Upon reaching the top of a rocky outcropping, the three Chaotix members paused to look down below at the surrounding landscape. Several yards below their current position, a demure yet formidable stronghold laid in wait.
"I believe…" Espio began softly, his voice hardly above a whisper, "…we've found our place."
"All right, boys, let's try not to mess this one up completely! We've got an innocent echidna countin' on us!" Vector suddenly, and rather loudly, declared.
"Of course, Vector," the purple chameleon smirked, "we'll handle this with style just like we always do."
"Yeah, that's right!" Charmy exclaimed, hardly able to contain his excitement. "This is going to sooo much fun!"
"Now don't get too excited, ya crazy bee!" Vector cried, slamming his left fist into his right palm. "This isn't going to be easy, ya know! If Knuckles got taken down by these so-called Marauders, then they certainly aren't a bunch of pushovers!"
"Clarity and focus, Charmy…" Espio breathed, attempting to remain calm, even through Charmy was fluttering practically everywhere around his head. "That… is the key to victory."
"Yeah, yeah, sure!" Charmy was hardly paying attention to either of them, but he nodded his head enthusiastically anyway. "Now what do we gotta do anyhow? Tell me! Tell me!"
"Okay! Now listen up!" Vector interjected authoritatively. "The first thing we're gonna hafta do is figure out a way ta get inside that fortress down there."
"Oh! Is that all?" Charmy grinned widely. "Just leave it to me, Vector! I've already got an idea!"
"Oh?" Espio looked vaguely surprised. It wasn't often that Charmy was the first to come up with a plan. "And what does this idea of yours entail?"
"Well," the little bee giggled, "I'll just fly us down there, right through one of their windows! None of those bad guys will ever suspect it!"
"And if we get detected?" Espio asked, skeptical. "We'll be completely vulnerable in the air."
"No! Wait! Hang on here, Espio! I really think Charmy's on ta somethin' here. It just might actually work!" Vector broke in.
"But what if we're spotted?" the ninja chameleon insisted once again.
"Those idiots will never think to look! Because it's so obvious that they'd think nobody'd actually try it!"
"Are you sure about that?" Espio looked highly unconvinced.
"Of course! I'm a brilliant detective after all! It's my job to think of stuff like that!" Vector grinned, posing ridiculously for a nonexistent camera.
"Yaay!" Charmy clapped in approval.
"Now let's do this!" the giant crocodile proudly roared.
"If you say so…" Espio sighed, already regretting joining this mission.
Grinning, Charmy rose up into the air, just high enough for Espio to grab hold of his feet. Once he did so, the young bee ascended even higher for Vector. The massive and heavy crocodile seized Espio's shoes while chomping noisily on his bubblegum.
Once the three detectives arrived in front of the fortress, Charmy noticed a window large enough to for the three of them to fit through relatively easily. After a bit of complaining from Vector as he struggled through the comparatively small opening, the three unlikely allies successfully infiltrated the stronghold.
"Looks like we were lucky this time…" Espio mused, scanning the area carefully.
"Of course! We're Team Chaotix!" Vector declared, stamping his foot upon the ground definitively. "Now let's find Knuckles! Espio, you lead the way."
"My pleasure." Espio replied, his body already blending into his surroundings.
After a relatively short search through the dingy halls, Espio managed to find Knuckles unconscious, bound to a pillar, and heavily guarded. Rendering his right arm momentarily visible, he waved it, gaining the others' attention.
"Knuckles is trapped within the room just beyond this wall here…" Espio began quietly, peering around said wall to assess the situation once again. "If you two can distract the guards for a while, I'm certain I can save him myself without any trouble. It should be an easy enough task."
"You sure you can pull it off?" Vector asked, scratching his head.
"Of course I can!" the ninja sneered. "What makes you think otherwise?"
"Well…" he looked thoughtful, "Knuckles might be pretty heavy…"
"I can carry Knuckles!"
"Well, okay…" Vector shrugged. "I guess anything's possible…"
Espio silently fumed, but chose not to reply.
"Hey Charmy!" Vector grinned. "You ready to be totally distracting?"
"Aw, yeah!" Charmy cheered.
Espio shook his head. It was a wonder the guards hadn't already heard them. "That's enough! Now make haste! It's our duty to put the client at ease as quickly as possible."
"Yeah! Hurry up, Charmy!" Vector barked.
"It's not my fault…" the little bee whined.
"Start moving!" Espio seethed.
oOoOoOo
Both Charmy and Vector ambled down a nearby, wide-open hallway. Once the two reached the absolute center, they paused.
And Vector unleashed a loud, atrocious burp, one that echoed all across the entire compound.
oOoOoOo
Utterly stunned by the loud and odd noise, the guards surrounding Knuckles looked about in confusion.
