GeneX Chronicles - The Twilight Cage
Chapter 2 - Through the Blue Ridge Zone
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
This story is based on the video game: Sonic Chronicles - The Dark Brotherhood.
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
The story thus far:
After having their recently acquired Chaos Emerald stolen by the mysterious Shade the Echidna, Punchy and Rainbow set out to find some answers. This led them to search for Copter. Upon finding him in the Mystic Ruins, they noticed that Angel Island was moving! As they attempted to chase it in the Hurricane, they were shot down by cannons on the island! They crashed near Shadow Arc. Meanwhile, Kosmo learned of a second morph, who was apparently looking to spy on the marauders who had stolen the Chaos Emeralds. Kosmo found an apparent stronghold of the marauders, and was now going to investigate this for himself...
Now, on to the next chapter!
Chapter 2, Act 1: Of Morphs and Eggmen (Dark Brotherhood: Egghunt)
As Kosmo neared the building he'd seen the marauders enter, he saw the door begin to open. He quickly ducked out of sight as Sonic and his companions exited the building, with Knuckles following. Kosmo watched as they finally noticed that Angel Island was gone. Since they seemed distracted by that revelation, Kosmo took the opportunity to slip into the building unseen. He found himself in a small hallway leading to a staircase going down. Heading downstairs, Kosmo noted that there seemed to be no sign of the marauders. "Sonic must have scared them off... Or something..." he muttered as he reached the bottom of the steps. There were three doors in the room, and Kosmo looked around while trying to decide which door to explore. However, he was not alone for long. "What are you doing in here?" Kosmo was taken off guard by the sudden appearance of a marauder in the room! The marauder was standing at the bottom of the steps when Kosmo turned to see who it was. "You guys sure can sneak... But your mask is useless. I know you are an echidna." he said. The marauder removed her helmet. "All right. I am Shade. Now tell me who you are!" she demanded. Kosmo smirked at her. "You're not from around here, I see. I'm Kosmo the Morph. And I'm not the intruder who chased your pals away, if that's what you're thinking!" he said. Shade glanced around the room, then nodded as though agreeing with Kosmo. "They're gone by now, I suppose. But what brings you here?" she asked. "I guess I'm here to ask you that. What are you echidnas after?" Kosmo replied. Shade looked a bit irritated by the question. "Why does that matter to you? It's none of your business. You're just wasting my time..." she said, putting her helmet back on. Kosmo realized that she was about to teleport away, so he attempted to catch her, but it was too late. It only took a second for Shade to press the button on her belt, and once she did, she was gone! Frustrated, Kosmo ran outside. Sonic and his friends were indeed already gone, so Kosmo had no need to sneak around. He scanned the skies for any sign of Angel Island. "These creeps appear, and the island disappears. I think I'll find out why!"
Copter and Punchy had been talking to Bucky in the control room of Shadow Arc for some time. It seemed as though all Bucky wanted was to make small talk, and Punchy was growing impatient. He could not stand to talk to Bucky, or to be in Shadow Arc. "Is there a reason you wanted to see us, or do you just miss tormenting us!?" he yelled when he couldn't stand it anymore. Bucky frowned at him and stood up from the chair in front of the Arcangel's controls where he'd been seated. "I didn't exactly invite you to crash your plane here. Perhaps you could try being grateful for my hospitality." he said, glaring at Punchy. "He's got a point, One." Rainbow whispered. Copter was leaning against one of the Arcangel's power terminals, looking rather impatient himself. "Are you sure Vortex and Zipp can fix the Hurricane?" he asked. Bucky pointed to the hallway. "Ask them yourself. Here they come now." Zipp flew into the control room, followed by Vortex. Zipp stopped in midair as he noticed Gator looking curiously at some boxes in the corner of the room. "Hey, you! Don't touch my stuff!" he shouted, dashing over to pull Gator away. As they started fighting, Vortex approached Copter. "I'm ssssorry, Copter, but your plane can't be repaired by ussss. It ussssessss Eggman technology, which issss difficult to replicate. Sssso ssssorry." he reported, not actually seeming "sorry" in the least. Crash, who was standing silently beside the ship's controls the whole time, stepped forward. "I suppose we should take them with us, then." he suggested. Bucky nodded. "Load their plane's remains onto the Arcangel, Crash and Vortex." he ordered. As Crash and Vortex left the room, Copter and Punchy watched in confusion. "Take us where?" Copter asked. Bucky sat back down at the ship's controls. "Why, to Dr. Eggman, of course. Who else could repair your plane? We were about to go to him, anyway. We've had a recent infestation of robotic armadillos around here that we believe he should answer for." As Bucky finished speaking, Gator and Zipp began shouting more frantically. "Another one!! Grab a gun out of that box and shoot it, crazy croc guy!" Zipp shouted, pointing at a robodillo that had wandered onto the ship. "Gun? I hate those things! And I'm NOT a croc! I'm a gator!" Gator argued. Punchy sighed with irritation. "I guess if we're going with these guys, I better give them a hand..." he muttered, running toward the robodillo.
