Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 57 - Apocalypse Part 2
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 Keyblade & other Kingdom Hearts elements are (c) Disney & Square-Enix.
Moogles are (c) Square-Enix.
Super Mario is (c) Nintendo
"Can you feel life, movin' through your mind?
Ooh, looks like it came back for more!
Can you feel time slippin' down your spine?
Oh, you try and try to ignore!
But you can hardly swallow
Your fears and pain!
When you can't help but follow,
It puts you right back where you came!
Live and learn!
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow!
Live and learn!
From the works of yesterday!
Live and learn!
If you beg or if you borrow!
Live and learn!
You may never find your way!" - Live and Learn, Sonic Adventure 2
Now, it was war. With Demon Island floating above a huge loop of Green Hill, Apocalos stood atop the loop, feeding energy from the Scepter of Despair into the island. This energy would somehow enable Demon Island to shatter the barriers protecting the Gaia Wellsprings, and then it would be game over. Although Sonic was able to knock the Chaos Key away from Lospecter, his lone Chaos Card summoned a capsule containing a complete set of Dark Chaos Relics collected from another world, and he used the Dark Key to summon the full army of the Lost Ones, a seemingly infinite force of evil. It seemed our heroes were finished, but then Lucky took up the Chaos Key, and combined it with the power of his Keyblade to follow the connections forged by his heart, and his friends' hearts, to open a multitude of portals and bring every possible ally to Green Hill! Every Experiment, every Rogue, every robot, Chao, Zeti, Freedom Fighter, friend and life-loving foe all united, ready to fight for the fate of their world...and every world!
As the battle was beginning, Sonic immediately shot like a blue bullet, taking off in pursuit of a showdown with Apocalos, while Knuckles reached out for him in a futile protest. "S-sonic! Sonic, wait!! We should gather the Chaos Emeralds! And the Chaos Relics!! Argh..." he groaned, turning to see Classic Sonic conveniently skidding to a halt beside him, Classic Tails flying up behind him. "You look troubled, Knuckles! Need a hand?" the younger Tails asked. Classic Sonic gestured to himself as if volunteering. So, Knuckles took off the Chaos Gauntlets and Claws, handing them to the shorter Sonic. "Try tracking down all the gold Relics like this. I'm gonna finish what I started and gather those Chaos Emeralds!" he said. Skye landed next to them and gasped at the sight of his father actually being smaller than him. "...Dad? Whoa, this other dimensions thing is nuts!" he babbled. Classic Tails nodded in agreement. "Yeah... Didn't expect to be called 'Dad' today. Hey, do you know anything about these?" he asked, pointing at the relics Classic Sonic was trying on. Skye nodded, and they were set. Meanwhile, the older Tails was being covered by Fera and Violet as he started backward, heading for the large Wispon cannons that rolled out from Resistance HQ. "Uncle Chuck's that way! Maybe if we, Professor Pickle and Rotor all put our heads together, we can come up with a good plan to end this!" he'd said. Fera glanced back at Skye, tilting her head. "Don't you want...to speak to him?" she asked. "He's not my Skye. We need to win this battle to bring him back for real!" Tails explained. Violet nodded. "Gotta make it safe for my niece to grow up, too!" she added.
Absolute chaos broke loose across Green Hill as soul-snatching spectres swarmed across the land to attack those still clinging to life. Among the many combatants were Sally Acorn, teamed up with Shade the echidna as they attempted to rejoin the Freedom Fighters. Without the Chaos Gauntlets, the duo were forced to resort to the Wispons that Rotor had left Sally with, Sally using the Burst and Shade using the Meteor to push back any possessed Egg Pawns that came at them, even as tentacles ripped off their arms and tried to use them as clubs! A larger robot loomed over them from behind, and Sally gulped. "Any ideas, Nicole?" she asked. "This is outside the scope of my program, Sally." the computer stated. However, before the giant robot could attack them, the voice of her father shouted out. "Rookies, rain fire!!" The large robot was toppled by a deluge of colorful blasts, and behind it, Max Acorn had led a squad of Resistance Rookies to their aid! Shade kept the focus on the Pawns in front of her while Sally waved tearfully to her father. "There'll be time for reunions later! Head in the game!" she shouted.
