GeneX Christmas Special
Copter's First Noel
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.
It was December once again. A particularly cold December to end a very hectic year for Sonic and his friends. Among other adventures, they'd had their first encounter with the GeneX Experiments. Then, a monstrous creature called Solenix appeared at Soleanna's Sun Festival. Fortunately, no major damage had occurred at any of these events, and the dangers were fading to the back of Sonic and his friends' memories. One particular day, Sonic the Hedgehog knocked at the door to Tails's Workshop, eager to talk about happier things. "Hey, Sonic! Come in! I'm getting ready to go!" Tails said, hurrying back inside to return to what he was busy with. His robotic puppy, SPOT, had opened a hatch on its back and was holding some bags for him. "Go, you say...? You've got plans...?" Sonic asked. Tails tried to stuff a wreath into one of the bags SPOT had on his back and glanced at Sonic. "Didn't you know already? Amy's throwing a Christmas Eve party this year! I'm helping out... She's been telling you about it since Halloween, Sonic, are you sure you don't remember?" he frowned. Sonic scratched his head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell! Hey, I better drag Knuckles down, ya think? He shouldn't spend Christmas alone!" he said quickly, changing the subject. Tails looked thoughtful. "Um... Sonic? Do you think it'd be OK if I invited Copter?" he wondered, thinking about his clone who had helped them during the previous crisis. Sonic frowned. "I don't know... He's kinda grouchy and... He DID work for Eggman. It might be awkward." he pointed out. Tails grabbed a box of candy canes and stuffed it into the bag. "Well... Gee... You just described Knuckles." he pointed out. Sonic thought about it. "Hmmm... Yeah, guess you're right. Well, it IS Christmas. I guess if you can get him to come, we should all show him some of that Christmas spirit, too! I got the same challenge ahead of me gettin' Knuckles to come... By the way, can I borrow the Tornado to get up there?" he asked. Tails nodded. "Take the old one. You know you don't know anything about the transformation switches. I don't want you touching them by accident." he said. "I said I was sorry about the Tornado 2 a billion times!! Sheesh!!" Sonic groaned.
In Station Square, Copter was experiencing the holiday season for the first time in his life. He wished he wasn't. Everywhere he walked, there were crowds of busy people. All through the month, they had been decorating, shopping, caroling, and nearly running him over with their cars! Today was a bitter cold day, and all he wished for was a warm place to rest. "Christmas this... Christmas that... What's all this nonsense? Is the world coming to an end? It's like Halloween... Only scarier." Copter muttered as he trudged through the snowy sidewalks, which had been shoveled after the last snowstorm, but a light dusting of snow remained in most places. As he walked, he jumped when an inflatable Santa Claus suddenly popped up in front of him, someone choosing to inflate it NOW of all times. "Yaaaa!! It's Eggman!!" he yelped, "Errrr..." A nearby kid rolled his eyes at him. "It's Santa, stupid." he groaned. Copter kept moving. "Just want to get out of the cold..." he said, heading across the street as the light changed. It seemed to change back quicker than usual, and the cars started speeding by without regard for him! "Bwaaaaa!!! Walkin... Here!! Whoa!!" he yelled, flying out of the way as a truck with a toy store logo nearly hit him! "Merry Christmas!!" he heard someone shout nearby. He growled and flew to the other side of the street. "Just want out of the cold..." he growled. He looked around and noticed he was in front of a department store. "Oh, no, not AGAIN!!" he whimpered, this having happened to him numerous times this month. Crowds soon came rushing in and out of the door, pushing him back and forth before he could get away! "Hey!! Watch it!! Hey, kid, this isn't a petting zoo!!!" he yelled. To top off his frustrations, carolers started singing nearby. "Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa la la la la, la la la--" It was about all the "las" Copter could take. "CHAOS WHIRLWIND!!" He blew a chaotic wind through the area, knocking a few people and carolers over, and stopping everyone else in their tracks as they stared at him. "I... just... want to get out... of the cold!!" he panted, running off through the escape route he'd created. "Scrooge." One of the carolers grumbled.
