GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 35 - Invasion
Stage 20(Dark 10) - Hidden Ruins
Minor Boss 16 - Covenant of Despair

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:
Kosmo and Copter witnessed Punchy transform into Dark Punchy at the hand of Fera. Fearing he'd harm Rainbow, Punchy fled to Troblusk City, and made a treacherous climb to the peak of Troblusk Plateau. At the peak, he faced Illusi and the Deathbringer, but after Rainbow and Team Rose arrived to help him, Fera appeared and overcharged the Despair Seal, sending Dark Punchy into a rampage! Illusi was injured, dropping his "Chaos Key," which Fera took. She then had Anubis kidnap Rainbow, her cries for help getting through to Punchy enough to make him shatter the Despair Seal...but it was too late.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Kosmo the morph, Copter the fox, and Razor the porcupine temporarily set aside their differences to follow the trail of Dark Punchy, which led to Troblusk City. They didn't get far before Police Chief Paynson ran over to catch up with Razor. "Huff... puff... Officer Razor! Where have you BEEN!? You know my office has received reports of a potential bombing of the sewer system since I saw you last!?" he panted. Razor frowned. "Sorry, chief. I got a tip about some Despair-related trouble in Central City... Though I'm starting to suspect the covenant sent me there themselves just to rile up that echidna for some reason..." he mumbled. Paynson scoffed. "Never mind that! Aren't those two of those Experiment criminals from the wanted posters!? Why aren't they in handcuffs!?" he growled. Razor glanced at them. "Apart from the fact they saved my life... They're helping with an investigation." he said. Copter waved at Paynson. "Yo, Chief! Don't tell me you forgot about me already?" he chuckled. Paynson's face turned a bit red. "I hate owing favors to criminals... I'll look the other way for now. But we are even, fox!" he said, stomping off. "What's that about?" Kosmo wondered. "I stalled Despair from killing him once." Copter grinned. Just then, Punchy came limping over to them, accompanied by Amy, Cream and Silver. "Punch... Where's Rainbow!?" Copter gasped. Punchy stared at him gravely. "She took her... Fera... All this was just a diversion to get Rainbow!" he growled. Kosmo scratched his head. "That doesn't track... Why not grab her at Sandopolis?" he wondered. Amy shivered suddenly. "Hey... anyone else get a chill just now?" she muttered. In a moment, all of them were collapsing, a nameless terror gripping them! "Gaaah.....B-basker!!" Kosmo gasped, realizing who was behind this before seeing him. The red-eyed hound casually crept over to the morph, his hand raised to cast his spell of fear over the group and incapacitate them. "Your usefulness is at an end... But you still hold one item of value. The last piece of the puzzle..." he said, reaching into Kosmo's shoe and pulling out the gold coin he'd been keeping with him! "N-no!! Give... back... my lucky charm!!" Kosmo growled, attempting to fight Basker's spell of terror and chase him down! However, as he started to move, a shimmering light passed before his eyes, blinding him with its brilliance. "Gwaaaaaaaaaahhhh!?!?"


Kosmo found himself in a vast expanse of tunnels, with large crystals jutting out of every surface. These crystals were varied in size, shape and color, and the cavernous tunnels seemed to snake in every direction. This place might be a treasure hunter's dream, or perhaps nightmare, with so much treasure and no easy way to transport it. Kosmo heard voices coming from one of the tunnels. "Whoever's up ahead... I'm not in any mood for being messed with..." he grumbled, slowly making his way toward the voices. "I sense it... We're getting close..." came a female voice. Kosmo edged against the wall and morphed his body into crystal, hoping to sneak up on these people. Looking ahead, he saw three echidnas and a wolfish creature. Two of the echidnas were Tikal and Athair, and the third was the rainbow-quilled echidna, Radia. Lastly was Howler, the twin-tailed wolf. They stood at the end of a tunnel, looking over a strange crystal formation. On close inspection, it resembled a statue of a great two-tailed fox! "It... almost resembles Copter..." Kosmo murmured. Radia looked flustered. "I sense it here... Where is it?" she grumbled. Tikal was holding on to the Master Emerald, a tense expression on her face. "...There! That gold shimmer...!" she gasped. Upon the "tails" of the crystal statue were familiar rings; The Chaos Tailbands! Howler and Athair each climbed up and wrested one from each tail. "Are we... certain these things will stop Shadow Chaos?" Athair grunted as he pulled the tailband free. Howler glanced at him, nodding. "I'm positive. Eliminating a creature such as this is no simple task. But these objects hold great power... Power that could change the world!" he said, holding up the tailband and admiring it as he climbed down from the statue. Tikal looked up at him with concern. "Just remember why we're doing this... To protect what remains of my people from the evil my father has wrought..." she reminded them. As this scene faded and Troblusk City returned to Kosmo's sight, the morph was certain he was losing his mind. "What... has Basker done to me!" he grunted. Copter waved his hands in front of Kosmo's face. "Welcome back, Kosmo! Now get moving!" he growled. "Huh? Wha...?" Kosmo mumbled. "C'mon! Razor and the others ran off because he got an APB or whatever that Demon Island has been spotted... blotting out the sun over Station Square!" Copter said urgently.

