GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 15 - The Sunken Ruins
Stage 10(Dark 5) - Seafloor Palace

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:
Finding no sign of the Master Emerald at Angel Island, Punchy got roped into a rescue mission at Giant Jungle. There, he met Fera, who gave him the Despair Seal, an object that would enable Punchy to change into Dark Punchy and back at will! This made breaking into Dr. Eggman's Tree Fort to rescue Adam and Cuthburt a bit easier. However, on the way out, Illusi attacked, followed by GUN's Dr. Nammad! Fortunately, Fred the fennec arrived to get Adam and Cuthburt to safety, enabling Punchy and Rainbow to escape on their own! On their way out of the jungle, however, Rainbow decided to refocus on finding her sister, and Punchy decided it was time to voice his concerns about this to Rainbow.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Punchy caught up with Rainbow when they were back at the main Mystic Ruins jungle area. "Hey, One! Why so slow? You're not THAT tired from climbing the tree!" she asked. Punchy sighed. "Uh, that's not it..." he muttered. "Don't you wanna meet my sister?" Rainbow asked. Since he was asked point blank, Punchy answered. "No, I don't!" However, Rainbow just shrugged it off at first. "Don't be silly, One! We'll catch a train and..." before she could finish speaking, Punchy grabbed her by the arm. "NO!! For cryin' out loud, Rainbow! WAKE UP!" he shouted. "O-one...?" she replied, sounding hurt. "She works for a bunch of bad guys! She's dangerous!" Punchy insisted, trying desperately to reason with her. She responded by pulling her arm away. "She... She is not! She's my sister! How can you even say that!?" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes. Punchy started to panic. "Rainbow, listen to me!" he pleaded. She shook her head angrily. "No, you listen, One! It's always you, you, you!! What about doing what I want for a change!" she shouted. "Rainbow!!" Punchy yelled, but she wasn't listening anymore. "No! Leave me alone, One!" she cried, starting to run off, "I'll find my sister without you! I don't need you at all!" she said, crying as she fled from him, much too fast for him to keep up! "Rainbow!! Wait!! Come back!!" he shouted, trying to chase after her, only to lose her somewhere in the dense maze of trees. "No! I'll never find her now..." he stammered. Stopping to think for a moment, he realized that she was probably heading off to find her sister. "I'd better try the train station..." he sighed, "I gotta fix this before she gets hurt..."


In Central City, Colonel Gunner had just received orders from the Commander to spy on the President, and try to find out why he was behaving unusually recently. It was still the middle of a battle with the Covenant of Despair, but he had to gloat about this to his own Spy. "Now THIS is getting interesting, Spy!" he said to him right after the Commander had left. "It is?" Spy muttered. "Don't you see? The president and the Commander are against each other!" Gunner grinned. Spy rubbed his head uncertainly. "Maybe it's just a minor disagreement?" he said. "This kind of thinking is why you're a mere pawn, Spy... Well, I have a few last minute commands to give." Gunner sighed, cracking his knuckles and scanning the area for someone. "Dr. Nammad!" he called. The wild-haired scientist hurried over with the blue shades wearing Agent 64. "Yes, uh, sir?" Nammad muttered, glancing around the battlefield skittishly. "How are your experiments coming?" Gunner asked. Nammad's eyes got a twisted twinkle at the question. "Project GXterminate is, uh, running on, uh, schedule. The, uh, Covenant of Despair won't stand a, uh, chance." he reported. Agent 64 stepped forward. "Excuse me, colonel. I was wondering... Couldn't this project be considered, well... Inhumane?" he asked. "Have you ever fought a war, Agent 64? You haven't won until every last enemy is wiped out." Gunner sneered. Nammad looked a bit awkward suddenly. "We've hit a little, uh, snag, though, Colonel Gunner. The energy source we're using isn't, uh, adequate. In order to complete the project, we, uh, need a Chaos Emerald." he said. Gunner rolled his eyes. "Then get one! Take a squad of robots if you need them!" he shouted. "But, uh... I'm no sergeant..." Nammad smirked. "Don't be coy, Ivan. I know what you're capable of." Gunner chuckled. Nammad gave him a knowing smile. "Hehehe... Very well, uh, sir. On my way." he said, walking off. "I'll watch your back, doctor!" Agent 64 said, following him. Spy looked at Gunner curiously. "So, uh... What IS Project GXterminate?" he asked. "Put a sock in it, Spy." Gunner replied. 

