GeneX - A New Beginning
Chapter 5 - A New Threat, A New Beginning

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and 
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
The Cosmic Interstate is (c) Archie comics.

The night grew later. Storm clouds were gathering over Station Square. In the light of the full moon, the prison transport at last arrived at the Station Square police station. The guards went through their routine, as always, until they reached Conan's cell. A few cells away, a prisoner was shouting and complaining. That prisoner was an odd man in an alligator costume, known as Gator the pirate. "Let me out! I don't wanna be in here anymooooore!!" he whined. One of the three guards looked at his prisoner list, then walked over to Gator's cell. "It says here this cell should be empty. Who are you and how'd you get in there?" the guard asked. "I am the great Gator! As for how I got here, your guess is as good as pie... er, MINE!" Gator said in a panicky tone. The guard walked back toward Conan's cell. "We'll deal with you later." he told Gator. The other two guards had already opened Conan's cell. "What, is he sleeping?" one of the guards said, pointing at Conan's cell mate. All three of the guards surrounded the man and tried to wake him up. Conan took advantage of the opportunity to take out the guards by smacking their heads together! All three of the guards fell to the ground, unconscious. "Good evening, officers! Lovely day for an escape, isn't it?" As Conan began to head out of the prison area, Gator appeared in a puff of purple smoke in front of him! "I forgot I could do that!" Gator said, realizing that he probably accidentally teleported into his cell in the first place, too. "Get out of my way, you oaf!" Conan growled, pushing Gator aside. "Oh, how rude of me. Sorry!" Gator said as Conan passed by. "Say... That guy had a nasty look about him.... Meh, it's late. Maybe he's just tired..." Gator then teleported away.


Outside, it had begun to rain. In this weather, most would go inside. Copter, however, had nowhere to go. So, he wandered the streets, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself. He soon found himself in front of city hall, at the place where Sonic and Chaos had faced off for the first time, before Copter was even born.  "So, here I am. Back to where I started. Alone. Hated and hunted. Betrayed. The only thing left is for them to send me back to Death Row. Maybe I should let them..." he thought, then he took off and looked at the tailband. Tails had allowed him to leave with this one, and might've let him leave with both, too, had Copter seen fit to take it. "What kinda crazy talk am I thinking? I'm not as pathetic as I was before. I'll get outta Gunner's latest trap! I always do!" Copter felt a bit better. He may have been cold and alone in the rain, but he was still free. Just knowing that felt good enough for the moment.

Then, all at once, the moment turned sour. Copter suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette on the roof of city hall. Thunder crashed behind the figure, illuminating the area and revealing the snarling form of Guard the Gargoyle! Guard swooped down to the ground in front of city hall, pointing his scythe at Copter. "Grrrrrr!! There you are! I've a score to settle with you, copter-boy!" Guard growled, "Give yourself up, experiment! Grrrr... In the name of GUN, I arrest you!" Copter hopped smugly through the gate, ever defiant. His freedom was the only thing that kept his spirits up, and now, he found he'd have to fight for it. "Maybe I'd give up if I thought there was any chance of you beating me, but there's not. The score stands at two-zip! Care to give me another point, dog breath?" Copter said boldly. Guard snarled like a crazed wolf, raising his scythe in preparation for a beam attack. "Your luck's run out, Copter! Tonight, I shall defeat you once and for all!" He swung his scythe, releasing an energy beam toward Copter! The black fox quickly slipped his tailband back onto his tail and then deflected the beam by hitting it with the banded tail! The beam simply crashed to the floor, wreaking the drain that Chaos had once used to escape from Sonic!


