Chapter 9: Avenged!
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At eight o'clock Friday morning, a large group of people crowded into the front room of the lab as
Slasher picked up the results on the hypodermic. Howe was there, along with Knuckles and
Zephyer, and the Chaotix. Ralph hovered on the sidelines, afraid to stand near Slasher.
The raptor received a white envelope, opened it and pulled out the paper inside. There was a
moment of tense silence as she skimmed over it. She bared her teeth. "This is it. Listen. 'Contents of
vial: blood type O, anteater. Secondary substance: aggressive central nervous system mutagen,
nanotech-based.'"
A collective breath was drawn, and Slasher looked up. "Well Ms. Howe, does this give you
something to go on?"
"Yes," said the ferret, her eyes tinted with bloodlust. "Give me those results. I'm going to call social
services and the police."
"And I'm going to pick up Talon from school," said Knuckles. "If he's been chewed up as bad as
Slasher says, we can sue them for negligence and abuse."
Howe grinned at him. "I love lawsuits."
Knuckles gave Zephyer a quick hug, and saw his own smouldering rage reflected in her eyes. It was
Friday, and the game had begun.
Knuckles took a bus and arrived at Happy Mobian Academy at 11 AM. The grounds were quiet as
he walked up the steps and entered the administrative building. He entered the principal's office
without knocking, and found a fat panda reclining behind his desk. He gave Knuckles a withering
look. "Can I help you?"
"I need to pick up a student," said Knuckles. "Could you tell me what class he's in?"
The panda stared at him insolently. "Are you a parent? There's no echidnas enrolled here."
"I've come to pick up Konya Mori," said Knuckles through his teeth. "An anteater."
"Sorry," said the principal. "I can't help you."
Knuckles barrelled out of the office, slamming the door behind him. He walked down the hall, but
there were no classrooms. He arrived at the door at the end of the hall and looked out the window.
He could see kids running all over the place. Was it recess? He opened the door and stepped outside.
Three adult civet cats with 'instructor' on their vests were standing at an intersection of five paths,
smoking and talking. They fell silent as Knuckles approached. "Hey, I'm looking for an anteater
named Konya Mori."
Two of the cats looked at the third, who jerked his head at a path marked 'Mountain'. "He's in
Mountain. But I don't advise you to go out there."
"Why not?"
"Class is in session. Your presence will be distracting."
Knuckles looked in disbelief at the paths marked with different environments. "This is a classroom?"
He started down the trail, but one of the cats caught his arm. "Mister, you don't want to go out there.
Wait until class ends--it's over at noon."
Knuckles was suspicious. "Why? What goes on?" He wrenched away from the cat and jogged down
the trail, ignoring the cries of the teachers for him to come back.
Everywhere were young Mobians, all with different-colored armbands. Knuckles saw them roaming
in packs with frightened expressions. What kind of demented place was this? And why didn't Talon
complain? In growing horror and anger, Knuckles jogged faster.
Where the path opened out into the rocky Mountain environment, Knuckles met a badger who was
standing guard. He stared at Knuckles. "You're not on staff. What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick up a student." Knuckles looked the badger up and down--Knuckles could whip him
in a fight if he had to.
"Parents aren't allowed inside the environments," said the badger. "You'll have to wait."
"Who's gonna stop me?" said Knuckles, walking past the badger and into the rocks. The badger
didn't follow him, but pulled a two-way radio out of his back pocket and began speaking into it.
Knuckles didn't care. He jogged among the boulders, calling, "Talon! Where are you, Talon?" He
looked up at the mock mountain scornfully--he had boulders at home bigger than that--and yelled,
"Talon! Come here already!"
He heard footsteps and turned to see Talon running toward him, eyes wild with fear. "Knuckles!" he
gasped. "Get me out of here, the wolves are hunting me!"
Knuckles saw a pair of clawmarks had torn across Talon's face, ripping his left eyelid, and blood
was running down his face and shoulder. Talon reached up to wipe his eye, and revealed a hideous
bite on the inside of his arm.
"I think I'll wait for these wolves," said Knuckles through his teeth. "Get up on that rock." Talon
obeyed, shaking and gasping for breath.
They heard shouts and running feet. In a moment the three wolves who had tormented Talon all
week dashed in among the rocks, their tongues hanging out, following Talon's trail. they skidded to
a halt when they saw Knuckles. "Look, a parent!" gasped one of the sidekicks.
The leader looked at Knuckles, his yellow eyes glinting. "We can take him," he said to his
companions. "We beat teachers--and we need to show this guy why parents aren't allowed into
class."
Knuckles raised his fists. "I'm sorry to hear that, boys."