After searching Green Hill Zone and finding no sign of any morphs, Gunner deemed Guard's mission a failure. As punishment, he had been reassigned to the Mystic Ruins, which Gunner had heard was rather unpleasant since the marauders appeared. Guard was not too upset by this; the strange gas in the Mystic Ruins had no effect on him, since he was an android. As he began patrolling the area, the ground suddenly began to shake! The loud sound of engines caught Guard's attention, and he spotted Shadow Arcangel as it began to take off! "Grrrr! The experiments are on the move! Grrrr! I must try to catch them!" Guard realized. He started flying towards the ship, but catching it would not be easy.
The ship started its journey flying close to Angel Island's current position. "Careful, Binky! One and Two were shot down by that island!" Rainbow said to Bucky. "And I think you know that! Are you nuts!?" Copter shouted. Zipp chuckled at him. "What's the matter, Copter? Are you scared?" he taunted. Bucky began to turn the Arcangel as it neared Angel Island. "Hold on, everyone. We're going to experience.... turbulence..." he warned. Gator tapped Copter on the shoulder. "What do you want?" he asked. Gator looked very nervous. "Do you know where the parachutes are?"
Guard neared Shadow Arcangel just as Angel Island began shooting at it! Multiple cannons were firing at the ship, and things became quite hectic fast. Guard barely dodged a few of the shots before deciding it was too dangerous and dropping back towards the ground! The ship, however, seemed to be taking the abuse fairly well. In a few moments, Shadow Arcangel was on its way, with Guard watching from below. "Grrrr... The master is quite clever sometimes..." he muttered. "Ha ha ha, nice flying! Could you have cut that any closer, though? I'd have liked to see you hit!" Guard looked around and found a marauder laughing at him. Guard raised his scythe in preparation for a fight. "Grrrr... You're the sort of scum I'm here looking for!" he growled. "No, I'm not." the marauder said. Suddenly, a Chaos Spear appeared as if out of nowhere and caused both of them to jump back! An instant later, Shadow the Hedgehog ran to the marauder and grabbed him by his collar. "Marauder! I've been looking for one of you! You creeps appeared recently, and now I can't find Omega! What have you done with him!? If you know anything, you WILL tell me, or else!" Shadow threatened. The marauder just laughed at him. "Me? I don't know anything about this guy. I'm not who either of you are looking for!" he said. Shadow growled loudly as he threw the marauder against a tree, knocking his helmet off! The echidna underneath had glowing yellow eyes. "Violence will do you no good! I know nothing." he said, putting his helmet back on. "An echidna? But I thought Knuckles, Punchy, and Rainbow were the only ones left..." Shadow muttered, apparently having not noticed his eyes. Guard, however, had noticed. "Grrrr... I think he's telling you the truth, Shadow. Grrrr... He knows nothing of your friend." he said. Shadow glared at Guard angrily. "I don't need your opinion! I don't trust Gunner's stooges any more than the marauders!" he shouted. While the two of them weren't paying attention, the marauder slipped away. "Hmph. The coward. This is a waste of time..." Shadow muttered before running off. Guard looked thoughtful now that he was alone. "Grrrr... Looks like I've found the morph..." he said.