Just then, Sergeant Drol approached them. "Sir! Where's the Commander?" he asked. "Sergeant Drol! Is the battle won?" Gunner replied, ignoring his question. "Well... My presence is no longer required." Drol stated as the green shades wearing Agent 32 caught up to him. "Report." Gunner said. Drol saluted and gave the information he knew Gunner wanted to know. "I have run across numerous experiments while on the search for the items, sir. They are hindering the operation." he said. "Sonic, too, no doubt." Gunner snarled. "I've yet to see Sonic himself, but I've seen his friends." Drol informed him. Agent 32 looked a bit concerned. "Despair has acquired some of the items, sir. What shall we do?" he asked. "It is time to up our game. Guard!" Gunner called out. Seconds later, Guard the gargoyle dropped from the sky, landing beside Drol! "Grrrr... Yes, boss?" he growled. "You will be working with Drol's unit for the moment. Find Despair's headquarters and retrieve the items they've stolen!" Gunner ordered. "What of the experiments?" Drol asked. "Those freaks? We have no use for them. Destroy them on sight. Bring additional troops if you must!" Gunner snarled. Drol raised an eyebrow. "I am permitted to use... Any means necessary?" he asked. Gunner grinned. "What the Commander doesn't know won't hurt him. That's all I have to say." he replied. "You're a prince, colonel." Drol smirked, turning to Guard. "You heard him, servant. You're with me, now!" he said. "Grrrrr... I am not YOUR servant." Guard snarled. "Never mind his attitude, sergeant. He'll do as you say, or I'll have him transferred to be Dr. Nammad's test subject!" Gunner warned. "Let's keep on schedule!" Agent 32 shouted. "Right. Let's." Drol added, leading Guard and Agent 32 away. Finally, Gunner turned to Spy again. "Listen, Spy!" he growled. "Coffee, sir?" he asked. Gunner nodded. "Yes, but afterwards, I want you to earn your title." he said. Spy looked at him awkwardly. "Sir?" Gunner smiled. "I will serve as the president's bodyguard. While I keep him occupied, you will find out all you can about his recent activities." he said. Spy shivered a bit. "Uh... Sounds dangerous, sir..." he mumbled. "DO IT!!" Gunner yelled. Spy yelped and started rushing off. "Errr, yes, sir! Coffee, first!" he stammered. "If all goes according to plan... Nothing can stop me..." Gunner mused, "Ha ha ha ha ha!!"