Tails soon arrived at Amy's apartment in Central City. She was busy decorating for the party, so Tails emptied his bags onto a table. "The place looks nice, Amy." Tails smiled. Amy groaned. "Just nice!? C'mon, I wanna impress Sonic!! Quick, where should I hang this wreath!? Is... is there enough tinsel around? Ah! I know!! I gotta start getting the food ready!!" she gasped, rushing off to the kitchen! Tails sighed and answered the door as he heard a knock. "Don't open it!! I'm not ready yeeeet!!" Amy shouted. "It's just Cream." Tails said. Cream the rabbit was at the door wearing a green scarf and earmuffs, though they did little good for her long ears. "Is everything okay in there?" she asked. They heard a crash and Amy growled. "Behave or I'll knock the figs out of you, pudding!!" she yelled. "We're getting ready for the party." Tails explained. Cream nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry... I can come back when it starts." she said. Tails looked around and handed Cream some plates he was holding. "Could you maybe take over for me? I have something I've gotta do..." he said. Amy peered out and looked around. "You're right!! We don't have any mistletoe around here!! Go find some! And some holly! Lots of holly! And scented candles! I'll make a romantic corner for me and Sonic to sit together and--" As she started to talk about her romantic daydream, Tails and Cream stared blankly at each other. "Christmas isn't about scented candles..." Tails muttered. "AAAAAHH!! My cookies are burning!! The whole party'll be ruined by burnt cookie smell!!" Amy yelped. "I think she's missing the point a little..." Cream sighed. Cheese fluttered over next to Cream and cuddled her. "We'll calm her down, Tails! You get going!" she said cheerfully. Tails nodded. "Thanks. I'm going to go find Copter!" he said, rushing off with SPOT. Cream watched them go curiously. "...Copter? Hmmm... Well, good luck, then!" she smiled.
Sonic had flown up to Angel Island aboard the Tornado, and Knuckles the echidna watched as the plane circled around and landed near the Master Emerald shrine. "Oh, brother. Is it that time of year again already? I knew it was getting colder..." he grumbled. Sonic climbed up the steps of the Master Emerald shrine and waved to Knuckles. "Season's Greetings, Knuckles! You know why I'm here!" he said. Knuckles crossed his arms and leaned against the Master Emerald. "You're here to drag me down away from my post for some silly holiday like you do every year. Why do you keep doing this!?" he groaned. Sonic grinned. "Come on, mister grouchy, you can't just sulk up here through Christmas. Have made for TV movies taught you nothi-- errr... Know what? Never mind..." he said, realizing Knuckles didn't own a TV. Knuckles sighed and shook his head. "I have my duty, Sonic. I can't just run off and leave the Master Emerald, even for a day! It's worse than ever now! I've got Rouge AND Punchy to contend with! As soon as I let my guard down, one of them will make off with the emerald! I have to be vigilant!" he said. Sonic tapped his foot in frustration. "Can't you take it with you?" he asked. "That defeats the purpose... If I could carry it around WITH me, do you think I would LIVE here!?" Knuckles snapped. Sonic sighed, but then snickered, grabbing Knuckles by the arm. "Well, that won't make a difference because it's Christmas! No thieves are gonna make off with the emerald on Christmas! They've got the Christmas spirit and they're gonna give you your vacation, fair and square, just like every year!" he said, dragging Knuckles along! "H-HEY!! Let me go!! I don't even LIKE Christmas!! You guys gave me too much eggnog last year and I woke up tied up in ribbons!! That wasn't funny!!!" he shouted. "It was when you realize you tied yourself up! Ha ha!" Sonic chuckled, "Now, come on! We're goin' to a Christmas Eve party!"