The pack sprang at Knuckles, and Knuckles ducked forward and landed a punch to the lead wolf's
snout. As the wolf yelped and staggered backwards, Knuckles twisted around, knocked one of them
sprawling with a left hook and the other with the follow-up right hook. When one of them jumped
up and sprang at him with jaws open, Knuckles knocked him ten feet with an uppercut perfected by
splitting stone.
He turned as the leader wolf recovered and charged at him, intending to overwhelm Knuckles by
sheer weight. Knuckles sidestepped and kicked the wolf's feet out from under him. Growling, he
jumped to his feet and ran at Knuckles again. Again Knuckles danced sideways and hit the wolf with
two lightning punches as he went by. "This school hasn't taught you much about fighting," said
Knuckles as the wolf landed on all fours. "Just how to be a bully. Let me tell you something--I'm
going to bring a lawsuit against this place, and you'll have to see how you do in a real school."
The wolf glared up at him. "I'm gonna kill you."
Knuckles motioned to Talon. "Try it. I'll make you match every mark on him."
The wolf looked at Talon, backed away, then turned and ran. The other wolves followed him, and
Knuckles and Talon were alone.
Knuckles helped Talon off the rock. "Let's get you cleaned up."
"What are you doing here, sir?" asked Talon, wiping blood out of his eye.
"Test results came back," said Knuckles. "Mori tried to inject you with some kind of mutagen to
mess up your brain. Howe was ecstatic. You're not going back to Mori's if I can help it."
Talon smiled in relief. "I'm really glad, sir." He shrank close to Knuckles as they passed the badger,
who glared at them, but said nothing.
They walked up the path toward the school buildings, Talon limping and wiping his eye over and
over. The sight of him sent Knuckles into a towering fury at this school and these people. "Do you
actually learn anything here?" he asked.
"Yes sir," said Talon. "How to run fast and avoid big kids. And what makes good hiding places."
Knuckles made an angry sound in his throat. "Survival of the fittest. Whoever invented this school
was sick. Why didn't you say anything to us?"
Talon gave him a sad look. "What could you do, sir?"
"Well, I'm doing something now. Hey, check out the Gestapo."
Awaiting them at the doors were the three instructors, the principal, and two six-foot gorillas with
clubs.
"Who are they?" gasped Talon. "I've never seen them before!"
"Let me handle this," said Knuckles. "Fly out front, hide and wait for me. I won't be long."
Talon nodded, activated his shoes and fled. The group stared after him with their mouths open, then
eyed Knuckles. He read their superstitious fear and thought of the Blackguard Quadrangle with an
inner grin. Maybe he wouldn't have to fight them.
"I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to leave," said the fat panda. "You have to sign a nondisclosure
agreement first."
"Can't have me talking, eh?" said Knuckles, watching the gorillas. They could do him some damage
if they landed a blow. "What if I don't want to sign anything?"
"Then I can't be answerable for the consequences," said the panda, and the gorillas beat their clubs
into the palms of their hands.
Knuckles looked at the sky. "Do you feel that?" When nobody answered, Knuckles held up both
arms and said in a flat voice, "The Quadrangle, it calls to me. The power ... I feel the power!" He
checked their faces--their uneasiness was growing.
He lowered his arms, cupped his hands together and began to chant in Old Mobian. The civets and
panda took a few steps backward, and the gorillas stopped brandishing their clubs. Only scholars
knew Old Mobian any more, and to hear it fluently from this echidna, who was obviously not a
scholar, did not bode well.
In Old Mobian Knuckles was saying, "You nitwits have abused enough kids and I'm gonna get
Howe to sue your butts into the next millennium! I feel the power, all right! You're lucky I left my
shovelclaws at home or I'd do more than pound you, I'd slash your faces until you look worse than
Talon!"
The civet cats turned and ran. Knuckles began walking forward, moving his hands in a circle as if he
held invisible energy between them. The panda backed away, and so did the gorillas. As the panda
laid his hand on the door, Knuckles switched back to New Mobian and roared, "The power within
me, the power that is ME!" He sprang forward, and the panda and gorillas fell over themselves
getting through the door and locking it behind them.
Knuckles jogged for the perimeter fence, laughing. Acting the part of a sorcerer was fun when the
audience believed every word. He climbed over the wall, dropped to the other side and strode across
the street, looking for Talon. The anteater peered down from a roof, then descended to the sidewalk.
"What happened, sir?"
"Nothing," said Knuckles. "I let them know who they were dealing with, and they decided to let me
go. We'd better get you cleaned up before Zephyer sees you. She'll have a stroke."
