Sonic GeneX - The Series
Episode 13 - Halloween

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.


Halloween night had come to Central City. On this night, there was quite a bit of activity at the spooky laboratory of Dr. Bucky Stein. One might have expected some mad science, but in actuality, the lab rat was busy making the final preparations... for a party! It had been decades since the last time he could freely celebrate Halloween, so Bucky had decided to take advantage, and sent out a large number of invitations, hoping to use this party to mend fences with those he had created trouble for in the past. It was to be a costume party, so those who weren't helping get things set up were busy with their costumes. Crash waited at the entrance, wearing a gangster-style suit along with his usual yellow derby. Bucky had hired Bill and Bob to cater the party, and the hedgehogs were wearing baseball jerseys as they set up their small bar area in the large room being used for the party. Zipp flew to and fro seeing to the little details, simply wearing a goofy bit of headgear over his helmet that made it look like an arrow was going through his head. "Hey, kitty cats, where're your costumes!?" he asked as he passed Lucky and Whisk. "Nothing fits me with these dumb wings!" Whisk complained. Lucky shrugged. "I'll be ready... But my costume requires timing." he smirked. Zipp rolled his eyes and went looking for Vortex, who was busy with an experiment in his room. "Pencils down, 'Tex! People are showing up, and you and your mushy-friend don't have costumes!" the hornet shouted. Vortex had been tinkering with a bunch of metal scraps, apparently some busted device, but he set it aside grudgingly to join the party. "I know Whissssk wassss looking forward to thissss, but... I hate crowdsss..." he hissed. As he and Zipp left the room, the scrap metal left behind began to stir, an eerie green light starting to emanate from it. However, no one was aware of that as Bucky arrived to greet the first guests. He was wearing a black coat, and the fur on his head was dyed green. A fake scar on his cheek and a pair of metal bolts on the side of his head completed the getup. "...Seriously? Isn't that kinda on the nose?" said Copter, as he walked in wearing a vampire cape & fangs. "I was supposed to be a witch, but I don't have a pointy hat." Bucky retorted, whether or not he was joking not made clear.

Copter wasn't the only one to have arrived. There was a two-tailed bedsheet "ghost" wandering around, accompanied by Cream, wearing a blue princess dress and a sparkly tiara. Rainbow had arrived dressed as a witch, complete with pointy hat, while Gemini was wearing a glittery outfit and fairy wings. Knuckles and Punchy had both shown up wrapped in toilet paper like mummies, and were growling at each other for stealing their costume. Amy had gone all-out with her costume, an angel, with white robes, large fake wings, and a halo hanging up from her hair band. "Sonic... your angel's here..." she said with a smile. However, Sonic didn't approach her, and looking around, she couldn't spot him. "Hey!! Tails, you said Sonic would be here!!" Amy shouted, making the ghosts' tails stand up in reaction to her out-of-character anger. "I-I'm sure he's around!" Tails stammered nervously. Amy looked around again, and briefly thought she saw three brown hedgehogs working the bar instead of two. When she did a double take, though, it was back to two. "...Fine... I'll think of this as hide and seek. Where are yoooou, Sonic...?" she said, walking off to check each costume one by one. The third brown hedgehog poked his head up from behind the counter once Amy wasn't looking. "Whew... Thanks for letting me pose as you, Bob. Party had to be in the one city where I'm still technically on the run, didn't it?" he said. "No prob, Sonic... You're gonna pitch in here, right?" Bill asked. "Never mind him, you just take it easy, pal." Bob smiled. As Vortex and Zipp entered, the room was getting a bit crowded with guests. However, some were missing. "...Where'sss Lucky? Wasssn't he with Whisssk?" Vortex wondered. Whisk was present, but had given up on finding a decent costume, and was simply wearing a top hat. Zipp shrugged. "Probably struggling to get his dumb tail into his costume..." he smirked, earning glares from a few mammals around him, plus Vortex. "...Lighten up, folks." he groaned. Bucky tapped his glass loudly, getting people's attention so he could give a little speech. "We've all come such a long way, to be able to be together like this. Thank you all for coming. Let's get this party started!" he said, keeping it brief.

