GeneX - Soleanna Struggle
Chapter 7 - Back To The Past
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"It's the price of being aware,
But too afraid it all might die,
Some things, they never mend,
I know I'm never the same again." - Worth A Chance, Sonic and the Secret Rings
Soleanna's future was no brighter than Angel Island's. The once abundant water was now almost entirely replaced with lava. Everything lay in ruins; several of the buildings had even been toppled. It truly looked as though Hell had risen to the surface. "This... is our future?" Punchy said to himself as he, Rainbow, and Gemini searched around for any sign of a Chaos Emerald in the ruined city. "How did this happen? Was it Eggman's doing?" he asked Gemini, who was the only one among them who might know. "I wouldn't doubt that Eggman probably had something to do with it, but few know for sure how Iblis came to be." Gemini answered. Rainbow seemed strangely unaffected by the change in scenery. She was skipping along ahead of them, humming a tune she'd heard an accordion playing back at Soleanna. They had climbed to the top of a building that was partially knocked over. What was left of the building was leaning against a large rock formation, which almost resembled steps leading back down to another road. As Gemini reached the top, she gazed out into the distance, then let out a shocked gasp! Somewhat far from where they were, on a large rock platform in the middle of the lava ocean, Silver and Blaze were fighting with Iblis! Punchy, Gemini, and Rainbow stopped at this point to watch the battle. Silver was making sure Iblis never got much of an opening, keeping Iblis at bay by tossing several chunks of debris at the monster's head using his telekinetic powers. It wasn't long before the fight was over, and Iblis was defeated. Silver, however, seemed oddly unhappy. "You see, even though Silver is powerful enough to defeat Iblis, we can never attain true victory, because Iblis simply rises from its ashes over and over." Gemini explained, "No one's ever been able to find a way to destroy Iblis once and for all... Most of us alive now were born into this nightmare..." Rainbow pointed at someone who had appeared nearby Silver. "Hey, who's that? He looks like Shade!" she said. "Huh? I've never seen him before..." Gemini muttered. It seemed the mysterious figure had said something that Silver found interesting, based on his reactions. However, they were too far away to hear anything. "We should try to catch up to them. At any rate, Silver would probably help us." Gemini suggested. Rainbow now pointed down the rocky "steps" before them. "No need, there's a gem!" she said. Sure enough, a shiny green Chaos Emerald was waiting just a bit further ahead of them! Excited, the three of them quickly, but carefully, climbed down the rocky steps to where the emerald was waiting.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be as easy as they'd hoped. As they reached the bottom of the steps and walked onto the ruined street where the emerald was located, a swarm of lizard like lava monsters jumped out the windows of the surrounding buildings and landed around the emerald! Gemini readied her wand. "Watch out! I almost forgot about those things! No one's sure what they are, but they seem to work for Iblis. They look too hot to touch, but if you strike them quickly, you won't burn... much." she said. Rainbow backed away from the monsters. "I don't like burning... I better find a way to fight 'em without touching 'em!" she said, looking around for something to use as a weapon. Punchy was first to attack them, using his fists to begin beating them up. "Yow! They are kinda hot! They must've just come out of the lava!" he shouted. Soon, the monsters surrounded him. "Uhhh... Girls? Little help?" he said, realizing there were too many of them for him to fight this close. "Blastrotall!!" Gemini shouted. This was the spell to fire the wand blasts (last used in chapter 5), and it worked immediately, blasting a few of the monsters surrounding Punchy. With the way clear, Punchy retreated to where Gemini was standing. He then turned to the monsters. "If I can't fight them directly, then there's only one other way!" he declared. "Chaos Avalanche!" Using his chaos power, Punchy lifted several pieces of debris scattered around the area, while Gemini held the monsters back with her wand's blasts. In a moment, Punchy had hurled the debris at the swarm of monsters, knocking most of them to their deaths! Gemini picked off the remaining monsters with her wand. Just then, Rainbow returned from inside a nearby building, holding what appeared to have once been a flag pole. "OK, I'm ready to fight! Where's the baddies, One?" she said with enthusiasm. Punchy groaned with annoyance at her late arrival. Gemini looked around the immediate area. "Seems we've beaten them... for now." she said. Hearing this, Rainbow tossed aside the flag pole. "That was easy. So, where's the gem?" she asked. They all turned their attention to the green emerald, but before any of them could grab it, a familiar bat girl swooped by and snatched it! "Rouge!? What are you doing here?!" Punchy shouted, "Aw, never mind! We saw that Chaos Emerald first! Give it back!" Rouge was hovering in the air in front of Punchy, winking at him. "Yeah, thanks for dealing with those monsters. Saved me a lot of time. I'd love to stay and chat with you, greenie, but we need this emerald. See ya later! Or should that be earlier...?" Without another word, Rouge began flying away! Punchy wasn't about to let her get away with this, though. He tore off after her, running faster than he'd ever gone before! They might have been at a dead end, but there were rock formations jutting out of the ocean of lava that Punchy could use to chase Rouge. The bat girl landed on the next large landmass, and then ran into an old building. Punchy was close behind, but beginning to tire. Hopefully, he'd be able to corner her inside the building.
