Chapter 20: Sewers

Knuckles, Archimedes, and Julie-Su walked along the canals, looking up a few times.

"There's an entrance over here," said Archimedes.

Knuckles saw the entrance not far ahead of them, and saw it was linked to a floodgate. The trio hustled around behind the concrete outcroppings, hoping that nobody could see them. They turned to the control panel behind them, but before either one of them could touch it, Julie-Su spoke up.

"Go ahead. Open that floodgate. You'll make enough noise to awaken dead people."

Knuckles glared at Julie-Su.

"Gee, thanks. I know about that, which is why I'm just opening the service hatch, thank you."

Knuckles tried to unlock the hatch, but when he pushed the button, nothing happened. He pushed it again, but instead a red fault light came on. Knuckles pushed the button yet again, more aggressively than before, but it still kept failing.

"Stupid thing...why...won't….you…"

"Maybe you need some kind of code?"

Knuckles, gnashing his teeth, glared at Julie-Su.

"But what do I know? I'm just the technician, you Guardians know how to do anything and everything…"

Knuckles was still pushing the button, but when it failed, he clenched his fist, but Archimedes spoke up.

"Knuckles, I certainly hope you're not planning on smashing the only way in!"

"Do you know the damn code?"

"Unfortunately, they changed it, I never found out the new ones in time," said Archimedes.

"If I wasn't, you know, not allowed to do anything, I could probably…."

Knuckles snarled, but Archimedes spoke up again.

"You did say you were a technician, miss?"

"My name is Julie-Su, and yes, I was...but Mr. Guardian here supposedly won't allow me to help, cause he has that archaic view on-"

Knuckles clenched his fists, but Archimedes shook his head at him, and gestured to him to calm down. Knuckles took a deep breath.

"Would you...please...help get this open, fem-...ahem...Julie-Su?"

Julie-Su looked at Knuckles for a moment, but finally nodded.

"Sure. Should only take a moment."

Julie-Su walked over to the control panel, and she grabbed the end of her cybernetic dreadlock, pulling out the tip, which was connected via cable. She then stuck it into the access socket and her eyes lit up a bit, literally. Her eyes moved back and forth as she worked.

"Amateurs, you guys really need better security, I could do this in my sleep...there."

Soon, the hatch slowly opened up without the floodgate opening. Knuckles was secretly impressed, but still annoyed by Julie-Su.

"Thanks. Now let's get going."

Julie-Su yanked her interface out of the socket and it wound back into her dreadlock as she followed Knuckles and Archimedes into the sewers. Knuckles gagged as he breathed the air inside.

"Ugh...why is it always sewers?"

"Trust me...I've smelled worse," said Julie-Su.

"How could you have smelled worse? I mean, where did you work that smelled worse?" said Knuckles.

"Sanitation," said Julie-Su.

Knuckles paused for a bit.

"Sanitation?!"

"Yep. I told you that they gave me poor assignments."

Knuckles shook his head as they continued walking.

"I must say, Julie-Su, I know you Legionnaires all have Cybernetic Rigs installed in your brains, but I never fully understood the extent," said Archimedes.

"Yeah, the rigs all have varying degrees of functionality, depending on what hardware is installed, and the software in the primary chipsets they carry," said Julie-Su.

"Chipsets?" said Knuckles.

"Yeah, these chipsets are essential to our rigs' functionality. They carry software needed to perform your duties within the Legion,"

"Like your hacking skills," said Archimedes.

"Right, though it doesn't fully replace experience. I just have some added software that makes it easier," said Julie-Su.

The group soon came to a junction.

"Great. Now which way?"

Archimedes pointed to the right.

"This way," he said.

"Careful, the Imperials have had probe droids down here since the siege. Just saying…," said Julie-Su.

"Yeah. Thanks," said Knuckles.

Julie-Su simply rolled her eyes. The three of them walked deeper into the dark sewers. Soon, Knuckles held up his hand in a "stop" gesture. They then heard a droning sound around the corner at the next intersection. The three of them retreated into an alcove as the probe droid hovered into the intersection, clearly searching. The droid's head rotated around a few times, glancing in the direction of the trio. Knuckles held his blaster pistol tightly as the droid stood there like a statue. But soon, the droid moved on. The trio hustled past the intersection into the next tunnel at Archimedes' direction. They then came towards a downwards incline.

"No slow way down. Just slide on down," said Archimedes.

"Got it," said Knuckles.

Knuckles and Julie-Su slid down the incline, but Knuckles, upon landing, stumbled and fell over, while Julie-Su landed on her feet, stabilizing herself with one arm. Knuckles snarled as he got up.

