Sonic GeneX: Doomsday
Chapter 16 - Forces Clash! Part 1
Stage 9 - Belltower Battlefield

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


"I've got a feeling you are there,
Somewhere here in the atmosphere.
I can't escape there's nowhere left for me to hide...

Nowhere to run... Nowhere to hide.
Destiny will vanish forever." - Prison Hall, Sonic Forces


Previously on GeneX…
Lospecter had captured Tails' son from the future, Skye Prower, to use a leverage to keep Tails from using the Chaos Tailbands.
Copter and Gemini fought their way through the partially rebuilt Death Row to rescue Amy, Cream, Katie and Tommy from the Lost Ones.
Punchy had given up his Chaos Boots to the future Aurora so she could better protect Rainbow.
Lucky met up with his future daughters, Pepper and Minnie, who delivered a ProwerPhone to Lucky Jr. They got a call at that moment from Knuckles' daughter, Lara, who wanted Pepper and Minnie to help search for Skye.
Sonic helped GUN evacuate civilians from Central City, but he almost lost to Infinite along the way. This was causing him to doubt his ability to protect his friends.
After claiming a Chaos Emerald at Wisp Mine, Knuckles received a call from Tails, stating they'd found where Skye was likely being held, thanks to Lara's team. Eager to join the fight, Knuckles set out to meet up with everyone.
Now, our tale continues...


Sonic was speeding to Troblusk City to meet up with the gang that was going to help rescue Tails' son. He was still feeling a little rattled from Infinite's attack, but there was no time for idle worrying. He met Punchy and Heather at the base of Troblusk Plateau, the pair looking out into the city with grim expressions. The Lost Ones had swarmed Troblusk, just like Station Square and Central City. "We're sure this isn't madness, right?" Punchy asked. "Of course it's madness, but we can't leave anyone in those monster's clutches." Heather sighed. Sonic nodded. "Anyone else show up?" he asked. They heard Copter over the comms in response. "Yeah, us." Copter and Gemini were across a few city blocks, arriving near the train station. Amy and Cream were still with them, and they also found Razor the Porcupine and Vector the Crocodile guarding the area. Gemini hurried over to Razor. "Hey! Your brother will be relieved to know you're okay!" she said. Razor glanced at her. "What about this situation looks okay?" he grumbled, pointing his gun at the streets ahead being patrolled by slimy creatures. Vector gasped upon seeing Cream. "Why are you here!? Who's taking care of your mom!?" he babbled. Cream whimpered softly. "W-well... I don't know. I didn't mean to get kidnapped Mr. Vector." she babbled. While Amy was scanning the area for Sonic, Tails started talking on the comms. "Hey, guys. Shadow Arcangel's almost there. Are we ready?" he asked. Copter looked around at the group he was with, then glanced back to see Chopper panting as he caught up. "I very much doubt it." he muttered. Back at Troblusk Plateau, Sonic had quickly dashed to the peak to get a view of the situation. The Troblusk Clock Tower was looking strange, like webs of slime were encasing it in a cocoon. "Well, I think I see our target. Got a plan, Tails? Personally, I think I should go in alone..." he stated. "Hang on, Sonic! There's a couple things we gotta go over!" Tails said hastily. Sonic sighed impatiently. "Okay, you're in charge now, little bro..." he murmured.

