15 Years Later: Chapter 3: Valuable Relics
Chapter 4: Relic Hunting
Abyss the Squid was giddy with excitement. Everything was going according to plan! Any minute now, she'd be able to play her part in stealing the Chaos and Master Emeralds and bring them back over to her island headquarters for pick-up! If only she didn't have to wait for that blasted Dimitri to give her the signal. She wanted to go now! But the cephalopod pirate knew that she couldn't. They couldn't mess this up, not when everything was going so well at the moment.
The pirate captain was currently in her ship, the very ship that had once belonged to Captain Whisker before she'd taken over his crew. After Dimitri had been found by Knuckles and Shade, she'd gone back to the ship so she could pipe up the crew and prepare to attack once the signal was given. Every pirate was on the alert with weapons in hand and ready for action all over the ship. Many of them were just as eager to get into battle as Abyss herself. In order to pass the time, Abyss had decided to get out her communications device, which looked like an old calculator with a flip-up screen, and make a quick call to Scorn to report on how everything was going. She was put through immediately and the S.T.I.N.G. leader spoke to her.
"You have a report already?" he asked.
"Sure do boss." Abyss informed, "Dimitri is in. The dumb guardians bought his lie hook, line and sinker! They've taken him to their village and as we speak, he's now leading them to find this treasure he's heard of called the "Chaos Gauntlet". He tells me it can use the power of the Chaos Emeralds and give you godly powers. Once they find it, he's gonna take it from them and bring it to us."
"And nobody suspects he works for us?"
"Not in the slightest. I bet they don't suspect him because he's an echidna or something."
There was a brief silence as Scorn took this in. Then he replied.
"So when do you and your crew plan to move in and get the emeralds?"
"Once the old man gives me the signal." Abyss answered, "He'll send me a message consisting of only beeps to let me know when we can go. Me and my shipmates will ransack the village and get as many residents to bug as possible while Breakdown combs the place for the emeralds. Shouldn't be too hard to find them given their unique energy signatures."
"Sounds like you're well in order." Scorn purred approvingly, "Do not contact me again until the mission is a success. I eagerly await the outcome."
"I bet you do boss. Abyss, out." the squid concluded, switching off her communicator.
She pocketed the device and sat back down at a table in which she had a map of Dowunda rolled out. She gazed at it studiously, wondering if she could make Breakdown's job of finding them easier.
"Now I know this map's up-to-date with Downunda presently, hence why Angel Island isn't here anymore." she murmured, "I know the tribe's in this area so if the emeralds are in Downunda with those so-called "guardians", they have to be close by. I doubt they're IN the village itself, that'd be too obvious and I know for a fact the echidnas wouldn't be that stupid..."
As she studied the map, her first-mate, Sting the Jellyfish, entered the room. He was carrying a pistol that resembled the old Flintlock design that pirates once wielded but this model was modernized and could fire laser shots instead of bullets, as well as shoot more rounds than just one at a time. He saluted her as he walked in.
"Ma'am, the crew are eager to attack." he informed, "When do we move in?"
"When the old fart in the glass bubble tells us to." Abyss snapped, "Not a second before, OK?"
"Got it captain." Sting replied, "I won't ask again."
"Good." Abyss muttered, "It gets irritating after awhile when you keep coming in to say the same shit over and over."
"Sorry captain." Sting replied, "Still though, I must say...attacking a defenseless village while the guardians are gone? And stealing the Chaos Emeralds while we're at it too? Forgive me if it sounds hypocritical but...it really ain't good form, is it?"
His response was that of a slow turn of a head and a dark smile spread across the lips of his captain as she glanced over at him. He felt nervous, not liking the way she was looking at him like that.
"Good form Mr. Sting...?" Abyss growled through her forced smile.
She then exploded into a fury as she stood up and flipped the table over effortlessly with her tentacles. Sting jumped in alarm, wondering if he was about to be shot through the head for that.
"BLAST GOOD FORM!" the enraged captain screamed, "DID CAPTAIN WHISKER SHOW GOOD FORM WHEN HIS CREW USED ME AS A SEX TOY?!"
Sting was positively terrified. He knew Abyss could be impatient and always liked action, but he often forgot how easily she could fly off the handle. If he wasn't careful around her, it could cost him his life, if this instance did not.
"N-n-no." Sting stammered, trying to suppress his instinct to zap his Captain with his tentacles in defence, "Of course not, Captain. What they did was horrendous. They got what was coming when you killed them."
"Indeed!" Abyss hissed venomously, "We pirates have no need for 'good form', especially not for these fools we're dealing with now! If you dare question my strategies again, Mr Sting, you are going to be zapped by your own tentacles and then learn what it was like for Pinocchio when he got swallowed by a fish! And I hope it'll be a shark!"
Sting gulped, hoping the captain wasn't being serious though his gut-feeling told him she probably was. She often meant what she said, especially if it was grisly and gory. The jellyfish was so frightened that his head started wobbling like an actual plate of jelly. He gripped it to stop it shaking, blushing with embarrassment. He always hated it when that happened.
"Y-y-y-yes ma'am." the marine Mobian stammered, "I shan't do it again."
"Good show." Abyss muttered, "Now piss off, I'm bust studying the map of Downunda."
The first-mate bowed and was about to leave but to Abyss's surprise, she ended up reciving the tell-tale sign that it was time to attack. Her communications device was beeping and she opened the screen up to see the screen flashing red in time with the beeping. It was Dimitri's signal. The robot-head had the ability to send messages and signals to his comrades just with a thought thanks to a sattelite link built in his head that gave him access to all communications equipment that S.T.I.N.G. owned. What was even more impressive was that Dimitri could send these signals without having to activate anything or stop to raise a tentacle or anything. He could be talking to somebody right now and they'd never know he was sending signals of some kind. Knuckles and Shade would never know it was him that had alerted Abyss and her crew that it was time to attack. The squid's beak curled into a grin of excitement as she switched the signal off to stop it beeping and pocketed her device again.
