Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 46 - Underground Emeralds
Stage 22 - Chaos Shrine
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"You've got to face your fear to overcome it.
Can't keep your head in the sand or run from it.
Show what you're afraid of,
Exactly what you're made of.
Just take a big deep breath and face your fear." - Face Your Fear; Sonic Underground
Previously on GeneX…
After running a wild goose chase for several, several chapters, Blaze was taken off guard by Eggman Nega, who stole the six Sol Emeralds she'd collected! Clinging to his Egg Mobile, Blaze, Silver and Marine arrived on Demon Island, but Eggman Nega escaped!
Joined by Sonata the unicorn, Bolt the creature, and Capricorn the ferret, our heroes found the Chaos Shrine, which had been assimilated into the island just as the Lost Hive had been. Inside, they fought Dark Team GeneX, a battle that caused the room to collapse, and our heroes to fall into a hidden basement area.
Loscream found Dark Team GeneX afterward, and punished them for failing to kill the heroes by devouring them.
Now, our tale continues...
Fear is a very common emotion. It doesn't take an emotion-sensing horn to know that. But it helps. Sonata the unicorn could very much tell that those around him were feeling varied levels of dread and anxiety as they began their exploration of the Chaos Shrine's basement. Marine and Capricorn were both understandably anxious being two individuals with no special powers trapped on an island filled with monsters and enemies. Bolt was nervous about the possibility of being separated from the only person he trusted, Sonata. Silver was concerned that the Doomsayer might be right, and nothing he could do would actually save the future. Blaze wasn't certain what she had left to fear after losing her home, but she still felt a definite unease. And Sonata? He was afraid their group might be trapped. A fear that might lessen with the discovery they were about to make, but wouldn't go away completely. What they discovered was one of the six Sol Emeralds, abandoned on the ground, resting against the wall. Blaze picked up the yellow gem and looked around cautiously. "This is one of the emeralds Nega took... He got down here, somehow." the feline murmured. Sonata sighed. "Then, there must be a way back out?" he reasoned. "Maybe, maybe not..." Capricorn stated, looking less than confident. Marine looked at the emerald in Blaze's hand. "Why would he just toss the gem after he nicked it?" she wondered. Silver had a notion. "He might have run into trouble down here... Which means we've got more than just Eggman Nega to worry about..." he stated. Blaze clutched the emerald tightly. At least they knew they were in the right place.
Heading into the next room, they found several different pathways ahead. Capricorn cleared her throat. "Erm, I know you want to look for those emeralds, but... Maybe we should secure an escape route from this place first?" she asked. Blaze shrugged. "You can look for an exit if you wish. I need to track down those emeralds..." she insisted. "Why don't we split up, then?" Silver recommended, "We could find the emeralds or the exit faster." he stated. Bolt grabbed Sonata's hand nervously. "S-split up?" he whimpered. "Good idea, cobber! I'll keep an eye on Blaze!" Marine announced. Capricorn shrugged and looked at Silver. "I guess I'm with you..." she murmured. As they split off into three groups, Sonata and Bolt nervously set out into one of those hallways together. It was dark, and spooky, and the fear Sonata was sensing from Bolt was making him uneasy as well. "Relax, relax, see? There's nothing to fear here. Look!" he said, approaching a statue of a Chaos Guardian. "It's just made of stone!" he said, tapping his knuckles against it while turning to give Bolt a cheery smile. The shelled creature's eyes widened and he started to stammer and point behind Sonata. "Hm? Oh dear..." the unicorn gulped, sensing that fear turning to terror. The statue was glowing behind him, and the stone dissolving away as the statue transformed into a real Chaos Guardian! As Bolt and Sonata saw it, their screams filled the basement, and Blaze could hear it...but she had her own problems. As Marine hid behind her, they found red-eyed demons resembling former agents of the Covenant of Despair! "Not sure what this is about...but they're in our way!" Blaze growled.