The Clock Tower, the very place where the Doomsayer made his final prophecy, was the place the Lost Ones had taken over as a sort of base. That much seemed clear. Now, Tails had to figure out how to handle the situation with very little intel. "Listen up! Skye is not the only objective here. He... he can't even be the main objective, I realize. It's more important to get the Chaos Emeralds and Relics that the Lost Ones have in their possession, if they happen to be here." the fox reported. Gemini nodded as Copter was telling those without comms what was being said. "That's very practical, Tails. But don't worry, we won't let you boy down." the fennec said. Tails was aboard Shadow Arcangel, standing among Team GeneX as well as his daughter, Melody. He looked at her and nodded. "Those Lost Ones can't catch us off guard this time! We'll save him, and get that crazy key off Lospecter!" he declared. "That's the spirit!" Punchy replied. Zipp buzzed next to Tails, leaning against his shoulder. "Just one question... how?" he asked. Crash yanked the hornet away from the fox so he could concentrate. "Uhh... Very good question. Since nothing seems to touch Lospecter, I guess we'll have to wing it for now. Hopefully Sonic finds him, he might be the only one fast enough to snag the key." he babbled. Bucky was in the room with Tails as well, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I could determine a way to grasp something intangible like that ghost..." he murmured. Tails shrugged. He might as well not sugarcoat the situation. "Guys... There isn't really a plan. We go in teams, try to divide and conquer. Knuckles plans to join us but he's not here yet. We've lost contact with Shadow, and Silver and Blaze are... not coming. Seems they're still reeling from the trip to Blaze's world." he reported. This wasn't quite what anyone wanted to hear, but there was no sense delaying it. They had to get that key above all. It gave Lospecter too much power. Sonic zipped back down to where Punchy and Heather were, looking ahead into the city. "Alright, everyone... Let's do it to it!"


As Shadow Arcangel was flying over the monster-besieged city, Conan the raccoon glanced up at it from his hiding place in a dark alley. He stepped out of the alley to get a better look. "Ahh... Might some of the remaining Relics be up there? Or perhaps someone able to point me in their direction?" he mused. At the sound of footsteps, Conan spun around and pointed the Chaos Sword, eliciting a startled "Meee-YOW!" from the felines approaching him. It was Lucky and his son. "Oh, apologies. You're the boy I got this blade from. You're no threat." the raccoon murmured, "...Didn't know you had a twin." he added. Lucky glanced at his son with a shrug. "Nope, that wasn't Whisk coming out of the alley. I doubt she'd hang around a place like this." he murmured. Conan scoffed and started walking away. "You'd best not linger here, either! Now...bye!" he huffed. Lucky Jr. looked around uncomfortably. "Well, anyway, these are pretty much the coordinates Lara sent us. Skye's around here somewhere." he stated. "Hey, Thirteen!" Lucky yelped again as a voice called out from behind him. The cats looked to see Rainbow the echidna racing toward them. She looked rather distressed. "Hey, you're Punchy's wife..." Lucky murmured. "Aurora's mom!" Junior gasped. Rainbow nodded. "Y-yeah, that's right! But...but... See, Aurora was stickin' near me and her...baby self... to protect us. But the dumb goopy ones found us, and we had to get away, and now I can't find adult Aurora!" she babbled, wiping tears from her eyes. Lucky rubbed his head awkwardly. "Uhhh... Okay, but uh... Where's the baby?" he asked. "Mousy took her to a sitter... He wanted me to wait for him, but I can't leave Aurora out there!" she cried. Lucky and Junior both looked a bit flustered. It was bad enough worrying about Skye and Whisk, now Rainbow, too? But they couldn't leave her. "Come on. Nobody gets left behind in this darkness!" Lucky said, offering his hand to Rainbow. She smiled and took his hand. "Thank you... I'll... I'll follow you, Thirteen." she said with a sniffle.