Chopper and Casey had each other's backs, the speedy half-cheetah, half-coyote leading losoars and lospirits into the path of the fox's Chaos Whirlwind! "Haha! Let's see our dads top that!" Casey laughed, nearly running right into the undead form of Ophiuchus, who was leading Aquarius the albatross and Pisces the shark into battle. "None of you were meant to exist!" the snake snarled in a gurgled voice, grabbing Casey's wrist! "Poppration!!" Chopper shouted, producing a wand to cast a firework spell in the Lost One's faces, causing them to drop Casey in their surprise, enabling them to run to fight another day! "Freeze them! Drown them! Do something you useless peons!" Ophi shouted, setting Aquarius and Pisces loose!
Amy, Cream and Big were teamed up, swatting losharks back into the water as Big fished them out. "Is this even useful?" Amy asked. "We need to make the water safe for Froggy!" Big stated, struggling to pull up his next catch. "Looks like a big one, huh, Cheese?" Cream observed. Indeed, Big pulled out a monstrous blue kraken with watery tentacles and glowing eyes! It was Nova, still able to transform as a Lost One! Amy tried to strike him with her hammer, but he grabbed the hammer in his tentacles! "Gyaaah!! Help!!" she shouted as Cream rushed to her side, trying to help her pull back! Suddenly, a black robot leapt into the kraken, performing a powerful drill kick to splatter the creature into a watery mess! The robot landed on the other side of the river, and Cream recognized him immediately. "Gemerl! B-but you're supposed to be with..." she turned to see her mother in the thick of the battle, commanding a familiar Chao, Chocola, in much the way Cream would command Cheese! "Stay away from my little girl, you brutes!!" she shouted, directing Chocola to smack away some possessed robots! Amy's mouth hung open a moment. "Wow, Cream... I gotta say, I underestimated your mom!" she murmured, as Cream giggled. "Right! Let's do our best, too, Cheese!" she vowed.
One might wonder why a demigod like 2BIT didn't just use his powers to obliterate the evil in two seconds flat. "Lost my powers in my own story's conclusion... I did bring this, though!" he said directly to you, holding up a hand with a different glove on it. The glove was mostly red, but there was a blue orb attached to the back of the hand. "The Infinity--" Gator started to say, only for 2BIT to shush him. "It's the Byte Power-Glove. Don't get another copyright stuffed into the intro here! Now, all I gotta do is snap my fingers..." And so he attempted. "Flwip, flwip, flwap..." Gator watched him, looking bored. "Is something supposed to happen?" he asked. A voice laughed at them from close by. "My idiot brother! Did you forget? You can't snap! None of us know how because you don't!" There stood 8BIT, smirking and holding up a hand clothed in an identical Power-Glove! "I can make this work for me, though, I think!" he sneered. Gator sighed. "We're not gonna have time to finish this here, I guess. Sorry, squad! We showed up for nothing!" he shouted, making the rest of BIT Squad groan. But in actuality, they would be dealing with 8BIT and any additional forces he brought with him...
Dave the Intern really, really didn't feel cut out for this. He slipped away from Chief Paynson and found his way to a cavern in one of Green Hill's many mountainous cliffs, thinking he'd be safe there. However, slimy koalas brought over from the Sol Dimension ended up finding and surrounding him, and he shakily pointed the gun Paynson had given him around as they approached. "G-go away! I don't care if your burgers had too many pickles, I'm not the manager anymore!" he stammered, longing for simpler times. When it seemed he's be consumed by zombie koalas, a boomerang suddenly whipped around the area, knocking them all back! A badger caught the boomerang, and she hissed at the koalas angrily. "Go 'way, flesh-eating aliens from Australia! Ya won't find my burrow!" the badger, Sticks, shouted. Dave sighed in relief. "Thanks, ma'am..." he murmured. "GAH! Gun!!" she shrieked, throwing her boomerang at Dave next. She was a little out of the loop with what was going on...
