GeneX Chronicles - The Twilight Cage
Chapter 3 - The Fall of Angel Island
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 saving Tommy from a robot, Kosmo was forced to surrender to the marauders when they threatened him. Meanwhile, Eggman agreed to fix the Hurricane for Copter, provided he does something for him. As Copter & Punchy attempted to figure a way to clear the snow blocking the entrance to Metropolis, they were joined by Guard & Razor, who believed Kosmo and Tommy were in Metropolis as well. After saving Gemini from Nova the Morph and Jak the Echidna, she used her magic to melt the snow. In the tunnels of Metropolis, they were attacked by Alpha. They chased the robot deeper into the tunnels...
Now, on to the next chapter!
Chapter 3, Act 1: Metropolis Mission (Dark Brotherhood: The Battle for Angel Island)
While chasing Alpha, the group found where Eggman and Sonic were planning their next move. Razor, however, decided dealing with Eggman was a waste of his time at the moment, and he, Guard, and Gemini left to find Kosmo and Tommy. While Sonic was chatting with his friends, Eggman took some time to speak to Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, Char, and Alpha. "You've all done quite well, my friends! How did you manage to get rid of that snow?" he asked them. "Wanda used her magic to melt it for us!" Rainbow explained. Eggman and Char both had nostalgic looks on their faces. "Ah, yes, I presume you mean that fennec girl. I wish I'd have had more time to tinker with that wand of hers..." Eggman sighed. "Me too, doc. And I'm happy to see you're alive! Why didn't you contact us?" Char wondered. "Um, well, I, uh, I was lacking in equipment. I couldn't even get a message to my surviving robots..." Eggman stammered. In truth, he wouldn't have called Alpha anyway, for he was sick of his incompetence. "Well, anyway, I'm afraid there's another little problem preventing me from fixing your plane, Copter. It seems the airspace around here is currently too dangerous for Bucky to fly Shadow Arcangel in. It's a shame... Had I remained in charge of that ship, it would have been upgraded to the point of invincibility..." he told them. "Dangerous? For the Arcangel? I don't believe that!" Punchy scoffed. "What's the problem?" Copter asked. Char fielded this question. "When Alphie and I were tracking down those sneaky jerks who took control of Eggman's robots, we learned that they'd taken control of Metropolis's air base!" he explained. "They won't share our toys!" Alpha whined. Eggman didn't much like being interrupted. "Quiet, you two! You don't even know the full situation! There's a nasty cannon on Angel Island as well! Shadow Arcangel would be torn to shreds if it flew over here!" he said. "So, what do we do, Tubby?" Rainbow asked. "First of all, quit calling me Tubby! What I want you to do is retake my air base. You can even bring Alpha with you. Just don't fail me!" Eggman ordered. Copter grinned a little. "OK, so we get to be the ones to annoy the marauders now! Sounds good! Let's go!" So, with Alpha and Char along with them, the team began their mission in Metropolis!
As Razor, Gemini, and Guard were searching for Kosmo, Nova, and Tommy, their search was made difficult by the many patrolling robots. Luckily, there was no shortage of intruders wandering around Metropolis, so the robots were largely preoccupied. Looking up at the sky, Guard could see Angel Island nearing the area. "Grrrr... We'd better find them before that island gets here." Guard said. Gemini agreed. "I have a feeling it'll get really dangerous here when that island arrives..." she said. As they passed a rather ugly statue of Dr. Eggman, a bunch of sentry drones approached them, accompanied by a Gun Pawn robot! The Gun Pawn was a large red robot with guns for hands. These robots did not seem happy to see them. "Better clear out this scrap!" Razor said, firing his gun at the sentry drones! "Blastrotall!" Gemini assisted him by firing bolts from her wand. Meanwhile, Guard focused on the Gun Pawn. He flew around it as it began firing at him, and when he had an opening, he fired a blast from his scythe, stunning it! As it regained its senses, Guard got closer. It fired at Guard again, but the gargoyle was too close to be stopped! He stunned it again, then slashed it in half with his scythe! Once the damaged robots exploded, the trio was ready to continue on their way, but as they started to leave, Illusi appeared before them in a puff of smoke! "Good, I've found you! I knew I'd find you here, officer!" he said hurriedly. Gemini was happy to see her old friend. "Illusi! How are you? What are you doing here?" she asked. "Where'd he come from?" Razor muttered in confusion. Illusi was in too much of a rush to explain it to him. "Listen, we have to get out of here, quickly!" he said urgently. "Grrrr... Explain yourself, shrew!" Guard growled. "No, don't listen to him at all! We have to find Tommy before we leave!" Razor insisted. Illusi sighed frustratedly. "Can't just listen... Look, your friend and the morph have been captured by the marauders. They are no longer in the city, which is fortunate..." he said. "Why is that fortunate!?" Razor shouted with concern. Illusi glared up at Angel Island. "Metropolis is in grave danger..."