Silver and Capricorn had picked a much more peaceful path. To the point that Capricorn had time to get a bit lost in thought. "Ever since Bucky restored me to life... Memories of my old, pre-Zodiac life have been returning, bit by bit..." she stated thoughtfully. "That sounds like good news..." Silver murmured, keeping a steady eye on the path ahead. Capricorn scratched her head. "Weirdly, I still can't recall my real name. Just little things. A church... My father was rather religious, I think. I remember my mother, too... She was in the church choir, lovely singing voice. I remember hearing her sing Amazing Grace...very beautiful..." she sighed, eyes closed, "Their names escape me, too..." Silver glanced at her sympathetically, "You'll remember. Don't worry. But watch out now..." he warned, noting a Chaos Guardian floating down the hall toward them! It clutched the cyan Sol Emerald in its clutches, and its whole body glowed with its power! Capricorn stepped back. "You be careful, too, Silver!" she said. The guardian swung its free tendrils at Silver, leaving a gash in the wall when it missed him and struck it! Silver knew he couldn't grab the guardian itself with his powers. "Maybe I can..." he grunted, trying to tug the emerald from the creature's clutches with his psychokinesis instead! The guardian tugged back, giving Silver trouble, so Capricorn tossed a broken piece of the wall at the jellyfish to distract it! It released the emerald and reached its tendrils for her, but Silver lifted her out of the way with his powers, and with the Sol Emerald in hand, started to race down the hall with the ferret! "We need Bolt and Blaze back! It's no use fighting Chaos Guardians like this!" he shouted, hoping they'd find the others along their way...
Sonata and Bolt had it a bit worse, dealing with several Chaos Guardians chasing them through the hallway they had chosen. Fortunately, Bolt was capable of fighting back, and with Sonata there to kick his shell, he gave the guardians that surrounded them a good dose of shellshock, meaning his shell was electrified in this case. This seemed to work well enough until a guardian carrying the blue Sol Emerald arrived on the scene and caught Bolt's shell in its tentacles, squeezing him as he glowed with Sol energy! Bolt cried out in fear, unable to move in the jellyfish's grip! "H-help me, Sonny!" he wailed, but Sonata's path was blocked by additional Chaos Guardians, and there was little the empath could do against just one of them. "B-bolt... Please, you have to be the one to save me!" he pleaded, backing away as the guardians approached him. "I c-can't!" Bolt whimpered, eyes shut tight. "You can, Bolt! You are the one of us who is strong... I was only made to give strength to others, by helping them realize their truths..." the unicorn stated, gasping as the tendrils on the guardians started to lift him up! "B-bolt!! You can save me, y-you have to let go...let your power free!" he cried desperately. Bolt's eyes opened, and he saw his friend in mortal peril. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly expelled a powerful electric discharge from his body! "Noooo!! Sonataaaa!!" he screamed, grabbing the Sol Emerald as his shock stunned the guardian into dropping him! Landing on his feet, he charged the other guardians, electricity erupting from his body and jolting them into dropping Sonata! The guardians fled, and Bolt howled in rage and despair, throwing a tantrum as his friend lay on the floor. "Hush, hush, Bolt...don't you cry...Listen and I'll sing you a lullaby..." The sound of Sonata's soft, gentle voice caught Bolt's attention, and he sniffled as he started to calm down. "Y-you're hurt..." he mumbled. Sonata sat up slowly and shook his head. "You saved me..." he said with a sweet smile.
Blaze and Marine ducked into yet another side path in the maze of hallways in order to shake their demonic pursuers. What they found was a hall with a largely missing floor, possibly resulting from the Chaos Shrine being carelessly lifted and combined with Demon Island. Marine peered down to see red eyes peering up from the abyss. "I think I found where them drongos came from..." she murmured. Across the chasm, the sparkle of a green Sol Emerald caught their attention, resting on what remained of the floor on the other side. "Of course..." Blaze sighed, looking for a way across. There were stalagmites rising up from the chasm, pretty much the only environment she could use. But demonic bats were flying up from the abyss as well, dark reminders of Despairs former aerial troops! Blaze glanced at Marine. "Wait here, we're going to try another path...in a minute!" she said, leaping for the stalagmites and kicking off the tip to jump for the next one! The demon bats rose from the chasm and turned to chase her, but Marine caught some of their attention with a well-tossed rock! "Fair dinkum toss Captain Marine! Err... Now what?" the raccoon babbled, backing away nervously as the bats charged towards her! Blaze bounced off one of the bats before landing on the ledge and picking up the Sol Emerald. "That's two... Gah! Marine!!" she gasped, looking back to see her friend leading the demon bats in circles as she shouted in a panic. A fire started to flicker around Blaze like an aura of anger. "Leave her alone!" she shouted, leaping back into the air and kicking the demons down into the abyss as she bounced off of them, grabbing and swinging off the stalagmites as she made her way back to the other side! "Ha ha! Yer in for it now, mates!" Marine laughed as the angry Blaze approached.