As Copter stomped grouchily through the busy city, he soon neared another department store. "Oh, geez, how many of these evil things are there!?" he groaned. Coming out of the doors, he noticed Rainbow the echidna, bundled up with a pink coat, red mittens, and a red scarf. She held the door for Punchy, who was carrying several heavy looking bags in his arms, and looked almost as aggravated as Copter. "Do we REALLY need all this stuff??" Punchy grumbled. Rainbow tilted her head. "Hmmm... Come to think of it, probably not. You should have said something before we paid for it, One!" she realized. Punchy's eyes widened. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." he muttered to himself. Copter walked over and crossed his arms. "Punchy, Rainbow, not you too!" he groaned. Rainbow scratched her head. "Huh? Oh, hey Two! Merry Christmas!" she smiled. Copter sneered. "Punchy doesn't look so merry buried under all that junk!" he said. "She bought a log! What's a log for!?" he grumbled. "It's a Yule log..." Rainbow said. "Why do you let her drag you into this, Punchy?" Copter said. Punchy shrugged. Rainbow patted Copter on the back. "Aww, don't be so grumpy! It's gonna be the best Christmas ever! ...Because for the first time in years... I won't be spending it alone..." she sighed, turning around to wipe a tear from her eye. "R-rainbow...?" Punchy muttered. Suddenly, Rainbow turned around with a big grin. "Hey, Two! You should come over, too!!" she suggested. Copter backed away slowly. "Ahhh... I can see you're really excited... for some reason... but I'm not interested! I'd just as soon have Christmas leave me alone!" he grumbled, walking away. Punchy sighed. "Well, you seem to know something I don't, Rainbow, so I'll trust you on this... Could you please grab one of these bags, though??" he whimpered. "Ooops! Sorry, One!" Rainbow chuckled, grabbing for some bags. As Copter walked off, he heard a familiar voice singing. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to hide that I don't know words to songs, hey!" sang Gator, the strange blue haired man in the alligator suit, who was busy stringing lights on a random pine tree growing at a patch of green between buildings. "What are... You know what? Compared to everyone else, your insanity seems normal right now." Copter grumbled. Gator glanced down from the ladder he was working from. "I'm bringing holiday cheer to the city! This tree was looking all sad and lonely here, so I thought I'd brighten this spot up!" he explained. "...Where are you gonna plug those lights in? Not that we need MORE blinding lights in this city!" Copter grumbled. "Huh? Don't be silly, it's not blinding. It's for the kiddies! Hey, where AM I gonna plug it... Wh-WHOOOA!!!" Gator yelped, stumbling as he glanced around frantically for a place to plug the lights in. Copter flinched as Gator fell into the tree, becoming entangled in the lights! "Umm... Little help?" he muttered as the lights suddenly flickered on! "Oh, right, I already took care of the power! Hey, Copter! Where ya goin?!" he mumbled as he watched Copter walk away. "Aww... He's got no Christmas spirit... Must have been through too many Halloween Specials."
Sonic and Knuckles had taken the train to Station Square, and as they walked off the train and wandered through the station, which was decorated with wreaths and garland, they came across another old "friend" who might have just hopped off another train. "Well, well, well, Knuckles! You've descended down from the North Pole! It MUST be Christmas!" Rouge the bat smirked. Knuckles groaned loudly. "What are YOU doing here!?" he whined. Sonic frowned. "Here we go again... Can't you two be nice for the holidays?" he sighed. Rouge smiled. "Sure. Why not? Knuckles left me the perfect gift... All unwrapped and... unguarded... Hehehe..." she snickered, starting to leave. Knuckles gasped and started after her. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM THE MASTER EMERALD, YOU THIEF!! See, Sonic!? I told you!!" Knuckles shouted. Sonic grabbed Knuckles by the arm. "Chiiiiill. I'll handle this." he said, zipping off in front of Rouge before she could get away! "Whoa! Um... Okay, blue. You got my attention." Rouge muttered, crossing her arms. Sonic crossed his arms as well. "You'd better behave yourself, Rouge... 'Cuz Santa is watching you." he said matter-of-factly. Rouge stared at him blankly for a second, and then started laughing. "AH HA HA HA!! Good one, Sonic! Ha ha ha ha!" As she walked off chuckling, Knuckles ran over growling. "Huh... You don't suppose she doesn't believe in Santa Claus?" Sonic muttered. "You idiot..." Knuckles growled.
