Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 39 - Solenix Strikes Back
Stage 19x - The Kingdom of Loss & Despair; Despair Depths

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related OCs are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.


"Ever since I met you, I want you by my side.
Should I go on my way now, let you go for a ride?
If I ever worry, then I will run to you.
You gave me your everything, and my heart can be true.

Can you stay forever more?
Or are you gonna leave from me?
No matter what it takes for me, I'll find you,
Just to be with you one more time." - My Destiny; Sonic the Hedgehog 2006


Previously on GeneX…
With Demon Island on the move, Punchy, Heather, Guard and Rainbow left Prof. Pickle with Team Chaotix, taking the Scepter of Darkness with them as they searched for a way to get up to the island clearly lifted by the Chaos Crystal's power. Illusi gave them a ride to Darkegg Fortress via an illusion boat; Surely there would be a plane they could use to reach Demon Island there.
While helping Hoover prepare a "Doomsday Protocol," our heroes didn't notice Punky arrive. He captured Rainbow in order to lure Punchy to him. Illusi was able to help Rainbow escape, but with the Scepter of Darkness in hand, Punchy decided to go after his Dark Form anyway. Along the way, Aurora caught up to them.
The scepter failed to contain Punky, so Punchy faced him in a final confrontation, despite the Dark even having the Chaos Boots. Using his intimate knowledge of his dark self, Punchy destroyed him, even though it meant the darkness returning to himself.
Hoover had built an "X-Hurricane" plane, which our heroes boarded to reach Demon Island and continue their quest...
Now, our tale continues...


As the X-Hurricane approached Demon Island, they noticed that the Lost Ones were not reconstructing the island quite the same. In addition to the pieces that were raised from the depths of the ocean, chunks of other locations were being grabbed up by massive ectoplasmic tendrils and affixed to the floating island as it moved across the sky. "It's like... They're trying to build a... floating kingdom!" Aurora remarked in shock. Rainbow rubbed her head as the plane passed over the island. "Yup, the 'ol not-so-secret relic is down there! We gotta land this thing!" she murmured. "Land...riiiight..." Aurora replied awkwardly. She didn't have a lot of landing experience. Needless to say, their landing was a little bumpy, but they arrived in one piece and all exited the plane as Guard landed close by. "Grrr... Impressive. This island is even less hospitable than before..." he remarked, noting the dead trees around them that used to form the woods surrounding Despair Castle. Punchy nodded in agreement. "Never wanted to come back to this place... So, let's grab the Chaos Crystal and ditch! Getting it should cause this island to fall down again, right?" he asked. Everyone just shrugged, uncertain. "Couldn't hurt to try it." Heather sighed. They all looked to Rainbow, and Illusi cleared his throat. "Well, you're the guardian, Raisol daughter. Not even I can lead us." he pointed out. Rainbow nodded. "Feels like it's still below us. It must be in the underground caves... Ahh, follow me?" she murmured uncertainly. Punchy walked up and took her hand. "Don't worry, I definitely remember how to get in those caves. Come on, everyone!" he said, leading the way side by side with his wife. "Grrr... Be cautious... The Lost Ones are surely waiting for us..." Guard pointed out.

