Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 35 - Enerjak
Stage 18 - The ARK
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"No more gods.
No more graves.
Are you friend or fiend?
No more life.
No more death.
Somewhere in between..." - Almost Dead; Shadow the Hedgehog
Previously on GeneX…
Apocalos wanted Losipher back from the jungle, so Lospecter arrived to pick him up. To keep Shadow and Kosmo out of his way, he tricked them into a portal that sent them to Space Colony ARK! Carrie, who had been invisibly following Kosmo & Shadow, got sent along as well.
It seemed Lospecter had trapped several powerful beings on the ARK. Mephiles and Infinite were there to settle a grudge match. When their battle blew open a cell holding Tabitha, the witch cast a spell to transport the villains off the ARK. Then, she set about battling Shadow!
Before the fight could be settled, Professor Gerald's final message appeared onscreen. It appeared that his program had been triggered...possibly be Nova? Shadow wasn't sure, but this wasn't a situation any of them could ignore!
Now, our tale continues...
Lucky had emerged from a teleport somewhere in Central City. Junior was with him, along with Whisk, who teleported them, and also Lara and...Omochao. "I hope the others are okay..." Lucky murmured as they wandered the largely empty city. Had Loscream's threats earlier been empty? It didn't seem as though the Lost Ones were looking for them. Whisk patted Lucky on the shoulder. "Well, it's our daughters who 'ported the others out. I'm sure they knew what they were doing." she said. Omochao started heading off on his own. "Well, thanks for getting me out. I'm going to rethink my programming now..." he sighed. As he left, Lara pulled out her ProwerPhone. "We should contact the others. With any luck, Skye will be setting up his time machine..." she stated. Junior nodded. "Right, right! I'll call Starr! We haven't seen her in a while!" he noted, taking out his own phone to attempt to call her. Lucky and Whisk looked at the screen as the phone attempted to connect, but when the call was answered, they couldn't get any visual. "...uys won... ...re I am!" Starr's voice was very staticky. "Oh dear..." Whisk whispered. Junior groaned softly. "Starr! Where are you? Skye's gonna finish his time machine! We're gonna ditch this dumb day! Hurry!! Don't wanna stick around here...Starr? Starr!" Unfortunately, the call disconnected. Lara cleared her throat. "Well, I got Pepper here. She's heard from Minnie. But Tails and Skye aren't with either of them..." she reported. Whisk teleported beside her and waved at Pepper on the screen. "Heeey! I knew you'd make it!" she smiled. Lucky looked around nervously. "But why can't you find Tails and Skye? Doesn't that kid have a phone, too?" he pointed out. They all glanced at each other with anxious eyes. It would be best to get their group back together as soon as possible...
As it turned out, Starr and Ozzie were already on the path to the Cannon's Core, which happened to be where Shadow, Kosmo and Carrie were going. The five of them soon met up, all the morphs talking at once in their excitement to find each other. "What a relief! Ozzie said that Lospecter said-" "-Us morphs are here to fight to the death!" Starr and Ozzie both said quickly. "No time to stop, there's a planet-wrecking laser maybe charging to fire!" Kosmo said at the same time. "Silence, all of you!" They turned in surprise to see Tabitha nearby. A magical projection of her, in actuality, as they could see through her like a ghost. "Ignore her, she's not even here." Carrie sighed. "You'd do well to listen!" the witch warned, getting the impatient Shadow's attention as well, despite the fact that he'd actually started to leave without the others. Tabitha folded her arms. "Better. Let's understand the situation here. That foolish spirit transported Nova and I up here while I was working on spells to aid Nova in controlling the mask of Enerjak. Since my spells were interrupted...Nova may be quite mad at the moment." she stated. "You mean insane." Kosmo scoffed. Shadow glanced around. Screens lining the halls were still depicting Gerald's final message. "My theory is that Nova is using the power of the mask to charge the Eclipse Cannon. This may have triggered Professor Gerald's program...but not fully, as it was supposed to be accessed by the Chaos Emeralds. That's why the message is playing, but the space colony doesn't appear to be moving." he stated. "Well, that's good, isn't it?" Ozzie asked, "No crash-down to Earth?" Tabitha let out a groan. "The Eclipse Cannon could still blow the planet to Hell. Not good for any of us. I propose we split up to stop that lunatic! Farewell!" she said, he projection vanishing. Shadow turned to resume heading for the core. "I know where he'll be. It just might be a pain getting there..." he stated.
