THE (SLIGHTLY SUICIDAL BUT DEFINITELY CRAZY) PLAN
"Is everything ready?" Dimitri's voice said. "Yes, my lord. We will take them by complete surprise," A shadow Legionnaire said, bowing to Dimitri's image on the computer screen. "Excellent. First, Station Square, then Echidnapolis. Once we have the Master Emerald, then we will use it to power our devices, and conquer the world," Dimitri said proudly. "Everything goes as planned, my lord. Tomorrow at sunset, the Dark Legion shall rise up," the Legionnaire said. "Good. See to it that this remains a secret. End transmission," said Dimitri as the screen went blank.
A second after Dimitri ended his transmission, a black and gray van crashed through the wall. When the Legionnaires in the room looked up, Morph was on top of the van pointing a gattling gun at them. "Sup, y'all! Listen up! Nobody moves, and I won't have to use ol' Betsy here!" Morph said, his finger on the trigger. DJ walked past the Legionnaires over to the computer. He inserted a cord from his suit and began to type. "Let's see. Copy and download all files...upload this...and we're done! Nice doin' business with you!" DJ said as he flew out through the hole in the wall, the van following him out. "NO! They'll ruin everything! After them!" a Legionnaire yelled as he motioned for others to give chase. He went over to the computer and began to type. "What did he do?" another Legionnaire asked. "I don't know," he replied as he clicked to open a file. All of a sudden, the Ravagers' voices began to sing on the computer, just above a whisper.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves,
Everybody's nerves.
I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves,
AND THIS IS HOW IT GOES!!!
The Legionnaires looked at each other as the voices became louder and began to sing faster and faster every verse. "Turn it off!" one of them yelled. "I can't!" another yelled as he feverishly typed. They were sweating and growling, trying to shut out the song, but it became louder and louder. One Legionnaire lost control and yelled, "THAT'S IT! ENOUGH!" as he picked up a rocket launcher and pointed it at the computer. "NO!" one of them yelled, but it was too late. "DIE! HA, HA, HA, HA!" the Legionnaire yelled as he pulled the trigger.
"Nice job, y'all!" Swiper said as he looked back into the van. They were kind of scrunched in there, but they made the most of it. "Yeah! I can't believe it! We actually did something without something blowing up!" DJ said as he flew next to the driver's seat, took the controller from Cap, and buckled himself in. They all laughed for a second, but paused when they heard a wall explode behind them. Mighty then noticed that they were reaching a fork in the road and yelled, "TURN LEFT! TURN LEFT!" "Right it is!" DJ yelled as he pushed the analog stick on the PS2 controller to the right. "What is that idiot doing?" Grim asked Freezie as he drove his black motorcycle up next to him and Sonic. "Don't know. Let's follow," Freezie said as they also made a right turn. "YOU IDIOT!" Grim yelled as he drove up next to the driver's seat window. "This freeway's still under construction! Why'd you decide to turn right?!?!" he demanded. "I don't know. A voice in my head told me to. Seemed like a good idea at the time," DJ shrugged. "Was it the voice of Satan trying to send us all to Hell?!?!" Grim yelled. "Unfinished freeway!" Mighty yelled. "Calm down! DJ, time for operation airlift," Cap said. "I got ya!" DJ replied as he flew out the door, Cap taking the player two controller to steer. "What's operation airlift?" Sally asked curiously. "Well, it's really quite simple. DJ plants a small explosive at the gap in the overpass, we hit the hydraulics before it blows, then Morph shifts into giant glider wings and we gently float away," Vipes explained. "Oh," Mighty said. There was a moment of silence, until Mighty started screaming, "GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!"