"On second thoughts, stay where you are." she ordered, "There's our signal to go! The attack on the Knuckles Tribe can finally begin!"
She and Sting left the room and emerged onto the decks to announce to the crew it was time to attack. The pirate captain could already see the glorious carnage that would come from their assault now. Wouldn't S.T.I.N.G. be proud of her and her crew!
Meanwhile, Knuckles, Shade, Relic and Dimitri were continuing their search for the Chaos Gauntlet. Relic was in the lead, a map open in her hands.
"Now then, for a place to start, I'd say where we are now will work." Relic said as she observed the map, "The rumours on where the Chaos Gauntlet is headed correspond with areas nearby where we're currently standing."
"Would you say her map's accurate Dimitri?" Knuckles asked.
The robot-heard stood up as tall as his tentacles would stretch and he peered at the map Relic was holding. The pika held it out for him to properly see, patiently waiting for him to look it over and make his observation. He nodded.
"Absolutely. It matches Downunda's current form." Dimitri declared, "And as she said, the rumours as to where the Gauntlet is located refer to areas near here. The unfortunate thing is that nobody's ever been able to pinpoint EXACTLY where it is so we maybe searching for a while."
"Not necessarily." Knuckles corrected, "Me and Shade have a strong connection to the Master Emerald, so we have a way of sensing if Chaos Emeralds or the Master Emerald itself is nearby."
"Comes with being a guardian." Shade remarked dryly.
"How fortunate for us then." Dimitri purred, "The Gauntlet itself was made out of Chaos Emeralds so if you two can sense them..."
"Then maybe you can direct us to the gauntlet!" Relic exclaimed, "Huh, guess we won't need the map after all."
"Keep hold of it anyway." Shade suggested, "We may still need it, you never know."
Relic nodded as she folded the map up and stashed it back in her backpack.
"So guardians, can you..."sense" the Gauntlet right now?" she inquired.
"Maybe tricky as we're used to the Chaos and Master Emeralds." Knuckles warned, "We could get confused with their signatures. Still, here goes."
Knuckles and Shade both closed their eyes and calmed their minds, allowing themselves to feel the nature around them and touching upon their innate connection to the power of Chaos. For a few moments, they felt nothing distinct, but then, they felt something; something distinct and unfamiliar.
"We sense something." Shade said, keeping her eyes closed, "It's unfamiliar to us; it could be the Gauntlet."
"Which way?" Relic and Dimitri asked together.
Knuckles and Shade focused in on the source of the presence; it seemed to be coming from north-east of their location.
"That way." Knuckles answered, pointing in the direction he and Shade could detect the energy signature.
Dimitri and Relic followed the guardian's direction. He was pointing ahead to what seemed like more stretch of forest. It didn't seem like there'd be anything that way but that was the thing with forests. With so many trees and other growth around, there was no telling where anything was until you started looking through it. They decided to follow on from Knuckles and Shade as they took the lead. With their Chaos sense, they'd find the Gauntlet in no time at all. It seemed incredible that after being hidden for centuries, the relic would finally be unearthed. What would the ancient Guardians think if they could see this now?
Knuckles and Shade headed on in the direction they had sensed the unfamiliar energy signature with Dimitri and Relic following closely behind. For a while, nobody said a word as they continued their trek. They just pressed on, heading straight and stepping over fallen trees, rocks and broken branches. There was the distant sound of Mobini birds singing to each other. On several trees and under rocks, Mobini insects crawled around seeking food and shelter. The hot Downunda sun beat down on the lush vegetation, creating beautiful sun-streaks that shone through the trees. For all four Mobians, it was one of those rare times where they truly got to feel what it was like to be in tune with nature. Nothing modern or technological, just peace and harmony all around with the world in natural order. Relic could barely keep herself from smiling in awe.
"I never knew Downunda could be so...beautiful." she mused. Of all the places she could've chosen to go on an expedition, she couldn't be more grateful she'd chosen this country.
"Everybody who comes here says that." Knuckles sighed, smiling in agreement, "And who can blame them? At times, this place can feel like paradise with how peaceful it gets."
"And Eggman wanted to destroy it all by making his robot utopia." Shade muttered, "Why would anyone ever want to destroy environments like this? Getting rid of places that make Mobius special and beautiful would just make a dull world for us all to live in."
"Try telling that to those fanatics trying to carry on his legacy my dear." Dimitri scoffed, "They have no appreciation for peace and nature either."
"Which is why when we get that gauntlet, we'll be able to put a stop to their plans and keep the world as beautiful as it is." Knuckles declared, "And it seems that might be pretty soon. I can feel the strange presence getting stronger."
"I feel it too." Shade added, "We should be arriving at its location in a matter of minutes."
"By Jove. I'm quite positively giddy..." Relic said, clasping her hands together with anticipation, "We're about to make the discovery of a life time! I don't know how I can possibly contain myself!"
"Well take it easy, we're not there yet." Knuckles warned, "Besides, it could be something else entirely, we don't know. But we're going to find out..."
Relic obeyed, doing her best to keep her excitement contained until they reached the ancient artefact. Dimitri just trailed behind, wanting to keep himself small and unnoticed in case he somehow gave himself away. He was content to just let Knuckles, Shade and Relic take the lead while he followed. He was already planning what to do to take the gauntlet once they found it. It made him feel bad that he'd have to do this to two kindly echidnas who showed him compassion and welcomed him with open arms but S.T.I.N.G had made it impossible for him to refuse their offers. Like it or not, he had to do his task...