"Without the Chaos Emeralds, Nova can only be powering the Eclipse Cannon with the Enerjak mask." Shadow had explained as he led the way, "He and the mask must be in the core of the cannon. Hopefully the defenses leading there haven't been reinstated by Gunner..." Little did anyone in the group realize, their journey was being watched. Sitting in the Eclipse Cannon control room, watching them through a monitor, was someone who looked much like Shadow. It was Dark Spiny, and he was typing at the controls quickly. "As passwords go, 'Maria' really isn't that effective by today's standards..." he muttered, growling as the camera zoomed in on Shadow. "Sick joke. My weaker half looks like Sonic, but I couldn't escape that doppelganger curse, either. Well, Lospecter placed me here to make sure those guys don't get back to Earth. Never said anything about making sure there was still an Earth. I say we buy crazy old Nova some time... Might be the best way to free me of everyone cursing my existence!" he smirked, activating the defenses for the Cannon's Core with a few keystrokes! He then switched the camera view to the core itself. There was a structure there that resembled the Master Emerald shrine, and Nova was standing about where the Master Emerald would go, the tribal mask of Enerjak covering his face, and his hands holding his head as he groaned, his mind fighting the mask for control. Dark Spiny rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, he's looney toons. He might change his mind any moment and blow up the Space Colony instead. Guess in the interest of self-preservation, I should get down there and try to get the situation under control. I'll just fiddle with security to give myself the best shortcut..." he snickered, typing at the controls a bit more as he planned his big move.
The doors leading to the direct route to the core had closed thanks to Dark Spiny's interference. "Yeah, there's no time to figure out how to open this..." Carrie grumbled, tearing the first door right out of the path using her psychokinesis. Beyond it, GUN robots were now active and swarming. "...I don't remember this much resistance when I last went down to the core..." Shadow muttered. "Must be something Gunner left for us..." Kosmo growled. It didn't really matter. As they headed into the hallway, Carrie was quick to grab and dispose of the nearest Beetle robots. Shadow leapt into homing attacks, taking out artificial Chaos machines attached to the walls. Kosmo's body morphed a metallic armor around itself as he ran forward, the armor repelling lasers as he went after Hunter robots in the path. Ozzie whistled calmly as he and Starr casually followed behind them. "Well, whoever put all these robots here sure didn't realize what they were dealing with." he murmured. "Maybe someone just wants to slow us down?" Starr questioned. "I know I do!" Glancing back, they saw Tabitha flying their way, laughing softly as she tossed a spell at the broken robot pieces! She caused them to reassemble and surround Ozzie and Starr! "Hey! What's the big idea!?" Kosmo shouted as he saw these robots restored to working order. Tabitha smirked. "I've determined where Nova is now, so I'll be getting myself to the mask first! Ta-ta!" she said, tearing off ahead of the group, leaving the morphs and mirage to battle the same robots again. "Stop right there!" Shadow shouted, chasing after her, the pair of them exiting the hallway into a chamber filled with rushing liquid and odd time switches. Tabitha cast a spell to blast open the next doorway, passing through it before the ceiling collapsed, blocking the direct route before Shadow could get through! "...There'd better be another way..." he grunted.
Of course, the same robots again really didn't delay the others very much, and they soon found Shadow peering into a large tank of liquid in the center of the room. All of that rushing liquid was flowing into this tank. Oddly, said tank looked more like a massive chamber with connected rooms inside. Noticing the rubble in the doorway, the morphs and Carrie were quickly brought up to speed on the situation. "You think there's an alternate route down there?" Starr asked. "Maybe..." Shadow murmured. "That's all well and good, but unlike most of us, I can't grow gills." Carrie pointed out. Kosmo jumped into the liquid, his lower body shifting into a merfolk tail. "I'll scout ahead. You all just stand here and look pretty..." he said, diving down into the chamber below. Starr gave a pout in his direction. "He never wants me to go along. Humph..." she groaned, looking for a place to sit. She was about to sit on one of the odd time switches, which Ozzie quickly decided was a bad idea. "Hey, th-that's not a chair!!" he stammered, trying to tug her away from it only for him to get caught in the effect as well when the switch stopped time around them! Shadow and Carrie were stuck in their poses, and even the liquid stopped rushing. "...The science was sure advanced here, huh?" Starr murmured. Ozzie looked around with a grin. "Hey, I got an idea..." he smirked. When time resumed for Shadow and Carrie, the duo were missing. "Hm? Oh, great, what'd they just do?" Shadow grumbled. Kosmo appeared from the liquid a moment later. "These dumb lasers blocked me..." he grumbled. As he spoke, something dropped onto his head! "Ow!!" Looking up, he saw a sort of mechanical pulley had been lowered, leading to an upper area. It looked like it might lead to a ventilation system that'd get them past the door. Moments later, Starr and Ozzie appeared at the surface of the liquid! "Man, it's a good thing another of those switches was past those lasers..." Ozzie said, coughing up the liquid, which he seemed to find distasteful. Starr grinned wide and waved. "Hey, dad. How was your swim?" Shadow had a very bemused look on his face. "Moving on, then..." he sighed, glad he didn't seem to have kids.