Illusi was wrong about one thing. Kosmo and Tommy were still in Metropolis, but they would not be for much longer. They were locked in a cell inside an air skiff parked in Eggman's air base. "What's gonna happen to us, Kosmo? I'm... scared..." Tommy said worriedly. Kosmo was looking around the cell, and now glanced out at the guards. "Good... their backs are turned..." he whispered. "Don't be scared, kid. Fear isn't very useful in these situations. Just stand here and be quiet. I'll get us out..." Kosmo thought a moment, then decided what to do. He morphed himself into his flicky form, which was small enough to fly through the bars! Once he was out of the cell, he morphed into a purple hedgehog resembling Shadow, and had an evil grin as he snuck towards the guards. Before he reached them, a sound was heard from their communicators! Kosmo stepped back slightly as they answered the call. "Intruder alert in the air base! We need backup!" Without taking a moment to check on their prisoners, the marauders ran to the exterior of the ship, taking their keys with them! "Oh, good... They took the keys... Well, who needs to be quiet while they're gone?" Kosmo said. Tommy was looking through the barred window at the back of their cell. "Hey, Kosmo! I see the other experiments out there! Did they come to rescue you?" he asked. "I very much doubt it, kid. Stay back there, now... Chaos Blast!!" Kosmo used the chaotic explosion from Chaos Blast to break open the cell, enabling Tommy to escape! Tommy was coughing as the smoke cleared. "This ship is awfully dusty..." he muttered. "It's Eggman's old ship. He's let them sit around for a long time. Now, let's go!" Kosmo said, rushing for the exit. Tommy followed as fast as he could. "W-wait up! Don't leave me alone here!" he shouted. Kosmo stopped at the door and glanced at Tommy impatiently. "Don't be slow, kid! Those marauders won't just let us waltz out of here!" he warned. Tommy nodded and ran off ahead of Kosmo. "H-hey! You can't leave without me, either! You'll get caught again!" Kosmo shouted as he followed behind him.
It wasn't long after Copter and his companions entered the air base that Shade and her fellow Nocturnus arrived to stand in their way! "Stand aside, sillies! I need to use the bathroom!" Alpha said, crazed as always. Char laughed at him. "Robots don't need bathrooms! And besides, there isn't one here." he said. Copter and Punchy looked a little embarrassed to be fighting alongside such a kooky robot. "We don't have time for your nonsense! Angel Island is nearly here! Our exile will soon end. If you interfere, we will stop you!" Shade said before commanding her minions to attack! Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, and Alpha spread out to fight the marauders separately. While most of them fought Nocturnus Velites and the like, Punchy challenged Shade to a rematch. "Finally, I get to do what I left home to do in the first place! You're going down, Shade!" Punchy yelled. Rainbow cheered him on from the sidelines. "Go, One! Nocturna's got nothing on you this time!" she said. Shade produced a blade seemingly made out of energy, and charged towards Punchy to use her Blade Rush attack! Punchy attempted to avoid it, but was hit hard! "Don't give in, One! You can do it!" Rainbow shouted. Punchy retaliated by punching Shade a couple times, forcing her to back away and counter with a stasis bomb, which missed and nearly hit Rainbow! "Yeow! You big... meanie..." She was a little dazed, but otherwise okay. "That's it! Chaos Avalanche!" Punchy used his chaos powers to lift chunks of the floor and toss them at Shade, who carefully and skillfully dodged them. "Impressive! You're tougher than I thought..." she said. As the fighting continued, the ships in the air base were beginning to take off! Seeing this, Shade called to her minions. "We've stalled them enough! Let's go!" As the Nocturnus all teleported away, Copter pointed to the nearest air skiff. "Quick! We gotta get on board!" They began running for the skiff, but it was already taking off! Thinking fast, Copter spun his tails and began flying after it, stopping to grab Rainbow as he went! Meanwhile, Alpha grabbed Punchy and followed. It was close, but they made it aboard!
