At Last chapter 10 is here woo. This one's pretty long.

As an experiment I decided to add music. Throughout the text you will find links to YouTube videos featuring music, to help set the mood. Simply right click on the link and set it to New Window or New Tab, and listen to the music as you read. I will put *s to indicate when the music is suppost to stop. Tell me how it works, and enjoy.

#10 Training/Who is Vincent?

[link] The Chaotix. A group of freelance detectives, agents, and mercenaries. Right now though there are only three members.
Vector the Crocodile, is the leader of the team. His huge jaws are good not only for ripping apart robots, but his big mouth gets him into trouble, sometimes. He’s a fan of detective stories, which is where he get’s his crime solving skills from.
Espio the Chameleon, is the smartest, and voice of reason, of the three. He’s a very skilled ninja and has the biggest collection of ninja weapons in the world. Being a chameleon, he puts his natural abilities to great use, such as climbing on walls, turning invisible and using his long tongue to attack enemies.
And finally Charmy Bee. The youngest and most erratic of the Chaotix. Never underestimate Charmy because of his childish nature or that he’s a bee. He can smash bots with the best of them. He can fly, and use his powerful stinger to attack. One special skill he has, is the ability to teleport from one flower to the other.

Vector and Espio were carrying food supplies, from the storage tent, to the mess tent.
“This is not what I was expecting when we took on this job.” Vector grumbled.
“We have to do what we can for the resistance. They need all the help they can get. Besides you’re the one who agreed to do this for free” Espio reminded him.
“Don’t remind me.”
All of a sudden, Charmy Bee came flying in. “Hey guys, guess what?…”
He flew towards them, and tried to stop, but ended up crashing into Vector’s face. Surprised, Vector threw his box, full of heavy supplies, into the air.
“What’s with you?” Vector said angrily, before his heavy box came down and landed on his foot.
“Ow!” Vector bellowed, as he hoped on one foot, favoring his injured one.
As he hopped around in pain, Espio turned to Charmy, who was hovering in the air, and said, “So what was it you wanted to tell us?”
“Oh, I wanted to tell you guys that the strategy meeting has begun.”
“What?” Vector said.
“Yeah. They’re trying to come up with a plan to defeat the Legion.”
Vector scratched his head and said, “Well since we’re only mercenaries, I doubt they will let us in. Let’s just finish our work here.”
Espio, Vector, and Charmy picked up their cargo, and continued walking. They walked to the science tent, where a G.U.N. Agent was waiting.
Vector sat his box down near her and said. “That’s the last of it Topaz.”
Agent Topaz was strong woman. She had short blond hair, was wearing her military uniform, and had a clipboard with the day’s inventory on it.
“Thanks you guys. We’re done for the day. Your free to go now.”

The Chaotix left Topaz to her work, and started walking through the compound.
“Well guys, since we got done early today, now what should we do?” Vector said.
“Hey, how about we go bug Eggman?” Charmy suggested, “I’ll bet that will be fun.”
“No Charmy. We need to do something constructive. The big fight is in five days. I say we prepare for it.” Vector said.
“Well I know we don’t really need any more training. But a little more couldn’t hurt.” Espio said. “On the battlefield, your greatest strength are your allies. I say we get to know them.”
“Good idea, Espio.” Vector said.
“But we know pretty much everyone here.” Charmy said.
“Not everyone.” Espio said. “I’ve been curious about that mercenary, Vincent, ever since he got here.”
“Okay, let’s go introduce ourselves.” Charmy said, as he and Espio headed for the mess tent, where a private meeting was taking place. Suddenly, Vector ran ahead of them, turned, and stopped them.
“Wait a minute, guys. A busy guy like him, can’t be bothered with three guys like us. We need to do this stealthy.”
“…okay. What did you have in mind?” Espio asked. Vector then scratch his chin, while thinking up of a plan. He smiled…*

Inside the mess tent, Vincent, Sonic, Knuckles, Eggman, the President, and the G.U.N. Commander were having a meeting. They were trying to figure out the best way to approach Enerjak’s army. They were too busy talking to notice the bottom of the tent wall rise by itself. Espio had used his chameleon ability to turn invisible, and sneak into the mess tent. His goal was to steal Vincent’s wallet for his ID.

