Endangered Species Saga Episode 5: Preservation

Underneath Albion where Eve, Jazz, Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Thrash have fallen, the group find themselves in some underground armory, full of blasters, tanks, suits and other weapons.

"Guys, what is this…?" Julie-Su asks.

"I'm not sure," Knuckles answers, "Guessing it's something that wasn't meant to be found."

"It looks like a secret armory of something. I never expect to find something like this under the city," Eve says.

Suddenly, they hear Thrash's voice, "Ya really wanna know? These are the secret sins of Albion. Proof of yer kind's rottenness."

Eve and the others turn to see Thrash regains consciousness when he has fallen.

Thrash struggles to get up as he says, "Weapons of mass death, failed experiments remains, torture tools, all used on me lot and countless others. Take a look yerself if ya don't believe me. You've done all it before, and you can easily do it again. That's why yer all takin' a dive here, wiped out in a flash so history won't repeat. All wrapped with a neat little bow. 'Cept for that Finitevus, but he'll get his due too."

As Thrash explains, Eve, and the two Echidnas, and Chaos look around to see the many weapons and destructive equipment they have under the city.

"I knew the Echidnas weren't perfect, but I never imagined they were capable of this…" Knuckles says.

"I had no idea," Eve says.

Meanwhile, above ground, The Freedom Fighters, the Albions, and the Dark Legion are fighting off the Devil Dogs.

One of the Legionnaires says, "Grandmaster, we're nearly at the harbor! However, the dogs still won't give away."

"At this rate, we might not make it out in time!" Another Legionnaire says.

"We don't have time for this nonsense!" Lien-Da says, as she swats some of the Devil Dogs with her electric whips. Then turns to the Legionnaires, "Use lethal force and get those mangy beasts out of our way!"

"Roger!" The soldiers salute.

Before the Legionnaires can use force, "WAIT!"

And Saffron flies in front of them, "You can't kill them! You can't!"

Lein-Da is not pleased, "Stopid, interfering child! Move aside, or you'll be shot with the rest of them!"

Sonic angrily turns to Lien-Da, "You'd better hear her out. Or maybe you'd rather hear what a spin dash sounds like up close?"

"Ugh, fine," Lien-Da says frustrated, " Why do you care so much about these mindless beasts?"

Soon, Saffron explains, "The Devil Dogs aren't mindless beasts. They're actually very smart. If we just be nice to them, they're willing to listen to us. I'll show you."

. She then turns to the Devil Dogs, "Hey there, you guys aren't so bad, right? Do you think you could move aside for me and my friends could pass, please?"

The Devil Dogs turn to each other, and soon, they move out of the way, allowing them through.

"See?" Saffron replies with glee, and pets one of them on the head.

"That's an amazing discovery!" Lara-Le says to Saffron, impressed, "Now we can get by without any further conflict."

"Agreed," Remington says. Then turns to the other Echidnas, "Everyone, I want you to do as she's done… and show compassion to the Devil Dogs."

The Echidnas and the Dark Legionnaires decide to do that. And to everyone's surprise, the plan actually worked. Showing some compassion, the DEvil Dogs are proven to be smart and friendly.

Amy hugs Saffron, "Great job figuring that out, Saffron!"

"Aww, I just got lucky," Saffron happily says.

Lien-Da rolls her eyes, "I can't believe something so stupid managed to work."

"Well it worked nonetheless," Remington says, sternly to Lien-Da, "So quit complaining. The docks are just up ahead.

Soon enough, everyone reached the docks. They manage to get all the civilians and the Dark Legionnaires and The Albion citizens to the boats and hovercrafts.

"There, that's everyone," Remington says.

Then turns to the city, "I wish I could go back and make sure Eve and the Guardian are safe, but my duty lies first with my people."

Sonic wags his finger, "Hey, if my sis and Rad Red can go toe to toe with me, Thrash doesn't stand a chance."

"We'll stay behind and take care of these, constable," Saffron says.

"Then I leave it to you. Good luck," Remington says, and hops into the boat.