The pair found Station Square cast into darkness, Demon Island ominously hovering overhead carrying untold threats within Despair's stronghold atop it. "This must be what the city was like with Shadow Arcangel menacing it when you first got out... Uhhh... Don't mean to bring up a sore subject." Copter stammered. "I'm just looking for that snake, Basker..." Kosmo growled. Instead, they spotted Guard waving traffic along like a crossing guard. "Awww, are you gonna help kiddies cross the streets?" Copter joked. "I don't need help crossing the street..." said Tommy, who was standing nearby and gawking at Demon Island. Guard grunted at Copter. "Grrr... I've been sent in to handle damage control in light of this apparent attack... Or die trying, I don't think the boss really cares." he groaned. Kosmo nodded. "Well... always a 'pleasure,' Growler." he said. Just then, a certain taxi cab pulled up to them. "Hey, Tommy, get in! Your bro wants you safe!" Mia shouted. As Tommy grudgingly climbed in, Mia's passenger climbed out, with a certain robo-puppy in tow. SPOT was as good as new, and joined by Professor Pickle. "My word, the Tails Tracker really works! Your robot is ingenious, Tails!" Pickle said to Copter. Mia giggled as Copter stared at the old man indignantly. "I'm used to the bot making that mistake, but people?" he groaned. Pickle squinted a bit and stammered a bit. "My, my, I guess I do need glasses... But you do look just like Tails. A relative perhaps? And Kosmo, good to see you again! Um... Could either of you relay a message to Tails or Sonic by chance?" he asked. "Can't the bot do it?" Copter sighed. Pickle looked a bit worried. "I suppose I'd best just tell you. My research has uncovered possibly what Despair is after... An object of great power, rumored to hold a connection to the Chaos Relics! Its exact location has been lost to the ages, but... Apparently it was hidden somewhere down... right... beneath... our feet!" he announced. Kosmo looked down incredulously. "Now I know you're nuts." he said. Copter, however, turned pale. "No, he's not... And I know why Rainbow was kidnapped...!" he gasped.

Copter started to lead the way to where they needed to go, but slowed a bit when he noticed Guard following. "...You can't come, smiley." he said. Guard scoffed at him. "I'll simply follow you from the air." he grunted. "...Why?!" Copter groaned. "Grrr... You're my only lead on Despair." he said. Kosmo pointed up at Demon Island. "You mean besides THAT, right?" he pointed out. "Grr... Wise guy. The island is meaningless next to their objective!" Guard growled. Copter rolled his eyes and resumed on his way. "Punchy'll kill me for showing you guys this place..." he sighed, "But Rainbow might be down there with them right now." So, Copter led them to the sewer entrance that would lead to the Hidden Ruins, where sure enough, they found agents of Despair standing guard over the open manhole cover. "Well... Looks like bad guys already know their way in there, so I was right in this..." Copter growled. "What the heck do they want in the sewer??" Kosmo wondered. The Despair agents quickly noticed them and started in their direction, but were suddenly blasted out of the way by a volley of explosives! Those of the agents that were still standing were swiftly kicked aside by Rouge the bat, with Omega slowly following along behind her! "Grr!? Agent Rouge!?" Guard stammered in surprise. "Relax, Gunner didn't get impatient with you... so far as I know. We were sent in by the President. He wants us to see what we can do before sending a military force into a civilian city. Clearly, the real deal is back." she said. "For the record, I am still not convinced any meatbag can be trusted." Omega stated. "Yes, yes, we know you didn't vote for him..." Rouge groaned. Kosmo crossed his arms. "Well, this is all fascinating. Can we get moving now!? Those Despair goons stole something from me, and I want it back!" he growled. "Plus Rainbow could be in trouble." Copter added. "Grrr... Not to mention the untold danger that might come from whatever they're after with this invasion..." Guard concluded. Rouge nodded. "...Cover us, Omega. Keep a sharp eye on that floating island while we're gone." she said. Omega clenched his metal fists. "This is a gross misuse of my superior functions... Enemy reinforcements better arrive to amuse me." he grumbled.

