DARK VENGEANCE, Part 1: DEADLY HOMECOMING
Writers: Ken Penders
Penciler: Manny Galan
Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Barry Grossman
Letterer: Vickie Williams
Editor: Justin Freddy Gabrie

A mysterious person finds Enerjak and brings Enerjak back to the Floating Island where the Dark Legion (DL) is camping out. Kragok and the DL quickly learn that the newcomer is "Great Dimitri." Enerjak assumes command over Kragok and tells the DL that they're going to conquer the world. He says they will begin "by striking first at him who would deny us."

On the edge of the Floating Island, Knuckles is joined by Julie-Su and starts telling her about his problems. Julie-Su mentions to Knuckles that no one except him will even talk to her because she's from the DL. Knuckles suggests that they go find Archimedes because he might have an idea as how to get the echidnas to trust her. However, that might take some time as Knuckles admits that he doesn't have any idea where to find him.

Meanwhile, Archimedes is called by Deo to warn Knuckles that something bad is going to happen. However, they don't talk long because Enerjak surprises them and takes them prisoner.

In Echidnaopolis, Stryker is trying to get the echidna's council to speed up the construction of housing for the dingoes. The echidnas don't trust the dingoes to be peaceful. Stryker tells the council that the dingoes will lay down their weapons, however, unknown to the council, Stryker has his fingers crossed behind his back.

Julie-Su is following Knuckles in the Lava Reef Zone and is surprised that the area has natives. Knuckles finds a fire-ant, who tells them that "the powers that be are rather worried" because they haven't heard from Archimedes or Deo Volente. The fire-ant also says that whoever is responsible is seemingly more powerful than the DL. He tells Knuckles and Julie-Su to watch their backs as they walk off.

In Echidnaopolis, Lara-Le is in her apartment with Wynmacher (Wyn) and is afraid that Knuckles thinks she didn't want him. After a discussion where Knuckles' Guardian-side of the family is refered to as royalty, Lara-Le decides that she has to get in touch with Locke.

Now, Julie-Su is following Knuckles in Rainbow Valley and the color overwhelms her eyes. Neither notice a camera watching them. Knuckles tells her that this where the chameleons reside and surprises her by climbing up an invisible ladder. The ladder leads to Espio's home, which has been trashed and Espio is nowhere to be found. Knuckles says that something bad is going down and decides to check on Mighty next.

In Haven, Locke has been spending the past few days caring for Hawking who is in terrible shape. The other echidna is his father and is trying to convince Locke that he needs some rest because something bad might happen if Locke isn't in "peak proficiency." However, Hawking suffers a heart attack and Locke uses his telepathic powers to keep Hawking alive.

Meanwhile, Julie-Su is at the bottom of a huge canyon and has to use her grapling hook to climb since Knuckles left her behind. When she reaches the top, Knuckles asks her is she needs a hand, to which she says "no." They both see that Mighty's house is also trashed.

At the DL headquarters, Kragok sees that Enerjak is in the middle of using his powers to "spring the trap shut on my accursed descendant and he will suffer like no one else has before or since."

While inspecting Mighty's house, Knuckles sees something which tells him something because he starts running out the room. When Knuckles starts to glide off the cliff, Julie-Su grabs his legs to follow. When Knuckles and Julie-Su land, they are met by Enerjak, who is at least 100 feet tall at the moment. He grabs Knuckles in one hand and starts laughing.

To Be Continued in KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA #8