~Chapter Seven: Ghosts from your Past~

With the knowledge that the one person who could send Sonic back to his dimension might be in danger, Mario and Sonic had no time to stop for the night. They kept up their pace, only stopping for quick breaks along the way.

"Evershade Valley isn't too far away," Mario panted as they made their way through a forest filled with dead, twisted trees and a perpetually overcast sky. "Hopefully we won't be too late."

Sonic snorted, a wide grin on his face. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm never late."

'Tell that to your counterpart,' Mario thought as he recalled how Sonic always showed up just in the nick of time to save the day, like in the battle against Tabuu. Then again, since Sonic was the fastest thing alive, was it really showing up late? Food for thought...

Mario veered off of the path by a mansion with a purple roof, and Sonic could have sworn he heard chortling coming from within the walls as they passed by. The air grew more thick with fog every step they took, to the point where they could barely see a couple feet in front of them. Mario held his palm in front of him and summoned a small flame, but even that was eventually swallowed by the mist.

"So what do we do now?" Sonic questioned. "Everythin' looks the same an' it's gettin' kinda hard to breathe..."

"Give me a minute..." Mario mumbled, wracking his brain on what they could do in this situation. Sonic tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, crossing his arms.

"Just follow my lead." Mario instructed, igniting the flame in his palm once again. While Sonic looked skeptical at first, he eventually sighed and followed behind Mario as he slowly maneuvered his way through the fog, his eyes trained on what was directly in front of them. And while Sonic bumped into Mario every time he paused, eventually the duo made their way out of the fog and down a cobblestone path which led to a gate that to Sonic looked like it came directly out of a horror film. The cloudy sky did nothing to help the gloomy atmosphere. Sonic half expected lightning bolts to crack across the sky.

"We're here," Mario broke the silence. "Evershade Valley. Professor E. Gadd's bunker shouldn't be too far away."

Sonic glanced at his surroundings as he followed Mario, taking in the gothic-styled houses that jutted from the ground like tombstones. Eyes peeked from the blinds on the windows as Mario and Sonic walked by, causing Sonic to quirk an eyeridge.

"Hey Mario? What's up with this place?"

"This valley is home to many species of ghosts," Mario explained. "Everything from Greenies to Hiders to Slammers. But I wouldn't worry about them, they're basically harmless since the Dark Moon was fixed thanks to Luigi."

Sonic nodded, and continued to follow Mario as he once again drifted from the main path down a dirt one, leading down to a small metal bunker. Mario picked up the pace as he approached, and flung the door open once he reached it.

"Professor E. Gadd!" Mario cried out. "Are you oka-"

He stopped himself short as the Professor was in the middle of eating a bowl of noodles, and both parties just stared at each other for a moment before Sonic jogged in, looking at the situation before eyeing Mario in annoyance.

"Yep, he's definitely in danger." Sonic drawled sarcastically, glaring at Mario who gave him a sheepish smile in return.

"Ah, Mario," E. Gadd greeted, standing and wandering over to him. "I've been expecting you. Princess Peach informed me of the situation with your friend here." he turned his head towards Sonic. "But hopefully we'll be able to send your friend home in a jiffy!"

"Aw, great!" Sonic exclaimed happily, already dreaming about playing video games with Tails and hanging out with Amy in a totally platonic way, no romance to be implied here folks!

"However..." E. Gadd added, and Sonic snapped out of his daydreams to glance down at the Professor who was gazing at a contraption looking troubled. "A major component was stolen from my transporter two nights ago. Without it, I'm afraid it's nothing more than an elaborate storage closet."

'I knew it,' Mario thought as he exchanged a glance with Sonic. 'I just knew that Bowser wouldn't let us do this the easy way.' "Professor E. Gadd?" Mario spoke up. "I think I have an idea of who stole the part from your machine."

"Oh, I know it was Bowser's doing," E. Gadd replied. "My sensors picked up readings from Magikoopa magic. And since that's the case, I can have the Pixelator send you over to Bowser's Castle in a jiffy! But before you go, allow me to restock your supplies for your journey. It's the least I can do since I know you boys will have a tough battle ahead of you, especially for Sonic here."

