truck, and park a wrecked Cadillac Seville sedan facing north on the Greenway, just south of Park. "Alright. I want you to get the car, get the tow truck and park it right across the road from mine." He says, instructing Field Marshall Maxwell while looking out of his window, and at the spot marked with spray paint. "Sir. The traffic is far heavier than I expected. I'm stuck at Detroit Avenue and the Greenway. Just south of the Island Ring Freeway." Maxwell reports, looking out of his truck window, and seeing the traffic. Knuckles, Remington and Julie-Su are basically bored out of their minds, and they hand out tickets to illegally parked cars. "Here's one. The meter is up." Remington says, slapping a ticket under the wiper of a Toyota Camry. "Gotcha!" Knuckles says, punching a hole in the windshield of a Ford Taurus, with the ticket crunched up in his fist of fury. The alarm goes off. "RUN!" Knuckles says. The echidnas scatter, and meet up back at the corner of the two busy streets. They cross the Greenway, and wonder what to do there. The tow truck finally arrives, and drops the car off at the appointed spot, right behind our heroes, and without them noticing. That is, unnoticed until they hear the cars screeching and horns going off. "What the...? Who put this here?" Remington asks Julie-Su. "Don't look at me. I own a Pontiac GTO." Julie-Su says, disgusted at the fire-scorched car. Knuckles and Remington move it onto the sidewalk, with Knuckles pushing from the back, and Remington pushing in the front, while grabbing the steering wheel. "Heh. Good. Now they're all within range." Stryker says to himself. He calls his other backup. "Where are you?" Stryker asks Kragok, the Dark Legion's Leader. "I'm stuck in the same gridlock as Maxwell, only I'm on Park East." He says, annoyed from the traffic. "Good. When you see Knuckles and the others, run them down." Stryker orders. "Alright." Kragok says, driving the disguised bus into the intersection at a reckless speed when the light turns green. Remington looks behind him, and sees the white and orange city bus ready to hit them. "LOOKOUT!" He yells, pushing Knuckles and Julie-Su out of the way. He gets hit by the bus. Knuckles watches as it keeps going. Past Michigan Boulevard. Beyond Emerald Lane. Out of sight in the traffic. "Remington! Are you alright?" Knuckles asks, concerned. "I-I'm fine!" Remington says, feeling his head and chest, noticing there are no injuries whatsoever on him. "Dammit! I thought Remington was a mortal!" Stryker says. "This calls for drastic measures. Time for the backup, Plan B." He says, taking out the sniper rifle. He prepares his machine gun, and points it outside the sixth story window, and takes dead aim at Remington. He makes sure that Knuckles is out of the way, and fires. BANG! Remington falls, to the ground. The bullet grazes Knuckles, and he sees Remington fall. Julie-Su kneels down to help him. The officer is unconscious. Remington is bleeding very badly. A small puddle of blood is forming on the roadway. "Sir, can I use your cell phone?" She asks. "Sure." The driver says, rolling down the window. She is surprised that it is Tails. "Tails?" She asks. "And you can't forget the Blue Blur!" Sonic says, reclining in the back seat. "Oh, good. you guys, Remington is down. Someone shot him from a building." Julie-Su tells them. Tails doesn't need to be told anything. Almost by instinct, he drives the sedan out in to the very busy intersection, and parks it 5 feet from Remington, narrowly avoiding collisions with other cars. Tails accidentally hits a Mercedes C-Class. "Oops! I should have waited for the light." He says. He backs up, and hits a Masarati Quattroporte. He gets frustrated, and just pulls out of the mess that he created. he parks it next to Remington, blocking 2 of the lanes on Park Street. "Remington, I'm calling the Ambulance for you. Just hang in there!" Julie-Su says. Knuckles tries to stop the bleeding with his gloves, but they become stained with blood. "I don't care if I ruin my gloves, I'm going to save you." He says to himself. His gloves act like a sponge and absorb some of the blood. Knuckles just takes them off, tosses them aside. He hears the wailing of an Ambulance. An Fire Truck and Constable Zachary's Echidna Security Team cruiser join the ambulance. Tails and Knuckles wave to show them where they are in the traffic. Tails is easier to spot, since he is hovering about 15 feet above them. Zachary steps out. He gets a stretcher with the paramedics, and they carry Remington into the awaiting Ambulance. "I'm going with them. I want to make sure that Remington makes it." Julie-Su says. Knuckles just nods. He looks up, to his northwest. He sees a yellowish-orange blue sky, with clouds. He also sees the brown Angel Island Holiday Inn. It says "Built in 3107" in the brick and stone masonry. But, what Knuckles notices is the sniper still sitting in the window, perched, and aiming the gun at him! "YOU!" He yells, running into the building. Stryker disappears from the window. He is scared now, because he knows Knuckles is a strong threat of an echidna, and he is strong enough physically to easily rip him apart. That is nothing compared to the fact that Knuckles is actually coming to kill him! He frantically searches the rooms for some ammunition and some guns. He sees the box full. He arms himself, and clenches a knife between his teeth. "Now I'm ready for the foolish Guardian!" He snickers. He hears him running through the halls, and gets a chill down his spine. He sees Knuckles shadow in the hallway, and then, Stryker runs back, towards the rooms. Knuckles kicks the door down, FBI-style, and without an effort. He is angered, and looking like he has flames in his eyes. He actually has a glowing pink-and-white aura around him. He is Hyper-Knuckles. "Oh F*ck!" He says, getting a hand gun, and firing at the echidna. The bullets simply ricochet off of him. Knuckles walks closer. Stryker is getting frightened. He grabs a machine gun. He basically turns Knuckles into a walking Lead Echidna. Or, so he thought. Knuckles catches and avoids the bullets Matrix-style. "Are these yours?" He asks, tossing a couple at Striker. He tosses one so hard at his foot that it is as if it came out of a gun. "Ahh!" Stryker yells, from the intense pain. He runs, and Knuckles gives chase. Stryker keeps shooting at Knuckles, but he either misses entirely, or he doesn't harm the enraged Guardian. He retreats to a back room, where the walls are plastered white, yet look gray-black, because of the lack of light. The whole building looks like it was built between 1936 and 1961. Stryker goes to shoot Knuckles between the eyes at point-blank range, but he is out of bullets. It's not as if that would have mattered, mind you. Bullets or not, Knuckles wouldn't have been harmed. He simply grabs Stryker by the throat, and slams him up against the wall, fracturing his back. Knuckles can hear his nemesis' bones break. He gets a harder and firmer grip on Striker's throat, almost choking him, and preventing him from breathing. "You are going to pay for breaking my back and paralyzing me, echidna!" He struggles to say, since Knuckles is choking him. "Really? Like I care." Knuckles slyly says, choking him harder. Stryker begins to sweat from the lack of oxygen. "Knuckles gives him one good punch in the stomach. Knuckles walks out of the room, still holding his enemy. He slams him again, this time, outside of a window. The glass crashes and tingles on the sidewalk below. Sonic and Tails can see that Knuckles is holding Stryker outside the window, and debating whether to let go of him, and watch him perish as he would hit the concrete and fast moving cars in the traffic, six stories below. Stryker isn't kicking to break free, for his legs and back are paralyzed. Again, that wouldn't change the outcome in his fate. Knuckles wouldn't be harmed. All Stryker can do is hold his hands on Knuckles', around his throat in an attempt to breath. He ca see that he is high above the traffic. He sees in the windows above him, the Echidnaopolis Skyline, high up on Angel Island, with the mountains in the background. This is exactly what Knuckles sees. "Give me three reasons why I shouldn't toss you to the traffic below." Knuckles growls. "Knux! Bro! Don't Do it! You're not like this! You aren't on HIS level!" Sonic pleas to his best friend. Knuckles is either too angered or simply too high up, because he can barely hear Sonic's voice. "Sonic, I wish I could, but it's too late for reason." He says. Tails flies up and asks Knuckles to just let the EST take him. "Come on, Knuckles! If you murder him, you won't be welcome in Knothole. I guarantee that. You will also be regarded in History as the first Guardian to murder another furry in cold blood." Tails says. "I have already told Sonic, and I will tell you the same thing: I wish I could." Knuckles says. Tails sees that Stryker has a gun in his back pocket. "At least lemme get this!" Tails says. "Hey!" Stryker struggles to say. Tails tosses the gun inside, breaking a window, and he flies back down to Sonic. "Ohhh. Trying to shoot ME? And up HERE? You must be stupid, Stryker!" He says. He loosens his grip, just so slightly. "That's strike one, Stryker!" He says. "Now, tell me those three special reasons why I should spare your life, rather than toss it to the wayside, like a dirty rag." Knuckles orders. "Well, for one, the Dingoes would have an uprising, and the city would become a war-zone, like Stalingrad in World War II." He says. "Knuckles takes half a step off the window sill, towards the inside. "Number two...?" Knuckles asks. "Number two, like that flying freak said, you'd be hated by the echidnas for killing me." he says. Knuckles kicks him in the stomach. "Calling my friends names isn't a way to get back in." Knuckles yells, taking that half-step back outside. "Let's try this again. Number three...?" He says. "Number three, The Dingoes are going to kill your friends and family with the Dark Legion and Doctor Robotnik's help whether I live or not for this!" He snickers, even in THIS situation! "Wrong answer." Knuckles says, letting go of the Dingo. He watches as Stryker falls. "Oh, Knuckles..." Sonic says, shaking his head. Knuckles has no emotions or regrets for his actions, and he is well aware that his lone decision will haunt him for the rest of his life. Not to mention the other echidnas' lives. His sole choice will have profound repercussions in the future of Echidna Society. "I just hope you know what you did!" Stryker says as he falls, right before he lands on a parked beige Lincoln Continental. Sonic turns away and covers his eyes to not look as he hears the crash, the crunching of metal, and the glass shattering. Then, the car's alarm goes off. "Tails, Why didn't you fly up and save him?" Sonic asks. "Something called power lines. Also, I'm not strong enough to catch him when he's FALLING." Tails explains. "Why didn't YOU run up and catch him?" Tails inquires his 'brother'. "Say I were to do so, I would be preventing Knuckles' order and action. And I don't like getting the Death Penalty for stopping a Guardian from doing his job. One other thing: I can't trust him. He has seen me hanging out with Knuckles. If I were to catch him, what's stopping him from putting another concealed gun to my head?" Sonic replies. "Well, it's too late now to ponder our actions. These are the mistakes that we must live with for 60 to 80 more years." Tails says. Zachary arrives with Julie-Su in his cruiser back from the hospital. "Holy crap! I leave a crime scene for 5 minutes to escort Remington to the hospital and THIS is what I come back to???" Zachary yells, looking at the dented cars from Tails' earlier accident, the crushed Lincoln, and bullet holes everywhere. Zachary just hold his hat and shakes his head in disbelief and disgust. "Come on! You guys are supposed to help me and Remington out, and this obviously isn't helping." Zachary says, walking over to the Lincoln. He sees that Stryker is barely alive. "Man down. The Greenway and Park Street. It's Stryker." he says into his mic. Suddenly, Sonic and Zachary sees a news van with "KCRT 4" on the side pull up. "Oh, great! Channel 4's here! More publicity!" Zachary says, being sarcastic. "It could be worse. Channel 10 could pull up with them!" Tails points out. But, what the vulpine says is true! A Ford Excursion with "CDRS 10: Your Sports Channel" on the side pulls up. Zachary basically falls over. "Alright, nothing to see here!" Sonic says. The news crews don't listen to the hedgehog. An ambulance pulls up, and takes Stryker to the Medical Center on Cedar Way, about 14 blocks down the street. "And YOU, Guardian! I can't believe you DID that!" Zachary says to Knuckles. "Sir, I did what I felt was needed to be done." Knuckles tells Zachary. "Still, did you have to break his back?" The officer asks the Guardian. Knuckles simply stands there, but he nods his head. "Guardian, this doesn't exactly help me in my job." Zachary says, walking to his cruiser. "How's Remington?" Knuckles asks. "He's in critical condition. If I were to tell him about the mess you left for the poor guy, especially after last night, he'd probably die." Zachary says, sitting down in his cruiser. "Is he going to be alright?" Tails asks. "Remington might make it. Knuckles is what kept him alive until the paramedics arrived." Zachary says, pointing out how Knuckles tried desperately to save his friend. "And what about Stryker?" Sonic asks. "Hmm. Well, look at it this way, if he dies, Locke is going to revoke your Guardian Status, and if he lives, he'll most likely either bring you to court, or start a war. Thanks to 'Senor Knucklehead', we're...how would Meatloaf say it... Damned If We do, Damned If We Don't!" Zachary says. "I just don't wanna be in Downtown at Angel Island Greenway and Windsor Avenue in a few hours!" Zachary says, shutting the car door. "Thanks a LOT, Knucklehead!" Julie-Su says to Knuckles. Locke pulls up in his black Chevrolet Suburban. "Knuckles, I want to talk with you." He says. "Sure, dad." He says. "Exactly WHEN did it seem like a good idea to try to kill a strategic person in Echidna-Dingo peace talks?" Locke asks his son. "No, no. Don't answer me yet. Think for a moment." He tells him. "Well, father, he tried to kill me and my friend, so it was like self-defense and instinct." Knuckles says. "Well, yes. But have you heard the term 'Excessive Force', my son?" Locke says. "Locke, listen, if there's going to be a street war, we should head back to haven." Sabre says. "Yes. Knuckles, The Guardians and I wish to speak with you later. We aren't going to yell at you or beat you, but we aren't impressed with your actions." Locke says. "Yes." Knuckles agrees with his father. "Knuckles, I may have to revoke your status if there actually is a war!" Sabre says. "Yes, Grandfather. I understand." Knuckles says. Tails walks over to Knuckles. "I hope you're happy. Now, there might be a war." Tails says, angered at Knuckles. "Well, there's one way to find out. We will go to City Council." Sonic says. Stryker wakes up, seeing that he is alive and at the Dingo Medical Center. "What the hell am I doing here?" he asks, looking around, and still paralyzed. Maxwell comes in. "Sir, you are paralyzed from the waist down. He says. "Great. I'm gonna kill those little punks!" He yells. "Don't worry, sir. The echidnas are sweating. At this rate, we'll take the city with no problem." he says, at his leader's bedside, and holding a machine gun. "Maxwell, my son, that's why I have appointed YOU as my second in command." Stryker says. Maxwell is surprised that he will have to take over the army. At Angel Island Central District Hospital, Remington is recovering in his bed. He sees that his fiancee, Komi-Ko is at his side. He opens his eyes, and sees her putting a soft, cool cloth on his forehead. "Wh-what happened? Where am I?" He asks. "You are at the hospital." She says softly. "What happened?" He asks. "You were shot by Stryker. Knuckles and the Chaotix saved you." She explains. He gets up in his bed. "Did anything else happen? Is anyone else injured?" Remington asks. "Well, Stryker is wounded pretty badly." Komi-Ko replies. "How?" Remington asks. "Well, Knuckles threw him off of a sixth story window." She explains to her fiancee. "WHAT? Can he do that?" He says, starting to get tense. "Remington, please, just relax. He probably had a good reason, and you should rest." She says. "You're right." He says, slumping his head into his pillow. At the city hall that night, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Ray, Brooke, The Chaotix (except for Mighty), Zachary, and The Guardians are present. Sabre is the Mayor of the City, so he has to attend the meeting. Stryker also goes, but has his assistant and son, Field Marshall Maxwell, help him into the building, because he has a wheel-chair. They all sit down, and Stryker sits in the middle of the room, with Maxwell. Sabre stands up, and reads out the night's events and meeting. "Alright. I'm glad you all could come. Tonight, I want to have a meeting on the situation with the Dingoes." Sabre says. "Sir, the dingoes and the echidnas have been fighting for the past 5 years. I think we should just give the Dingoes a place to live, like their own city or province." Zachary says, pointing out the street fights that have become commonplace on some parts of the island. "Well, the only way I see that solves this dilemma is to either divide the city into Echidna City and Dingo City, or to tell them to just get used to living with us." Locke says. "You insolent fools are the reason that my people have declared war and started fighting 5 years ago!" Stryker yells. Everyone is amazed of Stryker's outburst. "Yes, That's right. I TOLD them to start the Echidna-Dingo war. I told them the WHOLE Island, or nothing. Now, all we needed was the spark to set the flame. Remington trying to play 'Colin Powell the peace-keeper' was a main ingredient, but what did it was Knuckles protecting him and trying to kill him. That is the reason for my people to declare war!" He says, further shocking the Council. "You staged this! Stryker, you aren't for peace at all!" Zachary says. "Ding, ding, ding. He got one right!" He chuckles. Knuckles holds Zachary back by the scruff of his uniform collar. "Hey!" He says. "Zack. Sit. This could start a war." Knuckles says. "And although what my son did to you isn't right or justified, Stryker, I don't think starting a war is the right decision for the situation." Locke says. "Yeah. Well, thanks to that mutant freak and his friends, I'm never going to walk again!" He says. "Believe it or not, Stryker, I feel the pain that you go through." Sabre speaks out, with the plywood walls and the city lights reflecting the light upon him. "I'm sorry, Knuckles. Because of Knuckles' unjustified attack on Stryker, and for trying to kill him, all in favor of...stripping him of his title and mantle as Guardian Of The Master Emerald and City Of Angel Island, and have his son Lance take his place, raise your left hand. Too keep him as Guardian, raise your right hand." Sabre says. The people in the room raise their hands, but the Guardians remain impartial. "Sabre, this is hardly legal." Athair tells his son. "Please don't lecture me on law, especially after you left me to be guardian back in 3195." Sabre tells his father. The aged echidna counts the votes. "Well, it's a unanimous vote. Everyone wants my grandson to stay as Guardian." Sabre says. "HA! Typical echidnas! You get your friends to bail you out and you stick together!" Stryker says. "Vector, take your Walkman off. This isn't a RUSH concert, this is serious." Sonic says. "Ugh. Dammit." Vector grumbles as he puts his Walkman and RUSH tape away. "Alright, now, where were we?" Sabre asks. "Grandfather, you were at the part of discussing what to do with the Dingoes." Knuckles says. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Knuckles." Sabre says, shuffling his papers. "Well, we can start construction of some high-rise apartments in downtown to house the dingoes." Sabre says. "And what? Try to confine us to those towers and make them slums? I will NOT allow it!" Stryker says. "I won't either. I will never allow your people to live in slums." Sabre says. "Yeah. You just pretend to mean well and be on my side as my friend, and then you'll stab me in the back, right, Sabre?" Stryker asks. "No, not at all. I'm just the elected Mayor of this City, and I am looking out for the best interests of everyone. Echidna AND Dingo." Sabre says. "Well, confining us to Apartment buildings won't work. I'm through with your petty 'Peace Talks'. They get nowhere, and frankly, I am tired of playing this game when I know that I can win." Stryker says, wheeling himself out of the room. "Oh, no." Sabre sighs to himself. "Want me to stop him?" Ray asks. "NO! Don't. That'll make this situation worse." Sabre says. Maxwell runs after his father. "Father, with all due respect, you CAN'T be serious!" He says, while they go down the hall. "I am. I've had it with these Echidnas and their 'red tape'. I'm going to finish this age-old problem once and for all!" He says. They walk out of the building, and he pulls himself into his car. "Get me back to headquarters!" He snarls. Maxwell steps into the Chevrolet Malibu on the passenger side, and the Dingo Major obeys his orders and drives them back to the headquarters on Civic Terrace and Canada Avenue, in the heart of Downtown. The car weaves in and out of traffic, and at one point, it drives on the sidewalk. It stops, and Stryker struggles to get out. Maxwell helps his father out. "Thanks." He says, breathing heavily from straining to get the wheelchair out. He arrives on the 62nd floor of the Hacienda Court Plaza Building, which in the Dingoes' Government Headquarters. He arrives, and he is wheeled onto the stage in the main hall on that floor. "Dingoes. You may know why I have called you here tonight. Well, The reason is, I feel it is time that we break free from the echidnas that are controlling us and declare war on them to take back what is rightfully ours!" He says into the microphone. They start to cheer and applaud him for his stamina. He is still popular among his people, and he knows it. "Sir, your back is broken. What happened?" One dingo asks. "This is what happened to me for living in Echidna Society! They did this to me, and I want revenge for paralyzing me!" He says. The dingoes start to chant "Stryker!" and "Revenge For Our Leader!" "My plan is to complete take over the Echidnas, the way they took us over!" he says. "Isn't that impossible, father?" Maxwell asks. "Is THIS impossible?" Stryker asks in return, having a surprise in store for his people. Next, he does the unexpected. "To show my determination, I will prove that we dingoes are capable of doing anything and are unstoppable!" he says. The room falls silent. He actually STANDS UP, with his hand on the podium to balance himself and hold him up. "DON'T tell me it's IMPOSSIBLE!" He growls. His people cheer for his ability to stand, despite being paralyzed. Mighty happened to see all of this happen, and he captured it on his camcorder. He walks down the hall, and conceals the camera in his backpack. "Where do you think YOU are going?" A guard asks, noticing the armadillo hiding the camera. "I was just, uh, covering this story for my neighborhood magazine, uh, Dingo Weekly." Mighty lies. "OH. Alright. The print room is just to the left of the elevators." The guard says, completely fooled. "Wow, that worked!" Mighty says to himself. "Hey, wait a minute! There is no Magazine like that!" The guard yells, running after Mighty. "OH crap!" He says, running into an elevator, and laying on the close button like a madman. Come on, close!" He says to himself, as the doors close, but not as quickly as he wants, to stop the guard. The doors close, just as the guard slams into them. Mighty hears the bang and ducks from the pain. "Owch! He's gonna feel THAT in the morning!" Mighty chuckles to himself as the elevator goes from the 62nd floor, to the 54th. The doors open and he sees 4 more military guards waiting for him, with machine guns, and one patting a club in his paws. "Ack! Wrong floor!" Mighty says. He tries to run to the back of the elevator, but one of the guards grabs his backpack quicker than he can run. "Oof! This is bad!" He says to himself. "You aren't going anywhere outside this building!" Their commander says to him, still holding his backpack, and looking him in the face, eye-to-eye. They take him to a room and toss him into it. It appears to be a janitors room at Mighty's first assumption. He looks around him, and with closer detail, he sees that it is a torture and interrogation room, two of the guards enter the room. "So, what's with the camera, armadillo?" One asks. "Well, I--" He goes to say, frightened. "DON'T GIVE US ANYMORE OF YOUR LIES!" He yells. Mighty realizes that they are on to him, and that everyone on the island knows that he and Knuckles are the founders of The Chaotix. "I would LOVE to see your friends...the Chaotix come and save you!" He says, looking out the window, and seeing the city's impressive skyline. "You are the member of a group, The Chaotix is it?" The other asks. "Yes." Mighty says. The dingo punches him in the face, breaking his nose. "That's for disrupting our plans. Part II: Reinforcements Are Called At this moment, Knuckles and Tails sense what is happening to their friend. "Zachary, something BAD is going down. Can I use your cruiser and CB?" Knuckles asks. "Uh, sure, Guardian, but I don't know what it can be used for." he says, scratching his head. Knuckles drives out to the Mushroom Hill Expressway, and parks the car on top of the hill, on an overpass, and under the transformer tower wires that cover the area. Zachary makes sure the car is as close to the cement divider as possible, to avoid getting slammed by another car. Knuckles steps out of the car. It is cloudy, and there are a lot of cars and transports on the freeway. "Alright, Guardian. We're here. Now what do we do? Why are we here?" Zachary asks. "Simple. Those wires overhead are gonna relay this signal from this CB three times as far, so my friends in Knothole just might pick it up!" Knuckles shouts over the traffic, as a van and truck fly by at 120 Kilometers per hour. "Ah. Couldn't we do that in a tower downtown?" Zachary asks. "No. Too much radio interference. It works when we are in the country like this." Knuckles says. It looks like it is about to storm, and the green grass and crops start to blow from the increasingly gusty wind. "Breaker 109. This is the Guardian. You read me, Fang?" Knuckles asks. Fang is driving down I-75, just southwest of Knothole in his truck that he turned into a home for Amy Rose, his son Warren, and himself. He is surprised when he barely hears Knuckles voice thorough the static. "Yeah, Knux! I read you, but barely. Where are you? Woodstock?" He asks. "Nope. Milton Drive and Mushroom Hill Expressway in the City." Knuckles says. "And HOW are we talking over 3000 miles apart?" Fang asks. "Dunno. Luck, I guess." the echidna replies. Fang is just amazed. "Listen, I need you to get your friends and the Freedom Fighters of Knothole to get down here ASAP!" Knuckles says. "Alright! I'm on it! And Knux, You're breaking up." Fang says, driving under an overpass near Knothole. "Alright. Talk later. Over and out!" Knuckles says. Fang sees an exit ahead. "Fang, dear. What was that about?" Amy Rose asks her husband. "Knux is in trouble, and we're gonna help!" Fang says, flying past the exit sign. It read "Kent Bridge Road. Knothole, Great Forest. 