Well, since I seem to have an audience for this story, here's Chapter 2!

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Chapter 2: The Forest Temple

The Forest Temple seemed more of an abandoned mansion than an actual temple. The whole place looked old and beat-up, both outside and inside. There were plants everywhere, and thick vines dangled from cracks in the walls of the mansion. Spiders with skull patterns on their backs, which Link said were called Skulltulas, crawled all over the place.

It was long believed that the Forest Temple once belonged to someone of great wealth, but no one lived there now; no one had for a long time. Some say that that person died-how he did, no one knew-while others say that a monster infestation drove him out. The secrets of the temple remained a mystery.

At least, that's what Sonic was told. He still had no idea about this world.

As they explored the temple, the two heroes came across many enemies. There were monsters that Link said were Ganondorf's followers, and robotic enemies that Sonic recognized as Dr. Eggman's troops. It seemed strange seeing two armies in one place, with one hero unfamiliar with the other's enemies. To make matters worse, the two armies seemed to be working together.

Eventually, Sonic decided to start up a conversation. He shifted his focus on Link's sword. "That's a nice sword you got there, Link," he stated. "Where did you get it?"

Link paused. "My sword?" he said. He pulled out his sword out and showed it to Sonic. "This is the Master Sword, 'The Blade of Evil's Bane'. Only a true hero can wield it," he explained with pride.

Sonic chuckled a little. "Sounds like something out of a fairy tale!" he said half-jokingly. "Speaking of which, what's with the little fairy you have with you?"

As if on queue, Navi popped out of Link's hat.

"Oh, this is Navi," Link answered. "She's my traveling companion."

"I'm guiding Link on his quest," piped the little fairy, "by giving him hints and tips on how to defeat monsters."

Link lowered down up to Sonic's ear. "Between you and me," he whispered, "she's a bit annoying."

"How so?" Sonic whispered back.

"Just you wait," said Link. Sonic didn't know what he meant, so he just shrugged it off.

"You said you were the Hero of Hyrule," Sonic said, continuing the conversation. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Link gazed at his sword and sighed. "To tell you the truth," he answered, "I didn't earn that title until I drew the Master Sword from the pedestal. My ancestor was an even greater hero than I'll probably ever be."

"Your ancestor?" asked Sonic.

"The Hero of Time; the greatest of Hyrule's heroes. He rescued the fair Princess Zelda and defeated the evil Lord Ganondorf." He paused briefly. "Come to think of it, most of my ancestors did that in their time. I guess this kind of thing runs in my family."

Sonic chuckled. "The classic 'Hero's Journey' story," he mused. "Always a favorite!"

Link smiled a little. "Now I'm caught in my own adventure. Seeing what my ancestors have done before me, it's a tough act to follow."

Sonic patted Link's side. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm sure you'll be a great hero, Link, just like your ancestors."

Link looked at the blue hedgehog. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely!" Sonic smiled.

Link smiled back. "Thank you, Sonic. I do my best. Now let's get moving. We still have plenty of ground to cover."

"Then let's go!" Sonic said with great anticipation. They continued on with their temple trek.

Eventually they came to a big, dark, eerie room. It seemed to be an old guest room, except the furniture (or what was left of it) was wrecked. The walls of the room were covered with ivy and cobwebs. As Link and Sonic entered the room, the door shut behind them and somehow locked them in. Suddenly the sound of rustling and hissing filled the room. The sound seemed to be coming from the ceiling. They looked up, and suddenly became face-to-face with a giant glowing eye staring right at them. Then it dropped from the ceiling, revealing its identity and nearly scaring the two heroes. The giant eye belonged to a giant spider!

Armored Arachnid: Gohma

"What IS that thing?!" Sonic yelled, gripping onto Link's arm.

"It's Gohma, the giant one-eyed spider!" Link explained half-shaken. "She's one of Ganondorf's strongest monsters! We can't get out of here unless we defeat her!"

"Let me handle this!" Sonic said. Link tried to stop him, but he was too late. Sonic ran up to the giant spider, but Gohma immediately saw Sonic and shot silky threads out of her mouth. Before long Sonic was encased in a silk-covered cocoon, unable to move.

"Don't act so hastily!" Link scolded the cocooned hedgehog. "You have to wait for the right moment to strike!"

Sonic tried to respond, but his words were muffled under the cocoon.

Navi popped up next to Link. "Link!" she squeaked, "Aim for Gohma's eye! That's her weak point!"

Link rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Navi," he said sarcastically. "I gathered that."

Link reached into the little pouch attached to his belt. He pulled out a wooden bow and some arrows. If Sonic were able to see, he would've been amazed. Link nocked an arrow and aimed at Gohma. He waited for Gohma to open her eye wide enough for him to shoot at it.

The spider turned to face Link. She opened her eye widely as she prepared to shoot silk at him. Without hesitation, Link shot the arrow straight into Gohma's eye.

Gohma cried in agony. Seizing the opportunity, Link rushed over to the cocoon. He cut the threads and freed Sonic from his silky confinement. "Thanks, Link!" said Sonic. "I owe you one!"

"No problem," Link said, "but the fight's not over yet. Look!"

They watched Gohma climb back onto the ceiling. Then it stopped and starting dropping sticky orbs from its rear end. Sonic was grossed out. "Is it doing what I think it's doing?!"

"She's laying eggs!" Link answered with the same level of disgust. The eggs immediately hatched, giving birth to Gohma larvae. "All they do is get in our way!"

Sonic had an idea. "I'll handle these little guys, while you deal with Gohma!"

As Sonic fended off the larvae, Link nocked another arrow and shot at Gohma's eye. Gohma fell from the ceiling crying in agony, with an arrow lodged in her eyeball. The spider's body wiggled, crunched up, and then exploded into a puff of smoke.

"Wow!" Sonic said in amazement. "That was cool!" Then, through the smoke, Sonic saw something shiny. When the smoke cleared, the shining object was in the shape of a diamond, and was green in color. "Is that what I think it is...?"

Link examined the jewel. He had never seen it before. "What is this?"

Sonic raced over to the jewel. "That's a Chaos Emerald!" he exclaimed. He grabbed the gem and admired it. "What's it doing here?"

"Wait," Link said, "What's a Chaos Emerald?"

Sonic began to explain. "Chaos Emeralds are gems that contain great chaotic powers. They are powerful on their own, but they are strongest when all seven are together. If these things fall into the wrong hands, the results would be disastrous. I have to keeps these away from Dr. Eggman."

"Dr. Eggman?" Link questioned. Sonic realized that he never explained that.

"He's the enemy in my world," he blatantly said. "But what I want to know is what this is doing here?"

Link shrugged. "Maybe we'll find out, but it's clear that something's not right here." He grabbed Sonic's hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here. There's a portal that will take us out."

As they went through the exit, Sonic looked at the emerald in his hand and pondered it. If this one is here, then the other six can't be too far away, Sonic thought. But if they're here, what could it mean?

Surprise! What's a Sonic story without those darn Chaos Emeralds, am I right? ;)