Conan had retrieved his sword from the evidence room, which was conveniently very close to the prison area. Now, he was making his way toward the exit to the station. Anyone who stood in his way would up hurt, or worse! As chaos and confusion spread through the station, Tommy soon caught wind of the escape attempt at his "post" at the front desk of the station. "That crazy guy's gonna come through here... Shoot, I gotta call Razor!" Tommy said excitedly, fumbling through his backpack in an attempt to find his cell phone. The receptionist chuckled and tried to reassure Tommy. "We're in a police station, Tom. You don't really think any crook's gonna get too far, much less to here, do ya?" Tommy wasn't so sure. "How'd he get loose in the first place, Ms. Dedam? I think that's scary enough to think about! I wish I could find my cell phone..." The old receptionist just sighed in an irritated manner. "That's just a goof on the part of the guards. You think a group of trained professionals is going to make two goofs in one night? Gimme a break, Thomas." Tommy pulled out his phone at last. "I thought I looked in there first..." he muttered, dialing Razor's number. Suddenly, screams and shouts were heard nearby, as well as the growls and grunts of a furious Conan! "Out of my way, pitiful scum! You can't stop me!" the crazed raccoon shouted as a blast from his sword sent several police flying through the door to the front office. Tommy panicked, and tried to dial faster, but his haste causedb him to make mistakes, forcing him to start over repeatedly. Ms. Dedam ran around the desk and grabbed Tommy by the arm. "Come on, kid! We have to get you out of here!" she said hurriedly. Tommy, however, had frozen in place, terrified by what was happening. Suddenly, Conan burst into the room, and noticed Tommy holding his phone. "Trying to blow the whistle on me, eh, kid?" Conan growled. Ms. Dedam stood between Conan and Tommy, attempting to protect the young porcupine. "Leave the young one alone!" she shouted. Conan stared hatefully at her. "I'll have no one chasing me once I get outside! Now, die!" Conan fired a Chaos Spear from his sword, which passed clean through the old woman's body and passed over Tommy's head before hitting the wall! Ms. Dedam fell to the floor, and now Conan pointed his sword at Tommy!


As the thunderstorm worsened outside, Punchy found himself caught in the middle of it. The winds had picked up speed, and the rain was really doing a number on his eyes. Punchy had lost track of Copter while he was still being chased by Razor, and now he'd settle for just finding his way back to the Hidden Ruins. "Last time I try to help that lunatic Copter out!" he muttered just before bumping into someone in front of him. "Ooof! Sorry, mister! I didn't see you!" Punchy said, attempting to dry his eyes with his arm. "Quite all right, Dark One." the person responded. Right away, Punchy recognized the voice. "Illusi?!" Indeed, it was. The shrew was wearing a red hood along with his blue cape, so he remained relatively dry. "Yes, Dark One, I'm here. Back from my vacation in the Cosmic Interstate." he said, though Punchy couldn't have had any idea what that meant. Illusi handed him a long black coat with a hood, which he quickly put on to keep the rain out of his eyes. "So, what do you want now, Illusi?" Punchy asked. Illusi gazed up at the sky, which was illuminated by lighting. "As storm clouds gather, so, too, does the darkness. Something terrible is drawing near." he said. Punchy looked out where Illusi was looking, and spotted Kosmo flying by. As quickly as the morph was there, he was gone. "Was that who I think it was?" Punchy said in disbelief. Illusi nodded. "He is just as outraged over the arrest order as the rest of you are." he said. Punchy let out a disbelieving, angry "HA!" before saying, "He's the reason we're all in this mess to begin with!" Illusi turned to Punchy. "No, Dark One. This has been a long time coming. Sargent Gunner has been planning this from the beginning. Anyway, I happened to see Copter on my way here. I presume you are out in this weather looking for him? That way." Illusi pointed in the general direction where he spotted Copter, then dissappeared. "Well... Thanks, I guess." Punchy groaned, annoyed that Illusi left without warning. At least now he had clothes, and could continue his search with greater ease.