Yacker tried to lead his people to aid the weaker combatants by transforming them, but it wasn't going well. Those without adventuring experience weren't good at controlling Wisp powers. Omochao was left dizzy after trying to use a laser Wisp. "Aaaah, I'm not cut out for being the hero..." the robot whined. Both he and Yacker yelped as the slimy form of Taurus of the Zodiac Council towered over them, sparks flying from his horns. Yacker hid behind Omochao, who shouted in protest. Then, who of all people but Mario should drop in between them and the bull! "Heee-ya!!" the plumber cried, tossing fireballs at Taurus, only to seem to enrage him! However, Yacker seemed to give a whistle, and a fiery red Wisp flew to Mario, who shouted in alarm as it flew into his body! He transformed into a burning red fireball with a mustache, and he Burst towards Taurus, knocking the bull into the distance before Mario and the Wisp separated! He looked dizzy for a moment, but then Mario gave the Wisp a thumb's up. "Way to go!" he smiled.
Kosmo and Carrie found themselves coming face-to-faces with Darkosmo's Hydra form, "Hydrasmo." It snarled mindlessly at them, not having been left enough brains for its three heads after falling into the vat in Chemical Plant. "I always wondered if I could have extra heads. Guess it's not worth trying!" Kosmo shouted, sprouting wings to fly out of the way as his dark self spewed blue flames at him! Carrie dove out of the way, but Hydrasmo cornered her with his three whiplike tails, trying to grab her up with them! "Yaah! Get off! Gross!" she shouted, noting how slimy the creature was. Starr leapt in to slice off the tail grabbing her with her arm transformed into a blade! "Careful there, lady!" she shouted, waving to Kosmo, "Hi, err... mom??!" she babbled, seeming confused. Kosmo also looked confused as he glanced her way. "You just call me mom?? The heck?! Who's dad, then?!" he stammered. As Hydrasmo turned to blow fire at Starr and Carrie, she grabbed up the mirage, acting fast. "Chaos Control!" she shouted, suddenly vanishing as Kosmo flapped his wings in the air, staring dumbfoundedly. "Alternate dimensions are stupid, and I never want to talk about them again." he grumbled, not wanting to think about the implications.
Knuckles knew where to find some of the Chaos Emeralds, and he raced to locate Rouge the Bat as quickly as he could. He had to climb a bit to reach the clifftop where she, Shadow and Omega were taking on Mephiles and his band of remaining LoShadows. "It's time this chapter of Gerald's research came to an end! Chaos Blast!!" Shadow shouted, crumbling a ledge with his explosive attack as he tried to take down some of the spirits! Rouge was busy getting chased by Mephiles when Knuckles arrived. "Hurry, toss me those emeralds you have, Rouge!!" he called out. The bat growled. "Kinda busy right now!" she complained as Mephiles cackled. Omega was aiming at the Dark, but suddenly turned around. "Eggman! Don't think I won't blow you out of the sky!" he declared. The doctor was approaching via Egg Mobile, Orbot and Cubot clinging to the side. "Wait, hold your fire!" Orbot shouted. "Let us get down first!" Cubot added. Knuckles rubbed his head in irritation. "Great, more trouble..." he sighed. Eggman pulled a switch, firing a rocket from the front of his Egg Mobile that chased down Mephiles and blew him out of the sky, at least for the moment. "That oughta give us breathing room to talk!" he grinned.
Shadow and Rouge were willing to hand over their emeralds to Knuckles for the greater good, bringing his total already up to six, but Eggman was quick to ask for them, which was met with more skepticism. "You were working WITH the Lost Ones, doctor. Don't think firing on Mephiles will make us forget that." Shadow scoffed. Eggman tugged his collar. He knew he had an uphill battle to convince them. "I thought I could take advantage of them. But for once in my genius life, I was wrong..." he murmured. "Once??" Cubot said with shock, earning himself a slap. "Once! But I've seen what it looks like when I actually DO succeed, finally, and... Maybe I don't want to do this anymore. Maybe it's time to retire!" he stated. Omega aimed his guns at the doctor to illustrate how much he believed him, and Rouge scoffed. "Retiring with the Chaos Emeralds? Good one, doc." she yawned. Knuckles clenched his fists. "We don't have time for your games, Eggman!" he snarled. The doctor clasped his hands together desperately. "Don't trust me, fine! But the plan I'm enacting isn't mine! It...it's Bucky's plan. His final message, left on my computer when he contacted my base! All his plan needs is the Chaos Emeralds... A particular Experiment... And the Chaos Key to bring us where it all comes together." he said. They all glanced at one another, and Knuckles sighed. "I hold the Chaos Emeralds until we're ready!" he told the doctor. Eggman leaned forward to shake his hand. "Very well, old friend... But you better deliver the goods if you want to see the best ending here!" he urged him.