3 KM." "Hey, dad. What's going on?" Warren asks his father. "You are going to see your old man in action. That's what!" Fang chuckles. He pulls off of the Freeway and drives into Knothole. Antoine and Rotor are guarding the entrance. Fang pulls on his air horn chain three times to let them know it's him. He stops, and rolls down the window. "Fang, what is going on? You look all rushed." Antoine says. "Yeah. I mean, you came in doing 80 Kilometers an hour." Rotor says. "You guys, get the Knothole Freedom Fighters ready, because something BAD is going down in Angel Island." Fang says, with fear in his eyes and voice. The two Freedom Fighters get their allies and regroup. Fang runs to the restaurant "Mike's Kitsune Hangout". He bursts open the doors, and finds the kitsune he's looking for. "Mike! We need ya!" He says to the bartender, Mike Prower. "Sure. Just give me a second to get out of here." He says. He follows Fang to where the rest of the Freedom Fighters are. Once everyone arrives, Fang stands on the hood of his truck. "Roll call!" Rotor yells. "I'll count." Mike Prower, Tails' older brother, says. He counts all of the Freedom Fighters, plus Tails and Sonic's sons, and Tails' family. "Everyone is here." He says. "Thanks, Mike!" Fang says. "Alright. It looks like the Dingoes have declared war. Now, we know that Street Fighting is always deadlier than normal wars, that's why we will need so many of us." Fang lectures. "We are experienced in street fighting, Fang. We already went through stuff like that." Stephen says. "Good. You guys have any cars or vans?" Fang asks. Diablo steps forward. "Two pickups, my Olds Cutlass, Antoine's Camaro, Reynard's motorbike, and a Chevy Van from 1978." Diablo says. "That's not much. It'll have to do." Fang says. "Let's go. We'll meet up in Chatham City. There are a couple more friends that are going to help us." Amy says. They leave Knothole, in a weird sort of convoy. Mostly little sports cars protecting a van and a huge Ford Transport. The only thing that separates this rag-tag armed mob on wheels is that they have lights like police on their vehicle roofs, showing danger, and giving them right-of-way on the Furry Expressway. After 3 minutes, they reach Chatham City. "Warren. Take the CB. You're in control." Fang says. "Alright, here's Bloomfield Road. Stay on. A Black Nissan and Beige Chevy Suburban are going to swing on, and join us. DON'T shoot them!" The weasel says. "Got it." Antoine says, looking to his right. The two cars that Warren told of enter the Freeway. It's Arthur Brenner and his friend, Peter Wolfe, gun and combat expert from fighting in Vietnam. Arthur waves out his window, and flashes his lights and lays on his horn twice. "Glad you could make it, guys." Warren says. "Of Course. If you guys need help, we'll come. It's just a shame that we Freedom Fighters don't have any military trucks or anything." Arthur says. "This is all we have." Diablo says, flying forward in his car, easily the most powerful on the Expressway. "How long till we get there?" Amy asks. "God. About 27 hours, IF we hurry like this." Fang says. "Now, tell us again... WHERE IS THE MASTER EMERALD???" Stryker says to Mighty. "I already told you. I don't know where it is, and even if I did, I would never tell." Mighty says. "He knows. He's just holding out." Maxwell says. "Here. Maybe THIS will help you remember." Stryker shows Mighty a briefcase full of Gold Ingots from Switzerland. "No. Sorry. I don't accept stolen goods!" Mighty says. "Fine. Maxwell, bring out the special equipment." Stryker says. The dingoes gasp. "No, please, father! Anything but THAT!" Maxwell begs. "Do it." Stryker says, being obstinate. "Very well." Maxwell says, wheeling out a television and a VCR, with a tape in it. "Now, turn it on, and leave the room. He'll crack and join us in less than 10 minutes." Stryker says, wheeling himself out the door. Maxwell turns the television on with a remote control from the hall. After a few seconds, the tape plays. All the dingoes can hear is "Oh, God! What is this? Please! I surrender! This is inhumane!" Mighty yells from inside the room. "Hmm. The armadillo is very weak." Stryker says, opening the door, and turning off the television. "Wh-what did you play? War footage from the Second World War?" Maxwell asks his father. "No. Nothing more than 12 minutes of tape from Martha Stewart's cooking show." Stryker says. "That's just wrong!" One of the dingoes says. "Alright! I'll talk! The Master Emerald is.... is... alright. You know where the EST Center is?" Mighty asks Maxwell. "Yes." He replies. "Well, inside is a place called Haven. That's where Knuckles and the Guardians stay and run the City and protect the Master Emerald." He says. "So? What does that have to do with the emerald?" Stryker yells. "Well, inside Haven, there is this tunnel. It leads 3000 feet below the City, almost to the tip base of the Island. At the end, is the Chaos Chamber. That's where your Emerald is." Mighty cries, knowing that he has betrayed a friend, and may be executed for his treachery. Maxwell puts his hand on Mighty's shoulder. "I'll make sure you don't get the death penalty." Maxwell says, looking out the window, at the City. "How can I TRUST you? Stryker is your father!" Mighty says. "Because I'm not entirely like my father. I show mercy and I am not as ruthless." He explains, looking at the buildings. "Oh, that makes me feel better." Mighty says. The Dingoes leave. "Father, may I have a word with the prisoner?" Maxwell asks. "Very well." Stryker says. "Mighty, I'm going to try to sneak you out. I don't approve of this war one bit." He says. "Thanks. You aren't all bad, Maxwell. Why don't you join the Chaotix?" Mighty asks. "For one, I have to stay here. It's my duty to carry the family honor as the Leader of The Dingoes." he explains. Maxwell then leaves, and the Dingoes escort Mighty to the top floor, the 89th story of the Hacienda Court Plaza Building. "Here is where you will stay, prisoner!" They say, pushing him into a dark, musty room, devoid of light or windows. The doors slam shut. "I'm gonna die in this tower." Mighty says, charging the door, and watching it not even bend. "You can try to break free, but that door and those walls are all made from solid compressed Iron Ferrite." One of the guards says. "Well, if I'm gonna die, I might as well drive them nuts, too. What tape did Vector give me... aha!" Mighty says, rummaging through his backpack. "We took all of your weapons, there is nothing inside that can possibly help you." One guard says. "I know what I can do! I can play the tape in the background, and sing off-key!" He remembers. "...And I'm...Wasting away again in Margaritaville! Looking for my lost shaker of salt!" Mighty sings, horribly off key, torturing the guards. The fall to their knees and cover their ears from the song. "Curse having large ears!" One says. "Backup! We need you! Bring earphones and guns SHOOT the armadillo!" He yells. "STOP THE HORRIBLE SINGING!" The guard yells. Mighty ignores them, shakes his head, and continues on jamming. The backup arrives, and they kick the door in. They have all of their guns armed and aimed at Mighty, ready to shoot him. "You are surrounded. Hand over the 'Jimmy Buffet' tape, NOW!" One growls. Mighty hands the tape over to the guards. They grab him, and shackle him by his hands and feet, and one punches him in the throat so he won't be able to yell for help or sing. They toss him to the ground, and leave. Fang looks up from his windshield. He sees the same storm clouds billowing in the skies above him and his convoy. "Guys, we might be in for a rough ride!" Warren says. Suddenly, a 4x4 pickup with blaring country music rolls up to them on the Furry Expressway. The driver and gunman shoot out two of Fang's tires, but he has two spares in the area where they shot, and they also take out one of Diablo's tires. "Hey! What's going on? Are these friends of yours?" Reynard asks, from his motorbike. "Nope. They're furries that are helping the Dingoes!" Warren says. Fang grabs his rifle, and shoots. He hits a tire, but it doesn't deflate. "Dammit!" He yells. Suddenly, a brown transport pulls up from behind the 4x4 and rams it. "What's going on?" Rotor asks, looking at the Freightliner almost push the truck off the highway. The 4x4 pulls to the shoulder after its motor blows up. "Serves them right." Rotor says. "Thanks for the help. Uh, can you identify yourself?" Warren asks over the CB. "Fang knows who I am." the feminine voice says. "Nic." Fang says. "I didn't need your help. What do you want?" He asks, grabbing the CB. "Reynard called me for help." She says. "Well, that's a lie. I could have handled that situation by myself." He says into the CB. "Apparently, you couldn't, with the gunmen firing at your tires." She says. An overpass whips by overhead. "Yeah, well, looks are deceiving." Fang says. While he argues with his sister, his driving skills go down the drain, scraping a railing with his truck. "Watch it!" Diablo says, almost being crushed in his fast-moving car. The stormy day gives to a very stormy night. The rain starts to pour, there is lightning everywhere, and the usually dark freeway is even darker than normal, being so dark that you can only see cars and trucks by their headlights. Then, the rain. It comes down very hard, making it impossible to see. The winds pick up to around 130 Kilometers per hour. The lightning lets loose. "Rotor! I can barely see my hood ornament. I'm pulling to the side." Fang says. "Good idea. With this electrical storm, there might be a tornado." He says. They pull over, just to wait out the night storm. Fang gets out to check on the others, braving the storm and traffic. "Fang, get a camera!" Rotor says, watching lightning be sucked around a funnel. It arches, and loops around the tornado, far off into the distance. Fang snaps a few pictures. "Wow, this is good!" He says. He runs back into his truck, and shows Warren and Amy. The Freedom Fighters all try to fall asleep during this electrical storm on the Furry Plains. Now, our group relocates to Ray's house on Lafayette Street on the far west side, 6 Kilometers from where this story began. Aside from the 'Bob Marley' Reggae and wooden, almost musty smell of the old house on the west end, near the Rainforest, it looks dead. "Knux, where is this backup?" Sonic asks. "Dunno, bro. they should be here soon." Knuckles says. "Yeah, and where's Mighty?" Vector and Ray ask. "I dunno." Knuckles says. "Well, I hope he gets back soon. I'm worried and I have this feeling he's in trouble." Julie-Su says about her friend. "Well, night is falling. Let's call it a night and we'll try to figure out what to do in the morning." Sonic says, yawning. Everyone falls asleep. The next morning, Knuckles wakes up and looks outside. What he doesn't see disturbs him. Usually, the street has the occasional car or City Bus driving by, and then turn on to the Green Hill Expressway. Knuckles sees no vehicles, instead, a signal of smoke emanating from Downtown and one of the buildings there. "Let's go. Something's happening." He says. The Chaotix, Sonic, and Tails all run towards Downtown. They see that Stryker has set the neighboring Comerica Tower aflame, as his first declaration of war against the echidnas. Sonic and Knuckles see fire trucks pulling up to the 45-storey building, to combat the flames. "Alright, where's Mighty? He never showed up last night." Ray asks Zachary, who just pulled up in his cruiser. "I think Stryker has taken him hostage." The officer replies. Suddenly, a huge explosion shakes the earth, and everyone falls back. The top 8 stories are blown clean off the building! "Everyone! Fall back! Regroup on St. Clair Street!" Knuckles yells over the cries and screams of terrified echidnas. At Channel 10, everything is just as hectic. "What's going on? I'm getting hacked! Someone's using our signal!" The reporter says. Stryker basically stole the signal from the City's main TV station, and is using it as his own. "Good morning, Angel Island!" He says. "You may be wondering what has happened at Park and Grand River a few moments ago... Well, simply put, I demolished the building as my first act of war against the echidnas." he confesses to destroying Comerica Tower. "I have declared Angel Island a war zone!" He says, blinking out of the signal. "So, HE did it!" Tails says. "Let's check on Remington. We have to see if he's alright." Knuckles says, running in the direction of the Hospital. He enters the hospital. "Where's Remington? is he alright?" Knuckles asks a wolf student doctor from Abalone. "He's doing fine. Room 1204." He says, pointing the pencil he was writing with towards the elevators. "Thanks!" Knuckles says, running towards it, slipping in as the doors close. One of the doctors shakes his head. Knuckles runs into Remington's room. "Knuckles! Did you just see what was on Channel 10?" Remington asks. "Yeah. I was there." Knuckles says. "Get me up. I've got to avert a war!" Remington says, getting out of his bed. "I'm sick of just sitting here, watching things like that." He says to Knuckles and Komi-Ko. He walks out of the hospital, and then they hear a huge boom from the west. The three echidnas shield themselves from the light. "S**T! Stryker has gained control of our nuclear weapons!" Remington yells. On The freeway, our other heroes are faring much better. "Yawwn. Well, that was a cool night. Time to start driving again!" Fang says, waking up. He starts his truck up and pulls off of the shoulder. Soon, the Freedom Fighters are back in their little 'convoy' of sedans and pick-ups. This is the part of the freeway where the land narrows out to a county road on the left of the freeway (heading east towards Angel Island), and two rails on the right. Fang looks around him. He sees the other cars on the peninsula, the lakes around him, the cropland and forests fading to the back of him, the train driving on the rails, and keeping pace with him. Amy Rose waves. The engineers wave back at the Freedom Fighters. Antoine sees that they are coming up to the Furry River Road-Rail Bridge. "Listen up! Zey might not let us across if they see our guns and weapons." Antoine says. "I've got that taken care of already." Rotor says. Everyone at the tolls steps back from a cleared lane and they watch the Freedom Fighters cross the bridge. Fang hits a bun, and two of his shot-out tires fall off. He pulls over. "Damn! Right through it, too!" He says, inspecting the tire with Rotor. "Well, I guess we'll have to drive closer to you the rest of the way to Angel Island." Rotor says. They pull off, this time, in a line, with Fang at the end, at his suggestion. They see a sign saying "Welcome To Albion. Angel Island: 375 Km." "Well, at least it's going to be a short drive." Fang says. "That's IF the Echidnas let us into Angel Island. You know that the Islands of Albion and Angel Island are both basically off-limits to everyone." Reynard says. "Only if you have a good reason to enter, will they let you in. The wolves and foxes in Avalon, the neighboring nation are the same." Diablo adds. After about 35 minutes, they see a helicopter and two fighter jets fly overhead. "Is this bad, or are we just next to an Echidna Armed Forces Base?" Nic asks. "Um, this is a bad thing!" Rotor says. This is where a solid black bus pulls up to them. It reads "Echidna Mobile Command Center Bus" on the side, in futuristic block letters. "Pull over NOW!" The driver of the black bus instructs. The Freedom Fighters do what they are told, only they find themselves pulling into a parking lot of some military building like The Pentagon or Area 51. Diablo steps out of his Cutlass. "What's going on?" He asks. They watch as the bus pulls up in front of them, blocking their view of the base. The door opens up. Amy steps out of the truck. She sees that it is her cousin, Rob, from Mercia. "Rob! How are you?" She asks, giving her cousin a hug. "I'm fine, fair cousin. And thee? How art thou and thine friends?" He asks. "Is he a Shakespeare nut or something?" Reynard asks, taking off his helmet. "No. That's how the furries and echidnas talk in the city-state of Mercia." Amy explains. "Oh. Amy, Fang. This is the Echidna Armed Forces Command Center. 'Tis like NORAD in Colorado. The echidnas in charge would like to speak with you." He tells his cousin and cousin-in-law. "This is bad. I can feel it in my bones. This won't end well, and it will end with me being shot dead by some American sniper in a tree!" Fang says, starting to get a bit nervous. He had a traumatic experience in the army, shortly before he became a sniper/bounty hunter, with an US Marshals Officer. "'Tis alright, Fang. No one's arrived here to kill you, or anyone of your convoy." Rob says, patting Fang on the shoulder, to reassure him. "Yeah. Thanks. I hope not." He says. The other Echidnas on board step out. Amy recognizes that it is Yanar and his friend, Gala-Na, both of which are echidnas. Yanar is wearing his sandals, and black EST raincoat. Gala-Na is wearing her usual green dress. "Welcome to Albion, Knothole Freedom Fighters!" Yanar says, stepping out of the bus, with a cigarette in his mouth. He asks Fang if he wanted a cigarette. "NO, thanks. I've just quit." He declines. "Good I'm quitting meself. Smoking is the worst mistake I ever did!" Yanar says. The Freedom Fighters agree with the wise echidna. "So, what's with the Military Greeting?" Nic asks. "Sorry. It's customary for us to do that to outsiders. We tend to think they are here to attack us, so it's our first line of defense. That's why there is a Border lock-down." Yanar explains for the Military coming after the furries. "Sir, I drove from Montreal to Angel Island without trouble." Reynard says. "That's before Robotnik came, remember?" Gala-Na reminds the wolf. "Ah, yes. My mistake." Reynard says. "Anyway, why talk out here? Come inside, it's much more comfortable." Rob asks. "Naw, thanks, mate." Fang says, stepping back a pace. "Fang, dear. He already told you that you are safe. No one is going to harm you. The echidnas here are peaceful." Amy says. "Alright. But for 5 minutes, 'kay? Knuckles called for our assistance." Fang says. They walk down a hall, and into an elevator. They get out on the third floor. They walk down the hall. Fang, Nick, Amy, Reynard, Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie, Mike, and the rest walk in through the double doors. "We'll watch the kids, guys!" Mike and Chris say. "Alright. Thanks!" Bunnie says. "This is our Briefing Room." Yanar says, showing them the map of the world, the UN- or NATO-styled layout of the room, and the computers at one end of the room, with blinking lights, screens full of windows and data, and a few people that they would least expect to see in this country. "King Max? Prince Elias? Princess Sally? What are you all doing here?" Fang asks the Royal Family. "Well, Fang. We were called here because of what is happening in the city of Angel Island." Sally says. "Sonic, Knuckles, and Zachary called us down from Knothole. That's why we left for the Floating Island." Rotor says. "Hmm. Very well, but you completely left Knothole unguarded! Now, the echidnas have to watch themselves, AND Knothole." Elias points out. "You forgot. We also cover Canada." Yanar says. "Now, an enemy may be able to invade and seize control. This is why I have given the order for Yanar to nuke Knothole if an enemy takes over." Max says. Reynard is amazed of the turn of events. Suddenly, the computers all freak, and sirens go off. "Uh, what's going on?" Fang asks. "Someone's hacked in and is in control of our nuclear stockpile!" Yanar says, trying not to panic. He tries to avert a disaster by disabling the missile's silo. He fails. He attempts to disable the missile and destroy it. He fails those two times. "Where's it headed?" Max asks. "Angel Island's west end." Yanar says. "That's like half a million people at risk! There's no time to warn them!" Elias says. They all watch as the missile just slams into the Rainforest and obliterates it in a brilliant nuclear fury of a mushroom cloud. "Oh, God! How I wish to defend the world from nuclear weapons!" Max says, sighing, and slumping in his seat. Then, Stryker appears on the main monitor. The room falls quiet, except for the beeping and whirring of the computers. The silence is deafening. "Good afternoon, Yanar. King Max." He says, looking slightly angry and looking down at Yanar like the echidna is but a little speck. Tikal enters the room. "Ah, Tikal, the Echidnas' National President." Stryker says. "What do you want, Stryker?" Yanar asks, being the vice-president. "I have called to just let you know that if those furry pests form Knothole so much as set one foot on the Floating Island, they will be killed. The same for your troops, Max!" He says. "Oh, I'm sending in peacekeeping troops whether you like it or NOT! You don't have a choice on what happens!" Max boldly says. "Very well. Max, don't make me declare war on the Knothole Furries as well." Stryker says, sounding almost annoyed or bored. "OH? You think this is a game? Declaring war on the Echidnas, who have been more than patient with you, given your people places to stay and work within the City, and this is what they get in return? You are lucky I haven't called the United States of America!" Yanar says, slamming his fist on the table, which doubles as a map of Albion, King Max's Kingdom, Avalon, and Downunda. "Yanar, I would never let a situation get out of hand to the extent of where a NATO country would have to save us." Tikal assures everyone. Crawling out of the rubble, Ray and Julie-Su ask Sonic if he's alright. "Yeah, Ray. I'm fine." Sonic says, coughing. "This is it! The last straw! We're going to find Mighty and fight Stryker!" Knuckles says, helping Sonic up. "Yeah, but in a city this size, where would we look?" Tails asks, sliding down the side of a tree. "Tails. Stryker's Military Headquarters is in the Hacienda Court Plaza Building. That's probably where Mighty is." Vector says. "That's only 9 blocks from here. Let's go!" Knuckles says, being the leader of the Chaotix. They enter the lobby of the building, and are stopped by some guards. "Sorry. You aren't allowed in this building. Dingoes only." The guard says. "I didn't want to do this, Sonic. I really didn't!" Knuckles says. The guard wonders what the Guardian's move is. "Sir, I'm afraid you have to leave your current position to let us by. As the Guardian Of The Master Emerald, I am asking politely for you to either stand down, or at least move aside." Knuckles sounds like his father, Locke. What they don't know, is that Stryker is watching them on the security cameras. "Sir, this is threatening Echidna National Security." Knuckles says. Stryker picks up his scanner. "Move aside. Let the Guardian in. I wish to show him a surprise!" Stryker says. "Yes, sir!" The guard replies, stepping out of the way. "Would you like me to show you to the elevator, Guardian?" The Dingo asks. "No, thanks. That's all." Knuckles says, opening the elevator. "Knux, That was too easy. Something's up." Vector says. "I guess I just have power." Knuckles says. "No, Vector's right. I this nagging feeling someone's waiting for us at the top of this tower." Ray says. He couldn't be any closer to the truth! Tails breaks the silence. "I bet this elevator is gonna drop and kill us. You know, Stryker is probably waiting for us, as soon as we open those doors!" Tails says. "Tails, don't be such a drip." Vector says. "Say that again, and I'll hand you to Stryker!" Knuckles says. "I mean it! I don't want bickering amongst us. We are supposed to be allies." Knuckles says. "Alright. Tails. Sorry for calling you a drip." Vector says. "It's alright. Just don't call me that again." Tails says, annoyed. The elevator stops at the 39th floor. As luck would have it, who is at the doors with two guards? Not Stryker, but his son, Maxwell. The doors open up. The Chaotix and their friends see that it is him. Maxwell looks exactly like his father, except that he is slightly shorter and thinner. "Stryker!" Tails yells, giving him a one-two punch in the face and stomach. He falls to the ground. "Oof! Guards, stand down!" He strains to say from the pain. Tails broke Maxwell's nose, and it is bleeding. When Tails heard the words "Stand down, Guards", Tails new that it couldn't be Stryker. "Oh, my God! I am SO sorry!" Tails says, helping Maxwell up. He sees that he broke his nose. "It's alright." Maxwell says, dusting himself off. He walks away, seeing that there are a lot of Freedom Fighters. He notices that they are well armed. Tails has ribbons of bullet rounds. Knuckles has a machine gun, hat, and bandanna, sort of a "Rambo" thing, and Zachary having a few guns and rounds of ammo. This is where they meet up with resistance. Stryker sees the kitsune beat his son. "Oh, that freak is going to pay dearly with his life!" He growls. Maxwell enters. "Are you alright? You look like crap!" Stryker says to his son. "Oh, thanks a lot. That's polite." Maxwell sighs. Stryker gets him a First Aid Kit to fix his nose. "Here. All guards and Military personnel and soldiers: There are intruders on the 39th floor! I order you to search and destroy them! Show no mercy and shoot first, ask questions later!" He says into the microphone. "Is that really necessary?" Maxwell asks his father. "Yes, it is. They are here to kill me and my allies, while rescuing theirs." He explains to his son. The Chaotix hears this. "Oh, Figs! This isn't good!" Sonic says. "Do we run? Fight?" Ray asks Knuckles. The Guardian simply puts his hand up as he looks around the corner. Knuckles goes to turn the corner in the hallway, when he almost gets shot in the head by a dingo soldier that has a machine gun. "Oh S**T!" Knuckles grabs his hat and ducks around the corner. He fires back two rounds, but he hears the machine gun and