GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 30 - Awakening
Stage 17(Hero 9) - Dream Temple
Boss 17 - Dream King

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:
After the disappearance of the President, Shadow decided he'd need help to find him. With Gemini's assistance, he located Knuckles in the Forest of Dreams. Tails was also attempting to enlist Knuckles's aid, but he had just lost the Master Emerald to Conan, and was trying to find the thieving raccoon.
A sudden storm forced the group into the nearby Dream Temple. There, they met Shadow Tails, who soon forced the group to split up, dousing the temple in darkness and seemingly causing an earthquake!
Gemini found herself at a replica of Onyx Island. Shadow Tails confronted her with terrible scenes, telling her she could only change the future for the worse. Tails arrived to help her, but the Losipher inhabiting Onyx Island grew enraged and attacked!
Shadow was confronted with his own fragmented memories. Shadow Tails, taking the form of Mephiles, tried to convince him that it was his destiny to become a dark weapon, just as Black Doom had intended. However, when Rouge and Omega were endangered, Shadow snapped out of it and fought back!
Knuckles explored a perplexing maze, facing replicas of enemies he'd faced before. At the end of the maze, he found himself...home.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Losipher was still chasing Tails and Gemini through the sky, his bladelike tentacles flailing at them as Tails swooped back and forth through the air between them, desperately looking for some way out of this. Gemini cast spells pathetically, watching them bounce off of Losipher uselessly again and again. "You fool... If you are the one to change the future, will you not eliminate your need to travel to the past in the first place? The flow of time is inexorable. The more you fight the tide, the more you seal your fate!" Shadow Tails's voice rang in her ears, making her clutch them and shake her head in denial. "No! You're wrong! It... It HAS to work! Why would time travel be POSSIBLE if it didn't work!?" she wailed. "Gemini... We need your magic! DO SOMETHING!!" Tails shouted, straining his propeller tails in a futile struggle to keep away from Losipher. "It is over! I will now separate your souls from your lifeless bodies!" Losipher growled, thrashing his tentacles at them! "Abra-ka-shine-ra!!" Gemini shone a light at Losipher's face, which briefly blinded him and enabled Tails to find his way to the ground, allowing him to take a much-needed rest. This was a mistake. The ground was still covered in the same slime, which pulled at their feet as soon as they touched the floor! "Ah! Oh, no!" Gemini gasped. Tails looked around nervously. "I... left my tailband with SPOT and Professor Pickle..." he gulped. Shadow Tails emerged next to him, arms crossed. "Such a pity. And that mystic, ancient light that aided you last time seems to have forsaken you..." he mused. Gemini fired some spells at Shadow Tails, but they seemed to go right through him. "Now, to complete your nightmare... The last remnant of life will be snuffed out of this world... Watch closely, time traveler." he said before fading away.

Losipher dropped down from the sky and started to slash his tentacles wildly at the helpless fox! Tails ducked and weaved in his place, using every reflex he had to try to stay alive a bit longer. Suddenly, Gemini snapped. She couldn't take it any longer. "You... won't... kill... anyone!! Any more!!" she screamed, flourishing her wand and casting a spell...on herself. "Abra-ka-warpra!!" She warped free and appeared in front of Tails, blocking what might have been a killing stroke! "GEMINI!!!" he screamed, unable to do anything further except cover his eyes. However, there was no scream, no sound of death. Tails slowly uncovered his eyes and gasped. Losipher's tentacles had struck her, but a bright light was glowing from her body, seemingly protecting her! "What... is this!?" Losipher gasped. The slime beneath their feet retreated from Gemini's light, freeing Tails from its grip as well. "...Losipher... Begone!!" Gemini pointed her wand forward, and the light from her body burst forth, seeming to erase the Lost Ones' influence from everywhere it touched as it spread through all of Onyx Island and beyond! Losipher was gone! Gemini and Tails looked around for a moment, and then the scenery transformed into the crystal halls of the Dream Temple. "I...don't understand..." Gemini mumbled at last. Tails nodded. "You let your heart do the talking... and you became filled with light. It's kind of like what Tikal told me last time I was here..." he said. They saw a door nearby and knew they had to enter. "Knuckles and Shadow are still in here. They may need our help." Tails said. "Whose idea was it to come in here, anyway?" Gemini muttered. Tails groaned a bit as they passed through the door and started on their way through the next area.


