Chapter 10: The Apocalypse Begins

Outside New Mobotropolis, Freedom HQ, late night

The Freedom Fighters slept soundly in their beds in Freedom HQ as lightning forked across the sky bringing with it the loud rumbling of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof. For most of them it had been a fairly exhausting week, despite the defeat of the Iron Dominion and the disappearance of Dr. Eggman. Little did they know that their troubles thus far had only been a subtle indication of what was yet to come.

Above the lawn outside a warp ring opened and Julie-Su dove out, landing and rolling on the dew-covered grass as her ring shrank just in time to prevent her dark attackers from following her. It was drizzling and the ground was quite muddy, but accumulating a bit of filth was the least of her worries. She brushed the wet dirt off her face and vest before pocketing her warp ring and sprinting to Freedom HQ as fast as she could run.

Inside the laboratory, in dim lighting, an insomniac Sally Acorn stared at the orange robot sitting on the examination table in the center of the room. After the incident with the robot imitating Sonic's spin dashing, everyone had been wondering how Eggman had crafted it. Little had transpired after began copying Sonic's moves except the fact that the Freedom Fighters had became ever more aware of the danger the robot could pose if it ever fell into the wrong hands. Additionally, it had belligerently refused to listen to Amy's orders anymore, something which not even Rotor or Nicole could explain. It had formed a link of some sort with Amy, then dropped it, and now had formed a brand new one with Sonic for some reason. There was just so much to ponder that the princess didn't know where to start.

The door to Freedom HQ flew open suddenly, causing Sally to jump and practically fell out of her chair as she spun around. She rose to her feet immediately and held her fists out, ready to fight. "Who's there? Answer me!" she shouted, heart fluttering.

"It's Julie-Su," said the guest. Sally's arms dropped to her sides when she recognized the mud-covered girl in front of her.

"Oh, you! I'm so sorry about that, you just startled me a bit. What happened to you?" asked Sally as she ran and grabbed a towel, handing it to her friend.

"I-It's K-Knuckles..." whispered Julie-Su. She accepted the towel and wiped the mud off herself.

Sally put a gentle hand on the Chaotic's shoulder. "It's all right, just take a breather and calm down. Now, what happened to Knuckles?"

"H-he...was...k-kidnapped..." Julie-Su managed to say through the tears. Behind them, the large screen lit up and displayed the face of Nicole.

"Sally? What's going on? I...heard yelling..." said the A.I. lynx. "Whoops, so sorry for the intrusion! I'll...I'll just leave you two alone now."

Sally held up a hand before the screen went blank. "It's okay, Nicole. Would you rouse Sonic for me? It seems like something bad has happened," she informed her grimly.

"Very well, Sally," said Nicole, and the screen went dark again. Julie-Su attempted to tell Sally what the matter was but was at an utter loss for words. She took a minute, took a few deep breaths and regained her composure before trying to talk to Sally again.

"It's K-Knuckles and the rest of the team...w-we were guarding the Master Emerald on S-Shrine Isle when we were awakened by a loud noise. I-It was Knuckles getting a-attacked by these guys in black...everything j-just went so fast, in seconds they had knocked Espio, Charmy, Saffron and Vector out, but Knuckles and I stopped the first wave...some more showed up led by s-someone and she t-took down K-Knuckles and then Finitevus appeared and-and..."

"I understand," nodded Sally calmly. "I'll have Sonic on it right away-"

"Yo, Sal! Someone say my name?" called the yawning blue hedgehog stepping into the room. He noticed the tattered Julie-Su and his cocky attitude faded away. "Wait...'Su's here? What's going on?"

Sally turned to speak to Sonic, sparing Julie-Su (who began breaking down again) the agony of explaining everything. "Angel Island's been attacked by some unknown intruders led in part by that Dr. Finitevus. Knuckles and the others were captured, they probably took the Master Emerald, and only Julie-Su got away."

"Oh, shoot," muttered Sonic. "Here we go again. But hey, you can just send me over to Angel Island and I'll-"

But Julie-Su interrupted before he had a chance to finish his request. When she spoke it was darkly and forced, but calm. "It's too late, Sonic. The Master Emerald was stolen and Angel Island has already fallen, both literally and figuratively. These people...you do not want to face them. Please trust me on this one."

"Why? Do you know who or what they are?" questioned Sally.

"Vaguely," said Julie-Su. "When I was a part of the Dark Legion and we were imprisoned in the Twilight Zone, we were occasionally menaced by other creatures of the dimension. I distinctly recall several being alien races, but there were other Mobians as well. And not just any Mobians, but echidnas. Just like Knuckles and me, but far worse. They were a warlike caste of rogue scientists called the Marauders that had been sucked into the Zone as we had, but had been there far longer. They were led by a ferocious man who refused to honor any peace between the captives of the Zone, and we knew him only as the Imperator. Grandmaster Kragok always told us to steer clear of the them, and we did."

Sonic and Sally nodded, taking it all in. "Is there anything else you know about them?" questioned Sally.

"I saw a few in my time, and they wore black armor and lived in a massive floating fortress. As I said, they were extremely warlike and fought the others repeatedly, but we always managed to hold them off. I don't know where they came from, or why, but I believe that they are some sort of Albion or Echidnaopolis splinter group. I know a confrontation with them now is inevitable, but...they aren't people you want to trifle with," finished Julie-Su.

Sally's eyes were wide. "I...can't believe it. All this time, there was yet another group of echidnas? These Marauders sound very dangerous. We'll have to be cautious if we're to mount a rescue mission."

"Actually...'Marauders' isn't their true title," said Julie-Su. "Their true name is the Nocturnus Clan."