"Did you call anyone on that phone?" Conan demanded, slowly stepping toward Tommy. The young porcupine was too terrified to speak, and instead just backed away, shivering and stuttering. "I-I-I..." Conan grew impatient quickly. "Stop stalling! Who did you call!? Speak!!" At that moment, Razor burst into the station and pointed his gun at Conan. "Drop the sword, coonsky! One of the guards you knocked out woke up and called for backup. Very sloppy escape, pal!" Conan was furious. "I am no 'pal' to you! Now, die!" He jumped out of the way of Razor's gun and fired a Chaos Spear at him, knocking him over! Sirens were heard approaching outside, so Conan took his last chance to escape, and fled through the door without delay. Tommy rushed over to his wounded brother, who sat up slowly. "I'm okay. I only hurt my pride." he said. Tommy hugged him tightly, sobbing. "Ms. Dedam... he killed the old lady..." Tommy managed to say. Razor hugged Tommy back. "Next time you call me and say your bored, I promise I'll have a better answer! Now, help me up, bro. Don't worry, everything'll be all right..." While all present would like to believe that, in the next moment it was proven quite uncertain. The backup police that had just arrived came in and informed all present that Conan had given them the slip. It seemed that the sinister raccoon's escape scheme had worked.


Copter and Guard's battle raged on, each refusing to back down. Ever since his fight with Conan, Guard had been training himself to become a better fighter, and it showed. Still, Guard remained a bit clumsy. Copter had managed to knock the scythe out of his hands. So, for the first time, Guard found himself fighting unarmed, and in this more close ranged combat, the two of them appeared more evenly matched. "So, I see you're serious for a change." Copter said after a while. "Grrrrrr, I'm not losing to you again!" Guard growled, attempting to kick Copter from the air. Copter was knocked backward a bit, but quickly responded by punching Guard in the chest. The two backed away a moment. "Yeah, you've improved. I almost feel the need to tap into the tailband's power!" Copter chuckled. He was wearing the tailband, but not using it. After all, it was just Guard. "Grrrrr.... You arrogant skunk! You think you've already won! Grrrr... But this is far from over!" Guard jumped into Copter, sending them both tumbling across the ground and into the gate, where Copter kicked Guard away from him! Guard jumped away and took the opportunity to reclaim his scythe, which he immediately used to send a torrent of energy blasts hurtling toward Copter! The blasts crashed around the gate, obscuring it in a cloud of dust and smoke. Guard squinted to see through the smoke, when suddenly, Copter jumped out of it! He'd recieved a few bruises and burns, but nothing he couldn't bear. Now, however, he was incredibly frustrated. He tore after Guard in a fury, hoping to put an end to the battle right away. Guard, seeing the rage in Copter's eyes, took advantage of his blind anger and flew straight upwards, allowing Copter to pass under him before landing on top of him with a crash! Guard jumped away from Copter and pointed his scythe at the fox, who was on the ground and struggling to stand. "It's over, Copter! Grrrrr, give yourself up, now!" Copter glared up at Guard, defiant as ever, refusing without speaking. Guard sighed heavily. "Grrrr.... You have the right to remain silent..."

Suddenly, a figure soared over the gate, coming straight for Guard! "Back.... off!!!" Guard heard this warning and flew straight up to avoid the oncoming attack. Guard landed behind the attacker, who turned around toward him. It was a green echidna in a long, black, hooded coat. "I've seen you before... Shadow Arc, right? But we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Punchy the Echidna!" he said, glancing back at Copter a moment to see that he was okay, then looking back to Guard, "And this idiot you're attacking happens to be a friend of mine. Errr... Maybe more an aquaintance..." Copter climbed to his feet. "Bah, he's lying, Guard! I don't know this bozo!" he snickered, joking. Guard tightened his grip on his scythe. "Grrrrr! You fool! I have orders to arrest you, too, 'Punchy!' Both of you will be coming with me now! Unconscious, if necessary!" Before any of them could make a move, however, they were interrupted by the sound of screeching brakes nearby! A taxi cab had pulled up to the gate, and Mia the cat ran out, trying to shield herself from the rain with her arms. "Guard! There's an emergency!" she shouted. Copter stepped past Punchy and looked through the storm to see Mia. "So, you're with Guard, eh? Why am I not surprised? Is everyone in this town so trecherous!?" he shouted. "I'm just as surprised about Katie's report as you are! But that doesn't mean I can't be friends with GUN agents!" Mia replied. Guard let out an impatient growl, which Mia quickly replied to. "Right, the problem. Conan's escaped from prison! He's caused utter chaos at the station! Razor and the others need you there!" She dashed to her cab upon finishing her explanation. "Hop in! I'll give you a ride!" she offered, but before she could open the cab door, Guard was flying off toward the station. "Fine! Catch a cold in the rain for all I care!"

