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Do they have what it takes to succeed in a daring forward assault?\nNow, on to the next chapter!\n\n\nSonic, Tails and Knuckles, joined by Gemini, had reached the front gate to Despair castle. \"Well, now that we're here, what do we do? Knock at the door?\" Knuckles wondered. Sonic shrugged and nonchalantly knocked at the door. \"Yeah, like they're really gonna just let us in...\" Tails sighed. A familiar voice called from the other side of the doorway. \"Hahaha! Who iiiiis it??\" Char said in a singsong voice. Sonic groaned softly. \"Char... How'd you get to be the doorman?\" he wondered. Char chuckled. \"Eggman worked a miracle to get us back in the covenant's good graces! I bet he's got a brilliant plan... I got a pretty sneaky plan myself!\" he snickered, pulling the door open! \"Huh?? He's just...letting us in?\" Gemini gasped. Char had a big grin on his face. \"This'll teach those goons for tryin' to kidnap me! Hurry inside before someone sees ya!\" he said. Sonic and Knuckles shrugged, leading Tails and Gemini into the castle's entrance hall. It was pretty empty; Apparently Despair's agents were busy guarding more important areas. \"Well... Thanks, Char.\" Sonic muttered. Char nodded. \"Oh! Before you go... Look out in here. Eggman's robots were added to the staff, and so were some GUN robots brought by a crazy scientist.\" he warned. Tails scratched his head. \"You're being unusually helpful...\" he muttered. \"I hate this place, and I want out!\" Char complained, \"If you're looking for all the loot the covenant swiped, I'm afraid they got it scattered around the castle to make it tough to find. Well, I'm outta here so I can claim I was in the bathroom when you broke in. Bye!\" he said, fluttering away. Knuckles crossed his arms. \"Figuring out where to go first could be impossible... Maybe Bucky would be able to help us if we could free him.\" he figured. Sonic looked around the entrance hall, trying to decide which way to go first. \"Yeah... He was a big help during the Kosmo and Soleanna fiascos... Even if he did try to zap me last time I saw him.\" he murmured. Gemini pointed to the path straight ahead. \"Let's just head as deep into the castle as we can and see what we find! Hopefully we find the copy of my wand before it gets used in that doomsday weapon again!\" she said.\n\nDespair Castle was painted with a lot of black and red, with the thirteen-pointed star of Despair as a main focal point of the decor. There were doors and pathways everywhere. It was a massive place. As Sonic and company proceeded down a long hallway, a bright light shone from an adjoining hallway, and SPOT scampered out to greet them, sitting at Tails's feet. \"Hey, where have you been??\" Tails wondered. Just then, Sonic found himself tackle-hugged by Amy. \"It's the light at the end of the tunnel!! You have no idea what I had to endure to find you again, Sonic!\" she cried, squeezing him tightly. Cream was close behind her, and met Tails with a much gentler hug. Silver had also come out, and Gemini gave him a friendly hug as well. \"Silver! It's been too long!\" she smiled. Zipp the hornet was with them as well. Knuckles took one look at him and said \"I ain't huggin' ya.\" To which he stuck out his tongue. When the cuddly reunion was over, they took a moment to question why Zipp was there. \"Aside from the fact that my brilliance got them in here in the first place... I split up with my team to look for Bucky. Duh.\" Zipp explained. Suddenly, a loud thud was heard from the adjoining hallway across from them. \"Awww, did I miss the hugs? I wanted one! Well... I guess we can still be friends and play.\" The crazed robotic voice was all too familiar. \"Oh, no... Alpha!\" Sonic turned around, and sure enough, the thud was Alpha landing behind them. He was accompanied by some of Eggman's most recent creations: Egg Fighters! They were used a lot during Eggman's plot to unleash Dark Gaia, and now the blue robots were back for more! Tails looked at this army and decided to try something crazy. \"...ALPHA!! Look out behind you!!\" he shouted. Alpha turned his head around and, seeing the Egg Fighters, let out a robotic scream. \"Everything is blue!!! It's an evil conspiracy!! Save me, blue hedgehog!!\" he yelled before flying up into the air, acrobatically flipping around near the high ceiling. \"Uh... I don't know if that was good thinking or not, Tails.\" Sonic said, scratching his head. \"Me neither...\" Tails admitted.\n\nAs a battle started to break out in the hall, the noise drew the attention of some Despair agents, who came to observe from a balcony above. They were Conan the raccoon and Anubis the jackal. \"Sonic... He has proven every bit as persistent as that doctor warned us...\" Anubis growled. \"And look, that pathetic excuse for a hunter has come to get back his emerald. How quaint.\" Conan grinned. Anubis started to raise his hands. \"I must summon my servants...\" he snarled. \"Hold on, there... Wouldn't it be prudent to put a guard on all those valuable Chaos Relics we've been gathering?\" Conan suggested. Anubis glanced at him with a serious look. \"It is in good hands.\" he stated. \"It could be in better hands... You wouldn't happen to know where they're being held...?\" Conan asked. Anubis glared at him. \"...Safe from the likes of you!\" he growled. Sighing, Conan drew his Chaos Sword and shot some Chaos Spears at Anubis, making him waste some fiery blasts on blocking them so that he'd have an opening to kick the jackal off the balcony! \"Gaaaaaaahhh!! Traaaaaitoooor!!!\" Anubis roared, bursting into flames as he crashed onto an Egg Fighter! \"Hey... What's up, Anubis?\" Sonic waved. Conan glanced down and waved melodramatically. \"Good bye, Covenant of Despair! I begin the ultimate treasure hunt now! Thanks so much for gathering so many of the Chaos Relics in one place! And fox boy... I know you've got the second Chaos Tailband! I'll get them both soon enough!\" he shouted before escaping somewhere in the upper floors of the castle. Silver stared up at the balcony for a second. \"Well... At least we're not the only ones Despair has to worry about.\" he said. Anubis stood up slowly, his body covered in flames. \"...I will deal with that traitor... Just as soon as I've burned all of you to cinders!!\" he snarled. Zipp started shooting him, but his bullets seemingly couldn't penetrate Anubis's flames. \"Well... I guess if the fall didn't kill ya...\" he grumbled. However, Silver simply buried him under a pile of broken Egg Fighters that he tossed with his psychokinesis! \"That oughta slow him down!\" he said.\n\nWhile fighting the Egg Fighters, Sonic soon spied an Egg Mobile sneaking by into the hallway up ahead. It was just Metal Eggman, but his sneaking seemed suspicious enough to check out. \"Hey! Where do you think you're goin'!? It's not like an Eggman to take off without taunting me or something!\" Sonic shouted, speeding after the metallic doctor! \"Go ahead! Try and catch me! This time I've got you beat, once and for all!! Gah ha ha ha!!\" Metal Eggman cackled. \"You're not the real Eggman, you know!!\" Sonic shouted. Metal Eggman growled at him and started flying upward, finding an opening leading into one of the castle's many towers. In order to chase him, Sonic had to run for the wall, picking up enough speed to run UP the wall! \"Sonic!! ...Be careful!!\" Amy shouted, bashing aside an Egg Fighter before watching Sonic disappear up into the hole in the ceiling leading to the tower. Metal Eggman glanced down as he rose up the tower and yelped, weaving around bridges as he led Sonic higher and higher up Despair Castle. Some Despair agents tried shooting at Sonic from the bridges spanning through the inside of the tower, but Sonic just moved swiftly upward, moving back and forth just slightly to make himself difficult to hit. Soon, they were at the highest point inside the tower, where a number of metal beams were pretty much all there was to stand on. \"Nowhere left to run, Egg-bolts! Now what can you tell me about the REAL Eggman's plans here?\" Sonic shouted from his perch on a metal beam. \"I AM the Eggman!! Ask me about MY plans!! Or... don't. Actually, my plan is to lure you up to this high point.\" Metal Eggman said, shifting from rage to amusement. Other robots dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the metal beams, surrounding Sonic! It was Terra, Firma and Freeze! \"...How'd these obviously non-flying robots get up here!?\" Sonic stammered, \"That's all that surprises me, really.\" Terra slammed his robotic fist against the wall. \"You have escaped me enough times now! THIS TIME, YOU DIE!!\" he roared. \"To restore my counterpart's honor, I will destroy you.\" Firma added. Freeze simply turned his fist to ice, glaring at Sonic.\n\nThe three robots all lunged at Sonic at once, hoping to knock him from the beam and send him plummeting to his doom! However, he simply jumped them and landed on another beam. \"Good try, but I'm still fast without much space!\" he taunted. Terra withdrew his claws into his arms, replacing them with machine guns, while Firma chased after Sonic directly, and Freeze started firing blasts of ice at the metal beams to make them slippery! Sonic slipped past Firma, running and jumping around the beams to avoid Terra's bullets and look for an opening for a counterattack. \"No, no, no!! HIT him, you imbeciles!!\" Metal Eggman shouted, \"Look, watch me! I'LL get him!\" he growled, adding his own lasers to Sonic's troubles! \"All right... It's not that I don't like you goin' to all this trouble just for me... but...\" Sonic jumped into the air, bounced off Freeze, and then went hurtling toward Metal Eggman! Determined to take the hedgehog out, Terra pointed his machine guns in the direction Sonic was heading. \"Huh?? N-no!! Don't shoot ME!!!\" Metal Eggman yelled. \"You are not Eggman... Must DESTROY Sonic...\" Terra buzzed. As Sonic ricocheted off Metal Eggman's Egg Mobile, a hail of bullets hammered the hovercraft, causing the control panel to start sparking. \"Hmm... Looks like Terra failed obedience school.\" Sonic shrugged from the beam next to Metal Eggman. The Egg Mobile started shaking uncontrollably, and Metal Eggman himself buzzed violently. \"N-no... I... am... the Eggman!! You cannot... stop... the Eggzzzz... Empirezzzz... Sniiiiiiiivleeeeeyzzzz!!!\" An explosion from the Egg Mobile followed, and Metal Eggman went plummeting down the tower to the hall below! \"Uh... Heads up, guys!!\" Sonic shouted, only to be struck by an icy beam from Freeze! He jumped away before it could freeze him solid, but his fur got a bit icy. \"Gah! That's c-cold...!\" he shivered. \"I will put you on ice before any more of us are shut down!\" Freeze hissed. Terra and Firma turned to Sonic as well. This battle was still far from over!\n\nBy this point, Zipp had managed to follow Sonic up to where he was fighting the robots. \"What's the big idea dropping a fat robot on me!?\" he shouted as he arrived. Sonic barely glanced at him. \"Zipp...? Eh, I'll take it...\" he sighed. Zipp started by firing at Firma, drawing her attention. \"Hey, chubsy! Didn't anyone ever tell you pink and orange are a bad combo!?\" he said. \"...Impediment detected. Must eliminate quickly.\" Firma stated. Of course, Sonic still had to deal with the projectiles coming from Freeze and Terra. Zipp helped a bit, but that wouldn't matter much once the next meddler flew up. It was Alpha, and he was flailing his arms and spinning his head in a crazed fashion. \"WHO KILLED MY DADDY!?!?\" he squealed. Used to Alpha's nonsense by now, Sonic simply pointed at Terra. \"He did it.\" he tattled. Terra glanced at Alpha with cold, robotic eyes. \"What is your major malfunction, Alpha?! Sonic the Hedgehog is our ENEMY! Restore your primary directive, or I must annihilate you!!\" he said. Freeze nodded in agreement. \"Due to our inability to fly, your aid would be most preferable.\" he pointed out. Alpha straightened his body out, his eyes resting on each of the other robots, and then on Sonic. \"Sonic the Hedgehog... Enemy... Fruitcake registration...deleted. E-X Series... Also enemy. Must SAVE...by exploding!\" he said in a monotone voice. Sonic stared with wide eyes, and then gulped. \"I felt perfectly in control of this situation until Alpha showed up...\" he admitted. Terra roared in frustration. \"Destroy me if you can!! I will OBLITERATE YOU ALL!!\" he screamed. \"Terraaa...\" Firma groaned, hearing this. \"...Except Firma!\" Terra added. At this moment, shots started flying everywhere. Zipp was busy shooting back at anyone who fired at him, and Alpha and Terra were shooting at everyone! Sonic, trying to dodge, found himself slipping on the icy beams! \"This couldn't be how it eeeeeeeends!!!\" he wailed, plummeting down as Metal Eggman did moments before! Tails was on his way up, riding SPOT, but he was too close to see Sonic in time, and missed catching him! \"Oh, no!! S-SONIC!!\" he cried. Sonic was screaming his lungs out, he couldn't think of much else to do. However, he soon spotted Knuckles climbing up the wall! \"...Hold on!!\" Knuckles grunted, jumping slightly and grabbing Sonic's arm before catching the wall again with his other hand! \"Whew!! I... won't let you down this time... Sonic!!\" Knuckles grunted. \"Thanks... Can I switch arms? You darn near pulled the one you�re holding off when you caught me...\" Sonic panted.\n\nTails soon caught up with them, and gave Sonic a ride back to the ground. Zipp and the robots soon followed. Although the robots couldn't exactly fly, they could hover to a degree, and that enabled them to reach the ground safely. \"We'll finish this down here with your little friends, then!\" Freeze said. Team Rose was busy exchanging blows with Anubis and a few of his mummy minions, while Gemini was handling the remaining Egg Fighters. This left Zipp and Team Sonic to take on Alpha, Terra, Firma and Freeze. Zipp gladly flew after Alpha. \"I have a score to settle with you! First all that craziness at the security building, then your boss nabs Bucky, then you knock a vintage six shooter out of my hands while we're fighting up there! Yes, I know it only has six bullets, but it makes a standoff even more dramatic!\" he shouted. Knuckles stood up to Firma while Sonic and Tails took on Terra and Freeze together. \"Split up Terra and Firma... They work best together.\" Tails suggested. \"I owe 'her' a beatdown anyway...\" Knuckles growled. So, the fights began! Firma started slamming her fists around, creating mini-earthquakes, while Knuckles jumped around her looking for an opening to land a punch. Sonic sped around Terra and Freeze while Tails dug around a hatch in SPOT's back, looking for something to aid the battle. He held up his Chaos Tailband. \"Hmmm... No, that's probably overkill...\" he muttered, plopping it back inside. Meanwhile, Sonic bounced off Freeze and Terra, annoying them a great deal. \"Your pitiful jumps no longer bother my armor!\" Terra shouted. \"Oh, yeah?\" Sonic said, building up some speed so he could wallop Terra with a bunch of jumps all over him, hammering his armor with repeated homing attacks! Freeze tried to aim while he was moving around. \"Just keep that up... I'll put a chill on you!\" he said, only to be whacked in the head with a wrench! He glanced at Tails with annoyance. \"Maybe the tailband would've been better...\" he muttered. Stepping aside, he let SPOT fire a laser at Freeze, knocking him over!\n\nSilver tossed Anubis toward the robots, and the disoriented jackal spewed fire over Terra, Firma and Freeze, with Sonic and Knuckles moving aside just in time to avoid it! The robots were looking a bit battered now, and Firma stepped over to Terra, lifting him up over her head. \"NOOO!! MUST... DESTROOOOY!!\" Terra wailed, flailing his limbs in protest. \"We will require upgrades. Retreat for now.\" Firma said, carrying Terra away. Freeze, seeing this, realized he had no choice but to follow them. Picking himself up, Anubis growled and started to retreat as well. \"I will alert the castle to Conan's treachery... And then I will return for my vengeance!\" he grunted. Alpha remained, and Zipp was busy banging on the robot's head, wondering why it wouldn't just blow up. \"Well... That was a warm welcome. I guess this castle's gonna be loads of fun.\" Sonic said. Just then, the real Dr. Eggman emerged from the tower above! He had a magnet under his Egg Mobile, which he used to lift up Metal Eggman's remains. \"So, Sonic... Bash me to pieces, will you. I notice you're much more cordial to Metal SONIC!\" he grumbled. \"We oughta do it to the real you!\" Amy growled. \"Yeah, and where'd ya stash Bucky, you rotten egg!?\" Knuckles shouted. Eggman kept his Egg Mobile a safe height above his adversaries, as the Chaos Emeralds were gone from it. \"Tell you what. You can keep Alpha around and see if he leads you to him. Maybe you'll get lucky. You know how his brain is.\" he grumbled. \"Keep tap dancing on my head! It tickles!\" Alpha giggled, making Zipp fall to the floor in frustration. \"Curse you, Eggman...\" he sighed. Gemini looked at the doctor curiously. \"Those Chaos Emeralds... what'd you do with them? ...You didn't put them in the doomsday weapon!?\" she stammered. Eggman chuckled. \"Do you think I'd start up a device that might be used to kill me? Am I that insane? Don't answer that. Anyway... Since you've helped me out so much today, Knuckles, I thought I'd mention that I've seen the Master Emerald around! It's even in one piece! Now let's see if you can get it back that way...\" he taunted before flying off. \"Hey, wait!! Where was it!? EGGMAN!!\" Knuckles shouted futily. \"Relax, Knuckles. We'll find it.\" Sonic said. Silver nodded. \"...The fate of the world might depend on it...\" he murmured ominously.\n\n\nChapter 42 - Despair's Prisoner\nStage 23(Hero 12) - Despair Castle\nBoss 23 - Eddie\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nAt the end of the long hall they'd been traversing, the group found a big, important-looking locked door. Sick of looking for keys, Amy's first instinct instead was to try bashing it with her hammer. Knuckles tried his fists as well. This door was made of tough stuff, or otherwise magically reinforced, because it wouldn't budge. Gemini stepped over to the door. \"Abra-ka-unlockra!\" Obviously, the door WAS magically sealed, because the spell failed as well. \"...Well, I'm still technically in training.\" she sighed. SPOT perked up, beeping as though detecting something. The robo-puppy started heading for another, unlocked hall nearby. \"Looks like SPOT is onto something!\" Tails said. Sonic shrugged. \"It'll have to do. I'm getting bored waiting for us to figure a way past this door.\" he said. \"But, what if the doomsday weapon is in there??\" Silver said urgently. Zipp patted his shoulder. \"I'm SURE it is. But we can't get in yet. We'd best find a bargaining chip to force them to let us in, don't ya think?\" he suggested. Silver crossed his arms. \"We don't have time for such a roundabout strategy!\" he said. \"Then GET A MOVE ON, Silver!\" Knuckles yelled, pushing him forward, \"Thinking about how we can do the impossible is pointless!\" As they headed into the next hallway, once they were all out of sight, Alpha looked at the locked door and kicked it in the hinges, causing it to fall over backward with a thud! \"It's beautiful! Wall to wall chili dogs!\" he gasped. \"Hey! Where's Alpha!? HEY, YOU!! NO SNEAKING UP ON US!!\" Amy shouted back. So, Alpha hurried back to the group with a squeak. As they were walking, Gemini was waving her wand carefully, trying to detect the Master Emerald for Knuckles. \"...Well?\" he asked. \"I know you'll find this frustrating, what with how I detected it at Eggman's base from all the way at Shadow Arc before... But there's too much magical interference here. I just can't pinpoint it. I know it's here, I just don't know where.\" she sighed. Knuckles scratched his head. \"Well... You tried. I'll tear this whole castle down if I have to... I'll find it.\" he grumbled.\n\nThey found themselves going down a winding hallway with a red carpet. Up ahead, they heard a voice that was familiar to some of them. \"Slow down... I think that's Jolt up ahead.\" Silver warned. The electric yellow Egg Pawn was bossing around some lesser Egg Pawns up ahead. \"SONIC will be on his way here! Set up those thunder-traps and lightning pendulums! He's not making a fool out of me... um, US, again! And we'll get his little friends to boot! They'll never see us coming with this twisty-turny hallway! Hehehehehe!!\" he chuckled. \"Unless you talk really loudly and we hear your whole plan!\" Sonic shouted, stepping out and grinning at Jolt smugly. The Egg Pawns hurriedly put together their traps, but Sonic simply sped by them, getting through the hall before the thunder mechanisms on the floor could zap him or the electrified pendulums in the halls could strike him! Jolt watched him, stammering in frustration, but then glanced back at the rest of the group. \"AHA!! You didn't figure on your little friends! How about this, give yourself up and maybe I'll let them go!\" he shouted. Sonic chuckled, shaking his head. \"I'll scout out ahead, guys. You can handle this, right?\" he said, speeding away. Jolt stood stiffly, seeming to have overloaded. Gemini started walking ahead of the group, calmly casting spells at the \"thunder-traps\" to disable them. \"Reverize...\" she said, casting a spell that drained the power from the electric traps. Alpha flew ahead and grabbed at the pendulums, playfully swinging on them until they loosened and fell down. \"Wheeee!! BOOM!! Those swings are funny!\" he giggled. Zipp, Silver and Amy took out the hapless Egg Pawns that had set up the traps, but left Jolt alone in his seemingly frozen state. Cream knocked on his head as she passed by. \"Gee, Mr. Robot... Don't take it so hard. What did you think would happen if you were being bad?\" she said before following the others. With the danger easily removed from the path, SPOT regained the lead, searching out the signal he was detecting. Once they were out of sight, Jolt moved again. \"Ah... I scared 'em off, eh? Yeah... That's it...\" he murmured, \"Now I better find an outlet to recharge. I'm beat!\" he \"sighed.\"\n\nThe group reunited with Sonic by a doorway where a lot of buzzing and whirring was coming from the next room. \"Sounds like someone's working with tools... Maybe the doomsday weapon's in there?\" Tails wondered. They headed inside and found a laboratory, where Despair agents in white uniforms were hard at work building new robots and weapons! They were being aided by none other than GUN's Dr. Nammad. \"You!? ...How can you work for these guys!?\" Silver gasped. Nammad chuckled. \"Survival of the, uh, fittest. So how could I not? The only way to, uh, survive the coming... boom... Is to side with Despair. They'll keep me alive and, uh, maybe reward me handsomely...\" he grinned. \"You and Eggman are a disgrace to good scientists everywhere!\" Tails growled. Sonic shook his head. \"Don't put him with Eggman. I'm sure Eggman plans to betray Despair. This guy... Somehow he's a bigger scumbag than Eggman! He actually intends to watch them slaughter his own kind!\" he shouted. Nammad backed away a step. \"Oooh, I uh, detect some tension here...\" he mumbled. \"Picked up on that, eh??\" Amy said, holding up her hammer. \"Where's that fake wand you created!?\" Gemini growled. With tensions rising, Dr. Nammad glanced at the back door briefly. \"Oh... That wand is safe... Still connected to Project GXterminate...\" he squeaked, nonchalantly pressing a button on the edge of a lab desk. In reaction to the button, a number of robots sprung to life! They loosely resembled Eggman's Spinner robots, but with a more compact, black design and blades ending in spiky \"teeth!\" These robots started to fly at the group, and Nammad ran for the back door! \"Be sure they don't, uh, follow me!\" he said to the Despair scientists, \"Adios, my fuzzy friends! See ya on the other side...\" he grinned as he escaped. Knuckles jumped away from one of the black Spinners and growled. \"I have no clue who that guy was... But I don't like him.\" he grunted. \"He's GUN's Dr. Nammad!\" Gemini informed him, \"And he's responsible for the doomsday weapon!\" she said.\n\nThe white-suited scientists, mostly foxes and owls, picked up various weapons in preparation to defend themselves. \"Hoot... You shall not defeat the Covenant of Despair!!\" an owl shouted, trying not to look too ridiculous. Silver, Gemini and Zipp took charge of the situation with the Spinners, using their powers and weaponry to take them out without the need to touch them. The scientists had equipped themselves with high tech arm cannons, laser rifles, and handfuls of odd-looking bombs. The remaining Spinners started to glow as well, firing energy beams from their blades as they spun around! Sonic and Knuckles ducked behind an energy shield Tails had SPOT set up, but the shield was quickly disabled by an electrical explosion from the odd-looking bombs! \"Yikes! ...Better keep away from those, SPOT!\" Tails yelped. Knuckles growled and pulled out the Chaos Gauntlets. \"If they wanna play hardball... I could try these again...\" he said. \"I dunno, Knuckles. Both tailbands can make Copter go super, and obviously the others are stronger in groups, too. We wouldn't want you accidentally goin' nuclear.\" Sonic warned. As they discussed this, Cheese flew ahead and started whacking the Despair scientists, disrupting their aim! Alpha was following him around, shooting up any Spinners that followed them! \"Heehee! Wait for me, Char!!\" the robot giggled. Cream scratched her head as she watched. \"He... thinks Cheese is that other Chao?\" she mumbled. Amy charged forward with her hammer. \"Whatever!! They gave us an opening!!\" she yelled, bashing at a fox as he tried to defend with his arm cannon! Silver glanced at Team Sonic and nodded. \"We'll handle this. You guys better move on while you can!\" he suggested. \"What? But... will you be okay?\" Tails asked worriedly. Sonic sighed. \"He's right. We can't let these guys distract us from the big picture!\" he said, hurrying for the back door that Dr. Nammad had escaped through. SPOT scampered that way as well, so Tails and Knuckles followed. \"...Huh?? Hey, don't ditch me!!\" Zipp shouted, flying off after Team Sonic. Gemini warped out of the action and joined them as well, leaving Team Rose and Alpha to deal with the scientists.\n\nDr. Nammad had gotten away, but SPOT managed to pick up the signal he'd been following again, and it wasn't long before they reached the source of the signal. It was the seventh Chaos Emerald, the green one, and it was set in a wall above a prison cell, being used to generate a force field not unlike the one that had been used by Eggman to contain Sonic. It wasn't Bucky held in the cell, however. In fact, it was Shadow Chaos! The creature raged against its cage, bashing against the force field, but to no avail. Guarding the cell was Patch and Infin, but they looked a bit taken aback as Team Sonic, Zipp and Gemini arrived. \"Um... It was HIS idea!!\" Patch yelped, pointing at Infin and recoiling away from the intruders. \"Oh, yoiks! No one said we'd be dealing with Sonic's whole posse! What do youse want!?\" Infin groaned. Zipp pointed a gun at the weasel, who responded in kind. \"How about you lead us to Bucky, or I blow your blinkin' brains out?\" he growled. \"How 'bout I blow yer brains out just fer fun?\" Infin growled. Gemini warped beside the two of them and pointed her wand around, startling them. \"Now, we'll have none of this!\" she yelled. Patch clapped excitedly. \"Good trick! Now saw Mitchie boy in half!\" he giggled. Infin groaned and held his forehead. \"A magician, too... Fine, we give... Whatever ya want. It ain't worth it no more.\" he grumbled. Sonic nodded. \"Great... Could we start with that Chaos Emerald, or would it be dangerous, with Shadow Chaos and all?\" he wondered. A new voice echoed through the room. \"Eeee hee... It'd be very dangerous, but you're in danger as it is! Eeeee hee hee hee hee!! You thought you'd waltz in to our castle and just take what you want THIS easily!?\" Knuckles glanced around uneasily. \"That laugh... It's familiar... Eddie!\" he growled. Gemini nodded. \"How could I forget...\" she groaned. With a flash of blinding light, Eddie the hyena materialized in the room! \"Eee hee... I was in here the whole time, actually. But, an illusionist never reveals his secrets.\" he chuckled, glancing at Infin and wagging his finger, \"Tsk, tsk... You know our policy about surrenders...\" he said.\n\nEddie wasn't alone. Beecon robots flew into the room, and several of Despair's dark mages warped in as well, cloaked in black hoods, so their faces couldn't be seen. The group suddenly found the odds turned drastically against them. \"Umm... Can I use the gauntlets now? Because I'm not great with magic...\" Knuckles muttered. \"Then WHY do you want to USE magic??\" Tails pointed out. Eddie grinned at this situation. \"I have a killer idea. Warp them into Shadow Chaos's cell and leave them there. It'll be fun. Eeee hee hee!\" he said. \"They've got a magician, they'll just port on out!\" Infin pointed out. Eddie gave him a droll look. \"Well, then kill 'em!\" he ordered. \"Not... so... fast!!\" came a voice that lifted Gemini's spirits. Reinforcements arrived in the form of Fred the fennec, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator, and they set to work giving Team Sonic a little breathing room by blasting the Beecons with their futuristic lasers while Fred took on some of the mages with his magic! Gemini swiftly warped over to her friends to aid them, and SPOT joined in as well, firing lasers as the enemies scrambled to fight back! This left Team Sonic and Zipp, and they were intent on taking on the leaders of this Despair group. Zipp turned his attention to Infin again. \"I don't care who leads me to Bucky...and I get a feeling you don't know anything anyway.\" Zipp said. \"Heh, your opinion. But they call me Infin fer a reason... I know it all! Not that I'll tell the likes a' youse!\" he growled. Tails faced off against Patch in the meantime, who spun around his nunchucks as he twirled his tails in anticipation. \"Hee hee... And they called ME a freakazoid. Look at you with the tail!\" Patch teased. Tails shuddered at the insult, but seeing Patch's various discolored splotches of fur, he could tell that he'd probably been on the receiving end of worse before. \"All right... This might look like I'm kicking your butt... But it's all to set you free!\" he said, hoping defeating Despair would save its more innocent members. \"...Hee hee!! Hee hee hee hee! You are gonna be some REAL fun!\" Patch cackled. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles squared off against Eddie...\n\nEddie's hand glowed lightly, and he made a blue Knuckles and red Sonic appear in front of him! Sonic stared in amazement. \"...Illusionist.\" Knuckles shrugged. Nodding, Sonic clenched his fists at his doppelganger. \"Red's not really my color. I'll have to destroy this imposter!\" he said, charging at it! However, the red Sonic dashed behind him with equal speed! \"Huh?? Wha?!\" Sonic babbled. Eddie chuckled at this, but Knuckles wasn't interested in playing the game. He stomped over to the red Sonic and bashed it over the head! \"It only takes one good hit to stop an illusion! And he wasn't expecting me to ignore my copy!\" he grunted as the Sonic copy went poof! Sonic shrugged and bashed the hapless Knuckles copy, but Eddie didn't care much. \"Eeee hee hee hee! You like to hit each other, don't you? Fine with me!!\" he laughed, raising his hands and blinding them with bright light! When Sonic's eyes readjusted, Knuckles was missing. Eddie was beside him instead. In fact, Eddie was everywhere! \"Um... I don't know how you did it, but... You turned everyone into you?? PUT EVERYONE BACK!!\" Sonic yelled. \"Eee hee hee! But everyone's so much better looking this way!\" Eddie replied, throwing a punch at Sonic! He jumped aside quickly, but more punches came his way fast! \"Eeee hee hee! Stand still, you blue gumball!\" he laughed. Sonic watched him as he jumped back and forth. His stance was familiar as he came at him. \"...Knuckles??\" he muttered. Knuckles was trapped in the same illusion, but to him, Sonic and everyone else was Eddie. \"You bring Sonic and everyone back, RIGHT NOW!!\" he yelled. \"Eeee hee! What, am I too fast for you?\" Eddie chuckled, evading him quickly. Of course, it was really Sonic, and he realized that he had to get Knuckles's attention by doing something Eddie COULDN'T do. He curled into a ball and dashed at Knuckles, catching him off guard and knocking him over! \"Ugh!! Hyenas can spin dash!? Wait...\"Knuckles muttered, looking up as he was sprawled on the floor. The real Eddie was hovering overhead. \"...Hee hee... Would you believe I'm Tails?\" he said. The \"Eddie\" on the ground helped Knuckles up, and they leapt at the real one, knocking him down and dispelling the illusion!\n\nEddie stood back up, ready for more. \"Eeee hee hee! All right, there's always plan B and C...\" he grinned. At this point, Tails knocked Patch aside with a tail whip and held out a device he'd managed to get ready in the confusion: the Chaos Emerald magnet! It pulled the green emerald free from the wall, instantly powering down the force field that was keeping Shadow Chaos trapped! \"Shadow Chaos! You're free now! So, what do you say to the guys who caged you?!\" Tails shouted. Eddie, with his back turned to Shadow Chaos, jumped slightly. \"Hee... He wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would he?\" he said, putting illusion glasses on his face. Shadow Chaos roared and slammed the hyena out of his way, then melted into a puddle in order to slither its way out of the room quickly and easily! \"Jeez, shoot and cripes!! That THING is loose in the castle!!\" Infin cursed. Patch climbed to his feet, chuckling incessantly. \"Heeheheehee... I laugh uncontrollably when I'm nervous... Heeheehe... Whatta we do?\" he babbled. Infin glanced at the dazed Eddie, then at Sonic and his friends. \"Gah... Never mind them! C'mon, boys! Let's get that goopy creature contained, quick!\" he shouted, leading the mages in pursuit of Shadow Chaos! Zipp stuck his tongue out at him as he left, while Gemini and her friends took a breather, tending to some injuries Adam had sustained. Sonic and Knuckles turned to Tails. \"Good job, buddy... I get the feeling hyena-boy wasn't gonna quit easily if you hadn't done that.\" Sonic said. Knuckles nodded. \"Yeah... Least we got a Chaos Emerald out of this.\" he added. Tails added the emerald to the collection of items in SPOT's hatch, a serious look on his face. \"We may have got this far, but the Master Emerald and the other 5 Chaos Emeralds are still missing... And that doomsday weapon's still in here, too.\" he pointed out. Sonic looked at the cell curiously. \"What was Shadow Chaos doing locked up here, anyway?\" he wondered. Zipp groaned. \"Aw, these guys are after EVERYTHING. The Chaos Relics. Bucky. Heather. They're NUTS!\" he said. Sonic nodded. \"Yeah, maybe...\" he agreed. One thing was certain, they had to be stopped, before things could get any worse!\n\n\nChapter 43 - Team Dark Vs. Despair\nStage 24(Dark 12) - Despair Castle\nMinor Boss 20 - Zeke\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\nThe story thus far:\nThe Covenant of Despair, having stolen the Master Emerald, the Chaos Crystal, the GXterminate machine, and gotten Dr. Eggman to kidnap Bucky on their behalf, have fortified their island stronghold above Station Square, preparing for their endgame.\nHowever, a band of heroes have infiltrated Demon Island, and set out to put a stop to Despair's schemes once and for all! Among them is Kosmo the morph. Formerly an agent of Despair, Kosmo has seen firsthand the hypocrisy of their organization, and now works against them...\nNow, on to the next chapter!\n\n\nHaving worked with Despair before, Kosmo had time to learn some paths around the island and into their castle. He headed for a side entrance to the castle, and he found Shadow, Rouge and Omega there as well. \"Hostile approaching...\" Omega warned. \"That's cute.\" Kosmo frowned. Rouge glared at him slightly. \"We didn't exactly hash things out yet. What makes you think you can just show up now and pretend to be all friendly after what you pulled at Shadow Arc!? You disguised yourself as ME!! I felt so violated!!\" she shouted. Shadow glanced at her. \"Was I so different at first? I could just as easily have gone a different route, had there been no one other than Black Doom to guide me...\" he said. Kosmo sighed. \"This is boring...\" Then he morphed into Rouge and used her superior leg strength to kick the door open! \"HEY!! STOP BEING ME!!\" she screeched. Suddenly, something teleported amongst them with a flash of light, surprising them, and causing Omega to whip out his guns hastily. \"What's all the commotion down here?\" said Whisk the Divine, the one who'd just appeared among them. Kosmo recognized her, and morphed back to normal so that she might recognize him. \"You're that creature I met under the pyramid...\" he recalled. Whisk stared at him, blinking in confusion. \"Under a pyramid? That sounds heavy... You look familiar, though... And so does he.\" she said, pointing to Shadow. Omega withdrew his guns slowly. \"Annoying experiments. These distractions will deter our mission.\" he said. Kosmo glanced at Shadow. \"And what mission is that?\" he wondered. Shadow crossed his arms. \"Shouldn't that be obvious? We're to disable the GXterminate machine, and gather up any Chaos Relics we can find along the way. However, Gunner wants the machine returned to him... I say we destroy it.\" he suggested. Kosmo nodded. \"A wise plan... But those relics are too powerful to give to GUN. I'm not sure who would be best to take them... Maybe I'll just have to hold on to 'em.\" he shrugged, \"Don't get bent outta shape, though. I'm not here for that. The Darkseeker has put a hold on people... hurt people. Those who aren't here by choice, we should try to set free. Some are just here to rescue Bucky... Maybe I can talk them out of it...\" he said. Shadow shrugged, and Whisk mimicked him. \"Let's go, then.\" he said.\n\nThey didn't get too far into Despair Castle before they found their path blocked by a squadron of GUN robots! Various types of Hunter and Beetle robots stood in their way, and Whisk was immediately startled into teleporting behind Omega. \"Don't shoot! See! We've got a robot, too!\" she stammered. Agent 32 was standing near the front with these robots, and seeing Kosmo, didn't feel the need to ask further questions. \"Shadow's thrown in his lot with that freak! Blow them to fuzzy bits!\" he ordered. However, the voice of Sergeant Drol overruled him. \"Stand down, troops!\" He stepped past the robots with Agent 64 in tow. \"B-but Sarge!\" Agent 32 whined. \"He said stand down. Don't fret, your bloodlust won't go to waste.\" Agent 64 said smugly. Shadow smiled slightly. \"Good to see you, Drol.\" he said. \"Wait, you guys are pals??\" Kosmo stammered. Drol rubbed his chin. \"Not initially... But the more I saw of Project GXterminate, the more opposed to it I grew. After the incident at GUN's headquarters, I had a brief chance to discuss the situation with Shadow. We agreed... The project must be destroyed.\" he said. Rouge nodded. \"This guy isn't Gunner, even though he works for him. It's hard to imagine anyone being as despicable as that old creep, anyway.\" she said. Drol snapped his fingers, and Guard flew past the robots to him. \"Agent Guard will obey me for now. I am ordering him to go with you and find Project GXterminate.\" he stated. As he did, agents of Despair started to flood the hall, led by an irate Corky. \"Oi, more intruders in here!! I'm gettin' right sick o' this, I am! Gimmie a laser rifle!! I'll blow their blinkin' brains out!!\" he shouted. Drol drew a gun from his holster, and his fellow agents joined him. \"We'll hold them off as best we can! Get going and stop them before they activate that machine! All they need is a suitable source of life energy... So they might start wiping out the human population any moment!\" he warned. Whisk sighed. \"Oh, as long as it's just the human population!\" she said. Shadow shook his head. \"Hmph... I've got a bad feeling it's not that simple. Let's move!\" he urged everyone.\n\nIn spite of Drol's assistance, more Despair agents kept on coming, so even after speeding past the distracted first wave, the group still had to deal with more, as well as Beecon and Spinner robots that had been let loose in the castle. Each member of the group would have to pull their weight to move forward, so they all started fighting. Guard flew ahead into the fray, tossing beams from his scythe at various uniformed animals while slashing the weapon directly at robots. \"Grrrrr!! I've got a lot of frustration to vent right now, so just KEEP COMING!!\" he snarled. Omega had a similar attitude, waling on bears and bulls that blocked his way with a frenzy of punches from his mighty robot arms. \"You are merely stepping stones to Eggman!! Where is he!?\" he shouted. Whisk was a bit more passive, warping here and there, confusing her enemies into running into each other. If any of them touched her, she warped up high and shook them off. \"All I know is that the guys in black suits are bad! ...At least I hope so.\" she grumbled. Rouge occupied herself with the robots, flying after the bees and the Spinners and giving them well-aimed kicks to take them out of commission. \"This is what they get for ripping off Eggman! ...I think I may have said that about GUN once, too...\" she sighed. Shadow, of course, was the MVP of the fight. He hurled Chaos Spears, threw punches, warped to the other side of the hall as needed, and slammed tougher animals with homing attacks to the head! He even nailed Corky as he passed him by. \"D'ohhh!! Blimy hedgehogs...\" he groaned as he passed out. Kosmo was also quite busy, but with so many enemies, he had to keep his transformations to a minimum to avoid tiring himself out. So, he kept it \"simple\" by using his mace-tail ability, turning the tip of his tail into a spiked ball, twirling and hurling it around at enemies as they neared him. \"If I get bored of this, I guess I could turn my arms into swords or something...\" he muttered, smacking Corky back down as he started to get up. \"This job sucks...\" the frog groaned in pain.\n\nAfter working their way past the enemies, they soon passed by a number of rooms, most of which seemed relatively empty. However, they heard voices coming from one room, and decided to check it out. Inside, they found some familiar faces. There was Espio, Charmy and Vector, along with Crash, and they were looking over maps laid out on some desks in the room. \"Ah, Shadow... Your timing is impeccable!\" Vector remarked. \"Grrr... What are you up to, Crash?\" Guard grumbled. Crash took off his hat and looked a bit distressed. \"Apologies for siding with Despair at the President's place... Now that they've taken Bucky, I'm fully out of their employ.\" he stated. Kosmo shrugged. \"Tomato, tomahto. What ARE you guys doing?\" he asked. Espio pointed to the map. \"These are floor plans for this very castle. We were lucky to stumble across them...\" he said. Charmy looked bored. \"Yeah, real lucky. We found homework...\" he mumbled. Rouge and Omega stepped forward. \"Hmmm... Maybe you should commit these to memory, Omega.\" she suggested. \"Acknowledged...\" the robot said, scanning the document. Shadow crossed his arms. \"How useful is that really? Does it give any indication where Project GXterminate might be hidden?\" he asked. Vector rubbed his head a bit. \"Errrm... Nah, there really isn't a vault or anything like that I can see... But I did flunk out of architecture school.\" he admitted. Espio pointed out some spots on the map. \"I've figured out that we are here... There are what appear to be prisons in these locations. If we find and release some prisoners, they might help us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.\" he reasoned. Kosmo scoffed. \"Unless that happens to be a certain RAT...\" he grumbled. Crash placed his hat back on. \"Regardless, I'm looking for Bucky. You can join my search, or not. He'd surely be useful in our battle here.\" he said. Whisk nodded. \"I vote we free the prisoners! I want to make some friends!\" she smiled. Shadow shrugged. \"We'll check it out. Bucky may not be in the cell we visit... But we may find SOMETHING of value on the way.\" he reasoned.\n\nTeam Chaotix decided to check out another section of the map, while Crash went along with Team Dark and the others. Omega had saved his scan of the map to his internal memory, so he gave them directions as they traveled. They soon came across, oddly, a break room-esque area, with a water cooler and vending machines. \"...Who knew? The Covenant of Despair are tools just like anyone else.\" Rouge said. Hanging out in the break room were a few gargoyles dressed in fancy suits. Apparently, they were former members of the gargoyle mob, and had joined the Covenant of Despair after their dealings with them. When the gargoyles noticed the intruders entering the room, most of them pulled out guns, while one held up a candy bar like a gun. \"Errr... This thing's loaded! With peanuts!\" he grunted stupidly. Most of the group got ready to fight, but Guard stepped forward and held up his scythe calmly. \"Grrr... You have one chance to surrender.\" he warned. The largest of the gargoyles scoffed at him. \"Look at you! Pawn of the humans! How can you disgrace gargoyles everywhere like that? Huh!?\" he snapped. Guard growled and flipped his scythe into a defensive position. \"Look at yourselves! Grrr... My sudden appearance may have messed things up for your kind, made you come out of the shadows... When I wasn't even an actual gargoyle, just a mere science project. Grrrr! But what gargoyle-kind has chosen to do once joined with the world... That isn't my doing! You have formed criminal organizations... You have aided terrorists... So... Grrr... Who REALLY disgraces the species, huh?! There comes a time when we all must stop placing the blame upon others for our own actions!\" he shouted. The gargoyles glanced among themselves and nodded. \"Then face the consequences of YOUR actions!\" they growled. Tired of this, Shadow, Kosmo, and Omega charged into the crowd of gargoyles, quickly knocking the weapons from their hands and dropping them on their tails! Crash patted Guard on the back as they started to leave. \"Nice speech, pal. Very riveting.\" he said. Guard grunted in annoyance and followed the others to the next area.\n\nThe seven of them soon came to what appeared to be a small fighting arena. This was the place where the Covenant of Despair trained with physical weapons, such as Patch's nunchucks or Daisy's katana. Here, Zeke the dragon swooped down from above and blocked their path to the next door! \"RAWR!! Hope you guys are ready for some action!\" he roared. \"Move aside! We've got no time for the likes of you!\" Shadow grunted. Kosmo nodded. \"Also... Didn't you get the memo? Bucky's been captured. You ought to be trying to free him, shouldn't you? You know, instead of picking fights with us.\" he said. Zeke chuckled softly as Talon the griffin flapped over beside him from above. \"We know... but it's too dangerous to try and free him. If we obey Despair... Bucky won't be harmed!\" he declared. Crash stared at them in disbelief. \"What!? But... the boss'd never tell us to surrender! How could you even think it!?\" he growled. Kosmo stared at Talon with concern. \"Wait... What about... Carrie?\" he asked. As if responding to him, she appeared between Zeke and Talon briefly. She looked greatly distraught. \"...I'm sorry.\" she said before vanishing again. Whatever she was going to do, she was going to do it invisible. The back door opened, and Chet the cheetah walked into the room to join the experiments blocking their path. \"I heard what they said... I know what it's like, being on this side... Just for the sake of a loved one. So, I'll fight, too! Even if I have to fight Shadow and Kosmo!\" he shouted. \"They're all fools...\" Omega muttered. \"I kinda feel for them, though...\" Rouge sighed. Talon held out his hands in preparation to fight, glancing around at the weapons resting in the corner of the room. \"There may not be many of us... But my psychokinesis will make up for it! Prepare yourselves!\" he warned. Zeke flapped into the air and pointed at Shadow. \"I'll take the tough guy! RAWR!!\" he shouted. Chet bared his claws, ready to fight as well. \"Who wants some??\" he grunted. Guard shook his head at him. \"Grr... You're out of your depth, kid.\" he said. Chet ran up to him, his speed nearly taking him off guard, and was barely blocked by his scythe. \"...We'll see!\" he said.\n\nAs Talon's psychokinesis started sending various weapons flying through the room, a pair of red eyes peeked at the battle through the back door. \"Hmm... Let's see how this plays out...\" their owner mused. Whisk found herself teleporting around to avoid the weapons, while Crash had a strange sort of swordfight using his horn to parry a psychically controlled blade. Rouge was busy jumping around Omega, using him as a shield as she tried to figure out a way to reach Talon and take him out of commission. Kosmo turned his own hide into steel, avoiding any severe damage from the weapons, but making him too heavy to fly up to Talon. \"...Hey, Carrie!? You in here!? We should talk about this!\" he shouted, but getting no response, he went to plan B. \"Fine... Hey, Whisk! Whisk! Slow down!! Get over here!\" he said, chasing after the flighty Divine. Meanwhile, Shadow was busy with Zeke. The dragon loved to blow fire, but Shadow wouldn't stay in place long enough to get hit by it. The weapons flying everywhere made getting close to Zeke a challenge, though. So, he tried Chaos Spear, but Zeke's flames seemed to just burn them up! Chet was making things difficult for Guard as well. His speed was just sub-super, natural for a cheetah, and he kept running around the gargoyle, striking him from behind. \"Gaaah!! Grrrr!! All right...\" Guard grumbled, jumping into the air and striking down with his scythe, firing several beams! Chet skidded to stop, and crashed right into the beams! \"Ughh!!\" he groaned, falling over. \"Grrr... Avoid further battles. The best thing you can do is return to your loved one safely.\" he suggested. Kosmo passed by Shadow and Zeke on his way to catch Whisk. Glancing at them, he had a thought. \"...Throw me at him.\" he said. Shadow stared at him, and Kosmo morphed into a boomerang with eyes. Shadow chuckled softly and picked him up, tossing him into the air. Zeke took a break from blowing flames to taunt Shadow. \"What's the matter? Too many flying weapons for you to think about tele-warping up here!? Ha ha!\" he laughed, only to get whacked by an arcing Kosmo boomerang! \"Duy...!?\" Zeke dropped from the sky and landed on his head, winding up unconscious.\n\nAs boomerang-Kosmo came back, he morphed to normal and caught Whisk as she appeared between him and Shadow! \"Port us to HIM!\" he said, pointing to Talon. \"Eeep! Okay, OKAY!!\" she yelped, vanishing and reappearing next to the griffin. \"...What!?\" Talon gasped. Kosmo jumped from Whisk and morphed himself a strong pair of twin tails, like Copters, using them to whip Talon down from the sky! He then twirled those tails to gently lower himself to the ground. A pair of yelps were heard as Talon hit the floor, and Kosmo rushed to them as he saw that the griffin had landed on top of Carrie! \"Hey... Are you okay? This is why you shouldn't go around invisible...\" Kosmo muttered. Talon climbed off her slowly, and then shook her in panic. \"Aaah! She's out! No, Carrie! Wake up!!\" he cried. Kosmo started to look more concerned, even like he felt guilty. \"She'll... be okay, right? You... you shouldn't have fought us!!\" he growled. The others had started to gather around them now that the weapons had stopped flying around and Zeke was out of commission. However, they suddenly backed away as the rear door opened and Basker the hound stepped into the room. \"...This girl is important to you... Isn't she, Kosmo?\" he said, a small grin crossing his lips. His hands glowed with dark blue energy, and everyone but Omega started to be gripped with fear, backing away from him! \"...Shadow? What is the problem?\" Omega wondered. Shadow in particular seemed to be in a trance. To him, Basker had taken a much more sinister form, one that he saw in the Dream Temple. \"...Mephiles??\" he whispered, mystified. Basker crept to the unconscious Carrie and lifted her over his shoulder. \"...If you value her safety... You would do well to stay out of our affairs from this point onward. If however, you entertain the notion of rescuing her... Come and find me...\" Basker challenged, stepping out of the room before freeing the group from the grip of fear. Once freed, Shadow berated Omega. \"Why did you let him go!?\" he shouted. \"Why did YOU let him go?\" Omega rebutted. Talon was still in a state of fear, however. \"He took her!! He took Carrie!! No, no, no!!\" he cried. Kosmo glanced at him. \"You gonna be okay?\" he asked. Talon shook his head. \"No... Because Carrie... Was the source of my power! She is the psychokinetic one, not me! She wanted to keep her power secret... So I pretended it was mine. I have no power... I can't save her!\" he wheezed, utterly panicked. Kosmo nodded. \"Don't worry... I can!\" he said.\n\n\nChapter 44 - Fear and Courage\nStage 24(Dark 12) - Despair Castle\nBoss 24 - Basker\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nParts of Despair Castle had become a veritable warzone, with the forces of Eggman and Despair battling it out against any who dared challenge them. Kosmo, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Guard, Crash, Whisk, Talon and Chet had arrived at just such a warzone, where Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic were leading robots against the likes of Team Chaotix, Razor and Mia. Razor had given Mia a spare gun, so at least she wasn't totally useless, but the five of them were pretty well outnumbered until Team Dark showed up. \"The doctor... He's gotta answer for what he did at Shadow Arc.\" Shadow scowled. Eggman noticed him enter and flinched a little. \"Ehhh... Shadow! Fancy, seeing you here! Did I mention double-crossing you earlier wasn't personal? ...Oh, forget it. Metal Sonic, focus attack on Shadow!!\" he shouted. As Metal Sonic started coming at them, Shadow decided to meet him head on. \"Go on without me! I'll catch up!\" he shouted back. Omega's eyes seemed to glow redder with rage. \"EGGMAN!! Target acquired!! At last, vengeance is mine!!\" he shouted, crazed. \"Oh, GET OVER IT, you defect reject!!\" Eggman yelled. This only made Omega angrier, and he charged into the army of Egg Fighters that Eggman was commanding. Rouge shook her head. \"I guess I'm with them... Take care, Guard.\" she sighed, flying off into the battle. Chet glanced at Razor and Mia regretfully from the back of the crowd. \"Grrr... You should go to them.\" Guard suggested. Chet looked at him ashamedly. \"Like THIS?\" he said, pointing out his Despair uniform. \"Actions talk louder than clothes.\" Crash stated. Chet nodded slowly, and charged ahead, slashing at an Egg Fighter with his claws as he reached Mia and Razor! They stared at him for a moment, but then Razor sighed and smiled. \"You are one piece of work, you know that?\" he said jokingly. \"Welcome back, dummy.\" Mia smiled. Kosmo watched and nodded. \"Let's get moving. That cell isn't finding itself, after all.\" he said, leading the rest of the group around the action. Unbeknownst to them, two extra people were following them. \"...Thanks for taking me this far.\" whispered Tommy, who had somehow managed to sneak up to the island with everyone else. \"No problem... They wanted to leave me behind, too.\" said Lucky, sneakily following Kosmo's group with young Tommy.\n\nOn the way to the next hallway, the group found more of Eggman's Fighters and Pawns blocking the path! Talon, feeling powerless, began to freak out a bit. \"There are enemies all over! We'll never get Carrie outta this! It's hopeless--\" As he was whining, Whisk slapped him upside the head. \"Don't start molting all over me!\" she growled. Kosmo raised his fists. \"We'll just have to steamroll these tin cans real quick! Maybe I'll even turn into a steamroller!\" he growled, only to see the robots begin exploding from several attacks from behind them! Chaos Spears blew through the robotic chests of these robots, and when they finished collapsing into heaps, Spiny was left standing behind them! \"Am I seein' things?\" Crash muttered. \"Yeah, since when can Sonic use magic spears?\" Whisk gasped. Spiny stomped his foot furiously. \"Come on!! You're all fellow experiments!! YOU shouldn't make this mistake!!\" he groaned. Kosmo sighed. \"She's sorry... sir.\" he said, \"Thanks for savin' us the time.\" he added. Spiny chuckled. \"Right... Well, the doc had it comin! Of all the things he could do next, throwin' in his lot with Despair was the wrong call! I don't care what his so-called 'reasons' are! Despair felt like insulting me, so I'll never join them!\" he shouted. Kosmo smirked. \"Seems like they're ticking off almost everyone anymore.\" he remarked. \"Grrr... Are you coming with us, then?\" Guard asked Spiny. The porcupine stepped out of their way. \"I wholeheartedly support your endeavor... But no, I'm not going to be joining your merry band. I only serve one person... And that's me!\" he grinned. Talon sighed. \"We could really use you, though...\" he grumbled. \"I know...\" Spiny bragged. Kosmo scoffed. \"Who needs him? C'mon, let's keep moving!\" he said, continuing onward. Lucky and Tommy waved politely as they passed Spiny, and he scratched his head. \"...Hopeless...\" he sighed.\n\nSoon, the group found greater security measures blocking their progress. Thick metal doors designed to keep out intruders had been slammed shut in the hallway ahead of them, and the only way to open them was through facial-recognition scanning. Kosmo cracked his knuckles and grinned. \"This should be simple. I just need the face of a high-ranking Despair agent. Let's go with Basker...\" he said, morphing only his head into that of Basker the hound. The device started to scan him, but suddenly an alarm went off! \"Huh?? What the...\" Kosmo stammered. Guard slapped himself in the forehead. \"Rrrr! We should've known this wouldn't work! Basker's eyes glow red, but look at Kosmo!\" he grunted. Kosmo's eyes still glowed yellow. The retinal scan included with the face scan picked up on this minor difference. \"That is one good security-scan... Probably set up just for me...