Juice the hedgehog caught up with Sonic, Punchy and Heather as they were heading for the Clock Tower. He'd struck out on his own before Copter's group reached the city, eager to get back to his dad. Amy caught up with them from another direction, and was quick to catch Sonic in a tight bear hug. "Soooonic!! I worried for you! I'm so glad you're safe!" she cried. Sonic groaned in her death grip. "H-hey, Amy, how 'bout a little of that for your son??" he babbled, desperate to break away. Juice went pale. "Oh, n-not necessary..." he babbled. "Son... SON!? Eeeeeeee!!" Amy dove onto him immediately, and Heather couldn't help chuckling. "She's quite loving." she smiled. "Ugh, makes me appreciate Rainbow all the more..." Punchy sighed. Up above, Tails was flying down from Shadow Arcangel, with Fera joining him by flying on SPOT in hoverboard mode. As they made their way to Earth, Cream flew up to meet them. "Tails!! You're safe!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him as they gently lowered to the ground! "Blechh..." Fera groaned. "Cream, I'm glad you're okay, too..." Tails sighed, nuzzling her, "But... um... Our s-son...is in danger." he babbled with an awkward expression. "We really have a son?" Cream murmured with wide eyes, blushing. Fera hopped off SPOT and looked toward the tower. "A daughter, too. You're living the dream. But enemy territory is no place for mush, come on you two!" she said sternly. "Ah, yes, ma'am!" Cream nodded, Cheese chirping excitedly. Each of the three teams began to approach the Clock Tower from different sides, and as they did, a rain storm began to drench the city. Copter groaned. "I could use Dimentime's hood... Wait, hood... Damn, the Doomsayer!" he grunted, realizing who likely brought the rain. Lightning struck in front of the tower, and standing before Sonic's group as they approached, was indeed the hooded figure known as the Doomsayer!

The Doomsayer stepped towards Sonic. "Have you any concept of how foolish you are being right now?" he asked in his raspy voice. Sonic sped towards him in a fit of anger. "Outta the way!!" he shouted, launching into a homing attack! The Doomsayer side-stepped it with blazing speed. "Of course you don't. Ever the impulsive one." the hooded one said. Lightning struck at Sonic from above, knocking him backward! Amy and Juice rushed to his side, helping him up. This wasn't natural lightning. Another strike illuminated the roof of the tower, and the three groups looked up to see three hooded figures. One was the second Doomsayer. The storm picked up in intensity as two Doomsayers stood in their midst. To his right on the roof was the Darkseeker, who removed his hood to show that, indeed, it was Howler. Punchy held his head in disbelief. "Dang it, I didn't kill him hard enough!" he groaned. To the left of the Doomsayer on the roof was...the Deathbringer! "What? L-libra??" Gemini gasped. But the removal of the hood did little to relieve her, as this Deathbringer was shown to be Losipher, who smirked down at them smugly. "Hehehe!! Were you expecting a fox or a crow? Don't be disappointed... The original Deathbringer still resides with me..." he said darkly. Bucky could see him from the control room of Shadow Arcangel, and he shot lightning from his own fingers at the ceiling in his rage. "Mocking me!! He mocks me!! Wearing the robes of my Hope!! I'll kill you!!" the rat shouted. His shouts fell on deaf ears. The Doomsayer on the roof addressed the heroes below. "The side of Doom cannot be overcome. As you see from the returns of your old adversaries... We who dwell in the dark, we are immortal. We are forever. Your side, you are fragile. Take it from your time traveling youth. You all die. It is inevitable. Give up this pointless struggle." he bellowed. Sonic stood up with a defiant glare. "Never! We're here to take back what's ours!" he shouted. Lightning struck all around the tower, forcing the teams to step back. The Doomsayer on the ground stepped expertly past the lightning and spoke to Sonic. "Run, then, Sonic. Race to your demise. Know that before you fall, you will lose all that you hold dear!" With a final crash of lightning, the hooded figures had vanished. The tower was definitely on alert, but there was no turning back. The battle had begun!