* * *
Knuckles took Talon to a first-aid station in a hospital, and spent half an hour washing the blood out
of Talon's fur, and bandaging his cuts. Talon's wounds of the previous week had been washed but
not bandaged, and Knuckles cared for them as well. Then he gave Talon two aspirins, and while
Talon was taking them, Knuckles stepped outside of the room and called Zephyer.
"Is he okay?" she asked at once.
"Yeah," said Knuckles. "You won't believe this school--they train kids to act like animals. Talon got
a little scratched, but I've patched him up and he's better now. I think he should lie down for a while.
Is it still illegal to take him home?"
"Yeah." Zephyer sounded disgusted. "Just a second." There was a moment's pause, then she said,
"Howe says that Talon can take a nap on the couch in her office. She's going down to child
protective services."
"Anything happen since I've been gone?"
"Yeah, CPS went to Mori's. He was really evasive and wouldn't let them in the house. Howe means
to have him in court by tomorrow."
"Great." Knuckles grinned. "Any word on the barn?"
"No, that's next." Zephyer lowered her voice. "They need Slasher to identify the monster for them. I
think it's a bad idea, but she's the only witness."
"It's a really bad idea," said Knuckles. "Maybe if I went with her ..."
"Knuckles, don't you dare."
"I'm the only person who can snap her out of her trance," said Knuckles.
"Then let me come with you. We'll wear our armor and everything."
"It's not necessary--"
"The monster is probably more dangerous than Chaos! Like duh we'll need weapons!"
"Fine, you bring weapons, and if we need them, I'll ask."
"Good. I'll meet you at Howe's."
"See you there." Knuckles turned to find Talon standing in the doorway, listening.
"Will they kill the monster?" he asked.
Knuckles shrugged. "If it's dangerous, they will."
"I saw pictures of it in Uncle Pendel's notebooks," said Talon. "He called it a manticore."
"A manticore? That's a mythical creature, isn't it?" said Knuckles, trying in vain to remember
anything about the name.
Talon nodded. "I think so."
"Well, Howe said you could hang out in her office if you'd like to rest. Come on."
They hopped a bus back to the other end of Marshill, and met Zephyer and the Chaotix in the front
room of the lawyer firm. They escorted Talon to Howe's office, gave him instructions to lie down for
half an hour, then returned to the front room.
Zephyer and the Chaotix were furious about the amount of bandages Talon was wearing, and
Knuckles gave them an account of Happy Mobian Academy in a low voice. By the time he was
done, his audience was ready to march off and firebomb the school.
Vector jumped up. "I know what I'm going to do. I'm going down to the police station and help them
raid Mori's house."
Mighty, Espio and Charmy rose, too. "Count us in!" They stormed out of the office, and from the
look on Zephyer's face, she had more than half a mind to follow them.
Knuckles and Zephyer sat in the office for half an hour, and precisely thirty minutes later Talon
emerged. "I feel better," he told them. "Could I go out to the Floating Island for a few minutes?
Please?"
Knuckles and Zephyer exchanged a glance. "He could help me collect the armor and stuff," said
Zephyer.
"All right," said Knuckles. "But just for a few minutes. Bring a portable teleporter with you, and I'll
meet you at Mori's."
* * *
Talon was quiet as he and Zephyer walked up the path from the receiver plate to the house on the
Floating Island. As they reached the house, Talon said, "I wish I didn't have to leave."
"If all goes well, you won't have to," said Zephyer, retrieving the armor from a crate in her room.
She put it on, much to Talon's amusement, and handed him Knuckles's sword and shield. Talon
examined the green blade. "Does Knuckles still go crazy when he uses this?"
"He says it's not so bad anymore," said Zephyer, fastening her own sword to her belt. "He thinks it's
because he's older."
Talon shrugged. "Or because he's married."
Zephyer gave him a sharp look, but Talon was examining the gems in the sword's hilt.
Zephyer put on the helmet and led the way back out of the house. Talon trailed behind, reluctant to
leave. "I hope I can come back, Zephyer."
"You will, Talon, you will!" Zephyer waited for him and put an arm around his shoulders. "We're so
close now! There's this little bit left to do, and you'll be placed in our custody."
Talon nodded. "I'm afraid something else will go wrong. Everything else has."
"Expect it and you won't be surprised," said Zephyer, the helmet adding a vicious element to her
words. "Nobody will blame you if you run for it and somehow wind up here." They reached the
receiver plate. Zephyer picked up a portable teleporter from the stack there, and they beamed out.
* * *
"Pendel Mori," said the police dog, "we have reason to believe you are harboring an illegal mutant
on your property."
The anteater blinked at the two officers in surprise. "An illegal mutant? Whatever gave you that
idea?"