Gemini and Rainbow had attempted to follow them, but they had taken off so suddenly and so quickly, that the two of them were soon out of sight. That didn't stop them from attempting to follow, though, and soon they reached the landmass with the building Punchy had chased Rouge into. Unfortunately, they didn't know Punchy had gone inside, so they continued walking down the ruined street. Rather than finding Punchy, Gemini soon spotted another familiar face! It was the silver colored morph, Ozzie! Gemini called out to him, then ran over, followed by Rainbow. "I can't believe it! You're alive!" Gemini said, giving him a big hug. "Whoa! Take it easy, dead girl!" Ozzie replied, lightly shoving her away. Gemini wiped some tears from her eyes. She had been certain all her friends had died back at Onyx Island. "Did you just say 'dead girl?'" Rainbow asked. Ozzie smiled sheepishly. "Well, when you disappeared, everyone presumed you'd bought the farm. Except Father Leo. Where ya been?" he asked. Gemini happily explained. "I ended up using the Time Stone. That's how I met Rainbow, here. I was looking for a way to stop the Lost Ones before they could take over Onyx Island, and possibly stop Iblis, too. We wound up in some strange machine, and then we were transported back here. We're trying to find a way to get Rainbow and her friend, Punchy back home. We lost track of Punchy when he started chasing a Chaos Emerald. You didn't see a green echidna or a bat girl go by here, did you?" Ozzie took a moment to process everything Gemini told him. "Lots to take in. Um, I didn't see anyone weird go by here, but you need help. Why not ask Father Leo about a Time Stone? He seems to know everything." he suggested. "Good idea!" Rainbow declared. Gemini looked less than excited. "But... He'll be mad at me. And he won't let me go back with them." she said quietly. Ozzie understood, but saw little choice. "Your friends need to go home. C'mon, we'll go see the Father." Rainbow stood next to Ozzie, and they both simultaneously said "Follow me!" Gemini smiled somewhat, and Ozzie pointed out that Rainbow didn't know the way. At any rate, Gemini was anxious to see her surviving friends again. "OK, you two. Lead the way!"