\" Kosmo muttered. Crash adjusted his hat and gently pushed Whisk and Talon aside. \"Everyone, stand back... This looks like a job for me.\" he said. Talon crossed his arms. \"Are you kidding? It's METAL!!\" he said. \"You'll bust that horn...\" Kosmo pointed out. Crash smirked and started to run at the door. \"Chaos CHARGE!!\" he yelled, his horn bursting in Chaos energy as he ran at the door, followed by his body as he picked up speed! The power of his Chaos ability allowed him to tear right through the thick door, leaving a hole that the others could pass through! \"Yeah... or I could just teleport...\" Whisk pointed out. Crash shouted back from the other side. \"They got wall lasers!! And more doors!! I'm gonna keep charging!!\" he yelled. Guard folded in his wings. \"Grrr... This isn't very accommodating to us avians...\" he said, looking at the somewhat compact hole. \"I'm not sure that's the correct use of the word 'avian'... We're not birds.\" Talon remarked. Kosmo morphed into a feral hawk. \"Speak for yourself! I'm gonna tear up those wall lasers...\" he said, flapping through the hole. As everyone moved on, Lucky and Tommy hesitated at the hole. \"...Maybe we should turn back?\" Lucky wondered. Suddenly, they saw Terra chasing after them. \"Intruders!! KILL!!\" he yelled. Lucky and Tommy shrieked and fled into the hole, which Terra banged against, unable to fit through.\n\nAt the last security door in the bunch of security doors, instead of mere wall lasers, there was a squad of Despair agents blocking the way. They seemed a bit dumbfounded that anyone even managed to get in there, but they were ready to fight all the same, and there were even some dark mages among them. Talon watched the others getting ready to fight their way through, but he couldn't build up the courage to join them. \"Guys... I'm just dead weight, aren't I? I... I'm gonna go back!!\" he shouted, heading for the previous door that Crash had busted a hole through. As he passed through it, he ran into Lucky and Tommy, who were surprised, to say the least. \"Me-yow!! D-don't drag us back to Shadow Arc, Talon! We just want to help in some way!! Any way! Bucky was kidnapped 'cuz of me!\" Lucky shouted. \"And... and my friend Katie was hurt and these guys were just gonna leave her! They even took Chet! And I stowed away in Mia's trunk to get up here and everything!!\" Tommy whined. Talon hung his head sadly, indicating that he wasn't planning to scold them. \"...Carrie was taken, too. And... I can't save her.\" he said hopelessly. Lucky and Tommy stared at him for a moment. \"Yeah... we probably can't do anything, either...\" Lucky admitted. \"But we'd hate ourselves more if we stayed behind doin' nothing!\" Tommy pointed out. Talon gasped, glancing at the brave youngster before him. \"You know... You're right. We can't just give up. I'll go with you guys for now. Maybe together, we can come up with something.\" he said. In the meantime, those Talon had left behind were fighting valiantly. Crash simply charged ahead and broke through the final security door, while Guard took on the mages with his scythe's beam attacks, keeping his distance from them. Whisk whipped up some magical winds with her wings, knocking around some more agents, and Kosmo finally used that steamroller form, chasing around the other agents until they cried \"uncle.\"\n\nThe remainder of Kosmo's group now neared the prison from the map that Team Chaotix had found before. However, there was still one obstacle before reaching that prison. Violet the echidna, Daisy the skunk and Ridley the coati were guarding the entrance. \"So, we meet again, Kosmo... Never mind that I don't have the Chaos Wing now. You don't have the element of surprise anymore, either.\" Ridley warned. \"You got water. I got everything else. I win.\" Kosmo said smugly. Daisy growled at him. \"I knew you'd be trouble when you showed up here with COPTER! I'll cut you to ribbons!\" she shouted. Violet was less enthusiastic. \"You should all just turn back... The Darkseeker's too powerful, anyway...\" she sighed. Whisk squinted at Violet and gasped slightly. \"You look so familiar... Why do you look familiar...\" she wondered, \"Right! That colorful echidna! I forget her name. But she was really brave! Even when that other echidna was freaking out and crazy!\" she said. Violet stared at Whisk. \"You... You're talking about my sister? ...Somehow she seems stronger than I am right now... And she has no powers. Maybe... I should just fade into the shadows...\" she said sadly, backing away a step. \"Hey!! Stop messing with Violet's head!!\" Daisy growled. Ridley's hands became covered in glowing water. \"Who cares!? We won't back down!\" he shouted. Kosmo rolled his eyes. \"Fine... You'll regret it when I bust out the prisoners and we completely overwhelm you. I'm not wasting any more time with Carrie in trouble.\" he said, his body glowing and shrinking down into the form of a snake! As he slithered his way past Ridley and Daisy, Guard fired beams from his scythe to distract the Despair agents. \"Grrrr! Never mind him! You get to deal with us!\" he growled. \"Allow me to take Ridley... I don't feel right hitting a lady.\" Crash murmured. \"Exactly why I'm gonna get ya!!\" Daisy shouted. Ridley tossed a ball of water at Guard, which he sliced with his scythe. \"Grrrr!! Very well... I was designed to take down experiments, anyway!\" he growled. Whisk stood next to Violet and sighed. \"Can't we all just get along?\" she frowned.\n\nKosmo morphed back to normal outside the cell door. The cell had been padded with rubber. Inside, Bucky was watching over Carrie as she rested on a dingy mattress. \"...So, it's you...\" Kosmo grunted, \"In order to free Carrie, I have to let out the guy who wanted me locked up forever. Is this supposed to be some weird poetic justice??\" he growled. Bucky sighed without looking over at him. \"Poetic justice for which one of us?\" he asked. Kosmo shrugged. \"Is she all right?\" he asked. \"She's unconscious, but fine. Carrie is a 'Mirage,' a species that is like an illusion... It theoretically does not technically exist. Due to my scientific prowess, however, Carrie is no illusion. So her injuries are real... Unlike an illusion, she does not simply vanish with the possibility of manifesting again later.\" Bucky explained, getting a bit caught up in the science of it. Suddenly, Basker emerged from the shadows of the corner of the prison room. \"How touching... A father-son reunion. But come now, Kosmo... Surely you know you cannot defeat me.\" he said bluntly. Kosmo turned to face him. \"Oh, yeah? Take me on in a real fight, and we'll see!\" he challenged. Basker chuckled softly, the drowsy look never leaving his red eyes. \"You came all this way, and for what? What do you actually hope to accomplish? Are you so eager to join your friends in this little cage? ... Or will you once and for all bow down and swear your allegiance to the Covenant of Despair!?\" he snarled, starting to sound uncharacteristically fired up. Kosmo morphed himself into a purple form resembling Shadow, glaring at Basker with contempt. \"First... I'm gonna kick your butt and open this cell. Then... I'm gonna take down your boss and free everyone he's trapped in his control!\" he shouted. Basker's eyes started glowing more brightly all of a sudden. \"You know, I think the cell is too good for you... It is DEATH, then!!\" he roared!\n\nBasker's hands started glowing deeply in a dark shade of blue, and Kosmo was quickly struck with that same inexplicable terror once again! He started to hallucinate, seeing Bucky in place of Basker, but with the same red eyes. \"Terror is absolute power... As you cower, fading into the darkness... I will obliterate you!!\" To Kosmo, Basker's attack appeared as Bucky's lightning, but in reality, he was merely kicking him while he trembled at the ground. \"...You have no chance against fear itself! A pity, really...\" Basker smirked.\nOutside, Crash was busy fending off Daisy's katana with nothing but his horn to parry her with. \"I said I wouldn't hit a lady, but you're pushin' it!!\" he growled. \"Surrender and I'll stop!\" Daisy grunted. Guard was busy chopping Ridley's water blasts with his scythe, occasionally shrugging off any that struck him. \"Grrrrr!! How can you work for these fiends after they've captured your creator!? Where is your loyalty!?\" he shouted. Ridley stopped to answer him. \"...What good is loyalty when you're dead? You of all people should understand me... You work against Bucky for GUN!\" he yelled. Guard grunted. \"...That is my programming...not my will.\" he said, charging at Ridley to resume his attack!\nBack at the prison, Bucky called out to Kosmo. \"Stand up to your fears! Fear is a necessary reflex against danger, but you cannot allow it to control you completely! Remember who you are! You are one of the most powerful forces on Earth! Fight back!\" he shouted. Kosmo had by this time morphed into a sea turtle, and was cowering inside his shell while Basker kicked it around, but perhaps he could still hear Bucky's words? As his shell bounced off the wall, he poked his head out and snapped at Basker's hand, surprising him long enough to enable him to morph back to normal. \"So... not content to hide in your shell, are you?\" Basker growled. Kosmo growled, struggling as Basker's eyes and hands glowed brighter, turning up the fear. The hallucinations became increasingly terrible, the world around him seemed to fade into blackness, and frightening monsters seemed to be creeping around him in these shadows. However, Kosmo focused, and began to morph himself! \"I... do not fear... the dark! I am a morph! The dark... should fear... me!!\" he growled, transforming into a great dragon! Basker stared with wide eyes. \"There's no way...! No one can function...under the pressure of such terror!\" he gasped. He then scrambled to escape the wrath of Kosmo's fiery breath!\n\n\"Ugh... Talon, keep it down...\" Carrie was starting to regain consciousness by now. When she opened her eyes, the situation quickly became clear to her. \"Oh... Throwing me in here was a mistake.\" she growled, standing up and approaching the cell door. Her eyes glowed blue for a moment, and then, using her psychokinesis, she ripped the door clean off its hinges! Basker looked back in shock, releasing his hold over Kosmo in the process. \"What...?! Impossible!\" he said in astonishment. Bucky quickly stepped out of the cell and zapped the hound with his electricity. \"Threaten my experiments, will you!!!\" he shouted, leaving Basker convulsing on the floor! \"I should kill you... Instead I'm ordering you to get out of my sight!\" he growled. Basker shakily stood up and ran for the exit. \"Don't...think...this is over!\" he stammered. Kosmo, still in dragon form, stared at Bucky for a moment. \"...I shouldn't let you off the hook, either...\" he growled. Carrie stepped between them, but Bucky placed a hand on her shoulder to silence her. \"There is a matter that's bigger than both of us right now. A device on this island with the potential to kill us all in mere moments.\" he said. Kosmo nodded, morphing back to normal. \"Then I guess we find it...\" he said. Carrie looked at him as Bucky headed out of the room. \"Did you come to rescue me again? ...Maybe now you realize I don't really need it...\" she snickered. Kosmo sighed. \"You're welcome, I guess...\" he grumbled. A flash of lightning told them it was time to rejoin the others. Outside, they found Ridley cowering at Bucky's feet, while Daisy was hiding behind Violet. It seemed Bucky had the situation well in hand. \"Stop sniveling, Ridley! I understand your motives. You're a coward. But whatever Despair promised you, I promise they won't deliver.\" he said. Ridley looked up nervously. \"Um... wh-what do you mean, exactly?\" he stammered. Suddenly, Whisk yelped loudly, falling to the floor! As everyone turned to see what had happened to her, they saw Basker lift her over his shoulders! \"A divine... Surely she has unique life energy... Listen well, Bucky. Come to my master, the Darkseeker. If you do not, your precious experiment will be used to power Project GXterminate!\" he shouted, using his fear-power to stop Crash and Guard, thereby covering his escape! Kosmo looked a bit shocked. \"Won't using an animal in the machine make it target...animals? Don't they want it to target humans?\" he stammered. Bucky's eyes narrowed. \"This is a threat, or a bluff... but we can't risk it. We have to find the Darkseeker.\" he said. Violet looked a bit nervous. \"Um... I could take you to him... But I'm not sure if I really want to go there...\" she shuddered. \"There's no choice. Let's go!\" Kosmo said. Finally, it was almost time to face the leader of the Covenant of Despair...\n\n\nChapter 45 - The Castle Towers\nBoss 25-28 - Dr. Eggman, Shadow Chaos, ???\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nAt a crossroads, Knuckles decided it was time to say good-bye to Sonic for now. \"I've gotta find the Master Emerald, Sonic. I'm sure you'll be alright on your own.\" he said. Team Rose had caught up with him, so it wasn't like he was leaving Sonic shorthanded. \"Sure, Knuckles. Heck, why don't you bring Tails along, too. I'm feelin' a bit crowded here.\" Sonic sighed. Amy took his arm. \"I'm sure you're just kidding!\" she said. Tails called SPOT and joined Knuckles. \"I can calibrate SPOT to try looking specifically for the Master Emerald... Though Gemini's right, we may have trouble with interference.\" he said. Gemini stepped over to join them as well. \"I owe you one for everything you did for me back when I was stuck as a dragon, so I'll help you out now.\" she said. \"I thought the sewer and Shadow Arc and the Dream Temple made us even.\" Knuckles grinned. Gemini sighed. \"How much help was I, really? Besides... I feel like dead weight with Silver and Sonic. You might actually be able to use my help.\" she said. Silver frowned. \"Gee, sorry...\" he grumbled. Knuckles sighed. \"I remember when I used to work alone... Okay, come on!\" he said, heading off one way with Tails, SPOT and Gemini while Sonic headed the other way with Team Rose. What they didn't realize was that Team Dark was just arriving at this same crossroads, a central area of the castle. \"Hmmm... There goes Knuckles... I bet he's off on the hunt for that Master Emerald you said he lost...\" she said to Shadow. \"...Sounds like him.\" Shadow muttered. Rouge grinned mischievously. \"Which implies he hasn't found it yet...\" she said, trailing off. Shadow groaned. \"If you must, then go. You're no good to us distracted.\" he grumbled. As Rouge hurried off, Omega stepped to Shadow. \"If she gets to leave, then I request permission to track down Eggman!\" he said. Shadow rolled his eyes. \"What happened to the urgent mission we were on!?\" he groaned.\n\nKnuckles arrived at the base of the East Tower of Despair Castle, one of two large towers at the center of the fortress. Inside, he found a large, mostly empty room with a winding stairway leading all the way up the sides of the tower. Here, Dr. Eggman dropped down from above in his Egg Mobile to block their way! \"Ah, Knuckles... Hey, where's Sonic?! Eh, no matter. My sensors indicate that YOU have what I want. Hand over the Chaos Gauntlets and the final two Chaos Emeralds, if you don't want this to get messy!\" he threatened. Rouge ran into the room hurriedly. \"You have Chaos Emeralds!? Erm... Of course, you can't give them to him!\" she shouted. Knuckles looked back at her in surprise, but returned his focus to Eggman quickly. \"R-right... What she said! Why don't YOU turn over YOUR Chaos Emeralds instead!\" he yelled. Tails shook his head. \"Yeah, right...\" he sighed. Eggman looked down at his controls. \"All right... You asked for it... You know, before I settled on making my fleet a carnival, I had another idea in mind. I had picked up these nifty cloud-camouflaged ships cheap, so I was going to go with a weather theme. But then, I realized, Tails has the Tornado, and the Cyclone, and I think he's trademarked the name 'Typhoon' as well. And I already did Hurricane. So what would I name anything? Nice, Tails. I can never do an evil weather station.\" he grumbled. Tails scratched his head. \"Uhhh... Sorry?\" he murmured. Eggman then started pushing buttons on his controls. \"One idea DID make it past R&D, though... So say hello... To the Egg MAELSTROM!!\" he pulled a red lever, and several flashing rods and tubes popped out of the Egg Mobile's underside. They started to rotate, and strange black atmosphere started to generate around the Egg Mobile! \"...Okay... This is making me nervous...\" Gemini muttered. Knuckles scoffed. \"It's just a little cloud!\" he said. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck out from the cloud, forcing the group to scatter very hastily! \"Aaaah! ...See? The chance of getting struck by lightning is really tiny.\" Knuckles sighed. Eggman chuckled. \"That's if the lightning has something bigger to strike... But let's play a bit. How would you like some golf-ball sized hail?\" he snickered, as large balls of ice started flying out of the cloud generated by the Egg Maelstrom! Tails shielded himself with his tails and glanced at the steps. \"We may have to get above him... Someone try the stairs!\" he suggested.\n\n\nMeanwhile, Punchy had been exploring the castle for some time, joined by Rainbow and Copter. They still hadn't found Violet, nor had they spotted the Chaos Crystal that Rainbow had allowed to be stolen to protect Violet. Having arrived at the castle ahead of everyone, Sonic was only just catching up to them. \"...Hey, guys. Seen anything helpful?\" he asked. Copter shrugged, so Sonic continued ahead. \"See you at the finish!\" he waved. Amy and Cream continued with him, but Silver stopped to converse with them. \"Rainbow... We've gotta find that Chaos Crystal. Few even know about it, but it's a big piece of the puzzle here. It's something that the Darkseeker has been single-mindedly searching for this whole time.\" he said. Rainbow nodded. \"I know... and I know what might happen if we don't get it...\" she shivered. Copter raised an eyebrow. \"I'm a bit fuzzy on the whole thing, honestly.\" he muttered. Silver sighed. \"Because of events at this castle, my future ends up devastated. Gemini, who comes from the same time, doesn't know. She left from a different timeline. Her actions may have influenced the new timeline...\" he said, a bit uncertainly. Punchy rubbed his forehead. \"This is giving me a headache. Can't we just go beat up this Darkseeker and be done with it?\" he asked. Copter shuddered. \"I've met him. He induces fright just by being in the same room...\" he said. Silver nodded. \"Regardless, this is what we must do. Since you are among the few who know the urgency of finding the Chaos Crystal, I'm going with you now. Lead the way, Rainbow.\" he asked. Rainbow pointed at herself uncertainly. \"...Me? Why, Shiny?\" she asked. \"As the guardian, you share a bond with the crystal. One that you may not yet fathom, but we need it now. You should be able to sense when we get close to it.\" he said. Rainbow sighed frustratedly. \"Sure... Even though I was never able to even FIND it before... Why not?\" she grumbled. \"I believe in you.\" Punchy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rainbow smiled at him and nodded. \"Well... that's the important thing. Follow me, guys!\" she said, running ahead.\n\nThe four of them arrived at the West Tower after a bit of a jog. It was very similar to the East Tower. Here, they found Illusi in their path. His fur was a mess, and his cape was wrinkled and tatty as well. His eyes were bloodshot, and he generally looked awful. \"So... Dark One! Still playing the hero after what you've done!\" he yowled woefully. Silver frowned. \"...Maybe we shouldn't have left him alone...\" he realized. \"Poor Mousy...\" Rainbow said softly. Illusi stomped at the ground, and as though on command, Shadow Chaos dripped down from the ceiling! \"I found someone else who's furious with you! ...Remember this guy! After you splattered him across the mountainside, Despair captured him! Seems you've been messing up everyone's lives!\" he shouted, almost crazed. Copter looked astonished. \"...They actually caught it?? But...WHY??\" he stammered. Punchy growled at Illusi. \"Stop blaming me for what happened to Fera! Even before it happened, you blamed me instead of trying to warn me! Maybe I could have HELPED prevent her from dying!! But she PUSHED me and PUSHED me! She FORCED Dark Punchy out!! And it backfired on her!\" he shouted, furious at everything that had happened. Illusi glared at him. \"Enough!! Shut your mouth! Fera... She was all the family I had... And now you'll know what it's like to suffer like I've had to suffer!! Shadow Chaos! Take your vengeance!\" he cried, prompting the big drop on the floor to take shape and hurl its stretchy arms across the room, trying to slap all four of them at once! Copter jumped the attack, but the others were knocked aside swiftly. \"C'mon, guys! None of you saw that coming!?\" he grumbled, \"Well, you don't scare ME, Shadow Chaos!\" Copter growled. Shadow Chaos morphed into a big ball of black water and leapt at Copter, slamming him against the wall hard! As he fell to the ground, Copter groaned. \"That's new...\" he mumbled. Punchy stood up and shook his head. \"Cut it out! Your fight's with me!\" he growled. Shadow Chaos fired several blasts of black sludge at him, but he retaliated. \"Chaos Avalanche!\" he cried, trying to pull up parts of the ground to toss at Shadow Chaos. He found himself pummeled with sludge instead. \"Oooogh!! Wh-what!? Why didn't it work!?\" he gasped. Illusi grinned. \"I'm placing all my energy on an invisible barrier. It won't let you dislodge any part of this room...\" he sneered. Punchy groaned. \"So, I'm basically Knuckles... Errr... No one remember I said that, please...\" he grumbled.\n\n\nA side effect of the Egg Maelstrom was causing rain water to splatter all around it, getting in the eyes and affecting aim for the likes of Gemini, who took to casting shields after a stray bolt from her wand grazed Rouge's wing. Eggman was done playing with hail, though, and had started flinging bolts of lightning all around the room, which was putting a real strain on Gemini's and SPOT's shields. Tails was busy flying around, trying to get past the lightning to fight back, but he was a bit preoccupied dodging to move forward. Then there was Knuckles. He'd retreated to the back wall, and started to climb it. There was no way Eggman would let them get to the stairs directly. \"I just need to get... high enough.\" he groaned as he hit the bottom of the stairway snaking around the walls. Eggman was lower than this, sure, but Knuckles's gliding would put him below Eggman by the time he reached him. He looked back for a solution, and then chuckled softly. \"Well, worth a shot...\" he said, jumping from the wall and breaking into a glide! As Tails and Rouge were busy evading the lightning in the air, they heard Knuckles's voice behind them. \"Gangway!!\" he shouted before landing on Rouge's back, leaping from her in order to gain extra height as she dropped like a stone! \"Aaaaugh!! KNUCKLES!! HOW DARE YOU!!?\" she screamed, flying up after him as he resumed gliding toward Eggman! \"That did seem rather rude... I should zap you out of the sky!\" Eggman chuckled, firing a bolt straight at Knuckles! \"Proplasmar!!\" Gemini called, casting her shield around Knuckles quickly! As the lightning jolted the shield, Knuckles kept up his momentum and hurled a punch straight into the dark cloud surrounding the Egg Maelstrom! Rouge then changed course and kicked at Eggman's control panel, and the whole machine started to spark! Knuckles was jolted a bit, and fell to the floor, while Eggman rubbed his bald head in concern. \"...Technical problem... I'll be right back!\" he said, flying his machine up into the tower! Rouge landed beside Knuckles, as did Tails, and they looked at him with concern. \"...You all right?\" Tails asked. Knuckles groaned as he opened his eyes, and suddenly, everything went white! \"What...?! What hit me...?!\" he stammered.\n\nKnuckles was back in front of the Master Emerald shrine. \"...Why am I back in front of the altar?\" he muttered, \"And why am I wet?\" he said, sitting in the pool of water in front of the shrine of the past. The Chao that were there were now fleeing. They finally seemed to realize that their former home was anything but safe. Howler, equipped with the Chaos Tailbands, Chaos Boots, and Chaos Sword, had defeated Shadow Chaos. Now, he turned to Tikal. \"...I'll take that Emerald now!\" he said, zooming up to her and snatching the Master Emerald from her hands before she could act! \"W-wait!! St-stop...!\" Tikal pleaded, feeling weaker as the emerald moved further away from her. Athair ran to her side, helping her to her feet. \"Princess Tikal! ... What is your game, Howler!? That emerald is not part of our deal!\" he shouted. Radia stepped back slowly. \"He has grown too powerful... He must be stopped!\" she gasped, hurrying away quickly. Howler held the Master Emerald in front of Shadow Chaos. \"With this emerald... I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! That we might carve a new world, in MY image!!\" he howled. Shadow Chaos flinched, and then started to swirl, turning into a shadowy mist that was being drawn toward the Master Emerald! Tikal stumbled away from Athair and stood in front of Howler, blocking Shadow Chaos! \"Enough! Now I see what you are... You are a seeker of power and control... Like my father, and like Ix of the Nocturnus! There is but one fate for greed-driven fools like you!\" she declared. Howler pointed the Chaos Sword at her, but then flipped around and whipped her aside with his tailband-powered tails, instead! Tikal tumbled towards the edge of the nearby cliff, but Athair hurried to catch her! \"I'm afraid there is naught we can do, princess... We've led him right to all the power he craves!\" he said gravely. The scene started to fade away from Knuckles's eyes, and he felt Rouge slapping his face. \"Wake UP, you dolt! This isn't over yet!\" she shouted. \"Ow... Thanks, Rouge...\" he grumbled, standing up. At this point, Eggman was returning with the Egg Maelstrom, and he wasn't alone. \"...What's a castle without a knight, eh?\" he said, chuckling. A human wearing high-tech armor resembling knight's armor was coming down the stairs. He opened the eye-hatch on his helmet to reveal himself as Dr. Nammad. \"Can't be too, uh, careful when going up against you, uh, animals.\" he sneered, holding up an odd staff that glowed with electrical energy at the tip. \"Fine... I'm ready for round two!\" Knuckles growled.\n\n\nPunchy, Copter and Silver had been fighting Shadow Chaos, while Rainbow tried in vain to tell Illusi to put a stop to this. Suddenly, after smacking Copter and Silver aside again, Shadow Chaos lunged at Punchy, and seemed to stab its hand through his chest! \"No, One!!\" Rainbow gasped, but quickly recovered when she saw how little pain he seemed to be in. He couldn't move, though, and as he struggled, a dark force seemed to pulse inside Shadow Chaos. The dark creature slowly changed its shape, matching the form of Punchy, but with Shadow Chaos's yellow eyes. Illusi chuckled darkly. \"Shadow Chaos has tapped into Experiment 1's darkness and merged with it... Now, see what it's like to truly face down your own dark side!\" he roared! Shadow Chaos released him, and then spoke with Dark Punchy's voice. \"...Finally... A chance to tear up that prison of a body that I've been confined to! Ha ha!! This feels GOOD!!\" he shouted, smashing Punchy across the face with his watery fist! Punchy stumbled back, but shook it off. \"So, I won't go dark? ...Good... I've been wanting to really let loose!! First... this is for Rainbow!\" he growled, charging at \"Dark Punchy Chaos\" and throwing several furious punches right into its chest! It didn't seem to do much, but he didn't care as long as he got to blow off steam. Copter and Silver thought about helping him, but instead ran over to Illusi, who was watching intently and ignoring Rainbow. \"THIS is your big plan!?\" Copter yelled, \"UNLEASH Dark Punchy?? Have you gone INSANE!?\" he shouted. Silver nodded. \"This won't end well. Remember, this is just the way Fera died. If she couldn't control the darkness, what makes you think you can?\" he said. \"Shut up! I don't care what happens to me... I just want vengeance...\" Illusi growled. Dark Punchy threw Punchy back with a dark shockwave, and then tossed balls of black water at him to injure him further. \"No big rocks to throw at me? You are an ANT railing against a god! I'm just taking my sweet time squashing you!\" Dark Punchy sneered. Punchy got up and raised his fists. \"I don't need Chaos Avalanche to deal with you... You don't got a cliff to throw me from now.\" he smirked.\n\nDark Punchy swung the elastic arms he got from Shadow Chaos at Punchy, letting sparks of dark energy fly through them to make them more dangerous. Punchy jumped them and came at the liquid form of his darker half. \"Now, this one's for Kosmo! Without you, Copter might've talked me out of that fight!\" he yelled, drilling right through Dark Punchy Chaos with his fists, only to find that he reformed himself easily. \"Your heart really wasn't in that one, was it? Well, this one's for me!\" Dark Punchy snarled, jolting Punchy with dark lightning! He then started to warp all around Punchy, bashing him with punches and water blasts while barely giving him an opening to hit back! \"...Mousy! Stop this! He... He'll die!!\" Rainbow cried. \"I should step in...\" Copter growled. \"Wait.\" Silver said, \"I don't think Illusi here has it in him to let that happen.\" Illusi glared at him. \"You're a bit naive, aren't you?\" he growled. Punchy tried futily to punch a couple times, and finally grew frustrated. \"Grrrrr... And this... This is... for FERA!!\" he shouted, to Illusi's surprise, \"CHAOS BLAST!!\" The chaotic explosion knocked Dark Punchy to the ground, splattering against the floor, and Illusi fell to the ground as he came to a realization. Copter guessed at it. \"...It wasn't Punchy that killed Fera. It was Dark Punchy. The guy you just let out.\" he said. Illusi sat with tears in his eyes. \"...I wanted someone real to blame... Someone I could punish... But Fera herself forced the Dark One out... And the one who allowed Fera to turn to darkness... was me.\" he sniffled. Rainbow placed a hand on his shoulder, her own eyes tearing up a bit. A mist escaped Shadow Chaos and flowed back into Punchy, knocking him over. \"Ugh! That was foul...\" he grumbled. Dark Punchy's voice spoke in his mind. \"It seems I could only bond with that creature temporarily... In trying to destroy you, I nearly destroyed myself... I'm going to chew on that for a while...\" he said before the voice faded. Then, Shadow Chaos pulled itself together and slithered away quickly. Copter sighed. \"I'm sick of all this tension. Let's find Violet and that crystal and quit this dump!\" he said. Silver nodded. \"I couldn't agree more!\" he smiled. Illusi stood up slowly and shakily. \"...I will join you. Violet was Fera's charge. I will consider it my duty to see her safely out of this place.\" he said. Punchy nodded and smiled a little. \"Good to finally have you back, Illusi...\" he said.\n\n\nAs Dr. Nammad stood beside Dr. Eggman, Gemini lost her temper. \"Why, Nammad?! Why waste your intelligence building doomsday machines and giving them over to people like the Covenant of Despair!?\" she shouted. Nammad glared through the armor. \"Aside from obvious speeches about self-preservation and the promise of, uh, rewards... GUN was squandering my genius! Talking beetles? Pitiful shooting swords? ...I once played at playing GOD! Uh... that is... until Bucky had it out with me. So when the Darkseeker came to me with the plan for Project GXterminate... I knew I had to bring it to Gunner.\" he sneered. Tails and Knuckles both looked dumbfounded. \"Wait... Despair was behind the weapon thing from the beginning??\" Tails stammered. Eggman stroked his moustache curiously. \"Fascinating... But enough of that. There's still the little matter of the Chaos Gauntlets and Chaos Emeralds! Dr. Nam! Let's show them your stuff!\" he chuckled, pulling a lever on the Egg Maelstrom to start it up again! This time, the first bolt of lightning struck out toward Dr. Nammad, who caught it with his mechanical staff! \"...Now, I'll play god once more! Face my, uh, WRATH!!\" he yelled, using his staff to bend the lightning and send it sweeping across the room, jolting a surprised Gemini and barely missing the others as they leapt out of the way! \"Oh, no! ...Gemini! Are you...?\" Knuckles gasped. Rouge lifted her unconscious body into her arms. \"I think some of that magic was still protecting her... But I'd better get her outta the way... You stop them for us, Knuckles!\" she said sternly, flying up to the winding staircase with Gemini. Eggman chuckled. \"No, no... I insist you stay. It'll help Knuckles make up his mind!\" he said, spewing several large hail stones from the Egg Maelstrom in Rouge's direction! Tails jumped up, flying into the path of the hail to block it! However, this wasn't well thought out, and he fell from the sky, wounded. \"Aw, shoot!\" Knuckles growled, glancing at SPOT nearby. \"You gonna help?!\" he yelled. SPOT scampered over to Tails and erected a shield. \"Yeah... Not what I meant...\" he grumbled.\n\nKnuckles glanced at Dr. Nammad and got an idea. \"So, the staff controls the lightning, eh...?\" he muttered. He then started to charge at the armored doctor, but Eggman fired a bolt for Nammad to direct straight at him! Fortunately, Knuckles was expecting it now, and his friends were more or less safe, so all he had to do was jump and evade it. Eggman wouldn't let this slide, though. \"Thunder and hail isn't all the Egg Maelstrom is limited to! Behold!\" With a few button presses, a funnel of wind shot out from the Egg Maelstrom; A mini-tornado! It picked Knuckles up and blew him into the air, but he caught the wind and started to glide. \"Whew...\" he sighed, but the tornado was keeping him from moving forward. Just then, a laser from SPOT seared past Eggman's head, getting his attention! Tails had carefully aimed the robot to draw the doctor's focus away from Knuckles. \"Aching for more, eh, Tails!? I can pummel you with hailstones all day, you weather-name-hog!\" he shouted, causing the tornado to dissipate as he switched to tossing hail at Tails. Knuckles came flying at Nammad, but he just snickered at him and swung his staff as the echidna approached, jolting him with stored up electricity! \"Yaaaah!! Shoulda... seen that coming...\" Knuckles grunted. \"So, you made it to me. Uh... Now what, stupid?\" Nammad chuckled. A blast of magic from above struck at Nammad's feet, startling him long enough for Knuckles to shrug off the jolt and deliver a good smack to Nammad's arm, causing him to drop the staff! \"...Thanks, Gemini!\" he called, looking up to see her kneeling on the steps, smiling weakly while Rouge stood beside her, looking frustrated, possibly because she wouldn't rest. Knuckles took Nammad's staff and ran in front of Eggman with it. \"Hey! Why don't you try zapping me NOW!?\" he shouted. Eggman scratched his head. \"Really, Knuckles? Well... Who's to say you can even control that thing. It'll serve you right to get fried!\" he grinned, firing a bolt directly at Knuckles! It struck the tip of the staff, but then it started bending all over the place as Knuckles tried to get control of it! \"Eeeeeaaaaargghh!! Watch out, everyone!!!!\" he groaned as Tails jumped the bolt, and Gemini and Rouge ducked it from their high perch. Eggman laughed hysterically at Knuckles's pathetic attempt to control Nammad's device, but the scientist was getting nervous. \"I... um... I'm out of here!!\" he yelped. \"No, you don't!\" Tails muttered, running after him and tossing something that stuck to the back of Nammad's armor as he escaped. At this moment, Knuckles swung the staff desperately, and the lightning split, partly spraying across the back of the room, while a stray bolt jumped back and hit the Egg Maelstrom! \"AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!!!\" Eggman wailed as his machine started blowing to pieces. However, as miraculous as always, his Egg Mobile continued floating. Dr. Eggman coughed, and started to float away. \"I'll... get back to you...\" he mumbled. \"By the way, doc... That machine had nothing to do with maelstroms.\" Rouge said as he passed by her. Eggman sighed. \"I KNOW... What was I gonna call it... the CLOUD?\" he groaned. Once he was gone, Tails started looking over SPOT's monitor while Rouge and Gemini made their way back down. \"What're you doing?\" Knuckles asked. \"I managed to plant a tracking device on Dr. Nammad before he escaped! If my hunch is right... He should lead us right to Despair's big boss!\" Tails explained. Gemini smiled. \"Great! If we take him down, he'd have to turn over that fake wand and the Master Emerald!\" she coughed, \"Excuse me... I'm gonna need a self-healing spell, if my book has one...\" she sighed. Knuckles nodded. \"Well, as soon as Gemini's ready, let's go. It's about time we put an end to this, once and for all!\"\n\n\nChapter 46 - The Darkseeker\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nExiting the east and west towers, Knuckles and Punchy's groups entered a hall that met in the center and proceeded straight into the heart of Despair Castle. Here, the Master Emerald guardian met up with his clone. \"Punchy? ...Figures. I lose the Master Emerald, and here you are, no doubt looking for it, same as Rouge.\" Knuckles groaned. \"Hey! I resent your tone!\" Rouge snapped. Tails waved politely to Copter. \"Long time, huh?\" he said. Copter shook his head. \"Good, great. Gang's all here.\" he grumbled. Punchy smirked a little. \"So, no Master Emerald, eh? But it's here. I sense it... And so do you.\" he observed. Knuckles nodded. \"I'm finally getting close to it! I'll make Despair sorry they ever messed with me!\" he growled. Rainbow rubbed her head a bit. \"The big gem...? Is that what this tingle in my brain is...?\" she mumbled. The other echidnas glanced at her curiously, and Illusi realized what was happening to her. \"She's sensing the Chaos Crystal! She is its guardian, and has a link to it just as you other echidnas are linked to the Master Emerald!\" he said. Gemini gasped when she looked at the shrew. \"My gosh, Illusi... Are you okay? You look like... well, I remember looking sorta like that once... Did someone die!?\" she gasped. Silver shook his head. \"Not now, Gemini...\" he sighed as Illusi hung his head sadly. Tails was busy checking SPOT at this point. \"Well, judging by these signals, those 'controller gems' could be ahead. Let's check it out!\" he suggested. Rainbow nodded. \"Great! Follow me! I can totally guide us this time!\" she smiled. Knuckles glared at Punchy a bit. \"...Am I gonna have to fight you, though?\" he asked. Punchy snickered. \"I think you got your hands full with bat girl there. I got other things to worry about.\" he said. Rouge was rubbing her chin, lost in thought. \"The emerald or the crystal...? I probably can't carry both...\" she mumbled. Punchy groaned at this, and Knuckles laughed, but before he could start on his way, a familiar orb of light appeared before him! \"Gaah! Tikal! You're here again!\" he gasped. Punchy and Copter stared in surprise as well. \"Tikal??\" they gasped. \"What are you trying to tell us!?\" Knuckles asked, as the world went white around him, and only him.\n\nKnuckles stood atop the steps of the Master Emerald shrine. From here, he witnessed the full spectacle of Howler's madness play out as storm clouds gathered around them. Howler, equipped with the Chaos Tailbands, Boots and Sword, mercilessly defeated Shadow Chaos as it stood defiant in its desire to defend the Chao. Howler then stole the Master Emerald from Tikal, planning to use it for a truly fiendish act. \"With this emerald... I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! That we might carve a new world, in MY image!!\" he howled. Shadow Chaos flinched, and then started to swirl, turning into a shadowy mist that was being drawn toward the Master Emerald! Tikal stumbled away from Athair and stood in front of Howler, blocking Shadow Chaos! \"Enough! Now I see what you are... You are a seeker of power and control... Like my father, and like Ix of the Nocturnus! There is but one fate for greed-driven fools like you!\" she declared. Howler pointed the Chaos Sword at her, but then flipped around and whipped her aside with his tailband-powered tails, instead! Tikal tumbled towards the edge of the nearby cliff, but Athair hurried to catch her! \"I'm afraid there is naught we can do, princess... We've led him right to all the power he craves!\" he said gravely. \"...I just saw this, Tikal... What's going on?\" Knuckles wondered, \"What's so urgent?\" Tikal's last vision was interrupted by Eggman's return, and she had to allow Knuckles to face him rather than complete the vision. Now, he could see the rest. As Shadow Chaos was starting to be drawn to Howler, the Chao started to return, escorting Radia, who was carrying something. It was a great crystal: the Chaos Crystal! \"Forces of Chaos not bound by emeralds... Are yet bound to this controller! Please aid us, Chaos Crystal! Stop the Chaos Relics!\" she pleaded! As she did, the Crystal glowed brilliantly, and Tikal saw her chance. She scrambled to Howler and grabbed at the Master Emerald, wresting it from his grip! \"N-no!! My power!! You cannot take my power!!!\" he screamed, slashing Tikal across the chest with the Chaos Sword! \"Aaaaaaah!!\" Tikal screamed in pain, and Athair ran to Howler in a rage. \"You DARE strike my princess!?\" he roared, giving Howler a mighty punch to the face, which knocked him to the floor, and ended his hold over Shadow Chaos. The creature stayed still on the ground, a weak puddle of black fluid.\n\nRadia held up a deck of golden cards. \"You did not know of these. I kept them from you. The Chaos Cards will hold you still... forever!\" she cried, drawing a card that shined brightly over Howler, turning him to stone with its light! His relics fell to the floor beside him; Even the cards could not petrify the other relics. Radia then joined Athair by Tikal's side. She had been mortally wounded, but she was already bound to the Master Emerald anyway, so her body was merely fading. \"These relics... Are too much power... You must hide them away again...\" Tikal panted. Athair nodded, tears in his eyes. \"We will, princess.\" he said, choked up. Radia glanced at Shadow Chaos. \"...This Dark is despair personified. It would be safest to seal it away as well. I suggest with the tailbands. He who can wield them will be able to stop Shadow Chaos's rage.\" she said. Tikal nodded weakly. \"...My heart... is part of the Master Emerald... Along with Chaos's. It will need protection. Its power over the emeralds, and over Shadow Chaos, will bring many thieves...\" she said gravely. Athair held her hand. \"W-we can watch over it together!\" he sniffled. Tikal smiled up at him. \"We will, Athair... You, as the guardian... Me... as a spirit...\" With these words, the remnant of her body faded and turned into a beautiful ball of light, which went inside its home within the Master Emerald before fading. Athair, Radia and the Chao shed tears for their friend, and the scene started to fade away from Knuckles's sight. Only Copter remained beside Knuckles, having volunteered to watch over him. \"...What did you see?\" he asked. Knuckles looked at Copter grimly. \"...I saw Tikal die... And I saw the source of all this evil...\" he growled.\n\n\nViolet and Daisy led Bucky, Kosmo, Crash, Ridley, Guard and Carrie straight to the Darkseeker's elaborate throne room. There, the Darkseeker sat upon the throne. At his left was the Chaos Crystal and Dr. Nammad, and to his right was the Master Emerald and Dr. Eggman. In front of him, Project GXterminate was set up with the red Chaos Emerald and Whisk strapped in. Basker waited in the shadows, along with other agents of Despair hidden by the darkness. \"So, you have come... As predicted.\" the Darkseeker said. \"I brought them for the glory of Despair, master...\" Ridley said, bowing. \"Stuff it, Ridley!\" Violet snapped. Bucky raised his hand, calling for silence. \"Release my experiment. She is not yours to sacrifice for your scheme.\" he growled. The Darkseeker turned to Dr. Nammad and nodded, so he released Whisk from the straps. \"She is unconscious. Remove her... and strap yourself in.\" the hooded fiend ordered. Bucky growled softly. \"...I will do this... But you must know that use of this weapon has to be a last resort. Your true goal must be the power of the Chaos Relics...\" he said. Carrie used her power to lift Whisk and gently bring her to Crash to hold, while Bucky strapped himself to the machine. The Darkseeker's eyes then narrowed. \"You... coati. Prove your loyalty. Turn it on.\" he growled. Among the many who looked shocked by this was Dr. Nammad himself. \"Y-y-you... you, uh, can't do that! My impression was that the, uh, plan was to hold the world to ransom! If you use Bucky in the machine... All life on Earth will perish, even with the safety measures I put in place!\" he stammered. Kosmo raised his fists. \"Come AGAIN!?\" he snarled. Bucky nodded. \"I'm afraid it's true. The machine draws GeneX energy to attack matching GeneX energy. I am a fur now... But... I was born a human. Residual human GeneX force still lives within me!\" he announced. The Despair agents in the shadows howled in rage, realizing they'd been working with a half-human for some time. Dr. Eggman reached for the Chaos Emerald in the confusion, but the Darkseeker snarled loudly at him, frightening him. \"Eeep! Uh... Oh, come now! Surely you expected me to double cross you just as I expected you to double cross me!\" he growled. \"What's all this about Bucky being human??\" Everyone spun around as Sonic entered the room, followed by Amy and Cream. \"Sonic!! Get me out of here, or the Darkseeker will kill everyone on Earth!\" Bucky shouted.\n\nMore people started to arrive behind Sonic, starting with Punchy, Rainbow, Tails, SPOT, Silver, Illusi, Gemini and Rouge. Dr. Nammad blocked Ridley, who admittedly seemed less than enthusiastic about killing himself with a doomsday machine. \"Minions... Get the Chaos Emeralds!\" the Darkseeker bellowed. \"Is this a bad time?\" Tails wondered. \"Viola! Grab the crystal and let's get out of here!!\" Rainbow shouted. Violet turned to Rainbow and looked at her like she was crazy. \"FORGET THE CRYSTAL! Let's quit this place!!\" she yelled. Then, Basker bashed her over the head. \"Insubordination will be punished!\" he growled. Eddie appeared next to Eggman, and surrounded him with duplicates of himself, overwhelming the doctor and swiping the Chaos Emeralds that were still on his person! \"Aaaaaugh!! Robots!! Get in here and help me!!\" he shouted. Basker pushed aside everyone in his way through his fear-powers, and kicked SPOT, knocking loose the remaining Chaos Emeralds and the tailband it was holding! \"H-hey!! You...can't!!\" Tails shuddered. As these treasures started toward the Darkseeker, however, a great rage took hold of the crowd. Gemini fired a bolt from her wand at him! \"You stole my magic for mass-murder!!\" she cried furiously! Punchy ran up and called for Chaos Avalanche, hurling a chunk of the floor straight at the hooded menace. \"You made Fera mess with my head and kidnap Rainbow!!\" he yelled. \"Throw one for Viola, too!!\" Rainbow growled. Tails steadied SPOT and fired a laser at the Darkseeker. \"You burned down my workshop!!\" he cried. The Darkseeker shrugged off these attacks, and then more visitors started to arrive and add to it! \"Your agents kidnapped Chet!!\" Razor shouted, firing his gun at the Darkseeker as he entered. \"AND they left Katie for dead!!\" Chet added, running in to add his claws to the assault, only to be repelled by a dark energy shield! Fire pelted the shield next as Heather came at him. \"You intended to use ME in that machine!!\" she yelled. Shadow and Omega arrived and started hurling projectiles as well, joining Silver as he tried to bring down the roof on the Darkseeker. \"You ruined the future!!\" Silver cried. Talon, Lucky and Tommy came in throwing rocks. \"Let Bucky go!!\" Lucky yelled. Kosmo finally morphed into a dragon and blew flames at the Darkseeker. \"THAT was for Carrie!!\" he shouted. Then, Wrongos surrounded the Darkseeker, covered in spikes. \"You...corrupted Fera...to her DEATH!!!\" he screamed, sending his creatures at the Darkseeker only to watch them destroyed by the barrier. Sonic was about to join this when the Deathbringer flew in. \"...You fiend! Release him now, and end this madness!! On second thought... I'll end it!!\" it said, firing a deadly bolt at the Darkseeker! It smashed the dark energy shield, but even this failed to scratch the Darkseeker! \"...Are you all through? ...My turn...\" the Darkseeker said, raising a hand sparking with darkness, and waving it across the room in an arc, blasting everyone with an intense, room-filling storm of black lightning! All the heroes were floored, but Sonic quickly returned to his feet. \"...That all ya got?\" he grinned. At this point, Knuckles and Copter were arriving with Team Chaotix. \"Good, we got an audience.\" Knuckles said, \"So, I gotta know: What's your connection to Howler?!\" he shouted.\n\nPunchy and Kosmo turned around in surprise. \"...Howler?! I know that name...!\" Punchy gasped. The Darkseeker crossed his arms and chuckled. \"Hehehehe... So, out and about are you, Tikal? Well, that's just fine. I hope you're watching! I'm going to destroy your world now...\" he said, taking the Chaos Emeralds to Project GXterminate, and removing his hood as he placed them around the machine! Knuckles's jaw dropped, as did Punchy and Kosmo's. \"You... it can't be!\" Knuckles gasped. Standing before them WAS Howler, his eyes glowing red, a golden crown with a sparkling purple jewel resting atop his head. \"I was freed from imprisonment many centuries ago, by a fellow wearing a hood, possessing glowing yellow eyes. He gave to me this Chaos Crown, which bestowed immortality upon me! I was reminded my purpose...\" he said, his twin tails poking out from beneath his cloak, \"I am the Chaos Relics' chosen one!! I was born capable of using the tailbands! And I alone shall rule!!!\" he howled, reaching to turn on Project GXterminate. \"Oh, no you don't!\" Sonic snapped, speeding at the machine like lightning, and then rushing back quickly. It didn't seem as though he'd done anything. \"...The machine cannot be damaged so easily, pest.\" Howler sneered, \"My crown will protect me alone from this weapon's blast...FAREWELL!!\" He pressed the button to activate the machine, but the red Chaos Emerald that was directly installed sparked and shattered inside it! \"WHAT!?\" he roared, glancing at Sonic, who tossed the real emerald in his hand and caught it! \"I knew that fake I got at Super Eggman Land would come in handy!\" he chuckled. Shadow shook his head. \"He still has SIX emeralds, stupid.\" he groaned. \"No, he doesn't!\" Kosmo shouted, rushing over and snatching the white emerald! More heroes followed suit, enraging Howler. \"Any who want protection from my weapon, BRING ME THOSE EMERALDS!!\" he barked. Patch stepped out of the shadows. \"Hee hee... I wanna live! Lemme at those twerps!\" Vector smirked and led his team into the fray. \"Keep-away with the Chaos Emeralds!!\" he shouted. \"You played this game with me at Shadow Arc... It didn't end well...\" Eggman grumbled.\n\nDespair agents charged into the crowd, bent on gaining the Chaos Emeralds. A few of Eggman's robots, including Metal Sonic and Alpha, finally arrived as well. \"Good, you're here! Get me those Chaos Emeralds, would you? I'd hate to leave this train wreck empty handed.\" he ordered before slinking away in the same direction Dr. Nammad was going. Metal Sonic charged in and tackled Guard, who was carrying the blue emerald. \"Grrraaah! Robot!! Return that at once!!\" he snarled. Daisy was going toe-to-toe with Patch for possession of the yellow emerald. \"That machine will kill EVERYONE! Patch, are you out of your mind!?\" she shouted. Patch's eyes seemed to spin around in his head as he spun his nunchucks and giggled crazily. \"Okay, dumb question...\" Daisy admitted. While the others fought for the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles ran for the Master Emerald. Eddie appeared in his path. \"Eeee hee hee! Where do you think you're going??\" he asked. Knuckles punched at him, but his fist went right through him! \"Eeee hee hee! That tickles!\" he laughed. \"...I don't have time for your tricks!\" Knuckles shouted, walking right through the illusion. \"...Hey!!\" Eddie grumbled. Illusi tapped him on the shoulder. \"I know that trick...\" he said. \"Eh...?\" As Eddie turned around, Illusi socked him in the jaw! \"The face isn't protected...\" Illusi muttered, rubbing his hand as Eddie fell over. Meanwhile, Basker was bringing several heroes to his knees with his fear-powers, including Amy, Cream, Talon, Lucky and Crash. \"St-stay close to me Cheese... I'm so... frightened!!\" Cream shivered. Basker ignored the girls and started pummeling Talon and Lucky. \"You thought to infiltrate our organization... Spy on us?! You pitiful experiments!! Take a look at your pathetic creator now! Ha ha!!\" he taunted as he punched and kicked the young experiments. Suddenly, he heard a rifle cocked, and looked up to see that Vortex and Zipp had arrived. \"Sssstep away from our brotherssss... Or get a hole in your head!\" Vortex hissed. \"I wanted to say that!\" Zipp whined. Basker grinned. \"As you wish...\" he said, stepping toward them and filling their hearts with fear! Vortex and Zipp unleashed attacks in their panic, and these attacks flew past Amy and Cream! Cheese jumped to protect Cream, and a bullet grazed his bow tie, very nearly striking him! \"No, Cheese!!\" Cream whimpered. Suddenly, a roar of rage shook the room. Shadow Chaos burst through the door, and, seeing the attacks directed toward the Chao, started plowing through heroes and Despair agents alike in a crazed desire to protect it! Howler grinned smugly. \"...The guest of honor is here...\" he said.\n\nHowler picked up the Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal. \"I will strengthen my bond with the power of two controllers! I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! Together, we will control the Earth...the universe!!\" he proclaimed. \"...The cheese!\" Alpha added comically. Knuckles had just reached Howler, but he was too late. \"No!! You can't!\" he stammered. \"...I already have!!\" Howler roared. The entire room began to shake as Shadow Chaos groaned, its body slowly dissolving into a black smoke. \"H-hey... What's happening!?\" Mia yelped. Copter gulped. \"If Knuckles's vision is right... Then this guy is gonna fuse with Shadow Chaos... And we can't turn off his crown with the Chaos Crystal to stop him!\" he said. Tails made a beeline for SPOT. \"We CAN go super and stop him! The tailbands!!\" he said before realizing that Basker had taken his tailband along with his emeralds. \"Oh... Wait, the Darkseeker's WEARING mine!!\" he realized. The room shook again, and a few people fell over. \"Hey, Viola?? Why does the ground feel all shaky?\" Rainbow asked. \"...I just had the craziest dream!\" Whisk mumbled, waking up finally. Howler cackled as the entire island started shaking. \"This island floats because I WILL it! Such is the extent of my dark power, honed over centuries! But now this island is no longer necessary. I will fuse with Shadow Chaos, and this island will FALL!!\" he explained. Sonic looked at him blankly for a moment. \"...Oh...\" he said. Then, everyone who could scream started screaming. \"Let's get OUTTA here!!\" Amy cried. \"I'm never hiding in someone's trunk again!!\" Tommy yelled. \"Someone better be paying us for this!!\" Espio groaned. While people inside Despair Castle were looking for a way out in their panic, Colonel Gunner was noticing the shakiness of Demon Island from his GUN Assault Carrier outside. \"...We seem to have an advantage. Let's blow that hunk of rock out of the sky and send it into the ocean! Fire missiles! Try to put it on a crash course with the coastline!\" he ordered. Spy crept over to him timidly. \"B-but Sar-Colonel... We have agents on that island! Guard and Drol and Rouge!\" he whimpered. Gunner picked up a coffee mug that was sitting in a cup holder attached to his seat. \"...A few casualties are to be expected, you twit. Besides, everyone I hate is up there! I WIN!! GAH HA HA HA HA HA!!!\" he laughed, a bit hysterical. The GUN Assault Carrier's missiles knocked Demon Island away from Station Square, and since it was falling anyway, Gunner had surprisingly done the right thing.\n\nAs the island plummeted into the ocean, a massive whirlpool formed around it. Dark clouds were forming around the island's crash site, and they seemed to be emanating from the island itself. These events were apparently side-effects of Howler's fusion with Shadow Chaos. Professor Pickle observed the mayhem from the shore of Station Square, a look of worry on his face. \"The Chaos Crystal's prophecy must be coming to pass... This is a very bad sign. What will become of this poor city?\" he muttered sadly. Katie, who had awoken, could see the dark clouds from her hospital window. \"...What am I missing? Mia... Chet... Razor... Please, be safe...\" she whispered. The situation was much worse from the island itself. Despair Castle was crumbling, and everyone was rushing to escape, though Rouge had to drag Knuckles. \"He... He's got the Master Emeraaaaald!!!\" Knuckles shouted. \"Yeah, no kidding. Why don't we all get out alive before planning out how to get it back!?\" she grumbled. Guard was focused on locating and helping Sergeant Drol and the other GUN agents at this point, but the only one he could find close to the throne room was Agent 64. \"Grrrr! Drol, does he live?\" Guard asked. \"I... I think so... I broke off to try and rescue Dr. Nammad!\" Agent 64 explained. \"...That was foolish.\" Guard stated. \"Maybe... But saving people is why I joined GUN in the first place!\" he replied. Punchy and Rainbow were running through the crumbling castle with Violet in tow, while Kosmo flew ahead in dragon form, clearing debris. \"Should we... I dunno... be trying to stop Howler or something?\" Punchy wondered. Violet shuddered. \"I'm not sure we even can!\" she admitted. \"Sure we can! Heck, we got Three on our side!\" Rainbow pointed out. \"...And he's RUNNING.