GeneX - Entering Despair
Chapter 1 - The Invitation
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.
The universe of GeneX Prime. Similar to many dimensions, but set apart by the appearance of animals with intelligence comparable to humans. These "furries" have long lived in relative peace with the humans, but not absolute peace. Fear, mistrust, and suspicion between the two groups have many times come to blows, but rarely on a large scale. The thing about rarities, though, is that they sometimes happen. Hatred and greed eventually reach a boiling point, and those with dark intentions may use that to set horrible events in motion. The echidna race of GeneX Prime once learned this the hard way, and a fatal way. Long hidden from mankind, the discovery of a lost echidna tribe quickly set the hate and greed of some to work. Few even know that it even happened, but it happened. It was not very long ago...
Fire. The entire city was engulfed in flames. The humans had launched an all out assault on the hidden echidna city, and their robots had decimated their army. As a purple echidna named Violet ran through the burning streets, one thing was on her mind. She had to escape. She turned a corner and found a group of her fellow villagers surrounded by the robots, each bearing the symbol of the Guardian Unit of Nations, GUN. A large man in a uniform stepped past the robots to confront the villagers. "Any of you want to live?" he grunted, glaring at each of the echidnas. A poor looking brown echidna spoke up first. "You'll never get the relic! Only those with pure intentions may be allowed to see it!" The large man grabbed the brown echidna by the throat. "What intention could be better than wiping you monsters off the face of the earth?" the man tossed the echidna to the floor, and the other echidnas ran to him to help him up. A younger man came up behind the large one. "What shall we do with these furry freaks, Sergeant Murten?" he asked, saluting. Murten turned to the younger man. "What do you think, Mr. Gunner?" he asked. Gunner gave him a knowing smile. "I understand, sir!"
Violet was hiding, watching from around the corner. She watched as Gunner gave an order to the robots. The mechanical soldiers surrounded the echidnas and aimed their guns. "Wait! Don't do it!" one of the echidnas pleaded, but it was too late. The robots opened fire, sending a hail of bullets piercing through the bodies of the innocent villagers. The young female echidna watched helplessly as her neighbors were brutally murdered by the heartless military troops. She couldn't watch long, and ran off in the opposite direction, tears streaming down her face. She ran until she hit a horse, which reared up on its hind legs in order to back away from her. She looked up to see an orange female echidna holding on to her child tightly. "Mother!" Violet shouted. "We have to get out of here!" she said. Her mother hopped off the horse, gently placing the child on her feet. The child was a yellow echidna with multi colored quills. "Listen to me, my children!" the mother said. "I must go and help our friends and family!" she looked at her daughter, the purple echidna. "Violet, I want you to take Rainbow and get to the Hidden Ruins! Don't let yourselves be followed! We mustn't let these villains get the relic!" Young Rainbow tugged at her mother's skirt. "Will you be all right, Lady?" she said worriedly. The orange echidna kissed her forehead. "Don't worry for me. Just go with Violet and be safe." She kissed Violet as well, and wiped some tears from her eyes. "It'll be all right, Violet. But you must get yourselves out safely. If anything happens to me or your father, you must protect the relic!" The orange echidna helped Violet and Rainbow onto the horse. "Ride, and keep riding! Don't look back!"
As the horse bore the two young echidna girls through the burning streets, Violet looked back to her mother. Sergeant Murten and Gunner had turned the corner and were walking towards her. Violet looked ahead and steered the horse into a safe building. "Wait for me here, Rainbow, OK?" she said. Rainbow nodded. "I'll be right here, Viola!" she said, speaking the nickname she had for Violet. Violet ran back in the direction her mother was. She had to make sure she was safe, she just had to!
As she reached the area, she saw her mother being beaten up by Murten, shouting insults at her as he backed her to a fiery wall. Suddenly, a blue echidna dropped from the roof, pushing Murten back to protect Violet's mother. "You will not touch my wife again!" the blue echidna, Violet's father, roared. Murten wiped some blood from his mouth, where the echidna had hit him. "Fine, have it your way, sire." the infuriated sergeant growled. Gunner walked over to him and handed him a rifle. "If neither of you will talk, then you're no use to me. I'll raze this city to the ground to find the relic!" he declared. The royal blue echidna shook his head. "You will never get the relic's power, even if you find it. It will destroy you, and then the world!" Murten cackled manically. "You think so, do you? Then think of it this way. I'm sparing you the pain of watching your children burn in the apocalypse! Farewell, my liege!" Murten pulled the trigger...
...Violet was never the same again...