Copter led the others down through the sewer passage, and they got their first glimpse of the world hidden beneath Station Square! Kosmo was awestruck. "...How can the giant buildings above not bring the ceiling crashing down on this place!? There are no supports holding the roof up!" he stammered. Guard looked up. "Grrr... The ceiling is completely solid. Structural integrity has not been compromised even through centuries of weight strain." he stated. "Okay... So, somebody really knows how to build a... Big bomb shelter?" Rouge murmured. Copter shook his head. "Yeah... Big bomb shelter. C'mon, let's get looking for Rainbow." he said. Guard barred his way with his scythe. "Oh, hey! What do you want!?" Copter growled. "Grrr... It's not safe. Sensors indicate heavy resistance ahead." Guard grunted. Kosmo nodded. "The guards upstairs were just the beginning, hm? Well, this is where I come in..." he grinned.

Kosmo was soon disguised as a purple skunk in a despair uniform, wearing the shades he typically uses in human form to hide his eyes. He crept ahead, while the others kept their distance behind. Seeing some Despair agents across the dirt road ahead, he gave them a polite wave, and they waved back, turning away from him. Suddenly, he heard a low buzzing noise coming from the nearby building. Peering at the window, he heard voices. "Your wings are too noisy!" whispered one. "I hate hiding! It's boring!" said the other. Kosmo raised an eyebrow, considering speaking to whoever these guys were, but he suddenly felt a punch to the gut from nowhere! "Oooff!! What the!?" he stammered. "I got him, Charmy!!" Espio, who was attacking while camouflaged, was soon joined in the assault by Charmy, flying through the window and tackling Kosmo repeatedly. "Take that, Despair creep! Give back Vector!!" he shouted. This noisy scuffle was getting the attention of the actual Despair guards. "ESPIO!!" Kosmo shouted, reverting to normal form, "You blew my cover!!" he yelled. Copter and the others quickly joined them, and Espio and Charmy wore sheepish expressions. "I have shamed myself..." Espio mumbled.

Chet the cheetah and Patch the fox approached, along with a gang of other canines and felines. "Well, well, cats and dogs are finally working together... How nice." Rouge sighed, flying up to get an advantageous position as she moved in to attack! Guard started swinging his scythe as well, firing beams from it to knock the enemies off balance, while Espio put his ninja training to use, swiftly knocking out one enemy at a time while Charmy followed him cheerfully. Kosmo was itching for a fight, too, but Copter motioned for him to hold off while he ran up to Chet. "Hey! Before we needlessly tear you to shreds, you mind considering filling us in on what your monkey pals want down here? Or why they'd kidnap my friend?" he asked. Chet crossed his arms. "Hate to say it, Copter, but the details of this mission are pretty hush-hush." he said. Patch stopped swinging his nunchucks around for a second to nod in agreement. "Yeah. I'm one of Fera's pals, and even I don't know. Eh, but fun's fun! Hee hee!" he said, jumping after Rouge. Copter frowned, but Chet wasn't finished speaking. "Look, Copter... I checked into it. I'm not an idiot. I found out that Katie IS alive, and in the hospital... But there's the thing... She...she's vulnerable..." he said shakily, "Basker said as much to me, rather coldly when he found out I knew... I think that was a threat. If I try to leave Despair... They might... hurt her. I can't let that happen. I WON'T!" he growled. Copter nodded, whistling. "Y'know, Chet... I really respect that..." he said before unloading a punch square in Chet's face, knocking him over! "So, stay down! Now we're sorta even for you not listening to me! ...I got you 2-1 on punches to the face, so, the score's a bit skewed overall." he muttered. Kosmo groaned and morphed into a hedgehog. "I'm feeling as impatient as a certain blue guy right now..." he growled, running into the fray in a manner similar to Sonic, and whacking Patch and several other Despair agents with homing attacks, clearing the rest of their path fairly quickly! "...Copter, did you have to delay him? That colorful fox can wear you down..." Rouge complained. "Again!! Again!!" Charmy giggled. "No! ...Being Sonic knocks the wind outta me..." Kosmo huffed, morphing back to normal.