Knuckles climbed the familiar stairs of the Master Emerald shrine, and a look of relief came over his face as he reached the top. The Master Emerald was there, resting where it belonged. This relief was short lived, however, as Shadow Tails materialized beside the emerald. His gaze fixed on Knuckles, he shifted his form to mimic his, becoming a Shadow Knuckles. "Ever dutiful, you sit here, day after day, and watch over this emerald... Sworn to protect it. Your life's one and only purpose, to keep it out of the wrong hands..." As Shadow Knuckles spoke these words, the Master Emerald began to dissolve away, vanishing from right before Knuckles's eyes! "No!!" Knuckles gasped, reaching for it but only finding empty space where the emerald once stood. "You have lost that which you were sworn to guard. It has fallen into the hands of evil. You are a failure." Shadow Knuckles sneered. Knuckles glared over at him. "Oh yeah? I've lost the Master Emerald before. I'll just get it back again!" he snapped. Shadow Knuckles snickered. "Until you lose it yet again. How long until you lose it for good? You are pathetic." he taunted. Knuckles raised his fists at Shadow Knuckles. "Oh yeah? I'd probably have the emerald back by now if you hadn't TRAPPED ME IN HERE!!!" he shouted. This seemed to amuse Shadow Knuckles. He laughed, floating up to the Master Emerald's pedestal and looking down on Knuckles. "Wanna tell me what the joke is?" Knuckles muttered. "No matter what, when separated from that gem, you only think of retrieving it. So stuck in your given role you are. You have even forgotten your friends who are now separated from you in this same temple..." Shadow Knuckles said. Knuckles opened his mouth to deny it, but in truth, he had forgotten about them until just this moment. "...Shut up! I don't have to listen to this!" he growled. Shadow Knuckles crossed his arms, glaring down at him. "Without the Master Emerald, you are nothing... Nothing more than an empty shell of an echidna..." Knuckles growled loudly, clenching his fists. "ENOUGH!!" he screamed.

Shadow Knuckles anticipated the oncoming attack, and caught Knuckles's fist as it soared at his face. "Predictable. It doesn't take much to determine what your fears stem from..." he sneered. Knuckles growled and tried to give him an uppercut with his other fist, only to be evaded and socked back with a shadowy fist! "Fears?? Now you're talking about fears!? Stop changing the subject!!" Knuckles yelled. Shadow Knuckles kicked Knuckles to the ground, faster than he could react! "Fear IS the subject, fool! This is your nightmare!!" he shouted. Knuckles got up quickly and flew into a rage, his fists flying wildly in Shadow Knuckles's direction! "I guess if I KNOCK YOU OUT, I'll wake up!!" he shouted. Between punches, Shadow Knuckles seemed to vanish, and as his fist flew past where the creature was, Knuckles suddenly saw that he was about to hit Sonic! "WHAT!?!?" he yelped as his fist flew right through the hedgehog's chest, a look of pain on his face before his body crumbled into dust! "S-sonic...?? What...?" Knuckles said, bewildered, frightened, and angry... with himself. Shadow Knuckles could be heard laughing, though he was nowhere to be seen. "You small-minded imbecile. Not only are you a failure as a guardian, you are a failure as a friend. Is there anything you can't fumble in pursuit of your single-minded obsession with duty?" he mocked. Knuckles looked around, a bit crestfallen. "...So, you may have a point. I kinda mess things up for my friends...a lot. But it works out... Right?" Suddenly, Angel Island began to rumble. Looking around him, Knuckles could see that the island was falling rapidly without the Master Emerald, and breaking up as it descended! "Whoa!! Wait!! What's happening!?" he stammered. Looking above, he could see the Death Egg flying high in the sky. Dr. Eggman flew past his face, carrying the Master Emerald with a claw attached to the Egg Mobile. "Thanks ever so much for the assistance, Knuckles! I'll... name a robot after you... or something." he said as he rose high into the sky, out of the echidna's reach. "STOP!!!" he shouted. Suddenly, the Death Egg exploded in half, becoming the Space Colony ARK, and pointing its superlaser directly at Angel Island. "He's...charging a laser with the emerald!? Wait! NOOOO!!!" Knuckles yelled.