Ten years later, Violet roamed the world alone, haunted by the horror she witnessed on that dark day. Her parents, her family, her friends, all slaughtered in an insane man's quest for power. Revenge on her parent's killer could never be attained, for he had died as well. When Murten died, his even more sadistic apprentice, Gunner, became the new sergeant. Violet didn't care. Her entire life was consumed by the desire to avenge her parent's death. If Murten was dead, though, then what could she do?
She had left the burden of protecting the Hidden Ruins on Rainbow's shoulders. Violet could care less if the world was destroyed. Now she lived in the city of Troblusk, a place where rogues and lost souls lived in darkness, consumed by their hatred of the world. Living alone in an apartment situated above a known hideout of mobsters, Violet had become emotionally dead. As she gazed out her window at the chaotic hell she had chosen to reside in, she muttered to herself. "These miserable humans. They rule the Earth, and kill at will. They murdered me. If I could, I'd make them suffer as much as I have at their hands."
"Would you now?" came a voice behind her. Violet spun around to find a dark grey she-wolf standing in her doorway. She wore a tight black uniform with a crimson symbol over the chest. The symbol was a star with thirteen points. Her right eye was covered by overgrown hair. She had an air of malice about her. "You wish to amass vengeance on the humans?" she asked Violet. The wolf walked across the room to her. "You want to kill the fiends? I can offer you the chance. The chance to join our covenant." Violet backed away from her, somewhat scared. "What are you talking about?" she said shakily. The wolf walked around a table in the room. "The Covenant of Despair. We are the warriors who fight for all furry kind. Fight, to free us from the oppression of the humans. You've seen it firsthand. You saw the devastation the humans can, and will, inflict upon us. They are a hateful species, often even fighting each other over their petty differences. They are unfit to rule this planet. To even exist, for that matter." she stopped across from Violet, gazing into her eyes as if probing into her soul. "You can avenge your parents, Violet. Join us, fight with us!" Violet looked away from her. "How do you know about my past? How do you know of my parents?" she questioned. The wolf smiled. "I make a point to know everything about our potential recruits. For I am a Huntress of the Covenant. Among other duties, I also scout out our new recruits. Furries living in this town are usually up for this. But in you, I sense something... greater..." she said, approaching Violet. "It's more than just hatred in you. It's a desire for justice. Join us, bring the humans to justice."
A heavyset, furious old man burst into the room. "Violet! About time I caught you at home for once! You're three months overdue with the rent, you know! Either pay up or pack up!" he growled. The wolf turned to the old man. "How dare you speak to her like that! Look at this goddess! You should not even be standing in her presence!" The old man walked out of the room in a huff. "Go jump out the window!" he shouted back. The wolf nearly lost control there, but Violet held her back. "Leave him be! He's not worth it!" she pleaded. The wolf broke out of Violet's grip. "You're right, of course. It's a waste of time to simply thrash one of them. We should burn this entire city!" the wolf growled. Violet shook her head. "I have no desire to kill people. I-I don't want any part of your covenant!" The wolf, looking at her with a tense expression, reached behind her back and pulled an odd object seemingly from nowhere. It looked like a glass pyramid on a steel handle. It looked like a lantern was inside the pyramid. The wolf handed it to Violet. "Should you change your mind, go to the Troblusk Plateau at midnight and hold this beacon above your head. I will be there." The wolf walked toward the doorway. "My name is Fera, by the way. Think about my generous offer, all right?"
As Fera shut the door behind her, Violet gazed out at the night sky. No stars could be seen, a result of the humans' air pollution. She recalled her mother telling her of the world's former beauty, and realized what a plague the humans were. She also recalled her parents telling her that murder is inexcusable. With such conflict in her mind, all Violet could do was run into her bedroom and cry into her pillow until she fell asleep. Hopefully, her dreams would show her what it is she wanted...
Fera walked down the steps to the floor below Violet's apartment. There was a door near the staircase, with a sign that read "Keep out if you know what's good for you!" The wolf knocked on the door three times. Someone on the other side of the door knocked twice in response, paused, and then knocked three times. Fera replied by knocking five more times. With the code completed, the door opened, and Fera entered. The room was dirty, with a wobbly table and partially busted chairs around it. As Fera entered, the door shut behind her, and the creature who shut it took a seat across from Fera. The creature was a weasel, and it wore a rather expensive looking suit, which may have cost more than the room. The weasel spoke first. "So, you think the echidna gal will join us?" he asked. Fera smirked at him. "In due time. She wants the humans gone, maybe even more than I do. How are things with you?" she asked. The weasel lit a cigarette and spoke with it clutched in his mouth. "I think the goyles are onto us. They're askin' a lotta questions. That's the problem with mobsters, they don't trust even their own." he said. "With good reason." Fera replied. The weasel chuckled. "Yeah, that's a fact. But I think we just might finish with 'em before they figure us out. Just be ready with the Covenant." he said. Fera stood up to leave, but grabbed the cigarette out of the weasel's mouth first. "Seriously, Mitch, quit. It's a dirty habit of the humans." Mitch, as the weasel was called, glared at Fera. "I'll quit, when you start using my codename." he said. Fera walked out the door. "You know I don't compromise." she said as she left.
