Mushroom Valley Zone
The rings stopped their spinning, coming to a sudden halt. When the flash ended, darkness came, only for light to return shortly after. The smell of grass and pine came to their noses, as well as dilapidated stones and ruins. Red eyes opened to stare ahead into a hall that led to the sun-kissed forest outside.
"We're back," Shadow stated as he looked at Rouge, who appeared wobbly after their transportation.
"Yeah, but back from what?" Rouge asked as her head shook, "Oh poo! They sent us away from that Master Emerald!"
"What is the Master Emerald?" Shadow asked as they began walking out of the temple.
"Oh, the diamond's eye of every treasure hunters dream! Or, at least mine. Imagine a diamond bigger than any other diamond. More priceless than a hundred diamonds put together! I thought it was a legend, but I saw it myself! And they don't call it 'Master Emerald' for nothing! The thing was freakin' huge!"
"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Shadow claimed as they exited the temple.
His and Rouge's ears perked as soon as they did so, as a combined wind rushed throughout the entire zone. In one direction, grass and leaves blew, as if some higher-being blew upon them all. Shadow felt a shiver run up and down his spine; something had connected with him. Looking down to his hand, he felt a rush of energy flow through his mitts. Wherever he was, he felt stronger.
The Black Wind's shoes ignited, and he took off into the distance. Rouge – who was surprised by this sudden action – flapped her wings then took off in chase of him. The hedgehog skated down the hills before them, staring around to the massive mushrooms they passed.
With his fleeting moments of attention being shifted, Shadow almost didn't notice the sudden cliff he was in danger of falling over. Skidding to a halt right at the edge, his red eyes stared beyond to the massive zone he and Rouge were tasked with traversing. Rouge's wings opened up wide to slow her trek, as she came to a halt right at her partner's back.
"Now this looks promising," Rouge stated as she gazed into the massive forest mixed with stones of dead temples, "If we weren't so pressed for time, I'd be searching for time."
"Good thing we are pressed for time then," Shadow playfully snided, his red eyes gazing to the distance while Rouge merely pouted, "Do you see that?"
Far beyond where they stood, in the greatest distance which could be only described as the zone's edge, a beam of light shot into the sky. If they followed a steady pace – as in, not being attacked by any Badniks or the like – they'd get there in a few minutes. Meaning, it would likely take them a good half-hour before they got there. And this was proven relatively quickly.
Beneath Shadow and Rouge's feet, robotic butterflies appeared. These small beings formed a large cloud of bugs, which came swarming after them. With a mere thrust of his hand and grunt from his mouth, Shadow fired a blast of pure energy towards the school of bugs. Said blast detonated in the center of the Badniks, destroying them all quickly.
Shadow smirked at the sight, not paying attention to the large object currently barreling towards him. He turned around too late, being smacked by a giant mushroom top of all things. It sent him over the cliff, and eventually pressed him into the earth far below. Eventually, he pushed the mushroom off of his body, to which a certain bat landed beside him.
"Having fun yet?" Rouge asked in a mocking manner, her hand out to grab his.
"Shut up..." he replied as he took said hand.
As soon as he did so however, the mushroom's around them revealed themselves. Instead of being natural fungi, these were Badniks in themselves. With ease, they sent their mushroom tops flying towards the two mobians, who leaped away just in time. Spinning in a ball, Shadow slammed into one mushroom, while Rouge kicked another.
Shadow's eyes shifted forward, noticing a massive machine close by. A machine made of wood and steel, with a massive drill burrowing into the ground. The Black Wind approached the machine and stared at it, realizing it was some sort of construction vehicle. In fact – in this area alone – there were multiple trees torn down.
"What's wrong, Shadow?" Rouge asked as she walked up beside him, "Something got your tongue?"
Shadow didn't reply however, instead looking up to the massive canopies up above. In the trees high up, vines and wood connected like virtual highways. Mushroom Hill Zone was didn't have a set ground of topography; having dirt and soil high above, as well as far below.
Grabbing onto one of the drill machine's handles, the hedgehog pulled down. It pulled up a notch. Pulling down again, the machine once again moved up a notch. He began pulling up and up, sliding up further and further, with Rouge watching.
"I don't think now is the time to start working out, Shadow!"
