GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 24 - Agents of Despair
Stage 14(Dark 7) - Despair Corridors
Boss 14 - Basker

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 story thus far:
Learning from Mia that Rainbow was spotted following Kosmo, Punchy, Copter and Violet headed for Demon Island, the headquarters of the Covenant of Despair, to see if Kosmo led her back there. They found Despair Castle in an uproar over intruders, and Violet went off to help her friends, leaving Copter and Punchy to explore the castle. They found Rouge, who was looking for items that Despair had stolen, such as the Chaos Boots. Teaming up with Vector as well, they soon found a Chaos Emerald guarded by Illusi, and had to pass a "test" to claim it. With Chaos Emerald in hand, the group now continues their search for the Chaos Boots...
Now, on to the next chapter!


The Covenant of Despair was now on alert, and targeting anyone not wearing uniforms as potential intruders. They considered looking for spare uniforms to disguise themselves, but they couldn't find any in Vector's size. Frustrated, Punchy started to rely heavily on Dark Punchy to clear any Despair agents out of their way during their search for the Chaos Boots, which left the others a bit uneasy. "I don't care if he CAN control his dark form now; it gives me the heebie-jeebies..." Rouge whispered behind Dark Punchy's back. "Yeah, doesn't he remember wrecking half of Station Square not so long ago?" Copter grumbled. "Wait, that was HIM??" Vector gasped. "Are you really a detective?" Copter sighed. Dark Punchy glanced back at them, holding up a uniformed bear that tried to get in their way. "Does anyone have something they want to say to me?" he growled, tasering the bear with dark energy. "N-not me!!" the bear whimpered before Dark Punchy tossed him aside! "Um... We wouldn't mind talking to regular Punchy for a minute..." Copter muttered. Dark Punchy snarled a bit. "I'd snap you if he'd let me... Just wait, eventually I'll be the one in control." he said before the Despair Seal flashed, changing him back into normal Punchy. "Problem, guys?" he asked. "You're psychotic!!" Vector yelled. Punchy crossed his arms. "Just blowin' off steam. Yeesh. I didn't kill anyone, did I?" he grumbled, raising an eyebrow. Copter shrugged, and Rouge avoided the subject by looking into the room ahead. "Hey, is that a safe in there?" she mumbled, dashing past Punchy. "...I didn't kill anyone, right?" Punchy asked again, looking worried. "No, Punch. But you seemed kinda tempted." Copter sighed. They quickly joined Rouge in the next room, where she was looking over a heavy-duty safe with Despair's red star on the front. "I'm guessing the Chaos Boots are in there." Rouge concluded. "I could smash it open, but you guys are having anti-dark sentiments right now..." Punchy muttered. Rouge chuckled. "Smash it? Don't be silly. I can crack this thing. Just keep a lookout for me..." she grinned.

While Rouge was busy attempting to crack the safe, one of the many canine agents of Despair showed up. "Hey... You can't be in here..." the dog muttered. Before anyone could react, the dog pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew it! The high-pitched sound called in several hornet-shaped robots reminiscent of Eggman's buzzbombers, only with a nastier disposition. "ROBOTS!? Even up here I gotta deal with dumb robots!?" Copter shouted. "They're our special Beecon drones! Great for checking out dangerous terrain or just... avoiding direct confrontation." the dog said, a big sheepishly. "I think it goes without saying that I need those bugs outta my hair!" Rouge shouted. As the dog fled to avoid "direct confrontation," the Beecons started buzzing around, firing lasers from their mouths while attempting to get in close with their sharp stingers! Right away, Copter started chasing after them, smashing any he could catch with powerful tail whips! Punchy used Chaos Avalanche on some of the statues hung high in the room, dropping them down on unsuspecting bees. Vector, being the largest target, had to take cover from the lasers the most. However, when they came in close with their stingers, he took the opportunity to bite back with his powerful jaws! "Yuck! Blugh! Wish I had gum on me..." he grumbled, thinking of creative tactics he'd used in the past, "So, are these Eggman's robots or what??" he wondered. Copter blew away a few Beecons with Chaos Whirlwind before answering him. "After Despair swiped the Chaos Boots from Eggman? I don't think he'd be giving them his designs... Then again, Techno Sonic works for GUN." he reasoned. "Ugh, now my head hurts..." Punchy groaned as he punched out the last robot, "How's the safe coming?" he asked. Rouge dangled the Chaos Boots from her fingers, smirking. "Done with robots to spare. Anyway, my theory is Despair has its own scientist building the bots." she said. Copter scoffed. "Yeah, who? Bucky?" he grunted. Vector sighed. "Never mind. We better keep moving."