Copter was still searching for a calm place to get out of the cold, but he seemed to find the opposite when he came across Amy. She was bundled up in a red coat and green earmuffs, and was frantic about something when she spotted Copter. "Aha!! Copter! You'll help me look, won't you!?" she shouted, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards a store. "Arrgh!! Hey!! Let go of me!! What's going on here!?!?" he shouted. Amy had an urgent expression on her face. "It's a serious situation! I'm on an emergency mistletoe hunt! Oh, and Cream thought my place needed a tree, so maybe we should go get one, I don't know. I brought a list of last minute stuff we could look for!!" she said, showing off a surprisingly long scrap of paper covered in writing! Copter grinded his teeth and tried to pull away. "No, no... I'm not going INSIDE one of those death traps!! I want a place out of the cold, but not THERE!!" he yowled, lunging away from her and tumbling face first into a snow bank! "Omigosh!! Are you okay, Copter?! Did you slip?" Amy gasped, oblivious. Copter slowly climbed up, brushing snow off of himself. As he hopped out of the snow bank, SPOT scampered over to him! "Copter! There you are!" Tails was close behind. "Humph! There YOU are, Tails! Where have you been!?" Amy grumbled. "Um... Looking for Copter..." Tails said. Copter brushed some snow from his tails grouchily. "And what do YOU want with me??" he grumbled. Tails looked at him. "Hey, are you okay? Oh, um... I came to invite you to our Christmas Eve party!" he said. Copter twitched at the mere mention of Christmas. "Oh, did you now...? Christmas, eh?? What's so great about your all-important CHRISTMAS!?" he shouted. "C-copter...?" Tails whimpered. "I'll tell you what I see. I see blinding lights and clutter piling up all around the scenery, that you call 'decorations!' I see people running all around buying and buying and BUYING all sorts of junk that they don't really need!! Dangerous traffic, pushy citizens who knock you over and then yell 'Merry Christmas!!' What's merry about that!? I've had it up to here with this... Christmas! And I'm not going to have anything to do with it ANYMORE!!" he yelled, marching off as snow began to fall. As Tails and Amy watched him in bafflement, Sonic and Knuckles arrived on the scene. "Hey, guys. Merry Christmas!" Sonic said. Amy turned around and smiled wide. "SONIC!!!" she shouted, tackling him to the ground and squeezing him tight! "YOOOWW!! Hey, take it easy, Amy!! It's snowing!!" Sonic shouted.
Despite Copter's behavior, Tails quickly decided to pursue him. "I can't leave him out in the snow. I have to make sure he'll be okay!" he thought. Unfortunately, the snowstorm rapidly worsened, becoming a blizzard. He could not follow Copter for very long, and SPOT hadn't followed him, so he ended up lost in the cold, unable to see more than a short distance in front of him! "I-I'd better find a place to... to stop... If I wander out into the street..." he murmured, sitting down to think for a moment.
Copter, being more used to life on the streets, had made it to a bridge, and was resting underneath, protected from the storm to a degree. It was still bitter cold, but some homeless people there had started a fire, and Copter kept warm by it, too. In a short while, the storm started to subside, and a police motorcycle passed by. Copter gulped, standing back a bit, but the officer hopped off the bike and approached the fire! "Evening, folks! Merry Christmas!" said Officer Razor the porcupine, who was carrying a shopping bag with him. "Seems the storm kept you guys under the bridge, didn't it? Well, I brought you a little leftovers from the food drive. Not as warm, but I did my best." he said. The homeless gathered around the fire gratefully accepted some cups of soup, noodles, small sandwiches, and whatever cans of drink Razor had in the bag. They warmed the food by the fire, and Copter watched from the corner curiously. Of course, Razor soon took notice of him. "I guess the storm chased you under here, too." he said. Copter growled, but Razor was smiling warmly, so rather than say anything, he just stared in puzzlement. "Why in the world are you freezing outside when you could probably be somewhere else on Christmas Eve?" Razor asked. Copter's eyes went wide. "Tonight is Christmas Eve?" he said, not having known until now, "Well... whatever... Why do you care, anyway?" he asked. Razor chuckled. "I guess... because I'm filled with the Christmas spirit. The spirit that drives us all to do better... To treat others kinder. To try to be nicer, if just for a little while." he said. Copter scoffed. "Christmas spirit? The spirit I've seen surrounding Christmas has seemed quite different." he said. Razor nodded. "Maybe you've been looking at it the wrong way. The Christmas spirit brings people together. I'm sure there's someone out there who'd even like to spend the holiday with you." he said. Copter frowned sadly, thinking about Tails and how he'd talked to him. Suddenly, he realized something. "Tails... He might have followed me through the storm! I have to look for him!" he gasped.