Punchy had followed Rouge through a large portion of the building, undaunted by objects she was knocking over to slow him down. However, this couldn't go on forever. Soon, Rouge reached a room with a window, and jumped out of it, flying out of Punchy's reach. Unable to glide, Punchy could no longer chase her. "Cowardly cheat! I'll get you for this!!" he shouted through the window, shaking his fist. Having lost track of everyone, Punchy had only one option left. "First things first, gotta find an exit to this place." he thought. After some exploration, he turned a corner and thought he saw Knuckles enter a room in the next hallway! Punchy quickly ran over to find out what he was up to. "What the... Who was that guy!? He looked just like Shadow!" Punchy heard Knuckles say. Peering inside, Punchy could see a room full of computers and other equipment. The room was dominated by a large monitor. Tails was reading something displayed on a screen beside the monitor. "Th-This is terrible!" he cried with alarm, "According to the data, the princess died when she was kidnapped by Eggman! Apparently, Eggman's battleship exploded! The date of this incident was... two days after the Festival of the Sun!" Sonic glanced at the screen over Tails' shoulder. "If we don't return in time, Elise will die on board Eggman's battleship. That means..." he said, trailing off. "Yeah, I think so...." Tails replied. Punchy backed away somewhat and thought about what he'd heard. "Bad news for Eggman. I guess ol' Red's got his hands full enough without me barging in. Besides, I gotta check that out for myself..." he thought. Realizing that Sonic and the others would exit into that hallway, Punchy bolted for the corner where he'd come in, and waited for Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to leave. He heard Tails talking as they left. "I wonder how Shadow and Rouge are doing..." was the only thing he could understand from where he was. "So, they're with that bat girl! Then they don't need my help. Good! I didn't want to deal with those three anyway!" he thought. Next, Punchy ran into the room with the data Tails was reading. "It's a news report... 'Among the other losses in the ship crash were...' Copter the fox and Heather the phoenix!!" Punchy nearly fell over in disbelief. "Aw, man... This is heavy. I hate time travel!" he said. After a moment, Punchy began to search for the exit to the building once more. "Can't save Copter from this time! Gotta go!"
Meanwhile, Gemini, Ozzie, and Rainbow reached the freedom fighters' Soleanna HQ! To Mia, Katie, and others centuries ago, it had been a safe house, and now it was the dilapidated home of this small band of heroes! Gemini looked around the "mission control room," and spotted four old friends! She introduced Rainbow to everyone. "Right, so here's what's left of our group, Rainbow. You know Ozzie already." she said, pointing to the morph. "Howdy, Oz!" Rainbow said. Gemini then pointed to a familiar gray bat. "That's Adam, someone who should be dead a million times by now." she said. "Hi, Zombie!" Rainbow waved. "Yeah, you should be dead, too." Adam said grumpily. Next was the pink fox. "There's Evelyn. Best pilot in Soleanna." Gemini said. "Yo, Eve!" Rainbow grinned. Next was, strangely enough, Gator! "Hey, Bluehair! How'd you get in the future?" Rainbow asked. Gemini scratched her head in confusion. "You know this pirate?" Gator shared Gemini's confused look. "Yeah, you knows this pirate? Then, did you maybe bring Gator pie?" he asked. "Stop talking about pie! I'm starving!!" Adam shouted. Ozzie looked a bit aggravated by Gator as well. "Why don't you get back to work, captain! The plumbing needs fixin'!" he said. Gator started on his way out the room, mumbling something about toilets falling on his head. Last, but not least, was the leader of this group, and Gemini's teacher. "Hello, Teacher Leo..." Gemini said, approaching Fred ashamedly. Fred was seated on the smelly couch in the middle of the room, grinning. "I knew you'd be back." he said, rising to his feet and giving Gemini a hug. Gemini returned the embrace, tears in her eyes. "I've missed you so much!!" she cried. Rainbow wiped some tears from her eyes as well. "I missed you, too, Reverend!" she said. Fred released Gemini and then looked at Rainbow. "How could you? We've never met?" he said. "Just caught in the moment..." Rainbow sighed. Fred then turned to Gemini. "Come with me. I must speak with you."
He led her out of the room and into what passed for their "mess hall." It certainly was a mess. "That was someone from the past, wasn't it?" he asked. Gemini nodded. "Someone sent us all to this time. I'm not sure who." she said. "There are others?" Fred asked. "Just one. A green echidna named Punchy." Gemini replied. Silence followed. Fred looked thoughtful, then placed a comforting hand on Gemini's shoulder. "Be at peace, young one. I do not blame you for your actions. However, I can't let you go back. It is too dangerous. Still, your friends must be returned to their own time, so I will lead you to our Time Stone. I stashed it away months ago for safekeeping. Do you still have my wand?" Fred asked. Gemini held it up for him, and he took it from her to examine it. "Hmmm... I see... You've used much Abra magic at the onset of your journeys... Then turned into a dragon... and... hmmm... It seems you've been through much, but at least you have learned much. Just try to lay off the Abra magics. It's not the real thing, and it uses much energy." Fred's abilities were so advanced that he could see all the events the wand was present for. "I am proud of you, Gemini. Once again, your kind heart has touched the lives of many." he said. Gemini accepted the wand back from Fred. "But this is your wand..." she protested. "No longer. You have faced many ordeals with this wand. It belongs with you now. Come, we should get going." Fred said, heading back for mission control. Gemini clutched the wand in her hands gratefully. She didn't know what she'd do without this wand now, and she was happy to be able to call it her own.
