NexGen: GeneX Epilogue
Part 1: GeneX Village
Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA.
NexGen, GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
The world, and countless worlds beyond, had been saved from certain doom. Chosen ones had banded together, and with their powers combined, defeated and cured the legion of Lost Ones, restoring natural life to the multiverse. In the aftermath, the heroes had all gone their separate ways and returned to their lives. Arthur Prower, better known as Copter, was one of those heroes. A black twin-tailed fox with spiky-ended tails and blue goggles upon his head, Copter set out with his girlfriend Gemini the fennec and her twin sister Libra to see the world. The twins both dressed much the same, wearing pink sweaters and jeans. Gemini was white furred primarily; Libra was light blue. The trio had attempted to enjoy their vacation, but as they stepped out of the doors to the Spagonia airport, their hearts sank as they noticed a gathering of the press awaiting them. "Fourth time since we started our trip! Thanks, Katie, for telling the media that we were involved in fighting the Lost Ones..." Copter groaned. If they were to get spotted, they'd be mobbed with questions they didn't feel like answering...again! Gemini whipped out her magic wand, growling softly. "I know it's tempting to vaporize them, but just hide us..." Libra suggested. Gemini nodded. "Morphikadabra!" she cast, turning the three of them into humans that vaguely resembled their Mobian forms. It was easy to stroll past the media when they looked like an entirely different species. Still, Copter found it quite unpleasant. "Can't you magic me a shirt, while you're at it? I feel all exposed without fur..." he grumbled. At least he had pants...
They headed for one place they knew would be pretty much safe, Professor Pickle's lab. After turning back to their true forms, the professor welcomed them and showed them around briefly, but he had work to do, and couldn't stay to chat. Libra sighed and slumped into a chair. "Some vacation, huh? How long do you think it'll be until the media moves on?" she murmured. Gemini shrugged. "Not long. But it might be long enough to be very...annoying." she stated. Copter growled. "It's already annoying. Let's ragequit already. Where do we go?" he asked. "Home?" Libra questioned, "Um... Do we even have a home after Punchy left Raisol Sanctuary?" she added. The trio glanced at each other awkwardly. Libra had lost her house some time ago, and Eggman's Darkegg Fortress base where Copter used to stay was also gone. "Well, maybe we're not going home, either. Any ideas, Gemini? 'cuz I'm not spending my vacation as a human... No offense if anyone in the hall's listening in!" Copter grunted. Gemini wasn't keen on spending her vacation as any species other than herself, either. "Hmm... Why don't we call some of the others? Maybe our friends can give us some ideas." she suggested. Copter reached into his pocket and produced a ProwerPhone, which he held onto after the events of the Lost One war. "Hope this thing can call long-distance. Who do we start with? Hmmm..." On a whim, he called up Punchy first. "Aurora!! Get off that counter!! Gahh!! Rainbow, help!!" was the first thing they heard Punchy say as he picked up, "Guys, can you call back? Yeesh, if this is my kid at one, I am NOT ready for the terrible twos!" he gulped, quickly hanging up. Copter glanced at Gemini with an awkward chuckle. "Let's not have our kid too soon, yeah?" he murmured.
They tried calling some other friends. Kosmo had spent a fair bit of his life in hiding, so they began with the morph. "You try faking your death? That gets people off your tail pretty well." he suggested. Libra frowned. "And what happens when we want to...live again?" she asked. Kosmo chuckled softly. "You figure it out. By the way, you wouldn't have any intel on a crashed spaceship, would ya?" he asked. Copter hung up without answering, and they moved on to the next call. "Wha? I have a phone??" Knuckles stammered upon answering. "I brought it here..." Shade could be heard in the background. "What other changes are you plannin' to make up here??" Knuckles snapped, the echidna's voice going silent as he hung up without letting Copter speak. "Yeaaah... They're still adjusting to living together..." he murmured. They explained the situation to Guard the gargoyle next...or Garen, as he was now known. "Grrr... If you feel threatened, GUN could take you into protective custody..." the gargoyle grunted. "No way!!" Copter shouted quickly, "Why'd we call Guard, anyway??" Copter had spent time in a GUN cell before, and going back wasn't an option. Next on their list was Tails, who didn't seem to see the problem. "You could just...do an interview? Pretty sure they'd leave you alone if you just did one." he stated. Gemini chuckled awkwardly. "I don't want to be in the spotlight at all. How do I answer questions if my past comes up? My past is the future!" she stated. Tails didn't know what to tell them. Finally, they made a last-ditch call to Vortex the chameleon. "You could ssstay with usss for a while." he told them. Copter scratched his head. "Hey, where are you guys living now? Shadow Arcangel is rubble!" he realized. Vortex hissed softly. "We've got ssssome property on an island. I'll sssend you the coordinatesss... Don't be followed." he said a bit ominously. Copter glanced to the twins, and they shrugged. "Might as well check it out..." Gemini said.
Following the coordinates, Copter flew his plane, the Hurricane, to a largely untamed tropical island, with Gemini and Libra riding along. The island was dominated by a small mountain, with lush forests surrounding it. Along the coastline, they found a small village, which was apparently fairly new. There was a sign at the edge of town that read "GeneX Village." Copter nodded upon seeing it. "This must be the place... Did Vortex and them build this whole village?" Copter wondered. "Look there... Looks like a garage." Libra pointed out. There was a building with a small runway behind it. Copter took advantage and landed on the runway. He was surprised by who met them there. "Well, well... Finally brought my plane back ta me, eh? 'Bout dang time!" The beaver robot, Hoover, was walking out of the garage. "Heeey... Sonic said Eggman retired. Decommissioned his robots and everything!" Gemini said. Hoover grunted, munching on a used soda can. "I ain't run on no animals, so I can do as I please! 'Sides, you'd be hopeless witout me!" he said. Copter jumped out of the plane and looked around. "That's cool, uhh... But Eggman isn't here, right? It's just you?" he asked. Hoover shrugged. "Ain't no one know where the doc disappeared to. He might be retired, but that don't mean all's forgiven, so he can't very well keep his location very public." he explained. Gemini and Libra hopped out of the plane next. "I guess Vortex needed this guy's help to build the town..." Libra concluded. Hoover chuckled. "Well, there's still plenty work ta be done, but we been doin' a pretty good lob if'n I says so myself. Even got a place all set fer ya." he announced. Copter raised an eyebrow. "Really? Planned for us to show up, eh? Hm, might as well look around town..." he murmured.
