Sonic GeneX - The Series
The Complete 2nd Season
Episode 1 - The Lost Zeti

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.


"Sonic? Something bad's happening..." Amy said with concern as she spoke into Tails's custom-built tablet device. "Whoa, what's goin' on?" Sonic asked from his end, high above on Lost Hex. "I don't know..." Amy replied, "It's like something in the sky is draining the life out of the world... Plants, animals, even the air feels cold and dead." she explained. Sure enough, everything around her and Knuckles was going pale as the life was being sucked into a vortex above. "OK, you guys stay safe down there. I'll try to figure out what's going on and stop it!" Sonic replied before ending the transmission and resuming his adventure to defeat the plans of the Deadly Six...


This was happening far away from Station Square, where most of the rest of Sonic's friends live and go about their day-to-day lives. The people here were going about their normal business, completely unaware how close they were to yet another devastating event. It was coming up on the news hour of the day, and many TVs in the city turned to that now-famous news-hound that had survived several of Eggman's recent attacks, Katie the Coyote. "Brace yourselves, Station Square! Today on SSTV News, I bring you live coverage of yet another press conference called by Richard Jackson Gunner, the GUN Colonel whose recent exploits of heroism both on the battlefield and through time itself have left the nation in awe..." she said, with a bit of a strain to keep from laughing at her teleprompter. "Sorry, that was unprofessional. Anyway, let's hear what he's got to say now." she announced.

Of course, many who knew the Colonel were watching the news at this moment. On an island housing a certain tower built by Dr. Eggman, known as Darkegg Fortress, a two tailed black fox watched the show. He wore a gold band on his left tail, and above his right eye some white hairs jutted out from his black fur. He wore blue pants, and blue & white shoes. He was known as Experiment 2, but called himself Arthur "Copter" Prower. His history with Gunner was quite rocky, to say the least. "He's not even on yet, and he's got Katie lying for him. Yeesh. What's next?" he sighed. Somewhere underneath Station Square, a female echidna with yellow fur and multicolored quills watched on her own primitive TV. She wore a green shirt & skirt with a red ribbon tied around her neck. Her name was Rainbow. "If Gramps is up to something, I hope One's safe. I wish he hadn't skipped town at a time like this..." she sighed, thinking of her best friend, Punchy the Echidna, who she referred to as "One" because he was Experiment 1.

Gunner came on the TV in moments, his dark grey hair shining in the sun and his uniform looking to be a bit overly-ironed. He stood proud, with medals of honor pinned to his breast, likely awarded after some heavy embellishing of his activities during the recent Time Eater incident. Agent Spizzweld, AKA Spy, was standing behind him, his sunglasses shined nicely, and holding up a sign with his phone number on it and the word "available." Gunner smacked the sign aside before clearing his throat to speak. "My fellow citizens... Many events have rocked our nation of late, and these events have been swiftly responded to. However, they have slowed the tying up of loose ends related to the war with the Covenant of Despair. Some agents of the organization are still out there, for example. However, that is not why I speak to you today. During the battles with Despair, my personal agents discovered something...impossible. Something that has been hidden right under our noses for generations... An ancient city! Hidden several feet beneath Station Square! I brought this to our leaders, and they suggested this be handled 'delicately,' by archaeologists. I say different! We learned that a key component of Despair's doomsday plans was uncovered down there! What else is down there? The hiding agents of their organization? More weapons?? An active volcano!? These answers CAN'T wait! So, I'm asking you, the people, while no law has been passed on this... To go forth! Root out any hidden dangers! Flush out any hiding outlaws! And... My lawyer says for me to ask you to handle the artifacts delicately. Thanks for listening. I know our people will do the RIGHT THING!" he smirked before bowing out of the spotlight.

While the news show continued, Copter went pale. "...I knew this day would come. This was my fault, and now Punchy's gonna kill me." he gulped. Rainbow, however, actually lived in the now-no-longer Hidden Ruins. "Six did this!! I'll sue!! What... what am I supposed to do now??" Rainbow stammered. Suddenly, she heard rumbling above. The people were coming already! "Relax, Rainbow... They never found the secret entrances before. They won't now!" she sighed. Suddenly, the sound of an explosion made her jump! "How'd they get dynamite!?!?" she screamed.

Meanwhile, a small, blue creature with green horns was scurrying between fire hydrants and telephone poles. It chuckled impishly, looking around with a big, toothy grin. "So, this is a peeple place. I bet Zavok would be impressed with how easy I snuck in... but some well-done chaos will impress him more. Time for Zim to prove he's got what it takes to make the Deadly Six into the Deadly Seven!" he chuckled. As a nearby door opened, he dashed behind a fire hydrant to hide. Someone was tossed out of the doorway, the tosser yelling "And don't come back, unless you learn how to pay rent!" Landing face-first on the pavement was a white-furred fennec wearing a pink sweater and blue jeans. She had light blue fur on the tips of her ears as well as covering her muzzle and the tip of her tail. Her name was Gemini, and before she could get up, the door reopened and a small, black stick was tossed at her, bouncing off her head. "Take your dumb doodad with you!" the man yelled. Gemini grabbed her "doodad" and sat up, rubbing her head. "Thanks for tossing me my wand, anyway..." she sighed, "This is getting troublesome. I can't change the past if I can't live in the past... So what am I gonna do?" she sighed. Zim had stopped paying attention to her, and was examining the hydrant with a curious smirk. "Hmm... What if I do this?!" he said, grasping the bottom of the hydrant and somehow effortlessly pulling it up from the ground and tossing it into the air, leaving a spout of water behind it! Gemini stared at him in surprise, and he winked at her as he started down the street in search of more potential mayhem! "What...the heck...was that?" Gemini wondered.


While Station Square was starting to go through chaos, Gunner was not finished his business for the day. He'd been invited to White Base, the President's home, for a mysterious meeting. There, he met up with GUN's Commander, the "Noble Knight" Sergeant Drol, and Dr. Nammad, along with the President himself. They were all seated in front of an odd machine, and spent a while talking amongst themselves. "What is that? Did you build it, Nammad?" Gunner asked. Dr. Nammad shrugged. "I'm as, uh, in the dark as you are..." he said. Suddenly, the door opened, and someone quite unexpected walked into the room. A brown rat, wearing a tatty old lab coat and purple shoes. It was Bucky Stein, creator of the GeneX Experiments and fugitive from GUN! Gunner started to stand, fury in his eyes, but the Commander raised a hand to hold him back. "Dr. Stein called me personally. Let's hear what he has to say." he suggested. Bucky bowed politely. "Thank you, sir. Leaders of the United Federation... I am honored to be given this chance... After many years on the run, I am hoping to finally end this bad blood between us, and put my scientific prowess to use for the good of all." he began. "My foot..." Gunner mumbled. "Shhh!" the President grunted. Bucky nodded toward Gunner knowingly before continuing. "I have perfected a device that can solve a multitude of our problems. That war with the Covenant of Despair was an example of how... outmatched humans are against animals. We have a natural predisposition towards superpowers, meanwhile there are NO powered humans. At all. It's very unbalanced." he stated. "Get to the point, Stein!" Gunner growled. Bucky crossed his arms. "I myself was born a human. I guess I am the ONE powered human on earth. But I digress. Powers are a divergence in natural GeneX energy..." The President raised his hand to interrupt. "GeneX energy?" he asked. "Ah, yes. GeneX is the source of life that I discovered, which I use to create my Experiments. Anyway, I discovered that the divergent energy can be separated out... Powers can be REMOVED. Allow me to demonstrate." he stated, jolts of static sparking from his body as he levitated into the air for a moment! "As you can see, I have powers myself... I will be my own guinea pig right now..." he said. His machine consisted of two large tubes, one big enough to enter, connected to a smaller one. Bucky stepped inside the larger tube, and a motion sensor activated the process. Brilliant lights shot into his body, making him groan with discomfort as clouds of green and yellow smoke passed through filters leading to the smaller tube, a containment canister of sorts. Bucky stepped out a moment later, jumping a couple times to illustrate that he could no longer fly. Gunner scoffed. "We're to believe that your power is gone?" he grunted. Bucky smiled. "Another application of this device is moving the powers into other bodies. Want to see?" With that, he motioned Experiment 8, Crash the Rhino, to enter the room. Bucky held Crash's yellow derby while he stepped into the machine, and Bucky touched a button on the containment canister. In moments, the canister emptied, and Crash exited. He soon showed off his new levitation power for the astonished GUN officials before him! Nammad in particular wore a devious smirk, while Gunner soon joined him in enthusiasm. "Could this be applied to robots?" Gunner asked. The Commander clapped heartily. "Never mind! Just removal of powers is enough to render super criminals harmless! This is a breakthrough worthy of recognition!" he applauded. Bucky then powered down the machine. "My gift to you... With the inclusion of the powers of myself and my team, so you'd be assured of our domestication... But only with conditions." he stated. "Here we go..." Gunner said, rolling his eyes. Bucky scoffed at him before continuing. "Expunge the criminal records of myself and all my experiments. Give them a clean slate. Second, you may search Shadow Arcangel, but the vehicle remains my property. I will park it in the city and use it as a lab. Third... My beloved Hope... she did not die where Gunner believes she did. She died fighting the Covenant of Despair... I suppose you'll find out if you look into it; She was the one known as the Deathbringer. Despite her criminal activities, she died a hero. There is no body... but I wish a proper grave for her. She deserves it." he said. The President looked a bit put upon. "These are steep terms... But with the Covenant of Despair still out there, national security may come to rely on your machine... Clean slate, Dr. Stein. But if you or your experiments break the law, you can lose parts one and two of your deal here quite easily." he warned. Bucky sighed. "Good enough..." he said, shaking hands with the President. Gunner glanced at Nammad. "I've got plans for that machine..." he whispered, smirking.


Back at the ruins beneath Station Square, Rainbow was busy having a panic attack. She'd grabbed the Chaos Crystal, the mystic gem she was charged with protecting, and hidden herself in a closet while humans were busy ransacking her city, looking for treasures, as well as looking for fugitives like her to turn over to the police. "Ohhh... Where's One when I need him? Watching over Red's dumb gem because he had to go on some adventure, too... What about MY dumb gem??" she whined, opening the door a crack and peering out. No one was there at the moment, and she decided to step out and try to calm herself. "I might as well give up... My home's done for... My best friend and my sister both ran out on me... Nobody cares..." she sniffled. "Now, Rainbow, that's just not true!" came a familiar voice. "...Mousy?" A dark gray shrew in a blue cape was coming from the next room, and accepted Rainbow's eager hug. It was Illusi, the illusionist who watched over her and Punchy. "Calm yourself, young one. You know that your friends and family would be heartbroken to learn anything had happened to you. Out of anyone involved in recent events here, you are by far the one who deserves punishment the least..." he said. "Don't you think that's exaggerating a bit?" Rainbow sighed. Illusi chuckled. "Run for the surface... I will cover your escape. Don't fear... I foresee that your problem will rectify itself." he advised. Rainbow picked up the Chaos Crystal and glanced at him curiously. "...You don't just foresee..." she said. Illusi raised his hands and forged some illusion robots, such as motobugs. "Trust me... And follow the path of my illusions..." he said.

The motobug illusions frightened any looters out of Rainbow's path, and soon she reached the surface, where a different sort of chaos was playing out. She found Gemini busy slinging spells at a target that was evading her with ease, and picking up heavy objects to toss back at her with similar ease! Of course, this was Zim the Zeti! "Eeek! Wanda, what's going on??" Rainbow cried. Gemini glanced at her briefly and shrugged. "This little guy... I think he's lost, and rather than try to get back to his own planet, he's... smashing things." she grumbled. Zim looked at the Chaos Crystal with wide eyes. "Oooooh, shiny! I bet Zavok would reward me big time for that thing!" he said with a wide grin! He tore after Rainbow, tossing aside cars in his way without effort! "YIKES!! Helphelphelp!!!" she shouted, darting toward Gemini! The fennec warped over to Rainbow's location, startling the Zeti! "Hey! I'm tired of you! Outta the way, magic lady!" he shouted. She pointed her wand at him, but he jumped back, pulled up a manhole cover, and hurled to at the two girls like a big, heavy frisbee! They dove out of the way, but not before Gemini could cast an explosive spell in Zim's direction! "Abra-ka-blastra!" An explosion knocked Zim off his feet, but that only delayed him for about an instant, while Gemini and Rainbow had to climb off the floor! Zim charged at them, when suddenly, another attack blew him aside! "Chaos Whirlwind!!" Copter had arrived on the scene, and quickly helped his friends up after his wind attack had blown Zim for a loop. "How you holding up, Rainbow? I take it you're homeless..." he sighed. Gemini glanced at her. "You, too?" she asked. Suddenly, the wall of a nearby building snapped off, held up by the diminutive Zim! "I'll flatten you PUNKS!!" he yelled! Copter stared in surprise. "Cool... And yikes." he said.

Suddenly, the air went cold. The life in the surrounding area started to drain away, sapping the energy of all living things along with it. Copter, Gemini and Rainbow all fell to their knees and started gasping for breath. Even Zim was not immune, and he dropped the wall segment back where he got it before collapsing. "Agh!! M-master Zavok... What about... me??" he panted. The plans of the Deadly Six had spread this far, and time was running out to stop them. Copter pointed to Gemini's wand. "Y-your magic... D-do something!!" he gasped. "Can't... weakening... too fast..." she panted. Rainbow grasped the hands of her friends, tearing up. "I w-wish... One was here..." she cried. Then... just as suddenly as life had begun to drain, it stopped. Sonic had done it!


After defeating the Zeti and Dr. Eggman, Sonic was watching Tails working at the computer that connected to the energy-draining machine that caused all this trouble. "You know you never needed Eggman, right?" Tails said, "I could've turned this thing off myself!" he pointed out. Sonic looked apologetic. "Sorry about that, Tails. I'll never doubt you again." he said. "It's cool. Oh, and here's something that even Eggman couldn't do! I just reprogrammed his machine to return our world's stolen energy! In your face, Eggman!" Tails shouted to the nearby doctor. Eggman sat up with a growl. "I'll be back, Sonic!" he yelled, "I'll find another conch, and the Zeti will be mine once again! Only next time, I'll make them stronger!" he said, running to the nearby ledge and pressing his suit's button to activate a jetpack. However, it didn't take off. "Hmm, funny..." Eggman muttered, "Why isn't my jetpack working?" he wondered. "Maybe because I... borrowed the exhaust hose?" Sonic taunted, holding it up as Eggman started to fall. "Sooooonnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiicc!!!!" the doctor screamed as Orbot & Cubot followed after him. Tails finally finished his work with a few button presses. "Here's your energy back, world! Bon appetit!" he said cheerfully, activating the machine. It blew the life energy it had drained back to the planet, restoring everything back to normal at an impressive speed. Eggman's latest plot was foiled, as usual.


With life returned to the world, Copter was quick to pick up the tiny Zeti by the horns, keeping him from moving much. "Hey! That is RUDE! Put me down!! PUTMEDOWN!!" he yelled. A certain green gargoyle swooped down and took Zim off Copter's hands before he could wonder what to do with him. "Guard? What're you doing here?" he asked. Guard held onto Zim with difficulty, but grunted his reply. "Grrrr... On behalf of Bucky and GUN, I am here to inform you that your criminal record has been expunged. You're a free fox... However, your friend's accomplice record remains. The boss was all too pleased to leave that wound open." he said, glancing at Rainbow. Rainbow sighed. "Can you pretend you didn't see me?" she asked. Zim's struggling and shouting was getting on Guard's nerves. "Grrr!! I need to get this... THING... into custody. It may be connected to that life-draining event just now." he growled, flying off. Gemini sighed, and was about to leave when Copter loudly cleared his throat. "You both need a place to stay? I happen to have... A lot of space..." he said, trailing off.


Days later, a helicopter carried Col. Gunner and his special guest, Bucky, to an island off the coast of the Mystic Ruins. "What is this you wanted to show me, Gunner? Keeping in mind... I still don't like you, and I know full well you don't like me." Bucky grumbled. Gunner chuckled softly. "Let us put our petty squabbles in the past, Stein. I had my people prepare a bit of a peace offering. Because we ALL want peace..." he said, perhaps a bit TOO sincere, like it was thoroughly rehearsed. The helicopter passed a multistoried building that had recently been renovated. Gone was the sinister veneer of the prison that it once was. It was a sterile, white building now, with lovely flower gardens planted around the grounds. A big sign on the front read "Hopebringer Center: for the criminally insane." Bucky stared down at the sign with a mix of shock, awe and horror. "You used Hope's name for your new prison?!" he stammered. Gunner laughed, a genuine laugh that was unusually lacking in malice. "Prison is such a limited term. This WAS Death Row, but not anymore. No longer is it, or Hope, a bringer of death. This is a place of rehabilitation... I am not in the business of capturing your little friends 'dead or alive' any longer. My warden, Dr. Nammad, assures me that all inmates will be cared for and treated for their criminal tendencies, so they may reintegrate into society..." he announced. Bucky frowned. "Nammad? A warden? I don't know what your game is, Gunner, but kindly leave me out of it. My record is cleared. I just want to live in peace now... And I intend to, whether you like it or not." he growled, as if issuing a veiled threat. Gunner nodded. "Good..." he said in the same tone. Deep inside the Center, the first inmate had been locked away. Zim was railing against his cage, which had been thoroughly reinforced to withstand his strength. Dr. Nammad stood outside his door with a smirk. "Be a good boy, Zim... We are going to be very good, uh... friends..." he snickered.


Around this time, Punchy had found his way to Darkegg Fortress, where Rainbow and Gemini had spent the previous couple nights, but had not yet fully worked out the living arrangements. Punchy, a green clone of Knuckles, had been guarding the Master Emerald in Knuckles's absence. He was honored to finally be trusted with this task. He was also furious to learn that Copter had given away Rainbow's secret home, forcing them to move to Eggman's former base. "Copter... do you honestly think this dump passes as a house!?" he growled after a pointed conversation. "Yes. I've lived here for quite some time." he pointed out. Gemini was looking around at the dingy windows with a groan. "We're going to get curtains. Definitely." she nodded. "How do you work indoor plumbing?" Rainbow asked, coming out of a nearby bathroom. Copter groaned dejectedly. "I don't know why you people are upset... I'm the one who's gonna have to live with all of ya..." he sighed. Copter's robot-beaver-mechanic, Hoover, scurried into the room next. "Oh, no! Y'all can't be here! This here's still Eggman's base!! I won't allow it! I... I'll shut off the oxy-gin!" he protested. "How can you shut off the oxygen? We're not in space." Punchy pointed out. "Eh? Rrrr... Right." he mumbled. Rainbow scooped up Hoover and snuggled him, much to his chagrin. "This is awesome!! I always wanted a family! I'm gonna call you Scooter!" she giggled. "Errr... What's a schkooter?" Hoover mumbled. Gemini turned around with a smile. "Yes... A little cleanup, and I think this will actually work. Thanks for letting us move in, Copter!" she said, walking over and shaking his hand. Rainbow added her hand to the ball as well, and motioned for Punchy to do the same. He grumbled, but put his hand in. "Trial stay." he sighed. Copter nodded, and they followed Rainbow's lead as she threw her hand up in the air. Though Gunner would try anything to bring them down, they had only come out stronger, and now a new chapter had begun the lives of our heroes...


Episode 2 - The Dimension Next Door

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.


Blaze the Cat was lounging in a beach chair, taking a break from her royal duties on one of the deserted islands surrounding Southern Island in her dimension. The sound of the waves gently rolling offshore was soothing enough that she could almost fall asleep. Still, her eyes remained open a crack. Eggman Nega had been missing for months, and she suspected he might launch a new heinous scheme at any moment. Still, the tranquility of the place she had found to relax was lulling her closer and closer to sleep. "I guess... A quick catnap wouldn't... hurt..." she mumbled. However, her nap was not to be. A loud noise made her jump out of her seat, a sort of strange whooshing sound! Down at the shore, a vortex started to form out of nowhere, which appeared to be turning into a sort of tunnel through space. She stared in awe at this, and thought she heard a voice coming from inside. "Is anyone there? Hello...?" The voice was familiar to her, so against her judgment, Blaze approached the vortex. "...I'm here. What's going on?" Blaze said, trying not to sound flustered. "Come through the wormhole!" the voice called. Blaze wondered if it was safe, when a rope came out of the other side. She picked up the rope, and was suddenly yanked through the wormhole, finding herself inside Tails's workshop an instant later! "Oooof!!" she grunted, tumbling onto the floor, "...Tails? What's the meaning of this??" she grumbled. Tails hid the rope behind his back sheepishly, then pressed a few buttons on the wormhole-generating device he'd apparently invented to turn it off. "Sorry. I got a little excited to test it out." he said, "I built this machine to allow travel between our dimensions! Instead of having to use the Chaos and Sol Emeralds, it runs on artificial emeralds!" he said proudly. Blaze stood up and glanced at his machine. "...Oh... Impressive." she remarked. Tails sighed. "It's not done, though. I have to build a gate like this in your world. Otherwise, the portal could get unstable..." he reasoned. Blaze glanced at him angrily. "You yanked me through a potentially dangerous portal!?" she yelled. Tails chuckled softly. "No, not to you, to our worlds... Only if I leave it on too long...!" She was still glaring at him, so he picked up his tools, "I'll get right on it... The trip back will be perfectly safe for you!" he stammered.

As Tails turned on the portal device and hopped through it to get to work creating a companion device in Blaze's world, the cat looked around with a light smile. "I appreciate his effort, though. Just showing up for Sonic's birthday party was such a hassle." she remarked, "I wonder... if Sonic is anywhere in the area?" With that, she headed outside to search for anyone she might know. It beat waiting around for Tails to return. Unbeknownst to her, a vehicle was hovering above the workshop, the pilot watching her as she left the area. "So... That wormhole activity I detected meant exactly what I was hoping for..." whispered Eggman Nega, who had waited until she was gone to start doing anything. His Egg Mobile cruised down toward Tails's door. "Ever since we all escaped from White Space, I've been trapped in this time and dimension, forced to SHARE everything with my annoying ancestor! But would he let me in on his plot to control the Zeti? Noooo! How that boor could be MY relative is beyond me!" he grumbled. "I agree. You're much more genteel." came the voice of Cubot through a speaker on the Egg Mobile. "I called you just so talking to myself wouldn't seem crazy! Not for you to talk back!" Nega snapped. "Oh! Sorry, future-boss..." Cubot sighed. "I'm never your boss! I wouldn't tolerate such idiocy in my ranks! Oh, whatever... How am I going to fit an Egg Mobile through this door...? I'd hate to blast the place, it looks like it just got a lot of work done..." Nega muttered. Tails had only just finished the repairs after the Covenant of Despair burned down his workshop, and it showed. Eggman Nega sat and thought about it. "...Cubot, wire some repair funds here from Eggman's account... I'm in a rush." he said at last, blasting a hole in the doorway with a devilish grin.

Blaze explored the jungle for a bit, and came across Sonic and Knuckles near the ancient pyramid built by the echidna tribes. "Look, it must be your millionth screw-up. People are coming from other worlds to 'congratulate' you!" Sonic snickered. "Huh?" Blaze mumbled. Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Sonic. I have to sleep sometime, don't I? At least it was just Punchy... He stashed the emerald out here somewhere as a prank." he explained, for Blaze's benefit. While Knuckles poked his head in some bushes to look for the Master Emerald, Sonic turned to Blaze. "So, what brings you here? The worlds aren't in trouble again, are they?" he asked. "Not unless Tails is causing it... His intellect might be growing a bit... too much." she cautioned. Sonic crossed his arms. "That so? Hm... I guess he needs time out of the workshop. Maybe a certain rabbit that he's done a bad job of hiding his crush on might help with that..." he said, trailing off. Blaze's ears pricked at this. "Wait... You don't mean Cream!" she gasped, following it with a chuckle. Knuckles then pulled his head out of the bushes. "I sense the emerald here!! What'd he do, BURY it!?!? I hate you, Punchy!!" Sonic shook his head with a sigh, and Blaze smiled. "I missed you guys... Always amusing." she said. "Sure! Laugh at my misery!!" Knuckles groaned. Suddenly, the area seemed to get very dark, very fast. "Hey... What's the weather report for the jungle today, Knuckles?" Sonic asked. Knuckles looked up, his eyes widening. "Nothing like THAT, Sonic!" he shouted. The sky was taking on a weird, pinkish-purple hue, which was fading in and out, like an odd distortion. Sonic and Blaze glanced at each other and both shouted "Tails!!" at once before running off towards his workshop! Knuckles remained behind. "Dang it! I can't just leave the Master Emerald! You got this... right Sonic? Grrr... I'd better start digging..." he grumbled frustratedly.


While Knuckles was busy digging, Punchy had returned to Darkegg Fortress, where he, Rainbow and Gemini were still in the process of settling in. Each of them claimed a room in the spacious tower, while the old control room became something of a living room for them to hang out. Punchy entered the control room, chuckling to himself over what he'd done while Knuckles was napping. Copter and Gemini were watching TV using one of the computer monitors in the room, and paid Punchy little mind. "So, I never really got to ask..." Copter muttered during the commercial, "What's a stand-up girl like you doing without the funds for a proper place to live?" he said casually. They were sharing one of Eggman's wide, egg-belly-supportive chairs, but it suddenly wasn't big enough for Gemini. She shoved Copter hard, knocking him over the arm rest. "Whoa-ooof!!! ...What'd I say...?" he mumbled. "I had money, but I spent it all because I've been in this backward town for way too long!" she grumbled, "And how do YOU pay for things?? I haven't seen you go to work, COPTER!!" she scolded. Copter climbed to his feet and looked at her, rubbing his head. "Huh... work? They don't hire ex-cons!" he protested. Punchy snickered, leaning against the chair to watch TV, but Gemini glared at him as well. "You could be working too, ya bum!" she snapped. Punchy backed up a little. "Wha... Knuckles doesn't work!" he stammered. Copter chuckled. "I thought you weren't Knuckles!" he teased. "Wait, why can't you and Rainbow work, HUH??" Punchy snapped. Gemini sat back in the chair with a sigh. "I'm watching TV..." she stated lazily. Copter and Punchy stared at each other for a moment. "Maybe it was a bad idea to let her move in..." Punchy grumbled. "Well, if I don't want her to tell Gunner where I am, I guess I'd better... get a job?" Copter shrugged. "By the way, where's Rainbow?" Punchy asked. Gemini smirked a little. "She's redecorating your room..." she informed him. Punchy turned white for a moment. "HEY!! We chose our own rooms for a reason!! RAAAAAINBOOOOW!!!" he shouted, storming off!

Once he was gone, Gemini turned off the TV and looked at Copter apologetically. "Don't look for work... You have a job. You protect the Chao in this tower." she said. Copter scratched his head. "Yeaaaaah... But that doesn't buy groceries..." he stated. Gemini nodded. "Right... how HAVE you been paying for things?" she wondered. "Uhhhh...." he trailed off. Gemini sighed. "Well, that has to stop. You just got pardoned. You don't want the police after you again." she sighed, "I'll look for work in the morning..." Copter scoffed. "Wait a minute... You want ME to stay here and watch the Chao while you go to work?? I get it... You don't think I CAN get a job! That does it! I'll show you! I'm going out, and I won't be back until I'm employed!" he shouted, storming out of the room! Gemini stared for a moment. "There was no way around this problem without messing with the future, was there?" she sighed, "Maybe it'll just be a minor blip in the timeline..." she whimpered, "Moving in here was a huge mistake, wasn't it?"


Sonic and Blaze had no choice but to jump through Tails's wormhole machine to investigate once they found his workshop had been broken into and said machine had been left on. Arriving at the same island Blaze had been lounging on earlier, they found Tails in a cage a few feet away from the machine! "Where did that cage come from??" Blaze wondered. A sinister laugh and lasers fired in their direction answered the question satisfyingly enough. "Eggman!...Nega!" Sonic shouted, starting to speak before actually looking up at the attacker. "I knew you'd be along to interrupt me any moment, but you're too late!" Nega grinned, "I've already finished the fox boy's little machine... with improvements." he said. Blaze created a fireball in her hand. "Anything you call an improvement can only be disastrous!" she snarled. Nega nodded. "I've had my fill of Sonic's world. I've tweaked the machine to send an unstable wormhole your way, hedgehog... It will consume your entire dimension in a matter of moments!" he said darkly. Sonic took off toward Tails's cage at high speed. "No time to waste, then!" he said. Eggman Nega fired lasers at Sonic, forcing him away from Tails! "I may not have a fancy machine today, but I don't need one. I only need to stall you until your world is no more..." he sneered. Blaze tossed her fireball at him, but he pulled up quickly! "Sonic! If we work together, we'll defeat him quickly!" she suggested. "You have to catch me, first! Hee hee hee!!" Eggman Nega taunted. "Seriously...?" Sonic sighed, turning to chase after him and make him eat those words. Meanwhile, one more visitor popped out of the wormhole. "Whew... I'm alive!!" said Knuckles, wiping his forehead. He glanced over and saw Tails. "If I get you outta this, you're helping me dig for the Master Emerald!" he shouted. "Whatever! Just hurry!" Tails called, "I have to fix the machine!" he said, panicked.

Eggman Nega flew just out of reach, rotating his Egg Mobile to fire at both Sonic and Blaze. "Who knew that hovercraft could be so annoying by itself??" Blaze grumbled, trying frustratedly to hit it with fireballs. Sonic looked around while running and noticed the palm trees on the beach. "Blaze, you gotta get higher! I'll distract him!" he shouted. Nega scoffed. "I can't be distracted!" he yelled. "Hey, over here!" shouted Knuckles, who had already released Tails by this time. "Huh??" Nega muttered, looking over in bewilderment. "I'd say you look pretty distracted." he smirked. Nega yelped as he quickly processed what had happened, and looked for Sonic and Blaze again. "Yoo hoo!" Sonic shouted, standing atop a palm tree with Blaze in a tree beside him. "Think fast!" Sonic shouted, leaping into the air before going into a homing attack, slamming the Egg Mobile and cracking the windshield! "Arrgh!! Stop it, you brute!!" Nega yelled. Blaze jumped at him next, spinning as her body cloaked in flames. "Get OFF this island!!" she shouted, giving his Egg Mobile a mighty kick and sending it flying off into the distance!! "I'll be back and I'll be ARMED!!!" Nega shouted as he disappeared out of sight. "Ah... That takes me back..." Blaze sighed, smiling a little. Tails was hastily working with his tools to repair the wormhole machine into what it was supposed to be. "A few adjustments... And... There!! The wormhole is stabilizing! And that means it wasn't too late!" he said, wiping his forehead in relief. He then turned to Blaze, looking at the ground ashamedly. "I...I'm sorry... I put everyone in danger... It's just... We all miss you and Marine a ton. It didn't seem fair that you can only visit when the emeralds allow it..." he murmured. Blaze looked thoughtful, then placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder. "Thank you. We miss you, too... All of you. So, why don't I make my first proper visit with your finished doorway?" she suggested. "Sounds awesome to me!" Sonic grinned. As they headed back, Knuckles remembered something. "Hey! Are you gonna help me with the Master Emerald!? TAILS?!?!"

While Tails got dragged off to help Knuckles, Blaze thought she might visit Cream while she was in town. Before leaving with her, Sonic thought perhaps he should check the TV for any breaking news, just in case the wormhole machine did any damage that they weren't aware of. Instead, Sonic and Blaze were met with Col. Gunner's ugly mug on the TV screen yet again. Today, he was waving a picture of Sonic in front of the camera. "Are you in some kind of trouble, Sonic?" Blaze wondered. Sonic frowned. "Yup... Let's see what nonsense this guy's cooked up now..." he sighed, turning up the volume. "And WHO was responsible for that weird life-energy sucking incident from a few days ago? My intelligence states that this is yet ANOTHER result of Sonic's grudge matches with Dr. Eggman leading to collateral damage!" Gunner snarled. Sonic frowned. "Geez, you stop a few Zeti from ending all life on Earth and this is how you're thanked..." he grumbled. Gunner continued his speech, which had apparently been going on for a while. "Lest I remind you of the time Station Square ended up underwater. Or, I don't know... The time the PLANET SPLIT APART!! Am I the only one who noticed that??" he shouted. "You're the only one who won't shut up about it..." Sonic mumbled. "Citizens, I am not asking for Sonic's arrest. I'm not even asking he pay a fine. He's... considered... a hero. And you don't do that to heroes. But Sonic clearly isn't responsible enough for his own power. So, I'm giving it to someone else!" he smirked. Sonic and Blaze's jaws both dropped. "Say WHAT??" they shouted. Gunner snickered to himself. "Yes, you heard me correctly. GUN has just acquired a machine that makes this possible. The only snag is... We need Sonic. And since he obviously won't give up his speed willingly... who would? I'm offering the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog to the citizen who can successfully capture him and bring him to GUN! And... Sonic will be free to go when we're done... in case anyone was concerned about that. I'm Col. Gunner, and I approve this message!" he concluded before Sonic turned off the TV, shaking his head. "Well, that was amusing. Like anyone can catch me!" he laughed. There was a knock at the hole in the door, and Sonic rushed over only to get a net thrown in his face by Big, of all people. "I got him!!" he cheered. Sonic calmly tossed aside the net and groaned. "I didn't know you even HAD a TV..." he grumbled. Blaze turned on the wormhole machine with a sigh. "Huh? Blaze??" Sonic muttered. "I think my visit had better wait until this blows over... Your world doesn't seem like a very friendly place right now..." she muttered. Sonic shrugged. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright..." he said. Blaze nodded. "Good luck, Sonic..." she said before returning home. Sonic sped around Big, leaving him behind quickly. "Awww..." the large cat sighed. The chase was on now, and the burning question on Sonic's mind was, if Big tried to catch him, would there be anyone that wouldn't?


Episode 3 - Romance Returns

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.


Early each year, a Festival of Romance is held, where young lovers and romantic hopefuls pair off and get to know each other by just having fun. The last festival having been disrupted by Dr. Eggman at Station Square, it was agreed that perhaps this year the festival should be moved back to Troblusk City, now that most of the criminals in the city had apparently skipped town. This year, Tails was taking Cream once again, but this time he was less naive, and understood that it was a serious date. As a result, he became nervous, so he took advantage of the wormhole machine he'd built to bring Marine along, hoping to get advice from a girl around Cream's age. While they waited at the Troblusk City train station for Cream to arrive, Marine made herself helpful by tidying up his hair and rearranging the flowers he'd brought for Cream, all while the fox shook like a leaf. "Crikey, Tails, don't be so wobbly! You'll be fine! Just keep yerself loose an' be sure to compliment her a lot! But not too much! Don't let her think yer soft!" she said, talking as fast as ever. "M-maybe I sh-should just... Go home... She likes that brave front I put up... BUT IT'S A SHAM!! I'M A TOTAL COWARD!!" he shouted, waving his arms. Just then, Cream tapped his shoulder. "What are you yelling about?" she asked. "Yaaaah!!" Tails yelped, jumping into Marine's arms! Cream saw this, and clenched her teeth a bit at the sight of another girl holding Tails. "Ummm... Your date's 'ere, Tails..." Marine mumbled. Tails climbed down, chuckling nervously. "Y-yeah... Thanks, Marine..." he said, handing the somewhat shaken bouquet to Cream, "I-I brought you these..." he stammered. Cream looked at them, and her expression softened. "Aw, that's sweet... Um, is she waiting for a date?" she asked. Marine looked around sheepishly. "Errr... Ummm... I... Oh!! I... Um... I'm late! Taxi!!" she said hastily, rushing off. Tails sighed, part relieved and part freaked. "What do I do now...?" he thought. Cream linked his arm with hers and started to lead him off. "Come on! The festival's starting!" she said cheerfully. Tails took a deep breath. "How'd I do this last year...?" he mumbled to himself.

