Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 6 - Finding Marine
Stage 4 - Lost Dimension
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"Nothin's gonna stop us now!
We'll conquer the seven seas!
No one's gettin' left behind!
Get ready for a new venture!" - A New Venture, Sonic Rush Adventure
Previously on GeneX…
When Lospecter appeared with the Lost One army, he announced that the army was built by devouring the souls of everyone in Blaze's dimension. But Blaze needs to see this for herself. With Silver by her side, she sets out for Tails' Workshop to use his transporter to get home and search for Marine, hoping that she is safe.
Now, our tale continues...
Blaze, joined by Silver, had made the journey to the Mystic Ruins via the train. The train was running on automation, so even though Station Square had fallen, they could still use it. "Let's be ready for anything..." Blaze said to Silver as the train pulled into the Mystic Ruins station, "We still don't know how far the Lost Ones' army has spread." Silver nodded as they stepped off the train, cautiously heading down the steps, looking around for any dangers. "Hey, there you are!" a voice called, startling Silver into grabbing its owner with his psychokinetic powers! "Hey!! Put me down, Silver! Cut it out!" The hedgehog looked up to see that he was holding up Copter. "Ooops… Sorry, you surprised me." he murmured, setting the fox down. Behind Copter, Gemini was approaching with Timothy and...a three-tailed fox with glasses who looked a lot like Copter. Blaze sighed. "I guess you beat us here using magic?" she reasoned. Gemini nodded. "Well, I know how you're feeling, Blaze, and I didn't want you to leave without us hastily and wind up in over your head." she said. Copter dusted himself off after Silver put him down, and chuckled softly. "Sounds like Gem's still in protective teacher mode." he teased. Gemini had been an important teacher for Blaze in the past year, as she was attempting to learn to control the Chaos Crown. She had it with her, but so far hadn't felt the urge to use it. Timothy noticed Silver staring at the three-tailed fox, so he decided to introduce him. "This guy's called Chopper. He's Copter's son from the future...but not our future time, Silver! I guess he'd still be from the past to us..." he murmured. Silver scratched his head. "Uh... Sure, I think I get it..." he muttered. Chopper looked a bit nervous. "Do we really gotta go where we know the Lost Ones have full control?" he asked. Blaze huffed and started marching toward Tails' Workshop. "Anyone who doesn't want to go can stay behind. If any of my people are alive, I have to save them!" she insisted. "Yeah, we're goin." Copter shrugged.
The Mystic Ruins appeared untouched by the Lost Ones as of yet. Big the cat could even be seen sitting by the lake where Sonic once battled Chaos 4, getting in some fishing. Still, Lospecter had admitted to breaking into Tails' Workshop, so they had to be prepared for anything. Silver and Copter were going to go in first. Silver used his powers to push the door open, while Copter charged inside to take any enemies by surprise. "Hyaaaah!!" he shouted, only to be tackled to the ground immediately by someone inside! "You won't take over Tails' house you monsters!!" a female voice grunted, struggling with him, "Wait...two tails..." The girl let Copter up, and he could see who it was. Flowers growing from her head, it was Cosmo the Seedrian, an alien that had arrived in their world a couple years ago and apparently knew Tails in some way. "What are you doing in here?" Silver asked, helping Copter to his feet. Cosmo backed away a few steps as the others walked in. "I... I panicked and fled when Station Square was attacked. This felt like the safest place for me to go..." she explained. "No need to feel ashamed, it was a terrifying thing that happened." Gemini told her. Cosmo looked at the ground with a bit of shame anyway. "No... I have to stop being like this. My homeworld was taken from me by an invading force, too, you see..." she stated, "Rather than fighting to save my people, I have been running. Hiding. And now this world is in danger, invaded by monsters... I need to stop hiding! Please, is there any way I can help?" she asked, looking at them with a bit of desperation. Blaze crossed her arms. "I don't know. Can you fight? We're going to a place that may be worse off than Station Square..." she told her. Cosmo stepped to a table and picked up a laser that she apparently had placed there. Fortunately she chose not to use it on Copter. "I can shoot... So, where are we going? And why does he look so like Tails?" she asked. Copter groaned softly. "You can field that one, Junior..." he said to Chopper.