The town was pretty bare-bones for now, with the garage being the most modern building there, barring a building at the back that was clearly Vortex's lab. The other buildings were essentially wood cabins, and there were enough buildings for all 19 experiments plus some friends to potentially stay there, as long as they didn't bring too many friends. It wasn't a very crowded town, for sure. Copter found Talon the griffin, Sonata the unicorn and Bolt the creature just outside the garage, ready to greet them. "Hey, I was starting to doubt anyone was gonna join us here!" Talon waved. "Vortex tried to invite the other Experiments, but most of them have other stuff going on." Sonata stated. Of course, Copter was Experiment 2, hence his invite. Bolt backed away from the newcomers slowly. "I-I'm honestly glad it's not too crowded here..." he admitted shyly. Gemini took in a deep breath of that seaside air. "I think I agree with ya. This'll be a good place to spend our vacation... Or live forever..." she said cheerfully. Copter nodded, waving to the trio of experiments. "Well, we're gonna explore a bit. Catch ya later..." he said. Talon waved back. "Well, ya won't get lost, anyway..." he said. As the foxes headed further into town, Zipp the hornet flew out and pounced on Copter, shaking him. "Didn't we tell you to make sure not to get followed??" he shouted. "Don't touch me, you psycho!!" Copter growled, shoving him off, "We weren't followed! ...Right?" he added, glancing at Gemini and Libra, who both shrugged. An explosion was heard at the entrance to town, the sign Copter had noticed on the way over being broken into pieces! Zipp grabbed a gun from his jacket pocket. "Not followed, eh? What's that, then!?" he snapped. Copter started to follow him toward the explosion. If this was in any way his fault, he'd do his best to set it right!
Copter arrived to find Zipp taking cover with Emily the squirrel behind a building. They were taking cover from incoming shots fired by robots, but not Eggman's, and not GUN's. They looked a lot like GUN robots, but were painted in a red and black color scheme, a different logo displayed on their metal bodies, with the word "BOMB" written across it. "Chaos Whirlwind!!" Copter was quick to blow some of the robots back with his chaotic wind power, giving Zipp an opening to fire some shots back at the robots. "Who the heck are these guys??" Copter shouted. "Who do ya think? Gunner supporters!" Zipp shouted. Richard Gunner was a vile man who briefly took over both GUN and the government before the Lost Ones crashed his civil war and started a war of their own. At the end of it all, Gunner was arrested, but his former allies that helped him take over GUN were still around, and apparently formed their own organization. Some Hunter-looking robots turned their guns on Copter, but before they could fire on him, Gemini appeared and zapped them with blasts of magic, blowing them to pieces! "Why are we ALWAYS fighting GUN??" she grumbled. "Not GUN, BOMB." Emily said, stepping out from her cover, "I've seen them online. 'Band of Mobian-Blasters.' They're true believers in Gunner's philosophy that everything terrible that's happened to our world lately is the fault of Mobians, especially those with powers." she explained. Copter looked at her in confusion. "Shouldn't you be, uh... With Conan?" he asked. Emily sighed. "He's serving time in prison for his crimes. We'll be reunited in a few years. Until then, I've no place else to stay... I kind of lost all my assets being dead for so long." she said. "Talk later! The bots aren't finished!" Zipp shouted.
Fortunately, Vortex the chameleon and Crash the rhino were arriving on the scene, ready to assist in taking on the swarm of robots. The rhino charged horn-first toward some small tank-like robots, with Vortex covering him with carefully aimed Chaos Inferno blasts. "Tch, what sort of idiot thought attacking a village of US would end well?" Copter wondered as he stood back and watched the trio known as "Team GeneX" do their work. Gemini was more inclined to help, shooting down some BOMB-ified beetle robots with some well placed spells. "My question is more, 'how could anyone support Gunner?'" she said to Copter. The black fox shrugged, and as a BOMB hunter dropped down in front of him, he quickly evaded its laser and swatted it with his tails. "Eh, world's full of people willing to follow anybody. Just so long as they don't gotta think for themself." he concluded. Crash and Vortex backed to the area where Copter, Gemini and Zipp were taking cover, as a large mech approached. "Thisss mussst be the bossss..." the chameleon hissed. "Still not all that original. Looks like a regular Bigfoot mech..." Crash murmured. As the mech landed, hatches opened on the sides to reveal many more missiles ready to launch than a typical Bigfoot mech would possess. "Oooh, I want one!" Zipp said excitedly. Before attacking, a voice rang out from a speaker in the mech. "GeneX Experiments! Your reign of terror is ending soon!" The group glanced at each other awkwardly. "Do we know that voice? Can't place him..." Copter asked. "Honestly, he kinda sounds like Zipp..." Gemini babbled. "Hey! I'm right here!!" the hornet snapped. The speaker let out a frustrated groan. "Come on, guys! You remember... Agent 32? Worked under Sergeant Drol? Green shades?" The group shrugged. No one remembered this stooge.
At any rate, Agent 32 had his speech to finish. "Richard Gunner was right about you freaks all along! You may have fooled half the world just by cleaning up your own freakish messes, but you can't fool me! You caused that whole monster infestation!" he shouted. Copter rolled his eyes. "Who wants to take this guy? I mean, I've had enough of this delusion outta Gunner to last a lifetime..." he grumbled. "We are not delusional! Now, you face the wrath of me, Doug Stone!" Agent 32 declared. The Mobians blinked, and Zipp laughed at him. "Shoulda stuck with a number, Dougie." the hornet mocked. Doug growled, and his mech stomped toward them. "You won't be laughing in a sec... Fire!!" he snarled, only to gasp as bullets pelted the back of his mech. "Who??" he snapped, turning the mech around. The Tornado was flying overhead, shooting down at the mech only to find its armor too tough. "There must be a weak spot!" Tails shouted. Sonic stood on the plane's wing, and gave Tails a thumb's up before leaping down! Not wanting to wait for the hedgehog's move, Doug fired the mech's missiles, dozens of little rockets racing towards the falling hedgehog! Tails shot at a couple of the missiles, exploding them! The smoke of the explosions obscured Sonic for a moment, but he then came barreling out of the smoke in a ball, and crashed through the mech's head, causing it to blow up and leave a heap of scrap! Sonic emerged from that explosion unscathed, and a small drone passed by, through which Doug addressed him. "You'll regret interfering Sonic! You're on our list, too!" he shouted. Tails shot down the drone as he passed by, heading for the runway by Hoover's garage. Sonic turned and waved at the Mobians nearby. "Heya, long time no see!" he smirked.
