Story 37: Shiver my Emeralds! Part 1
Moments later, Sonic arrived back with recruitments. He had brought with him: Team Chaotix which consisted of Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee and his fellow team-mates from the Royal Fighters Service: Geoffrey St. John the Skunk, Bunnie Rabbot the Cyborg Rabbit, Wilson the Dog and Mandy Mouse. They were all wondering what the commotion was all about as Sonic gathered them up and brought them back to the others who had stood waiting for him.
"So mate, what's with all the gander then?" asked Geoffrey.
"Is there a big mission which involves fighting Dr. Eggman for us all?" asked Mandy, hoping it was since she was looking forward to kicking Eggman's backside for what he did to her sister Marion the other month*.
Sonic signalled for everybody to quieten down. Everybody fell into silence and then Sonic spoke:
"The reason I have gathered you all here today is because we have found one of the seven Chaos Emeralds."
Cosmo the Seedrian showed everybody the gleaming green gem she held in her hands. Everybody stared at it in amazement but then they exchanged confused glances.
"Um, what is a Chaos Emerald?" asked Wilson "Is it something important?"
"Yes it is." said Knuckles the Echidna "Does anyone else not know what a Chaos Emerald is?"
Everybody except Espio raised their hands. Vector looked at the chameleon in surprise.
"You know what a Chaos Emerald is?" he asked, taken aback at the fact Espio knew something he didn't.
"Yes I know what a Chaos Emerald is." said Espio "Us chameleons know everything due to the fact we are acute information gatherers and we don't miss many details."
"Well for those who don't know what a Chaos Emerald is, I'll tell you." said Knuckles.
Everybody sat down in a circle as Knuckles explained the history of the Chaos Emeralds to them.
"The Chaos Emeralds are mystical gems with unfathomable power." said Knuckles "There used to be thousands of them buried in the crater where Angel Island once was. But the traitor of Angel Island Imperator Ix unearthed them all and tried to use their power to destroy us and bring Angel Island down. My father stopped them and using Chaos powers, merged the gems together to make seven so there are only seven Chaos Emeralds. After Ix was defeated, my father's last act was to send the Chaos Emeralds away. They've been hidden for years but I think all that hiding is about to end since we now have one of them so we've gathered you all here to help us find the seven Chaos Emeralds and keep them out of the reach of Dr. Eggman or any other villain out there."
The group had listened to everything and they were intrigued with the story.
"So we've gotta find those Chaos Emeralds before Eggman does?" said Bunnie "Shouldn't be a problem for us fighters at all!"
"You said it Bunnie." said Wilson in agreement "By the way Knuckles, are the Chaos Emeralds all green in colour?"
"No." said Knuckles "They are green, blue, yellow, purple, red, cyan and grey but they are all the same shape so it shouldn't be too hard to tell it's a Chaos Emerald."
"So when do we begin this emerald hunt?" asked Charmy eagerly "It sounds like lots of fun!"
"Right now." said Sonic "We'll have teams of two. Team One will be me, Tails, Knuckles, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy and Team 2 can be Amy, Cream, Cosmo, Bunnie, Vector, Espio and Charmy. We'll split up and search all over Mobius for the emeralds."
"But how do we find the Chaos Emeralds?" asked Mandy "Is there a way of tracking them down?"
"If you have a Chaos Emerald with you, it glows brighter when it's near another Chaos Emerald." said Knuckles.
"But we only have one Chaos Emerald." noted Mandy "How's the other team going to find a Chaos Emerald if that team doesn't have an emerald?"
"I have an idea." said Tails, pulling the tracker he used to find the production chamber in Eggman's base out of his glove "If I can upload the Chaos Emerald's energy signature into this tracker then it should be able to track other Chaos Emeralds."
Cosmo held out the Chaos Emerald and Tails did a little scan of the Chaos Emerald with the tracker. After the scan was finished Tails did a few settings on the tracker. Then he set it to track mode and held it in front of the Chaos Emerald. It began beeping.
"It worked!" said Tails "The other team can use this tracker to find the Chaos Emeralds!"
"Wow kid, you're smart." complimented Mandy.
Tails just smiled modestly.
"Well that's settled then." said Sonic "We have a way of finding Chaos Emeralds so let's go emerald hunting everyone!"
"Yeah!" everybody cheered in unison.
Sonic gave the tracker to Amy and they held hands while staring into each other's eyes.
"Amy, you take care of yourself and your team." said Sonic "Because we won't be around to save you if you get in trouble."
"Don't worry Sonic, we'll be A Okay!" said Amy "I'll try my best to find those Chaos Emeralds. I hope your team has good luck too."
"We'll be fine Amy." said Sonic "Especially since my team has me, the world's fastest hedgehog. Goodbye for now and good luck."
"Same to you my handsome hero." said Amy teasingly.
Sonic just groaned quietly as Amy turned around to speak to the team she was paired up with.
"OK girls and boys, we've got a mission and let's not let anyone stand in our way!" said Amy in the manner of a tough army general "Now let's get going!"
With that said, Amy's team immediately departed and started their emerald hunt with Amy leading since she had the tracker. The moment they left, Geoffrey turned to Sonic.
"So when do we start?" he asked.
"Right now." said Sonic "Me and Tails will search the mountains, you and the others will search on the ground. While we're here. If we don't find anything we search somewhere else."
"Sounds good to me." said Wilson "I wonder how many emeralds we will find?"
"Who knows?" said Sonic "But don't get competitive. This isn't a competition of who can find the most Chaos Emeralds, we just need to find all seven and that's it."
"Then let's get going!" yelled Knuckles "Those emeralds aren't gonna find themselves!"
That was more then enough to get everybody going. Sonic and Tails headed north to where the mountains that protruded proudly from the centre of Green Hill Zone were and Knuckles, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy started prowling around the forest to see if a Chaos Emerald was there. Sonic had taken the Chaos Emerald with him so he knew when he was getting close to one. Sonic and Tails reached the mountains and stared up at them. The mountains were very tall but not the tallest mountains on Mobius, they were very rocky, they were flat on the top and they looked hard to climb up. Sonic never had trouble climbing anything since he could run fast and he could scale a smooth surface and Tails could fly so climbing this mountain would not be a problem. Sonic ran up the mountain at top speed and Tails flew after him. But the moment they reached the top of the tall, rocky mountain, they had an unexpected surprise awaiting them. There, sitting in the middle of the top of the mountain was Marik the Martian and he was sitting there with his feet and hands lightly pressed together and his eyes closed as if he was meditating. Sonic seemed more surprised at Marik's calm nature then the fact he was sitting at the top of a mountain but he shook it off and prepared to fight.
"Well, well, well if it isn't Marik the Martian?" said Sonic.
"Sonic the Hedgehog." said Marik softly "I should have expected your unpleasant presence sometime soon."
"You probably should have." said Sonic "Now you can make this easy on yourself and surrender so we can put you in a nice warm prison cell or you can get your butt kicked by me and Tails."
"I will do neither." said Marik quietly
His eyes snapped open and he blasted Sonic with an unpredicted jolt of electricity from his metal fingers. Sonic cried out in pain as electricity surged through his body and Marik stopped to give him a breather. The moment he stopped shocking Sonic, he turned around and leaped off the mountain. Tails did not want Marik to get away so he flew after him while Sonic began to recover from the painful shock he had received from Marik. Marik was still falling down the mountain after jumping off it and he saw Tails flying after him. Marik pointed a metal claw at Tails and tried to shock him but Tails dodged the jolt. Marik tried again but Tails yet again, dodged the jolt. Then Marik landed on a steep slope and he slid down the slope as if he was snowboarding. Tails continued flying after him, trying to keep up with Marik's fast sliding. Marik then shot up a ramp and flew through the air. He spun around five times in midair before landing on another slope and began to slide down that. Tails tried to keep up with Marik but Marik's sliding was too quick for him. Marik then slid straight through an archway and he shot at it with a jolt of electricity. The archway caved in and blocked the slope but Tails effortlessly flew over them. Marik then slid up a loop-de-loop shaped rock and he flew through the air. He landed on his feet and jumped down a hole in the ground. Tails didn't see that and he flew straight past the hole, wondering where Marik had escaped to. Tails touched down and scanned the surroundings. Then something appeared behind him and touched him in the shoulder. Tails screamed and leaped into the air, only to see it was Sonic the Hedgehog standing there.