Demon dogs and bears, other common Despair agents, were guarding the fifth Sol Emerald, the white one. Eggman Nega approached them in his Egg Mobile. "Away with you, beasts! That's mine!" he growled, a bit of frustration in his voice. The demons snarled at him, clearly not open to negotiation nor receptive to threats. Nega flipped some switches on his vehicle, and a sort of laser weapon popped out of either side of the Egg Mobile while a long arm snaked out of the bottom! The lasers pelted the demons, knocking them back while the arm extended out and reclaimed the Sol Emerald! "You can catch me off guard, but you won't outwit me! Those emeralds are as good as mine!" the doctor sneered. "Good luck getting this emerald from me!" Silver's voice caught Nega's attention, and he turned to see him and Capricorn approaching from one direction, the hedgehog casually holding the cyan emerald. "Silver! Whew, there you are!" Sonata's voice came from another direction, and he was carrying the blue emerald as Bolt followed behind him. "Big-stache! We gotcha surrounded! Surrender yer booty to Captain Marine!" the raccoon shouted next, talking like a pirate. She and Blaze were coming from yet a third direction, all the paths converging on this central chamber where a mural of Chaos decorated the back wall. The demons snarled and ran off into a fourth hall, leaving Eggman Nega alone with the group. "How good of you all to clean up after me." Nega snickered. Blaze folded her arms, looking quite unamused. "Unless you want us to tear your vehicle apart, you'd better give those back now!" she warned. Of course, Nega cooperating was about as likely as the demons cooperating.
Nega turned his lasers toward Blaze. "The creatures down here impeded my progress, but with a slight tweak to my weapons and this lovely purple Sol Emerald, I was able to turn the tables on them! How much more powerful will my lasers be with two emeralds, hm?" he snickered as the long arm attached to his vehicle lifted up to hand off the white emerald to the doctor. Blaze rolled her eyes. "All of this is just so you can harness the emeralds' power to run away..." she said. Nega growled a little. "Not just to run away! When I find a nice monster-free world, I'll use the power of the Sol Emeralds to conquer it! I will rule over every corner of the multiverse that I can get my hands on!" he declared. Marine pointed behind him. "Not if that thing gets ya!" she stammered. "Pah! The old 'look behind you' trick!" Nega scoffed. However, the Egg Mobile was suddenly grabbed by a pair of strong, black arms! As Eggman Nega yelped in alarm, his Egg Mobile was tossed aside, the Sol Emeralds dropping to the ground! Standing there was a red eyed creature resembling Chaos. "Ah! Oh no!" Silver gasped, "We're on Demon Island! The darkness here takes the form of demons, and those demons can take the shape of any dark soul that set foot here! Like...Shadow Chaos!" While Silver was busy explaining that, the demon Shadow Chaos had absorbed the two Sol Emeralds, becoming bigger and stronger! It then whipped its elastic arms around the room, snatching the other four emeralds, and transforming further! It became a large creature with a whiplike tail... Shadow Chaos 6! But it would be more accurate to refer to it as Demon Chaos. Blaze stood up from the creature's emerald-stealing attack and growled. "I don't care what this thing is! Cough up those emeralds! Right now!" she shouted, only getting roared at in response!