Tails soon met up with them, and Cream the rabbit was with him. Copter looked at them with a smug grin. "What happened to just doing an interview and letting 'em move on?" he teased. Tails chuckled softly. "Well... We thought a vacation sounded nice, anyway." he said. Vortex, Zipp and Crash had gone to assess the damage to the village, and Emily went on her way as well, leaving just Copter and the fennec twins to greet Sonic and his friends. "This is some island. Looks like there's a lot to explore here." Sonic smiled, looking up at the mountain looming over the village and forest. "I'm just glad the robots are gone so Tails and I can relax on the beach together." Cream said, holding her boyfriend's hand. Gemini nodded. "Yeah...but are we sure they won't come back?" she wondered. Copter shrugged and started walking towards the beach. "Y'know, who cares? If a few measly robots from Gunner's old underlings are all we got to worry about, I think we got it made." he said. It had been so many years with greater, often apocalyptic threats hanging over them. Copter was just glad to, at last, not be in the midst of some epic quest. Not watching his step, Copter bumped into someone near the beach. "Oop! Sor... Violet??" he stammered. Violet the echidna, Punchy's sister-in-law and one of Copter's ex girlfriends, was standing there in a blue bikini, clearly set for a good time at the beach, too. "Hey... So, I'm not the only one who needed to get away..." she said with an awkward chuckle. Copter gulped and nodded, trying not to stare at her too much. "Your little niece drive ya nuts?" he said politely. Violet nodded, and breaking the tension, Silver Blaze and Marine raced past them, each carrying surfboards! "Last one in's a rotten Eggman!" Silver laughed. "'Oi! You take that back, mate!" Marine shouted. Watching them, Copter let out a sigh. "Guess this place ain't gonna be so quiet after all..."
Later, Vortex stopped by the village entrance to see how the repairs were going. He had his own work to do, so Crash, Zipp and a couple others were fixing the damage. The entry sign seemed fixed, but something also seemed a bit off from behind. Vortex stepped around front and stammered in disbelief. "H-hey! Who put thisss together??" he shouted. Zipp flew over to him quickly. "Rush job. Why, what could be wrong with it?" he asked. Vortex rubbed his head and groaned. "Ssssome of the piecesss are backward." he said, pointing. Instead of GeneX Village, the sign read, "neXGen Village," half of the letter N being on either side. "Uh huh... NexGen... You know, that kinda sounds better. Sounds like the future or something!" Zipp stated. Vortex let out a soft groan, and Crash stepped over to chime in. "I think our creator would approve. He'd want us to keep our eyes on the future, and not dwell on the mistakes of the past anymore." he stated. Vortex nodded slowly. "Alright, whatever. GeneX, NexGen, doesssn't matter. All that mattersss isss building a future that will lassst. It'sss the bessst way to honor our massster...and father'sss, legacy." With that decided, the book was officially closed on the story of "GeneX." It was indeed time to look to the future. For now, the future held some well-earned rest for our heroes. Beyond that, who could say? Tomorrow is always a brand new day...
NexGen: GeneX Epilogue
Part 2: The Case of the Spaceship
Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA.
NexGen, GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
It was lights-out time at the recommissioned Prison Island. The inmates were locked away in their cells, and left with little else to do but sleep the night away. Richard Gunner wasn't sleeping, however. He sat up in his uncomfortable prison bed, holding up a book against the dim light of a lamp. These were among the few comforts the villain was allowed, and many would say he deserved less. He couldn't easily focus on his reading, though, as the sound of a night stick tapping along the prison bars was driving him nuts. It was annoying someone a couple cells down, as well; Conan the Raccoon, who grumbled at the passing guard. "Come on, keep it down. We're at least entitled to a good night's...you?!?" The raccoon's alarmed voice drew Gunner's attention, and he set aside his book before creeping to his cell's bars to check things out. However, he couldn't see or hear anything, and after a moment he yawned and started to turn back to his bed. Then, he heard the stick tap against his own cell's bars. "Tsk, tsk, it's lights out time, old man." the guard stated. Gunner growled. "Don't speak to me like that! I'm a grown man, and I'll..." as he turned around, he noted the guard's glowing yellow eyes, "Y-you!! Stay back! Guards!! Help!!" he shouted as the glowing-eyed man unlocked his cell. "I gave 'em the night off. Figured a guy who ran GUN for a bit might know... Got any spaceships hidden away somewhere?" the "guard," Kosmo the Morph, asked. "Who do you think I am, Eggman?" Gunner stammered. Kosmo morphed his hand into a hammer shape. "I think you were worse than Eggman. C'mon, a spaceship that crashed around the time of the Black Arms invasion, not a Black Arms ship. Ring any bells?" he asked, holding his hammer-hand threateningly. Gunner winced and groaned. "That time? I wasn't even Sergeant until a bit after that. You might ask my predecessor..." he said. "Murten's dead, try again!" Kosmo snarled. "N-not Murten! There was another Sergeant in the interim! I got the job when he retired! ...Doyle, that's who you're looking for! He retired and became a private detective. That's all I know!" the old man stammered, a bit panicked. Kosmo locked the cell again on his way out. "Well, if I need you again, I know where to find you..." the morph snickered, vanishing into the night afterward...
ONE MONTH LATER...