Rolling his eyes, he opted to ignore her as he continued moving up further and further the zone. Shadow eventually came to a higher level of the zone, his eyes immediately meeting pink boot. He looked up to see Rouge again, who playfully giggled as she handed him her hand. He took it quickly. One of these days, he was going to figure out how she seemingly moved faster than him, sometimes.
Air shoes ignited again, Shadow shot forward like a bullet, Rouge at his side. Gliding through the forest-themed zone, the two came to yet another cliff; higher than the last in fact. With this vantage point, Shadow peered ahead to the beam of energy flowing in the distance. Honestly, they didn't appear any closer now than they were the first time.
Shadow quickly leaped from his vantage point, landing on a mushroom top below. The fungi bounced however, propelling him skyward, and causing him to loose his sense of direction. Flying into another mushroom top, it flung him in another direction. And now he was having flashbacks to Carnival Night Zone.
His air shoes flaring, Shadow brought himself to a halt in mid-air. His red eyes moved down to the mushrooms below as he began to slowly descend upon them. Rouge fluttered to his side, while metallic port holes on the ground suddenly opened. Coming out of the manholes appeared blue mechanical, mole-like creatures. Holding stylized rifles in their hands, they glared up to Shadow and Rouge, and fired upon them.
The bullets which rained near them struck Rouge in the wing, making her drop. Reacting quickly, Shadow dove for his ally. His arms scooped beneath her frame quickly, and he came to a halt right on the ground. Rifles in hands, those mole-like Badniks pulled back out of their holes right behind them. But Shadow wasn't having any of it.
"Chaos Spear!" he shouted as he sent a yellow blast their way, destroying one and scaring the other two, "Dammit... Rouge, are you okay?"
"Ye-yeah, I'm fine," she replied as she touched the area on her wing which was shot, wincing upon doing so, "It... merely nicked me, though. I'll be fine... probably wont be flying much for a few thought..."
"It's alright," Shadow replied as he nodded, "Let's get moving..."
It appeared as if they wouldn't be able to avoid danger however, as a gloomy shadow drifted overhead. Shadow stared up to see a long mechanical beast fly over the two; it's head spherical, its body long and spiky. This being with a familiar look to a dragonfly locked its eyes upon the two. Tail jerking up, it shot down with a thrust, attempting to stab the two. But Shadow – with Rouge still in his arms – easily dodged the blast. He shot left and right, before throwing Rouge up, then shot ahead in a ball. The strike crushed the Badniks head easily, causing it to ripple out with explosions. He returned right in time to catch Rouge as she fell.
"Was all that really necessary?" she asked in a sarcastic manner.
"I dunno... got us where we needed to go though, didn't it?" Shadow replied with a smirk.
Finally he put Rouge down, and they were off again. Running ahead as fast as they could, the two slid straight through a cave. Upon coming out the other end of the cave, they were hit with a most incredible heat. So much heat, Shadow slid down to a halt, his eyes growing wide. Just a few moments ago, it was bearable; nice even. A cool wind as he ran made him feel relatively relaxed, but now the heat index jumped to an insane level.
"Wow... it's soooo hot!" Rouge exclaimed as she fanned herself with her hand.
"What... the hell?" he remarked at such a feeling, "It feels like the middle of Summer! In fact..." he stared around more, "It looks like the middle of Summer."
The mushrooms had changed slightly, most of them appearing to be at full life. Flowers and grass was stronger as well, with them being properly ready for anything. It wasn't that much different, but the zone had changed with the heat's sudden increase.
With his head shaking, Shadow figured it was best to simply muscle through it all. He darted forward with his shoes ablaze, Rouge running right behind him. Even running at full speed didn't make the intense heat feel any better.
Red eyes glancing up, Shadow's eyes befell the beam in the far distance. It looked to be a little closer than before, though his eyes could have been playing tricks on him. With a sudden burst of speed, he and Rouge dashed into a wide forest clearing. Many trees had been cut down, with various tire tracks laid in the ground. Shadow skidded to a halt in the midst of things; Rouge also.
"Where... I guess we know where the Doctor got all of his raw materials for his Badniks," Shadow commented as he crossed his arms.
"I don't get it," Rouge retorted, "Knuckles appears to be the kind of guy who hates this kind of stuff..." she shrugged her shoulders, "What's he doing letting some fat Eggman run around and tear through his island like this? He's made it pretty clear he doesn't want us here."
