GeneX Generations
Chapter 2 - Secrets of the Chemical Plant
Stage - Chemical Plant - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
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!
You can't catch what you can't see!
Sonic the Hedgehog!
He's gonna make Mobius free!" - Sonic's Song, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Copter now found himself inside a massive chemical plant. The grey buildings were spewing pink fluids all over the place, creating a sea of toxic sludge. Blue and yellow pipes twisted all around between the buildings, carrying the strange chemicals from one area to another. Copter groaned as he looked around. "This is definitely Eggman's kinda place..." he grumbled. Still, he had no place better to go, so he headed into the plant. As he ran across the first few rooftops of the buildings, he came across an area where blobs of the chemicals were being spewed out of one hole in the floor, and landing in another. Several blobs would be shot out at once, and the resulting image reminded Copter of the Caterkillers at the Marble Zone. "Ulp... All right, don't touch that stuff..." he muttered, carefully ducking under the goop as it jumped between the holes. When he passed that section, he came to what seemed to be a dead end. At the edge of the building, there was a sea of chemicals separating him from the next building. "Hmmm... Maybe I can fly across... But I don't want to end up swimming in this stuff if it's too far." he thought. Looking around, he saw an odd sort of red object. "Huh? That's an odd looking spring..." he thought. It was a springboard, and it was positioned to allow the user to reach the other side, provided they jumped off it correctly. Copter backed up to get some distance, and ran at it, building up speed before jumping from it! However, it seemed he didn't jump quite right, and he wasn't going to make it! "Aaaargh!! Not in there!!" he yelped, spinning his tails desperately to avoid falling into the pink chemicals! Using his tails to fly, he managed to reach the other side without getting wet, or worse, poisoned. As he caught his breath, he looked ahead. The plant became more of a maze from here on out, and it seemed quite possible that he might have to go swimming in the chemicals at some point down the line. "Who's dumb idea was it for me to follow Sonic and Tails in here anyway? I should have tried that place with the neon lights a few miles away. It looked more fun..." he complained.
After some exploration, Copter managed to make it to a higher rooftop. There, he found an Egg Mobile. "Aha! Eggman! Or Robotnik! Now I've got you cornered! Now, would you care to explain all that white space out there!? Or do I have to get rough!?" he threatened. However, as the Egg Mobile turned to face him, he found that it was neither Eggman nor Robotnik, but an Eggrobo, a robot designed to resemble Robotnik. "You foolish two tailed pup! I care not for your nonsense! I have just been informed by my agent here that Sonic the Hedgehog is in the Chemical Plant!" he said, glancing at his agent, a red praying mantis robot. It was a Slicer, but modified. "Two Sonics, boss! I saw two Sonics!" the Slicer buzzed. The Eggrobo glanced at Copter. "Whatever, Slash. Sonic, two Sonics. As you can see, I'm about to be busy. I must keep this plant running smoothly! These special chemicals must be ready to fuel the Death Egg!" he explained. Copter yawned. "That's great. So, is Robotnik here?" he asked. The Eggrobo snickered. "Of course. You are looking at him! I am the leader of the Eggrobos, and commander of the Badnik army, Robo-Robotnik! That's why I get to fly an Egg Mobile! Isn't that impressive?" he bragged. Copter rolled his eyes. "Ugh... You're just a retro Metal Eggman. What is this, kiddie table day? I see a short Sonic and a short Eggman and now you... And a slightly older me. Weird." Robo-Robotnik was not amused. "Make fun of me, will you!? Slash, cut him up!" he ordered. "With pleasure, boss!" Slash replied, raising his bladed arms and suddenly throwing them! Copter gasped with alarm and stumbled to dodge them, but ended up with some minor cuts anyway. Slash chuckled and shook the stubby remains of his arms, calling his boomerang-shaped blades back! "Aw, shoot!" Copter jumped and flew out of the way, only to get shot at by Robo-Robotnik's laser gun! Copter dropped back to the ground quickly to dodge, and the two robots laughed at him. "Oh, that's funny, huh? How funny is this? Chaos Whirlwind!!" Copter's chaotic wind was too strong for Slash, and he started to blow away! Robo-Robotnik's Egg Mobile spun around a bit as well, and the two robots began to worry. "He's got magic, boss!!" Slash whimpered. "Retreat! We'll regroup in the power plant!" Robo-Robotnik shouted, prompting both robots to flee across a set of giant pipes!
