GeneX - Soleanna Struggle
Chapter 18 - Who Shot Punchy?
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.
"Oh, dark, the darkness that dozes in the dusk,
Throw it all away!
No one can break you, nobody can tear you.
You live an endless life forever!" - Throw it all Away, Sonic Adventure 2
Punchy and Rainbow had been searching for the base of the Crisis City Freedom Fighters for quite a while. After all, the Soleanna of the future was still mostly new to them, and Punchy had never actually been to the place they were going to. As Rainbow led the way, Punchy was filled with a feeling of dread, fearing that the scene he'd seen the last time he was in this time was soon to happen. Rainbow, however, still maintained the cheerful and ever-optimistic demeanor that she'd kept through most of their Soleanna adventures. Even as they reached their destination, Punchy found it difficult to imagine that what he'd seen before could be true.
The run-down, former safe house that the Freedom Fighters called "headquarters" was mostly empty when they arrived. The only person they found inside was Gator, who was busy raiding the old refrigerator they used to store what little food they had available. "Yipe!! This isn't what it looks like, Chompers!! And... What are you guys doing back already?" Gator yelped when they caught him. "What do you mean back, Bluehair? We just got here!" Rainbow said. Gator looked at them with confusion. "Whuzzuh? You just left... You just got here... Make up your minds!! And... Who's that green guy again?" he whined. Punchy was a little confused himself, having not seen Gator in this time before. "Umm... Did you travel through time, too? Never mind, I think I'd rather not know..." he said. Rainbow thought about what was happening and came to a conclusion. "Looks like we got here just after the past me left with Wanda and her pals to find you, One!" she said. Gator stared blankly at her. "I have absolutely no idea what you just said. Oh, well, I found pie in the fridge, so I'm happy!" he said, carrying the pie away. Punchy looked around miserably. "Now what do we do? I don't think they're coming back from that castle, not with that Losipher dude about to murder the lot of 'em." he said with frustration. "I don't know, One. Maybe they'll figure out a way to beat him and come back safely!" Rainbow said hopefully. "I don't think so. There were only three of them left, and they didn't look any tougher than the ones we saw get killed!" Punchy pointed out. Gator walked back into the room. "Excuse me, Chompers, but this is the last call for that pie!" he said. Punchy decided to see if Gator could help them. "Hey, pie pirate, do you have any idea where we might find a Time Stone?" he asked. Gator raised an eyebrow. "What's that? A diamond ring that also works as a watch?" he wondered. Rainbow tried to explain. "It's a big, colorful rock that can let people travel through time!" she said. Gator shook his head. "Never saw nothing like that. Sorry. Now, on to the pie!" he said, leaving the room. Rainbow followed him excitedly. "Save me a piece, Bluehair!" she shouted. Punchy let out a slight yawn. "Maybe we could use a little rest. It's been a rough day... or days..."
While Gator and Rainbow attacked the pie, Punchy tried to rest a bit, but he couldn't. His mind kept returning to what he saw before. "I can't kid myself. I DID see that. It was real. Rainbow... with that gun... Could she have really... shot me?" he thought, struggling to make sense of it. As he wandered around the old, broken down building they were in, his thoughts also turned to Gemini's problems. "This future is really horrible. No wonder Gemini went back to try and change it. Those fiery monsters are really nasty, too. Maybe they made Rainbow... Nah, that's too farfetched." he muttered. Every solution he could think of, every explanation he could concoct, simply didn't sound plausible to him. Rainbow couldn't have shot him, but if it wasn't her, than who? She was the one holding the gun. As Punchy thought about the gun, he swore he could see it before him. As he blinked his eyes, though, he found he really could see it! He'd wandered into a room where the Freedom Fighters stored their weapons, and on a table was a pair of guns that looked just like the one Rainbow was holding! Punchy was shocked at seeing it, and backed away from the table, only to bump into someone behind him! "Whoa!! Watch it, One! I almost dropped the piece of pie I brought ya!" said Rainbow. Punchy looked from her to the table and then moved himself to block Rainbow's view of the table. "D-don't sneak up on me like that!" he shouted, flustered. Rainbow handed him a slice of pie on a plate. "Here you go, One! It's cherry, and it’s not bad, considering how old Bluehair said it was!" she said. Punchy tried to get Rainbow to leave. "All right, thanks, Rainbow, now let's go back to the cafeteria place and... Hold on!!" he said hurriedly as Rainbow started to look around. She soon spotted the guns on the table. "Heeeey... You found weapons! That should be helpful. Now we can go looking for a Time Rock, and I'll be able to help fight the monsters! Good thinking, One!" she said, picking one of the guns up and examining it. "You think it's loaded? I never used one of these before. Will it really work on those monsters?" she wondered aloud. Punchy grabbed the gun from her hand and took the other one from the table as well, leaving the plate Rainbow gave him on the table. "Don't play with those in here! There's ammo and gunpowder and stuff! You'll blow us to kingdom come!!" he shouted, leaving the room with both guns. Rainbow picked up the pie and followed him. "If you don't want this, can I have it?" she asked.
