Getting from the Mystic Ruins to Angel Island is no easy task, considering the fact that Angel Island is floating in the sky. Yet, Sonic figured they could get there by mountain climbing and with a little help from Tails and his ability to fly while carrying two people. Eventually, everyone was up on the island, with the exception of Gadd. He, as you can probably guess, wasn't the fittest of people. Mario had to help him with the final climb up the side of the island by pulling him up over the top of the cliff and onto solid ground.
"Phew! Thanks, Mario." Gadd panted, "I haven't climbed a cliff that high since I had to chase a ghost around Land's End!"
"Um... Right..." Luigi mumbled, "Can we find get back to finding this Knuckles guy?"
While the group was tromping trough the forests that make up most of Angel Island, Mario was deep in thought. Sonic said that Shadow had "died heroically while saving the world" but that seemed to contradict everything that had happened. If he died a hero, how could he have been the villain that had destroyed the boat? Mario was going to ask Sonic about it when he suddenly felt something gushing in his shoes. When he looked down, he saw that he was standing in an all too familiar puddle of pollution. It didn't take very long before everyone else noticed it.
"Eww!" Amy squealed, "What is this stuff? It's messing up my new shoes!"
"Well," Gadd began, "This is clearly the work of one of my less popular inventions: The Pollution Paintbrush. I made it as an April Fools gag a couple of years back but Bowser got his hands on it and... Well... Look at this!"
Everyone looked around that the disgusting sight. Just about everything was covered in pollution. The palm trees were draped in the stuff, vines were discolored by it, and the ground was barely visible thanks to it. Mario just stared at it, hardly frazzled.
"Gee..." Mario asked sarcastically, "I wonder who Bowser asked to do all of this?"
"I think I know..." came a voice from the shadows, "And I believe it was... YOU!!!"
Mario quickly realized what was probably coming next, and immediately ducked. His guess was correct, as a red blur suddenly rushed over his head. Looking up at his attacker, Mario saw it was a red echidna with big fists and a short fuse.
"Wait! Knuckles!" Tails shouted, "He couldn't have done this! He just got here! Did you get duped again!?"
"I am not duped by Eggman!" Knuckles shouted back, "I saw this punk pollute Angel Island with my own eyes! Now, all of you, back off! I've got some unfinished business here!"
Mario had no clue how to fight Knuckles, considering he had only seen echidnas in the biology books Gadd had. Pretty soon, Mario was getting punched all over the island, and he didn't get a chance to recover before Knuckles came and punched him again. Mario quickly tired of getting knocked around and decided to try and fight back. The next time Knuckles rushed in to attack, Mario ducked under the punch and leg swiped Knuckles in the shins, sending him sprawling into a tree. This, obviously, didn't make Knuckles very happy.
"So, you're finally fighting back, huh?" Knuckles mockingly asked, "Well then, things will finally get interesting. YARGH!!!" Mario dodged Knuckles punch, which was so strong Knuckles' fist got stuck in a tree behind Mario. This gave Mario a chance to get away from Knuckles and plan his next move. Eventually, Mario ran over to the Master Emerald Shrine and, seeing the pillars that used to house the Chaos Emeralds, shimmied up one of them. It was short-lived relief, though. Knuckles came crashing through the bushes and, with one mighty punch, knocked the pillar over. As it was falling, Mario leaped for the next pillar and grabbed on to it by his fingers. He didn't get a chance to rest, however, since he saw Knuckles dig his claws into the pillar and climb up! Without any other option, Mario pulled himself up onto the pillar and held his hand out. Suddenly, a familiar flame began to surround Mario's hand.
"FIREBRAND!!!" Mario screamed as the flames surrounding his hand lashed out at Knuckles.
Naturally, fur and flames don't mix. So it's no surprise that when Knuckles got hit by Mario's firebrand, he caught on fire. Realizing that surviving was a tad more important than beating up Mario, Knuckles dropped off the pillar and ran like mad out of the shrine trying to find a source of water. It almost looked like he was one of Mario's fireballs, which was kind of humorous. Mario used this spare time to slide down the pillar and get ready to attack again. However, the next person to appear in the shrine wasn't Knuckles, but poor Twink, who was scared to death in fear that something might have happened to Mario. When he saw Mario, he rushed to him and hugged him (or as close as a star could get to hugging someone).
"Um... Twink?" Mario asked, "Could you not do that? It looks kinda wrong..."
"Heh, sorry about that." Twink replied sheepishly, "I just got a little nervous and I was relieved when I saw you were alright."
"A LITTLE nervous!?"
"Ok! I was really nervous! I'm still upset over the Star Haven thing! Gimme a break!"
Mario was busy apologizing to Twink for being rude when the rest of Mario's little group appeared. They were all talking to a charred and soggy Knuckles that Luigi was carrying over his shoulder. Nervously, Mario approached Luigi and asked him what was going on.
"Eh, nothing much." Luigi answered, "Sonic said that Knuckles is very gullible and that he must have seen Shadow Mario pollute the island and thought he was you."
"Hey!" Knuckles shouted back, "That Gadd guy said that everyone fell for that Shadow Mario trick! I'm not the only one who's gullible around here!"
Knuckles paused for a moment, deep in thought.
"Wait a second..." He began, "I just realized something. If you're the good guy and Shadow Mario is the bad guy, then who are those two..."
"What two?" Mario asked
Suddenly, Knuckles looked very angry. He pulled himself off of Luigi's shoulder, resulting in a loud thud on the ground, but that didn't stop him. He immediately got on his feet and ran off into the jungle.
"Knuckles!" Mario shouted, "Where are you going!?"