"And I thought you Guardians were graceful," said Julie-Su.

"Hey, it's slippery in here, I can't help it," said Knuckles.

Knuckles got up and they continued walking down the tunnels.

"You know, I can fight, you know. If you-"

"No."

"Why?"

"For one, I don't trust you. Two, this two-barreled disruptor wouldn't even leave a trace. You know these are illegal," said Knuckles.

"Last I checked, the Legion never signed off on that, and I heard that's a big hypocrisy," said Julie-Su.

"Either way, you haven't done that much to warrant me trusting you with a blaster," said Knuckles.

Julie-Su snarled as she and Knuckles continued on.

"It's not much further now, just follow the water flow. See?" said Archimedes.

"Yeah, you're right, Archy. The flow is starting to speed up."

The three of them followed the flow of water towards their destination. But Knuckles paused, as he heard a noise from the ceiling.

"We're not alone."

"Gee, you think? I heard it too," said Julie-Su.

The two of them pressed their backs against each other as they covered each other.

"Watch it, I'm no fan of square dancing...and even without my weapons, I'm not going down easy," said Julie-Su.

Suddenly, something leapt from the water and tackled Julie-Su, knocking Knuckles down. When he turned to look, he saw a male Mobian Crocodile struggling with her.

"YOU! Let's try this again, girlfriend! Let's see how far you can kick it this time!"

"I want you to try, croc! You were the one who jumped me back there, remember?!"

"WHOA, WHOA! VECTOR!" said Knuckles.

Knuckles felt held back by someone grabbing his arms as a male Mobian Armadillo appeared from the darkness.

"Lemme go, Mighty!" said Knuckles.

"Knuckles, take it easy! Vector, stop it!" said Mighty.

"This witch is a Dark Legionnaire! I recognize that tone of voice from earlier!"

But soon, a shuriken struck the ground near Vector and Julie-Su, as a male Mobian Chameleon appeared on the ceiling.

"Vector. Just chill. We don't have time for settling grudges. Not here."

"You're actually defending this girl, Espio?!"

"She's out of uniform from the Legion, and Knuckles has her weapons. So it must be a very good reason."

Vector snarled as he got up off Julie-Su.

"I'll get myself up, thank you. Men…" said Julie-Su.

"Knuckles, glad you're here, brother," said Mighty.

"You too, Mighty, Vector, Espio," said Knuckles.

"Hey! Don't forget me!"

A small male Mobian bee excitedly flew around Knuckles.

"Yeah, you too, Charmy," said Knuckles.

"Glad you're back, man. We'd heard what happened down below," said Vector.

"Yeah, it's bad. I came back for you guys and anyone else," said Knuckles.

"I presume to get us off this planet?" said Espio.

"Yeah. And this is Julie-Su. She's a Dark Legion Deserter I scooped up. She's just looking to make her own way after we get off," said Knuckles.

"This is not the place for conversation, everyone. We must get to the refugees," said Archimedes.

"Agreed. Follow us, we'll take you there, Knuckles," said Mighty.

"Lead the way guys," said Knuckles.

"A-hem," said Julie-Su.

"Yes, Julie-Su, you come too," said Knuckles.

"Thank you," said Knuckles.

Vector and Julie-Su glared at each other as they followed the others down the tunnel. The water's flow grew louder and louder as they drew closer.

"Hey, Vector. Mind telling me what happened? You and Julie-Su?" said Knuckles.

"I ran into that witch while swimming. I thought I could take her, but she fought dirty and knocked me on my tail. Nearly busted my snout, too!" said Vector.

"Should've busted it and a few teeth too, if I knew I'd run into you again, Croc," said Julie-Su.

Vector glared, but Knuckles held him back.

"It's right around this corner," said Espio.

"Who's out there?!" shouted a voice.

"It's us!" said Mighty.

The group turned the corner as they saw a pair of Echidna Security Officers manning an E-Web Blaster at a makeshift checkpoint.

"We found someone that the Constable will want to see," said Espio.

The officers saw Knuckles and gasped.

"It's the Guardian! The Guardian has returned!"

One officer pulled out his comlink.

"Constable! We have good news, sir! The Guardian has returned! He's here!"

"The Guardian?"

"Yes, sir, the Chaotix have brought him!"

"Send him over, right away."

Knuckles, Julie-Su, Archimedes, and the Chaotix made their way into the Water Treatment Plant, which was still functioning, as Knuckles saw dozens of people were in makeshift beds and Echidna Security Personnel were helping care for them.

