Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 32 - Sonic's Nightmare
Stage 17 - Dream Temple
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"On a Sunday, riding my bike,
I notice, I notice, different things that look alike.
On a Sunday, riding my bike,
I notice, I notice, many many look alikes.
On this planet, drinking my coffee,
I notice, I notice, different things that are alike.
On this planet, drinking my coffee,
I notice, I notice, many many things that are alike." - Look Alike, from the Sonic OVA
Previously on GeneX…
Vengeful over the death of Razor, Sonic pursued Dr. Eggman into the skies in his Eggtopia airship. There was a battle aboard the deck, but as the ship began exploding around them, Eggman escaped once more, and Sonic found himself faced with the second Doomsayer, who he clashed with before discovering that this Doomsayer was, in fact, a version of himself. The Doomsayer sent Sonic plummeting into the forest below as the ship exploded.
Metal Sonic left the pyramid base in search of Dr. Eggman, concerned with the doctor's fate in the Lost One invasion.
Now, our tale continues...
Sonic stood up, rubbing his head with a groan. "Alright, last thing I remember is getting thrown off the ship by ME... Am I okay?" he murmured, shaking off some grass, dirt and leaves before taking a look around the area. He was in the forest, and at first glance he appeared very much alone. "Maybe I shoulda stayed on the ground with the others. Made a plan. Took the fight where it matters... Lose more friends 'cuz we're up against so much that even I can't keep up..." he murmured, frowning. He didn't like thinking like that, but seeing that other him... it seemed likely the future him... and that seemed like a pretty definitive defeat. While he wondered what to do next, he heard rustling in the trees and looked up. To his surprise, he saw symbols. Check marks, circles with lines through them. They were Wrongos and Rightos, and they were flying through the forest, passing through the treetops, coming from all over and heading in the same direction. Sonic watched them in awe for a second. "Where are these critters goin? It's almost like they... wanna lead me somewhere..." he murmured, starting to follow their trail through the woods. The rustling of the critters hid some rustling in the bushes nearby, and Sonic didn't notice something blue and metallic peer out of the shadows at him, its red eyes glowing in the dark. "My loathsome copy..." Metal Sonic murmured silently, stepping out and carefully starting to follow after Sonic. "I will find out where he's going. Perhaps he will lead me to Eggman..." the robot reasoned. The same interference that plagued SPOT's signals earlier had prevented Metal Sonic from making contact with his maker, so he required any clues he could find to locate him.
Following the Wrongos and Rightos, Sonic found himself in front of a large, crystalline temple. The Dream Temple. The creatures were circling about the temple, which certainly had Sonic curious, but he didn't approach. "I don't have time for detours. What am I doing? I've gotta get back to the others..." he said, turning to run off only for a pair of Wrongos to drop into his path! "Hey! What's with you guys?" Sonic wondered. Looking behind the creatures, he noticed some motion in the trees from the direction he'd came. He caught sight of a glimmer of metal. "Get back, quick!" he shouted, moving around the Wrongos and taking a defensive stance as Metal Sonic came spinning out of the tree and struck him with a homing attack! Landing on his feet, Metal Sonic pointed a clawed hand at his fleshy doppelganger. "Sonic! I demand answers from you! Tell me what you know! Where is Dr. Eggman?! Speak, or be destroyed!" he warned. Sonic shrugged off the attack and looked at Metal, laughing softly. "What, you're not on speaking terms?" he teased, "Funny how you get your voice and he stops talkin' to ya!" Metal Sonic didn't find that amusing at all. "I should expect such a response from you. I'll have to beat the answers out of you!" he yelled. Sonic glanced back at the Wrongos and shooed them away, for their safety. "I just fell from Eggman's battleship. Before it blew up. That enough for ya? Or do you not know he's helpin' the Lost Ones by combining them with robots?" he asked Metal Sonic. The robot clenched his metal fists. "Don't lie to me. My creator would never betray his creations to the Lost Ones!" Sonic knew a fight was coming, and readied himself to move. "Talk to Omega about creator loyalty. Or Copter. I don't have time to convince ya!" he said. "Enough!!" Metal roared!
