Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 44 - Light in the Dark
Stage 21 - World's End
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
The heartless, Keyblade, and other Kingdom Hearts concepts are (c) Disney & Square-enix
"If you want to take it to an even higher level,
All you gotta do is say the word, you know I'll follow.
If you wanna take it to an even higher level;
I don't, I don't bite.
If you want to make it happen, nothing's impossible.
All you gotta do is say the word, the walls will crumble.
If you want to make it happen, nothing's impossible." - Don't Think Twice; Kingdom Hearts 3
Previously on GeneX…
Rushing to catch the Lost Ones and put a stop to their plans, Sonic arrived in Station Square, where he reunited with his son, Juice, before Lospecter transported them both to another world; One that had been utterly destroyed!
Amy, Cream and Big had been trapped here, too, intended as bait to lure Sonic into a trap. Jolt attempted to capture Amy, separating her from her friends (but also leading to the robot's demise).
Sonic, Juice, Cream and Big found Amy held by Bean and Bark, only to find that this Amy was actually Loskeletor setting a trap for them! The real Amy arrived and aided in a battle with Nack the weasel and his cronies.
Meanwhile, Lospecter interrogated Lucky about Tails' location. Unable to gain any information from him, Lospecter transported Lucky, Whisk and Lucky Jr. to the destroyed world as well. Is there any way back for our heroes?
Now, our tale continues...
Lucky kicked a rock, watching it lift off the ground and start to slowly float away. "Gravity seems weird here..." Junior murmured. Well, gravity seemed normal enough for them, but the broken pieces of the world, not so much. Lucky let out a heavy sigh. "This world is in just the kind of state we tried to prevent by stopping Chaos Hearts... Why does it always feel like no matter what I do, it just doesn't matter?" he wondered, thinking back on how every one of his past accomplishments seemed to be overturned sooner or later. His efforts against Despair, winning the Chaos Sword, saving countless worlds... It felt like he couldn't get a lasting win. Whisk patted his shoulder. "Hey, for all we know, this world was doomed anyway. Don't dwell on it." she told him. He gave her a slight smile, but it turned to a "Meee-yow!" as losol and lospirits surrounded them! Whisk clutched her wand and went on the offensive. "Freeze! Thunder!! Take this, ya dumb slimeballs!" she cried, moving fast to clear an escape route for Lucky and Junior! "Yeesh, they're just as bad as the heartless, too!" Lucky said as he led his son through the path Whisk had cleared for them! Junior pulled the ProwerPhone from his pocket and attempted to dial out. "Hello? Juice? You'll never guess where we are..." he stammered as his friend answered the call. "Huh? Aw, no, they got you, too! Right, we're close to this big stadium...what's left of it." Juice told him. Lucky looked around the landscape ahead, seeing "what was left" of dozens of structures ahead of them. "Great, great, very helpful..." he sighed. Whisk's wings carried her close behind the cats, keeping her wand trained on the creatures behind them. "Well, hurry and find 'em, before more monsters find us!" she gulped.
Sonic's group was also dealing with a swarm of Lost Ones as they attempted to exit the stadium. Amy's hammer smacked a loskel to pieces while Big swatted a flying loskull with his fishing rod and Cream directed Cheese to run interference. "I guess now that Nack's plan went bust, the Lost Ones are tryin' to just overwhelm us!" Sonic figured, dashing around in an attempt to draw the creatures to chase him. Juice, meanwhile, had dialed another number, getting into contact with Starr. He'd explained their situation to her, and she glanced back at her companions thoughtfully. "Feels a lot like what the Lost Ones did to Shadow and my dad. They wanna divide us and keep us away from what they're plotting." she said. Sonic zipped next to his son, leaving his pursuers in the dust. "What's that? Shadow? You got Shadow there? Put him on!" he said, taking the phone from Juice and tapping his foot a bit impatiently. "What is it, Sonic?" the black hedgehog asked. "I was lookin' for some flying base the Lost Ones had raised before I got trapped here..." Sonic explained. "Demon Island." Shadow told him, "I saw it when I got back from the ARK. We're already in pursuit." he stated. Sonic stared at the screen blankly. "Demon Island... Oh... 'Kay, good luck then..." he babbled, tossing the phone back to his son and dashing off to deal with the lost ones in their way. "You guys are a nuisance! Sonic Wind!!" he cried, his special blue wind attack blowing through the area and causing several of the slimy creatures to splatter! Big held his gut, looking a bit sick. "These monsters are gross..." he groaned. "Sure are..." Cream sighed. Amy clutched her hammer tightly, a fierce look in her eyes. "Where's the creep that used my likeness without my permission!? I'm the only Amy that gets near Sonic!!" she roared. Juice watched her nervously. "Ahh... Mom can really get...mad..." he stammered. "No kidding..." Cream sighed.