"Dr. Robotnik has a silver tongue," Shadow answered, "He was able to worm his way into everyone's heart on South Island... I wouldn't be too surprised if he did the same way to Knuckles... it doesn't look like the echinda has much interaction with outside forces anyway..."
Rouge nodded, when the sound of thrust engines echoed above them. Both mobians looked up, then leaped away just in time to dodge...
VLASH!
An axe. It fell right where they once stood, creating a sizable split in the earth. Shadow and Rouge looked up, their eyes falling upon a machine far bigger than the two of them. A gold and black being that appeared vaguely humanoid. Well, as humanoid as one can get when missing its entire lower torso. Its head was cylindrical and silver, with two golden eyes. Its body, bulky and massive, with engines on its back to keep it afloat.
Eggman Industries latest and greatest line in deforestation; the Hei Hou. Golden axe in hand, its perfectly capable of tearing through as many trees in under thirty minutes, that would take chainsaws and machines days.
The Hei Hou pulled back, glaring down upon the two mobians it just attempted to decapitate. Brandishing its blade like a weapon, its engines pushed forward, and the machine flew into reverse. Growling, Shadow immediately chased the mighty Badnik, leaving Rouge to throw her hands up in a 'why bother' fashion. She chased him down as well, while the Hei Hou swung its blade.
The axe tore into the side of a tree, sending a massive chunk of wood flying the two mobian's way. Shadow quickly leaped onto the wood panel, then propelled himself even higher above that.
"Chaos! Spear!"
He fired a straight ray of light directly at the machine, the blast bouncing harmlessly off of its chest. Rolling his eyes at such a sight, he opted instead to curl into a blast. Shooting forward, Shadow slammed into Hei Hou's chest, the impact throwing it away.
The Badnik's thrusters brought it to a stop, it twirling its axe shortly after. Those boosters pushed forward, allowing it to dash suddenly and quickly. In doing so, the Hei Hou delivered a powerful headbutt, striking Shadow and sending him away. Quickly, its optics darted around, in search of its second target. Said second target suddenly struck it in the face with a kick.
Hei Hou's head spun around in place, while Rouge landed on the ground. Wincing, the pain in her wing nearly drove her to stop. Ignoring it however, she was able to dodge a sudden slash from the Hei Hou's axe. She darted to a tree, climbing upon it quickly. The Hei Hou pulled towards her, swinging its axe, but missing. Instead, it tore into the tree's side, severing it straight in half. The bat smirked.
Pulling back, Rouge's wings began flapping. With both legs, she struck the tree that was beginning to fall. In doing so, she caused it to fall back onto Hei Hou instead of to the side. But all that flapping of her wings made the pain to unbearable, and Rouge dropped.
Just to land in Shadow's timely hands.
"Hm... when did demons start saving people, handsome?"
"Whatever..."
With an impressive push, Hei Hou tossed the tree off of its body. It fell to the side, leaving the Badnik hovering above. A sizable dent laid on its body, caused by the tree which fell on it. Hei Hou swung its axe around once again, slamming it down where the two stood, yet hitting nothing. Its optics darted around the area in search of the two, only to hear yelling from above. Looking up, its eyes met feet.
Both Shadow and Rouge slammed onto the Hei Hou's head together, sending it flying into its own body. While Rouge leaped off, Shadow tossed a red blast of Chaotic energy inside before leaping off as well. The two landed behind the Hei Hou, while it dropped its axe. A red energy began surging throughout its entire body, while Shadow snapped his fingers; that red energy suddenly expanded.
A wicked explosion roared out of the Hei Hou's body, sending pieces of metal and shrapnel flying in all directions. The battle now over, Shadow swiped his hand against his head. The distance had become a blurred vision thanks to the heat in the area; it was visible.
"Hah... ha... haa... let's get out of here," Shadow said as he turned around, facing the distance.
Rouge merely nodded, and the two were zooming away.
Shadow and Rouge have passed Act 1.
The two ran along the zone, zooming down a hill which headed straight toward the eerie beam of light in the distance. However, as the two slid down the hill, they came to a mighty temple. The doors were closed shut, and it forced the two to stop. Shadow peered at the sight as he slid up, calling Rouge over with his hand. Together, their hands pressed upon the doors in order to open them. They had no idea what laid on the other end.