Punchy and Rainbow rejoined Gator in the "mess hall," and Punchy let Rainbow have the pie she'd saved for him. He checked the guns, and found them both loaded. Despite his fear, he knew that taking the guns on the search for a Time Stone was the only way Rainbow could go safely. "We gotta find a Time Stone..." he said to himself. It was, after all, the only way they were going to get back to their own time. Gator watched Punchy tinkering with the guns, and walked over to talk to him. "My memory's usually pretty bad, but there's one thing in my long life I know very well. Those things are the worst inventions that were ever made. Still, it's not the thingy itself that's so scary. It's the person using it. That's what makes it dangerous, and also what decides how it's used. I try not to think about it usually, but it's sure scary that people can wish something as terrible as the injuries taken from that contraption on others. You aren't thinking of using it, are you, Chomper?" he asked, an unusual tone of seriousness in his goofy voice. Punchy placed the guns on the table. "It's not me I'm worried about... But we just want to use these on the monsters, so we'll be safe out there." he said. Gator let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. That's the only good use for those things, protecting ourselves and our friends. Just make sure you only use them on monsters! Now, if you'll excuse Gator, I got to fix the DVD player! It's boring around here without it!" he said, leaving the room. Rainbow had finished her pie, and now walked over to Punchy. "Should we go look for a Time Rock, One?" she asked. Punchy nodded. "Take one of these guns with you. I think we should split up for this! Um, to cover more ground!" he suggested. Rainbow picked up one of the guns and headed for the door. "That's a good idea, One! I think you'll be fine without me if you have that weapon! I'll meet you here if I find a Time Rock, OK?" she said. Punchy picked up the other gun and followed her. "Just... be careful..." he said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Punchy and Rainbow went off in two different directions, but her absence didn't do anything to calm Punchy's nerves. As he explored the city, he found it hard to concentrate on the search for the Time Stone. Illusi's words echoed in his mind: "It's probably best you don't worry too much over this. Whatever will be, will be. All one can do is their very best. Perhaps your fears will prove to be unfounded. And, if I may say so, I very much doubt that she would do something like that on purpose." It sounded logical and wise, but Punchy couldn't help worrying about it. "She did seem a little more eager to use the gun than I'd previously expected... Maybe she really is going to shoot me... But then again, she's pretty easygoing about everything. Maybe that was just Rainbow being Rainbow...." he said to himself. By this point, his wandering had taken him to a dead end, where a large, fiery tornado was just beyond the edge of the road! Objects had been lifted up by the tornado, and were being tossed all over the place by it. "Boy, this place is hellish! I half expect to see the devil himself wandering around here!" Punchy grumbled, moving to avoid the falling cars and boulders. As he did so, he soon noticed a group of monsters following him! They were large monsters, and many of them were lifting large balls of fire over their heads, preparing to throw them at Punchy! "You don't want to do that, big guy! I'm tougher than I look!" he shouted. The monsters simply ignored him, and tossed the fiery balls right at him! Rather than use the gun, Punchy decided to trust his own abilities. "Chaos Avalanche!!" He used the attack to lift chunks of the ground into the air, then toss them at the large fireballs! The force of the impact sent all the objects hurtling back at the monsters, knocking them all out in one swift barrage! Punchy grinned at his handiwork. "Not bad, eh, Rainbow?" he found himself saying. "Oh, right... She's not here..." Since he'd reached a dead end, he started to head back in the direction he came. As he walked, he thought more about Rainbow, and Illusi's advice. "Illusi's right... She'd never do a thing like that on purpose... Or even by accident....!!" Punchy said, coming to a realization. If his hunch was right, there wasn't much time to waste, so he quickly began running toward the place where he'd seen himself shot before...