The gargoyle was right, of course. As they reached the cave entrance that would lead them down into the Despair Depths tunnels, the Doomsayer blocked their path, and the group quickly noticed Lost Ones start to surround them! "I see you have taken on the darkness once again, Punchy!" the Doomsayer stated, "But of course, we both know such paths of self-destruction are inevitable!" he added, throwing back his hood to reveal the face of Sonic the Hedgehog! "S-speedy!?" Rainbow stammered while the others gasped in shock. Punchy stepped defiantly toward the Doomsayer. "It's only self-destruction if I let it be! Now move aside, you fake!" he snapped. The Doomsayer laughed softly. "A fake calling me a fake. Good one. Go on, then, challenge your fate. I'll be watching!" he smirked, lighting striking the spot he was standing, which caused the heroes to shield their eyes, but Illusi managed to notice the Doomsayer speed away before the lightning could strike him! "He is Sonic... Maybe not OUR Sonic..." he murmured. As Punchy, Rainbow and Heather ran for the cave entrance, Guard, Aurora and Illusi stopped there, each launching attacks at the approaching losoars, losol and loskel seeking to chase them! Rainbow glanced back in concern. "Aurora! Mousy! Come on!" she cried. A Wrongo appeared in front of her, and Illusi shook his head, holding two spiked Wrongos in his hands like chakrams. "You need to continue, and we need to protect the exit!" he stated. Aurora looked back with a smile, pointing her Wispon down at her feet. She was wearing the Chaos Boots again. "I'll be fine Mom... And even if I'm not, remember...your real baby girl is still down below!" she pointed out. Rainbow's eyes were a bit tearful, but she nodded. Guard grunted as his scythe struck a skeletal loskel away. "Grrrraaah!! Hurry! Go with them, Heather!!" he shouted. The phoenix nodded and followed after the echidnas. "I'll be back, and you'd better be here, Garen!" she shouted.

There was a winding network of tunnels running through Demon Island, as well as chasms that would drop a careless person all the way back down to Earth. Punchy, Rainbow and Heather all had been through these caves before, but this time there was a new wrinkle. The massive tethers of slime that held the broken pieces of Demon Island together were strung through these caves, blocking some of the passageways. "What if Seven just burned these slimy things away?" Rainbow suggested. Heather sighed. "If that worked, the island could break apart and kill any living people on OR below it..." she stated. Certainly not a good idea. Punchy crouched under one of those slimy tethers and on the other side found a narrow bridge running over a chasm, a familiar sight from their last trip to these caves, but now the bridge had crumbled in places, making it more dangerous to cross. "Wait, Rainbow should be picking the route!" he reasoned, only to gasp as she passed him and started skipping across the unstable rocky bridge. "C'mon, One! I feel my relic this way!" she said cheerfully. Heather joined Punchy at the start of the bridge. "She's got nerves of steel... At least we're not finding any more Lost Ones down here, though." the phoenix shrugged, cautiously following behind Rainbow. Punchy looked around the vast, dark caverns with a tense expression. "The silence is kinda eerie. If the Chaos Crystal is down here, shouldn't there be guards defending it?" he questioned. Especially considering Lospecter's seeming omnipresence with that Chaos Key, it really felt like they were waltzing into a trap with nothing obvious standing in their way. Rainbow snapped Punchy out of his thought by calling out from across the chasm. "Hey, One! You're not scared to cross, are ya? Hurry up!" she called. Punchy sighed and started slowly across. "Easy for people that can glide or are birds... 'course I'm nervous..." he grumbled.

Despite the treacherous terrain, the trio had a fairly uneventful journey until they found the Chaos Crystal in a deep chamber. There appeared to be a small altar there just for the crystal. Behind the altar stood Heather's dark counterpart, Soleil, and floating beside her was Mephiles the Dark! "Ugh, this guy again!" Punchy groaned, while Heather reacted in a much more alarmed fashion. "M-mephiles!? No! Stay back! You won't use me again!" she shouted, her hands bursting in flames as she took a defensive stance! "One, the scepter!" Rainbow suggested. "Right! Say good night, Darks!" Punchy smirked, lifting up the Scepter of Darkness toward Mephiles and Soleil! The duo each gave Punchy an eerie laugh. "How cute. The smoldering firebird thinks we have any use for her power, and Punky's vessel expects to seal us away!" Soleil smirked. Mephiles sneered at them, the reds of his eyes becoming tainted with sickly blues and greens, a color that also spread into Soleil's eyes. "The Scepter of Darkness is for Darks. We are no longer mere Darks! Each of us met our ends... our return coming courtesy of Apocalos' power! We are...a part of Apocalos!" Mephiles explained, "This is why I haven't traveled in time... Apocalos took that power from me when I fell. But the Time Eater remains within me... darkness enough to merge with the flames inside dear Soleil... And together with my new partner, Solenix will rise again from the ashes!" he declared! Punchy grit his teeth, still clutching the scepter. "Starting to feel real stupid here... Now what do we do?" he asked. "Stop them before they merge!" Heather shouted, leaping up and hurling fireballs at Mephiles, only for Soleil to intercept and absorb them! "How dare you... You never appreciated sweet Mephy's offer of power! Now, I'll destroy you with that power you denied! Or perhaps, turn you into a Lost One!" she cackled, taking Mephiles' crystal claw in her hand, the pair starting to dance together as their bodies glowed with bright light! They were Lost Ones, but they were also two halfs of Solaris...and they could become LoSolenix!