It took a bit of detective work just to find Detective Doyle, but Kosmo and Carrie found themselves at the door to his office/apartment at last. "Hopefully when we do find my ship, between it and Ozzie's ship we'll be able to rebuild a functional spacecraft..." Kosmo murmured. It hadn't taken too long to find Ozzie's ship after the Lost One war; It was actually found on a helicopter pad in the city, clearly having landed during the one-day war, and having been damaged since. Copter stepped hesitantly toward the door where Kosmo and Carrie were standing. "I dunno what you need me for..." he grumbled. "Well, ya got more experience dealing with GUN than me..." Carrie stated, "And you're more cuddly and unthreatening than Kosmo. We might need a good cop here." Copter raised an eyebrow. "You're not the good cop?" he asked her. The door opened after a moment, and a gray haired man with sunglasses and a black trench coat peered out. "Not exactly the sort of clientele I normally get... Mobians typically go to the Chaotix. So, what's a group of fuzzballs want with me?" Doyle asked, lighting a cigarette as he stood outside the door. "It's about your time at GUN..." Kosmo said with crossed arms. The detective lowered his shades to get a better look at the morph. "My time with GUN? Hmm... And given your biology... I'd figure this is about that space wreck. Surprised ya took so long to come lookin' for me." he said, blowing smoke that made Copter cough. "Can you put that out?" the fox groaned. "...helps me think." Doyle murmured, "I figure that ship belongs to you, but I can't say as I know where it is now, it's been so long. I'd suggest askin' Gunner or the Commander..." he stated. Carrie frowned. "Let's say we're not on the friendliest terms with GUN... And Gunner sent us to you." she said. Doyle nodded, and reached somewhere behind his door to grab a ratty old hat. "Then come with me. I got an idea where to start... By the way, if you're hirin' me, who's paying?" he asked, prompting Kosmo and Carrie to glance at Copter. "Why you... You don't need a 'good cop,' you need someone who's held a job before!" the fox groaned.
The detective drove them to the warehouse district of town, stopping at an old, dilapidated-looking building. A seemingly abandoned warehouse. Doyle actually had a key to let them in. "Aw, and I was ready to turn into a key myself..." Kosmo joked. "Or I coulda ripped the door off its hinges with my powers." Carrie chuckled. "I prefer not getting in trouble with the law..." Copter sighed. There were several file cabinets stored in the warehouse, and Doyle opened one, starting to rifle through the files. "Ought to be able to find records if the ship's been moved around. Help me search, wouldja?" he said. "Paperwork?? ...Yeah, can I just leave now, Kosmo?" Copter groaned. Kosmo shrugged. "No one's forcin' ya to stay." he stated. While the detective and his clients rifled through papers, Copter decided to simply take a look around. "So, this is a GUN warehouse? More of a dump than I even imagined..." Copter muttered, "But I guess that's why nobody'd break in here, hm?" he mused. Doyle held up a file, examining it. "This is the last file for the ship, I recognize the serial number here..." he murmured, "...but the transfer site was redacted. Hmm..." Copter ignored him, examining some robots resting on the shelves. "Huh... These beetle designs are a bit different..." he murmured. The headlights on the beetles turned on, and Copter shielded his eyes. "Gah, shoot! Er, DON'T shoot!" he shouted, backing up. The red-colored beetles began firing flamethrowers all around, setting the warehouse on fire! "What did you DO, Copter!?" Kosmo yelled. "Not my fault! I think these bots were waiting around for intruders!" Copter shouted, running from the flames. Doyle's eyes narrowed as he looked at the robots. "Those aren't GUN models..." he stated, clutching the redacted file as he joined the others in rushing for the exit! There was nothing they could do to stop the blaze as the warehouse went up in flames...
Back at Doyle's office, the group considered what they knew. "GUN wanted to keep the ship hush-hush. Guess they had plans for it, hm? Gunner probably lied through his teeth to me when he said he didn't know anything!" Kosmo growled. "GUN's a big organization. It's possible even when he took it over, he missed some things... I'm more curious about those robots..." Doyle said as he sat at his desk, looking contemplative. Copter stood in the corner, sighing in annoyance that he actually had information for them after all. "I think they were BOMB robots..." he stated. Carrie looked a bit confused. "Uhhh, no, they used flamethrowers, not explosives..." she babbled. "Band of Mobian Blaster, or whatever. They're what's left of Gunner's minions. Stole GUN's designs and all, and I bet they'd love a spaceship to blast us with..." Copter explained. While he was talking, Doyle picked up the phone on his desk. "There's one contact that might be able to fill in the gaps for us... Hello, this Guard?" the detective said, having dialed and already gotten an answer. "Grr... Speaking..." Doyle had set the phone to speaker, so the others could hear him. "Hey again, Guard. Ever hear of BOMB?" Copter asked. "Or, let me ask another question..." Doyle suggested, "Got any leads on shady dealings GUN may have had under Gunner's command?" he questioned. Guard grunted over the phone. "BOMB is a major headache for us right now. Rrrr... I'll give you any help with them that I can. However... Heather and I are enjoying a bit of time off right now..." Kosmo made a face. "Yeah, don't give us any details about that..." he murmured. "We'll try not to take up much of your time..." Carrie sighed. "...Grr... I'll tell you where to meet us..." Guard grunted, "Seems the day off's over, anyway..."
Guard met them at a facility resting at the end of a long road, far removed from the city. It looked like a GUN base, at any rate. "Grr... This base was decommissioned, but we have reason to believe this BOMB group have taken it over..." Guard stated, swiping a key card at the steel entry doors in order to open them, "Those amateurs haven't been able to upgrade the security." he noted. "Better stay prepared for anything. You call 'em amateurs, but I saw their robots at the warehouse. Someone had to know what they were doing..." Doyle said with his cigarette clenched in his teeth. Copter shoved past Guard and headed inside first. "Look, sooner we deal with this, the sooner I can get back to vacationing with Gemini..." he grumbled impatiently. As he entered, however, bright lights were shone in his face, forcing him to cover his eyes. "Oh, crap." he growled. "Well, well, Copter the fox! We were hoping to get a chance to take you out again!" came the voice of Agent 32, Doug Stone, over a speaker. Kosmo ran in next to Copter, looking around as his eyes adjusted to the spotlights pointed at them. "Where are ya, you slimy rodent? I just gotta ask some questions!" the morph shouted. Some robots that looked a bit more like modern drones than the typical beetle were surrounding the group even as Carrie and Guard joined Copter and Kosmo. "I've sent someone to meet you. Ask him your questions..." Stone snickered. Kosmo was impatient, however. "You guys keep 'em busy. I'll find the man in charge here..." he said, his body turning to steel as he ran ahead, bullets bouncing off him as he went! Carrie held back the shots fired at the others with her psychokinesis, but she dropped to the ground after a moment. "Aaaah! Spiders! They're all over me!!" she shouted, trying to swat off invisible spiders. "Huh?" Copter muttered, confused. "Grrr, Basker!" Guard pointed. Approaching from the front hallway was a collared Basker the Hound, clearly being controlled by the collar. "Hello, Arthur Prower... Hello, Doyle..." Basker waved. Doyle cursed under his breath. "Sherlock Basker... One of Sergeant Murten's old experiments. Guess you've been reclaimed by BOMB." he grumbled.