"Oh Sonic, you almost gave me a heart-attack!" gasped Tails.
"What? Am I naturally scary or something?" joked Sonic "Where's Marik?"
"He's gone." said Tails "I think I lost him. I'm sorry I couldn't catch him Sonic."
"Don't sweat it big guy, we'll find him." said Sonic "If I didn't know any better I'd say Marik is hiding in a cave since caves are good places to hide."
"Like over there?" asked Tails, pointing to a nearby cave.
Sonic looked in Tails' direction and saw the cave he was pointing at. The cave's entrance was wide and full of sharp pointy rocks dangling from the ceiling.
"Yeah, like over there." said Sonic "Let's see if that miserable Martian is in there."
Sonic and Tails wondered over to the cave. The cave, like all other caves was pitch black in darkness and they couldn't see a thing in there so Tails pulled out the green Chaos Emerald they had to light the way. The two friends walked quietly into the cave with the emerald providing light for them. The cave was eerily quiet with the exception of water dripping from the ceiling. Sonic and Tails looked around to see if they could find anything. There didn't appear to be anyone around, they appeared to be the only life forms in the cave. Tails began to shiver; he was feeling a little scared right now due to the cave's dark and creepy nature and the fact Marik was probably waiting to pounce on him and Sonic any second now. Sonic didn't seem bothered at all. He kept his senses alert for anything suspicious. Then he heard a little noise as if someone scuffed a shoe on the stony ground. Sonic froze and listened again. Tails stood still and waited for Sonic to say something.
"Did you hear something?" asked Tails nervously.
"I think I did." said Sonic softly "But I'm not sure what it was."
Then they saw a flash of electricity shoot through the air and hit the huge rocky wall above them. The jolt of electricity caused a massive bang and the wall began to rain down with rocks and boulders in a big avalanche.
"TAILS RUN!" screamed Sonic.
Tails immediately ran for it and Sonic zipped away. The rocks all came crashing down with deafening smashes and Tails was struck in the back by one, causing him to fall over and drop the Chaos Emerald. Then more rocks crashed down on the ground and either caused the ground to slightly crack or broke into pieces. The avalanche finally finished and the dust floated away into nothingness. That jolt of electricity had been caused by Marik the Martian who was standing on a ledge above the entrance. He put a metal finger to his lips and blew at it as if he was blowing the thin trial of smoke from a fired revolver away. Then Marik did an amazing leap and landed in front of the rock pile. He saw a faint green glisten coming from underneath the rock pile and he dug into the pile furiously, throwing big chunks of rock over his shoulder. After throwing away many rocks he found it, the dropped Chaos Emerald that Sonic and Tails had. Marik seized the emerald and wrenched it out of the pile. He brought the gleaming gem to his face and smiled wickedly.
"You won't be needing this anymore Sonic the Hedgehog." he purred to himself.
He opened his jacket up and stuffed the emerald in a pocket that was inside the jacket. He patted his side casually and he walked away from the rock pile. Marik exited the dark cave and he turned back around to face the entrance. He aimed a finger as sharp as a flint at the roof of the cave and fired a jolt of electricity at it. The electrical jolt caused yet another avalanche and the entrance caved in! The entrance was now full of large heavy rocks and no one would be getting in or out of that cave anymore. Marik blew at his finger and walked away.
"I do hope they were crushed in that avalanche." he said with a sadistic grin on his face "And if not, then hopefully any creatures living in there will finish them off."
He smiled at the very thought of Sonic and Tails, crushed underneath tonnes of rocks as he walked on away from the valley of mountains.
If Marik had decided to stick around, he would have died of disappointment. Tails managed to heave himself out of the pile of rocks on top of him. He brushed some pebbles off his fur and then he began to dig into the rock pile beside him.
"Sonic!" he cried as he began throwing rocks behind him "Oh Sonic, are you in there?"
"Tails when I tell you to run I mean run!" came a teenage voice from behind that Tails knew so well.
Sonic did not get caught up in the avalanche at all; he had run away and stayed put until it stopped. Tails was relieved to see Sonic was OK.
"Oh thank goodness Sonic, you're OK." he sighed.
Then Tails looked at his hands, only to see no Chaos Emerald there.
"Oh no, the Chaos Emerald!" he cried
He felt himself over frantically and then got on his hands and knees and began searching desperately.
"Where is it?" asked Sonic.
"I think it got knocked out of my hand." said Tails as he threw a rock over his shoulder.
"By a rock?" sniffed Sonic.
"Yes, by a rock." grumbled Tails, searching through the rock pile.
"Tails, you need to take more care of the Chaos Emeralds you know." said Sonic sternly "They have great power and if they fall into the wrong hands Mobius will fall into chaos."
"I'm sorry I lost the emerald Sonic." said Tails, his ears drooping down into despair "But I wouldn't have lost it if that rockslide didn't happen."
"Speaking of the rockslide, how did it happen in the first place?" wondered Sonic.
"I think Marik did it." said Tails "I saw a jolt of electricity hit those rocks and only Marik has electrical abilities."
"I saw it too." said Sonic "So if Marik caused the rockslide…then maybe he has the Chaos Emerald!" he shrieked "That's it! Marik must have caused that rockslide in an attempt to kill us and before we recovered, he took the Chaos Emerald to boot!"
"Now I'm REALLY sorry I lost the Chaos Emerald." said Tails sadly.
"Hey Tails, don't lose hope, we'll get it back." said Sonic softly "After all, with my supersonic speed, Marik won't get far without me catching him. Now let's leave this cave shall we?"
"Yes." said Tails "I'm tired of being in a cave now."
Sonic and Tails ran off to the entrance of the cave. They had a hard time though due to the fact they had no Chaos Emerald to light the way so the cave was very dark and they spent a lot of time almost stumbling over something or banging their foot on a rock. When they finally reached the entrance of the cave, they got a nasty shock. The cave's entrance was blocked thanks to Marik the Martian's electrical attacks.
"Oh no!" cried Tails "Marik must have blocked the entrance! We're trapped in here!"
"Not if I can help it!" yelled Sonic, spinning into a ball and spin-dashing the rock-pile.
He crushed one rock to pieces with his spin-dash. That one rock was more then enough though. The moment Sonic crushed the rock, the entire pile began to fall down and let in the light of day. Rocks tumbled over and fell down to the ground. Soon half of the pile had fallen away, allowing Sonic and Tails to escape. Sonic and Tails crawled over the pile of rocks and made it out into the fresh air and the light of day. They shielded their eyes for a moment as they waited for their eyes to adjust and then they moved on.
"Boy does it feel good to get out of that cave." said Sonic, stretching and inhaling deeply "Now where did that creep Marik go?"
"I dunno." said Tails "But we can't let him keep that Chaos Emerald. We must find him."
"Well I hope you can keep up little buddy." said Sonic "Because I'm gonna go really fast now."