Razor hopped on to his motorcycle, and Copter hopped on behind him. They took off through the streets lightly covered with snow, careful not to slip as they kept an eye out for any sign of Tails. "I came this way... If Tails was following me, he might have gotten lost in the storm!" Copter said. "Surely he had the sense to go indoors when it got bad!" Razor replied, "Then again, he wouldn't leave you out to freeze on Christmas Eve..." he realized. Copter groaned. "Okay, okay, I get it!!" he whined. They soon spotted a pair of tails poking out of a large pile of snow! "Oh, geez... No!" Copter yelped. The motorcycle skidded to a halt nearby, and they rushed over, working fast to try to dig him out! "Aaaah!! S-so cold!!" Copter whimpered, the cold of the snow easily getting through his gloves. Still, he dug and brushed the snow away until Tails's head poked out, coughing up snow as he emerged. "I... can't... move... Frozen to the floor..." Tails whimpered. "I'm so sorry, Tails! We'll get you out!" Copter cried. Razor scratched his head. "You're lucky the storm wasn't any longer or you'd be finished." he said. Just then, SPOT scampered over, followed by Sonic and Knuckles! "Good grief! Tails is frozen!" Knuckles gasped. SPOT fired a small heat laser from its mouth, which rapidly melted much of the remaining snow, and started to warm Tails up in the process. "Thanks, SPOT..." Tails sighed. "Whew... We got worried when you didn't come back, Tails. Glad to see you weren't frozen solid." Sonic said. Razor tilted his head. "Who says he wasn't?" he muttered. Copter sighed. "This was all my fault... I let my temper get too out of control... and the one person who really wasn't bothering me got hurt. I should go..." he said, turning to leave. Sonic cleared his throat loudly. "Yo, Copter... After all that, you're not leaving? We've got a party to go to, and Tails almost killed himself to invite you!" he said. Copter turned around. "Tails, how do you feel?" he asked. "G-get me inside... And I'm sure I'll... d-defrost..." he stammered. Copter nodded. "Then I'll see you to your party." he smiled.
They soon arrived at Amy's apartment, and as they all made their way in, Tails hesitated at the door. "Coming in, Copter?" he asked. Copter sighed. "I guess I'll come in... out of the cold." he said. Tails sat down with some hot chocolate and a blanket to warm up while the party got underway without him. Copter stood nearby and watched everyone, not really sure about joining in himself. Amy's place was decorated with all sorts of knick knacks and tinsel and holly, and of course, mistletoe. Amy was busy trying to chase Sonic so they'd be standing under her mistletoe, but he knew precisely what she was doing and was keeping on his toes. "Ummm... Why don't we try some of your Christmas cookies, Amy?" he suggested. "No, no! I burned them! Come over here, Sonic!!" she protested. Knuckles found that Rouge had come to the party. "Huh?? Wait, if you're here... Then you didn't... Whew... what a relief!" Knuckles sighed. "Now, why would I miss this? I hear you're the life of the party once you've had enough eggnog!" Rouge grinned. Knuckles frowned. "All right!! Who told her!?" he yelled. Cream and Cheese were laughing and playing with SPOT, and Copter soon found himself cracking a slight smile watching everyone. Tails was warmed up now and stood up. "Feeling better, Copter?" he asked. "Huh? Me? I'm the one who should be asking that!" he said. Tails shook his head. "You seemed upset earlier." he said. Copter nodded. "I've never seen Christmas before. I don't really understand it." he said. Tails smiled. "It's all right. Christmas is a time to celebrate peace, love and kindness. That's all you really need to know. That's the spirit of Christmas right there. You don't really have to do anything special. Just spending time with people you care about is a good way to celebrate. That's why I invited you. You're our friend Copter." he smiled. Copter looked at him and nodded slowly. "Th-thank you..." he said. "Merry Christmas, Copter." Tails grinned. Copter smiled back a little. "Merry Christmas..." he replied.