Punchy had taken a wild guess on Rainbow's destination and ended up in Troblusk City. He'd heard about this place before, and figured it was a prime location for the Covenant of Despair to turn up, though he wasn't entirely sure that Rainbow would put that together. He found himself wandering the city docks, not far from Eggman's Eggtopia, and spotted none other than Amy Rose wandering around. Hoping that maybe she'd seen something, he decided to take a chance on her. "Uh... Excuse me, miss. I was wondering if I could ask you something..." he said as politely as he could manage. Amy took one look at him and clenched her teeth in disgust. "Forget it! You're that Knuckles clone who works for Dr. Eggman!" she snapped. Punchy wasn't sure which part of that he was most ticked at, but there was no time to fight. "I AM NOT!! I was just wondering if you've seen an echidna girl around." he said, trying to keep his cool. Amy shrugged. "Oh, is that all? She's right over there." she said, pointing to a motorboat at the docks. Punchy looked, squinting. "Right over... Gah! Rainbow's sister!?" he gasped in surprise. She, Daisy, Infin and Anubis were among the Despair agents boarding the fancy, obviously stolen motorboat. "Hey... Those are those bad guys that came after Sonic in Central City!" Amy gasped. Infin seemed to be addressing the group in preparation for leaving, and Amy was getting freaked as she recognized a certain someone. "That jerk Anubis is with them! I should teach him a lesson he'll never forget!" she shouted. Suddenly, Razor the porcupine's voice was heard booming over a megaphone. "Freeze! Don't move a muscle!" Punchy hid behind Amy before he realized that Razor was headed toward the Covenant of Despair's boat! "How did you escape?!!" Anubis shouted quite loudly and frustratedly, hurtling a fireball at Razor that singed his hat, forcing him to stop to put it out! "Aaah!! My hat!! Stop in the name of the law!!" Razor yelped as Despair's boat was taking off! Amy suddenly grabbed Punchy by the arm and led him to the nearest water vehicle, a certain red and black submarine. "C'mon! Help me hijack this thing Eggman left here! We can't let 'em get away!!" she shouted frantically. Punchy stumbled inside with Amy following. "Well, I don't have the best track record as a driver, but I'll try..." he muttered, pressing a button to turn the submarine on. "Welcome to the EggSub!" said the voice of BAS as the vehicle came to life, "Enjoy your flight!" it said. "FLIGHT!?!?" Amy and Punchy gasped at once.

Despite Punchy's shaky grasp of flying submarine controls, they managed to follow the Covenant of Despair to their destination. It appeared to be a largely submerged ruin, which was once a magnificent ancient palace. Fortunately, despite being mostly underwater, there was an outdoor balcony that was just barely above sea level. This was where Despair had parked their boat, and where Punchy and Amy lowered the flying sub back into the water. As they hopped out, Punchy saw that Rainbow's sister was still loitering near the boat, though most of Despair was already gone. "Well, now what? GUN could be a problem..." said Daisy the skunk, who was loitering with her. "Hey, uh, you!" Punchy said, hurrying over while Amy was busy trying to tie a submarine to a balcony. "My name is Violet. Now, what do you want from me?" Rainbow's sister replied, glaring at him. Punchy frowned. "Your sister is looking for you." he stated. Violet's eyes softened. "Rainbow? She can't get involved in this! It's dangerous!" she groaned, "She should be guarding the secret relic, anyway!" Punchy scratched his head sheepishly. "I think the ship sailed on that a long time ago..." he muttered. Violet sighed. "I've gotta give that sister of mine a good talk, but I'm kind of in the middle of something." she said. This got Punchy rolling his eyes. "Here it comes. So, what ridiculous chore do you have for me?" he grumbled. Just then, Amy showed up, panting. "Aha! Here you are! Now, what are you planning!?" she demanded. Violet ignored her and spoke to Punchy. "We need to get into the deepest room of these ruins." she said. "Buuut, some ancient wise guy hid the key!" Daisy chimed in. Amy pointed at them as if she'd discovered some huge secret. "Ah-hah! So that's your scheme is it? Come on, greenie! Let's find that key!" she shouted, hurrying through the nearest door! "Uuuuhhh..." Punchy muttered. "Be careful, though. Seems that police officer called in GUN." Violet warned. "...No problem..." Punchy replied as Amy ran out and grabbed him. "C'mon! Hurry up before the bad guys find the key!" she shouted. "...whose side am I on?" Punchy muttered.