Tabitha and Dark Spiny each arrived at the Cannon's Core at about the same time. Tabitha ignored the Dark, each of them racing to the replica of the Master Emerald shrine where Nova was feeding energy from the mask into the Eclipse Cannon. The morph saw them approach and folded his arms across his chest, floating above them. "Fledgling creatures of mortal darkness! Pledge your allegiance to the mighty Enerjak, and perhaps I will grant you mercy!" he said in a deep voice. Dark Spiny chortled a bit. "He serious? Oh, boy, he's loonier than I imagined." he stated. Tabitha rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I have a counterproposal for you, 'Mighty Enerjak.' Since your vessel has become a liability, I'm going to kill him and take your mask!" she sneered, creating spells of different colors in her hands and hurling them at Nova without delay. "Good idea, lady!" Dark Spiny added, "Spear Storm!!" The dark let loose with Chaos Spears erupting from his back quills, which he controlled and sent at Nova relentlessly! Nova's body simply turned translucent, however, and their attacks passed right through his watery form. "Blasphemy! You defy your lord?! Then you shall face my wrath!!" Nova declared. Energy surrounded the morph, channeled by the core of the Eclipse Cannon, charged, and now being redirected by Enerjak! Dark Spiny gulped and hid behind Tabitha, who erected a shield around herself as the Eclipse Cannon's laser fired directly into the chamber, the beam focused directly on Tabitha and Dark Spiny! "All who deny my power... shall be reduced to nothing but ashes!!!" Enerjak declared as the powerful beam filled the room!
Naturally, the Eclipse Cannon going off inside the Space Colony was bound to create a bit of a racket. It also caused quite a bit of damage, and rocked the colony pretty hard. Shadow, Kosmo and the others couldn't help but feel it and hear it. "We all just HAD to blindly charge after the big bad Lost One..." Carrie groaned, recalling how they got into this mess. Kosmo's eyes darted around a bit nervously. "No matter how this works out, I think we need to find a ship to get outta here..." he stated, "Also, I think we should take out this death trap as we go, too." His words gave Shadow pause. "Destroy the ARK?" he murmured, thinking it over for a moment, "...You're right. The Space Colony has served its purpose, and can only bring destruction if left alone. The Eclipse Cannon is too much power for anyone..." he said in a melancholy tone. The three "adults" nodded in agreement and continued forward. "We still need to deal with Nova, however..." Shadow noted. They didn't seem to notice Starr and Ozzie hanging back. "Dad's right... We gotta find a ship! I mean, did you feel that! This Space Colony is probably already toast!" Starr pointed out. Ozzie looked at her with a frown. "It's not like any of us came up here in a ship, though. I don't think there is one." he told her. Starr took his hand and started to lead him back the way they came. "Maybe not, but I mean we've been largely a couple of third wheels so far. Who really thinks Shadow the Hedgehog is going to have any trouble with some kooky morph under the control of a mask? Especially with my dad with him?" she pointed out. "Way to make me feel like I've wasted my time coming here..." Ozzie grumbled, following after Starr reluctantly.
Finally, Shadow, Kosmo and Carrie had reached the Cannon's Core. There was a quite visible hole in one of the walls from the Eclipse Cannon shot, but surprisingly, Dark Spiny wasn't dead. In fact, he stepped towards Shadow with a smirk and a slow clap as he entered. "At last, you've arrived! Now, Shadow, it is time for our fated clash! I will defeat you and claim the title of Ultimate- agh!!" Rather than listen to anything Dark Spiny had to say, Shadow walked right up to him and gave him a decisive slap across the face. "I could not begin to tell you how little I care!" he scoffed, heading directly for the shrine at the core while Dark Spiny rubbed his cheek. "H-how dare you! I am not above thrashing you while your back is turned!" he shouted. Kosmo rolled his eyes. "Sic him, Carrie." he said, making the mirage smirk widely. All that was heard was Dark Spiny's pathetic yelps and cries as Kosmo caught up to Shadow at the shrine. There, Tabitha was slumped over on her knees, panting as Nova- or Enerjak- loomed over her. "You have resisted well... Yet your power is incomplete. Something was taken from you, wasn't it? Yes... You were once strong, fearless... A ruthless killer. But that was another life... A pity..." Enerjak said with a mocking chuckle. Tabitha held a small sparkle of orange light close to her chest. "This life has been for naught as well..." she said with a cough, "Yet, it may not be in vain... My last power... Can secure my vengeance!" she huffed, turning toward Shadow. She took the sparkle from her chest and gently sent it to the black hedgehog, levitating what appeared to be a small orange gemstone to him, which he casually took in his hand. "Use that...to avenge me!! Or I shall haunt you!!" the witch declared before her body suddenly crumbled into dust before their eyes, blowing away from Nova along with her pointy hat! Kosmo looked at Nova with a glare. "So... I take it you're too nuts to remember killing me?" he growled. Enerjak gave a hearty laugh. "If it comforts you, I shall commit it to memory when I kill you this day!" he vowed.