Meanwhile, Classic Sonic was speeding about with Skye and Classic Tails following, trying to locate the Chaos Relics in this mess. They dashed past Spiny and Zeke as they were being surrounded by corrupted Covenant of Despair agents, led by a skeletal Basker, easily identified by his still red eyes. "Picking a fight with us is a mistake. We're not like you losers who got eaten who knows how long ago!" Spiny warned. "RAWR!! Let's see if I can swarm 'em with Heartless!" Zeke suggested. However, Basker raised a bony hand toward the dragon. "No... I shall manipulate YOUR darkness! Come forth, Xezek!" he shouted. Zeke snarled, grabbing his head as Basker's fear-power took hold, his body starting to turn black with darkness! "Oh, damn..." Spiny gulped. However, before the Lost Ones could swarm them, Raven dropped down and grabbed their arms. "I won't let Xezek down again! So long, suckers!" she shouted, teleporting the trio away! Basker looked around. "They can't be far... Find them!" he shouted. "Spear Storm!!" Spiny shouted from behind, raining Chaos Spears down on them while Raven tended to Xezek. "Hey, tame that fear... We've got bigger fish to fry... Snap out of it!" she yelled, slapping him! Xezek rubbed his cheek and grunted. "Zeke and I both agree... Don't do that again." he groaned.
Classic Amy was trying to catch up to her Sonic again, but he was a man on a mission and catching up wouldn't be easy. "How could he even bring me to such a dangerous place?" she whimpered. "Are you lost, little girl?" a booming voice asked. Classic Amy looked and shrieked as she saw Loscream slinking towards her, aiming to grab her in his vines! She shakily clutched her hammer to defend herself, but her fear put her at a disadvantage. "Awooo!!" fortunately, Sonic the Werehog's stretchy arms reached out and grabbed those vines, helping to launch him into a kick to send that pumpkin rolling away! "Loscream! Hah! I'm more than ready for YOU!" he shouted in a gruff voice. Classic Amy stared in awe at him. "Oh, my... Sonic, when did you get so big and strong??" she asked in a dreamy voice. A burst of magic struck the ground and a cackle caught their attention as they looked up to see Tabitha. "A feral beast, how quaint!" she laughed. The Nightmare Zone's Sonic growled. "Graa! I shoulda known you'd be back again, Tabby!" he shouted. The Lost Witch cackled again. "Call me Tess... I don't know you as you know me as I hail from another realm, but never mind. I'll crush you in my other self's name!" she proclaimed as Loscream rolled back over to join them! Classic Amy clutched her hammer tightly. "Okay, Sonic... Let's do this!" she cried. "Try not to die like my Amy..." Were-Sonic said anxiously.
Winston had been forced to land the Galestrom, as Apocalos himself had sent lightning to keep the ship from using its weapons to aid the battle. Upon trying to leave the ship, though, the moogle and Miles found Losohst Knights arriving to greet them! These powerful spirits carried burning blades, and Miles could only block their strikes with his shield! "Maybe we should wait inside, kupo!" Winston stammered. "I can't leave Lucky out there like this!" Miles shouted. "Hang oooon!!" came a voice that drew the knight to turn, their blades rising to block the two Keyblades of Lucky Junior as he arrived on the scene! "You leave him alone! He's family!!" Junior shouted, clashing blades with the knights as Minnie appeared next to Miles and Winston. "Everybody off!" she giggled, warping the duo off the ship as Pepper arrived, brandishing a wand like her mother! "Thunder!!" she cried, zapping the knights to give Junior an opening to strike! They collapsed into inert slime, and Miles looked at them with a smile. "Glad to know that even worlds apart, we still stay a family." he said. Winston pointed frantically as more Lost Ones approached, so Miles prepped his shield. "Alright, let's show these kids how it's done!" he grinned.