\" Punchy rebutted. Sonic was having the most intense time escaping. He was forced to carry Amy as he ran through the crumbling west tower, jumping from section to section as the floor, or wall, collapsed under his feet! Tails rode on SPOT in \"Extreme Gear Mode\" to follow them, occasionally jumping and spinning his tails to avoid some falling rocks. \"We're gonna need those Chaos Emeralds, huh?\" Tails said. Sonic nodded. \"Good guess, buddy.\" he grunted. Amy held onto him tightly as he ran. \"Thank you, THANK YOU for not leaving me this time!!\" she cried. \"No problem...\" he sighed.\n\nThe island was splitting apart, and the fragments were being carried around in the giant whirlpool. As the island split into pieces, the heroes found themselves getting separated on the different chunks of Demon Island. As Copter climbed to his feet after being tossed into the water and tossed back onto a piece of the island, he found himself separated from everyone but Guard. \"...Someone up there hates me.\" he groaned. \"Grrr... You're my last choice, too.\" Guard grumbled. Tails had been separated from Sonic as well, but he found Cream on the section where he wound up. \"Hey... are you all right? I got worried when I couldn't find you before...\" Tails said, hugging her. Cream looked around frantically. \"I... I can't find Cheese!\" she cried. A few panicked chirps gave away Cheese's location, and Tails lifted a broken section of black bricks to find the Chao nursing a sprained leg. \"...We better find the others, and get you two someplace safe.\" Tails said. Elsewhere, Sonic and Amy found Kosmo. He was lying on the ground, still and unmoving. \"Well... Let's bury him at sea.\" Amy said. As they stepped over to him, his eyes opened very quickly, and it made Amy jump. \"Gaaah! The monster's not dead!!\" she yelped. \"So... this is what it's like to be in a hurricane...\" Kosmo groaned. Sonic helped him up, and they looked around. \"...This island... It's become a real... pit of Despair...\" Sonic murmured. Kosmo glanced at him. \"I guess we got some time before this dump sinks, so what's the play?\" he asked. Sonic shut his eyes and crossed his arms. \"We stop the Darkseeker... Whatever it takes!\"\n\n\nChapter 47 - Pit of Despair\nStage 25 - Pit of Despair\nBoss 25 - The Darkseeker\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\nThe story thus far:\nKnuckles witnessed the end of Tikal's story. Howler attempted to fuse with Shadow Chaos using the Master Emerald. Radia used the Chaos Crystal to stop his Chaos Relics, but when Tikal moved to stop him, he mortally wounded her with his sword! Radia trapped him in stone with the Chaos Cards, and she and Athair hid the relics once more.\nIn the present, it was soon revealed to all that the Darkseeker was in fact Howler, freed from his stone prison, and kept alive for centuries through the magic of the Chaos Crown! His efforts to obtain the Chaos Emeralds soon put Cheese in danger, and Shadow Chaos appeared to defend the Chao! This was what Howler was waiting for, and he set about using the Master Emerald AND the Chaos Crystal to begin a stronger fusion with Shadow Chaos! His magic ceased supporting Demon Island, and it fell into a great maelstrom in the ocean, breaking into large pieces in the whirlpool!\nNow, on to the next chapter!\n\n\nWith everyone scattered across the pieces of the island, the situation was looking quite dire. Sonic, Amy and Kosmo quickly realized that they were probably the closest people to Howler, having found themselves still inside the crumbling remnants of Despair Castle. \"We've gotta stop this guy... Chaos Emeralds or no Chaos Emeralds!\" Sonic realized. Kosmo nodded. \"It may be difficult to leave this... 'island' otherwise.\" he sighed, looking at the stormy weather through a hole in the wall. Some coughing was heard nearby, and they turned to see Zipp stumbling into the room, his wings heavy with water. \"If you need a volunteer to put a bullet between that guy's eyes... I'm in...\" he wheezed. Metal Sonic stepped in behind him. \"{Emergency... Assessing priorities... Rescue Dr. Eggman: Priority #1.}\" he concluded. Sonic looked at him standing there with his blank, robotic stare, and nodded slowly. \"Okaaaay... In the absence of Tails and Knuckles, I say welcome aboard.\" he said, smiling awkwardly. Amy groaned. \"Can we really trust... ANY of these guys?\" she whined, glancing at Kosmo as well. Zipp flitted into the air and buzzed right in her face. \"Get in the way of my payback against that Darkseeking creep and I'll give you something to distrust!!\" he growled. Metal Sonic buzzed with alarm, pointing to the crumbled hall ahead! Shadows resembling agents of Despair were climbing out of the rubble, their eyes glowing red! Zipp backed away from Amy and reached for his holster. \"Ugh... Demons!\" he groaned. \"...Demons??\" Kosmo muttered curiously. The creatures from the dark cavern were now emerging across the rest of the island!\n\nThe demons resembling Despair agents were not much of a treat to Sonic and Kosmo, but their group faced more demonic demons as they moved along, including giant lizards and rabid hellhounds. Zipp's bullets had little effect on the larger demons, but Amy's hammer seemed to bother them a bit more. Metal Sonic plowed through foes with an electrical tackle, and Sonic ran circles around the lizards, making them dizzy. Kosmo noticed some Chaos Spears flying up ahead, and hurried to help out whoever was getting swarmed. \"Having problems, Shadow?\" he asked while considering what to morph into. \"I'm NOT Son-- wait, Shadow?? That's different...\" an unexpected voice replied from the center of the swarm of demons. Sonic sped over to where Kosmo was and stretched his legs quickly. \"Hang on, dude! We'll get ya outta this!\" he said. The voice from inside the swarm started to protest. \"Is that Sonic?? No! I REFUSE to be rescued by SON--\" Sonic ignored him and leapt into the air, bonking demon heads one by one with his homing attack while Kosmo tossed aside any that neared him using the form and trunk of an elephant. \"--IC!! ...Curse you, you blue boy scout! How dare you humiliate me!!\" shouted Spiny, the porcupine who was being menaced by the demons. Amy, Zipp and Metal Sonic quickly caught up with them, and Amy frowned on seeing Spiny. \"You again... Here with Eggman, no doubt.\" she grumbled. Spiny fixed up his spines and looked away from her. \"No, I'm here for Bucky at the moment... And as soon as he's safe, I'm done with him and ALL of you!\" he snorted. Zipp smirked at him. \"Awww, you won't send us a Christmas card? I'm hurt, nine!\" he teased. \"Stuff it, four!!\" Spiny snapped. Kosmo morphed back to normal and tugged Zipp along. \"He deserves his choice. At least he's not here to get in our way.\" he pointed out. As they started to leave him, Spiny shouted after them. \"I was NEVER with Despair! Get those facts straight! Oh, and if you see a treacherous frog named Corky, shoot him for me, would ya, Zipp!!\" he yelled. \"Sure, whatever!\" Zipp called back.\n\nContinuing their journey through the remnants of Despair Castle, the group passed by a broken down passage where it seemed some Egg Fighters had been trapped in a cave-in. Sonic and Amy laughed when they noticed it. \"Serves Eggman right! You'd think his robots would be able to blast through that rubble.\" Sonic chuckled. Metal Sonic stepped forward and scanned the debris. \"...Ummm... Metal? You're not gonna...?\" Amy mumbled. \"{Allies trapped. Checking structural integrity... Proceeding to assist!}\" Metal Sonic curled into a ball and spun rapidly, his metal spines becoming as razors! He quickly bore through the debris, freeing the Egg Fighters! \"Greeeat... What a hero...\" Zipp grumbled. \"Well... maybe they'll be on our side?\" Kosmo surmised. However, the robots immediately began chasing Sonic around, who initially ran in circles from them out of sheer bemusement. \"Metal, can't you get your friends to behave like you!?\" he yelled. Metal Sonic tilted his head and then shrugged, giving Sonic his answer. \"Typical Eggman intelligence...\" Amy sighed, taking her hammer and bashing the first robot chasing Sonic, prompting everyone but Metal Sonic to join in the massacre. Metal Sonic smacked his head in frustration, some lines of code inside him seeming to realize that he'd wasted everyone's time. Zipp patted his metal back almost comfortingly before shooting the last Egg Fighter. \"There, there, pal... I got a brother who can't get over dumb programming, too. Gargoyle. Perhaps you met him? Maybe you don't remember because your head's been tinkered with.\" he said. Sonic groaned and started ahead without another word, so everyone else followed him. \"If we're going to work together, we should try to bond a little! Isn't that what you goody-goods do!?\" Zipp shouted.\n\nEggman's robots weren't the only hapless enemies in the castle. Further ahead, the group came across a number of tied-up dogs, cats and bats in despair uniforms. They also found the ones that had tied them up: Chet the cheetah, Mia the cat, Officer Razor the porcupine and his little brother, Tommy. \"Great, it's Sonic!\" Razor sighed. \"We're saved!\" Mia cheered admiringly. \"...You know, I took out most of these goons...\" Chet grumbled. \"We know!!\" one of the dogs groaned. Kosmo glanced at Tommy curiously. \"You brought the kid here??\" he asked. \"Hey...\" Tommy muttered as though offended. Upon noticing the company Sonic was keeping, Razor scratched his head a little. \"I guess you need to accept any help you can get right now, huh...? Even if it's from...shady folks.\" he said, glancing from Kosmo to Metal Sonic. \"Yeah, that's pretty much it.\" Amy nodded. Mia kicked at one of the uniformed cats lightly. \"We've been debating what to do about these fellas... We can't very well cart 'em off to jail in this situation, and we can't leave 'em here to drown...\" she said. Kosmo nodded. \"When this came up with robots, we just tore them apart...\" he said darkly, making the Despair agents turn pale. Zipp nodded fiendishly. \"I'm game for that...\" he chuckled. Sonic growled a little and knelt down beside the apparent leader of the Despair group, a bat with some fancy medals on his uniform. \"Hey... Can we count on you guys to get out of our way if we untie you?\" he asked. The bat glanced around awkwardly. \"...Boys!? What say you?\" he cried. The Despair agents all talked at once, seeming to be in agreement. \"We've no desire to drown... Or be torn apart.\" the bat said. Chet glared at them. \"Can we really trust you guys? I've BEEN in your group...\" he trailed off. \"Then you know we're not all bad...\" a feline replied to him. Razor smiled wryly and knelt down to begin untying the captives. \"Give 'em a chance... After all... I once gave a chance to a certain shifty cheetah, and I haven't regretted it yet...\" he winked. Mia looked at Zipp, Kosmo and Metal Sonic. \"Yeah... but does the same apply to THEM?\" she wondered. Tommy nodded. \"I think so, yes.\" he smiled. Kosmo smiled a little. \"...I like this kid.\" he said.\n\nTogether with Razor's group, they started to near Howler's throne room again. As they approached, a projection of Howler appeared before him, constructed of dark magic. \"I knew you would return... Your kind doesn't know when to quit.\" he sneered. \"Pray, what kind is that?\" Razor asked. Howler chuckled. \"You know what you call yourselves. Heroes.\" he said with a scowl. Kosmo shook his head. \"I never called myself a hero.\" he remarked. \"There's a better term for you anyway... Meddlers. Call it cliche, but it's what you really do. No one asked you to interfere. The only reward you will receive for your supposed 'noble' actions... is a world of pain!\" he snarled. Sonic put his hands on his hips defiantly. \"Excuse me? World of pain? I think that delivery is addressed to you! You are the one who meddled in people's lives uninvited!\" he snapped. The Darkseeker snickered. \"I offered a home and a family to the poor wretches who sorely needed it... A common enemy to lost souls raging at a society that had no patience for their troubles... Isn't that right, Kosmo? And Chet?\" he grinned. Chet stepped back a bit, feeling a tinge of shame, but Kosmo stood firm. \"You preyed on the insecurities of the meek and hurt... You deceived them with the intent of DESTROYING them!!\" he shouted. \"...Are you jealous?\" Howler smirked, \"Your plot was nowhere near as clever.\" he taunted. Kosmo gritted his teeth. \"I... was as hurt and messed up as the minions you deceived! My own creator locked me away out of fear! But... being stopped by those foxes gave me clarity. The insane destruction you crave...that I once craved... not even a god should have that right! All beings should have the right to their existence!!\" he declared. Sonic smiled at him, and Amy stared in surprise. \"I...may have misjudged him...a little...\" she admitted. \"Is it wrong that I feel a bit attracted to him right now?\" Mia added. Sonic gagged at that. \"Okaaay, speeches are over. Can we talk to you face-to-face, Howler?\" he asked. The Howler-hologram started to fade, but howled one last thing. \"My name... is DARKSEEKER!!!\"\n\nRazor turned to his brother. \"Tommy, stay back here with Mia!\" he said sternly. \"Ohhhh...\" he whined. Mia shuddered. \"You're braver than me, kid. I don't wanna go in there.\" she told him. Tommy nodded. \"All right... I'll stay and protect you!\" he said, while Mia gave Razor a sly wink. The rest of them proceeded into what was left of Howler's throne room. He was hovering above his throne, and a smoky mass vaguely resembling Shadow Chaos was swirling above him. The Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal were glowing beside his throne, and the GXterminate device was still in place as well, with Bucky strapped into it. \"I may need more time to complete the transformation... But I can still easily dispose of any pests that attempt to stop me!\" Howler growled. Bucky glanced at the machine he was strapped to. \"He still intends to activate this thing!\" he shouted, motioning to a purple Chaos Emerald that had been inserted into it! Sonic took a running stance. \"Don't worry... He won't get the chance!\" he said. Howler chuckled. \"Even had you brought the other emeralds or the relics, I would merely have to ask the controllers to stop them. I hold control over all the power now. And I have had centuries to hone my own dark magic! You are fools to challenge me!\" he snarled. \"Is he really doing this talk with ME?\" Kosmo said cockily. Razor and Zipp prepped their guns and joined Sonic and Kosmo. \"You guys focus on him. We'll disable that weapon!\" Razor said. \"We'll save ol' lab rat and nab the emerald to boot!\" Zipp grinned. \"I've told you not to call me that!!\" Bucky yelled. Amy, Chet and Metal Sonic stepped forward as well, but Howler wasn't interested in listening to any more threats or trash talk. He pulled his hood over his face, leaving only his glowing eyes visible. \"Then you all can die here... and be spared the terror of seeing my final form!\" he snarled, raising his hand and flicking his fingers to send a shockwave of darkness through the room, which tossed everyone into the air! Sonic was quick to regain his footing, while Kosmo morphed bat wings onto his back and started to fly. The battle was on!\n\nThe Darkseeker hurled massive arcs of black lightning at Sonic and Kosmo, which tore through large portions of the room, forcing the others to back off! Metal Sonic was struck by this lightning early on, and seemed to lose a great deal of power from it. Sonic was fast, but he needed an opening to strike the Darkseeker. Kosmo tried to fly above the lightning, which made Howler alter his focus and blast at him with his other hand! Realizing he couldn't dodge, Kosmo morphed into an electric eel, still bearing tiny wings as well, and tried to absorb the lightning. However, this was dark lightning, possessing different properties, and his shrieks of pain quickly reached Sonic's ears. \"Enough goofing around...! Let's see how you like a hedgehog to the face!\" he growled, leaping at the Darkseeker! He ceased his lightning attacks, and suddenly covered his body in black spikes, taking Sonic by surprise! \"Yeow!! You hedgehog wannabe!!\" Sonic yelped, hopping away from him while holding his foot. Kosmo was standing nearby, panting and nursing his wounds as well. So, the Darkseeker decided to add further injury. He lowered himself from his floating position and whipped his tails at Sonic, tapping into the power of the tailband he'd stolen from Tails to send the hedgehog flying! \"Whooooooooa!!!\" he wailed, while Amy dove to catch him! \"Oooof!! S-sonic... Are you alright...?\" she gasped, a bit crushed under him. He groaned and rolled off of her. \"This guy sure is tough...\" he grumbled. During this distraction, while the lightning had ceased, Razor and Zipp saw their chance to approach the GXterminate machine. However, the Darkseeker wasn't that easily distracted. He smacked Kosmo aside with his tails as well, and then snarled loudly at the gun-toting pair. \"Uhhh... Shoot him!!\" Zipp yelped, firing pointlessly at the immortal Howler. With the Chaos Crown on his head, he could not be killed. \"So... You die first, then.\" he growled. Zipp, disagreeing with that idea, buzzed behind Razor quickly, while the cop just kept shooting. Howler created a dark spike in the palm of his hand, which he started to extend toward Razor! \"NOOOOO!!!\" Before Razor could be struck, Chet had sped between him and the Darkseeker, but this would cost him everything. The dark spike pierced him right through the red star on the chest of his uniform, and poked through his back! Razor watched in despair as his eyes started to fade along with the dark spike. He caught the young cheetah in his arms, and held him as he was dying. \"R-raze... Tell Katie... I-I'm sorry....\" Chet panted as his life left him.\n\nSonic and Kosmo returned to their feet, seeing what the Darkseeker, what Howler had done. \"I... have had... ENOUGH!!!\" Sonic shouted. Kosmo looked on at the pain Razor was clearly feeling, tears falling over his murdered friend. A massive pang of guilt struck him as he realized he nearly caused pain far worse once, and now he never wanted to witness such pain again. \"...You're going down, Darkseeker!\" he said. Howler stepped over to the GXterminate machine, looking for the button. \"You insolent pests are slowing down my transformation! I will be a god, and no being will stop me! BECAUSE ALL BEINGS WILL DIE!!\" he roared, pressing the switch! The emerald, the fake wand, and Bucky all started to glow brightly, and waves of evil energy started to blast throughout the world, targeting all life! It was working slowly, and would give all creatures a painful death. Colonel Gunner clasped his chest from his seat aboard the GUN Assault Carrier, cursing the furry freaks that had clearly gotten the last laugh. Katie started to wheeze from her hospital bed, panicking as she had no clue what was happening to her. Professor Pickle collapsed by the shore of Station Square, and everyone on Demon Island was feeling the effects as well. Everyone, that is, except the robots. As Sonic, Razor, Amy, Zipp and Kosmo were falling down, slowly choking to death, Metal Sonic remained upright. However, he was still less than energetic from being blasted earlier. Still, Kosmo noticed how he wasn't collapsing. \"...M-machines... Yes...\" he panted, glowing and transforming with all the strength he had left! He took the form of Metal Sonic, and Howler fired lightning right at him as he noticed this, but Kosmo sped out of the way and charged at the GXterminate machine! \"You can attack all humans and animals... But a morph is neither! A morph is everything and nothing!! I'm whatever I need to be! And right now... I need to stop you!\" he shouted, grabbing for the false wand on the machine and wresting it free, turning it upside down in the machine! This messed up the flow of its magic and its circuitry, and caused it to start imploding! Bucky, deciding he had nothing left to lose, added his own lightning to the mix, causing the entire machine to explode!\n\nPart of Shadow Chaos flowed into Howler, and his eyes started to glow orange rather than red. \"...Very well. I will soon be a god, anyway. And you are all weak now.\" he grinned. Most of them started panting, trying to regain their breath, but Howler wouldn't allow them to recover. He raised his hand, and the wall behind him crumbled against the might of a wave from the ocean! \"I gain new powers as the fusion takes hold! Let me test them...on you!\" He then pointed out at the people before him, and a wave of black water crashed into the throne room, carrying all of them away in its terrible force! When it subsided, his enemies had been banished, but the Chaos Emerald remained. \"...It won't be long, now... The world is at long last... MINE!\"\n\n\nChapter 48 - Death & Disorder\nStage 25 - Pit of Despair\nBoss 26-27 - The Lost Ones; The Covenant of Despair\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nTails and Cream were on a segment of Demon Island's floating debris that contained both part of Despair Castle and part of the forest surrounding it. They had met up with Gemini outside the castle walls, and together they searched for any others that might have been injured in the fall of the island. Tails set SPOT to the task of scanning for life-forms, and they came across an angry Vortex trying to sneak around first. \"Tailsss!! Sssshining a ssspotlight on a camouflaging chameleon isss rude!!\" he shouted. Tails chuckled nervously. \"Uh... Okay, he doesn't need our help... Let's keep moving...\" he sighed. \"Hey! Don't turn your back on me, Prower!!\" Vortex yelled, following them. They hadn't gone far before they came across Lucky and Talon. Other than being a bit rattled, Lucky seemed okay, but Talon had a busted wing. \"Do any of you have a splint or something...?\" the griffin groaned. Gemini looked over his wing and held out her wand. \"Recoveration!\" Her healing spell seemed to work wonders, and Talon stood in awe as the pain left him. \"...Um... Thanks!\" he said. \"Just be glad I got my real wand back.\" Gemini smiled. \"This is all very cute... Now if some of you could GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!\" The agitated voice of Bucky the rat startled most of them, but Lucky jumped right up a tree! This happened to be where the voice was coming from, though. \"Ah! Hey, how'd you get up here...?\" he chuckled nervously. Bucky groaned miserably. \"I was thrown by a mutated megalomaniac, what do you THINK?!\" he snapped. Tails and Cream flew up to help the rat and the cat down from the tree, and once he got down, Vortex greeted him with relief. \"Massster... I wassss jussst on my way to resssscue you!\" he said. \"Save it. The world needs rescuing. That machine may have been stopped, but that madman's still fusing with Shadow Chaos. We need the Chaos Emeralds.\" Bucky said. Tails nodded. \"Right! Good thing we have SPOT, then!\" he grinned. Cream looked a bit nervous. \"Shouldn't we maybe find Mr. Sonic? He might be able to stop this before it gets any...scarier.\" she said. Bucky frowned. \"Not without the emeralds, I'm afraid.\"\n\nAs SPOT started to lead them in pursuit of an emerald, their activities did not go unnoticed. Still, a small number of people following them didn't bother Bucky in the slightest; They had to know that they were in grave peril, right? No one would dare hinder him in defeating Howler. SPOT led the group to the cavern where the dark demons of the island originated from. Vortex, having been there already, took a moment to warn the group, but it meant little. \"We have to get the Chaos Emeralds at any cost. Fortunately, these demons should be no match for us...\" Bucky said. Lucky scratched his head. \"Which 'us' is he talking about?\" he wondered. Of course, as they entered, various crazed demons came at them straight away, but Bucky and Vortex immediately fried the initial welcome committee with lightning and Chaos Inferno, respectively. \"...I've no patience for these mindless energy-echoes.\" Bucky grumbled. Tails sighed as he followed them into the cavern. \"Glad he's on our side this time...\" he said. \"Stay on your toes, though... Those things could come out of anywhere...\" Gemini warned. Deeper into the cave, she was proven right, and had to add her magic to the defense of the group as the demons swarmed from all sides! Tails and Cream stuck close together, covering each other's backs as they fought the monsters in front of them with all their might! Lucky and Talon were running around in a panic, and Bucky soon grew tired of it. \"Fifteen! Enough of this foolishness! Remove your gloves and fight!\" he shouted. Talon gulped. \"B-but... I look like a freak!\" he protested. \"Newssss flasssh! You look like a freak either way!!\" Vortex yelled. Sighing miserably, Talon pulled off his gloves, revealing powerful birdlike claws that may not be filled with superpowers, but could certainly be used for combat purposes! He then jumped behind Lucky and started slashing the lizard-like demons that were chasing him, tearing them into mists of darkness! It seemed Bucky was right, the demons had proven to be little more than a nuisance to their team.\n\nThe group's reward for fighting through hordes of demons was finding the white Chaos Emerald. Bucky walked over to pick it up, but stopped suddenly as he heard wings pass overhead. Zeke the dragon dropped down in front of him, carrying Ridley the coati on his back! \"Hey! Bucky! Great thing we found you!\" Zeke said. Vortex glared at them. \"You're the onesss that have been ssssneaking around in the sssshadowsss! What are you sssscheming!?\" he hissed. \"Oh, now, you wound me, Vortex! Surely I'm not still working for Howler after he just tried to KILL me! Give me some credit!\" Ridley pointed out. Tails looked around suspiciously. \"Something does seem fishy, though... SPOT, gimme a light!\" he said, shining a light up at the ceiling near where Zeke had recently flown by. Corky the frog was sticking to the roof, possibly with suction cups, and cursed now that the light was on him. Then, he shot his tongue straight down into Tails's face, blinding him with frog-slobber! \"AAAAGH!! Gross-gross-gross!!!\" he wailed. With the light off him again, he started moving, and Zeke quickly picked up the Chaos Emerald. \"We can still get a pretty penny for this from the right buyer, eh? Gotta get something outta this disaster!\" he grinned. Lucky pushed past Bucky and stared up at Zeke. \"...Put...that...down!\" he warned. Zeke simply patted his head. \"Cute...\" he chuckled. Suddenly, Corky landed behind Bucky. \"I slice Mr. Rat's throat, think of da reward I git from cranky-pants Gunner!!\" he grinned raising a knife! As Bucky was turning around, however, a bolt from the shadows stopped Corky cold, his knife falling to the floor. \"...Tell me mum... I hated 'er guts! There, I said it...\" Corky wheezed as he fell to the floor, dead! Everyone glanced at Gemini. \"I didn't do THAT!\" she shouted as the Deathbringer flew out into the open, charging at Zeke next, who was still holding the Chaos Emerald, and was not as bright as Ridley was to make a break for it at this point. The Deathbringer landed behind Zeke, and growled furiously at him. \"For a Chaos Emerald...?\" it snarled. Before the Deathbringer could strike, though, Bucky jumped between them, pushing the winged being back! The Deathbringer was knocked off-balance, and its hood fell off, no longer covering its face! This meant nothing to most everyone in the room, but to Bucky, everything both instantly made sense, and was shattered. \"...Hope?? But...It's impossible!\" he gasped. The Deathbringer was Hope the Raven, a voice-altering device fitted over her beak and a scar across her left eye. \"I... Never wanted you to know... Buck... I only wanted to protect you...\" she said. She began to stand up, when suddenly, something shot out from the darkness and pierced her chest! \"N-NOOOOO!!!\" Bucky screamed. A slimy tentacle, followed by more slime covering her body as Losipher emerged from the shadows! \"You were indeed... followed... I followed your tales... of Hope... And I decided that... if she indeed was alive... her soul...would make me complete!!\"\n\nWhile a few stared in horror, Vortex ran ahead and reached for Hope's hand, hoping to pull her out of Losipher before he could devour her! However, a red beam seared between them, making him jump back to get a view of what had intervened. \"Tis time for the proper ending... All life's but a walking shadow, and such shadow is best portrayed by the Lost Ones!\" said Loskeletor as he crept out from behind Losipher. Lospecter hovered down from the ceiling as well. \"Hey, Bucky-boy! Why don't you finish the story you were telling us Lost Ones? I'm so eager to hear the end of it...\" he grinned. Bucky was near in shock. He'd already witnessed the death of his old love once. This couldn't be happening. \"No...It cannot be her... I watched her die... I... AVENGED her!!\" he snarled.\n\n\n\"There's nowhere left to run, Stein, you mutant! I'll see an example made out of you! No one defies GUN!\" Sergeant Murten, Gunner's predecessor and former mentor, had tracked down Bucky's laboratory and attacked him with a powerful predecessor to the Diablon mech. Gunner was there, but only as an observer. \"If you end him here, sarge, I'll be sure and let the Commander know you did your VERY BEST to take him alive!\" he sneered. Bucky was tired of running. Tired of GUN's accusations and hatred. \"So, you've found the rat-man. Using my accident as part of the premise to shut down Space Colony ARK wasn't enough for you psychopaths... You'll hurt everyone around me to ensure my silence. Heck, by now I doubt many of you are alive who even know what I'm talking about...so this is pointless. Just end me, and let my friends go!\" Bucky shouted, resigned to let this be finished at last. Murten smiled fiendishly. \"Whatever brings your twisted mind peace...\" he said, charging at him! As Murten launched his attack, however, a shriek came as Hope lunged herself between them! \"Don't hurt hiiiim!!\" she cried, only to be pierced by a blade sliding out of the mech's right arm! \"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!\" Bucky caught her as she fell backward, but she was fading fast. \"...Don't let them stop you... You...are...good!\" she wheezed before fading. Murten pointed the blade at Bucky next. \"If there's no one else that wants to be stupid, let's finish this...\" he said. Bucky glared up at him with complete fury, all warmth and compassion gone from his soul. \"Yes... Why DON'T we!?\" he shouted. He then stood up and fired massive arcs of lightning at Murten's mech, the likes of which he'd never done before, and might never muster again! Murten tried to catch this lightning with the blade and direct it away, but there was simply too much energy! \"Th-this is impossible!! No creature can have this much power!! You can't survive with such force in you!!\" he shouted. Gunner backed away to avoid the lightning, and soon broke into a run as the mech started to burst into a fiery explosion! \"You... You MURDERER!! You're nothing but an ANIMAL now, Stein!! I'll see you fry, one of these days!!!\" he shouted back as he escaped.\n\n\n\"And you cried and cried all night in a corner somewhere. How touching! Seems the doc failed to check-see if his girl was actually dead!! Ha ha ha!!\" Lospecter laughed. \"What are you...?\" Bucky said, but now it was too late. Lospecter's chatter was meant to keep everyone busy while Losipher finished feeding, and now Hope had been fully absorbed into his mass of slime! \"Oh, no... No!!\" Gemini gasped, realizing what was about to happen. The slimy mass of Losipher began to take form, and as a sorrowful moan shook the cavern, he soon stood before them in his completed, vampire-esque glory! \"Gaze upon me, and know true despair! I am Losipher the Lost!!\" he roared. Bucky started sparking in rage. \"I don't know how she was alive, but return Hope to me, NOW!\" he growled. Losipher sighed. \"Demands, demands... Her soul is mine now. I feel her suffering... How she wanted to return to you... Pitiful, really. Yet she felt shame at what she had become... Is that closure enough before I add your soul to join hers?\" he sneered. Suddenly, Losipher started getting struck repeatedly by spells from Gemini's wand, until Tails grabbed her and pulled her airborn to dodge beams from Loskeletor! \"Watch the temper, Gemini! ...Why am I getting a familiar vibe from this?\" he whimpered. \"Some nightmares do come true...\" Gemini frowned. Lospecter shook his head as they flew away from Loskeletor. \"These guys have no respect. Hey, Losipher! That wand wench has been a thorn in my side for too long! Kindly bring me her head, would ya? That'd be good.\" he said. Losipher nodded. \"I recognize her... I will devour these souls, and end her life!\" At these words, Losipher started to grow in size, and sent tentacles from his arms to chase the group throughout the room! Bucky and the experiments attempted to resist, but Losipher simply shrugged off every attack! Even Zeke wasn't safe, and dropped the Chaos Emerald as he was caught in a tentacle! Cream hid behind SPOT, holding Cheese tightly and hoping the robo-puppy's shield would hold, but it didn't look good. Suddenly, something truly unexpected happened. The demons returned, but these demons resembled Shadow Chaos, and they quickly surrounded Cream and Cheese, seeking to protect the Chao as though they really WERE Chaos! Lospecter watched this awkwardly. \"Uhhh... Do we eat pure darkness?\" he asked. \"In truth, I hadst believed we WERE pure darkness.\" Loskeletor said. The enraged demons charged the Lost Ones, and Lospecter quickly got nervous. \"Let's just go, fellas! We got our win for now! Tomorrow is another soul-stealing day!\" he said, prompting Losipher to grudgingly drop everyone. \"...We'll meet again...\" he sneered.\n\nAs everyone was resting, Fred the fennec teleported in and found Gemini. \"...I sensed Losipher... I'm glad you're safe.\" he said. Gemini's face was filled with tears. \"Somehow, I caused him to fully form earlier!\" she cried. Fred patted her head. \"Now, none of that. You can't say it was purely your doing. You aren't the only one traveling through time today.\" he said, trying his best to comfort her. Meanwhile, Tails was picking up the Chaos Emerald, while the experiments were gathered around a distant Bucky. \"...Do I know anything anymore?\" he muttered. A pair of yellow eyes met his gaze in the dark. \"You know part of the story. Allow me to conclude it...\" a dark voice said. Tails's ears perked at the sound. \"...The Doomsayer?\" he gasped.\n\n\nThe Doomsayer recounted the rest of the tale. After killing Murten, Bucky stumbled back to his lab and passed out, too full of grief to carry on. Hope laid where she fell, her body broken, and her life seemingly gone. Soon, raindrops started to fall over the area. The Doomsayer had arrived. \"So young... So promising... You could be of use. I grant you a Divine rebirth! Awaken!!\" A strange magic surrounded Hope's body, and a beam of light shone down upon her, seeming to lift her into the air as she was both restored and transformed! A pair of strong, black wings burst out of the back of her shirt, and as she landed on the ground, the Doomsayer handed her a black cloak to replace the tattered clothing. \"...You have been reborn. You are an offshoot of the Divine species... Your power being a forbidden sort unworthy of the name. I name you... Deathbringer.\" the Doomsayer said. Hope looked at him nervously. \"Deathbringer...? No... What about Buck? I can't do this to him...\" she stammered, \"We work to create life, not destroy it!\" The Doomsayer nodded. \"Regardless, I have need of you. And I know you won't let your debt to me go unpaid. Afterward, you can use your gifts to aid your friends, if you so choose...\" he offered. Hope looked at the hood a moment, and then dejectedly put it on. \"Very well... Where do I start?\" she said.\n\n\nBucky glared at the Doomsayer. \"You expect me to believe that you've mastered raising the dead?\" he growled. The Doomsayer backed away a step. \"Why don't you ask... your son.\" he said, starting his usual vanishing act. \"Come back here!!\" Bucky shouted, trying to catch him, only to find him gone in a flash. \"...We should get back to the emerald hunt...\" Tails suggested. Bucky scoffed. \"Fine. Do as you like... I might as well even go along with you... Someone's gotta pay for all this suffering, and it might as well be Howler!\" he snarled.\n\n\nCopter found himself stuck with Guard, and the pair of them had washed up farther away from Despair Castle, not far from where Shadow Arcangel had been parked on the island. Heading for the ship, they met up with Heather and Team Chaotix. \"Heather! Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes...\" Copter sighed. Guard grunted in annoyance and glanced at the crumbling castle in the distance. \"Grrr... It would seem the Covenant of Despair is no more. My objective is complete.\" he stated. Vector shrugged. \"Yeah... not dying from that weird death-wave would seem to say we won... But why don't I feel like celebratin?\" he said. \"'Cuz we're trapped in a killer storm! Duh!\" Charmy shouted. Copter sighed. \"Well, let's see what I can do about that...\" he said, pulling the Hurricane Remote from his pocket. He pressed a button and got Hoover's voice coming over a speaker. \"Sorry, sparky! I recalled the plane when that there island started gettin' all wobbly!\" he said. Copter sighed. \"Yeah, I figured you'd have done that. Now I need it back!\" he stated. Hoover laughed a bit before responding. \"Yer nuts! The Hurricane is MY baby! I ain't sendin' it down inta that mess fer nothin! No way, no how!\" he said before hanging up on Copter. \"Hoover!! Hoover, you buck-toothed tin can!! If I get outta this alive I'll have you rebuilt into a blender!! ...Probably have to ask Tails to do it, but that's beside the point!\" he growled. Heather looked at him worriedly. \"So... no luck?\" she asked. \"I was wondering how you were intending to fly everyone to shore on a little biplane, anyway.\" Espio muttered. Guard shook his head. \"We can't leave yet... Grrrr... It occurs to me that I must see the other GUN agents to safety...\" he grunted. Vector nodded. \"This island's goin' down... We should try to get EVERYONE off!\" he reasoned. \"Um... how?\" Charmy asked. They all stood with stupid expressions for a moment until they noticed the huge ship right near them. \"Right! We'll fly everyone out on Shadow Arc!\" Vector suggested. Heather nodded. \"Good idea! Um... I'll stay... And guard the ship... You guys have fun playing in the storm...\" she said, running inside. Copter nodded. \"Understandably, she doesn't like water.\" he said.\n\nCopter, Guard and Team Chaotix started into the woods, looking for anyone in the vicinity who could use a ride off the island. What they found instead perplexed them. There were Covenant of Despair agents everywhere, and they appeared to be fighting amongst themselves! \"...Hey, cool! The bad guys are beating themselves!\" Charmy snickered. \"Not cool, kid. We came to get everyone off the island... if we can.\" Copter muttered. \"Uhhh... Maybe there are lifeboats of doom or something these guys can use when they're through whaling on each other...\" Vector grumbled. \"You don't get what's happening, do you?\" came a voice from seemingly nowhere! Copter and Vector jumped in surprise, but Guard pointed his scythe and growled. \"I can detect you, so do not think to sneak up on us!\" he warned. Carrie appeared in front of him and smirked. \"I can yank that stick right out of your hands with my mind, so watch yourself. Hi, Carrie, Experiment 14... Now that that's out of the way, someone wanna call off dog breath?\" she said. \"Down, Fido.\" Copter smirked. Espio seemed rather unfazed by all of this, and knew the question to ask. \"Were you saying you know what's going on with these agents?\" he asked. Carrie nodded. \"Yeah. Pays to wander around invisible. Basically, most of the Covenant of Despair feels kinda betrayed by the Darkseeker... rightfully so, I guess. But they still liked the IDEA of the Covenant of Despair. So I guess you could say they're... hashing out who the new leader will be.\" she said. \"If I got to be the leader, would I get free candy?\" Charmy asked, making everyone glare at him. \"...What? I wasn't gonna be an evil leader!\" he protested. Copter groaned. \"This is just great. Take down the Darkseeker, and we still gotta deal with his psycho followers that won't quit. He HAD to make a cult that was bigger than he was, didn't he!?\" he grumbled. Carrie chuckled. \"Relaaaax! You guys stress easy. Just knock out the heads of this craziness and I'm sure it'll stop. Follow me if you've got a mind to try. Watch your step!\" she said, carefully heading right through the chaotic rumble ahead. Copter sighed and joined the others in following her.\n\nThey would soon find several commanders leading the free-for-all from a wide clearing. Leading one band of agents was Eddie the hyena. \"Eeee hee hee!! See those traitors to our master, the Darkseeker!? Reward their lack of loyalty with severe pain!\" he cackled. Directly opposing him was Basker the hound, who appeared to be intimidating his minions at least partly. \"The Darkseeker has abandoned us... The time has come for a new master of this Covenant, and who better to lead than I? We shall tear down our opposition through fear!\" he snarled. Fighting among these agents were gargoyles from the mob, who seemed to be led by Infin the weasel. \"Fight past 'em, boys! Let's grab what loot we can and quit this death-trap!\" he shouted, zapping anyone that neared him with his electric gun. At the back, Illusi the shrew emerged, and sent his Wrongos into the fray as well. \"You...all...are...FOOLS!!\" he yelled, \"The Covenant of Despair was a giant trap for you and the whole world, laid by the Darkseeker! Rather than fighting over who should continue it, you SHOULD seek to dissolve it once and for all!!\" he shouted, though his speech was largely ignored. Copter and his friends inevitably found themselves caught right in the middle of this four-way skirmish, whether they wanted it or not. The Despair bosses each had a bone to pick with at least someone in his group, and Team Chaotix wasn't held in high regard by the various agents fighting there, either. As the first wave of random agents started to occupy the team, Copter and Guard started to head for Illusi. \"Cape boy can probably help us if we get his attention...\" Copter reasoned. Carrie started to go with them, but Basker blocked her way! \"I'm not one for petty revenge... But I do wonder how you'll fare without your maker to electrocute me!\" he growled. Carrie vanished from his sight and chuckled. \"Find me and find out!\" she taunted. In the meanwhile, Illusi had gotten tied up fighting with Eddie, and they were tossing illusions all over the place. Copter and Guard were about to intervene, when Infin started shooting at them! \"Well! My two least favorite people, together! Only one missin' is the cop that took my foot!!\" he growled, coming at Copter and kicking with his metallic foot to illustrate his point! Guard blocked it with his scythe and growled. \"We have no quarrel with you right now. Grrrr... You should be seeking refuge from this place!\" he said plainly. \"Yeah, well, so should you, moron.\" Infin scoffed.\n\nBefore Copter could join Guard in fighting off Infin, a Chaos Spear struck at his feet! Conan the raccoon was coming down from above, his normal cape having been swapped with the Chaos Wing, which he was using to fly! \"Copter! You knew I'd be coming for you, so let's not waste any time playing around! Hand over your tailband and I'll let you resume...whatever it is you're doing.\" he demanded. Copter twirled his tails and flew up to eye level with Conan. \"Hey, here's an idea, Conan! Go try and swipe the Darkseeker's crown. See how that goes!\" he growled. \"It'll go a lot better with the tailband. Obviously, you won't hand it over, so... die!!\" As Conan thrusted his sword straight at Copter, he flew over the attack quickly and kicked off from his head to get away! \"Yeah, try it! I might just toss you off the island this time!\" he grumbled. While everyone else was busy fighting, Charmy was buzzing around, humming in amusement, enjoying the fact that no one appeared to be paying attention to him on account of the fact that he was a little kid. \"I bet I could fly right into the bad guy's throne room, yoink his crown, and be a big hero before anyone knows I'm gone! Brilliant, Charmy!\" he chuckled, stopping suddenly in midair as he noticed a sparkle in the woods nearby. \"Hey... Could that be it!?\" he gasped, hurrying over to check it out. \"Hey! Oooof!! Where ya goin, Charmy!?\" Vector shouted, though busy fending off some assorted Despair agents. Charmy dug through the bushes at the edge of the clearing, and pulled out a shiny yellow Chaos Emerald! \"Aww, I thought this was something more useful...\" he sighed. \"Hold on to that, child!\" shouted Illusi, taking a break from battling Eddie to advise him, \"The Chaos Emeralds may prove vital in stopping the Darkseeker!\" he said. Eddie appeared between them and growled at Illusi. \"What's this grudge you have against my master?? Eeee hee hee... Wait, that's right... You owned the key. Our bad.\" he smirked. Illusi snarled furiously at him. \"The key? You think this is about some meaningless Chaos Relic!?\" he snapped, shooting a beam of pure energy at Eddie from his eyes! \"FERA WAS KILLED FOLLOWING YOU FOOLS!!\" he roared.\n\nCopter was busy evading Chaos Spears from Conan's sword, but he noticed Illusi's sudden outburst. \"Geez, he's still intense...\" he muttered. Conan slashed his sword at the distracted fox, blocked by the very tailband he was out to steal. \"Grr! Don't take me lightly! I will have ALL the Chaos Relics, and none will stand in my way!\" he shouted. \"I'm afraid not, my riches-driven friend... Because the Relics all belong to ME!!\" Howler's voice stunned the combatants into a sudden halt, and as they looked around for its source, a black, watery image appeared in the sky overhead! It was Howler, already gaining control over Shadow Chaos, and using it to project himself as a watery double. \"So much you have gathered in this place... Now, all sources of power are MINE to command!\" he declared! From the direction of the forest his back was turned to, big black tendrils started to lash out at the people in the clearing! They were watery tendrils, much like the kind Shadow Chaos could use, and they rapidly snaked their way into the crowd and went straight for Copter and Conan! Without much resistance, the tendrils wrested the Chaos Wing, Chaos Tailband, and Chaos Sword from them! \"AAAAH!! N-noooo!!\" Conan wailed, falling to the floor with a growl of defeat as his treasures were stolen from him! \"This is bad! Now he's got both the tailbands!\" Copter grunted, feeling a bit overwhelmed himself. \"No! Stop! Bad giant arm!! Give back my shiny!!!\" Charmy squealed, pulling at his Chaos Emerald as the tendril dragged it away, too! \"Charmy, don't let him get you, too!!\" Vector shouted, while Espio jumped into action and grabbed the bee before he could be taken away by the dangerous enemy. \"Put me down, Espio!! He's got my Chaos Emerald!!!\" Charmy whined. \"...Be grateful he is not taking your life.\" Espio sighed. Carrie and Basker even called a truce at this point, seeing how grave the situation was getting. \"...I need to move my forces in a strategic retreat...\" Basker sighed. \"Looks to me like there won't be anywhere to retreat to soon...\" Carrie shivered. \"Grrrr... Can we even stop him now?\" Guard questioned. Copter glanced at him and shrugged. \"I'll look into that... You guys get as many as you can aboard Shadow Arc...before it's too late!\" he said, hurrying off to catch up with Howler!\n\n\nChapter 49 - Approaching Despair\nStage 25 - Pit of Despair\nBoss 28-29 - Anubis; Shadow Howler\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nPunchy found himself lost in what was left of Despair Castle, wandering with Silver, Omega, Char and Alpha. They were a bit slowed by some bickering between the two robots. \"And I say the best pie is coconut cream!!\" Alpha shouted. \"I repeat: Robots have no taste receptors! That Dr. Eggman continues to use you is an obvious insult meant for me!!\" Omega shouted back. \"Actually, it's meant for Sonic...\" Char chimed in. \"Will you robots stop arguing about pie!? I'm starving!!\" Silver growled. Punchy tried to ignore them, and was searching around frantically. \"C'mon! Help me find Rainbow and Violet so we can blow this popsicle stand!\" he said. \"Popsicles? Did you just hear me say I was hungry? Don't talk about food!\" Silver groaned. Punchy saw a door ahead with a light coming from the next room. \"Light? In this dump? Now THAT'S suspicious. I'm gonna take that door off its hinges!\" he said, running over and knocking the door down with a good WHACK from his fist! \"Shhh! One, open the door like a person!\" They found Rainbow inside the next room, which was the lab. She was quietly sipping tea, oddly enough. Stranger still, she was enjoying this tea with Dr. Nammad. \"Oh, please. Uh, come in. One or two sugars?\" he asked, seeming WAY too mellow. Punchy stared with a somewhat freaked expression, but Silver walked in with a cheerful smile. \"Hey, tea cakes!!\" he said happily. \"Gimmie one! Gimmie one!\" Char giggled, flying in as well. Punchy scratched his head after getting over the surprise. \"Uh... Rainbow... You know you're having tea with the bad guy, right?\" he said. \"He's also a former coworker, One!\" Rainbow said. \"Huh? No, not Char!\" Punchy grumbled. Dr. Nammad sipped his tea calmly. \"I'm not the, uh, bad guy. I'm just an innocent opportunist who made a, uh, mistake. There's not much I can do about it now, so, uh, might as well wait this out in comfort...\" he said. Punchy glared at him a little, and then Omega burst into the room, startling everyone. \"There is no time to waste! Annihilate him and let's go!!\" he shouted. Nammad backed away a bit and gulped. \"I'll, uh...pack you some cakes for the road...\" he mumbled.\n\nWith Silver's belly satisfied, Punchy started them on the search for Violet next. If he could get the sisters to reunite, he'd be satisfied enough to start looking for a way off the island. Unfortunately, before traveling too far, they found Terra and Firma instead. They initially focused on Alpha, paying little mind to the others. \"At last, we have found an ally! Tell us, have you located Master Eggman?\" Firma asked. Char shrugged, while Alpha gave a less direct answer. \"We found the perfect tea to go with lemon meringue pie! What's your favorite pie?\" he asked. Terra raised his fist angrily at this response. \"You will answer the question, or be DESTROYED!!\" he yelled. Of course, Omega wasn't about to stay out of this. \"How dare Eggman duplicate my design not once, but twice! He thinks I can be replaced, but I am the ultimate robot!! And I will prove it by destroying you ALL!!\" he shouted. Punchy and Rainbow started to look really tired of this really fast. \"...Think we could just leave them?\" Punchy wondered. \"They'll probably all team up to get us if we do...\" Rainbow sighed. Silver growled in aggravation. \"Well, we don't have TIME to deal with a robot war! HYAAAAAA!!!\" Using his psychokinesis, fueled by a bit of rage, he grabbed Terra and Firma, lifting them into the air and hurling them against the damaged wall, sending them right through it and out into the swirling vortex of the maelstrom outside! \"WE'LL GEEEET YOOOOOOU!!!\" Terra roared as he soared off into the ocean! Alpha and Omega glanced at the furious hedgehog, who was breathing hard. \"...Now behave, or THAT will happen to YOU!\" he warned. Punchy looked at the crumbled wall curiously. There was something sparkling that was stuck in the rubble. \"Hey... what's this?\" he muttered, walking over and pulling something out of the pieces of the wall. What he found was the Chaos Gauntlets! \"Huh?? How'd these get stuck in the WALL!?\" he stammered. \"...That red-eyed reaper sure tossed everyone and everything good, huh?\" Rainbow said. Char nodded. \"That's pretty cool! I wonder what else we can find...\" he said. \n\nThe castle was still slowly crumbling, but the group continued on to the remains of the West Tower where Punchy had fought Shadow Chaos not too long ago. Now, several of the remnants of the Covenant of Despair were there, including Patch, Daisy, Anubis and Violet. \"Viola! Thank goodness we've found you!\" Rainbow called, however her sister had a bit of a frightened look on her face, as did Daisy. Anubis was threatening the girls, and Patch as well, with his flames. \"...Our former 'master' may have forsaken us, but make no mistake that the Covenant of Despair... the TRUE Covenant of Despair, will continue on! You can either be a part of it...or be destroyed!\" Anubis threatened. \"Hee hee... Since we're talking here, can we negotiate vacation time? Wearing this tight uniform day in-day out is murder in and of itself!\" Patch said, eliciting a growl of aggravation from Anubis. \"Hey! This doesn't look like a friendly recruitment interview!\" Punchy shouted. Anubis turned to face him, and glared at him with disdain. \"The former covenant was weak! Fera was weak! The true Covenant of Despair will command both loyalty and efficiency from its agents... And YOU won't be a part of it, false guardian!\" he snarled. Punchy shook his head in annoyance. \"Never gonna let that go, huh?\" he grumbled. Rainbow nodded. \"Yeah, I mean, sorry we almost killed you and all, but you started it.\" she said. Anubis raised his hands and started to summon his undead army from under the ground! \"Then I'll also finish it! Any who wish to defy me shall be crushed by my agents of Despair!!\" he snarled as his black-clothed mummies burst out from under the ground! Alpha shrieked upon seeing them. \"The dead walk the floor!! It's the rapture!! Save us, oh mighty Ra!!\" he babbled, flying up high and out of range of the mummies and Anubis. \"Alphaaaaa!! You have lasers to blast 'em!! Come back!!\" Char shouted, chasing after him. Daisy drew her katana and growled... then stepped in front of Anubis. \"I'm afraid he's right. We're Covenant of Despair members... So put 'em up!\" she said. Patch joined her with his nunchucks, making Anubis smile a little. \"Welcome back to your senses... Now destroy them!\" he ordered.\n\nViolet had a look of protest as her friends went to fight her sister and her friends. \"Daisy, Patch... Stop it!\" she shouted, only to be ignored. Fortunately, Silver was there to deal with them. He pulled their weapons from their hands using his psychic powers, much to Daisy's chagrin. \"Not THIS again!! Can't anyone fight fair!?\" she shouted, pulling out a second sword that she started carrying for just such an occasion. \"After that griffin did this to me, or was that someone else, I decided I would be prepared in the future!\" she said, fending off her own psychically-controlled blade with the one in her hand! Meanwhile, Omega set to work blasting through the mummies, creating an opening for Punchy and Rainbow to approach Anubis. \"Do I really gotta kick your butt again? Just let Violet go, and we'll leave quietly!\" Punchy said. Anubis created fireballs in his hands, growling at them. \"We remember our first encounter quite differently, don't we... I remember nearly destroying YOU!\" he snarled, tossing the fireballs directly at Punchy! He dodged quickly, but Rainbow still squeaked with alarm and pointed at him. \"...What?\" Punchy said, only to notice that his tail was on fire. \"Gaaaaaaaah!!\" He ran around hurriedly, trying to put it out, while Anubis started throwing more fireballs his way! \"Hey! Quit burning One!\" Rainbow shouted, shaking her fist at him. \"I am not afraid of you, girl... I'll set you ablaze, as well!\" Anubis growled, sending a jet of flame in Rainbow's direction! However, she quickly vanished into a beam of dark energy, which reappeared behind Anubis, revealing Rainbow AND Violet! \"Don't TOUCH my sister!!\" Violet shouted. Anubis glared at her. \"I will deal with your insubordination after these fools are dead...\" he said, only to be punched across the jaw by Punchy during his distraction! \"You REALLY need to do less threatening and more paying attention!\" he chuckled. Anubis rubbed his cheek and snarled. \"I will take that under advisement... Now BURN!!\" he shouted, hurling flames straight at Punchy! \"Chaos Avalanche!!\" Punchy struck back, tossing chunks of rock straight into the flames! Neither side of this fight was willing to give in easily...\n\nSuddenly, bullets started flying everywhere, whizzing past Daisy and Patch and startling them! \"Hee hee!? Cheese it, the fuzz!\" Patch shouted, scurrying away as quickly as he could. Several GUN agents were storming the tower, led by none other than Dr. Nammad and Sgt. Drol! Seeing this, Anubis allowed his mummies to crumble lifelessly. \"For now, it appears the tide has turned against us... But watch your backs! The true Covenant of Despair will rise again!!\" he said, leading Patch and Daisy in a hasty retreat! With the enemies gone, Alpha flew back down and jumped up and down in celebration. \"We won! Let's celebrate with some cake!\" he cheered. \"So, it's cake now?\" Char sighed. Punchy looked at Drol, a bit confused. \"You found us... AND you're helping us?\" he stammered. Dr. Nammad waved to them with a smirk. \"I did some thinking since we met. And, uh, I decided I could do more to, uh, help. So I searched out Drol and led him to you.\" he said. Drol looked a bit exhausted, but also relieved to have found someone. \"I do hope you are someone with a plan. We collected some of the Chaos Emeralds... But beyond that, I admit I am drawing a blank... A tad humiliating for GUN's noble knight. As loath as I am to place my trust in YOU, Experiment 1, I am loath to die here even more.\" he said. Agents 64, 32 and 77 were each there, holding the blue, red and green Chaos Emeralds, respectively. Silver started to approach them, intending to accept the emeralds. \"If I find the others, I'm sure I could figure a way to stop Howler...\" he said. Unfortunately, Howler wouldn't allow this. \"You'll have to pry those emeralds away from me, first!!\" Howler's black, liquid projection appeared at the back of the tower, and the black tendrils of Shadow Chaos came snaking their way in and quickly snatched each emerald away from the GUN agents! As Howler laughed and started to escape, Punchy broke into a run to chase him! \"HOWLER!! Enough is enough!! You're going down if I have to pry those emeralds from your slimy...flippers!!\" he screamed. \"One!! Slow down!! Think about this!!