GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 8 - Eggman's Tree Fort
Boss 6 - Egg Retro

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:
After their detour to the beach, Punchy and Rainbow headed for Angel Island as planned. Instead of Knuckles, they found a Covenant of Despair guard, whom Punchy frightened off as Dark Punchy. Then, they met Fred and Evelyn, whose allies were caught by Eggman while they were searching for Gemini. Punchy reluctantly decided to help them rescue their companions. Along the way, he faced the Deathbringer again and met the Doomsayer, causing him to miss his rendezvous with Fred and Evelyn. Exploring the jungle on his own, he met Fera, and received the Despair Seal from her, which allows him to transform into Dark Punchy and back at will. He then found a GUN Agent and Guard the gargoyle, guarding a caged Gemini and a key to Dr. Eggman's Tree Fort. Using the Despair Seal, Punchy defeated Guard and rescued Gemini. Now, with one of the keys to the fort, they still must locate the others before they can rescue the hostages held by Eggman!
Now, on to the next chapter!


Punchy, Rainbow and Gemini began an expedition through the dark corners of the jungle. Climbing giant stumps, hurling stones at Egg Flappers, and shaking their fists at Rainbow as she glided across chasms they could never hope to clear. As soon as they found a third key, they quickly found a fourth, so their search kept them going for a bit until they had six of Eggman's goofy red keys. "Tubby sure doesn't want anyone getting into his treehouse." Rainbow sighed after all the searching. "Think that's the last of them?" Gemini wondered. Punchy crossed his arms. "I hope so! But if there are any more, that dumb robot probably stashed them closer to the actual fort..." he said, pointing up at the single massive tree in the center of the jungle, "...up there!" Rainbow and Gemini nearly collapsed. They had to climb that huge tree!? "Eggman!! This isn't funny!! If I had my wand, you'd be so TOAST!!" Gemini shouted. Punchy nodded. "Plus, we probably wouldn't need any stupid keys." he remarked. Gemini growled. "Well, we've been all over this stupid jungle and haven't seen any sign of it!! With our luck it's at the top of the tree, too! So let's go!" she grumbled frustratedly.

They made their way to the giant tree and took a look up its massive trunk. It'd be quite a climb to get to the top, and Egg Flappers were floating around along the way. Some large plants were growing on the tree trunk, which might hold their weight and ease their trip, but they'd still have to climb quite a distance. "I'm not built for climbing... Can you possibly carry me?" Gemini asked sweetly. Punchy glared at her, but couldn't get mad at the innocent face she was making. "FINE, you can hang on to my back. But Rainbow, YOU gotta climb!" he said, pointing to no one. "Hey, One! What's the hold up!?" Shouted Rainbow, who was already several feet up the tree! "HEY, you monkey! Wait for us! I can't protect ya from robots from way down here!!" Punchy yelled, grabbing onto the tree while Gemini jumped on his back. They tried to climb away from the robots, but there were invisible Newtrons clinging to the tree as well, forcing Punchy to take drastic action. He tossed Gemini upward towards a large flower growing on the side of the tree, then leapt along the walls, punching and kicking at the robots as they appeared and started rocketing towards them like missiles! Punchy hit one head on, causing it to explode rather than break, flinging him upwards until he was caught by Gemini! "Gosh, we're lucky these flowers are so tough..." she muttered. Suddenly, they noticed teeth on the edges of the flower petals, and the giant flower started to close around them! "What the!? It's eating us!!" Punchy shouted. Rainbow climbed up next to the flower and simply pulled one of the petals back open. "C'mon, guys! It's just a flower!" she said, continuing her climb without missing a beat. Punchy climbed out with Gemini clinging to him. "I... need... my... wand!!!" she cried. "I need your wand, too..." Punchy groaned.