Knuckles' ears perked, listening to the two on the other end. He watched as the door slid open ever so barely, as the two attempted to make their ways through. Amateurs; he could easily knock the door open with one punch! What they lacked for in strength however, they easily made up for with speed and resilience. It was only the beginning of this week they showed up, and yet they had already made it so far; dropped the Death Egg and even activating a Super Emerald. He couldn't underestimate them.
"Almost there, Rouge," he heard the Black Wind say, "Just a little bit further!"
"All this manual labor is your work, Shadow," she retorted, "I'm – UGH! – sick of it!"
Knuckles' hands slid against the wall, where a switch laid. There were many traps and secret passage ways all over the island, and the echidna knew them all. This was just one in over one-hundred.
Knuckles pressed the button.
Shadow's ears perked as he pushed on the door, stopping and confusing Rouge.
"What's wrong, Shadow?"
"Did you... hear that?" he replied.
"Uh... Shadow... your quills..."
"Uh... Rouge... your hair..."
Both things were steadily flowing up, thanks to a powerful gust of air that blew under their feet. Those winds increased, becoming incredibly turbulent and strong. Shadow suddenly slipped and began falling skyward, though he clung to the dirt with his hands. Eyes wide, he could only wonder what the hell was going on. The same with Rouge; she clung to the dirt with her hands as tightly as she could, less she too be blown away by the growing winds.
"This... forest... is... weird!" Shadow stated.
"You're... telling... me!"
Before they could figure out anything about the situation, the duo were blown away. Wind and sound surrounded them, as they were flung sky-high, and sent twirling like objects in the wind. With all the sound and all the foliage roaring around them, they were blinded and disoriented; making it virtually impossible for the duo to figure out where they were and where they were going. That is, until...
POW! POW!
Shadow raised his head, a powerful ache thumping through it. He rubbed his temples in pain, struggling to get up onto his knees. Likewise for Rouge, who rived in pain on her back.
"Talk about a blow job," she remarked.
"Is that really necessary? Really?"
Shaking his head, Shadow's eyesight finally adjusted after such a pounding. What he saw surprised him. The grass was no longer green, but a brown. Multiple hues of brown – from gold to red – littered the ground bit by bit. Not only that, but the temperature in the air was not that burning heat it was earlier. It was colder, bringing a shiver to Shadow's spine.
"Autumn?" Shadow commented as he put two and two together, "Is it... Autumn?"
"I feels like it," Rouge answered as she gazed around, "This is a weird Zone. It reminds me of Dust Hill Zone over at West Side Island. Remember? Remember how it switched between a desert and a snowstorm? The weather is all kinds of screwy in this place..."
"And I think I know why," Shadow answered as he stood up, crossing his arms over one another, "Whatever that beam of energy shooting in the sky is, I know it has something to do with this..."
His air shoes flaring, Shadow dashed along the zone, throwing up dead foliage in his wake. Slipping up a ramp in the far distance, the Black Wind and his partner bounced off the heads of mushrooms, giving them the appropriate height to leap over dangers far below. From within bushes, a tall chicken-like machine appeared. Standing on a pole, a red sack on its throat bulged as it sucked in air. Right as Shadow and Rouge passed by, the bird blew a strong gust of wind their way.
It blew the two away, sending them flailing into a pit. Wings spread wide, Rouge glided to a wall and stuck her hands in, while Shadow continued to dip inside. The Black Wind landed on another mushroom, launching himself up towards another cliff. On said cliff, he met up with a Badnik. Said Badnik being that dragonfly-like machine from before.
Tail hiking up, it jabbed forward in an attempt to stab Shadow straight through. Dodging the strike, he reached out and crushed the machine with his hand. As the flames from such a crush began to fall in his fingers, Shadow's eyes stared ahead to the entrance of a cave. Mushroom Hill Zone is such a weird place.
His air shoes flaring, he darted for the cave, as Rouge ran right up behind them. Entering the coolness of the cave, they blew through to the other side, where Shadow immediately slipped. Traction failed him; he found it near impossible to keep himself up right. Foot slipping, the Black Wind fell face-first into the icy, snow-covered ground. And he slid ahead a few good yards, before finally coming to a halt.
