GeneX Generations
Chapter 11 - Memories in Dreams
Stage - Dream Temple(Forest of Dreams) - GeneX- Tails the Fox

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.
Kyle the Otter belongs to beetifr @ DeviantArt

"I feel the pressure raining down
Like a hand on my heart that's stopping me to breathe.
You were never the one to let me down.
Now you ripped up my heart, I don't want to believe.
One foot after the other...
It will all become clear.
One day after another...
And sing it with me now!
I've gotta be so much more than this,
And I'm gonna try!
I'm cool in a twisted kind of bliss,
With saying good-bye.
'Cause I can't look back
No more turning back
Til I find my way back home, and I know
I've gotta be so much more than this
But what can I be if not me?" - Bentley Jones, So Much More, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing


The story thus far:
Copter, Dimentime & Gunner chased Mephiles into the Black Comet, only to be caught up in the battle between GUN and the Back Arms. Copter & Dimentime soon found Shadow, who Mephiles tried to manipulate, and succeeded in driving insane with rage! Furious at peoples' attempts to control him, Shadow set out to destroy all the GUN and alien forces on the comet, forcing Copter to unite with Gunner and Omega in order to try to bring Shadow under control. However, their efforts were thwarted by Mephiles, who turned Omega's own powers against him, having absorbed them through his shadow! Further enraged, Shadow went looking for the Chaos Emeralds. Looking to stop Shadow from escaping the comet to search for them, Copter & Dimentime found Zipp, whose helmet was able to track Shadow's unique energy signature. Omega played the message Gerald left for Shadow, telling him of his past and of the purpose of the Eclipse Cannon, which Omega had obtained after the Black Arms invasion and saved to his memory banks in the present time. The message, which contained a clip of Maria as well, triggered memories in Shadow and drove him to stand against Mephiles with the others. Mephiles took the form of Black Bull, an alien he'd encountered in the comet, and faced Copter, Dimentime, Omega, Zipp, Gunner, Guard and Shadow all at once. It was a difficult battle, but in the end, Shadow managed to defeat Mephiles, who vowed revenge as he escaped. Dimentime erased Shadow's memories of these events before the group left, saying that this was not the way Shadow was meant to learn the truth. Back at white space, Gunner, Omega, and Zipp went their separate ways, leaving Copter and Dimentime to go on their way. They were soon joined by Tails, who was bored due to his lack of usefulness traveling with Sonic recently and decided to go with them.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Copter, Dimentime and Tails soon arrived at an impressive looking crystal building. Copter squinted at it. "Is this Mephiles's house?" he wondered. Tails stared in surprise. "It's the Dream Temple!! I... wasn't sure if that place was real, or if I imagined it..." he gasped. Dimentime glanced at him. "Really... Fascinating. Well, lead the way." he said. Tails shook his head. "I'm not sure we should go in there..." he warned, "It's more like a nightmare..." Despite the warning, Dimentime pointed ahead with his staff. "Someone has been trapped in just about every place we've visited. We have to check it out." he reasoned. Tails and Copter both nodded. "Nightmares, here we come..." Copter muttered. "At least we're not alone." Tails smiled. Suddenly, a massive portal began to emerge above them. From it, the monster that brought them all to white space emerged, and began to dive towards them! Dimentime noticed it first and shoved Tails and Copter aside, striking the monster with his staff as it grabbed him! "D-dimentime!!" Copter shouted, scrambling back to his feet as he helplessly watched his cloaked doppelganger grapple with the massive, shadowy creature! As they soared ahead, the doors of the Dream Temple creaked open, and the monster flew inside, carrying Dimentime along with it! Tails and Copter quickly gave chase. "We've gotta help!" Tails shouted, "Ohh... I wish Sonic were here now..." he whimpered. Copter scoffed. "Typical, he's never around when ya need him!" he growled. Tails stopped and raised an eyebrow. "How can you say that?" he said. Copter groaned. "He never helps ME!" he pointed out. Tails sighed. "I'm sorry... Let's just hurry inside..." he said. However, they found the doorway blocked as Espio the Chameleon suddenly appeared out of nowhere! "Be warned, you two... I have checked out this temple in my search for my team. If you are heading inside, you should be cautious." he said. Copter gasped and backed away. "Don't sneak up on people!!" he snapped. Espio frowned. "Hmm... I am trying to help. I have been inside the temple, and I found nothing but shadows..." he explained. Tails nodded. "I know... We'll be careful." he said. Espio nodded and stepped aside, allowing them to enter. "Good luck..." he said, looking around cautiously before running off somewhere.

The entrance hall of the Dream Temple appeared truly like a dream. The crystal room was filled with staircases leading everywhere, up the walls, to the ceiling, across the room, and stretching seemingly to infinity. Tails and Copter's jaws dropped. "This is... not how I remember it..." Tails whimpered. Dimentime and the monster were nowhere to be seen, but they could see someone else in the room, ready to greet them. It looked like Tails, or Copter, only all black with glowing red eyes. It was Shadow Tails! "Ahhh... Welcome to the Dream Temple! Tell me... why have you returned, hero of light?" he asked, staring at Tails. He shivered upon seeing the shadowy fox again. "Shadow Tails? No... The Dream King! I'm not here for you... We came to find our friend... or friends, if there are others here." Tails explained. Copter stared at the apparition in front of them. "What the heck is this thing? It kinda looks like... me!" he gasped. The Dream King glanced at Copter and chuckled. "Do I indeed? Hmm... I no longer have interest in the hero of light... You... You are far more intriguing..." he said, pointing to Copter, who backed away nervously. "Hey... what's your deal? Quit freaking me out!" he growled. Tails nodded in agreement. "Yeah, leave us alone!" he said. Shadow Tails shook his head. "Such a troubled, twisted, dark mind... How can I ignore you, hero of shadows?" he said, quickly sliding across the room and appearing behind Copter. "Yaaah!! You're creepier than Mephiles and the Doomsayer put together!" he yelled. Tails nodded. "He's scary all right..." he recalled. Shadow Tails, AKA the Dream King, chuckled. "Tell me, dark fox... What do you fear? Ha ha ha... Or maybe I should show you? It's right in your mind... I can see it all..." he taunted. Copter whimpered. "Could you please... Not do that? Wait, what am I doing!? Tails, let's clobber this guy!!" he suggested. Tails yelped. "Don't antagonize him!!" he warned. Shadow Tails grabbed Copter and then Tails each by the shoulders. "Now, don't turn up your noses to my gracious hospitality! I'd like to take you on a little journey, dark fox... and if you behave, the hero of light may accompany you... Let's have a look... into your memories..." he said, shoving Tails and Copter forward, causing them to fall as a swirling vortex of darkness emerged below them! They fell through, and landed on the ground in a place with bright lights! As they opened their eyes, they were stunned to find the landscape had completely changed. "Glitter Casino!?" Tails exclaimed.