"Lots of people down here," said Julie-Su.

"Last civilian count was fifty, plus, twenty-five security officers, that equals seventy five!" said Charmy.

"Yes, Charmy, we know you can add," said Espio.

"Surprised you guys lasted this long down here," said Knuckles.

Soon, they came to an area full of computer equipment surrounding a table in what looked like a control booth. He saw a brown-colored Echidna in a uniform working at the table.

"Constable Remington," said Knuckles.

"Guardian. It's been a while," said Remington.

He turned to look at Knuckles, and then they shook hands and hugged a bit.

"I should've guessed you guys wouldn't go down easy," said Knuckles.

"At least not yet," said Remington.

"We found him out in the tunnels. He's come for us," said Vector.

"I can see that, Vector. Thank you," said Remington.

Knuckles felt uneasiness in his stomach.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you guys when the Empire attacked. I'm here now," said Knuckles.

Remington looked down and then looked up at Knuckles.

"Wouldn't have made any difference if you were. We were outmatched, regardless," said Remington.

"What happened?"

"No warning. Army of those giant walkers marched towards the city, TIE Bombers all over the sky. We thought once we got the artillery gun up and running, we could stand our ground. We even brought down one of them," said Remington.

"Nice," said Knuckles.

"We only got one before the TIE Bombers zeroed in on it and destroyed it, after that, it wasn't even a fight. HQ fell within the hour. What you see is what's left of our security forces. We just gathered who we could save and headed for this automated treatment plant. We're lucky so far," said Remington.

"Lucky, indeed," said Julie-Su.

"Who's she?" said Remington.

"Dark Legion Deserter. She helped me get in here-"

"I have a name, remember?"

"Sorry. Her name's Julie-Su, she's one of their service techs," said Knuckles.

"A service tech? Carrying a disruptor and blaster?" said Remington.

"Hey, it's standard equipment for my low-end job," said Julie-Su.

Remington gestured to two officers to surround her.

"Hey!"

"We're taking no chances here," said Remington.

"She got me this far!" said Knuckles.

"Yeah!" said Julie-Su.

"Relax. She won't be harmed. I just want to have a talk with her," said Remington.

Knuckles sighed.

"Julie-Su, just go with them. It'll be fine," said Knuckles.

Julie-Su snarled as she was escorted away.

"Smart thing," said Vector.

Knuckles glared at Vector as he turned back to Remington.

"Enough about us, where have you been, Guardian?"

"I was summoned to Knothole by the Knothole Freedom Fighter Group. We were getting informed about the Empire right when they invaded. I wound up with the Rebel Alliance," said Knuckles.

"And now you've come back to get us to safety after all these months," said Remington.

"Yeah. The Empire has made coming back difficult. And now we need a way off this planet," said Knuckles.

"Fortunately for you, we've been working on a plan. There's a ship parked at EST Headquarters, a brand new special-order Marauder-class Corvette. We call it the Albion Angel," said Remington.

"Really?" said Knuckles.

"It was meant as a police vessel as part of a joint deal with Albion, but...you know. It's presently in dock, but we haven't worked out a way to get there safely, and we need to figure out a way to take off without being shot down by the Imperials' Anti-Air grid," said Remington.

"Before I ran into Julie-Su, I saw Dark Legion Grandmaster Kragok and his Kommissars, they murdered High Councilor Pravda," said Knuckles.

Remington clenched his fist.

"Pravda is dead? Damnit. Stubborn fool. We were certain they'd take him alive," said Remington.

"Weren't you gonna try and rescue him?" said Knuckles.

"We were considering it, but we just didn't want to go that deep into the city, especially after the Legion showed up. We felt it was only a matter of time until they got him. We had too much to lose going after him," said Remington.

"Yeah…, even with my help, it wouldn't have mattered much, the man was their target, some old blood feud revenge, from the sound of it," said Knuckles.

"Either way, most of our government leaders are either dead or in hiding, regardless. Not that anyone here will miss them that much, they were as dirty as they come," said Remington.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night, I guess," said Knuckles.

"What is your plan, Guardian?" said Remington.

"I'm gonna...go meet them," said Knuckles.

Remington nodded.

"What makes you believe they'll help us out of this, Knuckles?"

"They have to. My life depends on it."

"Then do what you have to, we're not going anywhere anytime soon, but I hope you have a plan after that," said Remington.

"You know it," said Knuckles.