At this point, Lucky, Junior and Whisk were arriving, pursued by their own ghostly foes. Sonic sped into action, joining Whisk in battling them back with magic and speed while the others gathered together and mainly watched. "I wish we could help against the slimy and ghostly ones..." Cream sighed. If they weren't careful doing so, they would be corrupted into Lost Ones like Corky and Cuthburt, so it was best to leave those with magic, chaos and distance attacks to handle it. Lucky groaned from the sidelines. "If I just had access to my Keyblade..." he lamented. Lucky Jr. had been chosen by the same Keyblade after Lucky's future demise, and the presence of both of them had created an issue preventing either of them from summoning the Keyblade. Junior nodded. "If we had the Keyblade, we might be able to open a pathway back to our own world, never mind fighting." he stated. Lucky wasn't sure about that; He'd never received proper training and he wasn't sure they could traverse worlds without a vessel. At any rate, Sonic and Whisk made quick work of the losol and lospirits, giving the group a bit of breathing room to rest and consider their next move. "So, what're you in for?" Sonic asked Lucky's group, not that it really mattered. "Lospecter's looking for Tails. Ah, your Tails, not the Miles that Whisk and I used to travel with, hehe..." Lucky babbled. Whisk explained further. "Apparently we're some of the last people to see him before he kinda...vanished." she stated. Cream looked especially worried, but Amy placed an arm around her cheerily. "Chin up! If Lospecter's looking for him, that means the Lost Ones didn't get him!" she pointed out. Sonic smiled at that, too. "Alright, now, half of us have experience exploring different worlds, so let's figure this out and get back before that goofy ghost finds him!" he said.
"Wait! ZIM BESEECHES YOU!!" The group was startled by the yell of the diminutive Zeti, who ran up to them, leaping over holes in the street on the way. Lucky crossed his arms. "Zim again?! Is there any world he won't follow us to?" he grumbled. "Bah!! You are the one who constantly follows ZIM!" the Zeti shouted, pointing at Lucky and Whisk accusingly. Big covered his ears. "He's loud for a little guy..." he mumbled. Sonic gave a shrug. "Well, if he's stuck here, he might as well tag along..." he stated, only for Zim to give a superior laugh. "Haha! Stuck here? You forget about Zim's awesome dark powers! I will create a path of darkness to take us from this place!" he announced, surprising the group. "Really? That's kind of you, Mr. Zim." Cream smiled. "I don't think he's gonna help us for free..." Amy sighed. A safe bet. Zim jumped up on Big's head so he could be taller than everyone. "Listen well! Zeke and Zim fled our doomed world in search of safety, but instead this world started to fall apart around us! We were chased by terrible creatures, and although Zim knows where to meet his dear friend, even I am not amazing enough to traverse the dangers alone! So, if you measly yet capable fools escort Zim back to Zeke, then we will take you with us out of this crumbly place!" he announced. Whisk smirked at him. "So, you're scared and want us to walk you to where Zeke is?" she translated. "Exactly! I mean... ZIM FEARS NOTHING!!" Zim shouted, which caused Big to swat him off his head in retaliation for hurting his ears. Sonic nodded, figuring this was their best way out. "Alright, where do we start lookin' for Zeke?" he asked. Zim pointed to a volcano beyond the city, which itself was crumbling and leaving a fiery crater behind. "...Do we NEED this Zeke?" Junior gulped. "What we don't need is two of you, dumb cat!" Zim snapped, remarking at how similar Lucky and Junior looked.
And so, their journey to the volcano began. Of course, the trip wasn't without dangers. Aside from the fact that the world itself was randomly breaking into pieces and one could never know how safe any place was to step, they also had to deal with occasional swarms of Lost Ones. They didn't seem to have remained after the world's destruction, so Lospecter must have sent these forces to this world after Nack's failure. Since much of their group wasn't equipped to deal with the Lost Ones, they tried to avoid them as much as possible, but at one point they found someone stranded on a floating chunk of what was once ground, who was busy defending himself against lospirits and losohsts with Chaos Spears. It was Spiny the Porcupine, who had also escaped their world with Zeke. "No, no, I won't be rescued by Sonic! Leave me to die!" he shouted. "Okay." Zim shrugged, starting to leave without him. "We're not going to do that!" Cream protested. Whisk nodded, and flew up, casting spells at the Lost Ones! "No, leave me! I'll save myself!" Spiny growled, only to be caught in Sonic's arms as the hedgehog leapt up there, and then carried him back to safe ground. "Aaargh!! Put me down! You smug, superior son of a-" Sonic dropped the ungrateful porcupine on the ground with a thud. "Ow!! Wait, I'm not through!" he growled as Sonic dashed off to help Whisk fight. Amy stood over Spiny with a glare. "Are you gonna be a problem??" she asked with an intense stare. "Ahh, uhm... No, ma'am..." Spiny murmured, giving a little pout. Lucky chuckled softly watching him. "He's like Scourge, but wimpy." he joked, only to yelp as Spiny tossed a Chaos Spear at him! Amy then bonked the porcupine on the head with her hammer. "Ackk... End me..." Spiny whined.