They found themselves near a familiar water fountain, surrounded by slot machines and neon lights. As they climbed to their feet, they heard a loud thud nearby. Looking at the fountain, they found a giant slot machine robot with E-777 written on its side! Copter squinted at it. "Rouletar??" he mumbled. A more familiar robot hovered in the air behind Rouletar, a blue and green E-X series robot that resembled Chaos Gamma. Tails scratched his head. "That's Alpha, but why does he look like he did before he... Wait... This is an illusion, Copter. Shadow Tails said he'd show us your memories. This is when we first met!" he realized. Rouletar's slot reels began spinning as Copter looked around. "I don't remember it like this..." he said. Alpha flew over and targeted Copter. "Experiment 2 is fraternizing with the enemy! He has betrayed the Eggman Empire! Must destroy them both!" he said, sounding unusually sane. Copter frowned. "I KNOW that didn't happen..." he said. Tails pulled him out of the way as Alpha began shooting at him. "These may be illusions, but they can still hurt you! And if that Rouletar is anything like the real one, its armor is pretty much impenetrable!" Tails shouted. Copter pulled his arm free from Tails and flew away. "Lemme go! I can handle myself!" he insisted, flying at Rouletar with the intention of attacking him. Rouletar's reels stopped at three cherries. "Heh heh heh... Eggman's sense of humor is priceless. Have some CHERRY bombs!!" Rouletar laughed, flinging red bombs at Copter from his mouth! Copter yelped and tried to evade them. Luckily, Tails had followed him and swiftly pulled him out of the attack again! "That's two I owe you... When will I learn..." Copter groaned. Alpha resumed shooting at them, forcing them to split up to evade his shots. "If only Sonic was here... He can handle both of them easy..." Tails sighed. "Sonic, Sonic, SONIC!! Cut it out, Tails! That's not helping!" Copter snapped. Rouletar's reels landed on three sevens. "Jackpot! Here comes the payoff, pipsqueaks!" Coins with razor sharp edges came whirling out of Rouletar's mouth, and Tails remembered something. "Its mouth is its weakness! OK, I've got an idea!" he said, whispering something to Copter quickly before they had to flee from Alpha and the coins! "You will fall to the might of Eggman, and E-2X Alpha!" Alpha said, firing at the foxes from the safety of the air while Rouletar's reels spun again. Tails and Copter ran around, keeping Alpha focused on keeping track of both of them, but not so much where they were going. As Rouletar's reels stopped again, this time on a skull & crossbones, Tails and Copter flew in front of his mouth. "Come and get us, Alphie!!" they taunted. "Wait, nooo! I can't stop from opening my mouth!!" Rouletar pleaded. Alpha fired several shots, which the foxes dodged and allowed to fly into the robot's mouth. Whatever was about to come out reacted to Alpha's shots, and started causing Rouletar to explode into a million pieces! Alpha buzzed in frustration. "Mission failed. Must return to base..." he said, flying off. Copter and Tails slapped their hands together in midair and chuckled. "See? Who needs Sonic? Man... I wish... We'd been on the same side from the beginning..." Copter said, somewhat sadly, "All the trouble we could've avoided..." As they landed on the ground, Shadow Tails emerged and chuckled. "Ohh, how tormented you are... True, the past could never have happened another way. In fact, you cannot bear to be with your so-called 'friends' most of the time even now, can you?" he said tauntingly. Copter glared at him. "Shut up! Let us out of here you... whatever you are!!" he yelled. Shadow Tails stared at him as if staring right through him. "Always pushing those you care for away... You even initially blocked his help just now... Hehe... Caged in your dark, troubled soul... Forever caged..." he sneered. Copter ran to throw a punch at Shadow Tails, but the Dream King merely smacked him away, knocking him into Tails and causing them both to fall into another shadowy vortex, emerging in what appeared to be an actual cage!

On closer inspection, it was Copter's old prison cell from the Death Row facility. Copter began to panic as he realized where he was. "Oh, no, no, no!! We're trapped! We'll have to wait for Metal Sonic! And he hasn't been friendly when I've seen him lately!! Not good, not good... I don't wanna die HERE!!!" he whined. Tails, however, stayed calm and collected, and banged on the wall. He then grabbed some tools from somewhere in order to tinker with the electronic lock after removing a hatch on the wall. In a moment, the cell door slid open! "Copter, you can calm down now... Look." Tails said. Copter glanced at the open door in disbelief. "Wha... You mean... HUH?!" he muttered. "Prison break!! Prison break!!" Unfortunately, the GUN Beetles were still guarding the cell, and immediately tripped the alarm. Tails started out of the cell, but Copter stopped him. "Allow me... Metal Sonic destroyed them before. I owe these guys..." he growled, dashing into the room and jumping at the robots, tearing them apart one by one, wreaking his vengeance upon them! Tails watched with wide eyes, then joined Copter once he was finished. "That was therapeutic..." he sighed. Tails shivered. "I think I saw the old, evil Copter for a second there..." he murmured. As they headed out onto the balcony outside, they found that it was dark, raining, and quite huge inside the Dream Temple. As they looked around the balcony, they heard a voice behind them. "You are doomed..." Looking up, they saw what appeared to be the Doomsayer on the roof! However, on closer inspection, they saw his eyes were glowing red beneath his cloak, rather than golden. "Hey, you're not the Doomsayer... Who are you!?" Copter asked in bewilderment. Tails shook his head, knowing who it probably was. The cloaked figure responded. "I am the ghostly mirror... The darkness of spirit... The dark lord of nightmares... I am what you believe me to be." he said. Copter scratched his head. "What!?" he asked. "It's the Dream King, Copter." Tails pointed out. The figure took off his hood, revealing himself as Shadow Tails. "You fight and fight, but can never stop the inevitable. You will lose, dark fox. And no matter what you do, you know you will always be hunted..." As if on cue, dozens of GUN robots swarmed the balcony, joined by Guard the Gargoyle! Tails yelped upon seeing him. "Copter, look out!" he shouted. Copter spun around and grabbed Guard's scythe as he came at him, but was unable to pull it away from the gargoyle. "Grrrrr!! Get back in your cell, Experiment 2!!" he snarled. Copter smirked. "Get a breath mint, Experiment 6!" he said. Guard had a look of astonishment as Copter spoke his experiment number, and Copter used his surprise to fling him at a nearby GUN Hunter! Tails was busy fighting the other Beetles and Hunters, but they were surrounded. "Copter... Were there this many when you broke out for real?" he asked. Copter looked around. "The Dream King is cheating... Gotta... think..." he said, closing his eyes tight as he and Tails backed towards the wall. Suddenly, they both fell through it! "How about a change of scenery?" Shadow Tails's voice echoed.