Meanwhile, back in the village, Sadie had decided to pass the time by meditating. However, this did not mean she was neglecting her duty of guarding the village. This meditation was using the Chaos powers she had inherited from her parents to sense anyone near the village and whether they might be good or evil. This way, she wouldn't embarrass herself like with Relic. This power wasn't as potent as her parents, but it did allow detection of life around her. She could feel all sorts of life from crawling insects to local villagers. It was a surreal sensation, but one she quite enjoyed as she felt in tune with nature and a close connection to her people.
Just then, she sensed someone approaching her; at first, she thought it might be Julie-Su, but her senses told her it might be a hostile. She opened her eyes and looked around her.
"First day on the job, I prosecute an innocent archaeologist." the teen-echidna muttered, "Who am I gonna be facing this time? An interior decorator?"
Sadie breathed in slowly and approached the bushes, already slowing her approach from before. She was being more cautious instead of just leaping in like last time. She also wasn't going to be confrontational to begin with.
"You can come out." she said, as softly as she could, just in case it wasn't a hostile, "Don't be afraid."
She felt a cruel chuckle, followed by a voice that sounded awfully familiar, despite not hearing it in 10 years.
"Oh, I'm not afraid. In fact, it's you who should be afraid, little guardian."
From the bushes stepped Abyss the Squid, her beak curved upward in cruel delight. Sadie balled her hands into fists, anger rising within her, like a snake from long grass. The squid may have grown since last time they met, but Sadie recognized her straight away.
"YOU!" she shouted, adopting a fighting stance.
"So, the wittle crybaby guardian is all grown up." Abyss said tauntingly, "I guess you decided to be a hooker instead, judging by your clothing."
"Who are you to judge my fashion sense when you walk around looking like some wannabe Eggman cosplayer?" Sadie retorted, "Look at you! You'd fit right into a lunatic Eggman fanclub!"
Then suddenly, it dawned on her on why the squid's outfit bore a similar design aesthetic to the deceased doctor.
"Oh no...please don't tell me you're a member of S.T.I.N.G now!" she shrieked.
"Oh so you DO have a brain! And here I thought the beating I gave you all them years ago might've damaged a few cells!" Abyss sneered, "Yes, as you've so accurately pointed out, I am a member of S.T.I.N.G. I'd say out of us two, I got the better end of the stick. I have cybernetic enhancements," she boasted, showing off the metal tips of her tentacles, "Advanced weaponry and technology at my beck and call and the finest crew a pirate could ask for! What have you got in comparison? That silly headband?"
"No, I have an entire tribe of echidnas that look VERY unhappy to see you." Sadie retorted.
That was when Abyss found herself surrounded by echidnas, all wielding weapons of some kind. Julie-Su was leading them, her twin-barreled pistol aimed straight at the squid's head. The villagers had seen Sadie and Abyss confronting each other and Julie-Su had been quick to act, bringing the tribe's best warriors with her to handle this intruder. As arrogant as she was, the marine Mobian knew it would be stupid to try and attack so many echidnas at once, especially as many were pointing guns at her. She slowly raised her hands, but kept her face neutral. Sadie smirked, folding her arms confidently.
"NOW who's got the short end of the stick?" she taunted.
"Gotta say, the Knuckles Clan wasn't expecting an actual S.T.I.N.G. agent to show up and proudly declare herself as such." Julie-Su scoffed, "We were warned you guys were more subtle than that. Guess their reports were wildly exaggerated."
"The guardians will be very pleased when they come home to find out we've captured a S.T.I.N.G. agent." an echidna with black hair and maroon coloured fur said with delight.
"You bet, Remington!" Sadie agreed, "Seize her and tie her up in the prison tent!" she ordered.
"A tent?! You guys have a prison TENT?!" Abyss crowed, doubling over in laughter, "You guys are more behind the times than I thought!"
"We'll see how funny you think this is when you're tied to a pole and gagged." Julie-Su snorted, keeping her pistol aimed at Abyss in case she tried anything.
The echidnas approached Abyss, ready to grab her. Funny enough, the squid didn't try to resist. She just allowed two huge, beefy echidnas two grab her arms and force them behind her back so they could lead her away to the tent. But as they were about to take her away, the pirate smiled a dark, confident smile at Sadie and Julie-Su. The two girls stared at her in confusion.
"Um...why are you smiling like that?" Sadie asked nervously.
"Didn't it occur to you morons that it seems...odd that I came here alone?" Abyss sneered, "I mean, I DID say to you I have the finest crew a pirate could ask for..."
Sadie's face went pale with shock as realization hit her like a punch to the face. And then something DID hit her in the face. She and several echidnas were swatted away like flies as something huge and metallic lashed out from nowhere and hit them, making Abyss laugh with glee.
"Good boy, Breakdown!" she said, as the barracuda emerged from the bushes, along with Abyss' crew, Sting leading them. Breakdown growled with delight, lowering his head, so that Abyss could pat him.
"What is that thing?!" Julie-Su cried.
"That 'thing' is Breakdown." Abyss said, stroking Breakdown's snout as he growled menacingly, "So, if you don't fancy ending up in his belly, I suggest you surrender."
"NEVER!" Julie-Su cried and opened fire at Breakdown, but the bullets just pinged off the barracuda's robotic armour as if they were milk duds.
Breakdown smirked, a rare expression for the barracuda to sport, and made a noise that sounded like a metallic laugh, mocking Julie-Su for her efforts without even saying a word. The pink echidna growled in annoyance, seeing her weapon was useless. She put it away and cracked her knuckles as she prepared to just use her bare hands on the roboticized barracuda. Sadie quickly stopped her by grabbing her arm and holding her back.
"Wait Auntie-Su, I think I know what we're up against here!" the teenage echidna cried, "King Sonic told us about the main five members of S.T.I.N.G. He said Breakdown was one of them. He's very strong and hard to hurt but if I were to guess, he might have a weak spot. Maybe the inside of his mouth!"
"So maybe I can try to shoot him in his mouth." Julie-Su murmured, seeing what Sadie was getting at, "He won't make that target easy for us but we can try."