Soon, the Echidna drive their hovercrafts and row their boats away from the city.

Seeing that they're safe, Sonic says, "So now that we have the place to ourselves… Let's play a game: Who can break the most Legion Equipment?"

"Oh, you're so going down!" Tails says with a competitive grin.

Saffron turns to the others, "You guys go ahead, I need to make sure Knuckles, Julie-Su, Eve, and Jazz are okay." and tries to contact them with her headset.

"Roger that! Just leave this to us, saff!" Sonic says.

With that, Sonic, Tails, and Amy head off to wreck some Legionnaire Equipments.

Saffron tries to contact them, "Su? Hello, 'Su? Are you guys okay…?" Without an answer, she grows concerned, "Oh no, I can't reach them… I better hurry and get back there!" And Saffron flies back to Saffron to find them.

Meanwhile, Thrash throws a machine part at Julie-Su and it hits her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"'Su!" Knuckles and Eve cry out.

"Chao!" Jazz cries out.

The three rush to Julie-Su to check if she's okay.

"Ya better step it up. Only a few minutes left 'til" Thrash says.

While Knuckles checks on Julie-Su, Eve and Jazz get in fright and ready to fight.

"Alright Thrash, that's enough! Doing all this isn't going to help your kind!" Eve angrily says.

"Chao Chao!" Jazz calls out.

Knuckles stands up and says, "Listen, Thrash, I know what it's like to be alone. And I am truly sorry for the atrocities your kind faced in the past. But you've put my family and their home in danger, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect them."

Just then, Saffron flies through the hole and says to the others, "Knuckles, Eve, Su, everyone's finished evacuating! Do you need me to get you out?"

"Good work, Saffron," Eve says.

"Chao Chao," Jazz happily says.

But Knuckles says, "But I have to stay."

"But you're in serious danger if you don't leave!" Saffron says in concern.

But Knuckles says, "If I leave, now Thrash could escape with the bomb and pull another stunt like this tomorrow. I need to settle this here and now.

"Then I'll help too!" saffron says.

And with that, the group prepares themselves to fight against Thrash.

Thrash smirks, "I admit, your nobel impresses me, echidna. It's a shame that'll get lost in the blast.

"Whatever. The time for talk is over. You are going to us where the bomb is. Let's do it," Knuckles says.

And with that, Knuckles and Thrash throw their fists and collide with one another.

Julie-Su fires her laser gun and Eve uses her Chaos Spear, but Thrash manages to dodge the attack.

Saffron and Jazz bounce off Thrash's fist when he tries to grab them.

Knuckles then punches Thrash in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

Knuckles turns back to him, "Get up. We're not done yet."

"Heh, never expected to meet me match here, and in an Echidna no less . . ." thrash says, slowly getting up.

Knuckles approaches Thrash and says, "Thrash, my people are willing to atone for what the Echidnas of the past did, in some ways, they already are. But if they're destroyed here, there's no hope for either of our species."

"The people here today aren't responsible for the actions of their forebears. They're just doing their best to survive," Julie-Su says.

"Look . . . You don't . . . It's not that simple -" Thrash says, still upset.

Just then, Eve speaks up, "Thrash, I understand how you felt, so does my brother, Shadow. We both know what it's like to have everything taken away from you. To have everything you cared about destroyed by those who didn't even consider what their actions caused. When my grandfather thought of taking his revenge, it almost got Mobius destroyed, and no one else had anything to do with it. Even Shadow was bent on revenge on them for what they did to our family. Even though I know what it's like, I felt that I'll be just as bad as Eggman if I even think of taking revenge on him. In fact, I'm a bit similar to you, although I was created by science and still became the hedgehog I am now, despite my heritage who have done not very forgiving things.

Then Knuckles says, "If you stand down and tell us where the bomb is, I'll do everything in my power to help restore the Tasmanian Devil race.

"But y - you can't - You're my - You're . . ." Thrash says, stunned. He then screams and slams his fists to the ground, startling everyone.

Thrash then asks, "You . . . You swear you'll do that?"