 They stumbled into a partially whited out room. Even the Dream Temple was affected by the strange monster's time-altering power. As they looked around, Tails looked thoughtful. "If this room is white, it must mean we're moving through the temple after all..." he mused. Copter was able to recognize the room despite the lack of color. There was a mural with strange, ancient text on the back wall, and a strange pedestal in the center. "We're in the Chaos Shrine... Where we got the tailbands..." he observed. A closer look at the pedestal, and Tails and Copter saw what appeared to be the Chaos Tailbands sitting there! Next to them, a caped shrew was in a frozen state. "Is that Illusi? And how'd the tailbands get back over there..." Copter muttered, checking his tail. Sure enough, his own tailband was gone! Before they could head over to reclaim the tailbands, however, a big, black blob dripped down from the ceiling! It quickly rose up and took shape, revealing itself as Shadow Chaos! Copter chuckled nervously. "Greeeat... You AGAIN... Maybe this time I won't let you get out of this room!!" he growled. Tails glanced at him. "I don't think that'll change the future... I'd sure like to not have to face Shadow Chaos later on, though..." he said, thinking of more recent events. Shadow Chaos lunged at Copter, flinging its elastic arms at him, while Tails flew past him towards Illusi. "I'll be right with you, Copter!" he said. Copter evaded Shadow Chaos and gave it a tail whip. "Take your time! This tub of gunk hasn't changed up its strategy..." he said, only to be taken off guard as Shadow Chaos tangled him in a mess of tentacles. "Whaaaa! Hurry up, Tails!!" he yelled. Tails reached for the tailbands as Illusi's color was returning, but as he did, his hand simply passed right through them! "Huh!? I can't take the tailbands!!" Tails gasped. Illusi placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tails, this is the Dream Temple. Everything is an illusion. Everything." he said. Tails glanced at him. "What are you saying?" he asked. Illusi glanced at Copter and spoke louder, so he could hear. "I'm saying, it's ALL an illusion, including the absence of what you should possess! Don't be fooled by this trickery, dark fox!" Copter struggled his way out of the tentacles and focused, trying to feel the energy of a tailband he wasn't sure he was wearing. As Shadow Chaos came at him again, he whipped his tails at it with all his might! His tailband suddenly flashed, revealing that it was still there, and he smashed Shadow Chaos into a weak black puddle. Illusi clapped as he and Tails approached him. "Well done! And thanks for rescuing me, you two. That creature took me by surprise. I sense, though, that it is not what it seems..." he muttered. Tails looked at Illusi curiously. "How did you know that he still had his tailband?" he asked. Illusi chuckled. "I grew up around this temple. I know many of its secrets. I myself am a skilled illusionist, as the dark fox knows." he said. Copter frowned. "Can't you call me Copter? I'm getting enough 'dark fox' from the Dream King." he grumbled. Just then, the Dream King's voice echoed through the room. "Perhaps you are afraid of the truth... Aren't you, dark fox?" Suddenly, the entire room began to transform before their eyes, distorting and shifting into a section of GUN's Security Tower, which Copter had infiltrated with Punchy at a time when he worked for Dr. Eggman.

Illusi looked around. "Ah, the Security Tower. I haven't been here since you and the Dark One came to take the Chaos Emerald, and found the place infested with Lost Ones." he recalled. Tails glanced around and saw the walls covered in ghostly blue flames, the GUN equipment seeming to be twisted and warped by something. "Is the place... Exactly as you remember it?" he asked. Copter shook his head. "No... This place is more screwed up than any we've seen yet." he realized. Shadow Tails emerged from the Ghost Fire and twirled in the air. "Your memory is a playground of darkness to me... Look at this playmate I found..." he said as Lospecter appeared in the room, performing tricks with his gold-backed cards. It was Lospecter as Copter recalled him from his most recent encounters, with a more physical, but still ghostly form, rather than the fully gaseous shape he took at the Security Tower before. "Hey, that's not right! He's supposed to be smoke!" Copter complained. Shadow Tails chuckled. "Afraid of this form? I took it from your more recent memories..." he explained. Lospecter waved. "Hi, foxies... And Illoser... Wanna plaaaay?" he giggled. A Wrongo appeared beside Illusi, meaning he surely did not. A gun clicked elsewhere in the room, and Tails, Copter and Illusi turned to see Sergeant Gunner and Spy, accompanied by a squad of their reprogrammed Shadow Androids they had been using at that time. "Well, if it isn't a whole mess of furry freak intruders! Androids, wipe them out!!" Gunner shouted. Lospecter tossed some cards in the air, summoning Lospirits and a pair of Loskels into the room as well. "War is good for the soul... Harvesting souls, anyway." Lospecter grinned. Tails took off in the direction of the Shadow Androids, while Illusi unleashed a flurry of his Wrongos in both directions, hoping to at least slow down the enemies. Copter wasn't sure where to turn. This was not how things happened at the Security Tower before. "Well, at least Techno Sonic isn't... WHAT AM I SAYING!?" he yelped as Techno Sonic, Gunner's own Sonic robot, dropped down in front of him and shot a plasma blast at him! He flew over it and struck the robot with a tailband powered tail whip, which broke through the robot's plasma shield, but the shield repelled him enough to let the robot back away! Shadow Tails hovered near them and crossed his arms. "GUN, the Lost Ones, that doctor, Despair... You battle so many foes, dark fox..." he observed as Copter launched Chaos Whirlwind at some approaching Lospirits, reducing them to slime. He then jumped to avoid a plasma beam from Techno Sonic and glanced at Shadow Tails. "Your point?" he growled. "Why do you fight so many foes? Why do you care what they do to the world that despises you so much? Why bother anyway? There's little you can do... Do you not fail more often than anything?" he taunted. Copter backed away as several foes surrounded him. "Chaos Blast!!" he shouted, blasting away several of the enemies, but also accidentally striking Tails, who he didn't realize was nearby! "Aaaah!!" Copter spun around upon hearing his companion's shout. "Tails!! I..." he gasped with alarm, stunned by his mistake. Gunner laughed at him. "Pathetic freak. You deserve to die..." he growled. Suddenly, Lospecter flew at Copter. "Fry a bunch of my minions, will ya!?" he yelled, tackling Copter towards the flaming wall! "No!! NOOOO!!" Copter screamed, recalling what Ghost Fire does to a person. He shut his eyes tight, fearing this was the end. However, he felt himself released by Lospecter and fall backward, landing on a cold floor in a cold room. He wasn't in the Security Tower anymore. He opened his eyes. "...Space Colony ARK..." he muttered. Looking around, he saw no one. "Tails!? Tails...?" he was alone.