After a hectic climb, they finally started to reach some actual branches that they could rest on. The branches of this tree were almost as thick as logs themselves, and they'd have to be to hold up Eggman's fort. As they rested, Punchy spied something red glistening in the branches above. "There's the seventh key. It must be the last one... Wedged between two branches. This isn't gonna be easy. If we aren't careful, it'll drop ALL THE WAY DOWN..." he said nervously. "Maybe we can steal one of Tubby's hover-cars to make this easier." Rainbow suggested. "Probably inside the fort. Need the dang keys! I HATE Eggman!" Punchy growled. Their noise drew the attention of some Egg Flappers, meaning their rest was over. "Umm... I'll wait here behind some leaves. You two do the acrobatics." Gemini sighed. Punchy and Rainbow sprang into action, jumping from branch to branch as the Egg Flappers started firing at them! Rainbow's gliding made navigating the treetop a breeze for her, and she was able to catch up to and knock out several more of the robots than Punchy could by simply jumping. Instead, he made his way to the key. "I've had enough of this jungle! I want out! I wanna steal an aircraft from Eggman and not have to climb back down!" Punchy grumbled as he grabbed for the branches the key was stuck between. He tried to grab them both so as not to disturb the key, but then he had no free hands! "...Crud! OK, c'mere, key..." He tried to gently shake the key to him, only to cause the key to slip right through the branches! "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" he shrieked, activating the Despair Seal in order to throw a proper tantrum as Dark Punchy! He thrashed the nearby robots with dark shockwaves and energy blasts, forcing Rainbow to take cover! Only after all the robots were gone did he revert back to normal, still panting with rage! "Um... Is your little hissy fit over, Punchy?? 'Cuz I wanted to show you what I caught down here!" Gemini shouted from below. Looking down, Punchy and Rainbow saw that she managed to catch the key! "Well... About time you did something useful..." Punchy grumbled. "I CAN TOSS THIS RIGHT DOWN!" Gemini warned. "Uh, I mean, THANK YOU, you beautiful, wonderful person!!!" Punchy replied frantically.

They soon reached the very top of the tree, where Eggman had built a rather impressive fort which despite being much smaller than his normal bases was definitely big for being built in a tree. E-5X, the yellow Egg Pawn, was waiting in front of the large entry door. "Did you guys find all the keys yet?" he asked. Punchy handed them over, and the robot started sticking the keys into locks in the door, but paused after a bit. "Hey, these aren't all the keys!" he said. Punchy, Rainbow and Gemini nearly fell out of the tree in disbelief. "What are you talking about!? Seven keys! For... seven Chaos Emeralds?" Punchy said. E-5X chortled at him. "What? No, the keys are eleven... for the number of letters in Dr. Eggman's real name!" he said. Gemini scratched her head. "He has a real name?" she wondered. Punchy growled at the robot, and then glared at the door. The Despair Seal flashed once again, and in a moment, Dark Punchy had smashed the door clean off its hinges! "Hey! That's cheating, One!" Rainbow shouted. The Despair Seal flashed again, reverting Punchy back to normal. "The door... is OPEN..." he grunted. E-5X glanced inside and nodded. "So it is. Finally! Now I can tell Dr. Eggman about all the intruders out here!" he said, heading inside first, "C'mon in, guys! We have air conditioning!" he added. Punchy crossed his arms. "Huh? In a tree house?" he said. Rainbow smirked. "This looks like the BEST TREEHOUSE EVER! Let's check it out!" she giggled, rushing in. "Tree FORT!!" E-5X shouted from inside. Punchy and Gemini shrugged and headed in as well.

