Chapter 37 - Defending the Arcangel

GeneX - Knuckles the Echidna
Chapter 37 - Defending the Arcangel
Stage 21(Hero 11) - Shadow Arcangel
Minor Boss 17 - ????????

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

The story thus far:
Conan got the jump on Knuckles, swiping the Master Emerald and leading him on a chase that got him lost in the Forest of Dreams. As it started to rain, he and some others took shelter in the mysterious Dream Temple. The Dream King presented each of them with different trials, ending with Knuckles battling a nightmare of Perfect Chaos with his friends' lives on the line! In the end, Knuckles realized his true nature as a guardian of all, and as they left the Dream Temple, the group had renewed determination to stop the Covenant of Despair.
Now, on to the next chapter!


After escaping the Dream Temple, Knuckles, Shadow and Gemini found themselves lost in the Forest of Dreams. Tails had managed to escape with his plane, but Shadow and Gemini's attempts to warp out of the maze of trees proved fruitless. "Are we doomed to wander these woods forever...?" Shadow wondered. However, the light above was soon blotted out by a massive object! Looking up, they saw Shadow Arcangel in the sky directly above them! Bucky was standing in the doorway of the section that once jutted out of the earth when the ship was embedded in the ground as a strange ruins. "Need a lift?" he shouted. A quick teleport up with Gemini's wand, and they were all soon safely aboard the familiar dark aircraft. "Excuse any turbulence. For one thing, my usual flight crew is out, replaced with the Chaotix detectives." Bucky said. Vector's voice came over the PA. "Everyone aboard? Can we pull up?" he wondered. Bucky lifted a walkie-talkie. "Tell him to resume course, Charmy." he said. "Yessir! You're the client!" he replied cheerfully. Shadow crossed his arms. "I assume you finding us isn't just coincidence." he said. Bucky led the way toward the control room. "No, you're right. I need all the help I can get right now, and since it seems many of my experiments are occupied, you'll have to do." he stated. Gemini sighed. "Well, I guess there aren't many places I'd rather be right now. Since this is where the Lost Ones were first spotted, I might find clues to help me defeat them..." she reasoned. Bucky opened the door to the control room as they arrived. "First thing's first... You help me, and I'll do what I can to help the three of you." he said. Espio and Vector were both working at the controls of the ship within the control room, neither seeming wholly confident in the other's knowledge of piloting an ancient ruin. Charmy was monitoring the power cells containing the rings needed to keep the ship aloft. Lucky the cat and Spiny the porcupine were loitering in the control room as well. "Everyone, listen up!" Bucky announced, "It is time to defend Shadow Arcangel!"

Bucky turned the group's attention to a radar screen that Eggman had installed in the control room during his brief tenure as the ship's owner. "As you can see, there's a fleet on our tail. Spiny has verified that it is Dr. Eggman's carnival fleet." he said. "I still say we'd do better pledging our allegiance to Dr. Eggman." Spiny complained. "Yes, that worked SO WELL for you so far!" Bucky pointed out. "Do I hear people talking about me? My ears are burning!" The group was briefly struck speechless as Dr. Eggman himself stepped into the control room, accompanied by Metal Sonic! Knuckles was the first to snap out of it. "Give me ONE reason why I shouldn't come over there and crack your eggshell wide open!!" he shouted. "...I'm not really an Egg?" Eggman said awkwardly. As Knuckles and Vector crept toward him angrily, Eggman waved a white flag frantically. "PARLEY!! Parley!!" he shouted. "Uh... What?" Gemini muttered. "He wants to talk things over." Bucky said, "Make it quick, Robotnik." he growled. Eggman bowed graciously. "Thank you... Now listen, I had to come aboard. The Covenant of Despair found a backdoor into my own system when one of their agents was sneaking around my virtual reality video game! As a result, Cloud Carnival is under their control...and on its way here!" he said. Shadow scoffed. "Amazing. That dumb game is STILL getting on my nerves. Get to the part where you ask us for something in exchange for your help." he said distrustingly. Eggman frowned. "So cold, Shadow. In fact, I came only in the interest of peaceful cooperation...and getting my fleet back, hopefully. I'm even offering Metal Sonic's assistance! Use him in any way you require! He got a little banged up in Central City, but I buffed out most of the dings." he said earnestly. Knuckles frowned. "I don't like it. I've already met my quota for being messed with by you today..." he grumbled. Bucky looked at the radar screen grimly. "There's little choice. We have to trust him." he said. "...But we don't have to like it! Pfffft!!" Charmy said, sticking out his tongue.

