-Chapter 76-

A Chaotix Day


Angel Island, two weeks later…

Locke laid in his bed, in the grips of a vivid dream. Flashes of images filled his mind, as well as the sounds of grating metal, screaming people, and maniacal laughing. Finally, he snapped awake with a gasp, panting. He put a hand to his head, regaining his breath.

"It can't be…" he sighed. "I hoped this day would never come."

He got to his feet, grabbing his walking stick and heading out. He headed to the altar of the Master Emerald, finding Kat and Knuckles training. Both of them were in traditional attire, though Knuckles had elected to keep his sneakers and gloves. Kat was also bandage free, now sporting faint but noticeable scars on her abdomen and arms.

"Kathryn, Knuckles," Locke piped up, getting their attention. "I need to speak with you two."

Both of them stopped what they were doing, Knuckles looking a bit annoyed.

"If you're going to criticize us again, I swear I will throw you off the shrine," Knuckles threatened.

"I'm not," Locke replied. "This is important."

That made Knuckles' annoyance vanish. "What's going on, Dad?"

Locke sat down, sighing. "I had a dream... a vision of impending danger. Son, do you remember the Dark Legion?"

Knuckles went pale, which Kat noticed.

"Okay, I take it they're bad," she mused.

"Very much so," Locke confirmed. "A group of rogue Echidnas who didn't take it too well when our society renounced excess technology."

"How are they back?" Knuckles demanded. "They can't be-" His eyes widened in realization. "The Phantom Ruby…" he rubbed his face. "It didn't just bring you back…"

"I've been keeping an eye out," Locke explained. "I had a gut feeling that the Phantom Ruby's temporal wave would eventually return all of Angel Island's inhabitants to this world. I had hoped I was wrong."

"These guys… this Dark Legion…" Kat began, "Exactly what do they want?"

"Their motivations aren't far removed from Dr. Robotnik's," Locke replied. "They seek the technology within our Grand Conservatory to conquer Angel Island, and then the world."

"We can't let that happen!" Knuckles declared.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Locke agreed. "Now's your chance to prove Kathryn's worth as a Guardian. From what I recall of the vision, the Dark Legion has resurfaced and set up shop on the Isolated Island, in the far reaches of the Acorn Archipelago. I want you two to investigate their activities. Find out what they're up to, and do whatever it takes to stop them."

"You can count on us," Knuckles promised.

"We'll need a ride," said Kat. "I'll pop down to Knothole, see if Tails is finished with his new plane."

"Should we ask the rest of the Freedom Fighters for backup?" Knuckles asked.

"No," Kat shook her head. "This is our fight. Besides, Sonic's got enough to deal with right now."


Empire City

Up in the continent of Northamer was the United Federation city of Empire City, an urban metropolis and a melting pot of diverse folk and ideas, where those who dream of making it big gather. In the middle of the city sat a modest-looking office. Before the door sat a sign that read "Chaotix Detective Agency- Are You Sure You Want To Know?".

Sitting behind a desk was a large Mobian crocodile with green skin, spiky red scales down his tail and goldenrod-colored eyes. He wore black pants with chains, a black leather jacket and a black t-shirt with Crush 40 written on it, along with small, black shoulder pads, white gloves with black-and-orange cuffs, embellished with gold buckles as well as black shoes figured with white and orange colors, a golden chain around his neck, and a pair of black-and-grey wireless headphones. This was the leader of the agency, Vector.

On either side of him were his partners, a Mobian chameleon and a Mobian bee named Espio and Charmy, respectively. Espio had purple skin with a yellow horn between his gold eyes and a ridge of three black scales down his spine and a coiled tail. For attire, he wore a purple ninja gi with black trim and a matching belt, along with dark purple and black shoes with elaborate cuffs, white gloves with a purple back, and studded bands around his wrists and ankles. On the right side of his shirt and the back was an insignia that resembled a half-closed green-lidded eye with a white infinity sigil in the dead center of the pupil.

Charmy was black-and-yellow striped with yellow-and-black striped antennae and golden eyes, and wore an orange vest with a bee emblem on the left, white and orange shoes, white gloves cuffed with black rings, a black pilot's helmet with a dark pink rim and flight goggles, and orange shorts with a small hole for his stinger. Standing before their desk was Ray and Mighty, who were passing the croc their résumés.

"As you can see, we've got experience in the field," Mighty told them. "Search and rescue, investigations, the works."

"My flight capabilities also come in handy since I don't buzz when I move," Ray added. "Perfect for recon."

"Everything seems to check out," Espio said. "What do you think, Vector?"

"I say that they're great additions to the team," Vector declared. "Welcome aboard, you two."

He held out a hand, which Mighty shook.

"You won't regret this," Mighty said, smiling.

Just then, the phone began ringing. Vector quickly snagged it up.

"Chaotix Detective Agency. You pay it, we solve it," he greeted. "How can we help you?"

He listened to the other end for a bit. "Isolated Island... suspicious activity… PAYMENT UP FRONT?! We're on the case!"

He hung up, grinning. "You two are just in time! We've got your first case!"

"Excellent," Mighty declared. "The perfect chance for us to prove ourselves."

"Let's go!" Ray exclaimed.


Knothole

At the hangar of Knothole Village, Kat explained the situation to Tails. Behind them sat the newly completed Tornado 2, a biplane similar to the original Tornado, but painted blue-and-yellow and marked with symbols resembling Tails' namesake.

"I know you're probably wary about taking it up so soon, but the Warp Rings won't work since none of us have been to Isolated Island," Kat concluded. "And this is really important, to everyone on Angel Island."

"Well, lucky for you, our duties as Freedom Fighters aren't just limited to Eggman and his cronies," Tails told her. "And I was gonna take it out on its maiden flight soon anyway."