While Nova was dealing with Shadow and Guard, Kosmo had determined the apparent path Angel Island was moving in, and had now arrived in Station Square. Since the residents of Station Square feared him more than anywhere else, though, Kosmo had to go about in disguise. He preferred to remain in his natural form though, so he simply put on a brown hat and trench coat, with the brim of his hat pulled down to conceal his eyes. The only part of himself that clearly showed through this costume was his tail, but most ignored it. Soon, as he headed for the northern border leading to Blue Ridge Zone, he passed by Tommy the Porcupine, playing ball in the street with his friends. Tommy stopped in his tracks as he noticed Kosmo walk by, and his lack of attention nearly got him hit in the head with the ball. "What's wrong, Tom?" one of his friends asked. He pointed to Kosmo nervously. "Th-that's Experiment 3! Razor's been looking for him... He's the dragon that attacked the city that time!" Tommy had said this so loudly that everyone in the immediate area heard him, and Kosmo stopped in his tracks. "Shoot..." he muttered. The people in the area immediately began to scatter as Kosmo lifted his hat, uncovering his eyes. A few stayed behind to throw things at him, though, and this really got on his nerves. "Hey, hey, hey! I just bought this coat! Sure, with stolen money, and in another form, but still!!" No one listened to him, but they did start shouting unpleasant things at him, and were growing bolder by the fact that he hadn't fought back yet. "Guess I'd better get going..." Kosmo realized. Luckily for him, something arrived to divert attention from him! A Shield Pawn, which was a large, heavily armored robot belonging to Eggman, had wandered into the city and begun causing damage! "Well, good things do happen to bad people! Bye, Station Square!" Kosmo said, starting to leave. Tommy, however, attempted to stop him by grabbing his tail. "Stop! My brother's been looking for you!" he shouted. Kosmo did not appreciate having his tail pulled, and swiftly kicked Tommy away! "Little brat! How dare..." Kosmo stopped speaking as he noticed the Shield Pawn coming up behind Tommy, who was too shaken to stand up in time! "Ohhh... Swell... OK, here we go..." Kosmo grunted, running to Tommy and grabbing him in his arms! He pulled Tommy away just as the Shield Pawn attacked, then ran for the city's border with Tommy still in his arms! The Shield Pawn started to pursue, but a gunshot to its head knocked it out. Razor had arrived! One of Tommy's friends ran up to Razor immediately. "No need to thank me. Stopping rampaging robots is part of the job." he said. The child shook his head. "No, Officer Razor. It's Tommy! Experiment 3 kidnapped Tommy!"
Bucky knew where Eggman was hiding before they left, and it wasn't long before he, Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, and Gator were speaking with him at his Green Hill Zone hideaway. They were standing in a room with a bunch of monitors showing the rooms of the small base. Eggman was seated behind a desk, looking surprisingly calm for a man who was supposedly dead. "So, you say MY robots have been causing you grief, Dr. Stein? How presumptuous! I'm not the only one capable of building robots, you know!" he said after Bucky had spoken his mind. The rat did not look convinced. "Maybe, but you ARE the only man I know to build robots from animals. I'm not playing your games. Those are your robots, and we all know it." he growled. Eggman stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "So what if they are? To tell the truth, I haven't had control of my own robots for some time. My poor E-X series... They must think I HAVE perished! If their minds are still their own..." he said. Copter was tapping his foot impatiently. "Enough! This is trivial. I hate to say it, but I need my plane back! Someone shot me down, and I'll need it to pay them back!" he said. Eggman looked shocked. "You wrecked my beautiful Hurricane!? How could you be so careless!?" he cried. Gator raised his hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Kaputnik, do you have any cola? Gator is thirsty." he asked. Eggman looked a bit overwhelmed. "Demands, demands... But who am I to refuse? I will repair the Hurricane, provided you do something for me. But the robots, there isn't much I can do about them. They aren't being controlled by me. For you see, I, Dr. Robotnik, have reformed!" he declared. "What does this mean for my cola?" Gator asked. Bucky scoffed at Eggman. "You? Reformed? That's rich. I'll bet..." Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the base! Eggman turned to his monitors to see Sonic and his friends entering the base! "Oh, how nice! So many reunions today! Sorry, friends, but I must go and greet my new guests! I'll be right back!" he said, jumping from his chair and running out the door! Rainbow waved to him as he left. "Bye, Tubby!" she said. Punchy glanced at Copter. "So, what do we do? See what he wants us to do?" he asked. Bucky sat down on the chair Eggman left behind. "I'd hear him out, but I wouldn't trust him. He's been laying low here since his last defeat, and I'll wager he's got something up his sleeve by now..." he said. Copter looked troubled. "Maybe... But I don't think he's behind those marauders. And something tells me they have bigger plans right now than Eggman..."