"I'll help you take him down." Sadie declared, "The rest of you, take out Abyss and her crew! We'll show these creeps what happens when you mess with the Knuckles Clan!"
"It looks like I'll have to teach you another lesson about what happens when you mess with me, kid." Abyss said, "Very well, then. Breakdown, chew up the pink one and any others who prove too feisty."
The barracuda nodded and lunged towards his prey with a vicious snarl. The tribe all fled in different directions to avoid being snatched up by Breakdown's jaws, causing him to simply hit the ground where they had been standing. Abyss's crew all charged in with their guns blazing, shooting at anybody in their sights. On their captain's orders, their guns were set to stun, not kill, as they wanted to capture the echidnas. Some of the tribesmen were hit and rendered unconscious in a single zap, collapsing onto the ground. Others were able to dodge and shoot back with their own guns, which were also set to stun. Knuckles had insisted that anyone with a gun shoots to kill ONLY when necessary, but this situation didn't call for any needless killing so they were content to just stun the attacking pirates. When this was over, they would imprison all stunned attackers for questioning later.
As the echidnas and pirates engaged in their back-and-forth stunning match, Sadie, Julie-Su and Remington were all ganging up on Breakdown. Julie-Su and Remington were both shooting him at the same time while Sadie was climbing onto his back and punching him repeatedly. The guns did nothing to Breakdown, but that wasn't the plan for now. They were trying to keep him busy so Sadie could hopefully do some damage and maybe get Breakdown to open his mouth and leave himself vulnerable for a shot. Breakdown raised his tail and brought it crashing down towards Julie and Remington, but he missed as they threw themselves to the side to avoid being hit. Sadie had to hold on tight to the Robian's back as he tried to tail whip her friends. Breakdown then turned his head and spotted Sadie holding onto him. He growled angrily, making the message clear to the teen guardian: "Get off me!" Sadie refused to move so Breakdown tried to do it himself, opening his jaws so he could grab her and swallow her whole, trapping her inside his body so he could carry her back to base.
But that was what Sadie had wanted him to do. Smirking confidently, she jumped off his back so Breakdown ended up biting himself, leaving teeth marks in his armour. He let out a roar of pain, giving Julie-Su and Remington the perfect opportunity to shoot at his open mouth. They both fired, hitting him squarely in the back of his throat. The laser shots caused Breakdown to howl in anguish, feeling like his throat was on fire. He swayed from side-to-side, coughing and spluttering from the attack he'd received. Sadie punched the air in triumph, glad her plan had worked.
"Oh yeah, now THAT'S how you do it!" she cried.
"Don't get too excited Sadie." Julie-Su muttered grimly, "That may have been his weak spot, but I don't think our shots were enough. He's still standing."
True enough, Breakdown was indeed still active. There was smoke drifting out of his jaws, but otherwise he didn't seem like he was going down anytime soon. If anything, he just looked even angrier than before. Remington swore.
"We hit his weak spot and he doesn't go down! What do we have to do to finish this guy?!" he cried.
"Hit him again is all I can suggest." Sadie said, sounding unsure of herself, "But we don't wanna do it too many times or we might end up killing him. As dad taught me: killing isn't the guardian way."
"Unless absolutely necessary." Julie-Su agreed, remembering one of the tribe's most scared creeds, "I'm with you Sadie. Not even this monster is worth breaking that rule for. We'll try one more shot to the mouth, but that's it. Hopefully, it'll be enough..."
"Hey, you!" Sadie yelled at Breakdown, sticking out her tongue. It was a silly trick, but it should work. It did; Breakdown lunged forward to swallow her.
"Sadie, move!" Remington yelled, as he and Julie-Su ran out of the way, but Sadie didn't move. Breakdown reached her and clamped his jaws on her - or tried to, because he suddenly found he couldn't close his mouth. In fact, it was opening wider. Sadie was using her strength to hold Breakdown's jaws open. She wasn't as strong as her parents yet, but it was enough. Breakdown tried to close his mouth but Sadie refused to give in, her muscles screaming as she kept her arms and legs as rigid as she could.
"NOW!" she yelled.
Julie-Su and Remington could see what Sadie was planning and took aim with their guns. They aimed past the echidna so they wouldn't hit her by accident. They opened fire, the shoots whizzing past Sadie and into Breakdown's mouth. As soon as the shots him him, Breakdown bellowed in pain, allowing Sadie to leap out of his mouth so she didn't have to keep it open anymore. He reared up, smoke billowing out of his mouth and wailing a thunderous wail of anguish. His whole throat felt like it had fallen apart. The damage sustained from being shot in the mouth twice was too much for Breakdown to bear so he swayed to one side and collapsed heavily onto the ground. The trio of echidnas approached him slowly, fearing the worst.
"We didn't...did we?" Sadie asked nervously.
Remington approached Breakdown, smoke still drifting from the barracuda's mouth. Breakdown wasn't moving, but his optics were still shining. He was also making low, pained groaning sounds and making metallic coughing sounds. That was enough for Remington to satisfy his curiosity. He turned to the girls.
"We didn't kill him, luckily. He's just too damaged to fight on." he announced.
"Thank Chaos for that." Sadie sighed, wiping her forehead, "I was worried I'd have to explain to mom and dad how I killed somebody!"
"Instead, you can tell them how your quick thinking got us one of S.T.I.N.G.'s founding members." Julie-Su said with a proud smile.
Sadie beamed, pleased with herself that she had managed to pull this off. This was more than making up for how she'd treated Relic earlier! But there was no time to celebrate for the battle wasn't over yet. Abyss charged in, spinning like a top with her twin tentacles cleaving through the air like a pair of whips. She hit Sadie, Julie-Su and Remington, knocking them all down like they were pins at a bowling alley. They weren't down for long as they picked themselves up again and braced themselves for a fight as Abyss stopped spinning and glowered at them.
