GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 34 - The Plateau
Stage 19(Dark 9) - Lost Plateau
Boss 19 - The Deathbringer

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.

The story thus far:
Looking for Rainbow, Punchy ran into Razor, who started interrogating him about recent events in Central City. Fera arrived next, and used the frustration Punchy was feeling to manipulate the Despair Seal and trap Punchy in dark form! Dark Punchy fled the city and arrived at Troblusk Plateau, followed by Rainbow and Team Rose, who desired to help him regain control of his mind. Unfortunately, Illusi teamed up with the Lost Ones in a last ditch effort to destroy Punchy before Dark Punchy grows any stronger! To keep his friends out of danger, Punchy steered Dark Punchy up the mountain, battling monsters as he went, but his friends slowly followed him, meeting up with Whisk along the way. Dark Punchy faced Shadow Chaos near the summit, and had to defeat it without using dark powers. After leaving Shadow Chaos behind, the creature was captured by the Covenant of Despair...
Now, on to the next chapter!


Deep in the dark recesses of Punchy's mind, Punchy and Dark Punchy were face to face, struggling for control. "...Dark me! Let me go, right now!!" Punchy growled. Dark Punchy stood in the darkness of the realm of Punchy's mind, a superior smirk on his face. "No thanks... I'd rather just DESTROY you!!" he growled. Punchy raised his fists. "Even if you could... Don't you think that might destroy you, too?" he reasoned. Dark Punchy charged at him in a fury. "I don't CARE!!!" he screamed. Outside the realm of his mind, the internal conflict was taking its toll on Punchy's external senses. He could scarcely see straight, and following what trail remained before the summit of the mountain proved challenging. Lospecter watched him with amusement for a bit, but then let out a sigh. "This is gettin' sad. Put him out of his misery, troops!" he ordered. Lostones, Losol Golems, lospides, and lospirits approached him from all sides, but despite his disorientation, there was still some fight left in Dark Punchy! He lashed out in a frenzy, violently thrashing at anything that came near him with attacks charged with dark energy! All Lost Ones that attempted to attack were torn to shreds, and the others fled like wolves cowering from prey that had proven too mighty to bring down. Lospecter broke into hysterical laughter at this. "Look at the wild animal! Too full of pride to let me put him down mercifully. Very well, you had your chance. I'll make a Lost One of your corpse... Until then, I guess I'll go look for those friends of yours. Toodles!" he said, flying off down the mountain. Within the darkness of his mind, Punchy backed away from Dark Punchy and tried once more to talk sense into him. "Listen! We are walking into a trap, and so are my friends! Let me go, or everyone might die!!" he pleaded. Dark Punchy chuckled at him. "Sentiment WAS your big weakness. It was why you let the Master Emerald go before, and it's why you can't beat me now!!" he snarled, hurling a punch straight at Punchy! The good Punchy endured the hit and socked him back. "If you won't listen, I'll knock your lights out!" he growled.


Rainbow, Amy, Cream, Silver and Whisk continued to climb the mountain after Punchy. They were making progress with the illusion dispelled, but it wasn't long before Illusi appeared before them personally. "Mousy! Are you here to trap us in another crazy... trap!?" Rainbow asked. Illusi raised his hands calmly. "I only come to talk... My quarrel is not with the five of you." he said. "It's a little late to try to tell us that, Mr. Phony-Mountain-That'll-Drop-Us-To-Our-Death-If-We-Step-On-It!" Amy growled. "Wow, that's a mouthful of a last name..." Whisk murmured. Illusi nodded. "My attention was divided... I'd hoped the illusion would startle you enough to stop you in your tracks." he said. Silver smirked at him. "Just the fact that you're trying to stop us means that you probably aren't prepared to deal with all of us, so maybe YOU should stop in YOUR tracks!" he warned. A Wrongo popped out of nowhere in front of him, startling him, Cream and Amy. "Cut it out with the circly things, Mousy!" Rainbow groaned. The Wrongo floated next to Illusi as he spoke to them. "I'm here to offer you one final warning. We are going to eliminate the Dark One... a very dangerous and... potentially explosive task. I cannot guarantee your safety should you continue." he warned. Silver growled at him. "Oh, yeah!? Well, WE can't guarantee YOUR safety if you keep trying to murder Rainbow's friend! So there!" he shouted. "Can't we try to resolve this peacefully?" Cream whimpered. Illusi frowned. "I've spoken my mind. Any of you who continue up this path will find the fate you have so carelessly sought." he sighed. "And you can bet I'll see to that!" said Lospecter, arriving on the scene! Illusi looked up at the spirit in disdain. "I requested your aid in battling the Dark One. You should be up there!" he said. Lospecter shrugged. "Better risk/reward ratio down here, cape boy. The anger-management dropout up there was wreckin' too many of my troops. They don't grow on trees, you know! Well, y'know... not as of yet." he explained. Illusi growled in frustration. "I should never have considered an alliance with the likes of you!" he snarled as he vanished in a burst of smoke!