"I swear," Knuckles answers.

Thrash stands up, ". . . Then we haven't a moment to lose. Come on," and walks down the hall.

"Lead the way," Knuckles says.

Soon, the others begin to follow.

"Thrash, you -" Saffron says.

Thrash angrily says, "Just shut it and get moving before I change my mind."

Soon, the group runs down the hallway lined with pipes.

"How do you know if we're heading in the right direction?" Saffron asks.

"Chao Chao?" Jazz replies.

"I hooked up the bomb to an underground station. We just need to follow the pipes," Thrash says, leading the group down the hall.

Soon enough, they reach the end of the hall to see a door.

We're here!" Thrash says, and opens the door, "I'll go ahead and-" but Thrash stops and is stunned to see the inside of the room.

Knuckles, Eve, Jazz, Saffron, and Julie-Su look inside and are shocked to see who they never think they'll see again… Dr. Finitevus, "Why, hello there."

And right behind him is the bomb Thrash is talking about.

"Finitevus!?" Knuckles exclaims in shock.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've taken the liberty to disarming the bomb for you," Finitevus says. Then turns to Thrash, "Though I must say, I'm impressed a savage like you had the brainpower to not only find my lab, but put together something so complex."

This makes Thrash furious, "Why you . . .!" And charges right at the white Echidna, "I'll tear you to shreds!"

"Thrash wait!" Eve cries out.

But it's too late. When Thrash charges, Finitevus dodges as he opens a Warp Ring. Thrash falls through it, and Knuckles flies in to catch him. And the Warp Ring closes before they can leave.

Julie-Su points her gun at him and Eve creates a Chaos Energized bow and arrow.

"What are you doing here, Finitevus?" Eve demands.

And Julie-Su says, "I get the feeling we're no safer with you than we were with Thrash."

Finitevus opens the Ring underneath the bomb, "My, my, such ingratitude. I'd expect a bit more refinement from Dimitri's 'fine' lineage. I've simply come to take back what's mine. And now that I have it, I must be going. Ta-ta!

Before the girls can react, Finitevus opens the Warp Ring underneath himself and disappears through it with the bomb.

In the other location, Knuckles is able to get Thrash to safety.

Shocked, Thrash says, "Oi… ya saved me… thanks."

"Well, I wasn't going to let you off the hook that easily," Knuckles says.

Just then, a Warp Ring opens before them.

Knuckles is the first to notice, "And that looks like our ticket back. Finitevus probably already bailed, so let's get back so we can sort out this mess."

"R-Right…" Thrash reluctantly agrees.

Sometime later… It's now morning and the Echidnas are safely off the island, and are now returning. Of course, Thrash and his Devil Dogs are ready to head back home.

"I should get going. No one over there would be happy to see me here with you," Trash says.

"Wait, are you going to leave Albion alone now?" Amy asks.

"So long as they show the same integrity as your mate has," Thrash says.

He turns to Knuckles, "I'm holdin' you to your word, Knuckles. Seeya 'round. I'll be waiting."

"And you take care of yourself too, Thrash," Eve says.

Then pats one of the Devil Dogs, "And you too."

"Chao Chao," Jazz happily says and snuggles another Devil Dog.

Thrash is a little surprised at what Eve says.

But soon smiles, and he doesn't really want to admit, despite knowing she has Echidna DNA, Thrash has some respect for her.

Thrash says, "We will. See ya around."

Thrash then walks through the portal and it soon disappears.

" We'll make this right, somehow," Knuckles says.

Soon enough, the hovercrafts dock at the docks, and Knuckles' mother runs towards her son in happy tears. Behind her is Wynmacher with little Kneecaps in his arms.

Noticing them, Knuckles turns to Julie-Su, "Here they come. Am I really ready to do this, hon?"

"I know you are," Julie-Su says with a reassuring smile.

Lara-Le runs over and hugs Knuckles, "Knuckles! Thank goodness you're alright!"

Remington isn't far behind either, "Well done, Guardian. I knew you'd take care of things."