[link] “We’re going to need laser rifles for the troops.” Eggman said, “My robots have titanium hides.”
The Commander then said, “Alright, that should give us some sort of a leg up on them. We’ll place snipers up here in the trees. Below them, on the ground will be artillery guns. On the actual battlefield, will be the infantry. Among them will be Vincent, Sonic, and his friends. Behind them will be our robot force of Beetles and Hunters, and behind them will be the Walkers, led by Eggman, and that robot he’s building.”
The President said, “Well that takes care of the army, but what about Enerjak himself?”
“Leave him to me.” Knuckles said, as everyone looked at him. “While your forces battle with the Dark Legion, I’ll sneak into his Citadel, and confront him.”
“Knuckles, we fought him ourselves.” Shadow said. “What makes you think you can take him yourself?”
Knuckles sighed and said, “Only an Echidna of Guardian blood can defeat him. Besides, Enerjak still has the Chaos Emeralds. I can use them.”
Sonic smiled and said, “That’s the spirit, Knuckles.”
“Well then it’s decided,” Vincent said, “Don’t let us down.”
Suddenly, Vincent felt a tug on his pants…*

Espio had a hold of Vincent’s wallet, but it was connected to a chain, which was connected to Vincent’s belt loop. Espio looked up and saw Vincent looking at him, but Vincent couldn’t see him.

Vincent’s wallet then fell and hung from his waist. Everyone stared in disbelief, and didn’t notice the tent flap open and close by itself.
“Okay, that was weird.” Vincent said, before he let out a sigh. “So what now?”
“Well, we have a strategy.” Knuckles said, “So I’m going to train in the nearby forest. Care to join me Sonic?”
“Sure.” He said, before they left the tent.

The Vector and Charmy were hiding behind the tent as Espio ran up to them.
“Espio, what happened?” Vector asked.
Espio leaned against a nearby tree, and gasped for air. He finally said. “It… was attached to him. But I did find out something. He carries a sword on his left hip.”
Vector cocked an eyebrow, as Charmy said, “So what do we do now Vector?”
Vector look behind him, at Charmy, and said, “Don’t worry. I have another idea.” He gave a thumbs up. Charmy looked at him puzzled.

[link] Knuckles was standing in a large clearing, in the middle of the forest. He could hear the birds chirping, and the wind flowing threw the trees. But there was something else out there. Knuckles had asked Sonic to help him train. Knuckles was trying to learn how to sense life force energy in battle. He instructed Sonic to be as silent, fast, and sneaky as possible, to attack Knuckles. Knuckles closed his eyes, and tried to sense Sonic coming. He got into a fighting stance, and opened his eyes right when he heard a blue blur right behind him. Knuckles spun around and finally hit Sonic. Sonic got up off the ground, brushed himself off, and said. “Bout’ time you tagged me Knucklehead. I guess 76 is your lucky number.”
“Hey, at least I’m getting better. Come on, let’s keep going.”
Sonic and Knuckles continued with their exercises.

Vincent was running threw the forest. He was very fast on his feet, so much so it was hard for the Chaotix to keep up. “Where in the world is this guy going?” Vector said, under his breath.
“I have no idea.” Espio said. “He must be looking for a place to train.”
“I hope he finds a place soon. We need to watch him train, so we know what he’s capable of.”
Suddenly, Vincent jumped into the air, kicked off a nearby tree, and landed on a tree branch. The Chaotix hid behind a tree, and watched him carefully. Vincent touched his ear and said. “Drew, send me some training drones, will ya?”
“Sure thing. It will only take a second. Don‘t wreak them too bad, we‘re running out.”*
[link] Suddenly, five humanoid robots appeared in the trees. Each was carrying a sword. They were standing on branches surrounding Vincent.
They leaped at him, as he reached for the sword on his belt.
He unsheathed it and parried one of the robot’s attacks. One tried to attack Vincent from behind.
Vincent jumped high into the air, put his sword away, pulled out his shot-gun from on his back, and shot two of the robots. As he came down he pulled out his sword again, and sliced up another robot. He landed on the branch. He held his blade firm, and got ready for the remaining two robots to attack him.
They jumped at him. He jumped at one of them, and cut the robot’s head off. He landed on the side of a tree, kicked off of it, and flew at the remaining robot. He landed on the tree branch the robot was standing on, and stabbed it in the mid-section.
He then put his boot on the bot’s chest and kicked it. The robot landed on a nearby tree branch. Vincent let out a breath, before taking off into the forest.*

The Chaotix were awestruck. They have never seen anyone do that before. Even Espio was impressed.
“So Vector, what do we do now?” Charmy asked.
“Well… after that impressive demonstration, I say we talk to the people who already know him.”
“Good idea Espio.” Vector said.
Suddenly the robot that Vincent kicked, fell on them.