Copter led the way through the ancient roads of the echidna city, searching for any sign of Rainbow or, if convenient, Vector. "If you don't mind my asking... How did you wind up down here, anyway?" Copter asked Espio. "We've been taking the liberty of investigating the Covenant of Despair. We met Vector here after the attack on Central City, and that's when the island showed up..." he said. "So we followed 'em! But Vector saw them pulling away someone he recognized, and he got carried away, and he got captured!" Charmy finished. "So, now abduction's their thing?" Rouge frowned. As they proceeded down the street, they soon found their path blocked by more Despair agents, this time led by Fera and Anubis. "Our master doesn't wish to be disturbed!" Anubis snarled. Daisy the skunk was there, too, katana in hand. "You...! What have you done to Patch!?" she growled. Copter pointed to Kosmo. "He did it." he said. Kosmo rolled his eyes. "You can't stop us with a little motley crew. I don't think you counted on me showing up." he stated. Anubis raised his hands, calling forth his undead, mummified army, which clawed its way to the surface, surrounding the group. Fera smirked as the heroes started to look a bit worried. "Let me extend my thanks to you, Kosmo! We needed that coin of yours. Turns out, it was the final piece of the puzzle, so to speak. Now we have everything we need to open the way!" she taunted. Kosmo growled at her. "You...people... You scouted me out specifically for that coin, didn't you? But I don't understand... Why!? What's it for? What kind of game are you playing, Fera!?" he shouted. Fera chuckled. "It's not my game... And I couldn't tell you what the finale will be, exactly. All I know is that it ends with a glorious shift in the balance of power... And I want a front row seat to see that happen!" she grinned. "Grrr... You don't even know what your master is planning?? None of you!?" Guard stammered. Kosmo stood up straight, staring over at Fera. Then, he started to snicker. "Huh...?? What is it? What's so funny!!?" she demanded. "Here I thought I was the lost soul all this time... You... All of you with Despair... You are the ones who are lost. You're just mindless puppets, bending to the commands of your master's strings! And it's about time someone clipped those strings..." he sneered. Fera snarled at him. "Well, you'll have to go through us, first!!" she roared.

Anubis's mummies came at the group, and Guard was first to leap into action to take them on, slicing and dicing them with his scythe. Anubis wasn't about to just take this, but Copter stepped forward to challenge him directly. "Hey, I don't think we've had the pleasure. I'm Copter!" he said. "I am the harbinger of death, Anubis. Burn to ashes!" As Anubis's flames seared towards Copter, he blew them out with Chaos Whirlwind! "You were saying?" he smirked. The other Despair agents charged ahead, taking on Rouge, Espio and Charmy. Espio found himself trading blows with Daisy, using an oversized shuriken to parry her katana. "Ninja or no ninja, I'll get payback for Patch!!" she yelled. "Ha! Not bad! Your swordplay is... impressive..." Espio said, barely stopping one of her attacks, and then blushing as the two stood with their blades crossed for an extended moment. "Most impressive... I think I'm... in love...!" he stammered. Daisy's eyes went wide, staring at him for a moment. She lowered her guard slightly. Then, she made a disgusted face and resumed her assault. "Ugh!! Me and a chameleon! Just...GROSS!!" she yelled. "...Just a passing fancy..." Espio sighed. Meanwhile, Kosmo was ready for a long-awaited rematch with Fera. She started by teleporting behind him and hurling balls of dark energy at his back, but he morphed into an ant to evade it! "...What!? Hey! Where'd you??" Fera muttered, unable to see such a small transformation. Kosmo skitted a distance away, then morphed into a dragon, spewing hot flames at her, only to have them blocked by a dark energy shield! "The power of darkness is too strong for your pitiful shape-shifting! You might as well..." Before she could finish speaking, a chaos-controlled boulder slapped her down from the air! "Ooof!!" she grunted, looking over to see an enraged Punchy slowly walking toward her! "...Fera! Where is she!! Where's Rainbow!!!" he yelled. Fera got up and laughed wickedly. "Ha... haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!! You fool!! The Despair Seal is gone! Did you think you could just smash it while in overdrive and not face the consequences!?" she grinned, firing a beam of darkness that swatted him down onto his back! Punchy struggled to get up, but he couldn't. "Hey!! This is OUR battle, Fera!" Kosmo yelled. Fera ignored him and wagged her finger at Punchy. "You're as weak as a kitten... Rejecting the darkness has stripped you of everything it seems. And now... It's time to finish what we started way back when YOU helped us secure the stone tablet at the beach by this city... Thanks for everything, Experiment 1!" she cackled, rushing off and leaving Anubis and Daisy. Anubis was easily able to make his getaway using a cover of flames, but Daisy and the other Despair agents were left to be knocked out by Espio, Charmy, Rouge and Guard. "They weren't gonna tell us anything anyway..." Copter sighed, "Let's go... We have to find Rainbow and Vector... There's no telling what these psychos will do with them if we don't..." Punchy stood up shakily. "I'll... come too... I have to try... to help." he panted.


