Sonic GeneX - The Series: Zodiac in Time Episode 1 - Ancient Origins 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. "We're back, and Happy New Year, Station Square!" Katie the Coyote was on location, doing her first news reports of the new year. "Last year was a bit of a...well, a nightmare. Dr. Eggman certainly made a mess of everything, but the efforts to rebuild are coming along, as you can see from the restored City Hall behind me!" she said, motioning to the building for her viewers, "However, throughout the world, citizens are still reeling from Eggman's six-month conquest. There are a number of loved ones still missing...some we all miss very much..." she said, given pause as she thought about Mia the Cat, her friend who first had been put in a coma last year, and then robotisized during Eggman's invasion. "Fortunately, we've received reports that GUN is back up and running. Hopefully, they'll be better prepared the next time Dr. Eggman rears his ugly head and tries to take everything we hold dear from us..." she said, starting to clench her teeth. "And...cut. Try to keep your cool, Kate!" her cameraman stated. Chet the cheetah was sitting on a bench not too far away, and watched her approach. "Well, we made it through. And Tommy, amazingly." he said. Katie didn't need the reminder; Tommy's brother Razor was missing, too. "I heard you were quite the hero to the little guy during the war." Katie said to Chet, avoiding the subject. He shrugged. "Someone had to stand up for the people while the real heroes were fighting a war..." he muttered, "I heard you were like that, too." he smiled. Indeed, there had been heroes everywhere. One question was on everyone's mind now, though...where was the villain? Dr. Eggman watched Katie's report on an old TV set from whatever hole he was hiding in. "Oh, so I'm ugly, eh? Well... you've been wearing that same outfit for a decade, coyote-girl!" he huffed. "So have you, ugly-face!" Alpha pointed out to him. Eggman rubbed his face. "Who let you in!? Where are Orbot and Cubot!? Ugh... Where's Infinite, for that matter?" he groaned, sitting back in his seat. "They're all AWOL!! Well, you said you'd build walls when you took over." Alpha babbled. Eggman threw the remote control at Alpha, gritting his teeth in anger. "Where did I go wrong?? I had a flawless Phantom Ruby!! And Sonic didn't even go Super! I... I'm losing it!" he cried, burying his face in his hands, "My genius has left me! I'm getting too old! My mental faculties must be going... Soon I'll be a vegetable!!" he wailed. "A radish?" Alpha asked. Eggman growled at the crazy robot. "I don't want to eat my veggies. Bye!" Alpha said, skipping away. The doctor took a deep breath. "What am I gonna do now? Look for my tiny miscalculation? Build a bigger robot? Hunt down the Chaos Emeralds for the millionth time?" he asked himself in frustration. Orbot and Cubot suddenly came in holding a flat box. "We brought the pizza!" Orbot announced. "Pickles and eggs! ...You're a weirdo, you know that, boss?" Cubot mumbled. Eggman growled and took the box. "Gimmie!" he said, turning to the TV. "And hand me back the remote!" Orbot looked at him with concern. "...I think the boss is depressed..." he muttered. "Does that mean we're not gonna do anything this season?" Cubot asked. Darkegg Fortress was no longer safe for Punchy, Rainbow and Gemini. The three of them, accompanied by Timothy the fawn, had been staying with Kosmo and Carrie in an abandoned building in Troblusk City in the weeks following Eggman's defeat. It was large enough for them, but many of them were restless. Punchy and Rainbow were eager to get back to their plans to marry, while Gemini and Timothy had more urgent worries. Copter was working with Cancer as Aries. Libra was fighting them both as the Deathbringer. Lospecter was holding Timothy's life for ransom in the future, trying to prevent Gemini from opposing him. When Gemini told Punchy and Kosmo about this, none of them could think of any great solutions. "Why don't we just punch some sense into Copter and Libra?" Punchy asked. "That didn't work last time..." Gemini sighed. "We could eliminate Lospecter." Carrie suggested. Gemini shook her head. "He has contingencies in place for that..." she murmured. "If I might interject..." The door opened, and Gemini's teacher stood there; Fred Leo the fennec. As he