After Illusi explained the situation, Gemini decided there was no time to waste. "If they're heading for Angel Island, that's probably where they'll take your brother and the morph!" she reasoned. Guard frowned. "Grrrr... I'd fly up there, but they have cannons on the island. Grrrr... I'd probably not make it." he said. Illusi looked thoughtful. "I suppose I'll pop up there and see what I can do. Don't wait for me!" he said before teleporting away in a puff of smoke. "It'd be nice if he'd have taken us with him..." Razor muttered. Gemini was flipping through her spell book to see if she could find a good spell. "Ah! Here! A long distance warping spell. Hold on to me and I'll take us up there!" she said. Once they were ready, Gemini waved her wand. "Here we go... Galaporta!" A blinding flash of light emanated from her wand, and when it faded, they were gone!
They found themselves on Angel Island instantly, and as such, were a little disoriented. "Grrr... Must determine location... Accessing data... We're on Angel Island... Grrr... That was too fast...." Guard muttered. He was having trouble comprehending what had happened, since he was part robot. Razor was less dazed than Guard, but more so than Gemini. "Whoa... That could be tough to get used to..." he grumbled. "Not really. It just takes practice." Gemini said, looking around. "Yes, doesn't it?" This fourth voice was vaguely familiar. Looking to it, they saw the Nocturnus known as Jak! He was accompanied by several other marauders. "I doubt you could warp away again so quickly, so don't fight us. You'll just die more painfully!" he said, removing his helmet in triumph. He was a blue echidna with some yellow patches around his eyes and quills. He wore a headband similar to Shade's. "So, how shall we deal with you?" he said unpleasantly. "Not hastily, I say!" Jak turned to this new voice, which belonged to Shade. "Oh, Procurator... How nice to see you..." he muttered. Razor tried to reason with the Nocturnus. "Look, I'm just looking for my brother. He's a child. Just return him to me, and we'll leave quietly..." he pleaded. Shade looked at him with slight sympathy. "I see... Well, let's take them to Imperator Ix. He'll know what to do!"
As Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, Char, and Alpha explored the small air skiff they'd landed on, they soon were faced with an obstacle. Rather than marauders, however, they found Kosmo and Tommy! Rainbow smiled to see Tommy. "Aww, it's a cute little kid!" Copter and Punchy, however, were much less pleased. "That's the kid Kosmo kidnapped. Have you no shame?!" Copter growled. Tommy tried to reason with them. "It's OK, guys. I'm..." Kosmo raised his hand in front of Tommy to silence him. "Kidnapped, you say? Well, then, don't antagonize me while I have a hostage!" he warned. Alpha skipped over to Kosmo's side. "I like this game! I wanna be this guy's goalie!" he said. Char laughed at the situation. "Wow, this just got interesting! It's like old times!" he said with excitement. Punchy shook his fist at Kosmo. "Don't make us all kick your butt again!" he threatened. Tommy attempted to step in and put a stop to this, but Alpha held him back. "You stays put! This goalie won't let you checkmate our monopoly!" the crazed robot declared. Kosmo morphed into Rainbow and motioned for Copter and Punchy to come after him. "I'll use this weakling form to make it fair! Or would you have problems hitting your mutual friend?" he chuckled. Punchy grinned as though he didn't mind, but Rainbow pushed past him and started struggling against Kosmo herself! "You just called me weak!! I'll show you, Three!!" she yelled, fighting with her yellow-eyed doppelganger. Copter and Punchy glanced at each other sheepishly. "Gee, should we stop her?" Punchy muttered. Char was hovering beside Alpha, cracking up with laughter. "Hoo hoo! Oh, no, stop! Ha ha ha!! This is just too much!" he laughed. "Have you fools noticed the lack of marauders yet!?" Everyone turned toward the cockpit of the ship to see Nova standing there! Kosmo reverted to his normal form and ran after Nova. "What are you doing here!?" he growled. Nova grinned at them. "The Nocturnus know you're on this ship. The weapons have been disabled, and you'll be shot down any moment!" Nova morphed into a sort of flying fish and began flying away. "Have fun crashing!!" he chuckled. "Who and what was that?" Copter wondered as Nova escaped. Char was panicking about Nova's warning. "Yikes! Alpha, you gotta fly us to safety, quick!" he shouted. Alpha saluted him. "Aye, aye, your majesty!" he said, flying up to the cockpit. "What's going on?" Rainbow gasped, exhausted from fighting with Kosmo. "Hang on to something..." Copter and Punchy both gasped at once! Luckily, an anti-aircraft cannon in Metropolis was shooting most of the ships out of the way, giving Alpha the opening he needed to get the ship over Angel Island, and he even avoided the island's cannon. "Uh, mommy?" Alpha said to Char. "What?" he asked. "How does this boat go down?" Alpha wondered. Kosmo gulped loudly, having heard that. "This isn't going to be fun..." Moments later, the skiff crash landed on the island, flinging its crew away!!