The hedgehog laid there, seemingly defeated, his face in the snow-laden grass. Shortly thereafter, a certain bat came skating beside him on the soles of her heals. With grace and ease, she skated circles around her friend, before leaping up like a ballerina, and landing on one foot precisely.
"Perfection," Rouge stated as she halted beside her friend, he remained one with the ground.
"Everything's going good, Shadow?" the bat asked of him, before Shadow pulled himself up.
His face looked oddly normal, though Rouge giggled. Knowing her friend well, she could tell he was at his most angriest at this point in time. Shadow – still saying nothing – stood up then dusted snow and grass off his face and body. Cracking the bones in his neck, he began walking forward towards the distance.
"Let's move..." he said without a moment's hesitation, making Rouge curtsy.
"Okay. Handsome..." she replied.
As one may suspect, this section of the zone was clad in snow and ice. First through Spring, then through Summer, before Fall, and now Winter. The bat and hedgehog had experience first hand four seasons all in one day, on the beauty of Angel Island.
Mushrooms were a glowing green, trees lacked their foliage, and Shadow was running through it all. His red eyes focused on the beam that tore into the sky. He was now in the same act, the same section as that beam, and he could see it more clearly. The skies swirled around in a vortex, as the beam of light tore into the heavens. The lightning coursed through the heavens, and the winds suddenly increased.
Shadow began sliding back, as said wind started flowing into him. Snow began to fall at great speeds, pelting his body and making him growl. Rouge too felt the pain, as she lifted her arm to block the snow from her face. As they crossed the fields, Badniks shot out through the ground with guns armed.
Bullets rained down upon their position, missing just barely. Shadow countered with a Chaos Spear, flinging it and penetrating the mole-like Badnik square in the head. More Badniks appeared; more dangerous kinds. The Dragonfly Badnik flew towards them, blade stabbing to kill. Rouge kicked one, while Shadow struck another. The snow began to bury them up to their knees, but the Black Wind was having none of it.
"Chaos... BLAST!" he announced, a shock-wave of red energy ripping form his body, and destroying everything in a few yards radius.
With the snow briefly deflected, Shadow grabbed a hold of Rouge's hand. Settling his eyes for the beam that glowed in the distance, he zoomed off like a rocket. The two delve down an snowy knoll, then flew up the next hill over. Said hill also held the beam's origin point.
A weird blue machine, with a radar dish at the very top. Said radar dish emitted the beam of light the two had been following up to this point. As they approached it, a higher number of Badniks appeared around them. Dragonflies, Butterdroid, Madmoles, Mushmeanies, Cluckoid; all the Badniks in the zone appeared around them.
"Uh, Shadow...?" Rouge asked as she noticed her partner turning red.
"No... more... GAAAAAMMMMEEESSSS!"
A wicked red wave tore from his body, crashing into each and every Badnik and returning them to scrap and metal. The wave of destruction wiped them from the islands face, sprinkling all their burned husks to the ground. After such an attack, Shadow pulled back in, with Rouge gazing upon him with an eyebrow raised.
"Uh... Sh-Shadow, are you okay?" the bat asked of her partner, making him glance back, "I mean... aren't you tired? That's two Chaos Blasts; you're usually tired after just one..."
"I know," Shadow answered as he stared into the palm of his hand, opening and closing it, "But... it feels like... I have a Chaos Emerald with me."
"But you don't have a Chaos Emerald with you.
"I know..."
Shadow walked up to the radar dish, its light flaring into his eye. Charging up a Chaos Spear, he came to fully realized how much energy thrived through his body. He hadn't slacked up on his powers, and yet he still felt energized.
"Chaos... LANCE!"
He charged up a red blast at maximum power, it colliding with the radar dish. The blast melded with the steel, surging it with its powerful red energies. A sudden explosion rang out from the radar dish, destroying it. The beam of light no longer being produced, faded into the skies above. Meanwhile, the explosion continued to roar. From the skies, a blinding light echoed out. The clouds vanished and the weather began to change, while Shadow and Rouge covered their eyes. When it was all said and done, the grass was green, the skies were blue, and the weather had returned to normal.
It was Spring again.
"A weather manipulation device. Cool," Rouge commented as Shadow walked up to and checked the radar dish, "I think G.U.N. would love to hear about this when I get back."