As they entered the fort, Gemini quickly had second thoughts about going inside. In a cell at the back of the room were two people she recognized: A gray bat with blue eyes and red chest fluff, and a turquoise alligator with red eyes. "What are THEY doing here?? Ohh... They can't find me..." she murmured, sneaking back out the front door while Punchy and Rainbow headed straight for the cell. "So, you guys must be the prisoners I'm here to save." Punchy said. The bat, Adam, grabbed the bars excitedly. "A rescue team! Hey, where's Fred and Evelyn?" he wondered. The Alligator, Cuthburt, just shrugged. "Who cares? Let's get outta here!" he said. Punchy nodded and gave the door of the cell a good whack with his fist! "Not as strong as the door..." he remarked as the cell door crashed open. As Adam and Cuthburt started out of the cell and thankfully shook Punchy's hand, E-5X glared at them. "Prison break!? Not on MY shift! Dr. EEEEEEGGMAAAAAN!!!" the robot shrieked! Punchy and Rainbow spun around, hoping to stop the robot, but it was too late! The Egg Mobile emerged from a hatch in the ceiling, and Eggman was covering his ears as he entered the room. "Egad, Jolt! You could wake the dead!" he groaned, glancing at E-5X. The yellow Egg Pawn, apparently named Jolt, hopped over to Eggman and pointed frantically at Punchy and Rainbow. "Look, look, doctor! A prison break, under your very ingenious nose!" he tattled. Eggman looked at Punchy and grinned. "Weeeeeell, if it isn't my old friend Punchy. A rogue agent of mine, like Copter before you!" he said smugly, "It seems as though Bucky's creations can't be trusted!" Punchy growled and stomped towards Eggman. "I'm NOT one of Bucky's toys! And don't YOU forget it!" he shouted. Rainbow frowned. "Why'd you kidnap poor Freddie's friends, Tubby? That was mean!" she said. Eggman shrugged. "Now, Rainbow, I can't have unauthorized animals roaming around my territories! Especially now, with the Covenant of Despair around!" he pointed out. Adam looked confused. "The Covenant of wha? What's going on here?" he muttered. "Hear that? They've never even heard of the Covenant of Despair! So get out of our way!" Punchy shouted. Eggman just growled. "Dummies! I can't let ANY of you go now! You've seen too much!" he said. Rainbow looked around. "What have we seen...?" she asked. In the corner, there was a deactivated robot that looked like a cross between Omega and their old foe, Terra. Rainbow held her eyes. "Whoops! I did NOT see that spoiler!" Punchy was just getting mad now. "Does anyone care about what I want to do today? Detour this, detain that.... ENOUGH!!" he shouted. "Want me to taser him, boss?" Jolt asked. "No need, Jolt. I will deal with this traitor myself!" Eggman sneered.

The Egg Mobile moved back, and Eggman pressed a button, causing spheres attached to the vehicle to rotate and start exerting a strange sort of force that drew parts from across the room over to it! The parts snapped into place, and the Egg Mobile dropped down in a new form! There were now legs attached to the Egg Mobile, with spikes lining the toes, and arms ending in bumpers. It resembled the mech Eggman had used at Palmtree Panic on the Little Planet, though Punchy wouldn't know it. "Say hello to the Egg Retro! Go ahead and beat this form, there are plenty where this comes from! Ho ho ho ho ho!!" Eggman laughed. Punchy growled. "I think it's about time I told you what I REALLY think of you, Eggman!" he shouted. Adam and Cuthburt slowly backed into their cells again and hid behind the bars. "I suddenly feel somewhat safer back in here..." Adam gulped. Rainbow scowled at them. "Hey! Do you have any idea what One went through to rescue you? At least cheer him on!" she yelled. The Egg Retro charged at Punchy bumper-fist first, and Punchy jumped up to match it with his own fist! Big mistake; The bumper knocked him flying across the room and almost into Jolt, who was busy pulling out machine parts in case the Egg Retro needed to transform again! "Hey!! Don't you sabotage me, echidna! I'll zap you like a bug!" he warned. Punchy got up and looked around at the machine parts. They were perfect! "Chaos Avalanche!!" he smirked, using his Chaos power to lift several of the machine parts and toss them at the Egg Retro! Eggman tried to bop them back with the machine's bumpers, but he soon found his old mech falling apart! "Take that, and that, and that!!" shouted Punchy, flinging even more junk in an effort to bury Eggman! "Hah hah! You fool! Now, I'll tear right through you!" shouted Eggman, bursting out of the barrage with another transformation of his Egg Retro! There were now a pair of drills mounted to the side of the Egg Mobile, and an extra powerful engine mounted on the underside to give the machine greater lift! "All right! The Mystic Cave Driller!" Jolt cheered, though Punchy just seemed irritated.