Bucky looked around seriously. "The Arcangel's defenses are a number of turrets positioned on the...outer decks of the ship. To launch a counterattack, some of you must go outside and man these turrets." he said. Knuckles stared at him in disbelief. "...What!? You mean to tell me this heap doesn't have defenses you can control from in here!? What are all those controls FOR anyway!?" he yelled. Eggman shrugged. "I didn't view it as a problem myself. I was going to have robots man the turrets when I was in control of the ship..." he stated. Shadow groaned. "Well, now WE have to do it! Come on, Knuckles!" he said, leading him, Gemini and Charmy in a search for the "outer decks." "We'll see about automating some of those weapons!" Eggman said, heading off with Metal Sonic. Bucky stepped outside of the control room and watched them go. "Godspeed..." he muttered. Just then, he heard a voice. "Betrayed... by Despair...? You have a history...of betrayal...do you not?" It was Nevin Crimm again. "I didn't betray you, Crimm. Wheeler abandoned you! I never quite knew what became of you. I can't fathom why your voice haunts my thoughts, honestly!" Bucky snapped. "Perhaps something else... fills you with sorrow... How did your Hope die?" Crimm asked. Bucky growled softly. "...GUN..."

A flash of memories came to Bucky's mind. GUN's Sergeant Murten had found his laboratory, and launched an attack using an early prototype of what would become Diablon. This was more like a souped-up Flying Dog, but even so, the arms added to the machine made it no joke. "There's nowhere left to run, Stein, you mutant! I'll see an example made out of you! No one defies GUN!" Murten growled. Corporal Gunner was the only official witness, and he stood watching eagerly from the sidelines. "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. 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!!!!!"

The memories had become too much to bear. "As soon as this is over, I'll raid myself a drugstore and rid myself of your pestering voice!!" Bucky roared. Just then, Vector peered through the door of the control room. "'Scuse me, doc... But that won't do any good..." he grunted, stepping out and glancing around above them, "...I hear him, too! Why don't ya show yourself, whoever you are!" he called out. Bucky's eyes went wide. "That's impossible... Nevin Crimm is dead!" he gasped. The voice of Crimm rang out with raspy laughter, echoing through the halls. "So... my secret is out... I have been whispering to you, in the guise of a lost friend... Searching... for weakness!" he bellowed, "Go ahead and search... You'll never... find me!!" Crimm laughed, his voice slowly fading. "...Well... That was creepy..." Vector said.

Across a few halls, Knuckles, Gemini, Shadow, and Charmy were startled by the sudden laughter of Nevin Crimm, seeming to pass them as it echoed through the hallways. Gemini's hair stood on end. "You all heard that, right?" she whimpered. Charmy was hugging himself in fear. "I TOLD Espio and Vector this place was haunted!!" he shivered. "That laugh... It was... familiar. Eerily familiar..." Gemini shuddered, creeping ahead to the next dark corner with her wand readied. As she peered around it, she covered her own mouth to hold back a gasp. Rivers of loslime were flowing out of cracks in the walls, chanting their ghostly chant of "Lossss... Lossss!!" Shadow and Knuckles took pause when they looked as well. "Something's got the Lost Ones jittery..." Shadow realized. "Hasn't Bucky bothered to get an exterminator in here for these things YET!?" Knuckles growled. Gemini clutched her wand tightly. "Well, he's got me here, now! Blastrotall!!" she shouted, frantically firing shots at the loslime in an effort to clear a path! Before long, however, a ball of electricity breezed past her and the others, clearing the path quickly and efficiently! The electricity faded to reveal Metal Sonic! "...Show off!!" Gemini shouted.