Some time later, at the underground ruins below Station Square, Rainbow heard a knock at her door! Rushing to open it, she found Copter there! He stood shyly, waving at her. "Merry Christmas... Can I come in?" he asked. Rainbow smiled wide. "You decided to spend Christmas with us after all!!" she cheered, jumping over and giving Copter a big hug! "OK! OK! You can let me go, Rainbow!" Copter grunted. "Hey, One! Two's here!" Rainbow shouted, leading Copter inside. He found Punchy sitting next to a pine tree, looking somewhat tired. "Oh, hey, Copter. Merry...something..." he muttered. Rainbow stood next to the tree proudly. "See? Look what me and One did! Decorated it ourselves!" she smiled. Copter looked at the sparkling Christmas tree, lit up with lights, though Copter was unsure where they were plugged in, and smiled to himself. Punchy chuckled. "Almost killed myself hanging ornaments near the top. She's crazy..." he grumbled. Copter laughed. "You should have called me. I could have flown up." he said. Rainbow smiled. "One did a great job! Santy will love it!" she said. Copter nodded. "Sure... Um... Santy?" he muttered. Punchy growled. "Bah! Humbug!" he grumbled. "Aw, don't be like that, One." Rainbow said. Copter smirked. "Don't worry Rainbow. I'm sure Punchy will have plenty of Christmas spirit... after a good night's sleep." he said.
It was indeed a happy holiday for many. Though not everyone was surrounded by large groups of friends and loved ones, even the likes of Shadow found company, gazing at the lit up streets on Christmas Eve from a high rooftop with Omega by his side. None could be sure if either of them understood what the holiday season was about, but for whatever reason, they had found each other at this time regardless. Elsewhere, Razor had returned home to his younger brother, Tommy, and they were putting out a plate of cookies near a small Christmas tree before Tommy would go off to bed. They each placed a single present under the tree, smiling at each other. Their gifts were small, but they were quite happy with what they had, and to be together. On a street corner elsewhere, a familiar mustached man in a red suit was ringing a bell. His usual red suit was replaced with a Santa Claus suit, and his moustache was hidden, though poorly, by a false white beard. "Hoo ho ho ho! Happy Holidays!" Dr. Eggman could be heard saying as small children passed by, waving happily to him. He smiled back at them, his usual devilish demeanor greatly softened by the holiday season. Far from the city, aboard Shadow Arcangel, even Bucky the rat was celebrating the holidays. However, he was teaching Vortex the chameleon about his own traditions, lighting a menorah for the current day of Hanukkah. However, as he was finishing lighting it, Crash the rhino and Zipp the hornet started coming through the door, carrying in a pine tree! "What'sss that for??" Vortex gasped as Bucky rolled his eyes. "We were out in the city! We gotta try this Christmas thing!" Zipp said. "Looks like fun!" Crash added. Bucky scratched his head. "How did you get that thing UP here???" he murmured. Christmas would pass quickly, however, so Bucky decided to let them have their fun and resume his teachings before Hanukkah was over. It's not every year that the two holidays coincide, anyway. Each holiday was enjoyed in its own, special way, as it should be. Let us hope that your holidays are special, and filled with happiness, joy and love as well.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
And a Happy New Year!