"Hey everyone . . ." Knuckles says.

He then turns to everyone, and with a heavy heart, Knuckles begins to explain, "There's something I need to tell you all. I was Enerjak. I was the one who took away your cybernetics and sent half of you to Albion. While I was tricked and brainwashed by Dr. Finitevus, I still fell for his trap. There's no excuse for what I've done. On some deep, dark level, my actions were based on some idiotic notion of what I thought was right. Taking away the Legion's cybernetics and destroying the Dingo civilization, it was like I was fixing everything. But I screwed everything up. And I know that I can't ask for your forgiveness after all of this. Imagine asking only for -" Suddenly, Lara-Le pulls Knuckles for another tight hug, "Oof!"

And Lara-Le says, "Of course I forgive you, dear! Don't second-guess yourself like that."

"The Matriarch is correct, Guardian. I can't speak for what happened to you, but my ideals were also corrupted by Finitevus' machinations. Like you, I also doubted myself. But the people have put their faith in me still, just as I'm sure most will for you," Remington adds.

All the citizens of Albion gather around Knuckles. Even Kneecaps is giving Knuckles a hug on the nose,

"You guys . . . Thank you . . . I promise I won't let you down," Knuckles says, feeling like he has gotten a huge weight off his shoulder.

"Everything worked out in the end, Knuckles. We can at least be thankful for that." Wynmacher says.

He then turns to Sonic, "Now all that remains is the threat posed by the Legion."

"Nah, pretty sure they're not a big deal now since we totaled all their weapons and junk," Sonic says.

Eve grins and says, "Let me guess, you guys had a contest to see who can wreck the most of the Legionnaire's weapons."

"You know it," Sonic says.

However, Lien-Da exclaims in shock and dismay, "You what!? D - Do you realize what you've done!?" She falls to her knees, looking terrified, "When Eggman finds out we've failed, he'll raise this city and everyone here. Even the Legion won't be safe. You've killed us all."

"After everything you've done, Lien-Da, you have it coming. But the rest of our people don't," Remington says with his arms crossed.

But Knuckles says, "Look, we have to stop this violent back and forth, once and for all."

"Chao Chao," Jazz says.

"True," Eve says, "However, simply letting Lein-Da tell Eggman that we're responsible won't work like last time. He'll just get angry."

Tails thinks as he says, "What if we make it look like the Legion won? If the D.E.L. sends a staged transmission where it seems like they captured the city, Eggman's will leave Albion alone."

"That . . . That could work!" Remington says, "So long as the Legion agrees we'll have no troubles finding now.

"N - No, that would never work!" Lien-Da protests, "Eggman wouldn't be tricked so easily, and I won't let you get away with - !"

Remington then gives Lein-Da a cold glare, "Should we start fighting again, then? To the last bitter exhausted man?"

Lien-Da looks back at her soldiers and sees that none of them have the strength to continue fighting, and has a lot of exhaustion. Even Lien-Da is exhausted.

She then reluctantly shakes Remington's hand, "It seems I have no choice. The Dark Legion . . . Will cooperate . . ."

With that, Lara-Le announces, "Despite the hardship we have endured recently, let this day be celebrated for years to come as the day the citizens of Albion and the Dark Legion resolved their differences and came together as one, united echidna people!"

Everyone cheers with excitement, "HOORAY!"

Even Jazz cheers, "CHAO CHAO!"

Later on, a big celebration is held in the streets of Albion.

"To think I would live to see this day . . ." Crystal La says.

"It's incredible, though I'm not sure how long this truce will last," Komi-Ko says.

"Well, I hope these old bones will be ready come what may," Crystal-La says.

"Speaking of which, exactly how old are you, Miss Crystal-La?" Komi-Ko asks.

Crystal-La then whispers in Komi-Ko's ear.

And Komi-Ko is shocked, "You're what!? But how do you look so young?

Crystal-La giggles, "Every girl has her secrets.

Meanwhile, Eve, Jazz, Julie-Su, and Remington head down an alley. They soon find Lien-Da, sitting on an old box.