Sonic revved his feet up and he ran off at his trademark speed. Tails twisted his tails around one another, took flight and he flew off after Sonic. Sonic and Tails sped through the valley of mountains, desperately searching for Marik the Martian. They knew that Martian had to be captured otherwise he would try to misuse the emerald's power and cause mayhem and destruction…
Marik had left the mountains and now he continued walking through the ever stretching fields of Green Hill Zone, holding the Chaos Emerald in his hand and staring at it with enormous interest. The emerald's beauty enchanted him and he could not keep his eyes off it. Marik, despite having a passion for death and destruction, was very fond of shiny gems and riches and treasure. Marik often felt a great sense of power just touching glamorous gems and he often felt that being surrounded by riches makes you a highly respected person.
"Oh little Chaos Emerald." he purred to himself "What kind of power do you possess? How powerful are you on your own? Or do I need all seven to unlock your power?"
His train of thoughts were soon cut off by the sound of voices in the distance. He quickly put the Chaos Emerald back in his pocket and wondered on some more. He came to a hill drop and he peered down the hill. He had come to the end of the field and had come across a boat port. There was a huge galleon at port with enormous sails and wooden bodywork. It mystified Marik as to why anyone would be using an old fashioned boat like that instead of a modern boat. But then Marik found the answer. He saw a gang of sixteen Mobians at the port, carrying heavy luggage on board as if they were preparing to leave. They were all dressed strangely too. Fifteen of the Mobians wore ragged stripy shirts and ragged shorts and they had no shoes on their feet. The sixteenth pirate was obviously their leader since he wore more fancy clothes then the others. He wore a purple dress-coat which was a fancy coat with a long section at the back often known as the tails, a blue French-cocked hat with a giant feather sticking out of it and white gloves. This Mobian was a hyena and he was a well respected leader of a pirate gang, the very gang Marik was observing now and he was known as Cutthroat Jim. He got his nickname from the fact he was deathly fond of cutting throats with his cutlass and he wore a lot of jewellery.
"Avast ye bilge rats!" Cutthroat Jim yelled at his gang "Hurry up with the loading! We be sailing in a matter of minutes!"
"Oh good. Fresh meat to sink my claws into." Marik said to himself, rubbing his hands "And they happen to be pirates too. When there are pirates, there is treasure to be had! I think I'll just stroll down there and sneak after them and see what treasures they seek."
And with that Marik sped down the hill and took shelter behind a large crate. He opened the crate and slipped inside, finding himself sitting on a lot of cups for the pirates to drink out of and he closed the lid. The pirates continued loading the ship and Marik slightly eased the lid open so he could see what they were doing. Cutthroat Jim continued barking orders out to his crew.
"You be careful with that matey!" he yelled at a pair of pirates who were carelessly carrying a crate full of expensive products "That contains me precious booty from past raids and I don't want you careless dogs breaking anything!"
"Sorry Captain." said the pirates, carrying the crate more carefully this time.
"Once we set sail, we shall head off to the Coco Islands." announced Cutthroat Jim "The treasure we seek is there and I have the treasure map to prove it."
He pulled a long slip of paper out of his sleeve and unfolded it.
"Hey can I see it?" asked a dopey pirate who was a vole with a dopey voice.
"No you may not First Mate Gormless!" yelled Cutthroat Jim, keeping the map out of Gormless' reach "Only the Captain sees ye map. Those are the rules and you swabs will obey ye rules or I will throw you all overboard!"
"Yes Captain." said Gormless.
"I do hope this so called Emerald of the Seas is worth searching for." said a nearby pirate who did some stretches to ease his aching back.
"The Emerald of the Seas matey…" said Cutthroat Jim, lifting the pirate's head up to his own and staring him directly in the eye "Is said to be the most beautiful emerald ever to be seen and that he who touches it gets a feeling of power and greatness so yes it will be worth searching for you moody, grouchy old cockroach!"
"OK Captain, I'm sorry I protested!" squeaked the pirate.
Marik had heard everything and he smiled to himself.
"Emerald of the Seas eh?" he said under his breath "He who touches it gets a feeling of power and greatness eh? Well this is one treasure I simply must steal! And primitive pirates will be no obstacle for me!"
Then suddenly he felt himself being hoisted off the ground. A pirate had picked up the crate he was hiding in and now he was carrying it onto the galleon. Marik smiled to himself. He was coming along for the trip it seemed and he would be taken all the way to Coco Island and once the pirates found the treasure, he would steal it. Cutthroat Jim watched the loading process and he glanced at the treasure map again.
"I hope this emerald is as good as the person who gave me this map says it is." he said to himself "Otherwise I will give that person a good pirate style punishment."
But Cutthroat Jim was about to get more then he bargained for on this trip…
Meanwhile, Knuckles, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy had searched then entire forest for two hours straight and they hadn't found a thing since they started the hunt. Geoffrey began searching through probably the thirtieth bush he'd been searching in since this emerald hunt started and Knuckles looked in a hole in a tree only to find nothing there. Knuckles glided down from the tree with his dreadlocks and he landed beside Geoffrey.
"Hey skunk boy, found anything?" he asked.
"Not so much as a Flicky Bird mate." said Geoffrey with a tone of disappointment in his voice "Those Chaos Emeralds aren't as easy to find as I thought."
"Um Knuckles, you say that we can find a Chaos Emerald by using another Chaos Emerald right?" said Wilson.
"Yes." said Knuckles.
"But Sonic has the Chaos Emerald so how are we supposed to find another emerald without it?" asked Wilson.
"I can sense if Chaos Energy is nearby or not." said Knuckles "Years of guarding the Master Emerald have given me a good sense of Chaos Energy and whenever I'm close to Chaos Energy I can feel it in my veins so I know if we're near or not."
"You mean you can feel Chaos Energy?" said Wilson "Well we're lucky aren't we?"
While they were talking, Mandy crept past them on tip-toe, trying to make sure nobody was watching her and she sneaked up to the deeper parts of the forest. Unfortunately, Knuckles spotted her and stopped her dead in her tracks.
"And just where do you think you are going mouse?" demanded Knuckles.
Mandy sweat-dropped and turned to face Knuckles nervously.
"Um…I'm looking for Sonic and Tails." she said quickly "I want to make sure those two are alright."
"Oh." said Knuckles "If you wanted to go looking for Sonic and Tails you could have just told us. You didn't need to go creeping off like that."
Mandy nodded and ran off as quick as she could. After Mandy disappeared into the forest, Wilson began scratching his head in thought.
"Mandy's been acting funny recently I've noticed." he said "She keeps sneaking off somewhere without telling anybody and then she comes back and never says a thing about it. I think she's hiding something."
Geoffrey's eyes narrowed to a glare and he primed his arm-mounted crossbow.
"If she's doing villainous work behind our backs then she'd better watch out." he said threateningly "Because I've got a crossbow that loves to deal with traitors and scoundrels alike."
"Now, now Geoffrey, take it easy boy." said Wilson "I don't think Mandy's going to betray us or anything like that. Maybe she's just troubled and doesn't wanna talk about it."
Geoffrey lowered his arm.
"I don't think there are any Chaos Emeralds here." said Knuckles "We've literally searched the entire place and I haven't had a whiff of Chaos Energy throughout the search."
"I think we should look somewhere else." said Geoffrey "I wonder if Sonic and Tails have found anything while they've been searching on their own."
Just as he finished that sentence, Knuckles spotted Sonic and Tails speeding by in the distance. They were heading somewhere and Knuckles wanted to find out where they were heading and why.
"Come on guys, we're following Sonic!" said Knuckles "We're gonna see where he's heading in such a hurry."
Knuckles and Geoffrey ran off whereas Wilson waited for Mandy to reappear. No sooner had Knuckles and Geoffrey run off, Mandy emerged from the forest and ran up to Wilson.
"Did I miss something?" she asked "Where are Knuckles and Geoffrey going in such a hurry?"
"Knuckles just spotted Sonic whizzing by and he decided we should go and follow him to see where he's going."
"I wish I brought my car." said Mandy grimly "We'd catch up with him easily in it."