Not that Copter much cared about Basker's backstory, but now he more or less knew. Before he kidnapped wolves, Sergeant Murten's scientists experimented on dogs. They created a soldier capable of manipulating the fears of his opponents, but GUN higher-ups found out about these experiments and stopped them, imprisoning Basker. The Covenant of Despair released and recruited him, and from there Copter only wondered how Basker escaped Prison Island after the Lost One war, but he could guess. It likely involved BOMB agents infiltrating GUN. It all mattered little, as Copter had to face the apparition of Aries projected through Basker's powers, while also managing to battle the hound himself. Fortunately, Guard was immune to Basker's fear-powers, apparently, and took his scythe to the air to challenge the drones while Doyle tried slapping Carrie out of her fearful state. Copter charged the projection of his dark self, whacking it with his tails! "I ain't afraid of you personally, just what you'd do to my friends! Fortunately, I ain't all that chummy with Guard or Carrie..." he said, stopping short as he saw Basker holding a handcuffed Gemini in his arms, holding a knife against her throat. "Stand down..." the hound warned. Copter took a step back, but then grit his teeth and held his head. "No, it's a trick! Gaah, you might not even be the real Basker, dammit!" he said, more to himself than anyone. It was then that Copter was grabbed from behind by the real Basker! "You're quite hardened against your fears... But all I need is a little opening..." he sneered. "Meh. Chaos Blast." Copter said, knocking Basker away with a blast of Chaos energy, which also fried the control collar around his neck. Basker stood up straight, and removed his fear illusions. "I owe you for managing to free me... So I'll leave now without a fuss." the hound stated, heading for the exit. Copter looked around and saw more drones and beetles flying towards them. "Hurry up now, Kosmo..." he grumbled.
Kosmo located Stone deep in the base, in a sort of control room. There were other BOMB agents working there as well, but Kosmo was quick to disarm them, buzzing through the room in bee form and giving each agent a quick sting as they tried to aim their guns at him. While they were holding their wounds, Kosmo turned into a large gorilla and carried Stone off, finding a window to dangle him from. "No, nooo!! Put me down!!" Stone cried. "Are you gonna behave?" Kosmo snorted. "Wh-whatever you say, please!!" Stone shouted. Kosmo hoisted him back in, and returned to his normal form, holding the agent pinned against the wall at the same time. "Seems you idiots stole something that belongs to me... A ship." he stated. Stone adjusted his green shades. "P-pirate ship?" he stammered. Kosmo clutched his collar and glared back at him with his glowing eyes. "Don't be dumb. What do you know about a space ship?" he grunted. Stone was sweating, there was no backup coming, it seemed. He gulped, feeling he had little choice but to answer. "It's not here. We got a... a lab somewhere. We got some guys tinkering with it, trying to figure out how it works!" he stammered. "Oh, just what we all need, you guys flying through space trying to wipe out all who are different from you. Where's the lab?" Kosmo growled. Stone seemed hesitant, so Kosmo turned his arm into a blade and stabbed it into the wall next to him. Doug Stone was certainly not made of stone. "I'll tell you, okay! Urgh... I hope you're goin' back where you came from..." he groaned.
When they left that base, Copter and Carrie were worn out. Guard wanted to salvage his day off, and detective Doyle had decided to help the authorities track down the escaped Basker. This left Kosmo on his own to break into the lab. He had to hurry, because BOMB was likely to catch wind that he was coming, and might move the ship again. Fortunately with his shape-shifting powers, it was fairly easy to sneak through the lab disguised as a scientist. Within the lab, he found a purple vehicle with a rounded shape to it, curved wings on either side. He snuck his way into the cockpit, and reverted to his true form, examining the controls. "Best way to handle this would be to fly it right out... Wonder if it has gas? Wait, I crashed it, is it even capable of flying?" he wondered, resting his hands on a smooth surface of the control panel. The ship then pulled his hands into itself, seemingly merging with him! "H-hey, leggo!" he stammered. "DNA verified... Welcome back, Master Komet." came a voice through a speaker. "Th-the name's Kosmo..." the morph babbled. Either way, the ship started to react to his thoughts, and the BOMB scientists in the lab started to panic as the ship took off! It blasted through the roof of the lab, and they were off on their way, but they hadn't gone far before the ship sounded an alarm. "Engine failure! Immediate landing advised!" Kosmo groaned at that, and made the ship turn. "Let's try to get where we need to go before we crash again..." he sighed.
Ultimately, the ship crashed once again, this time into the outskirts of NexGen Village. Kosmo was battered a bit, but he survived the crash, at any rate, and while he was resting in the village, Carrie soon caught up with him. "Could you be any more reckless?" she asked him. "Well..." Kosmo stated, stepping out of the hut he was staying in, "I couldn't let Gunner's little cult spread out into space, now, could I?" he stated as Carrie followed him. The pair headed to Hoover's garage, where the ship had been moved while he was recovering from the crash. Tails was there, and he and Hoover were both looking over the ship with awe. "This is some crazy technology!" Tails stated, tapping the side of the vessal with his fist. "What's it even made out of?" he questioned. "My theory? I'd say it might be designed fer transformin' just like them morphs do..." Hoover said, sitting on top of the ship with a wrench in his hand. Kosmo and Carrie found them geeking out over the ship and chuckled softly. "Alright, nerds. Think there's any way you can get it flying? ...We happen to have another junk heap kinda like this." Kosmo said, referring to Ozzie's ship. "I guess I can give it a try..." Tails said uncertainly. "Hah! I'll git it patched up way faster than you would!" Hoover boasted. "Why don't you just work together?" Carrie sighed. Tails seemed happy to do so, but Hoover groaned. "Fine, fine, but if'n ya mess me up, yer out!" he grumbled. "As if an Eggman robot could out-tinker me..." Tails murmured. "Those repairs could take a while..." said Copter, who was just joining them, "How we gonna get ahold of you when its done?" he asked. Kosmo looked around and shrugged. "Guess we might as well stay here... Ya think, Carr?" he asked. Carrie chuckled, "Sure, Komet..." she teased. "I told you about that in confidence..." Kosmo groaned. At any rate, the matter was all settled for now... Kosmo's next adventure would be a voyage home.
NexGen: GeneX Epilogue
Part 3: The Return
Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA.
