GeneX - Tails the Fox
Chapter 44 - Redemption
Stages 23-24 - Darkegg Fortress
Boss 31 - Arachnoegg

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and 
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?

Copter and Vector reached the end of the passage to find a dead end. It was a dark room, filled with various broken robot parts. "Looks like a robot graveyard..." Vector muttered. "Or a trash heap." Copter added. Clearly, this was not this place where the elevator could be unlocked. So, Copter realized that if Tails had gone down the other path, by now he had probably unlocked the elevator and was on his way there! "This has just been a wild goose chase!" Copter shouted in frustration. Vector ignored him, and looked up above them. "Hey, what's THAT?!"

There was what appeared to be a large web extended high up above them. "Must be one huge spider..." Copter said. "No, that's not a web. Those are cables." Vector observed. There appeared to be no roof to this room. Through the shadows above the web, something suddenly dropped down onto the web! Attatched to the cables, this large robot dropped down to the ground using the cable the way a spider might. In fact, it was a robotic spider! The head of the robot was actually Eggman's plane! "Look who's been waiting for us!" Vector said, pointing to Dr. Eggman.

"Finally decided to show up, eh, Copter?" Eggman said. "I really can't believe you! You stole my space shuttle! You let Sonic get away!" "I'm not your pawn, Eggman!" Copter shouted. "Besides, you're a crook! You STILL owe us for saving you from Metal Sonic!" Vector added. Eggman pounded his fist on his control panel. "Enough! We have no tolerance for traitors in the Eggman Empire!" he declared. "You don't scare me!" Copter shouted, shaking his fist at the doctor. Eggman glared at him, pushing a button as he replied, "Well, then you don't know me well enough!"

A pair of guns appeared on the underside of the robot and fired white beams at Copter, which he blocked with his tails. That didn't work well, though, as he was still tossed backward by the attack, and after standing up found that the laser had formed a sticky substance that caused his tails to stick together. "Ack! What is this goop?!" Copter yelled, struggling to pull his tails apart. "My Arachnoegg has some nasty web lasers, doesn't it?" Eggman chuckled. "Let's see you use your precious tail attacks now!" Copter realized that he didn't have time to be tinkering with his tails. "That was a sneaky move! You'll pay for that!" he threatened. Eggman's Arachnoegg jumped in place. "Silence! Anyone who gets in my way will feel my true wrath! That includes traitors!"

Vector had been rummaging through the junk while the others were distracted. Now, he tossed a sword that a robotic arm was clutching over to Copter. "You might need this!" Vector shouted. Copter caught the sword and swung it once to get a feel for it. "Ha! You know, you're really pathetic, doctor!" Copter chuckled. The Arachnoegg jumped again. "How dare you! Such ingratitude! Remember, I released you!" Copter shook his head in response. "And then you just threatened me. So I think we're even." Vector ran over to Copter's side holding an Egg Pawn laser. "You're finished this time, doc!" Eggman was not amused. "Idiots! You all just keep finding new ways to make me mad!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, that does it!" Copter growled, "I'm tired of you crooks, helping me only with the intention of using and betraying me! I've put up with it long enough! I'm stopping this once and for all!" Eggman let out an evil laugh. "Fine, then! Let's see what you can really do, Experiment 2!"

The legs of the Arachnoegg were sharp as blades, and Eggman used the front pair to attack! Vector ran out of the way and fired at Eggman using the laser. "I'll cover you, Copter! You get that creep!" Copter parried Eggman's attack with the sword, jumping away as quickly as he could. The Arachnoegg responded by using the cables connected to the web above to jump up and catch the web, using the high perch to shoot at Copter. Copter rushed out of the way and grabbed some junk from the pile, tossing it at Eggman. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to the Arachnoegg. Vector, taking advantage of being ignored, fired a few shots at the spider robot. It jumped out of the way, but a few shots hit the cable of the web, causing it to spark a bit. "Sparks?!" Vector said in surprise. "That's not just a web, is it?"

The Arachnoegg landed back on the ground, and swiped its swordlike legs at Copter, while Copter attempted to use the sword to break the legs. Unfortunately, he found he was too busy defending against the attacks to get in a good counterattack. What was worse was that after a moment, Eggman began firing the web lasers at the same time. "Try to dodge all this, skunk boy!" Eggman laughed. "I only LOOK like a skunk, you two-timing tyrant!" Copter shouted, desperately trying not to get caught in the attacks. "I got your back, Copter!" Vector shouted from the sidelines, shooting at the laser turrets. It took a few shots, but Vector managed to blast the lasers to bits, causing Eggman to rethink his strategy. "I'm not finished yet!" he shouted as the Arachnoegg jumped back onto the web. He avoided hitting the damaged cable with the Arachnoegg's sword legs, which made Vector think a bit more. "What would he care if it breaks? The web looks strong enough to hold up without that cable..."