"Well I'm afraid we'll have to run." said Wilson "Come on before Knuckles and Geoffrey lose us!"
Wilson and Mandy ran as fast as they could run and they caught up with Knuckles and Geoffrey. The four knew that they couldn't catch up to Sonic or keep up with him due to his speed but they kept on running and tried as hard as they could to keep up.
As for Sonic and Tails, they had left the mountain valley after finding no sign of Marik anywhere and they found a trail he left in the grassy meadows from walking through it so they followed it, totally unaware of the fact Knuckles, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy were about four miles behind them and trying to keep up. Sonic and Tails continued to follow the trial.
"How far did Marik walk after leaving us?" wondered Sonic "We've been following this trial forever!"
"I have no idea." said Tails "But if you're running and he's only walking, we'll catch him in an instant won't we?"
"I hope so." said Sonic "I wanna pound Marik's head in for daring to steal that Chaos Emerald from us!"
Then Sonic suddenly screeched to a halt at the edge of a hilltop he had just come across. Tails landed beside him and they both peered down at the bottom of the hill. They saw Cutthroat Jim and his pirate gang still loading things onto the ship and getting ready to set sail.
"Pirates?" said Sonic with a tone of confusion in his voice "Why would Marik be dabbling with pirates?"
"Who knows?" said Tails, shrugging "Maybe he hates pirates just as much as he hates peace lovers."
"Well if Marik thinks he can sneak onto a pirate ship with the Chaos Emerald in tow then he's got another thing coming!" declared Sonic "Tails, we are going with those pirates and we're gonna see where Marik is!"
Tails gulped.
"You're not serious are you?" he said weakly.
"I'm totally serious here." said Sonic "If Marik's on that ship and that ship sets sail, we'll never be able to catch him so we need to get on that ship and find him."
"But what if it sets sail before we can get off?" asked Tails.
"You can just fly me off the ship and presto, we're back on dry land." said Sonic "Don't worry Tails, this'll be a piece of cake."
"OK." said Tails reluctantly; scuffing his shoe "I hope it'll work."
So Sonic and Tails ran down the hill and took shelter behind a stack of barrels. Sonic peeked around the corner to see what the pirates were up to. Cutthroat Jim just stood there barking more orders to his crew as they loaded the few pieces of luggage that was left. What the pirates needed all that luggage for and what was in it was a mystery to Sonic but he knew that the luggage was a way of getting on the ship undetected. Sonic opened a barrel and Tails climbed into it. The barrel reeked of fish and Tails screwed his face up at the very smell of it. He clutched his nose as Sonic closed the barrel he was hiding in. Sonic opened another barrel that reeked of fish and was just about to climb in until he spotted something sticking out of Cutthroat Jim's pocket. Moving at lightening speed, Sonic zipped by Jim and snatched the thing out of his pocket. To Cutthroat Jim, it felt like a huge gust of wind blowing behind him and he almost fell over. Sonic leaped into the barrel and closed the lid. He looked at the thing he had just pinched from Cutthroat Jim. He had stolen the treasure map and he looked at it very closely. It was dark in the barrel so Sonic couldn't see all that much but he could see one thing that caught his attention. The X on the map which marks where the treasure was had a picture of a blue emerald above it and the emerald's shape was very similar to a Chaos Emerald's. An ordinary emerald only comes in the colour green and according to Knuckles, the Chaos Emeralds came in the colours green, blue, yellow, purple, red, cyan and grey so does this mean that the treasure the pirates seek is a Chaos Emerald? Sonic had no idea but he knew the pirates wouldn't find the treasure if they didn't have the map so he had to give it them back. Sonic opened the barrel a tiny bit and slipped the map out through the gap. It floated gently down to the ground and rested there. As for Cutthroat Jim, he had noticed the map was missing and he was doing a mad search for it.
"Curse ye rotten wind to swabble me map away!" he cursed "How am I going to find ye Emerald of the Seas if I have no map?"
"Hey Cutthroat Jim! I found it!" cried First Mate Gormless.
He was just about to pick up the barrels and started loading them but he spotted the map lying around so he picked it up and showed it to Cutthroat Jim. Cutthroat Jim took the map and bonked Gormless on the head with his fist.
"You blundering blockhead!" he yelled "Haven't a told you only the Captain touches ye map Gormless?"
"Yes Captain, you have." said Gormless.
"Well do as the Captain says in the future!" scolded Cutthroat Jim "Now load those barrels on board you lazy dog! They're the only things left to load!"
"Yes sir!" said Gormless stupidly and he zipped off to do the job.
He picked up the barrel Tails was hiding in and he carried it across the boarding ramp and into the ship's hold. Despite being stupid, Gormless knew the barrel he was carrying suspiciously weighed more then it should and he couldn't understand why it felt so heavy. After dumping the barrel onto the floor, he went back outside to get another barrel. Gormless grabbed the barrel Sonic was hiding in and he carried that onto the ship and into the hold. He couldn't understand why that barrel felt heavy too. After he dumped the barrel, he went outside to get the rest and to his relief, they weighed as much as a barrel of fish should usually weigh so the two he'd just loaded obviously had more fish then the others did. At long last the cargo had been loaded and now Cutthroat Jim was ready to go. He boarded the ship along with his fifteen pirates and he pulled the boarding ramp onboard the ship. As for Knuckles, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy, they came across the pirate gang and they spotted Sonic climbing into the barrel so they knew where he was. They lay low until the pirates had finished loading and now the huge galleon deployed its enormous sails and the ship left the port and sailed off into the wavy blue sea. The four Mobians ran down the hill and to the edge of the port and watched the galleon disappear from view.
"Now this strike me as odd." said Geoffrey, putting a finger to his chin "Why would Sonic follow them pirate blokes?"
"Maybe they have a Chaos Emerald or something." suggested Mandy "So Sonic's following them to get the emerald and run for it."
"But how can we follow him?" asked Wilson "We haven't got a boat and there doesn't appear to be a boat anywhere on this port so we can't follow that ship and get Sonic off!"
"There's a speedboat over there." said Knuckles, pointing to it "We could use that to follow them."
The speedboat was large enough for a crew of four and it was a gleaming silver colour that sparkled like a million knives in the sun. The four Mobians scrambled onto the speedboat and Mandy took control since she knew how to drive a boat as well as a car.
"Hold on tight boys!" she said "This is going to be a really fast ride!"
The boys gripped the railings on the sides of the speedboat and Mandy started the engine. The speedboat roared into life and its engine spluttered as the boat began to start up. Then the speedboat took off at top speed and roared through the water like a torpedo, sending small waves flying everywhere. Mandy squealed with delight as she enjoyed going fast whereas Wilson looked like he was about to faint. Knuckles and Geoffrey kept their eyes on the horizon to see if they could see the galleon.
"What do you want us to do when we catch up to the pirate ship?" Geoffrey shouted to Knuckles, trying to be heard over the boat's engine.
"We kill the engine so those pirates don't hear us and we just follow it nice and slowly!" Knuckles shouted back "Those pirates won't suspect a thing!"
"I hope we catch up soon!" cried Wilson "I hate going at extremely fast speeds!"
"Oh you're such a skitter bug Wilson." sighed Mandy.
But Wilson didn't hear her because of the engine's loud motor roaring away. One whole minute later, Knuckles and Geoffrey spotted the galleon in the distance, its sails flapping in the wind like clothes on a washing line on a rainy day. Mandy stopped the motor and the speedboat slowed down to a cruising speed. The motor fell into silence and the speedboat slowly drifted through the water. The speedboat was still going fast enough to catch up to the galleon but it wasn't going at a terrific speed, it was just going slowly through the water so the pirates wouldn't hear them. After a minute of drifting towards the sailing galleon, Geoffrey aimed his arm mounted crossbow and he fired at he galleon. He had fired a grappling hook and it hooked itself onto a railing high up on the galleon. Geoffrey pulled the end of the line out of his crossbow and he tied it around the railing to the speedboat.