As they continued searching for a way to the outer decks, they found that the measly loslime were only the beginning of their worries. Lospides, losoars, and flaming loskulls were patrolling the halls as well. They didn't really have time to contend with them, and certain members of their group were all but useless against certain Lost Ones. Fortunately, they didn't have to fight through them long, as lasers burst forth from a nearby hallway and drove back some of the creatures! Adam the bat, Evelyn the fox, Cuthburt the alligator and Fred the fennec charged in from the hallway and went to work on the Lost Ones with their futuristic lasers and a little help from Fred's magic. "Oh, good... Your friends are back, Gemini." Knuckles sighed. Metal Sonic crossed its arms and looked bored for a moment, then glanced around at the ceiling. "{Directive: Reach Sky Deck. Current Threat Level: Green. Ignore Threat.}" his monitor displayed as he fired up his engines to fly to the roof, feeling around for something. Meanwhile, Fred made his way to Gemini. "Still searching for your false wand? We must retrieve it to avoid damage to... Um... You know." he said, glancing at Shadow and Knuckles awkwardly. "This ship may just lead me to it." Gemini said. Fred nodded. "Be cautious... I sense a great evil here...somewhere. If we encounter it, there may be grave consequences." he warned. Suddenly, Metal Sonic popped open a hatch on the roof of the hall, and lowered a rope ladder leading to the upper deck! "Huh... Seems Metal Sonic's memories haven't been completely erased. It still remembers its way around this ship." Shadow said. "Get goin, you guys!" Adam shouted. "We got things here!" Cuthburt added. "Take care of our Gemini!" shouted Evelyn. They all nodded. "You can count on me!" Charmy declared proudly. Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I'll watch your back, Charmy..." he said. Metal Sonic led the others to the upper deck, with Gemini hesitating briefly to say a quick goodbye. "...Seems we never can chat for long. Thanks for everything, teacher... And all of you." she smiled. "We won't rest until you're home safe and sound." Fred nodded. Once they were gone, Fred pulled some small, shiny objects from his pockets, tapping his wand to them to return them to full size. "Hey, I didn't know you had those!" Cuthburt said. "I found them here... I'm contemplating what to do with them..." Fred murmured.

They had now arrived on the "outer deck" of Shadow Arcangel, which was essentially Bucky's fancy way of telling them to climb on top of the ship while it was in flight. The gun turrets were arranged at opposite ends of the ship, some on each of the ship's intricately-designed wings. "This dumb ship's even bigger from above! Looks like we'll have to split up." Knuckles grumbled. "The wind currents are already making my wings tired..." Charmy groaned. Suddenly, company joined them. Some robots from Cloud Carnival had flown ahead of the ships, and Despair wasn't messing around. They'd dug up some E-2000 robots that Eggman had left aboard the ships, painted up like clowns for his carnival. "That paint job on those things...is just disturbing..." Shadow remarked. "Can you talk things over with them, Metal Sonic?" Gemini asked. Metal Sonic stepped back, his programming forbidding him from attacking Eggman's own robots. "Fine! We got this... Charmy, get me up there!" Knuckles said. The bee nodded, grabbing Knuckles and flitting his wings with all his might to carry him to the robots. "C'mon! I've seen you lift Vector!!" he shouted. Meanwhile, Shadow got the E-2000s' attention by throwing Chaos Spears at them. "Come on, jokers! I can take you, even without Rouge and Omega!" he shouted. One of the robots transformed into jet form, firing its powerful laser at Shadow while remaining in this mobile state. The others had their shields turned to Knuckles. "Hey, Charmy... can you manage the thunder shoot?" Knuckles asked. "Too...windy!!" he grunted. "...Fine!" Knuckles jumped into a glide and caught one of the robot's shields. Surprised, it started trying to shake him off, while the other aimed its laser. Once fired, the laser blasted the robot Knuckles was clinging to, while he calmly jumped off of it! Then, Shadow warped behind the other robot. "Even dumber than I remember!" he said, bashing it to pieces with a well-aimed spin attack! He'd also dealt with the third robot, so it seemed they had a chance to take a breather. "Impressive... Your soul will do nicely...!!" a raspy voice rang out, startling them. "Watch out, guys!!" Vector climbed out from the hatch they'd used to get outside, but it was a bit late. A massive mass of slime started to emerge from another hatch not too far away!

