Sonic GeneX - The Series
Episode 2 - The Dimension Next Door
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.
Previously on Sonic GeneX...
Hidden Ruins having been exposed to the public, and Gemini unable to pay her rent, Copter offered to let his friends stay with him at Darkegg Fortress. Punchy, Rainbow and Gemini joined Copter and Hoover at Eggman's former tower.
Bucky unveiled a new invention to GUN that could remove the special powers from someone, and even transfer those powers to someone else. This machine was enough to secure the freedom of Bucky and his experiments, but Gunner and Dr. Nammad secretly have plans for said machine.
Other events of previous stories factor into this, too, but I hope to keep these "previously" sections short going forward, or not use them at all. Hopefully I can address references to past events properly during the story itself. -2BIT
Blaze the Cat was lounging in a beach chair, taking a break from her royal duties on one of the deserted islands surrounding Southern Island in her dimension. The sound of the waves gently rolling offshore was soothing enough that she could almost fall asleep. Still, her eyes remained open a crack. Eggman Nega had been missing for months, and she suspected he might launch a new heinous scheme at any moment. Still, the tranquility of the place she had found to relax was lulling her closer and closer to sleep. "I guess... A quick catnap wouldn't... hurt..." she mumbled. However, her nap was not to be. A loud noise made her jump out of her seat, a sort of strange whooshing sound! Down at the shore, a vortex started to form out of nowhere, which appeared to be turning into a sort of tunnel through space. She stared in awe at this, and thought she heard a voice coming from inside. "Is anyone there? Hello...?" The voice was familiar to her, so against her judgment, Blaze approached the vortex. "...I'm here. What's going on?" Blaze said, trying not to sound flustered. "Come through the wormhole!" the voice called. Blaze wondered if it was safe, when a rope came out of the other side. She picked up the rope, and was suddenly yanked through the wormhole, finding herself inside Tails's workshop an instant later! "Oooof!!" she grunted, tumbling onto the floor, "...Tails? What's the meaning of this??" she grumbled. Tails hid the rope behind his back sheepishly, then pressed a few buttons on the wormhole-generating device he'd apparently invented to turn it off. "Sorry. I got a little excited to test it out." he said, "I built this machine to allow travel between our dimensions! Instead of having to use the Chaos and Sol Emeralds, it runs on artificial emeralds!" he said proudly. Blaze stood up and glanced at his machine. "...Oh... Impressive." she remarked. Tails sighed. "It's not done, though. I have to build a gate like this in your world. Otherwise, the portal could get unstable..." he reasoned. Blaze glanced at him angrily. "You yanked me through a potentially dangerous portal!?" she yelled. Tails chuckled softly. "No, not to you, to our worlds... Only if I leave it on too long...!" She was still glaring at him, so he picked up his tools, "I'll get right on it... The trip back will be perfectly safe for you!" he stammered.
As Tails turned on the portal device and hopped through it to get to work creating a companion device in Blaze's world, the cat looked around with a light smile. "I appreciate his effort, though. Just showing up for Sonic's birthday party was such a hassle." she remarked, "I wonder... if Sonic is anywhere in the area?" With that, she headed outside to search for anyone she might know. It beat waiting around for Tails to return. Unbeknownst to her, a vehicle was hovering above the workshop, the pilot watching her as she left the area. "So... That wormhole activity I detected meant exactly what I was hoping for..." whispered Eggman Nega, who had waited until she was gone to start doing anything. His Egg Mobile cruised down toward Tails's door. "Ever since we all escaped from White Space, I've been trapped in this time and dimension, forced to SHARE everything with my annoying ancestor! But would he let me in on his plot to control the Zeti? Noooo! How that boor could be MY relative is beyond me!" he grumbled. "I agree. You're much more genteel." came the voice of Cubot through a speaker on the Egg Mobile. "I called you just so talking to myself wouldn't seem crazy! Not for you to talk back!" Nega snapped. "Oh! Sorry, future-boss..." Cubot sighed. "I'm never your boss! I wouldn't tolerate such idiocy in my ranks! Oh, whatever... How am I going to fit an Egg Mobile through this door...? I'd hate to blast the place, it looks like it just got a lot of work done..." Nega muttered. Tails had only just finished the repairs after the Covenant of Despair burned down his workshop, and it showed. Eggman Nega sat and thought about it. "...Cubot, wire some repair funds here from Eggman's account... I'm in a rush." he said at last, blasting a hole in the doorway with a devilish grin.