Silver glanced up the trail leading the rest of the way to the summit. Varied Lost Ones had been spawned by Lospecter on his way down, and were waiting for them. "We don't have time for this if we want to help your friend..." he said to Rainbow. She nodded. "Then we'll just speed right pass them! Follow me!" she said, rushing ahead of the others up the trail. "What are you, NUTS!?" Amy shouted, chasing after her. The others followed after them, and Silver tried to keep the Lost Ones off their tail as they started to speed past some of them, but they soon found themselves surrounded. "Aw, shoot. Speedy makes this look so easy." Rainbow said in frustration. "Now we'll have to fight our way out of this!" Silver growled. "Help us out, Cheese!" Cream cried, backing toward Rainbow, as neither of them could really fight. Whisk teleported up high and charged energy in her wings to attempt to fight the aerial lospirits and losoars with her wind powers, while Silver and Amy took the fight directly to the creatures on the land. Amy swatted a few lospides with her hammer, only to groan as she noticed the icky mess they were leaving on her hammer's head. "This gunk better come out!!" she groaned. Cheese flew about bonking from lostone to lostone, knocking them just right to make them crumble, and then Silver would grab the stone fragments with his psychokinesis and hurl them at any LosFoxes and Losol Golems that were coming at their group. Still, there were a lot of them, and a few stragglers made it through to Rainbow and Cream. "Ch-cheese!! Where are you!?" Cream yelped as some losoars flew straight for them! However, rainbow took action, throwing rocks at the bats and aiming for their heads, which stalled them long enough for Whisk to swoop down and blow them away with a mighty flap of her wings! "...Thanks, Angel! Even though I totally had it under control..." Rainbow muttered. "Huh? I thought your name was Angel!" Whisk stammered. Cream knelt down and picked up some rocks in the meantime. "Guess I'd better be ready to protect myself, too..." she murmured.

The group's efforts wiped out the Lost Ones that first surrounded them, but more kept swarming down the mountain! "We'll never get anywhere at this rate!" Amy growled. Suddenly, a blast of dark lightning crashed down from the sky above, searing across the mountainside before them and eliminating the Lost Ones blocking their path! As the lightning ceased, the group looked up to see Fera briefly suspended in the air before warping down to the mountainside in front of them! "You! You started this whole thing! You gave One the weird bracelet that turns him dark!" Rainbow shouted. Fera nodded, smirking. "And now he is more powerful than ever! Just as intended." she said. "Listen up! Your Covenant of Despair is working on some dangerous plans! I'm here to stop them, and protect the future!" Silver announced. Fera scoffed at him. "The future? What future is that? One where humans keep us all in cages?! Or zoos? You can keep YOUR future! And you'll never stop ours, any more than you could stop me from destroying the ruins at Sandopolis!" she snapped, turning back to Rainbow. "By the way... Been a while since the last time I was here. This is where I recruited your... sister, was it? Yes... I gave her a choice, and Violet called me right at this plateau to give me her answer." she grinned. Rainbow raised her fists and came at Fera, but Whisk pulled her back. "You poisoned her mind! You messed with her head and now she won't come home until we stop you!!" she yelled. Fera chuckled. "Ooooh... You think? Or maybe that might drive her away even more? Not that you've got a chance of stopping us. I was just thinking... This is a fitting place... To recruit a new agent!" she announced before warping away. As Fera vanished, Rainbow broke away from Whisk and gasped in fear. "One... She's going to catch him and force him to work for THEM!" she shouted. "Not if we get there first!" Amy said, "I'm gonna wipe my icky hammer on her uniform!" she growled. "You really think we can beat a teleporter up there?" Whisk wondered, making everyone stare at her grouchily. "...What?" she mumbled. "Why don't YOU teleport us?" Silver asked. Whisk rubbed her head a bit. "Do what now?" she mumbled, making everyone groan a bit.