The robot expelled an electrified shockwave, which Sonic sped to get some distance from. Then, when it subsided, Sonic charged at Metal Sonic, curling into a ball and smacking him back towards a tree! The robot's eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure and began firing lasers at Sonic from his palms. Sonic zipped back and forth to dodge them. "I can't help takin' pity on you. How many times Eggman's wiped your memory now, I wonder?" he asked, a question that goaded Metal Sonic to dash towards him angrily, clawed hands attempting to grab his throat! Sonic backed just out of his reach, then jumped into a spinning kick, knocking the robot back! "Your lies won't save you! Eggman is my master... He would not betray me!" Metal declared, charging his power up for another shockwave now that he was closer to Sonic! The hedgehog wasn't interested in running. He leapt up and launched into repeated homing attacks, knocking Metal Sonic away from the Wrongos and Rightos. This was leaving the robot unsteady on its feet, but not enough to stop him from firing off his shockwave! Sonic was jolted and tossed onto his back, gasping for air for a moment while Metal Sonic took a knee, his systems working on some quick repairs. Slowly, Sonic staggered back to his feet, grinning at the robot. "Eggman would never let ya go... You're his best creation. So of course he wipes your memory... Every time you think of striking out on your own." he stated. Metal Sonic held his polished head. "That's not... true!" he protested. "Metal Overlord don't ring a bell, hm? How about Eggman takin' over Shadow Arcangel, and you turnin' on him? What about those years you were without a voice chip? He took your voice to stop ya from questioning him." Sonic could tell bringing this up was causing conflict in the robot. He wanted to see the result.
Metal Sonic sparked as he held his head. "Events... missing from memory..." he admitted. Sonic nodded. "Eggman doesn't care about you... He only cares about how he can use you." he stated, stepping toward the robot. Metal Sonic's eyes fixed on him and glowed brightly, and suddenly the robot had grabbed Sonic by the throat! "I do not require those memories! It's all useless data! Just like your existence!" he snarled, Sonic's feet kicking under him as the robot lifted him up! Before the robot could cause any serious harm, however, he himself let out a surprised shout as he was jolted with shocking attacks! Sonic landed on his feet as Metal Sonic collapsed, smoke rising from his back! Floating behind where Metal Sonic had stood were the Wrongos that Sonic had protected, a bit of an angry look in their eyes. They had shocked Metal Sonic, and now the robot appeared deactivated on the ground. "Gah!" Sonic grunted, rubbing his neck, "Not how I expected that to go, but thanks... You guys aren't as bad as ya look!" he smiled, the expression in the Wrongos' eyes softening. Sonic glanced at the collapsed Metal Sonic, nudging him with his feet to roll him over onto his back. "Too bad. I would've liked to talk him into helping us like he did back when Eggman first took over Shadow Arc. But Eggman must've completely wiped his old memories this time. Not even a backup in his system to be found..." he said thoughtfully. It was a shame. At that time, Metal Sonic had indeed planned to strike out and become his own being...but Dr. Eggman recaptured him in time for plots involving Onyx Island and an interdimensional Ifrit creature. Sonic shook his head and looked around, considering where to go next. He knew he shouldn't linger in the forest.
As Sonic started back towards the forest, a wall of Wrongos flew into his path. He turned to try another direction, and found the same problem. Glancing back, he found the Rightos hovering around the Dream Temple. "Well, I guess this is about as blunt as you could get if ya can't speak." Sonic sighed, "Guess I better see what's inside, then." he murmured, walking up a crystal staircase to the temple doors, and opening them to find a deep darkness within. "There wouldn't happen to be a light switch on the wall, would there?" he asked a nearby Righto. The creatures didn't even acknowledge his question. Sighing, Sonic stepped into the dark room, the door shutting behind him. Once inside, he saw a light in the distance. He watched it rise. His eyes widened. It was the sun. He found himself surrounded by a grassy plain. The door behind him was gone. Instead, there was a dirt path, which seemed to go on endlessly both in front of him and behind him. It didn't make sense. "I just walked inside, so why am I outside? ...Know what? I'll just roll with it. At least there's plenty of space to run here, no obstacles or anything... Might as well see where the road takes me." he said to himself, taking a moment to stretch a bit before he started to break into a run. It was such a peaceful place, with nothing but grassy fields, a soft breeze, and the open road. For a moment, Sonic found he could forget his troubles as he ran along the road, speeding up, testing the limits of his feet. "Wahoooo!! Been a while since I could really cut loose like this! Better stay outta my way! I gotta go faaaaaaaaast!!" he cried, two trails of fire starting to be left behind him as his speed reached levels he hadn't dared approach in quite some time, for fear of causing damage.