Classic Sonic finally found some Chaos Relics as he came upon Conan and Emily, the raccoon flying the squirrel in his arms with the Chaos Wing while she rained magical attacks down on loskulls and losolanturns using the Chaos Cards. "Hey! We need those!" shouted Classic Tails, trying to catch their attention. Skye decided to clear the way a bit by firing a futuristic laser that either vaporized the Lost Ones or made them fly off somewhere else. With space to land, Conan dropped down close to the hedgehog and foxes. "You want my relics? You want to take Chaos Relics from Conan, Master of Chaos!?" he stammered. Emily looked at him sternly. "They're trying to save the world..." she pointed out. He clasped her hand in his. "But you're my world. How can I leave you defenseless?" he asked. Skye glanced at his laser. "Err, well... You can give her this?" he offered. Classic Sonic was tapping his feet impatiently, and as he did, a losol golem leapt up behind him, so he swiftly sped back around it, swiping its body with the Chaos Claws until it collapsed into an inert heap! Conan could tell that any version of Sonic was infinitely more qualified than him, so he sighed and took the cape and cards, handing them off to Classic Tails. "Each card can summon something. The longer the card is part of the deck, the stronger its power. Once used, a card returns to the bottom of the deck and starts charging... Once fully charged, it no longer requires the deck for power." he explained before starting to explain the Chaos Wing, which made Classic Sonic yawn, but at least they were making progress.
In the midst of all the struggles, Sonic clashed with Apocalos atop the loop, hoping to stop his ceremony with the Scepter of Despair before it was too late. As Sonic dashed about, the villain hurled bolts of lightning while freezing the floor with icy winds, controlling the very elements to keep Sonic at bay! "You have no power against me, and no power to stop what has begun!" he shouted, grasping a lightning bolt in his hand and swinging it at Sonic, who leapt up high and launched an attack straight at the floating scepter, only to be repelled by a shield of dark energy! "Unhh!! Nice setup you got here, but we're all united now! You think you can stop all of us from tearing your plans down?!" Sonic said defiantly as he stood back up fast. Apocalos sneered, and he snapped his fingers, seemingly able to command Lospecter from afar. A portal from the Dark Key opened, and all of the Dark Relics were tossed through it at his feet, key included. "Have fun, boss..." Lospecter snickered as the portal faded. Apocalos bent down and picked up the Dark Sword, swinging it out to the side. "This is all I require... My own blade, perfected! Run to me and die, hedgehog! I will tear you soul from limb, and scatter the remnants to the winds!!" He then slashed the sword towards Sonic, lightning erupting from the blade and arcing across their high perch! Sonic did his best to evade it, but his quills did get a bit singed along the way! However, he couldn't turn back. "Just stay right there... I'm comin' for ya, Apoca-loser!!"
Knuckles was hot on the trail of that final Chaos Emerald. He, along with Punchy, were frantically chasing Alpha through Green Hill Zone, trying to persuade him to allow them to open him up and take the emerald. Their chase took them past Loskeletor, whose eye-holes burned in preparation to fire his beams at them. However, some energy blasts pelted his skull, and he turned to see Guard flying toward him, with Heather following. "Grrr! What cowardly tactics are you using now, bone-head!" the gargoyle growled. Loskeletor fired his beam-eyes up at Guard, and Heather tried to retaliate with her flame only to get shot in the shoulder by another laser! Looking, she saw a second skeleton with an attached gun-arm. He wailed in agony, his voice familiar. "Freaks...freaks...die!!" Heather gasped at the realization of who it was. "G-gunner? Stress has REALLY gotten to ya!" she stammered, running out of the way of his next shot as Guard landed close by. "Grrr! So, boss... I see you've become the very thing you swore to destroy!" he mocked. Loskeletor's beam cut between Guard and Heather, forcing them apart! "Ahh, every tragic story needs lovers, their hearts torn asunder! Allow me to pen your final act!" the articulate skeleton sneered. Heather glanced back briefly at where Knuckles at Punchy had gone. "Good luck..." she sighed.
"Outta the waaay!!" Punchy leapt up high, and kicked off Nack the weasel's head as he passed by, knocking off his hat! He grabbed for it quickly, growling. "I oughta pop ya while yer back is turned!!" he shouted, pointing a gun toward the echidna. However, Bark nervously tapped his shoulder. "Wat??" he growled, glancing where the polar bear was looking. Lospides were charging towards them, and even seemed to have Bean caught in a web! "Haaalp! My best strategy is to kaboom myself!!" the duck screeched! Bark whimpered, hiding behind Nack, who palmed his face and snarled. "You goons are like CHILDREN!! I gotta do it all fer ya!? Fine, then!! Take dat!!" he shouted, shooting bullets at the webbing to tear it up, which caused Bean to fall loose and drop a few of his bombs on the way down. "Ohhhh no!!" he cried, explosions scattering the slimy spiders as he landed among the blasts! Bark dashed into the smoke cloud to check on his friend, and found a blackened duck coughing and groaning. "Gee, thanks, Nack..." he moaned. The weasel reloaded and aimed for the next closest Lost One. "Get it together! There's worse than spiders out here!" he yelled, making the nervous Bark gulp.