"Wasn't expecting you to take Breakdown out so quickly." she grumbled, "I guess you saps are tougher than I thought."
"Why do you think we're called the KNUCKLES Clan?" Sadie retorted.
"If only your precious daddy was here now. I'd love to see him watch as I beat you to a pulp!" Abyss growled.
"That maybe how it went last time, salt breath, but this time around, I'm gonna kick YOUR ass!" Sadie snarled, baring her fists.
She and Abyss charged to each other, rage driving them on as they prepared to have a long overdue rematch. Ten years had passed since their last bout, and now they were going to see if a decade's worth of time passing would yield a different outcome...
Meanwhile, Knuckles, Shade, Relic and Dimitri had found the very place that the two guardians had been able to sense what they thought might be the Chaos Gauntlet. They had approached a cave that had evidently been sealed for quite some time as there was a colossal pile of rocks blocking the entrance. To any passerby, it would just look like a rocky hillside, but it was in fact a cave. Where the rock pile had come from, nobody knew but Knuckles imagine the ancients would've managed it somehow. The four explorers observed the blocked up entrance.
"The signature's even stronger here." Knuckles announced, "It must be in that cave."
"But look at that pile of rocks!" Relic exclaimed, "We'd never be able to move them out of the way and get inside! We'd need a lot of heavy machinery to move all that!"
Knuckles just laughed in response.
"Lady, one thing you must know about me...no rock can EVER stand in my way!" he gloated, cracking his namesakes, "Stand back! This could get messy!"
Shade quickly urged Relic and Dimitri away and behind the cover of a nearby tree, as her husband drew back his fists, and began wailing on the boulders blocking the entrance. Soon, rock fragments were flying through the air, as Knuckles carved his way into the debris. More than once, the boulders threatened to collapse on top of him, but Knuckles simply punched through rocks or tossed them away like they were soccer balls. Within minutes, Knuckles found an opening in the rock face, and felt hot, musty air hit his face.
"I've found it!" he called to the others, "Let me just widen the hole."
After a few more punches, the hole was wide enough for Knuckles and the others to climb into, and he motioned for Shade, Relic and Dimitri to follow as he went his way into the cave. As they entered, Relic turned to Shade, her face flush with admiration.
"By Jove. I had no idea your husband was so strong..." she whispered.
"They don't call him "Knuckles" for nothing." Shade replied, chuckling.
The cave was dark, the air still warm and musty, due to centuries of being trapped inside. That was comforting to them as they'd expected it to be cold in the cave.
"Anyone got a torch?" Shade asked.
"I do." Relic said, pulling out a torch from her backpack and lighting it up.
"Very good." Dimitri said, "Now, I suggest we proceed with caution; the ancients may have left booby traps, on the off-chance someone got in."
"I just hope they were too arrogant to think they'd need any and didn't set any up at all." Shade muttered.
"Don't worry too much about it, I've had plenty of experience dealing with booby traps on my expeditions." Relic said reassuringly, "I've learnt all about how to avoid them and how to survive if you set one off."
"Then maybe that information will come in handy." Knuckles said, though he himself was confident that any booby trap would be useless against him and his wife and that there was nothing to worry about.
The four Mobians ventured inside with Relic in the lead as she had the torch. The bright beam stretched far ahead, allowing them to see plenty of the cave ahead despite the darkness. The cave seemed to stretch down for miles, suggesting it was really deep. Why wouldn't it? The ancients would've wanted to make sure the Chaos Gauntlet was hard to get to. Trouble was, how deep did it go? There was no way of telling so all they could do was venture downwards and find out.
"I think we've got quite a way down." Knuckles murmured, "We could be down here for longer than we thought guys."
"Well, just so long as it pays off in the end, I'm not complaining." Dimitri replied.
"Nor am I." Relic agreed.
They trooped down for a little way further, when Relic's foot suddenly stepped on something that sank beneath it. Her experience of exploring various locations told her it was bad.
"Hold it!" she said, throwing out a arm to halt the others.
Whatever it was she's stepped on, she knew that it would activate something. A panel in the floor was the most basic way to activate a trap. But what would happen? They quickly found out due to the tell-tale sign of dust sprinkling down from the ceiling. They looked up...and screamed as a huge boulder tumbled down towards them, threatening to squash them all once it reached the bottom. It had somehow been suspended above a long tunnel in the ceiling and held in place until Relic had activated it. Everybody jumped back to avoid being crushed, the huge boulder coming down with a heavy crash that made the ground shudder beneath their feet. Then due to the sloped nature of the tunnel, it rolled away like a marble in a marble run. Knuckles and Shade quickly ran after it.
"We've gotta stop that thing before it hits the end of the tunnel!" Knuckles cried, "If the Chaos Gauntlet's down there, it could smash it to bits!"
"I know what to do!" Shade yelled back.
She drew out her twin blades and swiped the air, sending pink energy waves towards the boulder. The two waves hit it, breaking it apart and reducing it to huge chunks of rubble that could no longer roll. To make doubly sure that it could be a danger no more, Knuckles ran up to the huge remains of the boulder and smashed them to pieces with his fists. That was one trap done, and hopefully it would be the only one. Relic and Dimitri caught up to the guardians, sharing impressed gazes.
"Bravo! Exemplary teamwork there guardians!" Relic praised.
"It is quite clear to me why you two are the current guardians with how well you work together." Dimitri complimented.
"I like to think me and Shade go together like two peas in a pod." Knuckles replied, casually.
Shade smiled, flattered by the remark.
"I'm so terribly sorry I activated that trap." Relic put in, "Experience should've taught me to be more careful."
"Don't sweat it. You recognized the danger quicker than any of us so we could react in time." Knuckles noted, "Thanks to you, we didn't get flattened."
"Well if you put it that way, I suppose..." Relic thought.
