Chapter 1: Chaos Clash
Fat storm clouds always gathered over the Valley of Bowser at the heart of the Koopa Kingdom. The imtimidating royal castle seems to attract them like magnets, especially at a time like this, when the ruler of the realm is preparing to hatch another diabolical scheme. Let the eye of the beholder draw closer, towards the central spire standing as the highest point of the titanic fortress. Through the walls of stone, witness the chamber inside, where the mighty dragon-turtle himself is putting the finishing touches on a great work of dark magic.
"Bwahahahaha!! It's working! And this time, no one, not even that stupid plumber can stop me!"
King Bowser was working over a huge bubbling cauldron. With each ingredient he put it, the mystic mixture changed colour. Soon, it was bubbling fireworks.
Bowser wasn't alone. Forming an octagon around the cauldron with their father and master, stood the seven Koopalings, each holding a black copy of the staffs they wielded that time when the seven of them held the lands of the Mushroom Kingdom hostage. This spell was no half-measure by far. Sorcery had often worked to the Koopas advantage when trying to conquer the world, and the royal Koopa family were all well adept at its use, but for this wicked spell to work, it was going to take all their power combined, plus a number of arcane ingredients stolen from around the world. At this point, all that was missing was the one final and most important ingredient of all, the recovery of which had been entrusted to Bowser's current favourite child.
"I got it! I got it!"
The arrival of Bowser Jr was apparent well before he entered the chamber, and not just because of how well his voice carried in these echoey stone rooms. A bright shine, almost painfully bright in this dark enclosures, shone ahead of him, and as he entered its source was apparent. Held in both stubby hands was the largest, brightest star ever seen. It was even bigger than the star Bowser used back when he took over Princess Peach's castle, and practically dwarfed the young Koopaling.
"Well done, son," Bowser exclaimed with pride and glee. "Give me the Ultimate Star, and take your position. Wait, you didn't see any sign of Mario on your way, did you?"
"Nope! That guy doesn't have a clue what's going to happen, pa'."
"Bwahahaha! Good! An unwelcome interruption at this part of the spell could ruin everything! Now, everyone, let's get ready to banish every single innhabitant of the Mushroom Kingdom from this world, and leave it all ripe for the picking! Just remember, Peach is not to be affected by the spell, got it?"
Electrically charged smog hovered over the metallic city-structure of Eggman's latest base of operations. The squadrons of heavily-armed robots patrolling the perimeter were especially fierce and numerous at a time like this, when the doctor was putting the finishing touches on his greatest invention to date.
"Muahahahaha! It's working! Oh yes, this time not even that irritating hedgehog will be able to get in my way!"
Dr Eggman hovered around the console of large and imposing machine. With each command entered, the dials and meters adjusted and aligned.
Eggman worked alone, as always, with the exception of his numerous robot servants, meticulously carrying out his orders. Eggman himself jogged over to each of the seven slots containing a Chaos Emerald, and made sure he hadn't made the miscalculation he made last time he attempted this. Splitting the world into seven distinct realms helped secure his conquest that time, but it didn't prevent Sonic and his friends from grabbing back the Chaos Emeralds, crossing over between each world and inevitable ruining everything. All that was left now was to wait for the arrival of the final ingredient, a task entrusted to the least trustworth associate Eggman had ever had. Fortunately, this time he could count on Metal Sonic's cooperation. If not out of loyalty, then out of threat. The Metallix Virus had been a brilliant idea, and had disabled that treacherous robot easily. Now, after being reprogrammed, Metal Sonic was as obedient as ever, and the lingering virus meant that his first act of rebellion would be his last.
The return of Metal Sonic made Eggman jump. He'd removed Metal's voice chip, and that robot could move as silently as a breath of air. It was only the green glow of the Master Emerald held above Metal's head that made Eggman look around.
"Muahahahaha! Perfect! Now, Metal Sonic, insert the Master Emerald into the slot at the top of the machine, and get out of my way. Wait, you weren't followed by Sonic or Knuckles, were you?"
Metal Sonic shook his head.
"Muahahaha! Good! An interference at this time could ruin everything. Now, witness the power of the greatest scientist of all time, as I harness the power of Chaos Control to remove everyone who dares oppose me from this world. And I know just which group of rodents to start with!"
"Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, and Junior, have your wands ready!"
"Energy output rising, circuits stable, preparing to release a counter-effective blast from the Master Emerald to prevent an overload. Now, Chaos Control activate in thirty seconds..."
"Good, the nexus is stable. Now carefully lower it into the cauldron. Don't let the beams lose touch, kids!"
"Chaos Emerald stability check. Green, check. Blue, check. Yellow, check. White, check..."
"Didn't I say no interuptions! Get out of her and regroup with the other Hammer Bros now! What? Speak up! Mario is at the castle gates!? How!? No, it doesn't matter. He's too late. No, Iggy, keep your wand up, there's no time!!"
"What!? No, this can't be! Why isn't the output from the red Emerald stabilising? Urgh, how can I concentrate with these annoying sirens going off? What, a hedgehog alert!? The containment field is weakening! Must raise power to the Master Emerald! Argh, what a piece of junk! If that knucklehead can get it working, why can't a genius like me!? No, it's going to overload!!"
"This isn't fair! I was so close! NO!!!"
Next: Out of Element