NexGen, GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
After months of work, Tails and Hoover successfully managed to repair Kosmo's spaceship, which meant the time had come for the morph to set out on his journey to find his homeworld. The whole of NexGen Village turned out to witness the launch of the ship. "I hate ta admit it..." Hoover said, "Bit I never woulda done it witout the fox youngun..." the beaver robot mumbled. Tails smiled bashfully at the compliment. "You were a big help, too... For an Eggman robot." he chuckled. Kosmo and Carrie were saying their farewells before they would board the ship. The morph shook hands with Copter. "It's weird, but I'm gonna miss your ugly mug." Kosmo stated. Copter stuck out his tongue. "Won't have me around to clean up your messes!" he teased. Carrie gave Talon a hug, and smiled at her experiment "siblings" who turned out to see her off. "You take care, fifteen." she said to the griffin. "Heh... You too, fourteen." he grinned. "Don't you two turn into Punchy's wife, now..." Crash said in reference to using their numbers. "And thank you guys for hosting us." Carrie added, waving to Team GeneX, even as Zipp sat there looking bored. "Just waiting to watch the ship blow up..." he grunted. Gemini went up to both Kosmo and Carrie, hugging them together. "I can't believe how much I'm gonna miss you both..." she sniffled. Carrie gave her a wink. "Aw, c'mon, you still got Copter to keep ya company!" she teased. Kosmo gave her a warm smile. "Glad to see I've grown on you." he chuckled, to which Gemini nodded. Shadow had also turned up to see Kosmo off, and tossed the morph a golden coin as he caught his attention. "Huh? This is..." Kosmo stammered. It looked like the coin that was the key to the Chaos Crystal. It was, in fact, a replica. "It's a lucky charm. Stay safe up there." Shadow said before turning to leave. Sonic smirked at him. "C'mon, Shadow! Don't wanna watch the launch? Are you gonna get all emotional on us?" he teased. Kosmo held the coin tightly and nodded. "Oh, don't anyone cry over us. You know we'll be back!" he smirked, giving a wave as he and Carrie headed for the ship, ready to embark on their newest adventure.
And so, with the goodbyes having been said, and the passengers on board, the ship started to rise into the air, transforming before the eyes of the onlookers to have broad wings and high-powered engines. "Wait, I din't know it cud do that!!" Hoover stammered. Despite repairing the ship, Tails and Hoover still only had a basic understanding of the technology. That didn't seem to matter, though, as the ship took off into space without issue. And with that, the group...stood staring after it for a few moments. "...Now what? We throw a party or something?" Zipp asked. Shadow stepped back to Sonic and caught the hedgehog's attention. "Before I go, I feel I should mention... Things aren't looking too great back home. That BOMB organization has found a fair bit of support, and tensions are rising between those supporters and our fellow Mobians." he stated. Sonic gave a heavy sigh in response. "Guess it's high time we went back..." he murmured. "Aww, but I was enjoying the vacation..." Amy frowned. It probably was about time, though. "Bah, as if I have any home to return to..." Copter grumbled as the "party" started to clear out. However, before Tails could leave, Copter caught his attention and led him somewhere private to talk. "I need advice..." he murmured, glancing to make sure Gemini was out of earshot. "I guess you can stay at my Workshop a while if you need to." Tails said in response to his remark about lacking a home. "That's not it... I-I, ahh... How'd you find it in ya to ask Cream to marry ya?" he asked. Tails blushed a bit. "Ahh, well... I dunno, we'd just managed to stop the world from ending. I guess I had some leftover adrenaline from that... Why...?!" he asked, eyes widening as he realized, "Gemini?" Copter nodded, blushing even brighter than Tails. "How do I ask her?" he wondered. Tails patted him on the shoulder. "When the time is right, you'll know. But either way, you should probably get prepared with a ring." he grinned. Indeed, Tails and Cream were using the Tailbands as rings, so Copter had to find another option.
ONE WEEK LATER
In the days that followed Kosmo's departure, NexGen village was starting to empty. Sonic, Tails and Silver had left along with their lady friends, and Emily had taken a trip to visit Conan in prison, intending to return to the village afterward. It was already looking pretty empty, and now Copter was readying the Hurricane to fly himself, Gemini and Libra to stay with Punchy's family. Much like with Kosmo, what was left of the island turned out to see him off. Gemini and Libra were busy saying their goodbyes to Talon, Sonata and Bolt, while the older experiments approached the plane to say their goodbyes to Copter. "We've had our differencessss, but we are ssstill family, in our way. There will alwayssss be a place for you here." Vortex told him. Zipp clicked his tongue and smirked. "Especially if you bring cute vixens along." he said, glancing at Libra and giving her a wave that she ignored. "Maybe if you actually talked to her instead of creepily staring at her on the beach..." Crash said, only for Zipp to elbow him in the gut. "Shut up, moron." he growled. Copter reached out to shake hands with Vortex. "Thanks for letting us lay low. Zipp, she's way out of your league." he said. The hornet scoffed. "Well, the other one's out of YOUR league." he huffed. "What're you boys talking about?" Gemini asked as she and Libra approached the plane. "Aaahh... Vortex just lettin' us know we can come back." Copter stammered. Libra smirked "Yes, I'm sure that's all..." she teased, implying she overheard a bit. Copter sat down in the cockpit of his plane and cleared his throat. "No need to draw this out! Ready to go, girls?" he asked. Gemini twirled her wand and waved to the Experiments. "Yup, got all I need. Take care!" she smiled. Within moments, the plane had taken off, carrying the trio of foxes on their way to new adventures.