Knuckles glided right over a goofy-looking trap set up by Clucky and Burrowbot, and the two robots started arguing. "I told you this dumb trap won't catch anything, much less Sonic!" Clucky squawked. "Shows what you know! There's like, six Sonics out here! We're bound to finally catch one!" Burrowbot protested. "Meowr!! You're supposed to be fighting monsters, you twits!" shouted Firepaw as he marched over to them, arms folded. "Alright, alright, we're goin!" Clucky groaned. However, they didn't move. "Mewr? When were you plannin' on going?" Firepaw asked. Suddenly, the slimy form of Cancer the vulture emerged from behind a tree, and with his eyes glowing menacingly, he commanded Clucky and Burrowbot to turn on Firepaw! "Strange, my techno-powers can't control you... You've a soul of your own... Tasty..." the vulture grinned, marching toward Firepaw with his allies. Firepaw bared his claws. "Meowr!! G-guys, cut it out! I don't wanna take you apart!" he stammered. Seeing him in trouble, Libra stepped in, the fennec pointing defiantly at Cancer. "You made a big mistake a couple years back... You made me the Deathbringer!!" she shouted, firing a blast of dark energy that knocked Clucky and Burrowbot into scattered pieces! "Hey! Not them, him!!" Firepaw shouted. Libra chuckled awkwardly. "Forgot, Ophiuchus took back my Deathbringer power. I just have dark magic now!" she admitted. Cancer raised his wings toward them, and Firepaw hid behind her. "Well, dark him up, then!!" he shouted. "And put us back together..." Burrowbot whined. "Some help you robots are..." Libra grumbled.
Since Punchy was occupied, this left Rainbow on her own for now, and she quickly ran into an old foe, Corky the frog, who as usual tried to grab her with his long tongue! "Uny 'asht 'ords?!" he shouted as he lashed his tongue at her! Rainbow held out her hands towards him with an angry look on her face. "Go 'way, Hopper!" she shouted, knocking Corky back with her shockwave-based power, cheering that she'd been able to make it work. "Yeah! I'm gettin' the hang of this!" she smiled. However, black mummies suddenly clawed up from the ground, surrounding her as the skeletal remains of Anubis approached, cloaked in fire! "Scream for me... Bring the other echidnas..." he growled. "Mom! Stay put right there!" shouted Aurora, dashing toward the group of undead creatures! Flying alongside her was an odd, dark blue Wisp with its tendrils in the shape of an X. It was known as Experiment 626, the last of all the GeneX Experiments in her alternate universe. 626 flew into Aurora's body, and she transformed into an arching "ChaosBolt," a powerful form that typically would hone in on Chaos energy, but it worked well enough as a wild, charging attack! It tore around the area, ripping the mummies to shredded black confetti, and broke Anubis into a busted pile of bones before 626 popped out of Aurora and dropped her next to Rainbow! She dropped dizzily into her mother's arms. "Yaaa! Don't use up all your energy bein' a show off!" she babbled. "C-can't watch you die in this world, like in mine..." Aurora sniffled, hugging her.