The police dog held up a copy of Ralph's photo. "We received this, and have the testimony of an
eyewitness. We have to investigate."
"This is the doing of those echidnas, isn't it?" growled Mori, craning his neck to see into the yard.
"It's not my place to say," said the officer. "We must identify the creature in this photo and determine
if it's a threat to Blackguard."
Mori gazed at them, and a crooked smile spread across his face. "Yes. Come with me, please."
There were police and animal control personnel all over the front yard, and everyone carried
weapons, lethal and non-lethal. If the thing wasn't dangerous, they would capture it. If it was, they
would kill it.
Knuckles, Zephyer, Talon, Slasher and the Chaotix were standing at a distance, out of Mori's range
of vision. As he led the way into the backyard, they followed him with an escort of policemen.
Zephyer was in full armor, but Knuckles would only carry his sword, and that only to stop Zephyer
from nagging him.
Slasher was twitchy and jumpy, breathing in rapid snorts. "I'm going to crack," she whispered.
"They should muzzle me, I'm going to crack and do something I'll regret."
"No you won't," hissed Knuckles. "It's broad daylight and it'll be on a leash or something."
"It was on a leash before," Slasher whispered, adjusting her wings. "And it still wanted to eat me!"
She whimpered in her throat, and the group stared at her. This display of terror was unlike the
Slasher they knew.
The police took up stations in the trees around the barn's clearing, everyone making faces at the reek
of carrion. Talon hung back and stood behind a tree, and Knuckles and Zephyer walked on ahead
beside Slasher and three cops. Zephyer nudged Knuckles and thrust the golden shield at him.
Knuckles shook his head, but took the shield and fit his arm through the straps. "I'm going to laugh
at you for this later."
"Go right head," said Zephyer.
Mori removed a key from his pocket and began unlocking the barn door. Slasher half-crouched,
nostrils dilated, eyes wide. She knew what would step through that door. A hush fell over the
clearing.
Mori slid back the final latch and grinned at the assembled crowd. "This creature is not a mutant. He
is a continuation of a research project I participated in fifty years ago." He swung the door open, and
the stench rushed out like a cloud of poison. He stepped out of sight for a second, and they heard the
tapping of claws ... then Mori returned, leading the manticore.
Slasher's scream was echoed by every throat in the place. The beast was twelve feet tall at the
shoulder and twenty feet long. It marched out of the barn into daylight, its multiple eyes unblinking
as it looked at all of them at once. It had a head like a lion, complete with shaggy mane, and its body
had perhaps once been a lion's. But each leg was now a creaking segmented spike with a clawed
insect foot. Sprouting from its sides were six hairy spider legs, curled under its belly for now. Along
its back were folded a pair of wings, and it had a scorpion tail curled over its back with the stinger a
translucent yellow in the sunlight.
Every gun was instantly trained on the monstrosity. Slasher barely restrained herself, and now
crouched low, trembling and staring, growling deep in her throat. Knuckles and Zephyer found they
had drawn their swords. The manticore watched them all, and they saw it was wearing a bridle with
a bit in its mouth, the attached rope in Mori's hand. That explained the beast's obedience. It stood
stock-still as Mori addressed his audience.
"On the space colony ARK, a collection of scientists began a quest for the ultimate lifeform. One
that could survive in all environments, eat anything, drink anything, breathe anything. Our project
was the biolizard, a creature that could live in any aquatic environment. It would have lived had not
the military shut us down."
He glared at them, as if this was their fault.
"When the project was discontinued, I returned here and continued the project in secret. What you
see here is the land version of the Shadow project: a creature that is invincible on land."
"All of this can and will be used against you," said one officer, recovering his wits.
"Let them try," said Mori, suddenly breaking into hysterical laughter. "There are places where my
work is not illegal--and I shall move to one of them!" He swarmed up the manticore's mane and sat
astride its shoulders, still holding the lead rope. He held something above his head in one hand. "See
this, echidnas? This is a sample of Konya's blood. One day I will feed it to the manticore, and it will
hunt him across the world until it finds him and devours him. Think about that next time you try to
adopt outside your species!"
He kicked the manticore's sides, and it opened its wings suddenly, making everyone duck. Then the
beast leaped straight up, cleared the trees, and flew away into the sky.
They fired after it, but they either missed or their bullets had no effect. The group ran out into the
open, staring after that hideous winged shape in the sky. It was headed due north, away from the
Quadrangle and the islands.
"Slasher, go after it!" Knuckles yelled, pointing.
She gave him a wild look. "Are you insane? I'm not going anywhere near it! It's another of those
stinking ultimate lifeforms!"
As they watched, the dwindling speck in the sky wheeled around. It dropped and grew larger, flying
back toward Blackguard. "What happened?" muttered Zephyer, squinting.