Copter began to give chase. Right now, these goofy robots were his only lead, and he had to get whatever information he could from them. The pipe he was running across was twisting around another pipe, and the robots flew over to the next pipe, forcing Copter to jump over as well! It was tough to keep his footing, and he briefly wondered how Sonic does this sort of thing all the time, but he had to stop thinking about that as the pipe he was running on separated from the other and started going down into a steep slope! Slash hopped on to Robo-Robotnik's Egg Mobile and waved as it carried the two robots away, while Copter began sliding out of control down the pipe! "No, no, no!! Stop!! Gotta stooooop!!" It was no use, Copter tumbled and started rolling, spinning and spinning until he reached the bottom and smacked into a wall! "Ack!! Oooohhh... I'm gonna throw up... Spinning is for hedgehogs..." he moaned, stumbling his way back to his feet. As he stood around waiting for his stomach to settle, he noticed a shadow cast over him. It looked like a spider. "What the..." Looking up, he saw a yellow and black striped robot dropping from the ceiling, and in a moment, it was carrying him back up with it! It was a Grabber, and he was caught tight in its grip! "Agggh!! Lemme go!! What's the matter with this thing!! Hey, why's it flashing like that!?" Copter shouted, panicking as the robot was preparing to self-destruct! It started to seem like Copter was done for, when suddenly, a yellow ball of fur jumped up and struck the Grabber, knocking Copter out of its grip moments before it could explode! As Copter landed on the ground and stood up, he saw his rescuer hovering to the ground, flying with two tails. It was Tails, but shorter. Younger. Copter could tell the difference immediately. "Uh... Hey. Thanks, little guy." he said. The young Tails looked at him with concern. "You should be more careful! It's really dangerous in this place!" he warned. Copter nodded. "No kidding. But you don't have to worry about me. Now that I know about those things, I should be fine..." he said, starting to walk off, waving at Tails. "Wait!! Watch where you're going!!" Tails shouted hastily. However, it was too late. Copter suddenly fell into a suction tube, which carried him off at high speed! "I tried to warn ya..." Tails sighed, shaking his head.
The tube carried Copter for a while, eventually shooting him out in a room with walls covered in robots with spike covered spouts on their heads, called Spinys. They were immobile robots attached to the walls, but that wouldn't stop them from attacking. As Copter landed on the ground, the Spinys opened their spiky "mouths" and fired shots from the spouts on their heads! As the shots started raining down on him, Copter desperately ran for cover. There was no cover, however, so he could only desperately attempt to dodge the barrage. Luckily, the blasts were fairly slow moving, but unless he could take out some of those robots, he'd be in trouble. "Chaos Whirlwind!" he shouted, hoping to knock the robots off the wall. It was no good, the robots were stuck to the wall pretty good. Copter looked around in frustration, trying to think of a strategy. Suddenly, something flew in and took out one of the Spinys! Startled, Copter looked and saw a black shadow soaring around the room! "What the... What's that!?" he wondered. The shadow flew about, tearing through the Spinys one by one! Copter jumped out of the way as the wrecked robots almost fell down on top of him. "Yaaah! Is this thing on my side or not?" he wondered. Copter could hear a voice coming from the shadow. It was laughing as it was smashing the robots, taking pleasure in the destruction it was causing. It creeped Copter out a bit, but he allowed it to destroy each of the robots before saying anything. "Hey, shadowy thing? What's your deal?" he asked, unsure if he even could get an answer from whatever this was. The shadow took another lap around the room, chuckled at Copter, and then took off, heading into the next area. This shadow was going in the only direction Copter could go from this room, so it seemed he had little choice but to follow it. "What a day. Kid versions of people, crazy robots, another me, and now a psychotic smoke cloud. I wonder if it has anything to do with that monster that sent everyone here... Get back here, cloud!!" he shouted, chasing the shadow.