Copter found himself in a corridor of the route to the Cannon's Core on Space Colony ARK. This time, however, he found it in severe disrepair, even seeming somewhat wrecked. "Hey... Come to think of it, I didn't recognize this place looking all spiffy when I passed it earlier today... or yesterday... or whenever. Stupid place with no time." he mumbled to himself, "How'd it fall apart so much in such a short time?? At least, I assume a short time..." Suddenly, he was startled by Illusi's voice behind him. "It was the Black Arms, of course." he explained. "Yaaaah!! Where'd you come from!?!?" Copter yelped, turning around. Illusi sighed. "I followed you. Tails has been through here before. It's you I'm worried about. As I was saying, the Black Arms invaded the Space Colony along with Earth, that's why the ARK is a mess today." he explained. Copter rolled his eyes. "I wasn't THAT curious! I better free Bucky, quick before I... wait, I already did... This is so confusing!!" he groaned. Suddenly, they both heard a buzzing nearby, and Copter growled softly. "Run..." he muttered. They both dodged quickly as a gunshot tore through the corridor from Zipp's pistol, the hornet laughing at them from down the hall. "What's the matter, Copter? You chicken out of our little fight? Run for backup? Here, let me get a bigger gun to accommodate you..." he tossed aside his pistol and pulled a machine gun seemingly from nowhere. Copter frowned. "What is he DOING here!?" he moaned. Illusi ran from Zipp's bullets, sending a Wrongo to distract him, but was suddenly met with Shadow Tails! "Illusionist... You know you are no match for me. Begone!" With a flick of his wrist, Shadow Tails hurled Illusi into a dark vortex, sending him away from the illusion of the Space Colony! "Aaaah!! I'm sorry, dark fox! You're on your own!" he shouted as he faded from the area. Copter snarled and flew at Zipp, using Chaos Whirlwind to try to blow him away, but Zipp flew up and pulled out a bomb, tossing it behind Copter! The blast knocked him forward as the room changed shape around him, becoming the prison room with the rubber cell where Bucky had been imprisoned. As Copter stumbled to the ground, he quickly picked himself up and glanced around to see Zipp, Vortex, Guard and Shadow Tails. "Why fight, dark fox? Even when you win, you lose. Those you work so hard to protect... Do they not always betray you in the end?" Shadow Tails laughed as Copter felt something clasped around his left wrist. He raised the cuff of his glove and saw a familiar timer ticking dangerously close to zero. "No... NO!!!" he shrieked. As he began to panic, Guard and Vortex came at him. "Grrrr... Stop sniveling and fight me, copter boy!" Guard growled. Copter jumped over an incoming scythe swing and whipped the gargoyle with his tails. "NOOOO!!" he screamed, fury in his eyes. Vortex unleashed a Chaos Inferno beam at him, but Copter rolled under it and threw a punch at him. "Ssssshoot! You'll pay for that, you ssssorry excussse for a fox!" Vortex hissed. Guard came up behind Copter, sending beams from his scythe at him as he got closer! Copter took the attacks, unable to see them coming, and doubled over in pain as Vortex kicked him. "Aaaargh!! This isn't how it happened!!" he yelled. Shadow Tails cackled. "It might as well have. The result would be the same..." he taunted. Copter growled and yelled. "Chaos BLAST!!" The blasts knocked his assailants away just as Guard was getting ready to strike with his blade, but as Copter was getting up, Bucky was exiting his cell. "Experiment 2... What do you think you're doing?" he growled. Copter stared at him in abject horror. "Wait... Bucky, please!! All I ever did was try to help you!!!" he pleaded. Sparks flew from Bucky's hands, and then jolts of electricity seared Copter's body! "Noooooo!!! Buckyyyy!!!" he wailed. "You have betrayed me, you wretch!! Now you will die a miserable traitor's death!!" Bucky snarled, stopping his assault as the timer on Copter's bomb neared zero. Shadow Tails started to laugh, as did Bucky, Vortex, Zipp, and strangely, even Guard. Copter fell to the floor and shut his eyes tight, refusing to watch the timer tick down to his demise. "No... No, not again... It can't happen again!!! ...T-taaaaails!!!" he cried, tears soaking his face as the timer reached zero. The explosion rang out in his ears, and his eyes shot open!