Ix was a very old echidna, and it showed in his gray fur and long beard. Despite being old, he was quite fearsome to behold. After Shade explained the situation to him, he looked very cross. "Shade, you know I don't have time for this! Just kill the gnats and be done with it!" he snapped. Shade looked shocked by his hastiness. "Wa-wait! I don't think we need kill them! They just..." Ix would not listen. "SILENCE! Do not question me, Shade! I will not be questioned! If you talk back to me again, you will regret it! Jak, you deal with these... insects!" he bellowed. Jak smiled at his captives devilishly. "So, how would you like to die?" he asked. Suddenly, Copter, Punchy, and Alpha arrived! "Don't you lay a finger on Gemini!" Copter roared, dashing to the nearest marauder and knocking it over with his powerful tails! "And, uh, back off Guard. He's... cool, in an ugly sort of way." Punchy added, punching the next marauder. "I'll make all of you go BOOM!!" Alpha shouted, firing indiscriminately on the marauders. Ix swatted one of Alpha's shots aside like it was a mere bug. "Insufferable fools!! You DARE to defy me!? I won't give you the satisfaction of slowing me down, though. Shade, let's get going!" Ix and Shade teleported away, leaving Jak and his fellow Nocturnus to deal with the intruders. "Well, I never thought our old world could still be so much fun! Take your friends, if you can!" he challenged. They seemed eager to meet this challenge, but more Nocturnus started appearing all around them! As they became surrounded, Copter glanced at Punchy nervously. "I hope you're not getting as tired as I am today..." he groaned.
Kosmo, Tommy, Char, and Rainbow had been separated from the others in the crash, and they soon found themselves fighting a multitude of Nocturnus, assisted by Nova in his Nocturnus disguise. Though they had Kosmo with them, he was the only real fighter among them, and they were fast becoming overwhelmed. "Give it up, Kosmo. You can save yourself. The other three? They're dead, as are their companions. You're a morph. You deserve better. Escape, now!" Nova said. Kosmo shook his head. "I don't need to run. I can take you all!" he grinned, though he was obviously growing tired. As the battle continued, things were looking bleak. Even Sonic and Knuckles, who had arrived and challenged Ix, seemed to be in trouble. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tails and Dr. Eggman appeared on the island! Eggman was holding a remote of some sort, and he quickly pressed the button on it! A small, spherical device flew into the area and fired a strange beam across the island, warping all of the Nocturnus except for Shade and Ix back to where they had come from! Suddenly, Nova found himself alone. "Uh... Allies? Pals? Jak? Uh... oh..." he muttered as Kosmo and his companions surrounded him. "You're a morph, Nova. Maybe YOU should escape now!" Kosmo grinned. Nova glared at him hatefully. "You're smug, aren't you? Well, you'll be sorry!" With these words, Nova turned back into a flying fish and flew off. As Nova escaped, Copter and the others found Kosmo. "One! That's the second time today I thought you died in a crash!" Rainbow shouted tearfully as she ran to her friend and hugged him. "Uh... Yeah... Not now, Rainbow..." he muttered uncomfortable. Char flew over to Alpha as well. "How'd you do without me, Alphie?" he asked. "Who is you?" Alpha replied. Tommy and Kosmo were left standing side by side, and when Guard and Razor arrived, Guard immediately flew into Kosmo, knocking him down! "Grrrrr!!! Thought you'd get away with this, did you!?" he snarled, holding the handle of his scythe against Kosmo's throat. "Ah, hello, Guard. I had fun posing as you earlier today..." Kosmo struggled to say. As Guard hesitated in his confusion, Kosmo morphed into a small armadillo and scurried out of his grip! "Grr? Hey!!" Guard shouted. Before anything further could happen, however, the island began shaking violently! "Wh-what's happening?!" Gemini shouted. Punchy had a look of dread on his face. "Oh, no... They didn't..." he gasped. Illusi appeared in the area as the situation began to dawn on them. "Brace yourselves, everyone!" the shrew warned, "The Master Emerald has been taken! Angel Island is falling!"