"There, now the blokes can't lose us." said Geoffrey.
"Good thinking skunk." said Knuckles "Let's just hope the pirates don't notice us."
"I just hope they haven't found Sonic yet." said Wilson "Pirates are vicious and bloodthirsty sadists after all and they like to throw people overboard."
"Wilson, I wish you'd calm down a little." said Mandy "Sonic can beat an army of Eggman robots, a bunch of lame pirates are not going to be a problem for him."
"I agree." said Knuckles "And they'd certainly be no match for me if they decided to pick a fight with me. I'd ground them all into the dirt."
"But the plan isn't to fight the pirates is it?" said Geoffrey "It's just to help Sonic get off the ship if he tries to escape it."
"And that's what we're doing." said Knuckles.
The galleon sailed on through the calm, still ocean with the speedboat clinging onto it and being pulled after the galleon by the grappling hook Geoffrey had set up.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails opened the barrels they were hiding in and they gasped for breath. The smell of fish burnt their nostrils and they were relieved to be out of the barrels at long last. They climbed out of the barrels they were hiding in and they closed them. Tails wiped some ice off his fur.
"I always wonder why do fish smell so bad and yet we love to eat them?" griped Tails.
"Beats me." said Sonic "Now if Marik's hiding on this ship, which is likely, then maybe he's in here and probably hiding in one of those crates."
Sonic ran over to one crate and he opened it. The crate was full of spare uniforms for if the pirates ever needed a clean outfit, especially Cutthroat Jim since he loved his outfits to be spic-and-span. Sonic closed the crate and looked in another one. This crate contained some of Cutthroat Jim's most prized possessions that he loved to show off to other pirates just to make them jealous. He would also show off these insanely expensive riches to people he attacked to show them how much he had raided in his life-time and how much business he meant. Sonic closed the crate and looked in another one. Tails began looking in crates too. He looked in a crate full of spare weapons for in case the pirates ever lost theirs in battle and they needed back up. The crate was full of cutlasses, pistols, pikes and boarding axes. Pirates are brutal people and they carried a great deal of brutal weapons. Tails shuddered at his find and he closed the crate in a hurry. He spotted a small crate sitting at the back of the hold. Tails had a sneaky feeling Marik was hiding in there. Tails crept over to the crate while trying not to trip over the mess of nets and cannonballs that littered the hold. He made it to the crate and he ever so slightly eased it open. The moment he opened it though, Marik leaped out of the crate and gave Tails a very painful electric shock that brought the fox to his knees. Sonic saw Marik hurting Tails and he spin-dashed the Martian straight into the wall. Marik hit the wall and groaned and Sonic grabbed him by the arms and held him there.
"OK Marik the Martian, you give us that Chaos Emerald back or I'm throwing you overboard!" threatened Sonic.
"Fat chance hedgehog!" said Marik, trying to aim his claws at Sonic so he could electrocute him.
Tails ran over to the weapons crate he looked in earlier and he grabbed a pistol. But he didn't shoot Marik with the pistol, instead he ran up to the pinned Martian and he whacked the palm of his robotic hand with it.
"OUCH!" cried Marik "Watch it you wretched little rat! Little kids shouldn't play with guns!"
He kicked Sonic away from him and he tried to electrocute Tails but Tails had smashed the voltage compactor, the little dome in the palm of his metal hand, with the gun so Marik couldn't use his electric attacks. His fingers just sparked harmlessly as he tried to shock him. Sonic saw his chance and he spin-dashed Marik again. Marik fell to the ground and Sonic grabbed a cutlass from the weapons crate. Sonic pinned Marik to the ground by his jacket with the cutlass so Marik couldn't get away, he was stuck and helpless. Sonic stood over the pinned Martian and glared at him.
"Marik, all we want is the Chaos Emerald back and we don't wanna cause any trouble on here since this is a pirate's ship so make this easy on yourself and surrender." said Sonic.
"I will not give you the Chaos Emerald back!" yelled Marik "It's mine and mine alone!"
"Fine, we'll take it back ourselves." said Tails, reaching into Marik's pocket and grabbing the emerald.
But Marik grabbed Tails' arm before he could pull the emerald out of his pocket. Then Marik reached over his shoulder and he pulled the cutlass out of the floorboard, freeing himself and giving himself a weapon at the same time. Marik held the cutlass to Tails' neck and he held him tightly by the arm. Tails squirmed but the Martian held him very tightly and the cutlass was so close to his neck it was practically touching his fur.
"Hey, drop that sword and let Tails go you creep!" yelled Sonic.
"Or what?" sneered Marik "What are you gonna do about it? You will surrender and leave this ship so I can raid it in peace or Tails' head is going on my bedroom wall back on Mars!"
Tails gulped so loudly you'd think he'd just swallowed a rock.
"Why do you wanna raid an old pirate ship?" asked Sonic.
"I have a passion for treasures and pirates always have large quantities of them so I'm going to steal all the pirate's treasure." said Marik "Especially the one they've set sail to look for right now."
Sonic's quills shuddered. Marik was going to steal the treasure the pirates were looking for? If the treasure was a Chaos Emerald like he thought it was then Marik would have two Chaos Emeralds! Sonic had to stop the Martian and fast but he couldn't let Marik kill Tails so what could he do? Then as if things couldn't get any worse, the hold doors flung open and Cutthroat Jim stormed in into the hold, wielding a pistol and looking furious. He pointed the pistol at the three strangers that stood before him, staring straight at him. Marik dropped the cutlass, let go of Tails and put his hands up. Sonic and Tails put their hands up too.
"Shiver me timbers!" cried Cutthroat Jim "I have stowaways on me ship it seems! Well I'll have to throw you all overboard it seems!"
"Sorry Captain but I'm not going for a swim today!" said Sonic, spin-dashing Cutthroat Jim in the stomach, causing him to drop his pistol and fall onto his back.
Seeing their chance, Tails and Marik ran for it. Sonic grabbed Cutthroat Jim's pistol and he threw it as hard as he could. The pistol hurtled through the air and it fell into the ocean with a splash, never to be found again.
"When will I ever see the end of guns?" moaned Sonic as he ran for his life.
Unfortunately more trouble happened. Cutthroat Jim's crew had heard Sonic attacking him and they all lay in wait for him. They had already captured Tails and Marik and tied them up in rope and now Sonic had run into the fifteen pirates that lay in wait for him. Sonic yelped in surprise as fifteen pirates all pounced on him at once. They all had rope and they wrapped it tightly around his wrists, arms and ankles so Sonic was tied up tighter then a pretzel on sale at a bakery. They threw Sonic next to the tied up Tails and Marik, the latter glaring at him.
"So much for your heroism hedgehog!" he jeered "You got nabbed by a bunch of primitive pirates!"
"Oh shut up Marik!" yelled Sonic "You're no better yourself!"
"What are we gonna do Sonic?" said Tails helplessly.
"I dunno yet big guy, but I'll get us outta this!" said Sonic, struggling and squirming in the rope that was tightly tied around him.
But try as he might, he couldn't get free of the rope. Cutthroat Jim, who had recovered from Sonic's attack earlier, stood before the prisoners with a devilish grin on his face.
"Har, har, har, har!" he chortled "You scurvy landlubbers fought you could overpower Cutthroat Jim did ye? Well you've failed miserably and I have you swabs at my mercy!"
"Yeah, yeah whatever." muttered Sonic "Let us go!"
"I don't think I'll be doing that landlubber." said Cutthroat Jim darkly "Once I capture someone, I never release them! Now why are you three stowing away on me ship? Did you come to steal me treasure huh, huh?"