Noticing them, Lien-Da scowls and questions, "What do you want? If you've come to gloat, then save it!"

"As fun as that sounds, we have more pertinent things to talk about. Remington and Lara-Le knew everything you've done up 'till now," Julie-Su says.

"How you wiped my memory," Julie-Su says.

"And how you tried to assassinate Dimitri, but still decided to give me a device for me to find him," Eve says.

"Huh, so you did find him," Lien-Da says, annoyed.

"Yes, but don't expect me to tell you where he is," Eve says.

"Chao Chao," Jazz replies with a nod.

"And Julie-Su knows the truth about her Father," Remington adds.

Julie-Su glares at Lien-Da, "If I had my way, we'd expose you for the monster you are. But Knuckles thought you should get one last chance to get your act together. And even Eve convinced me that you're not fully a monster."

"We have a chance to all finally live in peace once and for all. We don't have to be legalized or non-legionized. We're all Echidnas. Shouldn't that be enough?" Remington says.

"You can work with Remington and Lara-Le. Between the three of you, imagine sure you can figure out what to do about Eggman," Julie-Su says.

"And Dimitri is actually doing things on his end to help out," Eve adds

"Ah yes, bringing back the council. 'Democracy in Action!' Except you didn't ask me," Lien-Da says, annoyed.

"WWell, as a show of good faith, how about handing over that control chip of yours. And don't pretend you lost it in that explosion,"

". . . I have no idea what you're talking about," Lien-Da replies and begins to walk away.

Julie-Su grits her teeth in anger and takes out her gun.

But Eve grabs Lien-Da by her dreadlocks and pulls her back, "Just hand it over!"

"OW! That really hurts you know!" Lien-Da screams, feeling the pain of having her hair pulled.

Begrudgingly, Lien-Da takes out the micro-chip out of her hair. Remington takes it and crushes it with his fist.

That makes Lien-Da very angry, " What do fools think you're doing? I spent my whole life working to lead the Legion! I deserve this!" and pulls her dreadlocks from Eve's grip.

"Wha - You still lead the Legion! You just can't brainwash them now," Julie-Su shouts.

"You think it's simple! You have no idea! No idea what being a leader is like!" Lien-Da shouts back.

However, Remington says, "I beg your pardon? You have no right to claim anything about leadership. You think being a leader is all about you. That it's blindly accumulating power regardless of how many of your own people you kill. That's you. That's your legacy. Now your past is finally catching up with you, as it catches up with every Echidna. You are arrogant and shortsighted to think that you'd be one exception. Any leader would know how to maintain order without mind control and murder. Any real leader would not sell out to a more powerful tyrant when things got difficult. And any real leader would know how to solve this strife between our people. You're not a leader, Lien-Da. You are just a pathetic, vindictive child." And those words end up hitting Lien-Da like a ton of bricks.

Then Remington walks away, "Grow up while you still have the chance."

Soon, Lien-Da falls to her knees as the others begin to take her leave.

Before leaving, Julie-Su says to Lien-Da, "You know, if you ever wondered why our Father loved me more . . . You always cared about one thing, and one thing only. It's no wonder."

Lien-Da has no more words and starts to cry. Eve stops and turns to Lien-Da. Despite everything she has done, she can't help but feel a slight pity for her.

Later on, the Freedom Fighters are ready to take their leave.

Of course, Tails fixes the plane, "And that does it! Ready for launch!

"I'm glad we were able to help, but I just wish we could stop Eggman sooner so we can get home," Amy says.

"Hey, we've pushed the Death Egg to the point of exhaustion. Next time I'm sure we'll end things once and for all," Sonic says.

The Echidna, Cobar then says, "Thank you all for everything. The Doctor was headed to his Arctic base in the Northern Tundra to refuel. He'll likely be there for a while.

"Thanks!" Tails says, "We know where he's headed with our tracker, but it sounds like he won't be able to make an escape this time."

Sonic and Knuckles then shake hands.

"Well, it's been fun, but we've got to get back to stop Eggman and his Death Egg," Sonic says.