The pair of them passed by some other couples on their way to the festival. Among them, Knuckles was going with Gemini to see what might happen, and Punchy had finally broken down to take Rainbow out on a date, partially to help her feel better after her fiasco of a "date" the previous year. As the four of them walked together, Knuckles glanced around curiously. "Right, I give up. Where's Copter? Couldn't get a date?" he wondered. Punchy shrugged. "I don't think that's it..." he muttered. Gemini sighed, "I may have fired him up and got him looking for a job... He said he's working on that today, and he's starting at the bottom, whatever that means..." she explained. "How can you work on the festival? That's crazy!" Rainbow shouted. "I'll trade him..." Punchy grumbled. "Don't be a sourpuss, One! This was your idea!" Rainbow pointed out. "You tricked me with your sad-puppy-eyes!" he grumbled. Knuckles and Gemini chuckled at them. "You two already sound like you're married..." Knuckles joked. "Yeah, I'd hate to start a relationship with THAT much closeness..." Gemini smirked, clasping Knuckles's hand in hers, "Otherwise, where's the fun of getting to know your date?" she winked. Knuckles blushed briefly, but quickly pulled his hand back to keep from looking anything other than macho. "Heh... I'll keep my air of mystery, thanks... I'm a... puzzle... and you'll never solve it!" he snickered. Punchy rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother... C'mon, Rainbow. I can only handle one deranged echidna at a time..." he said, leading his date away. "Oooh, okay! I'll follow you for once! Bye, Wanda! Bye, Red!" Rainbow said. Gemini crossed her arms, staring at Knuckles. "Puzzle, huh...?" she said, "Well, an unsolved puzzle won't get a good night kiss when the festival is over..." she teased, walking off. Knuckles gasped slightly, and started after her. "Well... Not a tough puzzle! Like, ten pieces! Hey! Slow down! Wait up!!" he shouted.


Soon, the festival had gotten underway, with many carnival-type booths opened up and restaurants having special couple's deals. Most of these restaurants wouldn't see much business until dinner, but one couple at least had gone to lunch. Vortex the chameleon had mustered his courage, and now he was out with his crush, Whisk the divine. As they sat together and waited for their food to be brought to them, Vortex felt all his dreams were coming true. "Ssssso... Uh, Whisssk... How are you enjoying your new freedom?" he asked, trying to stay cool. Whisk tilted her head. "Was I not free?" she wondered. Vortex thought about it. "Hmmm... I sssuppossse GUN might not have known about you... I don't know!" he admitted. While they were talking, someone at a nearby table was talking loudly on a cell phone. "...Who isss that rude...?" Vortex hissed before recognizing the voice. "I can't believe this! You ran out on the last festival, and now you can't come to this one!! Soniiiic!!" It was Amy, looking quite distraught and near tears. Sonic's voice could barely be heard over the phone. "I know, Amy, but you wouldn't want to be around me now! Even the police have started trying to collect on Gunner's bounty! I can't go anywhere for long... Believe me, this has got me pretty lonely..." he said. Amy sighed longingly. "I don't care... I... I'd protect you if you were here! I would!" she cried. Whisk sighed a bit. "Wanna ditch this place? She's kinda depressing..." she said. Vortex smiled at the suggestion. "Ssssure, they can't fault usss for dassshing if we don't dine. I think... But firssst, I have an idea..." he said, whispering something to Whisk. They snickered a bit and Whisk warped away. Amy caught sight of the light and glanced over at Vortex. "Heeey... You're one of those dumb experiments! Are you up to something?!" she shouted. Vortex got up from his seat. "I wasss jussst leaving. After one thing..." he mumbled. "What's that?" Amy asked. Suddenly, she felt a glass of water splash over her head, and looking up, she saw Whisk giggling. "A date prank! Gotta go!" Vortex said, rushing off while Whisk teleported. "Why... WHY YOU!!! GET BACK HERE!!!" Amy yelled, stumbling over her seat in her haste to chase them! "Where are you, Soniiiiic...?" she whined.

Each couple's dates progressed as the day went on. Marine followed Tails and Cream into town, and every time Tails started to feel insecure about something, he excused himself to seek out her advice. "He sure is going to the bathroom a lot..." she muttered to herself after a while, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not far away, the other couples were trying their luck with a few carnival games. Knuckles tried to show off with a strength tester that required him to strike a target with a hammer and try to ding a bell. However, it only got halfway up. "Gah! This thing is rigged!" Knuckles growled. Gemini giggled, taking the hammer and waving her wand around it a little, whispering. Then, she took a swing, and the bell was knocked clean off the top of its post! "...shut up..." Knuckles grunted as Gemini chuckled. Vortex and Whisk were a couple booths over, trying to throw balls to knock down a stack of bottles. "...Zipp would jussst blassst thesssse dumb thingsss! Look! You hit them and nothing happensss!!" Vortex protested. Whisk scratched her head. "Hmmm... I'll be right back..." she said, sneaking off. Vortex looked at the guy in charge of the booth angrily, and he shrugged. "No refunds..." when suddenly he heard something behind him! When they looked a second later, the bottles were scattered everywhere! Whisk then appeared behind Vortex. "Oh, see? Delayed reaction. So, what do we win?" she smirked. Vortex chuckled knowingly, taking her hand in his with a smile. Not too far away from them, Punchy and Rainbow had found Copter. "Two... What are you doing in there??" Rainbow shouted. Copter was sitting in a dunk tank, looking quite miserable. "Volunteer work. Told you I had to start at the bottom..." he growled. Punchy cackled a little. "I can't pass this up... Let's get in line, Rainbow!" he said. "You jerk!" Copter snarled. The next one up to try to dunk the hapless fox was, surprisingly, Violet the echidna, who was there without a date. "Huh? YOU!!" they both shouted. Rainbow pushed to the front of the line. "SIS!? Where have you been!?" she yelled. "Uh, we're with her..." Punchy mumbled as he followed Rainbow. Violet shrugged. "Busy... So, Copter... What do I win if I drop you in the drink?" she smirked. Copter sighed. "A Tails doll, of all things..." he mumbled. Violet nodded. "I see... And what'll you give me if I miss?" she said, winking a little. Copter stared at her, blushing at her tone. "Uhhhh..." he stammered. "Yap, yap, yap!!" Punchy grumbled, hurling a ball right at the target and dropping Copter with a splash!! "JERRRRK!!" Copter wailed, his voice gurgling a bit.

There was a ferris wheel set up at the center of the festivities. Soon enough, Cream asked Tails to take her on it. His nerves still shot, Tails had no choice but to appeal to Marine to come along, squeezing in so that the young fox was between the two girls. Cream glanced across at Marine grouchily. "Why does she have to share a ride with us? It's a little cramped in here..." she pointed out. Tails looked at her awkwardly. "Uhhhh... She... Doesn't have anyone to ride with! And she's... Scared! That's it!" Tails stammered. Cream shot Marine a slightly suspicious glance, but shrugged. "Okay... Anyway, this just means... we can cuddle up closer to look out the window together!" she smiled. Tails shivered slightly, but Marine nudged him in Cream's direction. "Go, dummy! You're gold! She adores you; Only thing draggin' ya down is me!" she whispered. Tails nodded and slowly sidled beside Cream, though he suddenly froze. "You okay?" Cream asked. Marine slapped her forehead and whispered into his ear. "Put yer arm 'round her, ya drongo!" Cream noticed her talking to him and growled a little. "Hey! Stay on your side!" she snapped. Tails jumped and tried to diffuse the situation by putting his arm around Cream and facing the window. "D-don't mind her, she was just wondering, uh... where Cheese is..." he mumbled. "None of her business..." Cream pouted, while Marine scratched her head wondering what she'd want with a dairy product. Once the ride was over, Cream excused herself to look for a restroom, and Tails sat on a bench holding his face in his hands. "She hates me..." he groaned. Marine patted his back. "No, she don't. You just need ta be more confident! Just 'cuz it's a date, don't act different from how you usually would. She doesn't want this stranger, mate. She wants you!" she said. Tails glanced at Marine with a quizzical look. "...Why??" he asked. Meanwhile, Cream was looking similarly upset in the restroom. Rainbow walked in and noticed. "Hey, what's wrong, Hoppy?" she asked. Cream sniffled. "Tails is falling for another girl..." she explained. Rainbow crossed her arms. "That's crazy talk. Even if that was true, he's not the type to bring you here and string ya along. We know him better than that, right?" she said. Cream thought it over. "Right...?" she said, "Yes, you're right... Thanks..." she said, smiling a little before heading back out to find her date.

Knuckles & Gemini had had their fun for a bit, and now they were getting hungry. They had to decide on a place to go for a late lunch, but where? "Eh, why don't we just grab a burger? All that time sitting around guarding the Master Emerald, I kinda miss simple things like that..." Knuckles suggested. Gemini made a face. "Not very romantic... This IS a date after all... Why not that place?" she said, pointing to a fancier looking restaurant that seemed somewhat out of place in Troblusk City. "Errrr.... Ummm... I'm not dressed for a snob palace?" Knuckles mumbled. "Snob palace???" Gemini stammered, "What's that supposed to mean?!" They were both silent for a moment. "...We're actually pretty different, huh?" Knuckles murmured, "I sleep under the stars. You're way too proper for that..." he said. Gemini wore a guilty frown. "Uh... I'll try a burger... I wouldn't want to be accused of... snobbery..." she muttered. As they turned to seek out a burger joint, someone said "Psst! Knuckles!" The red echidna looked around, and saw Sonic peering out of an alley. "Hey... What're you doing here! You'll blow the whole festival...again! If anyone sees you, they'll go nuts hoping to capture you!" Knuckles pointed out. Sonic ignored his pointing out the obvious and got right to the point. "Either of you seen Amy around? I turned off my cell to avoid drawing attention to myself..." he said. Gemini shrugged. "Nope, no sign of her." she sighed. Knuckles grinned widely at Sonic's situation. "Oooh, someone's desperate to see AMY! Is it weird having everyone BUT her chasing you?" he snickered. Sonic growled softly. "Thanks for nothing... I'm outta here!" he grunted, speeding off past the couples in the streets! "Sonic and Amy, sittin' in a-- oh, he's gone already..." Knuckles shrugged. Gemini crossed her arms. "More than you'll be doing at this rate..." she growled.

As it started to get later, the couples gradually ran out of activities to try. Ultimately, Punchy & Rainbow found a tennis court set up for "romantic doubles." They were soon challenged by Vortex & Whisk, who initially won handily thanks to Whisk's unfair teleportation advantage. "Come on, you guys! Prove you can be upstanding citizens and play without your dumb powers!" Punchy shouted. Vortex glanced at Whisk, and she shrugged. "Maybe I have overdone it today..." she sighed, "Bring it on, then!" she grinned. Rainbow started with the first serve. "Alright! Play ball!" she said cheerfully, swatting the ball into play. Initially things seemed to be going fine, and they kept a fierce volley going for a while. However, soon Punchy smacked the ball past Vortex & Whisk, scoring the first point. "Hisss... We'll sssee about thisss..." Vortex growled. At the next serve, Vortex grabbed his racked with his long tongue, and swatted the ball from across the court! "Foul!!" Punchy shouted. "But that's not a power!" Whisk protested. Rainbow jumped and glided to return the ball. "Neither is that!" Whisk then flew up to hit the ball from the height of its bounce. "Ha! Beat that!" she taunted. Finally, Punchy hurled a piece of the very court up with Chaos Avalanche, bashing the ball seemingly into orbit! "...Ooops..." he mumbled, looking over at the people waiting for their turn. "...Sorry..." he gulped. Vortex sighed. "How are we to ssssettle thissss now?" he shrugged. Suddenly, a message played over a PA system, as if to answer him. "The Troblusk City Festival of Romance will be starting its evening dance shortly! There will be a competition toward the end, so bring your sweetheart and your dance moves, and maybe together you can win a trophy!" it announced. Vortex and Punchy both exchanged competitive smirks. "Fine! We'll settle this at the dance-off! ...You think they have rankings? None of us have really danced before..." Punchy said. Rainbow jumped for joy. "Yeah! The dance! It was cancelled last year, I'm so glad I get to go! Thanks, One!" she smiled.

The dance was being held at Neon Tavern, which had had its tables and chairs cleared out, and was decorated with paper hearts, streamers, and a disco ball. "I should've hired a professional insteada lettin' you decorate, Bob..." the tavern owner, Bill the hedgehog, grumbled. His brother Bob smirked as he watched the couples start to move to the music, seeming to enjoy themselves. Tails had managed to lose Cream in the crowd, meeting Marine with utter panic on his face. "This is the main reason I wanted you along, Marine... I-I don't know how to dance!" he said frantically. Marine laughed. "That's silly, mate! Everyone can dance!" she said. Tails glanced over at Knuckles, who was tripping all over Gemini's feet, and gulped. "C'mon, cobber! I'll show you!" Marine said, grabbing the young fox's hands and leading him in a simple dance, which he was initially doing quite robotically. "I-I can't!!" he whined. "Stop thinkin' and move! The only ones around are you an' yer partner... Ignore everything else!" Marine giggled. Tails nodded, and started to move a little more surely, but they were stopped suddenly by an angry voice. "Tails!!" His hair stood on end as he turned and saw Cream, glaring at him. "Well?" she growled. Tails sighed. "I-I guess I owe you the truth... I was really nervous today... So I asked Marine to help me. She's been coaching me all through our date...and was just teaching me how to dance..." he explained. Cream glared at her, and she was gone in a flash. "Luck, mate!" she shouted. She then looked back at Tails, her expression softening. "...Nervous? Why would I make you nervous?" she asked. Tails looked into her eyes, and could see she was a bit hurt. "I-I'm sorry..." he sighed. Then, he stepped close to her, taking her hands. "We're the only ones here...got it..." he murmured, and his feet started to move, leading her as he himself was led by the music. She gasped as he stepped gracefully, and carefully twirled her before catching her in his arms! "...I don't think I have to be nervous anymore..." he said with a smile, as Cream's surprise started to wear off and she smiled back. "Then maybe it was worth it..." she said. Amy watched them from the sidelines, trying not to cry. She had hoped to run into Sonic here, but no luck. "...I hate this dumb festival...!" she growled.

Gemini was finally stomping away from Knuckles after getting trampled over once too often. "You'd think a guy would start to watch his step after the FIFTH time!" she grumbled. "I told you I have two left feet!" Knuckles groaned, glancing briefly at Punchy, who might not have been great, but at least he and Rainbow seemed to be having a good time. "Why didn't he get my negative qualities??" Knuckles growled. Gemini was already halfway to the bar by this time. "Hey! Wait!! ...Aw, forget it... Guess I'll just pretend Tikal can hear me in the Master Emerald... AGAIN..." he grumbled. "Yeah, that ain't freaky..." Marine told him, backing away afterward. Meanwhile, Punchy & Rainbow were having their dance-off against Vortex & Whisk. Both couples were fairly awkward, though, with Rainbow as the only one that had ever danced in her life. Whisk seemed unsure if she was supposed to move her wings, but that silly flapping just seemed to make Vortex smile. "We're not going to win any trophiessss... but you've won my heart..." he said. Whisk chuckled. "You're so corny..." she blushed. Punchy and Rainbow both laughed at them while they tried some quirky freestyle moves together. "Feel free to kick me, Rainbow. Those two are making me sick..." Punchy chuckled. "But we're totally goin' for the trophy, One!" Rainbow said, taking him too seriously. As they danced awkwardly, Tails and Cream passed them with graceful, elegant twirls, putting them all to shame. As the music faded, Bill stepped onto the dance floor and handed a gold trophy to them with a chuckle. "I ain't ever seen such moves from a couple so young! Can't ignore it, you get the gold!" he said. Tails shyly handed Cream the trophy, and she jumped into his arms, kissing him happily. Punchy shrugged and started walking off. "I guess... let's get dinner." he said. "Oooh! I want Tacos!" Rainbow shouted. Vortex sighed, looking toward the door. "I guessss we sssshould go, too..." he muttered. Whisk nodded, smirking, and quickly kissed his cheek while he wasn't looking! She then teleported away, leaving him with a dumb look on his face. "...Sssshe'sss an angel..." he whispered.


Soon, the dates were ending and the festival was wrapping up for the night. Copter sat on a bench outside, dripping wet and shivering. "Who thought it was a good idea to have a dunk tank in February, anyway?" he growled, "Sadists are running this thing..." Just as he felt he'd hit rock bottom, someone sat beside him. "Rough day? ...Did you spend it alone??" Copter glanced next to him and saw Gemini, who wore a sympathetic look, and seemed a tad weary herself. Copter nodded with a sigh. "Who would've gone with me, anyway? Trouble follows me everywhere..." he grumbled. Gemini patted his back gently. "So? Trouble follows me, too... Maybe you should've asked me." she said, glancing away a bit shyly. Copter looked over at her and chuckled softly. "Oh? I don't think your date would've appreciated that..." he said. Gemini looked back at him mischievously. "Well, I would have!" she flirted, stopping him from responding with a playful little kiss to his nose before she got up and walked away with a carefree grin! Copter stared after her, briefly tapping his nose with his finger as if to check that it was still there. "...You deserve better than me, though..." he sighed. Across the street, Amy was watching him jealously. However, this ended when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see a bouquet of roses offered to her! "For you, madam... Sorry I'm so late, traffic was awful..." Sonic said, rubbing his head awkwardly. Amy took the flowers, holding back tears. "Y-you... you came! You didn't have to, really... I understood!" she sniffled. Sonic chuckled softly. "I... missed--" he started to say, when he was interrupted by some people nearby. "Hey! There's Sonic! GET HIM!!" Sonic jumped as a mob started chasing him, and started running off straight away! "Ohh..... huh?" Amy muttered, noticing that he wasn't immediately leaving. He ran in seemingly random circles in the street, simultaneously startling the mob and kicking up flame trails. When he finally sped off and out of sight, it could be seen that those flame trails formed lettering, which spelled out "Amy rocks!" The sight of this simple gesture was too much for Amy. "Oh... Oh, Sonic!!" she swooned, falling backward into the arms of one of the guys from the mob! "Hey, careful, lady!" he grumbled. She blushed as she got back to her feet, and headed for home carrying her flowers along with a new sense of hope for the future...


Special Episode - The Road to Rio

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and 
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
Super Mario and related characters are (c) Nintendo
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.


It was a perfectly lovely day in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario had been summoned to Peach's Castle, he assumed on business related to the upcoming Olympic games. He made his way to the throne room, passing countless cheery Toads as he went. Then he got there and found an irate Toadsworth to greet him. "Where have you been, Mario!? This is no time for lollygagging! There's serious business to attend to!" he said, flabbergasted. Mario looked a bit confused, and then saw Peach looking over a letter near the throne. He hurried past Toadsworth and greeted her. "Right. No one ever listens to me. Why do I even bother?" the old Toad grumbled. Peach looked up at Mario with concern. "You should read this, Mario. I can scarcely believe it..." she said. Mario took the letter and mumbled to himself as he read it. Then he gasped loudly. The letter read: "To the ruling body of the Mushroom Kingdom, It is my understanding that you have taken to hosting special Olympic-related events, competing with Sonic the Hedgehog. This hedgehog is currently a fugitive, and we hope you wouldn't harbor a fugitive... Though we would naturally allow the Olympics to commence if he somehow arrived there. However, we would appreciate your cooperation in handing the fugitive over should he make contact. Otherwise, relations between our nations could suffer greatly... Hoping it all works out. -Col. Richard Gunner."

Toadsworth shook his head. "I always suspected that Sonic was a troublemaker... So cocky..." he mumbled. Peach shook her head. "No... This doesn't add up. Right, Mario?" she asked, to which the typically silent plumber nodded. Peach motioned to a conveniently positioned warp pipe behind her throne. "He probably won't be able to get to Rio from his own airport, though. You should use this warp pipe to go to Sonic's world and fetch him!" she suggested. Mario gave a thumb's up and headed for the warp pipe. As he did, Luigi entered. "Hey, bro! You left without me!" he shouted, "Hey, where's that pipe go?" he asked before Mario jumped in. "Hey, wait!! ...Should I bring Yoshi??" he stammered, not sure what was happening.


However, Sonic had come up with a similar idea, and had found a warp pipe that would lead to the Mushroom Kingdom which was concealed in the sewers of Troblusk City. Tails joined him, while Copter and Gemini were there to see them off, since Gemini had used her magic to locate the warp pipe to begin with. "You're a fugitive but the Olympic Commission still invites you anyway. They even invited some of those freaky Deadly Six. WHEN DO I GET AN INVITE??" Copter shouted. Sonic and Tails chuckled awkwardly. "Maybe I'll get a plus-one someday..." Tails sighed. Gemini glanced in the darkness of the large green pipe. "Are you sure this is a good idea? You remember what happened in Vancouver..." she muttered. Sonic scratched his head. "Umm... Did any of that really happen? I sorta remember some weird thing where Eggman stole the snow, but... were you there??" he muttered. Gemini's eyes went wide as she realized her mistake. "Errr... No, me and Copter were never at the Olympics. Ever. Geez, thanks for leaving me with goofy memories, 2BIT..." she grumbled, leaving them even more confused. "Oh well... See you in a month or so, guys! ...Unless I don't!" Sonic said, hopping into the warp pipe! "I've never really seen the Mushroom Kingdom before. This should be... interesting..." Tails said, following him. Copter glanced at Gemini. "What's a 2BIT...?" he asked. "Shut up." she sighed.

Sonic and Tails emerged with Peach's castle in the distance. They could see it, but there were a few miles between them and the Toad town near the castle gates. Blocks, floating platforms, and patrolling members of Bowser's forces could be seen in their way. "Hm... It's like Super Eggman Land. I thought he was ripping something off..." Sonic said, running ahead slowly enough for Tails to follow. "Do you think it's dangerous with all these creatures roaming around?" the fox asked. Sonic chuckled. "No way. Here, you can take this turtle!" Sonic said, motioning to a Koopa Troopa ahead. Tails looked at it awkwardly. It was heading towards them, not seeming particularly dangerous. In fact, it almost seemed wrong to attack it. However, when it got close, it started to charge in their direction. "Oh! I can collect on that bounty!!" it said, making Sonic groan loudly. "Even HERE!?" he whined. Tails slapped the Koopa away with a tail whip. "No problem!" he said as it went spinning away inside its shell. It then bounced off a low block and came crashing right back into the fox, knocking him on his behind! "Ow!! What the??" he yelped. Sonic sighed and kicked the shell away. "Yeah... They do that. Well, let's keep going..." he muttered. As they walked, Tails saw a ? block, and smiled. "I always wanted to try this..." he said, jumping up and bonking it with his head. "Yow!! That's hard!!" he groaned. "That's why Mario wears a hat...I guess." Sonic chuckled. Out of the block popped an egg, and out of the egg popped a Yoshi. "Yay! You saved me!" The Yoshi cheered. "Uh... Boy, you grew up fast..." Sonic stammered, "Well, uh, take care..." he said, moving on. "Wait! I can help you!" Yoshi shouted. "Heh, I doubt that. I can handle myself pretty well." Sonic said smugly. Yoshi stood on the block with a frown. "Well... You'll see. You'll be back. And I'll be waiting right here!" he said. Tails glanced up at Yoshi and shrugged. "Aw, we can't leave you like this..." he said, twirling his tails to fly up and land on Yoshi's back! "Yay! OK, just point at anything you want me to eat!" Yoshi said. Tails scratched his head. "Ummm... Okaaaaay..." he muttered.


Meanwhile, Mario & Luigi had emerged somewhere in Green Hill Zone. They looked around, a bit lost, and shrugged. "Well, I guess we have to get through this level, bro." Luigi figured. Mario nodded, and with a "Let's-a go!" they were off! They hadn't gotten far before a Motobug appeared in their path. "Ah, I know about this, bro. It's like the Goomba of this place." Luigi said, heading over with the intention of jumping on it. However, it was one of the newer Motobugs, and it charged at him at high speed, forcing Luigi to run in a panic! The robot chased Luigi around Mario in circles for a bit before Mario sighed and jumped on it. It took a couple jumps to break the hard metal, but afterward a small rabbit hopped away happily. "Whooo... Where does Sonic get the energy for this?" Luigi mumbled. The pair walked a bit further, picking up rings in much the same way they would gather coins. It was a good thing, because soon they came across a bridge where they were taken off guard by robotic fish jumping up from below! Their rings went flying as they did, but they were otherwise fine. "Hey!! This isn't a jumping Cheep-Cheep level!" Luigi complained, "They tricked us, bro!" Mario ignored him and set to work gathering up some of their rings again. "We never have this problem holding onto coins..." Luigi sighed. They carefully crossed the bridge and continued to a ledge, where they started preparing to jump to the other side. Suddenly, they heard a crumbling noise, and glancing down in the direction of the sound, they noticed the ground beneath their feet had collapsed. Panicked, their legs went back and forth in midair for a bit before they plummeted down to the lower path of Green Hill Zone, Luigi landing first followed by Mario landing on top of him somehow. "Oooof!! Wha-what was that...? Why did the floor break, Mario? This place has no rules..." Luigi groaned while Mario climbed off him and apologetically helped him up. They looked up and sighed, realizing that the clearly quicker upper route was out of their reach. This was likely to be a long day.


As Sonic continued along, he started to see why Yoshi was needed to get through the area. First, he came across several peaceful looking Wiggler worms that were blocking the road. "I guess Mario would just jump on these and keep going..." he figured. However, jumping on them was a big mistake. They turned red with rage, and chased Sonic around viciously! If there were more room to run, Sonic could have easily put distance between them, but instead he ran frantically around the narrow walkway that the worms were occupying, trying to escape them! "My jumps don't work!? I smash METAL robots!! Why don't my jumps work!?" he shouted. Tails shrugged and pointed Yoshi at the Wigglers, prompting him to extend his long tongue and swallow them one by one like giant noodles. Sonic and Tails both turned a bit green as they realized Yoshi just ate worms. "...Ewww... I mean, thanks, but... Ewwww!!" Tails groaned. "That was yummy! But I hope we find Shy Guys. They're my favorite." Yoshi said cheerfully, making Sonic shudder. "Let's uh... keep going..." he said. They came across some pipes where Piranha Plants were emerging and spitting fireballs next. "This shouldn't be trouble..." Sonic said, speeding past the fireballs and jumping up to strike the plants, only to fall back yelling a moment later. "He BIT me!!! That stupid plant BIT ME!!!" he shouted, a rather indignant look on his face. Yoshi's tongue pulled one of the plants into his mouth, and then he spit a fireball back out, burning the others and eliminiating them. "Better?" he smiled. "...Stop showing off!" Sonic grumbled, "I'll figure things out if you let me!" he added, stomping off. Tails patted Yoshi on the head. "I appreciate your help, pal." he told him. "Traitor!" Sonic grumbled. Sonic would eat his own words moments later, as they came to a vast expanse covered in black Muncher plants. They were everywhere, and they were basically nothing but snapping mouths on stems. Sonic shuddered. "OK... Eat away..." he sighed. Yoshi frowned. "I can't." he said, making Sonic groan louder. "I can walk you across, though." Yoshi offered. Tails hopped off of Yoshi so Sonic could grudgingly climb on. The fox followed from the air while Yoshi walked across the plants safely. "Wait... I have shoes, too. These things are safe!" Sonic mumbled, hopping off for a second before shrieking and bouncing back to safe ground, holding his pained toes. "I just don't understand this place!!!" he yelled, frustrated.

So, Sonic rode Yoshi across the sea of Munchers. He groaned as Yoshi trotted along. "I HATE this... It's bad enough I can't move for myself, but do you have to be so SLOW??" he groaned. "You try carrying someone around, pal." Yoshi said, a tad annoyed with Sonic's attitude. Tails nodded. "Yeah, I know... He should lay off the chili dogs, huh?" he chuckled. Soon, they were across the Munchers, and they found a trio of turtles ahead of them: a Hammer Bro, a Fire Bro, and a Boomerang Bro! Sonic hopped off Yoshi, ready to fight, but the first hammer went right over his head and hit Yoshi, making him yelp and run back across the Munchers in a panic! "Waaaaaaugh!! The pain, the pain!!" Yoshi cried as he ran. "Wait, come back!!" Tails shouted. "I'll be okay!! I just hate hammers!!" the dinosaur called back as he raced away. Sonic shrugged. "Whatever. Let's do this!" he said. Tails looked up and saw another ? block. "Maybe this'll help..." he suggested, smacking it with his tails before dropping to the ground this time. A Fire Flower popped out, and Sonic hopped up to examine it while the Bros. tossed projectiles without aim. "He'll walk right into my boomerangs... Just wait..." one of the bros. mumbled. However, touching the flower filled Sonic with a new energy, and inverted the red and white colors of his shoes and gloves as well! "Woooo!! I feel HOT! Let's see what I can do..." he said, racing down toward the bros and unloading fireballs on them rapidly, knocking them all out quickly! He then saw rows and rows of Goombas heading their way. "Hehe... Eat your heart out, Blaze..." Sonic chuckled, dashing ahead and blasting the Goombas in a rapid-fire fashion without slowing down! "This is AWESOME!!!" he shouted, while Tails ran after him. "Sonic!! Wait for me!!! I know you didn't like riding Yoshi but SLOW DOWN!!!" he yelled, panting as he tried to catch up.


Mario and Luigi had come to a large loop formation in their path. There wasn't really a way around it; Spike traps had been set beside the loop to prevent going around. (Just in case anyone was thinking of not playing by side-scroller rules.) Mario shrugged and tried to dash through the loop, but he couldn't build up enough speed to get halfway up, and slid back down. "I'll try it, bro!" Luigi said, running faster and climbing nearly up to the roof before sliding off and landing on his head! "Yeow!! This looks like something ONLY Sonic can pass! How will that allow for multiplayer?" Luigi mumbled. Suddenly, a man in an alligator suit appeared in a puff of smoke and glared at Luigi. "Stop breaking the fourth wall! That's MY thing!" said Gator, waving to Mario, "Well, that takes care of my cameo. Byeee!" he said, disappearing as suddenly as he'd appeared. Luigi had crawled away from the loop and stood up, looking up. "Hmmm... I think I see something on top of it..." he mumbled, running back to get enough room for a triple jump. While he did that, Mario walked into the loop and examined it. With a hop, skip and a big jump, Luigi landed atop the loop, stumbling a little at the edge. "Whoa!! Hah! Did you see that, Mario?! I'mma the best jumper!!" he bragged. However, Mario wasn't watching. "Awww..." he mumbled, looking at the object he'd noticed from below. It was a TV monitor displaying a blue sphere. "Hmmm... Could this be a power-up? Yahoo!! I wonder what it does!!" Luigi said, stomping the monitor excitedly only to find a shield surround him as a result. "Um... Okay... What's this do? Can I shoot it? Does it let me roll around...?" Luigi wondered. After a moment, he realized it was merely a shield. "Mamma mia... What a gyp..." he sighed, hopping down to the other side of the loop to find Mario casually walking across the bottom of the loop without bothering to attempt to run through it. "Whaaaaat??" Luigi gasped, feeling a bit stupid and more than a little frustrated. Mario looked at his shield curiously, but then a Buzzbomber flew up to them and swiftly blasted the shield to nothing! "Hey!! Get back here!! Ohhh, no...." Luigi groaned.

They continued on and found a wall that appeared breakable. They kicked and banged at it for a bit, but they couldn't get through. "Too bad we forgot our hammers..." Luigi sighed. As they turned to look for another place to go, a pair of Newtron robots appeared out of nowhere and charged at them like rockets! The Mario Bros. yelped loudly and jumped the surprise attackers, which crashed into the wall and destroyed it! "...Something tells me we've cheated in some way, but let's go anyway." Luigi said, panting to catch his breath. They headed through this wall and found a small tunnel going through the mountain in front of them. They would barely even fit in this tunnel. "Maybe we should go back and find another way... I don't want to run into robots while crawling around..." Luigi shivered. Mario crouched down to look at the tunnel, curious about it. He reached his hand inside carefully, and suddenly he felt himself sucked in! As Luigi watched Mario go tumbling into the tunnel, he yelped and ran over to it without thinking. "Mario!! Mari-ooooooo!!!" he shouted, slipping and sliding into the tunnel as well! Something like a vaccuum propelled them through the twisting and turning tunnel, forcing them to tumble in red and green balls until they went flying out of the tunnel, soaring through a bunch of conveniently floating rings before crashing into a Buzzbomber and landing in heaps on the ground, the blue bird freed from the Buzzbomber landing gracefully beside them. "I wanna go home, Mario..." Luigi whined. Mario stood up dizzily and shook his head, looking around. They couldn't be too far from the end of Green Hill Zone. He grabbed Luigi by the arm and hurried along, Luigi groaning groggily as they went. They passed a sign that spun around slowly as they ran by, stopping a bit sideways due to an insufficient amount of speed used to spin it. Gator reappeared at this moment to fix the sign. "Do I have to do everything? There. The guys with the hats got throught Act 1. Wait, we don't have time for that... Better make this Act 2. Good luck in Act 3!!" Gator shouted, waving despite the fact they were already gone.


Sonic had lost his fire-power when a cloud-flying Lakitu smacked him with a randomly tossed Spiny. Sonic had wanted to take revenge on this high-flying foe, but as Tails caught up, another Spiny came flying at him. "Yaaaah!! It's raining spikes!!" he cried, jumping away and crashing into Sonic! The two of them tumbled over a ledge and fell into a warp pipe, popping out in an underwater cavern where Sonic sank straight to the bottom. Unfortunately, there wasn't a bottom the rest of the way across. Plus, there were no air bubbles. "Noooooo!!" was all Sonic could manage to gurgle as the situation became clear to him. Tails swam over to a ? block and hit it, revealing what appeared to be... a frog suit?? He tossed it to Sonic, and when he held it, there was a loud noise and a burst of smoke before Sonic suddenly emerged wearing the frog suit, and a very unhappy scowl. "This isn't funny..." he growled. As he moved, however, the suit urged him to move his arms and legs in a way he'd never done before. "Huh...?? The suit...knows how to swim?!" Sonic stammered. He was still clumsy compared to Tails, but the two of them started to swim through the water cavern. A few fishy Cheep-Cheeps lazily swam in their direction, but they were pretty easily avoided. "This is much more relaxing than Labyrinth or Chemical Plant Zone..." Sonic thought. However, the peace was soon shattered as a pair of squid-like Bloopers started erratically jumping their way! "What's THAT?? Why is it moving like that?? Get it away!!" Sonic thought as he and Tails swam frantically to avoid the sea creatures. However, it was no use! The Bloopers swatted them in the heads once, twice and a third time! Then, they stayed ominously above them as Sonic and Tails didn't dare swimming up anymore. "Huh... They stay over our heads..." Sonic observed. "Uh, Sonic..." Tails gurgled, pointing to the exit pipe over their heads. Additionally, ominous music started to ring in their ears. They swam frantically, with only five seconds until their lives would end! The Bloopers whacked and slapped them, but the situation was too dire! As they burst out of the pipe, gasping for breath, Sonic had one question. "Why didn't my suit disappear when they hit me?" he muttered, prompting the suit to vanish as though correcting a plot hole. "That's better..." he sighed.