"Then we have to-"

Remington paused as something caught his attention behind Knuckles' back. Knuckles turned around and saw an older female Echidna standing in his face.

"You go missing and now you come back without even finding me first?"

Knuckles' tongue felt like it was in a knot as he tried to muster a response.

"I…I haven't forgotten about you. Hi, Mom, I'm glad you're okay," said Knuckles.

"Apologies, Lady Lara-Le. I was going to…"

"Don't apologize, Constable. I'm just joyful that my son is alive and well," said Lara-Le.

Knuckles nodded as he saw his mother's eyes fill with tears of joy. He then hugged her and felt her embrace for a minute.

"Oh, son, it's so good to see you're okay," said Lara-Le.

"I missed you too, Mom. I was worried too," said Knuckles.

"Come, come, everyone else was worried about you. Take a moment to say hello," said Lara-Le.

Knuckles groaned a little but followed his mother out into the main room, which were lined with tents, beds, and tables, clearly scavenged junk from above.

"We had to gather what we could. Most of these people are from the less-than-affluent neighborhoods. But we have a few medical personnel that managed to escape from the Central Hospital where we originally took shelter before we fled down here," said Lara-Le.

"Why come here, Mom?"

"This treatment plant went automated years ago, we figured there'd be nobody here. We got lucky," said Lara-Le.

"Madam Relic, I must insist that you-"

"I think I can handle a few….ah!"

Knuckles turned and saw a female Mobian Pika was having trouble with a power generator. He ran over to help.

"Relic! You okay?"

"Knuckles? Oh, joy! You're back!"

"Guardian Knuckles, it is so wonderful to have you back!"

Knuckles turned to the floating droid nearby.

"Yes, good to see you too, Fixit. Relic, glad to see you're okay," said Knuckles.

Knuckles and Relic hugged each other briefly.

"Oh, what a trifling few weeks it's been, Knuckles...first the Empire shows up, then everything is exploding, and next were down here and scavenging for our lives, if I had known things on the Island were going to be this exciting-"

Knuckles crossed his arms.

"...I wouldn't be standing here babbling like a fool…"

"Relax, Relic. Just glad you're doing okay. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? This blasted generator is dying! I can't get it to produce enough power!"

Knuckles took a look at the generator.

"Did ya...try turning it up?"

Knuckles twisted a knob on the generator and it produced more power to power Relic's portable computer.

"Oh…"

"I was just about to suggest that, Madame Relic. It was operating at low efficiency," said Fixit.

"Oh, Fixit, where would I be without you?"

"Relic here has been helping us catalog the survivors and our supplies. She's been such a big help, Knuckles," said Lara-Le.

"Yep, that sounds about right, Mom," said Knuckles.

"Relic, make sure our supplies are all accounted for, we need everything we can get," said Lara-Le.

"Of course, madam," said Relic.

"Right away, Madam Lara-Le!" said Fixit.

Knuckles and Lara-Le continued onward where a male Mobian Echidna was busy working.

"Wyn? Look who's here," said Lara-Le.

"Well, if it isn't Knuckles! Good to see you, kid. Do you remember me? Wynmacher?"

Knuckles saw Wynmacher stick his hand out to shake, and Knuckles slowly offered his in return, and they shook hands.

"Yeah, Mom's friend."

"Your mother lit up when she learned you were back, kid. You gave her a lot of worry when the Imperials came," said Wynmacher.

"Rightfully so, Wyn. But it's so good to see my son has taken care of himself so far," said Lara-Le.

Knuckles rubbed the back of his head a bit at his mother's words.

"Right…so…I need to step out for a bit, Mom," said Knuckles.

"But you only just got here, and a lot of people want to see you," said Lara-Le.

"I know. I won't be gone too long, hopefully, we'll have more time to talk when I get back. Time is of the essence." said Knuckles.

Lara-Le was visibly puzzled, but soon her expression changed.

"You're going to see your father, aren't you?"

Knuckles nodded.

"I have to. I need to settle up with him regarding my situation."

Lara-Le sighed.

"Knuckles, I know you haven't been on the best terms with your father, but…"

"I know, Mom. I know. And we might need their help with getting us out of here."

"Be careful out there, son," said Lara-Le.

"We'll need you more than ever, at this time, kid," said Wynmacher.

"Thanks, Wynmacher."

Knuckles hugged his mother once more and allowed Wynmacher to pat his back. He then walked off towards a corner of the room.

"Archimedes?"

"I'm here, m'boy. Glad to see your mother is doing well for herself. And that Wynmacher is at least keeping her safe," said Archimedes.