Before long, Copter, Gemini and Libra arrived at Punchy's new Troblusk City home. With a daughter to provide for, Punchy had gotten a job in construction, helping to rebuild the damage that the Lost Ones had done to the city. He wasn't too busy to greet Copter as he arrived, though. "Here comes Uncle Artie. Wave to Uncle Artie, Aurora." he said as he sat at the front step with Aurora in his lap. "Ahh, do I get a say in what she calls me?" Copter mumbled. Gemini ran over and lifted the young Aurora into a hug. "Awww, you're getting so big!" she smiled. Copter watched her with a cute grin of his own, and was taken off guard when Rainbow ran up and hugged him tightly. "Two! Welcome home!! Aaaah, Wanda! Libby! It's been so long!" the colorful echidna cheered, taking Aurora into her arms as she approached Gemini. "C'mon, c'mon! We got so much catching up to do!" she smiled, leading Gemini and Libra into the house. "You guys sure you have room for us?" Libra murmured as they went inside. Copter and Punchy stayed outside, sitting on the steps together. "Thanks for taking us in. I didn't exactly get a pension when I left the burger business." the fox chuckled. Punchy gave a soft laugh as well. "Yeah, it ain't fair. Somehow Sonic is able to live without a job. Amy, too, come to think of it... How's she pay her bills?" he mused. Copter shrugged, and glanced at Punchy with an insecure look in his eyes. "Hey, man... You're married... How'd you do that?" he asked. Punchy looked at him with a glint in his eye. "You wanna ask Gemini? Heh, your bro knew you'd get there. Come with me." he said, standing up and leading him inside the house. They went to his bedroom, where Punchy opened a drawer and took out a small box, handing it to Copter. "You can give this to Gem. Had it custom made for ya." he smiled. Copter opened the box to find a ring, with etchings in the band making it resemble his old tailband. The gemstone had a familiar look, too. "I-is that a..." he stammered. "A ChaosStone, the same magic gem used for her wand, yeah." Punchy smiled, proud that he was able to track one down. "Does that make this... A magic ring?" Copter pondered. Punchy shrugged. "I ain't tried it, I just thought this'd like... Be symbolic and stuff." he chuckled. Copter laughed with him. "When did you become such a romantic? Well... thanks, Punch... Saves me having to save up for months, heh." he smiled, slipping the ring into his pocket. He still wasn't sure how he'd actually DO the proposal, what with all the butterflies in his stomach.
After a little while, the girls had gone back out, Rainbow needing to get some shopping done. They brought young Aurora along, Gemini and Rainbow each holding one of her hands as the toddler clumsily walked between them. The child still didn't speak much, and certainly not in complete sentences, but she seemed cheerful to be on a little "adventure" with her mom and "Auntie." Everything seemed fine, until the sounds of a ruckus in the streets caused Rainbow to grip her daughter's hand tighter. "Don't like the sound of that..." she murmured. Libra ran ahead to check things out. "It looks like a riot's breaking out! Is that... ugh, BOMB!?" she cried. The situation that was rapidly developing around them appeared to be a struggle between BOMB agents and the Mobians living in the city. "It's time to go home!" Rainbow gasped, lifting Aurora into her arms protectively. "M-mommaaa!" the child cried, feeling scared. Gemini held her wand as armed BOMB grunts approached them. "Y-you better stay back!" she warned. Police sirens blared, and Ridley the coati sped past on a motorcycle, knocking the goons over with his Chaos Splash power! Chet the cheetah was close behind, using his speed to slap handcuffs on them before they knew what was happening. Gemini was surprised to see him in a rookie officer's uniform. "Th-thanks... I was about to turn them into monkeys." she stammered. "Just doin' my job!" Chet smiled, tipping his hat. "Razor would be proud." Gemini told him. "Hey, rookie! No time for chatter! Folks are getting dragged off as we speak!" Ridley shouted. "Dragged off!?" Libra stammered. Chet nodded. "All over town. BOMB's got this attack pretty well coordinated. Seems they're being taken to the old GUN outpost for some reason..." he explained. Gemini pulled a ProwerPhone from her pocket. "What's your home number, Rainbow? Copter and I are gonna teach 'em a lesson!" she said. "Too bad Viola's still on vacay, she's been to that outpost." Rainbow muttered, doing her best to comfort the distraught Aurora in her arms.
Already in front of the former GUN outpost was Fera the wolf, who seemed to be thinking over the best approach to break in. "Huh?? What are YOU doing here??" said a surprised Punchy as he, Copter, Gemini, Libra and Guard the gargoyle approached, Guard arriving separately. "Well, well. I thought you all were retired or something." Fera murmured, "I came back to this world looking for Illusi, lost track of him. But since a bunch of hateful humans are snatching Mobians, I couldn't exactly sit this one out." the wolf shrugged. "Grrr... Don't just run in like a pack of wild bulls. The hostages could be in real danger, and rushing in could get them killed." Guard noted. "Look at you, acting like a proper soldier and not Gunner's lapdog." Copter chuckled, "Weird to see, actually." Guard grunted with annoyance, while Gemini looked toward the outpost. "I guess I could turn us invisible..." she suggested, to which Fera scoffed. "Not necessary. This is GUN Outpost Shadowy Black. I'm familiar with the layout...as is Violet, where is she?" she questioned, "Never mind, I'll lead this mission. Follow me..." she said, marching around toward the side of the building, finding a hole in the fence surrounding the previously abandoned outpost. "Yeah, okay, but what would it hurt to go invisible?" Libra questioned. "Grrr... You'd be unable to see each other, as well. But I would still be able to see your heat signatures..." Guard stated. "Yeah, I'm not comfortable with that..." Copter grumbled, following Fera through the hole in the fence. "Whatever. Hey, Guard, can you see heat signatures through walls?" Gemini asked, wondering if they could spot the hostages from outside. "Rrrr... If I could, do you think you'd ever have been able to evade being captured by me?" the android gargoyle asked. "Yes, actually..." Gemini murmured, "Maybe Copter would've been screwed, though." she added. "No, I wouldn't!" the fox protested. "Shhh! Stealth, idiots..." Fera growled before stepping to the wall, and pushing open a hidden entrance. It was time to head inside...
The group followed Fera as they proceeded into the base. "Hey, why don't you know the way, Guard?" Punchy asked. "Grrrr, well, I did DIE since I was last here. Some memory was bound to be lost." the gargoyle grumbled. In fact, this base had been abandoned well before Eggman's conquest of the world with Infinite. They reached a fork in the hallway when alarms blared throughout the base. "I didn't touch anything!" Copter yelped. "Grrr, we must've been detected in a routine security sweep. BOMB is mostly former GUN agents, after all..." Guard explained. "Sounds like they're the competent ones, 'cuz I've never been caught like this before." Copter grumbled. He'd also never really tried stealth before, but he wasn't going to mention that. "Alright, we split up!" Fera shouted, hurrying in one direction with Punchy and Libra while Copter, Gemini and Guard went the other way. Copter's group quickly found trouble in the form of BOMB's robots, while Fera's group soon located the holding cells, where the prisoners were being held. This included a fair number of gargoyles, including Rick, the orange gargoyle who spent years trying to talk his people out of the mobster business. "Are we glad to see you! Those guys are nuts, they plan to execute us publicly online!" he shouted. While Punchy and Libra were looking for a way to open the cells, Fera looked inside for any sign of Illusi. "...Have they harmed anyone yet?" she asked. "Aside from dragging us into these cells, not really." Rick told her. Fera sighed. "Didn't think Illusi would be captured so easily anyway... But now I'm back to square one." she murmured. "And so are we with finding a way to unlock the cells..." Libra sighed. Punchy growled and swung his fist. "Stand back! I'm gonna break the stupid cells wide open!" he shouted, and with a couple good whacks, Punchy successfully broke open the cells! "Now we just gotta hope Copter's doing a good job clearing the way out for us..." the echidna murmured.
