GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 3 - Beetle Swarm
Stage 3(Hero 2) - Central Streets

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.

"Mr. President!" GUN's Commander marched into the President's office, a look of urgency on his face. Behind him was a man with even whiter hair than his, and red eyes. He was wearing the uniform of one of GUN's colonels. Behind that man was a brown haired man wearing a black suit with a blue tie. His eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses. The President looked up from his paperwork and greeted the officials in front of him. "Commander... And Gunner. Always a pleasure." he said. The GUN Commander wasted no time and got straight to the point. "Mr. President, your nation is in crisis once again." he began. "Those freaks must be stopped!" Gunner interrupted. The Commander glared at Gunner, who backed off right away. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I think the President would prefer an explanation first." he said. "Yes, sir... You idiotic suck-up..." Gunner grumbled under his breath. The President appeared curious. "What's going on?" he asked. The Commander explained the situation. "As you know, an anti-human group known as the Covenant of Despair has been active in the United Federation for some time. Recently, they have begun taking bolder actions. One such incident brought on significant casualties, including Col. Gunner's predecessor." he said. Gunner held back a mischievous grin and put on a more serious face as he interrupted again. "I warned you about trusting those furry freaks, sir! Now, it's war!" he said, secretly pleased with the prospect. The Commander was less enthusiastic about the idea. "Now, let's not be hasty. Open war would be even more hazardous to the people of this nation." he noted. The President looked distant for a moment, then stood up with a sudden resolve. "It seems to me the situation has already become hazardous. If the Covenant of Despair wants a war, then we'll have to oblige!" he said. The Commander looked shocked by the President's words. "Mr. President!" was all he could say. The President began heading out of his office. "Come, Commander. I'll need to be brought up to speed on all recent Despair activities! Let's move!" he said, leading the Commander out. Gunner's companion waved to them as they left. "Bye, sir! Wow, I can't believe I got to see the President!" he said excitedly. Once The President and Commander were out of earshot, Gunner laughed loudly. "HA! You see, Spy? This is how the higher ups operate. Spinelessly!!" he declared. Spy frowned and nodded. "Y-yes, colonel..." Gunner smiled at Spy. "Ah... Colonel... I still love hearing that... But you know... If I were president, I'd have launched an attack on the freaks without delay!" he said. Spy smiled casually. "Well, I guess we get to take it easy until the President gets back to us! That'll be nice." he said hopefully. Gunner sneered at his spy. "Take it easy!? Me? You? Not until every last furry freak is banished from our world!" he shouted. Spy hung his head sadly. "I was afraid of that... What are your orders, Colonel Gunner?" he asked. "We can't do anything big right now. Have my unit keep an eye out for Sonic the Hedgehog and Kosmo the Morph!" Gunner ordered. Spy scratched his head in confusion. "I thought we were already doing that..." he pointed out. "Well, DO IT BETTER!!! I want those freaks stopped before they begin assisting the covenant!" Gunner snarled. "Sonic? Assist them?" Spy blurted out. Gunner's eyes filled with rage and frustration. "THINK, Spy!!! For all we know, Sonic could be the ring leader of this circus!" he shouted. Spy realized that it was pointless to argue with Gunner. "Y-yes, sir! Off I go, sir!" he said hurriedly before exiting the office. Once he was alone, Gunner smiled unpleasantly. "Furry freaks.... Judgment day is at hand! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"