Knuckles didn't reply.
"Knuckles?"
"Well," Sonic started, "Something tells me Knuckles just realized he did get duped after all, and I'd hate to be the guy who told him those lies right about now..."
"Phew! Thanks, Mario." Gadd panted, "I haven't climbed a cliff that high since I had to chase a ghost around Land's End!"
"Um... Right..." Luigi mumbled, "Can we find get back to finding this Knuckles guy?"
While the group was tromping trough the forests that make up most of Angel Island, Mario was deep in thought. Sonic said that Shadow had "died heroically while saving the world" but that seemed to contradict everything that had happened. If he died a hero, how could he have been the villain that had destroyed the boat? Mario was going to ask Sonic about it when he suddenly felt something gushing in his shoes. When he looked down, he saw that he was standing in an all too familiar puddle of pollution. It didn't take very long before everyone else noticed it.
"Eww!" Amy squealed, "What is this stuff? It's messing up my new shoes!"
"Well," Gadd began, "This is clearly the work of one of my less popular inventions: The Pollution Paintbrush. I made it as an April Fools gag a couple of years back but Bowser got his hands on it and... Well... Look at this!"
Everyone looked around that the disgusting sight. Just about everything was covered in pollution. The palm trees were draped in the stuff, vines were discolored by it, and the ground was barely visible thanks to it. Mario just stared at it, hardly frazzled.
"Gee..." Mario asked sarcastically, "I wonder who Bowser asked to do all of this?"
"I think I know..." came a voice from the shadows, "And I believe it was... YOU!!!"
Mario quickly realized what was probably coming next, and immediately ducked. His guess was correct, as a red blur suddenly rushed over his head. Looking up at his attacker, Mario saw it was a red echidna with big fists and a short fuse.
"Wait! Knuckles!" Tails shouted, "He couldn't have done this! He just got here! Did you get duped again!?"
"I am not duped by Eggman!" Knuckles shouted back, "I saw this punk pollute Angel Island with my own eyes! Now, all of you, back off! I've got some unfinished business here!"
Mario had no clue how to fight Knuckles, considering he had only seen echidnas in the biology books Gadd had. Pretty soon, Mario was getting punched all over the island, and he didn't get a chance to recover before Knuckles came and punched him again. Mario quickly tired of getting knocked around and decided to try and fight back. The next time Knuckles rushed in to attack, Mario ducked under the punch and leg swiped Knuckles in the shins, sending him sprawling into a tree. This, obviously, didn't make Knuckles very happy.
"So, you're finally fighting back, huh?" Knuckles mockingly asked, "Well then, things will finally get interesting. YARGH!!!" Mario dodged Knuckles punch, which was so strong Knuckles' fist got stuck in a tree behind Mario. This gave Mario a chance to get away from Knuckles and plan his next move. Eventually, Mario ran over to the Master Emerald Shrine and, seeing the pillars that used to house the Chaos Emeralds, shimmied up one of them. It was short-lived relief, though. Knuckles came crashing through the bushes and, with one mighty punch, knocked the pillar over. As it was falling, Mario leaped for the next pillar and grabbed on to it by his fingers. He didn't get a chance to rest, however, since he saw Knuckles dig his claws into the pillar and climb up! Without any other option, Mario pulled himself up onto the pillar and held his hand out. Suddenly, a familiar flame began to surround Mario's hand.
"FIREBRAND!!!" Mario screamed as the flames surrounding his hand lashed out at Knuckles.
Naturally, fur and flames don't mix. So it's no surprise that when Knuckles got hit by Mario's firebrand, he caught on fire. Realizing that surviving was a tad more important than beating up Mario, Knuckles dropped off the pillar and ran like mad out of the shrine trying to find a source of water. It almost looked like he was one of Mario's fireballs, which was kind of humorous. Mario used this spare time to slide down the pillar and get ready to attack again. However, the next person to appear in the shrine wasn't Knuckles, but poor Twink, who was scared to death in fear that something might have happened to Mario. When he saw Mario, he rushed to him and hugged him (or as close as a star could get to hugging someone).
"Um... Twink?" Mario asked, "Could you not do that? It looks kinda wrong..."
"Heh, sorry about that." Twink replied sheepishly, "I just got a little nervous and I was relieved when I saw you were alright."
"A LITTLE nervous!?"
"Ok! I was really nervous! I'm still upset over the Star Haven thing! Gimme a break!"
Mario was busy apologizing to Twink for being rude when the rest of Mario's little group appeared. They were all talking to a charred and soggy Knuckles that Luigi was carrying over his shoulder. Nervously, Mario approached Luigi and asked him what was going on.
"Eh, nothing much." Luigi answered, "Sonic said that Knuckles is very gullible and that he must have seen Shadow Mario pollute the island and thought he was you."
"Hey!" Knuckles shouted back, "That Gadd guy said that everyone fell for that Shadow Mario trick! I'm not the only one who's gullible around here!"
Knuckles paused for a moment, deep in thought.
"Wait a second..." He began, "I just realized something. If you're the good guy and Shadow Mario is the bad guy, then who are those two..."
"What two?" Mario asked
Suddenly, Knuckles looked very angry. He pulled himself off of Luigi's shoulder, resulting in a loud thud on the ground, but that didn't stop him. He immediately got on his feet and ran off into the jungle.
"Knuckles!" Mario shouted, "Where are you going!?"
Knuckles didn't reply.
"Knuckles?"
"Well," Sonic started, "Something tells me Knuckles just realized he did get duped after all, and I'd hate to be the guy who told him those lies right about now..."