Finally, Punchy had arrived at the top of Troblusk Plateau. Meeting him there was Illusi, frowning impatiently. "You took your time scaling this little hill." he said. "Shut your mouth!" Dark Punchy snarled, about ready to snap him in two. "I'm afraid you leave me no choice, Dark One..." Illusi said, hovering into the air out of Punchy's reach, "It is as was foretold... and you must be stopped." he said. Punchy struggled against Dark Punchy to speak to Illusi. "What do you... mean... foretold!?" he grunted. Illusi glared down at him. "I have glimpsed the future once again, as when we first met! You will cause death and pain to those around you!" he revealed. Dark Punchy grinned at this. "Wonderful... Then it sounds like my freedom is assured." he sneered. Just then, he heard someone drop down onto the cliff behind him. "I have found another who is equally determined to stop you. With our combined efforts... Dark One... We will change the future! We will DESTROY you!!" Illusi roared, glowing with strange, blue energy! Turning around, Dark Punchy saw the cloaked, winged figure known as the Deathbringer stalking him once again! "You escaped me in those ruins... But you will not run away again!" it growled. "Who's running, fairy wings!" Dark Punchy growled. Within his mind, Punchy found himself lacking the will to fight Dark Punchy. "...There's no way I can beat both of them myself... I guess I have no choice... but to let you loose!" he said to Dark Punchy. "About time you saw the truth! Now watch me tear these fools limb from limb!" Dark Punchy cackled. "Illusi... I'm so sorry..." Punchy thought, wishing there were some other way out of this, especially now that he knew the reason Illusi had been after him all this time.

Dark Punchy flashed with shadowy energy, and then charged at Illusi first. The shrew split off into copies of himself, and the one directly in front of Punchy burst into a trio of Wrongos as he struck him! "Grrr!! Coward! Hiding behind your illusions!" Dark Punchy snarled. "Do not mistake intelligence for cowardice... You forgot the Deathbringer." the Illusis said in unison. The Deathbringer hurled one of its killing bolts directly at Punchy! Normally this would mean death for any to have the misfortune to encounter the Deathbringer, but this was Dark Punchy. His body pulsed with darkness as the bolt struck him, repelling it from going through him, but the impact still knocked him back considerably! "...I actually felt that!" Dark Punchy grunted. The Deathbringer flapped its black wings and stared down at him from the air. "I am the most powerful killing force on the earth. There is no darkness strong enough to survive my power for long!" it declared, "You should have left the country when I gave you the chance." Illusi and his illusions each brandished a blue illusion saber, and came at Punchy one by one, swinging their blades at him as they passed by. Dark Punchy tried to strike back, but there were too many to keep track of, and furthermore, this was merely a diversion while the Deathbringer circled behind him. "Enough!!" Dark Punchy roared, blasting back all Illusis with a powerful dark shockwave fired across the whole mountaintop! The real Illusi fell backward while his fakes turned into numerous Wrongos, flying off into the sky. Then, the Deathbringer knocked Dark Punchy over with another powerful bolt, this time in the back! "Ooof!! Knock it... off!!" he panted, climbing back up quickly as the Deathbringer started charging at him, intending to keep him off balance and make it impossible for him to fight back! With Illusi climbing to his feet as well, it seemed even Dark Punchy was no match for these high powered foes. As the Deathbringer slammed its fists into him, knocking him across to the ledge of the mountaintop, and was about to attempt to finish it, another winged being warped directly between them! The Deathbringer stopped short. "Aw, I'm sorry... Did I mess up your shot?" smirked Whisk.