It was nice to cut loose, for a while, but no matter how far Sonic ran, nothing changed. The path was going on forever, and once the excitement of all that open space to run had worn out, the hedgehog's thoughts began to run along with him. "Tails, Amy... everyone... hang in there. Just stay safe until I find ya..." he thought, the image of Razor's charred body popping into his mind at that inopportune moment. He stumbled a bit as he ran, but he didn't stop, growling in his anger. "I can't let that happen again... Gotta move faster!!" he grunted, pushing himself to run harder, not considering for a moment that he simply wasn't getting anywhere. He could do this. He'd stopped countless villains before. The Lost Ones would be no different, right? But then, Sonic remembered the Doomsayer. Not the one revealed atop the clock tower, but the one revealed just before he fell into the forest. The one with his face. There were a couple possibilities for how this could be. He could be from another dimension, but that wouldn't explain his words to Sonic. "Once your pain ends, so too will mine..." his cold, raspy words rang in the hedgehog's mind. It implied what Sonic feared to believe. "My future... He can't be my future! I'd never turn my back on everyone like that! Never!!" Sonic shouted, continuing his run, onward and onward. It was all he could do. Keep moving forward, even not knowing where that would lead. But no matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape his thoughts. He couldn't escape his fears. He couldn't escape...himself. Eventually, he started to gradually slow down as the futility of it all began to sink in. That, and it was also starting to get dark, the sun setting over the horizon. Tripping in the dark at such breakneck speeds would be pretty counterproductive.
Ahead, Sonic saw a dark figure. It looked just like himself. "Doomsayer... Come here! I'll teach you to kick me off a cliff!" he shouted, charging towards the figure, launching into a homing attack! However, the hedgehog in front of him vanished and the attack missed. "Seeing things?" a voice called. Turning around, Sonic saw a jet-black hedgehog who was like a shadow. "I am the Dream King. I welcome you to the Dream Temple..." he said with a polite bow. Sonic looked around the dark field. "Temple? Right... I did walk into a temple... I sure hope I didn't leave the exit door way back there..." he sighed. The Dream King waved his arm to guide Sonic's eyes across the field. "This is your nightmare. Quite interesting...yet understandable. A vast road, endless. One would think a free spirit, loving to run as you do, this would be a dream. But running becomes meaningless if there is no destination." he explained. Sonic tapped his foot arrogantly. "I have a destination, I just can't get there!" he protested. The Dream King gave a light chuckle. "That's what makes it a nightmare." he pointed out. Sonic was in no mood for this game. There were enough nightmares going on outside the temple, and he didn't need something like this adding to his problems. "Alright, I'm guessing you're in control of this trap. What is it ya want from me?" he snapped. The Dream King slowly stepped around him. "What do I want? Silly hedgehog. You're the one who walked into my temple. What were YOU hoping to find here?" he asked. "I dunno! These creatures corralled me into this weird place! It wasn't my idea!" Sonic shouted in frustration. The Dream King was now blocking the path forward, rather than standing at the path Sonic had came. "How amusing..." he taunted.