stepped in, it could be noticed that Adam the bat and Evelyn the fox were waiting outside. "T-teacher?? Um... Look, Timothy's back!" she smiled. Timothy waved awkwardly, and Fred nodded. "I've been made aware of your situation... The Zodiac Council is adamant about your returning home." he said. Gemini and Timothy both gasped. "You know those jerks?" Tim snapped. Fred crossed his arms. "Well, they were my teachers. But I can't convince you of anything directly, kids. So, I'm going to tell you a story... A story of how all of this... Everything that's been happening these past few years... How it all began. At least, as I know it..." And so, Fred began to tell a story that began long, long ago. Eons back, in fact. It was a time when even Dark Gaia and Light Gaia were young. At that time, when the first life was crawling forth from a primordial ooze, the ooze left behind was filled with a sense of loss. Energy that would later become known as GeneX had escaped from this ooze, and it wanted that energy back. If GeneX energy was life, what the remains of this ooze became was Anti-Life. Living Death. It became a force of endings, and thus was called Doomlings. They were monsters, much like the Lost Ones, but their goal was to reform the primordial ooze...to return existence to the state it was before. Doomlings were a terror through the time of the Dinosaurs, bringing down these great but not so intelligent beasts with relative ease. However, they would not be the force that would end the Dinosaurs. Dark Gaia awoke, and his rage was to be the end of the dominant form of life at the time. Light Gaia was left with a problem. The Dinosaurs would all be wiped out, and then the Doomlings would overpower all remaining life on Earth. Light Gaia did not wish this to happen, but he had little energy to do more than put the planet back together when Dark Gaia splits it apart. He would return to slumber. What could he do? As Dark Gaia split the planet, the dinosaurs had nowhere to run from the Doomlings. On the plus side, each life snuffed out by a Doomling also ended the monster, reducing both to a state of nothingness. But more Doomlings constantly were birthed from somewhere... Light Gaia needed a champion to stop them. He searched for that champion as he worked at piecing the planet back together. Eventually, he discovered a baby Tyrannosaurus, sitting by a fire in front of a cave. It had managed to hide from the Doomlings so far. Light Gaia was impressed, but he knew that the dinosaurs were essentially finished. He flew to the youth, who recoiled from him. "Don't be afraid, young one... Aw... your parents are gone, aren't they?" he asked, patting the T-Rex's nose. "I can't save your kind... I'll return to slumber once I fix the world... but maybe you can help me?" he mused, light coming from his hand and flowing into the Rex! The dinosaur's body transformed, becoming smaller, more nimble...spikier. He'd become a hedgehog! "Mammals are all that will be left after this cataclysm... well, maybe birds. I gift you this form, and enough life energy to take you beyond your mortal years. I want you in return...to find a way to defeat the Doomlings. Protect life from being extinguished by them... Will you do this?" The new hedgehog nodded, and Light Gaia ascended to the heavens. "Good luck, little Rex!" he said. "Legend has it, Rex went on to assemble the original Chosen Ones of the Chaos Relics. They tried to destroy the Doomlings, but in doing so, they somehow gave way to the Lost Ones, a purer evil that grows as it takes life, rather than shrinks." Fred concluded. Gemini had listened closely to his story. "I understand... I know now what to do... If the Lost Ones were formed during the trials of the first chosen ones, I go back to their time and stop the Lost Ones from ever coming to be! And... the chain reaction might impact the future enough to save Copter and Libra, too! Well, I won't likely be in their lives anymore, they're bound to be better off!" she stated. Fred stared at her. "That...wasn't the point of my story at all! The point was there are some things you shouldn't change! In trying to destroy Doomlings, Lost Ones were born! Maybe...maybe there's just a natural order to the world that you're not seeing!" he snapped. "You believe in magic and you want to preach about the natural order?" Kosmo snickered. Timothy took