Blaze explored the jungle for a bit, and came across Sonic and Knuckles near the ancient pyramid built by the echidna tribes. "Look, it must be your millionth screw-up. People are coming from other worlds to 'congratulate' you!" Sonic snickered. "Huh?" Blaze mumbled. Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Sonic. I have to sleep sometime, don't I? At least it was just Punchy... He stashed the emerald out here somewhere as a prank." he explained, for Blaze's benefit. While Knuckles poked his head in some bushes to look for the Master Emerald, Sonic turned to Blaze. "So, what brings you here? The worlds aren't in trouble again, are they?" he asked. "Not unless Tails is causing it... His intellect might be growing a bit... too much." she cautioned. Sonic crossed his arms. "That so? Hm... I guess he needs time out of the workshop. Maybe a certain rabbit that he's done a bad job of hiding his crush on might help with that..." he said, trailing off. Blaze's ears pricked at this. "Wait... You don't mean Cream!" she gasped, following it with a chuckle. Knuckles then pulled his head out of the bushes. "I sense the emerald here!! What'd he do, BURY it!?!? I hate you, Punchy!!" Sonic shook his head with a sigh, and Blaze smiled. "I missed you guys... Always amusing." she said. "Sure! Laugh at my misery!!" Knuckles groaned. Suddenly, the area seemed to get very dark, very fast. "Hey... What's the weather report for the jungle today, Knuckles?" Sonic asked. Knuckles looked up, his eyes widening. "Nothing like THAT, Sonic!" he shouted. The sky was taking on a weird, pinkish-purple hue, which was fading in and out, like an odd distortion. Sonic and Blaze glanced at each other and both shouted "Tails!!" at once before running off towards his workshop! Knuckles remained behind. "Dang it! I can't just leave the Master Emerald! You got this... right Sonic? Grrr... I'd better start digging..." he grumbled frustratedly.
While Knuckles was busy digging, Punchy had returned to Darkegg Fortress, where he, Rainbow and Gemini were still in the process of settling in. Each of them claimed a room in the spacious tower, while the old control room became something of a living room for them to hang out. Punchy entered the control room, chuckling to himself over what he'd done while Knuckles was napping. Copter and Gemini were watching TV using one of the computer monitors in the room, and paid Punchy little mind. "So, I never really got to ask..." Copter muttered during the commercial, "What's a stand-up girl like you doing without the funds for a proper place to live?" he said casually. They were sharing one of Eggman's wide, egg-belly-supportive chairs, but it suddenly wasn't big enough for Gemini. She shoved Copter hard, knocking him over the arm rest. "Whoa-ooof!!! ...What'd I say...?" he mumbled. "I had money, but I spent it all because I've been in this backward town for way too long!" she grumbled, "And how do YOU pay for things?? I haven't seen you go to work, COPTER!!" she scolded. Copter climbed to his feet and looked at her, rubbing his head. "Huh... work? They don't hire ex-cons!" he protested. Punchy snickered, leaning against the chair to watch TV, but Gemini glared at him as well. "You could be working too, ya bum!" she snapped. Punchy backed up a little. "Wha... Knuckles doesn't work!" he stammered. Copter chuckled. "I thought you weren't Knuckles!" he teased. "Wait, why can't you and Rainbow work, HUH??" Punchy snapped. Gemini sat back in the chair with a sigh. "I'm watching TV..." she stated lazily. Copter and Punchy stared at each other for a moment. "Maybe it was a bad idea to let her move in..." Punchy grumbled. "Well, if I don't want her to tell Gunner where I am, I guess I'd better... get a job?" Copter shrugged. "By the way, where's Rainbow?" Punchy asked. Gemini smirked a little. "She's redecorating your room..." she informed him. Punchy turned white for a moment. "HEY!! We chose our own rooms for a reason!! RAAAAAINBOOOOW!!!" he shouted, storming off!