Shadow, Rouge and Omega entered as late arrivals. Rouge was the only costumed one of the three, wearing a tight devil costume, complete with red horns on her head. No one had time to get a good look at her costume, though, because out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning tore through the clear sky outside, striking the lab and cutting off the power, leaving the party guests in darkness! "It figures! All of us gathered together is bad luck!" Copter could be heard groaning. "Wait, isn't Bucky a walking power generator?? Just zap the lights back on!" Knuckles suggested. "I don't have that power anymore... We need to turn the lights back on!" the rat exclaimed. While they were busy stumbling about, trying to solve their power problem, a dim, greenish glow snuck about behind them. "Directive one... Destroy Omega..." a ghastly voice whispered, barely catching the attention of Tails as he pulled off his sheet to make looking around a tad easier. "Huh...? What about Omega...?" he mumbled. However, he got no response, so he fiddled with his ear, thinking he was hearing things. Meanwhile, Omega was flashing some lights around to allow the guests to see. "There was a use for me at this frivolous function after all... Though my time could still be more efficiently employed..." he stated. Shadow grunted in agreement. "Fine, next time I'll come alone, you bores..." Rouge grumbled. Omega rotated his head around, seeming to look for something. "Unable to identify signal..." he muttered. Before he could identify it, a laser shot him in the back, darkening the room again! "Omega!! What the...?!" Shadow gasped, finding his companion hunched over, deactivated! The lights came on a moment later, and Zipp flew back into the room. "That was an easy fix! ...Hey, bot, you're not supposed to drink, heh!" the hornet chuckled. "You! You shot him!!" Rouge growled. "I was fixing the lights!!" Zipp protested. Crash walked in holding his hat. "I don't mean to alarm everyone, but... we have a killer in our midst." he said nervously. Leading the group down the hall, they found Lucky near a bathroom, a sword through his chest and covered in blood. Bucky growled in rage. "Let's search this ship. I want this murderer's head!" he snarled. "Yeah, or we could arrest him..." Sonic said, shrugging. "Our party, our rulessss!" Vortex hissed.

While most of the guests split up to search the ship, Tails remained behind, attempting to repair Omega. Cream stayed with him, too nervous to search with the others. "Who could have done this, Tails?" she wondered. Tails shrugged. "Eggman and Gunner are usually more direct... So I'm not sure. I think we can rule us out, anyway..." he chuckled. Cream didn't look too reassured. "I hate to think that someone we know might be behind this..." she shuddered.
Everyone was searching the ship in small groups. Copter and Gemini were searching along with Heather the phoenix, one of several guests that had arrived just before Team Dark. Since she was still being hunted by GUN, it wasn't practical for her to shop for a costume. "Hey, Gemini... Why didn't you light up the dark with your magic?" she asked. Gemini shrugged. "I didn't think we were in danger... And I came to this party to relax!" she groaned. "Shh... Someone's coming..." Copter said, listening intently and watching the corner ahead carefully. Something leapt around the corner at them, shouting, and they jumped in fright! "RAAAAAARRR!! I'm a dinosaur!!!" It was Gator, standing sort of like a T-rex, but he was wearing his usual alligator costume. "Who invited YOU!?" Copter snapped, panting as he tried to calm down. "That's not a dinosaur costume..." Heather sighed. "Costume? Hey, why are you two dressed all funny?" Gator asked, making them groan. "C'mon... He's obviously not the murderer..." Gemini grumbled. 
Shadow and Rouge met up with Silver as they searched. He was dressed as a superhero, with a cape and a mask. "You know the future. Could you just tell us what we're up against?" Rouge asked him. "I don't have every minute detail of the past memorized... I was just here for the party." he replied. Shadow grunted. "All the power of time at your disposal, and you're playing games..." he said angrily. "It... isn't as simple as you're making it out to be. Look, let's just focus on the search..." Silver sighed. A gunshot down the hall startled them, to the point that Rouge shrieked! They looked to see Zipp, snickering. "Made ya look!" he teased. Rouge growled and charged in his direction. "If you think that's funny, c'mere, I'll show you something HILARIOUS!!" she yelled.