footsteps getting closer from down the hall. Zachary gets a rifle from his backpack. He gets it ready. "This ought to take him out!" He says. "Knux, move aside, please. I'll take him." He says. Knuckles moves back. Zachary lies down on his stomach on the ground. He has the gun in his hand, and he points the gun around the corner. "sayonara, sucker!" he says, shooting the Dingo with a fatal round to the chest. "Damn! He's almost as good as Fang!" Sonic says. "Yeah, well. Being an officer of the EST, you have to be skilled in those sort of things." Zachary says to Sonic. "Let's just go. I am more than sure they will have backups, and since we killed one of their own, they will want revenge." Knuckles says. Tails freezes in the middle of the hall. "Me." He barely squeaks. Zachary takes the Dingo's ID Card, gun, and ammo. Then, it seems they are encountering more soldiers and military dingoes, because they almost seem as if they are crawling out of the woodwork. By the time they reach the end and get to the elevator, our heroes leave the 39th floor looking like a scene from Wolfenstein or DOOM. "Another One Bites the Dust!" Knuckles says, sounding like Freddie Mercury right after Zachary shoots and kills the last guard in front of the elevator. They get in, only Tails sees that this is a service elevator that doesn't have any buttons, rather it goes where it is instructed, either up or down by one floor. They arrive on the 40th floor, and see that it might be just slightly harder to get to the top. Mighty hears the announcements. "Great! Knuckles and the guys are here to liberate me!" Mighty cheers in his cell. "Shut up!" The guards say. "Don't make me sing again! I know you dingoes hate music!" Mighty says, ready to sing again. The guards stand back, and Mighty sees that they have their machine guns loaded this time. "I'll, uh, just shut up this time." Mighty says. "Good." The guards say. Knuckles gets a thought at that exact moment. "Guys, Mighty is on the 89th floor." He says. "Great! We aren't even half way through the building?" Espio asks, amazed. "Well, my point is if the Dingoes hate music, why don't we play some? It'll be like insect repellent, and they are the bugs." Knuckles says. "Sure. It COULD work, if they actually DID hate music." Ray says. "Well, let's find out. Tails, you have any music tapes?" Knuckles asks the vulpine. "Uh, just this one. Queen: A Night At The Opera." Tails says, reading it. "Hmm. It's gonna work!" Vector says, putting the tape in his walk man, and putting the volume up to MAX. "Isn't this rock music going to give us away?" Remington asks. "It might. It might also keep the Dingoes away." Knuckles says. "Oh. Okay, how?" Remington asks. "Simple. The Dingoes hate rock music because their ears are so loud, that only rock music will be amplified, sounding three times as loud as it really is, thus giving them migraine headaches." Knuckles says. "I understand now." Remington says. They walk through the halls, and they reach the elevator without any more casualties. This elevator takes them to the 64th floor. They simply walk to the end of the floor, when they have to fight again. Vector points his headphones at the three guards. They are stunned, faint and collapse to the floor. "Wusses. Queen isn't even hard rock." Vector laughs. Sonic, Knuckles, and Ray look at the guards. "This one has keys." He says, taking keys that may be to Mighty's cell. They get into the elevator, only they can't go anywhere. The door closes behind them. The elevator is controlled by either typing in an access code, or by swiping a card. They are confused, since there are no numeric keys to push for the level number. "Please insert your 8-digit access code here." The screen says. "We're trapped in here!" Espio says. "No, we aren't." Zachary says. "Yeah, but will we survive this crappy elevator music long enough to type this code in?" Ray asks. Sonic cracks up and laughs. Zachary types in the code, and it says "Code Accepted." The screen disappears into the wall, and in its place, the numeric key pad. Knuckles pushes "81". They get dropped off on the 81st floor, after having to endure 4 tortuous minutes of "Berlin". "God, let's NOT go through THAT again!" Espio says. They walk through the floor and find a shocking revelation: there is no elevator! "Great! Where did it go?" Ray asks. "Maybe it's in a Janitor's Room or something?" Sonic wonders. "No. It's here alright, but he seen that we were coming through those security cameras, so he had his guys remove it, trapping us up here." Knuckles says. Tails looks into the corner, and sees the camera. He flies up to it, then to the right, then to the left. It watches his every move, then shines a laser at him. He punches it, destroying it. "Go Tails!" Ray says. Tails comes back down to the floor. They walk around all 8 of the halls. Still no elevator. "Hey Guys! Check this out!" Ray says. "What is it?" Sonic asks his friend. "Fire Stairs! We can walk up these." Ray says. "It's cemented shut! WE aren't able to smash the door open and use it!" Knuckles says, ramming the door 3 times. He then looks to the window, with the City in the background. It is now sunset, around 7:45 PM. "Hello? What's this?" Knuckles looks out the window, seeing a fire escape on the outside. "We can run up this to the 89th level, and then get Stryker!" Knuckles says. "Good job, Knux!" Julie-Su says, breaking her silence through most of the building. "Well, up we go, just *ulp!* don't look down!" Espio says. "How high up are we?" Tails asks Ray, who are both flying. "Um, the 81st story of 89, why?" Ray replies with a question. "Just wondering. I thought we were much higher than that." Tails says. The Chaotix climb up to the 89th floor, with Vector apparently taking his sweet time. "Come ON, Vector! " Ray says. "I-I can't move!" Vector says, holding a railing. "You looked down didn't you? You know, for a computer whiz, you sure act like a moron." Ray says, outstretching his hand. Vector grabs it, after he sees a nut coming loose. He hops through the window, as that part of the fire escape gives way, and falls down to the street below, clanging and banging on its descent. "You're lucky I saved you just now!" Ray says. They walk down the hall, 5 rooms from where they arrived. The guards see them, and draw their weapons. "Alright, this looks like this is where Mighty is being imprisoned." Sonic says, drawing his handgun. Knuckles expects a bloody shoot-out, but when the guards surrender after Sonic fires only one warning shot, Knuckles urges extreme caution. "Alright, open the door!" Sonic yells, with the gun to the other guard's head. "Sonic! I never knew you take hostages!" Tails says. "I don't. This is just so the guard opens the door." Sonic replies. The guard opens the door, and unshackles Mighty. "Hey! Glad to see ya, man!" Vector says, greeting Mighty. "It's great to see you guys, too!" He says, shaking Knuckles' hand. Part III: Decisions "So, you're telling me zat if we don't stop zis Stryker, ze echidnas will be doomed?" Antoine asks Yanar. "Yep. That's about the size of it." He replies. "Then what the hell are we doing in here?" Nic asks. "I know you want to save the world. I do, too! But we must maintain a sense of order, like the way you all did on the way here." Max says. Elias stands up and walks to the door on his right. "Freedom Fighters, I would like to show you a few people that you may know. Geoffrey St. John, and the Secret Service." He says, opening the door. "Commander, you know the Freedom Fighters already." Elias says. "I do. They helped defeat Doctor Robotnik 25 years ago." He replies. "Freedom Fighters, in case you have forgotten, this is Commander St. John, General Amadeus Prower, Sergeant Merlin Prower. Rear-Admiral Wombat Stu, Walt Wallaby, Brigadier Generals Hershey, Luther Prower, and Barby Koala, Maps Expert Guru Emu, Explosives Expert Duck 'bill' Platypus, and Negotiator and Walt's son, Joey Wallaby." Elias tells the crowd. "Now, they will be taking a different way to the City. They are not going to slow you down." Yanar says. "Good. 'Cause Fang The Sniper doesn't wait for anyone. I'm ready, let's roll." Fang says, getting up out of his chair, and walking towards the doors. "Well, I guess we should be heading back on the freeway to the City to help the echidnas!" Rotor says. "We're going to need another person to help us on our way. One of the Secret Service members." Bunnie says. "I'll go help them." Joey says. "It's nothing really. They are my friends. I don't mind." He says. "Thanks, Joey. You're so kind and adorable." Bunnie says. They leave, and head back on the Freeway. They can see the faint outline of the huge floating continent in the distance. It appears to be on fire or something because smoke is coming off it. "Whoa! What happened to the city?" Fang asks his friends. "Well, as far as I can tell, one of the buildings may have blown up, and it also looks like a nuclear device was used." Rotor says. After he says that, three transports fly up in the left lane, one with a huge gun-cannon on its trailer. The other two are standard military vehicles with the Secret Service personnel in them. Merlin waves, with a machine gun in his hand. The army trucks speed off towards the distressed city. "Hmf. Showoffs." Fang growls. Sonic and Knuckles go ahead of the group in the hall, and open the double doors, very carefully. Knuckles bursts through the door, and sees a shocking sight. Stryker with a machine gun in his hand, with his flag draped over the windows behind him. To his left, Kragok. And in the dark corner, Shadow, roboticized. "Alright, Stryker, Where's Robotnik? I know he and his Shadowbots are in this building!" Knuckles yells. "You dare to threaten me with my allies and guards protecting me? And on my own territory?" Stryker asks, stroking the machine gun. Robotnik comes out of the left area with about 15 of his Shadowbots. "What are YOU doing here? And why are you helping Stryker?" Sonic questions. "We have a common goal to murder Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, as well as anyone who allies themselves with them!" He says. "I even took the liberty to capture Shadow and roboticize him. He wanted to help us, and wanted to be roboticized. Now, he is going to kill you." Stryker says. Shadow steps forward. "Any commands, Master Stryker?" he asks. "Yes. Bring me the head of Sonic The Hedgehog!" Stryker says. "Very well." Shadow says, flying forward, towards Sonic. Sonic doesn't have time to move. He flies into him so quickly, that he knocks Sonic to the ground. Shadow grabs Sonic's throat, and tries to choke him or break his neck. Sonic tries to kick Shadow off, but he can't. Tails runs over, and tries to pull him off of the Blue Blur. Knuckles punches Shadow in the head and Shadow begins to loosen his grip. Knuckles punches Shadow so hard that he is flung into the Shadowbots. "Thanks you guys! You saved me!" Sonic says, being helped up by Tails and Knuckles. "Sonic, you're basically our brother. We have to help." Knuckles says. "Are you alright? Is your neck broken?" Tails asks. "No. Everything is fine." Sonic says. "I'm just going to settle a score with that fake hedgehog!" Sonic yells, running towards Shadow. "Is he crazy?" Ray asks Mighty. "Dunno. He's angry!" Mighty replies. Sonic runs into Shadow, and does his Figure 8 Move on the roboticized furry. Shadow is stunned. "Get up! Kill Sonic!" Stryker yells. Shadow begins to stand up. Robotnik walks back into the darkness. No one notices, because they are all watching the blue hedgehog. Fang gets to the last checkpoint between himself and the City. "Sir, what are your plans for visiting The Floating Island?" The Echidna Security Team officers ask Fang. "We're here from Knothole. Knuckles called for us." Fang explains. "Very Well. We have a Transport Freighter waiting for you over there." The echidnas say. "Good. At least we get a space ship to take us up to ze Floating Isle." Antoine says. "Just park your vehicles in our lot here." The echidna says. "Sir, we'll be needing our cars when we get there." Chris Prower says. "Alright, drive them into the craft VERY CAREFULLY." The echidna says. they drive into the huge space shuttle-plane. Fang walks into the pilot's control area. "Alright, how long before we get to the City?" Fang asks. "About 5 minutes. And are the cars in the cargo bay secured and chained down?" The pilot asks. "Yeah. Hey, haven't I seen you and the copilot before?" Fang asks. The pilot turns around. "Maybe you have." The pilot says, really being "StarFox" McCloud. "All the cars and trucks in the bay are secured. I tied 'em." Fang says, sitting down. "Good. Because we are in the air." Fox says. They fly for about 5 minutes, then land at Angel Island City International Airport. Bunnie and Joey look out the window, and see that half the city is burning and on fire, while the rest, is fine. Downtown is alright, except for Comerica Tower, which is missing the top 8 floors from Stryker's attack. The Freedom Fighters get out of the Freighter and look around the airport's vast expanses of cement and runways. Oddly, there are no planes taking off or landing, and that strikes them as odd. "Let's just move on. When we find Sonic and Tails, we'll get to the bottom of this!" Walt says. Ray steps back towards his friend, Sonic. He whispers in his ear, a plan to take out the entire floor they are on, even if it costs him his life. "Sonic. I have a grenade that can kill all these guys, AND take out the whole floor." He whispers. "Sure. Do it!" Sonic says. "Sonic, if I do, and don't make it out...then...well, you know what will happen to me." he says. "Yeah, I know. You'll be killed. Just RUN as fast as you can, and glide to get out." Sonic says, patting the flying squirrel on the back. "*Ulp.* Yeah." Ray says, knowing he might not live to see the dawn of the next morning. Ray steps back towards the door, and runs down the hall. "Get that squirrel! Shoot him to kill!" Robotnik orders. Ray then sees that he is running down the hall with about 15 Shadowbots, 10 Dingo guards, and 6 Dark Legionnaires chasing him. He frantically runs to stay alive through the hall, and slam dunks his powerful grenade into the elevator shaft. "He just tossed an explosive device into the elevator shaft area!" Kragok says to Robotnik and Maxwell. They run back to their room, where Shadow is showing a 3D map of the building to Stryker. "They will try to exit this way." He says, pointing to the blue and red dots. "Hmmm, very interesting, Shadow." Stryker says. "Sir! We need to take shelter! The squirrel that had the spiked hair tossed a bomb into the elevator." Robotnik says. "Not to worry. This room is bomb-proof, and it would take a nuclear blast to destroy this building." he says. The villains are relieved of Stryker's assurance. The Chaotix flee down the Fire Stairs and run out the front door. Sonic leads, followed by Knuckles and Mighty, Tails in the air, with Julie-Su, Zachary, Vector and Espio running out. They hear, feel and see the explosion. "Where's Ray?" Mighty asks. "I didn't see him right behind us.... Poor Ray." Knuckles says, taking off his hat and holding it at chest-level. What breaks the silence, other than the few passing cars, is Ray yelling as he flies out of a window, apparently from sliding in the air ducts of the building. "Yeeeeha!" He yells, flying out of the building around the 4th story, and landing in a tree. "Ray! You're alive?" Mighty asks his friend. "Yeah! I'm here, aren't I?" Ray asks. "We thought you bit the dust in the building." Sonic says. "Nope. No way! It'll take WAY more than what that little thing punched out to kill me!" Ray says, boasting. "Well, still, man. Glad to see ya!" Knuckles says. Ray and Tails hear the screeching of car tires coming from either the basement parking lots, or on some nearby streets. "Cars! Ray, they sound like military vehicles!" Tails says. "Oh, goody! More playmates!" Ray says, trying to make sarcasm so thick, you could swim through it. "Let's get out of here. The city is too dangerous. Get the EST out of here!" Tell them we are going to have to evacuate the City. We'll regroup in the hills, say, Mushroom Hill?" Knuckles tells everyone his plan. "Knux. You're talking evacuating close to 3 Million echidnas, wolves and other furries. Are you sure?" Tails asks. "Yeah. I'm sure. Let's make a Command Post in the hills. Near the Marble Garden Ruins Park." Knuckles says. "Alright. Good plan." Mighty says. Suddenly, Tails is blinded by strong headlights breaking through the dirty darkness of urban night. He can hear that it is a truck. Tails shields his eyes, and sees the driver get out. He is armed very well, to the brim with guns of every kind on his belt. "Stand back, everyone!" Tails orders. The Chaotix does what the brave vulpine tells them. All Tails sees is the outline of a shape from the lights being reflected off the driver's fur. He can hear the driver's boots step along the ground. Tails notices a hat, belt, belt buckle, and a pair of boots. "Tails, it's me! Fang!" The driver says. "Oh! Thank God you're here, only 34 hours late!" Tails says "Hey. It's the auto club!" Sonic says, seeing the rest of the Freedom Fighters pull up. "Sorry the Echidnas kept slowing us down." Fang says. "Well, that's what happens when National Security is a great risk." Knuckles explains. Then, the echidna military trucks from the base pull up. "Who are they, and what are they doing here?" Sonic asks Knuckles. "I don't know. Knuckles replies, walking towards the Peterbit Truck. He knocks on the window. Yanar rolls it down. "Yes, Guardian?" He asks. "Oh, it's YOU, Yanar. We thought you were the Dingoes." Knuckles tells his friend. "No, just me, Tikal, Gala-Na, Rob O' The Hedge, the Royal Secret Service, and Krystal and Fox McCloud." He explains. "Good. Well, we're retreating to the Ruins in the hills." Knuckles says. "Follow us!" Tails says. They get their trucks ready, and they drive out of Downtown, past Knuckles' apartment building, and out of the city. Beyond the Ring Expressway, they drive down the four-lane, boulevard-style Mississagua Highway. They reach the ruins, and set up their base. They prepare for their first actions in the morning. "Ooh, the echidna and his friends have quite the nerve to kill 8 of my guards, and try to destroy me and my building!" Stryker growls. "Patience, Stryker. They are very weak right now without their resources. They will be overcome. Besides, Knuckles and Fang used to be my slaves. I can pay Fang off. Knuckles is another story." Robotnik tells the dingo. "I hope so, Robotnik!" Stryker says. Shadow pics something up on his radar. "Sir, an unspecified aircraft has entered City airspace." Shadow reports. "What type of jet?" Stryker is curious to know. "Sir, it is a Boeing 747, however it is of the Echidna Air Force, for it is retrofitted like a stealth fighter-bomber-transport with all its guns." Shadow says. "Oh? Is it carrying anything?" Kragok asks. "No. It is empty. Heading north-northwest for Haarlem District and, eventually, The Radioactive Zone." Shadow says. "That's a relief. I thought it was carrying a nuclear payload." Stryker says. "Sir, it is not. I can assure you of that." Shadow reports. Stryker wheels himself into his Press Room. The time is 7:03 AM. the city is vacant. All the echidnas and furries are far too frightened to exit their homes and apartments. "Good morning, Angel Island! I am just speaking to let you know that the entire Floating Island is under COMPLETE DINGO OCCUPATION! I am now the ruler, and the echidnas and Dingoes have basically traded spaces. Now, you may be frightened or intimidated by my army trucks or officers going by in your neighborhoods, but this is just to ensure that there isn't an uprising. This is your NEW MAYOR, Stryker, signing out." He says on the television. The roughly 3 Million citizens watch in horror as they are now Prisoners Of War in their own city, like the Parisians or Berliners in World War 2. Within 3 hours, the Dingoes have complete control of the city, its services, and even the whole island! The echidnas hide, and they peacefully accept Dingo Occupation of their city. They are ruthless police officers and security officials. They turn the City into basically one big Prisoner Of War camp, with the echidnas not being allowed to do much of anything. They are threatened for walking down the streets. Part IV: The First Attacks "Alright. We're ready to plan an attack on Stryker. He's turned the echidnas into prisoners. No one can enter the Floating Island, OR leave it." Knuckles tells them. Enter Lance, Knuckles' son. "Dad, I think I'm ready to become a Guardian. I'm old enough." He says. "Ya know, Knux, this would be a good situation to train him in." Mighty says. "Yeah. I guess so." Knuckles agrees. "Lara-Su! Lance! I'm going to show you two how to become Guardians." Knuckles says to his son and daughter. He walks about 50 paces southeast, and comes to a hill, overlooking the grand Angel Island City. From Knuckles' perch, he can see all of the City, the river, and the Bay. The tall buildings appear shrouded in a sooty haze from the explosions. He can see and recognize them all. The Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Renaissance Center, Madden Building, Comerica Tower, Buhl Building, One Woodward Avenue, Penobscot, Echidna Tower, Chrysler Building, Island Terrace Place, Guardian Building, and Scotiabank Center, all of them, towering high over the city. "lance, if you and Lara-Su succeed in helping us overthrow these menaces, I will make you Official Guardians." Knuckles says. "Alright." Lance and Lara-Su say. He walks back to the group, with his kids following. "We're ready." Knuckles says. "Alright, Knux, let's go take back your City!" Sonic says, leaning on an ancient pillar. "First, we need a formation plan." Tails says. "Good thinking, Tails." Sonic says. "Chaotix! You follow me. We'll sneak across the river, and attack from the other side of it. Freedom Fighters, well, Tails will instruct you." Knuckles says. "Yeah. Freedom Fighters, Follow me. We'll attack right from the heart of Downtown. Sonic, you will lead us." Tails says. "Secret Service personnel, you attack from the Northern part of the City. Prowers, you help Tails. The rest of you, take the Southeast." Sonic says. "And what about us? We may not be as old as you, but we are still Freedom Fighters!" Stephen says to his father. "You're right. It's a bit dangerous, but we need all the help we can get. The Second Generation of Freedom Fighters, you will have Antoine and Bunnie help you. You will take Downtown from the South." Sonic says. The teenage Freedom Fighters cheer." They calm down, and listen to Knuckles. "Alright, move out!" Knuckles says, hopping onto the roof of Yanar's truck. They drive very quietly, and stop when they see a Dingo checkpoint on the road, which they have put up at every road and rail crossing in the city at the City's limits. They also have divisions at the Airport and Harbor at the junction of the River and the Bay. "Great. We need a plan, Sonic!" Fang says. "Not to worry. We'll turn right here." Sonic says, instructing them to sneak in through the subways. Fang stops the truck, and Sonic gets out. He takes a pair of binoculars from Fang's truck. He sees that they are guarding the subways, too. "They are waiting for us. Stryker is too clever. I guess He has finally won, and the City is his." Sonic says to Knuckles. "Great. Goodbye, echidna independence. Hello, Dingo rule." Knuckles says. "You CAN'T be joking! Giving up so early? You haven't even done a preemptive strike on him! For all we know, he could be weak as hell right now!" Tails says. "Tails is right. We can't give up!" Mike says. "Good. Besides, I think there is an alley we can sneak through without detection." Ray says. He tells them to drive down to the river, and sneak through where the buildings and alleys are narrow. "We're near your house, Julie-Su." Ray says. "Oh, how I miss my home already!" She says. They find an abandoned parking garage. "Great! We're within 9 blocks of Downtown, and no one will notice! This is our NEW Hideout!" Mighty says. "Now, before we move attack, I think I should lecture you all on Street Fighting In Wars." Rotor says. He and Merlin pull out a small projector. "Guys, In war, street fighting is always very costly in lives lost, because of the many areas to hide, and the fighting from building to building, even room to room is exhausting on you and your equipment. They may have the upper hand because they know the city and it's buildings." Rotor says. "Sir! If Street Fighting is costly, will we be killed?" Taylor asks Rotor. "It's possible." He says. "Rotor, I know the city. Believe me, with the numbers we have, we are still grossly outnumbered at LEAST 500 to one." Remington says. "Then we will have to be very conservative in our fighting, like the British in the Second World War." Zachary says. "I fought in those wars. You think it is fun?" Merlin asks. "What wars were you in?" Ray asks. "I fought in the Great War of 3220, the Second World War, and Vietnam. In World War II, I first helped the Reds on the Crimea, then after we liberated Minsk and Sevastapol, I was moved to help the Canadians and British on the Western Front." He lectures. "Alright. Any further questions?" Rotor asks. He looks around at the large group. "No? Alright!" Rotor says. "Taylor, In the event that we have to leave to fight, I want you to stay put and guard this base." Tails tells his oldest son. "Sure. I can do that." Taylor says. They all form into groups and get into their cars. Now that they are in the city, they are safe and inconspicuous, so long as they don't enter a checkpoint. It is only daybreak, 7:05 AM. The City is in a way, a Far East version of New York, especially with mostly American/European Towers. Sonic's team moves out first. "Sally, are you up for this?" Sonic asks, walking his wife to the car. "Of course I am! This is JUST LIKE old times! Sonic, have you forgotten that when we were dating in our teens, that we overthrew Robotnik? We can do it again." Sally says. "Yeah. You're right, Sally!" Sonic says, a bit embarrassed that he forgot how he and Princess Sally fought in the Knothole Freedom Fighters 20-30 years before. "Come on, my Hedgie." Sally says, as Sonic gets into the car. "Hedgie? A ha ha ha." Knuckles laughs. Sonic rolls his eyes. Being a Prince, Sonic is about equal to Knuckles, and he tells Knuckles that. "Knux, let's just get going." Sonic says, pulling out of the garage. "Yeah." Knuckles says, doing the same. They see that the streets are nearly abandoned. They set hide behind an abandoned Ford Thunderbird. "Alright. Tails, here's a sniper rifle, and some bullets. We'll cover you, Knuckles, and Mike, as you go into