Once he was gone, Gemini turned off the TV and looked at Copter apologetically. "Don't look for work... You have a job. You protect the Chao in this tower." she said. Copter scratched his head. "Yeaaaaah... But that doesn't buy groceries..." he stated. Gemini nodded. "Right... how HAVE you been paying for things?" she wondered. "Uhhhh...." he trailed off. Gemini sighed. "Well, that has to stop. You just got pardoned. You don't want the police after you again." she sighed, "I'll look for work in the morning..." Copter scoffed. "Wait a minute... You want ME to stay here and watch the Chao while you go to work?? I get it... You don't think I CAN get a job! That does it! I'll show you! I'm going out, and I won't be back until I'm employed!" he shouted, storming out of the room! Gemini stared for a moment. "There was no way around this problem without messing with the future, was there?" she sighed, "Maybe it'll just be a minor blip in the timeline..." she whimpered, "Moving in here was a huge mistake, wasn't it?"
Sonic and Blaze had no choice but to jump through Tails's wormhole machine to investigate once they found his workshop had been broken into and said machine had been left on. Arriving at the same island Blaze had been lounging on earlier, they found Tails in a cage a few feet away from the machine! "Where did that cage come from??" Blaze wondered. A sinister laugh and lasers fired in their direction answered the question satisfyingly enough. "Eggman!...Nega!" Sonic shouted, starting to speak before actually looking up at the attacker. "I knew you'd be along to interrupt me any moment, but you're too late!" Nega grinned, "I've already finished the fox boy's little machine... with improvements." he said. Blaze created a fireball in her hand. "Anything you call an improvement can only be disastrous!" she snarled. Nega nodded. "I've had my fill of Sonic's world. I've tweaked the machine to send an unstable wormhole your way, hedgehog... It will consume your entire dimension in a matter of moments!" he said darkly. Sonic took off toward Tails's cage at high speed. "No time to waste, then!" he said. Eggman Nega fired lasers at Sonic, forcing him away from Tails! "I may not have a fancy machine today, but I don't need one. I only need to stall you until your world is no more..." he sneered. Blaze tossed her fireball at him, but he pulled up quickly! "Sonic! If we work together, we'll defeat him quickly!" she suggested. "You have to catch me, first! Hee hee hee!!" Eggman Nega taunted. "Seriously...?" Sonic sighed, turning to chase after him and make him eat those words. Meanwhile, one more visitor popped out of the wormhole. "Whew... I'm alive!!" said Knuckles, wiping his forehead. He glanced over and saw Tails. "If I get you outta this, you're helping me dig for the Master Emerald!" he shouted. "Whatever! Just hurry!" Tails called, "I have to fix the machine!" he said, panicked.