\" shouted Rainbow, chasing after them! The others weren't far behind. But where would this chase lead them?\n\n\nElsewhere in the crumbling castle were most of the remaining heroes on the island, including Shadow, Rouge, Crash, Whisk and of course, Knuckles. They had been journeying for a while in search of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, but so far only found Illusi's elusive Chaos Key, which was essentially worthless to them. What's more, Demon Island's shadowy demons were roaming everywhere, and Lost Ones were loose in the castle to boot. \"If we can just find those Chaos Emeralds, I can put a stop to that Darkseeker with or without Sonic!\" Shadow growled in frustration. Knuckles punched out a despair agent demon in their way and glanced back at him. \"Well, hopefully Sonic's having better luck, 'cuz we're NOWHERE on this so far!\" he grumbled. Rouge was busy flying around, kicking away losolanturns as they came at the group, and Whisk was trying to imitate her, only to get her foot stuck in the pumpkin-creature's mouth. \"YUCK!! I'm outta here!!\" she yelped, teleporting right out before it could bite down! \"Please... don't copy me...\" Rouge sighed. Crash charged through several large demons with his Chaos Charge technique, easily clearing a path through them! \"This way! Hurry, those monsters are just gonna keep comin'!\" he shouted. As the others followed, Shadow covered the rear, blasting back any stragglers with Chaos Spears as they headed through the next door and slammed it shut! \"Can I go home now?\" Whisk whined, \"This stopped being fun um... well... I can't really remember it being fun.\" she said. Knuckles frowned. \"You guys can all go if you want... I have to get the Master Emerald back from Howler. Although... At this point it kinda feels too late...\" he muttered. Crash shrugged. \"Well, I can't leave without Bucky... So I guess I sorta understand. But that emerald's just a rock, you know...\" he said. Knuckles shut his eyes and shook his head. \"...It's not about the...rock. I have a duty... And I can't abandon it now, no matter how bad it looks...\" he explained. Shadow sighed as though bored. \"Nice speech. Hate to remind you how short on time we are!\" he grumbled, leading the group ahead.\n\nAs the group passed into the weapon-training room of the castle, they found the last remaining allies that weren't busy elsewhere: Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator! They were busy shooting at some Lost Ones that were flying around the room, and Shadow was quick to notice that Cuthburt was clutching the cyan Chaos Emerald in his hand! \"Finally, some luck! Let's fight off these creatures so that they'll give us that emerald!\" he suggested. \"Yeah, or just 'cuz they're friends of Gemini...\" Knuckles added. \"Well, if you're gonna help us, HELP US!!\" Adam shouted, finding himself a bit overwhelmed by losoars in the corner of the room. \"Geez, Adam... You're always in trouble...\" Evelyn groaned. While Knuckles, Shadow and the others joined Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt in fighting the Lost Ones, the back door creaked open, and some robotic eyes peered inside. \"I'm ready... I am SO ready! Gimmie the order, doc!\" said Jolt, one of the two robots. \"...So, we have come full circle, and Knuckles is the opposition. I am prepared.\" said Freeze, the other robot. They watched for a bit as the group was busy fending off the Lost Ones. Whisk's wings glowed as she flapped them hard, sending a magical wind to tear through any creatures in front of her! Knuckles and Crash stayed to the ground, knocking away any monsters that came near them with physical attacks, though it only destroyed lesser Lost Ones. Rouge had a couple bombs left in her GUN supplies that she brought with her, and used them to take out some losohsts that were carrying blades around, looking rather menacing. Shadow sped around using an assortment of Chaos attacks to take out as many Lost Ones as he could quickly. They were pretty well distracted, so Jolt and Freeze crept into the room pretty much unnoticed. They snuck up towards Cuthburt, and then Jolt pretended to clear his throat. \"Huh?? Hey, who let robots in here!?\" Cuthburt muttered. \"We require your Chaos Emerald... Hold still...\" Freeze said, blasting cold air at Cuthburt to freeze his feet while Jolt wrested the emerald from his hand! \"Ha ha ha! Too easy!!\" Jolt chuckled. \"Huh?? Hey, you bots! Bring that back!!\" Knuckles shouted, leading a chase as the pair of robots fled through the back door!\n\nMost of the group went to chase the robots, and Jolt chuckled, tossing the Chaos Emerald to Freeze. \"Keep-away! Run this to the doc, pal!\" he shouted. Knuckles looked at Freeze, and noticed he was wearing some familiar golden shoes with wings on them. \"Hey, no fair! He's wearing the Chaos Boots! They'll give him super speed!\" Knuckles said, having seen Howler use this power through the last visions from Tikal. Shadow scoffed and ran ahead. \"I'll catch him, then!\" he shouted. Freeze glanced back at them, and then started to speed up. \"Keep up with me if you can...\" he said, leaving all of them but Shadow in his dust! Crash started to charge after them, but Knuckles grabbed his tail to slow him down. \"...Let's follow the other one... I think they're going to the same place.\" he reasoned. Jolt chuckled and fired up his jetpack, flying ahead of them as fast as he could manage. \"You've all been very helpful finding that emerald! See you in the funny papers, chumps!\" he laughed as he took off! Ahead of the group, Shadow was keeping pace with Freeze pretty well. The Chaos Relics weren't meant for robots, and it was quite possible that Freeze wasn't even capable of tapping into the boots' true power. He began to grow concerned that Shadow would catch up, so he turned suddenly and started blasting cold air throughout the hall! Shadow jumped to avoid it, but Freeze sped around him and struck him in the back, freezing most of his body solid! \"...You will not interfere with Dr. Eggman. Good bye.\" he said, running off. In a few moments, Jolt flew by, and the others found Shadow like this. \"K-keep...chasing them!\" Shadow said, his teeth chattering. Rouge stopped and sighed. \"They can keep chasing them... I guess I'd better get you out of this...\" she groaned. Knuckles nodded and continued chasing Jolt, soon reaching the East Tower of Despair Castle once again. There, Dr. Eggman was holding the Chaos Emerald, seated in his Egg Mobile. \"Knuckles...and friends. How good of you to join me. I was just working on a counter-strategy to combat Howler...\" he said. Whisk pointed behind him. \"You prepared to counter that creepy-crawler?\" she asked. Eggman turned around as he heard a shriek behind him, but it was too late! A black creature jumped from the wall and struck the Egg Mobile, knocking it to the floor! \"Aaaaagh! Th-the thrusters are damaged! Wh-what was that!?\" Eggman gasped. Looking back behind Eggman, the group could see the shadowy form of Howler!\n\nA good look at the shadowy image of Howler, and it quickly became apparent that this was not the real Howler. Its body was totally black, except for its glowing eyes, and it had a generally feral presence. \"Is that a... demon?\" Whisk wondered. Crash nodded slowly. \"I've heard it explained... That the demons here are made of the darkness collected on the island, and that's why some of them look like Covenant of Despair members that were spellcasters...\" he said. Knuckles raised his fists slowly. \"Well, Howler's apparently had centuries to cast spells... So this demon could be pretty nasty!\" he reasoned. Jolt and Freeze approached the \"Shadow Howler\" in order to defend Eggman, but the demon blasted them across the room with a swift beam of dark energy! Eggman yelped and looked at Knuckles pleadingly. \"Do something, Knuckles!! I... I'll give you the Chaos Emerald! I promise!\" he whimpered, pounding at his Egg Mobile's controls uselessly before giving it up and abandoning ship to hide behind the echidna. \"You are unbelievable, Eggman! But since I really can't see how you're gonna pull a fast one this time, you got a deal!\" Knuckles nodded. Of course, Shadow Howler wouldn't make it so easy! He appeared drawn to the Chaos Emerald, and started charging at Eggman, firing bolts of darkness at both Crash and Knuckles as they tried to block his path! Crash was knocked away, to be caught by a somewhat panicked Whisk, while Knuckles stood his ground, allowing Eggman to run back and get to his robots for protection. \"You may not be Howler...but you're gonna be practice! Now quit chasing people and fight me!\" Knuckles growled. Shadow Howler glared at him, and jumped his way, performing a spinning tail whip with his two tails, bashing Knuckles back a bit! Knuckles responded by throwing a couple punches at the demon, but they didn't seem to do much good against pure darkness. \"...Tough demon...\" he muttered, jumping and gliding for the wall as Shadow Howler started shooting powerful bolts of dark lightning at him continuously! Crash and Whisk tried to approach, but the lightning was flying everywhere! \"This thing's almost as tough as the real deal! Now what do we do?\" Crash grunted.\n\nDr. Eggman chuckled and pointed directly at Shadow Howler. \"Fire! While it's distracted!\" he shouted. Jolt and Freeze fired electricity and ice directly at Shadow Howler, slowing it down and freezing a portion of its body! Knuckles saw his chance now. \"Uh... Thanks, Eggman!\" he said, jumping back down and gliding straight for Shadow Howler, evading blasts of darkness as he aimed straight for the icy patch of its chest! With a good, strong punch, his fist went right through the ice, and Shadow Howler faded into a mass of scattered dark energy with a shriek! Finally, it appeared there would be time for everyone to catch their breath. \"Save the 'we make a good team' speech, Eggman. I still want that Emerald back.\" Knuckles panted. Eggman held it up as though thinking about it, when suddenly, it was snatched out of his hand by a watery black tendril! \"Wha-HEY!! I do all the sneaky stealing around here!!\" he shouted. Freeze fell over as the Chaos Boots were yanked from his feet as well! The watery projection of Howler emerged at the back of the room to mock them, just as Shadow, Rouge, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt were catching up! \"A valiant effort by all... But none shall oppose me! The time for humanity's rule over Earth is over... Now, the reign of the Darkseeker shall commence!!\" he roared! As Howler began to escape, Knuckles started to chase after him. \"Wait just a second, Howler!! You have something that belongs to me!!\" he shouted. \"Face it... You guardians have failed. You existed solely to stop me, and you were utterly pathetic in that effort...\" Howler taunted. Shadow and the others started to give chase as well, but they started getting tripped up by the same tendrils that had stolen the Chaos Emeralds! \"Howler's transformation is almost complete!! We've got to do something, NOW!\" Shadow growled. \"I am gonna do something!\" Knuckles shouted, not letting himself be daunted by the tendrils in the least, \"I'm the guardian... And I'm gonna find a way to set it all right!!\"\n\n\nChapter 50 - Final Chapter - Knuckles, Guardian of All\nFinal Boss - DESPAIR\n\nNote: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and \nSonic Team. You knew that, right?\nGeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.\n\n\nA band of the heroes was now advancing on Howler's throne room once again. Those that had come to oppose him included Sonic, Knuckles, Copter, Punchy, Bucky and a handful of people that had traveled this far with each of them. \"Copter... Your tailband!\" Tails gasped, noticing the unusually naked tails of his clone. Copter sighed. \"He got them... The Darkseeker got both of them... And more Chaos Relics, too.\" he growled. Bucky hurried over to Sonic and handed him the white Chaos Emerald, the one emerald Howler hadn't stolen. \"I think you're going to need this.\" he said. Sonic nodded slowly. \"Greeeeat... Don't got a single other emerald, but I guess it's better than nothing.\" he muttered. As the group approached the entrance to the throne room, they found the Doomsayer standing in the path. \"YOU!!\" Bucky snarled. \"Doomsayer...\" Knuckles muttered, \"You fit the description of the guy that gave Howler his crown... But that's impossible, isn't it?\" he asked suspiciously. The Doomsayer stood with crossed arms. \"As impossible as restoring life to the dead, I would wager... Questioning why will do you no good. Howler's destiny was not to remain in stone forever, and that should suffice. Is it destiny that he be the harbinger of doomsday as well? Or will that honor fall to another, in the very near future? It matters little... The world will end, and nothing you can say or do will stop it.\" he said darkly. \"If you've got nothing helpful to say, then get lost, Grim Reaper 2!\" Rainbow shouted. The Doomsayer stared at her for a second before beginning to vanish in a storm of hail. \"You may want to check that math...\" he murmured as he vanished. Sonic glanced back at Amy and some of the others that had followed them this far. \"This guy's really dangerous by now! Some of you ought to go back and try to get as many people off the island as you can!\" he suggested. Amy nodded slowly. \"Be safe, Sonic!\" she said, \"...Or I'll never forgive you!\" Sonic chuckled softly. \"Same to you...\" he sighed.\n\nSonic, Tails, Knuckles, Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, Violet, Shadow, Silver and Kosmo entered the chamber where the Darkseeker, Howler, awaited. His eyes now glowed yellow, his transformation very nearly complete. \"Back for more, are you? Pathetic, foolish beings... You should have crawled under some rocks when you had the chance! But let it not be said that I am not a generous god... Have your precious emeralds!\" he said, tossing the Chaos Emeralds back to the group freely! He chuckled at their perplexed stares. \"I have no need for such baubles... And with the Master Emerald safely in my grasp, they are mere stones to you. Pity.\" he sneered. Sonic started to charge at Howler at high speed. \"Not after I take it from you!!\" he shouted. What was left of the walls of the throne room crumbled around them, and with a wave of his hand, a wave of water splashed into the room, picked up Sonic, and carried him out into the maelstrom! \"Sonic! Hang on!\" Shadow shouted, running after him only to be caught up in a second wave and dragged out to sea as well! Tails hastily called for the Tornado with his remote, and with the room around them basically gone, it easily found him. He hopped into the plane and took off after Sonic without delay. \"Sonic can't swim... I have to fish him out of there!\" he said in a panic. Kosmo morphed into a gargoyle and flew after him. \"I'll go look for Shadow, too... But I'll be RIGHT BACK, Darkseeker!!\" he growled. \"Go ahead... Take all the time you need...\" Howler sneered. Silver had a grim look as he noted how fast their team had been cut in half. \"This isn't going well... We need that Master Emerald, now!\" he said. Knuckles and Punchy both nodded. \"We're on it...\" Punchy said as they both started to cautiously approach Howler.\n\nHowler pulled out the Chaos Sword that he stole from Conan, and pointed it at the echidnas as they approached him. \"Do not entertain any notions of stopping me. I have collected the majority of the Chaos Relics... And I will have them ALL! Including the gauntlets and the key that lie in your possession!\" he said threateningly. Knuckles and Punchy both stared in surprise, taking out the key and the gauntlets respectively since it was apparently no use hiding them. Most of the other relics were in the room as well, with the crown and the tailbands being worn by Howler, and the boots and wing sitting at his feet between the Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal. Apparently, Howler was too busy fusing with Shadow Chaos to put them on. \"...Yeah, we got these relics... But you'll have to take 'em from us!\" Knuckles growled. Silver stepped forward as well, ready to help, but Copter stayed back with Rainbow and Violet. \"This is gonna get crazy... And me without my tailband... Rainbow, you should take your sister and get out of here!\" he suggested. \"Ha! What, are you SCARED?\" Violet said mockingly. \"...Yes.\" Copter admitted. Howler chuckled at the bravado of the echidnas. \"I could simply hurl you to the ocean as I did your friends... But I have something more amusing in mind...\" he said, raising his hand to Punchy and sending a blast of darkness straight at him! Punchy let out a howl of pain, and quickly started to transform into Dark Punchy! \"One!! One, no!! Fight it!!\" Rainbow shouted. Howler cackled as Punchy fell to the floor, growling savagely as Dark Punchy was taking over. \"Your friend cannot help it! Once your heart has given way to darkness... Darkness owns it! If you are incapable of embracing it... It will control you! Now, watch as your dear 'Punchy' destroys your only remaining heroes!\" he laughed. Bucky and Illusi watched from the doorway, gritting their teeth. \"Dark One... If you are more than mere darkness, prove it now!\" Illusi whispered. \"We may just be doomed...\" Bucky sighed.\n\nSilver tried to approach Dark Punchy. \"H-hey, buddy... Hate to bother you, but I gotta get those gauntlets from you real quick...\" he muttered. He got a bit too close, though, and Dark Punchy smacked him across the room with his fist, forcing Copter to hurry and grab him before yet another hedgehog could fall out into the maelstrom! \"One!! Snap out of it!!\" Rainbow called out. Knuckles put the Chaos Key on the ground slowly and spoke to Punchy calmly. \"Easy, Punchy... Remember, I'm on your side for once...\" he mumbled. Dark Punchy grunted, and slowly looked around the room, before fixing his gaze on Howler. \"...I know...\" he growled. Inside his mind, Punchy and Dark Punchy were symbolically shaking hands! \"Though I'm loathe to admit it, we require each other... If that Darkseeker has his way, we both die!\" Dark Punchy said. \"Hey, working together, we both should be stronger than ever! So let's teach this punk a lesson! Then...we can go back to hating each other. Whatever...\" Punchy agreed. Howler stared in surprise as Dark Punchy hurled a blast of dark energy his way! He simply slapped it aside, but the diversion was enough for Knuckles and Punchy to approach the Master Emerald! Howler sent some watery tendrils to clutch the emerald tightly, keeping it in place so Knuckles couldn't do anything with it. \"As long as the Master Emerald is in my grip, the Chaos Emeralds are useless! You've failed, guardian!\" Howler sneered. Dark Punchy helped himself to the Chaos Wing in the diversion, while Knuckles looked hard at the Master Emerald, gritting his teeth. \"There's more...than one way...to be a guardian! The Master Emerald may be important, but my duty is greater! I am a guardian of ALL! And to stop you, Howler, I'll do WHATEVER it takes!!\" he shouted defiantly, raising his fist with fury! \"...What are you doing!?\" Howler gasped, realizing too late exactly what Knuckles was about to do! With a mighty punch, Knuckles shattered the Master Emerald into pieces, scattering those pieces off into the distance! This in turn restored the glow of the Chaos Emeralds, but also filled Howler with rage. \"What...have...you...DONE!?\" he roared!\n\nThe Chaos Crystal glowed brightly, and Howler's body seemed to turn to black liquid as his transformation fully completed! The bands on his tails started to glow, and with a terrible roar, he took to the sky, ready to unleash his rage upon the world! \"Um... That's bad, right?\" Copter stammered. \"The Darkseeker has reached his final form... He'll devastate the whole world, leaving few survivors...\" Silver said shakily. Knuckles looked back at the seven Chaos Emeralds scattered on the floor. Sonic wasn't here to use them, but somebody had to stop Howler. He raced down to the emeralds without a second thought. \"This started with me and the Master Emerald... Well, it started with my family, anyway... Now, it's only right that I try to end this, one way or another!\" he declared. Dark Punchy chuckled. \"Nice speech...\" he said, sliding his hands into the Chaos Gauntlets as he wore the Chaos Wing on his back, \"You'll excuse Greenie and I if we don't leave this whole mess only to you.\" he smirked. Rainbow stared in amazement. \"One and Dark One...are really working together?? The whole world really has gone nuts...\" she murmured. Violet nodded. \"Maybe so, and maybe it'll be just enough to stop the Dar...to stop Howler!\" she said. \"Good luck, you two!\" said Bucky from the doorway. Dr. Eggman peered in as well. \"...What? We're relying on Knuckles now? ...Uh, I mean... Yeah! Go, team! ...I'm getting the heck out of here...\" he mumbled unconfidently. Knuckles shut his eyes and nodded to himself. \"...Everyone's counting on me... Time to show 'em what I got!\" he shouted!\n\nThe Chaos Emeralds started to glow and hover in the air, encircling Knuckles. As they spun around him, he, too began to levitate in the air, his body beginning to feel their power! With a brilliant flash of light, he transformed, his fur taking on a brilliant, golden hue! He had become Super Knuckles! \"...Gold? Last time it was kinda pink! Guess I got upgraded! All right!\" he said, flying up a bit, soon joined by Dark Punchy, who was flying using the Chaos Wing. \"Good. Great. Now you just might be able to pull your weight in this battle. Let's go show that 'Darkseeker' who's boss!\" he shouted. Knuckles chuckled at him. \"Nice working with you, too... I guess I should say something clever and dramatic like Sonic would... Let's give him a KNUCKLE-SANDWICH!!\" he yelled, making Dark Punchy roll his eyes and fly off ahead. \"...What? I thought that was pretty good! ...Eh, what do YOU know!\" he grumbled, flying after him.\n\nHowler met them out over the ocean. He glared at them with contempt, but also with a hint of agony. \"...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?!?!\" he shrieked! \"What!?\" Dark Punchy gasped. Super Knuckles watched him, seeing that his movements had become a bit erratic. \"When I shattered the Master Emerald, I must've interrupted his transformation. Now he can't totally control it, it seems...\" he realized. Howler's body started to ripple and stretch, and he roared as his body seemed to be tearing itself apart! \"Well...this might be easier than we thought...\" Dark Punchy said. Knuckles shook his head. \"I think he's...taking on some of Shadow Chaos's less pleasant traits... He's turning into a writhing mass of anger and sorrow!\" he shouted. Howler let out a mournful roar as his body grew to a massive size, his legs meeting with the ocean and seeming to merge with it, while his arms seemed to become giant tentacles under Shadow Chaos's influence! Howler attempted to maintain some of his original form, but it was at least partially corrupted in the transformation, becoming a watery, translucent shadow of what he once was! \"I am a GOD!! I am...rage!! I am sorrow...! I...am... DESPAIR!!!\" he roared, the crown on his head glowing strongly as he glared menacingly at the echidnas! \"...Look out!\" Knuckles gasped, dashing out of the way as Howler, or \"Despair,\" flailed his giant tentacles at them with tremendous force, creating huge waves as they crashed against the ocean's surface! Dark Punchy laughed. \"I've bested Shadow Chaos before! Bring it, Howler!\" he shouted.\n\nNot too far away, the Tornado was circling around, searching for Sonic. Kosmo was flying around as well, and both he and Tails glanced at Despair in awe. \"...Well, Howler found something I'm pretty sure I can't transform into. Good for him...\" Kosmo gasped. Tails shook his head and looked back to the ocean, quickly spotting Sonic. Fortunately, the maelstrom had mysteriously died down, though the pieces of Demon Island were still sinking. Tails brought the Tornado down, finding Sonic jumping back and forth on Terra and Firma's heads as they floated in the water. \"Great timing, Tails! Not sure how long I can keep this up!\" he sighed. \"Sonic!! You and your friends will SUFFER for this humiliation!!\" Terra shouted. \"Dr. Eggman will have to de-rust us first...\" Firma stated. Sonic hopped on the Tornado's wing with a chuckle. \"You'd think he'd know better than to use rusty robots in a coastal city! So, Tails, what's the situation?\" he asked. Tails pointed to \"Despair,\" and Sonic chuckled nervously. \"Who's that fighting with Knuckles...? Why do I got a very bad feeling?\" he murmured. \"Hey!! Can someone pull me outta here!?\" sputtered Shadow, who was tiredly trying to keep his head above the ocean's surface.\n\nAs the final battle with Despair was getting under way, Violet approached the Chaos Crystal that the Darkseeker had left behind. \"...We could use this! We could stop the Chaos Relics and weaken Howler big time!\" she realized. Rainbow stepped up to stop her. \"Wait! If you do that, One will fall! And that big...thing...will still be there, only a bit weaker! I know One's messed up a lot, but we should give him a chance to make it up...\" she pleaded. Copter nodded. \"That's a very good point... Will you girls excuse me? I NEED my plane, right now! Pick up, Hoover!! This is no joke!! If you don't send that plane over right now, I'll personally take your head off!!\" he shouted at the Hurricane remote. He had a point, one way or another, they needed a way off the island. \"...I should get to my ship...\" Bucky realized, rushing off in a hurry!\n\n\nSuper Knuckles had already been injured and sent looking for rings by now. Fortunately, as a general rule, rings were generally drawn to places where super-formed beings were doing battle, even out here in the middle of the ocean. Dark Punchy worked to hold Despair off, firing blasts of energy from his fists using the power of the Chaos Gauntlets. This was more effective than any dark energy attacks he could use, as Despair was pulsing with dark energy himself, being a fusion of Shadow Chaos and the Darkseeker. Still, the combined power of the Chaos Crown and the tailbands made Despair seemingly impervious to damage. \"Those gauntlets...are wasted on you!! They belong...with a GOD!!\" Despair roared, sending arcs of black lightning searing across the sky toward Dark Punchy from his tentacles! Ordinarily, Dark Punchy would merely absorb dark energy, but this was on a level beyond even him! Though he tried to absorb it, he was flung backward by the force, howling in pain! \"Hey, dark me! Attacks are meant to HURT you! Don't just LET him hit us!\" Punchy said in his mind. \"You want to try your luck alone? You'd be fried to a crisp in seconds!\" Dark Punchy grunted. Knuckles flew back and briefly watched Punchy argue with himself. \"Ahem... Am I interrupting?\" he muttered, \"We'll never stop Howler like this! We gotta knock off that crown of his!\" he pointed out. Despair laughed at the notion. \"Try it... You cannot even approach me!!\" he roared! Knuckles and Punchy took up his challenge, charging straight for the transformed giant. Despair swung his arms and somehow created massive tornadoes, swirling across the surface of the water straight toward the echidnas! Knuckles weaved to avoid them, but Dark Punchy was quickly swept away by one of them, and tossed far into the distance! \"Fine... I'll get it!\" Knuckles growled. Despair smirked and opened his mouth, firing a massive black beam from it that surprised Knuckles and knocked him back, dislodging a few rings from him as well! He stared at Despair and flashed back to his bout against \"Perfect Chaos\" in the Dream Temple. \"...I am not...a failure! I am more than just the Master Emerald's guardian... And I'm going to prove it!\" he said, gritting his teeth with determination!\n\n\nMeanwhile, Demon Island was rapidly sinking. Fortunately, many of the people on the island had found their way to Shadow Arcangel, which was fairly accommodating in size. Team Chaotix gladly stepped aside from piloting duty to allow Team GeneX to take their rightful places at the controls, and even Bucky managed to make it back in time for takeoff. He made an announcement over the PA system left over by Eggman as they prepared to launch. \"Attention, passengers... Hold on tight for the main flight AWAY from Demon Island. This flight is an act of courtesy and kindness on my part, so I'll ask that you GUN agents and Covenant of Despair members behave yourselves for the duration of the trip... And that goes for everyone else, too! Don't think I forgot you, Dr. Eggman!\" he shouted. Dr. Eggman glanced at Dr. Nammad from his seat in one of this ship's many rooms. \"Sheesh, you kidnap a guy one measly time and he treats you like a criminal!\" he grumbled. \"Uh... Tell me about it... Hey, can we, uh, get some water in here?\" he asked Guard, who was standing outside the door making certain that the two scientists were indeed keeping out of trouble. \"Grrrr... There's plenty of water OUTSIDE the ship...\" he growled. Eggman growled softly. \"Just you wait... Plots for revenge are coming to me as we speak...\" he grumbled. As Shadow Arcangel started taking off, Mia's taxi cab took to the air as well, carrying herself, Razor, Tommy, and Chet's body. \"Here's hoping there's no turbulence on the way... We're already burying one person too many...\" Mia frowned. Those few that hadn't secured transport off the island were forced to swim for it, heading for the shore of Station Square...\n\n\nOnce again, Dark Punchy had to create a diversion while Knuckles gathered up rings. Dark form didn't run on rings, but there were limits to his power. What's more, neither Punchy nor Dark Punchy quite knew how to access the full power of the Chaos Gauntlets, so the energy blasts being fired from them weren't quite as powerful as they should have been. Despair took a moment to taunt him in his futile efforts. \"Look at you... You will never know the workings of the Chaos Relics as I do... But why suffer a terrible death here? You know darkness, as I do... With the proper guidance, you could be a great ally to me... Together, we could rule the earth!\" he offered. Super Knuckles was on his way back, and noticing the calm between the two of them, felt a bit uneasy. Dark Punchy seemed to be considering Despair's words. He smirked at the giant. \"Tempting... But the world should be mine alone!\" he shouted, beating his fists in the air repeatedly to send dozens of energy blasts from the Chaos Gauntlets straight for Despair's yellow eyes! Knuckles smiled and flew in to join the assault, looking for an opening to get at the Chaos Crown! Despair shot out his tentacle arms, weaving them into a giant black web pulsing with dark energy, which blocked the path to him! Through the holes in this \"web,\" he fired giant black beams at the echidnas, keeping them both at bay. \"...There's only one way to get at that crown... But I'll need a lot of speed. I hope the emeralds give me that...\" Knuckles gulped. Dark Punchy nodded. \"Go... I'll keep him occupied.\" he said, heading straight for Despair. \"Hey, melty-face! All that black sludge makes you look FAT!\" he shouted, charging the Chaos Gauntlets with dark energy to fire black bolts from them, which looked impressive, but didn't seem to do any better than the normal shots. \"Fool! My darkness is stronger than yours! I simply absorb it!\" he laughed. Punchy smirked and fired more of these blasts, while Despair simply laughed at him. \"What do you hope to accomplish, vermin?\" he sneered. \"Just figuring that you enjoy the darkness so much, you'll lower your guard...\" Dark Punchy grinned. \"...WHAT!?\" Despair snapped. While he was distracted, Knuckles was building up speed, and aiming lower, at Despair's chest! Before Despair could untangle his tentacles and block him, Knuckles rammed his chest fists-first, and started to drill his way through Despair's liquid body, heading up to his head! \"Y-you fool! I am invincible! You cannot harm me!!\" he growled, only for Super Knuckles to crash through his head, snatching the crown! \"Guess what, pal? You're NOT immortal anymore!!\" he shouted.\n\nDespair shrieked and sent bolts of black lightning everywhere, trying to take out the echidnas once and for all! However, without the Chaos Crown, his body was starting to go from black to gray. \"That crown's the only thing that's been keeping Howler alive for all these years!\" Dark Punchy smirked, \"Without it, he's a VERY old man... I'd say that old age is catching up to him!\" he shouted. Knuckles nodded. \"Let's grab those tailbands, quick!\" he suggested, flying around behind Despair, followed by Dark Punchy! \"Stop!! I am a GOD!! You cannot DO this to ME!!!\" Despair screamed, trying to smack them away with his tailband-powered tails! The echidnas were knocked aside, and it seemed apparent that Despair still held some power from the two tailbands combined! But at this point, Rainbow intervened. \"Those Forces of Chaos not bound by the emeralds... Are still bound to this controller! Chaos Crystal, help us! Stop the Chaos Relics!\" Rainbow shouted, causing the Chaos Crystal to glow, and the active relics to stop glowing! \"Huh, what?? Yaaaaaah!!\" Dark Punchy gasped as the Chaos Wing turned back into a cape, causing him to fall! \"Gotcha!! Hang on, Punchy!!\" Knuckles shouted, holding on to his hand tightly! With the tailbands now inactive, Howler's mortality took full effect, and he quickly started to de-combine from Shadow Chaos in a dramatic fashion, the hulking Despair creature melting into the ocean! Knuckles was stuck carrying Punchy, but he still went to the trouble of flying in to grab the tailbands as they slipped off the melting monster's tails, a band being snatched in each echidna's hand! As Howler's influence was fading, Dark Punchy faded as well, reverting back to normal Punchy. \"That was nuts! Aaah! Don't drop me, Red!!\" he gasped. \"Quit callin' me Red, and I'll think about it...\" Knuckles sighed. With a final howl of defiance, Howler and Shadow Chaos sunk into the ocean together. The black liquid creature seemed to drag the elderly Howler to the bottom of the ocean in an act of vengeance, though this might mean the end of them both in the crushing oblivion of the ocean's depths. At last, the Darkseeker was no more...\n\nRealizing that the only way the tailbands and the Chaos Wing could have both lost power was by the Chaos Crystal, Knuckles headed back to Demon Island to look for Rainbow. Sure enough, she was still there, along with her sister and Illusi. The shrew had reclaimed his key from the collection of relics left behind by Howler, but he seemed reluctant to escape with it. \"Thanks for the assist, Rainbow... Good of you to trust me to pick up Punchy.\" Knuckles said. Rainbow chuckled. \"Now, what kinda guardian would you be if you let him drown?\" she said. The echidnas brought the gauntlets, wing, crown and tailbands to the pile including the boots and the sword. Copter was quick to make his presence known, and reclaim both tailbands. \"Excuse me! I'll take those! Me and Tails have a claim on these little guys!\" he grunted. His plane, the Hurricane, was running behind him. \"I'll take 'em as payment for the ride to shore. Who's coming?\" he asked. Knuckles looked at the relics, and then at Illusi. \"...Only took one? You're less greedy than Copter, anyway.\" he chuckled. Illusi sighed. \"Despair stole this from me... And then my dear friend paid the price... I have nothing left...\" he sighed. Punchy looked at him sympathetically. \"Come on, Illusi. That's not so. You have her memory. Honor that memory.\" he said, picking up the Chaos Sword and handing it to Illusi, \"Take these relics.\" he told him. Illusi stared in shock. \"This... this is too much power for any one being...\" he said. Rainbow nodded. \"That's why you're perfect for this, Mousy! You'll see they stay out of the wrong hands!\" she said. Knuckles shrugged and looked up as he heard the Tornado flying his way. \"That's my ride... Chaos Emeralds don't keep you airborn forever...\" he sighed. \"Hey! Knux!! Awesome job!!\" Sonic shouted to his friend. Knuckles waved up to him with a wry smile. \"Thanks, but could've been better... I gotta find the Master Emerald pieces now!!\" he groaned. To that, everyone gave a light chuckle, and even Illusi cracked a slight smile. \"...In Fera's memory... I will keep these Relics she was charged with seeking safe...\" he sighed.\n\nSo at last, the aftermath of the Covenant of Despair's schemes could take its toll. For only through this could the world begin to heal and return to normal. Bucky brought Shadow Arcangel to the Mystic Ruins, letting off his many passengers at the edge of the jungle so they could head for the train station. Of course, many experiments remained aboard the ship, for a while at least, to help see everyone off safely and to console their creator, who was still a bit shaken over watching his long lost love die a second time. \"Hope... Whatever else she did, she watched over us this whole time... Now it's up to me to take greater care and watch over all of you myself...\" Bucky said solemnly. Ridley and Spiny had packed what little things they had on the ship into a pair of knapsacks. \"...If it's all the same to you, I'll watch over myself.\" Spiny grumbled. \"With GUN always after us, I don't see how it's safe here. Perhaps we'll meet again, and maybe next time things will be different...\" Ridley sighed, leaving with Spiny. \"Aw, good riddance! We don't need any sssslimy traitorsss here...\" Vortex hissed. Heather and Whisk watched them go, seeming to wonder if they should go as well. \"You two!\" Bucky called, \"I think I owe you both a proper examination... Whisk, your memory has become an issue. We need to start exploring options to see if we can't fix that...\" he said. Whisk had a blank expression. \"Fix what?? Who exactly are you?\" she stammered. \"I see what you mean...\" Heather sighed. Elsewhere, at the ship's exit, was Zeke and Lucky. \"Where do you think you're going?\" Lucky asked the dragon. \"What do YOU want kid? Put me in jail for siding with Despair? I'm through with that, okay!? I'm gonna go out and see the wider world!\" he said, flapping his wings and taking off, \"You want my advice? You should do the same!\" he shouted. Lucky looked outside the ship curiously. \"...The wider world...? Hmmm... Maybe I should go...\" Not far from the ship was Lospecter, Losipher and Loskeletor. \"Hmmm... How much you wanna bet we're not welcome in there anymore?\" Lospecter murmured, \"Might be time to find some new digs...\"\n\nOf course, Mia took Razor to the hospital to deliver the news about Chet to Katie without delay. It seemed cruel to tell her while she was still recovering, but it also seemed it would be cruel to withhold this information. Katie broke down sobbing upon hearing that her boyfriend was gone, but fortunately she had Mia's shoulder to cry on. Tommy brought Razor's boss, Chief Paynson, to the room after a moment. \"...Officer... I've heard wild rumors about what you've been through... I expect a full report... Um...\" he mumbled, looking at the sobbing coyote, \"...Get to it when you can... From what I hear, there may be a promotion in it for you.\" he said. Razor shrugged. \"Honestly, chief... I think I could better do with a vacation at the moment...\" he sighed.\nOutside the hospital was where Copter landed the Hurricane, hoping to visit Katie while his friends went their separate ways. Kosmo had also arrived there, and he met Carrie and Talon there as well. \"Oh, if it isn't Miss Mirage...\" Kosmo murmured. Carrie chuckled softly. \"Sorry about the deception... Me and Talon were both...kinda scared... So we pooled our talents so he seemed strong and I...hid.\" she admitted. \"We were kinda born right into a war...\" Talon sighed, \"Peace is gonna seem strange.\" he said. Kosmo nodded. \"Yeah... Let me know if peace ever happens... So, anyway... See you around?\" he said to Carrie. She smiled and nodded. \"...Someday, Kosmo... I'll see you...but whether you'll see me is another story...\" she grinned, vanishing before his eyes. \n\nDr. Eggman managed to make it back to Eggtopia, where BAS was still singing crazily. \"VANDALS!! Who would dare sabotage my security system!!?\" he shouted furiously. \"Oh, boss!\" said a small, round, red robot that was busy at Eggman's control terminals, \"What a relief! I've been trying to fix this mess ever since Sonic left!\" he explained. \"Grrrr... Nice job STOPPING him, Orbot!!\" Eggman yelled. Making matters worse, Alpha and Char started singing along with BAS. \"Even though you're only make-believing, laugh clown, laugh!!\" they sang. \"...What decade does BAS get his song catalogue from?\" Jolt asked. \"Never you mind!\" Eggman grumbled. \"This noise is irritating. Shall I annihilate the source?\" Terra suggested. Metal Sonic buzzed in annoyance, and Eggman nodded in agreement. \"I'm gonna need a new base...\" he sighed.\nThe remnants of the Covenant of Despair also wandered to Troblusk City. They found Hollow Manor, Kosmo's former home, and decided to hide out there for the time being. \"Like it or not, we're in this together... For now...\" Basker sneered. \"Eeee hee hee! We'll rebuild the Covenant of Despair somehow or other!\" Eddie chuckled. \"And who will lead it?\" Anubis growled. \"And will there be better health benefits this time around?\" Infin grumbled. Patch and Daisy were standing with the minor agents in the back, feeling rather uneasy about their future. Conan was there, too. \"Why are we here, exactly?\" Daisy muttered. \"Hee hee! Wanted criminals, duh!\" Patch pointed out. Conan's eyes narrowed. \"Whatever... I'm only here until I find what belongs to me... And am able to resume my hunt once again...\" he growled.\n\nThe GUN Assault Carrier picked up Sgt. Drol and the rest of GUN's forces on the way back to Central City. Gunner's relief at finding them may not have been all that genuine, but his pleasure at the Covenant of Despair's apparent defeat certainly was. He was quick to call the Commander with the good news. \"The Covenant of Despair's island has been blown out of the sky! Reports indicate that their leader has fallen, and the Chaos Relics have been lost. Project GXterminate has been destroyed, but all around I'd say we did well.\" Gunner bragged. \"The efforts of your unit will not go unnoticed, Colonel!\" the Commander stated. The President was also present for this video conference. \"Excuse me... Is there any word on the creature that posed as me?\" he asked. Drol cleared his throat. \"Some agents claim to have sighted it on the island, but nothing conclusive...\" he said. Team Dark was present for this conversation as well, and were all too eager to rain on Gunner's parade. \"Reporting! Dr. Eggman has escaped!\" Omega blurted. \"A great deal of Despair agents fled the island, too. No telling what threat they pose.\" Shadow said. \"You should also expect those Chaos Relics to resurface at some point!\" Rouge added. Guard grunted as if he was going to say something, but Gunner growled over him. \"That's quite enough! We are aware there is still work to be done! But the point is, Despair will not be doing anything drastic without their HQ. We can rest easy tonight.\" he stated. The Commander nodded. \"I'm proud of you Colonel... Normally you'd be taking the carrier on a manhunt for every last animal that escaped you. Let's wait and see if this victory was final first.\" he said before hanging up. Gunner stared with wide eyes. \"...Wait... I think I've been duped just now...!\" he stammered.\n\nGemini sat on the shore of Station Square, watching Demon Island sink with sadness. \"My attempt to change the past just made things worse... Now Losipher is loose earlier and people have died...\" she sniffled. Silver sat beside her, looking unsure of what to say. \"You know... Time travel isn't easy... I'm not always able to find the answer I'm looking for either. I just keep hoping I can change just enough to make the future a better one...\" he said. Fred, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt watched them from a short distance away. \"...Shall we take her back?\" Cuthburt whispered. Fred frowned. \"By law, we're supposed to... But she's not ready. If we take her back now, she'll never be the same...\" he said. He then waved his wand, and the four of them vanished in a brilliant light, leaving Gemini and Silver alone.\nProfessor Pickle met Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and SPOT at Station Square. Amy and Cream met them as well, greeting Sonic and Tails with great enthusiasm. \"So, everyone... It seems you've rescued the world yet again! I'd love to hear all about it! I can set up a plate of cucumber sandwiches back at the library!\" Pickle offered. Sonic chuckled softly, and Tails gave a reply. \"Sorry, professor, maybe another time. I've got a workshop to rebuild...\" he said. \"I'll help you!\" Cream offered. \"You kidding? He needs speed! I'll help him out!\" Sonic grinned. Team Chaotix suddenly interrupted them out of the blue. \"Hate to break this up... But I believe we've done you a lot of service today...\" Vector muttered. \"Should we mail one of you a bill?\" Espio said bluntly. Sonic and Tails stared at them. \"We never hired you!\" Sonic stammered. \"Oh, no! You're not weaseling out on us!! Everyone's always doing that!!\" Charmy shouted. \"He SAID he didn't hire you!!\" Amy growled, raising her hammer. The three shuddered and ran off, while Knuckles started digging up the nearby beach sand, pulling out a Master Emerald shard. \"I gotta pass, too, Prof... I got work to do... A guardian's work is never finished...\" he sighed.\n\nThe Doomsayer stood on the remains of Demon Island as it sunk deeper underwater, only a bit of ground remaining. \"You can only stave off the end so long...\" he muttered. Tikal appeared beside him, her ghostly form looking a bit defiant. \"Perhaps if the Chaos Relics find the right owners, this end you speak of can be defeated!\" she suggested. The Doomsayer chuckled softly. \"A slim hope...\" he said, vanishing in a cyclone of hail! \"...A slim hope is all that's needed...\" Tikal sighed.\n\nThe End    ...    ...    ...    BZZ BVZZZ ZZZT!!!\n\n\nSome time later, after yet another disaster was averted, all of Sonic's friends and a few additional acquaintances were gathered at his birthday party. It was originally a much smaller occasion, but after a certain Dark crashed the party, seemingly everyone was there. This included Illusi, though he kept his distance from most of the partygoers, turning over the Chaos Key in his hand. He wandered over to Shadow Arc once Bucky was done sending past selves back to their original time periods. The two leaned against the wall of the ship and heaved heavy sighs. \"Burdened by a loss?\" Bucky asked, \"I could tell...\" he sighed. Illusi nodded. \"I had begun to heal, but that trip to Demon Island brought it all back...\" he said sadly. Bucky nodded. \"Just seeing certain areas from afar... Without entering... It brought back thoughts of the one I lost... But there was no time for such thoughts. Funny to say, considering where we were.\" he mused. Illusi clutched the key tightly. \"I just keep wondering if there was anything more I could have done...\" he said. Bucky shrugged. \"All we can do is focus on what we're doing now.\" he sighed. Illusi looked hard at the Chaos Key and nodded. \"You're right... And there is something important I must do...\" he realized, turning the key and then vanishing in a burst of smoke.\n\nKatie sat beside Copter, who was looking at the picture of himself, Kosmo, Razor, Mia, Vector, Chip and Dimentime in Shamar that Tails had given him. \"That's...an odd bunch. When was this taken?\" she asked. Copter shrugged. \"You know, I haven't the foggiest idea.\" he chuckled. Katie placed an arm around him, sighing longingly. \"I'm very grateful to you for coming for me... I used to rely on Chet for that sort of thing... but...\" she said, choking up. Copter hugged her gently, but briefly. \"I rescued everyone I could... Maybe I went a little nuts when I couldn't find you... But don't get the wrong idea...\" he said nervously. Katie nodded slowly. \"I understand... I did kinda hurt you before... Maybe someday, we'll both be whole again... And if we're available, who knows?\" she smiled. Copter smiled back and nodded. \"Sure... Obviously, anything can happen. This picture proves it!\" he grinned.\n\nWhile Knuckles finished his cake and Sonic's party was winding down, he quietly reflected on everything that had happened. After all, Demon Island WAS contained in White Space, so it got him thinking. \"Weird to see the Covenant of Despair again... So glad they've been quiet all this time...\" he muttered. \"Hey, Red!\" said Punchy, sitting next to him, \"Where's my cake?\" he smirked. \"...YOU weren't invited. Much like Gator over there.\" he said, \"But it's strangely nice seeing ya. You keepin' your cool?\" he asked. Punchy chuckled. \"Dark Punchy's... mostly in check...\" he said, \"And how's the non-time-travel Master Emerald, anyway?\" he wondered. Knuckles sighed. It had been a chore, but he did manage to restore the Master Emerald and return it to Angel Island. \"Fortunately, no problems since the Covenant of Despair fiasco. World's been amazingly quiet.\" he smiled. Punchy chuckled. \"I bet you're getting soft! I'll have to pay you another visit real soon!\" he taunted. Knuckles tossed his plate in Punchy's face. \"Whatever, greenie!\" he laughed.\n\n\"Now that I know the full story behind my duty, I feel a great weight lifted from me. Angel Island is my home... but so is the world. To be a true guardian, sometimes I must leave my post and fight for what is truly right. I'm Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of All!\"\n\nEnd",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Sonic GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna<br />Arc 5 - Final Despair<br />Chapter 41 - Storming the Castle<br />Stage 23(Hero 12) - Despair Castle<br />Minor Boss 19 - Terra &amp; Firma<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br />The story thus far:<br />The Covenant of Despair, having stolen the Master Emerald, the Chaos Crystal, the GXterminate machine, and gotten Dr. Eggman to kidnap Bucky on their behalf, have fortified their island stronghold above Station Square, preparing for their endgame.<br />However, a band of heroes have infiltrated Demon Island, and set out to put a stop to Despair&#039;s schemes once and for all! Now, Sonic and Knuckles are nearing the main entrance to Despair Castle. Do they have what it takes to succeed in a daring forward assault?<br />Now, on to the next chapter!<br /><br /><br />Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, joined by Gemini, had reached the front gate to Despair castle. &quot;Well, now that we&#039;re here, what do we do? Knock at the door?&quot; Knuckles wondered. Sonic shrugged and nonchalantly knocked at the door. &quot;Yeah, like they&#039;re really gonna just let us in...&quot; Tails sighed. A familiar voice called from the other side of the doorway. &quot;Hahaha! Who iiiiis it??&quot; Char said in a singsong voice. Sonic groaned softly. &quot;Char... How&#039;d you get to be the doorman?&quot; he wondered. Char chuckled. &quot;Eggman worked a miracle to get us back in the covenant&#039;s good graces! I bet he&#039;s got a brilliant plan... I got a pretty sneaky plan myself!&quot; he snickered, pulling the door open! &quot;Huh?? He&#039;s just...letting us in?&quot; Gemini gasped. Char had a big grin on his face. &quot;This&#039;ll teach those goons for tryin&#039; to kidnap me! Hurry inside before someone sees ya!&quot; he said. Sonic and Knuckles shrugged, leading Tails and Gemini into the castle&#039;s entrance hall. It was pretty empty; Apparently Despair&#039;s agents were busy guarding more important areas. &quot;Well... Thanks, Char.&quot; Sonic muttered. Char nodded. &quot;Oh! Before you go... Look out in here. Eggman&#039;s robots were added to the staff, and so were some GUN robots brought by a crazy scientist.&quot; he warned. Tails scratched his head. &quot;You&#039;re being unusually helpful...&quot; he muttered. &quot;I hate this place, and I want out!&quot; Char complained, &quot;If you&#039;re looking for all the loot the covenant swiped, I&#039;m afraid they got it scattered around the castle to make it tough to find. Well, I&#039;m outta here so I can claim I was in the bathroom when you broke in. Bye!&quot; he said, fluttering away. Knuckles crossed his arms. &quot;Figuring out where to go first could be impossible... Maybe Bucky would be able to help us if we could free him.&quot; he figured. Sonic looked around the entrance hall, trying to decide which way to go first. &quot;Yeah... He was a big help during the Kosmo and Soleanna fiascos... Even if he did try to zap me last time I saw him.&quot; he murmured. Gemini pointed to the path straight ahead. &quot;Let&#039;s just head as deep into the castle as we can and see what we find! Hopefully we find the copy of my wand before it gets used in that doomsday weapon again!&quot; she said.<br /><br />Despair Castle was painted with a lot of black and red, with the thirteen-pointed star of Despair as a main focal point of the decor. There were doors and pathways everywhere. It was a massive place. As Sonic and company proceeded down a long hallway, a bright light shone from an adjoining hallway, and SPOT scampered out to greet them, sitting at Tails&#039;s feet. &quot;Hey, where have you been??&quot; Tails wondered. Just then, Sonic found himself tackle-hugged by Amy. &quot;It&#039;s the light at the end of the tunnel!! You have no idea what I had to endure to find you again, Sonic!&quot; she cried, squeezing him tightly. Cream was close behind her, and met Tails with a much gentler hug. Silver had also come out, and Gemini gave him a friendly hug as well. &quot;Silver! It&#039;s been too long!&quot; she smiled. Zipp the hornet was with them as well. Knuckles took one look at him and said &quot;I ain&#039;t huggin&#039; ya.&quot; To which he stuck out his tongue. When the cuddly reunion was over, they took a moment to question why Zipp was there. &quot;Aside from the fact that my brilliance got them in here in the first place... I split up with my team to look for Bucky. Duh.&quot; Zipp explained. Suddenly, a loud thud was heard from the adjoining hallway across from them. &quot;Awww, did I miss the hugs? I wanted one! Well... I guess we can still be friends and play.&quot; The crazed robotic voice was all too familiar. &quot;Oh, no... Alpha!&quot; Sonic turned around, and sure enough, the thud was Alpha landing behind them. He was accompanied by some of Eggman&#039;s most recent creations: Egg Fighters! They were used a lot during Eggman&#039;s plot to unleash Dark Gaia, and now the blue robots were back for more! Tails looked at this army and decided to try something crazy. &quot;...ALPHA!! Look out behind you!!&quot; he shouted. Alpha turned his head around and, seeing the Egg Fighters, let out a robotic scream. &quot;Everything is blue!!! It&#039;s an evil conspiracy!! Save me, blue hedgehog!!&quot; he yelled before flying up into the air, acrobatically flipping around near the high ceiling. &quot;Uh... I don&#039;t know if that was good thinking or not, Tails.&quot; Sonic said, scratching his head. &quot;Me neither...&quot; Tails admitted.<br /><br />As a battle started to break out in the hall, the noise drew the attention of some Despair agents, who came to observe from a balcony above. They were Conan the raccoon and Anubis the jackal. &quot;Sonic... He has proven every bit as persistent as that doctor warned us...&quot; Anubis growled. &quot;And look, that pathetic excuse for a hunter has come to get back his emerald. How quaint.&quot; Conan grinned. Anubis started to raise his hands. &quot;I must summon my servants...&quot; he snarled. &quot;Hold on, there... Wouldn&#039;t it be prudent to put a guard on all those valuable Chaos Relics we&#039;ve been gathering?&quot; Conan suggested. Anubis glanced at him with a serious look. &quot;It is in good hands.&quot; he stated. &quot;It could be in better hands... You wouldn&#039;t happen to know where they&#039;re being held...?&quot; Conan asked. Anubis glared at him. &quot;...Safe from the likes of you!&quot; he growled. Sighing, Conan drew his Chaos Sword and shot some Chaos Spears at Anubis, making him waste some fiery blasts on blocking them so that he&#039;d have an opening to kick the jackal off the balcony! &quot;Gaaaaaaahhh!! Traaaaaitoooor!!!&quot; Anubis roared, bursting into flames as he crashed onto an Egg Fighter! &quot;Hey... What&#039;s up, Anubis?&quot; Sonic waved. Conan glanced down and waved melodramatically. &quot;Good bye, Covenant of Despair! I begin the ultimate treasure hunt now! Thanks so much for gathering so many of the Chaos Relics in one place! And fox boy... I know you&#039;ve got the second Chaos Tailband! I&#039;ll get them both soon enough!&quot; he shouted before escaping somewhere in the upper floors of the castle. Silver stared up at the balcony for a second. &quot;Well... At least we&#039;re not the only ones Despair has to worry about.&quot; he said. Anubis stood up slowly, his body covered in flames. &quot;...I will deal with that traitor... Just as soon as I&#039;ve burned all of you to cinders!!&quot; he snarled. Zipp started shooting him, but his bullets seemingly couldn&#039;t penetrate Anubis&#039;s flames. &quot;Well... I guess if the fall didn&#039;t kill ya...&quot; he grumbled. However, Silver simply buried him under a pile of broken Egg Fighters that he tossed with his psychokinesis! &quot;That oughta slow him down!&quot; he said.<br /><br />While fighting the Egg Fighters, Sonic soon spied an Egg Mobile sneaking by into the hallway up ahead. It was just Metal Eggman, but his sneaking seemed suspicious enough to check out. &quot;Hey! Where do you think you&#039;re goin&#039;!? It&#039;s not like an Eggman to take off without taunting me or something!&quot; Sonic shouted, speeding after the metallic doctor! &quot;Go ahead! Try and catch me! This time I&#039;ve got you beat, once and for all!! Gah ha ha ha!!&quot; Metal Eggman cackled. &quot;You&#039;re not the real Eggman, you know!!&quot; Sonic shouted. Metal Eggman growled at him and started flying upward, finding an opening leading into one of the castle&#039;s many towers. In order to chase him, Sonic had to run for the wall, picking up enough speed to run UP the wall! &quot;Sonic!! ...Be careful!!