Blaze led the group to the lab, where the ring-shaped portal device could be found. "Good, artificial Chaos Emerald is in place to keep the portal open..." she murmured, examining it. "Have any of us actually been to Blaze's world?" Timothy asked. Only Copter raised his hand. "...kinda? I mean, it was a piece that the Time Eater pulled from somewhere, apparently." he said. "Doesn't matter... Even I don't know what to expect..." Blaze said, activating the portal and leading the way as each of them stepped through it. Those of them with comms devices quickly noticed static... they couldn't link to SPOT across dimensions. The next thing they noticed was how dark the beach they arrived at was. Dark clouds hung over the world, blotting out any sunlight. Gemini and Timothy both held up their wands, casting a soft light to illuminate their path. "This is Southern Island..." Blaze murmured, looking out in the direction of Marine's house. Silver nodded. "Lead the way, Blaze. We'll keep our eyes peeled for anything dangerous." he said. With murmurs of agreement, they all started on the path from the beach towards Marine's house, which was a pretty impressive building after all the improvements Tails had put in back when he and Sonic were stranded in this world. Looking around, they all felt like the island was eerily quiet. Not even any Lost Ones in sight. "I guess the Lost One army completely abandoned this world to attack ours. Like locusts." Gemini murmured. "Let's not assume anything..." Cosmo said softly, shuddering nervously. Chopper shuddered as well. "Does it feel like we're being watched to any of you?" he asked. Copter scoffed. "Just what we needed in our group. A couple of jumpy kids." he complained. "Hey, thanks a lot, Dad!" Chopper remarked. Behind a mass of palm trees, a pair of robotic eyes did indeed watch them. "Aye, at last we be meetin' again, princess. Tragedy it be under circumstances such as these, and not a clever plot of me own design. Either way... Davy Jones awaits ye!" the robot cackled.
A large section of Marine's home was basically just a hangar for the vehicles Tails, and later she, had built. Blaze and Gemini went searching the building for the raccoon while the others looked around in the hangar. Copter was fixated on a tunneling machine. "Why is 'Hurricane' written on the side of this... I think Hoover is gonna wanna sue." he muttered. Silver was looking at a funny makeshift...jetski? He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it had a raccoon motif. Clearly built by Marine. He chuckled softly looking at it. However, examining it closely, he noticed a paper stuck to the side of it. "Huh...? Hmm..." He reached out and grabbed the paper, "It's a note... Ah! Blaze!! Where are you?" he called. Gemini suddenly warped to his side, holding Blaze's hand. "What is it?" the cat asked anxiously. Silver handed her the note, and Gemini looked over her shoulder, reading aloud as she read quietly. "Gone ta the spooky pirate ship. Huntin' fer the Sol Emeralds to fight back against the freaky monsters. Capp'n Marine won't let ya down, Cobbers!" Gemini sounded a bit awkward reading Marine's exact words. Chopper stepped over, leaning over Blaze's other shoulder to look at the note. "Cobber? Sol Emerald? What's all this?" he asked. Blaze looked serious. "It was supposed to be my duty to guard the Sol Emeralds. I left them in my royal guard's possession, but in the event of an emergency, they have a system in place to scatter them. That's what likely happened. Marine must want to use their power to protect herself... I hope she survived the trip." she sighed. The others were approaching now, and seemed to have heard enough. "So, we're going to a pirate ship?" Timothy asked. "Should we try to collect those Sol Emeralds, too?" Cosmo asked. Copter looked around awkwardly. "And how are we getting to a pirate ship?" he asked. "Yer not, scallywags!" came a loud, threatening voice!