"Maybe he forgot something," said Knuckles.
The speck grew larger and larger, and now they saw something was dangling from it--the lead rope?
The beast glided down toward them, its legs dangling like a wasp's, and screams broke out among
the onlookers. A few fired at it, but someone yelled, "Don't shoot! It's got Mori!"
As it passed over the yard it dropped something that landed with a thud on the grass. Several
policemen ran to it, and Knuckles did, too. It was Mori, and his left arm had been chewed off at the
shoulder. He was unconscious, and as one of the men pulled off his belt to apply a tourniquet, the
manticore flew by again.
Everywhere people threw themselves flat, but Zephyer watched it and yelled, "Come down and fight,
creep!"
It circled around and landed on the roof of the house, folded its wings and crouched there, its
scorpion tail arched.
"Zeff!" Knuckles appeared at her side. "That vial of blood is gone! Where's Talon?"
"I don't know!" She looked around wildly. "Talon!"
He darted out of the trees and ran to them, unable to keep his eyes off the manticore on the roof.
"Sir, what do we do? It tore his arm off! And--and look at it!"
They looked at the monster and saw its jaws were chewing. "I think I'm gonna be sick," said
Zephyer.
Suddenly the manticore leaped off the roof, landed on the lawn and sprang toward them over the
heads of the police. "Talon, get down!" Knuckles yelled, and held up his shield as the stinger slashed
down. It glanced off the shield, and at the same time the forelegs pawed and kicked at the echidnas.
Knuckles blocked the blows, then slashed at the nearest leg with the Emerald Sword.
Razor-sharp crystal met rock-hard exoskeleton and sheared it almost in two. At the same time
Zephyer swung at the other leg. Her blow was not as powerful, but her blade bit deep into the other
foreleg. The manticore made a growling, snarling sound, and its jaws and mandibles gnashed
together. It sprang over them on its long legs and pivoted about, trying to reach Talon. "Oh no you
don't!" Knuckles yelled, leaping and swinging at its chest. He fell short, but the manticore dodged
backwards.
Now the police and animal control people were firing tranquilizer darts at the beast, but it ignored
them. Knuckles kept after it, hoping for another swipe at its injured forelegs. Behind him, Zephyer
grabbed Talon and dragged him behind a line of police, who had formed up in front of Mori in case
the monster decided to finish its meal.
As they stood there panting, Mori's eyes opened and he looked at Zephyer and Talon. "Hello," he
whispered, smiling. "It's going to eat you, Konya."
"What?" snarled Zephyer. "Shut up, you sicko!"
"Really," said Mori to Talon. "It ate the vial along with my arm and the bridle. Manticores are
known for their appetites. Once it has tasted you, it won't rest until it has eaten you. It may also
come after me, but I don't mind. It will eventually taste the echidnas, and eat them as well."
Zephyer looked at Talon, then at the manticore. "Knuckles!" she yelled.
He retreated from battle, and his spot was taken up by four animal control people with cattleprods.
"What?" he panted.
Zephyer relayed what Mori had said, keeping a hand on Talon's arm. Knuckles looked at Talon,
then the manticore. "Right. Round up the Chaotix and get everybody to the Floating Island. Go to
Hidden Palace. There's defences there."
Zephyer thought of the weapons cache and nodded. "What about you?"
"I'll come soon," he said. "If we can't neutralize it with conventional weapons, then--"
The manticore roared, a lion's roar with hissing and clicking in it. Knuckles waved at Zephyer.
"Go!"
Zephyer pulled off her helmet and thrust it at Knuckles. "Here!" Then she grabbed Talon and darted
away to find the Chaotix.
The Chaotix were up by the house where they had been helping raid Mori's basement, but were now
watching everything in fascinated horror. Zephyer relayed Knuckles's instructions and shepherded
them all out to the portable teleporter. They warped to the Floating Island, and from there to Hidden
Palace, where they set about barricading the entry passages.
* * *
Knuckles clamped the helmet on his head and watched the others battle the manticore. They were
firing everything they had at it--bullets lasers, stun guns, and nothing worked. Bullets bounced off,
and lasers left scorch marks but couldn't penetrate the hide. The only thing the manticore disliked
were the cattle prods, and when it sprang after Zephyer and Talon, it was the cattle prods that beat it
back.
No sooner had they teleported than the manticore leaped into the sky and flew in a circle, its
mandibles clicking as it sniffed. Then it turned and flew northwest, toward the Floating Island.
"No!" Knuckles yelled.
He sprinted down to where the teleporter was, only to see it beam itself out in a flash of light. "No!"
Knuckles roared, watching the manticore fly.