Punchy had been searching for Rainbow and Gemini, but found himself lost. He was somewhere between what was now called "Crisis City" and "Flame Core," near the foot of the volcano of the latter. It was an area with many steep cliffs, and stood above the buildings at the edge of Crisis City. As he wandered here, he soon heard a gunshot in the distance! It was coming from an area near the edge of Crisis City, and without any thought, Punchy took off in the direction of the sound to investigate. It took a few moments, but soon he reached a rooftop near where he heard the sound. In an alleyway beside the building, his eyes met a sight that completely blew his mind! There was Rainbow, eyes wet with tears, standing over a body. In her hands, she held a smoking gun! As if this wasn't crazy enough, the body she was standing over was someone Punchy knew quite well. In fact, it WAS Punchy! He had been shot through the heart, and now lay before Rainbow, dead. As Punchy backed away from the edge of the roof, he heard footsteps running away from the alley. When he looked again, Rainbow was gone. Punchy jumped down from the roof and landed outside the alleyway, trying to make sense of this. "Rainbow didn't kill me... I would've noticed that... Is... Is this a future event? But it's impossible... I don't expect either of us to live this long..." he thought, backing against the wall in order to support himself. The sight of his own dead body had left him somewhat dizzy, and his mind was trying to comprehend it still. Suddenly, he heard Rainbow's voice in the distance. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Rainbow running towards him with Gemini, Fred, Adam, Evelyn, and Ozzie behind her. Punchy ran over to Rainbow so she wouldn't reach his body's resting place. "Am I dead, Rainbow...?" he asked her dizzily. "Nope. How else would we be talking here, if you weren't alive?" she responded.
Everyone took a moment for introductions, and then Fred began leading them away. "Reverend there led us to you using magic, One!" Rainbow explained. "I'm not a Reverend, I'm a Divine Sorcerer." Fred said without stopping. Punchy was still a bit shaken by what he saw at the alley, but convinced himself that it had to be an illusion. He would consult Illusi about it the next time he saw him. "So, where are we going?" Punchy asked. "You'll see." Evelyn said. It took some time, but they soon reached their destination. "Here we are! Soleanna Castle! Or... what's left of it!" Adam announced. It was the castle Elise had governed from, now older and a little broken, but it did appear to be the least damaged building in the city. "It's safer inside the castle than outside, normally." Ozzie informed them, "Iblis' minions patrol the area outside the castle. So, it's time I go into 'stealth mode!'" Ozzie glowed brightly, then morphed into one of the lava monsters of the flying variety. "Morphing sure comes in handy!" he chuckled. "Eeek!! Monster!!" Rainbow shouted, running away from Ozzie. "Get back here, dummy!" Punchy shouted. Ozzie morphed back into his true form in order to stop scaring Rainbow. "Forgot, not many morphs in your time." he said. Fred pulled out his wand. "I'll get us in. Cleviso!" He pointed his wand in a circle around the group, and they all became invisible. "This invisibility won't last long, but don't be too hasty! We don't want the beasts to hear us!" Without further words, they began to sneak toward the castle, with Ozzie and Adam up front, Gemini, Evelyn, and Fred behind, and Punchy and Rainbow bringing up the rear. Though the monsters couldn't see them, they could see each other. There was just enough invisibility time for all of them to get into the castle's front gate. As the spell wore off, Fred led the way into the entrance hall, where he called out to someone. "Hello, old friend! We have need of your assistance!" Everyone else looked around in confusion. "What old friend?" Adam muttered. "Why don't we know of this person?" Evelyn added. Suddenly, someone dropped down from the roof in front of Fred and shook his hand. Punchy's eyes went wide. "The gargoyle!? Now I KNOW you shouldn't be here!!" he shouted. The "old friend" Fred spoke of was Guard, looking a bit more battered and experienced, but otherwise unchanged. "Grrrr... You came from the past, I presume. Grrr... I had to get here the long way... Waiting." he said, grinning at Punchy. "Is... is he smiling!? Wow, figures you'd only smile in a screwball time like this." Punchy grumbled. Fred chuckled heartily. "I knew you were old, but wow. The wonders of that age, I suppose. As an android, Guard here was able to 'guard' this castle ever since Iblis came to power. He will lead us to the resting place of the Time Stone, which our guests will use to return home." he explained. Rainbow smiled. "OK, lead the way, Devilie!" she said. "Grrr... Long time since I heard that name." Guard snorted, turning to lead the way. "Yay, we get a tour! History lesson time!" Ozzie chortled. "Don't start..." Evelyn groaned. "No, go ahead, Oz. I haven't heard your theories for a while!" Gemini said excitedly. "I can help you, now that I've been to the past!" Thus, their exploration of Soleanna castle began, as did a long, rambling lecture on the history of Soleanna, which half the group would enjoy, and the other half endure.