The huge mass of slime reared up like a snake, revealing a man's face acting as its "head." It spoke with the voice of Nevin Crimm. "I... have waited... in the shadows... much too long!! The time has come... for me to devour the final soul... that I might be complete!!" he hissed. Gemini stared in abject horror. "You... you're Losipher!! Only, not at your full power yet..." she stammered. The creature sneered at her. "How... do you know... of me? Never mind... I come for... the soul... of the dark hedgehog..." Losipher growled. Shadow stared defiantly at him. "Me? ...That's a big mistake!" he shouted. "Just to be clear, NO interest in my soul?" Knuckles asked, prompting Gemini and Charmy to stare at him. "...What? Don't tell me none of you were thinking the same thing!" he said. "I kinda was." Vector admitted. "Silence! All of your souls... Will be mine... When this is over! Prepare to feel true sorrow!!" Losipher roared. They all took cover as the snake-like demon spit a big glob of slime at them. "Grooooss!!" Charmy whined, but it was about to get worse. The glob of slime started to writhe, forming a swarm of mini-Losipher snakes! Gemini just started zapping them frantically with her wand. "Sick! Disgusting! Vile! Evil!! I... HATE... YOU... LOSIPHER!!" she shrieked, filling Knuckles with a bit of concern. "Personal, much?" he said, glancing at Shadow, Vector and Metal Sonic, "Let's get this monster out of our way quickly, then!" he said. Losipher chuckled at them. "You fools! You have no idea of the terror that awaits you..." he said, the raspiness seeming to leave his voice. Losipher sunk down, his body becoming a vast puddle with his face in the center. "What's he... doing?" Vector wondered. Suddenly, dozens of slimy tentacles rose up from the puddle and seized Shadow, Vector and Knuckles! "Gaaah!! It's the day of the octo-monster!!" Charmy wailed, dropping to the floor and huddling in a corner, terrified. While the others were struggling in Losipher's grip, Gemini and Metal Sonic were busy battling the mini-Losiphers. "{Threat level: Hedgehog blue! Sending S.O.S.}" Metal Sonic's monitor displayed as the creatures started to overwhelm him!

Vector squirmed in Losipher's grip, and tried blowing bubbles of his gum to see if that would have any effect, but Losipher didn't care about it. He was trying to draw Shadow into his waiting maw, devouring him along with his soul, but Shadow wouldn't come quietly. He fired Chaos Spears at the creature's face, which did seem to annoy him, but it wasn't doing more than delay Losipher. Knuckles was struggling the most. He had no extraordinary power, only his physical strength, and this was little use against a being like Losipher. What he DID have was the Shovel Claws, which he'd been carrying around on the off-chance he'd need to dig up any kind of treasure during the battles with Despair. He struggled to pull them out, and equipping them, slashed through Losipher's tentacle, freeing himself! "Ha! There's the problem with making everything out of slime!" he said, gliding off toward Vector. Losipher glared at him and fired a powerful beam from his mouth in the echidna's direction! "Yaaaaah!!" Knuckles had to change his course quickly to avoid the beam, and cut Vector's tentacle from a bit lower than he'd planned, but Vector floated down to the ship's deck with one of his big gum bubbles, giving Knuckles a thumbs up as he passed. "That is some weird gum..." Knuckles mumbled. At this point, Shadow got fed up with Losipher. "Chaos BLAST!!" he shouted, blasting right through the tentacle to secure his escape! The trio then joined Gemini and Metal Sonic, quickly taking out the mini-Losiphers while the real one reared up like a snake again. "Fine... I'll just kill you pathetic fools, then..." he hissed. However, before he could strike, a massive beam of energy struck him from behind, startling him and making him retreat back down into the hatch from whence he came! "This... isn't over!!" the creature gasped. "What in... What got Losipher!?" Gemini gasped. Metal Sonic pointed up as Dr. Eggman floated down in his Egg Mobile! "Well, that was a close one, wasn't it?" he grinned. A device was attached to the front of his ship, with slots holding a collection of Chaos Emeralds. Five emeralds in fact, including three that Knuckles recognized. "Hey... those are the Chaos Emeralds I tracked down at Pumpkin Hill!! How do you have those!?" he shouted. With a mischievous grin on his face, the group once again found themselves wondering if Eggman was in fact up to his old tricks after all...

To be continued...

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