The interior of the palace looked like it had seen better days. It resembled a massive, moldy, seaweed-infested version of the Chaos Shrine in terms of its architecture, but this building was much bigger and grander than the Chaos Shrine. "So... Despair wants to get into the deepest chamber...? How is THAT possible!? This dump is underwater!" Punchy wondered aloud. They heard something buzz near them, and a voice replied to Punchy. "I think some of the rooms down there are somehow not flooded. Gotta be careful opening and closing the doors so as not to flood them!" Punchy and Amy looked to see Charmy Bee hovering next to them. "YOU!! What in the heck are you doing here!?" Punchy stammered. Charmy looked flustered. "Umm... I forget? Oh, wait! I know! Vector sent me to check out what Dr. Eggman was up to and I followed some robots here!" he said hastily. "Well... buzz along then..." Punchy sighed. Charmy nodded. "Sure thing, Knuckles! Hah! Only kidding. I'd have to be pretty dumb not to know you're Punchy now!" he chuckled before flying off. "You know, we could probably have used his help..." Amy complained. "I think he's helped enough. Now we know Eggman's robots are here as well as GUN." he said, leading the way down the hallway in front of them. Right away, they found squidlike Kuragen robots floating around the hallways! "Yeah, Charmy would just be in the way here! I'll fix these bots! Chaos Avalanche!" Punchy started to grab chunks of the floor with his chaos power in order to fight the robots. This was a big mistake. The floor beneath their feet quickly collapsed, dropping them into the flooded room below! They found themselves caught in a tangle of thick seaweed at the bottom of the lower chamber, but Amy still managed to whack Punchy with her hammer in an expression of her aggravation! As they struggled their way out of the seaweed, a large, red robot approached them. "Organic life forms... Do you not require oxygen to survive?" Punchy stared at the robot, not sure how to react. "Of course... You cannot communicate underwater. This makes questioning you useless..." the robot grumbled. Amy pointed up frantically, trying to mime what she wanted to say. "I calculated that you came from up there, pink hedgehog. Allow me to introduce myself, green one. I am Omega. I have come to battle Eggman's robots." he said. Punchy couldn't care less, he grabbed Amy's arm and attempted to swim back to the roof, though it was somewhat high. "You'll never make it that way. Allow me." Omega said, grabbing Punchy by the ankle and swinging his robotic body around, hurtling them across the room! They soared towards a small hole in the ground, and were suddenly propelled upward as a jet of water shot out of the hole! This geyser sent them rocketing through a hole leading to another room, where they soared high into the air!

They grabbed on to a sort of stone support beam going across the ceiling in order to stop their geyser-driven flight. When they climbed up, they heard a low growling. Punchy glanced over and saw Guard perched on the support beam as well. "Gaaah!! Guard!!" he yelled. The gargoyle looked at him with a start. "Grrrrr!? How did you get up here!?" he snarled. "Better question is how do we get down!?" Amy stammered. Guard turned to them, holding on to the beam with one hand while clutching his scythe with the other. "Grrrr... What are you doing in a place like this, anyway?" he wondered. "Trying to stop the Covenant of Despair.... and trying to help the Covenant of Despair." Punchy mumbled. Amy hopped down to the water pool that the geyser had shot them out of, swimming to the nearby ledge and finally climbing up to solid ground. "Whew! What a relief!" she sighed. Guard was growling at Punchy, not buying his story at all. "Grrr... If you won't give me a straight answer, I'm going to tail you and find the truth for myself!" he said. Punchy jumped to the wall and started to climb down. "No way! I just ditched a bee and a robot and you're not coming either!" he shouted. "I think Omega ditched US." Amy said, wandering around on her own. Guard followed Punchy from the air as he climbed down. "Grrr... I was called here by the Troblusk Police to investigate the Covenant of Despair, and now you mention them! I can't ignore that!" he insisted. While they were busy arguing during Punchy's climb, Amy checked down a nearby hallway. Opening a door, she found a chamber where the floor was mostly broken up. However, something was unusual about the water in that room. "Guys! Get over here!" she shouted. Punchy and Guard hurried over to where she was, gasping upon seeing what she'd found. Parts of the room's flooded areas were frozen!