Enerjak's gold armor appeared on Nova's body, the god's great spear appearing in his hand. "You merely had a brief taste of my power last time, mortals..." he warned. Kosmo grabbed his own tail, which morphed a claw at the tip as he started to swing it. "All we need is to take off that mask!" he pointed out. "Easier said than done!" Enerjak sneered, swinging his spear broadly and sending a shockwave of energy down to knock Shadow and Kosmo away! They took a tumble down the stairs, but quickly got back on their feet. "Distract him, I got the mask..." Kosmo said, adding wings to his form and flying back up, but keeping his distance. Shadow leapt back up the stairs and tossed Chaos Spears at Enerjak, only for them to pass through Nova's watery body! "Your powers are futile against me!" the masked morph bellowed, pointing the spear at Shadow and firing powerful beams at him repeatedly, cracking and breaking the steps of the shrine as Shadow leapt back, evading those beams! During the diversion, Kosmo swung his clawed tail and tossed it at Enerjak like a lasso from above! Enerjak moved quickly to grab the tail with his free hand, jolting Kosmo directly with the mask's powerful energy! "Gyaaaaahh!!" As Kosmo frantically tried to morph his way out of this one, the clawed part of his tail ripped off in Enerjak's hand, causing the morph to fall to the ground as the other morph clutched the bloody appendage. "Since you brought it up, and dared touch me, I sampled your memories. But it seems you are the one who has lost who you were. Pitiful." he stated, tossing the claw aside. Kosmo grunted as he stood up, clutching his tail as it painfully morphed back to normal. "At least I got over MY god complex, NOVA!" he snapped. Shadow nodded. "The past is irrelevant. What we choose to do today makes all the difference." he said. Enerjak threw the spear aside and charged at Shadow. "There's no escaping your past! I, your god, shall punish all your sins for ALL time!!" he roared!
Enerjak clutched Shadow by the wrists, the pair struggling, each of their bodies sparking with different energy. "Ch-chaos...!!" Shadow tried to call out Chaos Control, but Enerjak squeezed his wrists and jolted his body, preventing him! "Show me your sins! Show me your past!" he laughed, using the same ability he'd just used on Kosmo to view Shadow's history. Shadow was expelling Chaos energy to try and fight him at first, but when that was failing, he tried a different tact. "You want to know me? Take my memories then! Take them all!" he shouted, headbutting the mask with all his might! In that moment, Nova's head turned to liquid, and the mask sank inside him. His mind was swimming in three different sets of thoughts and memories now. His own history was faint, already overwhelmed by Enerjak. The god's mind, however, was reliant on the mask being properly affixed to a face, so Enerjak was quickly going insane as well. Shadow's memories ran through Nova's mind. "Mariaaaa!!" A gunshot. A murder. "I-I just don't know any-any-more.... I often wonder why I w-was...created." Created? Androids? No... "Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here!" A fake, yes. A fake Shadow. Mephiles. In a crater on the moon? "I left the past behind me... But is it a useless effort? Am I doomed to become the monster Black Doom intended me as...?" ...Black Doom? "You were created from MY blood!" Shadow had been released by Nova, who was holding his head and shouting these random lines from the Ultimate Life Form's past while Carrie caught up to the group. "Uhhh... Is he okay?" she asked. "He's never been okay..." Kosmo sighed. Nova began to glow, twisting and transforming before their eyes. Shadow let out an audible gasp as he recognized the shape. Nova was taking on the hideous alien form of Black Doom! "I...gave you life!! Now, I'll take it back!!" he declared, now speaking in Black Doom's demonic voice!
To be continued...