&quot; Amy shouted, bashing aside an Egg Fighter before watching Sonic disappear up into the hole in the ceiling leading to the tower. Metal Eggman glanced down as he rose up the tower and yelped, weaving around bridges as he led Sonic higher and higher up Despair Castle. Some Despair agents tried shooting at Sonic from the bridges spanning through the inside of the tower, but Sonic just moved swiftly upward, moving back and forth just slightly to make himself difficult to hit. Soon, they were at the highest point inside the tower, where a number of metal beams were pretty much all there was to stand on. &quot;Nowhere left to run, Egg-bolts! Now what can you tell me about the REAL Eggman&#039;s plans here?&quot; Sonic shouted from his perch on a metal beam. &quot;I AM the Eggman!! Ask me about MY plans!! Or... don&#039;t. Actually, my plan is to lure you up to this high point.&quot; Metal Eggman said, shifting from rage to amusement. Other robots dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the metal beams, surrounding Sonic! It was Terra, Firma and Freeze! &quot;...How&#039;d these obviously non-flying robots get up here!?&quot; Sonic stammered, &quot;That&#039;s all that surprises me, really.&quot; Terra slammed his robotic fist against the wall. &quot;You have escaped me enough times now! THIS TIME, YOU DIE!!&quot; he roared. &quot;To restore my counterpart&#039;s honor, I will destroy you.&quot; Firma added. Freeze simply turned his fist to ice, glaring at Sonic.<br /><br />The three robots all lunged at Sonic at once, hoping to knock him from the beam and send him plummeting to his doom! However, he simply jumped them and landed on another beam. &quot;Good try, but I&#039;m still fast without much space!&quot; he taunted. Terra withdrew his claws into his arms, replacing them with machine guns, while Firma chased after Sonic directly, and Freeze started firing blasts of ice at the metal beams to make them slippery! Sonic slipped past Firma, running and jumping around the beams to avoid Terra&#039;s bullets and look for an opening for a counterattack. &quot;No, no, no!! HIT him, you imbeciles!!&quot; Metal Eggman shouted, &quot;Look, watch me! I&#039;LL get him!&quot; he growled, adding his own lasers to Sonic&#039;s troubles! &quot;All right... It&#039;s not that I don&#039;t like you goin&#039; to all this trouble just for me... but...&quot; Sonic jumped into the air, bounced off Freeze, and then went hurtling toward Metal Eggman! Determined to take the hedgehog out, Terra pointed his machine guns in the direction Sonic was heading. &quot;Huh?? N-no!! Don&#039;t shoot ME!!!&quot; Metal Eggman yelled. &quot;You are not Eggman... Must DESTROY Sonic...&quot; Terra buzzed. As Sonic ricocheted off Metal Eggman&#039;s Egg Mobile, a hail of bullets hammered the hovercraft, causing the control panel to start sparking. &quot;Hmm... Looks like Terra failed obedience school.&quot; Sonic shrugged from the beam next to Metal Eggman. The Egg Mobile started shaking uncontrollably, and Metal Eggman himself buzzed violently. &quot;N-no... I... am... the Eggman!! You cannot... stop... the Eggzzzz... Empirezzzz... Sniiiiiiiivleeeeeyzzzz!!!&quot; An explosion from the Egg Mobile followed, and Metal Eggman went plummeting down the tower to the hall below! &quot;Uh... Heads up, guys!!&quot; Sonic shouted, only to be struck by an icy beam from Freeze! He jumped away before it could freeze him solid, but his fur got a bit icy. &quot;Gah! That&#039;s c-cold...!&quot; he shivered. &quot;I will put you on ice before any more of us are shut down!&quot; Freeze hissed. Terra and Firma turned to Sonic as well. This battle was still far from over!<br /><br />By this point, Zipp had managed to follow Sonic up to where he was fighting the robots. &quot;What&#039;s the big idea dropping a fat robot on me!?&quot; he shouted as he arrived. Sonic barely glanced at him. &quot;Zipp...? Eh, I&#039;ll take it...&quot; he sighed. Zipp started by firing at Firma, drawing her attention. &quot;Hey, chubsy! Didn&#039;t anyone ever tell you pink and orange are a bad combo!?&quot; he said. &quot;...Impediment detected. Must eliminate quickly.&quot; Firma stated. Of course, Sonic still had to deal with the projectiles coming from Freeze and Terra. Zipp helped a bit, but that wouldn&#039;t matter much once the next meddler flew up. It was Alpha, and he was flailing his arms and spinning his head in a crazed fashion. &quot;WHO KILLED MY DADDY!?!?&quot; he squealed. Used to Alpha&#039;s nonsense by now, Sonic simply pointed at Terra. &quot;He did it.&quot; he tattled. Terra glanced at Alpha with cold, robotic eyes. &quot;What is your major malfunction, Alpha?! Sonic the Hedgehog is our ENEMY! Restore your primary directive, or I must annihilate you!!&quot; he said. Freeze nodded in agreement. &quot;Due to our inability to fly, your aid would be most preferable.&quot; he pointed out. Alpha straightened his body out, his eyes resting on each of the other robots, and then on Sonic. &quot;Sonic the Hedgehog... Enemy... Fruitcake registration...deleted. E-X Series... Also enemy. Must SAVE...by exploding!&quot; he said in a monotone voice. Sonic stared with wide eyes, and then gulped. &quot;I felt perfectly in control of this situation until Alpha showed up...&quot; he admitted. Terra roared in frustration. &quot;Destroy me if you can!! I will OBLITERATE YOU ALL!!&quot; he screamed. &quot;Terraaa...&quot; Firma groaned, hearing this. &quot;...Except Firma!&quot; Terra added. At this moment, shots started flying everywhere. Zipp was busy shooting back at anyone who fired at him, and Alpha and Terra were shooting at everyone! Sonic, trying to dodge, found himself slipping on the icy beams! &quot;This couldn&#039;t be how it eeeeeeeends!!!&quot; he wailed, plummeting down as Metal Eggman did moments before! Tails was on his way up, riding SPOT, but he was too close to see Sonic in time, and missed catching him! &quot;Oh, no!! S-SONIC!!&quot; he cried. Sonic was screaming his lungs out, he couldn&#039;t think of much else to do. However, he soon spotted Knuckles climbing up the wall! &quot;...Hold on!!&quot; Knuckles grunted, jumping slightly and grabbing Sonic&#039;s arm before catching the wall again with his other hand! &quot;Whew!! I... won&#039;t let you down this time... Sonic!!&quot; Knuckles grunted. &quot;Thanks... Can I switch arms? You darn near pulled the one you�re holding off when you caught me...&quot; Sonic panted.<br /><br />Tails soon caught up with them, and gave Sonic a ride back to the ground. Zipp and the robots soon followed. Although the robots couldn&#039;t exactly fly, they could hover to a degree, and that enabled them to reach the ground safely. &quot;We&#039;ll finish this down here with your little friends, then!&quot; Freeze said. Team Rose was busy exchanging blows with Anubis and a few of his mummy minions, while Gemini was handling the remaining Egg Fighters. This left Zipp and Team Sonic to take on Alpha, Terra, Firma and Freeze. Zipp gladly flew after Alpha. &quot;I have a score to settle with you! First all that craziness at the security building, then your boss nabs Bucky, then you knock a vintage six shooter out of my hands while we&#039;re fighting up there! Yes, I know it only has six bullets, but it makes a standoff even more dramatic!&quot; he shouted. Knuckles stood up to Firma while Sonic and Tails took on Terra and Freeze together. &quot;Split up Terra and Firma... They work best together.&quot; Tails suggested. &quot;I owe &#039;her&#039; a beatdown anyway...&quot; Knuckles growled. So, the fights began! Firma started slamming her fists around, creating mini-earthquakes, while Knuckles jumped around her looking for an opening to land a punch. Sonic sped around Terra and Freeze while Tails dug around a hatch in SPOT&#039;s back, looking for something to aid the battle. He held up his Chaos Tailband. &quot;Hmmm... No, that&#039;s probably overkill...&quot; he muttered, plopping it back inside. Meanwhile, Sonic bounced off Freeze and Terra, annoying them a great deal. &quot;Your pitiful jumps no longer bother my armor!&quot; Terra shouted. &quot;Oh, yeah?&quot; Sonic said, building up some speed so he could wallop Terra with a bunch of jumps all over him, hammering his armor with repeated homing attacks! Freeze tried to aim while he was moving around. &quot;Just keep that up... I&#039;ll put a chill on you!&quot; he said, only to be whacked in the head with a wrench! He glanced at Tails with annoyance. &quot;Maybe the tailband would&#039;ve been better...&quot; he muttered. Stepping aside, he let SPOT fire a laser at Freeze, knocking him over!<br /><br />Silver tossed Anubis toward the robots, and the disoriented jackal spewed fire over Terra, Firma and Freeze, with Sonic and Knuckles moving aside just in time to avoid it! The robots were looking a bit battered now, and Firma stepped over to Terra, lifting him up over her head. &quot;NOOO!! MUST... DESTROOOOY!!&quot; Terra wailed, flailing his limbs in protest. &quot;We will require upgrades. Retreat for now.&quot; Firma said, carrying Terra away. Freeze, seeing this, realized he had no choice but to follow them. Picking himself up, Anubis growled and started to retreat as well. &quot;I will alert the castle to Conan&#039;s treachery... And then I will return for my vengeance!&quot; he grunted. Alpha remained, and Zipp was busy banging on the robot&#039;s head, wondering why it wouldn&#039;t just blow up. &quot;Well... That was a warm welcome. I guess this castle&#039;s gonna be loads of fun.&quot; Sonic said. Just then, the real Dr. Eggman emerged from the tower above! He had a magnet under his Egg Mobile, which he used to lift up Metal Eggman&#039;s remains. &quot;So, Sonic... Bash me to pieces, will you. I notice you&#039;re much more cordial to Metal SONIC!&quot; he grumbled. &quot;We oughta do it to the real you!&quot; Amy growled. &quot;Yeah, and where&#039;d ya stash Bucky, you rotten egg!?&quot; Knuckles shouted. Eggman kept his Egg Mobile a safe height above his adversaries, as the Chaos Emeralds were gone from it. &quot;Tell you what. You can keep Alpha around and see if he leads you to him. Maybe you&#039;ll get lucky. You know how his brain is.&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Keep tap dancing on my head! It tickles!&quot; Alpha giggled, making Zipp fall to the floor in frustration. &quot;Curse you, Eggman...&quot; he sighed. Gemini looked at the doctor curiously. &quot;Those Chaos Emeralds... what&#039;d you do with them? ...You didn&#039;t put them in the doomsday weapon!?&quot; she stammered. Eggman chuckled. &quot;Do you think I&#039;d start up a device that might be used to kill me? Am I that insane? Don&#039;t answer that. Anyway... Since you&#039;ve helped me out so much today, Knuckles, I thought I&#039;d mention that I&#039;ve seen the Master Emerald around! It&#039;s even in one piece! Now let&#039;s see if you can get it back that way...&quot; he taunted before flying off. &quot;Hey, wait!! Where was it!? EGGMAN!!&quot; Knuckles shouted futily. &quot;Relax, Knuckles. We&#039;ll find it.&quot; Sonic said. Silver nodded. &quot;...The fate of the world might depend on it...&quot; he murmured ominously.<br /><br /><br />Chapter 42 - Despair&#039;s Prisoner<br />Stage 23(Hero 12) - Despair Castle<br />Boss 23 - Eddie<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />At the end of the long hall they&#039;d been traversing, the group found a big, important-looking locked door. Sick of looking for keys, Amy&#039;s first instinct instead was to try bashing it with her hammer. Knuckles tried his fists as well. This door was made of tough stuff, or otherwise magically reinforced, because it wouldn&#039;t budge. Gemini stepped over to the door. &quot;Abra-ka-unlockra!&quot; Obviously, the door WAS magically sealed, because the spell failed as well. &quot;...Well, I&#039;m still technically in training.&quot; she sighed. SPOT perked up, beeping as though detecting something. The robo-puppy started heading for another, unlocked hall nearby. &quot;Looks like SPOT is onto something!&quot; Tails said. Sonic shrugged. &quot;It&#039;ll have to do. I&#039;m getting bored waiting for us to figure a way past this door.&quot; he said. &quot;But, what if the doomsday weapon is in there??&quot; Silver said urgently. Zipp patted his shoulder. &quot;I&#039;m SURE it is. But we can&#039;t get in yet. We&#039;d best find a bargaining chip to force them to let us in, don&#039;t ya think?&quot; he suggested. Silver crossed his arms. &quot;We don&#039;t have time for such a roundabout strategy!&quot; he said. &quot;Then GET A MOVE ON, Silver!&quot; Knuckles yelled, pushing him forward, &quot;Thinking about how we can do the impossible is pointless!&quot; As they headed into the next hallway, once they were all out of sight, Alpha looked at the locked door and kicked it in the hinges, causing it to fall over backward with a thud! &quot;It&#039;s beautiful! Wall to wall chili dogs!&quot; he gasped. &quot;Hey! Where&#039;s Alpha!? HEY, YOU!! NO SNEAKING UP ON US!!&quot; Amy shouted back. So, Alpha hurried back to the group with a squeak. As they were walking, Gemini was waving her wand carefully, trying to detect the Master Emerald for Knuckles. &quot;...Well?&quot; he asked. &quot;I know you&#039;ll find this frustrating, what with how I detected it at Eggman&#039;s base from all the way at Shadow Arc before... But there&#039;s too much magical interference here. I just can&#039;t pinpoint it. I know it&#039;s here, I just don&#039;t know where.&quot; she sighed. Knuckles scratched his head. &quot;Well... You tried. I&#039;ll tear this whole castle down if I have to... I&#039;ll find it.&quot; he grumbled.<br /><br />They found themselves going down a winding hallway with a red carpet. Up ahead, they heard a voice that was familiar to some of them. &quot;Slow down... I think that&#039;s Jolt up ahead.&quot; Silver warned. The electric yellow Egg Pawn was bossing around some lesser Egg Pawns up ahead. &quot;SONIC will be on his way here! Set up those thunder-traps and lightning pendulums! He&#039;s not making a fool out of me... um, US, again! And we&#039;ll get his little friends to boot! They&#039;ll never see us coming with this twisty-turny hallway! Hehehehehe!!&quot; he chuckled. &quot;Unless you talk really loudly and we hear your whole plan!&quot; Sonic shouted, stepping out and grinning at Jolt smugly. The Egg Pawns hurriedly put together their traps, but Sonic simply sped by them, getting through the hall before the thunder mechanisms on the floor could zap him or the electrified pendulums in the halls could strike him! Jolt watched him, stammering in frustration, but then glanced back at the rest of the group. &quot;AHA!! You didn&#039;t figure on your little friends! How about this, give yourself up and maybe I&#039;ll let them go!&quot; he shouted. Sonic chuckled, shaking his head. &quot;I&#039;ll scout out ahead, guys. You can handle this, right?&quot; he said, speeding away. Jolt stood stiffly, seeming to have overloaded. Gemini started walking ahead of the group, calmly casting spells at the &quot;thunder-traps&quot; to disable them. &quot;Reverize...&quot; she said, casting a spell that drained the power from the electric traps. Alpha flew ahead and grabbed at the pendulums, playfully swinging on them until they loosened and fell down. &quot;Wheeee!! BOOM!! Those swings are funny!&quot; he giggled. Zipp, Silver and Amy took out the hapless Egg Pawns that had set up the traps, but left Jolt alone in his seemingly frozen state. Cream knocked on his head as she passed by. &quot;Gee, Mr. Robot... Don&#039;t take it so hard. What did you think would happen if you were being bad?&quot; she said before following the others. With the danger easily removed from the path, SPOT regained the lead, searching out the signal he was detecting. Once they were out of sight, Jolt moved again. &quot;Ah... I scared &#039;em off, eh? Yeah... That&#039;s it...&quot; he murmured, &quot;Now I better find an outlet to recharge. I&#039;m beat!&quot; he &quot;sighed.&quot;<br /><br />The group reunited with Sonic by a doorway where a lot of buzzing and whirring was coming from the next room. &quot;Sounds like someone&#039;s working with tools... Maybe the doomsday weapon&#039;s in there?&quot; Tails wondered. They headed inside and found a laboratory, where Despair agents in white uniforms were hard at work building new robots and weapons! They were being aided by none other than GUN&#039;s Dr. Nammad. &quot;You!? ...How can you work for these guys!?&quot; Silver gasped. Nammad chuckled. &quot;Survival of the, uh, fittest. So how could I not? The only way to, uh, survive the coming... boom... Is to side with Despair. They&#039;ll keep me alive and, uh, maybe reward me handsomely...&quot; he grinned. &quot;You and Eggman are a disgrace to good scientists everywhere!&quot; Tails growled. Sonic shook his head. &quot;Don&#039;t put him with Eggman. I&#039;m sure Eggman plans to betray Despair. This guy... Somehow he&#039;s a bigger scumbag than Eggman! He actually intends to watch them slaughter his own kind!&quot; he shouted. Nammad backed away a step. &quot;Oooh, I uh, detect some tension here...&quot; he mumbled. &quot;Picked up on that, eh??&quot; Amy said, holding up her hammer. &quot;Where&#039;s that fake wand you created!?&quot; Gemini growled. With tensions rising, Dr. Nammad glanced at the back door briefly. &quot;Oh... That wand is safe... Still connected to Project GXterminate...&quot; he squeaked, nonchalantly pressing a button on the edge of a lab desk. In reaction to the button, a number of robots sprung to life! They loosely resembled Eggman&#039;s Spinner robots, but with a more compact, black design and blades ending in spiky &quot;teeth!&quot; These robots started to fly at the group, and Nammad ran for the back door! &quot;Be sure they don&#039;t, uh, follow me!&quot; he said to the Despair scientists, &quot;Adios, my fuzzy friends! See ya on the other side...&quot; he grinned as he escaped. Knuckles jumped away from one of the black Spinners and growled. &quot;I have no clue who that guy was... But I don&#039;t like him.&quot; he grunted. &quot;He&#039;s GUN&#039;s Dr. Nammad!&quot; Gemini informed him, &quot;And he&#039;s responsible for the doomsday weapon!&quot; she said.<br /><br />The white-suited scientists, mostly foxes and owls, picked up various weapons in preparation to defend themselves. &quot;Hoot... You shall not defeat the Covenant of Despair!!&quot; an owl shouted, trying not to look too ridiculous. Silver, Gemini and Zipp took charge of the situation with the Spinners, using their powers and weaponry to take them out without the need to touch them. The scientists had equipped themselves with high tech arm cannons, laser rifles, and handfuls of odd-looking bombs. The remaining Spinners started to glow as well, firing energy beams from their blades as they spun around! Sonic and Knuckles ducked behind an energy shield Tails had SPOT set up, but the shield was quickly disabled by an electrical explosion from the odd-looking bombs! &quot;Yikes! ...Better keep away from those, SPOT!&quot; Tails yelped. Knuckles growled and pulled out the Chaos Gauntlets. &quot;If they wanna play hardball... I could try these again...&quot; he said. &quot;I dunno, Knuckles. Both tailbands can make Copter go super, and obviously the others are stronger in groups, too. We wouldn&#039;t want you accidentally goin&#039; nuclear.&quot; Sonic warned. As they discussed this, Cheese flew ahead and started whacking the Despair scientists, disrupting their aim! Alpha was following him around, shooting up any Spinners that followed them! &quot;Heehee! Wait for me, Char!!&quot; the robot giggled. Cream scratched her head as she watched. &quot;He... thinks Cheese is that other Chao?&quot; she mumbled. Amy charged forward with her hammer. &quot;Whatever!! They gave us an opening!!&quot; she yelled, bashing at a fox as he tried to defend with his arm cannon! Silver glanced at Team Sonic and nodded. &quot;We&#039;ll handle this. You guys better move on while you can!&quot; he suggested. &quot;What? But... will you be okay?&quot; Tails asked worriedly. Sonic sighed. &quot;He&#039;s right. We can&#039;t let these guys distract us from the big picture!&quot; he said, hurrying for the back door that Dr. Nammad had escaped through. SPOT scampered that way as well, so Tails and Knuckles followed. &quot;...Huh?? Hey, don&#039;t ditch me!!&quot; Zipp shouted, flying off after Team Sonic. Gemini warped out of the action and joined them as well, leaving Team Rose and Alpha to deal with the scientists.<br /><br />Dr. Nammad had gotten away, but SPOT managed to pick up the signal he&#039;d been following again, and it wasn&#039;t long before they reached the source of the signal. It was the seventh Chaos Emerald, the green one, and it was set in a wall above a prison cell, being used to generate a force field not unlike the one that had been used by Eggman to contain Sonic. It wasn&#039;t Bucky held in the cell, however. In fact, it was Shadow Chaos! The creature raged against its cage, bashing against the force field, but to no avail. Guarding the cell was Patch and Infin, but they looked a bit taken aback as Team Sonic, Zipp and Gemini arrived. &quot;Um... It was HIS idea!!&quot; Patch yelped, pointing at Infin and recoiling away from the intruders. &quot;Oh, yoiks! No one said we&#039;d be dealing with Sonic&#039;s whole posse! What do youse want!?&quot; Infin groaned. Zipp pointed a gun at the weasel, who responded in kind. &quot;How about you lead us to Bucky, or I blow your blinkin&#039; brains out?&quot; he growled. &quot;How &#039;bout I blow yer brains out just fer fun?&quot; Infin growled. Gemini warped beside the two of them and pointed her wand around, startling them. &quot;Now, we&#039;ll have none of this!&quot; she yelled. Patch clapped excitedly. &quot;Good trick! Now saw Mitchie boy in half!&quot; he giggled. Infin groaned and held his forehead. &quot;A magician, too... Fine, we give... Whatever ya want. It ain&#039;t worth it no more.&quot; he grumbled. Sonic nodded. &quot;Great... Could we start with that Chaos Emerald, or would it be dangerous, with Shadow Chaos and all?&quot; he wondered. A new voice echoed through the room. &quot;Eeee hee... It&#039;d be very dangerous, but you&#039;re in danger as it is! Eeeee hee hee hee hee!! You thought you&#039;d waltz in to our castle and just take what you want THIS easily!?&quot; Knuckles glanced around uneasily. &quot;That laugh... It&#039;s familiar... Eddie!&quot; he growled. Gemini nodded. &quot;How could I forget...&quot; she groaned. With a flash of blinding light, Eddie the hyena materialized in the room! &quot;Eee hee... I was in here the whole time, actually. But, an illusionist never reveals his secrets.&quot; he chuckled, glancing at Infin and wagging his finger, &quot;Tsk, tsk... You know our policy about surrenders...&quot; he said.<br /><br />Eddie wasn&#039;t alone. Beecon robots flew into the room, and several of Despair&#039;s dark mages warped in as well, cloaked in black hoods, so their faces couldn&#039;t be seen. The group suddenly found the odds turned drastically against them. &quot;Umm... Can I use the gauntlets now? Because I&#039;m not great with magic...&quot; Knuckles muttered. &quot;Then WHY do you want to USE magic??&quot; Tails pointed out. Eddie grinned at this situation. &quot;I have a killer idea. Warp them into Shadow Chaos&#039;s cell and leave them there. It&#039;ll be fun. Eeee hee hee!&quot; he said. &quot;They&#039;ve got a magician, they&#039;ll just port on out!&quot; Infin pointed out. Eddie gave him a droll look. &quot;Well, then kill &#039;em!&quot; he ordered. &quot;Not... so... fast!!&quot; came a voice that lifted Gemini&#039;s spirits. Reinforcements arrived in the form of Fred the fennec, Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator, and they set to work giving Team Sonic a little breathing room by blasting the Beecons with their futuristic lasers while Fred took on some of the mages with his magic! Gemini swiftly warped over to her friends to aid them, and SPOT joined in as well, firing lasers as the enemies scrambled to fight back! This left Team Sonic and Zipp, and they were intent on taking on the leaders of this Despair group. Zipp turned his attention to Infin again. &quot;I don&#039;t care who leads me to Bucky...and I get a feeling you don&#039;t know anything anyway.&quot; Zipp said. &quot;Heh, your opinion. But they call me Infin fer a reason... I know it all! Not that I&#039;ll tell the likes a&#039; youse!&quot; he growled. Tails faced off against Patch in the meantime, who spun around his nunchucks as he twirled his tails in anticipation. &quot;Hee hee... And they called ME a freakazoid. Look at you with the tail!&quot; Patch teased. Tails shuddered at the insult, but seeing Patch&#039;s various discolored splotches of fur, he could tell that he&#039;d probably been on the receiving end of worse before. &quot;All right... This might look like I&#039;m kicking your butt... But it&#039;s all to set you free!&quot; he said, hoping defeating Despair would save its more innocent members. &quot;...Hee hee!! Hee hee hee hee! You are gonna be some REAL fun!&quot; Patch cackled. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles squared off against Eddie...<br /><br />Eddie&#039;s hand glowed lightly, and he made a blue Knuckles and red Sonic appear in front of him! Sonic stared in amazement. &quot;...Illusionist.&quot; Knuckles shrugged. Nodding, Sonic clenched his fists at his doppelganger. &quot;Red&#039;s not really my color. I&#039;ll have to destroy this imposter!&quot; he said, charging at it! However, the red Sonic dashed behind him with equal speed! &quot;Huh?? Wha?!&quot; Sonic babbled. Eddie chuckled at this, but Knuckles wasn&#039;t interested in playing the game. He stomped over to the red Sonic and bashed it over the head! &quot;It only takes one good hit to stop an illusion! And he wasn&#039;t expecting me to ignore my copy!&quot; he grunted as the Sonic copy went poof! Sonic shrugged and bashed the hapless Knuckles copy, but Eddie didn&#039;t care much. &quot;Eeee hee hee hee! You like to hit each other, don&#039;t you? Fine with me!!&quot; he laughed, raising his hands and blinding them with bright light! When Sonic&#039;s eyes readjusted, Knuckles was missing. Eddie was beside him instead. In fact, Eddie was everywhere! &quot;Um... I don&#039;t know how you did it, but... You turned everyone into you?? PUT EVERYONE BACK!!&quot; Sonic yelled. &quot;Eee hee hee! But everyone&#039;s so much better looking this way!&quot; Eddie replied, throwing a punch at Sonic! He jumped aside quickly, but more punches came his way fast! &quot;Eeee hee hee! Stand still, you blue gumball!&quot; he laughed. Sonic watched him as he jumped back and forth. His stance was familiar as he came at him. &quot;...Knuckles??&quot; he muttered. Knuckles was trapped in the same illusion, but to him, Sonic and everyone else was Eddie. &quot;You bring Sonic and everyone back, RIGHT NOW!!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Eeee hee! What, am I too fast for you?&quot; Eddie chuckled, evading him quickly. Of course, it was really Sonic, and he realized that he had to get Knuckles&#039;s attention by doing something Eddie COULDN&#039;T do. He curled into a ball and dashed at Knuckles, catching him off guard and knocking him over! &quot;Ugh!! Hyenas can spin dash!? Wait...&quot;Knuckles muttered, looking up as he was sprawled on the floor. The real Eddie was hovering overhead. &quot;...Hee hee... Would you believe I&#039;m Tails?&quot; he said. The &quot;Eddie&quot; on the ground helped Knuckles up, and they leapt at the real one, knocking him down and dispelling the illusion!<br /><br />Eddie stood back up, ready for more. &quot;Eeee hee hee! All right, there&#039;s always plan B and C...&quot; he grinned. At this point, Tails knocked Patch aside with a tail whip and held out a device he&#039;d managed to get ready in the confusion: the Chaos Emerald magnet! It pulled the green emerald free from the wall, instantly powering down the force field that was keeping Shadow Chaos trapped! &quot;Shadow Chaos! You&#039;re free now! So, what do you say to the guys who caged you?!&quot; Tails shouted. Eddie, with his back turned to Shadow Chaos, jumped slightly. &quot;Hee... He wouldn&#039;t hit a guy with glasses, would he?&quot; he said, putting illusion glasses on his face. Shadow Chaos roared and slammed the hyena out of his way, then melted into a puddle in order to slither its way out of the room quickly and easily! &quot;Jeez, shoot and cripes!! That THING is loose in the castle!!&quot; Infin cursed. Patch climbed to his feet, chuckling incessantly. &quot;Heeheheehee... I laugh uncontrollably when I&#039;m nervous... Heeheehe... Whatta we do?&quot; he babbled. Infin glanced at the dazed Eddie, then at Sonic and his friends. &quot;Gah... Never mind them! C&#039;mon, boys! Let&#039;s get that goopy creature contained, quick!&quot; he shouted, leading the mages in pursuit of Shadow Chaos! Zipp stuck his tongue out at him as he left, while Gemini and her friends took a breather, tending to some injuries Adam had sustained. Sonic and Knuckles turned to Tails. &quot;Good job, buddy... I get the feeling hyena-boy wasn&#039;t gonna quit easily if you hadn&#039;t done that.&quot; Sonic said. Knuckles nodded. &quot;Yeah... Least we got a Chaos Emerald out of this.&quot; he added. Tails added the emerald to the collection of items in SPOT&#039;s hatch, a serious look on his face. &quot;We may have got this far, but the Master Emerald and the other 5 Chaos Emeralds are still missing... And that doomsday weapon&#039;s still in here, too.&quot; he pointed out. Sonic looked at the cell curiously. &quot;What was Shadow Chaos doing locked up here, anyway?&quot; he wondered. Zipp groaned. &quot;Aw, these guys are after EVERYTHING. The Chaos Relics. Bucky. Heather. They&#039;re NUTS!&quot; he said. Sonic nodded. &quot;Yeah, maybe...&quot; he agreed. One thing was certain, they had to be stopped, before things could get any worse!<br /><br /><br />Chapter 43 - Team Dark Vs. Despair<br />Stage 24(Dark 12) - Despair Castle<br />Minor Boss 20 - Zeke<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br />The story thus far:<br />The Covenant of Despair, having stolen the Master Emerald, the Chaos Crystal, the GXterminate machine, and gotten Dr. Eggman to kidnap Bucky on their behalf, have fortified their island stronghold above Station Square, preparing for their endgame.<br />However, a band of heroes have infiltrated Demon Island, and set out to put a stop to Despair&#039;s schemes once and for all! Among them is Kosmo the morph. Formerly an agent of Despair, Kosmo has seen firsthand the hypocrisy of their organization, and now works against them...<br />Now, on to the next chapter!<br /><br /><br />Having worked with Despair before, Kosmo had time to learn some paths around the island and into their castle. He headed for a side entrance to the castle, and he found Shadow, Rouge and Omega there as well. &quot;Hostile approaching...&quot; Omega warned. &quot;That&#039;s cute.&quot; Kosmo frowned. Rouge glared at him slightly. &quot;We didn&#039;t exactly hash things out yet. What makes you think you can just show up now and pretend to be all friendly after what you pulled at Shadow Arc!? You disguised yourself as ME!! I felt so violated!!&quot; she shouted. Shadow glanced at her. &quot;Was I so different at first? I could just as easily have gone a different route, had there been no one other than Black Doom to guide me...&quot; he said. Kosmo sighed. &quot;This is boring...&quot; Then he morphed into Rouge and used her superior leg strength to kick the door open! &quot;HEY!! STOP BEING ME!!&quot; she screeched. Suddenly, something teleported amongst them with a flash of light, surprising them, and causing Omega to whip out his guns hastily. &quot;What&#039;s all the commotion down here?&quot; said Whisk the Divine, the one who&#039;d just appeared among them. Kosmo recognized her, and morphed back to normal so that she might recognize him. &quot;You&#039;re that creature I met under the pyramid...&quot; he recalled. Whisk stared at him, blinking in confusion. &quot;Under a pyramid? That sounds heavy... You look familiar, though... And so does he.&quot; she said, pointing to Shadow. Omega withdrew his guns slowly. &quot;Annoying experiments. These distractions will deter our mission.&quot; he said. Kosmo glanced at Shadow. &quot;And what mission is that?&quot; he wondered. Shadow crossed his arms. &quot;Shouldn&#039;t that be obvious? We&#039;re to disable the GXterminate machine, and gather up any Chaos Relics we can find along the way. However, Gunner wants the machine returned to him... I say we destroy it.&quot; he suggested. Kosmo nodded. &quot;A wise plan... But those relics are too powerful to give to GUN. I&#039;m not sure who would be best to take them... Maybe I&#039;ll just have to hold on to &#039;em.&quot; he shrugged, &quot;Don&#039;t get bent outta shape, though. I&#039;m not here for that. The Darkseeker has put a hold on people... hurt people. Those who aren&#039;t here by choice, we should try to set free. Some are just here to rescue Bucky... Maybe I can talk them out of it...&quot; he said. Shadow shrugged, and Whisk mimicked him. &quot;Let&#039;s go, then.&quot; he said.<br /><br />They didn&#039;t get too far into Despair Castle before they found their path blocked by a squadron of GUN robots! Various types of Hunter and Beetle robots stood in their way, and Whisk was immediately startled into teleporting behind Omega. &quot;Don&#039;t shoot! See! We&#039;ve got a robot, too!&quot; she stammered. Agent 32 was standing near the front with these robots, and seeing Kosmo, didn&#039;t feel the need to ask further questions. &quot;Shadow&#039;s thrown in his lot with that freak! Blow them to fuzzy bits!&quot; he ordered. However, the voice of Sergeant Drol overruled him. &quot;Stand down, troops!&quot; He stepped past the robots with Agent 64 in tow. &quot;B-but Sarge!&quot; Agent 32 whined. &quot;He said stand down. Don&#039;t fret, your bloodlust won&#039;t go to waste.&quot; Agent 64 said smugly. Shadow smiled slightly. &quot;Good to see you, Drol.&quot; he said. &quot;Wait, you guys are pals??&quot; Kosmo stammered. Drol rubbed his chin. &quot;Not initially... But the more I saw of Project GXterminate, the more opposed to it I grew. After the incident at GUN&#039;s headquarters, I had a brief chance to discuss the situation with Shadow. We agreed... The project must be destroyed.&quot; he said. Rouge nodded. &quot;This guy isn&#039;t Gunner, even though he works for him. It&#039;s hard to imagine anyone being as despicable as that old creep, anyway.&quot; she said. Drol snapped his fingers, and Guard flew past the robots to him. &quot;Agent Guard will obey me for now. I am ordering him to go with you and find Project GXterminate.&quot; he stated. As he did, agents of Despair started to flood the hall, led by an irate Corky. &quot;Oi, more intruders in here!! I&#039;m gettin&#039; right sick o&#039; this, I am! Gimmie a laser rifle!! I&#039;ll blow their blinkin&#039; brains out!!&quot; he shouted. Drol drew a gun from his holster, and his fellow agents joined him. &quot;We&#039;ll hold them off as best we can! Get going and stop them before they activate that machine! All they need is a suitable source of life energy... So they might start wiping out the human population any moment!&quot; he warned. Whisk sighed. &quot;Oh, as long as it&#039;s just the human population!&quot; she said. Shadow shook his head. &quot;Hmph... I&#039;ve got a bad feeling it&#039;s not that simple. Let&#039;s move!&quot; he urged everyone.<br /><br />In spite of Drol&#039;s assistance, more Despair agents kept on coming, so even after speeding past the distracted first wave, the group still had to deal with more, as well as Beecon and Spinner robots that had been let loose in the castle. Each member of the group would have to pull their weight to move forward, so they all started fighting. Guard flew ahead into the fray, tossing beams from his scythe at various uniformed animals while slashing the weapon directly at robots. &quot;Grrrrr!! I&#039;ve got a lot of frustration to vent right now, so just KEEP COMING!!&quot; he snarled. Omega had a similar attitude, waling on bears and bulls that blocked his way with a frenzy of punches from his mighty robot arms. &quot;You are merely stepping stones to Eggman!! Where is he!?&quot; he shouted. Whisk was a bit more passive, warping here and there, confusing her enemies into running into each other. If any of them touched her, she warped up high and shook them off. &quot;All I know is that the guys in black suits are bad! ...At least I hope so.&quot; she grumbled. Rouge occupied herself with the robots, flying after the bees and the Spinners and giving them well-aimed kicks to take them out of commission. &quot;This is what they get for ripping off Eggman! ...I think I may have said that about GUN once, too...&quot; she sighed. Shadow, of course, was the MVP of the fight. He hurled Chaos Spears, threw punches, warped to the other side of the hall as needed, and slammed tougher animals with homing attacks to the head! He even nailed Corky as he passed him by. &quot;D&#039;ohhh!! Blimy hedgehogs...&quot; he groaned as he passed out. Kosmo was also quite busy, but with so many enemies, he had to keep his transformations to a minimum to avoid tiring himself out. So, he kept it &quot;simple&quot; by using his mace-tail ability, turning the tip of his tail into a spiked ball, twirling and hurling it around at enemies as they neared him. &quot;If I get bored of this, I guess I could turn my arms into swords or something...&quot; he muttered, smacking Corky back down as he started to get up. &quot;This job sucks...&quot; the frog groaned in pain.<br /><br />After working their way past the enemies, they soon passed by a number of rooms, most of which seemed relatively empty. However, they heard voices coming from one room, and decided to check it out. Inside, they found some familiar faces. There was Espio, Charmy and Vector, along with Crash, and they were looking over maps laid out on some desks in the room. &quot;Ah, Shadow... Your timing is impeccable!&quot; Vector remarked. &quot;Grrr... What are you up to, Crash?&quot; Guard grumbled. Crash took off his hat and looked a bit distressed. &quot;Apologies for siding with Despair at the President&#039;s place... Now that they&#039;ve taken Bucky, I&#039;m fully out of their employ.&quot; he stated. Kosmo shrugged. &quot;Tomato, tomahto. What ARE you guys doing?&quot; he asked. Espio pointed to the map. &quot;These are floor plans for this very castle. We were lucky to stumble across them...&quot; he said. Charmy looked bored. &quot;Yeah, real lucky. We found homework...&quot; he mumbled. Rouge and Omega stepped forward. &quot;Hmmm... Maybe you should commit these to memory, Omega.&quot; she suggested. &quot;Acknowledged...&quot; the robot said, scanning the document. Shadow crossed his arms. &quot;How useful is that really? Does it give any indication where Project GXterminate might be hidden?&quot; he asked. Vector rubbed his head a bit. &quot;Errrm... Nah, there really isn&#039;t a vault or anything like that I can see... But I did flunk out of architecture school.&quot; he admitted. Espio pointed out some spots on the map. &quot;I&#039;ve figured out that we are here... There are what appear to be prisons in these locations. If we find and release some prisoners, they might help us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.&quot; he reasoned. Kosmo scoffed. &quot;Unless that happens to be a certain RAT...&quot; he grumbled. Crash placed his hat back on. &quot;Regardless, I&#039;m looking for Bucky. You can join my search, or not. He&#039;d surely be useful in our battle here.&quot; he said. Whisk nodded. &quot;I vote we free the prisoners! I want to make some friends!&quot; she smiled. Shadow shrugged. &quot;We&#039;ll check it out. Bucky may not be in the cell we visit... But we may find SOMETHING of value on the way.&quot; he reasoned.<br /><br />Team Chaotix decided to check out another section of the map, while Crash went along with Team Dark and the others. Omega had saved his scan of the map to his internal memory, so he gave them directions as they traveled. They soon came across, oddly, a break room-esque area, with a water cooler and vending machines. &quot;...Who knew? The Covenant of Despair are tools just like anyone else.&quot; Rouge said. Hanging out in the break room were a few gargoyles dressed in fancy suits. Apparently, they were former members of the gargoyle mob, and had joined the Covenant of Despair after their dealings with them. When the gargoyles noticed the intruders entering the room, most of them pulled out guns, while one held up a candy bar like a gun. &quot;Errr... This thing&#039;s loaded! With peanuts!&quot; he grunted stupidly. Most of the group got ready to fight, but Guard stepped forward and held up his scythe calmly. &quot;Grrr... You have one chance to surrender.&quot; he warned. The largest of the gargoyles scoffed at him. &quot;Look at you! Pawn of the humans! How can you disgrace gargoyles everywhere like that? Huh!?&quot; he snapped. Guard growled and flipped his scythe into a defensive position. &quot;Look at yourselves! Grrr... My sudden appearance may have messed things up for your kind, made you come out of the shadows... When I wasn&#039;t even an actual gargoyle, just a mere science project. Grrrr! But what gargoyle-kind has chosen to do once joined with the world... That isn&#039;t my doing! You have formed criminal organizations... You have aided terrorists... So... Grrr... Who REALLY disgraces the species, huh?! There comes a time when we all must stop placing the blame upon others for our own actions!&quot; he shouted. The gargoyles glanced among themselves and nodded. &quot;Then face the consequences of YOUR actions!&quot; they growled. Tired of this, Shadow, Kosmo, and Omega charged into the crowd of gargoyles, quickly knocking the weapons from their hands and dropping them on their tails! Crash patted Guard on the back as they started to leave. &quot;Nice speech, pal. Very riveting.&quot; he said. Guard grunted in annoyance and followed the others to the next area.<br /><br />The seven of them soon came to what appeared to be a small fighting arena. This was the place where the Covenant of Despair trained with physical weapons, such as Patch&#039;s nunchucks or Daisy&#039;s katana. Here, Zeke the dragon swooped down from above and blocked their path to the next door! &quot;RAWR!! Hope you guys are ready for some action!&quot; he roared. &quot;Move aside! We&#039;ve got no time for the likes of you!&quot; Shadow grunted. Kosmo nodded. &quot;Also... Didn&#039;t you get the memo? Bucky&#039;s been captured. You ought to be trying to free him, shouldn&#039;t you? You know, instead of picking fights with us.&quot; he said. Zeke chuckled softly as Talon the griffin flapped over beside him from above. &quot;We know... but it&#039;s too dangerous to try and free him. If we obey Despair... Bucky won&#039;t be harmed!&quot; he declared. Crash stared at them in disbelief. &quot;What!? But... the boss&#039;d never tell us to surrender! How could you even think it!?&quot; he growled. Kosmo stared at Talon with concern. &quot;Wait... What about... Carrie?&quot; he asked. As if responding to him, she appeared between Zeke and Talon briefly. She looked greatly distraught. &quot;...I&#039;m sorry.&quot; she said before vanishing again. Whatever she was going to do, she was going to do it invisible. The back door opened, and Chet the cheetah walked into the room to join the experiments blocking their path. &quot;I heard what they said... I know what it&#039;s like, being on this side... Just for the sake of a loved one. So, I&#039;ll fight, too! Even if I have to fight Shadow and Kosmo!&quot; he shouted. &quot;They&#039;re all fools...&quot; Omega muttered. &quot;I kinda feel for them, though...&quot; Rouge sighed. Talon held out his hands in preparation to fight, glancing around at the weapons resting in the corner of the room. &quot;There may not be many of us... But my psychokinesis will make up for it! Prepare yourselves!&quot; he warned. Zeke flapped into the air and pointed at Shadow. &quot;I&#039;ll take the tough guy! RAWR!!&quot; he shouted. Chet bared his claws, ready to fight as well. &quot;Who wants some??&quot; he grunted. Guard shook his head at him. &quot;Grr... You&#039;re out of your depth, kid.&quot; he said. Chet ran up to him, his speed nearly taking him off guard, and was barely blocked by his scythe. &quot;...We&#039;ll see!&quot; he said.<br /><br />As Talon&#039;s psychokinesis started sending various weapons flying through the room, a pair of red eyes peeked at the battle through the back door. &quot;Hmm... Let&#039;s see how this plays out...&quot; their owner mused. Whisk found herself teleporting around to avoid the weapons, while Crash had a strange sort of swordfight using his horn to parry a psychically controlled blade. Rouge was busy jumping around Omega, using him as a shield as she tried to figure out a way to reach Talon and take him out of commission. Kosmo turned his own hide into steel, avoiding any severe damage from the weapons, but making him too heavy to fly up to Talon. &quot;...Hey, Carrie!? You in here!? We should talk about this!&quot; he shouted, but getting no response, he went to plan B. &quot;Fine... Hey, Whisk! Whisk! Slow down!! Get over here!&quot; he said, chasing after the flighty Divine. Meanwhile, Shadow was busy with Zeke. The dragon loved to blow fire, but Shadow wouldn&#039;t stay in place long enough to get hit by it. The weapons flying everywhere made getting close to Zeke a challenge, though. So, he tried Chaos Spear, but Zeke&#039;s flames seemed to just burn them up! Chet was making things difficult for Guard as well. His speed was just sub-super, natural for a cheetah, and he kept running around the gargoyle, striking him from behind. &quot;Gaaah!! Grrrr!! All right...&quot; Guard grumbled, jumping into the air and striking down with his scythe, firing several beams! Chet skidded to stop, and crashed right into the beams! &quot;Ughh!!&quot; he groaned, falling over. &quot;Grrr... Avoid further battles. The best thing you can do is return to your loved one safely.&quot; he suggested. Kosmo passed by Shadow and Zeke on his way to catch Whisk. Glancing at them, he had a thought. &quot;...Throw me at him.&quot; he said. Shadow stared at him, and Kosmo morphed into a boomerang with eyes. Shadow chuckled softly and picked him up, tossing him into the air. Zeke took a break from blowing flames to taunt Shadow. &quot;What&#039;s the matter? Too many flying weapons for you to think about tele-warping up here!? Ha ha!&quot; he laughed, only to get whacked by an arcing Kosmo boomerang! &quot;Duy...!?&quot; Zeke dropped from the sky and landed on his head, winding up unconscious.<br /><br />As boomerang-Kosmo came back, he morphed to normal and caught Whisk as she appeared between him and Shadow! &quot;Port us to HIM!&quot; he said, pointing to Talon. &quot;Eeep! Okay, OKAY!!&quot; she yelped, vanishing and reappearing next to the griffin. &quot;...What!?&quot; Talon gasped. Kosmo jumped from Whisk and morphed himself a strong pair of twin tails, like Copters, using them to whip Talon down from the sky! He then twirled those tails to gently lower himself to the ground. A pair of yelps were heard as Talon hit the floor, and Kosmo rushed to them as he saw that the griffin had landed on top of Carrie! &quot;Hey... Are you okay? This is why you shouldn&#039;t go around invisible...&quot; Kosmo muttered. Talon climbed off her slowly, and then shook her in panic. &quot;Aaah! She&#039;s out! No, Carrie! Wake up!!&quot; he cried. Kosmo started to look more concerned, even like he felt guilty. &quot;She&#039;ll... be okay, right? You... you shouldn&#039;t have fought us!!&quot; he growled. The others had started to gather around them now that the weapons had stopped flying around and Zeke was out of commission. However, they suddenly backed away as the rear door opened and Basker the hound stepped into the room. &quot;...This girl is important to you... Isn&#039;t she, Kosmo?&quot; he said, a small grin crossing his lips. His hands glowed with dark blue energy, and everyone but Omega started to be gripped with fear, backing away from him! &quot;...Shadow? What is the problem?&quot; Omega wondered. Shadow in particular seemed to be in a trance. To him, Basker had taken a much more sinister form, one that he saw in the Dream Temple. &quot;...Mephiles??&quot; he whispered, mystified. Basker crept to the unconscious Carrie and lifted her over his shoulder. &quot;...If you value her safety... You would do well to stay out of our affairs from this point onward. If however, you entertain the notion of rescuing her... Come and find me...&quot; Basker challenged, stepping out of the room before freeing the group from the grip of fear. Once freed, Shadow berated Omega. &quot;Why did you let him go!?&quot; he shouted. &quot;Why did YOU let him go?&quot; Omega rebutted. Talon was still in a state of fear, however. &quot;He took her!! He took Carrie!! No, no, no!!&quot; he cried. Kosmo glanced at him. &quot;You gonna be okay?&quot; he asked. Talon shook his head. &quot;No... Because Carrie... Was the source of my power! She is the psychokinetic one, not me! She wanted to keep her power secret... So I pretended it was mine. I have no power... I can&#039;t save her!&quot; he wheezed, utterly panicked. Kosmo nodded. &quot;Don&#039;t worry... I can!&quot; he said.<br /><br /><br />Chapter 44 - Fear and Courage<br />Stage 24(Dark 12) - Despair Castle<br />Boss 24 - Basker<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Parts of Despair Castle had become a veritable warzone, with the forces of Eggman and Despair battling it out against any who dared challenge them. Kosmo, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Guard, Crash, Whisk, Talon and Chet had arrived at just such a warzone, where Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic were leading robots against the likes of Team Chaotix, Razor and Mia. Razor had given Mia a spare gun, so at least she wasn&#039;t totally useless, but the five of them were pretty well outnumbered until Team Dark showed up. &quot;The doctor... He&#039;s gotta answer for what he did at Shadow Arc.&quot; Shadow scowled. Eggman noticed him enter and flinched a little. &quot;Ehhh... Shadow! Fancy, seeing you here! Did I mention double-crossing you earlier wasn&#039;t personal? ...Oh, forget it. Metal Sonic, focus attack on Shadow!!&quot; he shouted. As Metal Sonic started coming at them, Shadow decided to meet him head on. &quot;Go on without me! I&#039;ll catch up!&quot; he shouted back. Omega&#039;s eyes seemed to glow redder with rage. &quot;EGGMAN!! Target acquired!! At last, vengeance is mine!!&quot; he shouted, crazed. &quot;Oh, GET OVER IT, you defect reject!!&quot; Eggman yelled. This only made Omega angrier, and he charged into the army of Egg Fighters that Eggman was commanding. Rouge shook her head. &quot;I guess I&#039;m with them... Take care, Guard.&quot; she sighed, flying off into the battle. Chet glanced at Razor and Mia regretfully from the back of the crowd. &quot;Grrr... You should go to them.&quot; Guard suggested. Chet looked at him ashamedly. &quot;Like THIS?&quot; he said, pointing out his Despair uniform. &quot;Actions talk louder than clothes.&quot; Crash stated. Chet nodded slowly, and charged ahead, slashing at an Egg Fighter with his claws as he reached Mia and Razor! They stared at him for a moment, but then Razor sighed and smiled. &quot;You are one piece of work, you know that?&quot; he said jokingly. &quot;Welcome back, dummy.&quot; Mia smiled. Kosmo watched and nodded. &quot;Let&#039;s get moving. That cell isn&#039;t finding itself, after all.&quot; he said, leading the rest of the group around the action. Unbeknownst to them, two extra people were following them. &quot;...Thanks for taking me this far.&quot; whispered Tommy, who had somehow managed to sneak up to the island with everyone else. &quot;No problem... They wanted to leave me behind, too.&quot; said Lucky, sneakily following Kosmo&#039;s group with young Tommy.<br /><br />On the way to the next hallway, the group found more of Eggman&#039;s Fighters and Pawns blocking the path! Talon, feeling powerless, began to freak out a bit. &quot;There are enemies all over! We&#039;ll never get Carrie outta this! It&#039;s hopeless--&quot; As he was whining, Whisk slapped him upside the head. &quot;Don&#039;t start molting all over me!&quot; she growled. Kosmo raised his fists. &quot;We&#039;ll just have to steamroll these tin cans real quick! Maybe I&#039;ll even turn into a steamroller!&quot; he growled, only to see the robots begin exploding from several attacks from behind them! Chaos Spears blew through the robotic chests of these robots, and when they finished collapsing into heaps, Spiny was left standing behind them! &quot;Am I seein&#039; things?&quot; Crash muttered. &quot;Yeah, since when can Sonic use magic spears?&quot; Whisk gasped. Spiny stomped his foot furiously. &quot;Come on!! You&#039;re all fellow experiments!! YOU shouldn&#039;t make this mistake!!&quot; he groaned. Kosmo sighed. &quot;She&#039;s sorry... sir.&quot; he said, &quot;Thanks for savin&#039; us the time.&quot; he added. Spiny chuckled. &quot;Right... Well, the doc had it comin! Of all the things he could do next, throwin&#039; in his lot with Despair was the wrong call! I don&#039;t care what his so-called &#039;reasons&#039; are! Despair felt like insulting me, so I&#039;ll never join them!&quot; he shouted. Kosmo smirked. &quot;Seems like they&#039;re ticking off almost everyone anymore.&quot; he remarked. &quot;Grrr... Are you coming with us, then?&quot; Guard asked Spiny. The porcupine stepped out of their way. &quot;I wholeheartedly support your endeavor... But no, I&#039;m not going to be joining your merry band. I only serve one person... And that&#039;s me!&quot; he grinned. Talon sighed. &quot;We could really use you, though...&quot; he grumbled. &quot;I know...&quot; Spiny bragged. Kosmo scoffed. &quot;Who needs him? C&#039;mon, let&#039;s keep moving!&quot; he said, continuing onward. Lucky and Tommy waved politely as they passed Spiny, and he scratched his head. &quot;...Hopeless...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />Soon, the group found greater security measures blocking their progress. Thick metal doors designed to keep out intruders had been slammed shut in the hallway ahead of them, and the only way to open them was through facial-recognition scanning. Kosmo cracked his knuckles and grinned. &quot;This should be simple. I just need the face of a high-ranking Despair agent. Let&#039;s go with Basker...&quot; he said, morphing only his head into that of Basker the hound. The device started to scan him, but suddenly an alarm went off! &quot;Huh?? What the...&quot; Kosmo stammered. Guard slapped himself in the forehead. &quot;Rrrr! We should&#039;ve known this wouldn&#039;t work! Basker&#039;s eyes glow red, but look at Kosmo!&quot; he grunted. Kosmo&#039;s eyes still glowed yellow. The retinal scan included with the face scan picked up on this minor difference. &quot;That is one good security-scan... Probably set up just for me...&quot; Kosmo muttered. Crash adjusted his hat and gently pushed Whisk and Talon aside. &quot;Everyone, stand back... This looks like a job for me.&quot; he said. Talon crossed his arms. &quot;Are you kidding? It&#039;s METAL!!&quot; he said. &quot;You&#039;ll bust that horn...&quot; Kosmo pointed out. Crash smirked and started to run at the door. &quot;Chaos CHARGE!!&quot; he yelled, his horn bursting in Chaos energy as he ran at the door, followed by his body as he picked up speed! The power of his Chaos ability allowed him to tear right through the thick door, leaving a hole that the others could pass through! &quot;Yeah... or I could just teleport...&quot; Whisk pointed out. Crash shouted back from the other side. &quot;They got wall lasers!! And more doors!! I&#039;m gonna keep charging!!&quot; he yelled. Guard folded in his wings. &quot;Grrr... This isn&#039;t very accommodating to us avians...&quot; he said, looking at the somewhat compact hole. &quot;I&#039;m not sure that&#039;s the correct use of the word &#039;avian&#039;... We&#039;re not birds.&quot; Talon remarked. Kosmo morphed into a feral hawk. &quot;Speak for yourself! I&#039;m gonna tear up those wall lasers...&quot; he said, flapping through the hole. As everyone moved on, Lucky and Tommy hesitated at the hole. &quot;...Maybe we should turn back?&quot; Lucky wondered. Suddenly, they saw Terra chasing after them. &quot;Intruders!! KILL!!&quot; he yelled. Lucky and Tommy shrieked and fled into the hole, which Terra banged against, unable to fit through.<br /><br />At the last security door in the bunch of security doors, instead of mere wall lasers, there was a squad of Despair agents blocking the way. They seemed a bit dumbfounded that anyone even managed to get in there, but they were ready to fight all the same, and there were even some dark mages among them. Talon watched the others getting ready to fight their way through, but he couldn&#039;t build up the courage to join them. &quot;Guys... I&#039;m just dead weight, aren&#039;t I? I... I&#039;m gonna go back!!&quot; he shouted, heading for the previous door that Crash had busted a hole through. As he passed through it, he ran into Lucky and Tommy, who were surprised, to say the least. &quot;Me-yow!! D-don&#039;t drag us back to Shadow Arc, Talon! We just want to help in some way!! Any way! Bucky was kidnapped &#039;cuz of me!&quot; Lucky shouted. &quot;And... and my friend Katie was hurt and these guys were just gonna leave her! They even took Chet! And I stowed away in Mia&#039;s trunk to get up here and everything!!&quot; Tommy whined. Talon hung his head sadly, indicating that he wasn&#039;t planning to scold them. &quot;...Carrie was taken, too. And... I can&#039;t save her.&quot; he said hopelessly. Lucky and Tommy stared at him for a moment. &quot;Yeah... we probably can&#039;t do anything, either...&quot; Lucky admitted. &quot;But we&#039;d hate ourselves more if we stayed behind doin&#039; nothing!&quot; Tommy pointed out. Talon gasped, glancing at the brave youngster before him. &quot;You know... You&#039;re right. We can&#039;t just give up. I&#039;ll go with you guys for now. Maybe together, we can come up with something.&quot; he said. In the meantime, those Talon had left behind were fighting valiantly. Crash simply charged ahead and broke through the final security door, while Guard took on the mages with his scythe&#039;s beam attacks, keeping his distance from them. Whisk whipped up some magical winds with her wings, knocking around some more agents, and Kosmo finally used that steamroller form, chasing around the other agents until they cried &quot;uncle.