the building." Fang says, patting Tails on the back as he gets up. They get into a pickup truck, and drive towards a convoy full of ammunitions and weapons. "There it is!" Knuckles tells the Prowers. "Yeah. I'll get out and take the driver out." Mike says, being a hero. The two vulpine brothers run up to the building, while holding their sniper rifles, but they see that it is too heavily guarded. Mike kneels down on one knee to get a clear shot, but a soldier sees him. "There's a fox! Shoot him!" The guard says/ "Sh*t! I've been spotted!" He yells, getting up. A guard gets a gun, and shoots at Tails, but Mike stands up and takes the bullet to the throat for his younger brother, Tails. "Ahhh!" Me yells, being shot. The bullet cuts his jugular vein, meaning he will bleed to death in a matter of minutes, if he could even breathe that is. "Mike!" Tails yells, getting out of the truck. He sees that the bullet hit the vein, and also cutting a part of his windpipe, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. "Oh, God! Bro! We're gonna get you medical treatment!" Tails says, holding his brother close to him. "Tails, I'm dying. Here, take this with you and Knuckles." He struggles to say, pulling out a can out of his shirt pocket. "What is it?" Tails asks. "It's an A-bomb. It can be used only once, and even then, be careful. It's a nuclear bomb." He says, with his grip on Tails' hand starting to get weaker. Tails gives his brother a hug goodbye. "I'll see you again, bro." Tails says, gently putting his brother's head on the ground. "Tails, are you alright?" Knuckles asks, shaken. "Yeah. let's go. We'll bury him at Ellis Street Cemetery." Tails says. The vulpine then feels a searing pain in his back, like a knife. He has just been shot. "Tails! Let's get out of here!" Knuckles says. They get Mike's body and drive it to the cemetery. Knuckles drives Tails back to the fort, and lets the Freedom Fighters know that on an attempt to stop an ammunitions truck, Mike was killed. They hold a moment of silence for their fallen comrade. "OH, that's IT! This calls for revenge!" Sonic says. Sally grabs his arm, and asks him to sit back down. "Sonic, I know you want vengeance, but isn't that what they are on guard for?" Sally hints to Sonic. "She's right, Sonic. They will triple their guard tonight." Remington says. "Sir, the Freedom Fighters managed to sneak in through the City Limits." Shadow says. "WHAT? HOW?" Stryker yells. "There must have been a hole somewhere." Shadow says. "I'll have whoever's fault this is MURDERED." Stryker says. "Sir, it's the terrain. They came in through the mountain, near the Ruins." Shadow explains. "Oh, very well." Stryker sighs. "However I have some good news for you. Sir, the Freedom Fighters tried to attack an ammunitions truck on Park Street." Shadow reports. "Oh?" Stryker asks. "But we have killed one of them. Mike Prower. Oldest of the Prowers, and Tails' older brother." Shadow continues. "Oh, this is just... exceptional. Their morale to fight will drop like a rock off a cliff!" He says, almost happy about the death of a Freedom Fighter. Kragok steps into the room. "Sir, we really SHOULD up our defenses, because they could strike, regardless of damage to the buildings." Kragok says, sounding paranoid. "Well, I'll send some other guards to man the front." Stryker says. "That may work, but what if they become desperate enough to do suicide bombings?" Shadow asks. "Oh, I know the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix too well. They won't. It's not their style, and they value their lives." Stryker explains, shifting slightly in his wheelchair. His defeat seems basically impossible at this point, and success for the Freedom Fighters is all but hopeless, because Stryker is just simply too powerful and his army is too large in arms and numbers. Robotnik enters the room, and has some disturbing news for Stryker. "Stryker, I have found some shocking information, thanks to my spy satellites." Robotnik says to the dingo and echidna. "What is it?" Stryker asks his ally and partner. "It appears as if the two-tailed fox has acquired a nuclear device." Robotnik says. "That's not a problem. I have control over Haven and the Albion Echidna Central Command." Stryker reassures, "And the Dark Legion has its own weapons of mass destruction." Kragok says. "This is perfect. Our Allegiance of Terror And Evil can't be stopped, for we are INVINCIBLE!" Robotnik says. Stryker, Shadow, and Kragok cheer. "Sir, I just realized this: Why stop with this country? Why not try to take over the GALAXY! We already rule the ENTIRE FREE WORLD!" Shadow says. "Hey, he's right! We can conquer the stars!" Robotnik says. "All we have to do is raid the Union Of Free Nations building downtown, and then the WHOLE FREE WORLD IS COMPLETELY OURS!" Kragok says. "Awesome plan, guys! Let's GO!" Stryker yells. Things couldn't possibly look any worse. Stryker and his friends roll into Downtown and park right in front of the building. "Alright! You know what to do! Let's trash the place and raise some hell!" Stryker says, smashing the glass doors open with a garbage bin. They walk in and find all the computers they could ever want or need. "Look at all these books and computers! And 55 Stories of this!" Robotnik says, going through some National Geographic from 1969, and looking at the maps, like the war general he is. "Sir! This is unbelievable!" Kragok says. "What? What is it?" Stryker asks. "Sir, this building is directly connected to Haven and its computers THERE!" He says, going over some building plans. "Really? is this true?" The others say. "Yes. It has both an underground path and an over-ground path connecting this building to the Echidna Security Team Building, which is in the same building as Haven!" Kragok says. "Well, then. This IS interesting! We are getting all the right cards! World domination is imminent!" Robotnik says. "Meet ya there! Last one to Haven's gotta take over Canada and the United States!" Stryker says, wheeling himself into the over-ground pathway, which goes over Shepherd Avenue. He races his allies, Shadow, Robotnik, and Kragok to the building down and across the street. He makes it to the building long before any of them. They take an elevator, and they get to Haven's First Basement Level, with Stryker contentedly surprised, waiting and reclining in his wheelchair. "I can't believe I beat you and I'm PARALYZED!" He says, softly laughing. They are amazed of the dingo's speed. "Don't worry. Canadians are weak and whiny pacifists, Kragok. Robotnik should have no trouble at all taking over the United States of America!" Stryker laughs. He has Kragok show him and their allies around. Once he finds a scanner, he calls his guards and soldiers. "Attention, Dingoes! Our NEW Headquarters is HAVEN!" He yells. A few minutes later, and after giving directions on how to get there and where to look, the Dingo Army shows up. They all feel contentedly at home in the former Echidna Base. Knuckles and Locke both hear these events on their scanners. The Canadian Freedom Fighters now feel that it is their turn to help out, because of their technological equivalence of the Echidnas. "Knuckles, I think that it's time we seen some action." Peter says. "You mean, you Canucks wanna risk your lives out there?" Sonic asks. "Sonic, we have the skills to intercept Internet and radio transmissions. We can hack into anything. Haven, The Pentagon, you name it!" Arthur says. "Wow. The Pentagon?" Sonic asks. Sheila simply nods her head. "Show me. Prove it!" Sonic says. Arthur, Vector, and Rotor grab Arthur's laptop and set it up. "Hmm, we don't have a power-source." The Canadian raccoon says. "Hook the thing up to my truck!" Fang offers. "Thanks, Fang!" Arthur says. Once the laptop is set up, Arthur dials up to the Internet and hacks into The Pentagon with basically no problem at all with his skills. "Welcome To The Pentagon!" The laptop's sound card says. He amazes even Vector and Rotor. "How'd he DO that?" Vector asks Rotor. "Don't look at me." Rotor says. "Alright. You Canucks can be our little hacker team." Sonic says. "Thanks! We'll get on anything you need, Sonic!" Richard and Kit say. "Well, since they hacked into The Pentagon, they MUST be special!" Rotor says, watching them get to work. Sonic sees Robert Steele walking off into the distance. "Yo! Steele! Where are ya going?" Sonic asks. "You think we slept at night? No. We stole a few News vans for power and equipment to help us! I was just getting one of them. I hid them in the lowest level of this parking garage." The former Toronto bat-sable explains to the Blue Blur. "Okay. Show me." Sonic says. "We'll need another furry to help us. Yo Peter! Get over here!" Robert yells. "There are more polite ways to get someone's attention." Sonic says, shaking his head. "Yeah. I know." He replies. "Well, we also wanna keep quiet, so the dingoes don't find us." Sonic reminds Robert, who likes to be called by his last name, 'Steele'. "Oh! Alright." Steele says in reply to Sonic. They walk down to the bottom level. "Whoa! There's like 5 of them!" Sonic says. "Yeah, I know. This one over here is from Channel 10, and it's steering is a bit tight." Steele says, patting the hood of the Ford Econoline Van. They drive them all up to their level in the garage, which is Floor 5 of 12. "Here. I'll drive one out to Locke and the Guardians, so they can maintain contact with us." Lance says. "Sure. Good idea. But Remington and Mighty are going with you and you HAVE to put on the news uniforms in disguise to get out." Knuckles says. The Freedom Fighters wave good-bye and good luck on their journey to the hills. Part V: The Canadian Freedom Fighters' and Young Freedom Fighters' Debuts! A little farther forward in the huge empty parking garage, Taylor meets Lara-Su for the first time. "H-hi. I'm Taylor Prower. What's your name?" Taylor asks the female echidna, nervously. "Lara-Su. And you're really cute for a fox." She says. "Is this seat taken?" Taylor asks, noticing that Lara-Su is sitting on the railing of the top level of the garage, overlooking the skyline, harbor and river. "Nope. It's free." She says. "So, um, are you dating?" Taylor asks. "Mmm, no. But I think this could kind of class as one." She says. "I'm going to check on where Lara-Su and Taylor went." Tails says. Knuckles nods his head, and Julie-Su agrees. He flies silently through the echoing garage. he pokes his head out from behind a pillar. All he sees is Lara-Su and Taylor talking and bonding, nothing more. "Awww. Love at first sight. Isn't that cute?" He says to himself. He flies back down. "So, are they alright?" Julie-Su asks. "Yep. All they are doing is talking, but I think Lara-Su found a boyfriend." Tails says. "Oh, that is SO cute. She and Taylor would make a perfect couple." Julie-Su says about her daughter, and Tails' son. "Yeah, I know. I guess love knows no barriers." Knuckles says. "So, you like Supertramp?" Taylor asks. "Oh, yeah! I LOVE Supertramp!" She says. "Wow. Cute, strong, smart, AND a good taste in music." She thinks to herself. "Wow. She likes the same music that I do. Maybe I can ask her for a date sometime." Taylor thinks to himself. She wiggles slightly closer to the two-tailed kitsune. "So, what's it like to have two tails?" She asks. "Mmm, same as one, I guess. Only, I can fly, like you and the other Guardians." Taylor says. She feels a slight breeze, and nudges up to Taylor's fur. "It's a bit cool for a summer night." She says. "Well, I'll keep you warm. Come on, let's get a warm pastry. I packed a few." Taylor says. "Alright. Sounds nice." She says. They walk down, and on their way, the don't notice that they are holding hands. He sees Rotor hooking up a transmitter to the News Van, the Canadian Freedom Fighter furries working on hacking into Haven, and the others having a meeting. Taylor sees Leon getting a cord. "Hey, little bro. What are you doing with the cord?" Taylor asks. "Well, if Kit and the guys want to get a reliable connection to the Van to communicate with Locke, they will need wire." Leon says. "Oh, Lara-Su, that's my little computer-nerd brother, Leon." Taylor jokes around. "Not a nerd, Taylor. I look just like you and dad when he was my age, and we need all the intelligence we can get. Besides, I don't even wear glasses." Leon says. "Your brother is smart, Taylor." She says. "Yeah, I know." Taylor replies. He sees his sister, Violet helping her mother set up the radio antenna atop the van. Tails walks up. "Lisa, Violet. You might get hurt. Please be careful." Tails asks his wife and daughter. "We will, dad. I'm 16, come on!" She says. "Tails, you worry too much for our safety." Lisa Prower says. "Yeah, maybe you're right." Tails sighs. Then, Violet goes to screw in the last few bolds, when she trips on a cord, and falls. Joey sees what is going on, and catches her, before she gets seriously injured from landing neck first on the concrete after falling 15 feet up on the raised transmitter. "Oh, thanks, Joey! Thank you!" She says, hugging him and giving him a kiss as he holds her. He blushes. "You're welcome, Violet." He says, putting her down gently. "I'd love to talk more, Lara-Su, but I'm very tired from the drive over." Taylor says. Chris Prower walks over and tells him that Mike was shot and killed. "Oh no! Uncle Mike..." Taylor says, shocked. "Oh, Taylor, I'm sorry to hear that your uncle died." Lara-Su says. "I know. I'll be alright. I just can't believe that some Dingoes sniped him. I think I should be able to kill one for spilling the blood of my family member. We foxes are like a pack. An eye for an eye." Taylor says. "And they would think the same way. They would probably go after your dad or grandfather Amadeus." Lara-Su says. "I guess you're right. I should try to at least forgive the soldier that killed my uncle." Taylor thinks aloud. "Yes, like the song Paul McCartney wrote, Live And Let Live." Lara-Su says. "Actually, it's Live And Let Die." Taylor says, filled with a quiet, unyielding anger. He growls and vows to avenge his poor uncle's murder. He goes to bed, thinking of the good times that he and his uncle had, before he was shot dead at the young age of 39. Part VI: The Struggle Intensifies (And The Deaths Of Many Old Friends) "Sir, the furries appear to be planning for another attack." Kragok says, looking at some monitors. "Really? What are they up to?" Stryker asks. "Well, I don't know for sure, but I think they are planning a grand attack on us." The echidna says. "Really?" Stryker asks. They prepare for any possible blow that the Freedom Fighters try to dish out. Stryker orders that the guard on the Dingo-held part of the city be tripled, so the guards and soldiers can be prepared and ready to fight to keep the city. The echidnas and furries in the city are all extremely frightened of the Dingoes, and they try not to venture out, to the parks, or even outside their homes, and apartments. Some go so far as to not leave their rooms and venture into the hallway. Some stay in their bedrooms, from fear. The ones that have fled the city and Floating Island are the lucky ones. They have mostly fled to the nearby countryside, Canada, Knothole, Albion, Avalon, and Downunda. The rest in the city are suffering World War II-like conditions. Both Dingoes, and their furry and echidna prisoners are bordering on starvation with small rations of food, and clothing. The City is basically Berlin in 1945, or Paris in 1943. Tails, Stephen, Walt, and StarFox make a plan to sneak food into the apartment buildings of the huge city, so the morale will increase enough to start liberation groups so they can have the will to fight. "Tails, as much as I want this plan to happen, I think it's just TOO risky!" Sonic says, when he hears the proposal. "Sonic, if we can get in some food for the citizens, we will be able to get them to fight with us in a matter of DAYS!" StarFox says. "Listen, Fox, as much as we are allies, and I agree with you, I just don't think it's possible for us to do that. We could be shot playing 'UN Peace-Keeper'. Besides, We aren't The Red Cross, are we?" Sonic asks. "Of course we are!" Sally tells her husband. Sonic looks confused. "Sonic, the reason we came, is because the Echidnas needed our help!" Sally tells Sonic. "Yeah, that's true, I guess." Sonic says. "Besides, Sonic. If they do it right, it could make this war over within a matter of days, like we all hope!" Rotor says, showing a map of the city's streets. King Max and Elias walk in. "Sonic, If you want to do street supplying, you need to have a backup crew, a crew watching the main one's back, and a defense group." King Max tells his son-in-law. "This is going to be more complicated than I thought." Sonic says, putting his head down on the map, with his nose touching Flying Battery Park. "That's IT!" Elias says. "Huh? What's what, bro?" Sonic asks. "Sonic, this won't be hard, and you will need only ONE group, IF they are careful and operate covertly. Plus, Launching from Flying Battery Park is a terrific idea! They don't have that part of the city, and they don't suspect anything will come form there!" Elias says. "Well, then. Let's attack!" Sonic says. The four furries leave, with Sonic and Elias communicating to them by Scanners from the Parking Garage. They leave, and run to the nearest apartment building, Renfrew Terrace, a 44-storey building. "I'll go into this one. You guys keep watch for me!" Tails says, running inside. He runs up the stairs, but decides to fly, since the 60 pound bag is heavy on him. He is carrying food, supplies, first-aid kits, a scanner for them to communicate with, and a few posters, showing them what to do and where to find Sonic. He runs into an apartment, and he finds Lupe! She pulls a rifle out and almost shoots the vulpine, mistaking him for a Dingo. "Tails! I'm sorry! I'm so glad to see you!" She says, tossing the gun aside, and hugging him. "It's alright. Here. Give this to the people of the building. Sonic and I are trying to get you guys to start a revolution to overthrow Stryker." Tails says, opening his backpack. He gets up. "How many other apartment buildings are there in this city?" Tails asks the female wolf. "About 94. Why?" She asks. "Well, I'm planning to go to every single one to boost morale." Tails says. "Oh, by the way, your brothers Reynard and Diablo are here." Tails says. "Really? Can I follow you to them?" She asks. "Lupe, It's too dangerous out there. Walt and I almost got shot on the way here." Tails explains. "Oh. Well, tell them that I'm here, holding out for....something." She says. Tails reassures her that he will return, and he leaves the building, with the accomplishment of building the fighting spirit of the furries and echidnas inside, that now have the will to go on. Tails meets up with Walt, Stephen, and StarFox. "So? How are they?" Stephen, the brown hedgehog, asks Tails. "They are much better off than I expected. Lupe's their leader!" Tails says. Around daybreak, the four finish visiting all of the apartment buildings in the city, when they are stopped at the Renaissance Center by a hummer with Dingo guards in it. The guards get out of the vehicle and capture the four Freedom Fighters. They arrive in Haven, where they see a Roboticizer, ready for operation. Stephen looks frightened. "What are they going to do to us, Uncle Tails?" Stephen asks. "I-I really don't know." Tails says. "I know. It ain't gonna be pretty. They'll probably torture us and then kill us like the sick bastards they are." Walt says. "This happened to me once before on a mission to Andromeda." StarFox says. "What happened, Fox?" Tails asks. "All my friends were brutally murdered right in front of me, and I was forced to dig their graves, and bury them. Then, my captors let me go." He says, starting to break down. Tails pats the fellow vulpine on the back. "It's alright, Fox. We'll get out!" Tails reassures his friend. "HA! That's what YOU think!" Stryker says, laughing. "God, I hate that Hitler-wannabe." Stephen says. "What did the little punk just call me???" Stryker asks Robotnik. "He said you are a Hitler-wannabe." Robotnik replies, turning on a radar device. "Stryker gets his gun, and wheels himself over to Stephen The Hedgehog. "I don't care if your father is Sonic or NOT! I will make you PAY dearly for that remark! Maybe with your life, or your friends' lives, like what my troops did to Fox's in Andromeda!" Stryker growls. "That's just evil!" Tails says. Stryker turns around. "Bring me the foolish vulpine. I wish to torture him." Stryker says. Robotnik opens the cell, and orders Tails out, holding a gun. Tails walks out. "I'll be alright! If I don't get out, avenge my death!" Tails says. "Shut UP!" One of the guards says, hitting Tails in the face with his machine gun. "Beat him." Stryker says. "To kill?" The guards ask. "If you like." He says. They beat the fox to a bloody, injured pulp of fur. "Stop it! He's just a peace-keeper!" Fox yells, trying to break free and help his friend. Tails falls to the ground, and is motionless for a few seconds. He tries to get up, but a guard stomps him to the ground with his foot on the poor fox's back. He then is kicked in the head. Tails gets up again, barely conscious, barely able to hear or see. He is shaking and numb from the pain he is in. He is bleeding very badly. Stryker sees that Tails is trying to crawl back to the 'sanctuary' of the cell. "Let him go. He'll probably die from his injuries." Stryker orders. Walt and Fox help Stephen pull Tails inside. Fox rips his shirt off and uses it as a towel to stop some of the bleeding. Stephen holds Tails' hand, so he knows that the hedgehog is there. "Uncle Tails, you're going to be alright." he says. Suddenly, Kragok and a Dingo guard walk up to the cell. "Can't you barbarians just leave him alone?" Fox asks. Walt is ready to fight to the death to protect Tails, who may not live, without proper medical treatment. Kragok opens the door, and Walt punches him in the face. "Don't you touch him!" He growls. "I'll just ignore that punch, you foolish wallaby." He says, pulling out a couple explosive devices from his overcoat's inside chest pocket. He gets some tape. "What are you going to do to me?" Tails asks. Kragok simply tapes up Tails, but also tapes the two-part bomb to Tails' chest. He walks out. Walt grabs Kragok, and gives him a good, strong kick with both of his large feet. His razor-sharp claws slash through his coat. Kragok hits the ground and is unconscious for a few minutes. "I hate him." Walt says. Tails and Stephen try to rip the tape off, but it is too tight. Tails can't breathe very well. the tape is too elastic to rip off, and it hurts Tails when it is stretched, since it will rip out his fur if it comes off. "Just leave it. Besides, if I take it off, it will explode." Tails says. "What if I send a help letter to Dad?" Stephen asks. "How will it get out of this building?" Walt and Fox ask. "I could mail it like a paper airplane." Stephen says. "Only a miracle from God would make that paper lucky enough to get to Sonic." Walt says. Stephen writes the distress letter, and they pray it gets sent out before any of them are roboticized. "Go! Go, my little paper jet of hope!" Stephen says, looking out the small window. "For that, you will be roboticized IMMIDEATELY!" Robotnik says, watching the four furries. "Rote, pass me the wrench." Sonic says, fixing Fang's transport truck. "Sure." Rotor says, reaching for the wrench, but finding a paper airplane landing on his hand, right before he can get the wrench. "Hmm? What's this?" He asks himself, unfolding the note. "Sonic! Take a look at this!" He says. Sonic glances at the note, and a surge of anger goes through his quills. "I'll be back!" He yells, running off towards Haven. He jumps over the rubble of some of the buildings, and the abandoned cars and vans. Stryker sees him on the screen, on his way over to Haven. "Hmm, it appears like the Hedgehog is trying to save his son and friends." Stryker says. "Move them to the third floor." He continues. "Looks like you are going to get to walk around the building, after all!" One of the guards says, with a machine gun in his hands. The four furries are brought to a solid white room, and one whole side is a big window overlooking Shepherd Street and the City. "Walt, can you kick your way out?" Tails softly squeaks, from the pain. "I'll try, bud." Walt says, jumping and kicking at the window, hoping it will break, but he won't fall through. It doesn't even budge or crack. "Kick all you want, it's plastic. It can't be smashed like glass." Stryker says. Maxwell looks into the room. "Father, with all due respect, isn't what you are doing to them a little... inhumane?" He asks. "No. This is war. They are Prisoners Of War." Stryker growls back to his son. "Father, the echidnas now liken you to Hitler or Saddam Hussein for what you are doing." He says. "Let them think that, even if they are wrong. Besides, I'm not like those evil overlanders, I am trying to take back what is rightfully Dingo territory." he says. "Alright. So that means you are trying to be like Yassar Arafat?" Maxwell asks. "Just.... do me a favor and shut the F*ck up, Maxwell!" He says, slapping Maxwell's hat off. Maxwell simply walks away. "I don't even know HOW I am related to him." He asks himself. He sees Sonic run up the street. "Ahh, Sonic has arrived." Stryker says. "He's not as strong or fast as he used to be." Robotnik says. "Bring it ON, Sonic! Let's see what LACK of damage you can do!" Kragok says. They start to laugh. "Hey! Sonic's here, Tails!" Walt says. "Good. Now we can finally get the Hell out of here!" Tails says, coughing. Sonic finds the front doors locked. He smashed them open with his quills from a Spin Dash. "No problem!" Sonic says. "Pah. He still has to get up here." Stryker says, dismissing the hedgehog's entry as luck. "Sonic, you may want to step outside!" Robotnik says over the loudspeaker. "What is it, Robuttnik?" Sonic asks, still being the same old hedgehog. He steps outside, seeing through the window, where he sees Tails, beaten badly, and with the bomb strapped to him. "You sick freaks!" Sonic yells. "Really? I was shooting for MORBID!" Stryker says, Kragok tosses a bomb into the room that the furries are in. "Oh Sh*T! A bomb!" Walt says, playing hot potato with the bomb, tossing it to Fox McCloud. "Why do you think I want it???" He asks. He then throws it at the window, and the bomb explodes, shattering the plastic. Sonic sees the explosion and thinks that Tails was killed. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Sonic yells, thinking his friend is dead. The Freedom Fighters feel the breeze. "Ahh! Freedom!" Stephen says. "I can't fly. My tails are broken." Tails says. "I can't hop three floors down." Walt says. Sonic sees that they have his friends and son captured. He learns that the room is really one whole big Roboticizer, and Sonic has to move FAST if he wants to free his friends. He runs through the halls, avoiding the weapons and guards. The enemies take shelter in a room, where Sonic doesn't see them. He runs past them, and walks into the room where Tails is. "That explosion was a mere warning, Hedgehog!" Stryker says through the telecom. Sonic sees Tails. "Tails! I thought you were blown to pieces!" He says, hugging his friend, like an older brother. "Sonic, I'm fine." Tails says. "Let's get you guys out of here. This is the exact reason I didn't want you all to do a recon mission in the City without the proper backup." Sonic says, escorting them out of the building. "Did you just see that? He waltzed in here and rescued them!" Kragok yells. "Yeah. So? I now know where the Master Emerald is, so that means those furries are worthless to me!" Stryker says to the echidna. "Follow me!" He says, wheeling himself down the hall to the elevator. They go to the lowest floor. "And here's the entrance to the Grotto Tunnel!" Stryker says, placing an explosive at the door, and taking shelter. "That's the key that will work for ANY door!" he says, coughing from the smoke. They walk down the long tunnel. "God, how LONG is this thing?" Kragok asks. "3000 feet. Remember?" Stryker reminds everyone. They reach the end of the tunnel, to find another ancient door. Maxwell kicks it in, and he reveals the Chaos Chamber. "Father, I feel that Robotnik and I should go back to defend Haven." Maxwell says. "Very well." Stryker replies. They walk back to Haven. "Here it is! The source of the Isle's power!" Stryker says. "Let's get this thing off of you." Sonic says, ripping the second bomb and tape off of Tails' body. "Owww!" Tails says, when a bit of his fur is ripped off. Sonic tosses it into the parking lot, where it explodes, as well as blasting the lobby of the nearby Hacienda Court Plaza Building, where the Dingo HQ is, killing about 9 guards, and injuring 15. At Haven, there are 4 additional dead and 6 injured. Among them, Maxwell. Sonic walks over to a body. He sees that it is Maxwell. Sonic looks down at him, having eye contact. The Dingo Commander is lying on his back, almost unable to move. "Congratulations! You're OUR first Prisoner Of War!" Sonic laughs, picking him up. "Walt! Fox! Let's take out the trash!" Sonic says. They bring him to their base, the old Parking Garage. "OH ho HO!" Looks like the hunter is the HUNTED!" Fang laughs, seeing the injured Dingo. Maxwell remains silent. "Sonic! Tails! How'd you capture their second in command?" Chris Prower asks. "With a bomb." Tails says. "Wow. The tables must be turning in OUR favor NOW!" Sally says. "What should we do with him? Kill him? Beat him like he did to Tails?" Some of the Freedom Fighters ask amongst themselves. The final decision is that Maxwell will indeed become a Prisoner of War, and he will be imprisoned in the dark and gloomy cell that they have made out of an abandoned transport truck trailer. Tails and Chris toss him into it, shackled and rather violently, tossing a metal sheet at his head, in disgust. "I'm going to die in here!" He says to himself, as the doors are shut behind him, leaving him in a damp, hot, smelly, and completely dark trailer, devoid of light, whatsoever. "Ha! Now he knows what I went through!" Mighty says. "Mmm, that's a little cruel, even for us and revenge." Rotor says. "Alright, I'll cut him some light and air holes to see out of." Sonic sighs, using his Spin Dash to cut a few 8" holes at random spots. "There. Better, Mr. We-HAVE-To-Follow-The-UN-And-Geneva-Protocols?" Sonic is sarcastic to Rotor. Rotor just rolls his eyes ,and goes back to work. Part VII: The Worst Case Scenario "So, all I have to do is merely TOUCH the emerald, and I will be healed?" Stryker asks. "Yes, sir. I have been studying this emerald for over 25 years." Kragok says. "Alright, here goes nothing." He says, touching the emerald. He is instantly cured. "I-I can feel my legs again!" He says, standing up. He touches it with both his hands, receiving its full power, and transforming into his superform. "Well, they think I was powerful before, when I was a mere MORTAL?" He asks. Kragok steps back. Stryker jumps, and is able to jump as high as he wants. "Let's go to war!" He says. Kragok holds his machine gun up in the air as a way of cheering. Robotnik calls Stryker through the scanners. "Sir, those Freedom Fighters have taken your son, Maxwell, as a Prisoner Of War!" Robotnik reports. "What? I'll kill them myself!" He yells. He runs down the long hallway, and gives a speech to his army. Good evening, Angel Island. This is your exhalted leader, Stryker. I have been healed by the master emerald, and I have been told that my son, Commander Maxwell has been taken prisoner. This is why I am urging you to destroy every building in the city. You may have the use of Nuclear Bombs, Bunker Busters, whatever it takes to level this city!" He says. The Canadian Freedom Fighters overhear this broadcast on their television that they have built. "Uh, Sonic! We're in DEEP SH*T!" Kit says, showing Sonic the television's broadcast. "Ohhhh, crap! Knuckles! Wake your lazy self up!" Sonic yells. Knuckles wakes up, and gets out of his sleeping bag. "What? What is so freaking important that it disrupts my....sleep?" Knuckles says, tired, but shocked at what he sees. "Stryker has the Master Emerald?" Knuckles asks himself. "And what's worse, Knux, is that he doesn't even care about innocent civilian casualties! He wants to bulldoze the city, and rebuild it HIS way!" Ray says. "Well, if zat is true, zen, we must destroy zaire munitions!" Antoine says, cleaning his sword. "Right! I have a bomb that will do JUST the job!" Mighty says. He pulls out a Bunker Buster. "What the Hell is THAT?" Ray asks. "God! It's a Bunker Buster! DON'T set it off! It'll level everything within half a mile!" Sonic yells. "Sonic's right. This is enough to destroy their munitions stockpiles!" Mighty says. "The thing is, Mighty, if you detonate it, won't you be killed?" Ray asks. "If that's the price for taking this evil out, then it's a price I'd gladly pay!" He says. "Well, just IF you don't come back, you've always been a good friend to us, we're like brothers, and we'll miss ya, man!" Knuckles says, patting Mighty on the back. "Yeah. I know. I'll be back, though." Mighty lies. "Well, Ray, Antoine, let's go kick some dingo tail!" Mighty says, packing the bomb into his backpack. They walk out of the building. The three furries walk down the desolate and empty streets, looking for Haven in between the skyscrapers. "Antoine, where's Haven? In fact, where are WE?" Ray asks. "Well, we are... at Ellis Street and Bruce Avenue, right at Bruce Park." Antoine says. "Hmm. Haven is 5 blocks away, then." Mighty thinks out loud. Ray nods his head. "Hey. You said Ellis and Bruce, right, Antoine?" Ray asks. "Oui." Antoine says, looking up from the map of the city. "Well, a good friend of mine who used to work for the cab company lives out here. He owns a garage that he fixes all the neatest street racer cars in!" Ray says. Mighty knows who Ray is talking about. "Who are you talking about?" Antoine asks. "Harry! you know, Cab 74?" Ray reminds Antoine. "Yeah! He helps out a lot, but like Fang, he can be bought." Mighty says. "Still, we need all the help we can get!" Ray says. "Let's see zis...Harry. How far is he from here?" Antoine asks. "Hmm. it's the 1200 Block of Ellis.. He lives at 839 Bruce Avenue." Mighty remembers. "In a flat, with a garage below him." Ray thinks. "Well, it's kind of a long walk. We should get there ASAP." Mighty says. They walk for about 20 minutes, looking at all the abandoned and destroyed buildings and cars. Ray sees an abandoned Mercedes E-Class. He walks up to it. "Wham! Bam! Thank ya, Ma'am!" He says, sounding like David Bowie, and yanking the hood ornament off as a souvenir. Mighty shakes his head. They continue walking. "Here it is! 839 Bruce!" Mighty says, looking at the address of the building, and the address he wrote down on a crumpled piece of lined paper. "Ugh. Not a good area to live in, I guess." Mighty says, looking around at the slums. It looks like the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Mighty knocks on the door. He hears no answer. "Maybe he's dead." Ray says. "You ALWAYS think he's dead if he doesn't answer." Mighty replies. "Well, Harry, sorry to do this" He says, kicking in the door. He sees an unpleasant surprise, with Harry jumping out from behind the corner with a fully loaded shot-gun. "Ahh! Don't shoot! It's just me!" Mighty says. "Sorry. I thought you were some of those Dingoes." Harry says. "That's okay, you only scared me out of my mind!" Mighty jokes. "Anyways, bud, we need your help. We need to borrow one of your cabs as a car-bomb." Ray says. "Sure. Why don't you three come in? You might get shot if you stand there." Harry says. The three furries go into the German shepherd's flat. "Thanks for letting us in." Ray says. Antoine looks around the house. Mighty sits down. Harry shows them a picture of the car. "Here. You can use this one. It's a bit more fixed up than that." Harry says. "Thanks, Harry." Antoine says. "Yeah, anytime." He says, unlocking the door. "Welcome to my....garage." He says, showing them an almost fixed-up Honda CRX Dragster, next to a brilliant red Fiat Barchetta, and in the back, is the Cadillac Seville. "Well, here it is. I got it to work without much of an engine. "She'll run, but not very well, or very fast. Don't take it over 50 Kilometers an hour." He says. "Yeah. Thanks for the wheels, Harry. I owe you one!" Ray says. "You owe me 10. At least!" He jokes. They laugh. "Here. This ought to make things smother." He says, popping the hood up on the old cab. He replaces the spark plug. Mighty starts it up, and it runs better than his old Toyota Corolla. Harry pushes a button that makes one of the garage's four doors open to the street. "Good luck, and you guys, be careful." He says. "Thanks." They say. He waves, and shuts the door again. "Damn. If they pull this off, I'll go find Knuckles and tell him what happened here." Harry says, taking off his hat and scratching the back of his head, from being nervous. Harry walks back into his house, up the stairs, and into his living room-like lounge. He puts on a couple records, and dims the lights. He sits down on a chair. "I have this feeling Knuckles and Julie-Su are gonna stop by here with Remington in the next half-hour, and it won't be with good news." He says, lighting his cigarette. Ray drives the car down the long, desolate street, and stops at the nearest abandoned gas station, which happens to be the 7-11 at the corner of Bruce and Ellis. Ray gets out, and tells Antoine and Mighty to do the same. "Ray, what's up?" Mighty asks. "Here. We gotta ditch these decals, and maybe put on some Dingo ones." Ray says. Mighty finds a crowbar, and scrapes the logos off the driver's side and passenger's side doors. "There. Let's roll!" Ray says, pulling out back onto the abandoned 4-lane street. They arrive at the Hacienda Court Plaza Building and Renaissance Center, which aren't slummy, damaged or abandoned at all. "Heh. The dingoes keep THEIR part of the island in good shape, but they just completely trash the echidna part!" Ray says, pulling into the underground basement of the Renaissance Center. They reach the third level. "Wait un moment!" Antoine says, getting out of the car once it is parked, with the bomb in the trunk. "Sure. What's the prob, Antoine?" Ray asks. "Seeing as how these buildings are waterfront buildings, wouldn't blowing ze bomb down here cause them to collapse? Or to even breach the river's wall and have the water rush in?" He asks. "Well, the part about us destroying Stryker's complex with the bomb is what we will carry out. If the river breaks, that's beyond our control." Ray says, popping the trunk open. "Alright, there's some sort of remote detonation switch, right?" Ray asks Mighty, looking and feeling around the trunk. "Uh, no. I never seen one." Mighty says. "Well, then. Since it's manually operated, I'm going to be the one to take this building out. Besides, if I get the Ren Cen to collapse at an angle, it might crush Haven and some of the other Dingo buildings." Rays says. Mighty grabs a cell-phone, and passes it to Ray. "You should tell them that we aren't coming back, and making one Hell of a waterfront fireworks display." Mighty says. Antoine agrees. Ray dials up a number and gets Tails. "Hello?" Tails asks into his scanner. "Tails. It's me, Ray. Listen. We're detonating a bomb, and we're gonna try to escape, but we probably won't." Ray says. "Alright. If you make it out, you know where we are. If not, take care." Tails says. "Yeah, thanks, Tails." Ray says, turning the phone off. Suddenly, a Hummer with about 3 guards in it enters the basement. They can hear it's motor droning and its tires screeching and echoing through the cement pillars. "Oh, this isn't good!" Ray says. It turns the corner, and they can see it in fine detail. The vehicle stops, and it's doors open. The guards get out, and start firing with machine guns. Ray detonates the bomb, with Mighty and Antoine helping. Within a second, there is nothing left of the basement, and all of Haven shakes and almost collapses. "Everyone get underground!" Stryker orders, with red lights, sensors going crazy, and sirens blaring. Harry is reading The New York Times, when his lights go out, and his house shakes. "What the Hell's going on?" He asks himself in the dark. He then realizes that his friends succeeded in using the bomb underground. The Parking Garage shakes even more violently, because it is much closer, about 18 blocks away. "Aright! Julie-Su! Vector! Remington! Zachary! Let's go!" Knuckles says, with his friends close behind. They stop at Harry's place. He hears a knock on his door. "It ain't gonna be good, now is it?" He asks himself. He sees that some of the Chaotix are there, just like he thought would happen. "Come in, guys." He says. "Listen. You probably can guess that our friends have bitten the dust." Knuckles says. "Well, yeah. I would think so. I didn't get the call from them that they are alright." He replies. "Well, here's the new gameplan. Three of our best fighters are gone. What do we do?" Knuckles asks. That's exactly what our feared enemies are thinking at Haven. "Is everyone alright?" Stryker asks. "Yeah." Kragok says, coughing, and crawling out from under a desk. "Alright, everyone is present and accounted for." Stryker says, looking at his guards. "Sir, the center part of the City has been destroyed." One reports. "This is good." He says. "All except for the buildings above 35 stories. Those are too big to destroy." Another guard reports. "That's fine. Still a major accomplishment to destroy so many buildings." Stryker says. "Sir, this may cause those rebels, the Freedom Fighters, to start an uprising. Shouldn't you try to get some support from another group?" Robotnik asks. "What are you saying? I don't exactly understand." Stryker says. "He means that since you took the emerald's power, why not release my Dark Legion to help?" Kragok asks. "Oh, well. Sure. I can do that." Stryker says. It is now nightfall, and the skyline is almost completely destroyed. Stryker forms a military convoy, and he leads it across the river, and to the desert, where the Forbidden Zone is. "Is this the place? Are you sure?" Stryker asks, before pressing on. "Yes, sir." Kragok says, reading his map, and finding a black obelisk. "Uh, sir. There are TWO Master Emeralds. The other is also right here! We've hit the ultimate 2 For 1 special!" Kragok says. "This IS good news!" Stryker says, seeing a military camp in the distance. They press on, and reach the camp. Kragok enters, and the Legionnaires are testing their missiles. "Alright, Legion! I have a totally new plan!" He says. "And what would this plan be?" Kragok's father, Moritori Rex, asks. "We find the second Master Emerald, then, we team up with Stryker and Robotnik." The echidna says. "Well, I don't know about this..." One echidna says. "If Remington knows that we have returned...well, he might rejoin us." Kragok says. "Alright. Let's go." Moritori Rex says. "See those mountains? The ones that look shaded purple?" Rex asks Stryker. "Yes?" He says, looking. "That's where the second emerald is supposedly hidden, in an ancient shrine from 7000 BC." Rex continues. "The emerald is in a 10,000 year-old shrine?" Stryker asks himself. "Let's go." He orders. Stryker pulls out a hand gun, and opens the doors. He walks through it alone, while the others wait. "I bet you Ten US Dollars that he's dead already." Rex says to Robotnik. "Sure." The villain replies. "Ah HA!" Stryker says, finding the second emerald. He knows that he can't use this one's power, for two reasons. They are because it is the only thing keeping the whole Island and City from slamming into the ocean, and it is too weak to really get any power from, anyways. Stryker merely releases an echidna that will help him greatly in his mission. "Ah. Welcome back to the Floating Island." Stryker says to the echidna. "Yes, Thank you. What is your name, dingo?" the echidna replies. "General Stryker, the Floating Island's new leader. You must be..." Stryker says "ENERJAK! I am the former ruler of this whole Island-continent, as you are right now. Tell me, is the Dark Legion still around?" "Yes, it is, sir. In fact, the Legion has decided to help me, as allies." Stryker replies. "Excellent. That makes you a friend of mine, and not an enemy. I think I will enjoy this swift victory. You might, too." Enerjak says. They walk out of the ancient shrine, and head back to the city. "So, what you're telling me is that it's possible they could have survived the blast?" Harry asks Vector. "Well, yeah. IF they hid between some parked cars, that is." The crocodile replies. "Let's go check it out. Remember, we are on a Search And Recover mission, NOT Search And Rescue." Knuckles says. "I'll drive you all over. It's still quite the walk from here." Harry offers. "Thanks man, but you don't have any cars, do you?" Vector asks. "Sure I do. My Chevrolet Impala cab, a Fiat Barchetta, a Honda CRX, and a Chrysler Voyager." Harry says. "We'll only need the Impala." Knuckles says, counting the number of seats in his head. they arrive at the blast site, and Knuckles manages to crawl into the parking garage that Mighty, Ray, and Antoine were in. He looks around, and finds no survivors, until he checks under a flipped Mercury Grand Marquis. "Can ya get this car off of me?" Ray asks. "RAY???" Knuckle asks, picking the car's rear up, and lifting it so he can get up. Mighty and Antoine crawl out from the parked van next to it. "How'd you guys survive?" Knuckles asks Mighty. "Dunno. Ray and I just hid under the car, and it rolled. Ray was able to hold it up until you came." Mighty says. "And where's Antoine?" Knuckles asks. "Ant's under the van." Mighty says. Antoine crawls out. "I-I am alive?" He asks himself, amazed. "Let's just get out of here before they come after us." Knuckles says, helping them through the tunnel he made through the wall. They get out, and make a new plan. "Knux, here's the plan. Basically, it's the same as before, but we go INSIDE." Ray says. "Alright, and what will you do?" Knuckles and Zachary ask. "Simple, we borrow Zachary's machine gun, and find Stryker." Mighty says. "I'll follow. If something happens, Julie-Su and Remington will come as backup." Knuckles says. They move quickly and implement their plan. Ray and Mighty first go in, followed by Antoine and Knuckles. However, the defenses in Haven are far stronger than even Knuckles thought. Ray gets shot in the hand when he turns the corner of a hallway. "SH*T! I've been shot!" He says. Antoine gets some gauze and wraps his friend's hand up. Bullets rain down on our friends, in their former stronghold. Then, for some odd reason, the bullets stop flying. "Alright, let's go!" Ray says, getting up. "I'll stay here and check for any other hidden gunmen." Knuckles says. Ray stands up and starts to walk, when Knuckles hears a bang from a gun, and Ray falls. He has been shot in the back of the neck. Ray falls down right in front of Knuckles. "Ahhh! Knuckles! Get out of here!" Ray says his last words. "Ray! Oh God! NO!" Knuckles says, feeling his friend's neck for a pulse. Sadly, there is none, as Ray has been murdered by Stryker, who is standing far down the hall with a gun. "Poor Ray. He was a good friend." Mighty says. "That is for trying to blow up my buildings!" Stryker says, starting to run towards them with his gun. Antoine gets up and runs, but Mighty isn't as lucky. Stryker grabs him. "YOU are going to suffer for what you did to my towers, armadillo!" Stryker says. It is daybreak. "This is the last dawn you will ever live to see." Stryker says, throwing Mighty into a room. Mighty now knows that his luck has sadly run out, and he is going to die. Two guards handcuff the armadillo. "What's going on?" Mighty asks. "Your execution by Firing Squad." Stryker says. "Oh, no." Mighty whimpers. "Fire on three! One! Two! Three!" Stryker yells. Mighty tries to run. The guns go off, and Mighty goes down and out. Knuckles and Antoine hear this when they are still running. Knuckles freezes. "Mighty's gone." He says. "What?!" Antoine asks. "They've actually managed to kill him." Knuckles says. They start to run again, when Knuckles almost bumps into Stryker. The echidna and coyote run and tip over a table to hide under. A few guards come as Stryker's backup. "So, zis looks like zis is it, Knuckles!" Antoine says. "Yeah. Well, I kinda sucked as Guardian. Look at what happened and how we ended up!" Knuckles says. "Well, I'm not letting you die!" Antoine says, standing up. "What are you DOING?" Knuckles asks. "Making sure at least YOU get out!" Antoine replies, getting a grenade. He bites the pin off of it and tosses it into the room. "Get OUT, Knuckles!" He yells. Knuckles runs towards the exit, and flees the building. Antoine is about to run when a guard shoots him in the fox. They surround him, and they are about to shoot him, when the grenade goes off, leveling the main floor. It destroys a beam, and it falls on him, killing him instantly. Knuckles runs out and finds Julie-Su and Remington. "Knux! Where are the others?" Remington asks. "They've all been killed. "WHAT?" Julie-Su asks. "Let's go in there and avenge our friends' deaths!" Remington says, getting every gun he can find from his duffel-bag. "Just call me 'Rambo'!" Remington says. He gives Knuckles a scanner to talk with. The two echidnas run inside, and find out the worst possible thing for them at this time: Enerjak has joined Stryker in his Axis Of Evil. "Uh, Knuckles, would you like some bad news, or worse news?" Remington asks. "Bad, then worse." Knuckles says. "Alright. Stryker and the Dark Legion have joined forces, and Kragok and his father Moritori-Rex are helping Robotnik and Stryker running the show." He says. "This CAN'T get any worse." Knuckles sighs to himself. "Well, technically, it can and it does. Enerjak has been freed from his imprisonment inside the second Master Emerald, and he is helping Stryker keep everything together." Remington and Julie-Su explain. "Crap! Why don't you just say that the United States Of America has joined them?" Knuckles says, being sarcastic. Remington and Julie-Su are then captured when Knuckles turns his back. "Game OVER." Stryker and Rex say. They are sent into a Roboticizer, and Kragok meets up with them. "How good of you to rejoin our side, Remington! I was starting to worry if you would never show." Kragok says. "Bite me!" Remington says. "Now, I'm not being rude to you. You know I can be a living nightmare, don't you?" He says. "Hmm. Let's see... do I care? No, not really." Remington says, trying to anger Kragok. "Remington, my patience with you is already wearing thin." Kragok says. "Roboticize them." Kragok sighs, feeling bored with the two echidnas. "Brother, is it my memory, or was Constable Remington a former Legionnaire?" Kragok's sister, Komissar, asks. "He AND Julie-Su are deserters. Now, I'm just giving them some revenge." Kragok says. The two echidnas are roboticized, when Robotnik walks in. "Good news, Kragok!" He says. Kragok asks what the news is. "I have control of the SpacePort! But it gets better, my allies! I have fixed a Space Shuttle four our departure of this planet!" Robotnik says. "Whoa! Robotnik, as much as I like the idea, I'm not planning on conquering deep space, JUST YET. I want to secure my holdings of the Floating Island before expanding to the moons and outer planets." Stryker says. "Alright, but it is here if we need a quick escape." Robotnik reminds the dingo. Somehow, the two echidnas retain their free will. "Julie-Su, we have to get out of here." Remington tells his friend. "Sure, but HOW? We're robots now." Julie-Su says. "Well, I've got a plan." Remington says. "Kragok! I wish to speak with you." He yells. Kragok walks up to him. "Yes?" He asks. "I wish to rejoin the Dark Legion." Remington lies. "Good. I knew you'd miss it too much, brother." Kragok says. "Yeah, well. I figured as a police officer, I wasn't feared or respected enough." He says, walking down the hall with his former leader. "I'll be back, Julie-Su." He says. He enters a room overlooking the river and the City's skyline, which is mostly destroyed. "Now, Remington, for your first duty, I want you to kill Tails." Kragok says. "What? Why?" Remington asks. "Because, he is a freak, and a threat to Stryker. Besides, if you DON'T, I will. Plus, I'll have you blown to pieces because you always were a peaceful echidna." Kragok threatens. "NO WAY!" Remington yells. Kragok pulls out a gun to shoot the roboticized echidna. Remington pulls out a timed delay explosive. He sets it off, killing himself, and the second-hand echidna to Stryker. "THIS IS MY CITY! TO PROTECT AND SERVE TO THE END!" Remington yells, blowing up the room. He also kills 2 guards outside the door. Julie-Su takes this as her chance to break free. She flees down the smoke-filled hallway, and back to the Parking Garage. "Julie-Su! What happened to you? What have they done to you?" Knuckles asks, hugging her. "They've roboticized me." She says. "Don't worry. Tails and I can restore her." Sally says, pointing the Sword Of Acorns at the scared echidna. "Thanks Sally." Knuckles says. Julie-Su is restored to her normal self. "Remington blew up the third floor, sacrificing himself to save me." She says, hugging Knuckles. "It's alright. He's in a better place, with Ray and Mighty and Antoine." Knuckles says, feeling at a loss from his best friend dying for his