As Mia's cab took off, Copter and Punchy watched. "Seems like you're having a bad day, Copt." Punchy observed. "What was your first clue?" Copter groaned. "You're welcome." Punchy said sarcastically. "I didn't need your help, greenie." Copter retorted. Punchy started to leave, without a word. "Thanks, though," Copter said, "'aquaintance!'" Punchy turned around, giving Copter an odd look, which he couldn't help but laugh at. "You look utterly rediculous, Punch! Where's you get that oversized robe?" Punchy chuckled as well. "Wish I knew. So, it seems everyone's after us. Need a place to stay, 'bro?'" Copter walked over to Punchy and shook his hand. "Sure. I guess this makes us partners in crime, eh, 'bro?'" Punchy placed a hand on Copter's shoulder and looked at him with a grave expression. "There's one small catch. How do you feel about our host calling you 'Two' all the time?" Copter gave Punchy a similar, comically serious look. "Well, 'One', we're fugitives. We could always tie her up and gag her." They both chuckled a bit and then started walking side by side. "Beats prison, buddy." Punchy said.


It had been a busy night at Shadow Arcangel. Bucky's spree of inspiration had spawned four new experiments, each currently adjusting to their newfound lives. Experiments 9 and 10 were busy exploring the ship on their own, while Zipp was off conversing with Experiment 8 elsewhere on the ship. Vortex, in the meantime, had put the ship on auto pilot, and was waiting outside Bucky's lab, hoping to greet Experiment 11, who Bucky was now in the final stages of creating. "The massster hasss grown quite sssskilled at creating life. He'sss made almosssst asss much in a ssssingle night asss he did in the weeksss it took to create usss originalssss." Vortex said to himself. "Well, he did have help thissss time, though." He was referring to the little break he took from pilotiong the ship after Zipp was finished talking to Experiment 7. Bucky had requested that Vortex and Zipp aid him in the creation of Experiment 8. They did well, and when Zipp left to begin talking to Experiment 8, Bucky took Vortex aside and had a chat with him. "I'm quite impressed by your work, five." Bucky had told him, "You'll make a fine assistant in the years to come, and I couldn't be prouder of you. Four was all right, but he plays around too much. He lacks focus. You, on the other hand, may surpass even me some day!" He'd then asked Vortex what sort of creature he'd like to see. When Vortex answered, Bucky told him to expect a surprise once Experiment 11 was finished. So, here he was.