They explored for some time. Parts of some of the hallways were blacked by rubble and debris, an unavoidable result of the castle's years without repairs. Eventually they reached a large ballroom. There, Gemini and Ozzie were discussing the rise of the Lost Ones. "I'm telling you, they didn't conquer Angel Island that soon! Knuckles still had control of the island at the time I wound up at!" Gemini was saying. Suddenly, a noise was heard in the room. Guard raised his scythe. "Careful... Grrrr..." he said. Looking up, they found the source of the sounds. It was the shuffling of cards. Lospecter's cards! "Very stirring! I've been listening to your lecture, but I'm afraid it has to end now. But hey, join us and I'll tell you how we REALLY came about! I know, 'cuz I was there! I'm even older than old gargoylie here! Anyway, I must be going, but I'll leave you all with an old pal! Hehehehe... Bye!" Lospecter then vanished, and a horde of losol and loslime began to crawl into the ballroom through cracks in the walls! Hanging on a giant chandelier in the center of the room was another slimy presence. The group below scattered as the chandelier fell with a crash, and the slimy being jumped out of it. It was a slimy alligator, whom the freedom fighters in the room recognized instantly. "Cuthbert!!! Oh... WHY!!!?" Evelyn screeched. He'd sacrificed his soul to save Gemini and Eve, and now he was Los Cuthbert. He spoke to them in a gurgling voice, which sounded like death. "Why? I'll tell you why. Lost... Lost is the best way. The ONLY way. Do not resist us. You will live forever. Just let us in, and sacrifice your SOUL!!!" Guard had seen and heard enough. He flew over to the center of the room and swung his scythe at Cuthbert, decapitating him! This did little, though, as his head simply grew back! "You see? I cannot die..." Cuthbert proclaimed. "You're already dead!" Fred growled, readying his wand. "Lead the way, Guard! We'll have to fight them as we go!" Guard reacted quickly, clearing as much of a path through the ballroom as possible. "All right! Time to dance!" Ozzie shouted, morphing his hands into whatever weapon suited the situation as he followed. Adam and Evelyn came next, and they were ready with laser pistols this time. Punchy and Gemini covered the defenseless Rainbow with Chaos Avalanche and the wand, respectively, and in the back was Fred, valiantly maintaining the back end of their small path as best he could. The Lost Ones were many, and Guard marveled at how so many of them could get inside without him noticing. Even worse, some of the slime creatures were latched to the roof, waiting to drop down on them as they made their way through the dark halls of the castle. To Gemini, this was the Onyx Island temple all over again, only this time she was even more terrified, though she was too busy fighting to let on that she was.