&quot;<br /><br />The remainder of Kosmo&#039;s group now neared the prison from the map that Team Chaotix had found before. However, there was still one obstacle before reaching that prison. Violet the echidna, Daisy the skunk and Ridley the coati were guarding the entrance. &quot;So, we meet again, Kosmo... Never mind that I don&#039;t have the Chaos Wing now. You don&#039;t have the element of surprise anymore, either.&quot; Ridley warned. &quot;You got water. I got everything else. I win.&quot; Kosmo said smugly. Daisy growled at him. &quot;I knew you&#039;d be trouble when you showed up here with COPTER! I&#039;ll cut you to ribbons!&quot; she shouted. Violet was less enthusiastic. &quot;You should all just turn back... The Darkseeker&#039;s too powerful, anyway...&quot; she sighed. Whisk squinted at Violet and gasped slightly. &quot;You look so familiar... Why do you look familiar...&quot; she wondered, &quot;Right! That colorful echidna! I forget her name. But she was really brave! Even when that other echidna was freaking out and crazy!&quot; she said. Violet stared at Whisk. &quot;You... You&#039;re talking about my sister? ...Somehow she seems stronger than I am right now... And she has no powers. Maybe... I should just fade into the shadows...&quot; she said sadly, backing away a step. &quot;Hey!! Stop messing with Violet&#039;s head!!&quot; Daisy growled. Ridley&#039;s hands became covered in glowing water. &quot;Who cares!? We won&#039;t back down!&quot; he shouted. Kosmo rolled his eyes. &quot;Fine... You&#039;ll regret it when I bust out the prisoners and we completely overwhelm you. I&#039;m not wasting any more time with Carrie in trouble.&quot; he said, his body glowing and shrinking down into the form of a snake! As he slithered his way past Ridley and Daisy, Guard fired beams from his scythe to distract the Despair agents. &quot;Grrrr! Never mind him! You get to deal with us!&quot; he growled. &quot;Allow me to take Ridley... I don&#039;t feel right hitting a lady.&quot; Crash murmured. &quot;Exactly why I&#039;m gonna get ya!!&quot; Daisy shouted. Ridley tossed a ball of water at Guard, which he sliced with his scythe. &quot;Grrrr!! Very well... I was designed to take down experiments, anyway!&quot; he growled. Whisk stood next to Violet and sighed. &quot;Can&#039;t we all just get along?&quot; she frowned.<br /><br />Kosmo morphed back to normal outside the cell door. The cell had been padded with rubber. Inside, Bucky was watching over Carrie as she rested on a dingy mattress. &quot;...So, it&#039;s you...&quot; Kosmo grunted, &quot;In order to free Carrie, I have to let out the guy who wanted me locked up forever. Is this supposed to be some weird poetic justice??&quot; he growled. Bucky sighed without looking over at him. &quot;Poetic justice for which one of us?&quot; he asked. Kosmo shrugged. &quot;Is she all right?&quot; he asked. &quot;She&#039;s unconscious, but fine. Carrie is a &#039;Mirage,&#039; a species that is like an illusion... It theoretically does not technically exist. Due to my scientific prowess, however, Carrie is no illusion. So her injuries are real... Unlike an illusion, she does not simply vanish with the possibility of manifesting again later.&quot; Bucky explained, getting a bit caught up in the science of it. Suddenly, Basker emerged from the shadows of the corner of the prison room. &quot;How touching... A father-son reunion. But come now, Kosmo... Surely you know you cannot defeat me.&quot; he said bluntly. Kosmo turned to face him. &quot;Oh, yeah? Take me on in a real fight, and we&#039;ll see!&quot; he challenged. Basker chuckled softly, the drowsy look never leaving his red eyes. &quot;You came all this way, and for what? What do you actually hope to accomplish? Are you so eager to join your friends in this little cage? ... Or will you once and for all bow down and swear your allegiance to the Covenant of Despair!?&quot; he snarled, starting to sound uncharacteristically fired up. Kosmo morphed himself into a purple form resembling Shadow, glaring at Basker with contempt. &quot;First... I&#039;m gonna kick your butt and open this cell. Then... I&#039;m gonna take down your boss and free everyone he&#039;s trapped in his control!&quot; he shouted. Basker&#039;s eyes started glowing more brightly all of a sudden. &quot;You know, I think the cell is too good for you... It is DEATH, then!!&quot; he roared!<br /><br />Basker&#039;s hands started glowing deeply in a dark shade of blue, and Kosmo was quickly struck with that same inexplicable terror once again! He started to hallucinate, seeing Bucky in place of Basker, but with the same red eyes. &quot;Terror is absolute power... As you cower, fading into the darkness... I will obliterate you!!&quot; To Kosmo, Basker&#039;s attack appeared as Bucky&#039;s lightning, but in reality, he was merely kicking him while he trembled at the ground. &quot;...You have no chance against fear itself! A pity, really...&quot; Basker smirked.<br />Outside, Crash was busy fending off Daisy&#039;s katana with nothing but his horn to parry her with. &quot;I said I wouldn&#039;t hit a lady, but you&#039;re pushin&#039; it!!&quot; he growled. &quot;Surrender and I&#039;ll stop!&quot; Daisy grunted. Guard was busy chopping Ridley&#039;s water blasts with his scythe, occasionally shrugging off any that struck him. &quot;Grrrrr!! How can you work for these fiends after they&#039;ve captured your creator!? Where is your loyalty!?&quot; he shouted. Ridley stopped to answer him. &quot;...What good is loyalty when you&#039;re dead? You of all people should understand me... You work against Bucky for GUN!&quot; he yelled. Guard grunted. &quot;...That is my programming...not my will.&quot; he said, charging at Ridley to resume his attack!<br />Back at the prison, Bucky called out to Kosmo. &quot;Stand up to your fears! Fear is a necessary reflex against danger, but you cannot allow it to control you completely! Remember who you are! You are one of the most powerful forces on Earth! Fight back!&quot; he shouted. Kosmo had by this time morphed into a sea turtle, and was cowering inside his shell while Basker kicked it around, but perhaps he could still hear Bucky&#039;s words? As his shell bounced off the wall, he poked his head out and snapped at Basker&#039;s hand, surprising him long enough to enable him to morph back to normal. &quot;So... not content to hide in your shell, are you?&quot; Basker growled. Kosmo growled, struggling as Basker&#039;s eyes and hands glowed brighter, turning up the fear. The hallucinations became increasingly terrible, the world around him seemed to fade into blackness, and frightening monsters seemed to be creeping around him in these shadows. However, Kosmo focused, and began to morph himself! &quot;I... do not fear... the dark! I am a morph! The dark... should fear... me!!&quot; he growled, transforming into a great dragon! Basker stared with wide eyes. &quot;There&#039;s no way...! No one can function...under the pressure of such terror!&quot; he gasped. He then scrambled to escape the wrath of Kosmo&#039;s fiery breath!<br /><br />&quot;Ugh... Talon, keep it down...&quot; Carrie was starting to regain consciousness by now. When she opened her eyes, the situation quickly became clear to her. &quot;Oh... Throwing me in here was a mistake.&quot; she growled, standing up and approaching the cell door. Her eyes glowed blue for a moment, and then, using her psychokinesis, she ripped the door clean off its hinges! Basker looked back in shock, releasing his hold over Kosmo in the process. &quot;What...?! Impossible!&quot; he said in astonishment. Bucky quickly stepped out of the cell and zapped the hound with his electricity. &quot;Threaten my experiments, will you!!!&quot; he shouted, leaving Basker convulsing on the floor! &quot;I should kill you... Instead I&#039;m ordering you to get out of my sight!&quot; he growled. Basker shakily stood up and ran for the exit. &quot;Don&#039;t...think...this is over!&quot; he stammered. Kosmo, still in dragon form, stared at Bucky for a moment. &quot;...I shouldn&#039;t let you off the hook, either...&quot; he growled. Carrie stepped between them, but Bucky placed a hand on her shoulder to silence her. &quot;There is a matter that&#039;s bigger than both of us right now. A device on this island with the potential to kill us all in mere moments.&quot; he said. Kosmo nodded, morphing back to normal. &quot;Then I guess we find it...&quot; he said. Carrie looked at him as Bucky headed out of the room. &quot;Did you come to rescue me again? ...Maybe now you realize I don&#039;t really need it...&quot; she snickered. Kosmo sighed. &quot;You&#039;re welcome, I guess...&quot; he grumbled. A flash of lightning told them it was time to rejoin the others. Outside, they found Ridley cowering at Bucky&#039;s feet, while Daisy was hiding behind Violet. It seemed Bucky had the situation well in hand. &quot;Stop sniveling, Ridley! I understand your motives. You&#039;re a coward. But whatever Despair promised you, I promise they won&#039;t deliver.&quot; he said. Ridley looked up nervously. &quot;Um... wh-what do you mean, exactly?&quot; he stammered. Suddenly, Whisk yelped loudly, falling to the floor! As everyone turned to see what had happened to her, they saw Basker lift her over his shoulders! &quot;A divine... Surely she has unique life energy... Listen well, Bucky. Come to my master, the Darkseeker. If you do not, your precious experiment will be used to power Project GXterminate!&quot; he shouted, using his fear-power to stop Crash and Guard, thereby covering his escape! Kosmo looked a bit shocked. &quot;Won&#039;t using an animal in the machine make it target...animals? Don&#039;t they want it to target humans?&quot; he stammered. Bucky&#039;s eyes narrowed. &quot;This is a threat, or a bluff... but we can&#039;t risk it. We have to find the Darkseeker.&quot; he said. Violet looked a bit nervous. &quot;Um... I could take you to him... But I&#039;m not sure if I really want to go there...&quot; she shuddered. &quot;There&#039;s no choice. Let&#039;s go!&quot; Kosmo said. Finally, it was almost time to face the leader of the Covenant of Despair...<br /><br /><br />Chapter 45 - The Castle Towers<br />Boss 25-28 - Dr. Eggman, Shadow Chaos, ???<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />At a crossroads, Knuckles decided it was time to say good-bye to Sonic for now. &quot;I&#039;ve gotta find the Master Emerald, Sonic. I&#039;m sure you&#039;ll be alright on your own.&quot; he said. Team Rose had caught up with him, so it wasn&#039;t like he was leaving Sonic shorthanded. &quot;Sure, Knuckles. Heck, why don&#039;t you bring Tails along, too. I&#039;m feelin&#039; a bit crowded here.&quot; Sonic sighed. Amy took his arm. &quot;I&#039;m sure you&#039;re just kidding!&quot; she said. Tails called SPOT and joined Knuckles. &quot;I can calibrate SPOT to try looking specifically for the Master Emerald... Though Gemini&#039;s right, we may have trouble with interference.&quot; he said. Gemini stepped over to join them as well. &quot;I owe you one for everything you did for me back when I was stuck as a dragon, so I&#039;ll help you out now.&quot; she said. &quot;I thought the sewer and Shadow Arc and the Dream Temple made us even.&quot; Knuckles grinned. Gemini sighed. &quot;How much help was I, really? Besides... I feel like dead weight with Silver and Sonic. You might actually be able to use my help.&quot; she said. Silver frowned. &quot;Gee, sorry...&quot; he grumbled. Knuckles sighed. &quot;I remember when I used to work alone... Okay, come on!&quot; he said, heading off one way with Tails, SPOT and Gemini while Sonic headed the other way with Team Rose. What they didn&#039;t realize was that Team Dark was just arriving at this same crossroads, a central area of the castle. &quot;Hmmm... There goes Knuckles... I bet he&#039;s off on the hunt for that Master Emerald you said he lost...&quot; she said to Shadow. &quot;...Sounds like him.&quot; Shadow muttered. Rouge grinned mischievously. &quot;Which implies he hasn&#039;t found it yet...&quot; she said, trailing off. Shadow groaned. &quot;If you must, then go. You&#039;re no good to us distracted.&quot; he grumbled. As Rouge hurried off, Omega stepped to Shadow. &quot;If she gets to leave, then I request permission to track down Eggman!&quot; he said. Shadow rolled his eyes. &quot;What happened to the urgent mission we were on!?&quot; he groaned.<br /><br />Knuckles arrived at the base of the East Tower of Despair Castle, one of two large towers at the center of the fortress. Inside, he found a large, mostly empty room with a winding stairway leading all the way up the sides of the tower. Here, Dr. Eggman dropped down from above in his Egg Mobile to block their way! &quot;Ah, Knuckles... Hey, where&#039;s Sonic?! Eh, no matter. My sensors indicate that YOU have what I want. Hand over the Chaos Gauntlets and the final two Chaos Emeralds, if you don&#039;t want this to get messy!&quot; he threatened. Rouge ran into the room hurriedly. &quot;You have Chaos Emeralds!? Erm... Of course, you can&#039;t give them to him!&quot; she shouted. Knuckles looked back at her in surprise, but returned his focus to Eggman quickly. &quot;R-right... What she said! Why don&#039;t YOU turn over YOUR Chaos Emeralds instead!&quot; he yelled. Tails shook his head. &quot;Yeah, right...&quot; he sighed. Eggman looked down at his controls. &quot;All right... You asked for it... You know, before I settled on making my fleet a carnival, I had another idea in mind. I had picked up these nifty cloud-camouflaged ships cheap, so I was going to go with a weather theme. But then, I realized, Tails has the Tornado, and the Cyclone, and I think he&#039;s trademarked the name &#039;Typhoon&#039; as well. And I already did Hurricane. So what would I name anything? Nice, Tails. I can never do an evil weather station.&quot; he grumbled. Tails scratched his head. &quot;Uhhh... Sorry?&quot; he murmured. Eggman then started pushing buttons on his controls. &quot;One idea DID make it past R&amp;D, though... So say hello... To the Egg MAELSTROM!!&quot; he pulled a red lever, and several flashing rods and tubes popped out of the Egg Mobile&#039;s underside. They started to rotate, and strange black atmosphere started to generate around the Egg Mobile! &quot;...Okay... This is making me nervous...&quot; Gemini muttered. Knuckles scoffed. &quot;It&#039;s just a little cloud!&quot; he said. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck out from the cloud, forcing the group to scatter very hastily! &quot;Aaaah! ...See? The chance of getting struck by lightning is really tiny.&quot; Knuckles sighed. Eggman chuckled. &quot;That&#039;s if the lightning has something bigger to strike... But let&#039;s play a bit. How would you like some golf-ball sized hail?&quot; he snickered, as large balls of ice started flying out of the cloud generated by the Egg Maelstrom! Tails shielded himself with his tails and glanced at the steps. &quot;We may have to get above him... Someone try the stairs!&quot; he suggested.<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Punchy had been exploring the castle for some time, joined by Rainbow and Copter. They still hadn&#039;t found Violet, nor had they spotted the Chaos Crystal that Rainbow had allowed to be stolen to protect Violet. Having arrived at the castle ahead of everyone, Sonic was only just catching up to them. &quot;...Hey, guys. Seen anything helpful?&quot; he asked. Copter shrugged, so Sonic continued ahead. &quot;See you at the finish!&quot; he waved. Amy and Cream continued with him, but Silver stopped to converse with them. &quot;Rainbow... We&#039;ve gotta find that Chaos Crystal. Few even know about it, but it&#039;s a big piece of the puzzle here. It&#039;s something that the Darkseeker has been single-mindedly searching for this whole time.&quot; he said. Rainbow nodded. &quot;I know... and I know what might happen if we don&#039;t get it...&quot; she shivered. Copter raised an eyebrow. &quot;I&#039;m a bit fuzzy on the whole thing, honestly.&quot; he muttered. Silver sighed. &quot;Because of events at this castle, my future ends up devastated. Gemini, who comes from the same time, doesn&#039;t know. She left from a different timeline. Her actions may have influenced the new timeline...&quot; he said, a bit uncertainly. Punchy rubbed his forehead. &quot;This is giving me a headache. Can&#039;t we just go beat up this Darkseeker and be done with it?&quot; he asked. Copter shuddered. &quot;I&#039;ve met him. He induces fright just by being in the same room...&quot; he said. Silver nodded. &quot;Regardless, this is what we must do. Since you are among the few who know the urgency of finding the Chaos Crystal, I&#039;m going with you now. Lead the way, Rainbow.&quot; he asked. Rainbow pointed at herself uncertainly. &quot;...Me? Why, Shiny?&quot; she asked. &quot;As the guardian, you share a bond with the crystal. One that you may not yet fathom, but we need it now. You should be able to sense when we get close to it.&quot; he said. Rainbow sighed frustratedly. &quot;Sure... Even though I was never able to even FIND it before... Why not?&quot; she grumbled. &quot;I believe in you.&quot; Punchy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rainbow smiled at him and nodded. &quot;Well... that&#039;s the important thing. Follow me, guys!&quot; she said, running ahead.<br /><br />The four of them arrived at the West Tower after a bit of a jog. It was very similar to the East Tower. Here, they found Illusi in their path. His fur was a mess, and his cape was wrinkled and tatty as well. His eyes were bloodshot, and he generally looked awful. &quot;So... Dark One! Still playing the hero after what you&#039;ve done!&quot; he yowled woefully. Silver frowned. &quot;...Maybe we shouldn&#039;t have left him alone...&quot; he realized. &quot;Poor Mousy...&quot; Rainbow said softly. Illusi stomped at the ground, and as though on command, Shadow Chaos dripped down from the ceiling! &quot;I found someone else who&#039;s furious with you! ...Remember this guy! After you splattered him across the mountainside, Despair captured him! Seems you&#039;ve been messing up everyone&#039;s lives!&quot; he shouted, almost crazed. Copter looked astonished. &quot;...They actually caught it?? But...WHY??&quot; he stammered. Punchy growled at Illusi. &quot;Stop blaming me for what happened to Fera! Even before it happened, you blamed me instead of trying to warn me! Maybe I could have HELPED prevent her from dying!! But she PUSHED me and PUSHED me! She FORCED Dark Punchy out!! And it backfired on her!&quot; he shouted, furious at everything that had happened. Illusi glared at him. &quot;Enough!! Shut your mouth! Fera... She was all the family I had... And now you&#039;ll know what it&#039;s like to suffer like I&#039;ve had to suffer!! Shadow Chaos! Take your vengeance!&quot; he cried, prompting the big drop on the floor to take shape and hurl its stretchy arms across the room, trying to slap all four of them at once! Copter jumped the attack, but the others were knocked aside swiftly. &quot;C&#039;mon, guys! None of you saw that coming!?&quot; he grumbled, &quot;Well, you don&#039;t scare ME, Shadow Chaos!&quot; Copter growled. Shadow Chaos morphed into a big ball of black water and leapt at Copter, slamming him against the wall hard! As he fell to the ground, Copter groaned. &quot;That&#039;s new...&quot; he mumbled. Punchy stood up and shook his head. &quot;Cut it out! Your fight&#039;s with me!&quot; he growled. Shadow Chaos fired several blasts of black sludge at him, but he retaliated. &quot;Chaos Avalanche!&quot; he cried, trying to pull up parts of the ground to toss at Shadow Chaos. He found himself pummeled with sludge instead. &quot;Oooogh!! Wh-what!? Why didn&#039;t it work!?&quot; he gasped. Illusi grinned. &quot;I&#039;m placing all my energy on an invisible barrier. It won&#039;t let you dislodge any part of this room...&quot; he sneered. Punchy groaned. &quot;So, I&#039;m basically Knuckles... Errr... No one remember I said that, please...&quot; he grumbled.<br /><br /><br />A side effect of the Egg Maelstrom was causing rain water to splatter all around it, getting in the eyes and affecting aim for the likes of Gemini, who took to casting shields after a stray bolt from her wand grazed Rouge&#039;s wing. Eggman was done playing with hail, though, and had started flinging bolts of lightning all around the room, which was putting a real strain on Gemini&#039;s and SPOT&#039;s shields. Tails was busy flying around, trying to get past the lightning to fight back, but he was a bit preoccupied dodging to move forward. Then there was Knuckles. He&#039;d retreated to the back wall, and started to climb it. There was no way Eggman would let them get to the stairs directly. &quot;I just need to get... high enough.&quot; he groaned as he hit the bottom of the stairway snaking around the walls. Eggman was lower than this, sure, but Knuckles&#039;s gliding would put him below Eggman by the time he reached him. He looked back for a solution, and then chuckled softly. &quot;Well, worth a shot...&quot; he said, jumping from the wall and breaking into a glide! As Tails and Rouge were busy evading the lightning in the air, they heard Knuckles&#039;s voice behind them. &quot;Gangway!!&quot; he shouted before landing on Rouge&#039;s back, leaping from her in order to gain extra height as she dropped like a stone! &quot;Aaaaugh!! KNUCKLES!! HOW DARE YOU!!?&quot; she screamed, flying up after him as he resumed gliding toward Eggman! &quot;That did seem rather rude... I should zap you out of the sky!&quot; Eggman chuckled, firing a bolt straight at Knuckles! &quot;Proplasmar!!&quot; Gemini called, casting her shield around Knuckles quickly! As the lightning jolted the shield, Knuckles kept up his momentum and hurled a punch straight into the dark cloud surrounding the Egg Maelstrom! Rouge then changed course and kicked at Eggman&#039;s control panel, and the whole machine started to spark! Knuckles was jolted a bit, and fell to the floor, while Eggman rubbed his bald head in concern. &quot;...Technical problem... I&#039;ll be right back!&quot; he said, flying his machine up into the tower! Rouge landed beside Knuckles, as did Tails, and they looked at him with concern. &quot;...You all right?&quot; Tails asked. Knuckles groaned as he opened his eyes, and suddenly, everything went white! &quot;What...?! What hit me...?!&quot; he stammered.<br /><br />Knuckles was back in front of the Master Emerald shrine. &quot;...Why am I back in front of the altar?&quot; he muttered, &quot;And why am I wet?&quot; he said, sitting in the pool of water in front of the shrine of the past. The Chao that were there were now fleeing. They finally seemed to realize that their former home was anything but safe. Howler, equipped with the Chaos Tailbands, Chaos Boots, and Chaos Sword, had defeated Shadow Chaos. Now, he turned to Tikal. &quot;...I&#039;ll take that Emerald now!&quot; he said, zooming up to her and snatching the Master Emerald from her hands before she could act! &quot;W-wait!! St-stop...!&quot; Tikal pleaded, feeling weaker as the emerald moved further away from her. Athair ran to her side, helping her to her feet. &quot;Princess Tikal! ... What is your game, Howler!? That emerald is not part of our deal!&quot; he shouted. Radia stepped back slowly. &quot;He has grown too powerful... He must be stopped!&quot; she gasped, hurrying away quickly. Howler held the Master Emerald in front of Shadow Chaos. &quot;With this emerald... I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! That we might carve a new world, in MY image!!&quot; he howled. Shadow Chaos flinched, and then started to swirl, turning into a shadowy mist that was being drawn toward the Master Emerald! Tikal stumbled away from Athair and stood in front of Howler, blocking Shadow Chaos! &quot;Enough! Now I see what you are... You are a seeker of power and control... Like my father, and like Ix of the Nocturnus! There is but one fate for greed-driven fools like you!&quot; she declared. Howler pointed the Chaos Sword at her, but then flipped around and whipped her aside with his tailband-powered tails, instead! Tikal tumbled towards the edge of the nearby cliff, but Athair hurried to catch her! &quot;I&#039;m afraid there is naught we can do, princess... We&#039;ve led him right to all the power he craves!&quot; he said gravely. The scene started to fade away from Knuckles&#039;s eyes, and he felt Rouge slapping his face. &quot;Wake UP, you dolt! This isn&#039;t over yet!&quot; she shouted. &quot;Ow... Thanks, Rouge...&quot; he grumbled, standing up. At this point, Eggman was returning with the Egg Maelstrom, and he wasn&#039;t alone. &quot;...What&#039;s a castle without a knight, eh?&quot; he said, chuckling. A human wearing high-tech armor resembling knight&#039;s armor was coming down the stairs. He opened the eye-hatch on his helmet to reveal himself as Dr. Nammad. &quot;Can&#039;t be too, uh, careful when going up against you, uh, animals.&quot; he sneered, holding up an odd staff that glowed with electrical energy at the tip. &quot;Fine... I&#039;m ready for round two!&quot; Knuckles growled.<br /><br /><br />Punchy, Copter and Silver had been fighting Shadow Chaos, while Rainbow tried in vain to tell Illusi to put a stop to this. Suddenly, after smacking Copter and Silver aside again, Shadow Chaos lunged at Punchy, and seemed to stab its hand through his chest! &quot;No, One!!&quot; Rainbow gasped, but quickly recovered when she saw how little pain he seemed to be in. He couldn&#039;t move, though, and as he struggled, a dark force seemed to pulse inside Shadow Chaos. The dark creature slowly changed its shape, matching the form of Punchy, but with Shadow Chaos&#039;s yellow eyes. Illusi chuckled darkly. &quot;Shadow Chaos has tapped into Experiment 1&#039;s darkness and merged with it... Now, see what it&#039;s like to truly face down your own dark side!&quot; he roared! Shadow Chaos released him, and then spoke with Dark Punchy&#039;s voice. &quot;...Finally... A chance to tear up that prison of a body that I&#039;ve been confined to! Ha ha!! This feels GOOD!!&quot; he shouted, smashing Punchy across the face with his watery fist! Punchy stumbled back, but shook it off. &quot;So, I won&#039;t go dark? ...Good... I&#039;ve been wanting to really let loose!! First... this is for Rainbow!&quot; he growled, charging at &quot;Dark Punchy Chaos&quot; and throwing several furious punches right into its chest! It didn&#039;t seem to do much, but he didn&#039;t care as long as he got to blow off steam. Copter and Silver thought about helping him, but instead ran over to Illusi, who was watching intently and ignoring Rainbow. &quot;THIS is your big plan!?&quot; Copter yelled, &quot;UNLEASH Dark Punchy?? Have you gone INSANE!?&quot; he shouted. Silver nodded. &quot;This won&#039;t end well. Remember, this is just the way Fera died. If she couldn&#039;t control the darkness, what makes you think you can?&quot; he said. &quot;Shut up! I don&#039;t care what happens to me... I just want vengeance...&quot; Illusi growled. Dark Punchy threw Punchy back with a dark shockwave, and then tossed balls of black water at him to injure him further. &quot;No big rocks to throw at me? You are an ANT railing against a god! I&#039;m just taking my sweet time squashing you!&quot; Dark Punchy sneered. Punchy got up and raised his fists. &quot;I don&#039;t need Chaos Avalanche to deal with you... You don&#039;t got a cliff to throw me from now.&quot; he smirked.<br /><br />Dark Punchy swung the elastic arms he got from Shadow Chaos at Punchy, letting sparks of dark energy fly through them to make them more dangerous. Punchy jumped them and came at the liquid form of his darker half. &quot;Now, this one&#039;s for Kosmo! Without you, Copter might&#039;ve talked me out of that fight!&quot; he yelled, drilling right through Dark Punchy Chaos with his fists, only to find that he reformed himself easily. &quot;Your heart really wasn&#039;t in that one, was it? Well, this one&#039;s for me!&quot; Dark Punchy snarled, jolting Punchy with dark lightning! He then started to warp all around Punchy, bashing him with punches and water blasts while barely giving him an opening to hit back! &quot;...Mousy! Stop this! He... He&#039;ll die!!&quot; Rainbow cried. &quot;I should step in...&quot; Copter growled. &quot;Wait.&quot; Silver said, &quot;I don&#039;t think Illusi here has it in him to let that happen.&quot; Illusi glared at him. &quot;You&#039;re a bit naive, aren&#039;t you?&quot; he growled. Punchy tried futily to punch a couple times, and finally grew frustrated. &quot;Grrrrr... And this... This is... for FERA!!&quot; he shouted, to Illusi&#039;s surprise, &quot;CHAOS BLAST!!&quot; The chaotic explosion knocked Dark Punchy to the ground, splattering against the floor, and Illusi fell to the ground as he came to a realization. Copter guessed at it. &quot;...It wasn&#039;t Punchy that killed Fera. It was Dark Punchy. The guy you just let out.&quot; he said. Illusi sat with tears in his eyes. &quot;...I wanted someone real to blame... Someone I could punish... But Fera herself forced the Dark One out... And the one who allowed Fera to turn to darkness... was me.&quot; he sniffled. Rainbow placed a hand on his shoulder, her own eyes tearing up a bit. A mist escaped Shadow Chaos and flowed back into Punchy, knocking him over. &quot;Ugh! That was foul...&quot; he grumbled. Dark Punchy&#039;s voice spoke in his mind. &quot;It seems I could only bond with that creature temporarily... In trying to destroy you, I nearly destroyed myself... I&#039;m going to chew on that for a while...&quot; he said before the voice faded. Then, Shadow Chaos pulled itself together and slithered away quickly. Copter sighed. &quot;I&#039;m sick of all this tension. Let&#039;s find Violet and that crystal and quit this dump!&quot; he said. Silver nodded. &quot;I couldn&#039;t agree more!&quot; he smiled. Illusi stood up slowly and shakily. &quot;...I will join you. Violet was Fera&#039;s charge. I will consider it my duty to see her safely out of this place.&quot; he said. Punchy nodded and smiled a little. &quot;Good to finally have you back, Illusi...&quot; he said.<br /><br /><br />As Dr. Nammad stood beside Dr. Eggman, Gemini lost her temper. &quot;Why, Nammad?! Why waste your intelligence building doomsday machines and giving them over to people like the Covenant of Despair!?&quot; she shouted. Nammad glared through the armor. &quot;Aside from obvious speeches about self-preservation and the promise of, uh, rewards... GUN was squandering my genius! Talking beetles? Pitiful shooting swords? ...I once played at playing GOD! Uh... that is... until Bucky had it out with me. So when the Darkseeker came to me with the plan for Project GXterminate... I knew I had to bring it to Gunner.&quot; he sneered. Tails and Knuckles both looked dumbfounded. &quot;Wait... Despair was behind the weapon thing from the beginning??&quot; Tails stammered. Eggman stroked his moustache curiously. &quot;Fascinating... But enough of that. There&#039;s still the little matter of the Chaos Gauntlets and Chaos Emeralds! Dr. Nam! Let&#039;s show them your stuff!&quot; he chuckled, pulling a lever on the Egg Maelstrom to start it up again! This time, the first bolt of lightning struck out toward Dr. Nammad, who caught it with his mechanical staff! &quot;...Now, I&#039;ll play god once more! Face my, uh, WRATH!!&quot; he yelled, using his staff to bend the lightning and send it sweeping across the room, jolting a surprised Gemini and barely missing the others as they leapt out of the way! &quot;Oh, no! ...Gemini! Are you...?&quot; Knuckles gasped. Rouge lifted her unconscious body into her arms. &quot;I think some of that magic was still protecting her... But I&#039;d better get her outta the way... You stop them for us, Knuckles!&quot; she said sternly, flying up to the winding staircase with Gemini. Eggman chuckled. &quot;No, no... I insist you stay. It&#039;ll help Knuckles make up his mind!&quot; he said, spewing several large hail stones from the Egg Maelstrom in Rouge&#039;s direction! Tails jumped up, flying into the path of the hail to block it! However, this wasn&#039;t well thought out, and he fell from the sky, wounded. &quot;Aw, shoot!&quot; Knuckles growled, glancing at SPOT nearby. &quot;You gonna help?!&quot; he yelled. SPOT scampered over to Tails and erected a shield. &quot;Yeah... Not what I meant...&quot; he grumbled.<br /><br />Knuckles glanced at Dr. Nammad and got an idea. &quot;So, the staff controls the lightning, eh...?&quot; he muttered. He then started to charge at the armored doctor, but Eggman fired a bolt for Nammad to direct straight at him! Fortunately, Knuckles was expecting it now, and his friends were more or less safe, so all he had to do was jump and evade it. Eggman wouldn&#039;t let this slide, though. &quot;Thunder and hail isn&#039;t all the Egg Maelstrom is limited to! Behold!&quot; With a few button presses, a funnel of wind shot out from the Egg Maelstrom; A mini-tornado! It picked Knuckles up and blew him into the air, but he caught the wind and started to glide. &quot;Whew...&quot; he sighed, but the tornado was keeping him from moving forward. Just then, a laser from SPOT seared past Eggman&#039;s head, getting his attention! Tails had carefully aimed the robot to draw the doctor&#039;s focus away from Knuckles. &quot;Aching for more, eh, Tails!? I can pummel you with hailstones all day, you weather-name-hog!&quot; he shouted, causing the tornado to dissipate as he switched to tossing hail at Tails. Knuckles came flying at Nammad, but he just snickered at him and swung his staff as the echidna approached, jolting him with stored up electricity! &quot;Yaaaah!! Shoulda... seen that coming...&quot; Knuckles grunted. &quot;So, you made it to me. Uh... Now what, stupid?&quot; Nammad chuckled. A blast of magic from above struck at Nammad&#039;s feet, startling him long enough for Knuckles to shrug off the jolt and deliver a good smack to Nammad&#039;s arm, causing him to drop the staff! &quot;...Thanks, Gemini!&quot; he called, looking up to see her kneeling on the steps, smiling weakly while Rouge stood beside her, looking frustrated, possibly because she wouldn&#039;t rest. Knuckles took Nammad&#039;s staff and ran in front of Eggman with it. &quot;Hey! Why don&#039;t you try zapping me NOW!?&quot; he shouted. Eggman scratched his head. &quot;Really, Knuckles? Well... Who&#039;s to say you can even control that thing. It&#039;ll serve you right to get fried!&quot; he grinned, firing a bolt directly at Knuckles! It struck the tip of the staff, but then it started bending all over the place as Knuckles tried to get control of it! &quot;Eeeeeaaaaargghh!! Watch out, everyone!!!!&quot; he groaned as Tails jumped the bolt, and Gemini and Rouge ducked it from their high perch. Eggman laughed hysterically at Knuckles&#039;s pathetic attempt to control Nammad&#039;s device, but the scientist was getting nervous. &quot;I... um... I&#039;m out of here!!&quot; he yelped. &quot;No, you don&#039;t!&quot; Tails muttered, running after him and tossing something that stuck to the back of Nammad&#039;s armor as he escaped. At this moment, Knuckles swung the staff desperately, and the lightning split, partly spraying across the back of the room, while a stray bolt jumped back and hit the Egg Maelstrom! &quot;AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!!!&quot; Eggman wailed as his machine started blowing to pieces. However, as miraculous as always, his Egg Mobile continued floating. Dr. Eggman coughed, and started to float away. &quot;I&#039;ll... get back to you...&quot; he mumbled. &quot;By the way, doc... That machine had nothing to do with maelstroms.&quot; Rouge said as he passed by her. Eggman sighed. &quot;I KNOW... What was I gonna call it... the CLOUD?&quot; he groaned. Once he was gone, Tails started looking over SPOT&#039;s monitor while Rouge and Gemini made their way back down. &quot;What&#039;re you doing?&quot; Knuckles asked. &quot;I managed to plant a tracking device on Dr. Nammad before he escaped! If my hunch is right... He should lead us right to Despair&#039;s big boss!&quot; Tails explained. Gemini smiled. &quot;Great! If we take him down, he&#039;d have to turn over that fake wand and the Master Emerald!&quot; she coughed, &quot;Excuse me... I&#039;m gonna need a self-healing spell, if my book has one...&quot; she sighed. Knuckles nodded. &quot;Well, as soon as Gemini&#039;s ready, let&#039;s go. It&#039;s about time we put an end to this, once and for all!&quot;<br /><br /><br />Chapter 46 - The Darkseeker<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Exiting the east and west towers, Knuckles and Punchy&#039;s groups entered a hall that met in the center and proceeded straight into the heart of Despair Castle. Here, the Master Emerald guardian met up with his clone. &quot;Punchy? ...Figures. I lose the Master Emerald, and here you are, no doubt looking for it, same as Rouge.&quot; Knuckles groaned. &quot;Hey! I resent your tone!&quot; Rouge snapped. Tails waved politely to Copter. &quot;Long time, huh?&quot; he said. Copter shook his head. &quot;Good, great. Gang&#039;s all here.&quot; he grumbled. Punchy smirked a little. &quot;So, no Master Emerald, eh? But it&#039;s here. I sense it... And so do you.&quot; he observed. Knuckles nodded. &quot;I&#039;m finally getting close to it! I&#039;ll make Despair sorry they ever messed with me!&quot; he growled. Rainbow rubbed her head a bit. &quot;The big gem...? Is that what this tingle in my brain is...?&quot; she mumbled. The other echidnas glanced at her curiously, and Illusi realized what was happening to her. &quot;She&#039;s sensing the Chaos Crystal! She is its guardian, and has a link to it just as you other echidnas are linked to the Master Emerald!&quot; he said. Gemini gasped when she looked at the shrew. &quot;My gosh, Illusi... Are you okay? You look like... well, I remember looking sorta like that once... Did someone die!?&quot; she gasped. Silver shook his head. &quot;Not now, Gemini...&quot; he sighed as Illusi hung his head sadly. Tails was busy checking SPOT at this point. &quot;Well, judging by these signals, those &#039;controller gems&#039; could be ahead. Let&#039;s check it out!&quot; he suggested. Rainbow nodded. &quot;Great! Follow me! I can totally guide us this time!&quot; she smiled. Knuckles glared at Punchy a bit. &quot;...Am I gonna have to fight you, though?&quot; he asked. Punchy snickered. &quot;I think you got your hands full with bat girl there. I got other things to worry about.&quot; he said. Rouge was rubbing her chin, lost in thought. &quot;The emerald or the crystal...? I probably can&#039;t carry both...&quot; she mumbled. Punchy groaned at this, and Knuckles laughed, but before he could start on his way, a familiar orb of light appeared before him! &quot;Gaah! Tikal! You&#039;re here again!&quot; he gasped. Punchy and Copter stared in surprise as well. &quot;Tikal??&quot; they gasped. &quot;What are you trying to tell us!?&quot; Knuckles asked, as the world went white around him, and only him.<br /><br />Knuckles stood atop the steps of the Master Emerald shrine. From here, he witnessed the full spectacle of Howler&#039;s madness play out as storm clouds gathered around them. Howler, equipped with the Chaos Tailbands, Boots and Sword, mercilessly defeated Shadow Chaos as it stood defiant in its desire to defend the Chao. Howler then stole the Master Emerald from Tikal, planning to use it for a truly fiendish act. &quot;With this emerald... I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! That we might carve a new world, in MY image!!&quot; he howled. Shadow Chaos flinched, and then started to swirl, turning into a shadowy mist that was being drawn toward the Master Emerald! Tikal stumbled away from Athair and stood in front of Howler, blocking Shadow Chaos! &quot;Enough! Now I see what you are... You are a seeker of power and control... Like my father, and like Ix of the Nocturnus! There is but one fate for greed-driven fools like you!&quot; she declared. Howler pointed the Chaos Sword at her, but then flipped around and whipped her aside with his tailband-powered tails, instead! Tikal tumbled towards the edge of the nearby cliff, but Athair hurried to catch her! &quot;I&#039;m afraid there is naught we can do, princess... We&#039;ve led him right to all the power he craves!&quot; he said gravely. &quot;...I just saw this, Tikal... What&#039;s going on?&quot; Knuckles wondered, &quot;What&#039;s so urgent?&quot; Tikal&#039;s last vision was interrupted by Eggman&#039;s return, and she had to allow Knuckles to face him rather than complete the vision. Now, he could see the rest. As Shadow Chaos was starting to be drawn to Howler, the Chao started to return, escorting Radia, who was carrying something. It was a great crystal: the Chaos Crystal! &quot;Forces of Chaos not bound by emeralds... Are yet bound to this controller! Please aid us, Chaos Crystal! Stop the Chaos Relics!&quot; she pleaded! As she did, the Crystal glowed brilliantly, and Tikal saw her chance. She scrambled to Howler and grabbed at the Master Emerald, wresting it from his grip! &quot;N-no!! My power!! You cannot take my power!!!&quot; he screamed, slashing Tikal across the chest with the Chaos Sword! &quot;Aaaaaaah!!&quot; Tikal screamed in pain, and Athair ran to Howler in a rage. &quot;You DARE strike my princess!?&quot; he roared, giving Howler a mighty punch to the face, which knocked him to the floor, and ended his hold over Shadow Chaos. The creature stayed still on the ground, a weak puddle of black fluid.<br /><br />Radia held up a deck of golden cards. &quot;You did not know of these. I kept them from you. The Chaos Cards will hold you still... forever!&quot; she cried, drawing a card that shined brightly over Howler, turning him to stone with its light! His relics fell to the floor beside him; Even the cards could not petrify the other relics. Radia then joined Athair by Tikal&#039;s side. She had been mortally wounded, but she was already bound to the Master Emerald anyway, so her body was merely fading. &quot;These relics... Are too much power... You must hide them away again...&quot; Tikal panted. Athair nodded, tears in his eyes. &quot;We will, princess.&quot; he said, choked up. Radia glanced at Shadow Chaos. &quot;...This Dark is despair personified. It would be safest to seal it away as well. I suggest with the tailbands. He who can wield them will be able to stop Shadow Chaos&#039;s rage.&quot; she said. Tikal nodded weakly. &quot;...My heart... is part of the Master Emerald... Along with Chaos&#039;s. It will need protection. Its power over the emeralds, and over Shadow Chaos, will bring many thieves...&quot; she said gravely. Athair held her hand. &quot;W-we can watch over it together!&quot; he sniffled. Tikal smiled up at him. &quot;We will, Athair... You, as the guardian... Me... as a spirit...&quot; With these words, the remnant of her body faded and turned into a beautiful ball of light, which went inside its home within the Master Emerald before fading. Athair, Radia and the Chao shed tears for their friend, and the scene started to fade away from Knuckles&#039;s sight. Only Copter remained beside Knuckles, having volunteered to watch over him. &quot;...What did you see?&quot; he asked. Knuckles looked at Copter grimly. &quot;...I saw Tikal die... And I saw the source of all this evil...&quot; he growled.<br /><br /><br />Violet and Daisy led Bucky, Kosmo, Crash, Ridley, Guard and Carrie straight to the Darkseeker&#039;s elaborate throne room. There, the Darkseeker sat upon the throne. At his left was the Chaos Crystal and Dr. Nammad, and to his right was the Master Emerald and Dr. Eggman. In front of him, Project GXterminate was set up with the red Chaos Emerald and Whisk strapped in. Basker waited in the shadows, along with other agents of Despair hidden by the darkness. &quot;So, you have come... As predicted.&quot; the Darkseeker said. &quot;I brought them for the glory of Despair, master...&quot; Ridley said, bowing. &quot;Stuff it, Ridley!&quot; Violet snapped. Bucky raised his hand, calling for silence. &quot;Release my experiment. She is not yours to sacrifice for your scheme.&quot; he growled. The Darkseeker turned to Dr. Nammad and nodded, so he released Whisk from the straps. &quot;She is unconscious. Remove her... and strap yourself in.&quot; the hooded fiend ordered. Bucky growled softly. &quot;...I will do this... But you must know that use of this weapon has to be a last resort. Your true goal must be the power of the Chaos Relics...&quot; he said. Carrie used her power to lift Whisk and gently bring her to Crash to hold, while Bucky strapped himself to the machine. The Darkseeker&#039;s eyes then narrowed. &quot;You... coati. Prove your loyalty. Turn it on.&quot; he growled. Among the many who looked shocked by this was Dr. Nammad himself. &quot;Y-y-you... you, uh, can&#039;t do that! My impression was that the, uh, plan was to hold the world to ransom! If you use Bucky in the machine... All life on Earth will perish, even with the safety measures I put in place!&quot; he stammered. Kosmo raised his fists. &quot;Come AGAIN!?&quot; he snarled. Bucky nodded. &quot;I&#039;m afraid it&#039;s true. The machine draws GeneX energy to attack matching GeneX energy. I am a fur now... But... I was born a human. Residual human GeneX force still lives within me!&quot; he announced. The Despair agents in the shadows howled in rage, realizing they&#039;d been working with a half-human for some time. Dr. Eggman reached for the Chaos Emerald in the confusion, but the Darkseeker snarled loudly at him, frightening him. &quot;Eeep! Uh... Oh, come now! Surely you expected me to double cross you just as I expected you to double cross me!&quot; he growled. &quot;What&#039;s all this about Bucky being human??&quot; Everyone spun around as Sonic entered the room, followed by Amy and Cream. &quot;Sonic!! Get me out of here, or the Darkseeker will kill everyone on Earth!&quot; Bucky shouted.<br /><br />More people started to arrive behind Sonic, starting with Punchy, Rainbow, Tails, SPOT, Silver, Illusi, Gemini and Rouge. Dr. Nammad blocked Ridley, who admittedly seemed less than enthusiastic about killing himself with a doomsday machine. &quot;Minions... Get the Chaos Emeralds!&quot; the Darkseeker bellowed. &quot;Is this a bad time?&quot; Tails wondered. &quot;Viola! Grab the crystal and let&#039;s get out of here!!&quot; Rainbow shouted. Violet turned to Rainbow and looked at her like she was crazy. &quot;FORGET THE CRYSTAL! Let&#039;s quit this place!!&quot; she yelled. Then, Basker bashed her over the head. &quot;Insubordination will be punished!&quot; he growled. Eddie appeared next to Eggman, and surrounded him with duplicates of himself, overwhelming the doctor and swiping the Chaos Emeralds that were still on his person! &quot;Aaaaaugh!! Robots!! Get in here and help me!!&quot; he shouted. Basker pushed aside everyone in his way through his fear-powers, and kicked SPOT, knocking loose the remaining Chaos Emeralds and the tailband it was holding! &quot;H-hey!! You...can&#039;t!!&quot; Tails shuddered. As these treasures started toward the Darkseeker, however, a great rage took hold of the crowd. Gemini fired a bolt from her wand at him! &quot;You stole my magic for mass-murder!!&quot; she cried furiously! Punchy ran up and called for Chaos Avalanche, hurling a chunk of the floor straight at the hooded menace. &quot;You made Fera mess with my head and kidnap Rainbow!!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Throw one for Viola, too!!&quot; Rainbow growled. Tails steadied SPOT and fired a laser at the Darkseeker. &quot;You burned down my workshop!!&quot; he cried. The Darkseeker shrugged off these attacks, and then more visitors started to arrive and add to it! &quot;Your agents kidnapped Chet!!&quot; Razor shouted, firing his gun at the Darkseeker as he entered. &quot;AND they left Katie for dead!!&quot; Chet added, running in to add his claws to the assault, only to be repelled by a dark energy shield! Fire pelted the shield next as Heather came at him. &quot;You intended to use ME in that machine!!&quot; she yelled. Shadow and Omega arrived and started hurling projectiles as well, joining Silver as he tried to bring down the roof on the Darkseeker. &quot;You ruined the future!!&quot; Silver cried. Talon, Lucky and Tommy came in throwing rocks. &quot;Let Bucky go!!&quot; Lucky yelled. Kosmo finally morphed into a dragon and blew flames at the Darkseeker. &quot;THAT was for Carrie!!&quot; he shouted. Then, Wrongos surrounded the Darkseeker, covered in spikes. &quot;You...corrupted Fera...to her DEATH!!!&quot; he screamed, sending his creatures at the Darkseeker only to watch them destroyed by the barrier. Sonic was about to join this when the Deathbringer flew in. &quot;...You fiend! Release him now, and end this madness!! On second thought... I&#039;ll end it!!&quot; it said, firing a deadly bolt at the Darkseeker! It smashed the dark energy shield, but even this failed to scratch the Darkseeker! &quot;...Are you all through? ...My turn...&quot; the Darkseeker said, raising a hand sparking with darkness, and waving it across the room in an arc, blasting everyone with an intense, room-filling storm of black lightning! All the heroes were floored, but Sonic quickly returned to his feet. &quot;...That all ya got?&quot; he grinned. At this point, Knuckles and Copter were arriving with Team Chaotix. &quot;Good, we got an audience.&quot; Knuckles said, &quot;So, I gotta know: What&#039;s your connection to Howler?!&quot; he shouted.<br /><br />Punchy and Kosmo turned around in surprise. &quot;...Howler?! I know that name...!&quot; Punchy gasped. The Darkseeker crossed his arms and chuckled. &quot;Hehehehe... So, out and about are you, Tikal? Well, that&#039;s just fine. I hope you&#039;re watching! I&#039;m going to destroy your world now...&quot; he said, taking the Chaos Emeralds to Project GXterminate, and removing his hood as he placed them around the machine! Knuckles&#039;s jaw dropped, as did Punchy and Kosmo&#039;s. &quot;You... it can&#039;t be!&quot; Knuckles gasped. Standing before them WAS Howler, his eyes glowing red, a golden crown with a sparkling purple jewel resting atop his head. &quot;I was freed from imprisonment many centuries ago, by a fellow wearing a hood, possessing glowing yellow eyes. He gave to me this Chaos Crown, which bestowed immortality upon me! I was reminded my purpose...&quot; he said, his twin tails poking out from beneath his cloak, &quot;I am the Chaos Relics&#039; chosen one!! I was born capable of using the tailbands! And I alone shall rule!!!&quot; he howled, reaching to turn on Project GXterminate. &quot;Oh, no you don&#039;t!&quot; Sonic snapped, speeding at the machine like lightning, and then rushing back quickly. It didn&#039;t seem as though he&#039;d done anything. &quot;...The machine cannot be damaged so easily, pest.&quot; Howler sneered, &quot;My crown will protect me alone from this weapon&#039;s blast...FAREWELL!!&quot; He pressed the button to activate the machine, but the red Chaos Emerald that was directly installed sparked and shattered inside it! &quot;WHAT!?&quot; he roared, glancing at Sonic, who tossed the real emerald in his hand and caught it! &quot;I knew that fake I got at Super Eggman Land would come in handy!&quot; he chuckled. Shadow shook his head. &quot;He still has SIX emeralds, stupid.&quot; he groaned. &quot;No, he doesn&#039;t!&quot; Kosmo shouted, rushing over and snatching the white emerald! More heroes followed suit, enraging Howler. &quot;Any who want protection from my weapon, BRING ME THOSE EMERALDS!!&quot; he barked. Patch stepped out of the shadows. &quot;Hee hee... I wanna live! Lemme at those twerps!&quot; Vector smirked and led his team into the fray. &quot;Keep-away with the Chaos Emeralds!!&quot; he shouted. &quot;You played this game with me at Shadow Arc... It didn&#039;t end well...&quot; Eggman grumbled.<br /><br />Despair agents charged into the crowd, bent on gaining the Chaos Emeralds. A few of Eggman&#039;s robots, including Metal Sonic and Alpha, finally arrived as well. &quot;Good, you&#039;re here! Get me those Chaos Emeralds, would you? I&#039;d hate to leave this train wreck empty handed.&quot; he ordered before slinking away in the same direction Dr. Nammad was going. Metal Sonic charged in and tackled Guard, who was carrying the blue emerald. &quot;Grrraaah! Robot!! Return that at once!!&quot; he snarled. Daisy was going toe-to-toe with Patch for possession of the yellow emerald. &quot;That machine will kill EVERYONE! Patch, are you out of your mind!?&quot; she shouted. Patch&#039;s eyes seemed to spin around in his head as he spun his nunchucks and giggled crazily. &quot;Okay, dumb question...&quot; Daisy admitted. While the others fought for the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles ran for the Master Emerald. Eddie appeared in his path. &quot;Eeee hee hee! Where do you think you&#039;re going??&quot; he asked. Knuckles punched at him, but his fist went right through him! &quot;Eeee hee hee! That tickles!&quot; he laughed. &quot;...I don&#039;t have time for your tricks!&quot; Knuckles shouted, walking right through the illusion. &quot;...Hey!!&quot; Eddie grumbled. Illusi tapped him on the shoulder. &quot;I know that trick...&quot; he said. &quot;Eh...?&quot; As Eddie turned around, Illusi socked him in the jaw! &quot;The face isn&#039;t protected...&quot; Illusi muttered, rubbing his hand as Eddie fell over. Meanwhile, Basker was bringing several heroes to his knees with his fear-powers, including Amy, Cream, Talon, Lucky and Crash. &quot;St-stay close to me Cheese... I&#039;m so... frightened!!&quot; Cream shivered. Basker ignored the girls and started pummeling Talon and Lucky. &quot;You thought to infiltrate our organization... Spy on us?! You pitiful experiments!! Take a look at your pathetic creator now! Ha ha!!&quot; he taunted as he punched and kicked the young experiments. Suddenly, he heard a rifle cocked, and looked up to see that Vortex and Zipp had arrived. &quot;Sssstep away from our brotherssss... Or get a hole in your head!&quot; Vortex hissed. &quot;I wanted to say that!&quot; Zipp whined. Basker grinned. &quot;As you wish...&quot; he said, stepping toward them and filling their hearts with fear! Vortex and Zipp unleashed attacks in their panic, and these attacks flew past Amy and Cream! Cheese jumped to protect Cream, and a bullet grazed his bow tie, very nearly striking him! &quot;No, Cheese!!&quot; Cream whimpered. Suddenly, a roar of rage shook the room. Shadow Chaos burst through the door, and, seeing the attacks directed toward the Chao, started plowing through heroes and Despair agents alike in a crazed desire to protect it! Howler grinned smugly. &quot;...The guest of honor is here...&quot; he said.<br /><br />Howler picked up the Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal. &quot;I will strengthen my bond with the power of two controllers! I beseech you, Dark of Chaos... Fall into slumber with my soul... And fuse with my body!! Together, we will control the Earth...the universe!!&quot; he proclaimed. &quot;...The cheese!&quot; Alpha added comically. Knuckles had just reached Howler, but he was too late. &quot;No!! You can&#039;t!&quot; he stammered. &quot;...I already have!!&quot; Howler roared. The entire room began to shake as Shadow Chaos groaned, its body slowly dissolving into a black smoke. &quot;H-hey... What&#039;s happening!?&quot; Mia yelped. Copter gulped. &quot;If Knuckles&#039;s vision is right... Then this guy is gonna fuse with Shadow Chaos... And we can&#039;t turn off his crown with the Chaos Crystal to stop him!&quot; he said. Tails made a beeline for SPOT. &quot;We CAN go super and stop him! The tailbands!!&quot; he said before realizing that Basker had taken his tailband along with his emeralds. &quot;Oh... Wait, the Darkseeker&#039;s WEARING mine!!&quot; he realized. The room shook again, and a few people fell over. &quot;Hey, Viola?? Why does the ground feel all shaky?&quot; Rainbow asked. &quot;...I just had the craziest dream!&quot; Whisk mumbled, waking up finally. Howler cackled as the entire island started shaking. &quot;This island floats because I WILL it! Such is the extent of my dark power, honed over centuries! But now this island is no longer necessary. I will fuse with Shadow Chaos, and this island will FALL!!&quot; he explained. Sonic looked at him blankly for a moment. &quot;...Oh...&quot; he said. Then, everyone who could scream started screaming. &quot;Let&#039;s get OUTTA here!!&quot; Amy cried. &quot;I&#039;m never hiding in someone&#039;s trunk again!!&quot; Tommy yelled. &quot;Someone better be paying us for this!!&quot; Espio groaned. While people inside Despair Castle were looking for a way out in their panic, Colonel Gunner was noticing the shakiness of Demon Island from his GUN Assault Carrier outside. &quot;...We seem to have an advantage. Let&#039;s blow that hunk of rock out of the sky and send it into the ocean! Fire missiles! Try to put it on a crash course with the coastline!&quot; he ordered. Spy crept over to him timidly. &quot;B-but Sar-Colonel... We have agents on that island! Guard and Drol and Rouge!&quot; he whimpered. Gunner picked up a coffee mug that was sitting in a cup holder attached to his seat. &quot;...A few casualties are to be expected, you twit. Besides, everyone I hate is up there! I WIN!! GAH HA HA HA HA HA!!!&quot; he laughed, a bit hysterical. The GUN Assault Carrier&#039;s missiles knocked Demon Island away from Station Square, and since it was falling anyway, Gunner had surprisingly done the right thing.<br /><br />As the island plummeted into the ocean, a massive whirlpool formed around it. Dark clouds were forming around the island&#039;s crash site, and they seemed to be emanating from the island itself. These events were apparently side-effects of Howler&#039;s fusion with Shadow Chaos. Professor Pickle observed the mayhem from the shore of Station Square, a look of worry on his face. &quot;The Chaos Crystal&#039;s prophecy must be coming to pass... This is a very bad sign. What will become of this poor city?&quot; he muttered sadly. Katie, who had awoken, could see the dark clouds from her hospital window. &quot;...What am I missing? Mia... Chet... Razor... Please, be safe...&quot; she whispered. The situation was much worse from the island itself. Despair Castle was crumbling, and everyone was rushing to escape, though Rouge had to drag Knuckles. &quot;He... He&#039;s got the Master Emeraaaaald!!!&quot; Knuckles shouted. &quot;Yeah, no kidding. Why don&#039;t we all get out alive before planning out how to get it back!?&quot; she grumbled. Guard was focused on locating and helping Sergeant Drol and the other GUN agents at this point, but the only one he could find close to the throne room was Agent 64. &quot;Grrrr! Drol, does he live?