Alpha was still evading Knuckles and Punchy, and Char wasn't exactly helping. "Nya nya, you can't catch us, knuckleheads!" the Chao teased. Alpha shot some loskulls out of the way as he flew, keeping low to the ground. "I don't wanna play with them anymore! I want to play in traffic!" the robot babbled. Knuckles groaned and turned to Punchy. "We need to corner him somehow!" he told him. "I'm open to ideas! All the monsters around are kind of a distraction!" Punchy grunted. Alpha was laughing, seeming like he'd never be caught, but suddenly, Terra stomped into his path and heaved a heavy punch at him, knocking Alpha to the ground! Terra glanced at Punchy as he approached. "You spared my metal life... Consider my debt repaid." he said, Punchy nodding in reply as Knuckles pried open Alpha's chest compartment to find the two identical emeralds. "H-hey! Don't touch me! Nothing gives you that right!" Alpha babbled. "Sorry, but you got the last, uhh... Emeralds?" Knuckles murmured, lifting both emeralds at once. Without Skye's knowledge of how to contain them, the duplicate quickly blinked out of existence, leaving just seven Chaos Emeralds on the timeline. "Okay, I'm not questioning that..." he mumbled, closing Alpha's chest while Char flew up to kick him. "Why are you being mean to Alphie!? There's monsters to pick on!" he shouted. Punchy helped Alpha to his feet and groaned. "I dunno, maybe the Chaos Emerald?" he pointed out. Knuckles nodded. "Come on, Char. You can help me find Eggman again." he stated. Char pouted, but Alpha jumped excitedly. "Egg Salad! Where is he? I'm hangry!!" he babbled.
Tails, Fera and Violet were heading for the Wisp-cannons brought in from Resistance HQ, behind which a gathering of the greatest minds on the battlefield was organizing. This meeting needed protection, as Lost Ones were swarming around those cannons. While Fera and Violet used their dark power to try and cut a path through the losol for Tails, they passed by Mighty and Ray, busily keeping the Lost form of Dark Spiny at bay. The flying squirrel flew circles around him as he tried to strike with his dark version of Chaos Spears. "Ha! Missed! Missed again! Hey, are those bite marks all over you??" Ray babbled. Dark Spiny snarled. "My fault for not simply surrendering to the Lost Ones... And there'll be holes in you, as well!" he shouted, only for Mighty to roll into him while he was distracted, knocking him over! "Just try it! You can't poke holes in my tough shell!" he taunted as he uncurled. Dark Spiny stood back up, snarling like a beast. "We'll melt you down, then!" he shouted, his body erupting in blue fire! Mighty and Ray both backed up with a simultaneous gulp. "This looks like a job for the cannons!" Ray declared, starting to run off. "Right behind ya!" Mighty added.
Patch and Daisy were covering the other side of the area to defend the cannons, and found themselves faced with old friends, Simon the gecko and Mitch the weasel. Both had guns firing slime-covered bullets, trying to infect them with lethal force. Daisy did her best to dodge, using her katana to deflect bullets as needed, while the much more agile Patch leapt about, keeping Mitch plenty occupied trying to shoot him. "I thought we saw the last of both of you in the jungle!" the skunk shouted, taking advantage of Simon running out of bullets to charge in and slash at the gecko! He quickly started to heal, smirking at her. "As long as Apocalos exists, we cannot die..." he told her. Patch was busy trying to pull his bladed nunchuck out of Mitch's skull as he heard this. "Hee...hee? We need weapon upgrades, Daisy..." he whimpered, abandoning his nunchucks as Mitch tried to shoot him, leaping off the weasel just in time! "Agh, you always was a major headache, Patch!" Mitch groaned, pulling the blade out of his head. The effort to defend the cannons wasn't going well.
Antoine, Bunnie and Dulcy were the ones manning the Wispon cannons. They were essentially large Wispons that could fire powerful blasts of Hyper-go-on energy. It took careful aim to avoid striking any allies, but the trio were blasting Lost Ones in waves, knocking out slithering loslime swarms, vaporizing small squads of loskel, and even taking out a huge Lospirit Lord. "Haha! I am liking this cannon too much! Be saying bonjour to mon petit friend!!" Antoine laughed, feeling in control for once. "Don't get too cocky, sugar! Look, there's a guy chasin' Mighty an' Ray!" Bunnie pointed out. "Oui! I shall be covering their tails!" Antoine grinned, yelping as he saw a losoar bat land on his cannon. "I got it, Tony!" Dulcy said, blowing fire at the slimy bat to chase it off. The dragon was busy covering the sky, but it wasn't easy keeping the occasional critter from getting through. "Just don't look up..." she said to Antoine as she focused her flame on the losoars, lospirits and losolanterns above...