"Thanks, Tails," Kat smiled. "And… let's keep this between us. This is an Echidna matter, not a Freedom Fighter problem."

"Meaning you don't want Sonic involved," Tails realized.

Kat nodded. "No, I don't."

"He's at his latest appointment with Dr. Sorders anyway," Tails told her. "I can take you and Knuckles there and be back before he even knows I'm gone."

"Thanks, Tails," Kat said. "Seriously."

"Hold on," Tails cut in. "I do have one condition."

He reached into his jacket, pulling out his communicator. "Take this. And if you need backup, don't hesitate to use it."

Kat took the communicator, sliding it into her skirt's pouch. With that, Tails hopped into the cockpit, gunning the engine.

"Let's go," he insisted.


Isolated Island

The two Freedom Fighters stopped to pick up Knuckles, then they were on their way once more.

"So, what all can you tell us about Isolated Island?" Knuckles asked.

"Not much," Tails answered. "It's been abandoned since the early days of the Great War. There's nothing there but a Lake of Rings, and for all we know, it dried up a long time ago."

"Maybe that's what the Legion is after," Knuckles theorized. "They may be inferior to Chaos Emeralds, but Power Rings are still a great source of potent energy."

"Yeah, we all know that," Kat pointed out.

"Are you sure you don't want back-up?" Tails questioned.

"Absolutely," Knuckles confirmed. "This is something we need to do by ourselves. Besides, two weeks of therapy isn't enough to just magically make Sonic better."

"Yeah, good point," Tails conceded.

-X-

Meanwhile, Team Chaotix was rolling up to the island in an old tugboat. Ray looked it over.

"Isolated Island," he mused. "Looks like every island people get stranded on in the movies."

"Yeah, it's definitely spooky," Charmy said. "I almost feel like something's gonna jump out and get us."

"You watch far too many movies, Charmy," Espio remarked.

"Maybe," Charmy answered. "Or maybe you don't watch enough."

"All of you shut up!" Vector ordered. "We're pulling up now."

They walked around, unaware of a figure following them from the trees. Mighty stopped, sensing something off.

"What's wrong, Mighty?" Ray asked.

"We're being watched," Mighty warned. "Keep on your toes. There's someone here."

They tensed, looking around the trees for any sign of movement. As they did, Espio caught sight of the figure in the trees.

"Above us!" he shouted before throwing a shuriken at the tree. The figure jumped out of the way, landing before them. They were wearing a black robe with the hood drawn up, hiding their face.

"Now, what brings you to the Newtrogic High Zone?" they asked, the voice identifying them as female.

"Uh, don't you mean Isolated Island?" Charmy questioned.

"Not anymore," said the figure. "This island is the territory of the Dark Legion. And you... are not welcome here."

"I don't know what this 'Dark Legion' is, but anything with dark in the name can't be good!" Mighty declared before charging at the figure.

The figure moved with surprising agility, easily evading Mighty's attack. He looked surprised, then swung at her again. The figure continued dodging and evading, then she used Mighty's momentum to send him face first into a tree.

"You've had training," Espio mused. "Let's see how much!"

They clashed for a bit, the figure eventually knocking him back. Wiping his lip, Espio performed a few hand signs.

"Ninja Arts: Camouflage!" he recited.

Transparent green leaves swirled around him before he vanished from sight.

"Clever," the figure said before a red light glinted under her hood. "But not clever enough."

She looked around slowly before reaching out and grabbing something. A gagging sound reached everyone's ears, and Espio winked back into view, the figure's hand wrapped around his windpipe.

"H-How…?" Espio wheezed out.

"The Dark Legion provides," the figure replied.

"Drop him!" Vector screamed.

He charged at the figure, raising a fist to strike. The fist was intercepted by a metal hand. Scowling, Vector clamped down on her left arm with his teeth, tearing the sleeve away to reveal the arm was apparently completely covered in metal rings.

"Wrong arm, pal," she quipped.

The first backhanded him, grabbing him and slamming him into Espio, the both of them dropping before the figure turned to Ray and Charmy.

"Make this easy on yourselves, boys," she warned. "Surrender."

"Never!" Charmy pointed his rear at the figure, revealing an opening in his shorts just big enough for a sharp-looking stinger. "I'll sting your face!"

He charged at the figure, only to just get caught.

"You were saying?" she asked.

A small part of the metal hand opened up, releasing a small puff of purple gas. "Sleep it off, kid."

Charmy coughed before passing out. With that, the figure turned to Ray, the last one standing, drawing a double-barreled raygun from within her robe.

"So, are you gonna try your luck next?" she questioned. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, squirrel boy."

Realizing his chances, Ray got on his knees and put his hands behind his head.

"Okay, you win," he told her. "You've got me."

"Good answer," the figure said.

She walked over to him, pinching the back of Ray's neck, and he crumbled to the ground. After a moment, something metallic protruded from her hood, forming what looked like a microphone, into which she spoke.

"Julie-Su to base," she reported. "Just took down a group of five intruders."

"We'll send a collection team," came the voice on the other end. "Echidna?"

"No, just Mobians," Julie-Su replied.

"Keep your eyes open," the voice warned. "The Angel Islanders can't be far."

"Let them come," Julie-Su cocked their gun. "I'll be ready."


Author's Note:

So, yeah. This will be my Knuckles Chaotix adaptation, with some tweaks here and there and… well, everywhere.

Anyway, next chapter, Knuckles and Kat arrive on the island, and have their first meeting with Team Chaotix.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Julie-Su- Carli Mosier (Levi Kazama from Trinity Seven, Lala from Monster Musume, Astraea from Heaven's Lost Property)

Please R&R. Until next time!