The bomb was gone, and he was no longer on the ARK. "...Am I dead...?" he muttered. It was dark at first, but then the room began to take form. He was still in the Dream Temple. Now the temple took the form of Darkegg Fortress, and Copter found himself in a somewhat distorted version of one of the tower's lower floors. "Oh, goody. Eggman's base. Home sweet home." he grumbled. Losol dripped down from the ceiling, and Copter looked around to see that the entire fortress was teeming with Lost Ones. "...Is this how the base is NOW? I don't remember it this way..." he said, "Aw, heck. I'll head up. Maybe Tails will meet me at the top, like before." He ran for a doorway and it slid open, revealing a long spiral staircase leading up, seemingly endless. "This was NOT here..." Copter muttered, glancing at Eggman symbols all along the walls. "Sure, the decor fits, but I don't see Eggman walking up all these stairs." he pointed out. Suddenly, Copter heard the familiar voice of BAS, the Base Alarm System. "Alert! Alert! Situation highly abnormal! All robots shoot Copter on sight! By order of the Dream King!" it said. Copter sighed and started up the stairs. "Very funny... Veeeery funny. Wait'll I get my hands on you, you shadow puppetmaster..." he mumbled under his breath. As he started up the stairs, the tower began to shake, and sections of the walls began to twist and bend as the illusion distorted! Copter's expression tensed as an uncomfortable thought came to mind. "Tails... What's happening to Tails during all this?" he wondered. He started to break out into a run, speeding up the stairs towards the Lost Ones and Egg Pawns waiting for him in his path. His tailband would give him power to strike the Lost Ones, so he whipped his tails at Losol and Loskel as he approached them, careful to evade the Loskel's blades. He attacked the Egg Pawns any way that was convenient, even if he merely jumped over them and kicked them down the stairs! Shadow Tails flew up beside him, the walls opening up ahead of him so that he could follow Copter without taking up space on the stairs. "Keep running... Keep fighting... It's all futile in the end..." he laughed, shifting his shape into that of Bucky. "Your own creator destroyed you. You cannot trust your allies." he taunted. Copter smashed a Loskel and kept running. "Shut it!" he yelled. Shadow Tails took on Lospecter's shape and stuck out his tongue. "Supernatural forces seek to destroy you and your friends at every turn. The very world itself may crumble despite your best efforts!" he laughed. Copter hurled an Egg Pawn at him, which flew through Lospecter's form and fell out of the tower into oblivion. Shadow Tails took on the form of Gunner, adjusting the hole in the wall so he could fit. "You're a freak! A monster! The world will be well rid of you! And I will never stop until you're DEAD!!" he snarled. Copter growled and spun his tails behind him to run even faster. "ENOUGH!! I won't listen to any more of this!!" he screamed. Suddenly, the tower transformed around him, the stairs vanishing under his feet, causing him to fall to the floor of the new room. It was a dark room with seemingly no roof, and a spider web made of cables above. Dr. Eggman dropped down from the web, piloting the mechanical spider mech known as the Arachnoegg! "Copter, you traitor! Any last words before my Arachnoegg slices you to ribbons!?" the doctor threatened. Shadow Tails, back in his normal form, stood on the web. "All you seem to do is betray people... Fascinating..." he mused. Copter glared at Eggman and clenched his teeth furiously. "EGGMAN!! I can't kick your sorry mustache enough!!" he yelled. As the Arachnoegg fired its web laser at him, Copter swiftly moved out of the way and ran at the cockpit, evading the bladed legs of the machine as they attempted to stab him! He jumped at the cockpit and slammed his tails into it with all the might his tailband could muster! "Aaaaaaaarrrgh!! Impossible!!!" Eggman yelled in shock. As the Arachnoegg exploded, the room changed once again, and Eggman vanished. "Knew what was coming... Had no time for games..." Copter said smugly, dusting his hands.

He now found himself in Darkegg Fortress's power plant, at the top of the tower. Electricity surged and sparked beneath the bridge leading across from the entrance elevator that Copter was across from. The room seemed almost pitch dark, despite the light generated from the electricity. Glancing at the elevator doors, Copter could see Tails emerging from inside. He sighed with relief. "Finally... You are a real sight for sore eyes, Tails... Any sign of that crazy shrew?" he asked. However, something was off about Tails as he exited the elevator. There was anger in his eyes! "You're going down, Copter! You're gonna pay for your crimes!" he said. Copter looked at him in disbelief. "T-tails?! What's gotten into you...?" he gasped. The yellow fox came at him and flung his tails towards him, which Copter fell backward hastily in order to dodge. He caught a glimpse of the tailband equipped to one of his tails. "You're serious...! Wait a sec... Are you an illusion, or the real Tails?" he wondered, unable to tell for certain. If it was the real Tails, something surely had freaked him out. If it was a fake, it was a convincing fake. Copter knew he couldn't take any chance that it wasn't the real Tails. "Hey, we're on the same side! You know you don't have to fight with me! I'm your friend now..." he reasoned. Tails glared at him. "Friend? Friend?! Since when? What kind of friend sends Eggman's robots after me and my friends!? What kind of friend tries to kill me!? I see right through you, Copter! You're just as bad as Eggman, and I'm going to stop you, no matter what it takes!" he shouted, lunging at Copter while he was still on the ground and struggling with him! Copter managed to push him off and scrambled to his feet, putting distance between them. "Dude, that was eons ago!! Ugh... I'm not getting out of this, am I?" he groaned, frustrated. Tails spun at him to deliver another tail whip, which Copter blocked with his own tails, their tailbands parrying each other with a flash of light! Copter charged at Tails and struggled against him, the two foxes punching and kicking at each other, each getting filled with anger, but neither seeming to get the upper hand. Finally, Copter kicked out Tails's legs, knocking him onto his back! He stared down, his expression softening. "Tails... I'm not going to kill you... Just... cut it out..." he panted, turning around and taking a few steps away, panting. "We've got to get out of this crazy tower... temple... whatever." he said, "It's making us crazy..." Suddenly, Tails got up and charged at him, which Copter barely heard coming in time! He flew up, but Tails caught his leg, causing them both to tumble to the ground! They hurried to their feet and simultaneously tail whipped each other, their tailband power causing their strikes to explode on impact! The explosion sent them flying in opposite directions, and Tails tumbled over the edge of the bridge, barely grabbing it in time to avoid falling! Copter quickly got up and saw his original's predicament. "Tails!! Hold on!!" he shouted, rushing over to lend a hand. Shadow Tails emerged in the room, watching from nearby, providing neither assistance nor hindrance. "Always a failure... Always watching your friends... FALL!!" he boomed, taunting Copter as he reached his hand out to Tails, just as Tails let go of the ledge! Copter jumped after him, grabbing his hand, and then catching the ledge with his feet! The electricity crackled below them, calling them to their impending deaths, and Tails stared up at Copter with tears streaming down his face. "C-copter!!" he called. Shadow Tails cackled. "Remember Heather? Try as you might, neither you nor Dimentime could prevent her ultimate fate in Soleanna... Remember GUN? You constantly fail to keep Gunner from persecuting your kind. Eggman remains at large. The Lost Ones devour souls. And now a time eating monster threatens the WORLD! But what can you do about that? You can't even save your friend here..." he laughed. Copter clutched Tails's hand, but he was slipping. "Can you fly?? Tails... Hang on!! FLY!! I'm too weak to carry you!! Please... YOU CAN'T DIE!!" he yelled, choking back tears. Tails stared up and smiled. "Save yourself... Copter..." As Tails released his hand, Copter screamed in defiance, his feet going limp and giving up their hold on the ledge. "Nooooo!!!" he cried, watching as his friend fell rapidly into the electric horror below, his body reduced to ash in moments. However, Copter seemed to fall more slowly. He didn't bother trying to fly. He was content to share Tails's fate. However, this was not to be. "Copter!!!" Before Copter could fall far, a figure leapt down from the bridge and moved towards him, reaching for him! Copter looked up, his eyes widening as he saw who it was. A pair of bright, bushy tails began spinning rapidly as he caught Copter in his arms. "T-t-tails!!!" Copter gasped, choking back his tears. Tails nodded and flew him to the safety of the bridge. "I made it, Copter... Are you OK?" he asked. Copter tried to hide his tears. "Y-you're real...?" he asked. Tails nodded. "Yeah, why?" he asked. Copter chuckled. "I've missed your naive stupidness..." he grinned.