Gemini's hand. "I'm not afraid. I'll go with you, Gemini!" he said. "Aww." Carrie grinned, "You two need a chaperone. I think I'll go, too." she stated. Kosmo stared at her. "Time travel? Just like that?" he stammered. "No one's going anywhere!" Fred snapped. "Oh yes I am!" Punchy retorted, "I'm goin'... Out. Have fun refereeing these goons, Rainbow." he grumbled. "Bye, One!" Rainbow waved. Punchy pushed past Adam and Evelyn, grumbling. "Time travel... Ugh..." Tails heard a knock at his door. Answering it, he found Sonic with a suitcase. "Heeey, roomie! ...Uncle Chuck's busy renovating. Eggman seemed to think it fun to blow holes in my house when he found it. You don't mind me bunkin' here, right?" he said, walking in. Tails had a tool belt on, and was obviously busy with something before opening the door. "Um...well... I guess not? I don't have a guest bedroom, though..." he pointed out. "Couch is fine. Hey, what's with the utility belt? Tuning up the 'ol Tornado?" Sonic asked, plopping his suitcase onto the couch before taking a swift run around the workshop! He sped back and stopped in front of Tails with a look of shock. "Tails! The portal to Blaze's world is a wreck!" he stammered. "Yeahhh... I was just working on fixing it or building a new one..." he mumbled. Sonic scratched his head. "Geez, Eggman left the workshop intact. He just busted in to take out Blaze??" he wondered. Tails sighed. "No... I blew up the portal..." he said, looking away from Sonic sadly. "You??" Sonic gasped. "I... I couldn't let Eggman invade Blaze's world like ours..." he sighed. Sonic nodded. "It must've been hard for you, alone all that time... What say we bring Blaze back together?" he smiled. Tails smiled back and nodded. "Okay, Sonic!" he said enthusiastically. Richard Gunner, joined by Guard the Gargoyle, stepped into the President's newly refurbished office, where the GUN Commander stood at attention and the Prez saluted the pair of them. "Colonel Gunner! It's a privelidge to see you again, and let me first say how deeply sorry we are to hear about Drol. He died a hero." the President stated. Gunner rolled his eyes slightly, like he wanted to disagree, but he let it slide. "While we were in hiding, you went above and beyond, Richard. You assembled forces and helped beat back Eggman. And although the doctor escaped, our world is free again. I hereby confer upon you the rank of General..." the Commander said, shaking his hand, "And offer you my personal thanks." Gunner nodded. "Somebody had to do it. As General, I get to line up my own personel?" he asked. The Commander nodded, "Within reason." Gunner saluted his superior and started to leave. "Thank you, sirs." he said, only to gag once he was out of the office and away from earshot. "Damn their survival. I was THIS close to taking over the whole outfit!" he complained. Guard glanced at him. "Grrr... Seeing as you have so much more resources at your disposal now, I wonder if I might ask for a leave of absence?" He still needed to find Mia, after all. "Denied. You'd think you'd know something after all this time working for me, Guard!" he grumbled, walking off down the hall. "Grrr... It's Garen..." Guard grunted angrily. Sonic ran up to answer the door for Tails when another knock was heard. He was quick to flee back to the garage workshop when he saw who it was: Amy Rose. "Tails... Did you call Amy and tell her I was here?" he asked suspiciously. Tails sighed. "Come on, Sonic. She guessed. This is a pretty obvious place for you to be." he pointed out. Amy found them in a moment. "I thought that was you! Soniiiic!!" she cheered, rushing over to squeeze her favorite hedgehog. "Ack! Leggo, Amy! I'm doing delicate repair work!" he said, stumbling over Tails' nearby work bench. "Could you two take this outside?" Tails groaned. Amy stopped and glanced at the fox. "Actually, I was here to see you! Tails, do you have any idea where Punchy and Rainbow have gotten to?" she asked. Tails scratched his head. "Why would I know that? You should try Knuckles..." he stated. Amy nodded. "That brings me to my next question...can I borrow your plane to get to Knuckles?" she asked. "Why do you wanna find Punchy? When did you guys become friends?" Sonic asked. Amy sighed wistfully. "They're getting married, Sonic! Obviously, they're gonna need my help! I'll gladly be their wedding planner and