[link] Knuckles asked Shadow to train with him next. They were standing in the same cleaning he and Sonic trained in. This exercise was similar to what he did with Sonic. Trying to determine where his opponent will appear, after vanishing. Except this was a much higher level.
“Are you ready?” Shadow asked him.
“Yes.” Knuckles nodded.
“Alright then. CHAOS CONTROL!” Shadow vanished. Knuckles closed his eyes, and tried to sense where Shadow was. Knuckles then quickly spun around, right when Shadow appeared. Shadow tried to do a high kick, with his right leg. Knuckles forced his left arm up, and blocked it. With his right arm he was able to punch Shadow in the chest.
Shadow jumped back. “Lucky hit.” He said. “Let’s see if you can keep it up.” Shadow and Knuckles continued their training.*

The Chaotix were standing in the middle of the compound, desiding what their next move was.
“Okay, Boys,” Vector said. “You know the plan. We talk to the people who know who Vincent is, and find out what they know. Espio, you go talk to Sonic.”
“Right.” The Chameleon said.
“And Charmy, you go speak with Tails.”
“Okay Dokey.” The Bee said.
“That leaves Eggman to me. Good luck boys.”
They split up, and went to their interviews.
Espio found Sonic walking threw the compound. He was on his way to do some solo training. Espio caught up with him and said. “Hey, Sonic, hold up.”
Sonic stopped and turned around to see who called out to him. He saw that it was Espio. The Chameleon walked up to him, as Sonic said. “Hey Espio. What’s up?”
“I wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“What about?”
“About that friend of yours, Vincent. He’s a very mysterious person, and the Chaotix want to know more. So what do you know about him?”
“…Well… I do know he’s from a different world.”
“What? You mean like an alien?”
“Not exactly, more like from another dimension. He stumbled into our world by accident. I first met him when he was a spy, helping us defeat Robotnik’s forces. He has no love for Eggman, as you saw the other day. He is a very skillful swordsman, and a cunning tactician. After he helped us, he returned to his own world. He comes back every now and again to help us.”
Espio was awestruck. It was definitely not what he expected to hear. “Thank you for your time Sonic.” Espio gave a quick bow before dashing off.
“Y…Your welcome.” Sonic said, a bit puzzled.

Meanwhile, Charmy found Tails in the science bay area. Where GUN kept all of their weapons and heavy machinery. Tails was in there, working on his Transforming Tornado Plane.
It’s a special machine that Tails invented. It could transform between a bi-plane to a walking Mech-robot. It was in plane mode at the time, and Tails was underneath it, working.
Charmy Bee flew over to him. On the other side of the hanger, he could see a large white tarp covering up, whatever it was Eggman was building. Only Eggman knew what it was. He could also see Vector talking with Eggman near the bottom of the tarp. He then turned his attention to Tails.
“Hiya Tails.” Charmy said.
Tails rolled out from under the plane, and looked at the bee that was hovering above him. “Oh hey, Charmy. Could you hand me my screwdriver.” Tails said as he rolled back under the plane.
Charmy handed Tails the screwdriver and said. “Hey Tails, can I ask you something?”
“Uh… sure Charmy” Tails said as he worked.
“What do you know about Vincent?”
Tails put his screwdriver down, and rolled out from under the plane.
“What about him?” Tails asked.
“Well, the Chaotix are trying to get to know him.”
“…Why don’t you guys just go talk to him.”
“That’s what I said. But Vector said that someone like that, wouldn’t bother with guys like us.”
Tails cocked a smile and said, “Well, I can’t really say much about his background. But that arm of his, I can tell you everything about it.”
“I thought he got that robot arm from Eggman.”
“At first he did. But after awhile it started to become toxic. He would have died, if he hadn’t come to me. He told me about it and I offered to build him a new one. One that was more compatible. He agreed. The arm he has now, the one I built for him, is lighter, and stronger than the previous one, and is outfitted with a number of gadgets.
“The palm can open up down the middle crease, and a small machine gun comes out, fold over onto his forearm, and the trigger is there near his index finger. Also it has a built in radar, and homing devise, with a shoot-able beacon that can latch itself to whatever he’s tracking. Between his knuckles, are a trio of blades that extend out of his hand about a foot. In the fingertips, are special sensors that allow him to copy the signature power, or attack, that a person may have, and use it himself. Not to mention, the arm itself is super strong, capable of punching through hard stone.”
“Wow.” Charmy said as wrote on his little note book.
“Yeah I know. But if you want to know more, you should talk to him yourself. He’s a nice person. I’m sure he can spare a few words.”
“Ah… Thanks Tails. See ya.” Charmy said as he flew off.
Tails shook his head, and continued with his work.