A devious trap awaited the Mario bros. as they continued. They found a long sea of spikes, and the only clear way to cross them was a spring pointed straight up just before that sea of spikes began. "I'm glad these rings protect us, but... Why does that have to mean more pain?" Luigi shuddered. Mario glanced across the spikes, considering the distance. At any rate, this would be good practice for the Olympic long jump. He ran back to get some distance, and charged at the spring, building up speed before launching off of it! "Nice jump..." Luigi muttered, and then winced as Mario came back, bouncing up and down while holding his foot. Now he needed more rings. "I've got this, bro!" Luigi said, making his own attempt. However, he tripped over the spring and was sent flying straight up, landing back down on the spring again and again. "Whoooooaaaa!!! M-m-maaaaariooooo!!" he wailed, seeming a bit stuck. Mario watched him for a bit, and caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was something hidden in a nearby tree, which the spring would easily launch them up to. He nodded, and jumped on the spring, grabbing Luigi as he aimed for the tree and struck the hidden item box! The box depicted an image of Sonic's sneaker, and after striking it, both Mario and Luigi started to feel filled with energy. They landed on the ground, and Mario took off like a shot! "Whoa!! We can speed up?? Why isn't there a mushroom that can do that??" Luigi said, running to catch up to Mario. This time, Mario easily had enough speed to bounce off the spring and land on the other side! Luigi followed closely, but the immediate landing area was another crumbling ledge, and while Mario stepped onto land safely, Luigi jumped up holding his bottom after tumbling back into the spikes. "Gaaah!! I can't win!!" he whined. Mario grabbed his arm and led him on a dash through the next area, taking advantage of the speed for as long as they had it, using it to go right through a loop and safely pass some Buzzbombers! It ran out just as they reached a long rotating pole covered in spikes serving as a bridge. "...MORE spikes?? Mamma mia..." Luigi sighed.


Speeding their way closer and closer to Peach's Castle, Sonic and Tails found the sky grow inexplicably and suddenly dark as they approached a house beyond a flag pole that they chose to ignore. "Um... That place is clearly haunted." Tails shivered. Sonic nodded. "Yep, you'd have to be an idiot to go inside instead of going around this place..." he stated, starting on his way around the side of the ghost house. Suddenly, a pair of ghostly Boos flew out of the wall and started to follow behind them! "Sonic...? Do you ever get the feeling you're being followed?" Tails asked. "Well, I AM always ahead of you..." Sonic shrugged. Suddenly, a creepy laugh sounded behind them, and Tails felt his two tails yanked. "Yow!! Aaaaaaaahhh!!" he yelled, running frantically while Sonic turned to see what had freaked him out. All he saw was a pair of blushing Boos hiding their faces in their hands. "Uhhhh... Don't tell me you're scared of these guys, Tails... Look at them. They're pussycats." he said, but Tails was long gone. "Huh? Hey! Where ya goin' you coward??" he stammered, running after the fox. The Boos chuckled mischivously as they sped away, but didn't chase them. Sonic found Tails back in the bright and sunny fields of the non-haunted Mushroom Kingdom. He was resting under a tree, and Sonic tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for him to catch his breath. A brown leaf gently dropped down from the tree, and Sonic noticed that it seemed to be... looking at him? "Hey, this is kinda like that flower..." he muttered, picking it up. With a similar noise and burst of smoke to before, Sonic was suddenly standing in a raccoon* costume! (*tanuki) Tails looked up at him and tried to choke back his laughter, but he couldn't contain it. "AH ha ha ha ha!! You look adorable, Sonic!!" he snickered. Sonic growled. "Mario is way too into cosplay..." he grumbled. They continued on their way a bit further, and Tails saw another ? block. "No, keep it away!!" Sonic shuddered, jumping away and crouching in a nervous fashion. Tails bonked the block, and a bell with eyes popped out, landing right on his head! With a poof, Tails suddenly found himself wearing a two-tailed cat suit, and compelled to meow. "What the-- meow...??" he gasped. Sonic looked and rolled over laughing, his ringed tail wagging playfully. "What is the point of these suits??" Tails groaned. They would have to find out after Sonic finished laughing.


Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi found some colorful critters flying around the airspace ahead of them. They were small, tentacled critters; the alien Wisps. Luigi shivered as he watched them. "W-what do you think they are? Um... You go f-first, Mario..." he stammered. Mario tilted his head, seeming confused. Luigi thought for a moment and shared his sentiment. "This does seem pretty different from the rest of the level, even with all the craziness we've seen." he muttered. Closer inspection of the scene revealed Orbot and Cubot trying to catch the small aliens. Cubot glanced at them, seemingly having heard Luigi's mutterings. "Hey, you can't expect a place to stay the same for 25 years in a world that actively has plot and character interaction!" he told them. Luigi rubbed his chin. "Hmmm... Right, I guess Bowser's Castle has gone through a lot of renovations over 30 years, too..." he nodded. Mario ran out and raised his fists to Orbot and Cubot, realizing they were attacking the apparently innocent aliens. "Huh? Speak up, man! We all know you can talk!" Orbot shouted, "Oh, fine... I guess you want to stop us... Good thing we brought boss machines! Wait right here!" he said, rushing off. Luigi ran over to join Mario, and yelped as Orbot returned flying an Egg Mobile with a wrecking ball attached. "Oh, no! It's too high! How will we jump on his head!?" Luigi whined. Suddenly, the Wisps flew down to them. An Orange Wisp flew into Mario and filled him with energy. Being the master of power-ups he was, he understood immediately, and stood under Orbot, transforming into a rocket with a red hat and a mustache! "What?? That's just disturbing!" Orbot yelped as the rocket flew up and snapped the wrecking ball off the Egg Mobile, forcing Orbot to retreat! The ball bounced to the ground and started to roll, chasing the panicked Luigi. "Waaaaaah!! Help meee!!" he yelled. A violet Wisp flew into Luigi and turned him into a frenzied creature with a green cap, which tore the ball to bits with its giant jaws! Mario watched in horror after the orange Wisp had left him. Frenzy-Luigi chased after Cubot next, the robot frantically trying to avoid becoming dessert! "Why'd we even want these aliens again anywaaaaaay??" he yelped, hurrying away as Luigi reverted to normal. These Wisps would come in handy, it seemed.

With the aid of a couple Cyan Wisps, Mario and Luigi breezed past the rest of Green Hill Zone as a pair of lasers. At the end of the Zone was Amy Rose, who watched as the pair of plumbers emerged dizzily from the lasers, stumbling about quite cartoonishly. "Uh... I guess you two saved the Wisps. I was just on my way there since Sonic wasn't available to take care of it..." Amy said. "S-s-sonic.... We're here... To take him t-to... Rio..." Luigi babbled, while Mario had already gotten over his dizziness. Amy giggled at this. "You came all this way for that? Oh, dear... This is so funny, though! You see, Sonic already left for the Mushroom Kingdom hoping you guys would take him up there!" she explained. Mario and Luigi stared in utter disbelief, and Luigi fell over, groaning "Mamma mia..."

Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails had discovered the abilities of their suits. Sonic was now flying them toward the castle with Tails on his back, slashing his cat-claws at any Lakitus that dared try to stop them! "I don't know how flying with a tail works, but it's awesome!" Sonic cheered. "I fly with tails all the time..." Tails pointed out. The pair of them soon arrived at the door to Peach's Castle, where they were met by Blaze, surprisingly. "I thought I'd meet you here, guys... Why are you dressed like that?" she stammered. Marine emerged from inside the castle, and ran beside Blaze, where she was quick to point something out. "Strewth! You blokes are copyin' us!! Well... I guess it IS the sincerest form of flattery!" she said, giggling. Blaze smiled as well. "Yeah... And you do look adorable as a cat, Tails." she said. Tails blushed and groaned. "Cut it out!! Don't tease us! We've had a rough day!" he stammered. "So has Mario..." came a voice at the door. It was Princess Peach, and a pair of exhausted Mario Bros. followed her. "Oh, don't you two look cute!" Peach smiled, making Sonic and Tails fall over in frustration. "Someone get these suits off us..." Sonic groaned. Marine chuckled and headed back to the castle. "Well, I gotta go. I didn't get invited to the Olympics... Just seein' Blaze off! Bye!" she said, leaving. Sonic and Tails got up and shook hands with Mario and Luigi. "Gotta hand it to ya... You are one tough plumber to handle your world." Sonic said. "Well, we sure can't deal with your world... Unless those alien power-ups start being more common!" Luigi chuckled. 

And so, Mario and Sonic had united for another Olympic Games, this time with a newfound appreciation for what makes each of them worthy competitors in the first place.


Episode 4 - Cry of the Wolf

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.


Copter was beginning to feel a huge swell of regret at having invitied Punchy and the others to stay at Darkegg Fortress with him. Now, not only did he have considerably less privacy, but he had to deal with further uninvited guests that the presence of his new roommates brought. That was the case today, as Silver the hedgehog sat waiting for Punchy to come in to the control room. "So... uh... how's Kosmo?" he asked Copter. "We're not in touch..." Copter grumbled. Punchy and Rainbow finally rushed into the room, Punchy looking rather perplexed. "Hey... Silver... What do you want with me?" he asked. Silver stood up with a serious expression. "I need you to find Illusi for me. I want to make sure the Chaos Relics are safe." he said. Rainbow nodded. "I know how to get him! Hey! Mousy!! Come out!!" she shouted. "...Yeah, you're a genious, Rainbow..." Punchy sighed. Illusi quickly appeared in a burst of smoke, and Copter stomped for the door. "It's crowded in here!" he growled. "Who hath summoned me....?" Illusi said ominously. "Very funny..." Punchy said, "Silver wants you." Illusi glanced at him. "Is my future in jeopardy?" he asked. Silver shrugged. "I haven't been back in a while... There's still a few things that bother me in this time. Such as the Chaos Relics. Are they safe?" he asked. Illusi glanced at the ground. ".....They are all I have left...of poor Fera..." he sighed, making Punchy look around uncomfortably. "Having them around...both reminds me of her, and prevents me from moving on. I haven't done anything with them yet, but I fear I must seek an alternative method of containing their powers, lest my grief destroy me..." Illusi continued. Silver frowned. "I'm sorry... I didn't realize..." he said. Punchy scratched his head curiously. "Yeah... Y'know, it's been bugging me, Illusi... Why do you care so much... about Fera?? Uh, sorry, didn't mean to say it like that..." he stammered. Illusi sat down, glancing at Punchy and the equally curious Rainbow & Silver. "I understand... You don't know her...our story. I suppose I'll do my best to explain it to you..." he began.


Illusi began to relate Fera's story, beginning with what little he knew of her early life, which he'd learned straight from her. Fera was an orphan; Her mother had died in childbirth, and she never knew her father. Illusi wasn't sure, but the death of her mother might have been due to a doctor's error. At any rate, Fera was raised as a pup in an orphanage, until she was adopted by a kindly human couple. She was apparently greatly loved by this couple, but as Fera grew older and began to venture outside, she found the human children of the neighborhood much less accepting. "She would be teased... Tormented. Because of her fur and her tail. They would call her names, pull on her tail... She never had true friends as a child..." Illusi sighed. "...I've never been a child. I got her beat!" Copter scoffed from the doorway. "Don't interrupt, Two!" Rainbow scolded. Illusi continued his story. One day, Fera, fed up with feeling as an outcast, thought to run away from home. She might have reconsidered later on, but she never got the chance. She headed towards the woods, her animal instinct drawing her there. It was there she first encountered GUN. The military snared her in a trap, and the first person to greet her in her cage was Sergeant Murten, Gunner's mentor. "Hello, there... Don't you look... cultured. For a wolf..." he said to her. "Wh-what do you want from me??" the young Fera squeaked. Murten smirked darkly. "Wolves are among nature's great hunters...and killers. I plan to use the animal nature of your kind to further my ambitions..." he said plainly. Fera recoiled from him in her cage, frightened. "I-I don't understand...!" she whimpered. Murten shrugged. "You are young yet, true... But that only means I can mold you to be the perfect soldier... The perfect...expendable...soldier...!" he said, snickering as he motioned for his minions to take her away. She would never see her adoptive family again...

Fera would spend the next period of her life in training at a GUN facility. She was taught basic combat and stealth skills, typically forced to train against other wolves. In time, she became one of Murten's most promising operatives, and so he decided to send her on a simple scouting mission as a test. She was dropped off at the Mystic Ruins, where she was to investigate a certain mysterious shrine. She wandered lost in the jungle for hours before she located it, the golden Chaos Shrine. "...This must be it..." she thought, "But it's sealed... How do I enter?" she wondered. She approached the entrance, searching for any handle or button, something that might cause the shrine to open. There were two statues resembling Chaos nearby, with their hands held out. "...Maybe those?" she thought, walking to them and pulling on their hands, searching for a hidden switch or lever or something. After thoroughly scoping out the area, she could find no way to enter the shrine. "I've done what I can... No choice but to report back." she sighed. When she returned to the drop point and explained the situation to Sergeant Murten, however, he flew into a rage. "...You little FOOL!!" he shouted, clutching a whip he used when training the wolves. Fera recoiled from him fearfully. "I did all I could... It just wouldn't open!!" she insisted. "I care nothing for excuses!! Only results!! Failure is not tolerated, you fur-coated worm!!" he roared, lashing the whip right at her face! She fell to the floor, howling in pain, but he would not stop, striking her repeatedly, making her right eye bleed! She eventually passed out from the pain. "...Leave her in the woods, Corporal Gunner..." Murten said, "If she lives, we'll take her with us on our return. Maybe then she'll have learned her place..." he growled. The young Gunner, newly recruited to GUN, lifted the she-wolf and carried her away. "...I hope you're dead... All the mongrels in our squad make me uneasy..." he grumbled.

When Fera regained consciousness, she was alone in the dark, battered and bleeding on the ground in the jungle. She could think of nothing to do but weep, fearing what would happen to her next. It was at this moment, as chance would have it, that the young wolf's cries were heard by a native of the jungle. Illusi the shrew emerged from the shadows, and seeing the injured youngster, instantly hurried to her side. "...My dear, who did this to you?" he asked. "Th-they'll come back...!!" Fera choked, awash in despair. Illusi nodded. "I'll see to that. Come, let me... get something cold on that eye. Can you tell me your name?" he asked. She sniffled loudly, looking up at him slowly. "It's... Fera..." she said. He nodded. "My name is Illusi. I'll take care of you, Fera, don't worry..." he said, lifting her into his arms, since she seemed too weak to stand. He brought her to a small hut he had deep in the woods, and gave her a damp bundle of leaves and medicinal herbs to hold against her bloody eye. "I don't know much about medicine, but this should help..." he told her, "I'll be right back. I have to see to those fellows who are coming for you..." he stated. "W-wait!!" Fera stammered, concerned about what may happen, but Illusi was gone before she could protest, so she laid back in a hammock in his hut and rested. When Murten returned the next morning, he found what appeared to be Fera's lifeless body. "...Dead... Pitiful wolves. I suppose this program is a failure..." he stated, kicking Fera's corpse. He then walked off with Gunner. "You've proved one thing, Sarge... They ARE expendable..." Gunner grinned. Once they were gone, Fera's corpse vanished, and Illusi poked his head out of the bushes. "No one searches for a dead person..." he mused. On his return to his hut, he found Fera outside, staring at her reflection in a stream flowing nearby. Her eye was permanently scarred. "He turned me into a monster... like him!" she growled. Illusi patted her head, hoping to comfort her. "He won't look for you any more... Illusions can be pretty convincing." he stated. Fera glanced at him curiously. "Perhaps I can teach you..." he smiled.

Fera spent the remainder of her youth in the Forest of Dreams with Illusi. He would often show her the various illusions he could cast, and allowed her to play with the Wrongos and Rightos. As she grew older, Illusi began to attempt to teach her to conjure illusions as he could, but despite spending years in a forest with a deep connection to the illusion world, Fera could never cast a single illusion. "Give it time..." Illusi would tell her, "One day, the world of illusions will accept you, and you will gain my power." Fera trusted and respected him deeply, so she waited patiently for that day to come.
She always wore a patch over her eye, which Illusi had made with leaves, moss and other plant material. However, every so often, she would take it off and stare mournfully at her scars. It was then that Illusi would sit beside her and offer comfort. "Your eyes are still beautiful... For they are the windows to your beautiful soul. That's something no one can take from you... Only you can let it die." he said to her. She smiled, cuddling next to him. "You're so good to me... But there's nothing beautiful about my soul..." she sighed. Illusi stroked her head gently. "You couldn't be this nice after the hard life you've had, otherwise..." he reassured her.
The pair of them were inseperable. Illusi viewed her as a daughter, but little did he know, Fera's feelings would grow stronger as she matured. Despite her constant failures to learn illusionism, she would not grow frustrated, because her lessons kept her near him. She would even watch him train by himself, awed by the mystical feats he could accomplish when he had full concentration. "Where did you learn all this stuff??" she asked him one day. Illusi chuckled. "Mostly I've had to learn by feel... But now that I think back... My powers were first given to me by the Dream King..." he realized. Fera knew of the Dream Temple; Illusi spoke of it often, and they'd even gone there, though Fera was not to enter. Illusi scratched his head. "...Perhaps this is where you must go. You must be tested by the Dream Temple, as I was!" he stated. Fera gulped, but nodded. To continue her lessons with Illusi, she would do anything.

So, the day came when Fera entered the crystalline building known as the Dream Temple. Illusi could not join her, but he would be privy to all that went on within. She arrived in a pitch black room, where she was met by a shadow... a shadow resembling herself, with one visible red eye. "He I imbued with my power... has sent you..." the shadow whispered. Fera nodded slowly. "You... are the Dream King?" she asked. The shadow didn't answer. It gazed fiercely at her with its one eye, as though probing her very soul. "He was wrong to send you... I have seen your dreams. You are not worthy... A hate burns deep in your soul. You... will never bond with the illusion world. I shall not allow it!" he stated, vanishing before Fera could protest. Her mind reeled. This would be the end of her lessons. It wasn't fair. Anger was reborn in her as she stormed out of the Dream Temple, right past Illusi and into the woods. "...I suppose she needs time alone..." Illusi thought.
Not long after that, there came a day when a stranger arrived in the woods. Hooded and cloaked, with glowing red eyes, the stranger introduced himself to Illusi and Fera as the Darkseeker. "I have been seeking allies to join me... Join my Covenant of Despair. I sensed anger...and a touch of darkness, in this area. I can temper that darkness into strength, and offer redemption... justice... and family. All you need do is come with me..." he said, extending a hand to Fera. Illusi stood between them. "Listen, you... We don't need any darkness in our lives! We are simple, peaceful folk... Now get lost, before the very forest sees you out!" he threatened. The Darkseeker produced an odd lantern, resembling a glass pyramid on a steel handle. "Use this to summon me should you reconsider... Farewell..." he said, leaving the lantern on the ground as he left. Illusi picked up the lantern, turning to Fera. "I forbid you to use this!" he said seriously. Fera stared at him in shock. Never had he been so stern with her. "Shouldn't this be my choice? I-I'm not a child!! And you obviously can't teach me anything!" she shouted. "I'm protecting you!" Illusi told her, "You leave... and I can't protect you... End of discussion." he said, heading inside his hut.

Fera mulled it over for a time. She tried to talk Illusi into going with her. "You can protect me if we both go... And eventually, I might be able to protect you!" she reasoned. Illusi shook his head. "You don't understand what it is I'm protecting you from..." he stated. Fera groaned. "You can't protect me from the darkness! It's already in me! Both the Darkseeker and the Dream King said as much!" she pointed out. She took his hands in hers, a desperate look in her eye. "Please... I don't want to lose you... You...mean everything to me. I love you!" she cried. Illusi was taken aback. He could tell by the way she spoke; this wasn't the same love he felt for her. He backed away, hesitating before responding. "Fera... I raised you... To me... you are a daughter. I could never think of you as anything else..." he said.
The revelation shattered Fera. She was quiet for a few days, ditching her eye patch and staring at her reflection in the water frequently. One day, she did not find Illusi when she looked for him. He had learned of another cloaked stranger in the woods, and met with the mysterious Doomsayer for the first time. "You... Are you with the Darkseeker??" Illusi asked. The Doomsayer shook his head. "He takes my form, but not my mission. I am the Doomsayer. I come with prophecy. High on Angel Island, a guardian tirelessly defends the Master Emerald, great controller of the Chaos Emeralds. But there is no defense against the forces of Time and Space. And if the Master Emerald remains in its space much longer, it will be lost. There must always be a Master Emerald... Do you understand what I say to you?" he concluded. Illusi was suspicious, naturally. "Sounds like you want me to move the Master Emerald... Why don't you do it?" he asked. "I only prophesize... I do not act. Farewell..." the Doomsayer said, vanishing in a swirl of hail. Illusi determined that he had to go, just in case. Little did he know, this would change the course of both his life and Fera's.
Feeling abandoned, Fera had had enough. She stared at her scarred eye, remembering Illusi's words about beauty and her eyes being windows to her soul. "I don't want my soul...to be seen!!" she snarled, tearing up her old eye patch, and going through Illusi's drawers, finding needles and thread that he uses to patch his cape. She took it, and took the lantern, heading outside and holding the lantern high. It emitted a bright, red light, shooting high into the air. By the time the Darkseeker arrived, Fera had done her work with the needle. She had sewn her scarred eye shut, and was snarling, desperately trying not to pass out from the pain. The Darkseeker chuckled. "You might well become my greatest agent... Though, I might suggest there are more practical ways to cover that eye..." he said.


Punchy stood with his mouth gaping as Illusi finished his story. "Sorry I asked..." he mumbled. Illusi sniffled a bit. "It was my fault she fell prey to the Darkseeker... If I had been there for her..." he sighed. "Bull!!" Copter shouted, "Excuse me, but I've been through messed up stuff, too, and it didn't turn me into a psycho! There's always a choice!" he snapped. Silver shrugged. "I'm not so sure... But I don't think it's right to blame yourself, Illusi. Seems you're the only one who did right by Fera in her entire life..." he pointed out. "Maybe..." Illusi said uncertainly.


Just for fun, let's check in with Sonic.
Sonic was running along a canyon area outside the city, hoping to avoid trouble now that he was a fugitive, when he came across a plate in the road with a Chili Dog sitting on it. A sign reading "Free Food!" was propped up beside it. Sonic crossed his arms. "Yeah, this isn't suspicious AT ALL... Eh, I am hungry." As he grabbed the Chili Dog, the floor under him started to crumble, revealing a pit trap! He landed at the bottom of the hole with the dog stuck in his mouth, but was otherwise unfazed. "Okay... *ulp* Who's the dummy that belongs to this trap?" he grumbled. "We got him!! We got him!!" Slash the praying mantis-bot, and Sting the scorpion-bot, peeked their heads down the hole. "Ha! I never imagined it would be this easy!" Slash chortled. Sonic finished his Chili Dog and waved up at them. "Yo, guys. Thought you were scrapped years ago. Hey, how's Clucker and Burrowbot?" he asked. "Heheh, They were dumb. They were scrapped right after... uh... the time travel junk?" Sting said. Sonic nodded, then jumped gracefully out of the hole. "Tell Eggman he'll need to think harder if he wants to win MY speed!" he said, dashing off just slow enough so Slash and Sting could chase, their bumbling shouts amusing him. A ringing was heard inside Sting, so he retracted his stinger-cannon and replaced it with a phone on the end of his tail, which reached up to his "ear." "Hello? Sting's com-phone..." he answered. "You DING-BOTS!!" Dr. Eggman shouted over the line, "Why is it taking so long for you to... Oh, never mind. I knew sending YOU to catch Sonic was a long-shot. If I wasn't busy consolidating my forces after that Zeti fiasco, I'd be pulling all the stops to get Sonic's speed for my own use... Well, tell Slash you're both incompetant!!" he said, hanging up. Slash glanced at him and shook his head. "Shoulda just said 'Wrong number' and hung up..." he grumbled.


Episode 5 - Heart & Might

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.


Tails was in Central City today, visiting a home improvement store where he could pick up parts both for his normal building and for the continued repairs to his Mystic Ruins Workshop, which were set back by Eggman Nega's recent "visit." Cream had gone along with him, just to hang out. Cheese would fly up and attempt to bring down anything on a high shelf that Tails needed, but the Chao was nearly always too small. At any rate, Tails had to have the heavier stuff mailed to the Mystic Ruins, while he and Cream carried smaller bags on their way back to the train station. "You were very helpful today, Cream." he smiled. "Maybe you can teach me to help out at your workshop, too." she giggled. "Not sure you'd enjoy that..." Tails shrugged, "I'll have to tell you about the last time Knuckles tried to 'help...'" he added with a chuckle. As they walked, they noticed a black cat sitting in the middle of the road, holding his head in his hands. He wore red pants with blue leg-ends, yellow shoes, and a red collar. He looked vaguely familiar to Tails. "I think I know him from somewhere..." he mumbled. The cat looked up and jumped. "Me-yow!! You! You helped us out when that crazy island was sinking into the ocean!" he stammered. Cream gasped. "He must've been on the Covenant of Despair's island..." she realized. The cat stood up to properly introduce himself. "I'm Lucky... Experiment 13." he said. Tails nodded. "Yeah... You're the one that... has no powers?" he said as delicately as he could. Lucky sighed. "Yep... that's me. I'm not even brave enough to go back home... I kinda left without telling anyone." he explained. Tails and Cream glanced at each other. "I can carry this stuff back..." Cream offered. Tails nodded. "Huh? What...?" Lucky said, watching Cream walk off with Cheese and the bags. Tails glanced in the direction of Shadow Arc, the rather conspicuous lab now parked just outside the city limits. "I'll go with you. Bucky's supposed to be good now. It should be okay." he smiled. Lucky scratched his head. "You ever been on his bad side?" he asked. Tails nodded. "Yes... So I kinda get where you're coming from. C'mon, I've got your back!" he said.


Meanwhile, Copter and his room-mates were enjoying a calm, peaceful day hanging out in Darkegg Fortress. Rainbow and Gemini were busy feeding the Chao in the base's massive Chao Garden, while Copter and Punchy lounged nearby on beach chairs, trying to relax between their respective work. Punchy still kept busy trying to snatch the Master Emerald, a "training exercise" for both echidnas. Copter was working at the burger shop in Station Square, his boss a sadistic otter named "Dave." At the very least, Dave couldn't bother him here. However, their rest was soon broken by a loud shouting at the entrance to the Chao garden. "SQUATTERS!!!" Copter and Punchy jumped at the sound of Dr. Eggman's shouts, and quickly sprang to their feet. "This was an abandoned base! It's not squatting!!" Copter shouted. Eggman fired a laser into the air, scaring off all the Chao. "I left a psychotic Shadow Android! The base was NOT abandoned!!" he yelled. Hoover scurried out from behind the rotund doctor. "That's wut I been tryin' teh tell 'im, Doc! They got ZERO regard fer personal property!" he said. "Please, Hoover, BAS tells me you've been maintaining Copter's plane for him... A plane he's used AGAINST me!!" Eggman yelled, making the robo-beaver scurry away. Gemini held up her wand defensively. "Well, our need is greater than yours! So, is this tower too big for all of us...?" she growled. "It's barely big enough for him..." Punchy joked. Eggman snorted angrily. "That's it! Char! Summon the Chao! Have them throw these squatters out!" he ordered. The red Chao, Char, fluttered in from behind Eggman and looked around. "Huh...? Hehe... Looks like you scared 'em off, Doctor! I guess they forgot you built this place!" he said. With Copter, Punchy and Gemini advancing on him, and no real weapons prepared to repel them, Dr. Eggman sighed frustratedly. "Maybe I should've brought Alpha up here at least... Look, I could be back with Metal Sonic and the whole E-X series, but... I've graciously decided to share the tower with you for now... You stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of your way..." the doctor offered. Rainbow smiled. "It's a deal, Tubby! I missed Charlie and Alphie!" she chuckled. Copter groaned. "Guess that means I gotta clear out of the control room, huh...?" he said. "Is the lab okay?" Eggman asked. "...You mean the Rec Room?" Rainbow asked. "No, no, NOOOO!!!" Eggman stammered, rushing off to check on his gadgets and gizmos.


Tails and Lucky soon made their way to Shadow Arc. Zipp grudgingly led them to where Bucky was busy working on something. "This quiet life stinks..." he grumbled, "I'm not allowed to fire my guns AT ALL without going to a shooting range or something. I can't even join the military... Too close to Gunner..." he complained. "Have you tried therapy...?" Tails muttered. "Can I shoot my therapist?" Zipp asked, opening up the door to the lab. Bucky hastily covered something up with a white sheet as they entered. It appeared to be someone...who was not alive. "Are you doing another Experiment already??" Tails gasped. Bucky glared at them. "I don't see how that's your business. I'm not using your DNA again." he grunted. Lucky was hiding behind Tails, but the fox stepped around and nudged him forward. "Go on..." he said. Lucky gulped. "H-hey, dad... I-I'm home..." he stammered. Bucky groaned a bit. "I made it my business to know this already... There was precisely nothing keeping you from coming back sooner! I don't know why you left to begin with, but clearly you hold no allegiance to me! ...You have no home here!" he snarled. Lucky stammered a bit, whimpering, and Tails stepped up to speak for him. "How can you say a thing like that to your own creation!?" he yelled. Bucky scoffed. "I created them. I'll do as I see fit. Now, leave this place. My experiments and I may have given up our powers as part of the deal for our freedom, but Zipp still has his guns, and the law has it that we can use deadly force to repel intruders to our home..." he threatened. "Please stay, please stay..." Zipp whispered. "Errr... Fine, I'm going..." Lucky sighed, turning to leave. Tails hesitated a moment. "I know you've been through some messed up stuff, but that doesn't give you the right to be so... heartless!" he growled, following Lucky out. They passed by Whisk the Divine as they went through the door, who had apparently been listening. "This is awful... D-do you want to talk?" she offered. "No!" Lucky said, choking back tears. "Don't listen, he needs cheering up!" Tails told her. They all headed out of the lab together, doing their best to comfort the rejected Lucky.

The three talked for a bit, though Whisk couldn't fully keep up with the conversation. Bucky had begun working on attempts to fix her memory issues, but so far only minor victories had been achieved on that front. At the very least, she could remember names and faces now. Ultimately, the three of them decided to head to Tails's Workshop, where Cream was waiting, and perhaps there they could solve Lucky's problem of where to live if he indeed had no home with Bucky now. "I do have two workshops... You could stay at one for a bit if you really need to..." Tails offered. "I'll talk things over with Bucky. My 'Texie-wexie will help, too!" Whisk suggested. Lucky and Tails both made disturbed faces at her. "Texie-wexie??" they murmured. "That is one way I never in a million years thought I'd hear Vortex referred to..." Tails shuddered. Lucky shrugged it off. "Thanks for helping me so much, both of you... You hardly even know me..." he said. "I know you're whiny. Seriously, stop it." Whisk muttered, "Smile or something. It's all going to be fine!" she said cheerfully. Suddenly, however, the three of them were scattered by a bolt of lightning! "Meee-yow!! What in the--??" Lucky screeched, while Tails sat up from the ground, looking up. "Bucky...?" he muttered, only to see a dragon flying above them instead! It was Zeke, AKA Experiment 10, and his body was sparking for some reason. "Perfect! An opportunity to test my new power! Tell me, runt, if I make you squeal loud enough, will that get Sonic over here? I'd love a crack at that bounty on his head!" he cackled with his raspy voice. Whisk teleported up there and kicked him. "You JERK! We were talking down there!" she yelled. A bolt of lightning sent her warping back to the ground, while Tails and Lucky backed away a bit. "Zeke can't do that!!" Lucky said in a panic. "Well, unless you can do something better, you'd best stay back, Lucky!" Tails warned, spinning his tails to fly after the dragon! Whisk joined him, trying to cut Zeke off from the side. "Kekekeke!! This should be entertaining... Who wants to be fried first? RAWR!!" the dragon roared.

As Tails and Whisk flew around Zeke, evading lightning and taking any opening to fly in and kick him, Lucky ran around below in a general state of panicked uselessness. "Why didn't Bucky give me any powers?? Ohhh, what do I do??" he whimpered. However, he didn't seem necessary to fight Zeke. Whisk warped around him repeatedly, making the dragon dizzy as he tried to keep up. Then, Tails dropped to the ground, bouncing up from springs concealed in his shoes so that he could smack Zeke with a tail whip! "Ack!! No fair!!!" Zeke yelled as he fell onto his back. Tails landed nimbly on the floor while Whisk warped next to him. "Heh... Been a while since I used the Spring Shoes..." Tails chuckled. Zeke started to climb to his feet, and Tails and Whisk got ready to defend themselves from him, when suddenly a powerful beam of Chaos energy knocked them both over! "Hey!! Any room for me at this party!?!" Tails shook his head and looked up from the ground with alarm as he recognized the voice. "Huh... Zazz??" he gasped. Indeed, one of the Deadly Six they'd faced mere months ago, the pink creature known as Zazz, was standing with Zeke and had just blasted them with Chaos energy. "Wait... How did you do that??" Tails stammered. Zazz's long, bluish tongue hung out as he glared at Tails. "Never mind! I'm here for just one thing! To get that blue boy's attention and take my REVENGE!!" he shouted. Lucky hurried to help Whisk up, and the three of them faced Zazz and Zeke. "Boy, I wish I had some tech with me... Oh, wait!" Tails said, suddenly pulling out some dummy rings and tossing them at the dangerous duo, stunning them! He and Whisk rushed to fight them, but Zeke quickly pinned Whisk down with flame breath along with lightning, cutting off her movement options! As Tails went to strike Zazz, his body burst into a bright light, enveloped in Chaos energy! "Th-that's Chaos Camouflage!!" Tails gasped, repelled as he struck Zazz! Whisk soon joined him on the ground. "No sign of Sonic... Guess we'll send him a message by wipin' you out!!" Zazz shouted.

Zazz and Zeke prepared to launch attacks and finish Tails, with Whisk as collateral, when suddenly Lucky stood in their way, making them hesitate. "Stop, Zeke!!" the cat shouted. "Who? Oh, the runt... Kekekeke... You're a real nuisance, kid! Didn't wandering the world teach you anything??" he laughed. Lucky nodded. "I learned that... there are lots of people. They live in lots of different ways..." he said. "BORING!!" Zazz groaned. "...But while they might disagree sometimes... They aren't like you guys! You... You're villains!!" Lucky snapped. Zazz smirked at him. "Well, DUH!!" he shouted. "You might get that... Too bad you didn't learn to stay out of our way..." Zeke growled. Lightning and Chaos energy blasted toward Lucky as he stood between the villains and his friends. "No, Lucky!! Get away!!" Whisk gasped. The cat's luck seemed to have run out, but just before the attacks could strike, a large net flew out of nowhere and pulled him to the ground, out of the way while the attacks passed over Tails and Whisk as they were on the ground! "WHAT!?" Zazz gasped. Buzzing in the air nearby was Zipp, holding up a net cannon. "I have a gun for every situation... Even this one!" he said, reaching into his jacket pocket and holding a small pen-shaped device. He clicked it, and a beam quickly zapped Zazz, then Zeke, rendering them incapacitated. "The Pause-Gun; Copyright Stein Enterprises blah blah blah..." Zipp remarked, hovering down to Lucky to release him from the net while Tails and Whisk got to their feet. "I misjudged you." They all looked to see Bucky approaching from the direction Zipp had arrived, and heading in Lucky's direction. "Dad..." Lucky gasped, realizing he'd had something to do with saving them. "You were willing to sacrifice everything to save them... I've had such a rocky time getting along with some of my creations; it's often hard for me to accept when I find one with a good heart... Like you." the rat said with a small smile. As he and Zipp turned to leave, Lucky started after them. "Does this mean I can come home?" he asked. "...If you wish. You don't want to be here when GUN comes to pick up those two." Bucky replied, motioning to Zeke and Zazz. As they left, a human wearing a brown cloak stepped out of a nearby building and observed the frozen Zazz and Zeke. "...This world is certainly strange..." he stated, "Never mind, Travis... It's time to move on."

That evening, after Cream had left Tails alone and the fox was resting in his workshop after the rough fights earlier, there came a knock at his door. To his surprise, Bucky entered. "Uh... Hi... What are you doing here??" Tails asked. Bucky glanced around cautiously. "Do you believe this building is secure? GUN's not spying on you?" he asked. Tails scratched his head. "If they are, I feel sorry for them. They must be very bored." he said. Bucky clasped his arm around the fox and whispered to him. "Those powers were not natural, that much you know... GUN is experimenting on animals. Giving them powers..." he warned. Tails blinked a couple times. "Okay... But why send them out to make trouble just to arrest them?" he asked. Bucky stepped back to the door. "Good night, Mr. Prower..." he said, leaving Tails with his thoughts.