Little did Gunner know, that one of the "freaks" he hated the most was in that very city, mere blocks away from the President's house! It was Sonic the Hedgehog, and he was simply planning to pass through Central City just to get some exercise, but as he neared the President's house, he came to a sudden stop! A familiar blue robot was wandering around not far away. It resembled Gamma, but was one of Eggman's more advanced E-X series robots: E-2X Alpha! Flapping small, blue wings beside Alpha was a red and black Chao. It was Char! "Hold it, nuts and bolts!" Sonic shouted as he approached them. Alpha jumped, startled. "Eeeeek!! It's Sonic!!" the robot yelled. "Fancy running into you two here! What're you up to?" Sonic asked. Char laughed at Sonic playfully. "Hahahaha!! Wouldn't you like to know! C'mon, Alpha! We can't outrun him, but maybe we can outfly him!" he suggested. Alpha turned to Char, pointing to Sonic. "I wanna pet the spiky kitty!" he whined. Char chuckled at Alpha's childish tone. "Not now, Alpha! We gotta remember our mission!" he said. Alpha turned to Sonic and shook his fist at him. "Bad kitty! You won't get my lucky cereal!" he shouted before running off with Char! "Hey! Not so fast!" Sonic said, preparing to chase them. Before he could move, someone came up behind him and grabbed him tightly! "Ahh!! What's goin' on!?" Sonic shouted, glancing back at who'd grabbed him. It was Amy! "Sonic!! It IS you, right? Yes!! No imitation THIS time!!" Amy shouted with glee. She had a tendency to mistake any hedgehog she saw for Sonic, so she was thrilled to get it right for a change! Sonic quickly wriggled out of her grip. "Amy!! I'm chasing one of Eggman's robots! I don't have time for this!" he said with annoyance. Amy simply ignored him. "I knew our paths would cross again, soon! It's fate! So, let's go on a date!" she said. Suddenly, Alpha's voice was heard yelling nearby. "Can't catch me!! Ha ha ha hoo!!" Sonic glanced around, trying to figure out where Alpha had gone. "Aw, shoot!! Uh, I think they went this way!!" Sonic said, running off down the streets of Central City! "Hey!! Sonic!! Waaaaait!!" Amy shouted, trying futily to catch up to the high speed hedgehog.

Sonic had gone the wrong way, and soon found himself dashing through the city streets at random, hoping to find some sign of Alpha. Soon, he came across another familiar face, who stood in his path to get him to stop. "Sonic! Sonic, my boy, slow down!" Sonic stopped and squinted at the old man, trying to remember who he was. "Professor... Pickle...?" he said at last. Sonic had last seen the professor far away, in Shamar. ( For details, play Sonic Unleashed! ) Pickle shook hands with Sonic in greeting. "I'm glad I caught you. I have a problem, you see. I've been studying the secrets of the United Federation at the library. Fascinating subject..." Sonic was in too much of a hurry for this. "Um... That's nice... I'm kinda busy right now, professor." he said. "Just humor me for a moment, please, Sonic. It seems the regular supermarket in this part of town is closed for some reason. I can't buy any ingredients to make cucumber sandwiches! I'm running low at the library. Sonic, if you happen to find any cucumber sandwiches, bring them to me. In exchange, I'll share what I have learned with you. You may find it helpful!" Pickle explained. "What? That's the silliest request I've ever heard in my entire life!" Sonic groaned. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a man with blue hair, wearing an alligator costume, rode into the area on a bright green horse! "I'm here to save ya from this pointless, game-related task, Chomper!" the man said to Sonic. ( Hey! Don't mention the fangame!! ) "Hey... I know you... Gator, right?" Sonic said, looking up at him with a puzzled expression. Gator hopped off his horse, and was carrying a plastic bag. "Here, Prof! All the cucumbery sandwich slop you can eat! No charge, I'm just glad to be cameoing!" he said, handing the bag to Professor Pickle. The professor happily accepted the bag. "Splendid! But... Does this mean my role in this story is over already?" he asked. ( Just because Gator breaks rules doesn't mean you get to as well, Pickle!! ) Gator hopped back on his horse. "Don't ask me questions! I only give hints in the game! Bye now!" He pulled the reigns on his horse, causing it to rear up on its hind legs. "Hi-ho Rolf, away!!" As Gator galloped away, Professor Pickle was walking away, too, leaving Sonic alone with his confusion. "What was the point of this? Well, I better keep heading after Alpha.... If he's even still in Central City!" he realized.