"Oh... actually talking about work?" Shadow replied as he looked over his shoulder towards his partner, "That's a change."
"And what do you do for a job?"
"My Uncle Chuck runs a dinner... I help out occasionally," Shadow stated.
The ground rumbled suddenly, silencing the two of them. Shadow stared down to the ground, watching as it broke beneath his feet. Leaping back, Shadow watched as a mighty blue machine tore from under his feet.
Introducing the newest line in the Eggman Industries, the Weather Mobile. Ever wanted to grow your fruits and vegetables out of season, with the Weather Mobile, that's more than possible. With a functional radar dish, the Weather Mobile is capable of changing the seasons in any act of any zone you may be located.
And, of course, if a certain red hedgehog and white bat appeared, its more than capable of destroying them.
The Weather Mobile was large, blue, pear-shaped, and with an Egg Mobile attached to the center. The machine had a single optic, which quickly locked onto the two mobians below, before its thrust engines pointed forward. Moving on the retreat, the Weather Mobile began to escape the two. Four mechanical tentacles protruded from the back, a ray cannon at the tips of each tendril.
"I've read too many things on the internet to know where this is going," Rouge commented as she rolled her eyes "Shadow, go and get rid of it; I'm not lifting one hand."
"Easy enough for me," the hedgehog replied before rushing for the machine as it flew off.
The Black Wind skated down the massive plain, chasing after the Weather Mobile. The tendrils fired laser after laser upon after Shadow, forcing him to dart left and right as he dodged them. As he chased the machine, the hedgehog charged in a Chaos Spear and flung it. The blast struck the Weather Mobile in the face-plate, the collision being strong enough to push the beast back.
More beams shot from the machine's tendrils, barely missing Shadow as it aimed for his feet. He leaped up high to dodge the attack, curling into a ball in midair. His body turning a yellow color, he shot forward like a bullet, striking the Weather Mobile in its optic.
The machine was frazzled, but not defeated. With a sudden thrust of its engines, it pulled back even further, making Shadow bit his lip. Increasing his speed, the Black Wind chased down the machine. However, the ground began to quake. Poles moved up through the ground on the sides of the pathway, making Shadow look around to them. Further down the natural runway, the poles shot spiked barbs between one another.
"That's... just heavenly..." Shadow bemoaned, before flying ahead at high-speeds, regardless of the dangers.
The Weather Mobile shot lasers at him, but Shadow remained on the move. Darting left and right, he came to the first spiked barb. The hedgehog ducked down though, sliding under the trap just in the nick of time. However, a sudden laser blast before him triggered an explosion, sending him skyward. Shadow flew up, his arms flailing, but quickly regained moment. As he spun into a ball, the Weather Mobile fired a shot with precise aim. However, a sudden flicker echoed from Shadow's body, deflecting the blast and sending it skyward.
Shadow landed after, then took off like a rocket towards his enemy. Flying higher than the traps to avoid them itself, the Weather Mobile continued firing blast after blast towards its enemy. Gritting with annoyance at the situation, Shadow figured now was the time to end it. Quickly leaping onto one such pole with a spiked barb, the hedgehog leaped forward. Spinning in the air, he homed in on the Weather Mobile's main unit. Slamming upon it feet first, Shadow's shoes flared with life, setting the machine ablaze as he leaped off.
The Weather Mobile continued to emit flames as it flew off, fanning itself in an attempt to douse the fires. Shadow merely smiled.
BAM!
The Weather Mobile slammed into a mighty tree, ripping into a wicked explosion. Shadow kept on running, traveling into a tunnel that bore through the tree. Behind him, the Weather Mobile continued to explode, before dropping to the ground in flames.
Shadow kicked up his shoes as he came out the other side of the tree's tunnel, safe as the Weather Mobile met its end. Fingers brushing against his chest, he dusted off petals of grass and dirt he gained from the fight.
"Hmph," he said with a smirk, "Ultimate victory..."
"Enjoyed yourself?" a certain bat's voice rang.
Shadow stared up, his eyes falling upon Rouge. She descended slowly upon him with her wings flapping gracefully, making Shadow scoff as he crossed his arms.
"I thought your wing was nicked," he stated, "What's all this?"