[link] Meanwhile, Knuckles was in the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. His opponent this time was Rouge the Bat. He wanted to do some aerial training. As he traveled through the trees, he came to a large clearing. He jumped off of the branch he was on, and started gliding through the air. Suddenly, Rouge, who had been following him this whole time, came out of nowhere, and attempted to perform a heel drop on Knuckles. Knuckles spun around and caught her ankle. He then threw her strait down to the ground, which was a good 50 feet below them. She recovered by doing a flip in the air, and catching the air with her wings. She flew up at Knuckles.
“Not bad,” She said, “But not good either. If you want to force me to the ground, your going to have to try a lot harder than that.”
Knuckles flew at Rouge and attempted to punch her. She allowed herself to drop down about a foot and dodged the attack. She then did a back flip and kicked Knuckles in the chin. He shook it off, and the two of them continued their aerial tumble. Eventually Knuckles forced his way behind her, and grabbed both of her wings. Both of them fell to the ground, but it was Rouge that hit first. Knuckles helped her up, and said. “You okay?”
“Fine. Now how about round two.” They climbed back up the trees and continued their exercise.*

Eggman was in the same garage that Tails was. He was busy putting together the circuitry inside a panel of the machine he was building. He was keeping the machine a secret by putting a large white tarp over it. Vector walked up, and asked his question.
“What about Vincent?” Eggman asked.
“Well Eggman, since the other day, it’s no secret that you and him have some history. Care to share?”
Eggman stopped what he was doing, took a sip of his lemonade, and began his story. “Well, believe it or not, he was my assistant.”
“Your assistant?”
“That’s right. He first came to me before the Coup. I taught him all he knows about technology. My last name used to be Kintobor, so he took it as his name. When I took over, he tried to stop me, but his arm got caught in the Roboticizer beam. That’s why it is like it is. He left after that. I saw him again when he teamed up with Sonic and his friends. He helped them destroy a few of my factories. After that I never saw him again. Until the other day that is. If you want to know more, you should go talk to him yourself.”
Vector looked at his notepad, and said, “Well thanks for your time Eggman.”
Eggman frowned at Vector as the crocodile walked away. Eggman just got back to work.

[link] With only three days left, Knuckles decided to train by himself, then rest the last two days. Knuckles was in the forest clearing that he fought Sonic, Shadow, and Rouge. In the clearing was a large boulder. Knuckles walked up to it, jabbed his knuckles into it, and tossed it into the air. Knuckles then laid down on his back, and caught the boulder. He began to bench-press the two ton rock.
After a hundred presses, he pushed it up and began to bench it using his legs.*

The Chaotix sat at a table in the mess tent and looked over each other’s notes. Vector then said, “Alright, so all we know about this guy is;
1. He’s from another world.
2. He found himself in this world and became Eggman’s assistant.
3. He tried to stop him, but his arm got roboticized.
4. He helped Sonic and the others fight Eggman.
5. And his arm is decked out with a lot of gadgets.
Is that it?”
Charmy and Espio nodded there heads. “But what about the robots,” Vector asked, “or those special skills of his?”
Espio said, “Sonic said that if we wanted to know anything about that, we should go talk to Vincent ourselves.”
“Yeah, Tails said the same thing.” Charmy added.
Vector leaned back, folded his arms, and said “Yeah, Eggman too.”
None of them said anything for awhile. Finally Vector broke the silence. “So let’s go talk to him.”
Espio and Charmy looked at him with surprised and puzzled faces. Considering it was Vector who said NOT to talk to Vincent.