"All set, Boss! Ten seconds!" DJ said as he sat back in the driver's seat. "Why don't you just turn around?!?!" Amy yelled. "Into the Legionnaires in jeeps. Smart," Swiper said as he pointed back. They looked out the back window to see four jeeps chasing them, with Legionnaires firing at them. "Ready for countdown?" DJ said. DJ, Cap, Swiper, Morph, and Vipes all yelled out, "Three, two, one, BOOM!!!" The van bounced up above the bomb as it went off, and Morph changed into a giant set of glider wings. The force of the explosion propelled them across the gap over to the other side, where they landed with a large thud. Freezie, Sonic and Grim all looked at each other and then at the gap. They all screamed as they drew near it, until they began to float over it. "Huh?" Sonic said as he moved his hand back and forth under him to see what was holding him up. "Thanks F.C.!" Freezie yelled. "No prob!" F.C. shouted back. "HA! Grim's pulling an ET!" DJ yelled. "Shut up, stupid!" Grim yelled back. "That's it! Pull over! I'm not takin' this anymore! You're nuts! You're all nuts! You guys can go back to the funny farm with these clowns, but not me! I'm walking home!!!" Mighty yelled. Everyone stared for a minute, until Vipes asked, "Are you quite done?" Mighty took a deep breath and said, "Yeah. I'm good."
"DJ, what was on their hard drive?" Cap asked. DJ didn't answer for a second. He then turned to Cap and said, "Plans...Invasion plans. They're gonna attack Station Square tomorrow night...with an army." "By the walkers," Tails whispered. Cap turned his attention back to the road and said, "Alright. We gotta make a stop...at the President's office." "You know how tough it'll be to get past security?" Vipes questioned. "We'll just have to go through 'em, then," Cap said grimly.
"WHAT!!!" the President yelled. "Well, the Dark Legion is going to invade the city tomorrow night with about three thousand Legionnaires, all armed with tanks backing them up," DJ said. The President slumped back into his seat and said, "You burst in here, knock out my security, and now you're telling me that the city is going to be invaded tomorrow night?!?!" the President yelled. "Well...yeah," Sonic replied.
"I know that we're vigilantes and we're also wanted, but we can help. I've got a plan," DJ said, "G.U.N. is very well equipped, so they could be a big asset. First, you'll need to clear civilians. I'd say the first five blocks going inward on the entire southern side of the city." "WHAT?!?! Evacuate the...that would...!" "Yeah, I know. Now, check this out. We wanna be in the front lines. G.U.N. should be positioned at about, say...the five black limit," DJ said. "Are you insane! A handful of you against an army! Do you have a death wish?!?!" "Nope. We're just stupid," Freezie commented. The President was too shocked to argue, so he tried reasoning instead. "G.U.N has state of the art weaponry! They get funding from the Thorndykes!" DJ snickered, grabbing the Presidents attention. "What is so funny?" "Nothing, nothing!" DJ said. "Anyway, the Thorndykes-" DJ and Freezie both began to snicker. The President sighed and said, "Yes, Thorndyke is a funny name. Get over it." DJ and Freezie broke out into laughter. "HA! He said Thorndyke! HA, HA, HA, HA! Ohhh, man. We're good now."
Sally was in shock. How idiotic were they? "I have to agree with the President! That plan is absolutely suicidal! Why don't we have G.U.N. stationed on the rooftops and give us cover fire???" Sally asked. "Because we're wanted and they might decide to take a free shot when we win. Besides, they'd be better off taking out what we leave 'em," said Morph. "What can a handful of teenagers possibly do to such numbers?!?!" the President demanded. "We know they're coming from Rail Canyon. They'd be very tightly packed in there. We can blow up a trench in the canyon to slow down their assault. That way, they won't be able to get any tanks over. Freezie can use his speed to snag all the guns in the front lines, giving us the chance to dig in," Cap said.
"You're talking suicide!" Sally yelled. "Listen, I know that DJ is a moron, but his idiotic plans have always pulled through for us, so I'm in," Grim said. "What?!?! Cap, you're sensible. Are you really..." Sally said. Cap nodded his head and said. "Yep. I'm in." Sally sighed in frustration and said, "Fine! Go and get yourselves killed, but I won't let my people get involved with such idiocy! When the Legion wins, it'll be all your fault! I hope your city burns!" "Not before you do, squirrel girl!" Grim growled, his fist ignited in flame. "Hey, back off!" Sonic yelled, standing between him and Sally. "You wanna mess, hedgehog?!?!" Freezie yelled. "Like you could do anything!" Mighty shouted. "Oh, so you're done puking in the back seat and ready to be a man? 'BOUT TIME!" Cap yelled.