organize the whole thing for them! Ohh, it'll be SO romantic!!" she said, bursting with excitement. Tails tossed the keys to the Tornado at her, glaring in her direction. "Out! Now! ...Please..." he snapped, a lightly hurt look in his eyes. Sonic and Amy exchanged glances before heading for the plane. "I'll drive ya, Amy... Just...try not to talk about lovey-dovey stuff around Tails right now. He broke up with Cream not too long ago..." Sonic whispered. Amy held her mouth and nodded. "Aw... H-have a...nice day, Tails..." she mumbled as she left. Tails nodded and focused on his work once they were gone. "...I gotta get over this if I'm gonna have to go to that wedding..." he sighed. Punchy was taking a load off at the Neon Tavern, now back up and running with Bill and Bob the hedgehogs reunited to boot. They'd had a big New Year's party the previous night, and there were still decorations strewn about, and Bill wore a top hat to serve the customers. Punchy sat with Talon the griffin, Illusi the shrew and a handful of others. Illusi had determined that he was the designated driver...despite the fact that none of them actually drove. "Take it easy on the booze, Dark One. You know, I don't think Knuckles is even old enough to drink..." the shrew muttered. "If I'm old enough to get married, I'm old enough to get washted..." Punchy slurred. "Start over, Punch. Tell me again how your friend is dragging Carrie through TIME?" Talon asked. Punchy groaned and nodded. "Oh, her teacher... I think he's actually Gem's dad, prolly... He told this story about how the goopy Lost Monster Guys were came about same time ash the first Chosen Ones...or summin'... And now she wants to go back and stop that from happenin'. And a deer and the fork-tail lady wants to go with her! Rainbow better not go with her... I'm not marryin' a caveman..." he drunkenly explained. Silver the hedgehog was sitting a distance away, and choked into his hot chocolate upon hearing this. "Gemini wants to do WHAT?!" he yelped. Punchy glanced at him. "I ain't tellin' it again..." he slurred. Illusi shook his head. "Someone needs to talk her down." he stated. "Oh, someone will!" Silver shouted, rushing for the door. "Hey!! Hey, tip!!" Bill shouted, "Aw, ingrates. See if I fancy up the joint next holiday." he sighed. Bob nodded. "Weren't easy, either, after Eggman wrecked the place." he grunted. Gemini and Fred were having a heated argument. Rainbow and Timothy couldn't manage to interrupt with their two cents, and Kosmo and Carrie started playing cards at the table while they waited for the arguing to die down. "I've already changed the past left and right! Why won't you let me make one last change to try and fix everything?!" Gemini shouted. "By your own admission, things are more or less worse than they were before! And any changes you make further back in time could have greater consequences through history! You could be unintentionally ending the world in your efforts to save it!" Fred pleaded. Gemini scoffed. "It's always the same arguments with you. But I...haven't really changed anything in the grand scheme of things, have I? No... I've only met with personal pain... And Timothy's a hostage. I can't allow that!" she stated, heading outside. "G-gemini??" Fred stammered. Everyone began to follow her to see what would happen. "Don't do anything rash, Gem!" Evelyn warned as she passed her. Gemini pulled out her wand. "Chronokadabra!!" she called, opening a great rift in time just outside the building! "Come on, Tim!" she called, jumping in! Timothy was quick to follow her despite Fred's protests. "Uh, are we just gonna...allow this?" Adam babbled. Carrie shrugged and ran at the rift. "See you in a thousand years or so!!" she shouted, making Kosmo gasp. "She...she's gone! Should...I go after her?" he wondered. "Don't! I... I need to think..." Fred stammered. Silver the hedgehog found the rift in a moment, and ran up to it. "I'm too late! Well, I'd better go after her!" he said, diving in as well! "Gah!!" Fred grunted, pulling out his wand, "Dispellicazam!" he cried, using his magic to shut the rift. "...She never shuts the hole behind her..." he huffed. "You're not gonna bring Wanda back?" Rainbow stammered. Fred motioned to Adam and Evelyn. "Get Cuthburt. We're popping home. I need to consult with the Zodiac Council..." he said, heading off. "Hoo, boy... Gemini's