Eggman Nega flew just out of reach, rotating his Egg Mobile to fire at both Sonic and Blaze. "Who knew that hovercraft could be so annoying by itself??" Blaze grumbled, trying frustratedly to hit it with fireballs. Sonic looked around while running and noticed the palm trees on the beach. "Blaze, you gotta get higher! I'll distract him!" he shouted. Nega scoffed. "I can't be distracted!" he yelled. "Hey, over here!" shouted Knuckles, who had already released Tails by this time. "Huh??" Nega muttered, looking over in bewilderment. "I'd say you look pretty distracted." he smirked. Nega yelped as he quickly processed what had happened, and looked for Sonic and Blaze again. "Yoo hoo!" Sonic shouted, standing atop a palm tree with Blaze in a tree beside him. "Think fast!" Sonic shouted, leaping into the air before going into a homing attack, slamming the Egg Mobile and cracking the windshield! "Arrgh!! Stop it, you brute!!" Nega yelled. Blaze jumped at him next, spinning as her body cloaked in flames. "Get OFF this island!!" she shouted, giving his Egg Mobile a mighty kick and sending it flying off into the distance!! "I'll be back and I'll be ARMED!!!" Nega shouted as he disappeared out of sight. "Ah... That takes me back..." Blaze sighed, smiling a little. Tails was hastily working with his tools to repair the wormhole machine into what it was supposed to be. "A few adjustments... And... There!! The wormhole is stabilizing! And that means it wasn't too late!" he said, wiping his forehead in relief. He then turned to Blaze, looking at the ground ashamedly. "I...I'm sorry... I put everyone in danger... It's just... We all miss you and Marine a ton. It didn't seem fair that you can only visit when the emeralds allow it..." he murmured. Blaze looked thoughtful, then placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder. "Thank you. We miss you, too... All of you. So, why don't I make my first proper visit with your finished doorway?" she suggested. "Sounds awesome to me!" Sonic grinned. As they headed back, Knuckles remembered something. "Hey! Are you gonna help me with the Master Emerald!? TAILS?!?!"
While Tails got dragged off to help Knuckles, Blaze thought she might visit Cream while she was in town. Before leaving with her, Sonic thought perhaps he should check the TV for any breaking news, just in case the wormhole machine did any damage that they weren't aware of. Instead, Sonic and Blaze were met with Col. Gunner's ugly mug on the TV screen yet again. Today, he was waving a picture of Sonic in front of the camera. "Are you in some kind of trouble, Sonic?" Blaze wondered. Sonic frowned. "Yup... Let's see what nonsense this guy's cooked up now..." he sighed, turning up the volume. "And WHO was responsible for that weird life-energy sucking incident from a few days ago? My intelligence states that this is yet ANOTHER result of Sonic's grudge matches with Dr. Eggman leading to collateral damage!" Gunner snarled. Sonic frowned. "Geez, you stop a few Zeti from ending all life on Earth and this is how you're thanked..." he grumbled. Gunner continued his speech, which had apparently been going on for a while. "Lest I remind you of the time Station Square ended up underwater. Or, I don't know... The time the PLANET SPLIT APART!! Am I the only one who noticed that??" he shouted. "You're the only one who won't shut up about it..." Sonic mumbled. "Citizens, I am not asking for Sonic's arrest. I'm not even asking he pay a fine. He's... considered... a hero. And you don't do that to heroes. But Sonic clearly isn't responsible enough for his own power. So, I'm giving it to someone else!" he smirked. Sonic and Blaze's jaws both dropped. "Say WHAT??" they shouted. Gunner snickered to himself. "Yes, you heard me correctly. GUN has just acquired a machine that makes this possible. The only snag is... We need Sonic. And since he obviously won't give up his speed willingly... who would? I'm offering the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog to the citizen who can successfully capture him and bring him to GUN! And... Sonic will be free to go when we're done... in case anyone was concerned about that. I'm Col. Gunner, and I approve this message!" he concluded before Sonic turned off the TV, shaking his head. "Well, that was amusing. Like anyone can catch me!" he laughed. There was a knock at the hole in the door, and Sonic rushed over only to get a net thrown in his face by Big, of all people. "I got him!!" he cheered. Sonic calmly tossed aside the net and groaned. "I didn't know you even HAD a TV..." he grumbled. Blaze turned on the wormhole machine with a sigh. "Huh? Blaze??" Sonic muttered. "I think my visit had better wait until this blows over... Your world doesn't seem like a very friendly place right now..." she muttered. Sonic shrugged. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright..." he said. Blaze nodded. "Good luck, Sonic..." she said before returning home. Sonic sped around Big, leaving him behind quickly. "Awww..." the large cat sighed. The chase was on now, and the burning question on Sonic's mind was, if Big tried to catch him, would there be anyone that wouldn't?
Episode End!