After a bit of an uneventful chase, Copter followed the shadow to a somewhat whited out section of the chemical plant. There, he saw someone was frozen into a white statue. Copter recognized him. It was Officer Razor the Porcupine, someone who was often trying to arrest him. Now it seemed Razor was the prisoner. The black shadow was examining the statue. It found the shadow cast by the statue, and then dove in! Copter moved as if to do something, but hesitated, not knowing exactly what to do. Once the shadow finished diving in, it vanished, along with Razor's shadow! Copter wasn't sure how to feel about this, but found himself running over to Razor and shaking his lifeless body. "Hey, dude, wake up! I'm tired of being on my own in this crazy haunted poison factory! Be alive, darn it! Be alive..." he yelped, almost crying in his misery. As if things weren't bad enough, he suddenly ended up snatched up by another Grabber! "Arrgh!! No!! Get your claws off me, you freak!! Ack!! Sooooonic!!!" he yelled desperately. As the Grabber started to flash in preparation for self-destructing, Copter shut his eyes and braced himself. Then, he heard a gunshot! He fell to the floor, while the Grabber exploded above him! Copter opened his eyes and saw a hand held out in front of him. "Need help?" It was Razor, alive and full of color again! Copter climbed to his feet and shook his hand. "Errr... Way to do your job for once, officer." he said. Razor's eyes narrowed. "And what are you doin' here? Care to explain... Anything?" he asked. Copter shrugged. "Someone will have to explain things to me first." he said. Razor nodded. "I guess we're pretty much in the same boat then. I guess I can quit hassling you for now." he frowned, looking around. Copter glanced at Razor awkwardly. "Errr... Um... You didn't hear me, um..." he muttered. "Calling for Sonic?" Razor guessed. Copter growled in response. Razor chuckled. "It'll never leave this room." he said. Copter looked around. "Hey, we're outside! Hey, Razor!! If you blab to anybody, you'll be sorry! I mean it!!" he shouted.
They hadn't gone far before Dimentime found them. "I see you found someone. Uhh... Hey, officer." he said awkwardly. Razor glanced from Dimentime to Copter. "Wha... Two of you!? Wait... This has happened before, hasn't it?" he realized. Dimentime nodded. "Errr... Yeah. That's my future. No more spoilers, please." he said. Copter growled at Dimentime. "Where have you been!? I could really have used your help!" he snapped. Dimentime crossed his arms. "I've been scouting for information. This black cloak doesn't make me know everything, you know." he said. Razor nodded. "So, did you find anything out?" he asked. Dimentime looked thoughtful. "It seems like Robotnik may not be working alone. But I couldn't identify who he was working with. So, Razor, why don't you tell us how you got here." he suggested. Razor looked uncertain. "I'm not sure. I remember... GUN was getting more insistent that we catch you experiments. So I went to interrogate your colorful echidna friend. That wasn't so popular with my own friends. Things were getting more outta hand when Experiment 1 showed up. Then a weird purple monster appeared outta nowhere..." he recalled. Copter frowned. "Purple monster. The same monster! It got Punchy and Rainbow, too! They're frozen somewhere in this white world!" he growled. Dimentime nodded. "Along with Razor's friends. That could include Katie." he pointed out. Razor nodded. "It does. White world you say? What do you mean?" he wondered. "Wait'll you get out of this plant." Copter said. Dimentime sighed. "That monster took a lot of people. Before dealing with that monster, we've got to find everyone it froze and restore them." he said. Copter crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's obvious. Do you know anything about that creepy black shadow that I chased over here?" he asked. "Black shadow...?" Razor muttered. Dimentime ignored the question and pointed deep into the chemical plant. "A 'Robo-Robotnik' is prepping Dr. Robotnik's great war machine for launch using this chemical plant. To keep Robotnik from being a serious problem, we've got to put a stop to this." he said. Copter shrugged. "When you're right, you're right. We better go!"