&quot; Guard asked. &quot;I... I think so... I broke off to try and rescue Dr. Nammad!&quot; Agent 64 explained. &quot;...That was foolish.&quot; Guard stated. &quot;Maybe... But saving people is why I joined GUN in the first place!&quot; he replied. Punchy and Rainbow were running through the crumbling castle with Violet in tow, while Kosmo flew ahead in dragon form, clearing debris. &quot;Should we... I dunno... be trying to stop Howler or something?&quot; Punchy wondered. Violet shuddered. &quot;I&#039;m not sure we even can!&quot; she admitted. &quot;Sure we can! Heck, we got Three on our side!&quot; Rainbow pointed out. &quot;...And he&#039;s RUNNING.&quot; Punchy rebutted. Sonic was having the most intense time escaping. He was forced to carry Amy as he ran through the crumbling west tower, jumping from section to section as the floor, or wall, collapsed under his feet! Tails rode on SPOT in &quot;Extreme Gear Mode&quot; to follow them, occasionally jumping and spinning his tails to avoid some falling rocks. &quot;We&#039;re gonna need those Chaos Emeralds, huh?&quot; Tails said. Sonic nodded. &quot;Good guess, buddy.&quot; he grunted. Amy held onto him tightly as he ran. &quot;Thank you, THANK YOU for not leaving me this time!!&quot; she cried. &quot;No problem...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />The island was splitting apart, and the fragments were being carried around in the giant whirlpool. As the island split into pieces, the heroes found themselves getting separated on the different chunks of Demon Island. As Copter climbed to his feet after being tossed into the water and tossed back onto a piece of the island, he found himself separated from everyone but Guard. &quot;...Someone up there hates me.&quot; he groaned. &quot;Grrr... You&#039;re my last choice, too.&quot; Guard grumbled. Tails had been separated from Sonic as well, but he found Cream on the section where he wound up. &quot;Hey... are you all right? I got worried when I couldn&#039;t find you before...&quot; Tails said, hugging her. Cream looked around frantically. &quot;I... I can&#039;t find Cheese!&quot; she cried. A few panicked chirps gave away Cheese&#039;s location, and Tails lifted a broken section of black bricks to find the Chao nursing a sprained leg. &quot;...We better find the others, and get you two someplace safe.&quot; Tails said. Elsewhere, Sonic and Amy found Kosmo. He was lying on the ground, still and unmoving. &quot;Well... Let&#039;s bury him at sea.&quot; Amy said. As they stepped over to him, his eyes opened very quickly, and it made Amy jump. &quot;Gaaah! The monster&#039;s not dead!!&quot; she yelped. &quot;So... this is what it&#039;s like to be in a hurricane...&quot; Kosmo groaned. Sonic helped him up, and they looked around. &quot;...This island... It&#039;s become a real... pit of Despair...&quot; Sonic murmured. Kosmo glanced at him. &quot;I guess we got some time before this dump sinks, so what&#039;s the play?&quot; he asked. Sonic shut his eyes and crossed his arms. &quot;We stop the Darkseeker... Whatever it takes!&quot;<br /><br /><br />Chapter 47 - Pit of Despair<br />Stage 25 - Pit of Despair<br />Boss 25 - The Darkseeker<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br />The story thus far:<br />Knuckles witnessed the end of Tikal&#039;s story. Howler attempted to fuse with Shadow Chaos using the Master Emerald. Radia used the Chaos Crystal to stop his Chaos Relics, but when Tikal moved to stop him, he mortally wounded her with his sword! Radia trapped him in stone with the Chaos Cards, and she and Athair hid the relics once more.<br />In the present, it was soon revealed to all that the Darkseeker was in fact Howler, freed from his stone prison, and kept alive for centuries through the magic of the Chaos Crown! His efforts to obtain the Chaos Emeralds soon put Cheese in danger, and Shadow Chaos appeared to defend the Chao! This was what Howler was waiting for, and he set about using the Master Emerald AND the Chaos Crystal to begin a stronger fusion with Shadow Chaos! His magic ceased supporting Demon Island, and it fell into a great maelstrom in the ocean, breaking into large pieces in the whirlpool!<br />Now, on to the next chapter!<br /><br /><br />With everyone scattered across the pieces of the island, the situation was looking quite dire. Sonic, Amy and Kosmo quickly realized that they were probably the closest people to Howler, having found themselves still inside the crumbling remnants of Despair Castle. &quot;We&#039;ve gotta stop this guy... Chaos Emeralds or no Chaos Emeralds!&quot; Sonic realized. Kosmo nodded. &quot;It may be difficult to leave this... &#039;island&#039; otherwise.&quot; he sighed, looking at the stormy weather through a hole in the wall. Some coughing was heard nearby, and they turned to see Zipp stumbling into the room, his wings heavy with water. &quot;If you need a volunteer to put a bullet between that guy&#039;s eyes... I&#039;m in...&quot; he wheezed. Metal Sonic stepped in behind him. &quot;{Emergency... Assessing priorities... Rescue Dr. Eggman: Priority #1.}&quot; he concluded. Sonic looked at him standing there with his blank, robotic stare, and nodded slowly. &quot;Okaaaay... In the absence of Tails and Knuckles, I say welcome aboard.&quot; he said, smiling awkwardly. Amy groaned. &quot;Can we really trust... ANY of these guys?&quot; she whined, glancing at Kosmo as well. Zipp flitted into the air and buzzed right in her face. &quot;Get in the way of my payback against that Darkseeking creep and I&#039;ll give you something to distrust!!&quot; he growled. Metal Sonic buzzed with alarm, pointing to the crumbled hall ahead! Shadows resembling agents of Despair were climbing out of the rubble, their eyes glowing red! Zipp backed away from Amy and reached for his holster. &quot;Ugh... Demons!&quot; he groaned. &quot;...Demons??&quot; Kosmo muttered curiously. The creatures from the dark cavern were now emerging across the rest of the island!<br /><br />The demons resembling Despair agents were not much of a treat to Sonic and Kosmo, but their group faced more demonic demons as they moved along, including giant lizards and rabid hellhounds. Zipp&#039;s bullets had little effect on the larger demons, but Amy&#039;s hammer seemed to bother them a bit more. Metal Sonic plowed through foes with an electrical tackle, and Sonic ran circles around the lizards, making them dizzy. Kosmo noticed some Chaos Spears flying up ahead, and hurried to help out whoever was getting swarmed. &quot;Having problems, Shadow?&quot; he asked while considering what to morph into. &quot;I&#039;m NOT Son-- wait, Shadow?? That&#039;s different...&quot; an unexpected voice replied from the center of the swarm of demons. Sonic sped over to where Kosmo was and stretched his legs quickly. &quot;Hang on, dude! We&#039;ll get ya outta this!&quot; he said. The voice from inside the swarm started to protest. &quot;Is that Sonic?? No! I REFUSE to be rescued by SON--&quot; Sonic ignored him and leapt into the air, bonking demon heads one by one with his homing attack while Kosmo tossed aside any that neared him using the form and trunk of an elephant. &quot;--IC!! ...Curse you, you blue boy scout! How dare you humiliate me!!&quot; shouted Spiny, the porcupine who was being menaced by the demons. Amy, Zipp and Metal Sonic quickly caught up with them, and Amy frowned on seeing Spiny. &quot;You again... Here with Eggman, no doubt.&quot; she grumbled. Spiny fixed up his spines and looked away from her. &quot;No, I&#039;m here for Bucky at the moment... And as soon as he&#039;s safe, I&#039;m done with him and ALL of you!&quot; he snorted. Zipp smirked at him. &quot;Awww, you won&#039;t send us a Christmas card? I&#039;m hurt, nine!&quot; he teased. &quot;Stuff it, four!!&quot; Spiny snapped. Kosmo morphed back to normal and tugged Zipp along. &quot;He deserves his choice. At least he&#039;s not here to get in our way.&quot; he pointed out. As they started to leave him, Spiny shouted after them. &quot;I was NEVER with Despair! Get those facts straight! Oh, and if you see a treacherous frog named Corky, shoot him for me, would ya, Zipp!!&quot; he yelled. &quot;Sure, whatever!&quot; Zipp called back.<br /><br />Continuing their journey through the remnants of Despair Castle, the group passed by a broken down passage where it seemed some Egg Fighters had been trapped in a cave-in. Sonic and Amy laughed when they noticed it. &quot;Serves Eggman right! You&#039;d think his robots would be able to blast through that rubble.&quot; Sonic chuckled. Metal Sonic stepped forward and scanned the debris. &quot;...Ummm... Metal? You&#039;re not gonna...?&quot; Amy mumbled. &quot;{Allies trapped. Checking structural integrity... Proceeding to assist!}&quot; Metal Sonic curled into a ball and spun rapidly, his metal spines becoming as razors! He quickly bore through the debris, freeing the Egg Fighters! &quot;Greeeat... What a hero...&quot; Zipp grumbled. &quot;Well... maybe they&#039;ll be on our side?&quot; Kosmo surmised. However, the robots immediately began chasing Sonic around, who initially ran in circles from them out of sheer bemusement. &quot;Metal, can&#039;t you get your friends to behave like you!?&quot; he yelled. Metal Sonic tilted his head and then shrugged, giving Sonic his answer. &quot;Typical Eggman intelligence...&quot; Amy sighed, taking her hammer and bashing the first robot chasing Sonic, prompting everyone but Metal Sonic to join in the massacre. Metal Sonic smacked his head in frustration, some lines of code inside him seeming to realize that he&#039;d wasted everyone&#039;s time. Zipp patted his metal back almost comfortingly before shooting the last Egg Fighter. &quot;There, there, pal... I got a brother who can&#039;t get over dumb programming, too. Gargoyle. Perhaps you met him? Maybe you don&#039;t remember because your head&#039;s been tinkered with.&quot; he said. Sonic groaned and started ahead without another word, so everyone else followed him. &quot;If we&#039;re going to work together, we should try to bond a little! Isn&#039;t that what you goody-goods do!?&quot; Zipp shouted.<br /><br />Eggman&#039;s robots weren&#039;t the only hapless enemies in the castle. Further ahead, the group came across a number of tied-up dogs, cats and bats in despair uniforms. They also found the ones that had tied them up: Chet the cheetah, Mia the cat, Officer Razor the porcupine and his little brother, Tommy. &quot;Great, it&#039;s Sonic!&quot; Razor sighed. &quot;We&#039;re saved!&quot; Mia cheered admiringly. &quot;...You know, I took out most of these goons...&quot; Chet grumbled. &quot;We know!!&quot; one of the dogs groaned. Kosmo glanced at Tommy curiously. &quot;You brought the kid here??&quot; he asked. &quot;Hey...&quot; Tommy muttered as though offended. Upon noticing the company Sonic was keeping, Razor scratched his head a little. &quot;I guess you need to accept any help you can get right now, huh...? Even if it&#039;s from...shady folks.&quot; he said, glancing from Kosmo to Metal Sonic. &quot;Yeah, that&#039;s pretty much it.&quot; Amy nodded. Mia kicked at one of the uniformed cats lightly. &quot;We&#039;ve been debating what to do about these fellas... We can&#039;t very well cart &#039;em off to jail in this situation, and we can&#039;t leave &#039;em here to drown...&quot; she said. Kosmo nodded. &quot;When this came up with robots, we just tore them apart...&quot; he said darkly, making the Despair agents turn pale. Zipp nodded fiendishly. &quot;I&#039;m game for that...&quot; he chuckled. Sonic growled a little and knelt down beside the apparent leader of the Despair group, a bat with some fancy medals on his uniform. &quot;Hey... Can we count on you guys to get out of our way if we untie you?&quot; he asked. The bat glanced around awkwardly. &quot;...Boys!? What say you?&quot; he cried. The Despair agents all talked at once, seeming to be in agreement. &quot;We&#039;ve no desire to drown... Or be torn apart.&quot; the bat said. Chet glared at them. &quot;Can we really trust you guys? I&#039;ve BEEN in your group...&quot; he trailed off. &quot;Then you know we&#039;re not all bad...&quot; a feline replied to him. Razor smiled wryly and knelt down to begin untying the captives. &quot;Give &#039;em a chance... After all... I once gave a chance to a certain shifty cheetah, and I haven&#039;t regretted it yet...&quot; he winked. Mia looked at Zipp, Kosmo and Metal Sonic. &quot;Yeah... but does the same apply to THEM?&quot; she wondered. Tommy nodded. &quot;I think so, yes.&quot; he smiled. Kosmo smiled a little. &quot;...I like this kid.&quot; he said.<br /><br />Together with Razor&#039;s group, they started to near Howler&#039;s throne room again. As they approached, a projection of Howler appeared before him, constructed of dark magic. &quot;I knew you would return... Your kind doesn&#039;t know when to quit.&quot; he sneered. &quot;Pray, what kind is that?&quot; Razor asked. Howler chuckled. &quot;You know what you call yourselves. Heroes.&quot; he said with a scowl. Kosmo shook his head. &quot;I never called myself a hero.&quot; he remarked. &quot;There&#039;s a better term for you anyway... Meddlers. Call it cliche, but it&#039;s what you really do. No one asked you to interfere. The only reward you will receive for your supposed &#039;noble&#039; actions... is a world of pain!&quot; he snarled. Sonic put his hands on his hips defiantly. &quot;Excuse me? World of pain? I think that delivery is addressed to you! You are the one who meddled in people&#039;s lives uninvited!&quot; he snapped. The Darkseeker snickered. &quot;I offered a home and a family to the poor wretches who sorely needed it... A common enemy to lost souls raging at a society that had no patience for their troubles... Isn&#039;t that right, Kosmo? And Chet?&quot; he grinned. Chet stepped back a bit, feeling a tinge of shame, but Kosmo stood firm. &quot;You preyed on the insecurities of the meek and hurt... You deceived them with the intent of DESTROYING them!!&quot; he shouted. &quot;...Are you jealous?&quot; Howler smirked, &quot;Your plot was nowhere near as clever.&quot; he taunted. Kosmo gritted his teeth. &quot;I... was as hurt and messed up as the minions you deceived! My own creator locked me away out of fear! But... being stopped by those foxes gave me clarity. The insane destruction you crave...that I once craved... not even a god should have that right! All beings should have the right to their existence!!&quot; he declared. Sonic smiled at him, and Amy stared in surprise. &quot;I...may have misjudged him...a little...&quot; she admitted. &quot;Is it wrong that I feel a bit attracted to him right now?&quot; Mia added. Sonic gagged at that. &quot;Okaaay, speeches are over. Can we talk to you face-to-face, Howler?&quot; he asked. The Howler-hologram started to fade, but howled one last thing. &quot;My name... is DARKSEEKER!!!&quot;<br /><br />Razor turned to his brother. &quot;Tommy, stay back here with Mia!&quot; he said sternly. &quot;Ohhhh...&quot; he whined. Mia shuddered. &quot;You&#039;re braver than me, kid. I don&#039;t wanna go in there.&quot; she told him. Tommy nodded. &quot;All right... I&#039;ll stay and protect you!&quot; he said, while Mia gave Razor a sly wink. The rest of them proceeded into what was left of Howler&#039;s throne room. He was hovering above his throne, and a smoky mass vaguely resembling Shadow Chaos was swirling above him. The Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal were glowing beside his throne, and the GXterminate device was still in place as well, with Bucky strapped into it. &quot;I may need more time to complete the transformation... But I can still easily dispose of any pests that attempt to stop me!&quot; Howler growled. Bucky glanced at the machine he was strapped to. &quot;He still intends to activate this thing!&quot; he shouted, motioning to a purple Chaos Emerald that had been inserted into it! Sonic took a running stance. &quot;Don&#039;t worry... He won&#039;t get the chance!&quot; he said. Howler chuckled. &quot;Even had you brought the other emeralds or the relics, I would merely have to ask the controllers to stop them. I hold control over all the power now. And I have had centuries to hone my own dark magic! You are fools to challenge me!&quot; he snarled. &quot;Is he really doing this talk with ME?&quot; Kosmo said cockily. Razor and Zipp prepped their guns and joined Sonic and Kosmo. &quot;You guys focus on him. We&#039;ll disable that weapon!&quot; Razor said. &quot;We&#039;ll save ol&#039; lab rat and nab the emerald to boot!&quot; Zipp grinned. &quot;I&#039;ve told you not to call me that!!&quot; Bucky yelled. Amy, Chet and Metal Sonic stepped forward as well, but Howler wasn&#039;t interested in listening to any more threats or trash talk. He pulled his hood over his face, leaving only his glowing eyes visible. &quot;Then you all can die here... and be spared the terror of seeing my final form!&quot; he snarled, raising his hand and flicking his fingers to send a shockwave of darkness through the room, which tossed everyone into the air! Sonic was quick to regain his footing, while Kosmo morphed bat wings onto his back and started to fly. The battle was on!<br /><br />The Darkseeker hurled massive arcs of black lightning at Sonic and Kosmo, which tore through large portions of the room, forcing the others to back off! Metal Sonic was struck by this lightning early on, and seemed to lose a great deal of power from it. Sonic was fast, but he needed an opening to strike the Darkseeker. Kosmo tried to fly above the lightning, which made Howler alter his focus and blast at him with his other hand! Realizing he couldn&#039;t dodge, Kosmo morphed into an electric eel, still bearing tiny wings as well, and tried to absorb the lightning. However, this was dark lightning, possessing different properties, and his shrieks of pain quickly reached Sonic&#039;s ears. &quot;Enough goofing around...! Let&#039;s see how you like a hedgehog to the face!&quot; he growled, leaping at the Darkseeker! He ceased his lightning attacks, and suddenly covered his body in black spikes, taking Sonic by surprise! &quot;Yeow!! You hedgehog wannabe!!&quot; Sonic yelped, hopping away from him while holding his foot. Kosmo was standing nearby, panting and nursing his wounds as well. So, the Darkseeker decided to add further injury. He lowered himself from his floating position and whipped his tails at Sonic, tapping into the power of the tailband he&#039;d stolen from Tails to send the hedgehog flying! &quot;Whooooooooa!!!&quot; he wailed, while Amy dove to catch him! &quot;Oooof!! S-sonic... Are you alright...?&quot; she gasped, a bit crushed under him. He groaned and rolled off of her. &quot;This guy sure is tough...&quot; he grumbled. During this distraction, while the lightning had ceased, Razor and Zipp saw their chance to approach the GXterminate machine. However, the Darkseeker wasn&#039;t that easily distracted. He smacked Kosmo aside with his tails as well, and then snarled loudly at the gun-toting pair. &quot;Uhhh... Shoot him!!&quot; Zipp yelped, firing pointlessly at the immortal Howler. With the Chaos Crown on his head, he could not be killed. &quot;So... You die first, then.&quot; he growled. Zipp, disagreeing with that idea, buzzed behind Razor quickly, while the cop just kept shooting. Howler created a dark spike in the palm of his hand, which he started to extend toward Razor! &quot;NOOOOO!!!&quot; Before Razor could be struck, Chet had sped between him and the Darkseeker, but this would cost him everything. The dark spike pierced him right through the red star on the chest of his uniform, and poked through his back! Razor watched in despair as his eyes started to fade along with the dark spike. He caught the young cheetah in his arms, and held him as he was dying. &quot;R-raze... Tell Katie... I-I&#039;m sorry....&quot; Chet panted as his life left him.<br /><br />Sonic and Kosmo returned to their feet, seeing what the Darkseeker, what Howler had done. &quot;I... have had... ENOUGH!!!&quot; Sonic shouted. Kosmo looked on at the pain Razor was clearly feeling, tears falling over his murdered friend. A massive pang of guilt struck him as he realized he nearly caused pain far worse once, and now he never wanted to witness such pain again. &quot;...You&#039;re going down, Darkseeker!&quot; he said. Howler stepped over to the GXterminate machine, looking for the button. &quot;You insolent pests are slowing down my transformation! I will be a god, and no being will stop me! BECAUSE ALL BEINGS WILL DIE!!&quot; he roared, pressing the switch! The emerald, the fake wand, and Bucky all started to glow brightly, and waves of evil energy started to blast throughout the world, targeting all life! It was working slowly, and would give all creatures a painful death. Colonel Gunner clasped his chest from his seat aboard the GUN Assault Carrier, cursing the furry freaks that had clearly gotten the last laugh. Katie started to wheeze from her hospital bed, panicking as she had no clue what was happening to her. Professor Pickle collapsed by the shore of Station Square, and everyone on Demon Island was feeling the effects as well. Everyone, that is, except the robots. As Sonic, Razor, Amy, Zipp and Kosmo were falling down, slowly choking to death, Metal Sonic remained upright. However, he was still less than energetic from being blasted earlier. Still, Kosmo noticed how he wasn&#039;t collapsing. &quot;...M-machines... Yes...&quot; he panted, glowing and transforming with all the strength he had left! He took the form of Metal Sonic, and Howler fired lightning right at him as he noticed this, but Kosmo sped out of the way and charged at the GXterminate machine! &quot;You can attack all humans and animals... But a morph is neither! A morph is everything and nothing!! I&#039;m whatever I need to be! And right now... I need to stop you!&quot; he shouted, grabbing for the false wand on the machine and wresting it free, turning it upside down in the machine! This messed up the flow of its magic and its circuitry, and caused it to start imploding! Bucky, deciding he had nothing left to lose, added his own lightning to the mix, causing the entire machine to explode!<br /><br />Part of Shadow Chaos flowed into Howler, and his eyes started to glow orange rather than red. &quot;...Very well. I will soon be a god, anyway. And you are all weak now.&quot; he grinned. Most of them started panting, trying to regain their breath, but Howler wouldn&#039;t allow them to recover. He raised his hand, and the wall behind him crumbled against the might of a wave from the ocean! &quot;I gain new powers as the fusion takes hold! Let me test them...on you!&quot; He then pointed out at the people before him, and a wave of black water crashed into the throne room, carrying all of them away in its terrible force! When it subsided, his enemies had been banished, but the Chaos Emerald remained. &quot;...It won&#039;t be long, now... The world is at long last... MINE!&quot;<br /><br /><br />Chapter 48 - Death &amp; Disorder<br />Stage 25 - Pit of Despair<br />Boss 26-27 - The Lost Ones; The Covenant of Despair<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Tails and Cream were on a segment of Demon Island&#039;s floating debris that contained both part of Despair Castle and part of the forest surrounding it. They had met up with Gemini outside the castle walls, and together they searched for any others that might have been injured in the fall of the island. Tails set SPOT to the task of scanning for life-forms, and they came across an angry Vortex trying to sneak around first. &quot;Tailsss!! Sssshining a ssspotlight on a camouflaging chameleon isss rude!!&quot; he shouted. Tails chuckled nervously. &quot;Uh... Okay, he doesn&#039;t need our help... Let&#039;s keep moving...&quot; he sighed. &quot;Hey! Don&#039;t turn your back on me, Prower!!&quot; Vortex yelled, following them. They hadn&#039;t gone far before they came across Lucky and Talon. Other than being a bit rattled, Lucky seemed okay, but Talon had a busted wing. &quot;Do any of you have a splint or something...?&quot; the griffin groaned. Gemini looked over his wing and held out her wand. &quot;Recoveration!&quot; Her healing spell seemed to work wonders, and Talon stood in awe as the pain left him. &quot;...Um... Thanks!&quot; he said. &quot;Just be glad I got my real wand back.&quot; Gemini smiled. &quot;This is all very cute... Now if some of you could GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!&quot; The agitated voice of Bucky the rat startled most of them, but Lucky jumped right up a tree! This happened to be where the voice was coming from, though. &quot;Ah! Hey, how&#039;d you get up here...?&quot; he chuckled nervously. Bucky groaned miserably. &quot;I was thrown by a mutated megalomaniac, what do you THINK?!&quot; he snapped. Tails and Cream flew up to help the rat and the cat down from the tree, and once he got down, Vortex greeted him with relief. &quot;Massster... I wassss jussst on my way to resssscue you!&quot; he said. &quot;Save it. The world needs rescuing. That machine may have been stopped, but that madman&#039;s still fusing with Shadow Chaos. We need the Chaos Emeralds.&quot; Bucky said. Tails nodded. &quot;Right! Good thing we have SPOT, then!&quot; he grinned. Cream looked a bit nervous. &quot;Shouldn&#039;t we maybe find Mr. Sonic? He might be able to stop this before it gets any...scarier.&quot; she said. Bucky frowned. &quot;Not without the emeralds, I&#039;m afraid.&quot;<br /><br />As SPOT started to lead them in pursuit of an emerald, their activities did not go unnoticed. Still, a small number of people following them didn&#039;t bother Bucky in the slightest; They had to know that they were in grave peril, right? No one would dare hinder him in defeating Howler. SPOT led the group to the cavern where the dark demons of the island originated from. Vortex, having been there already, took a moment to warn the group, but it meant little. &quot;We have to get the Chaos Emeralds at any cost. Fortunately, these demons should be no match for us...&quot; Bucky said. Lucky scratched his head. &quot;Which &#039;us&#039; is he talking about?&quot; he wondered. Of course, as they entered, various crazed demons came at them straight away, but Bucky and Vortex immediately fried the initial welcome committee with lightning and Chaos Inferno, respectively. &quot;...I&#039;ve no patience for these mindless energy-echoes.&quot; Bucky grumbled. Tails sighed as he followed them into the cavern. &quot;Glad he&#039;s on our side this time...&quot; he said. &quot;Stay on your toes, though... Those things could come out of anywhere...&quot; Gemini warned. Deeper into the cave, she was proven right, and had to add her magic to the defense of the group as the demons swarmed from all sides! Tails and Cream stuck close together, covering each other&#039;s backs as they fought the monsters in front of them with all their might! Lucky and Talon were running around in a panic, and Bucky soon grew tired of it. &quot;Fifteen! Enough of this foolishness! Remove your gloves and fight!&quot; he shouted. Talon gulped. &quot;B-but... I look like a freak!&quot; he protested. &quot;Newssss flasssh! You look like a freak either way!!&quot; Vortex yelled. Sighing miserably, Talon pulled off his gloves, revealing powerful birdlike claws that may not be filled with superpowers, but could certainly be used for combat purposes! He then jumped behind Lucky and started slashing the lizard-like demons that were chasing him, tearing them into mists of darkness! It seemed Bucky was right, the demons had proven to be little more than a nuisance to their team.<br /><br />The group&#039;s reward for fighting through hordes of demons was finding the white Chaos Emerald. Bucky walked over to pick it up, but stopped suddenly as he heard wings pass overhead. Zeke the dragon dropped down in front of him, carrying Ridley the coati on his back! &quot;Hey! Bucky! Great thing we found you!&quot; Zeke said. Vortex glared at them. &quot;You&#039;re the onesss that have been ssssneaking around in the sssshadowsss! What are you sssscheming!?&quot; he hissed. &quot;Oh, now, you wound me, Vortex! Surely I&#039;m not still working for Howler after he just tried to KILL me! Give me some credit!&quot; Ridley pointed out. Tails looked around suspiciously. &quot;Something does seem fishy, though... SPOT, gimme a light!&quot; he said, shining a light up at the ceiling near where Zeke had recently flown by. Corky the frog was sticking to the roof, possibly with suction cups, and cursed now that the light was on him. Then, he shot his tongue straight down into Tails&#039;s face, blinding him with frog-slobber! &quot;AAAAGH!! Gross-gross-gross!!!&quot; he wailed. With the light off him again, he started moving, and Zeke quickly picked up the Chaos Emerald. &quot;We can still get a pretty penny for this from the right buyer, eh? Gotta get something outta this disaster!&quot; he grinned. Lucky pushed past Bucky and stared up at Zeke. &quot;...Put...that...down!&quot; he warned. Zeke simply patted his head. &quot;Cute...&quot; he chuckled. Suddenly, Corky landed behind Bucky. &quot;I slice Mr. Rat&#039;s throat, think of da reward I git from cranky-pants Gunner!!&quot; he grinned raising a knife! As Bucky was turning around, however, a bolt from the shadows stopped Corky cold, his knife falling to the floor. &quot;...Tell me mum... I hated &#039;er guts! There, I said it...&quot; Corky wheezed as he fell to the floor, dead! Everyone glanced at Gemini. &quot;I didn&#039;t do THAT!&quot; she shouted as the Deathbringer flew out into the open, charging at Zeke next, who was still holding the Chaos Emerald, and was not as bright as Ridley was to make a break for it at this point. The Deathbringer landed behind Zeke, and growled furiously at him. &quot;For a Chaos Emerald...?&quot; it snarled. Before the Deathbringer could strike, though, Bucky jumped between them, pushing the winged being back! The Deathbringer was knocked off-balance, and its hood fell off, no longer covering its face! This meant nothing to most everyone in the room, but to Bucky, everything both instantly made sense, and was shattered. &quot;...Hope?? But...It&#039;s impossible!&quot; he gasped. The Deathbringer was Hope the Raven, a voice-altering device fitted over her beak and a scar across her left eye. &quot;I... Never wanted you to know... Buck... I only wanted to protect you...&quot; she said. She began to stand up, when suddenly, something shot out from the darkness and pierced her chest! &quot;N-NOOOOO!!!&quot; Bucky screamed. A slimy tentacle, followed by more slime covering her body as Losipher emerged from the shadows! &quot;You were indeed... followed... I followed your tales... of Hope... And I decided that... if she indeed was alive... her soul...would make me complete!!&quot;<br /><br />While a few stared in horror, Vortex ran ahead and reached for Hope&#039;s hand, hoping to pull her out of Losipher before he could devour her! However, a red beam seared between them, making him jump back to get a view of what had intervened. &quot;Tis time for the proper ending... All life&#039;s but a walking shadow, and such shadow is best portrayed by the Lost Ones!&quot; said Loskeletor as he crept out from behind Losipher. Lospecter hovered down from the ceiling as well. &quot;Hey, Bucky-boy! Why don&#039;t you finish the story you were telling us Lost Ones? I&#039;m so eager to hear the end of it...&quot; he grinned. Bucky was near in shock. He&#039;d already witnessed the death of his old love once. This couldn&#039;t be happening. &quot;No...It cannot be her... I watched her die... I... AVENGED her!!&quot; he snarled.<br /><br /><br />&quot;There&#039;s nowhere left to run, Stein, you mutant! I&#039;ll see an example made out of you! No one defies GUN!&quot; Sergeant Murten, Gunner&#039;s predecessor and former mentor, had tracked down Bucky&#039;s laboratory and attacked him with a powerful predecessor to the Diablon mech. Gunner was there, but only as an observer. &quot;If you end him here, sarge, I&#039;ll be sure and let the Commander know you did your VERY BEST to take him alive!&quot; he sneered. Bucky was tired of running. Tired of GUN&#039;s accusations and hatred. &quot;So, you&#039;ve found the rat-man. Using my accident as part of the premise to shut down Space Colony ARK wasn&#039;t enough for you psychopaths... You&#039;ll hurt everyone around me to ensure my silence. Heck, by now I doubt many of you are alive who even know what I&#039;m talking about...so this is pointless. Just end me, and let my friends go!&quot; Bucky shouted, resigned to let this be finished at last. Murten smiled fiendishly. &quot;Whatever brings your twisted mind peace...&quot; he said, charging at him! As Murten launched his attack, however, a shriek came as Hope lunged herself between them! &quot;Don&#039;t hurt hiiiim!!&quot; she cried, only to be pierced by a blade sliding out of the mech&#039;s right arm! &quot;NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!&quot; Bucky caught her as she fell backward, but she was fading fast. &quot;...Don&#039;t let them stop you... You...are...good!&quot; she wheezed before fading. Murten pointed the blade at Bucky next. &quot;If there&#039;s no one else that wants to be stupid, let&#039;s finish this...&quot; he said. Bucky glared up at him with complete fury, all warmth and compassion gone from his soul. &quot;Yes... Why DON&#039;T we!?&quot; he shouted. He then stood up and fired massive arcs of lightning at Murten&#039;s mech, the likes of which he&#039;d never done before, and might never muster again! Murten tried to catch this lightning with the blade and direct it away, but there was simply too much energy! &quot;Th-this is impossible!! No creature can have this much power!! You can&#039;t survive with such force in you!!&quot; he shouted. Gunner backed away to avoid the lightning, and soon broke into a run as the mech started to burst into a fiery explosion! &quot;You... You MURDERER!! You&#039;re nothing but an ANIMAL now, Stein!! I&#039;ll see you fry, one of these days!!!&quot; he shouted back as he escaped.<br /><br /><br />&quot;And you cried and cried all night in a corner somewhere. How touching! Seems the doc failed to check-see if his girl was actually dead!! Ha ha ha!!&quot; Lospecter laughed. &quot;What are you...?&quot; Bucky said, but now it was too late. Lospecter&#039;s chatter was meant to keep everyone busy while Losipher finished feeding, and now Hope had been fully absorbed into his mass of slime! &quot;Oh, no... No!!&quot; Gemini gasped, realizing what was about to happen. The slimy mass of Losipher began to take form, and as a sorrowful moan shook the cavern, he soon stood before them in his completed, vampire-esque glory! &quot;Gaze upon me, and know true despair! I am Losipher the Lost!!&quot; he roared. Bucky started sparking in rage. &quot;I don&#039;t know how she was alive, but return Hope to me, NOW!&quot; he growled. Losipher sighed. &quot;Demands, demands... Her soul is mine now. I feel her suffering... How she wanted to return to you... Pitiful, really. Yet she felt shame at what she had become... Is that closure enough before I add your soul to join hers?&quot; he sneered. Suddenly, Losipher started getting struck repeatedly by spells from Gemini&#039;s wand, until Tails grabbed her and pulled her airborn to dodge beams from Loskeletor! &quot;Watch the temper, Gemini! ...Why am I getting a familiar vibe from this?&quot; he whimpered. &quot;Some nightmares do come true...&quot; Gemini frowned. Lospecter shook his head as they flew away from Loskeletor. &quot;These guys have no respect. Hey, Losipher! That wand wench has been a thorn in my side for too long! Kindly bring me her head, would ya? That&#039;d be good.&quot; he said. Losipher nodded. &quot;I recognize her... I will devour these souls, and end her life!&quot; At these words, Losipher started to grow in size, and sent tentacles from his arms to chase the group throughout the room! Bucky and the experiments attempted to resist, but Losipher simply shrugged off every attack! Even Zeke wasn&#039;t safe, and dropped the Chaos Emerald as he was caught in a tentacle! Cream hid behind SPOT, holding Cheese tightly and hoping the robo-puppy&#039;s shield would hold, but it didn&#039;t look good. Suddenly, something truly unexpected happened. The demons returned, but these demons resembled Shadow Chaos, and they quickly surrounded Cream and Cheese, seeking to protect the Chao as though they really WERE Chaos! Lospecter watched this awkwardly. &quot;Uhhh... Do we eat pure darkness?&quot; he asked. &quot;In truth, I hadst believed we WERE pure darkness.&quot; Loskeletor said. The enraged demons charged the Lost Ones, and Lospecter quickly got nervous. &quot;Let&#039;s just go, fellas! We got our win for now! Tomorrow is another soul-stealing day!&quot; he said, prompting Losipher to grudgingly drop everyone. &quot;...We&#039;ll meet again...&quot; he sneered.<br /><br />As everyone was resting, Fred the fennec teleported in and found Gemini. &quot;...I sensed Losipher... I&#039;m glad you&#039;re safe.&quot; he said. Gemini&#039;s face was filled with tears. &quot;Somehow, I caused him to fully form earlier!&quot; she cried. Fred patted her head. &quot;Now, none of that. You can&#039;t say it was purely your doing. You aren&#039;t the only one traveling through time today.&quot; he said, trying his best to comfort her. Meanwhile, Tails was picking up the Chaos Emerald, while the experiments were gathered around a distant Bucky. &quot;...Do I know anything anymore?&quot; he muttered. A pair of yellow eyes met his gaze in the dark. &quot;You know part of the story. Allow me to conclude it...&quot; a dark voice said. Tails&#039;s ears perked at the sound. &quot;...The Doomsayer?&quot; he gasped.<br /><br /><br />The Doomsayer recounted the rest of the tale. After killing Murten, Bucky stumbled back to his lab and passed out, too full of grief to carry on. Hope laid where she fell, her body broken, and her life seemingly gone. Soon, raindrops started to fall over the area. The Doomsayer had arrived. &quot;So young... So promising... You could be of use. I grant you a Divine rebirth! Awaken!!&quot; A strange magic surrounded Hope&#039;s body, and a beam of light shone down upon her, seeming to lift her into the air as she was both restored and transformed! A pair of strong, black wings burst out of the back of her shirt, and as she landed on the ground, the Doomsayer handed her a black cloak to replace the tattered clothing. &quot;...You have been reborn. You are an offshoot of the Divine species... Your power being a forbidden sort unworthy of the name. I name you... Deathbringer.&quot; the Doomsayer said. Hope looked at him nervously. &quot;Deathbringer...? No... What about Buck? I can&#039;t do this to him...&quot; she stammered, &quot;We work to create life, not destroy it!&quot; The Doomsayer nodded. &quot;Regardless, I have need of you. And I know you won&#039;t let your debt to me go unpaid. Afterward, you can use your gifts to aid your friends, if you so choose...&quot; he offered. Hope looked at the hood a moment, and then dejectedly put it on. &quot;Very well... Where do I start?&quot; she said.<br /><br /><br />Bucky glared at the Doomsayer. &quot;You expect me to believe that you&#039;ve mastered raising the dead?&quot; he growled. The Doomsayer backed away a step. &quot;Why don&#039;t you ask... your son.&quot; he said, starting his usual vanishing act. &quot;Come back here!!&quot; Bucky shouted, trying to catch him, only to find him gone in a flash. &quot;...We should get back to the emerald hunt...&quot; Tails suggested. Bucky scoffed. &quot;Fine. Do as you like... I might as well even go along with you... Someone&#039;s gotta pay for all this suffering, and it might as well be Howler!&quot; he snarled.<br /><br /><br />Copter found himself stuck with Guard, and the pair of them had washed up farther away from Despair Castle, not far from where Shadow Arcangel had been parked on the island. Heading for the ship, they met up with Heather and Team Chaotix. &quot;Heather! Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes...&quot; Copter sighed. Guard grunted in annoyance and glanced at the crumbling castle in the distance. &quot;Grrr... It would seem the Covenant of Despair is no more. My objective is complete.&quot; he stated. Vector shrugged. &quot;Yeah... not dying from that weird death-wave would seem to say we won... But why don&#039;t I feel like celebratin?&quot; he said. &quot;&#039;Cuz we&#039;re trapped in a killer storm! Duh!&quot; Charmy shouted. Copter sighed. &quot;Well, let&#039;s see what I can do about that...&quot; he said, pulling the Hurricane Remote from his pocket. He pressed a button and got Hoover&#039;s voice coming over a speaker. &quot;Sorry, sparky! I recalled the plane when that there island started gettin&#039; all wobbly!&quot; he said. Copter sighed. &quot;Yeah, I figured you&#039;d have done that. Now I need it back!&quot; he stated. Hoover laughed a bit before responding. &quot;Yer nuts! The Hurricane is MY baby! I ain&#039;t sendin&#039; it down inta that mess fer nothin! No way, no how!&quot; he said before hanging up on Copter. &quot;Hoover!! Hoover, you buck-toothed tin can!! If I get outta this alive I&#039;ll have you rebuilt into a blender!! ...Probably have to ask Tails to do it, but that&#039;s beside the point!&quot; he growled. Heather looked at him worriedly. &quot;So... no luck?&quot; she asked. &quot;I was wondering how you were intending to fly everyone to shore on a little biplane, anyway.&quot; Espio muttered. Guard shook his head. &quot;We can&#039;t leave yet... Grrrr... It occurs to me that I must see the other GUN agents to safety...&quot; he grunted. Vector nodded. &quot;This island&#039;s goin&#039; down... We should try to get EVERYONE off!&quot; he reasoned. &quot;Um... how?&quot; Charmy asked. They all stood with stupid expressions for a moment until they noticed the huge ship right near them. &quot;Right! We&#039;ll fly everyone out on Shadow Arc!&quot; Vector suggested. Heather nodded. &quot;Good idea! Um... I&#039;ll stay... And guard the ship... You guys have fun playing in the storm...&quot; she said, running inside. Copter nodded. &quot;Understandably, she doesn&#039;t like water.&quot; he said.<br /><br />Copter, Guard and Team Chaotix started into the woods, looking for anyone in the vicinity who could use a ride off the island. What they found instead perplexed them. There were Covenant of Despair agents everywhere, and they appeared to be fighting amongst themselves! &quot;...Hey, cool! The bad guys are beating themselves!&quot; Charmy snickered. &quot;Not cool, kid. We came to get everyone off the island... if we can.&quot; Copter muttered. &quot;Uhhh... Maybe there are lifeboats of doom or something these guys can use when they&#039;re through whaling on each other...&quot; Vector grumbled. &quot;You don&#039;t get what&#039;s happening, do you?&quot; came a voice from seemingly nowhere! Copter and Vector jumped in surprise, but Guard pointed his scythe and growled. &quot;I can detect you, so do not think to sneak up on us!&quot; he warned. Carrie appeared in front of him and smirked. &quot;I can yank that stick right out of your hands with my mind, so watch yourself. Hi, Carrie, Experiment 14... Now that that&#039;s out of the way, someone wanna call off dog breath?&quot; she said. &quot;Down, Fido.&quot; Copter smirked. Espio seemed rather unfazed by all of this, and knew the question to ask. &quot;Were you saying you know what&#039;s going on with these agents?&quot; he asked. Carrie nodded. &quot;Yeah. Pays to wander around invisible. Basically, most of the Covenant of Despair feels kinda betrayed by the Darkseeker... rightfully so, I guess. But they still liked the IDEA of the Covenant of Despair. So I guess you could say they&#039;re... hashing out who the new leader will be.&quot; she said. &quot;If I got to be the leader, would I get free candy?&quot; Charmy asked, making everyone glare at him. &quot;...What? I wasn&#039;t gonna be an evil leader!&quot; he protested. Copter groaned. &quot;This is just great. Take down the Darkseeker, and we still gotta deal with his psycho followers that won&#039;t quit. He HAD to make a cult that was bigger than he was, didn&#039;t he!?&quot; he grumbled. Carrie chuckled. &quot;Relaaaax! You guys stress easy. Just knock out the heads of this craziness and I&#039;m sure it&#039;ll stop. Follow me if you&#039;ve got a mind to try. Watch your step!&quot; she said, carefully heading right through the chaotic rumble ahead. Copter sighed and joined the others in following her.<br /><br />They would soon find several commanders leading the free-for-all from a wide clearing. Leading one band of agents was Eddie the hyena. &quot;Eeee hee hee!! See those traitors to our master, the Darkseeker!? Reward their lack of loyalty with severe pain!&quot; he cackled. Directly opposing him was Basker the hound, who appeared to be intimidating his minions at least partly. &quot;The Darkseeker has abandoned us... The time has come for a new master of this Covenant, and who better to lead than I? We shall tear down our opposition through fear!&quot; he snarled. Fighting among these agents were gargoyles from the mob, who seemed to be led by Infin the weasel. &quot;Fight past &#039;em, boys! Let&#039;s grab what loot we can and quit this death-trap!&quot; he shouted, zapping anyone that neared him with his electric gun. At the back, Illusi the shrew emerged, and sent his Wrongos into the fray as well. &quot;You...all...are...FOOLS!!&quot; he yelled, &quot;The Covenant of Despair was a giant trap for you and the whole world, laid by the Darkseeker! Rather than fighting over who should continue it, you SHOULD seek to dissolve it once and for all!!&quot; he shouted, though his speech was largely ignored. Copter and his friends inevitably found themselves caught right in the middle of this four-way skirmish, whether they wanted it or not. The Despair bosses each had a bone to pick with at least someone in his group, and Team Chaotix wasn&#039;t held in high regard by the various agents fighting there, either. As the first wave of random agents started to occupy the team, Copter and Guard started to head for Illusi. &quot;Cape boy can probably help us if we get his attention...&quot; Copter reasoned. Carrie started to go with them, but Basker blocked her way! &quot;I&#039;m not one for petty revenge... But I do wonder how you&#039;ll fare without your maker to electrocute me!&quot; he growled. Carrie vanished from his sight and chuckled. &quot;Find me and find out!&quot; she taunted. In the meanwhile, Illusi had gotten tied up fighting with Eddie, and they were tossing illusions all over the place. Copter and Guard were about to intervene, when Infin started shooting at them! &quot;Well! My two least favorite people, together! Only one missin&#039; is the cop that took my foot!!&quot; he growled, coming at Copter and kicking with his metallic foot to illustrate his point! Guard blocked it with his scythe and growled. &quot;We have no quarrel with you right now. Grrrr... You should be seeking refuge from this place!&quot; he said plainly. &quot;Yeah, well, so should you, moron.&quot; Infin scoffed.<br /><br />Before Copter could join Guard in fighting off Infin, a Chaos Spear struck at his feet! Conan the raccoon was coming down from above, his normal cape having been swapped with the Chaos Wing, which he was using to fly! &quot;Copter! You knew I&#039;d be coming for you, so let&#039;s not waste any time playing around! Hand over your tailband and I&#039;ll let you resume...whatever it is you&#039;re doing.&quot; he demanded. Copter twirled his tails and flew up to eye level with Conan. &quot;Hey, here&#039;s an idea, Conan! Go try and swipe the Darkseeker&#039;s crown. See how that goes!&quot; he growled. &quot;It&#039;ll go a lot better with the tailband. Obviously, you won&#039;t hand it over, so... die!!&quot; As Conan thrusted his sword straight at Copter, he flew over the attack quickly and kicked off from his head to get away! &quot;Yeah, try it! I might just toss you off the island this time!&quot; he grumbled. While everyone else was busy fighting, Charmy was buzzing around, humming in amusement, enjoying the fact that no one appeared to be paying attention to him on account of the fact that he was a little kid. &quot;I bet I could fly right into the bad guy&#039;s throne room, yoink his crown, and be a big hero before anyone knows I&#039;m gone! Brilliant, Charmy!&quot; he chuckled, stopping suddenly in midair as he noticed a sparkle in the woods nearby. &quot;Hey... Could that be it!?&quot; he gasped, hurrying over to check it out. &quot;Hey! Oooof!! Where ya goin, Charmy!?&quot; Vector shouted, though busy fending off some assorted Despair agents. Charmy dug through the bushes at the edge of the clearing, and pulled out a shiny yellow Chaos Emerald! &quot;Aww, I thought this was something more useful...&quot; he sighed. &quot;Hold on to that, child!&quot; shouted Illusi, taking a break from battling Eddie to advise him, &quot;The Chaos Emeralds may prove vital in stopping the Darkseeker!&quot; he said. Eddie appeared between them and growled at Illusi. &quot;What&#039;s this grudge you have against my master?? Eeee hee hee... Wait, that&#039;s right... You owned the key. Our bad.&quot; he smirked. Illusi snarled furiously at him. &quot;The key? You think this is about some meaningless Chaos Relic!?&quot; he snapped, shooting a beam of pure energy at Eddie from his eyes! &quot;FERA WAS KILLED FOLLOWING YOU FOOLS!!&quot; he roared.<br /><br />Copter was busy evading Chaos Spears from Conan&#039;s sword, but he noticed Illusi&#039;s sudden outburst. &quot;Geez, he&#039;s still intense...&quot; he muttered. Conan slashed his sword at the distracted fox, blocked by the very tailband he was out to steal. &quot;Grr! Don&#039;t take me lightly! I will have ALL the Chaos Relics, and none will stand in my way!&quot; he shouted. &quot;I&#039;m afraid not, my riches-driven friend... Because the Relics all belong to ME!!&quot; Howler&#039;s voice stunned the combatants into a sudden halt, and as they looked around for its source, a black, watery image appeared in the sky overhead! It was Howler, already gaining control over Shadow Chaos, and using it to project himself as a watery double. &quot;So much you have gathered in this place... Now, all sources of power are MINE to command!&quot; he declared! From the direction of the forest his back was turned to, big black tendrils started to lash out at the people in the clearing! They were watery tendrils, much like the kind Shadow Chaos could use, and they rapidly snaked their way into the crowd and went straight for Copter and Conan! Without much resistance, the tendrils wrested the Chaos Wing, Chaos Tailband, and Chaos Sword from them! &quot;AAAAH!! N-noooo!!&quot; Conan wailed, falling to the floor with a growl of defeat as his treasures were stolen from him! &quot;This is bad! Now he&#039;s got both the tailbands!&quot; Copter grunted, feeling a bit overwhelmed himself. &quot;No! Stop! Bad giant arm!! Give back my shiny!!!&quot; Charmy squealed, pulling at his Chaos Emerald as the tendril dragged it away, too! &quot;Charmy, don&#039;t let him get you, too!!&quot; Vector shouted, while Espio jumped into action and grabbed the bee before he could be taken away by the dangerous enemy. &quot;Put me down, Espio!! He&#039;s got my Chaos Emerald!!!&quot; Charmy whined. &quot;...Be grateful he is not taking your life.&quot; Espio sighed. Carrie and Basker even called a truce at this point, seeing how grave the situation was getting. &quot;...I need to move my forces in a strategic retreat...&quot; Basker sighed. &quot;Looks to me like there won&#039;t be anywhere to retreat to soon...&quot; Carrie shivered. &quot;Grrrr... Can we even stop him now?&quot; Guard questioned. Copter glanced at him and shrugged. &quot;I&#039;ll look into that... You guys get as many as you can aboard Shadow Arc...before it&#039;s too late!&quot; he said, hurrying off to catch up with Howler!<br /><br /><br />Chapter 49 - Approaching Despair<br />Stage 25 - Pit of Despair<br />Boss 28-29 - Anubis; Shadow Howler<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />Punchy found himself lost in what was left of Despair Castle, wandering with Silver, Omega, Char and Alpha. They were a bit slowed by some bickering between the two robots. &quot;And I say the best pie is coconut cream!!&quot; Alpha shouted. &quot;I repeat: Robots have no taste receptors! That Dr. Eggman continues to use you is an obvious insult meant for me!!&quot; Omega shouted back. &quot;Actually, it&#039;s meant for Sonic...&quot; Char chimed in. &quot;Will you robots stop arguing about pie!? I&#039;m starving!!&quot; Silver growled. Punchy tried to ignore them, and was searching around frantically. &quot;C&#039;mon! Help me find Rainbow and Violet so we can blow this popsicle stand!&quot; he said. &quot;Popsicles? Did you just hear me say I was hungry? Don&#039;t talk about food!&quot; Silver groaned. Punchy saw a door ahead with a light coming from the next room. &quot;Light? In this dump? Now THAT&#039;S suspicious. I&#039;m gonna take that door off its hinges!&quot; he said, running over and knocking the door down with a good WHACK from his fist! &quot;Shhh! One, open the door like a person!&quot; They found Rainbow inside the next room, which was the lab. She was quietly sipping tea, oddly enough. Stranger still, she was enjoying this tea with Dr. Nammad. &quot;Oh, please. Uh, come in. One or two sugars?&quot; he asked, seeming WAY too mellow. Punchy stared with a somewhat freaked expression, but Silver walked in with a cheerful smile. &quot;Hey, tea cakes!!&quot; he said happily. &quot;Gimmie one! Gimmie one!&quot; Char giggled, flying in as well. Punchy scratched his head after getting over the surprise. &quot;Uh... Rainbow... You know you&#039;re having tea with the bad guy, right?&quot; he said. &quot;He&#039;s also a former coworker, One!&quot; Rainbow said. &quot;Huh? No, not Char!&quot; Punchy grumbled. Dr. Nammad sipped his tea calmly. &quot;I&#039;m not the, uh, bad guy. I&#039;m just an innocent opportunist who made a, uh, mistake. There&#039;s not much I can do about it now, so, uh, might as well wait this out in comfort...&quot; he said. Punchy glared at him a little, and then Omega burst into the room, startling everyone. &quot;There is no time to waste! Annihilate him and let&#039;s go!!&quot; he shouted. Nammad backed away a bit and gulped. &quot;I&#039;ll, uh...pack you some cakes for the road...&quot; he mumbled.<br /><br />With Silver&#039;s belly satisfied, Punchy started them on the search for Violet next. If he could get the sisters to reunite, he&#039;d be satisfied enough to start looking for a way off the island. Unfortunately, before traveling too far, they found Terra and Firma instead. They initially focused on Alpha, paying little mind to the others. &quot;At last, we have found an ally! Tell us, have you located Master Eggman?&quot; Firma asked. Char shrugged, while Alpha gave a less direct answer. &quot;We found the perfect tea to go with lemon meringue pie! What&#039;s your favorite pie?&quot; he asked. Terra raised his fist angrily at this response. &quot;You will answer the question, or be DESTROYED!!&quot; he yelled. Of course, Omega wasn&#039;t about to stay out of this. &quot;How dare Eggman duplicate my design not once, but twice! He thinks I can be replaced, but I am the ultimate robot!! And I will prove it by destroying you ALL!!&quot; he shouted. Punchy and Rainbow started to look really tired of this really fast. &quot;...Think we could just leave them?&quot; Punchy wondered. &quot;They&#039;ll probably all team up to get us if we do...&quot; Rainbow sighed. Silver growled in aggravation. &quot;Well, we don&#039;t have TIME to deal with a robot war! HYAAAAAA!!!&quot; Using his psychokinesis, fueled by a bit of rage, he grabbed Terra and Firma, lifting them into the air and hurling them against the damaged wall, sending them right through it and out into the swirling vortex of the maelstrom outside! &quot;WE&#039;LL GEEEET YOOOOOOU!!!&quot; Terra roared as he soared off into the ocean! Alpha and Omega glanced at the furious hedgehog, who was breathing hard. &quot;...Now behave, or THAT will happen to YOU!&quot; he warned. Punchy looked at the crumbled wall curiously. There was something sparkling that was stuck in the rubble. &quot;Hey... what&#039;s this?&quot; he muttered, walking over and pulling something out of the pieces of the wall. What he found was the Chaos Gauntlets! &quot;Huh?? How&#039;d these get stuck in the WALL!?&quot; he stammered. &quot;...That red-eyed reaper sure tossed everyone and everything good, huh?&quot; Rainbow said. Char nodded. &quot;That&#039;s pretty cool! I wonder what else we can find...&quot; he said. <br /><br />The castle was still slowly crumbling, but the group continued on to the remains of the West Tower where Punchy had fought Shadow Chaos not too long ago. Now, several of the remnants of the Covenant of Despair were there, including Patch, Daisy, Anubis and Violet. &quot;Viola! Thank goodness we&#039;ve found you!&quot; Rainbow called, however her sister had a bit of a frightened look on her face, as did Daisy. Anubis was threatening the girls, and Patch as well, with his flames. &quot;...Our former &#039;master&#039; may have forsaken us, but make no mistake that the Covenant of Despair... the TRUE Covenant of Despair, will continue on! You can either be a part of it...or be destroyed!&quot; Anubis threatened. &quot;Hee hee... Since we&#039;re talking here, can we negotiate vacation time? Wearing this tight uniform day in-day out is murder in and of itself!&quot; Patch said, eliciting a growl of aggravation from Anubis. &quot;Hey! This doesn&#039;t look like a friendly recruitment interview!&quot; Punchy shouted. Anubis turned to face him, and glared at him with disdain. &quot;The former covenant was weak! Fera was weak! The true Covenant of Despair will command both loyalty and efficiency from its agents... And YOU won&#039;t be a part of it, false guardian!&quot; he snarled. Punchy shook his head in annoyance. &quot;Never gonna let that go, huh?&quot; he grumbled. Rainbow nodded. &quot;Yeah, I mean, sorry we almost killed you and all, but you started it.&quot; she said. Anubis raised his hands and started to summon his undead army from under the ground! &quot;Then I&#039;ll also finish it! Any who wish to defy me shall be crushed by my agents of Despair!!&quot; he snarled as his black-clothed mummies burst out from under the ground! Alpha shrieked upon seeing them. &quot;The dead walk the floor!! It&#039;s the rapture!! Save us, oh mighty Ra!!