They opened a door and moved on to the next room, since Shadow Tails had vanished. Oddly, the next room was not part of Darkegg Fortress, nor was it at all familiar to either of them. It looked like a child's bedroom, with drawings scribbled in crayon posted along the walls, toys and games littered along the floor, and a bed with colorful blankets. Tails glanced at Copter. "Your memory?" he asked. Copter shook his head. "I never had my own room. And I sure wouldn't decorate it like this!!" he said. Suddenly, they heard someone giggle above their heads! Looking up, they saw a crimson furred otter hovering in the air, a light bubble of energy surrounding him like a protective shield. He was cute, and wore gloves and shoes that matched Tails's. "Hi, Tails! Who's your friend? Oh, woooow... He looks just like you!" the otter squealed, giggling cheerfully. Tails and Copter both blinked blankly as the otter did a playful backflip in midair. "It's great to meet you, mister! I'm Miles's brother, Kyle! Hee, everyone calls Miles Tails!! Isn't that cute?" he chuckled, dashing around the room in the air, twirling as his protective bubble dissolved away! Tails stared in complete bafflement as Copter glanced at him. "You have a brother...? Yeah, I see the resemblance..." he mumbled. Tails shook his head. "Something's wrong here... I don't know what the Dream King's doing... but I don't have a brother... I... think..." he said, scratching his head. Kyle landed on the bed and sat on the edge. "Are you here to play with me? Play!! Play!! Hee hee hee!!" he giggled. Copter smiled softly. Kyle was a youngster. "Well, it's nice to come to a happy room, anyway. Even if this memory isn't real..." he said. Tails shrugged. "I... don't know. It might be real. Maybe you took it from me. Maybe it's distorted in your mind, and forgotten in mine..." he reasoned. Kyle blinked at them. "Are you both OK? Hey, you didn't tell me your name, black fox! That's rude!" he pouted. Copter chuckled sheepishly and approached Kyle. "Umm... I'm Copter. I um... I'm another brother of Tails. We um... were separated at birth." he said, trying to think of something plausible. Kyle looked at him in surprise and smiled. "...BROTHER!!!" he cheered, pouncing at Copter gleefully. Copter fell over as Kyle cuddled him, and Tails couldn't help laughing. "Awww, that's so cute!" he said. The moment was short lived, however, as Shadow Tails emerged in the room, smacking a number of the crayon drawings from the walls as the room began to grow dark and sickly looking. "Forgetting something?" he growled. Kyle floated up and erected his protective bubble, holding his knees in fear as Copter sat up. "W-who're you?" Kyle stammered. Copter growled. "Get out... This room is too pure for your taint. GO!!" he snapped. Tails ran up beside Copter, intent on helping him. Shadow Tails looked around. "This memory is a fragment... A lost remnant, long forgotten... Lost..." As he said this, blobs of Losol oozed forth from the walls, and began to eat away at everything in sight! They combined together to form Losol Golems, intensifying the threat, and making Kyle shake with fear as they chanted "lossssol... losssssol..." Tails and Copter glanced around, and Tails slipped on his tailband, knowing Chaos energy was the best way to tackle these monsters. "Let's stop these guys before they get Kyle!" he said. Copter nodded. "And we're coming for you next, Dream King!!" he growled. As they ran at the giant Losol blobs, Kyle glanced at them and began to clench his fists. "My... brothers... Don't you hurt my brothers!!! Hiyaaaahh!!" he cried, his bubble shimmering as he drew its energy into his body, causing his fur to glow softly! He then jumped down and leapt at the nearest Losol Golem, smashing it with a tail whip in a manner similar to tails! The strange power he absorbed seemed to give him strength, and caused the golem's segments to separate! Meanwhile, Tails fought in much the same fashion, using his tailband to power up his tail strikes so he could smash the Losol Golems, while Copter unleashed Chaos Whirlwind in order to quickly reduce them to puddles of inactive ectoplasm! The Losol, growing agitated, suddenly leapt at the trio, and one latched itself to Tails! "Aaaaah!! Get it off me!!" Tails yelped, struggling. Seeing this, Kyle brought up his bubble again and curled into a ball. Copter ran to help Tails. "Hang on, I'll handle it..." but before he could, a burst of energy swept across the room from Kyle, disintegrating all the remaining Lost Ones at once! Tails and Copter stared with wide eyes as Kyle stretched out of his curled position. "Ha!! No one hurts my bros!! Now let's... um... Wow, I'm hungry... Can I have some candy?" he asked, grinning. Shadow Tails glared at the three of them. "How pathetic... You've grown weaker, hero of light. And you, dark fox, have always been weak it seems. You will both die in this temple..." he growled, only to be suddenly smacked hard by a tail whip from Kyle! Shadow Tails flew through the wall, leaving a dark vortex behind, a hole leading deeper into the Dream Temple! "Don't talk mean to my bros!! Nya nya!!" Kyle said, sticking out his tongue. Tails and Copter ran over to him, exchanging worried glances. "I... I wish I could remember you, Kyle..." Tails said sadly. "I hope we get to see the real you sometime." Copter added. Kyle gave them both a big, cheerful hug and smiled. "No sad faces! We'll play next time you come over, kay! I can tell you gotta go. Hee hee hee..." He hopped in the air and floated above them, leading them to the dark hole. "I'd go with you, but... It's too scary..." he said, shivering. Tails smiled. "It's OK, Kyle. You've done more than enough already. I hope we see you again!" he said. Copter looked at him and grinned. "I wonder how much of you is based on reality... I doubt you fly like that in real life... Well, bye, kiddo." he chuckled. Kyle landed behind them and watched them leave. "Good luck... My brothers. I'll see you again." he said, fading away along with his room, the illusion gone, but the memory fresh in Tails and Copter's minds.

