Author's Note (10/21/2012): Another chapter that I personally feel is pretty well written. This one had a few sentences that I really think turned out well. It's also fairly clean of grammar errors, and spelling mistakes. Enjoy! :)

Sonic and the Mario brother's faces sweltered in a wave of exhaustion. Their eye lids battled fiercely to stay awake, but to no avail they were overcome by the depletion of all their energy and thus passed out on the spot. The blue hedgehog awoke in a maelstrom of thoughts, his ears being pierced by the sounds of a familiar voice. It was Amy's, he could tell by the high pitched noises bellowing from the distance. He rustled a bit before climbing to his feet and eying his surroundings. The landscape he was located in was a lone ledge hanging above a violent typhoon. Thunder crackled and Lighting whipped across the sky, its end point being pulled into the center of the destructive storm like a magnet. Fear unveiled its ugly head into the seat of Sonic's brain. Wind whirled around his fur in a fury of pure rage. His ear drums felt like they would burst at any second.

Amy's voice still called out to him clearly throughout all the catastrophic events passing him. Behind him the ledge formed into the base of a land mass. The only objects that met with eyes in that direction were a tree that stood towering at what seemed to be over twenty stories tall. Beside the tree was a strange pedestal with a bowl of liquid perched atop it's flat surface. A vortex distorted the dimensional fabrics of space and time near these two objects, and a faint image of Amy was vaguely seen within it. From what Sonic could discern she was in dire need of help. Her voice called out to her friend once more before she became invisible to him. The moment she was gone the place Sonic was in began to undergo a change. Everything was disappearing right before him and falling into the void of the maelstrom.

The rocks and dirt crumbling and vanishing with alarming speed just made him go into a state of shock. He backed himself up to the very edge of the ledge on instinct alone. His chest contracted rapidly as he sought for air. It was as if the fear and confusion he was suffering from was causing him to be short of oxygen. He panicked when the crumbling ground gave out from under his feet. Plummeting into the spiraling whirlwind of doom, he let out a terrified scream. He closed his eyes and wished for it all to just go away. The next moment he was struggling in a battle for his life with a woolen snake, or so he assumed. Sonic regained perception to his surroundings. His body was sweating, his hands were clammy, and he hurt from head to toe. Tangled up around his frame was the terrifying beast he thought he was battling just seconds ago.

"I see you have finally awoken from your slumber" A young voice said.

Sonic's eyes scanned around and discovered betwixt some tents and supplies was a mysterious man clad in all-sorts of crystallized armor. He sat cross-legged with his hands held together within his sleeves. In front of him was a fire burning strongly. Sonic then realized that he had been with the Mario brothers' last time he was conscious.

"Where are my friends?" Sonic said with a bit of worry laced in his voice.

"Calm thyself young one. Your friends are resting peacefully in the two tents behind me." The mysterious man replied to the frantic hedgehog's question. "Now, how about you tell me why you were lying unconscious in the middle of large craters in crystal jungle?"

Sonic's lungs exasperated a sigh of relief upon finding out his friends were okay. He then plopped himself down beside the fire and started to tell tale of him and the Mario brother's encounter with the Avenging Knights of Discord. Sonic also informed him on the strange rings they obtained and how they were now seeking for ways to return to their own worlds.

"Such a riveting and suspenseful story." The man responded. "Your struggle is a desperate one indeed and I am quite intrigued by it. May I ask?"

"Ask what?" Sonic began to question.

"I'd like to join you on your quest." He replied. "The name is Aragonite, nomad of this beautiful planet."

"Huh? But why? That's strange of you to ask to join us, when you know nothing more of our struggle than what I have told you." Sonic was blunt about it, but he was speaking the truth. "Not only that, You barely just met me, and I am pretty sure you have not had the chance to speak with Mario and Luigi either."

"It's strange to me also, part of me finds your quest intriguing enough just to join out of sheer curiosity and for the adventure that could come from it." Aragonite began telling him. "Somewhere deep in my soul too, I hear a voice compelling me to join with you, It's as if it knows something I don't and desires that I join you. I think some call this intuition or perhaps a premonition?"

"It will be dangerous though, are you prepared to face certain death? We have some deadly foes after us." Sonic stated not wanting innocent people to get caught up in their journey.

"Heh, I have been toe to toe with death before, I welcome the challenge." Aragonite replied with an ambitious smile.

Mario and Luigi both woke up just seconds after the discourse had ended. Mario jumped up from under his cover and yelled "Yahoo! I-a feel great!". He felt fresh and rejuvenated. This was the same case for his brother, Luigi, who had gotten up to stretch his legs too. Both of their eyes soon reached a mutual focal point flickering across the features of this new and mysterious individual that was entertaining Sonic in a bit of small banter. Sonic relayed to them what they missed out on whilst they had slumbered amongst the confines of the small tents. He also formally introduced them to the man who placed a bit of curiosity inside their heads. Once everyone was fully aware of the weight that now rest on their shoulders, all that remained left to accomplish was coordinate a plan of action. Mario inquired to Aragonite as to the whereabouts of the Iron Dune Hill's that the chief had mentioned to them.

"Ah yes, The Iron Dune Hills', I know a particularly special route for easy transit to that place. It shan't take more than ten minutes to reach our destination." Aragonite answered the quizzical Italian's inquiry.

Luigi's mind drifted into a field of imaginative creatures that could possibly be waiting for them along the way, and at once he felt despair and fear coil it's malicious tentacles around his brain. A tight grasp of torment stricken upon him caused the taller Italian to curl into the fetal position and rattle about on the ground scared out of his wits.