Knuckles, Punchy, Rainbow and Amy were searching along with the three brown hedgehogs. Amy had figured out by now that one of them had to be Sonic, but that was as much as she could deduce. "C'mon!! Say something!! Which of you is Sonic!!? Argh! Why are you hiding from me??" she shouted, exasperated. "Maybe he's actually hiding from the murderer, Pinky..." Rainbow suggested. Amy calmed herself a bit at the idea. "Yeah... Right... I wouldn't want Sonic murdered, after all..." she sighed. Suddenly, the lights went out again! "Gah! Bucky must not be paying his bills!" Knuckles growled. This time, that ghastly green light emerged in front of the group, making them jump back in alarm. "W-what??! Is that a ghost!?" Punchy stammered. "...Prime directive... Kill Sonic the Hedgehog!!" said a ghastly voice as the green light took shape, appearing as a ghostly robot resembling Gamma! "Waaaahh!! A ghost robot!? Is that even a thing??" Rainbow yelped. The ghost flew directly in front of her face and glared at her. "Where is Sonic!?" he bellowed loudly, frightening Rainbow so much that she fell backward, passed out! While Punchy ran to her side, Amy stood in front of the brown hedgehogs. "You're not hurting Sonic, you crazy metal spook!" she growled. "Thanks for pointin' the ghost in this direction, dummy..." Bill whimpered. The ghost flew past Amy and targeted the hedgehogs, forcing them to flee as he fired! However, Bob was too slow, and he was shot, shouting in pain as he fell to the ground! "Bro!! H-hold on!!" Bill gasped, rushing to Bob without thinking. However, the robot stopped firing quickly. "This is terribly inefficient... Listen, Sonic! I, E-1X Xenegg, will terminate your life... Or I will kill your friends until you have nothing to live for!" he shouted before flying away! The lights then came back on, and Amy rushed to help Bill lift Bob. "We gotta get him to a doctor... Is Bucky qualified?" she asked. Knuckles scratched his head. "I don't get it... Robots can't be ghosts... And hey, where'd Sonic go?" he wondered, looking around. "Must've gone to face the ghost!" Punchy reasoned as he lifted the unconscious Rainbow. "Oh no! We gotta find him before Xenegg does!" Amy gasped.

A pair of frightened screams were heard through the ship a moment later, and the party guests quickly followed those screams back to Tails and Cream. Xenegg was there, his laser pointed at the fox's head. "Face me, Sonic... or this one dies first!" he growled in his ghostly voice. While many of the guests were busy expressing surprise at seeing a robot ghost, Sonic stepped forward. "I'm here, ghost... Just one question. Why attack Omega?" he asked. Xenegg turned to Sonic, glaring at him with glowing blue eyes. "Omega was my training target... A test before facing you, hedgehog!" he stated before firing at Sonic! The hedgehog evaded the shot and jumped at Xenegg, but he simply passed through the ghostly body of the robot! "...I failed to destroy Omega originally... He destroyed me! Sonic... You can't wreck a robot that has no body!" Xenegg taunted. 
While Sonic kept Xenegg distracted, Gemini found the injured Bob, and decided to help out. "Stand back, Bill... Recoveration!" she said, casting her healing spell. Bob opened his eyes, his injuries having been healed. "Uhh... Wha happened?" he mumbled. Bill chuckled. "We just avoided a medical bill, that's what... Thanks, miss!" he smiled. "Glad to help... I wonder if anyone else is injured?" she asked. Zipp tapped her shoulder. "An angry bat bent my antennae... Help?" he asked.
Knuckles joined Sonic in trying to fight Xenegg, but it was useless trying to hurt a ghost. After one of his punches went through Xenegg again, Knuckles groaned. "Come on! You gotta pay for murdering that cat!" he shouted. Xenegg stopped short. "What cat...? I have only terminated Omega so far..." the ghost said, "Don't try to distract me with false accusations!" he wailed. "What?!" Bucky shouted from across the room, "But, if he didn't kill Lucky..." he stammered, making everyone back away from each other suspiciously. "...Well, I didn't do it." Silver stammered. "That's just what a murderer would say!" Copter retorted. "Never mind that!" Vortex shouted suddenly, "I jussst realized where that ghossst came from! ...And how to ssstop it!"