Fire surrounded Mephiles and Soleil, and as they rose into the air, the ceiling seemed to dissolve and give way to a purple distortion! Punchy, Rainbow and Heather watched in shock as the dark duo transformed not only themselves, but the landscape around them, creating a time-space rift that would spread and consume the world if this wasn't stopped! The result of the fusion was a great phoenix beast, comprised of a glasslike crystal substance that was coated in a pale, slimy green. A red sphere on its chest contained the consciousness of Mephiles and Soleil, and the phoenix's demonic eyes glowed a sinister red. LoSolenix screeched loudly as it flapped its great crystal wings, stirring up a blue flame around itself! Rainbow looked around to see that the floor was dissolving in places, too, giving them increasingly fewer places to stand. However, the space around the Chaos Crystal appeared safe for the moment. "We'd better move, One, or we'll fall into all that purple space!" she warned, leaping into a glide as she headed for the crystal! "R-rainbow, wait! It's dangerous! Agh, what do we do now??" he grunted, looking at Heather questioningly. "What? I've never been on the other end of this!" she shouted, "And I'm not inside it to take over and crash it into the ocean, either!" More to the point, there would be no ocean by the time they could figure a way to get LoSolenix to it. Punchy pocketed the Scepter of Darkness for now and looked around for any remaining pieces of the cavern. "Well, we're what's here. We'll have to be the ones to fight it! Ready to give it everything you have, Heather?!" he asked, cracking his knuckles. Heather looked up at the screeching creature and clenched her fist. "Let's fight fire with fire, then! This is MY power... and I won't let it be used to hurt my friends anymore!!" she declared!

The duo charged ahead, leaping to any footholds they could use to get closer to Solenix. "Chaos Avalanche!!" Punchy grabbed up what pieces of the cavern he could that remained of the walls & ceiling, hurling those chunks of earth at the crystalline bird! It screeched and swatted the stones aside with its broad wing, starting to flap towards them while stirring up fire around itself! Heather was unsure if tossing more fire at Solenix would do any good, but seeing Rainbow alone with the Chaos Crystal, she started in that direction, hoping to keep her safe! Some of the rubble swatted away by Solenix came flying towards her, and Rainbow yelped in alarm, knocking it back with her shockwaves! "Hey, I'm gettin' the hang of that! ...I think being near the crystal helps! Haha!" she giggled excitedly, raising her fists with a grin as she prepared to do her part, "C'mon, ya big canary! Bring it on!" she yelled. "Rainbow, don't!!" Punchy shouted, his face turning pale as he saw the monster turn to glare at his wife! "Full of yourself, aren't you girlie?" Soleil's voice said, echoing through the area. "It's time that color and life left you...forever!" Mephiles added, a beam getting charged from the beak of Solenix as he spoke! Rainbow's eyes widened. "Uh-oh...." she gulped, glancing to see Heather racing toward her. "No, seven! Stay back!" she shouted, holding out her hand in a motion to ask her to halt, but accidentally sending a shockwave her way as well, sending Heather flying into space! "Eeek! I'm sorry!" she gasped. "Rainbow!!" Punchy cried, too late to do anything as the beam was fired, reducing Rainbow to a frozen white statue, trapped in time! Solenix still had the Time Eater's power, too! Furious, Punchy clutched the Scepter of Darkness, and felt power channeling through it. He looked at it with a nod. "Let's do this... Together!" he cried, embracing the dark power flowing through the scepter! His body was enveloped in shadow, and he emerged once more as Dark Punchy!