"Me and Sonic are only here to capture him." said Tails, motioning to Marik so the pirates knew what he was talking about "We're not here to steal anything."
"Do you expect me to believe the lies of landlubbers?" snarled Cutthroat Jim, his eyes narrowing to a glare that made Tails feel nervous "You three are here to steal me treasure and now I'm going to execute you all. Mateys, throw all three of them overboard!"
"Aye, aye sir!" said the crew of pirates.
The pirates picked up Sonic, Tails and Marik and they prepared to throw them over the ship and into the water where they would sink and drown due to the fact their limbs were tied up, preventing them from swimming. But what they didn't know is that Marik had managed to use his metal claws to cut his ropes just before they picked him up and the Martian waited for the right moment to strike. The pirates prepared to throw the trio overboard. They raised them above their heads and they got ready to throw them into the water. Then Marik broke free of his cut ropes and dropkicked the pirates holding him above their heads. Then Marik swiped at the entire crew with his arm and sent them all flying with an energy wave. The entire crew fell in a heap against the edge of the ship. Cutthroat Jim tried to get away but Marik caught him with an energy wave and knocked him over. Then Marik grabbed Cutthroat Jim by the collar and he threw the pirate leader into the hold. As for Sonic and Tails, they lay on their sides and they were still tied up and they couldn't do anything about it since they didn't have metal claws to cut their ropes like Marik did. They squirmed violently but they just couldn't get free of the ropes, they were just too thick and too strong. Then Marik seized Sonic and Tails by the ropes and hoisted them up to his height. He grinned like a hobgoblin at the helpless heroes in his hands.
"As for you two, I think I'll do Cutthroat Jim a favour and throw you overboard for him!" said Marik wickedly "I hope you like water!"
"I don't!" yelped Sonic.
"Well your demise will be more enjoyable then." sneered Marik "Bon voyage Mobian filth!"
And with that said, he threw Sonic and Tails as if they were tennis balls and the tied up hedgehog and fox fell screaming into the ocean with a mighty splash. After the water stopped rippling and the bubbles faded, Sonic and Tails disappeared under the gentle, still ocean. They had submerged and were likely going to sink all the way down to the bottom or come back up a while later only to go under again. Satisfied with his work, Marik dusted his hands off and walked away. But what Marik didn't know is that Knuckles had seen Sonic and Tails falling into the water and he, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy immediately set to rescuing them. Geoffrey unhooked his grappling hook so the speedboat was free to move and Mandy activated the engine. The speedboat zoomed up to the spot Sonic and Tails had fallen into the water and Mandy stopped the engine.
"How are we gonna save the two boys?" she asked "I bet they've gone down awfully deep!"
"We'll have to leap in there and rescue them!" said Geoffrey "I'll go, I'm not afraid of water."
"I'll go too." said Wilson.
"Wilson, you don't like swimming remember?" said Mandy "Why ever are you going down there with Geoffrey?"
"Because I wanna prove I'm not a great big skitter bug." said Wilson.
With that said, Geoffrey and Wilson held their breath and they both dived into the water. Knuckles and Mandy watched and waited as the skunk and dog went down into the ocean blue. Under the water, Geoffrey and Wilson spotted Sonic and Tails sinking fast and running out of air even faster. Geoffrey and Wilson both swam down as fast as they could go in a desperate attempt to catch up to the sinking hedgehog and fox. Geoffrey soon began to feel worried. He was beginning to run out of air and he wasn't that close to Sonic and Tails. He began to worry that if he didn't get them in time and swim back up in a hurry, he wouldn't make it to the surface in time. Wilson began to feel the same but he didn't let that bother him this time. He wanted to prove he could do something without getting scared or worried and that's what he was going to do. Not to mention he might impress Mandy with his heroic feat. Just as Sonic and Tails were beginning to pass out from the lack of air they were getting from being underwater, Wilson managed to grab their ropes and stop them sinking any further. He passed Sonic to Geoffrey and the two began to swim back to the surface as fast as they could swim. Unfortunately as they neared the surface, Geoffrey couldn't hold his breath any longer and he gave in. Wilson noticed this but he couldn't stop now, he had to get Sonic and Tails to the surface and then he had to go back for Geoffrey. Wilson finally made it to the surface of the water and he helped Knuckles and Mandy pull Sonic and Tails onto the speedboat.
"Wilson you did it!" cried Mandy.
"Not quite." said Wilson "Geoffrey's in trouble now, I'm going down to help him."
And with that Wilson held his breath and went back under the water.
"That dog's a lot braver then I thought he was." said Knuckles.
"Agreed." said Mandy "And I thought he was a worry guts all the time."
Under the water, Geoffrey was beginning to sink down to the bottom, his eyes closed and his mouth open due to the fact he was unconscious now. Wilson saw the skunk and he swam over to him quickly. He grabbed the skunk and he swam back to the surface as fast as he could. He was beginning to run out of air but Wilson didn't give up, he was almost there, he just needed a few more paddles and…he finally made it back to the surface and gasped for breath. Then he helped Geoffrey onto the speedboat with Knuckles and Mandy pulling him on. Then they helped Wilson back onto the boat. Mandy threw her arms around the sopping wet dog.
"You're brilliant Wilson!" she cried "I never knew you had the courage in you to do this!"
"Thank you Mandy." said Wilson modestly.
As for Knuckles, he had untied Sonic and Tails and he did some heavy chest compressions on Sonic, Tails and Geoffrey in an effort to wake them up. The first few attempts came to no avail but Knuckles didn't give up. He tried again on all three. This time it worked. Sonic woke up, coughing and spluttering, Tails woke up, coughing out water and Geoffrey woke up, spluttering loudly. They sat up and shook themselves dry.
"Blimey!" said Geoffrey "I went down there to rescue you blokes." he said to Sonic and Tails "And then I ended up needing to be rescued as well!"
"Well I'm glad you guys made it in time." said Sonic, squeezing one of his quills to get the water out "I hate water and I don't want my demise to be a watery grave if ever that time comes."
"Well if Geoffrey went down to save us, and then he needed saving as well then who saved us?" asked Tails.
"I did." said Wilson "Even though I don't like swimming, I decided to risk my life for you two and then I decided to risk it again for Geoffrey when he failed to make it."
"Well I thank you dearly mate." said Geoffrey "I owe you my life Wilson and from now on, you have my willing trust."
"Me and Tails are grateful too Wilson." said Sonic, giving the dog a thumbs up "Good job man."
Wilson just smiled with pleasure.
"Alright Sonic and Tails, what were you two doing on that pirate ship?" asked Knuckles "Did you take a wild chance in thinking you could take on a pirate gang?"
"No not at all." said Sonic "Marik the Martian stole the Chaos Emerald we had and he went onto that ship so we followed him in an attempt to get the emerald back but we got caught by the pirates and Marik threw us overboard."
Knuckles couldn't believe his ears.
"You mean to tell me Marik has the green Chaos Emerald now?" he said.
"Exactly." said Sonic.
Knuckles lost his wick and he went into a mad rant on Sonic, who cowered back from the mad echidna.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" he yelled "JUST THINK OF WHAT MARIK COULD DO WITH THAT CHAOS EMERALD!"
"It wasn't our fault." said Tails "Marik got the drop on us with a rockslide which caused me to drop it."
"That still doesn't change the fact Marik has the Chaos Emerald!" yelled Knuckles "Chaos Emeralds have great power and just one of those emeralds can make you powerful so imagine how strong Marik will be if he uses it's power!"
"Look, we're sorry OK?" said Sonic "But we'll get the emerald back I promise."
"I hope so." said Knuckles "Or I'll have to punch you overboard."
Sonic decided to ignore the echidna's threat and talk about something else.