"What are you standing around for?" the apparent leader barked at the others. "Go find out what that was!"
The invisible Espio smirked. Leave it to Vector to provide the ultimate distraction.
All but the leading robot left to ascertain the source of the peculiar sound, while the leader remained behind to guard Knuckles.
Without making a sound, Espio crept behind the robot…
And pushed him over.
"Aaack!" the hapless robot flailed his arms and legs about, but his torso was far too boxy for him to have any chance of recovering. "I require assistance! I have fallen, and I can't get up!"
Espio rolled his eyes. This was turning out to be even easier than he had expected. He let out an audible sigh.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
"That's not in my job description…" the ninja replied, promptly pulling out his kunai and using its sharp point to unscrew the robot's compartments. From there, it was fairly easy to rip apart its circuitry until the idiotic leader lost all function entirely.
Espio then hurried over to Knuckles and used his kunai once again to set him free. The unconscious echidna collapsed to the ground, nearly crushing the chameleon in the process. Espio heaved Knuckles onto his back and discovered that Vector may have had a good point...
Knuckles was far heavier than he had expected.
'Now I know what Knuckles does all day while guarding that Master Emerald… He eats.' Espio inwardly complained.
oOoOoOo
Meanwhile, Vector and Charmy were running for their lives!
"Aaaah! Why did we ever agree to this?" Vector screamed, like a girl half his age.
"I don't know…!" Charmy cried with tears streaming down his face.
"Hey! Listen! Listen!" a guard called out obnoxiously. "If you stop running, we might give you candy!"
"Try and make us!" Charmy turned around in midair, sticking out his tongue.
"What kind of candy?" Vector wondered, half tempted to cave in.
"He's lying about the candy!" the young bee exclaimed, exasperated. "He's only saying that so we'll stop the mission!"
"What!" the bulky crocodile exclaimed. "How dare they trick me with food!"
"Yeah…" the bee sighed, "and we all know that's your biggest weakness…"
"RAAAARRR!" Vector suddenly whirled around, unleashing a giant wave of flames from his mouth. The guards stopped in their tracks and promptly scampered away; now they were the ones running for their lives.
"Whoa! Way to go, Vector!" Charmy sang out.
"Haw! Haw! Good thing I had those spicy burritos for lunch yesterday, huh?" he laughed.
"HALT!" More guards had appeared right behind them. "Don't make any sudden movements, and you might get candy!"
"Give 'em another Flame Attack!" Charmy ordered.
"Raa…aa?" Vector tried the same attack, but this time, only a small sputter of flames spewed out of his mouth.
"What!" the youngest detective exclaimed, "What was that?"
"I'm all out of fire power!" he cried.
Completely unhindered now, it didn't take long for these guards to catch up to the two detectives and forcibly expel them from the building.
"Ow! Why'd they have to throw us?" Charmy complained, rubbing his aching backside.
"Quick! Hide in those bushes!" Vector said frantically, scrambling to reach them.
"They've already seen us. It's not like we actually have to hide anymore…" the bee rolled his eyes and remained seated upon the grass.
"Just do it!" Vector roared.
"Sure, boss, whatever you say…" Charmy sighed.
The two detectives hid among the scanty swamp bushes, waiting for Espio. They waited patiently for exactly five seconds, and then it became obvious that the two were too restless to sit still.
"Where is Espio anyway? What's takin' 'im so long!" Vector cried impatiently. "Wasn't he going to come out here after he saved Knuckles?"
"What if… What if something terrible has happened to him?" Charmy asked, his eyes beginning to well up with tears.
"Naw, Espio'll be fine," he assured him, "but he might need some help… We should head back inside just in case."
"Okay, let's do it!" Charmy exclaimed enthusiastically, his tears already forgotten.
Vector grabbed onto his comrade's shoes, and the two flew off back toward the fortress.
oOoOoOo
Shortly after reaching the exit, Espio dragged Knuckles into the bushes, panting heavily.
'I finally made it…' the ninja thought to himself. 'It looks like Vector and Charmy haven't left the fortress yet…'
Espio carefully laid Knuckles out on the ground and started an attempt to rouse him.
"Knuckles, are you alright? Wake up!" he tapped Knuckles' giant head with his hand, wondering when on earth he was going to awaken.
Eventually, Knuckles groaned and rolled over, slowly opening his eyes. "W… what's going on? Where're the Marauders?" He suddenly sprang up and demanded to know.
"They're inside. I have rescued you from them, so you don't have to worry about that…" Espio responded, rather robotically.
"Where's the Master Emerald?" Knuckles demanded once again.