City and to get Julie-Su out. Krystal is sitting in the Ruins, when she realizes an idea. She runs off into the dense forest without anyone knowing. She later finds the two hedgehogs that she was looking for. "Are you Manic and Sonia?" The female fox asks. "Yeah." Manic replies. "Good. We need your help." She pants from running. they follow her back to the Ruins base. She finds Sonic later in the night. "Sonic.! StarFox! I need to speak with you!" Krystal tells StarFox. "Alright." He says, motioning for Sonic to follow him. StarFox tells the hedgehog as they walk towards the edge of the City. "Sonic, I have called these two hedgehogs because we need their help." Krystal says. "Something about them is familiar." Sonic says, shaking Manic's hand. "Well, they're your siblings." Fox says. "Really?" Sonic asks. Manic simply nods his head. Part VIII: Battlefronts Change The next morning, Stryker ponders his next move. Rex enters the room, with Enerjak. "It is extremely hard for someone like me to make a plan, and for it to be drastically changed.." Stryker says, looking out the window. "Sir, with all due respects, Kragok was simply a sidekick, IF that." Rex says. "I know, but he had some intelligence that could have helped us win." Stryker says. "Sir, if you wish to attack the echidnas, now is the time." Enerjak says. "Fine. Only, this time, give them everything you've got." Stryker says. The Dingo Army and the Dark Legion prepare for an attack. It looks like it is about to storm, BADLY. "Hey, Sonic! Tell me if you like this song." Manic asks, turning on Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'. "That's a good song. Rock ON, bro!" Sonic says. Rotor and Arthur check the radar for military jets. "Uh, Sonic! There's this BIG bomber on it's way!" Arthur says. Sonic knows that it isn't on his side. They see it overhead a few minutes later, and it drops a nuclear bomb on the City, about 42 blocks away. The Parking Garage apparently was spared since it was surrounded by tall buildings, which were blown away. "Alright. It's WAR! Get some jets up there. I think I know where to find a helicopter." Knuckles says. "Tails! Quit listening to Billy Joel and get out here!" The Guardian yells. "What is it?" Tails asks. "Sorry to be yelling at ya like that, bro, but the Dark Legion just dropped a nuke on the city!" Knuckles says. "Oh, god!" Tails says. "Organize the troops. We're going in!" Knuckles says. Knuckles, Harry, and what's left of the Chaotix take the Downtown area: Sullivan Street to Bruce Avenue, Ellis to The Greenway, and Shepherd to Park. The Freedom Fighters take just to the north of the Chaotix' front, Ellis to The Ring Freeway, and 52nd Street to Broadway Street. "Sir! The Furries are attacking!" Rex tells Stryker. "Let them. We are at an advantage. They don't know the city very well." Stryker says. "Enerjak walks in. "Ah, Enerjak! I need you to disturb the weather so the Freedom Fighters freeze." Stryker says. Enerjak leaves the room, and jumps up to the top of the Renaissance Center's Center Tower. He uses his powers to cause the temperature to drop from 81* F to -37* F in a matter of minutes. This is the first blizzard in 57 years. Enerjak creates winds that blow at 137 Kilometers per hour, with gusts up to 223 Kilometers, just to make it hard for the Furries to move. "Sonic! We need to find shelter!" Knuckles shouts. Sonic nods. The Freedom Fighters regroup in Harry's flat. It is an old house. It appears to have been built around 1896. It has wood paneling, a beige couch, a small kitchen that opens into an L-Shaped living room, that has a door to his bedroom. It has brownish-green carpet, and really old tiles in the kitchen. There is wallpaper in the kitchen area, and some is starting to peal off. The ceiling has a fan, and it's paneling is wooden squares. It is a nice home, a bit small, but nice for being in Downtown, and having on great view of the former skyline. "Knuckles, the plan has changed. We can't attack conventionally. Enerjak is the secret weapon, and he has pulled a blizzard on us." Sonic says. "Well, what do YOU suppose we do? Ride the Underground to Haven and ask 'Stryker, may you please step down, we don't want to fight or walk through the Hell you've made of our City'." Knuckles says. Sonic gets angry. "Walt, you have any ideas?" Harry and Sonic ask. "None, unless you count begging for mercy." He says. "Uhhh, StarFox. Tell me YOU have a plan???" Sonic asks, sounding desperate for a glimmer of hope in the darkness of the combat. "The only plan I have is about asking the Canadian Navy to send three destroyers here and blast Haven to Kingdom Come." Fox says. "Wait! You're telling me you don't have your pilot buddies with you? AND you can get some destroyers here?" Knuckles asks. Fang runs in and opens the door. "Sorry I'm late!" He apologizes. He sits down, and takes off his overcoat. "So here's the situation: Stryker has all the nukes he could want, the City under his control, and us on the run. A plan would be nice." Tails says. "Well, what if I kill Enerjak?" Fang says. "That'll kill the blizzard, but generally make things worse. You'd be much better off killing Stryker." Tikal says. "Hmf. NOT likely to happen. We've dropped bombs on that compound, and it stayed up." Vector says. "And since he destroyed the bridge and airport, there's no escape off the island." Nic says. "See? Knux, if we just listened to me, and nuked the bastards when we had the chance, we wouldn't be here hiding!" sonic says. "You're saying this whole event is MY fault???" Knuckles asks. "Well, if the shoe fits, Knucklehead! YOU tried to kill him by breaking his back and tossing him from a sixth story window!" Sonic says. "Excuse me? He tried to assassinate me! And with you rolling around everywhere as fast as you can singing Ozzy Osbourne, it DOESN'T exactly help!" Knuckles says, standing up. "Well, who made all the wrong moves and got our three top fighters shot to death?" Sonic asks. All the furries look at Sonic, then Knuckles as the former rivals hurtle names, blames and insults at each other. "So I'M at fault for Ray getting shot in the back? Or for Mighty and Antoine giving their own lives so I could get out? I didn't think so!" Knuckles says. "Boys! Boys! Please! Stop the infighting!" Sally pleas. She is basically ignored. "At least you tried, Sally." Tails says. "If I were smart, I wouldn't get between those two right now!" Rotor says, stepping back. "Is that right, Sonic? I was the reason that Robotnik took over, killed your parents, and tried to murder Tails' father?" Knuckles asks. "YES! You were too F*CKING busy sitting on your tail, guarding some rock that no one wants to begin with, and not warning us when trouble arises!" Sonic yells. "I'm NOT your servant or message boy!" Knuckles growls. "It's called common courtesy, Knucklehead!" Sonic growls. They stare each other in the eyes, angrily, as if to kill each other. And if looks could kill, there'd be a dead hedgehog and a dead echidna in the room. "Come HERE and say that!" Knuckles says, smashing a beer bottle. "STOP! KNUCKLES!" Julie-Su yells. Sonic grabs the knife from Fang's hat. "Try it!" Sonic yells. "Calm down! I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN!" Princess Sally says, trying to get one of the rival's attention. Sonic's ear twitches, and he looks back for a second. Harry is sitting on the counter, with a gun in his hand, in case they DO try to kill each other. "What's wrong, Sonic? Afraid to attack me on my own Island?" Knuckles threatens. "Not ONE bit!" Sonic says, running towards the echidna with the knife. Sally goes to run, but Fang holds her back. "Sally, that knife can cut through bone. I wouldn't get in and try to stop them. They'll have to fight it out, and all we can do is watch, and hope no one is seriously injured." Fang says. "Bring it ON, Knucklehead! You aren't brave enough to hurt me, are you?" Sonic says, pacing in a circle, directly opposite of Knuckles. Harry gets his gun, and walks towards the dueling furries. "Alright! You two, let's be cool and bring it OFF." He growls, pointing a gun at them. "Oh, SHUT UP!" Sonic says, tossing a shard of glass at the armed German shepherd, missing him by half an inch. Sonic's focus is back on the echidna. "Let's go!" They both say. Sonic tries to stab Knuckles in the neck, to slit his throat. Knuckles gets the first hit, and smashes the beer bottle into Sonic's face so hard, that it stuns him for a quarter second. Sonic gets his strength together, and stabs Knuckles in the throat. Knuckles takes two steps, and collapses after pulling the knife out. "Oh my God!" Sally says, trying to hide from the fight behind Arthur and Kit. She starts to cry because she doesn't know why such good friends are now the worst of enemies. Sonic finds the knife, and goes to stab Knuckles once or twice more in the neck, when a hand grabs him. Sonic turns his head to the right. "Sorry to do this, Sonic!" Tails says, punching him out cold. "Knux! Can you here me?" Tails says. Knuckles twitches his hand. "Get a towel or two!" The grown fox says. Harry gets some towels. "Here! Put him on my bed!" Harry offers. Tails carries Knuckles, and puts him down softly on the bed. "I hope he doesn't die. He'll be the second friend I lost." Tails says, sitting down next to him. "I'll keep watch of him overnight." Tails says. The Furries walk out into the living-room, where the fight took place. Sonic comes to, and tries to get up, and finds Fang's rifle in his face. "Well! He actually woke up! Should I blow his head off?" Fang asks. "No." Sally says. Everyone looks angrily at the hedgehog. Kit folds his arms, and Harry still has the gun in his paw, and he is curling the other one into a fist. The silence is deafening. Sonic goes to speak. "No! Don't even speak! I don't want to hear it!" Sally says. "Sally, just let him speak. Maybe he'll confess or something." Nic says. Sally nods. "Guys, you gotta believe me, I'd NEVER kill Knuckles!" Sonic says. "Sonic, we just watched you stab him three times!" Vector says. "Sonic, you trashed poor Harry's home, tried to kill HIM, and start a fight like this?" Arthur says. "Sonic, GET OUT NOW!" Harry says, pointing towards the door. "Wait." Zachary says. "Sonic, you are under arrest for attempted murder of the Guardian as soon as we regain control of the precinct." Zachary says. "I-I'm sorry. I went crazy when I got angered and stressed." Sonic says. "Sorry might not cut it, and it's Knuckles you have to apologize to." Nic says. "Sonic, he might die." Kit's words shock everyone. "Wh-what?" Sonic asks, shocked and scared, not for himself, but for his best friend's life. "Is he going to make it?" Sonic begs to Rotor. "I really don't know. I hope so." He says. "Ya know what, just...lie to me. Or, give me a percent number." Sonic says, standing up. Tails pokes his head out of the door. "19." Tails says. "Oh, that's good." Sonic says. "That's his chances of surviving as a percentage." Tails continues. Sonic goes numb. He basically killed his friend of 21 years. He walks inside, and hears a growl. He looks at Tails, who is snarling at him! "Get out before I rip you apart!" Tails says, angered that Sonic actually entered the room. He thinks Sonic still wants to kill Knuckles. "Tails! It's me! Your best bud!" Sonic says. Tails knows that it's Sonic. "I just wanted to check up on him. I don't want him to die, Tails." He says, standing at the other side of the bed, looking at the echidna. Knuckles is in a coma, dreaming about his life. About his friends, Ray, and Mighty, and how he stopped evil many hundreds of times before. He can hear the fox and hedgehog talk, but to him, they are far off, quiet, almost like trying to hear while you are underwater in a swimming pool. Tails checks his neck for a pulse. "Still with us. His heart is beating at.. 72 beats a minute." Tails says. He checks the other side of Knuckles' neck, where the stab wound is. Tails lifts goes to lift the towel, but still sees that he is bleeding, very slightly, but he should keep the towel on, just in case. Sonic knows this, when Tails puts it back down, rather gently, to help with the clotting process. "I'm gonna go. I don't deserve to be in Harry's home." Sonic says, running out of the room. He opens the bedroom door, walks quickly to the front door, opens the wooden door, and runs down the stairs to the street. Everyone wonders what happened in there. Tails checks the back of Knuckles' neck for any injuries. luckily, Sonic merely broke the skin layer, causing a cut, and nothing more. No nerve damage, paralysis or the like. Knuckles is very lucky for not having his spinal cord cut. Tails notices this and realizes that perhaps Sonic's motive was to merely stun the echidna. "Knuckles, can you here me?" Tails asks softly. "Yeah, like you're far away." Knuckles says, whispering, and barely audible. "Where are you? Where am I? I can barely see." Knuckles continues. He keeps the lights off, so he doesn't get nervous, but rather stays calm and relaxed. And that's the best thing at this point. "You're in Harry's bedroom. He and I put you down in his bed to rest after Sonic stabbed you in the neck and throat." Tails explains. Knuckles just lies in the bed, not saying a word, and thinking about what happened. "Harry doesn't mind, does he?" Knuckles tries to say. "No. He actually thought of the idea." Tails says, looking out the door, motioning Sally, Harry, and Julie-Su to come in. "Knuckles, are you alright? How are you feeling?" Julie-Su asks, hugging his head. "A little rough." Knuckles replies. "Knuckles, do you want me to get a military convoy to the airport?" Harry asks. "Naw. Don't bother with the trouble." Knuckles whispers. "Alright." Harry says. "Should I go after Sonic?" Tails asks. "No, he'll come back." Sally tells Tails, walking into the room. By the morning, Sonic shows up. He knocks at the door. Harry opens the door. "What the Hell are YOU doing here?" Harry asks, opening the door. Sonic walks in. He sits down on the couch, where Walt was sleeping. "How's Knuckles?" He asks. Sally is still very angry with him. "He's doing better, but still in the danger zone." She says. Sonic turns to Tails, who is leaning against the wooden doorway. "Tails, can I go in and check up on Knuckles?" Sonic asks. "I guess, If you promise not to stab me!" Tails says, leading him in. Sonic looks at his friend, and he is shocked to see that Tails had to bandage his neck up, and there is quite a bit of blood on the bandage, but the bleeding has finally stopped. "Is he going to make it?" Sonic asks. "I think so. You nearly killed him." Tails replies. "Knux? Are you awake?" Sonic asks. Knuckles raises one eyelid. "Yeah, what do you want?" Knuckles asks. "I know you are angry with me, and if you hate me...well, I understand." Sonic says. "Yeah, I'm angry. Yeah, I hate you right now." Knuckles says. "I just want to know if you can forgive me because I'm sorry." Sonic says. "Oh, God. I dunno if I CAN forgive you. I mean, you tried to kill me and Harry." Knuckles says to the apologetic hedgehog. Sonic sits down, feeling a huge amount of guilt for his actions 6 hours ago. "If you want to punch me in the face, go ahead. I deserve it. It's the least I can do for what I did to you." Sonic says. "I could do that. I SHOULD do that. But, I won't." Knuckles says. "Why not?" Sonic asks. "Because, I'm not like that. I've given up being vengeful." Knuckles replies. The room falls silent for a few minutes. "Maybe we should part ways." Sonic says. "Maybe." Knuckles thinks out loud. "I just hope you can find it possible to forgive me." Sonic says. Knuckles thinks for a moment. "Sonic, I forgive you. I'm not going to hold a grudge." Knuckles says. "Thanks!" Sonic says, shaking Knuckles' hand. Knuckles tries to sit upright. "Are you really going to be alright?" Sonic asks. "Yeah." Knuckles replies. Sonic gives Knuckles a brotherly hug. Sonic cries on his shoulder. "I-I don't deserve a friend like you. I'm sorry, Knuckles! I'm really, very sorry!" Sonic says. Knuckles pats him on the back. "It's alright. I forgive you, Sonic. You DO deserve friends like us. That's what we're for." Knuckles says. "So, you two are friends again?" Julie-Su asks. "Hell ya!" They both say. "That's good to hear. I'm glad you two aren't fighting anymore." Sally says. "Yeah. I was scared one of you would get hurt and die." Tails says. "See? That's what Stryker wanted! he wants us to have lots of infighting, so we are easier to defeat. Divide And Conquer." Harry says. "He's right." Sally says. "Well, that's last night, and this is...7:02 AM, Saturday Morning." Knuckles says. "Let's go and save YOUR City, bro!" Sonic says, helping Knuckles up. "Thanks. I don't really know if I can walk." Knuckles says, very dizzy from lying in bed for so long. "Just take it one step at a time. I'm with you every step of the way." Sonic says. "Thanks. Sonic, YOU are the definition of 'True Friend'." Knuckles says. Knuckles starts to lose his balance while walking, but Tails grabs his arm. "I gotcha! You aren't going to fall!" Tails says, flying and holding Knuckles' left arm. The echidna sits down. "Great. I can barely stand, and I won't be able to walk for another couple of hours." Knuckles says. "That's okay. I'm more concerned with your health, bud." Sonic says. "Knux, if you can't fight, would you like us to go out and have a couple of us stay behind and check up on you?" Tails and Harry offer. "No. I don't need servants or to be placed in a retirement home." Knuckles says. "Here. This might help you regain your balance." Harry says, handing him a cane. Knuckles looks at it. "Excuse me. I'M NOT OLD!" He says, holding the cane up. "Sure, what ever you say, gramps." Sonic laughs. Knuckles knows that Sonic was only joking with him. "It's just so you can regain balance and help you walk." Harry says. "I guess. I'll use it. But only on the grounds that none of you call me old." Knuckles says. "Sure. I agree to that." Kit says. "Really? Thanks." Knuckles replies to the wolf-fox. The rest of the Freedom Fighters follow suit. "Well, let's go. I want to avenge Mighty, ray, and Antoine." Knuckles says. "Now THAT's the Knuckles we know!" Tails says. They leave the flat, and make their plan. "Sir! I have just received news that Sonic and Knuckles were involved in a fight! Sonic may have killed his former rival!" Shadow says. "Shadow! Where the Hell were you for the past 18 hours?" Stryker asks. "I was spying around the City." Shadow replies. "Spying around the City? Hmm. and what of this...fight?" Stryker asks. "Well, Sonic stabbed Knuckles in the neck with a knife." Shadow reports. "Oh, this is perfect!" Stryker says. Besides, there is nothing for them to fight for, so why would the they attack NOW? It's pointless. I have won. Civilian casualties are astronomical, and the Freedom Fighters are to blame!" Stryker laughs. "Sir, I think we should go out personally and inspect the City. Now is the perfect time to build your empire's capital city!" Robotnik says. "Very well. So it shall be done!" Stryker says, trying to act like Emperor Caesar. They walk outside, and get two guards to find a truck. The evil team sits in the back, like a tour bus, only discussing what should go where. "Over here, will be a statue of YOU, Robotnik." Stryker points to the park in front of the World Trade Center. "Ah. An excellent choice, comrade. One of your caliber deserves something of equal importance. Maybe.... a Community Center named after you in THAT building." Robotnik says, setting his eyes on the Madden Building. The villains have basically chosen the new City. "And we shall call it Heliopolis!" Enerjak says. "Good name!" Stryker says. "Yes. It is from the far-ancient Egyptians. It means 'Sun City', or 'Center Palace of the Sun'." Enerjak says. "Still sounds nice." Rex says. "Oh! Look what's up ahead!" Stryker says, looking through his binoculars. "Sir, it's the Canadian Freedom Fighters." Shadow says. "Good. Pass me a Bazooka. I'm gonna blast those meddling furries to Hell." Stryker says, picking up the bazooka. He takes aim. "Farewell, Furries!" He says, shooting. The news van explodes while driving down the street. Only Kit, Arthur, Sheila, and Peter make it out." The others are killed instantly. The Furries hide in a nearby skyscraper. Stryker checks the van for survivors as he passes by. "Hmm. All of them are dead." Stryker says. "Only two are, you dunce!" Sheila whispers, looking out the window. "Poor Rick and Steele." Kit says, shaking his head. "'Tis alright, Kit. I'll avenge their deaths. Arthur says, patting the wolf-fox on the shoulder. Part IX: The Young Freedom Fighters Take Control! "Alright, Freedom Fighters! Listen up! Our parents are fighting, and we are staying here, right?" Leon asks the young furries. "Yeah. What's your point?" Taylor asks. "We need to help them! Even our Canadian friends are out there, but we are stuck here, watching our prisoner." Leon says. "And, who else is here?" Alex the Hedgehog, Sonic's younger son, asks. "Hmm. That's a good question." Leon says, looking around. He sees none. "Great! We're alone, in a war, with the enemy's second in command as our only prisoner. This spells disaster, mates!" Joey says. "Not exactly. IF we keep stay put and arm ourselves, the chances of being killed are much less." Lance says to the wallaby. "First, we need to know who is taking control." Stephen suggests. "I will. I'm the oldest." Taylor says, standing up. "I have two tails." He adds. "So do I. What's your point?" Leon asks. "Nothing. Never mind." the fox says to his little brother. "I'll check on our prisoner." Violet says. "Hey! Are you even alive?" She asks, through the door. "Yes, I'm still alive." Maxwell says, pacing. "Good. Taylor would be pissed if a prisoner died on him." She says. "Oh, yes. Look out for the oldest son of the two-tailed fox, even though I am being held captive.... IN AN ABANDONED TRANSPORT TRUCK TRAILER!" He yells. "Taylor, is it just me, or is it a bit cruel to hold him in the trailer?" Violet asks. "What? He has enough air holes. Tell him to quit complaining." Taylor says. The rest of the furries laugh. "Oh, you kids think this is funny? You wait. Laugh NOW!" He says. "What do you mean 'laugh NOW'?" Stephen asks. "Do you really think you little kiddies can fend off my father's army?" Maxwell asks, trying to not sound sarcastic. "He's got a point." Stephen says to his brother, Alex. "Just think for a minute. I HATE my dad's actions. Am I going to welcome the Dingoes if they come and liberate me?" Maxwell asks the hedgehogs. "You DON'T like Stryker?" Taylor asks. "NO! My father has lost it! I am very different from him. It's like we aren't even related. He's...extremely violent and merciless, and I'm semi-violent, and merciful." Maxwell says, telling the truth and showing his true colors to the teen Furries. "Alright. Prove it if this is true." Taylor says. "How?" The prisoner asks. "Simple. If they come by, tell them to go onward or to surrender or something." the fox says. "Very well." Maxwell says. "We'll let ya out." Taylor tells the dingo. "But if you try any funny stuff, I'll shoot you on the spot." Lance says, holding his father's gun. Maxwell looks at the gun and steps back. "Alright, let's just tie down the fort for our friends until they get back." Leon says. "What do WE do?" Warren and Charles ask. "You two be lookouts." Leon says. Part X: The Tables Have Turned "Is everyone safe? How are my mom and stepfather?" Knuckles asks into his CB to his father, Locke. "They are fine. I made sure they were escorted here with the Secret Service and Downunda Freedom Fighters." Locke tells his son. "That's good. And how are you all holding out?" Knuckles asks. "We're doing well. No one has tried to attack us so far, and the view of the City at sunrise is just stunning!" Locke says. "Well, I'd chat more, but Sonic and I have some streets to win back!" Knuckles says. He hangs up the CB. "Alright, we need to regroup with those Canadians. They are probably frightened out of their minds." Knuckles says. They meet up with the other Freedom Fighters. "Hey. Weren't there two more of you?" Vector asks. "Yeah. Stryker blew up their van with a bazooka." Kit says. "Oh, I'm sorry to here that." Knuckles says. They walk through the streets, and they see Enerjak and Shadow. "What are THEY doing here?" Sonic asks Knuckles. "I dunno, but whatever it is they are up to, I'll bet the Master Emerald that it's bad." Knuckles says. "You wanna attack them or should I?" Sonic asks. "You go ahead." Knuckles says. Sonic runs out. "Hey Dimitri!" He yells. "The name's ENERJAK, you foolish mortal!" The echidna says. Sonic goes to pull out a gun, when Enerjak tries to blast him with a bolt of energy. Too bad it doesn't work, because Sonic shields himself and has Knuckles jump out from behind the overturned Cadillac they were talking behind. Knuckles counters and yells to Tails. "Get me that sword!" He yells. "Right! Here it is!" Tails says. Knuckles grabs it and merely touches Enerjak with it. He loses all of his powers. Now, Enerjak is simply an ordinary echidna in a really fancy uniform named Dimitri. "You'll PAY for... this?" Dimitri says. "Don't push your luck!" Knuckles says, pushing him to the ground, and arresting him, the exact way that his friend, Remington would. "I hereby place you under arrest for Treason, War Crimes, being a moron, not having a life, and being ugly." Knuckles says. Tails and Sonic just laugh at the things Knuckles arrests Dimitri for. "Here. Arthur, Peter, take him back to Italy Drive and 52nd Street's Parking Garage." Knuckles says, passing Dimitri to the Canadians. "What if he escapes, sir?" Arthur asks. "SIR? I'm only 12 years older than you, and shoot him if he tries to run." Knuckles says. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean, can't we stun him with a hockey stick or something?" Arthur asks. "Oy!" Knuckles says, slapping himself in the forehead. "Well, Knuckles, they ARE from Toronto!" Sonic laughs. "Yeah, sure. If you have one." He says. Peter pulls out a hockey stick from his backpack. "How'd you fit it in there?" Tails asks the wolf. "I.. dunno." Peter replies. Sonic falls over laughing. "What's so damn funny?" Dimitri asks. "Nothing....just...get him out of here." Knuckles says, trying to stifle his laughter. The Freedom Fighters press onward downtown, in hopes of meeting up with StarFox's team, who is on Ellis Street at Ottawa Avenue, right near the EST compound. "Role call!" Fox yells. "Krystal." "Manic." "Sonia." "Mina." The furries say their names. "Alright, let's...HUH? Where'd YOU come from?" Fox asks Mina. "I was hiding in that building, you know the one where Lupe is." Mina says. "Oh. Well, can you go back? I guess not. Just stick with us, okay?" Fox asks Mina. "Sure." She says. They walk onward, and meet up with Arthur and Peter. "Hey! You caught Enerjak! Alright, guys!" Fox says. "Yeah. We're taking him back to the base to be held until we can take back the EST building." Arthur says. "Well, good luck. And if you see Walt, tell him we have the Port Street Bridge all ready for him." Fox says. "Alright, I will, if I see him." Arthur says. They walk into the distance, down the sunny, yet rubble-strewn Park Avenue. Fox picks up his scanner. "Hey, Sonic! You there?" Fox asks. "Yeah. What's up?" Sonic asks. "Well, we have a friend of yours that came from the same building Lupe was in." Fox says. "Mina? When we meet up, I'll take her under my wing." Sonic says to Fox about his good friend. "Alright. I'll keep in touch." Fox says, hanging up his CB. He walks up the slight incline of the road, and holds his hand up. "Wait for a second." He says, looking like just a black fox-shape in the morning sun. "Alright, come on. I though I saw a sniper." Fox says. What he saw was a furry run around a corner. He walks down the avenue to another street. He sees the shadows on the building. "Alright! Who's there? Identify yourself, or I may have to shoot you." Fox says, drawing his sword and gun. Fox pokes his head around the corner, and sees that it's merely Walt and the Downunda Freedom Fighters, and they are just taking a break from pursuing Moritori Rex. "What are you doing here? I though you were in the Marble Garden Zone." Fox says. "Well, once Moritori Rex attacked the Knothole Freedom Fighters, we decided to give chase." Walt explains. "And it ain't easy exercise, mate!" Duck "Bill" Platypus says. "I bet. Listen, if we join our teams and work together, our odds of catching him are greatly increased." Fox offers. "Alright. I could use the extra help." Walt says. They walk down the road as one team, with two leaders. Fox sees another shadow, this time, being an echidna, not a wallaby. "Stay here. I'll get him." Fox says. He pokes his head around the corner of the building. He gets shot at. Fox ducks around, for cover. "Crap! I almost got blown away." He says, breathing fast. He gets his gun ready. "Rex! You and I both know that there are only two real ways this ends. Peacefully, in which you get a minimal sentence, or death, in which Walt and I have to shoot you to kill you." the vulpine says. "Really? Am I about to let myself be caught?" Rex asks the fox, from a distance. "Look around you, you're caught." Fox says, showing him he's in an alley, with his team and Walter Wallaby behind him, and the rest of the DFF on the other side. "Alright! I surrender!" Rex Says, putting his weapon down on the ground, and kicking it to Walt. "We actually have Moritori Rex, the leader of the Dark Legion!" Walt says to Fox. "Yeah. We should tell Fang and Tails." Fox replies. "Now, we need something to hold him in so he doesn't escape." Walt says. "How about this?" Wombat Stu asks, finding an old Chevrolet sedan. He flips it back over with Duck "Bill", and they turn it on. "Here's our new cruiser." The wombat says. Walt takes control, and has Rex put in the back. They start to drive slowly down the street. "What's going to happen, now that their three top guys are dead or captured?" Duck "Bill" asks Fox. "Maybe have an attack." He says. "Do you think we can hold them off by ourselves?" The platypus asks. "NO! We can't even do the job with Sonic's Freedom Fighters and the Secret Service!" Fox laughs. Fox finds an abandoned Ford pick-up. "Alright. Everyone, we'll get farther in this truck. We'll follow Walt." Fox says, starting the ancient pick-up. Part XI: The Furries Use The Atom Bomb! Sonic looks onward at the EST compound through his binoculars, when his scanner goes off. "Sonic are you there?" Walt's scratchy, static-filled voice crackles on the scanner. "Yeah. Where are you? We're about to launch an attack!" Sonic says. "We're on... Park, heading your way, east bound. Fox is right behind me." Walt says. "Well, we can't do much of anything except wait for ya." Sonic says. "We'll be there in, what? 5 minutes? There's no traffic, so I can easily do 200 on the city streets." Walt says. "Oh, and we captured Moritori Rex." Barby says, grabbing the scanner. "You DID? Damn! You guys must kick butt or something!" Sonic says. "Well, I'll talk to ya when we get there." Walt says, turning his scanner off. Sonic sits back down, behind the heap of rubble. "Tails, why do I feel like a soldier in Saint Petersburg in 1944?" Sonic asks. "Maybe it's from the street fighting, the civilians hiding for their lives, the fact that we are as ill-prepared as the Russians, and that this IS a large city, like Saint Petersburg?" Tails replies. "Oh." Sonic says, putting his head down. Fang gets up. "Want me to do a bit of recon?" The weasel asks. "Sure. Fine. Just don't get shot or captured." Sonic says. "ME? Captured? HA!" Fang says, grabbing his gun. He jumps over the heap of rubble, and runs towards the building across the street. He dashes between hiding places, of cars, rubble, and even ducking and rolling on the ground, to avoid being shot or seen. He makes it across unharmed, and alive, just covered in dirt. "Well, let's see. Gun, knives, rifle, ammo, Yep. I've got everything." Fang says, checking himself for his weapons. "I'm just going to be a fly on the wall, and see what it's gonna take to destroy this place." Fang thinks to himself. He overhears that it would take a nuclear bomb to completely destroy the building. "Wow. We don't have any nukes. What are we going to do?" He thinks to himself. "Maybe surrender?" A guard asks from behind, holding a rifle pointed at Fang. "Sorry. That's not in my game plan!" Fang says. "Well, perhaps you can be BOUGHT." The guard asks. "What are you talking about?" The weasel inquires. "Simple. What if Stryker were to pay you, in cash, 125,000 dollars to join his side?" The guard asks. "What?" "You're right. I told him that's a little low. He's willing to pay you HALF A MILLION DOLLARS." The guard says. "You know what? NO DICE! FORGET IT! I CAN'T BE BOUGHT! Go and tell him that!" Fang says. The guard walks away, but Tails and Rotor catch him before he can escape. Fang walks back to them. "Guys, it's gonna take a nuke to level this place." Fang says. "Hmm, let's see. Do we have any nuclear weapons or Uranium? No... just rubble and garbage." Rotor says, kicking a rock. "I can make a bomb that splatters shrapnel everywhere, but that's it." Rotor says. "Good. Make Fang one. He'll toss it in the building and injure Stryker. That'll buy us some time to get a nuclear bomb." Sonic says. Rotor makes a crude shrapnel bomb within 8 minutes, with a timer, a power cord, a stick of dynamite, and a bunch of glass and metal shards. "Here ya go. One bomb." Rotor says, handing it to Fang. "Thanks. Let's see how Stryker likes my present!" Fang says. He runs to a window, and tosses it in, breaking some glass. "Happy Birthday!" He says, shielding himself from the explosion. He runs back. "Now, you said you could work on getting us a bomb, Sonic?" Fang asks. "Yeah. If Knuckles can get us to the army headquarters outside the island, and if Rotor, Arthur and Kit can hack in, we can get a nuke." Sonic says. "Well, let's go." Fang says. "Alright. We'll need a car, though." Sonic says. Just then, a sedan and a pickup pull up. "Need some help?" Walt says, opening the door. "Yeah. We're going to sneak into the army base out on the interstate way off from the island. Sally, you, Lisa, Tails, and Elias are in charge." Sonic says. "Wouldn't you need a couple good snipers to cover ya?" Fang asks. "You know, I will. But you and Fox will have to sit in the back of the pick up with Arthur if Rotor and Kit are up front." Sonic says. "Doesn't matter." Fang says. They pull off in the pickup, and speed towards the mountains. "Where are we going, Sonic? The airport's down the freeway!" Fang says, pointing to a sign that says 'AIRPORT, RIGHT'. "We're heading to the mountains. Once we meet up with Tikal, Rob, and Yanar, we'll have access to the bombs." Sonic says. They drive down a steep and narrow 2-lane paved road, through the heavily wooded hills to the ruins. Sonic pulls up, and parks the truck. "I need a nuke. Rob, Tikal, Yanar. We need your access codes, so come with us." Sonic says. ""Sure, but does Knuckles know about this?" Yanar asks. "I'll let him know." Sonic says. He calls Knuckles on the scanner. "Knux. We're going to get a nuke and blast the building to bits." Sonic says. "WHAT? Do you even care about civilian casualties? Sonic, please, only use a nuclear bomb AS A LAST RESORT!" Knuckles says. "Knux, bro. We're out of options. We've bombed the building into oblivion, and yet it still stands. You even said it yourself: It is designed to withstand a small nuclear explosion." Sonic says. "Alright. Just, get everyone underground." Knuckles says. "That went well." Sonic says. Yanar simply shakes his head. "Well, if we absolutely HAVE no choice BUT to use nuclear weapons, then, we will." Tikal says. "Oh, and we have a helicopter for transport. It's a bit more comfortable than driving." Rotor tells him. "Alright, I have approval to launch a missile at Haven." Yanar reminds the hedgehog. "I just hope the citizens of the City can forgive us for our actions." Sonic says. Sonic enters the room, and Rotor instructs him what to type. "Alright. for the launch coordinates, type 3HB." Rotor says. "Arc? What's that?" Sonic asks. "That's the semi-circle a missile will make. type in 20." Rotor says. "Since the island is in the air, shouldn't it be 30?" Kit asks. "He's right. Put in 30, and for Thrust Intensity, put in 400." Rotor continues. "Now, it's asking for which missile silo to launch from." Sonic says. "Use Silo Number 4. It is our weakest missile." Tikal says. Sonic types it in. "Missile Launch from Silo Four to Destination: Floating Island In 10..9.." The speakers do a countdown. "Time from launch to impact: 20 seconds. Distance of Target: 19 Miles." Sonic reads the screen. "Target Acquired: EST Base at Park Avenue in Downtown." The missile launches into the sky. Sonic watches the monitors. It arches gracefully and gradually. "Guys, there's an incoming missile! Get below ground if you can!" Sonic yells into his scanner. "Thanks for the warning!" Elias says. The Furries take cover from the hedgehog's warning. Tails finds a car, and has Knuckles help him carry it over to their dugout of a pit in the street. The heap of rubble acts as a wall, and the car is like a bunker's roof. "Sir, the echidnas are launching a missile this way!" Shadow says. "Oh... great! Everyone, get to the bunkers!" Stryker orders. The missile hits with a fiery fury. There is a pulse of light, where everything is silent, and the wind is still. The buildings look black against a white sky. Then, a suction. Debris like cars, rubble, and trash are sucked into the atomic blast. A huge mushroom cloud arises from the base of the EST building. IT is in a bubble of intense heat, where metal is vaporized, and concrete turns to dust. The buildings are disintegrated. Cars are flung high into the air like little dust flakes, and are tossed great distances. The skyscrapers are blown away, and the freeway overpasses are destroyed. All that remains of them are some of the concrete bases of the ramps, roads, and some building bases. The streets are baked to crisps, and are blasted away. "Alright. Now, everyone. When I lift this car, the city will be destroyed. You may still see the mushroom cloud directly above, so don't be afraid." Knuckles says. Tails tries to call Sonic on his scanner. "Dammit. Something is blocking the signal." Tails says, hitting it. "Radiation is causing interference! It's electromagnetic, so we will need to cover ourselves with lead dust." Knuckles says. "Isn't that deadly?" Elias asks. "Kinda, but so is fallout radiation from a nuclear bomb." Tails says. "The car is made of lead, right?" Sally asks. "Yeah, and the fuel in it is leaded." Tails says, noting the car is very old." "Why doesn't Knuckles punch it to bits, and the dust will rain down on us, and we will have our protective coats?" Sally wonders. "That's a good idea." Tails says. Knuckles gives two good punches to the car, and the dust rains down, part rust, and part lead metal. Reynard lifts the car up with Knuckles, and sticks his head outside. "Oh, my.....God!" He says, looking at the devastation. "Can I take this lead dust off? It's making me sneeze." Diablo says. "Don't breathe it! It causes cancer. Keep it on, to protect against radiation." Tails says. "Oh. Alright." Diablo says. "Hey, Rosenberg. Is it supposed to be raining down huge black droplets?" Reynard asks. "Yeah, I think so. Just try not to let any hit you. They are filled with fallout." Tails says. The Freedom Fighters find sheet metal and corrugated wrought iron scraps, and use them like umbrellas. "So, this is it! This is what we are fighting for?" Zachary asks, looking around. The tallest buildings are reduced to 4 stories. There are no buildings above 5 floors high. Knuckles is amazed that he can see the bay, since the buildings would have usually blocked any such view from Park Street in Downtown. "I can see everything from here. It's frightening." Knuckles says. The Young Freedom Fighters are sitting tight in the Parking Garage, when Warren sees the flash from the bomb. "Uh, guys! MUSHROOM CLOUD!" He yells. "Alright! Everyone to the basement!" Taylor says. He helps Maxwell up and they walk into the basement. After the percussion waves and blast, they look around. "Is everyone alright?" Stephen asks. "I'm fine." Violet answers. "I'm shaken, not stirred." Joey says. "Alright. I'm going to inspect the damage above ground." Taylor says, getting up. He gets up to floor 2 of the parking garage, and looks around. "Holy crap!" He says. "What? What is it?" Leon asks. "Nothing's left!" He says, seeing the destroyed city. "The bomb that burned like a thousand Suns." Leon says. "This is awful! All those innocent people...dead." Lara-Su says. "Well, in this war, Stryker made it clear that he was aiming to kill civilians, NOT troops." Lance says. They try to re-establish their base. The Parking Garage is oddly protected from its reinforced concrete and position in being far enough away from the initial blast point. They decide to have Maxwell help them on rebuilding some of the destroyed equipment. "Here. You are going to help us fix this tractor." Lance says, showing him the transport truck. "I'm not a mechanic. I don't know how a car or truck works. I only know how to drive them." The dingo says. "Hmf. What can you do?" Lance asks. "I'm smart in building and technology." Maxwell replies. "Fine. Help Leon get the computers back online." Lance says. "Yeah, but I'm watching you." Taylor says. "Can you please pass those wires?" Leon asks. "Here ya go." Maxwell says, sliding the box to the young kitsune. "I'm real sorry to hear that one of my troops killed your uncle. I really am. I wouldn't allow it if I were in power." Maxwell apologizes. "Really?" Leon asks, fixing one of the radar dishes. "Yes. I would tell my troops to not kill anyone." Maxwell says. "That sounds...alright." Leon says, turning the dish on. "There we go!" He says. He gets some radiation readings from the remains of Downtown Angel Island. "Whoa! Look at this!" he says, seeing a crescent path of red arching around Downtown, from the river, to 52nd Street, and back towards the freeway. "It misses us by half a block! We're lucky!" Maxwell says. "Yeah, but a lot of furries and echidnas weren't." Lara-Su reminds everyone. "Alright! Now that we are confined to the bottom 3 floors of the compound, we have to fight the Furries off!" Stryker says. "Sir, there is no real point in fighting on. The city is destroyed, and they are closing in on us in the remains of this building. We are basically done for." Shadow says. "Alright. Shadow, I want you to be my negotiator and hedgehog that handles the surrendering." Stryker says. "Very well." Shadow replies. "What are casualties? I'm just wondering." Stryker asks. "Dead: 387,000. Injured: 2,045,900. Of course, these are merely estimates, but I expect them to be close to, but lower than, the actual levels." Shadow reports. "God... That was WAY higher than I expected." Stryker says. "It's not over, yet. They may have destroyed the building, but since the rubble caved in at the entrance, that will buy us some time." Robotnik says. Stryker walks up to a computer. "What's going on?" He asks himself, looking at the computers. The energy readings are going off the charts. "Oh, did I tell you this, Stryker? When you released him from the emerald, he created three dragons to protect him." Robotnik says. "So? Where are they, then?" Stryker asks, nervous that they might come after him. "They are on our side. You command them." Robotnik says. "Oh? This is good. It probably won't save us from the Furries, but it will at least allow us to prep the space shuttle for a roundabout on the Moon, and make a last stand THERE." Stryker says. He hears a crash in the back of the building. It shakes. "I'll go see what that is." Stryker says, grabbing his machine gun. He approaches the collapsed room with extreme caution. He sees a dragon, only it is made of pure chaos energy. It turns its head towards Stryker. "What is your name, Dragon?" Stryker asks, standing at a comfortable distance. "I am called Orion." The dragon speaks. "Aren't there two more of you?" Stryker asks, putting his gun down. "Yes. Those are my brother, Arcturus, and his friend, Chaos. The reason that we have arrived, is because we have been kidnapped from our world, and trapped in the Master Emerald. We are wanting revenge on whoever did this. Whoever let us free from that emerald will suffer an unimaginably horrible fate." He says. "Oh. Well, I'm on your side. Those Freedom Fighters are the reason that you are here." Stryker lies. "Good. Where are these Freedom Fighters?" The dragon asks. The others land right behind him. "Follow me, dragons. You are about to team up with the most powerful organization on this planet." Stryker says. "We've landed at Microsoft's Headquarters?" Arcturus asks. Stryker simply sighs and shakes his head. He leads them down the hall. "Here's where they are. Do what you wish. Eat them, kill them, torture them, or whatever." Stryker says, showing them a map, and a picture of Kit and Tails. "Sorry, we don't do the eating thing." Chaos says. "Okay, just do what you guys do best." Stryker says. "Stryker, if we find that you are lying, you should just pray that we don't rip you apart." Orion says. They fly off. Part XII: Surprise! "Uh, Tails, was that you flying above me?" Kit asks. "Nope. I'm right here." Tails says. "Oh. Must be a helicopter, then." Kit says, shaking the breeze and dragon shape off as a hallucination. "Why?" Tails asks. "Oh, nothing. Nevermind." The wolf-fox says. Zachary walks up. "I have Dimitri handcuffed in my cruiser." He says. Tails walks up to the echidna in the car. "Yes, you have me. But, I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Dimitri says. "What are you talking about?" Sonic asks. "You'll all find out in a few minutes." Dimitri says. They realize that he means of the dragons that were released. Kit saw one's shadow flying over him. Suddenly, one lands behind the poor wolf-fox. "Uh, tell me that there's nothing behind me!" Kit whimpers. He turns around. "Oh, crap!" He says. The wolf-fox runs back towards the Freedom Fighters as fast as he can. "Who are you? What's your name, and what is your business here?" Knuckles asks. "I am here to have revenge on you for kidnapping me from my home planet, and sealing me, my brother, and his friend in the Master Emerald for 5 years." He says. "What? We don't DO interplanetary travel. It wasn't us." Tails says. "Then who did?" The dragon asks the vulpines and Guardian. "Enerjak...well, now he's Dimitri." Knuckles says. "And he is with General Stryker, the leader of the Dingoes." Tails says. "He tricked you three." Kit says. "Well, all we wish is to return home in peace." Arcturus says. Zachary walks up. "Guardian, what should I do with these energy-dragons?" Zachary asks. "Nothing yet." Knuckles says. "Whatever Stryker told you is a lie." Sonic tells the dragons. "We have decided to help you on the condition that you help us get back home." Orion says. "That's agreeable." Knuckles says. "Why don't you just fly back home?" Sonic asks. "Because it is much too far. We would get tired and die without an energy recharge." Arcturus replies. "Very well. Follow us, dragons." Tails says. Zachary walks over to a building that was destroyed, and finds a piece of metal protruding out. It is a helicopter blade. He decides to dig it out and uncover it. Zachary uncovers a perfectly useable EST Police Helicopter in the rubble. "Can you use this?" Kit asks Zachary. "Sure. I can pilot this." Zachary says. He starts it up, and leads the dragons to Haven. They go to attack it, when Stryker sees them, and he knows what is going to happen. He gains control of Haven for about 10 seconds. In that time, he launches a missile. Sonic can somehow sense this. He runs off at top speed. "Sonic! Where are you going?" Knuckles asks. "Gotta job to do!" He yells back as he runs. He sees the missile. He hops on to it, and tries to get into its computer parts to have it self-destruct or land in the river. Sonic instead has it slam into a destroyed building. He jumps just before it explodes. It turns out it wasn't nuclear, but it was a powerful bomb. Sally sees this, and she is shocked. "Sonic's gone!" She says. Tails just looks on in disbelief. Then, Sonic appears on the top of a building, looking like he has just jumped in the river. He shakes his head off, and he stands up. He is wearing a white linen suit. He jumps softly off the 3 story building, and lands unharmed. He has a whitish glow and aura around him, like he was an angel or something. "Sonic? Are you alright?" Sally asks her husband. "Yeah. I'm fine. That bomb didn't touch me." Sonic says, hugging her. "I love you, Sally." He says. "I know. I love you, too, Sonic." She says in reply. "Sonic, how are you wearing white linen clothes if you weren't wearing any just before?" Sally asks. "I...dunno. But when the bomb approached the building, my life flashed before my very eyes. I-I even seen Mike Prower. I think he gave these clothes to me." Sonic says. He walks up to Knuckles. "Although we have Stryker and Robotnik confined to Haven, they might be able to escape to outer space." Sonic tells Knuckles and Fang. "Great." Knuckles says. "But, Mike gave me an idea." Sonic says. "Mike's dead, Sonic." Tails tells the hedgehog. "Well, he showed me of a building that had a wolf-badger in it that would be able to help us defeat Stryker." Sonic says. "Where is this building?" Knuckles asks. "It's in the Madden Building." Sonic says, pointing to the rubble pile. Sonic, Tails, Sally, Fox, Fang, Walt, and Knuckles walk over to it. They find a way inside, and go in one by one. They find the basement is completely intact. They look in one room, and find a machine the size of a room. Inside , it appears to be a Liquid Nitrogen tube, with someone inside, asleep. "He's the wolf that's going to help us." Sonic says. Tails walks over, and sees that there is some sort of escape pod from another planet. "He might be from another planet." Tails says. The vulpine then walks over and sees a button that says "EMPTY". Sonic nods to press it. The Liquid Nitrogen level decreases, and the tube opens up. The wolf falls to the ground, on his hands and knees, coughing. "Whoa! Are you alright?" Sally asks. "He freezes for a second, and then goes to speak. "Where am I? What Dimension am I in? What year is it?" He asks. "Sir, this is the Floating Island on Mobius. The year is 3251. The star our planet orbits is Alpha Centauri." Tails says. "Oh, GOD! I've been lost in space for 12 years, then frozen in Liquid Nitrogen for 14 more years???" He asks, still coughing a bit, and on his hands and knees. His paws and arms are shaking with fear. "It's alright. What's your name? I'm Princess Sally Acorn." Sally says. "Brian Grant. I'm a wolf-badger from around here. I was last here when there was a war with the overlanders... was it 3225?" He says. He takes a look at Fox McCloud. "Oh, my... Fox, is that you?" He asks. "Yeah. Brian, I can't believe you are still alive after all these years." Fox says, shaking his old friend's hand. "How old is he? What is his story?" Tails asks. "I was 21. Now, I'm what? 47? I haven't aged since I was accidentally launched into orbit. I was lost in space, when I then put myself into that Liquid Nitrogen tube. I didn't expect to ever return home. I though a nuclear holocaust killed everyone. After remaining in outer space like that for 12 years, I must have crash-landed here on the Island, I guess. Some scientists probably took my tube out of the craft and put it in their machine so I could stabilize. I was away for a total of what? 26 years?" He says. Everyone is sad and heartfelt from his tragic story. "And how do I know Fox? We used to be in the same squadron." He says, trying to stand up. Knuckles helps the poor wolf-badger up. "Brian. Have you ever heard of Stryker?" Knuckles asks. "Yes. Isn't he the leader of the Dingo Party of Albion?" Brian asks, being very behind in the times. "Not anymore. He's General Stryker, leader of the Dingoes, and he has been causing tension for the past 5 years. And last week, he let all holy Hell break loose." Knuckles gives the wolf-badger a refresher course in Current Events. "Oh. This is terrible." Brian says. "That's not all. He used a Nuclear Bomb and blew up the city. He killed over 300,000 people." Fox says, putting his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Let's get you al fixed up, and get you some clothes." Fox says, giving his friend his overcoat. "Thanks, Fox. I just wish I could return home, and yet, I AM home... It's such a weird feeling." He says. Tails meets up with his wife, Lisa, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters. "Alright, I think we can take this. The rest of you can head back to the Garage and call the Secret Service." Tails says. They get Brian some guns. Rotor shows him how to work them. "Wow. I can't believe how much the technology has changed since the '20s..." Brian says, looking at the guns and cars. "Oh, and we have a little problem, a la Dimitri." Sonic says. "What's that?" Brian asks. "Well, we have a reptile problem. It turns out that Dimitri, when he was Enerjak, kidnapped three energy dragons from the same planet that all the Chaos and Master Emeralds come from." Sonic explains. "Chaos, Arcturus, and Orion. Yes, I know. Dimitri DID kidnap them. I had to flee them in space before I put myself to sleep. They and I became kinda like