[link] Meanwhile, deep within Nekronopolis, Enerjak sat on the roof of his citadel, watching the setting sun. He was so deep in though, he didn’t notice Kragok approaching.
“Lord Enerjak.” Kragok said with a bow. “All of the troops are ready for tomorrow.”
“Good.” Enerjak said as he turned to Kragok. “Tomorrow, this planet will completely be mine. But I wonder, what shall I do then?”
“My Lord?” Kragok said in wonder.
Enerjak smiled and said. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I will take my conquest to the stars. Other planets will know the name of Enerjak and the Dark Legion. And after that, after this whole universe is mine, I will use the powers of the Emeralds, to open a gateway to other dimensions, in only a few years, I will be the ruler of all. The supreme being over all things in this Multi-verse.” Enerjak stood, and held out his hands to the sky as he said his monolog.
Kragok bowed even lower. “I am not worthy to be in the presence of your greatness my Lord.”
Enerjak turned to Kragok, “And you Kragok. You and your sister have served me well. The two of you shall each have a throne on my left and right side. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow it will end, and begin again.”
“Yes, My Lord.” Kragok left the roof, and did his best not to turn his back on his master. Enerjak looked up at the sky, then teleported off the roof, and into his bedroom.

Little did Enerjak know, or he did know, there was a small fly on the wall. A fly that was listening to everything Enerjak was saying, and was transmitting all audio to one of Vincent’s cohorts.

Vincent was relaxing out in the forest. He was lying down, leaning against a tree, while listening to the cool breeze. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep, when his CODEC communicator in his right ear, went off. He sat up and touched his earlobe.
“Vincent here. Go ahead Drew.”
“Vincent, our bug just discovered what Enerjak plans to do. After he’s finished with Sonic’s world, he’ll move on to others in that dimension. Then he’ll use the Chaos Emeralds to enter other Zones.
“Are you serious?”
“What are we going to do?”
Vincent sighed and said, “Hey this is what we trained for, right? Let’s just hope Knuckles can defeat him here and now. But let’s keep it a secret for now. I really don’t want to fight Enerjak. Retract the bug, and send me my bike.”
“Got it. Drew out”
Vincent took a deep breath and looked up at the golden evening sky.*
“You can come out now.” Vincent said. He knew the Chaotix were hiding behind the tree, spying on Vincent, the whole time. Vector, Espio, and Charmy, walked up to Vincent.
Vector then said, “Sorry we were spying on you.”
Vincent stood up and smiled. “You’ve been spying on me for the past three days. Watching me train, asking questions about me, trying to steel my wallet.” Vincent glared at Espio. The Chameleon blushed. “If you guys are so curious about me, why didn’t you talk to me, instead of going behind my back?”
Vector put his hand behind his head, and said nervously, “W…we didn’t want to bother you.”
Vincent chuckled and said, “Well, now I’m bothered. So ask away.”
Vector then said, “We only wanted to know who you were.”
[link] Vincent sighed and said, “Alright then, here is my story…”

“Awhile back, my world was under attack by a fearsome terrorist. He had his lackeys highjack four airplanes, and crash them into two tall buildings, killing tens of thousands of people. Soon after, we went to war with his organization. Many years pasted, and we couldn’t find the man responsible. I knew that if we could capture him, the war would be over. Our President at the time placed a $25,000,000 dead or alive, bounty on his head, and I took it. I had him hire me as a mercenary. The only condition was, I had to be accompanied by a small squad of troops. The five of us, fought our way through enemy territory, and eventually tracked him down. Our mission was successful, and we split the reward evenly five ways. After that, I retired in luxury.
“While exploring the forest of my property, I stumbled on a mysterious green gem. And no it wasn’t a Chaos Emerald. Trust me it was different. Anyway, the moment I touched it, it opened a portal. I got sucked in, and wound up in your world. I couldn’t activate the gem after that. I found myself in the city known as Mobotropolis. They had recently ended a massive war and ushered in a human scientist. I encountered the scientist known as Julian Kintobor, and he offered to teach me. It sounded like a good gig, so I took it. I thought I’d be able to figure out a way home too. He even gave me my last name, Kintobor. After a few months of doing that, Julian betrayed us. I learned about his evil plan of world conquest, and confronted him about it. The argument turned violent, and my right arm got caught in the beam of his evil invention, the Roboticizer. I fled into the forest as Julian took everything over, under the name Robotnik, after his grandfather, I think.
“I traveled your world, seeing so much of Robotnik’s tyranny. Eventually I encountered a village of Ninja Chameleons. They offered to train me. I think I remember you Espio. You were only a foot high back then.”
Espio had a shocked look on his face, as an old memory resurfaced.
“Espio, you know this guy?” Vector asked.
“I…I don’t know,” Espio said, “It was such a long time ago. But I do seem to remember the village Masters training a Human.”
Vincent chuckled and continued with his story. “Anyway, after I finished my training, Robotnik’s forces attacked unexpectedly, I fought bravely but they outnumbered us. I was however able to lead a fair number of Chameleons to safety, the rest however were captured and Roboticized. I choose to return to Robotropolis.
“When I arrived, I became a spy for the resistance, disguised as a robot. I soon encountered Sonic and his group of Freedom Fighters. I helped them for a little bit, sabotaging Robotnik’s factories, but left after Robotnik began focusing his attacks on me. I didn’t want to be a danger to Sonic and his friends.
“Before I left, Sonic gave me a farewell present. A Power Ring. He told me of it’s power, and said that I might be able to tap into it. Such a mysterious item.
“I decided to experiment. I still had the gem that sent me here, so I tried something. I placed the ring on top of it, and a chain reaction occurred. The Ring turned into a Warp Ring. It became a portal into another world. I stepped through it and I was home at last…”
Vincent stopped for a moment. He decided not to reveal too much.
“What did you do then?” Vector asked.
Vincent smiled and said, “That’s another story.”*
[link] Suddenly the siren from the camp went off, followed by a voice saying, “All Personal return to camp. Final meeting. All Personal return to camp.”
Vincent smiled and said, “Well enough about me, we have a more important issue to tend to, besides me.”
The Chaotix agreed and followed him back to camp.