With the Chaos Boots in hand, Rouge's primary mission was complete. "Now I just gotta grab Guard and get outta here. Wish I had some idea where that flying mutt got to." she said. Copter and Punchy both groaned at the mention of the gargoyle. "Guard? Do we have to...?" Copter grumbled. "Well... Maybe he's seen Kosmo and Rainbow..." Punchy sighed. Vector grinned and nodded. "Leave this to me! I'll track down your missing pal!" he said, taking the lead down the next hallway. "He's not my pal!" Rouge shouted. Chasing after Vector, they soon found the croc cornering the same dog that had sent the Beecons after them! "Hey, sparky, how'd you get ahead of us? Plannin' ta pull a sneak attack? Sit! Stay! I gotta ask you some questions!" Vector said, lifting the canine up by his collar. "How come when I do this kinda stuff as Dark Punchy, I get scolded?" Punchy pouted. Vector glanced back. "Hey, I ain't gonna hurt him. I might drop him... If he doesn't talk." he said. The dog struggled in Vector's grip. "Wh-what?? You already robbed the safe!!" he yelled. "Naw, I wanna know if you've seen a gargoyle around." Vector sneered. "Th-there's gargoyles all over the place. We've got the mob doin' some of our dirty work..." the dog whined. Copter shrugged. "Maybe Gunner would be happy with one of those gargoyles instead?" he joked. "You didn't exactly answer me, pup! You see a gargoyle or not? This guy's not with the mob. Think carefully... I'm losin' my grip on ya." Vector growled. "A-all right! Maybe I saw him... But I dunno where he is now! He was clobbering anyone in his way, so I ran..." the dog stammered. Vector gently put him on the ground and pointed down the hall. "Hit the road before we change our minds." he said. While the dog fled, Rouge thought about what he'd said. "Guard's probably going deeper in the castle. Typical. He doesn't care what kind of danger he throws himself, or ME, in." she groaned. Copter shrugged. "Well, good news is that he's clobbering everyone ahead of us. Let's go!" he said, leading the charge down the hallway.

After a while, they arrived in a strange room that was filled with laboratory equipment. There was someone lying on a metal table in the back, with wires and tubes attached. Copter looked around nervously. "Is this Bucky's room? Who's that lying back there? Looks... familiar..." he said, squinting in the darkness. Out of the shadows, Violet, Daisy and Basker emerged, glaring at them. "Violet? So, I see you made time to change back into your uniform anyway..." Punchy observed, "What about Rainbow!?" he said suddenly. "Don't pretend you care! You haven't been looking for her! You've been sabotaging the Covenant of Despair!" Violet shouted. Copter and Punchy looked confused, while Rouge whistled nonchalantly. "Did you think your thievery would go unnoticed? We know you have stolen the Chaos Boots." Basker said. Copter pointed at Basker angrily. "Ha! Very funny! You stole them first! I was there!" he shouted. "From a man who most likely stole them as well. Must we go into such preposterous politics?" Basker sighed. "As a matter of fact, politics sound good right about now." Rouge said, pressing a button on a gizmo hidden under her glove, "I'll be transmitting the location of this island to GUN! Expect an invasion any moment!" she smirked. Basker smiled lightly. "Hm... Haha... Most amusing." he said. "That's not funny! Shouldn't we be calling a red alert!?" Daisy said in panic. "By the time GUN gets here, the island will be gone... And you will be dead." Basker said calmly. "Grrrrr!! I don't think so!" shouted Guard, dropping down from the roof and brandishing his scythe! Punchy raised his fists as well. "Good timing. Actually, you're late. Violet, outta the way! We're gonna mess up that punk!" he said. Violet glared at Punchy with rage. "I will not! Punchy... Give back the Chaos Boots... Or I'll TAKE them from you!" she shouted. "Girl trouble, eh, Punchy? Hey, red eyes! I got a bone to pick, too! Who have you guys got stashed back there!?" Copter shouted, trying to move in for a closer look, only to be blocked by Basker. "That's none of your concern. Our master has plans for that one. She needs her rest." he said. Daisy started toward Vector and Rouge with her katana. "All right, you..." she growled, only to be blocked as Talon the griffon suddenly dropped in front of her! "Hiiyaaaah!! Hold it right there, stinko!" he shouted. "Whaaaaat!?" she gasped. "My name is Talon! With the power of my psychokinesis, watch as I disarm you and turn your weapon against you!" Talon shouted. A blue light glowed around him, and Daisy started struggling to keep her grip on her katana! "H-hey! Get away, you freak!" she yelled. "Ummmm... I'll take it." Punchy said, watching. "Don't ignore me! I was trained in dark magic by Fera!" Violet shouted, her hands glowing with dark energy! "Fera? Shoulda known." Punchy groaned.