&quot; he babbled, flying up high and out of range of the mummies and Anubis. &quot;Alphaaaaa!! You have lasers to blast &#039;em!! Come back!!&quot; Char shouted, chasing after him. Daisy drew her katana and growled... then stepped in front of Anubis. &quot;I&#039;m afraid he&#039;s right. We&#039;re Covenant of Despair members... So put &#039;em up!&quot; she said. Patch joined her with his nunchucks, making Anubis smile a little. &quot;Welcome back to your senses... Now destroy them!&quot; he ordered.<br /><br />Violet had a look of protest as her friends went to fight her sister and her friends. &quot;Daisy, Patch... Stop it!&quot; she shouted, only to be ignored. Fortunately, Silver was there to deal with them. He pulled their weapons from their hands using his psychic powers, much to Daisy&#039;s chagrin. &quot;Not THIS again!! Can&#039;t anyone fight fair!?&quot; she shouted, pulling out a second sword that she started carrying for just such an occasion. &quot;After that griffin did this to me, or was that someone else, I decided I would be prepared in the future!&quot; she said, fending off her own psychically-controlled blade with the one in her hand! Meanwhile, Omega set to work blasting through the mummies, creating an opening for Punchy and Rainbow to approach Anubis. &quot;Do I really gotta kick your butt again? Just let Violet go, and we&#039;ll leave quietly!&quot; Punchy said. Anubis created fireballs in his hands, growling at them. &quot;We remember our first encounter quite differently, don&#039;t we... I remember nearly destroying YOU!&quot; he snarled, tossing the fireballs directly at Punchy! He dodged quickly, but Rainbow still squeaked with alarm and pointed at him. &quot;...What?&quot; Punchy said, only to notice that his tail was on fire. &quot;Gaaaaaaaah!!&quot; He ran around hurriedly, trying to put it out, while Anubis started throwing more fireballs his way! &quot;Hey! Quit burning One!&quot; Rainbow shouted, shaking her fist at him. &quot;I am not afraid of you, girl... I&#039;ll set you ablaze, as well!&quot; Anubis growled, sending a jet of flame in Rainbow&#039;s direction! However, she quickly vanished into a beam of dark energy, which reappeared behind Anubis, revealing Rainbow AND Violet! &quot;Don&#039;t TOUCH my sister!!&quot; Violet shouted. Anubis glared at her. &quot;I will deal with your insubordination after these fools are dead...&quot; he said, only to be punched across the jaw by Punchy during his distraction! &quot;You REALLY need to do less threatening and more paying attention!&quot; he chuckled. Anubis rubbed his cheek and snarled. &quot;I will take that under advisement... Now BURN!!&quot; he shouted, hurling flames straight at Punchy! &quot;Chaos Avalanche!!&quot; Punchy struck back, tossing chunks of rock straight into the flames! Neither side of this fight was willing to give in easily...<br /><br />Suddenly, bullets started flying everywhere, whizzing past Daisy and Patch and startling them! &quot;Hee hee!? Cheese it, the fuzz!&quot; Patch shouted, scurrying away as quickly as he could. Several GUN agents were storming the tower, led by none other than Dr. Nammad and Sgt. Drol! Seeing this, Anubis allowed his mummies to crumble lifelessly. &quot;For now, it appears the tide has turned against us... But watch your backs! The true Covenant of Despair will rise again!!&quot; he said, leading Patch and Daisy in a hasty retreat! With the enemies gone, Alpha flew back down and jumped up and down in celebration. &quot;We won! Let&#039;s celebrate with some cake!&quot; he cheered. &quot;So, it&#039;s cake now?&quot; Char sighed. Punchy looked at Drol, a bit confused. &quot;You found us... AND you&#039;re helping us?&quot; he stammered. Dr. Nammad waved to them with a smirk. &quot;I did some thinking since we met. And, uh, I decided I could do more to, uh, help. So I searched out Drol and led him to you.&quot; he said. Drol looked a bit exhausted, but also relieved to have found someone. &quot;I do hope you are someone with a plan. We collected some of the Chaos Emeralds... But beyond that, I admit I am drawing a blank... A tad humiliating for GUN&#039;s noble knight. As loath as I am to place my trust in YOU, Experiment 1, I am loath to die here even more.&quot; he said. Agents 64, 32 and 77 were each there, holding the blue, red and green Chaos Emeralds, respectively. Silver started to approach them, intending to accept the emeralds. &quot;If I find the others, I&#039;m sure I could figure a way to stop Howler...&quot; he said. Unfortunately, Howler wouldn&#039;t allow this. &quot;You&#039;ll have to pry those emeralds away from me, first!!&quot; Howler&#039;s black, liquid projection appeared at the back of the tower, and the black tendrils of Shadow Chaos came snaking their way in and quickly snatched each emerald away from the GUN agents! As Howler laughed and started to escape, Punchy broke into a run to chase him! &quot;HOWLER!! Enough is enough!! You&#039;re going down if I have to pry those emeralds from your slimy...flippers!!&quot; he screamed. &quot;One!! Slow down!! Think about this!!&quot; shouted Rainbow, chasing after them! The others weren&#039;t far behind. But where would this chase lead them?<br /><br /><br />Elsewhere in the crumbling castle were most of the remaining heroes on the island, including Shadow, Rouge, Crash, Whisk and of course, Knuckles. They had been journeying for a while in search of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, but so far only found Illusi&#039;s elusive Chaos Key, which was essentially worthless to them. What&#039;s more, Demon Island&#039;s shadowy demons were roaming everywhere, and Lost Ones were loose in the castle to boot. &quot;If we can just find those Chaos Emeralds, I can put a stop to that Darkseeker with or without Sonic!&quot; Shadow growled in frustration. Knuckles punched out a despair agent demon in their way and glanced back at him. &quot;Well, hopefully Sonic&#039;s having better luck, &#039;cuz we&#039;re NOWHERE on this so far!&quot; he grumbled. Rouge was busy flying around, kicking away losolanturns as they came at the group, and Whisk was trying to imitate her, only to get her foot stuck in the pumpkin-creature&#039;s mouth. &quot;YUCK!! I&#039;m outta here!!&quot; she yelped, teleporting right out before it could bite down! &quot;Please... don&#039;t copy me...&quot; Rouge sighed. Crash charged through several large demons with his Chaos Charge technique, easily clearing a path through them! &quot;This way! Hurry, those monsters are just gonna keep comin&#039;!&quot; he shouted. As the others followed, Shadow covered the rear, blasting back any stragglers with Chaos Spears as they headed through the next door and slammed it shut! &quot;Can I go home now?&quot; Whisk whined, &quot;This stopped being fun um... well... I can&#039;t really remember it being fun.&quot; she said. Knuckles frowned. &quot;You guys can all go if you want... I have to get the Master Emerald back from Howler. Although... At this point it kinda feels too late...&quot; he muttered. Crash shrugged. &quot;Well, I can&#039;t leave without Bucky... So I guess I sorta understand. But that emerald&#039;s just a rock, you know...&quot; he said. Knuckles shut his eyes and shook his head. &quot;...It&#039;s not about the...rock. I have a duty... And I can&#039;t abandon it now, no matter how bad it looks...&quot; he explained. Shadow sighed as though bored. &quot;Nice speech. Hate to remind you how short on time we are!&quot; he grumbled, leading the group ahead.<br /><br />As the group passed into the weapon-training room of the castle, they found the last remaining allies that weren&#039;t busy elsewhere: Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox and Cuthburt the alligator! They were busy shooting at some Lost Ones that were flying around the room, and Shadow was quick to notice that Cuthburt was clutching the cyan Chaos Emerald in his hand! &quot;Finally, some luck! Let&#039;s fight off these creatures so that they&#039;ll give us that emerald!&quot; he suggested. &quot;Yeah, or just &#039;cuz they&#039;re friends of Gemini...&quot; Knuckles added. &quot;Well, if you&#039;re gonna help us, HELP US!!&quot; Adam shouted, finding himself a bit overwhelmed by losoars in the corner of the room. &quot;Geez, Adam... You&#039;re always in trouble...&quot; Evelyn groaned. While Knuckles, Shadow and the others joined Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt in fighting the Lost Ones, the back door creaked open, and some robotic eyes peered inside. &quot;I&#039;m ready... I am SO ready! Gimmie the order, doc!&quot; said Jolt, one of the two robots. &quot;...So, we have come full circle, and Knuckles is the opposition. I am prepared.&quot; said Freeze, the other robot. They watched for a bit as the group was busy fending off the Lost Ones. Whisk&#039;s wings glowed as she flapped them hard, sending a magical wind to tear through any creatures in front of her! Knuckles and Crash stayed to the ground, knocking away any monsters that came near them with physical attacks, though it only destroyed lesser Lost Ones. Rouge had a couple bombs left in her GUN supplies that she brought with her, and used them to take out some losohsts that were carrying blades around, looking rather menacing. Shadow sped around using an assortment of Chaos attacks to take out as many Lost Ones as he could quickly. They were pretty well distracted, so Jolt and Freeze crept into the room pretty much unnoticed. They snuck up towards Cuthburt, and then Jolt pretended to clear his throat. &quot;Huh?? Hey, who let robots in here!?&quot; Cuthburt muttered. &quot;We require your Chaos Emerald... Hold still...&quot; Freeze said, blasting cold air at Cuthburt to freeze his feet while Jolt wrested the emerald from his hand! &quot;Ha ha ha! Too easy!!&quot; Jolt chuckled. &quot;Huh?? Hey, you bots! Bring that back!!&quot; Knuckles shouted, leading a chase as the pair of robots fled through the back door!<br /><br />Most of the group went to chase the robots, and Jolt chuckled, tossing the Chaos Emerald to Freeze. &quot;Keep-away! Run this to the doc, pal!&quot; he shouted. Knuckles looked at Freeze, and noticed he was wearing some familiar golden shoes with wings on them. &quot;Hey, no fair! He&#039;s wearing the Chaos Boots! They&#039;ll give him super speed!&quot; Knuckles said, having seen Howler use this power through the last visions from Tikal. Shadow scoffed and ran ahead. &quot;I&#039;ll catch him, then!&quot; he shouted. Freeze glanced back at them, and then started to speed up. &quot;Keep up with me if you can...&quot; he said, leaving all of them but Shadow in his dust! Crash started to charge after them, but Knuckles grabbed his tail to slow him down. &quot;...Let&#039;s follow the other one... I think they&#039;re going to the same place.&quot; he reasoned. Jolt chuckled and fired up his jetpack, flying ahead of them as fast as he could manage. &quot;You&#039;ve all been very helpful finding that emerald! See you in the funny papers, chumps!&quot; he laughed as he took off! Ahead of the group, Shadow was keeping pace with Freeze pretty well. The Chaos Relics weren&#039;t meant for robots, and it was quite possible that Freeze wasn&#039;t even capable of tapping into the boots&#039; true power. He began to grow concerned that Shadow would catch up, so he turned suddenly and started blasting cold air throughout the hall! Shadow jumped to avoid it, but Freeze sped around him and struck him in the back, freezing most of his body solid! &quot;...You will not interfere with Dr. Eggman. Good bye.&quot; he said, running off. In a few moments, Jolt flew by, and the others found Shadow like this. &quot;K-keep...chasing them!&quot; Shadow said, his teeth chattering. Rouge stopped and sighed. &quot;They can keep chasing them... I guess I&#039;d better get you out of this...&quot; she groaned. Knuckles nodded and continued chasing Jolt, soon reaching the East Tower of Despair Castle once again. There, Dr. Eggman was holding the Chaos Emerald, seated in his Egg Mobile. &quot;Knuckles...and friends. How good of you to join me. I was just working on a counter-strategy to combat Howler...&quot; he said. Whisk pointed behind him. &quot;You prepared to counter that creepy-crawler?&quot; she asked. Eggman turned around as he heard a shriek behind him, but it was too late! A black creature jumped from the wall and struck the Egg Mobile, knocking it to the floor! &quot;Aaaaagh! Th-the thrusters are damaged! Wh-what was that!?&quot; Eggman gasped. Looking back behind Eggman, the group could see the shadowy form of Howler!<br /><br />A good look at the shadowy image of Howler, and it quickly became apparent that this was not the real Howler. Its body was totally black, except for its glowing eyes, and it had a generally feral presence. &quot;Is that a... demon?&quot; Whisk wondered. Crash nodded slowly. &quot;I&#039;ve heard it explained... That the demons here are made of the darkness collected on the island, and that&#039;s why some of them look like Covenant of Despair members that were spellcasters...&quot; he said. Knuckles raised his fists slowly. &quot;Well, Howler&#039;s apparently had centuries to cast spells... So this demon could be pretty nasty!&quot; he reasoned. Jolt and Freeze approached the &quot;Shadow Howler&quot; in order to defend Eggman, but the demon blasted them across the room with a swift beam of dark energy! Eggman yelped and looked at Knuckles pleadingly. &quot;Do something, Knuckles!! I... I&#039;ll give you the Chaos Emerald! I promise!&quot; he whimpered, pounding at his Egg Mobile&#039;s controls uselessly before giving it up and abandoning ship to hide behind the echidna. &quot;You are unbelievable, Eggman! But since I really can&#039;t see how you&#039;re gonna pull a fast one this time, you got a deal!&quot; Knuckles nodded. Of course, Shadow Howler wouldn&#039;t make it so easy! He appeared drawn to the Chaos Emerald, and started charging at Eggman, firing bolts of darkness at both Crash and Knuckles as they tried to block his path! Crash was knocked away, to be caught by a somewhat panicked Whisk, while Knuckles stood his ground, allowing Eggman to run back and get to his robots for protection. &quot;You may not be Howler...but you&#039;re gonna be practice! Now quit chasing people and fight me!&quot; Knuckles growled. Shadow Howler glared at him, and jumped his way, performing a spinning tail whip with his two tails, bashing Knuckles back a bit! Knuckles responded by throwing a couple punches at the demon, but they didn&#039;t seem to do much good against pure darkness. &quot;...Tough demon...&quot; he muttered, jumping and gliding for the wall as Shadow Howler started shooting powerful bolts of dark lightning at him continuously! Crash and Whisk tried to approach, but the lightning was flying everywhere! &quot;This thing&#039;s almost as tough as the real deal! Now what do we do?&quot; Crash grunted.<br /><br />Dr. Eggman chuckled and pointed directly at Shadow Howler. &quot;Fire! While it&#039;s distracted!&quot; he shouted. Jolt and Freeze fired electricity and ice directly at Shadow Howler, slowing it down and freezing a portion of its body! Knuckles saw his chance now. &quot;Uh... Thanks, Eggman!&quot; he said, jumping back down and gliding straight for Shadow Howler, evading blasts of darkness as he aimed straight for the icy patch of its chest! With a good, strong punch, his fist went right through the ice, and Shadow Howler faded into a mass of scattered dark energy with a shriek! Finally, it appeared there would be time for everyone to catch their breath. &quot;Save the &#039;we make a good team&#039; speech, Eggman. I still want that Emerald back.&quot; Knuckles panted. Eggman held it up as though thinking about it, when suddenly, it was snatched out of his hand by a watery black tendril! &quot;Wha-HEY!! I do all the sneaky stealing around here!!&quot; he shouted. Freeze fell over as the Chaos Boots were yanked from his feet as well! The watery projection of Howler emerged at the back of the room to mock them, just as Shadow, Rouge, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt were catching up! &quot;A valiant effort by all... But none shall oppose me! The time for humanity&#039;s rule over Earth is over... Now, the reign of the Darkseeker shall commence!!&quot; he roared! As Howler began to escape, Knuckles started to chase after him. &quot;Wait just a second, Howler!! You have something that belongs to me!!&quot; he shouted. &quot;Face it... You guardians have failed. You existed solely to stop me, and you were utterly pathetic in that effort...&quot; Howler taunted. Shadow and the others started to give chase as well, but they started getting tripped up by the same tendrils that had stolen the Chaos Emeralds! &quot;Howler&#039;s transformation is almost complete!! We&#039;ve got to do something, NOW!&quot; Shadow growled. &quot;I am gonna do something!&quot; Knuckles shouted, not letting himself be daunted by the tendrils in the least, &quot;I&#039;m the guardian... And I&#039;m gonna find a way to set it all right!!&quot;<br /><br /><br />Chapter 50 - Final Chapter - Knuckles, Guardian of All<br />Final Boss - DESPAIR<br /><br />Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and <br />Sonic Team. You knew that, right?<br />GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.<br /><br /><br />A band of the heroes was now advancing on Howler&#039;s throne room once again. Those that had come to oppose him included Sonic, Knuckles, Copter, Punchy, Bucky and a handful of people that had traveled this far with each of them. &quot;Copter... Your tailband!&quot; Tails gasped, noticing the unusually naked tails of his clone. Copter sighed. &quot;He got them... The Darkseeker got both of them... And more Chaos Relics, too.&quot; he growled. Bucky hurried over to Sonic and handed him the white Chaos Emerald, the one emerald Howler hadn&#039;t stolen. &quot;I think you&#039;re going to need this.&quot; he said. Sonic nodded slowly. &quot;Greeeeat... Don&#039;t got a single other emerald, but I guess it&#039;s better than nothing.&quot; he muttered. As the group approached the entrance to the throne room, they found the Doomsayer standing in the path. &quot;YOU!!&quot; Bucky snarled. &quot;Doomsayer...&quot; Knuckles muttered, &quot;You fit the description of the guy that gave Howler his crown... But that&#039;s impossible, isn&#039;t it?&quot; he asked suspiciously. The Doomsayer stood with crossed arms. &quot;As impossible as restoring life to the dead, I would wager... Questioning why will do you no good. Howler&#039;s destiny was not to remain in stone forever, and that should suffice. Is it destiny that he be the harbinger of doomsday as well? Or will that honor fall to another, in the very near future? It matters little... The world will end, and nothing you can say or do will stop it.&quot; he said darkly. &quot;If you&#039;ve got nothing helpful to say, then get lost, Grim Reaper 2!&quot; Rainbow shouted. The Doomsayer stared at her for a second before beginning to vanish in a storm of hail. &quot;You may want to check that math...&quot; he murmured as he vanished. Sonic glanced back at Amy and some of the others that had followed them this far. &quot;This guy&#039;s really dangerous by now! Some of you ought to go back and try to get as many people off the island as you can!&quot; he suggested. Amy nodded slowly. &quot;Be safe, Sonic!&quot; she said, &quot;...Or I&#039;ll never forgive you!&quot; Sonic chuckled softly. &quot;Same to you...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Copter, Punchy, Rainbow, Violet, Shadow, Silver and Kosmo entered the chamber where the Darkseeker, Howler, awaited. His eyes now glowed yellow, his transformation very nearly complete. &quot;Back for more, are you? Pathetic, foolish beings... You should have crawled under some rocks when you had the chance! But let it not be said that I am not a generous god... Have your precious emeralds!&quot; he said, tossing the Chaos Emeralds back to the group freely! He chuckled at their perplexed stares. &quot;I have no need for such baubles... And with the Master Emerald safely in my grasp, they are mere stones to you. Pity.&quot; he sneered. Sonic started to charge at Howler at high speed. &quot;Not after I take it from you!!&quot; he shouted. What was left of the walls of the throne room crumbled around them, and with a wave of his hand, a wave of water splashed into the room, picked up Sonic, and carried him out into the maelstrom! &quot;Sonic! Hang on!&quot; Shadow shouted, running after him only to be caught up in a second wave and dragged out to sea as well! Tails hastily called for the Tornado with his remote, and with the room around them basically gone, it easily found him. He hopped into the plane and took off after Sonic without delay. &quot;Sonic can&#039;t swim... I have to fish him out of there!&quot; he said in a panic. Kosmo morphed into a gargoyle and flew after him. &quot;I&#039;ll go look for Shadow, too... But I&#039;ll be RIGHT BACK, Darkseeker!!&quot; he growled. &quot;Go ahead... Take all the time you need...&quot; Howler sneered. Silver had a grim look as he noted how fast their team had been cut in half. &quot;This isn&#039;t going well... We need that Master Emerald, now!&quot; he said. Knuckles and Punchy both nodded. &quot;We&#039;re on it...&quot; Punchy said as they both started to cautiously approach Howler.<br /><br />Howler pulled out the Chaos Sword that he stole from Conan, and pointed it at the echidnas as they approached him. &quot;Do not entertain any notions of stopping me. I have collected the majority of the Chaos Relics... And I will have them ALL! Including the gauntlets and the key that lie in your possession!&quot; he said threateningly. Knuckles and Punchy both stared in surprise, taking out the key and the gauntlets respectively since it was apparently no use hiding them. Most of the other relics were in the room as well, with the crown and the tailbands being worn by Howler, and the boots and wing sitting at his feet between the Master Emerald and the Chaos Crystal. Apparently, Howler was too busy fusing with Shadow Chaos to put them on. &quot;...Yeah, we got these relics... But you&#039;ll have to take &#039;em from us!&quot; Knuckles growled. Silver stepped forward as well, ready to help, but Copter stayed back with Rainbow and Violet. &quot;This is gonna get crazy... And me without my tailband... Rainbow, you should take your sister and get out of here!&quot; he suggested. &quot;Ha! What, are you SCARED?&quot; Violet said mockingly. &quot;...Yes.&quot; Copter admitted. Howler chuckled at the bravado of the echidnas. &quot;I could simply hurl you to the ocean as I did your friends... But I have something more amusing in mind...&quot; he said, raising his hand to Punchy and sending a blast of darkness straight at him! Punchy let out a howl of pain, and quickly started to transform into Dark Punchy! &quot;One!! One, no!! Fight it!!&quot; Rainbow shouted. Howler cackled as Punchy fell to the floor, growling savagely as Dark Punchy was taking over. &quot;Your friend cannot help it! Once your heart has given way to darkness... Darkness owns it! If you are incapable of embracing it... It will control you! Now, watch as your dear &#039;Punchy&#039; destroys your only remaining heroes!&quot; he laughed. Bucky and Illusi watched from the doorway, gritting their teeth. &quot;Dark One... If you are more than mere darkness, prove it now!&quot; Illusi whispered. &quot;We may just be doomed...&quot; Bucky sighed.<br /><br />Silver tried to approach Dark Punchy. &quot;H-hey, buddy... Hate to bother you, but I gotta get those gauntlets from you real quick...&quot; he muttered. He got a bit too close, though, and Dark Punchy smacked him across the room with his fist, forcing Copter to hurry and grab him before yet another hedgehog could fall out into the maelstrom! &quot;One!! Snap out of it!!&quot; Rainbow called out. Knuckles put the Chaos Key on the ground slowly and spoke to Punchy calmly. &quot;Easy, Punchy... Remember, I&#039;m on your side for once...&quot; he mumbled. Dark Punchy grunted, and slowly looked around the room, before fixing his gaze on Howler. &quot;...I know...&quot; he growled. Inside his mind, Punchy and Dark Punchy were symbolically shaking hands! &quot;Though I&#039;m loathe to admit it, we require each other... If that Darkseeker has his way, we both die!&quot; Dark Punchy said. &quot;Hey, working together, we both should be stronger than ever! So let&#039;s teach this punk a lesson! Then...we can go back to hating each other. Whatever...&quot; Punchy agreed. Howler stared in surprise as Dark Punchy hurled a blast of dark energy his way! He simply slapped it aside, but the diversion was enough for Knuckles and Punchy to approach the Master Emerald! Howler sent some watery tendrils to clutch the emerald tightly, keeping it in place so Knuckles couldn&#039;t do anything with it. &quot;As long as the Master Emerald is in my grip, the Chaos Emeralds are useless! You&#039;ve failed, guardian!&quot; Howler sneered. Dark Punchy helped himself to the Chaos Wing in the diversion, while Knuckles looked hard at the Master Emerald, gritting his teeth. &quot;There&#039;s more...than one way...to be a guardian! The Master Emerald may be important, but my duty is greater! I am a guardian of ALL! And to stop you, Howler, I&#039;ll do WHATEVER it takes!!&quot; he shouted defiantly, raising his fist with fury! &quot;...What are you doing!?&quot; Howler gasped, realizing too late exactly what Knuckles was about to do! With a mighty punch, Knuckles shattered the Master Emerald into pieces, scattering those pieces off into the distance! This in turn restored the glow of the Chaos Emeralds, but also filled Howler with rage. &quot;What...have...you...DONE!?&quot; he roared!<br /><br />The Chaos Crystal glowed brightly, and Howler&#039;s body seemed to turn to black liquid as his transformation fully completed! The bands on his tails started to glow, and with a terrible roar, he took to the sky, ready to unleash his rage upon the world! &quot;Um... That&#039;s bad, right?&quot; Copter stammered. &quot;The Darkseeker has reached his final form... He&#039;ll devastate the whole world, leaving few survivors...&quot; Silver said shakily. Knuckles looked back at the seven Chaos Emeralds scattered on the floor. Sonic wasn&#039;t here to use them, but somebody had to stop Howler. He raced down to the emeralds without a second thought. &quot;This started with me and the Master Emerald... Well, it started with my family, anyway... Now, it&#039;s only right that I try to end this, one way or another!&quot; he declared. Dark Punchy chuckled. &quot;Nice speech...&quot; he said, sliding his hands into the Chaos Gauntlets as he wore the Chaos Wing on his back, &quot;You&#039;ll excuse Greenie and I if we don&#039;t leave this whole mess only to you.&quot; he smirked. Rainbow stared in amazement. &quot;One and Dark One...are really working together?? The whole world really has gone nuts...&quot; she murmured. Violet nodded. &quot;Maybe so, and maybe it&#039;ll be just enough to stop the Dar...to stop Howler!&quot; she said. &quot;Good luck, you two!&quot; said Bucky from the doorway. Dr. Eggman peered in as well. &quot;...What? We&#039;re relying on Knuckles now? ...Uh, I mean... Yeah! Go, team! ...I&#039;m getting the heck out of here...&quot; he mumbled unconfidently. Knuckles shut his eyes and nodded to himself. &quot;...Everyone&#039;s counting on me... Time to show &#039;em what I got!&quot; he shouted!<br /><br />The Chaos Emeralds started to glow and hover in the air, encircling Knuckles. As they spun around him, he, too began to levitate in the air, his body beginning to feel their power! With a brilliant flash of light, he transformed, his fur taking on a brilliant, golden hue! He had become Super Knuckles! &quot;...Gold? Last time it was kinda pink! Guess I got upgraded! All right!&quot; he said, flying up a bit, soon joined by Dark Punchy, who was flying using the Chaos Wing. &quot;Good. Great. Now you just might be able to pull your weight in this battle. Let&#039;s go show that &#039;Darkseeker&#039; who&#039;s boss!&quot; he shouted. Knuckles chuckled at him. &quot;Nice working with you, too... I guess I should say something clever and dramatic like Sonic would... Let&#039;s give him a KNUCKLE-SANDWICH!!&quot; he yelled, making Dark Punchy roll his eyes and fly off ahead. &quot;...What? I thought that was pretty good! ...Eh, what do YOU know!&quot; he grumbled, flying after him.<br /><br />Howler met them out over the ocean. He glared at them with contempt, but also with a hint of agony. &quot;...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?!?!&quot; he shrieked! &quot;What!?&quot; Dark Punchy gasped. Super Knuckles watched him, seeing that his movements had become a bit erratic. &quot;When I shattered the Master Emerald, I must&#039;ve interrupted his transformation. Now he can&#039;t totally control it, it seems...&quot; he realized. Howler&#039;s body started to ripple and stretch, and he roared as his body seemed to be tearing itself apart! &quot;Well...this might be easier than we thought...&quot; Dark Punchy said. Knuckles shook his head. &quot;I think he&#039;s...taking on some of Shadow Chaos&#039;s less pleasant traits... He&#039;s turning into a writhing mass of anger and sorrow!&quot; he shouted. Howler let out a mournful roar as his body grew to a massive size, his legs meeting with the ocean and seeming to merge with it, while his arms seemed to become giant tentacles under Shadow Chaos&#039;s influence! Howler attempted to maintain some of his original form, but it was at least partially corrupted in the transformation, becoming a watery, translucent shadow of what he once was! &quot;I am a GOD!! I am...rage!! I am sorrow...! I...am... DESPAIR!!!&quot; he roared, the crown on his head glowing strongly as he glared menacingly at the echidnas! &quot;...Look out!&quot; Knuckles gasped, dashing out of the way as Howler, or &quot;Despair,&quot; flailed his giant tentacles at them with tremendous force, creating huge waves as they crashed against the ocean&#039;s surface! Dark Punchy laughed. &quot;I&#039;ve bested Shadow Chaos before! Bring it, Howler!&quot; he shouted.<br /><br />Not too far away, the Tornado was circling around, searching for Sonic. Kosmo was flying around as well, and both he and Tails glanced at Despair in awe. &quot;...Well, Howler found something I&#039;m pretty sure I can&#039;t transform into. Good for him...&quot; Kosmo gasped. Tails shook his head and looked back to the ocean, quickly spotting Sonic. Fortunately, the maelstrom had mysteriously died down, though the pieces of Demon Island were still sinking. Tails brought the Tornado down, finding Sonic jumping back and forth on Terra and Firma&#039;s heads as they floated in the water. &quot;Great timing, Tails! Not sure how long I can keep this up!&quot; he sighed. &quot;Sonic!! You and your friends will SUFFER for this humiliation!!&quot; Terra shouted. &quot;Dr. Eggman will have to de-rust us first...&quot; Firma stated. Sonic hopped on the Tornado&#039;s wing with a chuckle. &quot;You&#039;d think he&#039;d know better than to use rusty robots in a coastal city! So, Tails, what&#039;s the situation?&quot; he asked. Tails pointed to &quot;Despair,&quot; and Sonic chuckled nervously. &quot;Who&#039;s that fighting with Knuckles...? Why do I got a very bad feeling?&quot; he murmured. &quot;Hey!! Can someone pull me outta here!?&quot; sputtered Shadow, who was tiredly trying to keep his head above the ocean&#039;s surface.<br /><br />As the final battle with Despair was getting under way, Violet approached the Chaos Crystal that the Darkseeker had left behind. &quot;...We could use this! We could stop the Chaos Relics and weaken Howler big time!&quot; she realized. Rainbow stepped up to stop her. &quot;Wait! If you do that, One will fall! And that big...thing...will still be there, only a bit weaker! I know One&#039;s messed up a lot, but we should give him a chance to make it up...&quot; she pleaded. Copter nodded. &quot;That&#039;s a very good point... Will you girls excuse me? I NEED my plane, right now! Pick up, Hoover!! This is no joke!! If you don&#039;t send that plane over right now, I&#039;ll personally take your head off!!&quot; he shouted at the Hurricane remote. He had a point, one way or another, they needed a way off the island. &quot;...I should get to my ship...&quot; Bucky realized, rushing off in a hurry!<br /><br /><br />Super Knuckles had already been injured and sent looking for rings by now. Fortunately, as a general rule, rings were generally drawn to places where super-formed beings were doing battle, even out here in the middle of the ocean. Dark Punchy worked to hold Despair off, firing blasts of energy from his fists using the power of the Chaos Gauntlets. This was more effective than any dark energy attacks he could use, as Despair was pulsing with dark energy himself, being a fusion of Shadow Chaos and the Darkseeker. Still, the combined power of the Chaos Crown and the tailbands made Despair seemingly impervious to damage. &quot;Those gauntlets...are wasted on you!! They belong...with a GOD!!&quot; Despair roared, sending arcs of black lightning searing across the sky toward Dark Punchy from his tentacles! Ordinarily, Dark Punchy would merely absorb dark energy, but this was on a level beyond even him! Though he tried to absorb it, he was flung backward by the force, howling in pain! &quot;Hey, dark me! Attacks are meant to HURT you! Don&#039;t just LET him hit us!&quot; Punchy said in his mind. &quot;You want to try your luck alone? You&#039;d be fried to a crisp in seconds!&quot; Dark Punchy grunted. Knuckles flew back and briefly watched Punchy argue with himself. &quot;Ahem... Am I interrupting?&quot; he muttered, &quot;We&#039;ll never stop Howler like this! We gotta knock off that crown of his!&quot; he pointed out. Despair laughed at the notion. &quot;Try it... You cannot even approach me!!&quot; he roared! Knuckles and Punchy took up his challenge, charging straight for the transformed giant. Despair swung his arms and somehow created massive tornadoes, swirling across the surface of the water straight toward the echidnas! Knuckles weaved to avoid them, but Dark Punchy was quickly swept away by one of them, and tossed far into the distance! &quot;Fine... I&#039;ll get it!&quot; Knuckles growled. Despair smirked and opened his mouth, firing a massive black beam from it that surprised Knuckles and knocked him back, dislodging a few rings from him as well! He stared at Despair and flashed back to his bout against &quot;Perfect Chaos&quot; in the Dream Temple. &quot;...I am not...a failure! I am more than just the Master Emerald&#039;s guardian... And I&#039;m going to prove it!&quot; he said, gritting his teeth with determination!<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Demon Island was rapidly sinking. Fortunately, many of the people on the island had found their way to Shadow Arcangel, which was fairly accommodating in size. Team Chaotix gladly stepped aside from piloting duty to allow Team GeneX to take their rightful places at the controls, and even Bucky managed to make it back in time for takeoff. He made an announcement over the PA system left over by Eggman as they prepared to launch. &quot;Attention, passengers... Hold on tight for the main flight AWAY from Demon Island. This flight is an act of courtesy and kindness on my part, so I&#039;ll ask that you GUN agents and Covenant of Despair members behave yourselves for the duration of the trip... And that goes for everyone else, too! Don&#039;t think I forgot you, Dr. Eggman!&quot; he shouted. Dr. Eggman glanced at Dr. Nammad from his seat in one of this ship&#039;s many rooms. &quot;Sheesh, you kidnap a guy one measly time and he treats you like a criminal!&quot; he grumbled. &quot;Uh... Tell me about it... Hey, can we, uh, get some water in here?&quot; he asked Guard, who was standing outside the door making certain that the two scientists were indeed keeping out of trouble. &quot;Grrrr... There&#039;s plenty of water OUTSIDE the ship...&quot; he growled. Eggman growled softly. &quot;Just you wait... Plots for revenge are coming to me as we speak...&quot; he grumbled. As Shadow Arcangel started taking off, Mia&#039;s taxi cab took to the air as well, carrying herself, Razor, Tommy, and Chet&#039;s body. &quot;Here&#039;s hoping there&#039;s no turbulence on the way... We&#039;re already burying one person too many...&quot; Mia frowned. Those few that hadn&#039;t secured transport off the island were forced to swim for it, heading for the shore of Station Square...<br /><br /><br />Once again, Dark Punchy had to create a diversion while Knuckles gathered up rings. Dark form didn&#039;t run on rings, but there were limits to his power. What&#039;s more, neither Punchy nor Dark Punchy quite knew how to access the full power of the Chaos Gauntlets, so the energy blasts being fired from them weren&#039;t quite as powerful as they should have been. Despair took a moment to taunt him in his futile efforts. &quot;Look at you... You will never know the workings of the Chaos Relics as I do... But why suffer a terrible death here? You know darkness, as I do... With the proper guidance, you could be a great ally to me... Together, we could rule the earth!&quot; he offered. Super Knuckles was on his way back, and noticing the calm between the two of them, felt a bit uneasy. Dark Punchy seemed to be considering Despair&#039;s words. He smirked at the giant. &quot;Tempting... But the world should be mine alone!&quot; he shouted, beating his fists in the air repeatedly to send dozens of energy blasts from the Chaos Gauntlets straight for Despair&#039;s yellow eyes! Knuckles smiled and flew in to join the assault, looking for an opening to get at the Chaos Crown! Despair shot out his tentacle arms, weaving them into a giant black web pulsing with dark energy, which blocked the path to him! Through the holes in this &quot;web,&quot; he fired giant black beams at the echidnas, keeping them both at bay. &quot;...There&#039;s only one way to get at that crown... But I&#039;ll need a lot of speed. I hope the emeralds give me that...&quot; Knuckles gulped. Dark Punchy nodded. &quot;Go... I&#039;ll keep him occupied.&quot; he said, heading straight for Despair. &quot;Hey, melty-face! All that black sludge makes you look FAT!&quot; he shouted, charging the Chaos Gauntlets with dark energy to fire black bolts from them, which looked impressive, but didn&#039;t seem to do any better than the normal shots. &quot;Fool! My darkness is stronger than yours! I simply absorb it!&quot; he laughed. Punchy smirked and fired more of these blasts, while Despair simply laughed at him. &quot;What do you hope to accomplish, vermin?&quot; he sneered. &quot;Just figuring that you enjoy the darkness so much, you&#039;ll lower your guard...&quot; Dark Punchy grinned. &quot;...WHAT!?&quot; Despair snapped. While he was distracted, Knuckles was building up speed, and aiming lower, at Despair&#039;s chest! Before Despair could untangle his tentacles and block him, Knuckles rammed his chest fists-first, and started to drill his way through Despair&#039;s liquid body, heading up to his head! &quot;Y-you fool! I am invincible! You cannot harm me!!&quot; he growled, only for Super Knuckles to crash through his head, snatching the crown! &quot;Guess what, pal? You&#039;re NOT immortal anymore!!&quot; he shouted.<br /><br />Despair shrieked and sent bolts of black lightning everywhere, trying to take out the echidnas once and for all! However, without the Chaos Crown, his body was starting to go from black to gray. &quot;That crown&#039;s the only thing that&#039;s been keeping Howler alive for all these years!&quot; Dark Punchy smirked, &quot;Without it, he&#039;s a VERY old man... I&#039;d say that old age is catching up to him!&quot; he shouted. Knuckles nodded. &quot;Let&#039;s grab those tailbands, quick!&quot; he suggested, flying around behind Despair, followed by Dark Punchy! &quot;Stop!! I am a GOD!! You cannot DO this to ME!!!&quot; Despair screamed, trying to smack them away with his tailband-powered tails! The echidnas were knocked aside, and it seemed apparent that Despair still held some power from the two tailbands combined! But at this point, Rainbow intervened. &quot;Those Forces of Chaos not bound by the emeralds... Are still bound to this controller! Chaos Crystal, help us! Stop the Chaos Relics!&quot; Rainbow shouted, causing the Chaos Crystal to glow, and the active relics to stop glowing! &quot;Huh, what?? Yaaaaaah!!&quot; Dark Punchy gasped as the Chaos Wing turned back into a cape, causing him to fall! &quot;Gotcha!! Hang on, Punchy!!&quot; Knuckles shouted, holding on to his hand tightly! With the tailbands now inactive, Howler&#039;s mortality took full effect, and he quickly started to de-combine from Shadow Chaos in a dramatic fashion, the hulking Despair creature melting into the ocean! Knuckles was stuck carrying Punchy, but he still went to the trouble of flying in to grab the tailbands as they slipped off the melting monster&#039;s tails, a band being snatched in each echidna&#039;s hand! As Howler&#039;s influence was fading, Dark Punchy faded as well, reverting back to normal Punchy. &quot;That was nuts! Aaah! Don&#039;t drop me, Red!!&quot; he gasped. &quot;Quit callin&#039; me Red, and I&#039;ll think about it...&quot; Knuckles sighed. With a final howl of defiance, Howler and Shadow Chaos sunk into the ocean together. The black liquid creature seemed to drag the elderly Howler to the bottom of the ocean in an act of vengeance, though this might mean the end of them both in the crushing oblivion of the ocean&#039;s depths. At last, the Darkseeker was no more...<br /><br />Realizing that the only way the tailbands and the Chaos Wing could have both lost power was by the Chaos Crystal, Knuckles headed back to Demon Island to look for Rainbow. Sure enough, she was still there, along with her sister and Illusi. The shrew had reclaimed his key from the collection of relics left behind by Howler, but he seemed reluctant to escape with it. &quot;Thanks for the assist, Rainbow... Good of you to trust me to pick up Punchy.&quot; Knuckles said. Rainbow chuckled. &quot;Now, what kinda guardian would you be if you let him drown?&quot; she said. The echidnas brought the gauntlets, wing, crown and tailbands to the pile including the boots and the sword. Copter was quick to make his presence known, and reclaim both tailbands. &quot;Excuse me! I&#039;ll take those! Me and Tails have a claim on these little guys!&quot; he grunted. His plane, the Hurricane, was running behind him. &quot;I&#039;ll take &#039;em as payment for the ride to shore. Who&#039;s coming?&quot; he asked. Knuckles looked at the relics, and then at Illusi. &quot;...Only took one? You&#039;re less greedy than Copter, anyway.&quot; he chuckled. Illusi sighed. &quot;Despair stole this from me... And then my dear friend paid the price... I have nothing left...&quot; he sighed. Punchy looked at him sympathetically. &quot;Come on, Illusi. That&#039;s not so. You have her memory. Honor that memory.&quot; he said, picking up the Chaos Sword and handing it to Illusi, &quot;Take these relics.&quot; he told him. Illusi stared in shock. &quot;This... this is too much power for any one being...&quot; he said. Rainbow nodded. &quot;That&#039;s why you&#039;re perfect for this, Mousy! You&#039;ll see they stay out of the wrong hands!&quot; she said. Knuckles shrugged and looked up as he heard the Tornado flying his way. &quot;That&#039;s my ride... Chaos Emeralds don&#039;t keep you airborn forever...&quot; he sighed. &quot;Hey! Knux!! Awesome job!!&quot; Sonic shouted to his friend. Knuckles waved up to him with a wry smile. &quot;Thanks, but could&#039;ve been better... I gotta find the Master Emerald pieces now!!&quot; he groaned. To that, everyone gave a light chuckle, and even Illusi cracked a slight smile. &quot;...In Fera&#039;s memory... I will keep these Relics she was charged with seeking safe...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />So at last, the aftermath of the Covenant of Despair&#039;s schemes could take its toll. For only through this could the world begin to heal and return to normal. Bucky brought Shadow Arcangel to the Mystic Ruins, letting off his many passengers at the edge of the jungle so they could head for the train station. Of course, many experiments remained aboard the ship, for a while at least, to help see everyone off safely and to console their creator, who was still a bit shaken over watching his long lost love die a second time. &quot;Hope... Whatever else she did, she watched over us this whole time... Now it&#039;s up to me to take greater care and watch over all of you myself...&quot; Bucky said solemnly. Ridley and Spiny had packed what little things they had on the ship into a pair of knapsacks. &quot;...If it&#039;s all the same to you, I&#039;ll watch over myself.&quot; Spiny grumbled. &quot;With GUN always after us, I don&#039;t see how it&#039;s safe here. Perhaps we&#039;ll meet again, and maybe next time things will be different...&quot; Ridley sighed, leaving with Spiny. &quot;Aw, good riddance! We don&#039;t need any sssslimy traitorsss here...&quot; Vortex hissed. Heather and Whisk watched them go, seeming to wonder if they should go as well. &quot;You two!&quot; Bucky called, &quot;I think I owe you both a proper examination... Whisk, your memory has become an issue. We need to start exploring options to see if we can&#039;t fix that...&quot; he said. Whisk had a blank expression. &quot;Fix what?? Who exactly are you?&quot; she stammered. &quot;I see what you mean...&quot; Heather sighed. Elsewhere, at the ship&#039;s exit, was Zeke and Lucky. &quot;Where do you think you&#039;re going?&quot; Lucky asked the dragon. &quot;What do YOU want kid? Put me in jail for siding with Despair? I&#039;m through with that, okay!? I&#039;m gonna go out and see the wider world!&quot; he said, flapping his wings and taking off, &quot;You want my advice? You should do the same!&quot; he shouted. Lucky looked outside the ship curiously. &quot;...The wider world...? Hmmm... Maybe I should go...&quot; Not far from the ship was Lospecter, Losipher and Loskeletor. &quot;Hmmm... How much you wanna bet we&#039;re not welcome in there anymore?&quot; Lospecter murmured, &quot;Might be time to find some new digs...&quot;<br /><br />Of course, Mia took Razor to the hospital to deliver the news about Chet to Katie without delay. It seemed cruel to tell her while she was still recovering, but it also seemed it would be cruel to withhold this information. Katie broke down sobbing upon hearing that her boyfriend was gone, but fortunately she had Mia&#039;s shoulder to cry on. Tommy brought Razor&#039;s boss, Chief Paynson, to the room after a moment. &quot;...Officer... I&#039;ve heard wild rumors about what you&#039;ve been through... I expect a full report... Um...&quot; he mumbled, looking at the sobbing coyote, &quot;...Get to it when you can... From what I hear, there may be a promotion in it for you.&quot; he said. Razor shrugged. &quot;Honestly, chief... I think I could better do with a vacation at the moment...&quot; he sighed.<br />Outside the hospital was where Copter landed the Hurricane, hoping to visit Katie while his friends went their separate ways. Kosmo had also arrived there, and he met Carrie and Talon there as well. &quot;Oh, if it isn&#039;t Miss Mirage...&quot; Kosmo murmured. Carrie chuckled softly. &quot;Sorry about the deception... Me and Talon were both...kinda scared... So we pooled our talents so he seemed strong and I...hid.&quot; she admitted. &quot;We were kinda born right into a war...&quot; Talon sighed, &quot;Peace is gonna seem strange.&quot; he said. Kosmo nodded. &quot;Yeah... Let me know if peace ever happens... So, anyway... See you around?&quot; he said to Carrie. She smiled and nodded. &quot;...Someday, Kosmo... I&#039;ll see you...but whether you&#039;ll see me is another story...&quot; she grinned, vanishing before his eyes. <br /><br />Dr. Eggman managed to make it back to Eggtopia, where BAS was still singing crazily. &quot;VANDALS!! Who would dare sabotage my security system!!?&quot; he shouted furiously. &quot;Oh, boss!&quot; said a small, round, red robot that was busy at Eggman&#039;s control terminals, &quot;What a relief! I&#039;ve been trying to fix this mess ever since Sonic left!&quot; he explained. &quot;Grrrr... Nice job STOPPING him, Orbot!!&quot; Eggman yelled. Making matters worse, Alpha and Char started singing along with BAS. &quot;Even though you&#039;re only make-believing, laugh clown, laugh!!&quot; they sang. &quot;...What decade does BAS get his song catalogue from?&quot; Jolt asked. &quot;Never you mind!&quot; Eggman grumbled. &quot;This noise is irritating. Shall I annihilate the source?&quot; Terra suggested. Metal Sonic buzzed in annoyance, and Eggman nodded in agreement. &quot;I&#039;m gonna need a new base...&quot; he sighed.<br />The remnants of the Covenant of Despair also wandered to Troblusk City. They found Hollow Manor, Kosmo&#039;s former home, and decided to hide out there for the time being. &quot;Like it or not, we&#039;re in this together... For now...&quot; Basker sneered. &quot;Eeee hee hee! We&#039;ll rebuild the Covenant of Despair somehow or other!&quot; Eddie chuckled. &quot;And who will lead it?&quot; Anubis growled. &quot;And will there be better health benefits this time around?&quot; Infin grumbled. Patch and Daisy were standing with the minor agents in the back, feeling rather uneasy about their future. Conan was there, too. &quot;Why are we here, exactly?&quot; Daisy muttered. &quot;Hee hee! Wanted criminals, duh!&quot; Patch pointed out. Conan&#039;s eyes narrowed. &quot;Whatever... I&#039;m only here until I find what belongs to me... And am able to resume my hunt once again...&quot; he growled.<br /><br />The GUN Assault Carrier picked up Sgt. Drol and the rest of GUN&#039;s forces on the way back to Central City. Gunner&#039;s relief at finding them may not have been all that genuine, but his pleasure at the Covenant of Despair&#039;s apparent defeat certainly was. He was quick to call the Commander with the good news. &quot;The Covenant of Despair&#039;s island has been blown out of the sky! Reports indicate that their leader has fallen, and the Chaos Relics have been lost. Project GXterminate has been destroyed, but all around I&#039;d say we did well.&quot; Gunner bragged. &quot;The efforts of your unit will not go unnoticed, Colonel!&quot; the Commander stated. The President was also present for this video conference. &quot;Excuse me... Is there any word on the creature that posed as me?&quot; he asked. Drol cleared his throat. &quot;Some agents claim to have sighted it on the island, but nothing conclusive...&quot; he said. Team Dark was present for this conversation as well, and were all too eager to rain on Gunner&#039;s parade. &quot;Reporting! Dr. Eggman has escaped!&quot; Omega blurted. &quot;A great deal of Despair agents fled the island, too. No telling what threat they pose.&quot; Shadow said. &quot;You should also expect those Chaos Relics to resurface at some point!&quot; Rouge added. Guard grunted as if he was going to say something, but Gunner growled over him. &quot;That&#039;s quite enough! We are aware there is still work to be done! But the point is, Despair will not be doing anything drastic without their HQ. We can rest easy tonight.&quot; he stated. The Commander nodded. &quot;I&#039;m proud of you Colonel... Normally you&#039;d be taking the carrier on a manhunt for every last animal that escaped you. Let&#039;s wait and see if this victory was final first.&quot; he said before hanging up. Gunner stared with wide eyes. &quot;...Wait... I think I&#039;ve been duped just now...!&quot; he stammered.<br /><br />Gemini sat on the shore of Station Square, watching Demon Island sink with sadness. &quot;My attempt to change the past just made things worse... Now Losipher is loose earlier and people have died...&quot; she sniffled. Silver sat beside her, looking unsure of what to say. &quot;You know... Time travel isn&#039;t easy... I&#039;m not always able to find the answer I&#039;m looking for either. I just keep hoping I can change just enough to make the future a better one...&quot; he said. Fred, Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt watched them from a short distance away. &quot;...Shall we take her back?&quot; Cuthburt whispered. Fred frowned. &quot;By law, we&#039;re supposed to... But she&#039;s not ready. If we take her back now, she&#039;ll never be the same...&quot; he said. He then waved his wand, and the four of them vanished in a brilliant light, leaving Gemini and Silver alone.<br />Professor Pickle met Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and SPOT at Station Square. Amy and Cream met them as well, greeting Sonic and Tails with great enthusiasm. &quot;So, everyone... It seems you&#039;ve rescued the world yet again! I&#039;d love to hear all about it! I can set up a plate of cucumber sandwiches back at the library!&quot; Pickle offered. Sonic chuckled softly, and Tails gave a reply. &quot;Sorry, professor, maybe another time. I&#039;ve got a workshop to rebuild...&quot; he said. &quot;I&#039;ll help you!&quot; Cream offered. &quot;You kidding? He needs speed! I&#039;ll help him out!&quot; Sonic grinned. Team Chaotix suddenly interrupted them out of the blue. &quot;Hate to break this up... But I believe we&#039;ve done you a lot of service today...&quot; Vector muttered. &quot;Should we mail one of you a bill?&quot; Espio said bluntly. Sonic and Tails stared at them. &quot;We never hired you!&quot; Sonic stammered. &quot;Oh, no! You&#039;re not weaseling out on us!! Everyone&#039;s always doing that!!&quot; Charmy shouted. &quot;He SAID he didn&#039;t hire you!!&quot; Amy growled, raising her hammer. The three shuddered and ran off, while Knuckles started digging up the nearby beach sand, pulling out a Master Emerald shard. &quot;I gotta pass, too, Prof... I got work to do... A guardian&#039;s work is never finished...&quot; he sighed.<br /><br />The Doomsayer stood on the remains of Demon Island as it sunk deeper underwater, only a bit of ground remaining. &quot;You can only stave off the end so long...&quot; he muttered. Tikal appeared beside him, her ghostly form looking a bit defiant. &quot;Perhaps if the Chaos Relics find the right owners, this end you speak of can be defeated!&quot; she suggested. The Doomsayer chuckled softly. &quot;A slim hope...&quot; he said, vanishing in a cyclone of hail! &quot;...A slim hope is all that&#039;s needed...&quot; Tikal sighed.<br /><br />The End&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;BZZ BVZZZ ZZZT!!!<br /><br /><br />Some time later, after yet another disaster was averted, all of Sonic&#039;s friends and a few additional acquaintances were gathered at his birthday party. It was originally a much smaller occasion, but after a certain Dark crashed the party, seemingly everyone was there. This included Illusi, though he kept his distance from most of the partygoers, turning over the Chaos Key in his hand. He wandered over to Shadow Arc once Bucky was done sending past selves back to their original time periods. The two leaned against the wall of the ship and heaved heavy sighs. &quot;Burdened by a loss?&quot; Bucky asked, &quot;I could tell...&quot; he sighed. Illusi nodded. &quot;I had begun to heal, but that trip to Demon Island brought it all back...&quot; he said sadly. Bucky nodded. &quot;Just seeing certain areas from afar... Without entering... It brought back thoughts of the one I lost... But there was no time for such thoughts. Funny to say, considering where we were.&quot; he mused. Illusi clutched the key tightly. &quot;I just keep wondering if there was anything more I could have done...&quot; he said. Bucky shrugged. &quot;All we can do is focus on what we&#039;re doing now.&quot; he sighed. Illusi looked hard at the Chaos Key and nodded. &quot;You&#039;re right... And there is something important I must do...&quot; he realized, turning the key and then vanishing in a burst of smoke.<br /><br />Katie sat beside Copter, who was looking at the picture of himself, Kosmo, Razor, Mia, Vector, Chip and Dimentime in Shamar that Tails had given him. &quot;That&#039;s...an odd bunch. When was this taken?&quot; she asked. Copter shrugged. &quot;You know, I haven&#039;t the foggiest idea.&quot; he chuckled. Katie placed an arm around him, sighing longingly. &quot;I&#039;m very grateful to you for coming for me... I used to rely on Chet for that sort of thing... but...&quot; she said, choking up. Copter hugged her gently, but briefly. &quot;I rescued everyone I could... Maybe I went a little nuts when I couldn&#039;t find you... But don&#039;t get the wrong idea...&quot; he said nervously. Katie nodded slowly. &quot;I understand... I did kinda hurt you before... Maybe someday, we&#039;ll both be whole again... And if we&#039;re available, who knows?&quot; she smiled. Copter smiled back and nodded. &quot;Sure... Obviously, anything can happen. This picture proves it!&quot; he grinned.<br /><br />While Knuckles finished his cake and Sonic&#039;s party was winding down, he quietly reflected on everything that had happened. After all, Demon Island WAS contained in White Space, so it got him thinking. &quot;Weird to see the Covenant of Despair again... So glad they&#039;ve been quiet all this time...&quot; he muttered. &quot;Hey, Red!&quot; said Punchy, sitting next to him, &quot;Where&#039;s my cake?&quot; he smirked. &quot;...YOU weren&#039;t invited. Much like Gator over there.&quot; he said, &quot;But it&#039;s strangely nice seeing ya. You keepin&#039; your cool?&quot; he asked. Punchy chuckled. &quot;Dark Punchy&#039;s... mostly in check...&quot; he said, &quot;And how&#039;s the non-time-travel Master Emerald, anyway?&quot; he wondered. Knuckles sighed. It had been a chore, but he did manage to restore the Master Emerald and return it to Angel Island. &quot;Fortunately, no problems since the Covenant of Despair fiasco. World&#039;s been amazingly quiet.&quot; he smiled. Punchy chuckled. &quot;I bet you&#039;re getting soft! I&#039;ll have to pay you another visit real soon!&quot; he taunted. Knuckles tossed his plate in Punchy&#039;s face. &quot;Whatever, greenie!&quot; he laughed.<br /><br />&quot;Now that I know the full story behind my duty, I feel a great weight lifted from me. Angel Island is my home... but so is the world. To be a true guardian, sometimes I must leave my post and fight for what is truly right. I&#039;m Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of All!&quot;<br /><br />End</span>",
  "pools_count": 2,
  "title": "Sonic GeneX: Knuckles the Echidna - Arc 5",
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