Sonic was not having any of this. There was enough to deal with today without being trapped in a weird transforming temple. "Look, low-rez Shadow, this whole thing's just an illusion, I get it. I ain't got time for it, though. So, let me outta here already!" he demanded impatiently. The area started to get even darker, the moon in the sky seeming to flicker and fade slowly. "I can't do that, Sonic. Only you can get yourself out." The Dream King's voice seemed to falter. Sonic thought he heard another voice mixed in with it. A familiar one. "Hey! Where are you! Turn the lights back on!" Sonic shouted, feeling around in the darkness. He felt a wall in front of him, and as light slowly returned, Sonic saw that the wall was made of crystal. He glanced around to see that he was in a sealed crystal room, sparkling with a blue shine. The Dream King was in the center, holding his head, his shadowy body seeming to melt slowly. "Hey, what's happening to you!?" Sonic wondered. "M-my sleep... Restless... I know this... voice... speaking to me..." the Dream King grumbled, the second voice mixed in with his grim vocals growing more pronounced. It was like someone else taking control. Sonic watched, and listened to the sound of the familiar voice. "Wait... I know you... Assuming this isn't another illusion. You're...!" Sonic's eyes widened as he realized who it was, and saw the shadow taking shape to confirm it. A small being. Fairy-like, with tiny wings, and a slightly large head. The black color began to fade into purple and white fur. It was a tiny dog. "Sonic... Is that really you?" the soft voice murmured sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Sonic stepped towards the fairy-dog with a smile. "Good to see ya... Chip!" he said.
Sonic naturally had a lot of questions. "What are you doing here? Were you the Dream King? Or are you an illusion, too?" he asked quickly. Chip waved his arms excitedly. "Whoa! Slow down! So many questions, and you didn't even bring me any chocolate! ...Wait, I don't think I can eat. I think I'm still sleeping, actually..." he said, looking thoughtful. Sonic chuckled softly. Seemed like the same old Chip. The fairy started to circle around Sonic as he pieced together what was happening. "I'm gettin' it... Yeah, I'm the Dream King. Or rather, Gaia as a whole is the Dream King. Or rather-rather, the Dream King is the slumbering consciousness of Gaia, given form by the power of the Dream Temple, a major nexus into the world of illusions, which neighbors the world of sleep and dreams." Sonic raised an eyebrow while watching Chip. The little guy's explanation wasn't making a lot of sense. "Basically, this is a special Gaia Temple! And it lets me keep busy during eons of sleep. Dark Gaia has a lot of sway over the Dream King, hence his obsession with nightmares. But as Light Gaia, I try to harness that obsession as a means of testing people who come into this temple. To see the strength in their hearts. Having someone I know so well seems to have brought out more of...well, me, hehe!" Chip said, smiling. Sonic looked around at the sealed room. "It's great catching up, Chip, but I gotta get outta here. People are counting on me." he told him. Chip nodded. "Oh, I'm well aware, Sonic! I may be asleep but I've got ways of knowing. These are the biggest stakes you've ever faced. Not just the world, but the soul of the world! And other worlds, too! You've gotta be ready... So, it's a good thing I'm here to test ya!" he winked. Sonic let out a soft sigh. "Well, if you say so, pal. What do I gotta do?" he asked.
Outside the Dream Temple, Metal Sonic laid still. The Wrongos and Rightos floated over the robot, looking at it with cautious expressions. When his body suddenly sparked, the creatures flew off in different directions, panicked! Metal Sonic's red eyes flickered back on, and the robot slowly, shakily returned to its feet. "Rebooting systems..." he murmured, glancing at the Dream Temple. The building meant nothing to him, his memory banks held no data on it. Metal Sonic began to walk off into the forest, scanning his memory to determine why he was there. Sonic's words popped up in memory. "I can't help takin' pity on you. How many times Eggman's wiped your memory now, I wonder?" The robot paused his steps. He raised a clawed hand and created a fist. "Mission determined... Locate Dr. Eggman. Commence mission..." he said, starting to dash into the forest at high speed! His body sparked a little, but overall, he was in stable condition. "I will locate the doctor... And I will get the truth from him. If he has betrayed me... He will regret such miscalculation!" And so, with Metal Sonic off on his way, Sonic was left completely alone to take on the test of the Dream Temple. Would the test be safer with Chip taking the reigns? Or was Dark Gaia still waiting in the wings to exert control?
To be continued...