"Besides, I found something interesting." he said "I stole Cutthroat Jim's map and the treasure marked on the map looks like a Chaos Emerald. It was shaped like a Chaos Emerald and it was coloured blue and you said one of the Chaos Emeralds is blue so I think the treasure the pirates seek is a Chaos Emerald."
Knuckles' eyes widened in surprise.
"Well that certainly seems like a weird coincidence." he said "The treasure the pirates are looking for just happens to be a Chaos Emerald. We have to get that emerald before them!"
"Do you still have the treasure map?" asked Tails.
"No, I gave it back to Cutthroat Jim so he could find it." said Sonic "I was hoping that after he found it, I could grab it from him and run but now I'm not on the ship with the pirates I can't do that now."
"We should just follow the blighters and then ambush them when they find the emerald." said Geoffrey "After all, if we keep it nice and quiet they won't hear us following them."
"I think we should steal the treasure map again." said Mandy "If the pirates don't have the map but we do then we'll find the Chaos Emerald and they won't."
"That's a good idea Mandy." said Sonic "We'll do that then."
"And while we steal the treasure map, we can also try and get the Chaos Emerald Marik stole back." suggested Tails.
"We'll do that as well." said Sonic "OK guys, let's follow that ship and get that map and emerald!"
Mandy ignited the engine and the speedboat roared into life. The speedboat rocketed through the water and sped off after the galleon that continued sailing through the still ocean. Sonic felt the wind whiz past him as the speedboat sped through the ocean. Cutthroat Jim wouldn't know what hit him this time and the pirate leader would get a surprise when he found out what it was…
Meanwhile, Marik and the pirates had stopped fighting each other and Marik stood to attention with his arms behind his back while Cutthroat Jim paced up and down, staring angrily at him.
"You freak of nature will pay for daring to mar me pride and glory as well as me glorious crew!" he growled "And you'll pay by not being thrown overboard, but by being run through by me sword!"
He unsheathed his cutlass and got ready to stab Marik. He lunged at Marik with his sword but the Martian just grabbed the blade with his metal hand before Cutthroat Jim could hit home and then Marik proceeded to shatter the blade with his claws.
"I wouldn't try to kill me if I were you pirate scum." said Marik coldly "Your primitive weapons are no match for my brute strength and I can easily take all sixteen of you on so why bother wasting your time on me when you can be doing something more important like finding buried treasure?"
Cutthroat Jim scowled at Marik, his amber eyes burned with rage but he made no attempt on his life again.
"So if we cannot kill you, then what shall we do with you?" asked Cutthroat Jim.
"You don't need to do anything Captain." said Marik, waving his hands about "I don't wish doom on you all, but I wish to make an alliance with you."
Cutthroat Jim put a finger to his chin and thought for a moment.
"You would make an alliance with us?" he asked, not sure if he should agree to it or not "What do you want to make an alliance with us pirates for?"
"With my strength, my cunning and my brilliance," said Marik gloatingly "I may be able to help you find that treasure you want and I'll keep any "landlubbers" away from you since they'll be scared of me. I can guarantee you won't have to worry about enemy pirates or anyone else ever again."
Cutthroat Jim thought for a moment. This sounded like a tempting offer but could he trust Marik? Then again, Cutthroat Jim could just easily run Marik through once he found the treasure and leave him for dead, preventing him from trying to stab him in the back and take the treasure to boot. Cutthroat Jim shook Marik's hand.
"You have a deal matey." he said with a dirty smile full of maggots "You will keep any scurvy landlubbers and enemy ships away from me and you will help me find that treasure!"
"You have my word as an honoree member of this crew." lied Marik "Now, how much further have we got until we reach the island the treasure is buried on?"
Cutthroat Jim pulled out the treasure map and unfolded it. He peered at the map and read it to himself. Then he looked up from the map to see if he could tell where they were and then he peered at the map again.
"We should be hitting shore in about twenty minutes." said Cutthroat Jim "The Island will come into view shortly."
Marik smiled to himself, pleased to know they didn't have far until they arrived. Then suddenly he heard the roaring sound of a motor coming from behind the ship. Cutthroat Jim heard it too and he looked around wildly to see what it was.
"What is it?" he cried "Are we under siege? Gormless!" he barked "Find out what that blasted noise is!"
Gormless did a dopey salute and he ran over to the edge of the ship and tripped over the railing and landed into a lifeboat that hung on the side of the ship for in case the pirates needed to make a quick getaway. Gormless pulled out a telescope and looked through it the wrong way so what he was seeing looked very tiny to him.
"I can't see it very well Captain!" said Gormless loudly "It's too far away!"
"You're holding the telescope the wrong way round ye dunce head!" snapped Cutthroat Jim, taking the telescope of Gormless and turning it around so Gormless could see properly.
Gormless looked through it again and he saw a silver speedboat with a blue hedgehog, a yellow twin-tailed fox, a red spike-fisted echidna, a skunk in a combat suit, an orange dog in a combat suit and a purple mouse in a combat suit. Gormless jumped in surprise and he scrambled quickly back onto the ship.
"We have enemies coming in at clock o' twelve! I mean twelve o' clock!" shrieked Gormless "They're in a speedboat and they're coming to steal our booty!"
Cutthroat Jim roared angrily and he peered over the edge of the ship to see what Gormless had seen. There was the speedboat, directly behind the ship and coming in fast. The speedboat then came side to side with the galleon and Mandy lowered the speed so the speedboat was now level with the galleon. Cutthroat Jim saw the Mobians driving the speedboat and he was so gobsmacked his hat leaped up, did a somersault and landed back on his head.
"Hi Captain!" said Sonic mockingly.
"Impossible!" shrieked Cutthroat Jim "I thought you drowned the blue hedgehog and his twin-tailed friend already!" he yelled at Marik.
"I thought I did too!" snapped Marik "But it's obvious they were rescued. You must stop them from getting onto the ship!"
But just as he said that, Tails flew above the ship, carrying Sonic and Knuckles in either hand. Tails swung the hedgehog and echidna back and forth three times and then he let go. Sonic hurtled towards the pirates and knocked them all over in a brilliant spin-dash and Knuckles landed terrific punches onto the faces of some pirates. Cutthroat Jim cried in surprise and he ran into the hold to get another cutlass since Marik had broken his. All the pirates got back to their feet and they unsheathed their cutlasses. They charged at Sonic and Knuckles, roaring loud bloodcurdling roars that pirates are well known for. Sonic and Knuckles stood back to back, ready to attack as the pirates neared them.
"Hey Knuckles, let's show these pirates how to party shall we?" said Sonic.
"You said it Sonic!" said Knuckles with a devilish grin on his face.
The pirates all closed in on Sonic and Knuckles but they didn't get them. Sonic kicked one pirate in the stomach and he stole his cutlass. Two pirates tried to slice Sonic to pieces but Sonic blocked their blows with his cutlass and he clashed swords with them. Three pirates tried to stab Knuckles with their cutlasses but Knuckles leaped out of their way and he punched one of the pirates so hard he literally sent him overboard and into the water! The other two pirates made another attempt to slice Knuckles to pieces but Tails dropkicked them before they could even attempt to attack, causing them to drop their cutlasses and fall to the ground. Four more pirates tried to attack but Knuckles gave two of them uppercuts powerful enough to knock them senseless and Tails dodged the other two's sword swings and kicked them both in the face. As for Sonic, he and the other two pirates were clashing swords wildly but neither of them was gaining the upper hand on each other. Then Sonic rolled into a spin-dash and he knocked the two pirates away. Then Sonic found himself in a sword fight with another pirate. But this one didn't last long. They clashed swords twice and then Sonic somersaulted backwards and charged at the pirate in a homing attack. He walloped the pirate in the stomach and sent him flying backwards and crashing into a mast. Gormless sneaked up on Sonic and tried to get him but Sonic punched Gormless without even turning around. The dopey pirate smiled stupidly and he fell onto his back. As for Tails and Knuckles, they took out the remaining three pirates with hard uppercuts and tail-whips and they three pirates were knocked out. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all high-fived each other and yelled "Yeah!" in unison.