After a while, Sonic came to an area of the city that was swarming with GUN's robots. "I guess I'm on the right track now. GUN must be looking for Alpha, too." he reasoned. As he started searching this part of the city, it wasn't long before one of the GUN Beetles fired at him! The shot missed, but it got Sonic's attention. "Hey! What's your problem!?" Normally, GUN beetles couldn't talk back, but these beetles were custom made for the one who commanded them. "Sonic the Hedgehog! You are under arrest, by order of Colonel Gunner!" the Beetle declared! Sonic took a moment to process what the robot had told him. "Colonel... Gunner...?! Aw, how the heck did HE get a promotion!? After everything he's done!" he groaned. More Beetles were heading towards him now. "Give yourself up, or prepare to fight!" the first Beetle ordered. Sonic smirked at the robots defiantly. "Can't we talk this over?" he said sarcastically. The Beetles fired a few warning shots in response. "I guess not!" Sonic said. The robots surrounded him, ready to shoot. "Sonic is resisting arrest! Attack mode!" Just as the Beetles were about to begin attacking, someone came running towards them! "Leave MY Sonic alone!!!" Amy had arrived! She jumped to the nearest robot and smashed it with her hammer, prompting the other robots to start shooting at her! "Amy! Look out!! Those GUN robots work for Gunner!" Sonic shouted as Amy ran out of the way of the robots' shots! Once Amy was far enough, the robots turned back to Sonic, and while they were distracted, Amy ran out to hit another with her hammer! "I won't let any robots get between us! Leave them to me!" she shouted! Sonic frowned at this. Amy was liable to get herself hurt, so he couldn't waste any time! He quickly used his homing attack to jump from robot to robot, until all the robots in the immediate area were destroyed! "Show off!" Amy groaned. Sonic looked at her seriously. "Gunner and his robots are dangerous, Amy! You shouldn't antagonize them!" he said. Amy looked at him with confusion. "How are they any different from Eggman's robots?" she asked. Realizing she had a point, Sonic didn't say anything. "You're chasing that blue robot, right, Sonic? Well, I'm coming, too, then! Let's go!" Amy insisted. "Yeah, I guess with Gunner's robots around, I'd better take you with me..." Sonic muttered, leading the way at a lower speed so Amy could keep up.

Soon, Sonic and Amy spotted Alpha, who was walking near a rather tall building. Char spotted them as they approached, and decided to wait for them. "Hahaha! I wondered what happened to you, Sonic!" he chuckled. "Never mind that! What are you two up to? Is Eggman in town, too?" Sonic asked. Alpha looked at Sonic blankly. "Who's Egg-Sam?" he said. Amy sighed impatiently. "We'll never get any information out of them. Just take that robot apart, Sonic!" she suggested. Char shook his hand at them. ( Do Chao have fingers or fists? ) "No, no, no! You can't just take Alpha apart! We brought other robots for that!" he said before whistling loudly! The sound called a squad of Eggman's newer Egg Fighter robots, which were similar to Egg Pawns, but slightly more advanced! ( Again, see Sonic Unleashed. ) The Egg Fighters ran between Sonic and Alpha, giving Char and Alpha their chance to fly away! "Later, Sonic! Ha ha ha!" Char laughed as he escaped. Amy pulled out her hammer in preparation to fight with the robots. "If we hurry, we can still catch Alpha!" she said. Sonic looked around. "No we can't! This just got more complicated!" he said, pointing to a swarm of GUN Beetles that were approaching the area! "Hedgehog! Priority one!" one of the Beetles said. Amy smacked an approaching Egg Fighter with her hammer to vent frustration. "How can they chase you over Eggman's robots!? Even Gunner must have more sense than that!" she groaned. Sonic grinned at the approaching robots. "Nope, Gunner's not too bright. But maybe if I leave, those GUN robots will take out Eggman's..." he said, formulating a plan.