They started exploring the set of chambers ahead, using the trails of ice to cross the water along the way. They noticed that there were some GUN robots frozen in chunks of ice as well, leading them to conclude that this was probably the work of Eggman's robots. They were proven right when they caught up to Freeze the Gizoid, busily creating an ice bridge across some more water in another chamber. The robot turned to them with a cold stare. "Are you the ones who arrived in the EggSub?" he asked, making Amy reach for her hammer. "Yeah..." Punchy replied. Freeze nodded. "Since you are with us, I suppose you are aware of the need to locate the key." he replied, making Amy hastily put her hammer away. "Yes, the key... Any sign of it yet?" Punchy asked. Freeze pointed down. "Since you have arrived, I will begin searching underwater. Continue looking above sea level." he ordered, diving down below! Guard grunted in confusion. "You are with Eggman...?" he muttered. "Try to keep up, devil dog! We're here to stop the bad guys so I can impress Sonic!" Amy smirked, hurrying off into the next room. "She's just as dense as Rainbow, but she's got a big hammer. How did I get into this mess?" Punchy groaned. Suddenly, they heard Amy shriek, so once again they ran to catch up to her! They found her being chased around by Chaos Guardians, the jellyfish-like creatures that had also guarded the Chaos Shrine and Frostbite Maze! However, Punchy was only aware of their passing resemblance to the Kuragens. "Huh?? Eggman's robots came to life!?" he gasped. Amy ran behind Punchy and Guard, forcing all three of them to evade the flailing tentacles of the Chaos Guardians as they approached! "Grrrr!! Take this!!" Guard growled, slashing his scythe at one of them, only to have it bounce off uselessly. They all blinked a couple times at this development, then screamed and ran away, with the Chaos Guardians giving chase!

As they fled, they passed by Charmy. "Hey, guys! I think I know where the key is!" he said. "Not a good time!!" Punchy shouted. With the guardians catching up, Amy smacked her hammer against the ground to pull off a high jump, soaring over the guardians as they passed by her! "Ha! Tricked ya!" she teased, only to anger a pair of them and get them chasing her again! Guard flew up high to attempt to escape, but the Chaos Guardians could fly as well, making it useless! "Grrrr!! I'm not even with them!!" he shouted. Charmy watched them running awkwardly, backing away a bit to avoid being spotted. "Vector didn't tell me this place had monsters..." he whined. Suddenly, a water geyser went off in a nearby pool, shooting Omega up from the lower floor! "Deceptive Eggman robots! How did they know to maneuver me to a geyser!?" he shouted. Punchy, Guard and Amy were about to get cornered, and seeing this, Omega jumped into action, firing explosives at the Chaos Guardians! This got their attention, but still didn't seem to really damage them. "The Chaos Guardians are near-indestructible! It is best to dive underwater to throw them off your trail!" Omega suggested. Punchy shook his head. "No way, I'm mad now! We'll just see if they're indestructible!" he yelled, his Despair Seal flashing a bit before he transformed into Dark Punchy! "Grrrr... Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Guard wondered. "Shut it or I'll give YOU another taste of this power!!" Dark Punchy threatened. He then stomped toward the Chaos Guardians, hurling a dark energy ball at one of them to get their attention. "Hey, squids! Ever hear of calamari?" he growled. The Chaos Guardians flew at him, and he responded by creating a powerful shockwave of dark energy, knocking them all into the walls hard! The guardians quivered and writhed in pain, and Punchy tapped into the Despair Seal in order to change back to normal. "Well, at least they seem to be stunned. Let's go!" he said. "Follow me, guys! I think I can find the key!" Charmy said, flying off towards the door he'd come from, "Hope you all can hold your breath!" he added. Omega hopped back into the water. "Must eradicate all Eggman robots!" he said. "All right. Let's get that key!" Punchy said, running off after Charmy while Guard and Amy followed. "...You knew he could go all creepy-black like that?" Amy asked Guard. "Grrrr... He seems to have gained power from that bracelet." he said. Amy shuddered as she followed Punchy. As unsettling as his new power was, she'd need help if she was going to take on Eggman AND the Covenant of Despair!

To be continued...