Experiment 7 was also in the hallway leading to Bucky's lab, lost in thought. "I'm just here to serve the whims of that crazed rat. To be 'Experiment 7.' To never be me." she thought, her anger building. She found herself speaking to herself, arguing even. "He did create me. I should respect him. He is my father." Then, her voice grew angrier, her attitude with it. "But he created me just as a specimen! Just as a project! He'll probably trash me once he's done with me!" Her voice then softened again. "No. Perhaps not. He'll treat me like a bird. Nurture me, care for me. Sure, he'll also be studying me, but he'll let me fly away when I'm ready!" Then, anger took her again. "I'm ready now! He won't release me! I'm a prisoner! He's betrayed me, brought me into the world only to cast me to darkness!" Vortex noticed that something was odd about her, but couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, and frankly, he didn't care. He was too excited to meet the newest addition to what he and Zipp referred to as "Team GeneX." After a few moments, Experiment 7 fell silent. She walked down the hall, to the door of the lab. "Massster cannot be disssturbed." Vortex hissed quietly. He'd become a bit drowsy waiting, though, and dropped off to sleep as Experiment 7 entered the lab. It was silent for a few moments in that hallway, until Vortex was woken by the sounds of explosions! Experiment 7's voice echoed into the hallway, "...And I shall henceforth be known as Heather the Phoenix!!!!" Vortex ran for the door to the lab, halted as he felt an incredible surge of heat coming from inside the lab. Another loud explosion, a violent crash, and the heat subsided, allowing Vortex to enter. He looked around the room with terror, and Zipp followed him inside moments later. The lab lay in ruins, all the equipment had been knocked around and burned. Bucky stood over a charred table, gazing through a gaping hole in the roof. "Where'd we get the new skylight?" Zipp joked. Bucky crashed his fist onto the table, causing it to crumble to pieces, before turning to Vortex and Zipp. His lab coat was burned in places, but he was mostly unharmed. He spoke in a shaky voice, disbelieving what had just occurred. "Experiment 11... had only just begun to live... and now she's dead. Experiment 7 saw to that on her way out. She's escaped...." Tears were rolling down his face, but a look of outrage burned through. "I will not lose this one. I will not be betrayed again!! I shall not allow another monster to be unleashed! Vortex! Zipp! Gather the rest of Team GeneX and bring Experiment 7 back! Chase her to the ends of the earth if need be! Move out!!!" With his fiery commands, Zipp headed out immediately. Vortex left a bit slowly, looking around the room for any trace of Experiment 11. "By heaven or hell... She shall be avenged!" he thought, heading out for his next mission.


Copter and Punchy soon found themselves at Rainbow's house, and the three of them were seated at her "kitchen" table, discussing the events of the day. "I thought I had friends in this town, but today, every last one of them betrayed me." Copter said after explaining his situation. "Not me, Two!" Rainbow pointed out. Punchy had related the story of his battle with Anubis as well. "At least you didn't have to endure that insane heat I dealt with." he said. Copter stood up from his seat, leaning against the table. He appeared exhausted. "I'd prefer fighting a real enemy, like you did. Someone clearly in the wrong. But the police... They've just been taken in by Gunner's biased reports." He began to walk away, then stopped, looking out a nearby window. "This underground city's incredible. I've never seen anything like it..." Punchy and Rainbow had stood up as well. "Yeah, this place is neat. We could stay here for years and they'd never find us. Maybe we ought to." Punchy said. "That'd be neat! You could each take one of the old houses in the city! We could have a lot of fun here, guys!" Rainbow said excitedly. Copter looked blankly at her. "No, I can't stay here. It'd be just like prison, only the food would be better. I for one don't want to give Gunner the satisfaction! I can't live in hiding!" he insisted. Rainbow looked a bit disappointed, but cheered up quickly. "It's okay. You're still welcome here anytime, Two!" Copter walked toward the exit. "Thanks." he said without stopping. "Coming back, Copt?" Punchy asked. "Probably." he replied, leaving their sight. "He's a fox of few words, ain't he, One?" Rainbow said a bit too cheerfully. "He's troubled, Rainbow. Are you so dense you can't see that?" Punchy muttered, too quiet for her to hear.