Char and Alpha had flown to the rooftops, and Sonic noticed that some of the Beetles were pretty high up as well. "Gotta run, Amy! Get out of here before the remaining GUN robots start shooting!" Sonic said, jumping into the air and using a homing attack on one of the Beetles! Amy quickly realized what he was doing. "Hey! Wait!! You can't just leave me here like this! SONIC!!!" It was too late to stop Sonic now, though! From one Beetle to another, Sonic used his homing attack to jump higher and higher using the Beetles until he reached the roof of the nearest building! From there, he ran around on the roof to build up speed before jumping to the next closest rooftop, quickly gaining on Char and Alpha as he did! Back on the ground, the Beetles Sonic didn't destroy turned their attention to Eggman's robots, and Amy was forced to run to avoid getting caught in the robot fight! "Aaaaah!! Just you wait until I catch up, Sonic!!! I'll give you a piece of my mind!!" Amy yelled, though Sonic could not hear her. Sonic was busily jumping from rooftop to rooftop, while Char and Alpha continued flying ahead. Soon, Sonic landed close to them, and Char spotted him! "Holy cow! You're crazy, Sonic! I never thought you'd try something like this!" the Chao shouted. "Wheeee! Flying's fun! And so is falling!" Alpha said, flying in circles just out of Sonic's reach. His crazed talk gave Char an idea. "Hmmmm... Yes, falling. Ha ha! You may be able to jump over rooftops, Sonic, but if you jump right to the floor, you'll land as a pancake! C'mon, Alpha! Let's go back down!" At Char's command, Alpha turned off his jetpack and started falling! "Wheeeeeee!!" the robot shouted. Char flew down after him in a panic. "No, Alphie!! Hover!! HOVER!!!" he yelled. Sonic looked down from the roof and watched as Alpha began hovering and reached the floor safely. "Just my luck..." he groaned, noticing more of GUN's Beetles floating around below. "Too far apart for me to pull of the same move I used to get up here..." Sonic realized. There was only one other possible solution, though it would be very dangerous. "Well, it's not like I haven't done this before..." Sonic muttered before building up speed and running down the side of the building!

It was a very tall building, but it wouldn't take long before Sonic would reach the ground! Unfortunately, GUN's Beetles saw this stunt, and had begun shooting at Sonic as he ran down the side of the building! "Whoa!! That's not good!" Sonic thought, quickly moving to the left and then to the right to avoid the Beetles' shots! It grew dangerous as GUN's Beetles began shooting from different directions, so Sonic had to move fast! He ran down the building faster, and as he neared the ground, he jumped off the roof and homing attacked a Beetle close to the ground before landing safely! "Whew.... That sure was close...." Sonic thought, looking around. "Now where did that goofy robot go?" Char and Alpha peered at Sonic from around a corner. "Show off!" Alpha shouted. Char kicked the robot in the head. "Dummy! Now he's spotted us! Fly!" he shouted! As Char and Alpha started hovering away, Sonic took off after them. "Not this time, pal! Come back here!" he shouted. In order to throw Sonic off their trail, Alpha fired a laser at a window on a high floor of a building, then flew into the building with Char following. "Still can't catch us! Ha ha!" Char laughed. Sonic looked for the door to the building. "I sure hope they don't mind if I run in the halls..." he said, rolling his eyes. He then opened the door and ran into the building at high speed! Meanwhile, Char and Alpha peeked out of the window they'd flown into. "Hahaha! I bet Sonic never expected us to be THIS clever!" the Chao giggled. They flew back out the window and landed in the street, only to have Sonic open the door and wave at them a second later! "Nice try, but now it's over!" he said. "Eeek!! Sonic got clever with us, too!" Char gasped. Alpha started shooting wildly without warning! "Bad monkey!! Tricks are for rabbits!!" he yelled as his shots landed around the doorway, causing the entrance to the building to crumble in front of Sonic! Char did a midair backflip as he cheered. "Quick thinking, Alpha! That'll slow him down!" he said happily. Their celebration was short lived, though, for Sonic suddenly jumped out of an open window a short distance away from the door! "That was a cheap shot! But it wasn't good enough!" Sonic grinned. Char and Alpha immediately began flying away! "He just doesn't give up!! Run, Alphie, run!!!" Char shouted as Sonic began chasing them again!


