My Island Home

Remington and Stryker both tried to think of a way to remedy their situation. Though both were seasoned in such matters, being surrounded on all sides by a group of terrorists intent on their destruction in a confined underground tunnel left them with little in the way of options. They had no weapons, whereas the Legionnaires were extremely well armed. And with their infrared sites, they could see far better in the gloom of the sewer.

"Well," one of the Legionnaires, obviously the group leader, sneered. "Looky what we got here. A traitor and a troglodyte." Remington felt Stryker bristle even more and let out a low threatening growl at the Legionnaire’s insulting insinuation.

"The dingoes may be a brutal and war-like species," a voice came softly from the darkness, "but they’re hardly troglodytes."

The group leader and several of the other Legionnaires turned, trying to locate the source of the voice, but they could see nothing. "Show yourself." The leader hissed.

"And have you shoot me with your nasty laser?" The voice said. "No thank you."

Stryker glanced at Remington. Even in the darkness he could see the smile curling around the echidna’s muzzle. He leaned closer. "Friend of yours?" He asked in a whisper.

"You could say that." Remington whispered back.

"We DO have you outnumbered." The Legionnaire leader threatened the darkness. "We are twelve, when you are but one."

"Really?" The voice countered. "What makes you think I’m alone?"

Stryker felt his own smile. This guy was good. He was mocking the Legionnaires, confusing them, even scaring them with the threat of a possible larger force. He sniffed the air slightly. It was impossible to get any real scents down here over the smell of moss and water.

"And even if you do have an advantage in numbers," the voice went on, "What makes you think you have an advantage in firepower?"

"We are the Dark Legion." The leader said proudly, though with a slight quiver in his voice. "There is no species on this planet that is our technological superior."

"I wasn’t talking about technology." The voice countered. "I had something a little more MYSTICAL in mind." Remington, Stryker and the Legionnaires turned as one as an emerald glow began to illuminate the dark tunnel. It emanated from the clenched fist of a red-furred echidna.

"Oh, crud," the Legionnaire leader whispered.

Thanks to Moritori Rex, the Legion were aware of just how powerful the Chaos energy wielding Brotherhood could be, and none were too keen to meet up with them. And now, given the fact that their homeland was under siege, an angered Guardian would be an even worse foe to face.

The Legionnaires shrieked and dropped their weapons, which had become red hot through some action taken by the Guardian before them.

"If you value your lives," he said in a soft yet threatening voice, "I suggest you release the constable and the general and get your sorry behinds out of here." As he spoke, the glow intensified, bringing with it an unearthly wind that whipped their robes around them. "Before I get REALLY annoyed."

They didn’t have to be told twice.

The Guardian chuckled as the Legionnaires bolted into the darkness. He then turned to the unlikely pair of Remington and Stryker. "Constable." He nodded in greeting to the brown echidna.

"Sir." Remington returned the nod.

"And General Stryker," he smiled warmly at the dingo, offering his hand. "We meet at last."

The dingo took the offered hand, staring at the echidna’s face. "By the Walkers," he whispered, "you look just like the Guardian."

"More to the point," the echidna said, "the Guardian looks like me. After all, he is his father’s son."

"You’re the Guardian’s father?"

He nodded in conformation. "I am Locke." He turned to Remington. "How much have you told him?"

"Nothing, Sir," he glanced at Stryker. The big dingo had raised a brow suspiciously. "Some secrets are not mine to tell."

"Very well," Locke said. He turned to Stryker. "The Guardian you are familiar with..."

"Knuckles," Stryker said, "your son."

"Yes," Locke smiled, "is but one of our number. His duty is to look after the Floating Island." He frowned, and turned to Remington. "You’ve no news about him?"

"Sorry, Sir," Remington sighed, "but no."

"I’m sure he kicked as much butt as he was able," Stryker smiled, "before they took him down."