Chapter 3, Act 2: Black Hole Sun
Angel Island fell from the sky, landing on Metropolis and causing catastrophic damage. Even more troubling was the sudden appearance of an ominous black hole in the sky above the ruins of Metropolis. Whatever Ix's plan was, it was reaching fruition. With the immediate threats in the area gone, however, Shadow Arcangel was able to get close enough to Metropolis for the experiments to bring the Hurricane to what was left of Eggman's lab. Eggman and Tails were there working on a ship to take Sonic into the mysterious Twilight Cage when Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, Char, and Alpha arrived. Eggman left Tails to work alone for a moment while he spoke to Copter. "It seems, despite Sonic's best efforts and my genius, the Nocturnus marauders obtained the Master Emerald, which they used to open that wormhole in the sky, a path between our world and the mysterious 'Twilight Cage' that the Nocturnus came from." Eggman explained to them. Bucky, Vortex, Zipp, Crash, and Gator arrived in the area at this moment. "Yes, yes, this sounds very thrilling and all that, but now that they are back where they came from, the robots they controlled will leave me alone. I'm about ready to go home." Bucky said, apparently having heard Eggman's explanation. Rainbow looked worried. "I bet they'll come back through that hole and use the gems to cause all kinds of trouble..." she said. "Exactly why we're sssstill here." Vortex said. Eggman smiled knowingly. "I contacted Dr. Stein here when things started getting shaky. He's agreed to lend me his experiments so they and Alpha can build a ship to take you to the Twilight Cage." he explained. "Why would we go there?" Copter asked. "Well, aside from the exciting quest to save us all from invading echidnas, you could do something in exchange for my repairing your plane." Eggman suggested. "And helping me find my horse, Rolf!" Gator added. Punchy made a face at the name. "Rolf? Really?" he muttered. Char flew over to Team GeneX. "Come on! Let's get started! Chop chop!" he said. Zipp frowned at him. "You're lucky the master wants us to do this, or I'd slap you silly, Chao!" he growled. "Be nice, Zipp. He's smaller than you." Crash said. As Char, Alpha, and the experiments walked off to work on the ship, Copter thought over the deal. "Well, I guess we don't really have anything better to do. What do you want, Eggman?" he asked. "All in good time. I must get back to my work with Tails. Ta!" Eggman said, returning to his lab. Punchy looked thoughtful. "OK, you get your plane. What's in this for me?" he asked. Rainbow had a thought. "What about that big gem, One?" she reminded him. Punchy suddenly became much more enthusiastic. "Right! The Master Emerald! What are we waiting for then!?"