What was left of the volcano was actually oddly cold. Though a warm glow came from the lava seeping out of the cracks in the earth, the lifeless state of the world had robbed even the lava of its warmth, seemingly. Or perhaps, it was the work of the Lost Ones. In any case, Zeke was found passed out within the volcanic crater. "Oh, horrors! My only friend has perished!!" Zim cried. "We're not that lucky." Lucky sighed. The group started towards him to see what his condition actually was, when someone dropped from the sky, right onto Cream! "Aaahh! Get off me!" the rabbit cried, struggling with someone who...looked exactly like her! "Loskeletor again!" Amy gasped. "Where?" Big questioned, not getting it. The two Creams pushed each other apart, and everyone stared a bit nervously. "How do we tell them apart? N-no offense to either of you." Spiny stammered. The two rabbits pointed at one another. "She's the fake!" they cried at once. Zim growled in annoyance. "You! Winged cat! Blast them both! They're in the way!" he ordered. "How long and you still don't know my name??" Whisk complained. "Calm down, we'll figure this out!" Sonic assured the group. All the while, Juice and Junior stood at the back. "Ever feel kinda redundant?" Juice asked. "Naw." Junior said, busy texting their friends via the ProwerPhone. In the meanwhile, Cheese fluttered between the two rabbits. After examining each, he flew into the arms of the one on the left. "Heh, see? Cheese would know!" Sonic grinned. Loskeletor cackled softly as his disguise started to melt off his bones. "It matters not. For this ploy was a mere diversionary tact. Take heed of our surroundings, my feckless friends..." he sneered, raising a skeletal hand to direct their attention to the veritable army of Lost Ones that had taken positions around the crater! They were trapped!
It was around this time that Zeke's eyes finally opened, and he started to stir. At the same time, Whisk positioned herself in the center of the group. "Alright, everyone! There might be a lot of us, but I'll try and teleport us all to safety! Get ready!" she shouted. However, before she could do so, she was struck hard in the head from behind...by Zeke! "What in the heck are you doing!?" Spiny shouted. Zeke's body was cloaked in darkness, and his eyes glowed yellow. "Zeke? That's not...my name... I am Xezek. I am darkness!" he roared. Sonic looked at him with a groan. "As if we needed another problem. You guys know that dragon, eh? Get him back to his senses!" he said to Zim and Lucky, "I'll try and handle our other problems. Hey, bonehead! Can ya turn into me?" he shouted, catching Loskeletor's attention. "Come close enough, and I might acquire the means!" the skeleton snarled. While Team Rose spread out to defend the unconscious Whisk from incoming Lost Ones, Spiny nudged Lucky toward Xezek. "Well, fix him! You heard your beloved hedgehog!" he snapped. Lucky glanced back at him. "Me? Hey, he's your 'brother' too! And he's YOUR friend!" he said to Zim. The Zeti actually seemed agreeable, and charged at Xezek. "Give Zeke back, you weird heartless!" he shouted, only for Xezek to slap him aside as he got close! "This world... Only darkness. Except you... Your light burns too bright. It must be snuffed out!" he snarled, making Lucky and Spiny back away slowly as Xezek stomped towards them. "Really wish I had my Keyblade..." Lucky whimpered. "Dad! Watch out!" Junior ran up and stood by his side, raising his fists, "You don't have to fight the darkness alone!" he said. Looking at him, Lucky smiled and nodded. "Right! Let's do this!" he grinned. "Good luck, idiots. I'll be holding off the Lost Ones." Spiny shrugged.