Suspended by the cable, the Arachnoegg was able to hop around the room quickly, a move Eggman now used to try to take Copter off guard. Copter was expecting this move, and ran directly below the robot as it fell in order to stab it from below with the sword. To his dismay, Copter realized that the sword couldn't do much damage. Eggman jumped again and again, and Copter had to move quickly to defend himself. Meanwhile, Vector fired a few more shots at the damaged part of the cable, causing it to spark a bit more, but it seemed the laser was too weak to really break it. Still, Vector had figured out what he was shooting at. "Copter! This robot doesn't run on internal power! It's plugged in! Break the web!"

Copter looked up at the web. With all the sparks flying from the damaged area, Vector's theory seemed a sound one. Running from the Arachnoegg, Copter tried to think of a way to get up there without his tails, which were still stuck together and unusable for flight. Desperately trying to think of something, Copter recalled something from his past...


"They're coming for us, Experiment 2. They will have me imprisoned, and maybe you as well. You must escape and free me, or this bomb I attatch to your wrist will destroy you! To aid you, I leave you with these shoes. They look like your original's, but they are unique. Tap the heels together, and something special will happen..."


Eggman had backed Copter into a corner, ready to slash at him with the Arachnoegg's claws. "Give it up, you fool! In the end, you're nothing but a weak shadow of Tails! You could never hope to defeat me!" Eggman said smugly. Copter stared up at him defiantly. "Ready to surrender?" Eggman taunted. In response, Copter tapped the heels of his shoes together. "I am not a slave to be controlled by you insane science freaks! I'll never surrender!" Tired of this, Eggman decided to finish it, swiping the claws at Copter, who jumped over them! Landing on the ground, his shoes sent him rocketing back up as though it was made of rubber! "The Bouncy Shoes... Thanks very much, Bucky!" Copter thought as he landed on the web cables. Sword still in hand, he ran over to the damaged part and sliced through it fast, so fast that the electricity didn't have a chance to shock him. The Arachnoegg jumped up on top of the web as well, still operational, as the power simply rerouted through the rest of the cables. "Nice try, you monotone miscreant!" Eggman shouted, still very confident. Copter realized that the only way to cut the power was to slice the section of cable directly linked to the Arachnoegg. Luckily, Vector realized that, too, and began firing at Eggman's cockpit in order to distract him. "Hey, don't forget about me, doc!" the crocodile shouted. Eggman blocked the shots with the Arachnoegg's claws. "I'll get you, too, Vector!" he yelled in a fit of frustration. This was Copter's chance. Bouncing off the web with his shoes, he soared over the Arachnoegg and sliced the cable attatched to its rear, severing its link to the web!

Eggman noticed this and laughed. "You idiot! You really thought that would stop me?! When all my other robots run on their own power?! All that cable does is speed the Arachnoegg up, but it doesn't need to be fast to catch you! You're not Sonic!" The giant robot spider slowly turned to face Copter, who took his sword and used it to slice through the gunk holding his tails together. "Why didn't I do that in the first place?" he thought. Then, looking up at Eggman with contempt, Copter tapped into the power of his tailband. "You don't even need to catch me, because I'm coming to you!" He tapped his heels again to stop the bounce effect, then ran at top speed at the Arachnoegg, ducking under the claws as they swung after him. Jumping at the cockpit, Copter slammed his tails into the robot furiously, causing a huge explosion! The explosion snapped the web, causing the Arachnoegg to crash to the ground in a fiery heap! The crash seemed to shake the very foundation of the tower, and was probably felt by Tails in the other passage even now! Copter hovered to the ground in front of Eggman using his tails. The mad doctor caughed from the smoke the fire was spouting. "Blast you..." he grumbled. "Surrender, doctor!" Copter shouted triumphantly. "Now, Copter, don't be hasty..." Eggman said nervously. Vector ran over to join them. "We want to know all about your little plan! Start talking!" the croc commanded. Eggman smiled, then laughed. "You two are very bold! You think I can't escape in my own base!?" The doctor pressed a button on his control panel, and his plane disconnected from the Arachnoegg, as miraculously undamaged as always, and flew away up into the darkness above the room. "Blast! Looks like he got away!" Copter said, knowing he was stating the obvious. "That fat, dumb, and bald guy sure plays hardball!"

"There's nothing more we can do here." Vector said. "I gotta catch up with Espio and Charmy anyway!" Copter nodded. "And I have my own matters to attend to. But the question is, will you let me go?" he said, glancing at Vector. The crocodile smiled at him. "I think I can trust you after that battle! But there's only one exit here. We'll split up at the end of the passage!" They ran back down the passage, which was eerily quiet, and split up at the first opportunity. "Tails must be near the roof by now!" Copter thought, "I need to get his tailband. Then, I'll be unstoppable, and no one will tell me what to do ever again!"

To be continued...