Copter and Tails found themselves in pitch darkness. No more rooms, no more memories. They could see no walls, no roof, no floor, but they could see each other clearly, and they seemed to be walking on some sort of floor. Despite the darkness, they could clearly see any objects ahead of them. They saw a white statue, someone who was frozen as Illusi had been. This one, however, was Dimentime! Copter growled. "That monster..." he said. "Careful, Copter. It could still be around..." Tails warned. Next to Dimentime, a dark, crystalline figure was admiring the statue: Mephiles. "Frozen in time... I rather like this fate for you. Trapped, helplessly watching as I do as I please with this world..." he sneered. Tails stared at him. "Umm... You're not... Shadow... Who are you!?" he asked. Mephiles chuckled. "I've enjoyed watching your little trip down memory lane... In fact, I came here just for the entertaining show. I'll leave you to see how it ends now. Send me a post card from oblivion!" he said, creating a portal so that he could quickly exit the temple. With Mephiles gone, Tails and Copter noticed others in the room behind the statue of Dimentime. Illusi was tied up a distance away, off to the side. "Tails! Dark fox! You might want to hurry!!" he shouted, tilting his head towards a figure in the shadows. It looked like a shadowy black fox with yellow eyes at first, but then its shape shifted to that of Experiment 3, Kosmo the Morph! Tails and Copter shook with fright, knowing they'd be no match for the Kosmo from their memories of the particular day the Dream King had been using. However, Kosmo wasn't moving. Shadow Tails emerged from nearby and let out a sinister laugh. "I can feel your fear... It feeds my nightmares!! Now, face their wrath!" He stepped closer to Kosmo, then seemed to step inside him, merging with the morph! Kosmo's body became black, his eyes red. Instead of Shadow Tails, they were facing Shadow Kosmo! "This... is... not... good." Copter whined. The Dream King let out a menacing laugh, and then a terrible roar as his shape shifted into a giant black dragon with glowing red eyes, surrounded by dark energy. He resembled a hideous version of the Kosmogon, and seemed even larger, large enough that it lowered its head, picked up Dimentime's statue, and swallowed it whole! "NOOOO!!" Copter screamed, rage in his eyes. Tails slipped his tailband on his tail and shook Copter's hand. "It's been great, Copter... Now let's do our best to stop the Dream King!" he said. Copter nodded. "Right! ...You wouldn't happen to have the Chaos Emeralds on you, would ya?" he asked, "Worth asking..."

The Dream King started by blowing beams of fire at them, which they flew in different directions to avoid. Without their super forms, they would have to fly with their tails, and attack from the ground. This would be a lot more difficult than before. Copter charged at the Dream King, dropping to the floor and rolling under his fire attack in order to reach him and attack with a tailband powered tail whip, but the Dream King merely swatted him away with his broad wing, having taken very little damage from the attack! "Your nightmares are strong, dark fox! The darkness in your spirit is stronger than you are! It will devour you!!" the dragon roared! Tails tried to attack from the side while the Dream King was distracted, but the dragon tangled him in its tail! "Aaagh!! Put me down!" Tails yelped. The Dream King turned and prepared to blow its fire at Tails, but was suddenly struck in the head by a red symbol! "What!?" he mumbled, dropping Tails. There were a small number of Wrongos flying around the Dream King, serving as a distraction! Illusi was whistling nonchalantly, twirling a free finger that gave him limited control over his illusions. The Dream King scoffed and blew beams of dark energy instead of fire, which he could spread in a wider arc and destroy the Wrongos quickly! He also managed to blast Copter with the energy, sending him tumbling to the ground and pulsing with darkness! Tails ran to him. "Copter! Are you all right!?" he asked. He got up and shook his head, only to have the Dream King follow up his attack with his own variation on the Kosmogon's Kosmos eye beams! The beams struck both him and Tails, knocking them down, but Tails refused to succumb to the maddening effects of the beam. "N-nooo!! Stay out of my head, Dream King!!" he growled. Copter, on the other hand, already had darkness coursing through him from before. He emerged with blue streaks in his white fur, and his chest fur and ears having turned blue entirely. He'd become Dark Copter! He lunged at Tails and struggled against him! "You goody-two-shoes twit! You corrupted my other half, and for what!? So Bucky could KILL me!? So GUN could hunt me endlessly!? And where were you to clear my name?? You should have told everyone the TRUTH!!!" Dark Copter screamed, punching and beating Tails as he did his best to defend himself and the Dream King watched in amusement. Hearing these words, Tails couldn't help but burst into tears. "Y-you're right, Copter!! I should have done something! We all should have done something! GUN's been allowed to get away with too much!! I'm sorry!! I'm so sorry, Copter!!" he cried, falling to his knees as if ready to accept the punishment he was about to be given. Copter, however, stopped attacking. He'd begun to hold himself back. "N-no!! It's... not his fault!! The blame is... Bucky's! And Gunner's!! Get... out of my... head!!!!" he yelled, falling to the floor! Tails hurriedly helped him up as Copter reverted to normal and the Dream King scoffed. "You both are weak. You think you are strong... But you cannot fight the WORLD!!" As Tails and Copter approached the Dream King to resume their battle, the dragon flapped its mighty wings, and a powerful wind blew a maelstrom of illusions their way, which seemed to be emerging from the Dream King himself! GUN Beetles, Egg Pawns, Lospirits, Wrongos, and other miscellaneous robots and monsters swarmed and blew around them, as though caught in a terrible hurricane formed from their memories! Tails and Copter shook each other's hands and marched ahead, not letting the impossible odds deter them, even as the Dream King blew fire and darkness their way in addition to the storm of enemies! They stood their ground, dodging attacks as they could and smacking aside any enemy that dared to fly at them! "Are you not afraid?" the Dream King roared. Tails nodded. "Terrified... But I've got to help Copter!" Copter nodded as well. "Pretty sure we're gonna die, but what the heck. There's no way out, is there?" he said. Suddenly, they were both taken by surprise as the Arachnoegg came flying at them! They were knocked over, and as they struggled to get back up, the Dream King's mouth opened with fire crackling over his lips! They held their heads and prepared for the worst, when suddenly, something big flew over them! A purple and red dragon flew past them, smashing everything in its path as it made its way to the Dream King! Copter stared in disbelief. "Th-the Kosmogon!?" he gasped. Indeed, it was the real Kosmogon, and it charged into the Dream King, holding him back! "You cheap knockoff! Why don't you try a taste of genuine Kosmos!!" The Kosmogon shot beams from his eyes that exploded on impact with the Dream King, and during the distraction, Tails helped Copter up. "Come on! This is our chance!" he said. Quickly, they dashed through the scraps of the wrecked robots left by the Kosmogon, then jumped on the purple dragon's back, climbing as it struggled with the Dream King! "How dare you interfere! They were about to succumb to their fear!" the black dragon roared. Tails and Copter climbed up the Kosmogon's neck and stared the Dream King in the face. "We don't have to be scared of you, jerk." Copter said. "Because we've got friends!" Tails added. Together, they jumped from the Kosmogon and whipped their tails at the Dream King's head simultaneously, a bright light emerging and engulfing the entire room as they did! It was blinding, and everyone was forced to shut their eyes. Copter flew up into the sky until the light faded, and found Tails and Kosmo flying nearby as well when he opened his eyes. Kosmo was now in gargoyle form. The room had changed to be a simple, crystal room with a stone floor, and a single exit, leading out of the temple. The Dream King was gone, but Illusi was still tied up in the corner. "Hey, uh... little help?" he asked. Dimentime's statue was resting in the center of the room as well. While Tails and Kosmo saw to Illusi, Copter restored Dimentime to normal. "Hey... What'd I miss...?" Dimentime asked, looking around. Copter smirked. "Well, you got eaten by a dragon." he said. Dimentime glanced suspiciously at Kosmo. "You don't say..." he growled. Copter shook his head. "Um, no, not him! Uh... I'll fill you in later. It's a looooong story..." he chuckled.