Rouge glanced back at the exit, holding the Chaos Boots in her hands. "Guard, maybe we'd better get these to HQ." she suggested. "GIVE ME THOSE!!" shouted Violet, knocking Punchy back with a quick bolt of darkness before charging at Rouge and grabbing for the boots! Rouge tried to hold on to them, but blasts of dark energy forced her to back off without them! "She's nuts!" she yelled. "Guys! Play keep-away with the Chaos Emerald!" Punchy suggested, first tossing it to Vector, who threw it to Copter next. "I'm gonna have to ask for that, Copter." said a familiar voice that startled the fox. A certain cheetah emerged from the shadows, wearing a Covenant of Despair uniform! "Wha....?! CHET!? What in Eggman's name are you doing in that stupid getup!?" Copter stammered, shocked. "What do you think?!" Chet snapped, baring his claws, "REVENGE!!" Rouge groaned as she watched this. "So, you're not going to toss me the emerald, huh?" she complained, glancing at Violet next, "Then I'd better get back those boots!" she realized. Violet launched a blast of darkness to keep her away. "I suggest you leave while you still can! I may not be fully trained, but my darkness can still destroy you!" she warned. Basker stepped forward as well, raising a hand to Guard threateningly. "Darkness and fear ride hand in hand... Let me show you the power I wield..." he growled, his eyes glowing brighter as he enveloped his hands in a dark blue energy, which he swiftly cast over Guard! "Grr... Rrrraaaa!! What... is this???" the gargoyle gasped. However, a sudden laser blast interrupted Basker's spell! "What?" Basker mumbled, looking at the entrance to the room. Alpha started to fly in, and then pointed his laser straight at Vector. "It's the cucumber again!! You tripped me!" the robot yelled. "Aw, come ON! I said I was sorry!!" Vector shouted. Guard backed away from Basker and shook his head to snap out of the spell. "Grrr.... Your tricks won't stop me!" he growled. Rouge landed beside him, while Punchy found himself face to face with Violet. "Violet... You don't wanna do this..." he growled. "...Yes I do!" she snarled.

Violet started to hurl bolts of dark energy at Punchy, which he sidestepped as quickly as he could. He didn't want to have to fight Rainbow's sister, but she really wasn't giving him any choice. Copter didn't want to fight with Chet, either. "What are you thinking!? Cut it out, you nut!" he shouted. "No, Copter! Eggman or GUN killed Katie! I can't... I can't let them get away with this!!" Chet growled. Copter raised an eyebrow. "I can think of at least two things wrong with your logic. Slow down a sec, pal." he sighed. "You're NOT my pal!!" Chet yelled, punching Copter square in the nose! "YOW!! ...OK, guess I had that comin'..." Copter grunted, "But now that we're even, you better listen!" he yelled. While Copter tried to reason with Chet, Basker was battling Guard and Rouge with his fear powers. With every strike he made with his magic, he seemed to vanish from his enemies' sight, replaced with eerie dark shadows or a writhing mass of snakes! "He's trying to trick us with illusions... like that shrew guy!" Rouge said, only to hear Basker chuckling in her ears. "Illusion implies that I conjured something..." he said, the shadow behind Rouge seeming to leap out to attack her! "Whoa! Back off!" she shouted, kicking at the shadow only to watch her foot go right through it! "Grrrr... Where are you, Rouge??" Guard grunted, looking around. For some reason, he could see neither Rouge nor Basker, though his android sensors could still detect them. Suddenly, the mass of snakes came at him and hurled some snakeheads his way, like a whip! "Grrrr!!? What demon is this!?" he gasped, jumping back and attacking with his scythe's beam! Rouge saw a beam of darkness come from the shadows at that moment. "This isn't funny. Where's Guard?" she growled. Guard noticed the snakes hesitate for a moment, and checked his sensors. "Gr? That can't be right..." Looking around, he saw an oddly-shaped shadow looming over him. "Grrrr! There you are!" he growled, slashing his scythe to fire its beam at the shadow! Basker stumbled over, while the snakes melted away to reveal Rouge, and the shadow-being she was fighting turned out to be Guard. "Well, this is awkward..." she sighed. Meanwhile, Punchy had grown sick of Violet's dark magic and started to fight back with Chaos Avalanche, breaking apart the very walls of the lab to toss at her! She started firing beams of dark energy at Punchy's projectiles to defend herself, but soon a fragment knocked her over! "Ow! I can't believe you'd actually hit a girl!" she said, a whiny, pouty look in her eyes. "Oh, my gosh, you and Rainbow really are related..." Punchy groaned.