A familiar robot that looked like Eggman in a pirate ensemble approached them, Captain Whisker! The speedy green robot Johnny was with him as well. "Our crew be commissioned to send ye all to the locker!" Whisker announced. "And we'd better work fast..." Johnny added. Behind them, dozens of skeletal pirate robots approached, but something seemed off about them. They were hissing in ghostly voices, and were shambling like they were possessed. "Looks like the Lost Ones did leave a force here..." Gemini realized, pointing her wand defensively. Whisker chuckled nervously. "Aye, an' if Johnny and I want to keep our minds for ourselves, we have to obey our new captains!" he said. Silver and Copter glanced at each other. "We'll split up. Each of us take a vehicle and look for Marine and the Sol Emeralds separately." Silver said. "If only our comms still worked..." Copter muttered. "Hey! Don't just make plans like we're not here!!" Johnny shouted. Gemini looked to Timothy. "Go with Blaze, I'll go with Copter..." she told him. "Uhh… Good idea!" the fawn nodded. Whisker was looking pretty annoyed now, too. "Disrespectful little whelps!! C'mon, mateys!! Send 'em over the metaphorical plank!!" he shouted. The robots started to charge, swords drawn. Worse, those blades were lit with blue ghost fire! Copter grabbed his son's arm and started to run. "Come on, kid! Don't gawk at the flames!" he shouted. Blaze and Timothy stepped forward with their wands. "Abra-ka-blastra!!" they shouted, creating explosions that kicked up dust and smoke, covering the group as they split up and ran for some vehicles! Whisker looked around with a flustered expression. "Cowards! Knaves!! Johnny, go get them!!" he yelled, grabbing the other robot and spinning around before tossing him! Johnny sped off like a missile towards Silver and Blaze as they ran for the Ocean Tornado, a sailboat. "Get on board!" Silver shouted, turning and raising his hands to Johnny. He caught the robot with his powers, and tossed him back at Whisker! "When I catch you you're throoooough!!" Johnny yelled.
Copter and Gemini were heading for the Deep Typhoon, a submarine. But, of course, the robots were blocking their path. Still holding on to Chopper's hand, Copter raised his other hand to direct his signature attack. "Chaos Whirlwind!!" The chaotic wind not only blew up the robot in front of him, it also wiped out the Lost One that was piloting it. The other robots moved a bit more cautiously, swinging their blades toward Gemini instead. "Yaaa! Oh, you bots are just metal loskels!" Gemini shouted, pointing her wand at the nearest robot, "Blastrotall!" she cast, firing bolts from her wand to punch holes in the robots, which dripped with losol slime. As one of the bots staggered to her and raised its sword, a laser blast blew up its head! Cosmo was following them. "Let's get aboard that ship!" she said urgently. As Copter opened the hatch and they started to jump into the submarine, Chopper looked at his dad sheepishly. "Say... You don't think you could teach me how to cast that magic you used, could you?" he asked. Copter shoved the boy down the hatch. "Gotta have the chaos energy in you to use Chaos Whirlwind." he muttered. As the Ocean Tornado and Deep Typhoon both started to pull away from the docks, a portal opened behind Captain Whisker, and Lospecter emerged. "You had one job..." the ghost complained as Whisker and Johnny backed away from him, cowering in fear. "G-give a mate another chance! We'll capture those lubbers!" he babbled. Lospecter twirled his single Chaos Card in his hand, looking thoughtful. "Well, capture the white fennec for me, for sure. Don't damage a hair on her pesky little head. She has value to us. Otherwise, go ahead and kill 'em all. Don't you dare let them get those Sol Emeralds... I've got some pretty scary friends that would be awfully upset..." he said with a soft chuckle. Johnny gave a salute. "They won't get far. Nobody can outrun me!" he said. Lospecter laughed in his face. "Except Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, Metal Sonic... Anybody else remember that big race from a couple years ago? Quit making me laugh and get moving!" the ghost commanded.