"Hey!" Sonic cried out. "I'll have you know I'm a hero in my own right, and can totally take on this 'Bowser' guy!"

E. Gadd chuckled. "Feisty," he murmured. "Just like the other one." he added in a lower voice that neither Mario nor Sonic picked up on. Shaking his head he smiled at Mario and Sonic. "Now let's get you boys something to eat!"

/~/

"Mario."

Mario turned towards E. Gadd who was holding his backpack out to him, filled to the brim with everything they needed for the second leg of their journey. Mario accepted the backpack from the Professor. "Grazie."

"It's no problem," E. Gadd replied with a chuckle, before glancing out a window and making sure Sonic was still distracted by a Polterpup that had wandered by. "So he has no knowledge of his counterpart?"

"No." Mario confirmed. E. Gadd hummed.

"Are you ever going to tell him?"

Mario paused, contemplating the answer. "I..."

"I think you should tell him," E. Gadd suggested. "He deserves to know there's another one of him out there. Or rather, was." he added, frowning as he recalled the news he'd received on that fateful day three months ago. Mario flinched before he nodded.

"I know I should," he began. "But it never seems like the right time to bring it up. And how am I supposed to address that not only is there another of him, but that I was involved with said other?"

E. Gadd gave Mario a reassuring smile. "You'll figure it out," he stated with confidence. "Just like you and your brother always do at the end of the day."

Mario couldn't help but chuckle. "Grazie, Professor E. Gadd."

"Don't mention it, sonny! Remember - I'm always here whenever you need to talk about anything. Never hesitate to drop in anytime. The same goes for your brother as well."

The corner of Mario's mouth lifted into a smile. "I'll keep that in mind, Professor. And I'll make sure to let Weeg know as well."

"That sounds like a good plan," E. Gadd grinned, before his eyes fell to Sonic again. "You go get him while I fire up the Pixelator."

Mario nodded and opened the door of the bunker, where Sonic was still playing with the Polterpup, using his Enerbeam as a rope for the dog. Mario cleared his throat and both Sonic and the Polterpup glanced up at him.

"Time to go?" Sonic guessed.

"Time to go," Mario confirmed. He smiled down at the Polterpup and scratched it's head. "I see you made a friend though."

"I did!" Sonic announced proudly. "An' it's a much better dog than the robot one Sticks had for a while there. That thing was disgusting, even more so when we found out it was Eggman's creation."

"My brother owns a Polterpup," Mario pointed out. "If you'd told me he'd own a ghost dog back when we first made it to the Mushroom Kingdom, I would have laughed. He was so afraid of ghosts, but ever since defeating King Boo once again he's become quite fond of them since like I said before, they aren't that scary when they aren't under the influence of the shattered Dark Moon."

"Man, you guys never catch a break, do ya?" Sonic asked as he gave the Polterpup one last pat on the head before standing. The Polterpup barked once before disappearing back into the Valley.

"It's never a dull moment in the Mushroom Kingdom," Mario laughed. "In fact, I've had serious talks with Peach over whether that should be it's slogan or not."

Sonic laughed as he and Mario reentered the bunker, a strange whirring sound coming from a machine in the corner.

"Alright, the Pixelator is up and running!" E. Gadd chirped. "Now, do you boys have everything you need?"

"I have my backpack," Mario turned to look at Sonic. "What about you?"

"I've got mine." Sonic confirmed. E. Gadd nodded.

"Alright then. Now, I'll give you this so I can bring you back after you complete your task." E. Gadd handed Mario an object that looked like a brick-like game console. "Just press the A button and then the Start button when you want to head back."

"Got it." Mario said.

"I wish you boys luck." was the last thing E. Gadd said to them before he threw the lever, a strange, tingling sensation going through both of them before they were separated and sucked into the vacuum of cyberspace towards their destination.


Replies

TheGameNguyener: Yep, even though Boom!Sonic looks done half the time, he does still care about his friends. Thank you for the review!

Pamitydesu01: Oh, both Sonic's are completely aware that Mario doesn't understand the fourth wall. I'd say that Boom!Sonic is a bit more confused about it though thanks to the nature of the world he came from. Thank you for the review!