As they drew closer to their goal, the Lost Ones' presence lessened. They had been lucky, this time none of them had fallen. Their group ran closer together after a while, and in this tighter formation, they were better defended. Soon, they reached the throne room, which was where the Time Stone was hidden. Seated at the throne was, to their dismay, Losipher! He held in his hand a pale white Time Stone. "Time travel will not save those I have taken. I have gone back and warned the Lospecter of the past of your hate! Your antagonism has also forced my hand. I shall purge this world of all that is not lost, even Iblis! The Lost Ones shall hold absolute control! And even Heaven and Hell alike shall be snuffed out for our dark order. Weep... yes... weep... for you are all.... now... LOST!!!" As Losipher shrieked that last word, the slimy Lost Ones they'd left behind began swarming into the room, surrounding the freedom fighters. Los Cuthbert arrived as well, and stood across from Losipher in order to cut off any escape route. As for Losipher, his eyes began glowing a deep shade of red, and his fangs seemed to grow too big for his mouth. Devilish horns formed on his head, and slimy black wings grew from his back. His hands seemed to melt into those pointed tentacles that had previously skewered several of Gemini's friends. The tentacles then melted away altogether, leaving behind a pair of swords clutched in his hands. The losol and loslime began making loud noises, which sounded like a ghostly chorus repeating the word "Los" over and over again. The freedom fighters readied their weapons. Fred looked around, then gave what would likely be his final order. "There's no turning away from this! Prepare yourselves, we either fight our way out, or share the same fate as Cuthbert! Freedom fighters, attack!!!"
At that moment, a desperate battle began. The freedom fighters scattered in order to get the Lost Ones in the room to split up, while Losipher merely stood at the throne and watched. Ozzie had transformed into a dragon, but had not changed in size. He was fighting a large group of losol, with Adam doing his best to cover him with his laser. Fred, covered by Evelyn, was taking on a group of losol that had combined to form a Losol Golem. This left Guard and Punchy to deal with Cuthbert and Losipher. Punchy took on Cuthbert, with Rainbow and Gemini nearby doing their best to help. Thus, Guard attempted to challenge Losipher. "Grrrr!! You think you're so smart, sneaking past me like that. Grrrr!! But it was your biggest mistake, and will be your last!" he growled, wildly swinging his scythe in order to take out the losol in the immediate vicinity. Losipher moaned demonically. "I made my last mistakes ages ago... My souls no naught but sorrow... And rage. I will break you, purely to satisfy that rage." Losipher then ran at Guard, attempting to slash him with his blades! Guard defended with his scythe, then knocked Losipher backwards with it. Meanwhile, Punchy had challenged Cuthbert. "I don't know who you were, and I don't really much care. You slime balls are standing in our way of getting back home, so you're going down! And this time, you ain't growing back!" he said confidently. "You are totally ignorant. You cannot fight the Lost Ones. Whether in the past, the present, or the future, you, and all, will meet your demise by our armies." Cuthbert snarled. "It's no use talking to him, Punchy! Cuthbert... He's gone." Gemini said. "Give 'em heck, One!" Rainbow cheered. Cuthbert responded to Rainbow's cheer by charging at her. "I'll give you Hell!!!" he shouted, attempting to bite her with his gator jaws. Punchy defended her with Chaos Avalanche, causing part of the roof to cave in on top of Cuthbert! The chaos energy from the attack destroyed Los Cuthbert instantly, leaving only a puddle of slime behind. "That was easy..." Punchy said with surprise. However, it would not be that easy. The slime puddle flowed out from under the rubble, and took the shape of a loskel. "Aw, all that did was make him lose weight..." Rainbow groaned. The loskel cackled with Los Cuthbert’s voice. "Lost Ones are eternal! Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!" The loskel was holding a Ghost Fire blade, which it now came after Gemini with. Gemini fired some bolts from her wand, but that merely knocked some ribs off of the skeleton. Punchy ran over and punched the monster in the skull, smashing it to pieces! However, the skull simply grew back. "Stand back, guys!!" shouted Ozzie, who flew over and blew a jet of flame at the loskel, once again reducing it to a puddle of slime. This time, the puddle remained still. "Th-thanks Oz!" Gemini shouted shakily. Once again, she was filled with the paralyzing fear that had taken her during the Onyx Island battle. Ozzie saluted his companions, then returned to help Adam, who was being overrun by the loslime around him. With Los Cuthbert taken down, Punchy turned to Guard and Losipher. "We should help him! C'mon, girls!" he said. "Right! Follow me, One!" Rainbow said, charging ahead with the blade the loskel dropped. The Ghost Fire had been extinguished, and now it would work as a normal sword. Punchy followed close behind Rainbow, but Gemini found herself unable to move. The truth had hit home. "Even if we beat the monsters, Losipher will finish us off... Fred was right... If I hadn't used the Time Stone, this wouldn't have happened... I've doomed us all!!" she thought, shaking with terror at this realization. Not paying attention, Gemini didn't see the losol approaching her. It pounced toward her, and she screamed as she finally noticed it! Luckily, Fred was nearby, and shot a bolt that knocked the losol away. "Stay focused, Gemini! We're not finished yet!" Her teacher's words snapped her out of it, just in time for her to see Punchy reach the area where Losipher was fighting Guard. "I'm here to help!" Punchy said. "Grrrr!!! Stay out of my way! I don't need any help!" Guard yelled, keeping himself focused on his fight. Rainbow, knowing Losipher was out of her league, was assisting Adam and Ozzie a short distance away. Punchy, however, wouldn't be left out. "Stop being an idiot, Guard! I'm coming in!" He ran toward Losipher and launched a powerful punch at the vampirical dark lord, which knocked him backward a little. "Grrr!! I said butt out!!" Guard snarled, pushing Punchy away. The time he took pushing Punchy away was time he didn't have. With that brief opening in his defenses, Guard was stabbed through the chest by Losipher!! "It seems... this was YOUR last mistake! HAH HA HA HA HA!!!!" Guard's body slid limply off the sword, and the last thing he saw was his bleeding wound. "Grrr... Blood? Androids... don't have...." Without finishing his sentence, Guard met his death. Everyone had seen this, and it appeared that the losol were even taking a break to watch their lord's triumphant moment. Hoping to make an example of Guard's body, Losipher approached it with his blades ready to slice it to ribbons. This was one thing Punchy would not allow. "Back... away... from him!" he warned. Losipher grinned and pointed his swords at Punchy. "So be it. I'll remove your head first." Before either Punchy or Losipher could do anything, though, Ozzie flew in, still in dragon form. "Your turn, devil!!" he roared, sending an intense wave of flame at Losipher from his mouth! Unaffected, Losipher walked right through the flames and stabbed Ozzie through the chest, but Ozzie wasn't dying without a fight. He struggled with Losipher, despite his mortal injuries, and in the battle, the Time Stone was knocked from a hole Ozzie tore in Losipher's body, which flew across the room, and was caught by Punchy!
"The Time Stone!!!" Losipher howled, leaving one of his swords inside Ozzie in order to go after it. As Ozzie collapsed to the ground, he reverted to his true form, and then sighed his last breath. Punchy, fighting back his dark side, kept his distance from Losipher. Rainbow quickly joined him, and Punchy held up the Time Stone in an attempt to use it. "Time Stone... um... work?" Nothing happened. Losipher growled at Punchy. "Give... me... the stone." he commanded. Rainbow scoffed at him. "Like we're gonna listen to YOU!" she said in the most serious tone she could muster. Losipher let out a mournful, yet enraged, howling scream, then began transforming erratically, shooting tentacles around the room randomly as he became an unspeakable monster! It suddenly became intensely hectic in that throne room, and everyone was struggling to avoid being killed by the tentacles. The entire castle shook, and Gemini was left alone between the locations of Punchy and her teacher. As she looked from one to the other, she found herself unable to decide what to do. "I... I'm the only one here who knows how the Time Stone works... I need to get Punchy and Rainbow back home... But I can't leave my friends like this!!" she thought, shuddering with fear at the impending doom around her. Suddenly, a voice made it through the chaos to her ears. "Gemini!!!" It was Fred's voice! She turned in his direction and stepped toward him, but he stopped her. "Go, Gemini! Use the Time Stone! There's no other choice left... Don't worry about us! Punchy... needs you! Go!" Heeding her teacher's words, Gemini ran after Punchy, tears flowing from her eyes. She was swiftly avoiding the tentacles from Losipher as she ran, motivated purely by fear and determination. This was her last chance. She reached Punchy, grabbed the Time Stone from his hand, and invoked its power! A brilliant light filled the room, and Punchy, Rainbow, and Gemini shut their eyes and awaited the outcome...
To be continued...