"Yeah…" said Knuckles.

"I know that look. Your parents' divorce was not an easy thing to stomach. I know your father didn't do right by her," said Archimedes.

"I don't wanna talk about that, Archy. Let's just go and see him, I'm sure that's what they told you to do once you found me," said Knuckles.

"That's true. Follow me, there's a secret way to get there," said Archimedes.

Knuckles nodded as he followed Archimedes down one passageway. They came to a small porthole which Archimedes directed Knuckles to open. He opened the hatch and the two of them climbed in.

The Star Tornado and Storm Ranger flew through the asteroids and swerved around them. Soon, the planet of Sol came into view of both ships, with its moons orbiting it. Aboard the Storm Ranger, Jericho's squad were preparing their weapons and equipment from the ship's lockers. Natalia was preparing her crossbow when she saw Athena clutching a single A180 blaster, same as the one that was in Natalia's own holster.

"Hey, Athena…is that all you're gonna carry? You're gonna need more than that, right?"

Athena looked up at Natalia.

"The Imperials have rifles, I can take one of theirs. Besides, I have my portable computer, it's all I need."

"You know we got an astromech, right?" said Kirk.

"Well, you have that portable unit too, Vogel," said Athena.

"Never hurts to have it," said Kirk.

"What is Sol like, anyway? I don't know anything about it," said Natalia.

"It's the closest civilized planet to Mobius," said Terry.

"I know that, I meant besides that," said Natalia.

"Sol, the First Colony. First planet our people colonized, and lost," said Emil.

"What do you mean 'and lost'?" said Natalia.

"Colony declared its independence a few years later, the Sol Imperium took over running it, not even a shot was fired," said Declan.

"...Just like that?" Natalia said.

"Just like that," said Terry.

"What is the planet like?"

"Dunno, never been there myself, heard it's mostly water and island archipelagos," said Terry.

"Has anyone from this unit been to Sol before?" said Natalia.

"Not any of us, but Sonic and Tails ended up there once, helped the planet's Princess stop Robotnik there," said Kirk.

"Princess?" said Natalia.

"Yeah, their King and Queen have been dead for a few years now, the Princess is not eligible to take the throne due to her age," said Athena.

"But that's another story, Natalia," said Kirk.

"...I'm already lost and confused, Kirk," said Natalia.

"However, Sol is a very pristine world, just like Mobius was before Robotnik. But their biggest export comes from their largest moon of Feronia," said Terry.

"What's so special about it?" said Natalia.

"It's their breadbasket, a big source of Food," said Kirk.

"Wait, what? But…how can a moon be..?"

"Like Terry said, the planet itself is mostly islands and ocean, not a lot of space for crops to feed its population," said Declan.

"Feronia reminds one of Dxun, the moon of Onderon. Just a bit quieter," said Terry.

"Yeah, I also heard their Princess has Pyrokinetic Powers," said Mitchell.

"No, that's fact, she does," said Kirk.

"Wait, what?" said Natalia.

But before Terry could answer, Logan called from the cockpit.

"Beginning final approach guys, get ready for landing."

"That's our cue," said Terry.

"You sure you're up for this, Athena?" said Kirk.

"I'll be fine. Haven't lost a step of what you guys taught me back then," said Athena.

"Just stay close to us, girl. You'll be fine," said Emil.

"Thanks," said Athena.

"Kirk, that sounds like what you told Natalia before her first mission," said Terry.

"I'm right here, you know," said Natalia.

"Cause it's what Lt. McElephonsky told me before my first mission," said Kirk.

"And you're still alive for it, Vogel," said Emil.

"Yes, sir, we are," said Kirk.

The squad took their seats as the Storm Ranger followed the Star Tornado towards the planet's surface. Aboard the Star Tornado, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters were all gathered in the ship's cockpit.

"I got a lock on the coordinates, it's on Southern Island, near Windmill Village," said Tails.

"That was our headquarters when we helped Blaze back then, wasn't it, Tails?" said Sonic.

"I'm quite eager to meet her, Sonic, she could be a valuable ally to us," said Sally.

"She will be, Sal. You'll like her," said Sonic.

Amy noticed Tangle was visibly shaking.

"Uh…Tangle? You okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm going to my very first new planet! Aboard a very…confining ship…"

"Relax. It's no different than getting on or off a speeder," said Amy.

"Right," said Tangle.

Whisper, sitting nearby, just adjusted her mask. Sonic then looked at Sol as it got bigger in the cockpit windows.

"Hang on, Blaze. We're coming."