He heard running footsteps and turned to see Slasher as she jogged to a halt. "Climb on," she panted.
"We'll race him."
Knuckles had no qualms about riding Slasher this time. He leaped onto her back, and she launched
herself into the sky. He could feel her trembling as he clung to her, and her powerful wings surged
beneath him. He glanced out at her wings and saw the feathers were only half grown. That had to
slow her down.
He turned on his communicator. "Zephyer!"
Her reply came in a burst of static. "Knuckles? What's happening?"
"It's flying to the island. I'm pursuing it on Slasher."
Zephyer exclaimed in a staticy buzz. "We're in Hidden Palace. Can it get down here?"
"It must have a supernatural sense of smell. Get everybody under cover." Knuckles paused, then
said, "Zephyer, move the island into the middle of the Quadrangle and secure the stationary hover
command."
"Okay Knuckles." The good thing about Zephyer was that she was dependable when the chips were
down. He watched as his island began to move in the distance. "Slasher, fly west!" he called against
the wind in his face.
"Right." The raptor turned and flew toward the sinking sun. The manticore was flying toward the
island by sight alone, and would follow a curved path that was longer than it expected.
"Well, I've meant to fly into the Quadrangle this whole visit," called Slasher over her shoulder.
"What are you putting the island in it for?"
"A theory," said Knuckles. "Sonic and Shadow beat the biolizard by going super, right? Zephyer
can't go super! So I'm boosting our chances."
"I don't follow your logic," said Slasher, "but I'll help you fight it."
Onward they flew as the Floating Island moved to intercept the sun ahead of them. The manticore
was far to their left now, and Knuckles hoped it was tiring. Living in a barn all its life couldn't have
toughened its muscles.
They reached the island and flew over it, watching to see where the manticore would land. It headed
for Sandopolis, and Knuckles had a sudden superstitious fear that it knew there was an entrance to
Lava Reef there. But how could it know?
He and Slasher pursued it, saw it land near the ruins, and dropped to the sand, themselves. The
manticore folded its wings and stood still, its body pulsing as it panted. It was facing away from
them, but the eyes in the back of its head could see them. Beside him, Slasher tensed.
"Distract it," he whispered, drawing his sword.
But before either of them could move, the manticore sprang away across the sand, leaping walls and
pillars, toward the pyramid. Slasher and Knuckles looked at each other and sprinted after it.
The manticore's legs were so long that it outdistanced them and was inside the pyramid by the time
they reached it. Knuckles cursed and dove into the entrance, Slasher following him. "Where's the
Lava Reef entrance?" she asked him.
"It's a ventilation shaft," said Knuckles. "It's on a lower level. Come on!"
He led Slasher down narrow stairs and sloping shafts, wading through soft sand and pelting through
wide halls, lit by the glow from Knuckles's sword. He knew all the shortcuts through the upper levels
of the pyramid, and made use of them. The manticore had only its sense of smell.
Knuckles and Slasher arrived in the wide hallway with a ten foot wide ventilation shaft in the stone
floor, and paused for a moment to catch their breaths and listen for the manticore. "It hasn't been
here," said Slasher, inhaling. "We beat it."
"Not for long," said Knuckles, hearing the tapping of its legs as it galloped up the passage toward
them.
"Get back," said Slasher, stepping into the middle of the passage. As the manticore rounded the last
corner and its mismatched body filled the corridor, Slasher sprang at it with an attack roar. At the
same time Knuckles ran forward and swung the Emerald Sword with all his strength, the blade
shearing off the spiky insect leg at the knee. The leg curled up, but there was no blood.
The manticore knocked Slasher aside with a sweep of its head, then pounced on Knuckles, jaws
slavering and insect-eyes unblinking. It knocked him down with a hooked forefoot and bit at him,
but Knuckles protected himself with his shield. Its breath was hot and reeked of carrion.
But it didn't want him. As soon as he was down, it stepped over him, pulled in its limbs and crawled
down the ventilation shaft. "Slasher!" Knuckles yelled.
She picked herself up, panting, and ran to the shaft. "It's already gone," she announced. "I can't get
down there."
"Just jump in," said Knuckles. "It turns into a slide."
Slasher gave him a dark look, but there was no time to lose. She turned around backwards and slid
into the shaft. After a moment Knuckles followed her.
The shaft was long and dark, leading straight down to Lava Reef and filled with a hot roaring
updraft. The stink of the manticore filled the shaft, and its venom and saliva had dripped onto the
stone. Knuckles cursed it and hoped Hidden Palace was blocked off. He mentally ran through all the
weapons in the stockpile, and knew that none of them were stronger than what the police had used.