As the night grew later, the rain slowed down and eventually ceased. By this time, Guard had accomplished the task Razor set before him: to find and gather the citizens of Station Square who'd been involved in the recent events with the experiments and Conan. Back in the same interrogation room, all of them were assembled. Razor addressed the small crowd, which consisted of Tommy, Katie, Mia, Chet, Bill, and Bob, "I've called you all here because each of you have been involved with the recent experiment business, not to mention the capture of Conan the Raccoon. First off, let me inform you all that Conan has escaped!" A couple gasps and words of surprise followed before Razor continued, "Yes, yes, I know. I also know that he's bound to have thoughts of revenge for each of us. Not to mention the fact that the experiments might, as well. In fact, Chet here tells me Experiment 2 was at Katie's house tonight." Katie shot Chet a dirty look. "I was worried about you!" Chet explained. "He seemed violence prone!" Razor hushed the group and continued, "Therefore, you all are being placed under the witness protection program, and moved to a safe place. They tell me we'll be shipped to Soleanna." Everyone was upset by this news. "But... My bar! I poured my life into that bar!" Bill protested. "I just got back to Station Square!" Chet groaned. "Are we gonna have to change our names?" Mia asked. Razor hushed the crowd again. "One question at a time! No, our names will not be changed. With us furries, we can be found simply by our species, there's so few of us. Now I'm very sorry about all this, but it's the safest way to go." he insisted. Bill raised his hand. "Why, pray tell, would anyone come after me and Bob?" he asked. "You led us to where we confronted some experiments and arrested Conan! All of them may come after you!" Razor explained. "What about our jobs? Our friends? Our LIVES?!" Katie nearly shouted. "I'm sorry. No one can know where we're going. Don't worry, though. I'll take care of all of you. I'm being transferred to Soleanna as part of your protection." Razor said. "Fine thing!" Mia shouted. "See if I'll be helpin' youse guys again!" Bob muttered. "HEY!" Tommy shouted, silencing everyone. "You think my big brother likes this? He's a target, too! We all have to leave everything behind, because those scary people hate us! It's not fair, but we don't want to die, do we?" Everyone silently agreed, and they were dismissed to begin getting their affairs in order.

Guard, meanwhile, was talking to Gunner on a video display elsewhere in the police station. "Guard, I have a new mission for you." he began. "A few hours ago, the president contacted Shadow the Hedgehog in regards to the recent disappearance of Rouge the bat in Soleanna. Her mission was to retrieve a stolen artifact from Dr. Eggman. Guard, I suspect foul play, and I don't trust Shadow. You are to go to Soleanna, find Shadow, and observe his activities. If you see him doing anything out of line, kill him immediately!" Guard was a bit suspicious himself. "Grrr? How'd you get this information?" he said. Spy's voice was heard somewhere behind Gunner. "I AM a spy, after all!" Gunner groaned at Spy's stupidity. "Never mind my methods. Drastic measures must be taken to ensure the nation's security. You are to set out immediately! Gunner, out!"


Copter had wandered back to the surface just outside the Hidden Ruins. The storm had ended. Copter was wondering what would come next for him. As storm clouds gathered once more, he soon got his answer. "Storms don't come up again this fast..." Copter said as a thunderstorm started raging again in the area. Lightning crashed nearby, and almost as though appearing from it, the Doomsayer approached Copter. "You again! I was beginning to wonder what happened to you!" Copter said. The Doomsayer's chilly demeanor remained unchanged. "Copter... There is darkness in the air tonight. It is a terrible omen. The Dark is coming." he said. Copter chuckled. "You're afraid of the dark?" Thunder crashed near Copter, causing him to jump. "OK, I get it! Don't mock the Doomsayer!" he said, gasping to recover from his near heart attack. "Evil stirs once again. A great flame is being unleashed, in more ways than one." the cloaked enigma warned. "Can you try being specific for a change?" Copter asked. The Doomsayer let out a low growl. "An experiment has escaped. A new creation, of immense power. It is full of confusion. Confusion that the darkness could use to its advantage. Worse, it is being pursued, by more foes than one, and for more reasons than one. These events will lead to the ending of the very fabric of the universe. You changed the future, but for the worse! Now, more than just this world is threatened. I warned you repeatedly, and you defied me to the end! Now, it's over. There's no hope for you now. Or anyone, for that matter. Doom has come!!!" As the storm grew more violent, the Doomsayer vanished into a cyclone of sleet and hail, and the storm subsided. The Doomsayer's voice echoed on the wind, "It shall begin at Soleanna..."