The Egg Retro started to chase after Punchy with its drills, while Jolt returned to digging parts out of Eggman's closets. Rainbow glanced at him with annoyance, and walked over to do something about it. "Hey! Lemonpawn! Quit cluttering up the treehouse!" she said. Jolt stomped angrily as he turned to her. "Tree FOOOORT!! And... Lemonpawn? Seriously? It's Jolt! I'm... y'know... electric yellow! Not lemony." he protested. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'll keep thinking. But you gotta sit this fight out!" she said. Jolt put his hands on his hips. "No deal. Go suck a lemon!" he snapped. Rainbow made a motion as if to roll up her sleeves, despite not having any, and picked up something hard and metal Jolt had dug out so that she could start beating him with it! Meanwhile, Punchy had climbed a wall and jumped down, punching the Egg Retro nice and hard in order to pop the drills back off it! "You little punk! I'll have to break out the big guns, then..." Eggman growled. The odd spheres on the Egg Mobile once again went to work, pulling in more parts and assembling the most menacing machine yet! It had big, powerful hands, spikes atop the cockpit, and was generally more heavily armored than the previous forms. "Let's see you deal with Big Arm!" Eggman laughed. Punchy glared at it, getting tired and frustrated. He tried to approach the Egg Retro, only to find himself snatched between the machine's two massive hands! "Eeek! One!" Rainbow shouted, ceasing her attack on Jolt when she noticed his plight. "A-and let that be a lesson to... ya..." Jolt said shakily. Eggman laughed as Punchy spun in a ball in the Egg Retro's hands. "Sometimes I wonder why I only try ideas once! This machine was always brilliant!" he grinned. However, they soon heard Punchy growling from within Eggman's grip. A flash of light indicated he'd had enough. Dark Punchy smashed out of the Egg Retro's hands with a powerful dark shockwave, and then fired several dark energy bolts at the Egg Mobile itself! "NO... MORE... MECHS!!!" he roared, causing the odd spheres on the Egg Mobile to explode in his rage-fueled assault!

The Egg Mobile tumbled to the ground, and Eggman coughed from the cockpit. "What... happened? Aw, that does it! No more living in the past!" he grumbled. Punchy had reverted back to his normal form already, and was standing with Rainbow, Adam and Cuthburt. "We'll be going now, doc." Punchy said smugly. Eggman looked around. "J-jolt! Don't just stand around! Do something!" he shouted. Jolt hurriedly stood in front of Punchy. "I'll send him into shock!" he said, taking up karate stances. "Not in the mood." Punchy grumbled. Cuthburt raised his fists, finally ready to be of assistance. However, they were quickly interrupted. A storm of Wrongos swarmed into the Tree Fort, surrounding everyone! Eggman was first to react. "What IS this!? BAS, what are your readings on those things!?" he shouted. The Base Alarm System, which was uploaded into the Tree Fort, replied, "What things, sir? Sensors detect no abnormalities." Rainbow, Adam and Cuthburt all moved in close and raised their guard, while Punchy groaned. "This day just keeps getting better..." he mumbled. Jolt still only paid attention to Punchy. "Hah! It's time for our showdown!" he insisted, only to get whacked with the same metal object by Rainbow again. "Ow! Stop cheating!!" he whined. Just then, Illusi entered the room and hurried over to Punchy. "We were interrupted last time, but now we finish this!" he announced. Punchy crossed his arms. "Ha ha... Good joke Illusi. Thanks for the diversion, but I gotta go now." he said, annoyed. "Mousy, what's wrong with you!? Why are you attacking us?" Rainbow asked. "And what kinda name's Mousy?" Adam added. Eggman's Egg Mobile rose back into the air and faced Illusi. "Hold everything! Just who ARE you, and what makes you think you can just barge in here like this!?" he shouted. Illusi looked at everyone with frustration. "Silence! This is between me and that Dark One!" he yelled, prompting Eggman to frown. "Huh? But, what did I do to you?" he protested. Punchy rolled his eyes. "He means ME, Eggman!" he shouted. Jolt looked around and chuckled. "Never mind the circly things, boss! My sensors say they don't exist!" he said. Illusi nodded. "True, but they still cause damage." he warned. Punchy was getting tense and ready for yet another fight, but it was not to happen. Behind Illusi, a high-tech bomb was tossed into the fort! "GET DOWN!!" shouted Cuthburt, prompting everyone to duck as the explosive targeted all the airborne threats, meaning the Wrongos, taking them out with several mini-explosions one by one! In a moment, they were all gone, and Eggman's Egg Mobile was a little bit more dented. "Grrr, NOW what!?" he growled. A man with wild, black hair emerged at the doorway. He wore a white lab coat over a blue shirt, yellow gloves, and military grade GUN boots. He was wearing small glasses, and was accompanied by Guard the Gargoyle! "So, uh, I guess this was, uh, Dr. Eggman's base." he said. Illusi turned with a look of despair. "No! Not again!!" he shouted. Guard looked around. "Grrrr... Your bomb appears to have missed a few hostiles, Dr. Nammad." he observed. Punchy sighed. "Traded Illusi for GUN? Just great! How are we gonna get outta THIS mess!?" he grumbled. Fortunately, Fred appeared in a flash of light, along with Evelyn! "Guys! About time!" Cuthburt smiled. Evelyn turned to Eggman and pointed a bazooka at his Egg Mobile. "Sorry, doc! No hitchhikers!!" she said, firing at him to force him away from their group! "JOLT!! THIS IS YOUR FAULT FOR NOT REINFORCING THE DOOR PROPERLY!!" he roared. Jolt chased after Eggman in order to defend him in this tense situation, so their escape was clear! Seeing this, Illusi growled and teleported himself away in a puff of smoke before them. "Freddie! Eve! How'd you find us?" Rainbow asked, only to have the reunion interrupted by Eggman and Nammad. "Jolt, call in all robots patrolling the jungle!! NO ONE INVADES MY FORT!!" Eggman shouted. "Oh, uh... They have reinforcements coming. Perhaps we should, uh, retreat." Nammad muttered. "Grrr... Shall we regroup with the GUN camp in the jungle?" Guard suggested. Nammad nodded, and Punchy turned to Fred. "Well? Let's go before Eggman and GUN start fighting a war in here!" he suggested. Rainbow nodded. "Right! Follow me, One!" she said, running out the door! Punchy's jaw dropped. "R-rainbow!! NOOO!! Th-the magic!! I don't wanna cliiiiimb!!" he whined, chasing after her while Fred warped himself, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt away.