With out a stage or a podium, the President had to stand on a fallen tree trunk in order for everyone to see him. Everyone who was going to fight gathered in the middle of the compound to hear what the President had to say about the up coming battle. The sun was going down, so the whole area was lit by torches. Behind the President stood the GUN Commander and the President’s Aid. Sonic, Knuckles and friends stood in the front row. However, Eggman was nowhere in sight. The President began to speak.
“Everyone, as you all are well aware, tomorrow, we go to battle, to reclaim our world. Enerjak, our primary enemy, has gathered a Legion of robots to fight us. They were designed by Dr. Eggman himself, before Enerjak took control of them. I know many of you have fought Eggman’s robots before, and I know it’s not easy. But they have grown even stronger, so we must be careful.”
Suddenly, one of the soldiers, raised his hand. “Excuse me, Mr. President, but that takes care of the robot army, but what about Enerjak himself? I was there in Station Square when he attacked, and I’ve seen his powers. I don’t think we stand a chance against that.”
There was quiet chatter of agreement among the soldiers, the President raised his right hand to quiet them. “I understand your concern.” He said, “But I believe we have that covered. I believe Knuckles the Echidna, has something to say. Come on up here Knuckles.”
Poor Knuckles was surprised and a little nervous, but he followed the President’s orders and jumped up onto the tree trunk. The President leaned over to Knuckles and quietly whispered to him, “Don’t be so nervous, just speak from the heart.” The President stepped off the trunk and let Knuckles have the floor.
Knuckles closed his eyes and thought about what he was going to say, then he spoke. “I want to tell all of you a story. Long ago, an Echidna Scientist became drunk with power and tried to control the power of Chaos. His madness, lust for power, and his pride, turned him into the being we know as Enerjak.
“Then his brother, with good in his heart, tapped into the same power, and was able to seal Enerjak within the Floating Island. After that Enerjak’s followers became the Dark Legion, and the followers of his brother, became known as the Brotherhood of Guardians. A family of Echidna’s with amazing power, they battled the Dark Legion for centuries. With each generation, each member of the Brotherhood became even stronger. All leading up to me.
“Now that Enerjak has returned, it is up to me to stop him. I will use the power that my ancestor used to put an end to Enerjak once and for all. Now that you know the story, you know that I am the only one that stands a chance against him. That’s why during the battle, I will infiltrate Enerjak’s citadel, and confront him.”
With Knuckles’s story done, the GUN Commander walked up and motioned for Knuckles to sit down. As the Commander explained the battle plan, Knuckles walked over and sat down beside Sonic. Sonic then patted Knuckles on the back, gave him a thumbs up and said. “Way past cool, Knuckles.” The red Echidna smiled.