Copter looked up at the sky, now clearer than before. "Should I really care? Tails fought Kosmo, too! And Sonic, and Shadow! Let them deal with this! I'VE FOUGHT MY BATTLE!!!" His scream was heard below ground, and Punchy and Rainbow soon climbed up from the Hidden Ruins. "What is the MATTER with you!?" Punchy shouted, "Every cop in the city's looking for us, and you're just calling them over!" Rainbow tapped Punchy on the shoulder. "So are you, One!" Copter didn't avert his gaze at the sky. "One of the experiments has escaped from Bucky. A new one. And it's being chased." Copter said solumnly. Punchy looked up where Copter was looking. "You're kidding? Bucky's chasing it? He didn't chase me, and I was glad of it. This isn't fair! If that experiment wants to be free, it should be... But, what are you gonna do? Not our problem." he said. Copter's eyes went wide, and he looked at Punchy with disbelief. "You're right... You son of a gun, you're right!" he said. "Yeah!" Rainbow added, "What are we gonna do?" Copter shook his head. "No, I mean, she should be free. Don't you see? This experiment's in the same situation we're in! Wouldn't we like someone to help us?" Rainbow scratched her head. "Well, gee, what about me? I'll help you!" she said. Punchy looked confused as well. "Yeah, I don't see where you're going with this." Copter chuckled. "You two have been hanging around each other too long. One of you is making the other equally dense." Rainbow smacked Punchy in the arm. "What're you doin' to me, One?" Punchy rubbed his arm where she hit him. "Me?! He meant you!" Copter chuckled again. "Don't you see? We have to find that experiment and help it. We gotta get to Soleanna!" he declared. "Anna? Who's she?" Rainbow asked. Punchy rolled his eyes. "It's a PLACE Rainbow! But how do we get there? I mean, we can't exactly waltz into an airport, we'll be arrested in two seconds flat!" Suddenly, Gator appeared in a puff of purple smoke! "Hi! Gator was nearby and couldn't help overhearing! You need to get to Soleanna? Well, Gator needs a crew to get to treasure! And I bet Soleanna's bursting with treasure! And pie! So, set sail with me! I am Captain Giseppi Gator! Pirate extraordinaire!" Copter and Punchy exchanged strange glances. Rainbow, however, was smiling. "I like him!" she said, "I'm in, Bluehair!" Copter and Punchy excused themselves and discussed it privately. "What do you think, Punchy?" Copter asked. "I think I'm drunk." Punchy replied, "This is too weird to actually be happening." Copter nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but let's say you're not drunk, since you don't drink. Should we go?" They both pondered this a moment. "Soleanna's got nothing against us..." Punchy realized. "And this guy seems... friendly..." Copter noted. "We're gonna regret this, but..." they both said at once, "We're in!"


"Dr. Eggman!" Char flew through the passageways of Eggman's new Egg Carrier in a huge rush. Soon, he reached Eggman's control room. "Yo, doc! Your spy satellites just sent us these pictures!" Dr. Eggman turned in his seat to take the pictures. They showed what appeared to be a figure, blasting through the roof of Shadow Arcangel, covered in flames. "Ah, old Dr. Stein has created another monster beyond his control. A powerful critter, too. Perhaps I can harness this power for the Eggman Empire! Alpha!" The blue robot quickly reported to the control room. "Yes, sir, big red, sir!" he said, saluting. "Stop calling me that! I want you to find the creature in these photos and bring it to me. Alive, please. Char, you're in charge of this mission. Take a squad of robots with you." Eggman ordered. "Aye, aye, Eggman!" Char said enthusiastically. "Yes, Santa!" Alpha added. As the two of them left the control room, Char turned around. "Good luck with the Solaris thing!" he said. Eggman chuckled. "Who needs luck when you're this big a genious?" As Char flew off on his way, Eggman let loose a symphony of his insane laughter!


The next morning, Copter, Punchy, and Rainbow gazed out at the sea as Gator's ship set sail. They had no idea what time had in store for them, but they would face this next adventure together. It was time for a new quest. They had started a new beginning...

To be continued in Chapter 1 of GeneX - Soleanna Struggle! But for now...

The End