Rainbow hurried over to Punchy while Amy, Silver and Cream joined Whisk in standing in the Deathbringer's way! "You fools... I could end any of you without effort. You would die... for this wretched creature!?" it growled. Rainbow glared up at the Deathbringer with tears in her eyes. "...I don't know so much about that... But... One is willing to die to keep me safe! It isn't Dark One that steered him up here, knowing that Mousy had a trap waiting. He ran up here... away from where I was... He's up here because I followed him! So I won't let you hurt him!" she shouted. Punchy started to struggle against Dark Punchy again, seeing his friends in danger. "R-rainbow... No!! I-I need... To save her!!" he grunted. Illusi called down the Wrongos that had flown into the sky. "Circle around them, Deathbringer. I will deal with these interlopers." he said. "C'mere and say that, cape boy..." Amy growled. The Deathbringer took off into the sky, and the Wrongos swarmed Team Rose and Whisk! What's more, the Wrongos began to multiply before their eyes, making it harder to see what they were doing through the swarm! "We have to get to that shrew!" Silver realized. Illusi was warping around, taunting them. "You want me? I'm over here... No, here!" he said, vanishing and appearing all around them! Amy swung at him and missed, groaning in frustration. "Hold still!" she growled. "I warned you not to follow us up here. Now you'll all have to pay the price." Illusi said. Cream tried to punch a Wrongo, only to get shocked by it! "Eeeek!! I... had no idea... they could do that..." she panted. Meanwhile, the Deathbringer came toward Punchy and Rainbow. Punchy was struggling with Dark Punchy, leaving him disoriented, and leaving Rainbow his only defense. "Y-you leave One alone... You evil Grim Reaper!" she shuddered. "You can't see it... But I'm doing the right thing..." the Deathbringer insisted. Just then, flames shot up from behind Punchy, drawing his, Rainbow's and the Deathbringer's attention! Anubis had arrived, and Fera was with him! "You look like you need a real hand, Punchy... Let me fully unlock the Despair Seal's power!" Fera grinned, firing a beam of darkness straight into the bracelet on Punchy's wrist! As the bracelet glowed, so too did his body spew darkness, and his eyes glow a sinister red. "Rrrrr... RRRRRRAAAAAAUUUUGGHHH!!!" he snarled!

As Illusi warped about, Whisk grew tired of it and warped next to him, bonking him over the head. "Bad mouse!" she growled. At this point, though, Dark Punchy's transformation got everyone's attention. He was unleashed on the plateau, and he first charged at the swarm of Wrongos, caring nothing for the friends who defended him before that happened to be caught in the swarm! Blasts of darkness thundered across the mountaintop with every punch from his fists, obliterating the Wrongos and forcing Team Rose to take cover, and Whisk to teleport out of the way! Illusi, however, was not as lucky. He was knocked aside, and the strange key he carries on his person was knocked to the floor! "No, the Chaos Key!!" he stammered as Fera's foot came down over it! "...I'll take that, thanks." she said plainly. "W-wait... Don't do it!" Illusi cried, clutching his arm in pain as he tried to move. The Deathbringer chased after the crazed Dark Punchy, but his frenzied, overcharged attacks left it with no opening to counterattack, leaving it barely able to fly out of range and stare down at the destructive rampage helplessly, hoping for an opening should he tire out. Fera then returned to Anubis, nodding to him. "Take her and let's go." she ordered. Rainbow, who was still standing in earshot of them, and had been watching Punchy in shocked horror, now glanced at the jackal that approached her. "Wait... Y-you did this to One... To get...to me!??!" she gasped, "N-no!! Get away! O-one!! ONE!!!" she wailed as Anubis hoisted Rainbow over his shoulders, Team Rose being powerless to help her while they were busy trying for dear life to stay out of Punchy's line of fire! Silver growled and shouted out to Punchy. "LOOK!! LOOK WHAT GIVING IN TO DARKNESS HAS DONE TO YOUR FRIEND!!" he screamed, pointing as Fera and Anubis started their retreat down the mountain! "N...NOOO!! R--RAINBOOOOW!!" Punchy shrieked in his mind, grasping his head in agony over what he'd done and allowed to happen. Dark Punchy continued to emit shockwaves across the mountain as Punchy struggled for control. He could see only one way out. Punchy wrested the Despair Seal from his wrist, and smashed it against the rocky ground at his feet! "AAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!" he wailed in despair as he finally reverted to his normal, green form. Though Team Rose hurried to try to chase Fera and Anubis, it was too late. They were long gone. "...I've... got to... save her!!" Punchy panted. Illusi was slinking away as well, oddly not warping away as he normally would. "...I must get back that key..." he muttered. The Deathbringer landed on a lower cliff, slamming its fist against the wall as rain started to fall. "...I tried to dissuade you." said the Doomsayer as he approached. "Was this why? You knew that girl would end up in their clutches?" the Deathbringer asked. The Doomsayer shrugged. "It's amusing... You never once questioned... Whether you were after the correct echidna..." he said, walking away slowly. The Deathbringer's wings stiffened in alarm. "W...WHAT!?!?" it gasped.

To be continued...