He reached the bottom and found Slasher already bounding down the passage, snarling to herself.
He ran after her and the manticore.
Slasher caught up with the monster first, and Knuckles arrived just in time to see her leap up its side,
grab the base of its wing in her jaws and bite down. The bone cracked and the manticore wailed and
turned, trying to bite her or sting her with its tail. Knuckles ran up and sliced off its other foreleg.
That leg curled up, and the manticore fell to its knees, snarling.
Slasher was hanging from the underside of the monster's bat wing, and she began to claw at the
leathery membrane with her sickle-claws, shredding it like silk. The lethal tail struck at her over and
over again, but it only stung its own wing and back.
The spider-legs that were curled under the manticore's belly unfolded and planted their feet on the
ground. The manticore stood up on them, curling its two remaining lion-feet under its body. It was
not as tall, now, but creepier with its leg-joints high above its back. One of these new legs reached
up and brushed Slasher off its wing.
She hit the ground, bounced to her feet and bit the offending leg. Her powerful jaws crunched it in
half, and black blood oozed out and spattered the cave floor. Knuckles saw that the foot was missing
from a leg on the other side, and suddenly knew what had happened the night Slasher appeared on
his porch, half-mad and bloody.
She gagged and retreated, shaking her head and spitting out the foul blood. She began coughing and
ran into a neighboring tunnel, and the manticore ran on, ignoring its wounds.
Knuckles chased it through the tunnels and caverns, shocked at how it was choosing the most direct
route to Hidden Palace. He turned on his communicator. "Zephyer! It's in Lava Reef and it's coming
straight for you!"
"We have the entries blocked," she replied, "but you're going to have to kill it out there. I'm not
letting it near Talon."
"It's so fast! I may not be able to stop it. Slasher's run off, and Zeff--"
His communicator clicked as she disconnected. "Zephyer!" he exclaimed. She had hung up on him!
He furiously tried to reconnect, but there was no reply. He continued running, ducking into low
passages and swerving around crystal clusters, feeling the heat of Lava Reef growing. The Hidden
Palace entrance was in the main cavern where the lava pools were, and the manticore was headed
straight for it.
"Knuckles!"
He looked back and saw Zephyer running toward him through a side passage. "What are you doing
here?" he snarled as she ran after him and the manticore.
"I'm not going to let you fight this thing alone!"
"What about Hidden Palace?"
"I've done all I can there. I got out by teleporter. Is that stuff on the floor blood?"
"Yeah, Slasher bit a leg and it's bleeding this black stuff. Are you sure it can't get in to Hidden
Palace?"
"I don't know!" she wailed. "I used the barricades and the Chaotix are in there, and I pulled some
crystals to help! Knux, don't let it bite you! It'll eat you alive!"
"Yeah, I heard."
The two ran for another mile and were gasping for breath when they arrived in the vast cavern in the
middle of Lava Reef. The manticore was already on the other side and pacing back and forth, back
and forth at the Hidden Palace entrance.
"Can it get in?" gasped Knuckles as they slowed to a walk.
"I grew crystals over it," panted Zephyer. "It can probably smash them if it figures out how, I didn't
have time to force-grow the big ones."
Knuckles stared at her, but there was no time to marvel. The manticore's movements were becoming
faster and more excited, as if it could smell its prey beyond the blocked entrance. The echidnas
hurried toward it, swords drawn.
As they approached, the manticore spun to face them, stumped and angry. It sprang at Knuckles,
who blocked its blow with his shield. Its mandibles closed on his shield and yanked him into the air,
nearly dislocating his shoulder. It tossed its head and threw him across the cave. He landed in a roll
and struck the wall so hard it stunned him. He lay there a few minutes, unable to breathe or think,
watching as Zephyer swung her sword at its face, trying to reach its eyes.
Knuckles's lungs began working again, and he struggled to his feet. He was going to be sore in the
morning.
"Zephyer, get away from it!" he croaked, hurrying forward. She didn't hear him, and one of
her wild swings pierced one of the multifaceted eyes.
The manticore screamed and leaped backwards twenty feet, kicking up gravel from the cave floor
with its flailing legs. Black blood ran down its face.
"Score!" Zephyer yelled, holding her sword in the air. As Knuckles hurried to her, she held out a
hand to show him she was carrying a miniature of the Master Emerald. He took it from her and put
it in his shield hand.
"What do you expect the Master Emerald to do?" he asked her.
"I don't know," she said. "You're the one who wanted to fly into the Blackguard Quadrangle."
Knuckles's scattered wits returned, and he looked at the emerald in his hand. "Right." He clenched
his fist over it and said, "Master Emerald, island protection initiate."