At the Hopebringer Center for the criminally insane, Zeke and Zazz were locked in separate cells not far from Zim. "Hey! How's Zavok!? Does he miss me??" Zim asked frantically. "Shut UP!! Who ARE you??" Zazz yelled back. Dr. Nammad watched the prisoners rail against their cages, which had been reinforced to withstand their natural abilities, while the scientist held capsules containing the colored essences of their powers. "Play nice, uh, kids... We'll be talking again soon enough..." Nammad said, walking off to put away his colorful new toys. GUN's schemes were well in motion now, but what madness would they bring next?


Episode 6 - The Cloaked Ones

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.


Previously on Sonic GeneX...
Some time ago, a mystery led Shadow to discover Ultimate Life Form blood samples buried in a graveyard, which had been hidden there by Bucky. The Deathbringer had been killing over this, so Shadow decided to move the blood samples to a safer location to keep them out of the wrong hands.
Sonic is still on the run after Col. Gunner has promised to transfer his speed to whoever manages to capture him, using a machine Bucky invented.
Now, let us begin today's story...


Shadow the Hedgehog had been silently keeping an eye on the situations developing around the nation. Today, he headed back to Club Rouge, intending to check on the Ultimate Life Form blood samples he'd left with Rouge for safekeeping. For once, the bouncer recognized him and led him straight to Rouge's office. "How did I know I'd be seeing you soon, Shadow?" Rouge said in greeting. Shadow shrugged. "You know why I'm here..." he stated. "Oooh, do you want my help capturing Sonic for his speed?" Rouge joked. Shadow scoffed. "Please. I don't need his speed. And I don't need GUN to place a price on my head once they're done with Sonic... Getting chased like that would be irritating..." he groaned. Rouge chuckled. "Right... Well, as it happens, I do know why you're here. The Ultimate Life Form samples... They're safe, for now..." she said, pulling the slot machine lever on the wall to open the secret passage to the BATT-computer room. "For now?" Shadow asked. Rouge nodded. "My security systems have caught some shady characters trying to crack the safe... Time to change the mechanism for the secret door here." she sighed as she led Shadow down to the safe beside the computer. Shadow examined it and frowned. "There's no time to redo security here. If there are people after it, we'd better have the blood samples moved." he realized. "The safe is heavy enough, and we're sure to attract attention trying to move it..." Rouge pointed out. Shadow headed for the stairs with a nod. "We'll need Omega. I know how to find him..." he said, glancing back briefly before leaving, "And I would never need help to capture Sonic, by the way..." he made a point to say before heading on his way. Rouge sat down at the BATT-computer with a sigh, relaxing a bit while Shadow was away. "At least this'll be a break from hunting Sonic for that idiot Gunner..." she muttered. Soon, her sensitive bat ears picked up some sneaking behind her. "Who's that...?" she growled, turning around and letting out a gasp as something jumped out at her!

Upon returning with Omega, Shadow found Rouge sitting impatiently. "They came back... We'd better get this moved before they get serious." she said. "Did you see them? Who are they?" Shadow asked. "When they found me here, they didn't stick around." she said, "Probably going for reinforcements." Omega crept down the stairs, scanning the room. "Sensors jammed... Does not compute." he said. "I can't have people scanning for my secret room, Omega." Rouge grumbled. "...Very well. I still suggest annihilating the source of this trouble." the robot stated. "This is the last of Professor Gerald's research. I'm not about to destroy it." Shadow grunted, "Now let's get going. I've called ahead to Tails. He's... our best option at the moment." he sighed. "Negative. GUN is more secure." Omega retorted. "Not with Gunner as Colonel." Shadow scoffed.

The group was soon on their way, and although they drew a lot of odd glances as they carried a safe through the city, they made it to the city limits undeterred. "We're walking this to the Mystic Ruins to avoid trouble on the trains... It could be hazardous to civilians if we get attacked." Shadow explained to Omega. "Understood." the robot stated. "Ooooh, what's in the safe, Shade??" Team Dark spun around quickly at the unexpected voice, only to find Rainbow the echidna standing there. "Oh... Not you..." Shadow groaned. "This is none of your business, girl! Go home!" Rouge growled. Rainbow had a sly look. "Oh, I see... You're up to something. Gotta be up to something. Batty and Sumo-bot are here to help." she mused. "I more closely resemble a Samurai..." Omega grumbled. "Enough! This is important, and potentially dangerous. We don't have time for you..." Shadow said, turning around. "Then you'll certainly appreciate my help! ...C'mon, One's fiddling with that big gem again. I'm bored." she said. Rouge glanced at her without a word, and Shadow sighed. "Stay quiet..." he muttered. "OK! I can do that!! Follow me!!" she yelled, rushing ahead of them. "I regret this already..." Shadow groaned.

Leaving the city, the group soon arrived in a stretch of grassy fields not unlike Green Hill Zone, except it was decidedly less sunny here. The trees dotting the landscape were more gnarled and dead-looking. Omega carried the heavy safe while Shadow, Rouge and Rainbow kept a watchful eye for anything suspicious or dangerous. "So, you guys have no idea who's after this safe?" Rainbow asked. Rouge groaned. "For the final time, no! Stop asking questions..." she growled. Shadow stopped suddenly, listening. "Omega, are your sensors picking up anything?" he asked. "...Inconclusive signals. Cannot ID..." he stated. Suddenly, several figures in black cloaks emerged ahead and quickly surrounded them. "These must be our mystery thieves..." Shadow grunted. Omega set down the safe, and Rainbow stood beside it. "Uh... I'll keep an eye on this. You go blast things!" she suggested. "...At last, one who appreciates my power!" Omega replied, rushing ahead to take on the cloaked intruders. "Wait, I need to interrogate them!" Shadow protested. Omega fired some missiles at them anyway, only to watch as the cloaked ones knocked each missile out of the sky by tossing strange energy spheres at them! They then proceeded to toss those spheres at the group, forcing Team Dark into action! Rouge flew over, dodging spheres before she went to kick one. The being bent back out of the way, unnaturally far, and then rose back up with ease and came at her with a clawed hand. Rouge jumped back and flew up high. "They're... not normal." she growled. Shadow tried to hit one with Chaos Spears, but its body twisted to escape each shot with ease. "Yeah... You're not kidding..." he grunted. Omega let loose with several explosive shots, trying to hit a bunch of the cloaked ones at once. "I will eradicate all threats!!" he yelled, and when the dust settled, it did appear that he might have done some damage, as the cloaked ones stood a bit shakily. However, they did not stop coming! "Quite a struggle... In the face of doom!!" Shadow stopped suddenly as he heard a familiar voice. "...Doomsayer??" he gasped.


Meanwhile, Amy and Cream met Blaze in Station Square, the first proper visit the cat had made since Tails completed the gate between their worlds. They got a table at the burger shop where Copter happened to be working and started to catch up on recent events. "Sorry about Marine, Cream... She can be a bit...uhhh..." Blaze said, having heard about the events of the Festival of Romance. "Oh, no... She actually helped!" Cream said, smiling. "Hey! What's taking so long with our food!!" Amy shouted to a grouchy Copter. "Hold on... Let me add 'extra spit' to your order..." he grumbled. "Suddenly I've lost my appetite..." Cream sighed. Blaze shrugged and continued the conversation. "How's Sonic doing? Has GUN stopped bothering him yet?" she asked. Amy sighed. "No... Wait... I bet we could catch Sonic!" she said suddenly. "Huh?? Why would you say such a thing?" Cream asked. Amy chuckled. "Oh, we'll just borrow his speed for a while... Maybe he'll appreciate me more if our roles are reversed..." she rambled. "Uh, I don't think that--" Blaze started to say, when Amy just got up and headed out the door. "Hey!! What about your... Oh, forget it..." Copter groaned. Amy quickly noticed that Sonic was in fact speeding around outside. "Oh, Sonic!!" she called, drawing his attention. "Hm?" he muttered, tapping his foot. "C'mere... I got something for you..." she said in a sultry voice. Sonic backed away nervously before running off hastily. "Sorry, gotta keep moving! Don't wanna draw a hedgehog-hunting crowd!" he shouted. Blaze and Cream stepped beside Amy and shook their heads. "That won't work. We have to set a trap." Blaze said, now curious to see if they could in fact pull this off.

Later, Sonic had moved his run to Emerald Coast. There, he found Cream sitting under a palm tree, holding Cheese and crying loudly. He stopped running and walked over to see what was up. "Something happen? Eggman didn't kidnap your mother again, did he?" he asked. Cream sniffled a bit. "N-no... I was chopping onions." she said with a giggle. Sonic raised an eyebrow, and was about to turn around when a net was dropped on his head, followed by a rope being tied around his waist quickly by Blaze! "Hah! My plan worked! That wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined..." the cat smirked. Sonic glanced around in surprise, and frowned at being tricked in this way. "That's a dangerous game to play. What if next time you actually need help, but I think it's a trick?" he grumbled. This immediately took Cream down a peg. "Oh... You're right... I'm sorry, Mr. Sonic. I just wanted to help the others..." she said, running off while sniffling. "Stupid onions!" she cried. Blaze chased after her. "Cream, wait!" she called. This left Amy to guard Sonic. He stared at her for a bit, and she stared back awkwardly. "Well... I guess this is it..." Sonic sighed, "GUN will surely lock me up...but hey, you get my speed. It's such a shame... We only had such a brief, brief time together..." he said, maybe overacting a tad, though Amy was too busy clutching her heart to notice. "If only... I could feel your soft lips against mine, one last time...." he chocked, covering his eyes. This did it. Amy untied him and threw off the net hastily. "You can, my love!!" she cried, only to look the next instant and find Sonic a half mile down the beach. "Now we're even!!" he shouted before dashing away. Amy blinked a couple times and blushed in embarrassment. "I need to think of a lie for Blaze... Um... A wave came in and swept him away! Yeah..." she babbled, walking off.


The Doomsayer was accompanied by a brief hail storm, and the icy precipitation seemed to frighten off the cloaked ones that had been fighting the group. "Ummm... Thanks, Grim Reaper?" Rainbow said unsurely. "Could you turn up the heat again?" Rouge complained. The Doomsayer raised a hand, and the storm turned to rain. "The Deathbringer; Hope the Raven, sought to keep what you are transporting hidden." he said. Shadow glanced at the safe and nodded. "She was Bucky's... friend. That might explain how she knew about this. But... Why did she go to such lengths? All that murder..." he wondered. "Too many were aware of Dr. Stein's research... Too many could lead this secret to the wrong hands. Your blood has already been used to create threats, and she could not allow it to happen again." the Doomsayer stated. "...What threats... Did Bucky use my DNA in his experiments? Is that why some of them can use Chaos Blast??" Shadow asked with urgency. However, the cloaked ones were returning by this time. "Alert! Unidentified hostiles have returned!" Omega shouted. The Doomsayer's eyes glowed a light shade of purple for a moment. "Each battle attempts to tip the scales of fate one way or the other... I challenge you! Determine fate's course... Fight the doom, if you dare!" he shouted, his body emitting a strange energy that enveloped the group! In the next instant, Team Dark found themselves scattered while the cloaked ones surrounded each of them! "Wherever we are... We must get to the safe!" Shadow called out. "Affirmative." Omega's voice called from the distance. "I'm still with it! Umm... Someone help meeee!!" Rainbow shouted from somewhere in the shadows. The Doomsayer's challenge had begun!

While the others began to battle the cloaked ones separately, Shadow decided it was time he knew what he was up against. He charged at one of the mysterious beings, but as it hurled an energy sphere at him, he shouted "Chaos Control!" and vanished, appearing seconds later behind the cloaked one! "Now, who are you?!" he growled, grasping the being's hood to discover a slimy skull underneath! "Lost Ones?! Acting alone?" Shadow gasped at the sight of the loskel. "No, not alone..." said Rouge, who had crept over to Shadow unhindered, and wore a sinister smirk. Shadow stared at her for a moment, and made a face as her body started to melt and transform, revealing the shape-shifting Lost One, Loskeletor! "You! What have you done with Rouge!!?" Shadow shouted. Loskeletor chuckled. "She was excessive after I took her form... Wherefore art thou, bat? Hmmm?" he cackled, "The prophet's interjection was an unexpected boon. My trap is much more effective with your forces scattered!" Shadow jumped as Loskeletor fired lasers from his eyes, chasing the hedgehog with his fiery gaze! "But what could you possibly do with the contents of that safe!?" Shadow demanded as he fired Chaos Spears at the nearby loskel, now compensating his shots to make up for their limber skeletal bodies. Loskeletor kept the pressure on Shadow, not allowing him to stop moving. "Twas imperative to defeat Team Dark before claiming the prize within the safe... Else, we could have taken it at any moment." he said, ignoring Shadow's questioning, "Now, with your defeat imminent, we may well claim our quarry..." he added, raising a hand to order the nearby loskel. This was followed by a scream from Rainbow. "You monster... Omega!! Can you get to Rainbow!?" Shadow called out. "Negative, I do not possess the required speed!" Omega replied from wherever he was. Shadow had to be the one to go. "Chaos Control!!" he said, warping to Loskeletor and swiftly kicking his bony green head to the ground! "Gaaah!! You have but delayed my wrath!" the skeleton roared as Shadow ran after Rainbow!

However, it appeared he would be too late to save Rainbow. As he arrived, she was swarmed by loskel, and they were holding her down, apparently about to finish her before Shadow would be able to take them all out! "NO!! Stop!!" he shouted, flashes of Maria briefly passing into his mind as the idea of watching someone else die occurred to him. However, that's not what happened. Instead, a miracle occurred. "Get... BACK!!" shouted Rainbow with desperation, and as the loskel drove their claws at her chest, a bright flash of light erupted from her, a strange force sending the loskel backward into a scattered mess of slimy bones! Shadow stared in surprise, and Omega soon joined him. "...Strange energy detected. What did I miss?" he asked. "It would seem... Rainbow has power..." Shadow stated. The echidna stood up woozily. "I don't feel good... What happened? Did you save me, Shade?" she mumbled. Shadow crossed his arms. "You have no consciousness of what happened? You saved yourself somehow!" he said. "Huh? That's silly..." Rainbow muttered. As Loskeletor placed his head back on, the real Rouge flew by and kicked it back off. "That's for locking me in a closet!!" she growled, and then smacked Shadow on the head. "How could you be fooled by a fake me!?" she shouted. Shadow rubbed his head and shrugged. "I did suspect something was off, since the fake you acted a bit strange... But I also knew you were strong enough to escape whatever danger you might be in." he stated. Rouge looked a bit surprised for a second, but then smiled. "Well, someone should get that..." she said. As Omega picked up the safe again and they started to leave, Rainbow was asking about these so-called powers Shadow observed, but it seemed apparent that she wouldn't be able to use them again on purpose for the time being. As they were leaving, Lospecter emerged next to Loskeletor, handing him his head. "Shadow the Hedgehog?? You got to battle Shadow the Hedgehog!!" he stammered. Loskeletor screwed his head back on. "So?" he mumbled. Lospecter glared at him. "What do you mean, 'so?!' He's Shadow the Hedgehog! Second most popular character in the whole flippin' canon!! Only shows up, like, once every one or two years! And I MISSED him!! Aaaaaugh!!" the ghost wailed. Loskeletor shook his head and walked off. With Team Dark fully united, there was no chance of getting the safe from them now, and Lospecter would have to wait until the next time the dark hedgehog would emerge from the shadows to battle him...

Tails hid the safe containing the DNA samples in the secret tunnels hidden beneath his Mystic Ruins workshop. Only he and Shadow would know its location in the underground maze. For now, Gerald's work was once again secure.


Episode 7 - Date Night

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.


Gemini the Fennec had tracked Sonic to the desert region where Eggman's old pyramid base was falling apart due to neglect. "If I catch him, his speed will surely allow me to finish my mission...quickly..." she thought, scanning the sandy landscape for the speedy hedgehog. A cloud of kicked-up sand heading in her general direction told her she'd located him. "All right... This should be a piece of cake... Proplasmar!!" she shouted, waving her wand to erect a magical barrier in Sonic's path. The sand-cloud stopped quickly, then started up in another direction without even giving her a good glimpse of the blue blur. "Errr... Just testing his reflexes! Plan B..." she said. The next time she got a shot at Sonic, she tried a different spell. "Aeroft!!" she said, stopping Sonic and levitating him into the air! "Got ya!" she smirked. Sonic crossed his arms as he floated in midair. "Nice trick... But sooner or later you'll have to put me down." he said. Gemini frowned. Yes, she could float him a long way, but sooner or later she would indeed have to put him down, and then he'd run off. "Wait, I know! Morphicadabra!!" she said, transforming Sonic into a blue turtle wearing red sneakers! "Now you ought to be slow! Ha!" she said, dropping him back down on the ground. Suddenly, Sonic leapt into the air, curled into his shell, and launched a harder-hitting homing attack at the spellcasting fennec! "Owww!!" she yelped, falling over while Sonic angrily ran circles around her! "Turn me back right now or I'll give YOU to GUN!! We already know they're interested in your magic!" he yelled. Gemini sighed and waved her wand to turn him back into a hedgehog. However, this had given her an idea. For the next plan, she transformed back into her old dragon form. "Now when I catch him, I can just carry him..." she said. When Sonic arrived, she attempted to cut off his escape by blowing fire and then grab him, but he kept speeding out of the way. After a few tries at this, she turned with a growl. "You guys could HELP you know!!" she shouted. Copter was sitting on a beach chair watching her nearby, chuckling to himself. Beside him was Tails, holding a bag of popcorn. "When is everyone gonna learn that they can't catch Sonic?" Tails sighed. "I hope never. This is what I call entertainment! Pass the popcorn!" Copter grinned.


While the saga of Sonic's life of the run continued, Katie the Coyote was resigned to another Saturday alone at home, sitting quietly on her couch and paging through a photo album. She stared at the pictures of her and Chet, still consumed with sadness and a certain regret: She'd never gotten to say goodbye. So long had she been doing this, that she wasn't about to be left alone with her sorrow this Saturday. A knock at the door got her attention, and she answered to hear Mia the cat yell "Intervention!!" The blue feline was accompanied by a certain green police porcupine, Razor. "This was completely her idea..." he said, "But we are worried about you." Katie tried to stop them, but they barged right into her house and sat down. "I don't need an intervention!" she protested. "This album says otherwise..." Mia said, looking through it. "It's been a long time, Katie. You scarcely go out, except to work. I know it's tough, but you have to move on..." Razor sighed. Katie looked at the ground, nodding slowly. "I-I know you're right, guys... But I just..." she groaned uncertainly. "No getting out of it!" Mia interrupted, "I already found you a date!" she smirked. Katie looked up with wide eyes. "A d-d-date??" she stammered. "Can we come in now?" came a voice outside. Espio the Chameleon and Vector the Crocodile stepped to the doorway, struggling a bit as they attempted to enter at the same time. "Lose some weight, Vector!" Espio growled. Katie stood with a stupefied expression, and Mia elbowed her lightly. "Speechless, I see! Double date time! You're with Mr. Espio there, and Vector... he's mine..." she said with a wide grin. Vector blushed a bit while Espio walked over to the dark-furred coyote and shook her hand. "Uhhh... I had flowers, but Vector sat on them in the cab... I'm deeply sorry for your loss." he said. "Hey! What did I say about bringing that up??" Mia grunted. Razor looked a tad flummoxed by this. "I'm not sure this is a good idea..." he muttered. "Don't worry, pops, they're in good hands!" Vector said, patting him on the back. "...Pops??" Razor muttered. Katie gulped and stared at her date. "Well, uh... Where are we going, then?" she sighed.

The group went to a diner in Troblusk City, where each couple sat side by side and tried to get to know each other a bit. While Mia was quite chatty, and Vector politely responded to her, Espio and Katie had a hard time even starting a conversation. "...So... How much is Mia paying you for this...?" Katie sighed. Espio stared across the table at the cat. "Was that an option...?" he grumbled, and then quickly turned back to Katie with an awkward smile, "Errr, of course, it is a pleasure to spend an evening with you, madam!!" he stammered. Katie rolled her eyes and nodded. "Right... This is in no way a pity date..." she mumbled, staring across the restaurant and daydreaming a bit as Mia and Vector chatted away. As she stared into space, she swore she could see some familiar orange fur out the window. She focused on it, and swore a certain face was watching her. "Chet...??" she mumbled, "L-look over there!!" she said, turning and pointing. However, once others were looking, all they could see were strangers standing around outside. "Errrm... You okay?" Vector asked. Katie blinked a couple times. "Ummm... Yeah... Just gotta... Use the bathroom..." she said, getting up and walking off. "Right... Hey, CAN I get you to pay me for this?" Espio whispered to Mia as she left. Katie searched around for a bathroom, catching that orange color out of the corner of her eye as she looked again. "Keep it together, girl... Keep it together!!" she said, rushing into the bathroom and running the faucet, splashing her face a couple times. "Wash those eyes good, lady..." grumbled a male voice, making her turn red with embarrassment. "S-sorry..." she said, stumbling out of the men's room and panting to catch her breath. She felt like she was losing her mind. She then looked around for their table, and caught sight of a cheetah sitting with a menu in front of his face at the back of the restaurant. "No way..." she muttered, hurrying back to the others and pointing frantically. "Chet!! Chet's right there!!" she shouted. As they looked over, they saw Mighty the Armadillo sitting at the table instead. "Hey, 'sup, Mighty!" Vector called out. Mia scratched her head. "Maybe you're NOT ready for this..." she sighed. Katie shook her head. "I'm seeing him all over! He's alive!!" she shouted. "I was there. He's dead, honey." Mia sighed. Vector rubbed his chin and smirked. "You know what this means, Espio?" he said. "Oh, no..." Espio groaned. "We've got a case! Don't worry, miss, we'll get to the bottom of this!" Vector promised.

Within moments, Vector had bothered everyone in the diner and gotten their group thrown out. "Well, if someone's stalking you, I don't think he was in there anymore..." he concluded. Mia and Espio both looked utterly exasperated. "No one was stalking her..." Mia grumbled, "Katie, I'm afraid your mind was playing tricks on you." she said. "And Vector's obsession with solving things isn't helping... Accept my apologies." Espio added. Katie sighed sadly. "Maybe I am going crazy..." she whimpered. "Hold on, this case isn't closed yet!" Vector shouted, "You said you saw this guy outside, too? Show me where!" he suggested. "Stop it, she's seeing dead people! This isn't what she needs right now!" Mia snapped. "Oooooh, dead people, huh?? Sounds cool!!" just then, Charmy Bee flew up to them, apparently having been called by Vector sometime between annoying the diner patrons and getting thrown out. "Errr... Charmy... could you trouble Mighty to send us out some food? We didn't get to eat..." Espio frowned. "Not now! We're gonna go over this whole area in order to find whoever Katie's been seeing! I don't believe in seeing things that aren't there!" Vector proclaimed. "But you do it all the time!" Charmy teased. Katie shrugged and started to lead them to where she saw Chet peering through the window, but of course when they got there, he wasn't there. "Hmmm... This guy's like a ghost..." Vector muttered. "A g-ghost...? Hey, cut it out, Vector... This place is too lit up for ghosts." Charmy said nervously. Katie's ears drooped and she looked back toward the parking lot. "Let's just go... I really wasn't ready for this..." she sniffled. Vector shook his head. "No, no, there's gotta be a clue here... Hey, you! Across the street! You see anyone lurking around here lately!?" he shouted. "Just you!" came the reply. Mia groaned and took Katie by the arm. "C'mon, I'll take you to the cab." she sighed. Espio crossed his arms. "I think your date's a disaster." he muttered, to which Vector looked genuinely crestfallen. "I was... just tryin' to help..." he muttered. "No ghost? Lame. Shoulda stayed home and played video games." Charmy sighed.

The group was on their way through the parking lot to Mia's cab, resigned to return home in complete disappointment. It seemed things couldn't get worse, but before they could reach the cab, trouble found them. With a burst of smoke, a blue hyena appeared in front of them, wearing a Covenant of Despair uniform! It was Eddie, and he was quickly joined by several other uniformed animals that had apparently stalked the group through the parking lot. This included Patch the multicolored fox and a certain reddish brown weasel in an expensive looking suit: Infin. "You guys... What do you want??" Mia growled. Eddie snarled a bit. "You're friends with that officer... Eee hee... He's been more trouble than GUN and Sonic put together lately..." he said. Patch giggled. "Yeah, hee hee! It's like he's the only one that still cares about us!" he told them. "Maybe if we rough ya up a bit, he'll get offa our backs..." Infin growled, raising a gun. Vector was busy chewing, and quickly blew a big bubble of gum right into the weasel, which splattered all over his weapon! "Gah!! Beat 'em, boys!!" he shouted. "Honorless thugs! You will not lay a finger on my date!" Espio shouted, rushing to Katie's defense as several uniformed animals came at her! She watched him in shock. "I... uh... wow, and here I was all hung up on Chet..." she gasped, feeling bad that she hadn't given him a chance. Charmy flew around Patch, evading his nunchucks and taunting him. "Hey!! Hee hee... Slow down! Bad bug! I gotta squish you!!" he yelled. "Sorry, yer stung!!" Charmy taunted, sticking him in the behind. "Yoooow!! Owchie!! I miss Fera..." Patch whined. Vector and Mia teamed up to take on the rest of the agents, Mia having apparently been taking self-defense classes since her last run in with Despair. "Yeah, you're a tough one... But can you do this?" Vector grinned, producing a microphone and singing unintelligibly, making most of the uniformed animals fall over in pain while Katie and Mia covered their ears! "...Why??" Mia mumbled. Eddie chuckled, unaffected by the noise, and created duplicates of himself with his illusion powers! "Eeee hee... Heck, I'll just kill you all..." he chuckled, each of his copies firing jolts of lightning from their hands, easily incapacitating the group!

The Eddies then produced illusory blades in their hands. "Eeee hee... I always like the irony of killing people with nothing... Illusions are so fun!" he chortled sinisterly. Espio and Vector tried to get up, but the previous jolt had weakened them quite a bit. Eddie was getting closer, ready to finish them. Suddenly, however, an orange blur charged into the parking lot, smacking each illusion out of existence before knocking Eddie on his tail and then speeding out of sight! "Eeeeeeeek!! What the...?! Come out, Sonic!!" Eddie yelped, flailing on his back. Police sirens blared, heading in their direction, and Eddie's fellow agents started fleeing. "I'll send a nice cake to your prison cell! Hee hee!" Patch chuckled as he fled. Katie, Mia and Team Chaotix started to return to their feet as Razor got out of his car and handcuffed Eddie. "Not sure what just happened here, but it's about time I caught you, you sick bastard!" he growled. Katie hurried over to Razor, flustered. "I-it was Chet! He saved us... I'm sure of it!" she told him. Razor stared at her. "Chet...? Uh... I'm sorry, but that's impossible, Katie. Maybe it was Ridley you saw. He's orange, too, and he recently started working with my investigation into the Covenant of Despair. He called us over...here he comes." he said, pointing at the orange coati with the blue ringed tail as he approached. "I could just poof out of these cuffs you know." Eddie grinned. "I bet you'd like that. That's why we have these nice power-suppressing cuffs, courtesy of Stein Enterprises!" Razor informed him. Eddie's eyes went wide as he was shoved into the back seat of the cop car. "Eeeeeeyaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!" he roared. Ridley chuckled at Eddie's reaction. "This is priceless... No more of your missions of death for me!" he grinned. Vector frowned. "Guess that closes this case...it was the raccoon-guy." he sighed. "It was fun while it lasted." Charmy said wryly. Mia took Vector by the arm. "C'mon, let's try to redeem this date." she said with a wink. Vector blushed and left with her, while Espio patted Katie on the back. "I'm sorry you had to go through this..." he said. Katie shrugged. "It's ok... There's no way Ridley could run like that. Chet's out there... I don't know how, or why he won't show himself, but he is..." she sighed, leaning over and kissing Espio on the cheek. "That's for protecting me." she smiled, while Espio's body turned red. "Ahem, well... Shall I escort you home?" he asked. Katie nodded, and they headed home together.

Bucky the Rat stood atop Troblusk Plateau, watching as an orange blur sped up the cliffs toward him. "It would appear the handcuffs have had a successful field test." he stated as the speeding creature stopped in the shadows. "Another for the blasted 'Hopebringer' facility, I fear... My efforts to vindicate myself might be creating quite a situation..." he murmured, "But enough of that. I applaud your bravado, Experiment 16... but I still have tests to run on you... and more to the point, I'm not sure the world is ready for the implications of your existence..." he said sternly. Experiment 16 stepped out of the shadows, revealing an orange cheetah wearing a tattered red coat, which couldn't be zipped closed any longer, making it possible to see a large scar across his chest. "I don't want the world to see me anyway... I just want to keep her safe." he sighed, "...And my name... is Chet!"


Episode 8 - Neon Interlude

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.
"Dear My Friend" is (c) Brent Cash(?)


It was a normal dreary day in Troblusk City. Bill the hedgehog met his brother Bob at the entrance to their bar, the Neon Tavern, like always. Unlocking the door and heading in, it wasn't long before they were behind the counter and awaiting their customers as usual. "Ho hum... Never thought movin' to Troblusk'd be so quiet, eh, Bill?" Bob asked. Bill nodded. "Business sure took a steep dive when everyone realized Eggman was holed up in town all that time. Wonder when that shock'll wear off..." he sighed. Soon, their first visitor walked into the bar. They were surprised to see Guard the gargoyle, Col. Gunner's top agent. He sat down with a grunt, his broad wings blocking the two seats beside him. "Uhhh... What'll it be?" Bob asked. Guard wore an irritated scowl. "Grrrr... The boss wants me to set up cameras here... Watch your clientele in case they divulge any information about the location of Sonic..." he said plainly. Bill glared back at him. "We already got trouble bringing in customers. If we let GUN watch 'em, they'll ALL stop coming! Look, you can order a drink and stick around, but we draw the line at spying, pal!" he protested. Guard sat back and shrugged. "...I'll start with water..." he grunted. At this point, Razor the porcupine came in, not wearing his police cap, which indicated he was off duty. "I don't care, I need a stiff drink..." he grumbled. Bill set to work preparing something while Bob brought Guard his water. "Long face, Raze. What's up?" he asked. "Chief's being a bear about bringing in Despair. We caught that hyena, but it doesn't amount to much... I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall..." he sighed. More guests started to enter next, starting with a mopey Amy Rose. "I'll get drunk on milkshakes if that's what I gotta do... This thing with Sonic being hunted is tearing me apart inside!!" she whined. Guard got up and sat next to her. "Grrrr... Tell me more..." he said. Copter and Punchy were next to enter, arguing about things. "I say we just toss Eggman out!" Punchy growled. "Yeah, and what if he blows up the tower on the way!? He knows the self-destruct codes! He can do it!" Copter protested. "Gah, as if! He'd never blow up his own base!" Punchy asserted. Bill smiled as the bar started to fill out. "Finally... A wave of misery! Just what our business needs!" he chuckled.

More and more guests started coming in, and in addition to serving them drinks, Bill and Bob gladly lent an ear to their problems. Espio and Vector came in, with the crocodile looking particularly down. "That feline broke my heart... Whiskey, Bob..." he groaned. "Don't get too down, Vector... You can't hold your liquor." Espio warned. "Mia, right?" Bob asked him, to which Vector nodded. "Yup... She ain't lookin' fer no commitment... 'Sides, I thought you was into--" he started to say before Vector shushed him. "Quiet! What if she walks in??" he stammered, blushing. A different girl walked in instead, Katie. She sat beside Espio, her eyes wet with tears. "It's Chet, isn't it?" Espio said, recalling how their recent date ended. "I'm sure he's out there..." Katie sniffled. Bill shrugged. "I dunno, but if he's hiding, there's gotta be a good reason. If he's out there, he'll show himself when he's ready." he said, "Not that I think he's out there..." he mumbled. Katie wiped her eyes and nodded. "You're right..." she sighed. 

A welcome change of tone was Tails and Marine, who came in laughing and generally cheerful. Amy was shocked to see them like this. "Tails!! What about Cream??" she shouted. Tails blushed at the implication. "What?? N-no, this isn't a date! We're just hanging out while I mull things over..." he stammered. "He owes me a drink fer helpin' him out at the festival a few months ago!" Marine nodded. Amy crossed her arms. "And just what are you mulling over?" she asked. Tails saw Guard sitting there and backed away. "Umm... GUN stuff..." he whispered. "Buy your drinks and sit apart..." Bill suggested, "Your gal could always walk in..." 

Of all people, Gator ported in next, taking an empty seat and ordering some simple soda. "I'm full of rue, guys..." he sighed, "I used to be someone in this world, but now I only get to show up on my birthday... when I get mauled by monsters!!" he whined. Bill and Bob had no idea how to respond to this. "Ummm... Who are you??" Bill muttered. "You SEE?? No one even remembers me!!" Gator wailed. 

Rouge walked in next, and upon seeing Guard, ducked into a booth. "...Wait. He must be ditching work, too! ...Wait, he can't. He's a robot." she groaned. "Android!" Guard grunted, making Rouge jump. "Don't judge me! And, um... How much will it cost to buy your silence?" she sighed. Illusi was next, and he calmly sat and waited for Bob to get to him. "Red wine... And an ear when you have a moment. It's my dead daughter's birthday..." he sighed.

It was already getting pretty crowded as the afternoon drew close, and Crash the rhino walked in. The earlier visitors were pretty much all still there, but had moved from the counter to tables. Crash sat at the counter and sighed. "Who'd have thought freedom would stink... Zipp's become insufferable and Vortex is a lovey-dovey mess..." he groaned. Bob nodded. "I getcha... Closer y'all are, more ya can drive each other nuts." he said. Knuckles came in soon after, and as he sat down, Bill scratched his head. "Hey, uh... Isn't it your job to guard... somethin'?" he asked. Knuckles shrugged. "I got someone to cover for me... Uhhhh..." he mumbled, noticing both Amy and Guard in the room, "It was, uh... Tails's robot-doggy. Yeah. That's it..." he mumbled.

Ridley the coati came in next, sitting beside Razor. "You allowed to drink that stuff?" he smirked. Razor glanced at him and smiled a little. "I took a personal day. Needed it." he replied. "Then why are you wearing the jacket?" Ridley wondered. Razor gulped down his drink and sighed. "Never leave home without my gun... You wouldn't either if you were me..." he said. The coati nodded. "...Hey, can I try some of what you're having?" he wondered.

Soon, Blaze and Cream entered, and since Tails and Marine hadn't heeded Bill's warning, things quickly got out of hand. "You again!!? You really are trying to steal Tails away from me!!" Cream shouted, snarling at the raccoon. Blaze rushed over to try to calm things before her two friends could start fighting, but Marine didn't help matters. "Crikey! We never thought you'd come into a bar! They serve milk here?" she babbled. Cream pulled Marine out of her seat angrily. "Aha!! That's practically a confession!!" she yelled. Tails yanked Marine back while Blaze pulled Cream away from her. "Calm down! Take a seat! I think you n-need to think about this!" Blaze stammered. "Let me do the talking to Cream next time, Marine!" Tails groaned.

The last major visitor of the group was Gemini, who found Copter hanging around the counter and sat beside him. "Hey... Rainbow drive ya nuts?" he asked. Gemini chuckled. "No... Hey, how's your job going?" she asked. "I'm gonna get fired. Everyone keeps pushin' me..." Copter grumbled. Gemini looked at him sympathetically. "I wish I could help..." she sighed. Bill and Bob walked up to them and snickered lightly. "What're you goons lookin' at??" Copter grunted. "Nothin'. We were just thinking what a lovely couple you two are!" Bill said. Gemini blushed and Copter nearly fell out of his seat. "Listen you! We are NOT a couple! We're just a guy and girl who happen to live together! That's ALL!!" he shouted, his face bright red. Gemini turned her back to him, clearing her throat. "I'd never get involved with an ex-con, anyway..." she huffed. 