Punchy had become Dark Punchy before, but this time was different. With the scepter enabling the transformation, it was almost as though their two minds had merged. "You Lost Ones... Pushed us around for long enough! Yeah, you're Lost...and that's your weakness! Comin' for ya!!" Dark Punchy shouted, leaping high into the air and swinging his fist at Solenix to send a blast of dark energy flying towards the red orb in its chest! Even that didn't seem to bother Solenix a great deal, and making matters worse, Dark Punchy remembered he couldn't fly. "Gah, right, I had the Chaos Wing to fight the Darkseeker!" he shouted as he started to plummet! He landed on something warm, and looked down to see it was Heather! Her arms had burst into fiery wings, which she was using to fly through the weird distorted space around them. "Since when can you do that??" Punchy asked. "Since always. How do you think I even got to Soleanna the first time??" Heather chuckled. She'd always been at least a bit afraid to utilize her full power, but now there was no reason to hold back. "Now, what do you say we get your wife back?" she smiled. Punchy made a 50/50 motion with his hand. The Dark Punchy side wouldn't mind letting her die, but both were in control now. Either way, he and Heather were in it together. Which made them a singular target for Solenix. The crystal bird screeched and started charging another beam to attempt to cease time for the pair of them. "Any ideas?" Punchy grunted. Heather's body burned hotter as she sped up. "Don't get hit would be a start!" she shouted. The beam shot from Solenix's beak, and Heather spun in the air to dodge it while Punchy held on tight! "Your time will run out, regardless!" Mephiles and Soleil declared in one voice, motioning their wings to the platform Rainbow was on, which was shrinking as the time-space rift was consuming everything!

With so much on the line, Punchy and Heather started to trade blows with Solenix as best they could. Punchy's dark energy shots were cloaked in Heather's flames for added punch, but even with Solenix technically being a Lost One, it didn't seem to particularly bother it, and then Solenix responded by sending a hail of dagger-like crystalline feathers at the duo with a mighty flap of its wings! Punchy repelled those feathers as best he could with a dark shockwave, but one still got through and left a nasty gash on his arm! "Gaah!! This is hopeless!" he snarled. The voices of Solenix laughed. "Of course it is. Our power is united. You'll never be one like us..." they taunted. "Actually... It's three against two." Punchy smirked, noting that he and Dark Punchy were truly one. "Four... Rainbow's still with us!" Heather added. "Ha, seven then! Don't forget Illusi, Guard and Aurora!" Punchy laughed as Heather flew around Solenix in a circle. Mephiles and Soleil scoffed. "They're nothing! Already long gone! Observe!" True enough, the distortion was starting to eat away at Rainbow herself! Punchy growled, but Heather chuckled. "All we have to do is destroy you... Something never done before, granted... But you're not really Solaris! Now, Punchy! Let's use our full power!" she cried. Solenix turned toward them, already having charged a time beam to fire! "It's...over!!" Mephiles declared. "Chaos...BURN!!" Heather cried, while Punchy added, "Dark Chaos Avalanche!!" Darkness and Chaos combined to create an earthy cocoon around the pair, which was struck by the time beam and turned white! Then, an object burning with chaotic flames burst through the cocoon, charging straight for Solenix's orb weak spot in the shape of a great firebird! The firebird pierced and shattered the orb, and the chaotic flames seared through the slimy crystal, burning a brilliant green color as Mephiles and Soleil wailed in defiance! "I-it's impossible!! We are a god!!" Soleil shrieked. "All of time...is mine!! My time cannot...run out! NOOOOO!!" Mephiles howled, the time-space distortion fading away and the caverns returning as Solenix and the pair who formed it burned to inert slime amidst the green flames...