In a matter of seconds, everyone in the room seemed to be arguing. "You are the dumbest smart, rich person I've ever met!" Sally yelled. "Oh yeah? Well you're the squirreliest smart girl I've ever met! So ha!" DJ said. "What???" Sally asked. "OH! You can't even make a come back! You just got served!" DJ boasted. "You think you're strong?!?! Well I think I'm stronger!" Mighty yelled at Cap. "Well prove it! Let's arm wrestle right now!!!" Cap yelled. Mighty and Cap pushed some papers off of the President's desk as they began to arm wrestle. The President just watched with shock on his face as the two wrestled. "You think you're fast! I can take that mask off your face before you knew it!" Sonic boasted to Freezie. "Oh yeah, well I could do the same with your mask!" Freezie yelled back. "I'm not wearing a mask, idiot!" Sonic yelled. "Oh, you mean that's your face? HA! Shut down!" "You're a freakin' pyro!" Espio yelled. "There's nothing wrong with that!" Grim shouted. "There are plenty of things wrong with that!" Vector yelled, backing up Espio. "Your van is a hunk of junk!" Rotor shouted. "Well why don't you take Jared's advice and go on a Subway diet!" F.C. yelled. "Don't make fun of Rotor!" Antoine yelled with his French accent. "Learn some freakin' English!" Swiper yelled. "Hey, don't you be insultin' my T'wan!" Bunnie yelled, defending her boyfriend. "Oh, where'd you pick up that accent? Down south or at KFC?!?!" Vipes yelled. The senseless bickering continued until Knuckles, at the top of his lungs, yelled, "CUT THE CRAP, NOW!!!" Everyone turned to him, then to each other. They all stood up, looking at the ground. "You know...I wasn't lying when I said you were the smartest...squirrelly...smart...squirrel...girl...yeah," DJ mumbled to Sally.
Knuckles wasn't done yet, and continued to yell. "Listen up! I don't care what you guys do, but I'm sticking with the Ravagers on this one! They aren't cowards! They aren't afraid to fight and die for what they care about!" "And who might you be?" the President asked. "I am Knuckles the Echidna, the one responsible for the destruction in your city last week," Knuckles said. The President's gaze was a mix of fear and surprise. "I don't blame you to be afraid of me, but I won't let Dimitri conquer Station Square. I'll fight 'til I've lost every ounce of blood in my body. I want to get him for what he did to me, and if I have to use their plan, I will," Knuckles said. There was silence for a moment as everyone absorbed what Knuckles had said. Mighty sighed, walked over to Knuckles and said, "Knux, you and I are best friends...but I couldn't call myself your best friend unless I was willing to back you up no matter what. I'll probably regret this later on, but I'm in." Sally looked at Mighty with disbelief. "Wherever Mighty leads, I'll follow," Vector said. "M-me t-t-to," Ray stuttered. "I don't know what I'd do without you idiots, so I guess I'm in too," Espio said as he shrugged his shoulders. Sonic glanced over at Sally, frowning. He had to make a decision, although it would be hard. He looked over at Knuckles and asked, "Is this a private party, or can I come along for the ride?"
Sally looked at him with surprise and said, "What?!?! Are you cra-"Sonic put a finger over his lips to tell her to stop, and said, "Sal, I gotta do this. I won't just sit back and watch them go out there, not knowing if I'll ever see them again. I'm going." Sally threw her arms around him and began to cry, while Sonic hugged her back, whispering that it would be okay. "Still, what are the chances that you could possibly overcome such great odds?" the President asked. Cap sighed and said, "Mr. President...this city is my home, and I treasure it. I will fight to my dying breath before I hand it to the Legion. We all have special abilities, and with them we can pull through. And even if we don't, we'll take out enough for G.U.N to pick off what's left when they're stranded in the empty streets. If I live through this...I'll turn myself in." The President stared at Cap, as all of the Ravagers stood behind him. "We all will," DJ said. "We do this, and you'll have caught the Ravagers. But first, you need to trust us. Please...give us your trust," Cap said. The President sighed, looked out his window, then back at Cap with a smile. "Fine. I'll address the people, evacuate the said area, and assemble G.U.N. And you, Mr. Mecha DJ, will have to join me and my defense attorney tonight to discuss this further." "Yes, sir," DJ said with a salute. "Okay then. Let's get prepared," Grim said as they all turned away from the President and walked out the door.