Xenegg heard this and howled angrily. "You won't stop me!! I'll kill everyone in my way!!" he shouted, attempting to fire at Vortex! Zipp pushed Heather into the path of his laser to protect Vortex. "Aaaah!! Y-you... bastard!!" Heather cried as she collapsed and burst into flames. "What? You're immortal!" he shrugged. Sonic joined Vortex as he led the way, and Xenegg fired his laser indiscriminately as he gave chase, knocking over Gator along the way! "Ow!! Jerk! I wanna go back to the universe where everyone's dead! It's quieter there!" Gator groaned. Bucky, Whisk and Shadow joined in following Vortex as well, Shadow and Whisk both warping out of the way as Xenegg fired at them. "Only Sonic need die! Will you selfishly allow others to be killed in your stead, hedgehog?!" Xenegg taunted, stopping to point his laser into the crowd rather than continue chasing. Sonic growled and turned back. "I have to protect these people!" he realized. Bucky joined him. "I decided to throw this party... It's my responsibility." he stated, equipping a device to his hand so he could fire jolts of electricity towards Xenegg in the hope of at least messing with his aim. Xenegg simply fired through the electricity and knocked Bucky down! It was a glancing blow, his jolts having apparently siphoned away some of the laser's power. "Enough! Just point that thing at me... Don't hurt anyone else!" Sonic growled. "No! Sonic, don't!" Amy gasped, realizing he was prepared to sacrifice himself! "Wait, no one's gonna yell at Bucky for apparently having a way to use his electric powers after all??" Copter mumbled in the background.

Vortex, Whisk and Shadow arrived at the chameleon's room, where the scrap metal he was experimenting on had been left. Whisk gasped as she recognized it. "It's part of that robot... Where'd you get it?" she asked. "I found it a long time ago, while Bucky wasss imprisssoned at Sssspace Colony ARK. I thought I could usssse it for ssssomething, but I sssseem to have inadvertently triggered ssssomething..." he explained. Shadow pushed past them. "Never mind! Look, it's glowing! It must be the source of Xenegg's power! Let's destroy it!" he suggested. Vortex sighed. "I guessss we musssst..." he said, backing up to get some room. "...Chaosss Inferno!!" he shouted. Shadow produced a Chaos Emerald and joined him in the attack, each of them firing a beam at the scrap metal!

Xenegg fired at Sonic, and the laser was about to strike between his eyes, when suddenly, it vanished! "Wh-what??" Xenegg gasped before being enveloped in light, making him shriek! "N-NOOOOOOOO!!! Mark my words, Sonic... I will... find a way back!! I will KILL you!!!" he wailed before vanishing, the source of his power destroyed. "...Whew... That was close...Hehe..." Sonic chuckled before falling backward, passed out. "Ha! Looks like Sonic got his Halloween scare!" Knuckle smirked while everyone gradually calmed down. "Hey, wait. Isn't one of us still a murderer??" Crash said aloud, making everyone groan in frustration. However, a loud yawn cut through those groans, and Lucky walked into the room, holding the sword that had supposedly "killed" him! "Hey, guys... I fell asleep. Anyone find me in costume while I was out?" he said drowsily. Punchy, who was standing nearby as he entered, took the sword and examined it, finding that part of it retracted to give off the illusion of stabbing someone. "...I hate you, cat..." he grumbled, "Party's back on, guys! No murderers here!" he announced.

Everyone soon calmed down and started to enjoy a good-spirited Halloween party. Tails managed to repair Omega after a short while, as well. "Systems operational... It seems I owe you, meatbag. I promise not to blast you at our next encounter." Omega said. "Gee... Thanks..." Tails replied awkwardly. The room was so crowded, and filled with people in costume, that none noticed an orange feline in a witch outfit sneaking her way past the crowds towards Vortex's room. She smirked as she crept inside, finding the charred remains of Xenegg's parts. "Robotic remnants that summoned a vengeful spirit... What, oh, what could a witch do with this? Eh heh heh heh heh! Surely I'll think of something!" cackled the witch, otherwise known as Tabitha...

Happy Halloween!