"Yes," Locke agreed, "I’m sure he did." He lowered his head, fearful of his son’s fate. He sighed deeply. "Let’s get out of here." He suggested.

~~~~~

"Let me get this perfectly clear," Moritori Rex growled as he glared at his unfortunate subordinate. "You had the chief officer of the Echidna Security Team and the commander of those insufferable dingoes outgunned and outnumbered, AND THEY GOT AWAY?"

"It wasn’t my fault, Sir," the group leader protested. "We were ambushed by the Brotherhood."

Moritori frowned. "Describe them."

"Well," the other stammered, "I only actually saw one, and I didn’t get a very good look..."

"Do your best." Moritori sighed.

"He was red," he began.

‘Narrows it down to two, then.’ Moritori thought. ‘The fool would never had been able to make out Spectre’s colour in the dark.’

"He was rather flippant," he continued. "And pretty ticked off as well."

"Locke," Moritori mumbled. "You’re dismissed." He said to the group leader, who shuffled off rather quickly. Moritori drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. ‘Great,’ he thought, ‘Dimitri leaves me here to baby-sit with only a phalanx of troops, while that brat gets all the glory. And now I’ve got the Brotherhood to contend with.’

He sighed. He didn’t fancy facing any of the Brotherhood, but he especially wanted to stay away from Locke. Of all of them, only Spectre was more unpredictable, and only Knuckles was more powerful. Locke’s experiments in bio-enhancement, that he’d performed on himself before he even attempted to father his mutant offspring, had enhanced his already formidable abilities to a point that even Locke was not truly aware of. And Moritori had noticed that Knuckles was far more potent when he was angry, and there was nothing to indicate that Locke was any different. And Locke’s weak point had always been his now missing freak of a son.

‘Looks like I may be in for a world of hurt,’ Moritori thought, ‘if I don’t plan for it.’

~~~~~

"Locke," Archimedes mumbled in his friend’s ear, "We really should meet up with the others."

"I need to know what happened to my son." The red echidna insisted.

"I understand that," Archimedes soothed. "But you won’t do him or yourself any good charging into enemy headquarters and demanding information. That’s a good way to get yourself killed."

"I know..." Locke sighed. "You’re right...But that boy is the most important thing in the world to me."

"I know," the fire ant smiled.

"And there’s no sign of him anywhere on the Island."

"Which just means he’s not on the Island."

"Or he’s..."

"He’s not on the Island." Archimedes said firmly. He was worried about what had happened to Knuckles and his friends too. He feared the worst, but hoped for the best. And he couldn’t have Locke falling to pieces on him. He needed the Guardian focused on the task at hand.

"Just what else have you been hiding from me?" Stryker growled as he watched the white-robed echidna converse with the ant that stood on his shoulder.

"Do you tell me everything?" Remington countered. "You now know more than most of the populace. To them, there’s only one Guardian."

"How many are there?"

"Quite a few," Locke said. "Now lets go check in with your troops."

~~~~~

The collected troops let out a sigh of relief when they saw their commanding officers. All raised a brow at the sight of the echidna accompanying them, who so much resembled the young Guardian.

"Okay," Stryker looked to his two echidna companions, "we’ve hooked up with the troops. What do we do now?"

"We need some recognisance." Remington frowned, "find out just what we’re up against."

"Things are not as bad as we thought," a voice cut in. They turned to face a brown echidna, dressed in blue, with a monocle covering his left eye.

"And who might you be?" Stryker queried.

"I am Sabre." The echidna announced.

Locke leant towards the dingo. "MY father." He said with a smile. Stryker raised a brow. Locke shrugged. "I did say there were a few of us."

"We’ve only got Moritori and a single phalanx of troops to contend with." Sabre went on. "There can’t be more than a hundred of them."

"A hundred." Stryker echoed sceptically.

"So we’re outnumbered two to one," Remington mused. "We’ve got little in the way of armaments." He looked at Sabre. "Have they hostages, Sir?"

"A few," he admitted. He glanced at his son. Remington nodded. He knew what the older Guardian meant. Moritori had Locke’s former wife, Knuckles’ mother, Lara-Le. "But they’re being treated quite well."

"And we do have the power of two Guardians." Locke added.

"Three." Sabre corrected.

"Who’s with you?" Locke asked.

"Spectre." Sabre informed him. "But, given his choice in personal attire, we both thought it might be better if he stayed out of sight for the time being." Locke nodded his own agreement. Spectre’s black robe and silver helmet resembled the Dark Legion’s attire a little too closely for comfort.

"I say we take the fight to Moritori." Locke said. "We may be outnumbered and outgunned, but I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

Stryker chuckled. "You know," he said to Remington. "I think I like this guy."