rivals." Brian remembers. "Great. Do you know how to kill them, then?" Knuckles asks. "Kill them? They are innocent! They are just trying to survive, much like we are." Brian says, pulling out a Chaos Emerald from his leather jacket. "Tails! You've been holding out on us, man?" Sonic yells. "No. This is a clone of one." Tails says. "It'll work." Brian says, looking at the blue emerald. Tails calls the three dragons over. Knuckles blasts the gem with his power. It opens a wormhole. "There's your ticket home!" Tails says. "Thanks! IF you ever stop by on our planet, consider yourselves welcome." Orion says. The wormhole closes up. "Alright, that was easy." Knuckles says. "Yeah. Now, I've gotta kill Stryker." Brian says. "Uh, dude. He killed 3 of my best friends. We've been trying." Knuckles says. "Alright, but let's just try it my way." Brian says. "Sure." They all say, agreeing. "How are we going to make this plan?" Krystal, Fox's fiancee, asks. "Easy. When night falls, we have the Secret Service team up with the DFF, and they will storm the west side of the building. When Sonic and Tails barrage the building while the Canadian Freedom Fighters bomb the place into submission like the Allies did to the Germans in World War II, Stryker will surrender." Brian says. "That's nice, except we don't have planes. Only ONE helicopter, and even THAT is...well, ugh." Arthur says. "Yeah. I could probably salvage some planes, but I'll need Fang, Vector, and Rotor to help me." Zachary says. Lisa meets up with Geoffrey St. John and his troops. "Lisa, what are you doing here? And what are Mina, Manic and Sonia doing with you?" Hershey asks. "Hershey, the reason we split from the others is that we don't have any ammo, or plans." Lisa says. "Well, I think you should all wait for your allies at the Parking Garage." Amadeus says to his daughter-in-law. "I understand." She replies. She then gets her friends together, and they walk back to the Garage. "Do you think they'll really go back, brother?" Merlin asks Amadeus. "No, but I hope so." Amadeus says. "Alright! Listen up!" Geoffrey yells. "I've just got a plan from Sonic! We're going into the city and teaming up with the Downunda Freedom Fighters to attack." Geoffrey continues. "This should be good." Luther says. They pack up their army truck with Yanar, Gala-Na, and Tikal. They pull out. They drive and make it to the Airport, where they see Fang, Zachary, Vector, and Rotor, testing a DC-9 for bombing capabilities. "What are they doing?" Geoffrey asks. "They see Geoffrey. "Busted." Vector says. "What are you guys up to?" Hershey asks. "We're testing a passenger DC-9 to see if we can retrofit it as a bomber." Rotor says. Zachary lands the plane. The army convoy pulls out. "That was close." Rotor says. "They're on our side." Fang says. "Besides, when they seen me right here, they knew not to mess with me." Fang says. They decide that the plane is ready, and they tell all the others that they are already in the air. "Alright, DFF, time to move out!" Walt says to his team. Sonic's team moves around to the side of the building. Geoffrey's team does a roundabout to the rear of the building, and Harry, Chris, Reynard, Diablo, Lupe, Elias, Nic, Krystal, and Fox take the other side. "Stryker, you are surrounded! Surrender peacefully, or you will be pounded and bombed into submission!" Tails yells through a megaphone. Stryker sends an ultimatum. "You'll have to bomb your hardest to get me to budge." Is what the paper says. "Alright, bomb the living Hell out of this building, guys!" Tails says into his scanner. The plane's engines roar up, and drops a large number of napalm bombs in the building. "That's a direct hit. He won't last much longer." Knuckles says, watching the plane loop around and drop round after round of bombs on the stronghold. Part XII: The Final Fight "Sir, we are being pounded to death in our stronghold." Shadow says. "No matter. Our Shuttle is ready, anyways." Robotnik says. "Fine. Let's put our Plan B into action." Stryker says, running down the shaking and crumbling hallway. He, Shadow, and Robotnik get into the space shuttle, and open the underground launch ramp. The ground in front of the Freedom Fighters begins to shake, and open up. "DUCK, EVERYONE!" Kit says, seeing the space shuttle. "We're gonna need a better plan!" Brian says to Knuckles and Arthur. "Sh*t. Do we have a plan for... chasing our enemies in deep space?" Sonic asks Tails. "Don't look at me, man!" Tails replies. "It's a whole new ballgame." Sheila says. Aboard the shuttle, Stryker is piloting it through the atmosphere. "Stryker, this plan is sheer genius!" Robotnik says. "Yes, well, as I always say, 'Have Plan B'." Stryker says, docking the space shuttle with the space station. Stryker goes to open the door. "Don't do that!" Robotnik says. "Why not?" Stryker asks. "You don't know if it is even pressurized in there! For all we know, it could have poisonous air in there!" Robotnik says. Stryker unlocks the airlock. He sniffs the air. "It's a bit musty and stale, but not poisonous." He says. The evil trio walk inside to the command base. "Rotor! How long before we are able to give chase?" Bunny asks. "Dunno. I can't build a space shuttle without proper equipment, and simply retrofitting a DC-9 isn't going to do it." Rotor says to his friend. "Well, we're all waitin' for ya." She says. Tails walks up. "Rotor, if you want, I can search the airport to see if we are lucky enough to find a space shuttle." Tails says. "Sure. Go ahead." Rotor and Sonic say. Tails scouts off, with his wife, Lisa Prower. They don't believe what they find when they open up an AirBus hangar. "Oh, my god!" Lisa says. "It's the Space Shuttle Atlantis!" Tails says. "WALT! SONIC! FOX! EVERYONE! I FOUND A SPACE SHUTTLE!" Tails yells at the top of his lungs. "What? Really? Elias asks. "Yeah!" Come here!" Tails says, jumping thirty feet in the air, with his tails twirling. "Is this the miracle we needed?" Sally asks Lisa. "I think so." She replies. "Is it alright? Can you use it?" Vector and Sonic ask. "Yeah. I can use it! If we get to work NOW, we can leave by tonight! This thing has next to NO damage on it, just the wiring needs work." Rotor says. "Sure. We'll help." Knuckles says. "Count me in!" Sonic says. The four get to work. "Knuckles! IF you are fixing the shuttle, what are we going to do?" Walt asks. "We need this city brought under control, so as soon as we get back, we can get basic services running." Knuckles says. "Why not NOW?" Julie-Su asks. "Because, if we let our guard down, Stryker will have his opportunity to come back and seize power." Knuckles explains. The furries understand. They get to work. Rotor cleans out the motors and engines, Sonic wipes the heat tiles down and cleans the windows, Fang checks the wheels and landing gears, Tails fixes the rudder, and Vector inspects the computers. By 8:00 PM, the shuttle is ready. "So, who's going up?" Walt asks. "That's a GOOD question." Sonic says. "Let's pull straws." Zachary says. "Fair enough." Knuckles says. They pull straws. "Alright, whoever pulls the shortest straws, you will say your name out loud, because you will be going up." the police officer says. "Sonic." "Fang." "Arthur." "Kit." "Brian." "Nic." "Knuckles." "Tails." "Walt." "Fox." "Reynard." "Julie-Su." "Sally." "Elias." The group hears the names out loud. "Alright, we should get into our pressurized space suits." Knuckles says. "Wait. I should say farewell to my wife, Lisa." Tails says. Everyone agrees. Tails and Lisa walk to a hill, and sit down. They see the purplish tint of the distant hills, and the city below them. The sky is an eerie blue-aquamarine, and there are a few yellowish clouds. Tails sees the sheer beauty of the area. "I might not return. I hope that you are able to live without me if I am killed." Tails says. "I'll try. But Tails, you aren't going to die." Lisa says. "I know. It's...you know, just in case." Tails says. "Okay." She says, hugging him. After 5 minutes, the team is ready. "Let's roll." Tails says. "Yeah, but before we do, I think we should go over the basics of this craft." Rotor says. "Sonic, since you are able to launch your spikes out, and since they are able to pierce fiberglass and metal, I want you to be careful." Rotor says. "Sure." Sonic agrees. "Fang, you can't have a gun in space. It's just too dangerous." Rotor says. "That's alright." Fang says, tossing his gun aside, and it goes off, striking a wall. Everyone looks at him. "Heh Heh... Oops." He says, nervously. "Alright. This is basically just a 35-Ton interplanetary pickup truck. Any questions?" Vector asks. "No?" He asks, himself, looking around his group. "I have one." Fang asks. "Sure." Vector replies. "What does it have in it's cockpit?" Fang asks. "Power windows that go down when it's parked, an AM/FM stereo, CD Player, and Radar." Vector gives the weasel the statistics. "Fine. Let's go." The crocodile says. Taylor looks up from resting his head on his arms. "What is it?" Leon asks. "I think something bad is about to happen." He tells his little brother. "I'm gonna check it out." Taylor says. "I'll go with you." Lara-Su says. "Okay, but it's dangerous." Taylor says. The fox and the echidna walk out of the Parking Garage, not even knowing that the war front on the city streets is all but over. He finds a car. "What are you doing?" Lara-Su asks. "I'm hot-wiring the car. I don't have keys, so.." Taylor says, hearing the engine start. "That's illegal." Lara-Su says. "No, not in war." Taylor says, opening the side door. She gets in. "Let's go." Taylor says, driving off. He arrives at the airport. He sees the Freedom Fighters about to enter the space shuttle. He parks the car, and the two friends get out. "Hey! Wait!" Taylor says. Sally and Lisa look around. "Taylor? What are you doing here?" Lisa and Tails ask. "We were manning the base like you said." Taylor tells his father. "Good.." Tails says. "I want to help you guys fight." Taylor says. "Look, pup. We like your enthusiasm, but this is a very costly war, and you could get hurt." Vector says. "He's kinda right. It IS dangerous. And the Young Freedom Fighters need your guidance here." Sally says. "Alright... I'll stay." Taylor says. He waves goodbye, as the shuttle lifts off, and climbs higher, and higher into the atmosphere, and then, it is gone within the clouds. "Are they going to come back?" Taylor asks Rotor and Vector, who are staying at the hangar to watch and assist the Freedom Fighters. "Yeah." Rotor says, almost lying. "Good. I don't want anything to happen to them." Taylor says, walking back to the car. "We don't either." Rotor says. Taylor picks Lupe and her younger brother, Diablo. They drive back to the base, waiting for their friends and family. They find the Secret Service soldiers are there. "Taylor, we have decided to leave to Albion. When they get back, we will return to help rebuild the city." Geoffrey says. "Alright, very well." Taylor says, sounding a LOT like his father. Taylor calls Lara-Su, and Stephen over. "What is it?" Stephen asks, curious to know. "I've built us a space craft that will get us up there, where Stryker is." Taylor says. "Cool. Let's go." Stephen says. They launch off at the waterfront. The fox, hedgehog, and echidna reach the space station, and they walk in. Stryker is at the other side of the airlock. "Well, isn't this interesting! I found the little brave furries." He says to Shadow. He hand cuffs them, and roboticizes them. Tails looks up and sees Stryker on the monitor. "Welcome, Furries!" He says. "I just want you to see what you are fighting for!" Stryker says, showing them the roboticized furries. Tails becomes so angered, that he transforms into his superform, much like the way that Knuckles did. "You are going to PAY, STRYKER!" Tails yells. Sally and Sonic try to hold the angered kitsune back, but he breaks free. He uses plasma blasts to wreck most of the space station. Stryker gets a photon torpedo to protect himself. Sonic, Knuckles, Brian, and Fang turn into their super forms, thanks to the Chaos Emeralds that Elias put in the space shuttle. They attack their enemies, with Sonic taking his old-time arch-enemy, Robotnik. Knuckles takes Shadow. Brian and Fang are the backups, and they place bombs everywhere, so the place blows up when they leave. "Brian! They have a second escape vehicle!" Fang yells to the wolf-badger. "Got it covered, Fang!" Brian says. The wolf-badger tosses a bomb into the space cruiser. Knuckles punches Shadow so hard that he is stunned. Sonic spindashes into him, and shots out some of his quills at the fake hedgehog. Shadow surrenders. It's just Stryker and Robotnik, now. Sonic corners Robotnik, and is about to spindash into him, when Taylor steps in to the way. "What are you doing?" Sonic asks the roboticized kitsune fox. "Sonic, you aren't like this." He says. "You're right." Sonic says. Stephen handcuffs Robotnik, and puts him in a holding cell until they are ready to get to him. Stryker goes to flee to the neighboring planet in the cruiser, when Fang steps in to his way, holding a gun and his knife blaster at Stryker's face. "Get out of my way, fool! I'll blast you to bits!" Stryker says, getting his photon torpedo ready. He aims it at Fang, but the weasel shoots the torpedo launcher. Stryker tries to get in, but Fang tosses a grenade in. The other Freedom Fighters stand back. He grabs Stryker by his coat's collar. "Where do ya think yer GOING?" Fang growls, watching the cruiser explode. "YOU INSANE LITTLE F*CK! NOW I CAN'T ESCAPE!" Stryker yells. He isn't able to flee to the other planets or stars now. Kit and the Freedom Fighters capture the enemies, handcuff Stryker, and toss them in a box in the cargo bay of the space shuttle. Knuckles checks the bombs everywhere, and leaves. He closes the airlock, and pilots the shuttle. They watch as the space station explodes, and burns up on reentry in flames. "So much for our plans." Robotnik says. "Oh, shut the Hell up!" Stryker says. "Waitaminute! Where's Tails?" Sonic asks. "He was.. on the...space station.." Knuckles says, trying to not think about the fact that he killed his best friend. He lands the craft at the airport. They are greeted by everyone. The Secret Service. the Canadian Freedom Fighters, the Downunda Freedom Fighters, and the rest come and cheer the returning heroes. Knuckles doesn't feel like one. After they get out of the shuttle, they restore Stephen, Lara-Su, and Taylor. "Taylor, I'm sorry. I think I killed your father." Knuckles apologizes. "It's alright. He's with Uncle Mike now." Taylor says. He then gets down on one knee in front of Lara-Su. "What's going on, Taylor?" She asks her new boyfriend. "Lara-Su, will you marry me when we get older?" He asks, holding her hand with both of his paws. "Oh, Taylor! Of course!" She says, hugging him and kissing him. Knuckles hears this. "Actually, you can get married tonight, if you two lovebirds want." He says. "Really? Okay." Lara-Su says with Taylor. Sonic reads the wedding ceremonies at the airstrip. What they don't know is that Tails is alive and well! He merely used his teleport attack to warp to a different dimension. He pops back to Mobius at the other side of the City. He knows that his son is getting married. He walks, well, limps across town, because he is injured badly, and he broke a tail and his left foot. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today, on this amazing evening, to witness the unbounded love of Taylor Prower and Lara-Su become eternal." Sonic reads, as they walk towards the makeshift altar. Leon is the ring-bear for his brother. "Taylor Prower, do you take Lara-Su to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Sonic asks. "Yes, I do." The fox says. "And Lara-Su, do you take Taylor Prower to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Sonic asks. "Yes, I do." She says. Sonic goes to say the next part, when he looks, and sees, of in the distance, near the trees, Tails! Sally looks around, and sees Tails, as well. "Oh, my god!" She says. She walks up to him. "So, what did I miss?" Tails asks. "I though you died." She replies. "Naw. I teleported." Tails says. He is helped to stand near his son, who is happy to see that his father is alive. "Well, then. As the Co-Leader of the Freedom Fighters, with the power invested within me, I hereby declare you two Kitsune And Guardian...er....husband and wife." Sonic says. The two newlyweds kiss. "Save some for the honeymoon." Leon jokes. A couple of the Freedom Fighters laugh. They decide to help rebuild the city before going on their honeymoon. They have a party and dinner at the Parking Garage "It isn't a completely happy wedding. We lost a few friends to get here and stay alive. I offer a toast to Remington, Ray, Mighty, Antoine and the others killed in battle." Taylor says, standing up at his table. "To our fallen friends and allies." The Furries all say. "We'll take the prisoners from here." Geoffrey says to Taylor after the party. "That's fine." Taylor replies, shaking his hand. The Next morning, they set out on their big task that lays straight ahead: rebuilding the City. "Geoffrey. I want you to get us some water. Sally. You, Bunnie, and Rotor should work on getting us some working hydro facilities." Knuckles plans out. "Alright" Sally says. Geoffrey gets to work on building a water filtration building. Sally and the Freedom Fighters get a hydro building working, and they now have running water, and power. 6 weeks later, they have the City running on a very basic system. "It took us a while, but we have begun rebuilding the City." Knuckles tells Tails. Tails looks at all the buildings being rebuilt. He sees that there are a LOT of cranes erecting the skyline once again, against the mountain backdrop. It looks in a way like Calgary. "Rebuilding is taking longer than expected, Rotor." sally says. "Well, it IS a big city, but I think it's going quite smoothly. Look. We totally rebuilt the Freeway in under a month." Rotor says. The Freedom Fighters look around in amazement. Suddenly, a previously unseen character walks up. "I would like to thank you all for liberating the City." The leather-jacketed rabbit says. "Uh, you're welcome." Sonic and Knuckles says. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Johnny Lightfoot." He says. He shakes Knuckles' hand, and then walks off. "Knuckles, shouldn't we get on with the war crimes trials soon?" Lupe asks. "Yeah. I mean, Stryker and his gang killed over a quarter million civilians." Reynard says. "Yes. In fact, that's tomorrow afternoon. The courtroom is already repaired, and I wanted to have it this soon so Sonic and the Freedom Fighters can leave." Knuckles says. "Knux, we're not going anywhere until this place is safe. Once it's politically stable and peaceful, we'll leave." Sonic says. "Yeah, Knux. We're here because you called for help." Kit says. "We're your backup team. The peace-keepers." Arthur tells the echidna. "Thanks, everyone." Knuckles tells the furries. They retire for the night. Part XIII: Stryker's Trial, Evil's End, and Epilogue "All rise for the Honorable Judge Chris Prower." Vector reads aloud. The courtroom rises. Chris sits down in the judge's seat. "Thank you." He says. "Commander Maxwell, Former Guardian Dimitri, Doctor Robotnik, Mecha-Shadow, and General Stryker: You are hereby charged with War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Genocide, and Destruction Of A City." Knuckles says to the head dingo. Stryker goes to answer, when Chris interrupts. "May I interrupt you for just a second. Stryker, we have evidence to support all of your crimes, and that you appear guilty." Chris says. After about 3 minutes of silence in the room, Chris speaks. "How do you plea?" He asks. "I plea INNOCENT." Stryker defiantly says. "General. The evidence is in our favor. I hereby call a 15 minute recess, and by then, I hope that the jury can have a decision by then." Chris says. The Jury is made up of 4 echidnas, 4 furries, and 4 dingoes. "Well, I think we have him, Sonic." Knuckles tells him. The recess passes. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" Chris asks. "Yes. We the jury, find the defendant, General Stryker, guilty on ALL charges." Zachary reads out loud. "WHAT? This courtroom is corrupt and biased." Stryker says. Tails walks up and punches him in the face. "That's for killing my brother." He says, sitting back down. "Stryker, I have decided to give you the Death Penalty. I hereby sentence you to Death by Lethal Injection." Chris says. Knuckles just looks onward at Chris Prower. "We have also found Robotnik, Shadow, Maxwell, and Dimitri guilty on all charges." Zachary says. "Very well. Robotnik. I pass a death sentence by electrocution. Shadow: You are to be killed by asphyxiation. Dimitri: I hereby pass a special price for you: You shall be locked up and imprisoned inside the Master Emerald until we decide you are fit to return to society. I also put a minimum 150 year sentence on you. Maxwell, your life is to be ended by hanging." Chris says. Maxwell falls back into his seat. "Hanging?" He asks. "Yes, you know. Where we tie a noose around your neck, and drop the floor so you either break your neck or choke to death." Sonic says. "But, that's unfair! I haven't committed any such crimes. I have even tried to sabotage my father's plans." He says, pleading for his life. "It's true. I'll vouch for him." Tails says, feeling sorry for the dingo. "Same here." Sonic and Knuckles say. "Very well. I shall merely impose a 5-year prison term upon you." Chris says. "Oh, thank you! You are a very kind and forgiving group of foxes, echidnas and furries. Thank you!" He says. "Yes... well, just get the rest of those scum out of my courtroom!" Chris says, slamming his gavel on his chair. Some of the Freedom Fighters cheer. "And what of these two echidnas?" Chris asks, pointing to Floren-Ca and Simon, who are surrounded by guards. "We were prisoners of war. We had no part in the actions that Stryker did." Simon testifies. "Really. And exactly WHO are you?" Zachary asks. "We're Julie-Su's parents." Floren-Ca replies. Shadow turns his head, and sees them. "It's true. We captured them and I tried to kill them. We decided to keep them as prisoners of war because we could use them as leverage in a hostage situation." Shadow tells the courtroom. "I used to be a legionnaire, and Floren-Ca was a city worker, when we were abducted. It was when Julie-Su was only 6 years old." Simon tells Chris and Sonic. They free the two echidnas, and reunite Julie-Su with her parents. They walk out of the courtroom. At the end of the week on Friday, the death sentences are carried out. Knuckles, Locke and Sabre imprison Dimitri in the Master Emerald. They walk up to the rebuilt City. "Sir. Robotnik's death sentence is already carried out." Geoffrey tells the Guardians. "Thank you, Geoffrey." Locke says. They walk to Haven, where the Freedom Fighters are. Shadow is in a glass room, 6 feet wide, by 5 feet long, by 8 feet high. "Shadow, is there anything else that you wish to tell us before you die?" Tails asks. "No." Shadow says, folding his arms. "Very well." Tails says, pushing a button that allows poisonous fumes into the room. Shadow goes down after about a minute. "He's dead." Tails says, opening the room, and nudging the dead hedgehog's arm with his foot. One room over, Stryker is strapped to a special table. Knuckles unties him. "What are you DOING?" Sonic asks. "I believe that Lethal Injection is evil. I'm going to hang him, instead." Knuckles says, getting a rope, and tying it to a pipe overhead. Sonic finds some boxes to use as a temporary staircase and stage. "Stryker, are there any last words?" Sonic asks. "No, other than what you are doing is wrong...no." He says. Sonic and Knuckles hang him in front of a few Freedom Fighters. After Stryker dies, they take down his body, and dispose of it, like the rest. "Do you think this will anger the dingoes?" Sonic asks Knuckles. "Dunno. But it WAS very hard, believe it or not, to carry out 4 death sentences in the same day.. in even the same hour." Knuckles says. "Yeah, well, they deserved it, though." Sonic says. Knuckles nods. They venture outside, and tell the awaiting news crews that the entire Axis Of Evil is dead. The echidnas cheer and even some of the dingoes cheer, since they didn't want the war, or for the echidnas to be oppressed like that. They wanted peace, and they were oppressed as well. Later in the following weeks, Knuckles and Tikal release Maxwell because it wasn't his fault and he was barely a part of the war. "Thank you!" He says. Knuckles then sees a very surprising but good image: dingoes and echidnas actually HELPING each other rebuild a sky scraper. "It's amazing! We are so productive when we team up.." Knuckles says, startled. "Yes, I know. It almost brings a tear to your eye to see everyone putting their problems and past conflicts behind them, just to have peace." Maxwell says. "Love can overcome anything." Julie-Su says, showing Sonic, Maxwell, Tikal, Tails, and Knuckles a banner on a nearby sky scraper that says "Dingoes and Echidnas: Co-Operating To Rebuild An Even Better Angel Island". There is a deafening silence over our heroes. Later, the Freedom Fighters have a ceremony to remember their fallen friends. Knuckles names some downtown streets after his friends, like Ray Avenue, Remington Place, and Mighty Parkway. Sonic has a mini concert later that night to lighten the mood of the frightened dingoes and echidnas. It is a success. "Sonic, I'm afraid that I have to call you down from that truck trailer, and come with me. You're under arrest." Zachary says. "I'm just singing. I'm not doing anything." Sonic says. "I know. I tell ya what. If you stick around to help us rebuild for one extra day, I'll forget about walking up to you like this." Zachary says. "Sure." Sonic says. In the coming weeks, all the called troops and Freedom Fighters pull out back towards Knothole, Downunda, and Chatham City. "Well, it's been good to see ya again, Sonic. Stop by sometime." Knuckles says, hugging Sonic good bye, in a brotherly way. "Yeah. I will. Take care, Knux." Sonic says. "Well, I guess we'll have to stay in touch.. Why don't we meet up in a convention sometime?" Tails asks Walt and Fox McCloud. "Sure. Sounds nice. We'll have to do so sometime." Walt says. "We should be going. Knuckles, if you need help, don't be afraid to ask. You know who to call." Kit says. "Yep. I know who I can really count on." Knuckles replying, and shaking Kit's hand. All the Freedom Fighter groups pull out, and pray that another war doesn't break out on the Floating Island. But, that is uncertain in this remote, far off world, because sadly, fighting conflict and internal strife is a way of life for the unfortunate inhabitants of Mobius.