"I found Robo-Robotnik's hiding place, and the fastest way to get there is through that stuff..." Dimentime said, pointing into the sea of chemicals. Copter stared in disbelief. "No way. You're crazy. We'll die in that stuff!" he protested. Dimentime leaned against his staff. "Believe me, this isn't my favorite route, either. Just move fast and try not to swallow too much of it." he suggested. Razor backed away from the edge. "You guys are crazy... Count me out. I'll try to find a better way, thanks. I don't see what the giant rush is, anyway. I'm sure Sonic's got it covered." he said, walking away. Copter watched him go and sighed. "He had to bring that up. I'm not gonna leave this up to Sonic. He let the planet get split apart a while back. What was up with that?" Dimentime stared at Copter. "Split apart...!? Sheesh, let's move it!" he said urgently. The two foxes hopped into the chemicals and sank to a pipe running across below them. The chemical plant was quite a bit different from under the "water." Strange yellow blocks were moving up, down, and around each other, possibly mixing the chemicals a bit, while spike traps were set to discourage intruders from using the chemical sea as a shortcut. "Poor Sonic. Since he can't swim, coming down here must be pretty dangerous." Copter thought, a bit amused. Dimentime motioned to the yellow blocks. "Avoid... Crush you!" he gurgled, finding it difficult to speak in the chemical water. Copter nodded, and they started swimming as quick as they could. In some places, the yellow blocks barricaded the way forward a bit, but their movements assured that with patience, the foxes could pass them. As they swam up a bit, however, their path started to seem more dangerous. Swinging spike balls were set up throughout the flooded corridor, and Spinys were attached to the walls and ceiling. Copter gargled in alarm. "We'll either be skewered, blasted, or drown!" he thought. Dimentime tugged at his arm, urging him to move on. If they didn't hurry, they'd run out of air! They dived and weaved through the pink waters, careful to avoid the spikes, while the Spinys started to shoot at them! Copter panicked and grabbed a spike ball's chain, and ended up swinging along with it! Dimentime watched this and got an idea, swimming towards another spike ball closer to some Spinys. He grabbed the chain and swam with all his might, swinging the chain at the Spinys on the wall! The spike ball smashed them, but then it started swinging more wildly! Dimentime swam out of the way quickly, but now Copter had to get by. He let go of the chain he was holding as it neared the direction he needed to go, and let the momentum help him swim past the other spike ball, barely passing it without getting hit. He glanced at Dimentime with annoyance, but didn't say anything as they moved on.
They were running out of air. They needed to get out of the chemicals, quick! Swimming frantically, they turned a corner and found a spring, aimed at a series of springs leading upward. It was guarded by a gang of Spinys, but they had no time to worry about them! Copter and Dimentime swam for it, evading the blasts from the robots as best they could, and soon reached the spring! Dimentime first, and then Copter jumped on the spring, and they were launched from spring to spring until they splashed out of the chemicals and high into the air! They took a deep breath as they were freed from the toxic sludge, but they couldn't rest yet. The springs caused them to land on a set of rails, and they had no choice but to start grinding! "Gyaaaaah!! Who designed this crazy place!!?" Copter yelled. "I know, and those springs hurt! Were they made of steel or something!?" Dimentime groaned. They were grinding on separate rails, side by side, and saw a hook hanging from a crane up ahead. Not sure where the rail would lead, and having no better ideas, they jumped at the hook and grabbed it, swinging from the crane! "Aaaaah!! Brilliant idea, me! Now what!?" Copter yelled. Dimentime looked around. "I'm working on it! Hold your horses!" he said, and soon saw their destination below them. "There it is! The power plant! Get ready to jump!" he shouted. Copter glared at him. "I'm not gonna jump!" he yelled. "Then enjoy the view!" Dimentime snapped, jumping towards the power plant, using his tails to slow his descent once he was about halfway there. Copter gulped. "Sure wish the Hurricane was in one piece..." he muttered before jumping from the crane, mimicking Dimentime's flight pattern and crashing into the power plant through a window! The two foxes started to catch their breath and look around. There was some whirring machinery that neither fox could understand, and a control panel on the other side of the room. There was also a balcony overhead, but it seemed pretty useless to them. However, they were being watched from there...