Chapter 2, Act 2: Journey to Metropolis (Dark Brotherhood: A Wolf in the Shadows)
Once Eggman returned, he explained that he could not repair the Hurricane without the tools and parts in his laboratory in his former base, Metropolis. Bucky had agreed to transport the Hurricane there using Shadow Arcangel, but refused to allow Eggman aboard his ship. Eggman had promised to help Sonic battle the marauders anyway, so while he was busy doing that, he left Copter and Punchy with a mission. The subway tunnels leading into Metropolis were currently inaccessible due to the fact that it had been buried by snow. It now fell to Copter and Punchy to head for the Blue Ridge Zone north of Station Square and attempt to remove the snow, in case the tunnels were needed. Leaving Gator with Bucky, Copter, Punchy and Rainbow made their way to the Blue Ridge Zone as quickly as they could. The first thing they noticed upon reaching the zone was the surprising drop in temperature once they left Station Square. Copter was shivering as he led the way through the frigid region, carefully avoiding the attention of the patrolling robots. "It's bad enough we have to travel in this cold... Couldn't Eggman have done SOMETHING about his crazy robots?" Copter growled. Rainbow seemed unaffected by the cold. "The weather's not that bad, Two. We haven't even run into any of that snow Tubby was talking about yet!" she said optimistically. Punchy was looking behind them, and suddenly called their attention to something. "Hey, guys! We're being followed!" As they looked where Punchy was pointing, they spotted Razor heading their way! "Hold it! Don't run! I just need to ask you a question!" Razor shouted quickly. He seemed to be in such a panic, Copter and Punchy didn't know what to make of him. "What's the matter, officer?" Rainbow asked. Razor held up a photo of Tommy. "Experiment 3 has kidnapped my brother. This is his picture. Have you seen him? Or the experiment? Please, tell me!" He looked quite desperate, but they couldn't help him. "Never seen him. Can't help ya." Copter said. Razor frowned and then ran off. "Gotta find him!" he said as he ran. Rainbow looked sad as he left. "We should try to help him..." she suggested. Punchy groaned at her. "Are you nuts? He'd probably thank us with a trip to prison! Let's get moving, already!"
Kosmo was also exploring Blue Ridge Zone, heading for the destination of Angel Island. He could see the island on the horizon, and he could tell it was heading for Metropolis. Behind him, Tommy was following silently. Kosmo had released him a short time ago, and had told him to go home, but Tommy was curious about what he was up to now. After a while, Kosmo became annoyed with being followed. "What do you want, kid? I told you to go home!" he asked without stopping. "Uh... I... uh... I was wondering... Why did you save me? I told everyone you were around, and they started throwing stuff and..." When Kosmo glanced back at him, Tommy silenced himself out of fear. "I'd rather not talk about it, kid. Just go home! I want to be left alone!" Kosmo insisted. They had reached the path into Metropolis, and were suddenly stopped by marauders! Shade was standing directly in Kosmo's path. "If you want to be left alone, you're in the wrong place! Turn back now, or else!" she warned. Kosmo looked at the three marauders in his path, then grinned confidently. "Three? Only three? Come now, where's the challenge?" he said, morphing into an echidna. Shade and her minions ran to attack Kosmo, who quickly jumped away from Shade and faced the other two marauders. They attempted to hit him with stasis bombs, but he ducked under them as he approached the marauders. Once he caught them, he delivered two swift punches to their heads, knocking them both over! "Got ya! Now, hurry and stand up while I think of what to transform into for round two!" he grinned. However, he'd forgotten about Shade! "Halt! Revert to your original form, and surrender!" she warned from behind him. "Give me one good reason!" Kosmo growled, turning to face her. When he saw her though, he found his reason! Shade was holding up Tommy, whose shouts for help were muffled by Shade's hand! "H-hey! Put him down! He has nothing to do with me!" Kosmo shouted. Shade grinned at him. "If that's so, then you won't mind whatever we do with him..." she said. Kosmo looked at the terrified eyes of the captive child, then sighed miserably as he reverted to his normal form. "All right, don't hurt him... I surrender..." he muttered. Shade nodded, then turned Tommy over to her minions. "Take them both to a cell for now. If they will behave, perhaps we will release them after our mission is over!" she ordered.
Guard had managed to catch up with Nova briefly, but lost him upon reaching Blue Ridge Zone. Not about to give up, Guard had been searching for him for a while, but it had become clear to him that the morph had passed through the zone. So, Guard made his way to the path to Metropolis, and soon found Razor standing a short distance away from the path. "Grrr... What are you doing out here? Isn't this out of your jurisdiction?" Guard asked him. Razor was looking very tense. "There is no jurisdiction when my brother's safety is at risk. The morph kidnapped him, and since he's no longer here, I think he must've gone into Metropolis." he explained. "Grrr... Makes sense. Grrrr... But why are you just standing here?" Guard wondered. Razor pointed down the path to Metropolis. "When I tried the path, some marauders appeared out of nowhere and forced me to turn back. It seems Metropolis is their headquarters." he said. Guard looked around the immediate area. "Grrrr... I'm searching for the morph, too. I will help you. Grrrr..." he growled quietly. Razor looked in the direction Guard was looking. "That's great, but how can you help?" he asked. Guard pointed somewhere to the west. "Grrrr... I was part of GUN's attack force during the last battle with Dr. Eggman. Grrrr... While I was here, I discovered a series of tunnels. I believe an entrance is that way." he explained. Razor immediately started heading in the direction Guard was pointing. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's catch that morph!" he shouted. Guard took to the sky and quickly caught up with him.