Timothy had joined Silver and Blaze on the Ocean Tornado. Between the three of them, they were figuring out how to sail the ship. They would head for the Haunted Ship, but what of the others? Since the comms wouldn't work in this world, Timothy had another idea. "Connechatra!" he said to his wand. Focusing for a moment, the wand emitted a holographic projection of Gemini. Silver was manning the wheel, but Blaze observed this spell and sighed with relief. "Perfect, we can keep in touch." she said. Gemini nodded. "I just learned this spell from my spell book recently! Anyway, which way should we go?" she asked. Timothy shrugged and looked to Blaze. The cat rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "We'll be following up on Marine's note, so... You guys should try to find the Sol Emeralds elsewhere. They could be scattered pretty much anywhere, though. So, search whatever island you reach." she told the fennec. Gemini nodded, but then stumbled a bit, the sound of Copter and Cosmo shouting heard in the background! "Undersea Lost Ones!? Uh, gotta go!" Gemini gasped, her hologram vanishing. "Well, that sounds bad..." Timothy murmured. "We've got company, guys!!" Silver shouted, pointing ahead. Johnny was indeed pretty fast, and had already gotten in front of them. He was accompanied by a swarm of flaming loskulls. "Turn the ship! We'll have to use the cannons!" Blaze shouted. Timothy clutched his wand tightly. "I'll be ready if they come aboard!" he said. Underwater, the Deep Typhoon was under attack by what could only be described as "losquids." Perhaps this was the same tendril-covered Lost One that had possessed Eggman's Spinner robot and attacked Punchy. At any rate, they moved like squids and seemed intent on ramming the ship until they could punch a hole in it. "Do we have any weapons in this thing!?" Copter growled. Chopper took a look at the controls. "I'll say we do... Stand back!" he said, sitting down and working the controls just like it were a video game, zapping losquids one by one with torpedoes and bullets. Copter crossed his arms watching him. "Kids..." he murmured. "At least he's got a skill..." Gemini chuckled softly. It would be a while before the Deep Typhoon would reach land, though...
Johnny didn't count on Blaze being a crack shot with the cannons. This was far from her first time on the Ocean Tornado, and even though he was a quick target, she sank him easily! "Aaaaahh!! A-avenge me, captain!!" the speed-obsessed robot wailed as he sank beneath the ocean waves. "I hope I don't see him again..." Blaze sighed as their ship neared the Haunted Ships, a set of broken pirate ships floating on the rocks, looking very much like a pirate's graveyard. "W-well... This place is creepy..." Silver murmured. Timothy walked up to him as he was "parking" the Ocean Tornado. "Hey, Silver... Since we're here, that means we win, right? Our future has to stay intact, doesn't it?" he asked. "I'm not so sure..." Blaze told him, "You see, I was originally from your time. The timeline was overwritten, but I'm still around. I remember Iblis, Mephiles, all of it. But...I escaped the changes to the timeline by going to another dimension, so... I can't say what the rules are." she stated. With that basically answering nothing, the trio made their way off the ship and started to explore the wreckages. They didn't get too far before they heard Marine's voice. "Blaze! Turn about, mate! It's not...!" they heard her mouth gagged, and quickly started looking for the source of her voice. "Marine!? Where are you!? I'm not leaving without you!" Blaze called. Silver pointed up. "Nega!!" he shouted. An Egg Mobile was above them, and Eggman Nega tossed a gagged Marine down, catching her in a claw attached to the bottom of his vehicle! "Heh heh heh… Silver, it's been so long! And Blaze, a pleasure. I was hoping to run into some living souls. A deal! Direct me to the portal to Sonic's world, and I will give you this annoying child, unharmed!" he said with a smirk. Blaze and Silver glanced at one another. "As if Sonic's world doesn't have enough problems..." Silver muttered. "How's that? Speak up!" Nega shouted. Suddenly, a gunshot tore through the cable holding the claw to Nega's Egg Mobile, and Marine cried out as she started to fall! Silver dashed forward and caught her with his psychic powers, and Nega turned with an angry growl. "Who did that!?" he shouted. The buzzing from a green hornet in a leather jacket could be heard. He was holding a smoking gun. Beside him was a white chameleon, and behind them was Captain Whisker. "Arrr, sorry me old maker. I answer to the Ones what be Lost now...and they gave me this new crew to battle those scurvy lubbers with!" Whisker announced. Silver removed the gag from Marine, and she pointed at Whisker frantically. "Oi!! You again! Fuzzy face!! C'mere, we got a score ta settle!" she shouted. The chameleon scoffed. "You're all dead. We'll ssssee to that. Right, Zapp?" he said to the obvious Dark Zipp. The hornet chuckled, pointing his gun at Blaze. "Sure thing, Vanitas." he replied to the clear Dark Vortex.