"That's it, intruders... Stay right there... You're all mine!" Robo-Robotnik stealthily emerged from the balcony and hovered over them in his Egg Mobile, which was modified with a chemical tank, which was slowly pumping chemicals into a jar. Dimentime heard the pump, and glanced up. "Ummm..." he muttered, stepping aside just in time to avoid the contents of the jar getting dumped on him. However, Copter ended up soaked. "Ha ha ha ha!! Wither and die in toxic chemicals!!" Robo-Robotnik cackled. Copter groaned and glared at Dimentime. "WARN me next time!!" he yelled before looking up at Robo-Robotnik. "Hey, idiot! We just went for a swim in this junk! You really think more of it will make much difference?" he pointed out. Robo-Robotnik scratched his metallic head, while Slash hopped on the rail of the balcony. "He makes a good point, boss." he buzzed. Robo-Robotnik turned to Slash and fired his blaster at him, which he dodged hastily. "Shut up, you Metropolis reject! This is why we have backup plans! Release the minions!" he ordered. Slash nodded. "Releasing minions! Clap on!" he said, banging his claws together. Suddenly, a multitude of Grabbers hung down from the ceiling, threatening to drop down and seize Copter and Dimentime! Spinys popped out of hatches on the walls as well, and the two foxes were looking quite outnumbered. Copter growled. "I'm gonna blow that robot's head off..." he grumbled. Dimentime raised his staff like a weapon. "Concentrate on the spiders. If they grab us, we're toast." he warned. The robots started attacking, with Robo-Robotnik and Slash adding in their attacks from above! Copter and Dimentime focused on the Grabbers, using their tails, fists, and Dimentime's staff to bust up any that lowered close enough to hit, but they had to dodge the other robots' attacks as well, and the simple fact was that they were far outnumbered. Soon, they both were grabbed, and things were looking hopeless. "Ha ha ha ha! Yes!! Now sacrifice yourself to destroy those foxes!" Robo-Robotnik commanded. Slash looked conflicted. "Isn't that a sick thing to expect a minion to do?" he asked. "Don't think about it." Robo-Robotnik replied. Suddenly, two gunshots came from behind Robo-Robotnik and Slash! The shots struck the Grabbers' cables, knocking them loose and freeing Copter and Dimentime! Robo-Robotnik spun around. "Hey! Who dares!?" he roared. Razor stood there, pointing his gun at the Eggrobo and smirking. "I see I'm not too late after all. Where do you want it, bot?" he asked. Robo-Robotnik chuckled and dumped some chemicals on Razor, soaking his eyes so he couldn't see to shoot! "Aaagh!! No fair!!" he yelled. Meanwhile, Copter and Dimentime ignored the remaining robots and ran for the control panel. "Maybe something..." Dimentime muttered. "There! Emergency self-destruct!" Copter grinned. Dimentime scratched his head. "Why do these places always have a self destruct button?" he muttered. Copter shrugged. "Who cares! So long, chemical plant!" he snickered as he and Dimentime pounded the red button at the same time. Alarms blared loudly, and Robo-Robotnik and Slash looked around in a panic. "No!! NOOO!! Not the emergency destruct!!" Robo-Robotnik yelled. "Why do we even have that?" Slash asked. "Never mind! Let's get out of here!!" Robo-Robotnik growled, allowing Slash to board his Egg Mobile before he took off through the broken window. Copter and Dimentime hurried past the panicking robots, flew up to the balcony, and grabbed Razor. "Time to pay the white space a visit!" Copter said. Razor nodded. "Deal. I think the fumes in this place took ten years off my life!" he said as they hurried out of the power plant. As they began flying off, the chemical plant started exploding behind them! They made a mad dash for the exit, and luckily, they were close enough to escape before they could be caught in the explosions.