"I don't know. Finding out wasn't part of my mission."
The red echidna growled angrily. "I don't have time for this! I have to find the Master Emerald!" he cried, rising and turning away to leave.
Espio's eyes narrowed, somewhat dangerously. "Where do you think you're going? Both Vector and Charmy have assisted me on this mission, and neither of them have returned yet. They could be in danger, and I may require your assistance to recover them!"
"Whatever… That's not my problem."
"I should think it is!" Espio rose suddenly, furious. "They're only in danger right now because they were trying to save you!"
Knuckles grumbled and folded his arms over his chest but remained in place; apparently he had decided to silently acquiesce.
After five seconds had passed…
"Well, what are we just standing around for?" Knuckles growled, "Why haven't we gotten it over with already? Let's go find them!"
"Well… perhaps they're just late. I planned on waiting for several minutes before I'd decide to just rush right off." Espio answered quietly and sat down to prepare for a quick meditation.
Knuckles looked infuriated. "Let's just go now! I don't have all day, you know!"
"Fine…" Espio reluctantly agreed, if only out of fear that Knuckles might decide to abandon him entirely. He hadn't taken on a Marauder yet, technically speaking; therefore, he had no idea what sort of powers and abilities these enemies possessed. He wasn't quite certain he would be willing to lose an ally as powerful as Knuckles, especially not under these constraints. "Let's head in at once."
oOoOoOo
"Aw… we failed again…!" Charmy whined, landing once again on his backside after the Marauders had tossed him outdoors.
"Oh, just shut up and hide!"
Vector crawled back to the bushes with Charmy on his tail… figuratively speaking, of course.
"Espio's still not here yet…" the little bee pointed out.
"Oh noes! Then he must be in trouble!" Vector exclaimed. "We gotta go back in there and save him! Hurry!"
oOoOoOo
"It's you! How did you escape?" a particularly large robot asked Knuckles.
Knuckles ignored the question and punched the nearest Marauder in the face. Unfortunately, another Marauder chose this moment to approach from behind and strike him in the back of the head. Knuckles slumped to the ground, unconscious once again.
"Didja hit him?" the large robot asked excitedly, waving its arms around ridiculously for emphasis. One of its arms just happened to hit the invisible Espio rather hard on the head.
"Whoa… it felt like I just… hit something…" the robot looked around to see a now-visible and unconscious chameleon lying on the floor. "Eew! Gross!"
"What's that?" one of the Marauders asked stupidly, pointing at Espio.
"It's just another intruder! Expel it now!"
oOoOoOo
Upon regaining consciousness, Espio frowned, realizing that he was lying in disgusting swamp grass.
"Egh… I… failed…" the ninja dragged himself back to the bushes and just laid there, not wanting to even touch his throbbing head.
oOoOoOo
"Can't you get the hint? We don't want you here! So just leave already!" a Marauder cried out of utter irritation.
"Never! We'll never leave without Espio!" Vector declared, dramatically. "Charmy! Get ready for your special attack!"
"What special attack?" Charmy wondered, confused.
Vector seized the bee and held him up with his stinger at the ready. "No one come any closer or else I'm FORCED to use this bee's deadly sting!"
"That bee's sting is deadly?"
"You bet it is!" Vector shouted.
"Don't listen to him; he's just trying to trick you! That kid is just one of those common, garden-variety bees."
Apparently, the majority of marauders seemed to agree with this statement. They readied their stances and prepared to attack.
"Uh… RUN!" Vector dropped poor Charmy and took off.
"Waaaait!" Charmy shrieked, sailing after him.
However, it didn't take long for the marauders to catch up and kick them out for the third time.
"Ugh… this is getting old…" Vector groaned as he made his way back to the bushes.
"Vector… is that you…" Espio managed to say.
"Espio! What happened to you? Where's Knuckles?"
"I rescued Knuckles… but… he got recaptured when we went back inside to find you two…"
"Huh? Is that so?" Vector scratched his chin. "That sounds… awfully convenient… Are you sure you aren't just making that up?"
"Do you think I made up this bump on my head?" Espio barked.
"Poor Espio…" Charmy frowned and reached out to pat his head.
"Don't touch it!" Espio snapped.
"Well, boys, it looks like we completely failed this time…" Vector groaned.
"We must… regroup and come up with a new plan." Espio began, carefully rubbing his sore head. "And then we can retry the mission. Hopefully, we'll learn from our mistakes…"
"Yeah! We can't fail twice in a row!" Charmy sang, springing up and dancing in midair.
"Yup, of course we won't! Team Chaotix never fails a mission!" Vector struck a pose for that nonexistent camera. "And yeah… this time totally doesn't count."