With Copter and Chet wrestling over the Chaos Emerald and Violet still firmly holding on to the Chaos Boots, Kosmo suddenly crept into the room and snuck up on Talon. "Hey, fur-feathers! Where'd Carrie get to?" he asked. Daisy grabbed her blade while Talon turned around in surprise, and then she looked at him, too. "Kosmo?? Are you saying there's ANOTHER intruder in here!?" she exclaimed. Basker glanced back, noticing that the person on the metal table was stirring. "All this noise has awakened our guest..." he sighed. A red bird arose from the table, slowly pulling the wires from her body. "What's going on here!? Am I... at Shadow Arcangel!?" she stammered, zipping her coat closed once she'd removed the wires attached to her body. "That IS Heather!" Copter yelled, his expression growing tense, "That's it!" he growled. Suddenly, light flashed from Guard's eyes. "Gr!? I'm getting a hologram from HQ!" he said as Col. Gunner started to materialize in front of him via the holographic projector in his eyes. "Dude... You've got Gunner in your brain? That is beyond creepy." Punchy shuddered. Violet's face turned white at the sight of Gunner. "HIM!! Murderer!!!" she screamed, startling Punchy. "Guard! Dr. Nammad has informed me that there is a red bird in your vicinity." Gunner began, "He has requested that you acquire this bird immediately. It is... necessary. So do it! Gunner out!" he said before his hologram vanished. Without further delay, Guard started to approach Heather. "Grrrrr!! Ms. Phoenix! This way, if you will! Or I will bring you by force if necessary." he growled. Heather looked extremely confused and nervous. "Huh?? What? Why would you do that!?" she stammered. Just then, a hidden door at the back of the lab started to open up, and Despair reinforcements started to arrive, led by Fera and the Darkseeker! The hooded, red-eyed being immediately fixed his gaze on one individual. "Kosmo! So good that you are here..." he said.

"Did you find who you were looking for, dark one?" Fera asked Punchy. "Fera! Your brainwashing's gotta stop!" Punchy shouted. "Brainwashing?" Chet mumbled. "Like a weird ballet cult." Copter nodded. The Darkseeker did not seem concerned with most of what was going on. "Kosmo... Do not allow them to leave with the Chaos Emerald. Do you understand?" his voice boomed. "I... uh..." Kosmo gulped, even he found the Darkseeker intimidating. "That guy freaks me out..." said Copter as Talon slowly snuck up on him, "HEY!! The Emerald!?" he gasped as it simply jumped out of his hand! "No worries! I've got it!" Talon said, saluting him. At this moment, Illusi was arriving in the room. He looked across and saw Fera and the Darkseeker, and instantly panicked. "No... NO!" he screamed, filling the room with Wrongos which immediately set to work distracting the Despair agents present! "Dark One!! Get out of there now!!" Illusi shouted. "Illusi!? NOW you decide to help me!?" Punchy gasped, staring at him. In the confusion, Guard quickly grabbed Heather. "Let go of me!!" she yelled, getting Copter's attention. "Heather!!" he yelled. This enabled Talon to begin making his escape, pushing past Vector and Alpha on his way out. "Hey! We were minding our own business fighting a pointless fight here!" Alpha yelled. "Um... Yo! Gimme that Emerald!" Kosmo shouted, pushing past them to chase Talon. "Give ME that Emerald!" Rouge yelled, joining the chase. The Darkseeker glared at Illusi and pointed forward. "Agents of Despair! Cut through these illusions and stop those intruders!" he bellowed. "It's HIM again..." Fera grunted. "C'mon, Copt! Let's chase and scram!" Punchy said, him and Copter pushing past Vector as they chased after Guard. "Hey, I gotta get outta here, too!!" Vector yelled, finally running off himself. "GUAAAAAARD!!" Copter screamed. "Birdoooo!!" Kosmo yelled, making Talon stumble briefly. "Birdo??? Seriously?" he groaned. "My emeraaaaaald!! I HATE THAT GRIFFIN!!!" Rouge shouted. "I HATE THAT HEDGE-HOG!" Alpha added for no apparent reason. In the confusion of the escape, Punchy somehow found himself reaching the hole they'd entered the castle from alone. "Hello?? Guys??" he muttered. He then took a moment to think. "Rrrrr... Kosmo was in there... Where was Rainbow!? If he's hurt her..." he growled, so frustrated with everything that'd been going on that he was ready to pummel the next person he might run into...

To be continued...