Amy was wandering the streets on her own, looking for Sonic so she could tell him just how she felt about being left behind. It wasn't hard to find where Sonic had been, all Amy had to do was follow the path of broken Beetles and damage caused by Alpha. However, Sonic had gone relatively far away already, and Amy was growing more frustrated by the second. "Why does Sonic always run off without me when things are dangerous? I could help! I've fought Eggman a lot, too!" she thought as she searched. Soon, she saw some unfamiliar animals walking down the street. They were wearing Covenant of Despair uniforms, and one of them was the same jackal who was with Fera during the attack on Angel Island! Amy didn't know who they were, but figured they might have seen Sonic. "Uh, excuse me!" she called, running to the uniformed animals. The jackal glared at her frighteningly, as though he was angry just for being bothered! "We are in the middle of an operation here. Dare not interfere!" he growled. Amy was somewhat frightened by this jackal, but not as much as she was angry. "Hey! I just wanted to ask a question!" she snapped. The jackal looked at her fiercely, and created a fireball in his hand! "You are rather annoying! I am in no mood to be annoyed. Do I make myself clear?" he growled. Amy backed away a step, holding her hammer nervously. "H-hold on a minute! Don't mess with me! Sonic's around here somewhere, and if you start throwing fire around, he'll-" before she could finish, the jackal motioned to the two dogs beside him, and they grabbed Amy by the arms! "Hey! Let me go!!" she shouted. The jackal held his fireball close to Amy. "Why don't we put your big mouth to use? You say Sonic is here? Then tell me where he is." he said threateningly. Amy struggled against the dogs holding her. "Let go of me! I-I don't know where exactly Sonic is! He ran ahead of me! I was gonna ask if YOU saw him!" she explained in panic. The jackal snuffed out the fireball and made a fist. "Then I'll just have to make Sonic come to me.... How loud can you scream?"

Sonic was busily chasing Alpha & Char, zigzagging around the streets seemingly at random! Alpha maintained his lead by turning corners unpredictably, and Sonic had to slow down slightly to be sure he didn't make a wrong turn! After a while, Sonic could hear screams nearby! "Aaaaaahhh!! Soniiiiiiic!!! Help me!!!" It was Amy! Sonic stopped instantly when he heard her screams, and that instant was all it took for Alpha to turn a corner and escape Sonic. "This just isn't my day... Hang on, Amy!" Sonic shouted, speeding off in the direction of Amy's screams! Char and Alpha peeked around the corner as Sonic left the area. "Hey, Alpha... Those Egg Fighters were the only robots we brought with us, weren't they?" Char asked. "We brought you, too! It's crowded around here!" Alpha replied. Char laughed at him. "I'm not a robot! Well, anyway, we don't have time to find out why Sonic stopped chasing us! Let's go!" With that, Char led Alpha away.

It didn't take long for Sonic to find Amy, whom the jackal was aiming a punch at! Acting fast, Sonic quickly knocked the two dogs away from Amy, picked her up in his arms, and jumped away from the jackal! Amy wrapped her arms around Sonic's neck. "I knew you'd save me, Sonic! No matter what that one dog said!" she cried. "Amy! I can't breathe!!" Sonic gasped. Amy released his neck. "Sorry..." she said. As Sonic placed her back on the ground, the jackal and his cohorts approached them. "Sonic the Hedgehog, isn't it?" the jackal said. Sonic looked at the jackal angrily. "Why were you attacking Amy?!" he yelled. The jackal shrugged. "Believe me, I didn't want it to come to that. It just did. I needed you to come to me. I must find out where your allegiance lies." he said. Sonic scratched his head. "Huh? Allegiance? What are you talking about? And who are you?" he asked. "I am Anubis! I am an agent of Despair!" the jackal declared! Sonic smirked at his seriousness. "How charming." he muttered. Anubis pointed at Sonic tensely. "You must choose, hedgehog! We will wage war on the humans! You will either help us, or stay out of our way!" he warned. Of course, Sonic wasn't impressed by his threats. "I'm not very good at taking orders! Besides, what fun would it be to just stay out of it?" he replied. Anubis glared hatefully at Sonic. "I knew you'd be like this. You're just as impudent as that Master Emerald guardian! Fools, all of you!" he snarled. Amy raised her hammer. "Watch how you talk to Sonic! Or you'll be sorry!" she warned! Sonic glanced at her with concern. "Take it easy, Amy! He already almost beat you up once..." he muttered. Anubis held a fireball in each hand. "If this will be your attitude, I will burn you to ashes!! No one will get in the way of the Covenant of Despair!" he growled. The two dogs looked at Anubis nervously. "Uh... Boss?" one of them asked. "Silence!" Anubis snarled. Sonic chuckled at them. "You guys sure are serious! Well, you don't scare me! Let's see what you got!" he said. The two of them were ready to fight. Would Sonic be able to stop Anubis? Even if he did, would he ever be able to catch Alpha now?

To be continued...