"Let's pat ourselves on the back later, although I no longer have a back." Dimitri said impatiently, "We still need to get that gauntlet. The sooner we find it, the quicker we can leave."
The four explorers continued their trek down the slope that would hopefully lead them to where the ancient relic was. The incident with the boulder had made everybody weary so they took their steps carefully so as not to activate anymore traps. Luckily, it seemed the ancients were so confident in their trap that they'd only built one for they came across no other traps. It made Knuckles shudder to think if anybody had ever been crushed by that boulder and how many may have accidentally activated it when venturing down here.
They climbed down for many minutes until finally, they reached the bottom and found themselves passing through an archway that led to a surprising sight. Relic shone her torch ahead and gasped. None of them had expected to come across a huge body of water in a cave. It was as if somebody had picked up an entire lake and somehow dragged it all the way down into this cave and dumped it there. It was possible to find water in caves, but very unlikely. Maybe this cave had a tunnel that led out into the ocean somewhere. Now they understand why the ancients had been so light on security. The one trap was all they'd need if their treasure was hiding at the bottom of a huge pool of water! It would be impossible to get the relic if they didn't have a way of reaching it and looking at the water, they imagined it was probably very deep. They couldn't even see anything that would imply the Chaos Gauntlet was in there. They'd expected it to be shining given it was made of Chaos Emeralds but all they could see was black, like they were looking at a lake of ink.
"Well that's just prime." Dimitri sighed, "If you're lucky enough to survive the giant boulder, you get to go for a swim in pitch darkness! How can we even be sure the damn gauntlet's even at the bottom of this thing?!"
"It's there alright." Knuckles retorted, "I can sense that signature again. It's the strongest it's ever been."
"But how can we POSSIBLY find it?" Relic exclaimed, "It's too dark to see anything and we have NO idea how deep the water is! We'd risk drowning ourselves just trying to reach it!"
"The ancients couldn't have buried this thing in a more perfect place." Knuckles muttered, agreeing with Relic, "If we had scuba equipment, we'd have a chance. But no such luck. We've GOT to find another way around this!"
"I could probably find it...if I was actually waterproof." Dimitri sighed, "My bubble could maybe keep the water out, but it'd probably trickle through the holes for my tentacles. It's hopeless. This whole expedition has been a waste of time!"
"No. No it hasn't." Shade insisted, "Because I'M going in."
Knuckles grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Are you crazy?! You'll never find it!" he cried, "I'm not letting you go in there and drown yourself Shade!"
"Yes you will because I won't drown in there." Shade retorted, slapping her husband's hands away, "My helmet will keep the water out and my blades can provide the light I need to see where I'm going."
"Your helmet won't stop you from needing air madame." Relic noted, "Even if you had an air tank with you, you'd still need to come up to breathe again."
"I'm sure my helmet will give me enough air for me to find the gauntlet. If I start running out, I'll emerge immediately." Shade insisted, "Now enough talk, I'm going in!"
"Wait!" Knuckles cried, grabbing Shade's arm.
Shade was about to snap at him but she saw that Knuckles wasn't trying to stop her from going. His face was full of concern, but he had only stopped her just to say something. He clearly knew he wasn't going to change her mind.
"Be careful love." he said softly.
"I'll come back to you Knuckles." Shade said reassuringly, kissing him goodbye for the time being.
She then deployed her helmet, drew out her blades and dived straight into the water. Knuckles watched as she disappeared into the black, watery void, his nerves tingling as he waited for her to emerge again. He hoped she wouldn't take too long. Relic and Dimitri shared his concern.
"Your wife is so brave...I really hope she makes it, Knuckles." Relic said nervously.
"Yes, so do I!" Dimitri said, his voice suddenly dangerous and intimidating. Before Relic could do anything, she was zapped from behind. Dimitri had raised his tentacles and seized Relic by the back, the three-pronged claws providing the electrical shocks. She screamed in pain and then collapsed, unconscious.
"Dimitri, what are you-?!" Knuckles began in bewilderment, but before he could raise his fists in defence, Dimitri got him too. He collapsed heavily on the ground, lying beside Relic.
"So sorry, dear guardian." Dimitri said, though his tone suggested he wasn't sorry, "But I have my own reasons for acquiring the Gauntlet."
He looked back to the water with his optics observing for any signs that Shade would be returning to the surface. Of course, the dark was no problem for a cyborg like himself so he could see just fine. He stayed still, patiently waiting to strike at Shade when she returned...
Unaware of what was happening above the surface, Shade swam down as deep as she could go, keeping her eyes open for the gauntlet. With her blades in hand providing a light source and making handy fins for her, she was swimming quite quickly. The female guardian had already been swimming quite far and yet no matter how many times she swiped her arms to propel herself down, she didn't seem to be getting any closer to the bottom. How deep did this thing go?! No wonder this relic had lain dormant for so long, nobody would be able to reach it back in those days! Shade was beginning to doubt if her plan was a good idea at all and if she may have been better off going back to the village to get actual scuba equipment. But she didn't want to give up, not when she could stay underwater for a good few minutes. To preserve air for herself, she didn't talk at all so she could focus on her swimming. If it looked like it was too deep to carry on going, she would turn around and get back to the surface.
But it seemed luck was on Shade's side for just below her, she could see a small light at the bottom of the pool. Could that be the Chaos Gauntlet? If she could see a light, then hopefully that meant she was close to the bottom. She headed towards it, kicking furiously for extra speed. She finally reached the light, and saw why it was so faint. The light was peeking through a tiny crack in what looked like an armoured casing that was clearly meant to contain the relic inside. Once again, the ancients had made sure it wasn't easy to just walk in and get this gauntlet. Shade couldn't even see any evidence that the casing opened at all, no hinges, no padlock keeping it shut or anything. Had they simply put the gauntlet in there and welded it shut somehow? She could see an uneven line that wrapped all around the casing, suggesting that it had been two halves sealed together to permanently enclose the relic for good. Shade wouldn't be able to carry it like that as it was too heavy to move and was chained to the floor.