It was inevitable with this group that tensions would run high. Guard grew tired of waiting for someone to slip and mention Sonic, so he stomped over to Knuckles and growled at him. "...I think you know where Sonic is..." he snarled. Knuckles glared at him. "And I think you know I'm not about to give him up." he said. Rouge stepped between them suddenly. "Calm down, boys... Hey, Knuckles, tell you what, I'll get GUN off your back in exchange for a certain emerald..." she smirked. "Don't even think it, you guys!!" shouted Punchy, who was quick to throw a punch that struck Guard. "Grrrr!! That's it!!" The four of them were soon having an old fashioned bar brawl, which Razor drunkenly tried to break up. "G-guys... D-don't make me have to cuff youse..." he grunted, wobbling their way. He wobbled into Gator, who instantly took offense. "NOW no one even sees me!? I'll fix you!!!" he shouted, wildly throwing punches everywhere! Cream and Marine saw the fighting, and got out of their seats despite Tails and Blaze's protests. "Right, let's get this settled, mate!" Marine said, raising her fists. Cream sent Cheese straight ahead to smack the raccoon in the face! "Oww!! No fair! Blaze, innit a foul, doing that??" she shouted. "Don't drag me into this..." Blaze sighed. Gradually, everyone was getting involved in the brawl, though, to the point that Amy was smacking Crash over the head with her hammer. "Gaaah!! Why are you doing this to me again??" he groaned. "You shoved me!! ...Right?" Amy stammered. Tails growled and ran in to try and stop the fighting, as did Espio and Vector. "Cream! What would your mom say!!" Vector shouted, only to get a Chao in the face! "Oooof!! You brat!!" he yelled. Tails snuck away from the girls and tried to help Knuckles, who was caught between Punchy and Guard. "We gotta do somethin'... Our bar's gonna be in a shambles!" Bill stammered. During the brawling, who should try to enter but Dr. Eggman. "Bartender, I'll have a--OOOFF!!" The doctor was swiftly knocked back out the door by a tossed chair, which undoubtedly angered him. "Those animals!! I ought to flatten this establishment to the ground!!" he growled. However, Bob was quick to emerge with a bottle of fine wine. "Complements of the house, sir. Don' blow us up, thank ya..." he said nervously. Eggman took a look at the label. "Hmmm... Fine, but if I ever find out who threw that..." he growled, turning to leave. Inside, Illusi growled loudly, raising his hands. "ENOUGH!!!" he shouted, summoning dozens of Wrongos to break up the fights and return peace to the bar!

Everyone sat down, glum expressions on their faces. The bar was a bit of a shambles. Vector and Gator both couldn't even get a seat since several of the chairs had been overturned and broken. "Now I'm stuck standing... Fine! I'll open my own bar! With a buffet! And a casino! In fact, forget the bar!" Gator said, storming out. Vector propped up one of the overturned chairs and sat shakily in it, sighing. "We really went too far..." he groaned. "Speak for yourselves. I've just been sitting here calmly." Blaze sighed. "Me too..." Katie said groggily. Guard called Bill over with a frown. "Grrr... I think I'll have something stronger now..." he groaned. Knuckles and Punchy were both grumbling grouchily in the corner while Rouge nursed an injured wing and Ridley helped a pukey Razor to the bathroom. Copter nursed a black eye while Gemini scolded him for getting involved, Espio and Crash each tried to convince the other that their team was more annoying, and Illusi just groaned into his glass of wine. Marine decided to sit with Amy while Tails tried to get Cream to calm down. "There was no reason to fight, Cream... I'm friends with lots of other girls... Like Amy and Blaze! Are you gonna get mad when I hang out with them now, too?" he said, not meaning it quite as angrily as it sounded. "Th-that's different! I see how you and Marine are together..." Cream protested, turning away from him with tears in her eyes. Tails frowned. "Man... This is making you crazy..." he muttered. "I know." Cream squeaked, holding Cheese tight as she sniffled. Tails looked around grimly. He had to get Cream to understand his feelings, but talking to her wasn't working. Just then, he noticed the Neon Tavern's karaoke stage, which wasn't quite as beat up as the rest of the place. "Hmm..." he muttered, slipping away to try a new approach.

In a short while, several of the patrons noticed Tails up on stage. He shook a little, clutching a microphone as they stared at him. "Don't be nervous, kid... And don't make my music sound bad..." said Bill, who was standing at the edge of his counter near the stage, ready with a keyboard instrument that he usually played during "happy hour." Tails cleared his throat and steeled his nerves. "...This is for you, Cream..." he whispered into the mike, catching her attention. Bill's keystrokes slowly led into the heartfelt song Tails softly sang to her.

"Good times and bad times,
I can count on being with you.
I thank you for staying so true.
My life will go on a long time,
Have to catch up when I see you,
And you are my reason I can make it through.
I will give my word that I will come in time to rescue.
My heart will always be with you.
I'm so glad I met you, being with me wherever,
We're made for each other forever.
I know life can be tough on you time and time again,
Laughter may be gone away.
I will wipe away my tears tomorrow.
Life must go on,
That's the reason that you travel away.
I will be there when you need me,
And I know you'll do the same.
I can see you, I can hear you in my heart.
You will be here if I need you,
I will never have to guess,
'cuz we are very special friends..."

As Tails sang with all his heart, the grouchier patrons' hearts softened, and Cream approached the stage with a sniffle, nodding when the lyrics rang particularly true. Blaze and Marine sat trying to hide their tears as well. "They are so adorable... I'm so sorry I made 'er jealous!" Marine sniffled. "...There's someone I need to find!" Blaze said abruptly, rushing out of the bar with this song fresh in her mind. Katie found Espio and tapped his shoulder. "I want you to know... we're friends, too..." she said, winking. Espio smiled, but then Vector yanked him away, heading for the door. "I need your help, Espio... I gotta write the perfect note to MY sweetheart! You'll tell me if I get too mushy, right?" he said, not really giving him a choice. Ridley helped the drunken Razor out of the bar, while Knuckles and Punchy shook hands. "Let's not fight... We both have the same goal." Knuckles said. "Speaking of, where's Rouge?" Punchy asked. Realizing their goal might be in jeopardy, the two echidnas hurried out of the bar in hopes of catching up to the thieving bat girl. Illusi finished his drink and left, humming the song Tails had been singing with a tear in his eye. Amy listened to the song and teared up as well. "...I gotta find Sonic... And apologize for trying to capture him before..." she sniffed, running on her way. Crash left quietly, adjusting his bowler before heading outside, snickering on the way as he noticed Copter and Gemini leaning against each other, listening to Tails's song with their tails entwined. "Grrrr... Get a room, you two!" teased Guard, making them snap out of it and leap out of their seats. "Umm, errr... We're just tired! L-later Gems!" Copter said, running off while blushing profusely. Gemini nodded. "Y-yeah... Later..." she replied, sighing and heading out a bit slower. As Tails finished his song, Cream flapped her ears and joined him onstage, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry... I promise I'll trust you more from now on!" she said, crying into his chest. Tails patted her head and nodded. "You don't owe me the apology, Cream..." he said. She nodded and took his hand. "Let's find her now, then..." Cream smiled, the couple heading out of the bar together. Guard grunted and left a wad of bills on the counter. "...For the damage. I'll report this as a bust, grrrr..." he said, exiting the bar last. Bill and Bob looked around and sighed. "Better clean up..." they said at once.

Later that evening, after any additional customers they'd gotten had left, Bill and Bob were cleaning up glasses and getting ready to close up shop. As Bill headed around the counter, the door opened. "We're closing, sorry..." he muttered, only to gasp loudly as he saw their customer. It was Chet, wearing a loose fitting red hoodie that was covering his face until he was inside; and when he removed the hood, Bob gasped as well. Without a word, he sat at the counter, and the two hedgehogs didn't stop him. Bill returned to the counter and grabbed a clean glass for him. "...It's important no one knows I was here..." Chet muttered, barely looking at them. Bob took the glass from Bill and started fixing a drink, while Bill patted the cheetah on the shoulder. "Everyone's welcome here for a discreet rest, pal... You most of all." he said with a smile. Indeed, everyone needed such a refuge from time to time, and after a day like this, Bill and Bob were quite satisfied with their choice of business...


Special - Sonic 5x5
Dimensional Clash

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.
Sonic the Hedgehog comic characters are (c) Archie comics
Other characters belong to their respective owners.


It was that time again for Sonic and Tails. The duo were chasing Dr. Eggman's Egg Mobile through the long corridors of his latest massive battleship, the Egg Carrier 25. Tails had converted the Tornado to car mode in order to be part of the chase, but he had to weave to avoid the spiky Orbinauts littering the path. Sonic simply leapt over them, occasionally able to slip past their spike balls and smash their vulnerable heads, all the while never missing a beat. "You can't catch me, Sonic! I loaded up my Egg Mobile with nitro fuel mixed with hyper-go-on energy!" Eggman taunted, throwing a lever to speed up. As he turned around, he yelped to find Sonic in front of him. "Do tell, doctor..." he said smugly. "Come back, you jerks! I don't have hyperspeed!!" Tails shouted from behind them. Eggman chuckled to himself. "Yes, you wouldn't want Tails to run into trouble, would you?" he said threateningly. Sonic rolled his eyes. "Wait here a sec!" he said, smacking the Egg Mobile with a homing attack before running back to check on Tails. Eggman spun around a bit, but quickly righted himself. "Hah! Knew you'd do that!" he smirked, taking off for the back of the ship. As Sonic returned pulling Tails by the arm, leaving the Tornado behind, they tore off after Eggman quickly. "I-I think I-I'd rather you l-left me..." Tails said woozily, having not been prepared to move at such speeds. They found Eggman in front of a large portal device, not unlike one Tails had built to reach Blaze's world earlier in the year, but this one was bigger and sported a red & black color scheme. He pressed a remote from his Egg Mobile, and the machine whirred to life. "You can trash my Egg Carrier if you want to, Sonic... but then you'd be left to wonder what I'm doing on the other end of this portal! Toodles!" he said, flying the Egg Mobile through the glowing gateway the machine was creating and vanishing. Sonic's eyes narrowed, and he jumped in after him without hesitation. "Sonic!! It could be a trap!!" Tails shouted as the portal vanished behind the hedgehog, leaving the fox alone on the Egg Carrier...

Sonic opened his eyes in unfamiliar surroundings. His head was sore, and he realized he must have fallen on it when he arrived. He was in a forested area with simple huts made of grass and twigs. The familiar face of Tails greeted him as his eyes opened. "He's awake! Sonic! Are you all right?" he asked, his voice sounding different somehow. "Huh? Yeah... Where are we, Tails?" Sonic muttered, rubbing his head and looking around. Tails gasped. "Ohhh, you're totally not alright. You don't know this is Knothole??" he said with concern. "Oh, doesn't he? Well, he at least remembers ME, riiiight?" came a totally unfamiliar voice. Sonic glanced toward the voice to see a brown female chipmunk wearing an open blue vest. "GEEZ!! Cover up!!" Sonic gasped, looking away. A coyote in a military uniform stepped next to the chipmunk. "Uh-huh... Zis Sonic is clearly an imposter, my princess! Listen; I am not to believing how much more obnoxious he sounds!" he stated with his French accent. "He hit his head, Antoine..." the princess retorted in annoyance. Sonic stood up impatiently. "Sorry, I don't have time to visit. Gotta find Eggman... C'mon, Tails!" he said, turning to leave. Tails glanced at the others and then at Sonic. "...What's an Eggman??" he asked, making Sonic stop short. Suddenly, all was made clear as another Sonic sped onto the scene, greatly resembling Classic Sonic. "Hey, Sal! What's... HUH??" he yelped upon seeing his green-eyed doppelganger. "WHO ARE YOU!?" both Sonics shouted.


Meanwhile, a mustachioed villain with a metallic hand and round body sat in a control room deep in the bowels of his city, Robotropolis. His name was Dr. Robotnik, and his minion, a diminutive fellow with a large nose named Snively, was rushing into the room. "Sir! Sir! A... A most unusual intruder!" he babbled in his nasal voice. Robotnik rotated his large seat to face Snively, petting his robotic chicken, Cluck, as he scowled at him. "Robotisize the intruder, you nitwit!" he ordered. "Is that any way to treat...yourself?" said Dr. Eggman as he walked into the room behind Snively. Robotnik's eyes narrowed. "You're not me. You come unarmed!" he said, firing a laser from his robotic hand at Eggman! However, Eggman pressed a button on his suit to create a protective force field. "Don't underestimate yourself, Robotnik." he smirked. The darker Robotnik tented his fingers and cracked a smile. "Color me intrigued. Leave us, Snively..." he said. Dr. Eggman watched the minion leave before speaking up. "I've been studying the multiverse recently. I have found that there are countless worlds, each with a Robotnik and...a Sonic." he explained quickly. Robotnik frowned, standing. "No, no, this won't do... Sonics across multiple dimensions, you say?? It... It's a nightmare!" he shouted. Eggman nodded. "Yes... but imagine if all of us eggheads put our brilliant minds to the task of defeating them?" he suggested. Robotnik walked over to him with a smirk. "Yes... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership..." he said deviously.


It didn't take too long for the situation to become clear to the Sonics and their companions at Knothole. (Except Antoine, who continued to insist that one of the Sonics had to be dangerous.) Thus, the pair of hedgehogs decided to head for Robotropolis to stop Eggman, hopefully before he could team up with his alternate self. "I'm coming, too!" Tails insisted. Knothole Sonic shook his head as he picked up a brown knapsack. "Bro, one Robotnik is too dangerous! We can't risk endangering you against two!" he said. Sally, the royal chipmunk, had her hands on her hips. "YOU shouldn't go so hastily, either, Sonic! Chances are the Robotniks are already teamed up! We need a plan!" she said sternly. The native Sonic rolled his eyes like he'd heard this a hundred times. "Two Sonics is all the plan we need!" the green-eyed Sonic said confidently. As the pair of them sped off, Sally sighed loudly. "Yeah... A disaster plan..." she groaned.

With Knothole Sonic leading the way, they quickly arrived at Robotropolis. "Whoa..." the other Sonic gasped upon seeing the polluted city, "Eggman in control...? This place is crazy!" he stammered. "...Yeah, I guess so." the other Sonic agreed, "We've just been Freedom Fighters for so long that I guess we're used to it." he shrugged. He then tried to do the secret Freedom Fighter handshake with his doppelganger, but he clumsily mucked it up. "Uhhh... Rock, Paper, Scissors?" he said sheepishly. Knothole Sonic sighed, "Maybe you're not me..." he muttered. The duo continued to Robotnik's headquarters, but they didn't get far inside before Snively barred their way with a squad of humanoid SwatBots. "Aha! Twice the hedgehogs means twice the stupidity!" Snively said smugly, pointing the robots in their direction. At that moment, Eggman and Robotnik stepped into the room behind Snively. Eggman was piloting his Egg Mobile, a new satellite-looking gizmo attached to the bottom. "Hello, Sonics! I've met my other self, too! He's been most helpful already... Together we made a more compact version of my dimensional-transporter!" he announced, pressing a button to create a new portal, which he quickly escaped through! "...We'll leave Snively to attend to you. He'll keep you company until our return!" Robotnik sneered, following Eggman to a new world! The green-eyed Sonic knew that the portal would close in seconds. "I have to follow them! Cover me!" he said, rushing for the portal! Knothole Sonic nodded. "Juice time!" he said, pulling a shimmering ring out of his knapsack. "Wait!! Hedgehogs!! Stop!!! Waaaaaugh!!" Snively wailed as Knothole Sonic turned into a speeding bolt of energy, knocking down the swatbots one by one while the other Sonic breezed past Snively and leapt through the portal! "I hate you!! I hate you boooooth!!" Snively whined.

Sonic emerged on a beach with a small hut nearby. He was apparently on an island. There was no sign of Eggman or Robotnik. "That portal must send us to different parts of the same dimension... I guess." Sonic reasoned, looking around. "What was that noise??" came a voice from the hut, speeding outside. It was another blue hedgehog, who stopped short to stare at Sonic. This hedgehog was similar to Sonic, but had messier quills, furry blue arms, white tape wrapped around his hands and feet, and a brown cloth tied around his neck. He looked at Sonic briefly before sighing in relief and glancing back into the hut. "It's okay, guys. It's only another me!" he said. Normal-Sonic shrugged and watched as alternate versions of Tails, Knuckles and Amy joined them outside. Most of them looked similar to normal, but Knuckles was huge, forcing the visiting Sonic to do a double take. "Hittin' the GYM, Knux?" he muttered. An orange badger in tatty clothes that she clearly made herself was among the group as well, and freaked out upon seeing the second Sonic. "A doppelganger!! The government's plan to replace us with well-groomed automatons has begun!!" she shouted, lifting up a boomerang defensively. Tails rolled his eyes, adjusting the goggles on his head. "Obviously, Sticks, this is another interdimensional, um... Yeah, doppelganger. Like when there were two Knuckles!" he stated. Knuckles looked at his hands glumly. "I still only have two Knuckles... Oh, wait, there's two more!" he said, glancing at his other hand. Normal-Sonic tapped his foot impatiently. "Yeah... I don't have time for this. I chased TWO Eggmen into this world, so unless you can help, I gotta go..." he sighed. Amy gasped. "Wait! Remember what happened when there were two Knuckles?? They started flickering!!" she said worriedly. Tails's eyes went wide. "Right! Having two of anyone can cause an anomaly... And you're saying there's THREE Eggmen in our world now??" he stammered. The native Sonic seemed to be ignoring all this, examining his doppelganger. "...Why do you shave your arms?" he asked. Normal-Sonic glared at him. "I do not! Why do you wear a bandana??" he retorted. "It's a neckerchief!!" the other Sonic snapped. "Whatever, it's clashing with our natural good looks!" Normal-Sonic complained. "I can't take it!!" Sticks shouted, "Lemme hog-tie him!!" she yelled, tackling the nearest Sonic. "Agh!! Sticks!! Wrong Sonic!" he groaned. "Enough fighting! We have to join forces and stop the Eggmen before our world flickers out... or something!" Amy said, pulling Sonic and Sticks up. Not far away, a canine stuck in a tree costume was watching them intently, holding up branches to add to his "disguise." As the group of heroes started to move, so too did the "tree..." 


Dr. Eggman and Dr. Robotnik had already met up with this universe's Dr. Eggman, a more athletically built version who wore a red, buttoned up coat. He sat on a couch in his island lair, a plate of snacks set out for his guests. "It's rare that I get such a dapper class of visitors to my lair. Pardon the mess; I hosted a meeting of fellow villains not too long ago. They eat like a pack of wolves, though I suppose that's because some of them were wolves." the native Eggman said. Robotnik had a very irritated expression. "We are not here for pleasantries... We have come to recruit you to our cause of eliminating Sonics across the multiverse!" he said, getting right to the point. The native Eggman munched on some nachos loudly before replying. "I thought there was something alternate-dimensiony about you. Who are you, astronauts?" he asked densely. "We're YOU, ya dimwit! Though I can't believe it..." the other Eggman groaned. The native Eggman jumped at this revelation. "...And I get made fun of for my weight here." he muttered.


Meanwhile, the Sonics, accompanied by Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Sticks, had arrived on the island dominated by Eggman's lair. They didn't get far before several animals in red robes stood in their way. "Haaaalt!" came the dweeby voice of a buck-toothed light blue mammal at the front of the pack. "...Dave?" Normal-Sonic muttered. This guy worked at a burger shop in his own world. "Ugh. What do you want, Lightning-Bolt Society?" Knuckles said with a groan. A large-toothed walrus stepped forward to answer this. "Our spy caught you roughin' up that Sonic doppelganger. We've come to, uh, 'liberate' him from ya and recruit him to our side!" he told them. Amy glanced at Sticks. "I want you to remember this the next time you think about prematurely tackling someone to the ground." she said in a scolding tone. "No promises." Sticks grumbled. There were several more guys in red robes, and it seemed like it could be a bit of a fight to get past them. "Uh, guys... It was all just a misunderstanding... And I don't wanna join you..." Normal-Sonic said awkwardly. Dave held up a fancy-looking laser-weapon and grinned. "You assume we're giving you a choice, hehehehe..." he chortled. However, when he went to fire, it turned out he was holding the weapon backward, and he scattered several of his allies instead. "Uhhh... Whoops..." he mumbled. "If Eggman's going to let his stuff be stolen so easily, he should at least leave instructions with it..." Tails sighed, bemused. The two Sonics exchanged glances and zoomed past the Lightning-Bolts together. "You guys got this, right? We'll get Eggman!" the native Sonic shouted. Moments later, they busted a hole through the wall to enter Eggman's lair. "Well, that was excessive... Or the wall was extraordinarily weak." Normal-Sonic shrugged. However, two Eggmen had already escaped through the portal device, and the native Eggman was about to follow. "I'll bill you for the wall later, you spiky vandal! See you around the multiverse!!" he said, hopping into the portal. "Come back here!!" both Sonics shouted, leaping into the portal after him together!

Upon landing in the next dimension, it appeared to Normal-Sonic that he was back in Robotropolis. However, something was off. "Bandana-Sonic" looked around before pointing to a skirmish playing out a distance away. "Looks like we found ourself... myself? Uh... You know, this world's Sonic!" he said. Normal-Sonic looked, but the first thing he saw was a pair of tall canine fellows. One had blue fur, dark red body armor and a purple cape, while the other was a hulking orange goon in green shorts. They appeared to be commanding some high-tech SwatBots. "Blast those hedgehogs!! We can't let them escape THIS time!" the blue-furred one shouted. "I think our chances are about the same as all the other times." the orange one muttered. "Quiet, Dingo, you dolt!" his companion snapped. Facing the robots was a trio of hedgehogs, each equipped with... musical instruments? One was clearly Sonic, though wearing an odd medallion. The others included a maroon hedgehog with pink hair and a green hedgehog with messy quills and a red vest. The visiting Sonics didn't wait for this to play out, and instead dashed over and trashed the SwatBots with some quick spin attacks to their metal heads! With the robots quickly dispatched, Dingo was quick to flee. "Sonic's so fast he's in three places at once!! I wanna quit this job, Sleet!!" he wailed. Sleet, the blue-furred canine, turned and fired a remote device at Dingo, morphing him into a motorcycle. "You're not going anywhere without me!" he growled, hopping on his transformed ally and riding off! The two Sonics stopped in front of the three other hedgehogs. "Whoa, wait, you're not in three places at once... 'Cuz these guys are way better looking than you, ha-ha!" the green hedgehog said teasingly. "Very funny, Manic. What's goin' on here?" the native Sonic said. "Alternate universes..." Normal-Sonic began, "Multiple Eggmen..." Bandana-Sonic continued. "Oh brother, I did not need more brothers..." the pink hedgehog groaned, "Slow down! What're Eggmen??" she snapped. The native Sonic chuckled. "Eggman, I get it! They mean Robotnik, Sonia!" he explained. Normal-Sonic tapped his foot as he glanced at the extra hedgehogs curiously. "Um... Who are these two?" he wondered. The native Sonic looked surprised. "What, are you serious?? They're my brother and sister! Next you're gonna tell me you guys aren't even princes..." he grumbled. "PRINCES??" the other two Sonics gasped. "I got a feelin' it's gonna be a loooong day..." Manic sighed, twirling a drumstick in his fingers.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the conclusion that they had to brave Robotnik's fortress in an effort to stop his interdimensional duplicates. The five hedgehogs made their way through the base, getting past the security with surprising ease until they reached the native Robotnik at his control room. "Egad! Three Sonics! Why this is even worse than the prophecy! I surrender!!" he said, throwing up his hands in a cheesy display of acting. "The other 'Buttniks have been here, haven't they?" Prince Sonic groaned. Robotnik grinned widely and vanished before their eyes, his voice playing over a speaker. "We're already well on our way offworld, you predictable hedgehogs! We would have left sooner, but we wanted to whip up a parting gift for the bunch of you!" he taunted. As hidden doors started to open in the room, Manic and Sonia looked a bit nervous. "I got a bad feelin' sibs..." Manic grunted. "Yeah. What nightmare could multiple 'Buttniks put together?" Sonia added. In marched several upgraded SwatBots, each given a personal touch by the Eggman who altered it, being spiked armor from Knothole-Robotnik, a jetpack and laser upgrade from Normal-Eggman, and giant claws provided by the other Eggman. The visiting Sonics looked around for an exit frantically. "We gotta catch those Eggheads before they get away!" Bandana-Sonic shouted. Prince Sonic nodded. "No prob! We'll handle these bots; Sonic Underground style!" he said as he and his siblings touched their medallions, making their instruments appear! As Prince Sonic strummed his guitar, lasers fired at the robots. Sonia's keyboard added additional laser cover, while Manic's drums knocked some of the bots off-balance. "Hmm... Maybe I should take up an instrument..." Normal-Sonic muttered, dashing off with Bandana-Sonic in tow. They searched the base frantically, barely locating the open portal as it was starting to close! "They got away again!!" Normal-Sonic growled. "Better stop 'em before they add a fifth Egghead to their group!" Bandana-Sonic stated. The pair leapt into the portal, wondering what strange reality awaited them next.

The next world seemed decidedly more surreal than the others. It was as though the two Sonics had stepped into a cartoon, and things certainly seemed toony as they spotted this world's Sonic being chased by a chicken robot and two that were more familiar to Normal-Sonic; Grounder and Coconuts. The trio of robots were firing, of all things, mouse traps from bazookas they were carrying, all while Tails frantically struggled nearby, having been tied up. "And I thought my Eggman was loony..." Bandana-Sonic muttered. Normal-Sonic nodded. "I guess we should... help?" they said, running over and getting everyone's attention quickly. "What!? Hey! I'm seein' double in a funhouse mirror!" Toon-Sonic gasped. The robots quickly became frantic and distraught as they saw the extra Sonics. "No way, no way!! Somehow we lured even MORE Sonics here! Dr. Robotnik ain't gonna like this!" Coconuts groaned. "Yeah, he's gonna be REAL ticked at YOU, monkey-breath!" the chicken robot snapped. "Huh? What did Coconuts have to do with this, Scratch?" Grounder wondered. "Shush, I ain't takin' the fall for this..." Scratch whispered. While they were distracted trying to find someone to blame, Toon Sonic untied Tails while the other Sonics spin-dashed right into the trio of robots, leaving them a heap of disassembled parts! "D'oh, this is YOUR fault!!" Scratch shouted, somehow still functional. "When I pull myself together, I'm telling Dr. Robotnik about how YOU TWO messed up!" Grounder retorted. Toon-Sonic turned to the other Sonics along with Toon-Tails at this point. "Gee, since when are there three of you, Sonic?" Tails wondered. "Dunno, but I like their style..." Toon-Sonic said. "Let's move this along!" Normal-Sonic sighed, "You're Robotnik's about to meet FOUR of himself! So let's go!!" he said hurriedly. Toon-Sonic glanced at Tails. "Yeah... Sounds dangerous. Guess you'd better head back to town and stay there, keed." he said. Toon-Tails frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, I get it, Sonic... No way I can help with five Robotniks..." he sighed. Toon-Sonic patted his head reassuringly and headed off with the other Sonics while Tails watched him dejectedly. However, he was suddenly startled by a portal opening up nearby! "What's that!?" he stammered. Normal-Tails suddenly poked his head through the portal. "Hey... How many Sonics have you seen today?" he asked.


At a hilltop fortress featuring a gaudy, giant statue of this world's Dr. Robotnik, the five evil doctors had already met and were starting to discuss their plans. "I can't imagine what a thrill it must be for you to meet me!" Toon-Robotnik said to his visitors as he sat upon a surprisingly lavish throne, set up mainly for show, as the rest of his fortress was largely a dump. This Robotnik had a more clown-like appearance to him, with a big red nose budging from his lumpy, triangular head. Knothole-Robotnik seemed particularly disgusted with him. "You are the most disappointing version of myself yet... Your fortress is a joke and you carry yourself like a buffoon!" he growled. "Now, now, name-calling won't get us anywhere!" Normal-Eggman stated, stopping the two Robotniks before they could begin fighting, "We should focus on how we're going to capture a multiverse worth of Sonics!" he stated. The Robotnik from the Underground's reality scowled at him. "Capture? I've wasted my life trying to capture hedgehogs! With our forces combined, we should be able to destroy them!" he growled. The second Eggman frowned. "Wait, isn't destruction a tad extreme? All I want to do is build an evil theme park, after all. Conquering the world is just a ticket-sales scheme." he said, making all his dimensional duplicates give him perplexed glares. "I agree, though. I'd rather Sonic be alive to see my triumph. It'd be more satisfying." Normal-Eggman stated. "You're fools! But then, why else would you rename yourselves 'Eggman!?' I changed my name TO Robotnik, something far more menacing than I started as..." Knothole-Robotnik smirked. "Your name isn't Robotnik?? What is it?" Toon-Robotnik asked. "...Julian..." he groaned. Toon-Robotnik laughed at him a bit before composing himself. "W-well... If I may interject; It doesn't matter what we do with our OWN Sonics after we capture them! Together, the capture should be assured at the very least!" he grinned. Suddenly, an alarm blared in the fortress. "Augh!! The hedgehog!! He's here! Battle stations!!" Toon-Robotnik shouted, rushing off. "Go on and distract them... We'll put our heads together back here in the meantime..." Normal-Eggman chuckled.

"Scratch! Grounder! Coconuts!! Where are you idiots!?" Toon-Robotnik called. Toon-Sonic sped in with a garbage can holding the trio of robots' parts. "I'm gonna have to give ya a citation for leavin' litter lying around!" he said, attaching said "citation" to the garbage can before speeding back to rejoin the other Sonics. Robotnik growled in anger and produced a bazooka seemingly from nowhere. "I don't care how many of you there are! I'll blast you into as many pieces as my S.S.S.S.S. Squad!!" he shouted, firing wildly as the three Sonics sped into the room! After hearing several explosions, he looked out to check his work, and saw no sign of the hedgehogs. "Yes!! Ah ha ha ha ha!! I did it!!" he laughed, only to suddenly be swarmed by three blue streaks, carrying him to the center of the room and leaving him tied up on the floor, the ends of his moustache tied together as well. "Gaaaah!! I HATE that hedge-hog!!" he shouted. "What a goof! And I thought MY Eggman was a clown!" Bandana-Sonic chuckled, hi-fiving the other Sonics. Suddenly, the room went dark. "Huh? What's going on??" Normal-Sonic gasped. "A Darkinator!" Toon-Sonic exclaimed. "Surprise, hedgehogs..." came the unpleasant voice of Knothole-Robotnik. As the Sonics went to duck under the blanket of darkness to see what was happening, they found Eggman pointing a weapon at them. "Say cheese!" he said, firing! The Sonics got up to flee, but Bandana-Sonic was tracked by the fired beam and lifted into the air by it! "Hey!! Where's the gravity??" he yelped. The darkness started to be sucked back into the Darkinator, and Toon-Sonic suddenly found himself face-to-face with Underground-Robotnik. "Flee THIS!" he said, firing a double barreled weapon! First, Toon-Sonic slid on some ice on the ground, and then he was stuck in Mega-Muck from that Robotnik's world! Lastly, the Darkinator fired the darkness it sucked back as a beam, striking the remaining Sonic as he panicked over which of his counterparts to rescue! The evil scientists freed Toon-Robotnik and stood over their captives with sneers. "Combining our technologies seems to have been effective!" the second Eggman said. "And you'll be pleased to know that our minions have captured your other doppelgangers, as well!" Underground Robotnik smirked. Normal-Eggman activated the portal device quickly while the Robotniks grabbed their captives, who struggled defiantly. "We'll get out of this, Ro-butt-nik!!" Toon-Sonic growled. "Our names are ROBOTNIK!!" Knothole-Robotnik roared. A door burst open just as the Sonics were being carried into the portal by the Robotniks, giving a quartet of Tails's just enough time to see what had happened. "Oh, no... Sonic!!" Toon-Tails cried.


Shortly after that, the four Tails, joined by Sonia and Manic, arrived back in Normal-Tails's home reality, the place his own portal-hopping invention was able to track the Robotniks to. The group walked through Central City heading for his workshop, but not without drawing attention to themselves. Col. Gunner walked out of a coffee shop and promptly did a spit take as he saw the quartet of foxes. "Th-they're multiplying!! Or...n-no... What did they put in this coffee!?" he shouted, storming back into the shop! Amy and Cream were walking the streets, too, and while Amy stared in disbelief, Cream hid behind her shyly. "Oh, my gosh! Why are there so many of Tails??" she whimpered. Amy blushed as she thought of the possibilities. "C-could there be a gang of Sonics around, too?" she wondered. Toon-Tails and Knothole-Tails didn't care for all this attention. "People are staring..." Toon-Tails shivered. "Should we have snuck into town or something?" Knothole-Tails added. "Nah, it's cool...I think." Normal-Tails said. They passed Copter, Punchy and Rainbow as they continued on, and Copter flipped out. "MORE clones of Tails??? Wasn't I enough?! BUCKY!!!!" he yelled, frightening the visiting foxes. "And who's that green guy? Razor's street-punk cousin?" Punchy wondered. Manic was trying to hide among the foxes, but hearing this snide remark, he stepped out. "Hey! I'll show you a punk!" he growled. "Hey! We don't have time for this! Let's keep moving!" said Sonia, grabbing Manic by the arm. Rainbow glanced from Sonia to Amy down the street. "Pinky has a copy now, too??" she muttered. Normal-Tails groaned and kept leading them. "Should've went to the Mystic Ruins..." he grumbled. Arriving at the workshop, they found that odd man in the alligator suit, Gator, who was talking to a pair of copies of himself, which honestly didn't seem so odd at this point. "Oh, hey, Mr. Fox! You gotta talk to you today, too, huh? Don't you hate that?" Gator asked. Tails opened the door to his workshop and led everyone inside, ignoring him. "I told you, me! I came from the future!!" one of the Gators shouted, "No, he's lying! I did!!" the other argued. Upon gathering in the workshop, the Tails were greeted by a confused SPOT. "Error... Tails detected in too many locations!!" the robo-puppy's monitor read. The fourth Tails, who had been silent during the trip, now spoke up. "I think I have some ideas. Well, basically just inventions..." he said. Normal-Tails nodded. "I was hoping to hear that. Tell me what you got; I'm already forming a plan!" he smirked.


The sidekicks took two of Normal-Tails's Tornado planes to reach the place where he'd left the Egg Carrier, floating in the ocean much like the first Egg Carrier once did. This was the place where the Sonics were being held, as the new robot activity picked up by Tails's radar suggested. The group split up into teams, the two main teams provided with laser-powered lockpicks that Goggles-Tails invented before leaving. This would allow them to sneak around the Egg Carrier with a minimum of detection. Knothole-Tails and Toon-Tails teamed up to search the ship for the Sonics, while Sonia & Manic teamed with Goggles-Tails to run interference. Normal-Tails returned to the air with the Tornado-1, keeping a bird's-eye view of the area and maintaining radio contact with the others. Knothole-Tails carefully held the laser-lockpick to the lock on a doorway, cautiously manipulating the barrel of the gun-shaped device like the inventive Tails had shown him. "You know what you're doing, right?" Toon-Tails asked. The door slid open, and the other Tails smiled. "No prob! ...Uh oh!" he yelped, seeing laser grid defenses ahead of them. "...Maybe there's a way to turn it off somewhere?" Toon-Tails wondered. They called the other group for assistance, but Sonia, Manic and Goggles-Tails had run into trouble. Robot guards patrolled everywhere down the route they were going. "If I can get to a computer, I might be able to turn off those laser grids..." Tails stated. "Ah, no sweat, I can totally scope out a computer!" Manic volunteered. Sonia rolled her eyes. "Even you're not that stealthy." she sighed, touching her medallion to make her keyboard appear. "I'll give you boys some cover!" she said. As she played a haunting melody on her keyboard, a pinkish fog covered the area, obscuring the vision of the robots. Tails looked a bit unnerved by it, but Manic grabbed his arm. "C'mon, let's move!" he said, starting the search quickly. Fortunately, finding a computer was a simple matter in Eggman's ship. "Okay... Cover me while I hack this..." Tails said. As some Egg Pawns stormed into the room, Manic touched his medallion to draw out his drums. "Hope you can concentrate with a little noise..." he chuckled. Outside, Normal-Tails tried calling the other groups. "How's it going down there?" he asked. All he could hear, however, was the loud banging of Manic's drums in his ears. "Yow!! ...Sorry I asked..." he yelped.