Tails finally reached Uncle Chuck, who was also met by Rotor and Professor Pickle, both having braved quite a bit to get there. Even Dr. Nammad was with them. "What the heck are YOU doing here?" Fera snarled to Nammad. "Well, uh, it was here or that, uh, island..." he said, pointing to Demon Island. "Good lord, you look awful, Tails! Are you certain you don't need rest?" Pickle asked. He shook his head. "Not 'till we got a plan. Figure anything out?" he asked. Uncle Chuck nodded. "We thought Tikal's barrier for the Gaia Wellsprings was fading, but in actuality the spell was settling. It was going to make the wellsprings immune to the Lost Ones' power..." he began. Rotor had a grim look. "But it seems to us like the Lost Ones have found a way to enhance their power, and beat any immunity. When that ceremony up there finishes, well... I don't think we wanna know what happens next." he said. "It's uh, very simple..." Nammad sniffed, "Our best solution is the, uh, Chaos Relics." he suggested. Violet nodded. "Yeah, what would happen if someone got all of them?" she asked. Professor Pickle rubbed his chin. "Well, no one's ever used all of them before. I'd surmise... That person would become...legend." he stated. Tails' ears drooped. "And if the Lost Ones have their own Dark Chaos Relics?" he murmured. Uncle Chuck frowned. "...Then Chaos help us all." he said. "Not necessarily..." Pickle mused, "No one knows the proper way to use all the Relics together. Through the proper distribution of power, our relics might be able to defeat theirs..." All of it was just theories and long-shots, not an actual plan. Fera sighed. "Tails... These Tailbands are needed there, not here." she pointed out. Tails glanced at her and nodded. "You're right... We belong in the fight! Good bye, guys! And good luck!" he said, heading off with Fera and Violet again. Chuck, Pickle and Rotor waved farewell. "Godspeed, Tails!" Pickle said. "We should probably fall back to GUN... We can't hold this position." Chuck sighed.
Lucky and Whisk had joined Vortex, Zipp and Crash, forming up around Gideon as various Lost Ones tried to seize upon the pure GeneX creature. "Blizzaga!!" Whisk shouted, freezing several slimy creatures solid as Crash charged through the area, smashing the ice into pieces with his horn! "Gahh!! I'm gettin' gunk on my hat!" he groaned, examining his bowler a moment as Zipp buzzed next to him, shooting up some lostalkers as they staggered towards them. "C'mon, stay dead, ya corpse!!" the hornet shouted. Vortex and Lucky stood back to back, the chameleon blasting approaching loskel with his Chaos powers while Lucky slashed them to bits with his Keyblade! "I sssee what Whisssk ssseesss in you, now..." Vortex hissed. "Uhh... Thanks?" Lucky murmured. Eggman arrived on the scene and fired some missiles among the Lost Ones, giving the Experiments some breathing room. "Hey, key cat! I need a ride back to my tower! And I'm also going to need...you!" he said, pointing at Gideon. "Me? I have no value for your machines." it told him. Just then, Alpha came zooming by, screaming in a crazed fashion as Knuckles followed after him. "There ya are, doc! I got the emeralds, so what's the plan?!" he shouted. "Aw, Knuckles, no..." Lucky whimpered. Knuckles did have quite the reputation with Eggman, everyone pretty much knew. The doctor let out a frustrated sigh. "I need Experiment 20 to put Bucky's cure to work! Can I get some cooperation!?" he shouted. The Experiments glanced at each other, and Lucky tossed the Chaos Key to Knuckles. "I don't know his tower." he sighed. Knuckles nodded, and pointed the key, opening a portal to Darkegg Fortress. "Doggone it, leave me be!" Hoover's voice could be heard inside. Orbot and Cubot were quick to hop off the Egg Mobile and head in, followed by Alpha. While Char considered whether or not to follow, Metal Sonic ran up. "You summoned me, doctor? This better be good..." the disillusioned robot grunted. "Oh, you'll love it, Metal. Anyone else coming along?" Eggman asked. Gideon started toward the portal, and Vortex took its arm. "Hold on... I'm going with you. I'll keep you ssssafe." he stated. Knuckles handed them the Chaos Emeralds, planning to stay. "I belong in the fight!" he smirked. As the group was entering the portal, Eggman turned to Char. "I want you along, too... I've a job for you. One last job." he said. Char hesitated. "You're a jerk..." he murmured, "I'm going to watch over Alphie!" he huffed, flying in after the robot. Eggman shrugged, and at last returned to his tower. "Hopefully the Doomsday Protocol actually works..." he murmured, anxiously rubbing his bald head.
To be continued...