During the distraction of the Doomsayer's little speech, Tails and his companions flew around the back of the tower and broke in through a window. Fera flew in on SPOT first, followed by Tails and Cream. The wolf looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "The Darkseeker's up there... I know by now that he deceived me." she said, clenching her fists with a soft growl. "Let's stay on-mission, Fera. Howler doesn't have anything we're after..." Tails said, stepping into the dark room slowly. "Eeep!" Cream squeaked as she stepped on something, and Tails and Fera turned around to see that she'd triggered some sort of button on the floor! The voice of Dr. Eggman rang out around them! "Hoo ho ho ho! Congratulations! You're the first to trigger my trap!" Then, the mine Cream was standing on started beeping. Acting fast, Tails dove into Cream, covering her with his own body as the bomb exploded behind him! "Of course, my adversaries are always too quick for a trick like that, so I hope you enjoy a bit more explosive company down there!" Eggman announced. Small robots that looked like bombs with stubby arms and legs dropped out of hatches in the walls, tucking their limbs in and rolling toward them! Fera was quick to zap some of them with dark lightning as Tails and Cream scrambled back to their feet. "That fat doctor's here, too! What is this madness?? ...Could Gunner be here?" she wondered as the robots she struck exploded! SPOT fired lasers to protect Tails and Cream from the other bomb-bots while the fox pulled out a scanner to track for energy signals that could lead them to the Chaos Emeralds or Relics. "Gunner wouldn't ever work with Howler. They're both supremists for their own kind. They wouldn't even use each other." Tails reasoned, pointing in an upwards direction. "We need to go that way." he stated. Cream nodded, and pointed at one of the bomb-bots. Cheese zoomed to it, kicking the robot into the air while Cream flapped her ears to fly after it! Then, she booted it right at the spot in the ceiling Tails had pointed at, blowing a hole in the roof! "There's our exit!" she shouted. Fera glanced at her with surprise. "I never expected so much vandalism from you goodie-goods. Maybe we're not so different..." she smirked, letting Tails grab her hand as he flew up toward the hole with Cream and SPOT following. The remaining bombs exploded behind them, but if Eggman was on the premises, there would surely be more to worry about.


Sonic led a charge right into the Clock Tower's ground floor. He was joined by Punchy, Heather, Amy, Juice and Razor, who like Amy and Cream had chosen not to stick with Copter and Gemini's group. It was a simple reason; Sonic simply inspired more confidence...more hope. As their group charged into the reception area for the tower, they found Lospecter hovering over the front desk. "You sillies think you're gonna take this from me?" he teased, holding up the Chaos Key and jiggling it to taunt them. A gunshot from Razor's pistol bounced off the gold key, but Lospecter maintained his grip. "Haha! You got moxie!" he chuckled. "You're going to pay for all the lives you've taken!!" the porcupine shouted. Lospecter floated back and pouted. "Us? We took those souls and made them eternal. You're the ones who go around stealing eternity from them when you kill our Lost Ones with your Chaos this and Chaos that." he grumbled. Heather stepped forward. "Eternity as a mindless monster isn't an eternal life worth having!" she shouted. "Easy for the immortal canary to say." Lospecter scoffed. Sonic shrugged, and then pointed at Lospecter defiantly. "Don't act like this is a discussion. You're not here as a savior! You're here to take over the world, like every other psychopath! And we're gonna stop you like the rest!" he declared. Lospecter wasn't listening, and instead turned the key towards the roof to open a portal. "Blah blah, have fun! Say hi to all those psychopaths for me, they're all here pretty much!" he snickered, flying into the portal as dozens of Lost Ones dropped out! Cuthburt and Corky seemed to be leading the swarm of monsters, all of them zombified beings like them. "Someone say we're just mindless monsters?" Cuthburt gurgled. Punchy cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Gotta be. You think you'll stop us!" he said. "Oi!" Corky shouted, "Any idea where dat colorful broad o' yers is at, green? I tried to get a li'l vengeance on her a bit ago, an' she took off like a coward!" he grinned. Punchy clenched his fists and charged. "Did you lay a hand on my wife and daughter!? I'll kill ya right!!" he yelled. Sonic leapt into the fray with him, bouncing off Cuthburt's head as he tried to bypass the monsters and get deeper into the Clock Tower! "Dad! Wait for us!!" Juice shouted, pulling a Wispon out to defend himself. "You're in good hands with Punchy and Heather! I gotta wrap this up before it gets outta control!" Sonic said, dashing on his own. He was worried about what Lospecter said. Beyond Howler, beyond the Lost Ones, what else could be waiting for them here? And could even he be fast enough to keep everyone safe against such odds?