~~~~~

"Ah, man," a dingo mumbled. "We just made our way out of the sewers and now we gotta go back."

"It’s the best way to get to the centre of the city without being spotted." An echidna pointed out.

"Yeah, I know that," he said. "I just wish it didn’t smell so funky."

"Okay," Remington said, "you’ve got your orders. Hit and run, people. Draw them out so the Guardians can take out their weaponry."

"And when their lasers are useless," Stryker added, "take ‘em down. Hard."

"We’ve got two to one odds," Remington reminded them. "So watch each others backs. I don’t want any heroics out there." He turned to Stryker. "Ready?"

"Let’s do it."

~~~~~

The streets of Echidnaopolis were quiet. The Dark Legion had locked most of the populace in their homes, some in their places of business. Any ESTs or dingoes that they’d managed to capture were locked up tight in what was left of the ESTs main penitentiary building.

While Sabre and Spectre handled the troops, the remaining quartet stealthy attempted to increase their numbers.

"You got a secret entrance to your own prison?" Stryker asked as Remington led him and Locke through the dark catacombs beneath the penitentiary.

"Never hurts to be prepared." The echidna shrugged. "We’re here." He looked back towards Locke, who was bringing up the rear.

"Do the honours, old friend." He said to Archimedes, still perched on his shoulder.

"Be back in a flash." He said as he disappeared in his customary puff of smoke. He returned a moment later. "All clear." He announced.

"Then let’s go." Remington said as he punched in the code to open the heavy door that stood before them. It slid open silently. Stryker raised a brow. It was much like the door of a bank vault.

"That’s some door." He noted.

"Can’t have the prisoners escaping, now can we?" Remington shot back with a smile.

"Will you two please cut the chatter?" Locke said as he pushed past.

On his shoulder, Archimedes frowned. All his usually flippancy was gone. Even in the most heated of battles, Locke usually remained fairly light-hearted. ‘He’s really worried about Knuckles,’ Archimedes noted.

The quartet moved in silence, Remington in the lead. They came to a junction in the corridor. Remington had briefed them on the layout of the facility. The adjoining corridor led to the holding cells, where, he believed they’d find the remainder of their troops, enough to outnumber and overpower the Dark Legionnaires that remained on the Island. The brown echidna indicated for the fire ant to check the situation around the corner. Archimedes’ much smaller frame would most likely go undetected by anybody that might be around the corner.

"There’s only two guards," he announced on his return.

"Piece of cake," Stryker said, pounding his fist into his hand.

"It only takes one of them to sound the alarm." Locke pointed out.

"Leave it to me." Remington said. Taking a deep breath, he stepped around the corner into full view of the Legionnaire guards.

"What the heck is he doing?" Stryker hissed.

Remington stared, his mouth agape at the two guards. "I don’t believe it." He said to them. "I step out for a moment, and you go and defect on me." He walked towards the somewhat startled pair, shaking a disapproving finger at them. "This is going on your permanent record, people."

The two exchanged a glance, both obviously questioning the brown echidna’s sanity. As soon as their attention was diverted from him, Remington reached out and slammed their heads together, smiling with satisfaction as they slumped soundlessly to the floor.

"Is that how you usually conduct business?" Stryker asked incredulously.

"I cater for the situation," Remington replied as he punched in another code to give them access to the holding cells beyond.

"Constable Remington," a pretty female echidna sighed with relief at the sight of her commanding officer.

"Hello, Teri-Lu," he smiled at her. "Let’s get you out of that cage, shall we."

~~~~~

It didn’t take long to get the ESTs and dingoes free from their confinement. Orders were given, and they quickly dispersed to supplement the troops in the streets. After their exodus, Remington turned to Teri-Lu. "Have you seen any hostages?" He asked.

"We were mostly it," she informed him. "But their leader wanted some added ‘insurance’, he called it."

"Lady Lara-Le and her husband?" He asked quietly, glancing towards Locke. Teri-Lu nodded. Remington sighed deeply.

"Then we had best see to their safety." Locke said. "Where would they be?"