Eggman Nega pivoted his Egg Mobile out of the way of the action, watching in amusement as Whisker, Zapp and Vanitas came at Silver, Blaze, Timothy and Marine. The raccoon was a little too eager to jump into the fight. "Lemme 'ave a go at him!! Capp'n against capp'n!!" she shouted, only for Silver to pull her back with his powers. "Stay back, we don't know what to expect..." he said. Zapp smirked, charging dark energy in his guns. "Expect to die!" he sneered, shooting bullets of black energy at the group! Silver tried to catch the bullets as they hurtled towards Blaze, but it was a good thing she moved, because his psychokinesis had no effect on them! Whisker decided to keep the pressure on them, raising his arms and firing them from his robotic body like rockets! "Proplasmar!!" Timothy cast, blocking the rocketing arms with a barrier before Blaze ran ahead, her body trailing flames in her preparation to fight back! Vanitas hissed and charged at her himself, trailing darkness in a similar fashion. His fist collided with her foot as she did a twirling kick, neither of them seeming to gain any ground as fire and darkness erupted from the point of their impact! Meanwhile, Timothy entered a shootout with Zapp using his wand, keeping the hornet busy while Silver and Marine went after Captain Whisker. "Fer Mini, Mum and Johnny! The Captain will fight on! I'll shiver yer timbers!" he shouted, taking a breath before suddenly blowing flames at them! "Yikes!!" Silver used his powers to block the fire, spreading it out around him and Marine, but it was very difficult for him to mentally control an element like flames. Marine shrank behind him. "Crikey! He's puttin' us on the barbie alright!" she whimpered. Silver realized he had to get Marine out of there, so he lifted them both out of the flames quickly, hovering over the captain. "Arrrgh! Get down here! Don't ye fly away like some pixie!!" the pirate shouted angrily. By this point, Eggman Nega was getting rather bored. "Hmm... Well, I'm not going to take betrayal lying down..." he said, tapping some buttons on his controls that caused his Egg Mobile to reveal several hidden missile compartments. "Send my regards to Davy Jones, you pitiful pirate!" he snickered, firing dozens of missiles all around the ship!
The missiles specifically targeted Captain Whisker and his allies, and as the robotic pirate tried to evade them, he quickly realized his mistake. "Gah! M-me maker! Please! Spare an old pirate! Noo!!" Silver kept Marine shielded behind him as the missiles found their mark, blasting Captain Whisker to smithereens, leaving only scraps and a tattered mustache behind. Zapp and Vanitas leapt back to gain distance from the other missiles, and the hornet shot a few to blow them up while Vanitas took care of the rest. "Chaosss Hole!" he said, opening a small black hole to swallow the remaining missiles up! It was then that a portal opened behind them, and Lospecter poked his head out. "Meh... Gem ain't here. C'mon, let's move on." he said, grabbing Zapp and Vanitas' arms and tugging them into the portal before it vanished. Marine walked over and gently nudged Whisker's mustache with her foot. "I knew it. Those whiskers were fake!" she remarked. The others turned to Eggman Nega, who lowered his Egg Mobile down to a better height to speak with them. "It seems we both have an enemy in those creatures. And I have radar that can track down the Sol Emeralds, while you have access back to Sonic's world. We need each other." the doctor said plainly. Blaze crossed her arms. "I find that unlikely. I've found the Sol Emeralds before without you." she scoffed. Nega smirked. "I'd think you'd feel a bit pressed for time now, though. I saw the devastation take this world. They went from one world to this, now to Sonic's world... Unchecked, those creatures could take over all worlds." he warned. Silver nodded. "Much as I hate to say it, I think we could use Eggman Nega's help..." he said. Timothy shrugged. "We'll have to keep a close eye on him..." he pointed out. Blaze heaved a heavy sigh. What choice did she really have? "I fully expect you to betray us, just so we're clear. Do you have a lock on any Sol Emeralds?" she asked. Nega grinned widely. "Right. Let's get straight to work, then..." he snickered, "I'm sure those Sol Emeralds will be a great asset in defeating those Lost Ones..."
To be continued...