The lunar path Shadow, Rouge and Omega were walking had now led them to the crumbling Angel Island. Tails and Gemini had caught up with them as well. "I guess Knuckles must be up there... But what do you think is happening there?" Tails wondered. "Well, it clearly isn't good." Shadow observed, seeing that the island was falling to pieces. Gemini twirled her wand and nodded. "I'll get us up there, then." she said. Rouge and Omega backed away a little, looking a bit apologetic. "Our assistance must come to an end at this time." Omega said. "Huh...?" Shadow muttered in confusion. "It's fine, Shadow. Actually... We were never REALLY here at all...." Rouge said. Then, the bat and the robot faded away, just like any other illusion of the temple! "What the!?" Shadow gasped. Gemini scratched her head. "This temple really is a mysterious place..." she said. Tails sighed. "Well, we'd better keep going. Knuckles still needs us!" he said. The others nodded, and Gemini used her magic to warp them to the "shore" of the island. Shadow Knuckles met them there. "I'm busy with the echidna. You are free to exit the temple, if you can locate the exit." he stated. Tails shook his head. "We're not leaving without everyone! Drop the games, Dream King!" he shouted. "...Dream King?" Gemini wondered. Shadow Knuckles's glowing red eyes narrowed. "If that is how you will it, that is how you will face it, hero of light. Approach the shrine where the echidna makes his home... If you dare!" he said before vanishing. Shadow nodded. "I guess you're leading the way, Tails... Or should I call you 'hero of light?'" he said somewhat mockingly. "...Tails will be fine..." the fox murmured, a little annoyed.

Knuckles fled the altar as the superlaser reduced it to a pile of rubble! Looking back, he saw Shadow Knuckles standing atop the remains. "What... What ARE you??" he panted. Shadow Knuckles chuckled. "I am as you perceive me. Thus, I am Shadow Knuckles... Yet, I am not Shadow Knuckles..." The mysterious creature's body started to grow and shift, the shadowy form seeming to become clear liquid. Knuckles watched in shocked awe as he beheld the creature take on the terrifying shape of a sea monster! Not any sea monster, though. "...Chaos!!?" he gasped. Shadow Knuckles started to flood Angel Island, taking the form of Perfect Chaos! The water was only ankle-deep for now, and Knuckles was too bewildered to start looking for higher ground. "I am the Dream King!!" the Perfect Chaos replica roared, "Your dreams... Your nightmares... Are my domain! I know your heart from them. You are a hollow, duty-bound shell! You will perish here, on this island! A meaningless, useless death!" he declared. Knuckles looked at the water-covered ground. The Dream King's words struck harder than any attack possibly could have. "...He's right... I'm always sitting around this island. Watching that rock...alone. I guess I reasoned that there was no point thinking about... doing anything else... But what's the point? It never ends..." he mumbled. Suddenly, a bolt of magic flew past Knuckles and struck the Dream King! "Look out!!" shouted Tails, and as Knuckles looked up, he saw the fox fly between him and an approaching Perfect Chaos tentacle! Tails was lifted up, but then Shadow appeared out of nowhere and swiftly pulled him out of the creature's grip! Gemini was soon at Knuckles's side, flinging spells at the Dream King heroically. "Didn't think we'd leave you behind, didja?" she winked. Knuckles gasped, watching his friends battle the massive form of Perfect Chaos in front of him. It unleashed tornadoes, fired beams, and whipped liquid tentacles around, which knocked them around a bit, but did nothing to daunt them from their goal. As a huge beam shot toward Gemini, Knuckles dove to shove her out of the way. They slowly stood up, and Knuckles glared at the Dream King. "I just figured it out." he said.