Rainbow had wandered in the direction of Flame Core, feeling certain that she'd find a Time Stone that way. She was lucky in that she hadn't attracted the attention of any monsters along the way, and as a result, it didn't take long for her to reach the edge of Crisis City, just before Flame Core. Things seemed eerily quiet there, but Rainbow didn't notice. She was skipping along, happily humming the accordion song she recalled hearing in Soleanna, until someone called out to her. "Rainbow..." It was a voice both familiar, and unfamiliar. She looked over in the direction of the voice and saw someone standing just outside an alleyway between the last two buildings before the edge of Crisis City. It appeared to be Punchy! Rainbow ran over to him excitedly, thinking he'd found a Time Stone. "Hey, One! That was fast!" she said. However, she could tell from the look in his eyes that something wasn't right. "You OK? What's up?" she asked. Punchy looked down at the ground. He seemed sad about something. "I knew this was the time... All along. As the guardian of Onyx Island, I felt it was my duty to help the freedom fighters get back home. Heh, only Fred really knew who I was, I was wearing an old hood I got from Illusi once..." he muttered, just loud enough for Rainbow to hear. "What're you talking about, One? What hood? I don't get it." she said with concern. Punchy chuckled softly. "'One.' Even now, I still can't abide being called that. And you... You don't understand, do you? Of course not. You never could understand much of anything!" he said, a hint of anger entering his voice. Rainbow backed away from him slightly. "Something's not right here..." she said. Punchy scoffed at her. "Nothing was ever right for us. Things were always going wrong. But we still had each other... Until you up and died! But me, I never even aged. Just like Guard, I found the years passing, my friends dying, but I never showed any outward signs of change! Then, you passed on. I couldn't handle it. Even now, I still can't handle it!!" he shouted. As it began to sink in just who it was that Rainbow had found, she began to notice his fur changing color. "One... Future One... Hang on!! Don't let Dark One take you!" Rainbow shouted, finally realizing the truth!
It was a Punchy that had survived for many years to reach this time, not one that used a Time Stone! This Punchy was so filled with turmoil, that just being around Rainbow again was causing him to transform into Dark Punchy! Still, even as the physical transformation was nearing completion, this future Punchy tried to cling to his normal mind. "I... I can't hold myself back! Rainbow, my dark side is totally evil! If I fully transform, he'll kill you! Before that happens... You must use that gun! You must kill me!!" he yelled. Rainbow shook her head nervously. "No, One... I can't do that to you!! I just can't!" she shouted, backing away from him. Dark Punchy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the alley. "Oh, no, you didn't just call me One again!! If I'd had the chance before, I'd have killed you for it! Give me that gun, Colors!" he shouted, his mind succumbing to the darkness. Rainbow struggled with him, and desperately attempted to keep him from the gun! "St-stop this!! One, you gotta fight Dark One! Stop!!" she shouted. Dark Punchy simply snickered at her. "It's too late. You have no idea what your death did to my weaker self. It's a pity, but he actually allowed himself to become attached to you! How tragic... I think I'll try to prevent that tragedy!" he said, still fighting with her. Luckily, part of him was still himself, and he managed to hold himself back enough so that Rainbow could get free. Trying to think, she shakily pointed the gun at him. "I d-don't want to do this... Please... Just c-calm down!" she begged. Dark Punchy stepped towards her slowly. "You won't kill me. You can't. You're so weak, I'm amazed you're not already dead!" he growled. Rainbow pulled the trigger, but found herself pointing the gun down so that she missed Dark Punchy. Sobbing, she dropped the gun. "You're right... I can't... One's my friend... I just can't..." she said. Dark Punchy crept towards the gun on the floor, laughing. Suddenly, another shot was heard from outside the alley, and a bullet pierced Dark Punchy's chest! He fell to the floor, reverting to his original form before gasping his final words, "About time..." Rainbow quickly turned to the entrance of the alley and spotted the Punchy from her time, still holding the gun in the direction he aimed it! Rainbow hesitated to speak. It was a lot to take it. "One... You shot yourself! Why?" she finally managed to say. Punchy had already begun to walk away, but stopped for a moment to answer her. "Because I knew you wouldn't. That's why." As Punchy wandered out of sight, Rainbow picked up the still smoking gun that she'd fired at the ground and stood for a moment over the body of the Punchy of the future. She was there just long enough for the Punchy of the past to see her, and as he looked away in disbelief, the Punchy of the present called out to Rainbow. "C'mon, we gotta find a Time Stone!" Without further hesitation, Rainbow ran off to catch up with her friend, leaving the Punchy of the past to ponder over these events.