"Main office suite, I’d guess," Remington said, cursing the Guardian’s enhanced senses.

~~~~~

"I must say," Moritori said as he lifted Lara-Le’s chin with his finger. "Locke does have exquisite taste." She jerked away, throwing him a scathing look. "Pity he couldn’t hold onto it." He walked away, returning to his seat behind Remington’s desk. "He’ll be coming, you know. To try and save you. He’s really quite predictable. Ever the hero. Just like your brat of a son." He smiled at her discomfort. "And I’m betting you’re wondering just where your darling boy’s gone off to, aren’t you?" He laughed loudly. "Oh, if only you knew."

"Then why don’t you fill us in?" A voice growled from the doorway.

"Ah, Locke," Moritori smiled. "Do come in, we’ve been expecting you."

Locke said nothing. He just glared at the echidna he had once thought was one of his own. A Guardian. A member of the Brotherhood. It had hurt a great deal when they’d discovered there had been a traitor in their midst for so long.

"Please," Moritori continued, acting like the perfect host, "do sit down."

"Where is he?" Locke growled.

"Oh, he’s around somewhere." Moritori said absently. "I’m not sure, actually. But I must say, he’s been a boon to our cause. And he looks quite fetching in Dark Legion attire." He smiled maliciously at the look on both Locke and Lara-Le’s faces as they stared at him in disbelief. Wynmacher looked from one to the other, his concern etched on his face.

"Of course, turning him was quite a task. The boy is just so stubborn. But you know how Dimitri is. When he decides to do something, he’ll see it happen." He locked eyes with the younger echidna. "No matter what it takes."

Locke lunged at the hateful echidna with a speed Moritori didn’t know he possessed. He gasped as Locke’s strong fingers clamped about his neck and lifted him easily from the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SON YOU SMARMY BASTARD?!" Locke demanded in so forceful a tone of voice that he even scared his ex-wife. "So help me," he growled, "if you’ve harmed a hair or a spine on that boy’s body, I will see you pay ten-fold!"

"Well," Stryker said softly, "it’s pretty obvious where the boy gets his...tenacity."

Moritori’s electronic eyes flickered to a movement beyond Locke’s shoulder.

"Let him go, Locke," Sabre said soothingly. "The Island is ours once more, he no longer holds any power over us."

"He knows where Knuckles is." Locke growled, his eyes never leaving Moritori.

"Perhaps," Spectre spoke up, "but he won’t be able to tell us if you choke the life out of him."

"They hurt him."

"And now you want blood for blood?" Sabre asked.

"It’s no less than he deserves."

"It won’t prove anything." Spectre added.

"It’ll make me feel better."

"Will it?" Sabre questioned.

Locke looked into Moritori’s pain-filled face. He knew he had the strength to snap the traitor’s neck like a twig. If their positions were reversed, he knew Moritori wouldn’t hesitate. But he also knew, he didn’t want to be anything like the Dark Legionnaire. With an exasperated growl he threw Moritori to the ground.

"You made the right decision." Spectre told him.

"I hope so." Locke whispered.

"We got the Island back," Sabre said, "We’ll get Knuckles back too."

Moritori watched in disgust. "You may have your Island back," he snarled at them, "but you’ll never get your precious little brat back. He is ours now. Now and forever." He pressed a button set into his belt buckle, activating the Legion’s new stealth technology, and faded from sight, making an easy, if somewhat humbled escape.

~~~~~

Locke looked out over the city. It was business as usual for the residents of Echidnaopolis. The ESTs, with the assistance of the dingoes, were rounding up the few Legionnaires that remained at large. He sighed. They may have retaken the Island, but the Legion’s shield was still up. They were still trapped, with no way to communicate with the outside world. No way of finding out what had happened to his son.

"Locke?" A familiar voice brought him back from his reverie.

He sighed, not turning towards her as he spoke. "I really lost it back there. I’m sorry."

"For showing how much you love your son?" She asked. "By being willing to throttle a hateful being who so richly deserved it?"

He gave her an amused but sour look.

"We haven’t always seen eye to eye, Locke." She sighed. "And there were many things I disagreed with in regards to raising our son. But the one thing I never doubted was how much you love him."

He sighed deeply.

"Your father’s right," she continued, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We WILL get him back."

"I hope you’re right." He whispered.

"I know I am."