During the fall of Angel Island, Kosmo had been sure to keep Tommy safe, but in the process, they were separated from the others. Now, as they wandered Angel Island, they soon spotted Nova, staring up at the sky. A large, blue, boomerang shaped ship was landing in front of him, and a small hatch on the underside of the ship opened to reveal a staircase leading inside. "Now, where's he going? And where'd he get that cool ship?" Kosmo wondered aloud. "Why don't we sneak in?" Tommy suggested. Kosmo glanced at him with surprise. "Are you sure you want to come along?" he asked. Tommy nodded. "I feel bad about everyone attacking you, even though you saved me. I want to help you!" he insisted. Kosmo smiled at him. "Well, I kinda like your style, kid. Let's go, but be quiet on that ship! Wouldn't want him to throw us out while it's flying..." Before the hatch on the ship could close, Kosmo and Tommy ran aboard. Little did they know, Razor, Guard, Gemini, and Illusi were watching nearby. "N-no! He's taking Tommy!! We have to stop them!" Razor shouted, but it was too late! The ship's engines fired up, and the ship was soon soaring into the wormhole to the Twilight Cage! Gemini exchanged worried glances with Razor. "Now what?" they both wondered at once.
Later, after everyone finished watching Sonic and his companions leave aboard their new ship, the Cyclone, Illusi pleaded Razor's case to Copter and Punchy. "Well, I don't know. Gemini can come, I guess, if she wants to. But I don't want Guard and Razor on our ship!" Copter said. "You wanna come, Mousy?" Rainbow asked Illusi. "I'll pass. I'd go by my usual means, but I can't seem to enter the Twilight Cage. I think, perhaps, it may be an artificial dimension of some sort." he said. "I'll go and help! It's the least I can do!" said Gator, who was eavesdropping. Copter and Punchy both shuddered at the thought. Luckily, Punchy thought of a way out of it. "Uh, Gator, we need you to stay here. To, uh, keep an eye on Eggman. Make sure he fixes the Hurricane. And, uh, finds your... uh... Rolf." he said. Gator glanced suspiciously at Eggman, who was watching them from the doorway of his lab. "Yeah, he does look lazy..." he said. Razor still wanted to go with them. "We won't be trouble, Copter! Take us, too!" he insisted. Eggman decided to intervene on this. "Don't argue. Copter's ship isn't as big as Sonic's, since I was unavailable to help on it. I imagine it might get cramped with you in it as well." he said. Gemini smiled at Razor reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll find your brother for you!" she promised. Bucky and his experiments pushed past Eggman and started to leave. "Yeah, yeah. Excuse me if we don't share in the heartfelt goodbyes and such, but we're done here. Drop me a line when you get back, Copter. Leave Punchy there, if you like. I'm going home!" he said, leading Vortex, Zipp, and Crash away. Eggman was growing impatient as well. "Listen up! I've detected some interesting energy signatures emanating from the Twilight Cage. In your ship, you will find a small detector to enable you to find the source of this... whatever it is. It seems rather... interesting... So, I'd like you to bring some of it back for me! To make sure you stay on task, I'm sending Char and Alpha with you as well. Have a nice trip, and I'll be sure to have your plane better than new when you return!" he said, walking away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I wish to say goodbye to an old friend... Poor Egg Bot..." With Eggman gone, Char began ushering everyone into the ship. "Let's go! Now boarding the Tsunami! Like the name? I thought of it myself!" he said. "Aw, do we HAVE to go with Alpha?" Punchy groaned, following the others to the Tsunami. The ship, which was parked inside the lab, was similar to the Cyclone, but was painted in black and red, much like the Hurricane. As everyone boarded the ship, Gemini hesitated, motioning to Razor and Guard. "You still want to come?" she asked. "Of course!" Razor said. Guard looked less than thrilled at the idea. "Grrrr... Gunner told me to check it out when I called him..." he muttered. Gemini smiled craftily at them. "No one's looking. We'll find a place for you to stow away! Come on!" she whispered, leading them onto the ship. Alpha sat down at the controls once Gemini joined the crew. "Are we sure that kooky robot should be flying?" Rainbow wondered. Copter shrugged. "He can't be much worse than the rest of us..." he said with a hint of worry. Outside, Gator and Illusi watched as the Tsunami rose through a hole in the roof of Eggman's lab and took off for the Twilight Cage. "Farewell, my friends. May your journey be a safe one..." he said, with a terrible feeling in his heart that he may never see any of them again...
To be continued...