Everyone was rather quiet on the way back. No one said anything. DJ didn't even make any stupid remarks. When they got back to the mansion, via the secret entrance, it was about ten o'clock, and everyone gathered in the living room to relax and try to enjoy the evening. Todd went up to the computer room to try and decipher more information from the Dark Legion database, and Knuckles, surprisingly, went to bed. He had been acting stranger than he had been the night they got back from the party. Did him dancing with that girl have something to do with it, or was there something else bothering him? As usual, he didn't tell anyone what was eating him.
Nick walked down the hallway with two cups of hot chocolate as he walked into the computer room, where Todd was feverishly typing. "Here," Nick said as he handed Todd a cup as he sipped his own. "Thanks, bro. I've checked every file on their hard drive. Most of it is standard stuff. Weapons designs, the technology behind this new Shadow Troop thing...basic stuff, except for this," Todd said as he double clicked a file, opening it. "Read the name," Todd said. Nick glanced at the name and was shocked. "Gerard Robotnik???" Nick said. "Yep. The leading scientist behind the super soldier program Gramps was in. Apparently, he left to pursue his dream of controlling chaos energy. Look at these formulas and data tables," Todd said as he pointed on the screen. "Un-real. Those energy levels are off the scale!" "The plot thickens even more, look at this blood sample," Todd said as he opened one of his own files. "See the difference?" Nick glanced at Gerard Robotnik's data, then at the data given from the blood sample. "What difference?" he asked. "Exactly. There is none. And guess where I got this blood sample?" Todd asked. Nick shrugged and Todd said, "Knuckles. I took a blood sample while he was recuperating to see if the drug was totally out of his system, and then I discovered this. Knuckles is able to tap into the power of a chaos emerald." There was silence, then they looked back at the monitor. "Now this is strange. There's one file I can't open. I've used every hacking technique I know, and even let the computer take a whack. There's no way to open it without clearance," Todd said. "What is it?" Nick asked. "I dunno. It just says 'Project Wodahs." "Wodahs? Weird file name. I wonder what-" Nick was cut off when a familiar voice began screaming in another room. "What the...???" Todd yelled. "Let's go!" Nick shouted.
The two friends ran down the hall, meeting the others outside Knuckles' room When they opened the door, he was flailing around on the bed, screaming things. "NO! STOP! GET AWAY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! STOP IT!!!" Mighty ran over and began to shake him. "KNUX! Wake up!" Knuckles shot up out of bed, with sweat pouring down his face and tears pouring down his cheeks. "I can still see their faces...I can still hear them screaming. All of them...echoing in my head. It's all my fault... They're all dead! She's dead!" Knuckles yelled, putting his hands on his head. "Who is?" Rouge asked. "Julie-Su...I killed her. Good God I killed her." They all looked at him, then Julie-Su and said, "Knuckles, she's right–""SHE'S DEAD! I killed her! I killed her..." Knuckled moaned. Julie-Su walked over and knelt down in front of him. "Knuckles, look! It's me! I'm okay, I'm right here," she said. Knuckles looked up at her, seeming shocked to see her. "J-Julie-Su..." he whispered before putting his head down. "Do you still hate me?" he whispered, "Please don't. I know I hurt you, but I couldn't take the whole world hating me if you hated me too." Julie-Su had never felt more sympathetic towards him. "I don't hate you, Knuckles. We...we're friends," she said.
Zack knelt next to Julie-Su and put his glowing hand in front of Knuckles' face. "Knuckles, you are going to fall asleep when the glow fades. When you do, you will dream that you are home on your island, with your friends and family all around you. They will be happy, and so will you. Now sleep well, my friend," Zack said as the glow faded and Knuckles slumped back, fast asleep. Nick and Todd looked at each other and nodded, letting each other know that what they had been discussing should remain a secret between them.