“Okay, men, listen up. This is the plan.” The Commander started. “As many of your know, there is a large, metallic, clearing between the forest and the city. This is where Enerjak rallies his troops. And this is where most of the battle will take place. The area is only a few hundred yards, so I’m sure much of the battle will spread out among the buildings and the trees.
“Now, in the trees, I will place snipers to counter the possibility of Enerjak having his own sniper team. The rest of you will be part of the main infantry. Behind you will be the Mech-unit. Now I’m afraid we only have four walkers left. And you will be commanded by Dr. Eggman. Speaking of which, where is that crazed megalomaniac.”
Everybody looked around and realized that Eggman was not at the meeting. Suddenly everyone heard a voice. “I’m over here Commander!”*
[link] Everyone looked to their left and saw Eggman in a large custom robot. Eggman’s steps shook the ground as he walked. The robot was a good 15 feet tall, colored red and black, and was loaded with the best weapons the GUN army could provide. It had rocket launchers on the back, laser guns on the shoulders, a metal shield on the left arm, and a huge wreaking ball and chain on the right arm.
Eggman walked onto the scene, and slammed the ball on the ground, all while he was laughing. “OHOHOH, How do you all like it? This is that all new Egg-Emperor MK III. Sonic and Shadow destroyed the other two, but now it’s back, and ready to crush some Dark Legion BUTT!!”
“Very impressive Eggman.” Sonic said as he walk towards Eggman. “But is a giant robot your answer to everything?”
“Don’t tempt me Rodent. I doubt even you can stand up to this one.”
“We’ll see. Look I’d love to trash that robot for you, but we need it for tomorrow. But I’d be happy to fight you after this mess is over.”
Their argument was interrupted by the Commander. “Enough you two!”*
Everyone at the meeting stopped what they were doing, and, once again, gave the Commander their undivided attention.
“Alright then.” The Commander continued, “I’ll command the Ground units, Eggman has the Mech units, we will have snipers in the trees, and Tails will lead the Jet Fighter squadron. We will have a small team take down the shield. What do we know about it?”
As if by an answer, Tails raised his hand, and said, “Actually Commander, I’ve analyzed Enerjak’s barrier, and it would seem he has about five generators scattered around the city, destroying two of them should drop the shield.”
“Excellent, any volunteers to take on such mission?”
Vector, Espio, and Charmy stood up and showed that they were ready. “Sir, We’ll do it.” Vector said.
“Are you sure? It’ll be dangerous.”
“Sir, there ain’t no challenge too risky or dangerous, for Team Chaotix!” Vector replied.
“Sir,” Someone in the crowd raised his hand.
“Yes, Vincent, what is it?” The Commander asked.
“I volunteer to take out the second generator.”
Vector interrupted him, “Hey Vincent, we can handle it.”
“Look Vector, after you destroy one generator, Enerjak will have plenty of time to reinforce the others. Making the shield that much more harder to take down. However, if you destroy both at the same time, it will bring down that barrier long enough for Knuckles to slip through. Unless you think you are fast enough.”
Vector sighed and said. “Fine you take one and we’ll take the other.”
“Alright then. Now I believe the Commander has something to say.”

The Commander was rubbing his eyes as he said. “Thank you Vincent.”
He then put his hands together before he said, “Okay, you all know the plan. Vincent and the Chaotix will take out the shield generators, while we battle with the Dark Legion. Knuckles, as soon as the battle starts, don’t waist any time. Head strait for Enerjak’s Citadel. Understand?”
“Yes sir.” The melancholy Echidna said.
“Okay. Now everyone, go to bed early, get plenty of rest. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