"Good luck, and give Eggman an extra punch in the face for me," Knuckles says.

"You got it," Sonic replies.

And with that, the Freedom Fighters take off in the Tornado. They wave goodbye to the Echidnas as they leave for their next stop to find Eggman.

Knuckles and his mother give each other a hug.

"I promise to keep in touch from now on," Knuckles says.

"Remember, Knuckles, no matter what, your family loves and supports you. Don't ever think otherwise," Lara-Le says.

"Thanks mom," Knuckles says.

Then Remington and Knuckles shake hands.

"If anything should happen regarding the legion, we will notify you and the Chaotix at once," Remington says.

"Thanks, Remington. I know Albion is in good hands with you," Knuckles says.

"Your words are a great honor, Guardian," Remington says.

And now, the three Chaotix are taking their leave.

Saffron hugs a child, "Take care, everyone!"

"C'mon, I'm sure the Master Emerald is lonely without you," Julie-Su says, and tosses a Warp Ring forward.

"I'll see you all again soon! You can count on it!" Knuckles says.

Lara-Le, her family, and the other Echidnas say their goodbyes as the Chaotix walk through the Warp Ring back to Angel Island.

Back in the HQ of the Dark Legion, Gae-Na informs Dr. Eggman on the monitor, "This is Kommissar Gae-Na of the Albion Dark Egg Legion, reporting in place of Grandmaster Lien-Da. The Legion has subdue the entire Albion populace and is awaiting orders. Unfortunately, the Legionization equipment was destroyed in the battle, and-"

But Eggman interrupts, "Fine, whatever. I'm too busy with the Death gg for all the details, i'll call you back later. Eggman out!"

And the connection ends.

Gae-Na turns to Lien-Da, "Well, he seems to have bought it for now. I don't know how long we'll be able to hold him off, though." She then walks to Lien-Da to ask, "Are you alright, Lien-Da? Can I get you anything?"

"I-Im fine. No, thank you," Lien-Da says, dejected.

Gae-Na says, "Let me go get us something to drink. You know, this alliance doesn't have to be a bad thing. Think of it as an opportunity for the Legion to see just what kind of Grandmaster you can be."

"Maybe you're right," Lien-Da says, in a monotone voice.

However, in her thoughts, "Want me to play by your rules, sister? Just watch me."

Sometime later on Angel Island, Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Saffron return to the altar.

"Well, it looks like Dimitri didn't mess up guarding the Master Emerald. Good to know we have someone to watch it in case of emergencies."

"Maybe, but I still have my doubts," Julie-Su responds.

Just then, the Warp Ring opens, and the Chaotix returns with Mighty and Ray.

Vector announces, "Dun dun dun duuuun! The conquering heroes return with all members accounted for."

Knuckles calls out, "Guys! Way to go!"

"Mighty, were you able to find your sister?" Julie-Su asks.

"Yes, Matilda is safe and sound for now," Mighty says, "She's still recovering after all that's happened, but we'll be able to visit her again soon."

"Glad to hear that! It's good to have you and Ray with us again," Knuckles says.

Vector notices, "Wow, someone's in a good mood. I haven't seen you smile like this in ages!"

"I guess I have a lot to smile about. I finally have my family back, including you guys. I have done right by my people," Knuckles says. "It feels like I have… closure.

But Knuckles then says, "Though now we have to do some research on the Tasmanian Devil experiments, on top of rescuing the Brotherhood. Figuring out how to disable the Legion's bombs, Finitevus has the gene bomb now…"

"Anything else you want to add to the list?" Julie-Su questions, "One more and your head will spin faster than Sonic."

"Yeah, alright," Knuckles says. One thing at a time. Okay, CHAOTIX… we've got a lot of work to do. Let's get started.

Meanwhile, in Downunda, beneath the Tasmanian Ruins, Thrash has returned to check on to see an elderly female Tasmanian Devil lying in bed. He questions if he has made the right decision to trust Knuckles and the others to help right the wrong of his kind.