Demon Chaos whipped its tail at the group, and while Blaze dove under the tail attack, it whipped back up and struck the ceiling, causing a bit of a cave-in! The falling rocks fell toward the crashed Egg Mobile, forcing Nega to ditch it and take cover with Bolt and Sonata, all of them trapped behind the collapsed roof! "Strewth! There goes spike-head and the sea turtle!" Marine gasped. "We're fine! Watch yourselves!" Sonata shouted. Silver picked up a stray bit of rubble with his powers and tossed it at Demon Chaos, but the monster hopped out of the way like a frog, dodging the attack! "How do we get the emeralds out of that thing?" he wondered. That was a good question. "Well," Capricorn mused, "A creature like this was historically weak to ice. Too bad Pisces lost her powers, and her life..." she said, feeling useless. Blaze covered herself in fire. "This one's a creature of darkness...so I'll fight it with light! Pin it down, Silver!" she shouted, dodging the tail and giving chase to the hopping demon! Silver grabbed more of the rubble from the cave-in, moving it with his mind to try and block Demon Chaos' movement! "He's remarkably quick in this tight space...but he can't get away!" he growled. Soon, the demon was pinned between two floating boulders, and Blaze approached, burning brightly! The demon recoiled, snarling as it blindly whipped its tail at her! "Taking those emeralds was a mistake! You're gonna give them back...now!!" she cried, leaping into Demon Chaos! The onlookers gasped as Demon Chaos splattered, the black fluid seeming to surround Blaze! "No!" Silver yelped, afraid she'd be crushed by the blackness. Instead, a bright light burned through the dark, and Demon Chaos evaporated away, leaving Blaze holding the six Sol Emeralds in her arms!
With the tension fading, Marine knocked on the wall of rubble blocking them from Nega and the experiments. "Oy! You lot trying to dig out from that side?" she called. "The structure's integrity is insufficient. We could be crushed in another collapse." Nega stated. "...Does that mean I shouldn't dig them out?" Silver wondered. "We'll escort the doctor out of the shrine." Sonata told them. "Ruh-really?" Bolt stammered. They were kind of stuck together. It was unsafe to dig, and Nega's Egg Mobile was buried. "I'll need your brawn as much as you'll need my brains if we're to find an exit now." the scientist sighed, hating to admit it. Blaze nodded in Nega's general direction. "I guess there's no choice. Just remember, if we learn you harmed our friends, you'll have to answer to me, Eggman Nega!" she warned. Capricorn looked around on their side. "It's not like we know any way out either. Any ideas?" she asked. Marine snickered. "I'll lead us out! She'll be apples!" she smiled. Silver looked to Blaze, who seemed to have something on her mind. "What's up?" he asked. "I sense the last Sol Emerald... Somewhere deeper..." she murmured, starting toward the next hallway. Marine shuddered a bit. "Th-that emerald was eaten by a big nasty monster..." she recalled. Silver shared her worry. They'd barely escaped said monster the last time they met. However, Blaze continued onward, determination in her eyes. "I am the guardian... This is my duty..." she murmured. "You're more than just that to us, Blaze." Silver said, to which Marine nodded. She didn't acknowledge them, continuing onward, her single-minded hunt nearing its end. She knew success wouldn't bring her absolution...but her world was dead. What else was left?
Up above, Loscream strained his vines, trying to lift the rubble that had covered the Chaos Tailband chamber. "It's outta your tentacles, Luna." said Lospecter as he phased through the nearby wall. The large pumpkin tried to swat him with a vine. "What do you want??" he snarled. Lospecter knelt against the wall, yawning. "Boss man has me doin' everything on account of me having the Chaos Key. Old lord of the castle needs his minions, and you were the last one to see 'em, soooo... Where'd ya leave Despair, hm?" he asked. Loscream glanced at him, a sinister flicker of light in his carved eyes. "They DID try to flee from us..." he said darkly. Lospecter nodded. "Well, that about settles it. We're trading places. You can't get downstairs too easily anyway. Besides, you've a score to settle with the owner of the Chaos Claws..." the ghost said, lowering slowly towards the ground, "So, go help Howler get 'em back. I'd give the old wolf a joke name but I mean, Howler?? Ah ha ha ha..." he chuckled as he started sinking down through the floor. Loscream clenched his jagged pumpkin teeth, snarling. "The Chaos Claws... My claws, my curse... Yes, I'll take care of the fool who dares wear them..." he growled, turning and heading back down the hall towards the shrine's exit, past the Chaos Guardians. The Chaos Guardians rested scattered all over the hall, limp and lifeless, for even as powerful as they were, they were no match for Loscream. Nor had Despair been, nor had Dark Team GeneX. How then would Knuckles the echidna fare...?
To be continued...