When they reached the entrance to the tunnels, Copter, Punchy and Rainbow were already there. They'd found the entrance buried by a seemingly immovable mountain of snow. "Well, well. Guard is here. How'd you know we'd be here?" Copter asked. "Grrr... We're heading for Metropolis. Grrrr... There are more pressing matters to deal with than you right now." he growled. Punchy pretended to be sad. "Aw, you don't think we're important enough. We're offended." he said sarcastically. "So, Guard, where's the tunnel?" Razor asked. "Under the snow." Rainbow explained. Guard looked at the mountain of snow. "Grrrr... This isn't good. Our attack must have caused an avalanche somehow." he realized. As they all started thinking of what could be done, they heard a nearby scream! "Hey... That sounds like Gemini!" Copter said, running in the direction of the scream. The rest of the group quickly followed him.
Five Nocturnus Velites were surrounding Gemini, who was frantically pointing her wand around trying to defend herself. When Copter and the others arrived, the marauders turned and glared at them through their helmets. "What do you punks think you're doing!?" Copter yelled. "Grrrr... You marauders are cowards, ganging up on someone like that." Guard growled. One of the marauders grabbed Gemini by the arm tightly. "This girl was trespassing a little too close to a place she didn't belong. As are all of you, I'd say. Teach them some respect for our authority, boys!" he said, prompting the four others to attack the group! "Big mistake!" Punchy said. As the marauders approached them, Copter attacked with Chaos Whirlwind, Punchy with Chaos Avalanche, and Guard with his scythe's energy blasts! The marauders were taken off guard, and three of the four teleported away as they were knocked over! The fourth one was blown over by Chaos Whirlwind, and his helmet fell off, revealing his yellow eyes! "Grrr!? The... morph!?" Guard said with alarm. Nova picked up his helmet, but rather than wearing it, he morphed back into his true form! "Hey, that's not Three..." Rainbow said with confusion. The marauder holding Gemini suddenly let her go. "I think we're outnumbered, Nova..." he said. Nova snickered at his comment. "Morphs are never outnumbered... But I suppose we may be running late. Let's get going, Jak!" Before anyone could chase them, Jak grabbed Nova's arm and teleported them both away! Since the enemies were gone, they turned their attention to Gemini. "Are you OK?" Copter asked. Gemini nodded. "Yes. Thank you. It sure has become dangerous out here recently..." she said.
After Copter and Razor explained the situation to Gemini, she offered to help them get into Metropolis. They led her back to the mountain of snow, and she pointed her wand at it. "Hmmm... Let me think.... OK, stand back everyone! Abra-ka-heatra!" After using her spell, an intense heat began emanating from her wand! She pressed the wand against the snow, and immediately, the snow began to melt away! The snow cleared the area at a speed which could only be accomplished by magic, though those not present would believe the large tremor that was happening nearby was somehow the cause. With the snow gone, the entrance to the tunnels was clear, and the door was even already open! Gemini ran for the door, motioning to the others to follow her. "Come on, guys! We gotta find Experiment 3 and rescue Razor's brother!" she said. Rainbow nodded and ran off into the tunnels ahead of everyone. "Follow me, guys! I'll find them!" she shouted. "Slow down, Rainbow! It could be dangerous in there!" Punchy shouted as he and the others entered the tunnels behind her. As soon as they had all entered, the door slammed shut behind them! Thinking that was strange, Copter and Guard stopped to examine the door. "Well, it's an electric door of some sort... But it was wide open a moment ago. Why would it suddenly close?" Copter wondered. Gemini shrugged. "I don't know. Does it matter?" she asked. "Grrrr... It could mean someone knows we're here..." Guard realized. Razor nodded in agreement. "Right. We'd better hurry, then." he said. Suddenly, a laser was fired at the group! It was poorly aimed, but it got everyone's attention. "Eeeek! I think someone does know we're here!" Rainbow shouted. Looking into the tunnel, they saw Char and Alpha hovering a short distance away! "Aw, you missed! Now the intruders are gonna make a bigger mess of Metropolis! We should do something, Alphie!" Char said excitedly. Alpha spun his head around once and aimed his gun at the group. "Right! I know what to do!" he said, pausing a moment before continuing. "Let's run for it!!" Alpha flew off deeper into the tunnels, followed by Char! Without wasting time, the rest of the group began chasing them! After all, Alpha might lead them exactly where they needed to go...
To be continued...