"Remember what I told you on Hill Top Zone?" the bat asked, "I tend to get hurt on my own little adventures without you. While this hurts now..." she rubbed her wing, "It isn't much..."
"Lovely..."
VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM!
The tree tops ruffled, as a powerful wind hushed the zone. Shadow and Rouge stared around to it all, as the ground began shaking beneath their feet. Looking up, the two mobians' eyes befell a machine hovering just above the zone. Where was it all during all of their troubles; it appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
A mighty airship, with various weapons and machines on the sides and surely as well on the inside. It reminded Shadow and Rouge of the Wing Fortress from West Side Island, and more importantly, the air ship that dropped them into Ice Cap Zone. Well, Shadow anyway; he still has no idea how Rouge got into the zone.
"Shadow," Rouge called, eyebrow raised, "You've got that look again..."
"You're right, I do," Shadow replied as he suddenly ran off towards the machine, causing Rouge to follow him.
"What are you going to do, Shadow?" the bat asked, as she ran up behind him, "Just chase after it?"
"Of course not," he said as his hand suddenly wrapped around her waist, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Leaping into the sky, Shadow and Rouge both flared a green color. Then, in a blinding flash of light, the hedgehog and bat vanished into thin air, leaving the zone silent without them.
For not too long.
The red echidna stood on a hill overlooking the plains, his purple eyes sliding up to the machine above. The mighty airship drifted calmly, even though it was incredibly loud. His hand on his chin, Knuckles rubbed it in deep thought. Dropping his hand, he picked up the device on his hip.
"Knuckles here... there on the Flying Battery..."
"I see... then time is of the essence. Knuckles, Ivo has informed me Chaos' Egg was slightly cracked in the fall. We are doing everything we can to seal it back up but... if Shadow and Rouge find the egg, they will hatch it," he glanced away, gritting his teeth, "Look... I know you don't trust Ivo fully. But... you can trust me... Knuckles... it's time you revealed the location of the Hidden Palace Zone to us. With your help, we can use the Master Emerald to seal up Chaos' Egg completely. It will not hatch... please, you have to help us. Please..."
"Yes... I... dammit... I understand..." he glared ahead, "I'm heading for Lava Reef Zone."
"Okay... we will try to defeat Shadow and Rouge on the Flying Battery but... we can only try..."
"Only try... only try..."
CLICK!
Maria's blue eyes shined, as she pulled away from her screen. In the dark room, she sat up straight, her chair turning to face another. A man sitting at a chair at the helm of this cockpit, glaring out the window towards the forest far down below, and the skies high above. Man in his brown business suit, red tie and black slacks, rose his hand to his mustache, stroking it gently.
"Tell me," the doctor said, "Are they here?"
"Yes, doctor, they are here," the blonde behind him answered with a nod.
"Good..." the doctor's eyes gleamed red, "I'd hate to miss out on the last chance to see my foe. And of Knuckles?"
"He's willing to lead us to the Master Emerald."
"Good... good..." he smiled, his twisted smile stretching out far, "Maria... operation Doomsday has started! We'll take this planet by storm!"
Shadow and Rouge have entered Flying Battery Zone.
Maverick Talks!
Ya'know, for a second there, I wasn't going to write a 'Maverick Talks' section. But I thought I had something cool to talk about briefly.
First off, it's nice to have Maria and Robotnik pop up in a chapter again. I mean, yeah, it was clear they survived, but we still went two chapters without them making a physical appearance. And yet, despite the Death Egg dropping again, they're up to their old tricks. What's all this with Chaos' Egg though? I've been hinting at it for the longest, but I think you guys have already figured it out. Nonetheless...
Also, the chapter's title 'Mushroom Valley Zone', is a reference to Mushroom Hill Zone's beta name. Ya'see, if you put in the stage select code in Sonic 3, you see some zones that isn't in Sonic 3; Flying Battery Zone, Sandopolis Zone, and Mushroom Valley Zone. Remember, Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were once one full game, before needing to be split in order to meet some deadline, ya'know? So Mushroom Hill Zone being called Mushroom Valley Zone in Sonic 3 is obvious a beta element.
So, technically, I just went over a beta zone. Ha, ha! But alas, I digress too much.
Next chapter, we head to Flying Battery Zone, which has one of the most kick-ass zone themes ever in it.
Ever.
Maverick Kay Prime