Knuckles: Endangered Species Issue 2

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***Knuckles: Endangered Species*** Issue 2 is the second issue of the Knuckles: Endangered Species series.

## Solicitation

*Rad Red’s quest to liberate his people reaches a fever pitch in “Endangered Species Part 3: Habitat Destruction!” Knuckles’ former ally Thrash has appeared with a startling declaration, and the warring factions of Albion must call a truce in order to stand up to his Devil Dog army! But why does he desire the end of the echidna race, and what secrets do the ancient city hold to provide some answers? Featuring cover art from fittingly-named Finitevus!*

## Story One

*Endangered Species Part Three: Habitat Destruction*
In the Chaos Force, Aurora tells Athair that he shouldn't have sent a message to Crystal-La, to which he rebukes by pointing out that the effects of his actions were minimal, as the Albion High Council was too confident in their defenses to heed his warnings, and that if it had not been the Lost Tribe's faith in his words, there would be no survivors at all. She in turn argues that the Ancient Walkers only gave warnings for cosmic emergencies and that they must follow their example as Neo Walkers, for their gifts of enlightenment and foresight can't be used selfishly and even for the Echidnas, all mortals' days are finite. Athair acknowledges that, as Yanar's death weighs heavily on him and that despite his best efforts, much of his former tribe still perished during the Empire's invasion. He notices that adhering to the ancient philosophy of the Ancient Walkers has proven far more difficult than anticipated, as he's been unable to let go of his attachments to the mortal plane. Aurora then declares that it's imperative that Athair get his emotions under control, as holding on to past attachments in their position will only cause unnecessary heartache, and that their focus should be on ensuring Merlin Prower is ready for ascension. After Athair stares at Crystal-La for a moment before agreeing with Aurora and concluding that it's up to Knuckles now.

In Albion, Knuckles asks Thrash what he's doing there and what he's talking about. As Lara-Le notices her son and starts approaching him, he silently tells her to stop. Lien-Da then asks what "those things" were doing there. Thrash explains that there's a Gene Bomb below the city made by the Echidnas and that when it detonates, they'll suffer the same fate his people did years ago by becoming beasts and freeing the world of their kind. Lara-Le tells the constable that they can't afford to guess wrong and orders him to gather everyone and immediately began evacuating the city. Tails then questions why would Thrash stay there since he would get caught in the blast as well, to which the the latter explains that the Gene Bomb has been calibrated to only affect Echidna dna, making it safe for them to stay, and that is merely staying to keep the Echidnas from leaving.

As he starts attacking, Sonic and spindashes Thrash though the wall and Julie-Su tells the echidna factions that she, Knuckles and the of Team Fighters will back-up Sonic and hold him off while everyone else gets out of the city. While is Lien-Da is skeptical of the Tasmanian Devil's claims, Remington argues that they can't afford to underestimate another threat after Enerjak, to which Lien-Da relents by saying they don't have a choice. Thus, both leaders order the E.S.T. and Albion Dark Egg Legion to cooperate with one another to lead their people to safety, with Saffron coming along to help and to ensure everyone is on the same page, as Julie-Su tells to keep communications open just in case.

When Knuckles notices he shouldn't be surprised to see Thrash, Amy asks how the two know each other, to which he explains they met in Downunda, as he was with their Freedom Fighters, to which Sonic adds that not every Freedom Fighter is a hero by citing the Sand-Blasters. Thrash counters by saying he's not fond of Eggman either and is always willing to help out the Freedom Fighters, but that the Warp Ring Knuckles let him keep allowed him to be able to get back to his quest. Julie-Su noticed he seemed fixated on the echidnas when they met, so she concludes that the quest was to find their home in order to wipe them out. She then asks the reason, to which Thrash points to the Devil Dog pack as the answer. Sonic then tries to spindash Thrash again but he blocks the attack, and says he would rather not have to fight them as this fight isn't theirs as he does so. Knuckles then pins Thrash down and demands he turn the bomb off or he'll regret it.

As the combined forces escape, Lien-Da asks Remington how much he knows of their past, to which he replies he's well versed in Echidnaopolis' history. She explains that she meant the Dark Legion's history, wondering how much he actually learned when he was in their ranks as a few months isn't enough to truly understand them. She then goes on to explain that cybernetics aren't an obsession to them, as they were used in Albion to help those that were maimed during the Forgotten Wars while giving them a second chance at life and that Menniker realized what this technology could do for their quality of life, concluding that without them the Legion never would have survived their imprisonment in the Twilight Cage. Gae-Na then adds that cybernetics are not used just for fighting, as she wouldn't have survived giving birth to Demi-na without the Legion's technology and that they can all live longer and healthier lives because of it.