Rainbow caught up to Punchy on a path that lead to the foot of the mountain in the area known as Flame Core. For a moment, they were both very quiet, thinking about what had happened. Finally, Rainbow spoke up. "That was very... Strange. Did you know it was you when you fired that shot, One?" she asked. Punchy nodded. "Illusi showed me my dark side once. I knew it was me. Heck, I realized the truth before I got there. I fought a bunch of monsters and got to thinking, and I realized that, like Guard, the other experiments might be able to survive into this future." he said. Rainbow thought about what Punchy said. "Hang on... How'd you know I'd be there, One? I kinda wandered aimlessly from where we split up!" she said. Punchy decided to explain it to her. "The last time we were here, when you and I were separated, I... Well, you see... You found me near that place, right? I got there after that future me had been shot, and I saw you, with that gun." he said. Rainbow gasped with surprise. "But... That... Why didn't you tell me? We might've been able to avoid this!" she said in disbelief. Punchy sighed regretfully. "I probably should have, but I wasn't sure how you'd react." he said. "You didn't... You didn't think I shot you, didja?" she asked. Punchy looked at the ground ashamedly. "I didn't know what to think. At first, I didn't think it was real. I guess... For a minute... I did suspect you might..." he explained. Once again, they were both silent for a moment. Punchy was too ashamed to look at Rainbow, he didn't want to know what she was thinking. In a moment, Rainbow broke the silence. "I can't imagine what that must've been like, thinking I might do that to you... I'm sorry you had to go through that, One." she said sadly. Punchy looked up at her with surprise. "Aren't you mad at me or something? I mean, I think I should've known all along that you could never shoot me!" he said. Rainbow chuckled a little. "Why should you? It's never come up before! Besides, you basically sacrificed yourself there to save me! I shouldn't be mad at you, I should be apologizing! I'm sorry... I'm sorry I made you kill yourself, One!" As she spoke her apology, she began to cry as what had happened finally fully sunk in. Punchy took her hand in his as they continued to walk along the path. "Don't cry. I'd do it again if I had to. Life can't be fun for me without you to lead me around. Come on. You lead, I'll follow!" he said warmly. Rainbow smiled at Punchy. "All right... Thanks... Now... Follow me! That Time Stone's gotta be around here somewhere!" she said, slowly returning to her normal cheerful demeanor. Punchy sighed as she ran ahead of him. "Should have told her to go slow... Wait up, Rainbow!"
As they began to enter Flame Core, Punchy and Rainbow were shocked to find Gemini and Guard wandering around ahead of them! "Hey, Wanda!! Over here!" Rainbow called as she and Punchy ran over to her. Gemini was even more shocked to see them! "Rainbow... Punchy... What are you two doing back here!?" she said, half surprised and half happy. Punchy pointed to Guard. "First off, isn't he dead in this time?" he said. Guard nodded. "Grrrr.... So I've been told. Grrrr... I'm from the same time as you." he explained. Rainbow shook Gemini's hand excitedly. "We're glad to see you! See, we got blasted into this time again, and we need a Time Stone to take us back!" she explained. Gemini pulled out the red Time Stone she'd used to return to the future. "I guess I can let you have this... But I can't go back to the past. I never should have went there in the first place." she said. Punchy crossed his arms. "Never should have gone back? Are you saying you're sorry to have met us?" he said, joking. "Of course not! It's just... I caused some trouble by going to the past. I've decided that I'll just have to fight Losipher in my own time." she explained. Rainbow looked worried. "I don't think that's a good idea. That guy seemed awfully dangerous!" she said. "Grrrr... Don't worry. I'll stay and see to it she remains safe. Grrr... I don't think I'm needed in the past, anyway." Guard said. Gemini handed the Time Stone to Punchy. "Go on without us. I'll figure a way to get Guard back to his own time when this is all over." she said. Punchy took the Time Stone and frowned. "One thing you've overlooked... I can't use the Time Stone!" he said. Gemini pointed to Rainbow. "Let her try. We didn't have time to find out if she could use it before, but I think she has the right spirit for it!" she suggested. Punchy handed the Time Stone to Rainbow, and the four of them waved good-bye to each other. "Bye, Wanda! Good luck fighting that goopy monster!" Rainbow said. "And good luck with what you're doing, too. Unless you're still after the Master Emerald. Knuckles is my friend, too!" Gemini told them. With that, Rainbow held up the Time Stone and tried to use it...
