GeneX - Tails the Fox
Chapter 40 - Terra's Revenge
Stages 21-22 - Chao Chambers
Boss 29 - E-3X Terra

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and 
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?

Punchy and Rainbow had scoured Eggman's control room and found some more Master Emerald shards that the doctor apparently lost track of. "I sense more downstairs..." Punchy said as they started to leave. "OK! Let's go fix the big gem, One!" Rainbow said. Punchy normally would shout at Rainbow for calling him by number, but this time he was distracted by something on his mind. "The servers are the seven chaos..." he murmured. "I keep remembering those words. I wonder what it means..." Rainbow thought about it for a moment. "Sounds like gibberish to me, One." "I wasn't talking to you!!" Punchy snapped. "But I'm the only one here!" Rainbow pointed out. "Let's just go already!" Punchy growled, irritated.

It wasn't long before the two of them found themselves in the Chao Garden, which took up that entire floor of the tower, and was so large that as they searched, they remained completely oblivious to the fact that Knuckles was exploring the same area. Eventually, they found one of the fake Master Emeralds. "Hey, Rainbow. If these are shards of the Master Emerald, then what's that?" Punchy said, thinking the fake was the real thing. Just then, a beam of light appeared from the ceiling nearby, and when it faded, Illusi was standing there. "Sorry to disappoint you, Dark One, but that Master Emerald is a fake! Dr. Eggman magically created it using a piece of the real thing." The shrew pushed past Punchy and approached the fake. All of this left Punchy confused. "He wha-? Then how do we-? What's going on!?" "Pull yourself together, One! I think Mousy there is gonna explain everything!" Rainbow said, using her nickname for Illusi.

"I can de-spell this illusion! Despellicazam!" Illusi said, using the same spell Gemini had used on the other fakes. Just like that, the fake returned to its previous state as a shard. Punchy still looked confused. "How'd you do that?" he asked. Illusi shrugged. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that the Master Emerald is restored. It is of the gravest importance, I assure you. Which is why you will find me at the next one! Farewell!" The same beam of light that Illusi used to get there now took him away, while Punchy shook off his confusion. "I guess I'll just take this shard and catch up to him..."

So, Punchy and Rainbow searched the area, and every time they found a fake emerald, Illusi was there to change it back. However, the search wasn't easy. Eggman's robots had been ordered to attack ANY intruders in the area, even Punchy and Rainbow. Even so, it didn't worry Punchy much. A bigger surprise waited near the last fake Master Emerald...

"Blast! Another dead end!" Apparently, Punchy and Knuckles weren't the only ones exploring the Chao Garden. Bucky the Rat and his cohorts Vortex and Zipp had hit a dead end that happened to be where the last fake Master Emerald was hidden. "I thought you ssssaid thisss wassss the way out!" Vortex yelled to Zipp. "Don't try to pin this on me! You couldn't find water if you fell out of a boat!" Zipp retorted. Punchy watched this echange from behind them, alarmed. "It can't be..." he thought. "Not him! Not here!" Rainbow, however, did not share his dismay. "Hey! You guys found the fake gem thingy! Thanks a lot!" she said in a friendly tone. Bucky, without turning, laughed menacingly. "I heard you coming a mile away, Experiment 1!" The rat turned around to face his first creation. "B-b-bucky!! You stay away from me!" Punchy shouted nervously. Bucky sneered at him. "Don't tell me what to do! You ingrate! Betrayed me and ran off almost as soon as you were born! I should zap you back to the stone age!" he threatened. Zipp laughed. "That'd be fun to watch!" Bucky raised a hand to silence Zipp. "I have better things to do than visit with the likes of you, Experiment 1!" Punchy wasn't about to let himself be called an experiment. "I'm no fake lab project! I'm Punchy the echidna!" he growled. Vortex looked at him like he was nuts. "What'ssss the matter with you? You know you're an experiment. We all do." "Yeah, don't be dumb!" Zipp added.

"Hey, lay off One!" Rainbow said. "Of course he's real!" Punchy was surprised to hear her defend him like this, but quickly pulled her back. "Don't antagonize them, Rainbow!" Bucky laughed at this. "Oh, sure, he's real. As real as an experiment can be." Punchy shook his fist at him. "Stop saying that! I AM real!" Bucky crossed his arms. "You're a fool. I'm glad you ran away. You would have been useless to me, anyway!" He extended his arm and sent a bolt of electricity down the hall, which Punchy and Rainbow quickly dodged. "That's right! Out of my way! I must be going now. Four, five, come with me!" The trio headed down the hall looking for the exit. "Sssso long, big bro!" Vortex called. "Try to grow up before we next meet!" Zipp added.

Just then, Illusi appeared once more. "You're late, Mousy!" Rainbow observed. Illusi nodded. "I know what I've missed. I'm watching you two." he said. Punchy suddenly felt a bit uneasy. "You're watching us? Why?" Illusi used the spell to turn the fake emerald back before answering. "You will know why I watch you eventually, but not this moment." Illusi started to leave. Punchy, somehow feeling a bit better, waved to him. "Thanks for everything, Illusi." Rainbow waved as well. "You're all right, Mousy!" Illusi stopped briefly. "Keep control of your anger, Dark One. That's important. I'll see you later."

Leaving the dead end, Punchy took a moment to sense where the rest of the emerald was. "It's all in one place. I bet ol' red got hold of them, because they're moving! This is it! This quest is almost over!"

On their way to obtain the last of the shards, they had to head for the center of the Chao Garden. One thing they noticed on the way was that less and less Chao were appearing, until finally they couldn't see any. "Think the Chao know something we don't?" Rainbow wondered aloud. Punchy didn't like it either. It smelled like a trap.