Rainbow rubbed her eyes and looked around. "One? Seven? Mephistopheles?" she babbled, looking around. Heather staggered over to her, smoke billowing from her body. She coughed before giving Rainbow a light smile. "I-I'm alright. Looks like things are normal again..." She gasped as Dark Punchy stepped over to them. He held up the Scepter of Darkness, and in a flash, Punchy was restored. "I think Punky and I may have come to an understanding... He may finally be at peace. Let's not jinx it, though." he chuckled. Rainbow giggled softly and turned to the Chaos Crystal. "Well, hold on tight! This island's about to fall down!" she said, lifting the crystal from the pedestal it was affixed to. However, nothing happened. "...Will it take a minute to fall?" Heather asked. Suddenly, the inner light faded from the Chaos Crystal, and it appeared clear and dead in color. "Ohhhhh no..." Rainbow gasped, "I think it was here too long. The island's absorbed the relic's power!" she gulped. Punchy had a bewildered expression. "B-but it's a controller gem! It can't run out of juice! Th-the Master Emerald doesn't!" he protested. Rainbow looked at him grouchily. "Does this LOOK like Red's big green rock?? My relic could be used to control the others, but it was never the same thing! The relics were made, the emeralds were natural!" she explained. "Good to see being frozen hasn't made you tired, Rainbow..." Heather chuckled. The eerie whispers of Lost Ones started to sound in the depths of the caverns, and the trio gulped. "Now that Mephiles is gone, I think the army's out to get us..." Punchy murmured. "We'd better go meet up with Garen and the others..." Heather nodded. Rainbow let out a sigh, clutching the Chaos Crystal as the three of them started to flee back whence they came. "Yup, we're still not done. Can I follow you for a change, One? This relic's heavy!" she grunted. As Punchy led the way, he felt oddly at peace. There might still be danger ahead, but he and Heather had nothing to fear from their powers, or their darkness, any longer...


Apocalos sat upon a great throne within Despair Castle, holding the Scepter of Despair in an almost regal manner. In front of him stood Howler with a scowl, Infinite with a bored expression, and Dr. Eggman with his best poker face on display. Whispers of Lost Ones creeping in the shadows of the room kept the trio in line as Apocalos gave them a sadistic grin. "I imagine each of you fancies yourself more deserving of this throne. Yet you've all failed to destroy a simple hedgehog." he stated, riling Howler and Infinite up a bit. "You haven't exactly stamped out their resistance, either!" Infinite pointed out. "Now Mephiles is gone." Howler grunted, "And the snake, surely you realize he plans to betray you..." he added. Apocalos held up his free hand, and it crystallized before their eyes, resembling the claw of Mephiles the Dark. "I created that Mephiles. Everything he was, came from me, because I devoured the original...oh, it seems like eons ago to me now." he said with a toothy smirk, his claw reverting to normal, "Ophiuchus is more predictable than he thinks he is. He will serve our purpose...as will you three." he sneered, standing up from the throne. Dr. Eggman shrugged. "Overconfidence is our occupational hazard. I'm the only one with the knowledge and experience to put an end to Sonic!" he stated. Apocalos let out a raspy chuckle. "Are you, now? By all means, let us pit your mere decades against my eons of experience! You can handle Sonic. The rest of you, I do believe you have your own scores to settle with the echidna and the fox?" he asked, grinning widely. Howler nodded, lifting his red-streaked hood up. "Knuckles took everything from me. It will be my great pleasure to do the same for him!" he snarled. Infinite touched the ruby on his chest. "That insignificant fox destroyed my perfect Phantom Ruby. And that wolf he's traveling with... I've a score to settle with her, too. And when Eggman fails, I'll crush Sonic next!" he declared, balling his clawed hand into a fist. Apocalos nodded and waved his scepter. "Go, then! Earn your place in the new world...or suffer Mephiles' fate!" he declared, lowering the scepter to watch as souls swirled inside its spherical prison...

To be continued...