With a large flash of light, the Time Stone was activated, and when Punchy and Rainbow opened their eyes, they found themselves in the jungle area of Soleanna! Punchy and Rainbow jumped with excitement over their success! "Great job, Rainbow! You did it!" Punchy cheered. Rainbow grinned excitedly. "Feels good to be back, doesn't it? By the way, where are we, One?" she asked. Punchy pointed in the direction of Soleanna. "We're just outside the gate to New City. Now that we've got a Time Stone, maybe we should go look for that Mephiles jerk, like we were going to do before all this craziness started!" he suggested. Rainbow shook a finger at Punchy. "Nope, wrong! Before the craziness started, we were gonna help Two with Seven!" she said to correct him. Punchy sighed tiredly. "Whatever. Copter's fine, let's beat up Mephiles." he said. Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Sure! But... Where is that guy, anyway? Where do we look, One?" Rainbow asked. Punchy thought about it, then shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't a clue. Let's just head back to Soleanna. Maybe we'll come up with a plan there!" he suggested. Rainbow snapped her fingers. "That's it! We'll probably find him in there, anyhow! Follow me, One!" she said, running for the gate.
On the other side of the gate, Illusi was sitting on a rooftop, contemplating what to do next. As Punchy and Rainbow entered the city, Illusi heard their voices. "Is that..." he muttered, looking down from the rooftop. He spotted them instantly. "Ah, they're back! What a relief! I was worried something terrible had befallen them! But as I see them now, they appear to be in better spirits than before!" he said, observing that Punchy was actually smiling a little as they wandered into the city. Suddenly, Illusi caught sight of a shiny red object in Rainbow's hand. "Is that a Chaos Emerald?" he muttered. Suddenly, a Wrongo jumped out next to him! Illusi shooed it away. "I guess not... But that means it's a Time Stone! And it's red... Just like Gemini's! What could've happened, I wonder? I suppose I can guess... Or ask them..." he said to himself, but as Punchy and Rainbow turned a corner and began heading further into the city, Illusi changed his mind. "I think they know what they're doing now. I suppose I'll simply watch them and see what happens..." he said before using his power to vanish in a puff of smoke.
As Punchy and Rainbow wandered through Soleanna, trying to think of what to do next, they soon found themselves back in the Castle Town. After walking around for a while, Rainbow spotted something in the sky and pointed it out to Punchy. "Hey, isn't that the blimp those birdies fly around in?" she said. It was true; the Babylon Rogues' blimp was hovering overhead nearby! "Hmm... The blimp's heading for the desert! I bet that's where Eggman Nega set up his base!" Punchy realized. Rainbow hid the Time Stone behind her back. "You don't think they already spotted us with the Time Rock, do you, One?" she wondered. Punchy shook his head. "I think they've given up the search for now. But, you know what? This gives me an idea..." he said thoughtfully. Rainbow smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I wanna get our own blimp, too!" she said enthusiastically. Punchy shook his head. "No, silly! I thought of the perfect way to test our theory that the Time Stone will let us fight a time traveler, like Mephiles! Let's go take on that Eggman Nega jerk!" he suggested. Rainbow grinned at the idea. "Yeah, and maybe we can get those birdies to give us a blimp ride afterward!" she said excitedly. Punchy began walking toward the entrance to Dusty Desert. "Can't do any of that until we get there! Let's go!" he said. Rainbow ran off ahead of him. "Right! I'll lead, you follow!" she shouted. Punchy sighed as he began attempting to catch up with her. With the mystery of Punchy's death solved, it seemed their lives were once again returning to normal. Or what passes for normal with them.
To be continued...