Elsewhere, in a section of the tower with giant gears turning like clockwork, a flash of light dropped off Gemini and her friends. Chopper gasped as he wobbled atop one of the large gears. "Maybe warping in was a bad idea!" he stammered. "Shh! It is if you alert them we're here!" Vector snapped. They each jumped from the gears to a walkway and started to look around. "...Do you hear growling?" Copter asked. "Abra-ka-shine-ra..." Gemini whispered, pointing her wand to light up the dark area. Crystalline-looking canines snarled at them as they clung to the gears turning above. "Mephiles Biters!?" Gemini and Copter gasped at once. Chopper didn't care what they were, he pointed his Wispon and started firing colorful beams at the beasts, causing them to scatter! "Yeaaaah! That's right! Run away!" he shouted. "Unruly child. Why don't you take a time out?" Before anyone could realize whose voice this was, Chopper was struck by a strange energy that quickly drained him of his color, freezing him in place as a statue! "What the!?" Vector looked from him to his attacker, only to get struck by the same energy and frozen in his state of shock! Copter and Gemini jumped back as Mephiles the Dark floated down to them. "The gears of time, ever spinning on... As the wheel of fate once more brings me back to you..." the crystalline hedgehog mused. Gemini immediately fired a blast from her wand at him, which Mephiles simply shrugged off. "Such anger, and yet you reject the dark. You, who defied your masters..." he said to Gemini, "And you, who saw your own shadow destroyed." he stated to Copter. The black fox growled. "So not only are you still around, you've been spying on us?" he grunted. Mephiles held up the green Chaos Emerald as if to taunt them. "In a manner, yes. But I've been off the board for a while. I was freed from my purgatory, as my goals align with my captor... The complete annihilation of you and your friends!" he sneered, floating back up high into the clock tower! Chopper and Vector suddenly unfroze, but the biters were also crawling back towards them! "Hmm... So, he froze them like the Time Eater, but it doesn't seem like he can maintain that at a distance..." Copter murmured. "No time for babbling, Copt! Monsters!!" Vector shouted, winding up his fist and giving one a punch as it leapt towards them! Gemini stared up in the direction Mephiles had gone. "Howler, Mephiles, Ophi… This...is a trap!" she whimpered.


Sonic had sped his way into...some sort of office within the clock tower. He found Ophiuchus there, putting the finishing touches on a new wand. "You!? No way, we left you in an empty dimension!" Sonic recalled. The snake glanced back at him and hissed angrily. "If it weren't for you...YOU, my plans would have succeeded! I would be ruling over a new world... A new multiverse! I told you idiots... The Lost Ones win, regardless. There's nothing for us here! I need to play their side carefully until I am able to pry the Chaos Key away from Lospecter and escape safely to a universe they don't control now!" he told Sonic, clutching his new wand as light sparked from the multiple Chaos Stones welded onto it. At that moment, Punchy, Heather, Juice and Razor stepped out of a nearby elevator. "An office... ANOTHER office!? No, no thanks, I'm tearing this apart!!" Punchy yelled, starting to smash desks and copiers with his fists without noticing Ophi. However, Ophi had noticed them. "Ah... Sagittarius is here. Yes, he'll do nicely. Hypnoconquera!!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Razor! "Gaaah!!" The porcupine held his head, and then started to point his gun, first at Heather. "Hold on, now, Razor! Fight it!" she pleaded. Razor groaned, and then pointed his gun at Juice. "My name...is...Sagittarius!!" he snarled. As the gun fired, Heather leapt into the path of the bullet, falling to the ground in front of the shocked Juice! "H-heather, no!!" he gasped, bending over her burning body! "Gah! Hot!! No!" he stammered in panic. Punchy had noticed what was happening by now and raced to Razor, only to get a gun pointed at him, too! Sonic raced over there and yanked the weapon away from Razor while Heather regenerated. "Now he's no good to ya! Let him go!" Sonic shouted. Smirking, Ophi nudged toward the window, and Razor started toward it. "Isn't he supposed to stop US from jumping? Hey, officer!! Snap out of it!" Punchy yelled, chasing after him. Sonic charged at Ophi, and the snake fired concentrated light beams from his wand, slowing the hedgehog's approach as he dodged them! "This is a waste of time!" Ophi hissed, zapping the desk he was building his wand from and bringing it to life, causing it to gallop between him and Sonic and leap at the blue hedgehog, knocking him over! "Ungh!! What the heck was that!?" Sonic groaned. Ophiuchus shrugged and held up his wand. "Your friends are as good as dead, Sonic. Why do you think the Lost Ones made their quote-unquote 'base' so easy to find? Galaporta!" he said, warping away. Punchy tumbled backward, yanking Razor from the window as he snapped out of hypnosis. "Ugh... My brain... That was that snake again!!" he shouted. "Good sleuthing, officer. Now get off me." Punchy growled. Sonic looked at his friends with relief. They were okay, but for how long? "Juice, get out of the tower. As your dad, I want you to get safe!" he ordered. Juice opened his mouth to protest, but Sonic had sped off alone again. "There's no me without you..." he murmured. The elevator suddenly dinged, and Amy poked her head out, looking around at the busted office equipment, the burned floor, and Razor sitting on Punchy. "So, there you all are... What the heck happened?" she asked, "Also if anyone cares, frog and gator zombie got away from me... Even the bad guys leave me behind." she growled. 