Copter, Gemini and Guard fought their way to the main entrance/exit, where they found some of BOMB's modified Bigfoot mechs awaiting them. The mechs charged up energy and fired electrified beams at them, which Gemini and Guard were able to evade fairly easily, but Copter stumbled and fell on his bottom, hearing something clink to the ground behind him as he fell. The ring had dropped out of his pocket! When he turned to pick it back up, another blast struck near him, and the impact threw him off to the side, away from the ring. At about the same time, Gemini gave a pained shout! Copter turned to find her caught in some sort of electrified net, apparently fired by the mechs, as he watched guard slice through two more with his scythe. Unfortunately, the gargoyle was too preoccupied with the mechs to help Gemini, and she didn't seem able to cast any magic while being zapped by the net. Copter growled, and without a second thought, he left the ring and ran between Gemini and the mech stomping towards her. "You know, I'm fed up with you guys! Just buzz off! Chaos Whirlwind!!" Copter aimed his energized wind attack low, striking at the mechs legs, and causing it to topple over, rending it useless and forcing the pilot inside to flee! He then grabbed at the net, groaning as he got zapped by it himself, but powering through to toss it off of Gemini. "You...ahh...okay? Lemme try healing you..." Copter offered, taking Gemini's wand. He wasn't incredibly well trained in magic, but he'd seen Gemini do it enough times. In the meanwhile, Fera and the others arrived. Libra noticed the ring on the ground and picked it up, while Punchy and Fera charged at the remaining mechs to lend Guard a hand. It didn't take long to force all the pilots to abandon their machines...
Doug Stone watched the escape unfold through the base's security monitors, sweating more and more the further Fera and the others got. "Every time, it's that black fox! Why can't we stop him??" he growled, smacking the monitor that showed Copter leading Gemini out by the hand. "Tenacious little Mobian. But if your group can't deal with him and his friends, what good will you be against Sonic?" said a large man looming over Stone, aggravation in his voice, "After everything I did to gather you, to nurture your hatred, to equip you with upgrades on your technology... I suppose it's true for any dimension out there; Good help really is hard to find!" the man growled, stepping away from Stone. "Wait, please! Don't leave me to fend for myself! We'll defeat those freaks, we just need more powerful machines!" the former GUN agent pleaded, giving his boss puppy eyes through his green-tinted shades. His boss gave a sigh, and turned around. "I do like a challenge..." said the rotund, mustached man... Dr. Eggman! "And if I can dominate a world as hero-heavy as this one, the entire multiverse...no, all multiverses, shattered or otherwise, will all be mine! Hooo ho ho ho ho ho ho!!" he cackled as Doug Stone nervously adjusted his shades. "Our world needs your genius, doctor... Good to have you out of retirement..." he said, looking back at the monitors while Eggman stepped to the door. "Retired? Maybe this world's Eggman, but I'll prove I'm better than him, than all the loser Robotniks across the universe. And when I'm through, there'll be no more high-speed hedgehogs to stand in my way..." he said to himself with a wicked sneer.
As Copter, Punchy, and the others led the captured Mobians out of the base, they found police cars surrounding the base. Unfortunately, BOMB would yet again evade capture, due in large part to their leader always having an escape plan for them. But Copter and Gemini found time to rest while the police searched the base. Fera took one more head count of the freed captives, and gave a soft sigh. "No matter. I'll find you again, Illusi, wherever you are..." she said. "Doubt you will if he doesn't want to be found..." Punchy told her, "Ahh, I mean... I'm sure he didn't just ditch you!" the echidna stammered, trying to reassure her. Libra stepped over to Gemini, and much to Copter's dismay, handed her the ring. "This yours? It's got a gem like your wand..." she murmured as Copter stood with mouth agape. "What the heck, Libra!?" he snapped. Guard observed this scene and chuckled. "Things aren't going your way, Rrrr?" he teased as Fera, Punchy, and even Rick stood around them, gawking at Copter's embarrassed face and Gemini's deep blush. "C-copter??" she stammered, looking over the ring in her hand. Copter let out a defeated sigh. "Not how I planned this AT ALL, but... Can't un-ring a bell..." he murmured, and lowered himself down on one knee, taking Gemini's hand in his. "G-gemini... I... I've loved you for so long...but was afraid to say so... Now I... Ahh... W-would you... Will you marry me?" he asked, his face turning bright red as he asked right in front of Guard and Fera and more than a dozen strangers. Gemini stared at him, also blushing, and Libra felt the need to nudge her along. "Well? What's your answer?" she asked. Gemini gave a sigh. "...No. You aren't ready." she told him, placing the ring into his hand. Copter wiped his eyes, trying to avoid crying in front of everyone. "R-right... What was I thinking..." he muttered. Gemini patted him on the head. "We're meant to have kids, Copter, right? You need to be ready for that. How can you take care of Chopper if you have to have Punchy shelter us? Let alone... the siblings I'd like Chopper to have..." she said, her blush deepening. "Oooooh..." Libra gasped. Copter looked up at Gemini with a smile. "You're right, Gemini. Challenge accepted! Dunno if I'll ever really be worthy... But I'll give it my all, for you and for them!" he said, standing up and hugging her. "Ugh, such mush. This is why I'm a lone wolf." Fera shrugged. Punchy and Libra glanced around and started to shoo the gawkers away. "Go on! Nothin' to see here! Just a couple lovey-dovey foxes!" Punchy shouted. Guard placed a hand on Copter's shoulder and grunted. "Grrr... Need a job? Have you considered...GUN?" he asked. Copter would consider it. Whatever it took, he would become the fox Gemini deserved, so that next time she could, without guilt, say "yes."
The End......?
