9-Beginning of a Fierce Rivalry

Mario walked up to the blue hedgehog who was too busy staring at his reflection. Boy…doesn't he feel so important.

"Hi Sonic!" Mario shouted. Sonic jumped in surprised, then glared at the beaming plumber.

"What is it?" Sonic asked nastily. Mario's friendly expression faded into a serious look."

"Look; I just wanna tell you something."

"Look." Sonic growled; Mario's expression changed into a scowl. "I am not interested in talking to you. If I don't wanna talk to you; why are you talking to me?"

"Because I have something to say!" Mario snapped. "So listen to me!"

"I rather drown." Sonic then turned his back towards Mario as he crossed his arms.

"Don't ignore me!" Mario was immediately getting angry. "You are gonna listen to me like it or not!"

"Make me." Sonic stated coldly. That was it; Mario temper reached its breaking point. Mario angrily grabbed Sonic by his sides and roughly spun him around.

"Listen to ME!" Mario screamed. "I just wanna call off the bet!"

"You can't." Sonic said.

"Why not?" Mario asked, tightening his grip on the hedgehog.

"It's already settled. Ever heard of no give back?"

"So you won't take back the bet just because?" Mario snarled as he slightly shook the blue brat.

"I'm not evil, Mario." Mario bit his bottom lip, trying to calm himself down. Which made no success.

"I'm gonna…!" Mario couldn't finish his sentence. He was so angry; he couldn't find the ability to speak any more.

"You're not going to do anything." Sonic sneered. "You're just too weak."

"Me weak? What about you?" Mario countered. "You're just as short and scrawny as ever."

"At least I'm not fat." Suddenly; Sonic found himself flying into the water. Sonic began to struggle, arms flying in different directions.

"I can't swim!" Sonic cried as he was choking on water.

"Like you said; you rather drown." Mario then turned around and exited the area, leaving the blue hedgehog to drown in the water.

Luigi was looking for a certain someone himself. Shadow wasn't at his cabin; so where could he be? He came to a shady picnic area. All of the picnic tables were bare; there were no table cloths on either of them. There were six picnic tables placed in two rows; three in both rows. One table from both rows were under a large shady tree. Its trunk was large, thick and a dark brown. The leaves were extremely healthy and a bright green color.

Luigi looked around, there was no sign of a black hedgehog anywhere.

He then turned around only to bump into a black hedgehog. It took Luigi a minute to realize who the black hedgehog was. Luigi's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my gosh, not again!" Shadow grabbed the collar of Luigi's shirt and yanked him close to him.

"Didn't I say not to bump into me again?" he snarled.

"Don't hurt me!" Luigi cried.

"You're going to get it now!" Shadow balled his hands into a fist and pulled it back, ready to strike Luigi. Luigi tightly shut his eyes...then slowly opened them.

"I'm not afraid of you." Luigi said. "Now; let go of me."

"What?" Shadow growled as he yanked Luigi closer, glaring down at him.

"I said; let go of me, now." Luigi said firmly, with a firm look on his face. "I'm not going to let you bully me and ruin my time here at camp. I won't tolerate it, especially from you." Shadow growled as he shoved Luigi forcefully. Luigi stumbled back, but quickly gained his balance.

"I told you what will happen the next time you bump into me."

"And I just told you; I won't tolerate any bullying you do to me. But, neither will I let you harm me."

"Really?" Shadow got into a stance. "Well let's just see about that."

Luigi shook his head. "I won't fight you either. See, I don't bully others and make them afraid of me."

"Look, I'm not a bully. I just didn't want you bumping into me like that!"

"Then just say so, Shadow." Luigi said, eyes looking deep into Shadow's. Luigi then turned around and began walking away.

Shadow angrily called out to him. "Don't you dare turn your back on me and walk away! We will settle this one day! And from here on, we shall be rivals!" Luigi sharply turned to Shadow, with a glare aimed at him.

"If you want to make things worse for yourself, go ahead. But I'm not going to be up for some stupid game."

"It is not a stupid game, it's a competition."

"Challenging me? Well, I don't know where that'll take you…other than…a fierce rivalry."

"You think you're better than me, don't you?" Shadow walked up closer to Luigi. "Well this competition we will be having will certainly prove you wrong."

"So you think you have a better chance of beating me?"

"Exactly. Remember; I'm not a little wimp like you."

"And I'm not arrogant like you. You want a fight? I'll make sure to put up a good fight. And I promise you; I won't back down."

"Is that so?"

"I don't go down easily when it comes down to competitions. I'm not that competitive like my brother, but I will take you down."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Shadow and Luigi glared each other down for a minute.

Finally, Luigi answered; "It could be a threat, and it may be a promise. But right now; it is given as a warning."

"You think you're tough, do you?" Shadow said as he pushed Luigi's shoulder. Luigi stumbled back, but still stood his grounds. "You think you could become a match for me, without any help from your brother or that loser of a Yoshi? You think you can beat me without any handicaps you may get from Toadswarth? And you think you can fight your way to the top without chickening out for any little thing?"

Luigi stood firm and tall, letting Shadow finish talking trash to him. Finally, Luigi took a deep sigh. "Just wait…and see."

"Then it's official." Shadow smirked as he placed both hands on his hips. "These competitions of ours would surely help you improve, if you do so before the Olympics." Shadow teasingly patted the side of Luigi's face. "So get your game on." Shadow then passed Luigi, bumping shoulders. Luigi watched the black hedgehog walk out of the area. He shook his head.

You…will…see…