[link] After the Commander finished speaking, everyone got up and walked back to their tents. For Knuckles it was a long walk. He was nervous, in every definition of the word. He didn’t know why he felt that way. He faced off against the worst Eggman has ever dished out. The Death Egg, Mecha Sonic, Chaos, The Egg Fleet, all of that, and Knuckles has always been able to face it without flinching. Yet, with Enerjak, it was somehow different. So much power, and so much history between them. Enerjak was Knuckles Great Grand-Uncle. Knuckles, for the first time in his life, was afraid to fight. He was afraid to hurt another Echidna from his clan, let alone his own blood relative. And he was even doubting his own power. Even with the Chaos Emeralds, would he even stand a chance? He was so caught up in his own angst, that he didn’t notice Sonic walking behind him.
“Why so melancholy, Knuckles?”
“Oh, Sonic, I didn’t see you there. I don’t know what your talking about.”
"Please. You’ve been droopy since this morning. What’s going on with you man?”
Knuckles stopped walking, sighed heavily, and said “Sonic… I don’t think I can do this.”
Sonic stopped too, “You want to run that by me again.”
“I said I can’t beat Enerjak! He’s so much stronger than I am, plus I don’t think I can bring myself to kill my own uncle.”
Sonic noticed that they stopped by a tree. Sonic walked over to it and said, “Knux, I want you to punch this tree as hard as you can.”
Knuckles gave him a puzzled look, and said, “Well if you say so Sonic. But I don’t see what good it will do.”
Knuckles walk over to the tree, and punched it as hard as he could, and ended up hurting his own hand. The tree didn’t take any damage at all.
“Ow, what the…” Knuckles shouted.
“That’s what I thought. Like my speed, your strength comes from your emotions. Your confidence. I have never doubted myself, never gave up, have always tried.”
Knuckles got irritated. “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t have to fight him. I do!”
“Knuckles, I’ve been fighting Eggman my whole life. Shadow has already beaten the alien Black Doom, now it’s your turn to beat your nemesis. Everybody’s counting on you. The whole world is counting on you. Are you going to let them down?”
Knuckles look down at his hands, and then clenched them. “Your right, Sonic. Enerjak must be defeated. And I’m the only one who can. Maybe I can do it. There must be a way. And I will find it.” Knuckles then looked at Sonic, and smiled. “I will defeat Enerjak.”
Sonic smiled back, “Yeah! Now that’s the determination I was looking for. Glad to have you back Knuckles.”
“Thanks Sonic. Tomorrow, let’s give Enerjak the fight of his life!”
Knuckles then punched the tree again, and it fell down with ease.*

That night, while Knuckles was sleeping, an old familiar face came to him in his dream.

Knuckles found himself standing in absolute nothingness. Nothing but white as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, he heard a voice.
“Hello Knuckles, how have things been?”
Knuckles turned around to find the old Echidna standing behind him.
“Old man Athair? How? This is a dream right?”
“It is, and then it isn’t. Using my power, I’m able to contact you. I get the best connection when your asleep. I decided to check up on you. And I don’t like what I see.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your confidence, Knuckles. It’s out of whack.”
Knuckles and sighed and said, “Yeah I guess. But I already talked to Sonic and he straitened me out.”
“Temporarily, Knuckles. You still have doubts, and that concerns me. You’ll never be able to face Enerjak, if you don’t have 100% confidence. The power of the Chaos Emeralds is unpredictable. If used incorrectly, then the user will loose himself.”
“But…Sonic is able to use them flawlessly. He’s never lost himself.”
“That’s because of his spirit. He’s too strong to loose himself. If he tried to transform while feeling sorry for himself, as you are now, he would become a crazed madman, like Enerjak. If you use the Emeralds, with confidence and drive, then you have nothing to worry about. You yourself have successfully used them. That was when you had confidence that you would defeat the Eggman and his forces. Even your friend Tails has been able to use them. You must go in there thinking that you will WIN. Otherwise, Enerjak has already won.”
“Great-Grandfather, I don’t know why I feel this way. I think…
“You think? Strange talk coming from someone who’s actions revolve around fisticuffs. I can’t help you.”
“Athair, I want to win. But I don’t know how.”
“You must find the strength to win, from within. Only one other has been able to tap into the true Guardian’s Power. And since then, it has only grown stronger with each generation. I can’t help you access it, but I know someone who can.”
“Who?”
“My Grandson.”
Athair then stepped back, and faded away, as a tall Echidna seemed to walk into existence. He had a gray goatee beard, and was wearing a white dogi.
“Hello, Knuckles.” He said.
Knuckles was shocked. “D…Dad?! What are you doing here?”
Locke frowned and said, “I’m here, because you seem to be having trouble getting your head on strait, on the eve of your battle with Enerjak no less.”
“But Father, he’s so much stronger. I can’t win!”
Locked walked over to Knuckles and slapped him. “I’ve heard enough! CAN’T is a word for quitters. What’s wrong with you? Now you listen to me, the Brotherhood would be so disappointed to hear that. I’M disappointed.”
Knuckles felt his check, and shouted, “What would you know about it?” Knuckles threw a punch at his father. Locke easily deflected it.
“Yes Knuckles that’s it. That’s more like it. Get angry at me, attack me, use that and turn it into confidence. Now are you going to sit here and mope like the worthless son I know you are, or are you going to FIGHT?!”
Knuckles shouted, “Shut up!” As he threw another punch.
“Make me, ya wimp!” Locke shouted as he deflected it.

The insults and anger fueled punches continued through the night, until Knuckles’s confidence returned by morning...

Next time, Final Fight to the Finish.

There you have it, i hope the DeviantArt outgoing link think wasn't too much of an annoyance.