Sonic sped around Loskeletor, drawing his laser eyes while Team Rose and Juice kept busy trying to repel the incoming Lost Ones. Amy's hammer reduced a loskel to bones, and Big's fishing line found itself whirling a loshark about, smacking it into other Lost Ones as he twirled it. Cream was left directing Cheese as a diversion while Juice used a Wispon to repel the creatures as best he could, but the less solid monsters kept coming closer. This was when Spiny stepped into the center of the group. "Must I do everything? Watch your heads, kids, I've a lot of shots to account for... Spear Storm!!" Chaos Spears erupted from the spikes on Spiny's back, and he controlled them to spiral around the group, protecting them from the approaching Lost Ones! "Thanks, mister!" Cream smiled. "Don't... Don't make me into a hero! Just figure us a way out of here!" Spiny grunted. During all this, Lucky was sent flying with a "MEEEE-YOW!!" as Xezek tossed him like a ragdoll. Junior held his stomach like he was the one injured. "Agh! D-dad! Careful!" he grimaced, watching as Zim scurried past him. "No one throws ZIM!" he shouted. Xezek responded by kicking him away this time. Lucky stood up shakily. "Much tougher without my Keyblade... But I won't give up!" he grunted, gasping as Xezek flew above him and blew fire his way! He stumbled back, scurrying clear of the flames. "Zeke! I know you're in there! You don't wanna do this!" he stammered, Xezek making an odd face at him in response. "Okay, maybe you do... No, I won't believe that." Lucky reaffirmed, standing up tall. "You're my brother, Zeke! I know there's light in you somewhere! I'll draw it out of your heart!" he said confidently. Xezek snarled, and Junior gasped. "Dad, get down!" he whimpered as Xezek dove towards him!
Whisk started to stir, and glanced around drowsily. "Wh-what happened? Ugh, aw, buttercups..." she groaned, getting up on one knee. A bright light caught her attention, and she briefly shielded her eyes before adjusting to it. Within the light, she saw Lucky, grappling against Zeke. The light started to fade, and Zeke blinked a few times, staring at Lucky. "What the heck? What are you doing here!?" he stammered, and then yelped as Zim kicked his shin. "How do YOU like being kicked around, huh? Huh??" the Zeti shouted. "You little..." Zeke growled, as Lucky stood back and relaxed. "Good to have the old Zeke back, heh!" he joked. Meanwhile, Sonic was aggravating Loskeletor as he ran circles around him faster and faster. Even turning his skull completely around on his bony neck, Loskeletor couldn't keep up with him. "Wretched fleeing fool! Thy fate is sealed! Still your feet!" he snarled. Sonic smirked. "Dropping the curtain on you, Shakespeare! Sonic Wind!!" he cried, his energized whirlwind surrounding and overwhelming Loskeletor, making him wail in protest as he melted into a puddle of inactive slime! Lucky and Zim had quickly gotten Zeke up to speed in the interim, so the dragon made use of the darkness still within him and summoned a corridor of darkness. "Next stop, back home! Everybody in!" he announced. "Anywhere's better than here!" Spiny shouted, leading the charge through the dark portal. Big and Cream followed, with Amy and Whisk covering them. "Hurry up, everyone! Before those monsters chase us through!" Amy cried, swatting a losoar aside with her hammer! Juice, Lucky, Junior, Zim, Zeke and finally Sonic all retreated through the portal, and on the other side, they found themselves at Sonic's destination; They were on Demon Island, somewhere to the rear of Despair Castle.
"Wait, this can't be right, this island's a wreck!" Zeke murmured in confusion. "If only it stayed that way..." Amy sighed. Sonic looked around, and saw the Doomsayer emerging from the nearby forest. "Look out!" he warned, gathering everyone's attention. The Doomsayer scoffed, and removed his hood to show Sonic's face, shocking those in the group that didn't already know. "Hey... There's two of him..." Big said to sum it up nicely. The Doomsayer nodded. "Yes, and no. I am what he will become. There's a reason for my prophecies, and it is that I have lived them. The Prower will die... TAILS will die. And you won't be fast enough to save him..." he said, pointing to Sonic. "That's what you say!" Sonic replied. The Doomsayer shrugged at his attitude. "You'll see. His death will seal your fall to darkness. A domino effect, after which you lose another friend. And another. You can't avoid becoming me...and once you do, you'll realize how futile it all is. The world...the multiverse...must end!" he declared, a violent rain starting to fall around them just before the Doomsayer sped off at sonic speed! Amy and Juice looked at Sonic with deep concern. "It isn't true..." Amy whimpered. "It won't be true." Lucky said, placing a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "Because Sonic has us to light his way back from the darkness." he smiled. Sonic smiled back, while Zeke, Spiny and Zim collectively gagged. "That's enough mush! Let's get out of here! I'll catch you dweebs on the flip side! RAWR!!" Zeke shouted, flapping away as Spiny and Zim followed him.
In the volcanic crater, Apocalos emerged from a corridor of darkness. He stood over Loskeletor's splattered remains. "Alas, poor William. I knew him well..." he said, holding the Scepter of Despair over the slime in a ceremonious fashion. "I grant thee a demonic rebirth... Arise, my lost child... Regain your immortal form!" A dark shadow was cast over the slimy remains from Apocalos, and a clawed hand rose from the puddle, rising! Loskeletor let out a pained gasp as he reassembled himself, this time his skeletal form a bit larger and more powerful-looking than before! Apocalos grinned wide, baring his fangs. "So long as I survive... The lost are eternal..." he whispered.
To be continued...