Sonic had barely managed to escape the explosion as well, and was now looking around what was left of the exterior. Most of the Chemical Plant was still intact; the explosion may have merely slowed down Robo-Robotnik's operation. As Sonic looked around, Tails flew towards him. "Sonic!" he called. "Tails!" he replied, watching his friend land. Tails looked around. "This Chemic Plant feels familiar. I'd never forget a smell like this! And that pink water makes me really nervous for some reason." he noted. Sonic nodded. "You're right, Tails. This place is giving me deja vu all over again." he realized. Looking around a bit longer, Sonic found a frozen statue resembling Amy. Like the frozen parts of Chemical Plant, she was now regaining her color and life as he approached! She smiled as she saw Sonic. "You saved me, Sonic! I was afraid I'd never be able to flirt with you again!" she said.
As Sonic, Tails, and Amy were settling down, Copter, Dimentime and Razor caught up with them outside the entrance to Chemical Plant. "Hey, Tails. You're looking... taller..." Copter mumbled. Tails scratched his head. "Wha...?" he muttered. "Never mind." Copter said. Amy glanced at Dimentime. "Huh? Why are there two Copters? Isn't one clone enough?" she groaned. Sonic chuckled. "Hey, I know! It's Dimentime! I haven't seen you since the Sun Festival! What's up?" he asked. Dimentime shrugged. "Well, a lot. It seems that Dr. Robot-" he didn't get to finish before something caught Sonic's attention, though. "Hey, that's swell, buddy. Hey! Isn't that a casino?" he said, looking at another white and lifeless area nearby. Razor put his hands on his hips. "Uhhh, Sonic...? Maybe you should listen to this..." he suggested. Copter nodded. "Yeah, also, I've been seeing another y-" It was no use. Sonic was too intrigued by the next area. "Slot machines, here I come! Whooo!!" he cheered, rushing off. Amy started after him, but he was too fast. "Sonic! Wait! We should go together! It could be romantic!! Awww..." Tails sighed. "He wanted to check that out since I brought it up a little bit ago. I guess I'll see you later Copter, and uh... Other Copter..." he said, rushing after Sonic. Amy took off behind him, leaving the two Copters with Razor. "Well, um... Maybe I should look for clues as to the whereabouts of... Everyone." Razor said, nonchalantly walking off. Copter turned to Dimentime. "Do you think the fact that there's two of us is weirding everyone out?" he asked. Dimentime nodded. "It's weirding me out." he said. "Me too." Copter agreed. Just then, the younger Sonic, joined now by the younger Tails, exited the Chemical Plant. They looked around, seeming a bit lost. Dimentime pointed at the casino. "Try there. Everyone else is going there." he suggested. Sonic gave him a thumbs up and took off. "Thanks, mister!" Tails added, spinning his tails and following Sonic from the air. Copter glanced at Dimentime. "Where should we go?" he asked. Dimentime shrugged. "Somewhere else. We'll cover more ground that way." he said. Copter nodded. "We'd never keep up with the Sonics anyway." he reasoned. Looking around, they saw some more places unfamiliar to either of them. They still had a tough journey ahead of them, and neither of them could guess what was in store next.
To be continued...