"I can assure you that whatever lies ahead of us in that sea of Iron and grains of sand wouldn't get the chance to render the flesh from our bones." Aragonite attempted to soothe the plumber's exaggerated fears. "I pity what creature should come into contact with us and expect to come out of a bout alive."

Luigi's fear level shot down to a stone cold low, the feeling of a five –ton weight pulling into a rock bottom state of crippling terror. He didn't want to die, especially with so many tasks having yet to be finished.

"I have the faint feeling that your companion might be prone to a case of low-bravery." Aragonite turned to Mario and said softly.

Mario gave him a nod in response to the statement and then looked over at the chagrin display his brother was performing for them all. The only action he could take was to sigh is dismay.

"I'm going to hit the hay guys we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Sonic said as he curled his frame under one of the comfortable blankets and rested by the fire.

"A most wise idea my new friend." Aragonite said in response to the hedgehog's suggestion.

Mario agreed with a "Le pickle" and him along with Luigi soon drifted off into a slumber just like the rest of the party. Sonic dreamed of Amy once again. This time she was trapped inside of a tower of some sort and no matter what Sonic could possibly think of doing to reach the structure, it all ended up in failure. Amy's shrill screams sounded in a manner that equated with being in pain. He desperately hastened himself in every possible way to come to his friend, his determination never faltering and in fact becoming stronger with each sound of her voice passing by his ears.

The continuation of his attempts came to a halt when he no longer heard her screams. The world around him was drenched in nothing but a color of red, and at the very instance that his eyes befell this sight he knew that his mission had ended in failure. Before he had a second chance to think he awoke with beads of sweat lining the brow of his forehead. This was the second time such a fright was given to him by the same nightmare.

He had not a single clue as to its hidden meaning, but something commanded in him great worry about the well-being of Amy. It was now morning for the party, Who at once began to disassemble camp and prepare for their long journey to the Iron Dune Hills. From the rumors Aragonite had told them, this dessert was a combination of organic metal and sand. It was confusing for the heroes to understand fully at this point because it was a strange concept. He led them through a winding trail that passed many crystal shrubberies and over a creek.

The group came to a halt when they reached a towering wall with huge columns that lay betwixt the wall and a great iron gate.

"The Great Wall of Volüg." Aragonite stated as he moved closer to the gate. "It is what divides the Iron Dunes from the Crystal Tropics."

Aragonite inspected the iron gate and concluded that it was immobile. Only a force that wielded immense power could even hope to open the gate. Mario then spotted something that was a familiar sight to him and his brother. It was a pipe that caught his eye. This pipe was jutting out of one of the connecting columns. He bounced up and down and told the group of his discovery.

"Good work! We can use the pipe system to reach the other side of this wall and onwards to the dunes." Sonic said with excitement brimming within his voice.

"We must proceed with caution my friends. these are the sewers of the Ruby Serpent Tortoise." Aragonite said after carefully translating an inscription on the pipe.

Luigi once again had a vision of horrible creatures within the pipe system and pictured what a serpent tortoise could possibly look like and nearly screamed out loud in fear.

"Your brother isn't far from the truth about this one Mario. I fear that deep within the bowels of this sewer, if I have heard correctly from tales, lives a frightening creature." Aragonite continued. "Half tortoise, Half serpent, A shell completely encased in a ruby shell, and a hunger for the flesh of anything living and brave enough to traverse the deepest and darkest parts of this sewage system."

Mario told them that there was nothing that they had to be worried about. Mario's sense of bravery struck Aragonite as a polar opposite from that of his brother's sense of fright. After this discussion had transpired Sonic looked towards the pipe and then glanced back at the group.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sonic stated as he soon zipped into the pipe, full of adventure.

Aragonite followed the excited hedgehog as did Mario. Luigi was still frozen in fear on the ground. Mario popped out his head out of the pipe and then called out to his brother. "Luigi!", but he remained oblivious to the sound of his name.

"Luigi! Let's-a Go!" Mario said to him once more.

Mario then got a bit agitated at his brother's obvious ignorance to his voice and then walked over to Luigi. He bonked him straight on the noggin and then began dragging him into the sewer system. When the group entered into the pipe the initial area had an abundance of vines. It was also dark, damp, and smelt horrible. They went a small distance in the pitch blackness before Mario lit up a fire ball in his hand and gave light to the pipe maze. It was a bit late however as Aragonite walked right over a path that traveled diagonally downwards. The moment that he fell, Sonic and company jumped down after him. Sliding down the pipes brought them to another long path. This tunnel had its floor covered in a bit of water.

More vines grew in all sorts of crooks and crannies. When everyone was accounted for and each person gained composure the whole pipe system shook. A vehement roar trailed from an unknown source, echoing from what seemed like all possible directions. Our heroes tensed up, prepared for a fight. The grotesque sounds of a monster soon dissipated into silence. Aragonite once again lead the group through the horrid sewers, taking caution with each one of his steps. Mario remained right behind him and had in his palms yet another fire-ball producing light for the whole group, both the rear and the front sides. Their feet shuffled on through the water creating a sloshing sound that softly drifted over their ears and made a sound for other creatures to hear as well. Passing by one upper pipe way they then stopped at a second one.

"It's blocked and even if we could open it up…. Look at that!" Sonic called to his allies. "There are rocks on top of that grated cover!"

As always, please leave reviews for errors and your opinion on the plot. If you like the story enough tell your friends about it, I desire input from various sources.