AN: This story just keeps haunting me!

See, today isn't "back in the day" anymore
I know a little more than I did before
So, don't forget before you try bringing me down
What goes around always comes back around

- "Bring Me Down", Pillar

"…and then the asteroid hits and the world blows up."

John looked at Tails, heartily confused and annoyed. They were a few streets down from the prison. A few alley crossings and there it would be "What? What does that have to do with anything!"

Tails shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, it's 2012. It could happen." John found it incredible that the young kitsune could be so cool and collected. His own nerves were so frayed, he was ready to come undone at any given moment. "Anyway, back to the plan. I go up and look for snipers while you move in on the ground. When I give you the signal, you walk up and distract the guards at the front. Once we're inside, we'll have to start making stuff up on the fly."

So, the plan was to basically storm a fortress full of people who want to kill you and make the plan up on the fly. How could he say that with a straight face! "How many times have you done this before, exactly?"

"After two wars and a crapload of peacetime conflict, mm, I'd say about, I don't know, somewhere around a lot. Trust me. Oh, one more thing before I go. I need you to crank my ES system back up." John had completely forgotten about Tails's ES system. He now realized that he still must not have been completely healed from the wounds he had suffered. He turned the disc decorated with a lightning bolt on the back of Tails's sheath to face right side up. A visible wave of energy rushed through his muscles and his wounds healed. "Woah! That'll wake you up in the morning!"

"What?"

"I don't know. Alright, head over to the pen, I'll be right above you." John walked forward slowly, his .22 drawn, as Tails climbed up the nearest building. The silence was oppressive, as if something were waiting around the corner to break it. He reached the end of the first alley and poked his head out. No one on the street. He shuffled to the other side as quickly as he could and repeated the process in the next alley. Now he could see the prison on the far side of the next alley across the street. Just as he was getting ready to cross-

BANG!

He pulled out the comlink Tails had given him. "Tails, what happened!" More shots began to ring out, both on the buildings above him and from the prison.

"The snipers had each other covered better than I thought! I'm pinned down!" John could hear the distress in his voice. Apparently he wasn't used to plans going this bad this early. "Do something about the guys on the ground. I'll take care of these guys!" Without a word, John hurried across the street and through the alley. The prison loomed in the space in front of him, and there were three "guards" standing at the front, armed with automatic weapons. They were shooting at something on the rooftop of one of the buildings. That was where they must have had Tails pinned down. John took careful aim with his pistol and shot one of the guards in the leg. He fell to the floor with a cry of surprise and pain. The other two looked back, saw their fallen comrade, and immediately looked towards the alley and saw John, who quickly ducked back. One began shooting at him while the other shouted into a communicator. The third slowly got back up and joined the first in his assault. Dust and chunks of wall began to fill the alley, and it only got worse when the snipers joined the onslaught.

Tails could sense the shots stop striking the edge of the building he was on. He cautiously lifted his head to see that all of the goons were now focusing their firepower on the alley on the other side of the small square. The snipers had moved to the roof of the prison. However, the guards remained at their post. His comlink beeped. "I need a little help down here."

"Relax, it's on the way. It looks like they're trying to keep us away more than they're trying to kill us." Tails began making his way across the rooftops, attempting to flank the snipers.

"That's not such a comforting thought when they're blasting away at you."

"Guess not." He reached the back of the prison roof, closing in on the nearest sniper. They were lined up side by side on their stomachs on the edge of the roof. Tails pulled the first one back and knocked him out with a kick to the head. The second stood and tried to swing his gun around, but Tails shoved it into his face, knocking him down into the square. The final two were smarter, abandoning their guns and advancing with their fists at the ready. One stood in front of him while the other moved around him. Tails smiled as he dodged a punch from the first, grabbed his arm, and threw him into the second. The second was startled by the move, and threw his buddy off him, only to be met by a roundhouse kick to the face. Tails took the last sniper out as he was trying to get back up, knocking his head against the floor. "Snipers are down. I'm dropping." He jumped down into the square, just behind the three guards. He knocked two of their heads together, then kicked the third's knee forward. As he collapsed backwards, Tails gave him an elbow in the face. "All right, you're clear."

"Nice work" John said to him as he joined him in front of the door.

"Thanks, but this is just the beginning. The real fight starts once we get inside." With that, he opened the door. "After you."

John grimaced. "Gee, thanks." He entered. Tails followed right behind him.

John's phone rang. "Hello."

"What the hell is taking you guys so long!" It was Siphon. "I'm getting bored. I could just kill Cassie and your sister right now."

They had already searched an entire wing of the prison, only to find it empty. "It's not our fault you've got yourself holed up. Just tell us where you are, and we'll be there, taking you down."

Siphon laughed. "I doubt it. I'm in the mess hall. Where else would you have a massive throwdown. Oh, the game I have in store for the two of you will be so much fun. Are you ready?" The line went dead.

"Mess hall?" Tails asked.

John nodded. "Yeah. I wonder what that psycho's got in store for us." They headed to the mess hall. What they found was a screaming hoard of thugs, most of them splotched with some sort of black tar. This was going to be fun. Not.

AN: Please review.