Meanwhile, Gemini had done some exploring on her own. Eventually, she managed to find GUN's camp, complete with Dr. Nammad's makeshift laboratory. "Great... now if I can get my wand without being seen..." she muttered, tiptoeing over and ducking behind trees along the way. Very few GUN Agents appeared to be around, since Dr. Nammad was away. Once an agent guarding the lab had turned his back, she crawled her way over and ducked under a table! "Whew... I think I'll stay here and try to feel for my wand..." she mumbled, looking out while she fumbled around the table for anything wand-like. Finally, she grabbed it. "Yes! Got my wand! Wahoo!" she cheered as she climbed out from under the table, only to find a gun pointed at her face. "Drop it!" the agent warned. "Umm... Abra-ka-warpra!" Gemini said, warping away before she could be shot! The agent sighed, looking at the table. "Oh, well... Maybe Dr. Nammad can make do with this one..." he said, looking at yet another wand, which Gemini failed to notice due to being under the table...

Eventually, Punchy and Rainbow managed to return to ground level. It was faster than Punchy feared, because Rainbow gave him a gliding lift. "Well, it's good to be outta the tree, but why do you ALWAYS have to run ahead, Rainbow?" Punchy complained. "You're too slow, One." Rainbow said. Punchy sighed. "Whatever... Illusi will probably be after us again soon." he mumbled. "Why's he so mad at you?" Rainbow wondered. Punchy shrugged. "Search me! The whole world's nuts!" he grumbled. Rainbow shrugged and stretched nonchalantly. "Well, maybe we should just get out of here and look for my sister..." she smiled. Punchy scoffed. "As if we'd even be able to find..." However, Rainbow immediately started to take off yet again. "Follow me, One! I can't wait to see my sis!" she said excitedly. "RAINBOW!!" Punchy shouted, panting as he slowly headed after her. "She needs to get a clue! Her sister's with a bunch of lunatics!" he said to himself, realizing it was about time he actually told her this for her own good, before she gets hurt!

To be continued...