Sonic GeneX - The Series
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.


Previously on Sonic GeneX...
Tails flew to the Hopebringer Center, scanning it for signals to confirm Bucky's suspicions from before. The results of the scan were worrisome, and led Tails to conclude that Sonic had to be caught by his friends before GUN, or who knows what their mad scientists might do with his speed!
Now, let us begin today's story...


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..."

To be continued...