Elsewhere, traveling in the skies over Route 101 out of Central City aboard Shadow Arcangel, Bucky the rat was zapping some electrodes in his lab, venting his outrage over some recent news. "Using MY creations... As harbingers of extinction!! And Despair... what they plan to do..." he snarled, overcharging the electrodes in his anger and causing an explosion! "So... New job's not goin' well, huh?" Zipp mumbled from outside the door. "I-isss there anything we can do, massster?" Vortex asked nervously. Bucky turned around and nodded. "Get Crash. Turn this heap toward Station Square. You three will wait on Demon Island for further instruction..." he said. "If there is, perchance, an opportunity to shoot up humans..." Zipp mused. "Wait in the shadows! Avoid contact with Despair, and engage no one until I instruct you to do so!" Bucky ordered. As Vortex and Zipp turned to leave, Lucky poked his head in. "Umm... Wh-what can I do?" he asked. Bucky growled softly. "You've done enough. You've proven your recklessness already. You are not combat ready, get that through your head!" he shouted. "Yeah, but..." Lucky stammered. "LEAVE!!" Bucky shouted. As Lucky scurried off, leaving Bucky alone, the depressive voice of Nevin Crimm met his ears. "Such anger... What fears does this rage mask?" the voice mused. "You again... Everything I've worked for is in jeopardy, and you keep haunting me." Bucky growled. "...It's the work... of Nammad... isn't it?" Crimm supposed, "He... I... and Hope... we all worked with you once..." Bucky nodded slowly. "I remember..." he said.

Hope the raven was sitting up on a desk, watching Bucky with interest as he wrote excitedly on a chalkboard. "If I can make all this work, GUN's rage be damned! The world will be indebted to me, and all the accusations GUN can lobby will be meaningless...especially considering none of it's true!" Bucky smiled. Hope nodded. "Say you work out this 'life force formula.' What are you going to make with it?" she wondered. Bucky hopped up on the desk next to her and held his arm around her tightly. "What are WE going to make! And of course, the answer is whatever we want! Maybe we'll... clone a little Buck and a little Hope..." he said, blushing. Hope patted his head. "Buuuck... We already HAVE a son, waiting for your life formula..." she giggled. Bucky wore an awkward frown. "The fox I saved from the ARK? ...That'll never live. I've... rather mucked it up already." he sighed. Hope hugged him gently, smiling. "You'll find a way. And he'll be our first son." she said. Bucky chuckled. "Okay, okay... But... what else should we try to make? All I can think up are simplistic things like hornets and cats..." he admitted. Hope giggled. "We can start small... But soon you'll create wonders like... a dragon. Maybe a unicorn..." she mused. "Or a phoenix... Maybe mixed with your DNA... So that your daughter will be immortal." Bucky smiled. Hope looked at him with loving concern. "You're really afraid of the concept of death, aren’t you?" she sighed. Just then, the door opened, and a young Ivan Nammad entered the room. "Gah! I, uh... Do hope I wasn't, uh, interrupting, uh, anything?" he stammered. "No, professor, what is it?" Bucky said, glancing at him. Nammad nodded. "We're ready to, uh, start our next experiment, Dr. Stein." he stated. Bucky stood up and groaned a little. "These electric current experiments are pointless... Busywork so that you can satisfy your curiosity regarding my abilities." Bucky grumbled. Nammad shrugged. "Regardless, the answers you seek may very well lie in your own, uh, genetic structure." he said. Bucky sighed. "I don't know WHERE the answers I seek are, but that isn't where they are..." he mumbled. Hope hopped down next to him. "Relax. I'm with you every step of the way. Remember that..." she smiled.

A tear stood in Bucky's eye. "Crimm... Your distractions are getting on my nerves! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" he shouted, storming out of his lab in an effort to outrun the voice, and his pain. Crimm's voice still echoed in the empty lab, even with none to hear it. "But your recollections... are so... enlightening..." he sneered.

To be continued...