The ancients thought of every possible way to keep people from just taking the gauntlet. Shade thought to herself, Well planned on their behalf. But they didn't count on someone like me with more advanced weaponry to be able to crack this thing open...
She smirked to herself as she held up her blades, which were still glowing. Judging their position carefully, Shade plunged both blades into the weld line of the casing, pushing them in as far as she could. Then, twisting both blades, Shade began to prise the casing open. It was hard work; despite countless centuries underwater, the metal was still very tough, and for a moment, Shade thought her blades would snap. Then, the casing finally broke open and the light seemed to engulf Shade.
"Whoa!" she said aloud, shielding her eyes.
As the light finally dimmed, Shade looked down and gazed in wonder at the gauntlet. It was twice as large as the average Mobian hand, no doubt to better hold the Chaos Emeralds. It was emerald green, the same colour as the Master Emerald, and there were seven holes in it, five on the knuckles, and two on the forearm section; one for each Emerald. Despite having been buried here for countless years, the gauntlet still looked new, completely unaffected by its underwater resting place. Shade ran a hand over it with admiration.
"It's...amazing." she whispered, "How did the ancients create something like this out of mere Chaos Emeralds?"
It was a silly question to ask as there was no way she'd ever find the answer to it. Shade reached out and grabbed the gauntlet. She lifted it up, not surprised that it felt a little heavy. She imagined it must take a strong Mobian to be able to wear it and use it. Good thing her husband was just the type to use it. Shade quickly swam up to the surface, clutching the gauntlet tightly as she kicked furiously to propel herself up. She could feel herself struggling for breath for the air supply her helmet had managed to contain was running out. Would she make it in time? Shade didn't dare think about the worst, she only thought about reaching the surface. It was so dark, how could she even see if she was close to the surface?!
And then...she felt the water fold back over her head and shoulders. Shade looked around, retracting her helmet. She could feel the cool air of the cave on her face, no water whatsoever. She'd made it! The guardian allowed herself a couple of seconds to regain her breath before heading to the edge so she could climb out of the water. It occurred to her that something wasn't right. It was pitch black. Why wasn't Relic shining her torch so she could see? Where was she, Knuckles and Dimitri? Thankfully, she had the Chaos Gauntlet so she had a light source with her. She held it ahead of herself, only for Dimitri to snatch it out of her hands. The cyborg echidna head stared at it with his optics aglow. As far as he was concerned, he'd just found the Holy Grail.
"At last...the Chaos Gauntlet! You've found it dear guardian! And it's more beautiful than I could ever have imagined..." Dimitri whispered.
"I was worried I wouldn't make it, but I did." Shade said, pulling herself out of the water, "Where's Knuckles and Relic? I thought they were waiting for me."
"I'm afraid they decided to take a nap." Dimitri replied darkly, "And now, you're going to have one too..."
Before Shade could say anything, Dimitri lashed out with another tentacle and planted it squarely in the middle of her chest.
"Dimitri, what are you..."
She got no further as she was swiftly electrocuted into unconsciousness. She collapsed on the floor and lay still. It was a mercy for her that Dimitri had decided not to do that while she was still in the water. Now the guardians were unconscious, Dimitri could flee with the prize and inform Abyss on his progress. He imagined she'd take all the credit when they reported to S.T.I.N.G. but not that he minded. He had his own agendas.
"It'll be a shame to destroy this...but anything's better than letting these children who call themselves "guardians" and those Eggman worshipping monsters have the powers of a god at their side..." he muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Sadie was fighting Abyss, applying all of her training to get back at the cephalopod for attacking her as a five-year-old.
Abyss whipped her tentacles round to swipe at Sadie, but she grabbed them both.
"Not this time!" she said and swung Abyss around, before letting go, causing Abyss to spin away, bouncing like a stone skimming on water, before coming to a stop.
"Ugh, looks like you've been catching on from last time we met." Abyss muttered, picking herself up, "That's both annoying and reassuring. Annoying in how you're gonna be tougher to beat, but reassuring in the sense this fight won't be boring!"
"Oh this fight's gonna be far from boring!" Sadie sneered, "It'll be humiliating for you when this is over!"
She ran towards Abyss, her fists clenched and aching for a punch. The squid smirked, seeing her opponent had made the big mistake of charging straight at her. She lashed out with her tentacles, intending to swipe her from the side and send her hurling away. But the pirate had been tricked. Sadie had baited her into making that move, throwing herself down on the ground to avoid being hit by the tentacles. She continued to slide towards Abyss before leaping back up onto her feet and clasping both fists together. She swung them both into Abyss's face, her hands like a wrecking ball slamming into a wall. Abyss was so taken aback by the punch that she didn't even feel herself hit the ground as she fell over. She clutched her cheek in pain, grimacing from the blow. It baffled her to think how Sadie had gotten so strong in ten years. She must've had some good training!
The squid didn't get time to get up as Sadie pounced on her angrily and whaled on her heavily, throwing every punch like she was hitting Abyss with a sack of rocks. The marine Mobian couldn't fight back or defend herself as Sadie kept throwing punches. She was punching her so hard that Abyss was spitting blood out as she was hit.
"This is for stealing my necklace!" Sadie screamed.
POW!
"This is for what you did to me ten years ago!"
PUNCH!
"And this is for joining S.T.I.N.G.!"
She threw one last punch, making Abyss cry out and spit blood again. Her face was badly bruised and messed up by the punches. Sadie was about to punch her again, but as she caught a glimpse of Abyss's bruised face, she found herself back where she was ten years ago, attacked by the squid and reduced to a bruised and bloody mess left to cry about what had happened while her bully got away scot-free. It seemed a fitting irony in a sense that now she was the one standing victorious while Abyss was the one badly beaten. Her opponent glared at her, though she was having trouble doing so for her eyes could barely even open.