Outside the Dream Temple, they found Espio the Chameleon again. "I see everyone's all right." he said. Copter scratched his head. "Have you been waiting here this whole time!?" he asked. Espio shook his head. "Of course not. I have better things to do. But I found Kosmo while I was away, and when we talked, I managed to convince him to aid you." he explained. They glanced at Kosmo. "Well, thank you, Kosmo! We'd have been toast if you hadn't shown up!" Tails said. Kosmo shrugged. "I owed you... both of you." he said. Copter scratched his head. "Well, me, that's a given. That whole Despair business recently. But how do you owe Tails?" he asked. Tails chuckled. "I found him frozen in Radical Highway. Sonic wanted to leave him... Kosmo makes him uncomfortable." he said. Illusi chuckled. "Can you blame him?" he pointed out. Kosmo morphed into Sonic's form and stuck out his tongue. "What, do I disturb you when I do this? Look at me, I'm someone you know! Well... anyway, my debts are paid. Later, slow-mos!" he said, dashing off while still in Sonic's form! Espio bowed politely and disappeared. "Good luck on your quest!" he said in parting. Tails, Copter and Dimentime turned to Illusi. "Got anything clever for us, cape guy?" Copter asked. Illusi looked around. "This... is no illusion. I'm stumped. I'll get back to you." he said, snapping his fingers in an attempt to vanish. However, it failed! He tried again, but it still failed! "W-what?! My path to the dimensions is blocked! Well, this can't be good... My legs cramp easily..." he sighed, rushing off while mumbling unhappily. "You can rest at Shadow Arc! Punchy's there!" Dimentime suggested. Copter snickered. "Punchy'll kill you for that." he said. Dimentime glanced at him. "No, he'll kill you. I mean nothing to him." he smirked, "Now, on to the pressing matter... where did that monster and Mephiles get to?" They started to ponder this, but were soon interrupted by the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog! "Kosmo, can't you see we're busy!?" Copter grumbled. "His eyes are normal, Copter." Dimentime pointed out, realizing it was the real Sonic. Tails waved to him. "Hey, Sonic! What's up?" he asked. Sonic grinned. "Well, it just so happens that I found another of those big suspicious doors! You know, the kind that had Eggman and the Biolizard behind them? I just bet there's something major behind this one, too!" he said, "Mostly because the... other you suggested it." he added sheepishly. Copter chuckled. "What's the matter, Sonic? Being out-thunk by someone who can't use big boy scissors?" he joked. Sonic growled softly, but ignored him. "ANYWAY... This door is actually locked! It must be REAL important! We gotta find the keys, so I thought maybe you could help with that!" he said to Tails. The yellow fox looked thoughtful. "If only SPOT was functional... I could probably rig him to sense the keys... Well, we'll think of something!" he said. Sonic nodded. "Cool! Let's go, pal!" he said, speeding off. Before Tails could leave, Copter chased after him. "Hey, Tails!" he said. "Hm? Yeah, Copter?" he asked. Copter walked over and clasped his hand in his, smiling at him. "Thanks for being my friend, Tails." he said. Tails smiled back and shook his hand gently. "Thank you, Copter!" he replied. Dimentime stepped beside Copter as Tails left. "What was that about??" he muttered. "Never mind. Let's check out that door Sonic was talking about. I've got a feeling about it..." Copter said. As they went on their way, they were unaware that they were being watched. Dr. Eggman grinned as he watched them, Sonic, Classic Sonic, and others on several video screens from inside a control room. "Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you little pests! I'm ready to put my next little plan into action!" he grinned, glancing at a screen depicting the locked door in white space. "BAS! Prepare for launch! We can't keep Sonic waiting once he gets that door open!" he said. "Yes, Dr. Eggman! Egg Carrier, preparing for launch! Please turn off all cell phones until we have taken off!" BAS announced. Eggman let out a gleeful laugh as his next scheme began to get underway. "Oh, Sonic... If you only knew what was in store for you... This time, my plan is perfect! Hoo ho ho ho ho ho!!"


"I'm the dark angel...
A captive from the light.
The dark angel...
Forced into this evil plight.
I'm flying as a dark angel for all eternity!" - Dark Angel, Theme of Copter

2011 was also GeneX's 5th Anniversary, in addition to Sonic's 20th!
Happy Birthday, Copter!

To be continued...