Violet's sleep was plagued by nightmares. Fera's appearance, and references to her parents, caused her to relive that dark night in her dream. The fire, the panic, the senseless violence, and Sergeant Murten, laughing uncontrollably as he pulled the trigger, all sent Violet through a whirlwind of horror, pain, and hatred. She tried to fight back, to help her friends and family, but as she approached Murten, everything suddenly appeared to go black. The scene shifted. Now, she was riding the horse with Rainbow, fleeing as GUN agents attempted to pursue. Luckily, the agents were on foot, but they still somehow appeared to be keeping up at the same distance. With young Rainbow holding onto her for dear life, Violet was desperately steering the horse through the forest, yet never leaving sight of the burning city they were fleeing. The agents began shooting at them. Bullets whizzed by, several just barely missing them. They seemed to be fleeing in vain for hours, when finally their horse was hit! As the horse skidded to the ground, Violet and Rainbow fell, and kept falling. The floor seemed to split below them, and they fell into the darkness below. It grew darker and darker, and soon Rainbow seemed to disappear into the darkness. Violet fell for some time, and then abruptly stopped. Looking around, she could now see the remains of her home, as she recalled it when she once returned. She was alone. The buildings were charred and broken, the gardens were bare, and everything had an almost surreal quality. It was raining, but the moonlight still shone between the clouds, revealing the devastation caused when the city was destroyed. Violet ran through the city, searching for something. Anything. She had to find a sign that someone had survived. But there was no one. "Hello!!?" she called out, desperate. There was no reply. "Someone!? Anyone!?" she shouted in vain. She continued searching. "Please! ANSWER ME!!" she yelled. Finally, she heard a sound. Footsteps? Someone was inside a nearby home! She scrambled in the direction of the sound. She knew she couldn't be alone! There was no door. She burst into the building, hoping to find an old friend...
Nothing. The room was empty, save for some broken furniture and miscellaneous objects. She whimpered hopelessly. Suddenly, something jumped up from behind a table! Violet jumped back with alarm, but she found it was just a little squirrel. A mere normal animal, not a furry at all. It scampered across the room, gazed up at her for a moment, then scampered past her and into the city streets. Violet felt like crying. A menacing laugh behind her startled her out of her sadness and into a panic! Spinning around, she saw Sergeant Murten, with a sickening smirk on his face. "There you are. Were you looking for me?" he said sinisterly, pointing a rifle at Violet, who responded not with fear, but rage. "You... MONSTER!! You murderer! I'll make you pay!" she shouted defiantly. Murten fired his rifle into the air. "Make me pay? I did this world a service! Besides, you can't touch me." he said. Violet didn't care. She dove after Murten, and tried to punch him, but as she was about to, he vanished! As he did, the entire city seemed to vanish with him, and the world became dark. Violet dropped to her knees, wanting to cry but finding herself unable to. She began to feel as empty as the blackness around her. She had nothing.
As she opened her eyes the next morning, having awakened from the nightmare, she felt she was still asleep. Nothing had changed. She sat in her dark apartment, even as the sun rose, it still seemed dark. She still had nothing. As she climbed out of the bed, she looked out the bedroom door and into the next room. Her eyes immediately caught sight of the odd beacon Fera had left behind, sitting on her table. For a moment, she considered Fera's offer. "Join other furs... Kill the humans... Avenge my parents..." she found herself thinking. This line of thought scared her. She ran into the room, grabbed the beacon, and flung it out the open window! After it was gone, she fell to her knees, panting heavily, and trying to gather her thoughts. The notion of revenge didn't bother her much, but the idea of going against what her parents taught her seemed a betrayal of their memory. Worse, she found herself unable to banish the thoughts of revenge from her mind. Climbing back to her feet, she shook her head in frustration. "Maybe if I just start like this is a normal day... I'll forget Fera... Maybe..." she said to herself, walking towards her kitchen to look for something for breakfast. She knew, however, that it was futile. She would not forget. She could never forget...
To be continued...