Shadow Arcangel was rocked by impacts as it circled the tower. Team GeneX had intended to provide support in this fight, but Dark Kosmo was back again, flying around the ship in dragon form and trying to do as much damage as possible. "All in all, I think you sssshould have left Kossssmo dead." Vortex hissed as he piloted the ship. Bucky growled, leading Crash and Zipp out of the control room. "We need to get to the roof and repel that thing!" he said. "I'll get my sniper rifle, unless Crash objects??" Zipp shouted, glaring at him. "Bring me one!" the rhino grunted. Zipp hugged him all of a sudden. "Finally, we're bonding!" he cheered. "Get moving!!" Bucky shouted, "I hope Melody can handle repairs while airborne!" he sighed. As they raced to defend the ship, Conan was flying with the Chaos Wing towards it, finding an entrance and slipping inside. "I'd best be quick and discreet..." the raccoon murmured. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but he didn't believe that this group would be foolhardy enough to attack the tower without any special power behind them at all. As he snuck about the ship, he soon came upon the lab. He could hear voices inside. "Well, a little interrogation could go a long way..." he thought, bursting through the door! Bolt huddled behind Sonata as the pair of them cowered in the corner from the sword-toting stranger. "Excuse me, I'm looking for... Wha- Who the devil are you!?" the raccoon gasped, spotting Emily the Squirrel seated by the lab bench, reading a book. She looked at him with fright as he brandished his sword. "D-don't hurt me... M-my name is Emily..." she babbled in response to his question. Conan backed up a step, taking off his hat and rubbing his head with the hand holding it. "No... You're not... Emily. My Emily is gone... waiting for me to save her... with the power of the Chaos Relics!" he stammered. Sonata's horn glowed as he read Conan's emotions. "He's confused... Anguished... E-enraged!" he gasped. "L-l-let's get outta here!" Bolt whimpered, his head bolts sparking. Conan fired a Chaos Spear from his sword at their feet. "Silence!! Nobody leaves this room! Nobody gets away with this...farce!! She's not Emily...she can't be! How DARE that rat!!" he screamed. Emily recoiled from him, unsure what he'd do. "P-please, calm down..." she whimpered. This was not something he expected to find. Now, Conan had to determine how to handle this affront, this mad scientist's ploy. He raised his sword at the squirrel, agonized rage in his eyes...

To Be Continued!