The five Sonics were stuck in a reinforced cage together. The Robotniks' combined knowledge had constructed a cell they couldn't escape from. So, they spent the time determining how to tell each other apart. "Why don't we call you 'Tall Sonic?'" Prince Sonic joked, pointing to Normal-Sonic. "I'm gonna call you 'Bling Sonic.'" Bandana-Sonic teased him back. "Do it and they'll be calling you BOOM Sonic!!" Prince Sonic retorted. "I'm fine with Knothole-Sonic, thanks..." the fourth Sonic chimed in. Toon-Sonic was looking outside the cage anxiously, not ready to give up on escape. "I expected Scratch and Grounder here to guard us by now..." he sighed, "Or at least someone equally dense." he added. Instead, the Robotniks and Eggmen were there, eager to taunt the hedgehogs. "Comfy, hedgehogs? Now all I need are your pesky siblings..." Underground-Robotnik grinned. "Let me through! I want to mock the brats! So, Sonic, I finally found the ultimate humiliation for you... Making you spend time with yourself! Ha ha ha ha ha!!" Toon-Robotnik cackled. "That's not how you gloat!" "Boom"-Eggman groaned, pushing the Robotniks aside, "This'll teach you for cutting in line at Meh Burger!" he shouted pitifully. While they were taunting the Sonics, Julian Robotnik was tinkering with the portal device, looking at various other realities they'd still not visited. "It still galls me to no end!! We could destroy these five, but there are still Sonics across the multiverse! They could yet find me...us, and thwart our plans as these rodents have!" he growled. Normal-Eggman looked at him and shrugged. "Well, we've captured enough. Only way to destroy all Sonics across the multiverse would be to find the Prime Sonic that anchors them to the multiverse... The source of their existence, if you will. I theorize that one Sonic came first...and it's none of these." he said. Julian's eyes widened. "That's it! We need to find this...Sonic Prime!" he stated. "A fool's errand." Toon-Robotnik stated, "The destruction of a Prime would likely destroy the very fabric of the entire multiverse!" he warned. "Hm... Amazingly, you have a point." Boom-Eggman stated. "What's THAT mean??" Toon-Robotnik snapped. Julian sighed as the other four Robotniks looked at him, obviously disapproving the idea of possibly destroying the multiverse. "...Just a thought. At least I can take comfort in ending my own Sonic..." he sneered, "Not to mention the wondrous marvel our collaboration has wrought..." he added, motioning to a mechanical object left in the shadows where the Sonics couldn't see it...

While Sonic's sidekicks were busy trying to rescue his five selves, Robotnik's sidekicks were gathered just outside the room containing their cell, talking among themselves. Snively, Scratch, Grounder, Sleet, Dingo, Orbot, Cubot and Char were all assembled, each seeming a bit uncomfortable together. "I'm amazed at how few of us are actually...robots." Orbot observed. "Yeah. Which dumb Eggman has a little fairy workin' with him?" Cubot snickered. Char growled. "Hey! For your information, we have our own Orbot & Cubot, but Dr. Eggman said one pair of bozos was enough!!" he snapped. Snively folded his arms in contempt of his so-called counterparts. "I'm obviously the only intelligent one here. But why is it there are no interdimensional copies of me? I'm Snively Robotnik, blast it!" he complained. "Hey, I think you called me stupid!" Sleet growled. "But not me? ...Okay then..." Dingo muttered. "Oh, you're all losers! I bet WE'VE actually captured Sonic WAY more times than any of YOU!" Scratch bragged. "We've also had Sonic escape more times than any of you!" Grounder added. "Not helping..." Scratch frowned. "Well, well!" came the voice of Manic as his group arrived on the scene, "Looks like an all-star lineup of 'Buttnik's rejects!" he snickered. Dingo's eyes lit up as they arrived. "Awww, Sonia found us here!" he sighed, making Sleet punch him. "We can finally catch them if you'll get your head out of the clouds!" he snarled. "Catch this!!" Goggles-Tails said, having converted his laser-lockpick into an actual laser weapon to fire at the sidekicks! Snively and Char bolted out of the way while the laser knocked Grounder's head off! "Ouch!! He's meaner than our Tails!!" he whined. "While you're going to pieces, I'll be taking the credit for catching these pests! Ha-ha haha!!" Scratch laughed, running ahead only to get blasted back by Sonia's laser-keyboard. "...Screwball." she sighed. This was all a diversion, however, and the other two Tails snuck past the minions during the distraction. Almost, that is, as Orbot and Snively turned and leapt at Toon-Tails! "Aaaah!! I'm caught!!" he yelped. Knothole-Tails turned and kicked at Snively to help out. "A Freedom Fighter never leaves a friend behind!" he cried. Orbot backed off nervously, allowing the foxes to move on. They found the Sonics' cage unguarded, and started to work on the lock. "Big guy! You came by yourself??" Knothole-Sonic stammered. "Use your eyes! My bro's with him!" Toon-Sonic grinned. "But you won't get away!!" said Toon-Robotnik, emerging from the shadows with most of the others. However, they quickly noticed one was missing. "...Where's Julian?" Normal-Eggman wondered. "It's no use... Sonic will escape! That pesky rodent ALWAYS escapes!!" Julian snarled from the shadows, grabbing the fruits of his collaboration with the other Robotniks and activating the portal device from the Egg Mobile! While the Robotniks turned to see what he was doing, the Tails freed the Sonics. "Where's he goin'?" Bandana-Sonic wondered. "To eliminate all you pesky rodents with one fell blow!! Farewell, hedgehogs!!" Julian roared, jumping into the portal! "Oh dear... He's after Sonic Prime!!" Boom-Eggman said worriedly.

There was no time to worry about Julian, though. The Sonics and the Robotniks still had the matter of settling things. Each Robotnik produced a weapon native to their respective worlds, but the Sonics didn't give them a chance to use them. A whirlwind of blue blurs stormed the room and surrounded the four Robotniks, leaving them dizzy and, in a moment, thrown into the same cell the Sonics were just inside! "Oooof!! Nincombots!! Get in here and HELP ME!!!" Toon-Robotnik shouted. The minions all scrambled into the room, followed by Sonia, Manic, Goggles-Tails and Normal-Tails, who had landed his plane to meet up with the group. "It's no use, Eggmen! You're outmatched now that we're united!" Normal-Tails said. "Yeah, maybe we should've brought the E-X series instead of just me..." Char said worriedly. Normal-Eggman got into a groveling position quickly. "Wait, please, Sonics! Don't lock us in here! You need to listen! The Robotnik that escaped is serious here! He plans to eliminate the very first Sonic to ever grace the multiverse! His existence is what anchors all these parallel worlds! Well, the Sonics in them, anyway. But destroying even a single person in that Prime reality could have disastrous consequences for the rest of the multiverse!" he warned. Sonia put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You expect us to believe any of that??" she said. Suddenly, the portal Robotnik escaped through started to flash, and objects around it began to change, becoming grimier and more metallic than they were before! "Why do I think he was telling the truth?" several of the Sonics said at once. The Robotniks all wailed loudly at that moment, and they, too, started to change! "No!! Julian�s influence is affecting us, first! W-we're being... r-robotisized!!! NOOOO!!" Underground-Robotnik shrieked as his body was rapidly converted to metal and wires! "S-sonic!! Save meeee!!" Boom-Robotnik wailed. In a moment, the four of them had become snarling robots, much to the horror of their minions. "Uncle Julian�s gone insane...er!" Snively gasped. "D-doctor Eggman!! Speak to us!!" Orbot cried, rushing to his master with a sobbing Cubot. Sleet and Dingo were oddly okay with this. "We're free!!" they cheered, hi-fiving each other. The Sonics looked at the portal intently, knowing what they had to do. "Tails?" Normal-Sonic said. "Yes?" they all replied. "Uh... Stay here and keep an eye on things..." he stated. "We've got a 'Buttnik to kick!" Prince Sonic added. "Why do I get the most psycho Robotnik in the multiverse?" Knothole-Sonic groaned. Without further delay, the five Sonics chased Julian through the portal...

Arriving in the Prime Dimension, the Sonics experienced slight discomfort as their bodies were converted into strange, pixellated forms. "Why do I feel so retro?" Toon-Sonic wondered. They found themselves in Green Hill Zone, but it was different from the one Normal-Sonic knew. Everything had an unusual look to it, as though the entire world were made up of tiny squares of light. Like a video game. They didn't have long to gawk before they encountered Robotnik Prime, a rotund man with a red shirt with two yellow stripes, and black pants. He was riding his Egg Mobile, swinging a large, checkered wrecking ball in their direction! "This feels familiar..." Normal-Sonic muttered, "Except he's not very talkative." Indeed, all Robotnik Prime was doing to show surprise at finding multiple Sonics was gesturing wildly. A sixth Sonic stepped past the others and looked up at Robotnik Prime. He looked like a pixel version of Classic Sonic, with more of an attitude in his expression. "That must be Sonic Prime!" Bandana-Sonic realized. Before the two primes could duke it out, however, a huge fist slapped the Egg Mobile aside, and Julian revealed his pixelled self! He was wearing a suit of body armor that the five Robotniks had built together, and likely would look more impressive had it not been converted to pixel art. It succeeded in sending Robotnik Prime flying, at any rate, and now he stared down the six hedgehogs with contempt. "So, you all followed me. Fine, then. The more, the merrier!! I'll savor the chance to crush every last one of you spiky blue rodents once and for all!!" he snarled. "Bring it, Ro-butt-nik!!" Knothole-Sonic shouted, rallying the others to charge him like the Robotniks before! However, Julian was ready, his armor equipped with speed-targeting that no Sonic could outmaneuver. "The fun begins..." he smirked, easily swatting aside Toon-Sonic first, then kicking Underground Sonic across the grassy field! He fired up a jetpack and lunged at Bandana-Sonic as he tried to pursue him, grabbing him and hurling him to the floor! Normal-Sonic tried a homing attack, but a boxing glove popped out of a hatch on his armor and knocked him away with perfect timing! Finally, as Knothole-Sonic tried to speed at him from behind, Julian did an impressive backflip and kicked him hard, sending him to the ground! "Satisfying... but all things must come to an end!" Julian sneered, approaching Sonic Prime. The hedgehog tried to jump up and strike Julian�s head, but he was instead grabbed in the suit's huge hands, and in a moment those hands closed over his throat! "Farewell!! All Sonic the Hedgehogs...will now...perish!!" Julian cackled.

The five other Sonics tried to get up, but as Julian was crushing Sonic Prime's throat, they all howled in pain at once, as though he were indeed hurting all of them at once through that single Sonic. The danger of the ending of Sonic Prime's life was manifesting in other ways, too. The grassy fields and palm trees of Green Hill Zone started to grow cold, the life in the area being replaced with metallic robotisization. This even extended to other realities, which the Tails and minions experienced firsthand. The Egg Carrier rapidly turned completely to metal, and those on board cried out in terror as their bodies were converted to cold metal. "S-s-sonic!! Save uuuus!!" cried Knothole-Tails as the metal covered his body, his fellow foxes already having been robotisized. Snively, Sleet, Dingo and Char were panicked as well as they succumbed to the robotisization, but the robots initially seemed fine. "Hah! You can't robotisize a robot!" Cubot laughed. Suddenly, several things around them started to vanish into nothingness, including Cubot's polygonal body. "Yaaaah!! You're disappearing!!" Grounder yelped. "I wanna go home!!" Scratch cried as they helplessly watched the world around them collapse!

The Prime dimension was slowly starting to vanish as well. However, the Sonics had not been robotisized. Perhaps they would simply vanish once Sonic Prime was dead. This was something they would never allow while they still breathed, of course, and Bandana-Sonic was first to crawl his way toward Julian in a desperate attempt to fight back. "Hey... Egghead!" he panted, earning a glare from Julian. Bandana-Sonic held up his wrist, where he was wearing a watch-like device. "Made ya look!" he chuckled, firing a whip-like energy beam from the wrist-device and coiling it around Julian�s arm, making him soften his grip on Sonic Prime as he struggled! "You pest! You think this will stop me!?" he growled. With this diversion, Prince Sonic touched his medallion to acquire his guitar, and strummed it to zap Julian�s face with beams, irritating him further. "I feel a song comin' on, 'Buttnik!" he said tauntingly. 

These diversions were enough to allow the other Sonics to start moving, and as a result, Knothole-Sonic quickly located some golden rings floating around the area. "Power rings? Here? Sweet!!" he said, grabbing a couple and using them to power up, then charge at Robotnik and knock him off balance, his grip on Sonic Prime loosening even further! With this opening, Toon-Sonic sped in and wrestled Sonic Prime free of Julian�s grip, speeding him away safely! "You take a breather, handsome. I'm up, over and everywhere!!" he said, leaving Sonic Prime to rest a good distance away before joining the other Sonics in speeding around Julian, keeping just out of his reach in order to aggravate him. "Hedgehogs... HEDGEHOGS!!! I hate hedgehogs!! I hate them so much!!" Robotnik roared, firing missiles from a launcher concealed in one of the arms of his armor, which the Sonics easily avoided. "You're too slooooow!! You're too slooooow!!" the Sonics taunted, enraging him further. "I can't stand you, Sonic!! I hate you!! Hate... hate... hate!!" he snarled, fuming as he tried to chase the arrogant hedgehogs. During this chaos, Normal-Sonic caught sight of a TV monitor conspicuously hidden atop a palm tree. It had a familiar sparkle displayed on its screen, and he quickly knew exactly what to do. He ran at the tree with incredible speed, and leapt up at the box! Meanwhile, Julian turned his attention to Sonic Prime. "Never mind. Prime is still weak. All I need to do is blast him before he recovers, and it's all over..." he sneered, aiming his arm missiles toward Sonic Prime. At that moment, everyone heard some catchy music playing as Normal-Sonic approached, his body trailing sparkles behind him! "Game over, Julian! I bet even your fancy armor can't stop Invincible Sonic!" he shouted, charging at him before he could fire a single shot! Julian shrieked as Sonic's mere touch burned through his armor, allowing the hedgehog to race around him and tear it off piece by metallic piece! "No... NOOOOOO!! I... I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!!!" Julian roared as he tumbled to the floor, the last of his armor shattering to pieces just in time for Sonic's invincibility to wear off!

The effects of Sonic Prime's near-death were rapidly wearing off as he recovered, the world reappearing and derobotisizing back to the way it was before. A portal had emerged nearby, likely reopened by Tails back in Normal-Sonic's world now that things were back to normal. Julian stood up and snarled. "This isn't over... Mark my words, rodents..." he started to say, but before he could finish, a checkered wrecking ball struck him in the back, catapulting him through the portal as he cried out in surprise! Robotnik Prime stuck his tongue out at Julian now that he was gone, and glanced around at the Sonics nervously before fleeing, quickly chased by Sonic Prime. "Good to see this place getting back to normal." Bandana-Sonic smiled. "Yeah... Let's get our worlds back to normal, too!" Toon-Sonic suggested. The others nodded, and they headed back to pick up their sidekicks and villains. Everyone had indeed returned to normal, with all of them derobotisized and Cubot restored to existence along with everyone and everything else that vanished. The sidekicks met their Sonics with relief, while the Robotniks looked on grouchily. "Well, uh... Come on, Char, this love-in has me missing my Orbot and Cubot. And Alpha. And Terra. And Firepaw. And Hoover..." Normal-Eggman said, slipping away nonchalantly at first before breaking out into a run. Normal-Tails activated his portal device and motioned to the other Robotniks. "We're sending you all back home. No more funny business until that's done, you hear me?" he warned. Underground Robotnik nodded. "I'm sick of these inferior versions of myself! I'll be glad to get home!" he said. "Hey! You can't talk about our master the way he talks about us!!" Scratch said angrily. Boom Eggman shrugged. "I'm comfy as the inferior Eggman, honestly. That extra power, it just seems to come with added stress. Made Julian crack." he said. The Sonics glanced at each other and sighed. "No one wants to trade 'Buttniks, then? Good, let's get this show on the road!" Prince Sonic chuckled.


Since Normal-Tails had invented the portal device, that reality's Sonic & Tails duo saw the other groups safely back to their respective homes, sharing a brief farewell with their interdimensional duplicates at each stop on the way. Soon, they were back in Station Square, and quite relieved to be home. "All that dimension-hopping was awful exhausting. I could really go for a good Chili Dog..." Sonic sighed, stretching his arms and yawning. Tails nodded. "I wouldn't mind visiting any of those guys again, but one at a time. Five at once is a bit much..." he stated. Suddenly, they were greeted by a young, brown-haired boy in a red shirt who seemed strangely happy to see them. "Hey, guys! I wasn't expecting you to meet me while I was on my way home from school like this!" he said cheerfully. Sonic and Tails stared at him in confusion, and the boy picked up on it quickly. "Uh... Guys? Don't tell me you forgot who I am? Chris Thorndyke? You're staying at my parents' house?" he said, chuckling awkwardly. Sonic and Tails's eyes went wide as they realized that the portal device had goofed on them. "Tails!! We're in the wrong universe!! Gaaaah!!" Sonic cried, panicking, "Get us home, quick, before we have ANOTHER Eggman to deal with!!"

There are many worlds in the multiverse. Some are similar, some are drastically different. In this multiverse, they all have one thing in common. One incredible force of good, a champion of freedom and enemy of oppression. No matter what evil arises across these dimensions, that darkness will always be challenged by the blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog!

The End!


Episode 9 - The Twin

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.


Copter yawned loudly as he lumbered into the control room of Darkegg Fortress. Dr. Eggman had kept him awake for days, laughing maniacally as he invented the interdimensional portal machine that had led to such a crisis just the day before. On the plus side, after being defeated, Eggman had fallen very silent, sleeping off his failures deep in the fortress. This meant the control room was free, and Copter thought he would watch TV over the monitors inside. Instead, he found Gemini using Eggman's computer. "Hey... You're looking busy...and rested." he grumbled, glancing at the monitor to see that she was busy typing something. "Sleep spell." she smirked, "I'm sending an email to a friend... Someone I met during my first year in...Station Square." she said hesitantly. Copter nodded drowsily. "Anyone I know? ...We're not getting ANOTHER roommate, are we?" he groaned. Gemini shook her head. "It's another fennec named Libra. She kept in touch with me all this time because she thinks I'm her long-lost sister... There's a good reason why that's preposterous and yet... We understand each other really well. It's weird... Anyway, she wants to meet up again now..." she explained. Copter nodded. "Gemini... Libra... Zodiac signs. I get it. Maybe you are related." he muttered, leaning against the chair she was sitting in with a drowsy yawn. Gemini looked thoughtful. "Maybe..." she muttered. "Maybe an ancestor?" she thought curiously. Copter started snoring, and she nudged him to get his attention again. "Huh? Wha?? I didn't take Hoover's screwdriver!" he babbled. Gemini frowned. "Pay attention, will you! Even though me and Libra seem to have a lot in common, you can only know so much from talking to someone over the internet. If I go to meet her, could you...could you come with me? Please?" she asked, apparently feeling too awkward to go alone. Copter nodded sleepily. "Sure, sure... Whatever you want... Just lemme nap in that chair, first..." he mumbled. Gemini finished her message quickly and sent it before vacating to let Copter rest. "...Thanks..." she whispered, heading off to get ready.


In the meantime, Sonic was out on a run in a frigid zone well out of any city limits. The snowy climate wasn't his ideal Summer vacation spot, but he was honestly quite tired of being hunted by folks hoping to win his speed from Gunner. While running along a high cliff overlooking a snow-capped woodland, he came across the last person he ever expected to find in this icy clime. Heather the phoenix, wearing a fluffy orange coat instead of her usual black one, was sitting on the ledge and gazing out over the frozen landscape. "Bit chilly for a firebird, isn't it?" Sonic asked. Heather sighed. "The pardon for the Experiments didn't extend to me... I found that out the hard way. So I guess I'm here for much the same reason you are." she said, glancing at the hedgehog as he sat down next to her. "Don't you have anyone to take you in? ...What about Copter and his pals?" he wondered. Heather shrugged. "They don't need my troubles... Especially now that GUN's finally off their tail." she stated. As they sat and looked out at the cold woods below them, a loud crunching of snow could be heard behind them! They got up quickly to find some of GUN's Hunter robots approaching them, accompanied by the blue-sunglasses wearing Agent 64 and the green-sunglasses wearing Agent 32! "We've got you cornered! Both of you are under arrest!!" Agent 32 snarled. "Yeah! So, uh... Freeze?" Agent 64 added. Sonic rolled his eyes. "Freeze? Really?" he sighed. With the assumption that Sonic and Heather wouldn't surrender, the robots quickly started shooting. Sonic was quicker, and leapt into a series of homing attacks that made quick work of the robots on his side. Meanwhile, Heather sidestepped the lasers fired at her and tossed some fireballs at the other group of robots, leaving the two agents on their own. "...This was your idea!" Agent 64 growled to Agent 32. Sonic snickered and sped off, with Heather jumping down the ledge and into the woods to escape. While the agents stood with awkward looks on their faces, their expressions quickly turned to panic as more loud snow crunching was heard behind them! They turned to find Sergeant Drol leading a huge robot to the ledge. "...You imbeciles were supposed to keep an eye on them until I got here! Where are the targets?!" he growled. Agent 32 pointed to Agent 64 frantically. "He made us do it! He wanted the credit for the capture!!" he shouted. "What?? Me?? I don't even want to capture Sonic at all!!" Agent 64 protested. Drol groaned in annoyance. "You can report your incompetence to Gunner... I doubt it will shock him as much as myself..." he said, turning to leave with a scowl.


Copter and Gemini soon arrived at Neon Tavern in Troblusk City, which was still missing a few chairs after the bar brawl a few weeks before. Bill chuckled as they walked in together. "Look, it's Mr. and Mrs. Not-A-Couple!" he teased. "Aw, shut up..." Copter growled, sitting across from Gemini at a table. Moments later, a fennec approached them. "Ah... Gemini!" she said cheerfully. Copter looked over to see someone who looked very much like Gemini, only with light blue fur in place of Gemini's white fur, gray fur in place of Gemini's light blue fur, and darker tufts of blue fur on the ends of her ears. She had yellow eyes, wore black jeans and a brighter pink sweater than Gemini's. Copter blinked a few times with his mouth agape. "You're twins!" he stammered. The new fennec, obviously Libra, chuckled. "See? Your friend thinks so, too!" she grinned. Gemini stood up and shook hands with Libra. "It's good to see you again. So, where should we go?" she asked. Libra looked around the bar, noticing the bartender hedgehogs watching them with amused grins. "Right, this place is um... Yeah. Why don't we go to my house?" Libra suggested, leading the other foxes to the door. "Aw, no, don't mind us! Really! ...Dang it's boring around here..." Bill sighed as they left. The three foxes chatted a bit as they walked, discussing for Copter's benefit how Gemini and Libra had met mostly. "Gemini was a mess when I found her. She was living off the streets for some reason... I wanted to let her move in with me, but she 'couldn't impose.'" Libra said, imitating Gemini a little. Gemini had an awkward look as they discussed it. "Well, I mean, you put an awful lot of stock in just a resemblance..." she sighed. Libra chuckled a little. "Maybe... So I gave her some money so she could at least get a hotel for a while." Libra finished. Copter glanced at Gemini knowingly. "You stretched that cash pretty well..." he said. "...It was more than I wanted to accept." Gemini told him. The trio passed what was left of Eggman's Eggtopia base as they walked. The neon sign was dark, and the paint was peeling from the walls. However, someone still watched them from the darkness of the open doorway, unbeknownst to them...

Libra's house was a block or so away from Eggtopia, a quaint and much better-kept building than most in Troblusk City. Libra led them to the living room, where the two near-identical fennecs sat down on the couch, each crossing their legs in an identical fashion. It weirded Copter out a little, but he sat on a chair across from them, smiling politely. "You have a lovely home, Libra. I actually could see living here..." Gemini said, looking around at the tidiness of their surroundings, a welcome change from Eggman's tower. "Yeah, but I get you... You never wanna impose!" Libra chuckled. Copter stared at them smugly. "Heh, imagine that..." he muttered. "I still wanna get a DNA test, though. My mother always said I had a twin sister somewhere..." Libra continued. Gemini chuckled softly. "I never did know my mother..." she sighed, looking a little sad. Copter nodded as he listened, then jumped. "Errr... Got a bathroom I can use?" he said suddenly. Libra pointed to a stairway across from the door, and Copter hurried up quickly. "...So, what about your father?" Gemini asked Libra.

Copter sighed with relief as he exited the bathroom, and glanced around. A door, likely leading to Libra's bedroom, was nearby. "Hmmm... I shouldn't. But what do I know about this girl?" he said to himself. As he stepped into the room, everything appeared normal enough, or at least what Copter figured was normal. Her bedroom was messier than the rest of the house, the bed wasn't made and dirty clothes were scattered about. She had video games hooked up across from the bed. "She's actually cool... Maybe I should move in with her." he chuckled, stepping to her closet and casually opening it. As he looked through her wardrobe, he stopped suddenly with a gasp. Tucked away at the far end of her closet was a familiar black garment, featuring a thirteen-pointed red star. A look of dismay came over Copter's face. "Poor Gemini... Her 'sis' is a member of the Covenant of Despair!" he thought.

"What are you doing!?" Copter jumped as he heard Libra's voice behind him. He grabbed the uniform without thinking and showed her what he'd found. "Explain." he grunted. She grabbed the uniform out of his hands and scowled at him. "You should explain why I wouldn't have you arrested!" she snapped, "I'm ex-Despair. I was with them for a total of one mission before I realized how crazy they were... Don't you dare mention this to Gemini!" she warned. Copter shrugged. "Why? If you're not with them anymore, it shouldn't be an issue." he said suspiciously. Suddenly, the house was rocked by an explosion, making them both jump! Copter started toward the door quickly. "Aha!! This was a trap! You drew us in so Despair could attack us!" he growled, rushing to find Gemini. "What?? And blow up MY HOUSE!?" Libra shouted in protest. Heading past the wrecked front door, they found Gemini standing in front of a large robot being piloted by Cubot. It was similar to the Egg Breaker, but more yellow in color and possessing a grenade launcher on one arm with a wrecking ball attached to the other arm. Gemini's wand was knocked away in the initial attack, and Libra found it at her feet as she stepped outside. "Okay... I'm sorry." Copter said. Cubot's eyes were glowing various colors, and he didn't seem quite right. "You can't fool me, Cubot! I know it's you! You're gonna pay for what you did to Cubot!!" the robot babbled, pointing from Gemini to Copter to Libra. "Well, someone's managing to sound less coherent than Alpha..." Copter muttered. Gemini glanced back at him impatiently. "If it's not too much trouble... HELP!! Before Libra's house becomes a smoking crater!!" she shouted. Copter nodded and started after Cubot, only to have to leap into the air to avoid the hurled wrecking ball! "Yeah, house is probably getting wrecked. Dang, I KNEW we were getting another room mate!!" Copter groaned. Libra looked at Gemini's wand curiously. "Maybe I can use this... Gemini did say she had powers, and I sure saw things with the covenant..." she muttered, thinking about what to do next.

Cubot fired the grenade launcher at Gemini, and without her wand, this meant she'd be in trouble, so Copter flew her way and grabbed her arm quickly, pulling her to safety! Meanwhile, Libra tried waving the wand a bit and pointing it at Cubot's mech. "Uhhh... Abra-ka-zappa!!" she said awkwardly. The wand did respond, but all it responded with were some useless magical sparks flying from the gemstone at the tip. "Uhh... That's pretty, but I was expecting more zapping." Libra stammered. Suddenly, she was struck by the flailing wrecking ball, falling to the floor and letting go of the wand, which went flying in the opposite direction! "Libra!!" Gemini cried, rushing to her wand while looking at her friend with concern. Libra looked up from the floor weakly. "I think I'll be fine... Go zap that thing, sis!" she panted. Gemini nodded, turning to join Copter in battling Cubot. However, Libra was in worse shape than she thought, and she dropped out of consciousness in a few seconds, barely noticing some footsteps heading her way as she shut her eyes. Copter and Gemini were too focused on Cubot to notice Libra's condition, however. "You fellas really need to hold still! You're TERRIBLE at this whole getting-smashed thing! Bad Cubots!!" Cubot said, flailing the giant robot's wrecking ball toward Gemini while firing grenades at Copter! Gemini pointed her wand at the ball and cast a spell. "Miniatina!" she cried, covering the ball in magical energy that caused it to shrink down until it bounced off Gemini's chest harmlessly, now the size of a gumball. Meanwhile, Copter blew the grenades back into the launcher with Chaos Whirlwind. "Hey... I expected them to explode in the barrel!!" he shouted. A few seconds later, a chain reaction occurred, starting in the grenade launcher and leading the entire robot to be blasted to pieces! "...Efficient... But I get more style points." Gemini smirked. "What is this, a dance-off?" Copter retorted. Cubot fell out of what was left of the robot's cockpit, ranting angrily, when his red-colored counterpart Orbot arrived on the scene. "I thought I'd find you at that explosion! Oh, my, look what you've done to the doctor's mech..." Orbot sighed, opening a hatch on Cubot's head and working on repairing any crossed wires. "Sorry for the trouble!" Orbot told Copter & Gemini, "He malfunctioned and escaped the tower. I guess he headed for an old base, saw you, and... I don't honestly know what his logic process was from there..." he admitted. "...Wait, did he follow us all the way from Darkegg Fortress??" Copter stammered, "I'm losin' my edge..." he groaned.

At this point, Copter and Gemini returned to check on Libra, but she was nowhere to be found. Copter checked inside her house quickly, but had no luck locating her. "She must've took off. Might be making new living arrangements after this mess..." he said. Gemini stared at him. "What do you mean? The damage isn't that bad!" she pointed out. Copter sighed. "No, but... I may have screwed things up... I found out she had a Covenant of Despair uniform in her closet. Maybe... she reeeeeally didn't want anyone to know about that." he said nervously. Gemini frowned. "Oh, no... Does she think I'd judge her harshly? She looks at me like her sister and all... And now she must think I'll hate her... Well, I'm sure she'll be back home once things have cooled down... Maybe then I'll show up and have a talk with her." she sighed, sounding a little disappointed. Copter nodded. "I'll stay behind next time... I think I've messed things up enough." he said, "...Your sister's cute, though." he added casually. Gemini elbowed him. "Not my sister!" she insisted. "Ow! She looks EXACTLY like you! In fact, I take it back. She's not cute!" Copter retorted teasingly, resulting in a wand whacking his head. Orbot and Cubot watched them leave. "It's times like these I'm glad I'm a robot, and not burdened by complex emotions." Orbot said. "Thanks for comin' for me, Orbot! Y-you're the best bro a bot ever had!! Waaaaah!!" Cubot said, hugging Orbot and sobbing.


Libra sat in a dark room, with only dim blue light illuminating the shadows. She still wasn't conscious. A voice in the shadows spoke out. "You have done well to bring the twin. If Leo refuses to return Gemini home, drastic measures must be taken." it said. A sea-green albatross stepped out of the shadows beside Libra, a pair of like-colored wings folded behind his back. "As you say, master... but won't this impact the timeline even further?" he asked. His shadowy master paused before answering. "If young Libra here is given proper instruction, Aquarius... then the benefits far outweigh the risks." the voice stated. Libra started to stir, and quickly spotted Aquarius beside her. "Wh-where am I? Who are you??" she gasped. It was the voice in the shadows who responded to her. "Welcome, Libra. We have chosen you. You'll help us to defend our world, won't you...?"


Episode 10 - Quadruple Trouble

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.
"Free" is (c) Jun Senoue(composer), Johnny Gioeli(writer) & Chris Madin(singer) (for once I found detailed info, so I'm giving full credit)


Col. Gunner was furious and frustrated. The most recent failure by GUN's own forces to catch Sonic was the last straw. Now, Gunner waited impatiently in his office for visitors who would solve the problem once and for all. Spy peered through the door after a while. "Sir... They're here... And a bit annoyed with all the security." he said. "Send them in, then... I'd hate for them to get cranky!" Gunner said sarcastically. Spy opened the door and led in four animals. One was a purple weasel wearing a brown Australian hat: Nack. One looked like Sonic with a red bandana and black boots: Spiny. There was also a large polar bear and a green duck: Bark and Bean respectively. "G'day, mate... Why the summons?" Nack asked. "And how stupid do you have to be to take 20 minutes figuring out that I'm not Sonic!?" Spiny growled. Bean giggled at his frustration, but Gunner glared at them, demanding silence. "You bounty hunters come highly recommended... I don't know if you watch the news, but I'm trying to capture Sonic! I will pay you handsomely for doing this for me... And the one who brings him in will also get his speed, if they want it." he stated. Nack nodded. "Just been waitin' for you to engage my services properly... Takin' down Sonic'll be sweet enough, but the payday will make it sweeter!" he smirked. "Do we get any cool GUN gear for this job?" Bean grinned playfully. Bark shrugged and grunted. He rarely spoke, but Bean understood him. "What?? No, YOU shut up!!" he snapped. The bounty hunters were soon on their way, and Gunner pressed a button on his desk to activate a call box. "Send in Guard..." he said. The gargoyle arrived promptly, saluting the colonel. "I trust you saw the freaks that just left my office? ...Follow them. They are on my payroll, but... I don't trust them..." Gunner stated. Guard rolled his eyes as he turned to leave. "Grrr... Surprise, surprise..." he grumbled. "And actually do as you're told this time! I don't need another repair bill like we got from that tavern!!" Gunner shouted angrily before Guard shut the door behind him. "...I miss wartime..." Gunner sighed.


Today, Tails and Knuckles were following Sonic from the air in the Tornado while he was out on a run through a calm, grassy zone. They weren't looking to catch him, just to keep him company and test some adjustments to the Tornado's engines at the same time. "She's keeping up with Sonic nicely... Maybe we should race him!" Tails grinned. Knuckles looked a bit nervous. "Uhhh... No thanks. I had lunch before coming aboard..." he groaned. None of them noticed a vehicle closing in on them from the side. It was Nack's blue hover bike, the Marvelous Queen, with Spiny in one sidecar and Bark and Bean squeezed into another. Bark grunted while Bean balanced on his head, aiming a bazooka. "Heheheh... Steady... Hang on... Got 'em in my sights... KABANG-BOOM-BLAM!!" Bean laughed, firing an explosive blast at the Tornado, which sent the plane spinning out of control! "Waaaaaugh!! What happened???" Tails cried, pulling at the controls and trying to steer the damaged plane! "We're smoking!! We're gonna crash!!" Knuckles yelled. Tails nodded and flipped a switch. "SPOT, emergency landing!" he said. A hatch opened under the plane, and the robo-puppy emerged, firing up thrusters in its paws to fly along under the Tornado. The hatch on SPOT's back opened, and a robotic arm extended, latching onto the bottom of the plane so SPOT could help steer it and ease their landing. While the plane was working its way to the ground, the Marvelous Queen sped towards them. "Sonic ought to be meeting us any moment... You all better be ready." Nack said. The Tornado was carried gently to the ground by SPOT, and Tails sighed with relief once they'd stopped. Knuckles was quick to jump out of the plane. "Goodbye, lunch... Ugh... I'll be over at those bushes, Tails..." he groaned, holding his stomach. Tails chuckled awkwardly and climbed down from the cockpit as well. "I'd better go see what went wrong..." he muttered, quickly noticing the smoking hole in the side of the plane. "...We were shot! Who...?" he muttered, gasping as a shadow was cast over him. "US, freaky-fox! Heeheehee!! Long time no see!" said Bean, still perched on Bark's head, much to the polar bear's annoyance.