in for it..." Adam sighed. "I hope we're not going to the stupid ages. The phone service is bad enough here..." Evelyn groaned. Rex the hedgehog lived many a year, and in that time he realized he could not defeat the scourge of the Doomlings alone. He sought allies, and his first major ally was a human named Gunther, a brilliant man with great organizational skills. Gunther learned of the Raisol clan echidnas, and their great mines where they'd uncovered powerful gems similar to the Chaos Emeralds; the Chaos Crystals. Talking things over with their chief, they convinced the Raisol clan to forge weapons for the fight against the Doomlings. Thirteen relics were created, imbued with Chaos Crystal power and adorned with gold. The Chaos Relics. An emissary of the Raisol clan, Radia the Echidna, was sent to help Rex and Gunther find champions who would be able to wield the power of the Chaos Relics. A Dragon named Brutus also joined the search, and eventually the four of them assembled nine others to form up their champions. They gathered on the surface above the hidden city of the Raisol clan, and Rex and Radia chose who would hold each Relic. "I have brought us all together for a noble mission. A vile enemy, hidden in the shadows has killed without mercy for eons. If unchecked, the Doomlings will end life in our world, so it has been warned by Light Gaia." Rex announced. He held up the Chaos Sword in his hand. "With this blade, I will lead you. With these gifts we bestow, we will prevail together." he said. Radia handed first the Chaos Crown to a princely gray cat. "Spiro, you will wield the Chaos Crown. Wear it well." she said. Spiro smirked. "Naturally, you would recognize my regal bearing." he chuckled, taking the crown with a grin. Rex handed a pair of gauntlets to a blue echidna next. "Monty of the Knuckles tribe, you are entrusted with the twin Chaos Gauntlets. Fight well with them." he smiled. Monty nodded. "I'll... do my best. Better keep these away from my chief's line of sight..." he chuckled. "Hey, he gets two??" Brutus grunted. "That attitude is why you get none." Gunther huffed. Radia handed the Chaos Claws to a female wolf whose fur was white as the full moon. "Be careful with these, Luna..." she warned. Luna the wolf nodded. "I will try not to betray your trust in me." she said. The Chaos Cards went to a female chameleon ninja named Aya, the Chaos Boots went to a walrus named Paul, and the Chaos Wing went to a sparrow named Red. "Like I need wings..." Red chuckled, modeling the cape. "I think I prefer my snow boots..." Paul murmured. "What do I do with...cards? Throwing stars might be more my speed..." Aya sighed. "It will all become clear with time..." Rex stated, holding two sparkling rings, the Chaos Tailbands. "I, um... I'm not sure how these work. You two can take these..." he said, handing one to a Raccoon named William, and the other to a Fennec named Astra. "Swell... I'm fighting evil with a ring." William said. Astra simply smiled. She was a blonde-furred fennec with white as her secondary fur color. The last relic to be given was a key. Rex turned to a fox, seated on a rock. He wore a beret and held a lute, strumming it as he watched the proceeding. "Can't I just sing your praises as you defeat evils?" he asked. Rex slipped the key into his pocket. "I trust you'll do better than you expect... Even if foxes aren't particularly considered trustworthy." he smiled. The fox sighed, touching the key in his pocket. "I don't know what it is you see in me... How about a song, then? To celebrate our fellowship!" he smiled. Radia smiled at him. "That'd be nice, Bard. Quick, before I must return home. I'm not part of your company, though I feel like I am..." she said. "Oh, you are! Hmmm... Now listen to my song..." Bard said, strumming his lute. "Gathered...from lands near and far... United, bound together we are! A common mission, an epic quest, Until journey's end, we shall not rest! And with our power joined... darkness shall not win... And I'll sing a song of victory! Now it's time we begin!" The group listened to his song, the holders of the Chaos Relics looking over their new treasures with mixed feelings. Rex nodded once the last word was sung. "Agreed, Bard. Let's get to work!" he said. Little did they know...visitors from the future were arriving not too far away... To be continued...