"What...are you waiting for...brat?" she spluttered, "Go ahead. Finish it...you know you want to!"
Sadie was seriously tempted to, but then, she wondered; had she sunk to Abyss' level in doing this? Her parents had always told her to fight with honour and never resort to ruthlessness or killing unless absolutely necessary. Abyss was beaten now; she had in a way answered for what she had done to Sadie. Now Sadie should do the honourable thing and spare her; take her prisoner. Who knew what she could reveal about S.T.I.N.G.?
"No." Sadie said firmly, "I'm not like you, Abyss. I don't beat my enemies when they're down; nor do I kill. No, you're under arrest."
"Should've... known." Abyss choked, "You're too... weak to finish me."
"No, I'd be weak if I gave in to killing." Sadie replied.
Abyss suddenly grinned, though it looked very painful.
"Sucker!" she said, as Sadie was suddenly hit with a powerful surge of electricity. Sting had snuck up behind her and zapped her with his tentacles. Sadie swayed, and then collapsed, conscious but too weak to fight.
"Are you alright, captain?" Sting asked as he helped Abyss back onto her feet.
"I'll live." Abyss muttered, trying to ignore the pain in her face, "Your sneak attack was perfectly executed Sting. I might have to promote you for this."
The jellyfish beamed, liking the sound of that. It was about time he was better appreciated for his part in the crew. But before he or Abyss could do anything, a laser shot came out of nowhere and almost hit them. Sting pushed Abyss out the way to avoid the shot. It was Julie-Su once again with her pistol in hand and looking very ticked off. Sadie lay on the ground, still unable to get up again, but she at least managed to smile at the sight of her auntie-figure getting in on the action.
"You leave the guardian's daughter alone you Eggman-worshipping freaks!" the pink echidna yelled angrily.
"Hey, I resent the freak thing." Sting said, drawing his own flintlock, taking aim and firing.
His aim caused Julie-Su to stop in her tracks and take cover to avoid being shot. It was just her luck that Abyss had a first-mate with a really good aim. While Julie-Su was being kept at bay by Sting, Abyss seized her moment to escape with a prisoner. Ignoring the pain in her face, she wrapped her tentacles around the weakened Sadie and hoisted her off the ground. Sadie tried to cry for help but Abyss had wrapped a tentacle around her mouth to keep her from screaming. The echidna struggled but couldn't break free from her captor's grip.
"And look at that, I win again." Abyss crowed, "Ten years hasn't made a bit of difference for you pretty guardian."
She was then stopped by a sudden beeping sound that made her fish out her communications device. Hopefully that meant good news. The squid answered it.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Abyss, it's Dimitri. I have subdued the guardians and obtained the Chaos Gauntlet." came the voice of her comrade, "I've used it to locate the Chaos Emeralds. Meet me at my coordinates to get them."
Sadie cried out a muffled yelp of surprise from behind Abyss's tentacle. She couldn't believe her ears! Dimitri was working with Abyss?! What had he done to her parents?
"Dimitri...you amaze me." Abyss purred, "I initially doubted you but I guess I was wrong to do so. I can see why S.T.I.N.G. let you in."
"I assume that's meant to be a compliment, though I don't see it as such..." Dimitri muttered.
"Whatever, just stay where you are so we can get those emeralds." Abyss ordered, "We'll come to you right away."
She shut off and called out to her crew.
"Mateys! Take whatever prisoners you can and return to the ship! We're leaving!" she barked.
The crew members began gathering up unconscious echidnas, all the while evading fire from the remaining tribe members. A few hurried over to Breakdown, who was still too weak to move due to his double dose of bullets. They grabbed him and tried to haul him away, but he was too heavy.
"Come on!" yelled another jellyfish crew member named Opal, "Move yourself, you big oaf!"
Breakdown growled in resentment, but he still couldn't move very far and the other echidnas were closing in fast. Opal tried to jolt him with her tentacles, but it did very little.
"We have no choice!" yelled Striker, a mantis shrimp, "We have to go! We'll come back for him later!"
With that, he, Opal and the others made a break for it after the others. The tribe continued to fire at them, but within moments, they had disappeared into the jungle.
"We have to follow them!" Julie-Su said, "They've taken the Guardians' daughter and several of our tribesmen!"
"Agreed." Remington said, "But we also need to find out where the Guardians themselves are. And we need to secure Breakdown. He could be an asset to us."
"They went looking for some artefact called the "Chaos Gauntlet"." Julie-Su murmured, "They could be anywhere looking for that. You go look for them Remington, I'm sure you'll find them."
"Copy that, Julie." Remington said, with a firm nod, "I'll radio as I find them. Any idea which way they went?"
Julie-Su pointed in the direction she remembered Knuckles, Shade, Dimitri and Relic had gone earlier. Without another word, Remington hurried off into the jungles. Julie-Su turned to the fallen Breakdown.
"Get something to hold him." she said, "And take him to the lab; we could download info from his brain, since he can't talk."
"Yes ma'am." said one of the echidnas that hadn't been captured by the pirates.
He and several others gathered around the roboticized barracuda and carried him away, straining to do so for he was quite heavy. Julie-Su decided to help out just to provide another pair of hands to help carry Breakdown away. Abyss thought she was so superior by capturing several tribesmen and Sadie herself, but she'd neglected to make sure they didn't have a prisoner too! Julie could already see this being the squid's downfall for whatever Breakdown had in his head was surely going to be useful. They would rescue those captured echidnas in no time at all...
Abyss has Sadie and Dimitri's got the Chaos Gauntlet! Looks like things are going badly, but is it over for our heroes? Not by a long shot. They'll spring back from this and fight back! But will they succeed? Tune in next time as we journey to the Isle of Abyss...