Soon, they found a large corridor, with a familiar foe seated in the center. E-3X Terra, still looking a lot like Beta Mark 2, had been waiting for them. "Hey, One! I'm having deja vu!" Rainbow said, recalling when Terra attacked her home. Punchy could tell that Terra was preparing to fight, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "You again, eh? I've been waiting for this!" Terra began to fly toward Punchy. "I have been waiting for you! Dr. Eggman has ordered the destruction of any echidna in this area! I am to destroy them and take their emerald shards!" Punchy was a bit puzzled. "Why does he want the shards, anyway?" Terra continued to fly closer. "Data unavailable. Although I would not tell you. I have been looking forward to attaining revenge! You shall be destroyed, Experiment 1!"

Punchy clenched his fists in anger at being called an experiment, when Illusi stepped into the corridor. "Control your rage, Dark One!" Rainbow stepped beside Punchy and took his hand. "Don't worry! We'll beat that robot! This time, we'll work together!" Terra had grown impatient. "Silence! I was created for the sole purpose of destruction! I will destroy! Destroy all echidnas!" Punchy, with Rainbow at his side, felt calmer, and taunted Terra. "Sorry, but we have you outnumbered! There's no way you'll win!" It seemed Terra was the one that actually had the anger management problem. "TOO MUCH TALKING!!! Terra enter battle mode!! Kill!!!!"

Terra went into a mad frenzy, withdrawing its hand into its arm and extending a pair of buzz saws in their place! It flew after Punchy and Rainbow, and the two echidnas took off in opposite directions. Terra chose to chase Punchy first, firing its lasers at him while closing the distance between them. Apparently, after it was defeated by Sonic, it was given speed upgrades to make itself more formidable. Punchy had difficulty avoiding the attacks, but Rainbow came to his aid, tackling the robot from the side and then running away while it recovered. Terra, enraged, ran after Rainbow next, swinging the saws at her! But Punchy managed to give it a good smack to take its attention away from her before it could do anything. Once again, Terra went for Punchy, but this time Punchy fought back by jumping onto Terra's head and giving it a good punch, sending it to the ground. Terra recovered quickly, but its buzz saws were broken off, so it switched back to its claw like hands, grabbed Punchy, and tossed him aside. It tried to target Punchy as he fell, but Rainbow kicked it aside. Rainbow couldn't hurt Terra much, but she was making a great diversion. While Terra turned to fire some shots at Rainbow, Punchy got back into action and once again attacked Terra, this time kicking it from underneath and hurtling it toward the roof, but Terra managed to get its bearings before hitting the roof, and fired at Punchy, catching him off guard. Punchy fell back to the floor, injured, and Terra dashed toward him in an attempt to finish him off. Rainbow, who was too far to make it, could only shout, "Look out, One!" Just when it looked like Punchy was out cold and Terra was going to finish him, the echidna jumped suddenly and landed a powerful punch to Terra's head, cracking it and causing Terra to start sparking wildly!

Rainbow ran to Punchy to make sure he was all right, while Terra fell to the ground, still in a frenzy. "DE-STROY... ZZZT!! KI-LL.... Bzzzzt!!! RrrrrRRRRRrrRRrrZZzzZZzZ!!!!!" Terra was severely damaged and full of uncontrollable rage. "He's gonna blow!" Punchy realized. Terra started to head toward the echidnas. "Get out of its way!" Illusi shouted. They began to run, but Terra grabbed Rainbow by the arm! "KILL!!!" Terra roared, squeezing her arm in its claws. "Yikes! Ow, ow, ow!!" Rainbow shrieked. Punchy, panicked, ran over to Terra, punched it to make it drop Rainbow, and pushed Rainbow away! "DIE!!!" Terra screeched, rushing for Punchy in a kamikaze attack. Terra was destroyed in a violent explosion, with Punchy caught right in the middle of it! The explosion knocked Punchy far backward, and he landed on the ground in a heap! "Dark One!" Illusi shouted in alarm, while Rainbow ran over to him in tears. She was relieved to see that, aside from a few burns and bruises, Punchy appeared to be fine. "Are you OK, One?" she asked. Punchy slowly sat up. "I'm a little dizzy... But I'll live..."

Illusi clapped his hands as he approached. "Wow! That was unexpected! Such heroics I never thought I'd see from you!" Punchy smiled at him. "Yeah, maybe I'm not a dark one after all." Illusi and Rainbow helped him up. "I think the rest of the Master Emerald pieces are just up ahead." Punchy said, still a bit dazed. "Really, One? OK! I'll find them! Follow me!" Rainbow said, gliding across the room to the exit.

"Wish I could glide like that... or at all...." Punchy murmured. Illusi chuckled. "I'm surprised you can't, with all your power, Dark One!" Punchy frowned. "Why do you keep calling me that?" he said. Illusi sighed. "Because, as much as you hate to admit it, you are the dark version of Knuckles." "But, I remember..." Punchy began to protest, but Illusi interrupted him. "You only remember things in Knuckles's memory. You were created from his DNA." The shrew look out in the direction Rainbow had run off. "Up ahead, Knuckles is waiting for you. You must face him alone." Punchy nodded in agreement. "I understand. I don't want Rainbow mixed up in that anyway." Illusi smiled. "She's special. She can see past your darkness, even if you can't." he said. Just then, Illusi vanished in a puff of smoke. "I'll meet you there, Dark One!"

Punchy thought about everything that had happened as he started down the path Rainbow had taken. "It's time at last to settle this. We both have about half of the shards, and now we'll see who's going to be the one to put them all together!"

To be continued...