Of course, Sonic heard the explosion, and was quick to stop running and look back to assess the situation. When he spotted the Marvelous Queen, he rushed over to give Nack a piece of his mind, finding Spiny there as well. "What are you supposed to be, the 'dynamic dweeb duo?'" Sonic said mockingly. Nack kept his pistol trained on Sonic, while Spiny glared at him with contempt. "I hate you so much, Sonic... You even out-outlaw me! So when GUN hired us to bring you in... I didn't even listen to what they were promising in return." the porcupine growled. Sonic clenched his fists and glared back at them. "Well, I got news... Shooting down Tails's plane won't help you catch me... It just makes me mad!" he said before charging straight at them! Nack quickly pulled up his bike so that Sonic passed under it, and piloted his way toward the wreck of the Tornado. "I beg to differ, speedy. Ya see, we already get that catchin' you is an idiot's game..." Nack smirked, landing the Marvelous Queen next to Bean and Bark, who had Tails tied up and held in Bark's powerful arms! "Hehehehe!! Hey, Mr. Needlemouse! Long time no see!" Bean giggled. Sonic gasped and tried to speed after them, but stopped as Bean pointed the bazooka at Tails, making Bark whimper in nervousness. "I KNOW it'd blow you up, too! I don't think Sonic cares, Bark!" Bean snickered. Sonic growled softly. "Let him go, you clowns!" he shouted. "Whatever you do, don't fire that bazooka!!" Tails stammered. Nack wore a toothy grin as he watched them squirm. "It's very simple, Sonic. Either you meet us at Central City near Radical Highway to turn yourself in, or we'll just have to see if GUN accepts the little fox boy instead..." he stated as Bean and Bark carried Tails into the Marvelous Queen's sidecar, a very cramped fit for the three of them. Spiny chuckled. "Of course, if GUN doesn't want him, I'm sure Bean can think of something to do with your pathetic friend..." he said darkly. As Sonic helplessly watched the bounty hunters fly off with Tails, Knuckles walked around the Tornado and glanced up where he was looking. "Hey, Sonic... What'd I miss?" he asked.


Meanwhile at Darkegg Fortress, Punchy and Rainbow were busy searching for the new TV remote. Copter had used the money he earned working at the burger shop to buy an actual TV, so they didn't have to use the monitors in Eggman's control room anymore. That new TV's remote had already gotten lost, so they ventured into Eggman's lab, wondering if one of the doctor's robots had confiscated it. They passed by Hoover, who was busy repairing some joint damage Cubot had sustained during his excursion to Troblusk City. "Ow! Careful, Nurse Ratchet!" Cubot complained. "This weren't in my job description... So shut yer yap or I'll take the arm off!" Hoover warned. Rainbow stopped to greet them. "Hey, Scooter. Cubert. You boys seen the remote?" she asked. "Which remote?? The Egg Carrier jacuzzi remote? The remote to the popcorn machine? The remote to the space shuttle's windshield wipers??" Cubot asked. "Rainbow, what'd I tell you about giving them attention?" Punchy grumbled, leading her further into the lab. Something was sparking inside, apparently something Dr. Eggman was working on. As they approached, Eggman hastily covered his project with a tarp and turned to them with a look of exasperation. "I-I was just building a... uh... An innocent coffee maker! Yes... Now what do you want?!" he said with annoyance. Punchy pointed at the odd shape under the tarp. "...That don't look like a coffee maker..." he said. Rainbow shrugged. "You seen the remote, Tubby?" she asked. Eggman groaned at being called that name yet again. "Alpha's probably playing with it. He's in Egg Maze..." the doctor sighed. Punchy frowned and headed for the exit to the lab. "Not the maze..." he whined. Rainbow looked around curiously as she left with Punchy. "...Have you noticed that all the mice that were in here seem to be gone, One?" she muttered. "Eggman probably set up traps... Let's go." he grumbled. Once they were gone, Eggman snickered and removed the tarp, revealing a metallic mouse inside a glass tube. "You won't call me Tubby anymore... Once I've perfected this... The robotisizor... Thanks for the idea, Julien!" he muttered with a sinister chuckle...


After some discussion, Sonic was on his way to Radical Highway, a police car following behind him. Razor was driving, with Knuckles and Amy in the back seat, and Ridley relaxing in the passenger seat. "Why does he get the front seat?? Why is he even here??" Amy complained. "I'm getting a crash course in policing from Razor... Might just become a cop." Ridley smirked. "Today, you're just observing. With Sonic and his posse joining me, I feel enough like I've joined some goofy rock band." Razor sighed. Knuckles scratched his head. "Rock band? I don't want you in our band. A cop makes us too Villagepeople." he said, making Amy groan. Razor stopped the car as Sonic stopped running. The Marvelous Queen was parked in front of a warehouse. Bean and Bark were standing guard outside. Sonic sped past the guards and into the building; Bean was distracted by some shiny litter and didn't notice, while Bark was barely awake. Razor, Knuckles and Amy slowly crept toward the sleeping guards until Sonic poked his head out the window. "Nack and Spine-puss aren't here! I'll be out with Tails in a minute!" he shouted, startling Bean and Bark into action! "Huh? HEY!! You sneaky-sneak!! I'm gonna blast ya for that!!" Bean shouted, producing a bomb out of nowhere! "Disarm that weapon and put it on the ground!" Razor warned, pointing his gun at the duck. Bark blocked the shot and came charging at the cop, startling him! "H-hey... Don't make me shoot!!" he yelped, backing away. However, Knuckles stepped in and started grappling with Bark. "Hey, tough guy! If bullets don't scare you, how about me??" he growled, shoving the polar bear backward! Bean was busy chucking bombs at the warehouse, when Amy stepped in front of him with her hammer. "Leave my Sonic alone!!" she shouted, smacking some of the bombs back at him with her hammer as though they were baseballs! Bean yelped, scrambling to avoid the explosives. "Arrrgh!! Wait, stop!! Can't we talk this over, Rosie Rascal??" he stammered. Amy snarled angrily. "I HATE that name!!" she yelled, charging at Bean with her hammer! By the time Sonic got outside with Tails, Bean and Bark were lying on the floor in a dazed heap. Suddenly, the Marvelous Queen started to move on its own, zipping over to Nack and Spiny as they arrived! They hopped in, and Nack pointed his gun at Sonic and Tails. "I bet Gunner will still reward us for yer carcass! Eat lead!!" he shouted, firing! Sonic grabbed Tails and sped him out of the way. "Sonic! What about the others??" Tails yelped. He nodded, and noticed a crowded mall entrance not too far away. "This way!!" he shouted, leading the group into the crowds! "We don't need the heat of killin' humans..." Spiny muttered. "I won't miss..." Nack grunted, driving after them.

Nack tried to aim at the fleeing group, but the crowd blocked his shots too much. "Rrrrr!! Spiny, move those idiots!" he grunted. Spiny smirked and raised his hand. "Chaos Spear!!" he shouted, firing multiple spears into the crowd and starting to knock people aside! "We've gotta get these people outta here!" Amy said with concern. Sonic was looking around the mall and spotted a music supply store. "Hmmm... Or maybe we need to draw MORE people here..." he mused. "Uh, are you okay, Sonic??" Tails wondered. "C'mon, let's see if we can form our own Sonic Underground!" Sonic said. Knuckles groaned. "Can that not be our band name?" he grumbled. Razor kept his focus on Nack. "Do what you're gonna do fast... I'll ground those guys!" he said, firing his gun up at the Marvelous Queen, taking a couple shots before apparently piercing the gas tank! "My baby!!" Nack yelped as it leaked fuel quickly, forcing him to the ground! "Whatever, let's push down anyone in our way and take a new hostage! Sonic can't run everyone to safety!" Spiny growled. As the weasel and porcupine climbed out of the hoverbike, a spotlight shone on the entrance to the music store, where Sonic was set up with a guitar, Amy with a keyboard, Knuckles with a drum set, and Tails playing bass. "Hello, Central City! Let's rock this joint!!" Sonic shouted over a microphone. "You can call us... Duditude!!" Knuckles announced with a smirk. "I wish we had time to put that to a vote..." Amy sighed. Nack and Spiny stopped to stare at them in confusion, but Nack snapped out of it quickly. "Whatever. Public execution, then. Gunner will know it was us!" he growled, heading toward the band. However, Duditude then started playing, and singing:

"I'm falling free in the wind, in the wind!
Free to be me in the wind, in the wind!

What would it feel like to be speed of light, 
And rule the night and day? 
Watch as it passes by, the masses try you
But they just can't keep up.
Into the free, into the me
Into the ever knowin'.
Felt so refrained,
Felt so constrained,
But now I'm breaking out and
I'm falling free in the wind, in the wind, 
Free to be me in the wind, in the wind!

I'm falling free in the wind, in the wind, 
Free to be me in the wind, in the wiiiiiind!"

As "Duditude" sang, more people gathered to listen, some even recording the performance on their phones. Nack and Spiny tried to push past the crowds, but the mall became so jam-packed that they could scarcely move! "They think these people can stop us!? Spiny, scatter 'em with a Spear Storm!!" Nack ordered. "Don't boss me! I might just whack you, too!" Spiny growled. Just then, a gun was held to Spiny's head, held by Razor. "You guys are under arrest!" he said. Nack smirked and pointed his gun at Razor. "We got ya outnumbered, chump!" he smirked. Suddenly, he heard someone drop down behind him, growling. "Grrrr... You weren't hired to threaten police officers..." said Guard, who had been watching from afar the entire time. Nack lifted his weapon and whimpered. "Well... You got us... But Bean & Bark'll spring us!" he smirked. "Not likely!" came yet another voice. Ridley squeezed through the crowd to meet them. "I got their accomplices cuffed and waiting back at the car! Uh... Hey, Guard..." he said awkwardly. Guard growled at him, but focused on restraining Nack. Meanwhile, Sonic and friends wrapped up their concert, exchanging hi-fives upon seeing that Nack and Spiny had been captured!


Nack, Spiny, Bean and Bark were each locked in nearby cells in the Hopebringer Center for the criminally insane. Col. Gunner was there to scowl at them as they examined their new living arrangements. "You're all incompetent! I should have known better than to rely on the likes of you... ANIMALS!!" he shouted. Bark growled softly, and Bean nodded. "Yeah, I wanna ask, too. When do they serve dinner in here?" he asked cheerfully. Gunner growled and turned away, unable to look at them anymore. "Get comfortable, you freaks... You won't be getting out as long as I have anything to say about it..." he sneered, walking away. "...Don't we get a phone call? Or a TRIAL??" Nack groaned. "Aw, shut up..." Spiny snapped, prompting the four of them to start growling and shouting amongst themselves, blaming each other for their predicament.


Sonic joined Tails, Knuckles and Amy in bringing the Tornado back to Tails's Central City workshop. He noticed during the trip that people weren't trying to chase him anymore. Resting in the workshop, Tails and Amy quickly discovered why with a quick search on the internet. "Sonic... people posted our performance online! Look!" Tails showed him. Amy gasped at the view totals. "We've gone viral!" she remarked. Sonic let out an impressed whistle. "I did not expect this... Hey, do you think this made people forget the bounty GUN put on my head?" he wondered. Knuckles scratched his head. "Huh?? Oh... Yeah, that... THAT was why Nack was after you! I thought he was still holding a grudge for the last time we beat him to the Chaos Emeralds..." he babbled. Tails chuckled. "I guess you're more or less free now, Sonic!" he smiled. Amy jumped at this news. "All right!! Now we can finally go on that date that we missed out on back at the Festival of Romance!!" she cheered, "C'mon, Sonic! ...Sonic??" Looking around, she saw that Sonic was long gone. "SONIC!!! WAIT FOR ME TO FINISH TALKING BEFORE YOU RUN OFF!!!" she shouted, to which Tails and Knuckles laughed a little. Sonic was free from persecution now, so he had gone out to make the most of it, running through the city streets at a slower speed than normal, taking the time to wave to the people he passed by. Finally, after months of hiding, he was free once again.


Episode 11 - Flaming 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.


Violet the Echidna returned to Station Square to find the once hidden underground ruins a ransacked mess, the result of looters unofficially sent by Col. Gunner months before. Worried and frantic, she searched the city for any sign of her sister, but Rainbow wasn't there. The only familiar face she did come across was Amy Rose, who was carrying a milkshake after a stop at the burger shop. "Hey... I know you!" she mumbled, stopping and looking at the clearly upset echidna with concern, "Are you okay?" she asked. Violet looked at her awkwardly. "What do you care? We're not exactly friends..." she pointed out. Amy nodded. "Fine, whatever..." she said, starting on her way, "If you're looking for the colorful echidna, though, she moved out of town months ago. I think she actually lived in those ruins under the city that GUN found while tracking the Covenant of Despair..." she added. Violet sighed heavily. "Of course... Despair... I should've seen this coming, I was there..." she said, turning to Amy, "Thank you. Now that I know Rainbow's safe, I can focus on my real problem... I was going to ask for her help, but I guess I'm on my own..." she stated. Amy sighed and turned back around. "Don't act like that. Just tell me your problem already!" she said bossily. Violet looked awkward again, but complied. "Well, it's about my friends... They're still trapped working for Despair. I want to help them escape." she explained. Amy chuckled softly. "You sure they don't WANT to be there?" she asked, making Violet scoff at her angrily. "Chill out. Don't worry. I'll help you!" Amy said, smiling, "...Maybe this could even get Sonic back to me! He's been touring the country since it became safe for him to be in public again... I'll call him right away! Hold my milkshake!" she said excitedly, thrusting the cup into Violet's hands before pulling out her phone. Violet looked a bit unsure about all this. "Maybe it would be better if I just... didn't bother you..." she mumbled. "Shh! I'm busy dialing!" Amy grunted, "I wish Tails would teach me how speed dial works..." Violet gulped in response. What was she getting herself into, teaming with Amy?

Sonic answered his cell phone, but didn't listen to Amy long before interrupting. "Sorry, Amy, call me back, would you? I'm kinda busy with something..." he told her, barely dodging a laser blast as he hung up! He was on a long bridge over the sea connecting Central City to another city, the bridge and roads leading between the cities being known as Route 101. The laser he'd dodged had come from Alpha, who was accompanied by E-5X Jolt the yellow Egg Pawn and E-6X Freeze the icy blue Gizoid. "So... Eggman's not giving up on GUN's bounty, or is this a more personal visit?" Sonic asked as they surrounded them. "It's both, you pesky porcu-mouse! I'll teach you to humiliate the boss of the Egg Pawns!" Jolt shouted, sparking wildly. Sonic chuckled in response. "I don't need to be taught that; I'm a natural!" he taunted. "Enough of this banter! I'll stop him cold..." Freeze said, firing a blast of ice in Sonic's direction while Jolt fired a bolt of electricity as well! Sonic zipped out of the way, dodging between cars that swerved to avoid the robots' elemental blasts. "Hey... You're in the wrong lane!!" Alpha shouted, chasing Sonic and shooting at him wildly! "And you're not wearing knee pads! Bad bicycle!!" the robot yelled manically. Sonic leapt onto a red truck in order to gain height. "'Scuse me, sir! Hey! Stop texting and watch the road!!" he shouted before returning his attention to the incoming robots. "Stop running from me!! I need to zap you!!" Jolt shouted. "Okay! You get one shot! Here I come!" Sonic smirked, leaping off the truck and launching into a series of homing attacks, knocking each robot into the side of the bridge before landing and speeding away! "If you guys wanna catch me, you'll have to get off the bridge!" he shouted, sticking his tongue out at the dazed robots. Char the Chao flew along the bridge from the other side and caught up to Alpha. "What?? I missed all the fun!? Waaaaugh! C'mon, Alpha! Get up, ya lazy blue trash can!" he yelled. Alpha sat up and groaned. "I have a boo-boo mommy..." he whined. "Shut up!!" Jolt shouted, tossing a bolt of lightning at Alpha, which only made him giggle. "You two play nice, or I'll have Freeze ice ya!" Char scolded them, "Now try again! ...I missed it!" 


With Sonic unavailable, Amy figured they'd need some alternate backup. They WERE going to visit the Covenant of Despair, after all. So, when Violet and Amy arrived in Troblusk City, they met Amy's second choice, Blaze the Cat. "I got your message... So, care to explain the problem in greater detail?" Blaze asked as they met her outside the train station. "Uh... It's not complicated. My friends are being forced to work for the Covenant of Despair." Violet stated. Blaze looked a bit unclear. "Covenant of Despair... I assume that's bad, just from the name..." she said. Amy nodded. "Yeah. You're lucky you missed the big war they waged on everybody last year." she told her. "Well, I guess I'll get a taste of it now... So, where do we go?" Blaze asked. Violet motioned for the others to follow. "This is why I was looking for Rainbow. I finally found where the covenant is set up now. Certainly a downgrade from the castle we were in last year..." she explained. As they walked, Blaze let what Violet said sink in. "We...? You were with them, too??" she said in surprise. Violet nodded. "It was when they threatened my sister... That's when I quit." she told Blaze. Amy frowned. "Yeah, you had that to snap you out of it... But what makes you think your friends are really looking to leave? I know I asked already, but... You got out. Why aren't they out without help?" she said with a hint of suspicion. "They're scared. Have you ever met Despair's leadership? They're not pleasant people. Look, you don't have to come..." Violet snapped. Blaze sighed. "Don't fight. It will be clear whether her friends are there by choice or not soon. If they are being kept against their will, I will persuade this 'covenant' to release them..." she said plainly. Violet glanced at her with surprise. "Thanks... Really. You don't even know me and you're willing to help..." she said. Soon the trio had arrived at their destination: a dark wooded area at the edge of the city, beyond which stood the decrepit building known as Hollow Manor.

As they approached Hollow Manor, Violet was slower in her steps than Amy and Blaze. "Careful... Despair isn't known for being welcoming..." she said. Amy chuckled. "You don't have to tell us! We've been through so many adventures, we're ready for anything!" she said. Before they could get too close to the creepy house, however, a pair of bladed weapons were swung at them, forcing Amy and Blaze to jump back quickly! Holding those weapons, a katana and a bladed nunchuck, were Daisy the pink skunk and Patch the multi-colored fox respectively. Before anyone could speak, Daisy came at Amy again, forcing her to parry the katana with her Piko Piko Hammer! "Hee hee!! You won't invade us so easily, lady invaders!!" Patch laughed, flailing his nunchucks at Blaze only to be kicked back by her heel. "I will not be ambushed, especially by a crazed fool!" she shouted. Violet soon leapt into action, warping in between the combatants with her dark magic and holding out her hands to halt them. "Stop!! Daisy and Patch!! I came to rescue you!" she shouted. Amy looked at the crazed expression on Patch's face before glancing back at Violet. "THESE are your friends??" she yelled. "We can't all be besties with Sonic the Hedgehog..." Violet grumbled. Daisy sighed. "It's good to see you, Vy, but you shouldn't have come..." she said. "Hee hee... Basker's even nuttier than I am... Even nuttier than our old boss, I bet! He'd hunt us down and EAT us if we left!" Patch babbled. Amy shrugged. "Please! He can't be worse than that Darkseeker!" she said. Daisy frowned. "He's not exaggerating too much. Basker took over after Eddie was arrested... He rules with fear." she shuddered. Violet nodded. "Well, that is his thing... I suppose I'll have to come back with a plan." she sighed. Blaze had been listening intently the whole time, and now started toward the manor again. "I'm not afraid of this 'Basker.' Take me to him!" she said. "Are you serious!?" Daisy gasped. "He'll listen to reason, I'm sure. After all, he's not hunting Violet as rabidly as you claim he'd hunt you." the feline stated. The others looked a bit nervous as they followed her.

The group entered the manor, which was still dusty and had cobwebs strewn across its ceiling, but some of the damage done by years of decay had actually been patched up recently by its new occupants. As they entered, with Blaze up front, a pair of glowing red eyes cut through the darkness ahead, glaring at them. "You are foolish to return here, Violet..." came the drowsy yet sinister voice of Basker. "We won't stay long..." Blaze stated, "Violet's companions are coming with us! And you're going to let them go without menacing them..." she said sternly. "How commanding... I have a different way of giving orders..." Basker replied, his eyes glowing brighter briefly. Then, a blast of flames shot out of the darkness, hitting Blaze and knocking her backward into Patch! "Ooof!! Hey, look! Birdies... C'mere, lemme stab ya, birdies..." Patch babbled, dazed. As Blaze got up, Anubis the jackal stepped out of the shadows, a crazed, panicked look in his eyes as his hands became covered in flames! The flames lit up the room, revealing the bluish hound, Basker, as well as Infin the weasel and a number of other nervous-looking uniformed animals. The girls gasped at the sight of them. "Basker... What have you done? What have you done to their minds!?" Violet gasped. "I've brought order to Despair!" Basker replied. "This is a freaky version of order..." Amy muttered. Anubis howled in a mix of fright and rage, and started sending jets of flames at the group, forcing them to back away! Blaze, however, shot her own flames back at Anubis. "I don't know what he's done to you, but I'll snap you out of it!" she grunted, powering her way towards Anubis as he tried to knock her back with his fire again. Meanwhile, Amy and Violet tried to sneak around them towards Basker, but Infin blocked their way, joined by a few minions. "If I wanna avoid windin' up like Anubis, I can't let you mugs pass!" he said, pointing his gun at their feet in warning. "Oh, you, huh... You're just a low-rent Nack." Amy muttered. Infin gritted his teeth and growled at her. "Shut it! He ain't even a proper weasel, from what I hear!" he shouted. All the while, Patch and Daisy edged past the conflicts towards the back of the room where the other agents were standing around Basker.

Blaze and Anubis were now exchanging fireballs and blazing fisticuffs, the jackal's fear-driven mind seeming to make him a fiercer opponent than he might be otherwise. Violet tried to warp past Infin, but he saw that coming and quickly started shooting at the area where she emerged, forcing her to fight back with blasts of dark energy. Amy, meanwhile, started smacking random agents with her hammer to get them out of the way. "I thought I was done fighting with Despair! Lemme at that Basker!!" she shouted. Blaze tried to pin Anubis down by tackling him to the floor, but he scarcely stopped thrashing under her. "Rrrr... Graaaaah!! Infidels...!! I will not be... entombed!!" he snarled, his mind clearly trapped in some form of illusion. Blaze hesitated, unsure how to free him from this spell, and this gave him a chance to toss her off him! "Ugh!! S-stop!! No one is looking to... entomb you!" she shouted, but her words were useless as Anubis continued to charge at her! Meanwhile, Amy and Violet managed to fight their way past Infin and his crew, only to be blocked by Daisy! "What are you doing, Daisy?? We're here to help you!" Violet shouted. Daisy sighed. "You can't... Please... Get yourselves out before Basker takes control of you, too!" she warned, raising her blade. Amy lifted her hammer to counter it. "He can try... And if he succeeds, then he'll have Sonic to contend with! There's no way he wins!" she smirked. Amidst all the struggles, there was Patch, watching with bored disinterest. "...Basker... You've been a... dull boss..." he whispered, turning to the hound with a wide grin. "What are you smiling about, Patch? Do I need to show you your fears to get you to obey me, too?" he growled, his eyes glowing brightly as his power tried to take hold of the fox. However, Patch just kept smiling. In fact, he smiled WIDER. "Hee...hee...heeee... Honey, I'm home!!" he cackled before lunging at Basker, taking him off guard! With Basker knocked for a loop, Anubis snapped out of his trance, but his rage didn't leave him. "Ugghh... My mind is my own... I must BURN this place before Basker's foulness corrupts me again!!" he roared, tossing flames around erratically at the highly flammable walls of the old manor!

With Hollow Manor rapidly becoming engulfed in flames, everyone realized they had to get out. "Get up or burn, ya lazy mugs!!" Infin yelled, leading the uniformed animals to a door at the back of the room. Daisy and Patch followed him, and seeing this, Violet looked a bit saddened, but quickly turned her attention to the panicked Amy who was surrounded by flames and running back and forth frantically, seeing no clear way out. "Hold still! I've got you!" Violet called out, warping over to Amy before warping them both outside the manor. Blaze burst out of the door a moment later, the flames scarcely having bothered her. The three girls rested a safe distance away from the manor, watching it burn down with crestfallen expressions. "...I'm sure your friends got out... Probably through a back way..." Amy said to try to comfort Violet. The echidna nodded. "I'm not even sure they really wanted my help... Maybe Despair's hold on them is just too strong... But I hate leaving them like this. They were my friends..." she said sadly. Blaze nodded. "I understand... I'm usually a whole world away from most of my friends..." she said. As the fire died down, leaving a burnt-out husk remaining of Hollow Manor, Violet turned to leave with a small smile. "Thanks for trying you two... I may not have gotten my old friends back, but at least I've made some new friends." she said to them. Amy nodded and waved as Violet left. "Yeah... She's a big softy after all..." she said, reaching for her cell phone, "Now, Sonic better talk to me THIS time, or else he's in for it!" she grumbled, dialing while Blaze started on her way as well. "Heh... Good luck with that, and see you later!" she sighed, hurrying off out of a desire not to be there if Amy did get hung up on again. "...SONIIIIIIIIC!!!!" Amy's agitated shouts a moment later seemed to indicate that she was right to hurry, "Blaze, Violet!! Come back!! I need someone to yell at!!!" 


Episode 12 - Game Guy

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.


An intruder alert having been sounded by the newly-reactivated BAS, Copter and Punchy hurried down to the entrance to Darkegg Fortress, where they found Talon the Griffin and Carrie the Mirage standing with their hands up. "We come in peace!" Talon yelped. "Can you turn off that alarm? It's giving me a migraine..." Carrie sighed. She was a strange, yellow creature with a blue streak going down the center of her head, as well as blue hair hanging behind her head as well. She wore a light green sleeveless top, burgundy pants and had a forked tail with a band of blue fur ringing near the tip of each end. Her companion, Talon, was a brown griffin. He had tan wings, a white crest of feathers on his head and a white tuft of feathers on his chest. He wore cyan gloves and yellow sneakers with red stripes. Copter and Punchy could scarcely recall meeting them before, and especially looked at Carrie as a stranger. "What are you and what do you want??" Copter asked as Rainbow and Gemini emerged from the elevator at the back of the room, having also heard the alert. "What do you mean? We just wanna get to know our big brothers!" Talon said, a sincere innocence to his voice. Punchy glanced from him to Carrie and groaned. "Yep... Clearly more of Bucky's... Hey, how'd you find us?? And more importantly, doesn't the fact we're hidden tell you we don't wanna be bothered??" he growled. "Don't be mean, One!" Rainbow snapped as she approached, "I'm so jealous of how much family you have!" she added. "It was our job to track things down." Carrie told them, "Finding you really wasn't a challenge." Copter nodded. "Good to know. In that case, track us down again... after we've moved to a more secure location." he grumbled. Gemini yanked Copter by the ear forcefully, glaring at him and Punchy. "Stop acting like jerks! What harm can spending a little time with your fellow experiments cause??!" she said scoldingly. Rainbow glared at them as well. "Yeah! You two behave!" she added. Copter and Punchy sighed in defeat, and Talon smiled. "Cool! I bet this'll be fun!" he said cheerfully. "Way to reason with those boys. I can tell we're going to get along just fine." Carrie said to Gemini and Rainbow, smirking.

Despite agreeing to "try" to get along with Carrie and Talon, Copter and Punchy really didn't put much effort into thinking of anything to actually do with them. When Gemini and Rainbow returned to check on them, Punchy was grouchily playing checkers with Talon while Copter was sleepily watching a movie with a bored-looking Carrie. "Seriously??!" Gemini shouted upon finding them like this, "Come on, give it some effort, guys!" she growled. "Maybe we better help them out?" Rainbow suggested. "Nah, it's ok. I'm actually enjoying myself..." Talon said calmly. "What do you suggest?" Carrie asked, desperate for something more stimulating than watching the boob tube. Everyone looked at Gemini, and she looked around indignantly as she realized it. "Me?? Oh, I can't believe all of you... Go into Station Square! Try Twinkle Park!" she shouted. "The Burger Shop doesn't pay well enough for that." Copter complained. Gemini groaned. "Then try the casino district! They just reopened Casinopolis recently right next to Glitter Casino!" she suggested. Punchy nodded. "Beats explaining a simple board game to Talon... and getting creamed..." he grumbled. "Great! I'll go, too, One!" Rainbow grinned. Suddenly, Dr. Eggman stepped into the room behind Rainbow and Gemini. "Casinopolis? That dive? Pardon my eavesdropping, but if you want REAL gaming excitement, it just so happens that I've prepared something right here in this tower!" he announced, smirking. Carrie and Talon sat up with a start. "You!! That nutty doctor!!" Talon blurted. Eggman pointed back at him, mimicking his reaction. "YOU!! That false psychic!! Oh yes, I have eyes everywhere!" he taunted. "C'mon, guys... Let's not fight... Eggman's been pretty well behaved for the last few months." Copter told them. "...Yes, and I graciously chose NOT to send battle robots after you when BAS alerted us to your presence." Eggman added, "So, about my little game... What do you say?" he asked. Talon shrugged. "Well, if it's lame, we could always try the Casino after." he said. Eggman chuckled as they all headed out of the room to see what the doc had cooked up. "Oh, believe me... This attraction is to DIE for..." he said with a sinister grin.

They were led to the Metal Heights section of Darkegg Fortress. As they entered and looked around, they could see the entire area had been remodeled. Flashing lights, giant bumpers, and Egg Flappers floating around the giant... pinball table? "Oh, no, Eggman. I had enough of being a pinball when I time-traveled to the Little Planet!" Copter growled. "You did what now?" Talon asked. "Long story." Copter sighed. Eggman chuckled, standing just outside the doorway. "Don't be such a sourpuss... It's not as though you have a choice, anyway!" he sneered, pulling out a remote and pressing a button that caused a springboard beneath their feet to launch Copter, Punchy, Talon, Carrie, Rainbow and Gemini into the giant pinball table! "Yaaaaah!! I don't wanna be a ball!!" Rainbow cried as she and the others went tumbling into the bumpers as well as each other. Eggman lifted up a controller so he could manipulate the paddles of the game, swatting each of them back up as they fell down. "Ho ho ho! This is more fun than I was expecting! By the way, you'd better hope I'm REALLY good at this... The pit below the paddles leads to my brand-spanking new Robotisizor, and will convert each 'ball' I lose into a mindless robot for my Eggman Empire!" he sneered. However, when he glanced back at the pinball table, he noticed that most of the "balls" were moving under their own power! Copter and Talon were managing to fly away from the bumpers and evade the robots, while Gemini was levitating with magic and Carrier hovered with her psychokinesis. "You'll be turning no one into robots today, doctor!" Carrie shouted. Eggman smirked anyway. "I'll smack you with your own friends!" he cackled as Punchy and Rainbow were slammed back up by the pinball paddles again! "Waaaaaugh!! What I wouldn't give for Knuckles's gliding skills about now!!" Punchy whined. "I just want a barfy-bag..." Rainbow groaned. "We gotta grab them before someone gets hurt!" Talon said as he watched them bounce off a bumper. Unfortunately, the Egg Flappers were not just there as pinball targets, and started to fly after them to make this more difficult!

While Talon flew around to distract the robots, Carrie looked around for something to grab with her psychic powers. Suddenly, Punchy came tumbling towards her! "Look ooooout!!" he wailed, only to be stopped suddenly in midair! "Huh?? Hey! What are you...??" Punchy stammered as Carrie held him with her powers, grinning at the robots with a smirk. "You'll thank me later." she said, tossing him straight at the robots so he could bounce between them like the pinball Eggman had turned him into, destroying several of them! Eggman growled softly. "Fine, then I won't give you more ammunition..." he pouted, ready to let Rainbow fall straight into the robotisizor! "Eeeek! I don't wanna be a robot!!" Rainbow yelped. Fortunately, Gemini wasn't far from her. "Abra-ka-warpra!!" The fennec quickly warped to Rainbow and grabbed her before casting her warp spell again, taking them both out of the pinball machine. "Grrrr... You guys are real poor sports! Well, I can cheat, too! Why don't you say hello to the robotisizor test subjects that came before you!" Eggman sneered, pressing a button on his controller. This opened some hatches on the side of the pinball machine, letting in several robots flying via jetpacks. Copter had grabbed Punchy and was struggling to keep them both airborn when he spotted these robots heading their way. They were shaped like various species of animals, and despite their bodies being turned to metal, a familiar symbol could be seen emblazoned on their chests. "Those stars... You turned a bunch of Despair members into robots!?" Punchy gasped. "Th-that's sick!" Talon gasped. Eggman chuckled softly. "On the contrary, I rescued them from their dismal existence and gave them new purpose... The same purpose I intend to give to you!" he said darkly. Copter panted heavily, his tails growing tired. "I... can't... stay airborn...!!" he gasped, starting to fall towards the robotisizor below! "W-wait!! Hold on!!" Carrie shouted in panic, wanting to help but finding her way blocked by flying robotisized soldiers! "Looks like I win our little game..." Eggman cackled.

Suddenly, one of the robots in front of Carrie twirled around, kicking the others aside! "Go! Help them!" it said, surprising her. However, she had no time to wonder about it, she had to hurry after Copter and Punchy! Talon flew over to the helpful robot and stared at him. "Huh... Your eyes are glowing yellow instead of red!" he gasped. The robot chuckled, and his jetpack vanished, replaced by wings! Eggman observed this and started to panic. "It's Kosmo?! How did he get mixed in with my robots??" he yelled as Kosmo worked to subdue the robotisized animals with Talon's help. "Those agents you kidnapped were squatting in MY old hideout! I had infiltrated them to find out what they were up to... From there, it wasn't much of a stretch to decide to infiltrate YOU and throw a wrench into your scheme!" Kosmo explained to the befuddled doctor. "I KNEW I miscounted how many robotisizations I'd done at one point!" he snarled as Kosmo shed his robotic form in favor of that of a purple-furred gargoyle. By now, Carrie had grabbed Copter and Punchy with her powers, and brought them back to the hallway where Eggman was standing. "We've got a bone to pick with you, doc!" Punchy growled. Talon and Kosmo flew in just behind them, too, carrying the robotisized animals with them. "Reverse this!!" Talon growled. "...I can't." Eggman huffed. He didn't have to, either. In a moment, they glowed brightly, and their bodies suddenly reverted to flesh and fur! "Huh??! Drat! The effect is only temporary!? What did I do wrong??" the doctor groaned. He then yelped as he felt something hard jammed against his back. "Good, that's all taken care of. Now you're leaving this tower, or I'll turn you into the cockroach you are!" Gemini growled. "And take your grouchy robots with you!" Rainbow added. Eggman looked around at the faces glaring at him, and nodded. "You've let this tower fall apart, anyway... Some houseguests you've been. I'll just build a new secret base... With better security so that no one STEALS it later on!" he growled, stomping off with a huff. The Despair agents looked frightened and confused, so Kosmo was quick to deal with them. "You almost died, so take this as a chance to rethink your lives!" he shouted. "Y-yes, sir!" they stammered.

Copter and Punchy kept their eyes on Eggman as he gathered his robots and started to load them onto the Egg Carrier 25, which rose up from under the sea when the doctor pressed a few buttons on his Egg Mobile. "...If you had this ship ready, why were you even still hanging around here?" Copter grumbled. "Do you know how much fuel an Egg Carrier uses? I'm not made of money!" Eggman snapped. Char and Alpha stopped to say goodbye to Rainbow on their way onto the ship, while Orbot and Cubot were busy trying to herd Slash and Sting aboard the vessel. "We don't wanna fly! We get airsick!!" Sting protested. "Yeah? Well, I get seasick! And I outrank you, so we're flyin'!" Cubot shouted. "It's a sad state when Cubot outranks people solely based on their failure rate..." Orbot commented. Hoover walked up to Eggman and tugged at his jacket. "Errr, boss? Is the Hurricane aboard?" he asked. Eggman groaned. "I have no use for that hunk of junk. And since your primary function is to be its mechanic, I have no use for YOU!" he sneered, kicking him aside as he headed for the Egg Carrier with the rest of his robots. "Buh... but...!!" Hoover stammered. "Were you planning on running off with my plane?" Copter asked, glaring at him. Hoover looked back awkwardly, and then sighed. "...Nah... Guess not... Errr... Y'all still need me, don'tcha?" he whimpered. Copter chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure not learning any tech anytime soon." he smiled. Carrie, Kosmo and Talon joined everyone outside as the Egg Carrier was preparing for takeoff. "So, Carrie... How long you in town?" Kosmo asked. Carrie smirked at him. "I dunno. How long are YOU sticking around?" she replied. Gemini was the last to arrive as the Egg Carrier was taking off, having spent some time warping the derobotisized animals back to Station Square. "That was exhausting... Sorry I pushed you guys to hang out. Feels like it just led to disaster..." the fennec sighed. Talon shrugged. "Nah, it wasn't so bad... But I think I'll keep my distance from you guys for a while, if you don't mind. It's dangerous around you!" he said, chuckling softly. "Yeah, you might end up in a deadly game of checkers..." Punchy smirked. As the Egg Carrier soared off, those still on the island started to relax, but the doctor up on the ship wore a very serious expression. "This isn't the last of my Robotisizor... I'll get it working, and then... I'll make Sonic work for me! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"


Meanwhile, the Tornado flew high over the island where Death Row had been rebuilt into the Hopebringer Center for the criminally insane. Tails was piloting while Cream was holding onto SPOT, allowing the robo-puppy to scan the area for anything suspicious. "Thanks for coming along, Cream... This GUN business has had me nervous ever since Bucky came to my workshop and warned me about it..." Tails said. "It's no problem. I love taking a plane ride with you, even if it is to a spooky island!" she said cheerfully. SPOT beeped a bit and completed its scan. "Unidentified signals..." his robotic voice reported. Tails put the plane on auto pilot and turned to check SPOT's monitor. "Can you make any sense of it, Tails?" Cream wondered. Tails looked concerned. "Now I have more questions than answers... Suddenly I'm real nervous about that bounty they have on Sonic..." he said, turning back to his piloting. Cream shrugged. "Mr. Sonic's a hero again. No one's going to turn him in to GUN now anyway." she said, trying to reassure him. "That just means Sonic might let his guard down..." Tails reasoned, "I don't want GUN to catch Sonic... Not before I do, anyway...!" he said, determination in his eyes. To protect his best friend, Tails would do anything. Even if that meant capturing said friend himself! But... could he do it?


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!


Episode 14 - To Catch a Hedgehog

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.


Tails had resolved to catch Sonic before GUN. That hedgehog's love of running freely could get him caught by the wrong people eventually, and he couldn't let that happen. So, he gathered as many people to help him catch Sonic as possible. Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Copter, Punchy, Gemini, Rainbow, Shadow, Rouge, Katie, Mia, Razor, Silver and even Gator showed up to help come up with a plan to catch the fastest thing alive. They gathered outside Tails's Mystic Ruins workshop to plan. "Quite a turnout... Couldn't resist the challenge, Shadow?" Copter asked the black hedgehog. Shadow scoffed. "I owed Tails a favor... that's all!" he said. Knuckles glanced at Katie, Mia and Razor. "What are you all doing here?" he asked. "Copter asked us." Katie said. "Seems he already has a plan." Mia smirked. "Oooh!! Oooh!! I have a plan, too!!" Gator said excitedly, jumping up and down. Tails scratched his head. "Who invited him? Uh... Let's hear Copter, first..." he said awkwardly. "Awwww..." Gator whined. Copter nodded, standing next to Tails to address the crowd. "It's very simple... Catching Sonic on foot is dumb, so let's catch him from the air! And, uh... I guess Razor's cop car can help out a bit, too." he said. "Question!" Amy asked, "You're an idiot! How are you going to catch Sonic from the sky??" she asked grouchily. Copter crossed his arms. "We've got magic, psychics, and I'm too lazy to think of what else. All we need to do is get near him! Any other dumb questions?" he asked. "What if he outruns the planes?" Rouge asked. "...That's why this is plan A..." Copter sighed. "It's a sound plan." Tails said, "So let's split up by vehicle and find Sonic right away!" he suggested. Copter pulled out the Hurricane remote and discussed the plan with Hoover quickly. "Ohh... I reckon I'll send the plane over... But you better keep yer eyes on the road! You got co-pilots to watch fer Sonic!" he snapped. The Tornado and Mia's flying cab were both already nearby. Everyone headed mostly for the cab, with a couple joining Tails and Copter before they set out on their mission...

Sonic was running through some semi-busy city streets, when he heard a police siren. Razor's car was speeding his way, herding other vehicles out of the potential danger zone as he went. Katie and Gator were riding with him, which was certainly odd enough. Sonic shrugged it off, but then heard engines overhead. He glanced around, spotting the Tornado, the Hurricane and Mia's cab in flight mode, all heading towards him from different directions. "...I don't suppose we can all talk this over?" he said warily, not slowing down a bit. Copter was flying with Shadow in the passenger seat, while Tails was joined by Cream. "You should just come with us, Mr. Sonic! We only want to protect you!" Cream pleaded. Copter smirked and fired some warning shots in the hedgehog's direction. "No, keep running, Sonic! I want bragging rights for catching you!" he shouted. "What's that evil fox doing to my Sonic!?" Amy yelled from the back seat of the cab, where she was seated with Silver, Punchy and Rainbow. "My ears! Why am I sitting next to you?!" Punchy groaned. However, Sonic smirked as the vehicles approached him. "Want a challenge, do ya? I'll give it to ya, guys!" he chuckled, blasting ahead at even faster speed, leaving a sonic boom behind him that caused Razor to spin out as he held his ears! "Gaaaah!! We knew this'd happen!" he groaned. Tails and Copter broke away from the pack to give chase, hoping they could close the distance to him from the sky. "...Hey, could you Chaos Control us there, Shadow?" Copter asked his passenger. "I have nothing to prove... You're the one who shot down the notion of bringing him in peacefully. Now catch him... without cheating." he grunted. "...You are going to do something, though, right? I can't pilot AND nab him!" Copter pointed out. Sighing, Shadow hurled some Chaos Spears ahead to try and slow Sonic down. He jumped back and forth, making himself hard to hit as the Tornado closed in on him. "Sonic... We gotta catch you before GUN! It's the only way to keep you safe!" Tails shouted, trying to reason with him. "GUN're the only ones chasing me, finally! No way I'm going into hiding again! Uh... Pull up, Tails..." Sonic warned, turning sharply and heading into a tunnel. "AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Tails and Copter shouted as they pulled up hastily, barely missing the wall ahead! Copter looked back to see Shadow gone. "Oh, but you'll warp to save yourself!! Thanks a lot!!" he yelled, frustrated.

With that attempt failed, the group would need to come up with a new plan. In the meantime, Sonic took his run to a peaceful meadow. That peace was soon broken when Gator appeared in front of him with a puff of smoke, forcing Sonic to swerve around the teleporter. "Hold still!! I'm gonna catch you and get famous and important! THEN we'll see who doesn't write me into a whole year's worth of stories!" he shouted, teleporting in front of Sonic again. And then again. As Sonic tried to avoid him, he realized that he was reappearing too fast. "...How many of you are there!?" he stammered. "Give yourself uuuuup... Then my clones will go home!" Gator insisted. Sonic stopped running and backed away, only to jump as a pair of butterfly nets clashed over his head, only missing him because they got in each others' way! "Darn you, Red!! Gator had him perfectly distracted! I woulda caught him!!" yelled Punchy as Sonic stepped out of the way. "No way, you klutz! I had him!!" Knuckles grunted. "I got him!" shouted the Gators as they leapt at Sonic, trying to hold him down! However, Sonic just took off running with them on his back, eventually shaking them off and leaving them sprawled on the floor! "Dumb lightweight clones!!" Gator groaned dizzily. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Punchy just started throwing punches at each other, too aggravated with each other to care that Sonic had escaped. "I'm gonna knock some sense into your big empty head!!" Knuckles shouted. "Our heads are the same size, you sorry excuse for a guardian!!" he retorted. Rouge flapped down near them and scratched her head. "Hey... Who's watching that Master Emerald?" she wondered, "...Whatever... I'm bored. See ya." she sighed. The echidnas stopped short, then scrambled after her, shouting threats that Rouge simply laughed off.

Sonic soon found Amy, and decided to relax with her a bit while the others weren't around chasing him. They sat close together in the grass, looking up at the clouds in the sky. "...Is everyone ever gonna stop trying to catch me?" he wondered, sighing, "Or is this my life as long as GUN has it in for me?" he asked, glancing at the pink hedgehog next to him. Amy embraced him gently and patted his head. "Oh, Sonic... Tails and the others want to keep you away from GUN... They worry that you'll be overconfident one day, and GUN will capture you..." she said calmly. Sonic wriggled out of her grip, looking her in the eyes. "...And what? You guys lock me up? Am I safer in a cage? I don't want to be safe, if that's the case..." he said seriously. Amy nodded slowly. "I... I understand..." she sighed, but then pounced on him, trying to get him restrained! "But I want you safe!! So you'll stay where I tell you until you're not in any danger anymore!!" she shouted as Sonic struggled under her! "H-hey! Quit it! Don't make me do this, Amy!!" Sonic grunted, giving her a moment to change her mind. "Trust us, Sonic! It's for your own good!" she insisted. Then, Sonic groaned disappointedly and broke free with a spin dash, leaving Amy flat on her back against the grass! He stopped a distance away, looking back and waiting for her to sit up. "...I'm sorry, Amy... I won't just wait this out in confinement... Then, GUN wins." he said before speeding away. Amy sniffled as she watched him go. "...But...we'd be together... Wouldn't you... like that?" she said sadly. Cream, who had been watching nearby, came over and sat beside Amy. "You wouldn't really want to lock Sonic up in order to be with him, would you, Amy?" she asked innocently. Amy sniffled and rested her head on the rabbit's shoulder. "Y-you're right, Cream... So... Where were you five minutes ago." she grunted, shifting the blame. Cream rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here now. And I'll stay till you calm down." she offered. "...Thanks. You're a real friend..." Amy sighed, smiling a little.

The next strategy was the most straightforward yet. While Shadow chased Sonic, Silver, Gemini and Rainbow got into position, planning to catch him off guard. "I wonder if I can make my mysterious powers work..." Rainbow muttered, waving her hands around comically, having no idea even what powers Shadow had observed her use months before. Gemini shook her head. "Stop that. You look ridiculous. Just leave this to us..." she said. Sonic was heading their way, playfully evading Shadow's Chaos Spears. "You're gettin' slower, Shadow! Relying on Chaos Control too much?" he teased. Silver and Gemini waited behind some bushes, ready to surprise Sonic as he ran through. The hedgehog got closer and closer. "Hmm... Come to think of it, why aren't you using Chaos Control?" he wondered briefly. He got his answer when he was suddenly lifted into the air, completely unable to struggle or move! "It's no use, Sonic!! I've got you!" Silver shouted. However, a spell then passed under Sonic and struck Silver, raising him into the air! "Waaah!! I'm so sorry! I was aiming at Sonic!!" shouted Gemini as Sonic dropped to the ground, glancing at her with a frown. "Again?! You already tried that spell on me!" he pointed out. "And it would have worked if I had someplace to put you at the time!!" she retorted. "Uhhh... Gemini? C-could you put me down? Maybe...?" Silver groaned. Sonic chuckled, and then sidestepped as Shadow attempted to tackle him. "Almost, guys... Now cut it out. I'm startin' to get bored with all this..." he said, starting to run off, but stopping quickly as he found Rainbow in his path! "Give up, Speedy! Or beware my mysterious power!!" she cried, taking on a goofy karate stance. Sonic scratched his head. "Uhhh... Yeah... Nice pose, there... Bye!" he stammered, zipping around her and heading on his way! "...I don't believe you anymore about that power, Shade." Rainbow grunted at Shadow. As Silver was lowered back to the ground, he crossed his arms in frustration. "What ideas are left? Is there anything that hasn't already been tried?" he asked. They all shrugged, and decided to meet back with the others.

Ultimately, it fell to Tails to get things organized for one last plan. Giving everyone a job to do, he set out in the Tornado alone to track down Sonic once more. He found Sonic running along the streets of Central City, which Razor had used his pull with the police to get cleared where they'd need it. "Is everything ready?" Tails asked over a 2-way radio. "This is kind of overkill, isn't it?" Cream replied from the other end. "...Not for Sonic..." Tails sighed, lowering his plane to begin the chase! Hearing him approach, Sonic started to pick up speed, leaping over a barricade ahead of him that was placed to keep traffic out. "I can't believe you're in on this, too, Tails..." he sighed. Tails followed him with a look of seriousness. "It was my idea!" he replied. Sonic frowned. "After all that about me not trusting you back at Lost Hex... You don't trust me now?!" he said unhappily. "This is different! This has nothing to do with trust! It's about keeping your speed out of the wrong hands!!" Tails snapped. Sonic was through listening, and sped off ahead, where there were dozens of traps set by the others. He could see some of these traps, but he didn't swerve to avoid them. He sped close enough to set off each one, moving too quickly to be caught as nets were pulled up, manholes were pulled down, cages fell from the sky and stun guns were fired from an upstairs window! Sonic evaded all this and more, sticking out his tongue as he passed a frustrated Knuckles and Copter. "You JERK!! I hope GUN catches you and throws you in a deep hole!!" Copter shouted. "And don't go cryin' to me for help, either!!" Knuckles added. Soon, Sonic reached the edge of the city, where the group gathered with glum expressions as Sonic turned to gloat briefly, standing safely on the grassy plain just outside the city. "Can we all just admit that none of you can catch me now? I think I've thoroughly proven that now!" he taunted. "...You don't have to rub it in..." Silver sighed. Sonic waved to them with a smug smirk. "Well, I appreciate that you all wanted to 'help', anyway, but I think we all need time apa-aaaaaaart!!" Suddenly, the floor under him crumbled, and he yelped as he fell down a trap hole that was dug there! Tails quickly landed the Tornado beside the hole and peered inside. "Glad you appreciate it, Sonic... This was a team effort!" he smiled.

Sonic was brought to Tails's nearby workshop, where he railed against his speed-proof cage for a while before falling asleep. "I'm impressed that you can hold him..." Shadow sighed before leaving without another word. Most of the others left already by this time as well, but Amy sat near the cage, looking distressed. "I feel so terrible... This is making him so miserable..." she sighed. "It's temporary, I promise you." Tails told her, "I wouldn't do this planning to keep Sonic here forever..." he chuckled. Amy nodded. "That's good... And I'm glad he's safe, anyway... But maybe you should move him to the Mystic Ruins in the morning..." she yawned, "Too close to GUN here..." she pointed out. Tails nodded and watched her leave, heaving a heavy sigh once he was alone. "...We'd never make it to the Mystic Ruins..." he muttered, "There was always only one way for this to end..." He got up and reached for a nearby phone, dialing a number nervously. "...Hello? Is this the office of GUN? ...Put me through to Colonel Gunner... Tell him Sonic the Hedgehog has been captured..."


Episode 15 - The Fastest Thing Alive

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.


Tails stepped through the halls of the Hopebringer Center, moving Sonic's cage with the aid of a pushcart. Sonic looked at him with shock as the fox was delivering him to their enemy. "...Don't look at me like that..." Tails said. "I can't help it." Sonic managed to reply. Tails stopped the cart briefly and let out a sigh. "This is the only way to end Gunner's chasing you..." he said, yanking out a small gadget concealed between his tails, "I came prepared. I'll disable that power-stealing machine, you'll finish it off, and we'll escape! Easy peasy!" he explained with a smile before hiding the device again. Sonic smirked back. "You should have led with that, buddy. I'd have played along!" he said. "It had to look good, Sonic. We're trying to fool GUN, here!" he replied quietly as he resumed walking. They soon arrived at the lab, where Gunner and Dr. Nammad were waiting. "Finally! The, uh, culmination of my experiments!!" Nammad said with glee. Gunner sneered at Sonic and Tails, raising a hand to halt them. "...Search that fox!" he snarled. "Huh? I was searched at the door!" Tails stammered. Spy led some agents to Tails and grabbed him, quickly discovering his invention while he struggled! "S-stop!! That's mine!!" he cried. "Let him go!!" Sonic blurted, their ruse utterly shattered. "I'm not a fool!! Sonic, turned in by his own little stooge?! You think THAT little of me, freak!? Well, now you'll pay for it! You're next!!" he shouted, smirking triumphantly. Spy quickly maneuvered the cage in front of Bucky's power-draining invention, which had been modified with two pods, likely for sending the power directly into a new host. "You're deceptively heavy..." Spy mumbled as Gunner stepped to the restrained Tails, holding a gun to his head. "Step inside... Or watch your friend die!" he barked. Dr. Nammad checked on the other pod, smirking like a kid at Christmas. "Techno is secure and ready... We've never, uh, tried this on a robot before... I can't wait to see the, uh, results!" he said, stepping over to a nearby control panel. Sonic reluctantly stepped into the pod. "Techno Sonic, huh? ...Should've known..." he sighed. Gunner nodded. "I did promise your speed to whoever captures you... Well, from where I stand, I'M the one who has you captured! Ha ha ha!!" he cackled. Nammad threw a switch, and Sonic let out a shriek as the light from the machine enveloped his body, sending his power across tubes as blue and red smoke before reaching the other pod, lighting up the inside of it! Once the power was cut, Sonic dropped to the floor, panting. "Ugh... I don't feel right at all..." he grumbled. Suddenly, the other pod's door was blasted open, and the latest model of Techno Sonic stepped out! Gunner growled softly. "No one programmed you to wreck government property!" he snarled. The robot's eyes flickered and flashed, and then he let out a roar, startling Gunner into dropping Tails! "Th-that bot's going nuts from the power! I gotta get Sonic out of there!!" he stammered, heading for the machine! Techno Sonic started dashing wildly around the room, snarling as it tore through the power-stealing machine, causing it to explode!! Sonic tumbled back out into his cage, and watched from the floor as Techno Sonic sped off to rampage through the Hopebringer Center!

Gunner grasped Dr. Nammad by the collar while Tails helped Sonic out of the cage. "What happened, you quack!? Where is my Techno Sonic going!?" he shouted. "Uh...umm...errr..." was all Nammad could manage to say before the power suddenly went out. "Uhh... I-I'll get the circuit breaker..." Spy babbled, eager to get out of there. "That won't work!" Tails said urgently, "Obviously, Techno Sonic's taken out the power!" he stated. Gunner snarled angrily, while Dr. Nammad whimpered in his grip. "Uh, boss? This is very, uh... not good. Without the power, our supervillain cages are just...cages." he warned. "Well, at least we have Sonic!! ...Huh, what!?" Gunner stammered, spotting Tails flying Sonic out of the lab as quickly as he could! "CATCH THEM!! CATCH SOMETHING!!! And get the DAMN power back on!!!" they heard Gunner shriek as they fled.

When Tails got tired of carrying Sonic, the hedgehog tried to run, but he found his stride had become slower than his companion's. "I haven't felt this useless since Eggman switched my shoes...somehow." he muttered, "And with that machine wrecked... how can I get my speed back??" he whimpered. As they headed for the exit, they soon came across several GUN Agents facing off against escaped prisoners, including Eddie the Hyena, Spiny the Porcupine, Zeke the Dragon and the Zetis, Zim and Zazz! "RAWR!! No more poking and prodding us!! Time for MY experiment! Fire plus humans equals...?" Zeke shouted, blowing his flames at the nearby GUN agents! "What...?? Their powers are intact!?" Tails gasped. Zazz and Spiny both glanced past the Agents, spying Sonic in the hallway. "Well, well!! Look who's here!! I'm gonna REALLY have some fun on the way outta this dump!" Zazz shouted, while Spiny smirked fiendishly. "Could it be...? Were you caught? Oh, this is just delicious!" he chuckled. Zim shoved both of them aside. "Outta my way! I'm gonna smash up EVERYTHING in the name of Zavok!" he laughed. "Gah!! GUN Agents, fall back!!" one of the agents stammered, prompting all but one to flee. The remaining agent had purple hair, and as he lowered his sunglasses, he revealed glowing yellow eyes. "They're gone? Good... Get yourself out of here, Sonic!" said the agent before he transformed, taking the shape of Kosmo the Morph! "What!? What're you doing here!?" Sonic gasped. "Eeee hee hee!! Look! I found a traitor! I'll drag you back to Despair for punishment!!" Eddie cackled. Kosmo glanced back at Sonic briefly. "Gunner with a power-sucking machine. Only a matter of time before he would come for me. Now, go!!" he shouted, morphing into his dragon form to force back the villains with his flames! However, there were too many of them, one actually being a dragon! 

Tails had been busy messing with his Tornado remote during all this, and soon the plane came charging down the hall in its Cyclone walker form! "Sonic... I'm gonna stay and help Kosmo! You get in the Cyclone and get yourself out of here!" he said urgently. Sonic carefully climbed his way into the cockpit, but had no intention of leaving. "Why don't I just use this thing to help out? I can't just leave you here!" he stated. Tails looked as though he was considering it, but then a nearby wall exploded, revealing Bean the Duck on the other side, accompanied by Bark the Polar Bear and Nack the Weasel! "Heeheehee!! Looks like this is where the fun is!" Bean chuckled, while Bark simply grunted impatiently. Seeing this, Tails turned to Sonic with a look of seriousness, and held up the Tornado's remote. "This is all my fault... The least I can do is make sure you get out safely... Even if I have to sacrifice myself to do so!" he said, pressing some buttons that first caused a windshield to extend around the cockpit, sealing Sonic inside! The hedgehog banged his fist against it, panicking as the walker started to carry him away from his best friend. "Tails!! T-tails, don't!! Override this autopilot, now!! TAILS!!!" he shouted, looking back only to see Tails get surrounded by Nack and his allies before the Cyclone turned a corner and left him unable to see any more! "...I hope Kosmo can keep them both safe... Never thought I'd say that." Sonic sighed, sitting dejectedly in the seat of the Cyclone and waiting to see where it would take him.


The Tornado's path had been set by Tails before it left, and it took Sonic out of the building before transforming back into a plane and heading for the mainland, returning control to the hedgehog at the outskirts of Troblusk City. He could see from the distance that the city was partially in flames, and despite not having his speed, he headed closer to find out why. As it turned out, Techno Sonic had beaten him there, not satisfied with simply rampaging at the Hopebringer Center. The city wasn't defenseless, though. Copter, Shadow, Knuckles and Team Chaotix were present and trying to fend off the crazed robot. Knuckles charged at it, fists first, but those fists were caught in Techno Sonic's hands and he was thrown aside! "Gaaaah!! He's tougher than I remember!!" he yelped. Shadow and Copter approached the robot next. "Bah, we faced down a 'Super' version of this guy! We can take him!" Copter boasted. "...We? You didn't help." Shadow grunted. As Techno Sonic came at them, the pair launched their Chaos Whirlwind and Spear attacks, respectively, but Techno Sonic simply jumped aside and smacked them both down with homing attacks! "Hang in there, guys! We're surroundin' him!!" Vector announced, making Espio roll his eyes frustratedly. "Don't TELL the enemy what we're doing!!" he shouted. Before they could act, Techno Sonic sped around in a circle, faster than could be seen, and left Espio, Charmy and Vector sprawled on the street, groaning! "We need the real Sonic..." Charmy groaned. This was all Sonic needed to see, and while Techno Sonic was lifting Knuckles by the throat, planning on making sure none of his adversaries could recover, Sonic transformed the Tornado back into the Cyclone, landing it right beside the robot! "Put...him...down!!" he growled, firing lasers straight at the robot to show he was serious! Techno dropped Knuckles, but shrugged off the lasers, going into a spin dash and chasing after the Cyclone as Sonic fumbled with the controls, trying to move the walker in time! The robot smashed clear through the Cyclone, forcing Sonic to abandon it as quickly as he could before it exploded! "No... Now what do I do...?" Sonic gasped as his metallic doppelganger turned toward him with a cold stare.


By this point, the news media was arriving on the scene to cover the unfolding struggle. Among them was Katie the Coyote, who looked genuinely nervous as she reported what was happening for those watching at home. "Here in Troblusk City's business district, a powerful robot has appeared. It's difficult to believe, and harder to watch... but this robotic copy of Sonic seems to be overpowering not only the real Sonic, but a full collection of our nation's greatest heroes!" she said as the cameraman pointed the camera back at the unfolding battle. Amy happened to be watching at Cream's house, and ran up close to the TV in a panicked fashion, blocking Cream's view. "Wh-what's Sonic doing there!? Tails was supposed to have him safe!" she stammered, quaking in fear of what might happen. "Um... Do you see Tails there, Amy? I... can't see for myself with you standing there..." she murmured. Amy turned and shook her head, and Cream held onto Cheese tightly while she whimpered a little. "I hope he's all right... But why wouldn't he be there?" she squeaked. Meanwhile, at Darkegg Fortress, Punchy stood up after having seen enough of Katie's report. "I gotta get over there and help Copter out!" he growled. "You'll never make it in time, One..." Rainbow pointed out as she remained seated near him. Gemini walked into the Chao garden where they kept the TV, glancing over at the echidnas curiously. "What's Copter up to now?" she asked, looking at the TV as she approached and seeing Techno Sonic lift Copter up and hurl him into the window of a building! The worst part was that the window didn't break; Copter fell to the ground, looking quite battered. "Wha!? H-he's in trouble!?" she gasped, jarred by the sight. "Don't worry, Wanda. Speedy's there. It'll all be okay..." Rainbow said, hearing footsteps heading away as she spoke. They turned to find Gemini gone. "...Wanda?" Punchy called with a dumbfounded expression.


As Techno Sonic looked around the battered and beaten heroes as though deciding who to finish off first, the sky was suddenly darkened by something flying overhead. Copter grunted as he looked up, relief in his eyes. "S-shadow Arc!! Bucky's actually here to back us up!" he cried. Techno Sonic shrugged off the ship's arrival and turned to the news media, charging at Katie as though deciding to kill her first! "Eeeek!! Why is it always me?? Why not the lady from Channel 5??" she stammered, bracing herself. However, before Techno Sonic could strike, an orange streak sped by, taking Katie with it! She slowly opened her eyes to find herself being carried to safety in Chet's arms! "You... You ARE alive!!" she choked, tearing up. "Saw you from the ship. What are you doing so close to danger?? ...Never mind. No time to catch up..." he sighed. Techno Sonic was watching them, apparently surprised, and while it was distracted, Bucky the Rat came floating down from the ship above, swiftly zapping the robot with lightning and stopping it in its tracks! Sonic jogged as quickly as he could without his super speed to where Bucky was landing, staring at him in surprise. "You have your powers back, too?! You need to get MY speed back!" he panted, tired from what little running he'd been doing. Another shadow from above blotted out even more of the sun at this point, and the voice of Col. Gunner could be heard blaring over a GUN Warship's PA system. "Attention, civilians! That robot is military property! Stand aside and allow us to retrieve it... Or suffer the consequences if you get in our way!!" he warned as Beetle and Hunter robots swarmed out of the warship, grudgingly joined by Guard the Gargoyle. Vector helped his teammates to their feet and glared up at the warship. "This bot's too dangerous to let Gunner have!" he pointed out. Shadow and Knuckles both nodded. "Agreed..." Shadow said. "Hopefully Bucky can finish it off while we stall GUN!" Knuckles added, cracking his knuckles before running to take on the robots. Bucky turned to Sonic quickly. "That robot will recover fast. We need you, blue streak." he stated. Sonic nodded. "Yeah, but my speed is IN that thing!" he pointed out. The rat smirked back at him. "Your speed could never leave you, Sonic. We can move GeneX energy around, but the secret to that superior speed was, and is, inside of you. Like myself with my lightning, YOU can make your speed return... All you need is conviction... the conviction to be the hero you've always been!" he explained as Techno Sonic started to move again, "So, go, Sonic! Show us just who the fastest thing alive is!" Sonic looked over at Techno Sonic, then around at the pain and damage the robot had caused using his speed. "...You're right. There's only one Sonic. And that's me!" he said with determination!

Most of the heroes moved to battle GUN's robots, with Shadow facing off against Guard in particular. "Grr... Stand down, hedgehog... My orders are to retrieve Techno Sonic." the gargoyle said with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. Shadow hurled a Chaos Spear past his head, a warning shot. "I have about as much desire to fight you as you seem to have in carrying out those orders... so reconsider it." he grunted. Guard simply growled and lunged at Shadow with his scythe! "I cannot disobey!!" he snarled as Shadow sidestepped his attack. "Then I pity you... This will hurt." the hedgehog replied, ready for a fight.
While GUN was occupied, Sonic stepped toward Techno Sonic. "I don't know if there's a thought in that metal head of yours... but if there is, why not stop this random rampage and settle which one of us is the best Sonic?" he shouted, raising his fists and gritting his teeth. Techno Sonic had regained its composure, and glared at the real Sonic briefly, giving a cold nod of understanding. Then, before Sonic could do much to react, the robot sped to him and punched him hard in the gut, and proceeded to speed all around the helpless hedgehog, launching metal fists and feet at him from seemingly everywhere at once! Sonic raised his arms defensively, groaning in pain as he took this abuse. Soon, he fell to his knees, and Techno Sonic stood over him, glaring down darkly. "Get up, Sonic!!" came the voice of Bucky, watching but not interfering, "Show him what you're really made of, or die here!" That wasn't particularly encouraging, but quickly, more voices joined in. "Fight back, Sonic!" shouted Katie as she stood with Chet a good distance away. "Don't give up, Sonic!" came another voice as people watched from windows and sidewalks, and gradually these spectators started to cheer him on. "Go, Sonic! So-nic!! So-nic!!" Techno Sonic glanced around at all the cheering people, rage in its eyes, and Sonic used the distraction to get back up. "...My turn, Techno..." he grunted, backing up to get a running start at the robot. He started slow, but as confidence and determination filled his being, his feet found their quickness again, and soon he leapt into the air and struck Techno Sonic with a homing attack! The robot tumbled forward, and turned with a robotic snarl. "...I'm still faster than you!!" Techno growled, speaking for the first time. Sonic chuckled. "Oh? Let's race, then!"

Hedgehog and robot took off around the area at high speed, tearing through any remaining GUN robots as they went! Their speed seemed about equal, which made sense considering they both possessed sonic-speed. Techno Sonic growled in frustration, firing lasers in Sonic's direction to try to trip him up, but Sonic slid under them and kept running, closing the distance between them again quickly. "You're quick, buddy... but that speed comes with responsibility! I'm gonna have to take it back!" Sonic shouted, stopping on a dime to put Techno Sonic in front of him. Then, he started to spin in place at high speed, building up energy as he went! Techno Sonic turned and tried to catch Sonic before he could finish what he was doing. "...Light Speed... Attaaaaaack!!!" Sonic cried, zooming at Techno Sonic faster than anyone could ever recall seeing him go! His curled-up body smashed through Techno Sonic's chest once, then turned back and knocked its head clean off its shoulders! Techno Sonic's body exploded, and its head landed at a battered Guard's feet. The gargoyle picked it up and glanced at Shadow. "...My mission is concluded... Grrr... Good battle." he smirked, flying away. "...I've fought better..." Shadow said, glancing at Sonic with a smirk.

Troblusk City erupted in cheers as Sonic and his friends successfully repelled the robots. The fires that Techno Sonic had started were already being put out with the help of Ridley, now fully reformed by the local police force. The GUN Warship started to fly away once Guard was aboard, and Gunner growled as he held Techno Sonic's head in his hands. "I'll see all those freaks locked up for this... You can't just trash government property and get away with it!" he growled. "It WAS tearing up the city." Spy pointed out. "...Shut up..." Gunner groaned.
While Shadow and Knuckles headed off, satisfied that the threat was over, and Team Chaotix tried to get fifteen minutes of fame from the press, Copter rubbed his back as he stood at the sidelines. "And... I'm chopped liver again." he grumbled. Across the street, Gemini had arrived and just spotted him. "...He's okay!" she gasped with relief. Copter was about to walk away when a female voice called to him. "There you are!!" However, it wasn't Gemini. The fennec watched as Violet the echidna ran up to Copter, hugging him excitedly as she reached him! "I saw you on the news! I'm so glad you're all right!" she said. "Now, how could I not be, and let down my girl?" Copter replied with a smirk. Gemini backed away with a gasp, and clasped her chest as tears started to form in her eyes. "...I was too late, after all..." she whispered, turning to leave with a sniffle.
Though it was a moment to celebrate, Sonic couldn't look at the wrecked Cyclone without worrying. "...Tails... You sacrificed yourself so I could be here to stop that robot..." he sighed. As he thought about his friend, he swore he could almost hear his voice. "Soooonic!!" In fact, it sounded very real. Sonic turned and jumped as he saw Tails, flying over on the back of Kosmo's dragon form! "Now I've seen everything! Great to see ya, buddy!" Sonic shouted. Tails hopped down and ran to give Sonic a hi-five. "Ha ha! You did it, didn't you, Sonic?" he chuckled. Kosmo scoffed. "You had it easy. We were only able to get Eddie back behind bars, and that's 'cuz he got too cocky." he said. Bucky smirked at him. "I'm proud of you anyway, Kosmo." he said. Chet and Katie approached as well. "I gotta go back, Kate... I... I'm not the same as I was. I don't know if I ever will be." the cheetah sighed. Katie stroked his cheek and nodded. "I'll be waiting when you're ready to come home... my Chet..." she said, smiling. Bucky groaned and pointed up at Shadow Arcangel. "Let's go before GUN sends the warship back to chase us out of the town's airspace." he said. Chet sped off, not revealing exactly how he planned to get up there, and Bucky started to levitate his way up with his own powers. Kosmo took off as well, leaving just Sonic and Tails. "You're okay!! Soniiiiiiiic!!" Or so they thought, as Amy pushed past the paparazzi and sped after the blue hedgehog with single-minded purpose. Sonic backed away a step before turning to run. "Feet, don't fail me now!" he said, dashing off as Amy gave chase!

There was no stealing it and no duplicating it anymore; Sonic was now and forever, the fastest thing alive!

The End    ...    ...    ...    BZZ BVZZZ ZZZT!!!


Inside a hidden laboratory, Dr. Eggman turned off his TV with a sigh. "I should get the Metal Sonic concept patented... If I ever go legit." he mumbled, and then turned back to the project he was working on, which featured a hedgehog with a gray mustache trapped in a glass tube. "Thanks for waiting. I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to share your research with me, Dr... the Hedgehog." he said with a smirk, as he placed some papers on a nearby table. "We both know I'd never share anything willingly with you, Dr. Robotnik!!" the old hedgehog growled defiantly. Eggman let out a chuckle, approaching a control panel attached to the glass tube. "Not true, you'll do plenty for me quite willingly... Once our little experiment is finished!" he said, pressing some buttons to start up his machine. The hedgehog inside groaned as lights shot into his body, starting to transform him! "You won't get away with this, Robotnik! S-sonic will stop y-yooooou!!" he shouted before jolts of electricity struck him, and his body was rapidly transformed into metal! "Oh, but will Sonic dare to fight YOU, Chuck? My first true robotisizer success..." Eggman sneered before breaking out into a symphony of laughter! The robotisizer had been perfected, and Eggman would surely be making good use of it until the next time he and Sonic crossed paths...

The End?