Remington says he never objected to the idea of cybernetics, but that the problem is that Lien-Da and Eggman try to force it on everyone. She argues they'll all realize the benefits once they have control of the city, to which he argues it only cements his point, as she doesn't consider others wants and needs and merely expect them to fall in line. Lien-Da insists by saying that this is how they felt when the council forcibly stripped away their technology, to which Remington points out it was through a democratic process, and that if the Legion ideology was accepted so widely, their attempt to hedge an election in their favor through Benedict wouldn't have been necessary to begin with. Remington then notices some movement while Gae-Na sees with her robotic eye that they're not alone, as the Devil Dogs have surrounded the group.

As Lien-Da prepare the troops to use lethal fire, Remington orders them to set the blasters to stun instead, remarking he's hardly surprised by the former's willingness to kill. When she asks what he means by that, Remington explains that when Enerjak restored his body and mind, he also destroyed his Memory Neutralizing Chip in the process. As a result, he now remembers some memories from his childhood, such as how hard it was for his mother to live in the Twilight Cage, in no small part due to her sister-in-law tormenting her and forcing her to leave. In particular, he remembers that she was certain Lien-Da and Kragok had assassinated Grandmaster Luger, as her time with the latter made it very apparent to her, pointing out the time between his disappearance and Lien-Da getting gravely injured as being too close for mere coincidence. Nervous, she declares that his claims are ludicrous conjecture, as he has no proof of the deed and as she's about to argue that if he was killed, a body would've shown up, Lara-Le interrupts their argument by telling them to focus on fighting their foes instead of one another, to which they agree.

Observing the fight from above, Saffron informs Julie-Su that the echidnas are surrounded by a hundred devil dogs and that they won't make it to the docks if this goes on, to which she replies that help is on the way. With her informing the rest of the group, Knuckles tells Team Fighters to go help them while he handles Thrash. During the fight between the two, Julie-Su tries using the Warp Ring again to no effect, to which Thrash explains that the Warp Rings are rendered useless in the bomb's energy field. Knuckles then takes the opportunity to ask about his foe's history, and how did his family turn out this way. Somber, Thrash explains that a group of Echidnas arrived in Downunda and used genetic engineering to transform Tasmanian Devil Mobians into beasts to fight the war for them, and that so many of them were changed that even after the Echidnas were gone, less and less full-blooded Devils were born as the generations passed, eventually leaving him as the last Mobian Tasmanian. However, thanks to the Warp Ring, he was able to find out where the remaining Echidnas were hiding, as well as the means to exact revenge upon them through their own science. With a shot fired upwards amidst the chaos, Saffron briefly falls, and while fearful at first, ends up befriending one of the Devil Dogs, right as Team Fighters arrives to help, which Lien-da complains about Sonic being late, to which he remarks she might be spending way too much time with Eggman.

At a standstill, Knuckles tries to explain to Thrash that while he's truly sorry for the Tasmanian Devils, they weren't aware of Echidnas going to Downunda, let alone his people's crimes, and that the current Echidnas in Albion aren't responsible for said crimes and shouldn't be punished for it. Looking below, Julie-Su tries to warn Knuckles about the ground cracking, but the three fall below ground. Picking up Julie-Su but letting Thrash fall into the ground, Knuckles tries to find the way out before she stops him and both look around the cache of weapons they stumbled upon...

### Off-Panel

* Script: Fritzy Magpies!
* Pencils: Fritzy Magpies!
* Inks: Ringo-Neko
* Colors: Lav
* Lettering: Lav

***"It's Not a Phase, All-Mother!"***

Aurora and Merlin try to give Athair an intervention for his tendency of traveling to the mortal plane as a Flying Face. Wearing a hip-hop outfit, he defiantly flies off as a disembodied floating head again, and Aurora defeatedly buries her face in her hands as Merlin tries to console her.

### Appearances

#### Characters

* Crystal-La
* Devil Dogs
* Dr. Finitevus *(Mentioned)*
* Eggman Empire
	+ Dark Egg Legion
		- Albion Dark Egg Legion
			* Gae-Na
			* Lien-Da
	+ Dr. Eggman *(Mentioned)*
* Freedom Fighters
	+ Chaotix
		- Julie-Su
		- Knuckles the Echidna
		- Saffron Bee
	+ Team Fighters
		- Amy Rose
		- Miles "Tails" Prower
		- Sonic the Hedgehog
* Knecapeon Mace
* Lara-Le
* Remington the Echidna
* Thrash the Tasmanian Devil
* Kragok *(Mentioned)*
* Luger *(Mentioned)*
* Eli-Za

## Key Events

*Sonic The Hedgehog Online Issues*

 *Sonic Universe Online* (SUO)