The Dream King swatted Shadow and Tails aside, and placed his focus on Knuckles. "I'm anxious to hear what you have to say, dutiful one." he sneered. Knuckles raised his fists. "I know my place. It's not Angel Island. It's wherever I'm needed!" he stated. The Dream King scoffed. "A weak answer from a weak mind." he said. Knuckles shook his head. "It's not a weak answer. Not as long as I'm willing to back it up. So, let's test it out... Right now, there's one place I'm needed..." he smirked. The Dream King growled softly, a bit impatient, so Knuckles finished his thought, "...It's between you and my friends!" he shouted. The Dream King stared, his eyes flashing red. "That is your answer?" he snarled. "Just call me... the guardian of all!" he said, making a few practice punches in anticipation of the coming battle. "...Fool. Then try to guard all!!" the Dream King roared. Tails and Gemini tried to move in to help, but Shadow quickly stopped them. "This is Knuckles's fight..." he said. The Dream King whirled a tornado directly in Knuckles's direction, and he glided directly into it, looking to ride it to get some height. As it blew him into the sky, the Dream King opened its maw and blew out a strange, purple smog. This made it difficult for Knuckles to see anything, so he was forced to drop down. However, he found footing much lower than expected. It felt slippery, like ice. "So, this is like a dream, huh? Hmmm..." As Knuckles tried to wrap his head around what was going on, a breeze blew the fog away from behind him, and glancing around, he saw the Dream King, holding up Shadow, Tails and Gemini in his Chaos tentacles! "Hey!! No fair!" Knuckles shouted. "You are doing quite a job so far... 'Guardian of all!'" the Dream King mocked. Knuckles ran to chase, but started to slip on the ice platform. There were more ice platforms leading over to the Dream King, but if he kept sliding, he'd never reach them. "Well... It's obviously not MY dream, or I'd be able to control it. I'll just have to wing it!" Knuckles growled, raising his fist and slamming it down on the ice platform to smash it! It broke in half and swung upward, catapulting Knuckles into the air! "Well... That happened..." Knuckles muttered.

Knuckles broke into a glide and headed for the next ice platform. The Dream King fired huge beams from his mouth at him as he jumped from one ice platform to the next, so Knuckles repeated the same maneuver as before, smashing the platform below him in order to catapult himself higher into the air! It worked, but the Dream King blew that purple smog into his path again, making his target difficult to see. "Cut it out! Chaos can't do that!" Knuckles complained. The Dream King only cackled through the fog. But this was helpful; Knuckles headed for the sound of his voice. Soon, he spotted the glowing red eyes, and swooped toward the bulbous brain of the Dream King's Chaos form! However, the tentacles holding his friends rose up and blocked him! The Dream King laughed hideously as he dangled Tails over his gaping maw. "Uh... I don't like to rush you, but..." the fox whimpered. Shadow grunted with effort, struggling to get free so he could make a move, while Gemini fumbled to move her wand hand. It was up to Knuckles. He decided to go right through the barrier, socking Shadow's tentacle aside and resuming his glide. "Hey!!" Shadow grunted. "You can take it, right?" Knuckles chuckled sheepishly. "Too late, guardian!!" the Dream King roared, sending Tails plummeting down his throat! "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" the fox screamed, while Knuckles growled furiously and landed on top of the Dream King's "brain." He raised his fists high. "You... SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!!!" he screamed, slamming both fists down with as much force as he could muster! The Dream King screeched, and a burst of light erupted from the point of impact. The area around them rapidly returned to the crystal room that they had entered the temple from, but with water sloshing all around in a torrential flood, slowly draining through some invisible crack in the center of the room. When it was over, Knuckles, Shadow, and Gemini stood up shakily. Tails was leaning against the wall, watching them with a bored look on his face. "Took long enough for the water to drain." he mumbled. The Dream King hovered before them at the back of the room, a mere shadow with red eyes swirling upon the wall. "I have seen your strength, guardian of all. Well done..." he said before fading into the darkness. The door leading outside then reappeared.

Heading outside, the group puzzled over what had transpired in the temple. "Exactly what IS that temple, anyway?" Knuckles wondered. "I dunno... The Dream Temple." Tails shrugged. "Yes, but what is its purpose?" Shadow wondered. Gemini sighed. "More importantly, why did we even go in there??" she mumbled. The rain had stopped by now. Suddenly, it dawned on Tails. "Waaaaugh! Knuckles, we still gotta stop Eggman!!" he shouted. "And the President's still missing..." Shadow realized. "Yeah, and the Covenant of Despair has the Master Emerald..." Knuckles sighed. These were all separate problems, and it would be necessary to split up to take care of it all. Or would it? "Well... Wait, Eggman's headed for Central City... and the President went missing in Central City?" Tails realized. Shadow nodded. "I'm thinking the same thing. You do what you like, Knuckles. The rest of us are going to Central City!" he said as Tails pulled out his remote to call the Tornado. Knuckles turned to Gemini, but she didn't seem intent on helping him either. "What I saw in the temple made me more... worried... about my own problems... I have to go to Central City and stop the Lost Ones there!" she said. Knuckles frowned, but then he nodded. "If I'm going where I'm needed... It looks like I'm needed most at Central City, too. Who knows, maybe I'll find a clue about the Covenant of Despair there..." he decided. Their destination decided, it was time for the group to begin their journey. Hopefully, they wouldn't arrive too late...

To be continued...