The Emerald Sword lit like a floodlight, Zephyer's sword blazed gold, and power rippled over her
armor and Knuckles's helmet.
"Isn't this the command you were afraid to use?" asked Zephyer.
"It's worth a try," said Knuckles. "Let's dice up that bug." They charged at the manticore.
The beast was waiting for them, jaws open. Knuckles felt a twinge of doubt in the back of his mind,
even as he and Zephyer swung their weapons and a wave of destructive chaos energy blasted off
them like a whirlwind and struck the monster. "Wait!" he commanded, holding back Zephyer from
attacking again. "Dang, I forgot, it's a stinking ultimate lifeform!"
Instead of being killed instantly, the manticore absorbed the chaos energy and used it to heal its
injured legs and eye.
"Oh, fantastic idea, genius!" Zephyer snapped, glaring at him. "You just HEALED it!" A bolt of
electricity jumped between them, and the manticore squealed and retreated.
"Electricity!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Of course! That's why only the cattle prods hurt it?"
"What?" Zephyer looked blank.
"Look, get on the other side of it and think alike!" hollered Knuckles, running toward the manticore.
Zephyer ran to its other side, and they looked at each other through its legs. "The Master Emerald!"
Knuckles shouted.
Five hundred volts snapped between them, knocking them both down. The manticore leaped straight
up in the air and tried to fly, but its broken wing flailed and it landed back on its feet. It ran for the
Hidden Palace entrance, which was covered by a fan of white crystal spikes. It began clawing at
them, chipping some of them loose with its hard insect legs.
"Same thing again!" yelled Knuckles, and they shocked it again. The manticore only redoubled its
efforts, bending to bite the crystal. It tore one loose, chewed and swallowed it as the echidnas
watched in horror. "It's gonna get through!" cried Zephyer. She ran in among the monster's legs and
slashed at the side of its face. At once it turned and grabbed Zephyer around the waist in its
mandibles.
Knuckles ran forward, but the manticore sidestepped and knocked him down with three legs at once.
Before he could rise it stood on him, crushing him against the stone with its entire thousand pounds.
As the breath was forced from his lungs, he looked up and saw that the only thing keeping Zephyer
from being sheared in half by the mandibles was her armor. She was stabbing at its face over and
over, and its jaws were biting at her breastplate, trying to tear it off.
The manticore shook Zephyer viciously, then dashed her against the ground, and suddenly she
wasn't fighting anymore. The sword fell from her limp hand and clattered on the ground. It dropped
her among the broken crystal shards, planted a foot on her stomach and tore off her breastplate with
its mandibles, throwing it aside. Now it would eat her alive.
Hopelessly she looked at Knuckles, the wind knocked out of her. She was going to die in the next
five minutes and there was nothing either of them could do about it.
Knuckles gripped the Master Emerald and tried to throw the monster's foot off his back, but it was
too strong, too heavy. He watched Zephyer as the manticore's jaws came down the final time, and
mouthed, "I love you."
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and the Master Emerald's power blazed between them in a
spectacular lightning bolt that made their swords sing. It arced through the manticore's head in a
blaze of blue light, knocking Zephyer out of its jaws. The manticore did a sideways flip, landed on
its back and lay still.
For a long moment it was silent, the only sound coming from their swords, which were resonating a
high A note in response to the Master Emerald. Knuckles lifted his head, dropped his sword and
shield, and dragged himself the fifteen feet that separated him from Zephyer. Her eyes were closed,
and blood was soaking her shirt where the straps holding the breastplate had broken. "Zeff," he said,
kneeling over her. "Look at me. Please be alive."
"You won't fry me again like that, will you?" she said through her teeth.
"It works both ways, Zeff," he said. "We killed it. Look."
She opened her eyes and looked toward the manticore, which was lying motionless with its head
charred black, and one leg twitching.
She dared look at him again, then sat up with a groan. "Are you all right?"
"Just some bruises," said Knuckles. "You're bleeding."
She looked down. "It's just a scratch." She looked at him and said, "Okay, NOW we know the
monster dangerous combined thought of all."
"Really," said Knuckles. He pulled her to him and kissed her in relief.
They were thus engaged when they heard a snarl, and Slasher jumped on the manticore's exposed
belly and began slashing and clawing it.
"Hey Slasher!" Knuckles yelled. "It's dead already!"
"I'm making sure!" she roared. "Ultimate lifeforms are very tough, you know!" She continued
mutilating the carcass as Knuckles helped Zephyer to her feet. They were both weak and shaky from
the electrical shock. They picked up their discarded weapons and walked through the shattered
entrance toward Hidden Palace, leaving Slasher to maul her enemy, furious that she had not been
there for the final blow.