"That was way past cool!" cried Sonic "Those pirates were no match for us!"
"We've got Cutthroat Jim left to deal with." noted Tails "I wonder where he's gone to in such a hurry?"
Tails didn't have to wait long for an answer. Cutthroat Jim emerged from the hold, brandishing two cutlasses with long curved blades and gleaming golden hand guards with purple gems on them and looking very furious. He twirled both swords in his hands and snarled loudly.
"No one assaults the great Cutthroat Jim and his crew!" he growled "I will run you landlubbers through and feed your carcasses to the sharks that live in these waters!"
"Just try it Jimmy!" sneered Sonic "With my super speed, Tails' flying abilities and Knuckles' strength, you have no chance against us Captain!"
Then suddenly without warning, Marik leaped in on the scene and he did a perfect split kick on Tails and Knuckles' heads, sending the fox and echidna sprawling onto the deck.
"You will not harm Cutthroat Jim you wretched vermin!" snarled Marik, seizing Tails by his three hairs and seizing Knuckles by his dreadlocks and then bashing their heads together. Tails and Knuckles groaned in pain and they rubbed their heads. Sonic took a step back.
"Wait a minute Marik, you're working with Cutthroat Jim?" said Sonic with a tone of surprise in his voice.
"Yes I am hog-face!" snapped Marik "Why does it matter to you? I was a threat on my own so what does having an ally make me? A danger that's what! Cutthroat Jim, let's get that hedgehog!"
"With pleasure matey!" said Cutthroat Jim, twirling his cutlasses around.
Sonic glanced at his two foes and thought fast. He would defiantly have a hard time against a vicious pirate captain and a sadistic war-loving Martian fighting him together so he had do keep the fight up until Tails and Knuckles recovered from their injuries. Cutthroat Jim lunged at Sonic but Sonic ducked and kicked the pirate hyena in the chin. Marik got a much better shot and he slashed Sonic just above his eye with his metal claws. Sonic grabbed Marik's arm before he could retract it and he threw Marik into Cutthroat Jim. Then Sonic grabbed a cutlass that lay on the deck and he engaged Cutthroat Jim in battle with his cutlass. Marik grabbed a cutlass and he decided to help Cutthroat Jim in the battle. The ship was now ringing with the sound of clashing swords. Cutthroat Jim lunged at Sonic with his two cutlasses but Sonic defended himself with his cutlass and he pushed Jim away. Marik slashed at Sonic but Sonic clashed swords with the Martian and he kicked Marik in the leg, causing Marik to fall down on one knee. Before Sonic could strike again, Cutthroat Jim cut in with his two cutlasses and blocked Sonic's attack. Sonic swiped at Cutthroat Jim, narrowly missing his arm and he and the vicious pirate clashed cutlasses. Cutthroat Jim put his cutlasses together, making an X shape out of the two blades and defended himself from a blow from Sonic. Sonic slashed at Cutthroat Jim multiple times but Cutthroat Jim's two cutlasses withstood the blows every time and then suddenly Cutthroat Jim slashed at Sonic vertically with both cutlasses, narrowly missing him. Sonic stepped back and only just managed to dodge a slash from Marik. Marik and Cutthroat Jim lunged at Sonic but Sonic dodged, leaving the Martian and hyena to clash swords with each other. Realizing their mistake, they broke away and they lunged at Sonic with their swords. Sonic dodged a blow from Cutthroat Jim and he clashed swords with Marik just as the Martian was attacking him. Sonic and Marik clashed with each other viciously and then Marik decided to cheat and catch Sonic off-guard with an energy wave. The energy wave smacked Sonic in the face and he dropped his cutlass. Sonic landed on his back and Cutthroat Jim advanced on him with an evil smile on his face and his cutlasses at the ready. Sonic got back to his feet and he spin-dashed Cutthroat Jim in the stomach, causing him to drop his two cutlasses and fall onto his back. Sonic then picked up his cutlass and lunged at Marik with his weapon in hand. Marik blocked Sonic's attack with his cutlass and then the two rivals clashed viciously with each other, their cutlasses making a loud clang noise that rung in their ears as they did so. Sonic and Marik clashed again and then the crossed swords at face level. They glared at each other as they struggled to push each other away.
"You are not keeping the Chaos Emerald you stole from me Marik!" yelled Sonic.
"I beg to differ hedge-swine!" yelled Marik angrily "The Chaos Emerald is mine and I'm going to find the other six so I'll have all seven! And once I have all seven emeralds, I'll wreck this planet!"
"Yeah um…not gonna happen buddy!" yelled Sonic, ramming the hand guard into Marik's face.
Marik yelled in pain and shielded his face. Sonic tried to attack again but Cutthroat Jim rammed him from the side and sent the hedgehog falling over. Before Sonic could get back to his feet, Cutthroat Jim bore down on him with his cutlasses gleaming in the sunlight and he tried to slice Sonic in half but Sonic defended himself with his cutlass and he kicked the hyena pirate away. Cutthroat Jim staggered backwards but he regained his balance and he bent down in a battle ready stance. Marik stood beside him in a battle ready stance. Then both villains charged at Sonic but Sonic managed to block both their blows with his cutlass and he kicked Marik away before he could attack again. Cutthroat Jim and Sonic clashed swords with each other and then Sonic leaped into the air and spun around in mid-air whilst holding the cutlass. Cutthroat Jim held both cutlasses in front of his face to block Sonic's spinning attack but it was a pretty strong attack and Cutthroat Jim almost dropped his cutlasses due to how hard Sonic's attack was. Sonic stopped spinning and he whacked one of Cutthroat Jim's cutlasses so hard he knocked it out of his hand and sent it spinning through the air and diving into the water. Cutthroat Jim and Sonic clashed swords with one another and Marik tried to attack from behind but Sonic kicked him in the stomach and spun around to slash at Marik. Marik blocked the attack and he swiped his arm at Sonic, sending an energy wave flying into his face and knocking him off his feet. Sonic fell onto his back but he managed to get back onto his feet just in time to block another blow from Marik. Cutthroat Jim slashed at him but Sonic dodged the blow and then he grabbed Cutthroat Jim's sleeve and head-butted the pirate captain in the face. Marik punched Sonic in the shoulder with his metal hand and then he slashed his arm with his cutlass. A thin trickle of blood poured down Sonic's arm faster then a running tap. Sonic ignored the pain in his arm long enough to clash swords with Marik and push him away. Then the two began to violently thwack each other's cutlasses as they stared each other down angrily with angry faces and gritted teeth. They clashed good and hard ten times before Marik gave the killer swing and whacked Sonic's cutlass so hard he literally sent it flying out of his hand and it impaled itself into a mast high out of anyone's reach. Marik knocked Sonic over with another energy wave and then he stood over the hedgehog with the cutlass pointing at the hedgehog's chest. Sonic was done for now, there was no way he was going to escape this now, Marik had him completely at his mercy and now he was going to kill him.
"Sonic, you've fought valiantly but now is the time for you to fall to me." said Marik "And boy am I going to enjoy watching you scream as I plunge this sword into your heart!"
"Do away with me if you wish!" yelled Sonic "But I've got friends who will take my place and beat you creep!"
"Oh you are so misguided Sonic!" laughed Marik "No life form is a match for a well-trained Martian warrior such as myself! Your friends will fall just as hard as you Sonic! Now it's time for you to say goodbye and join the dead people in the heavens hedgehog."
He drew his arm back and he prepared to plunge the sword into Sonic's chest. Sonic just kept a straight face and awaited his fate. Then suddenly Marik got an amazing punch to the face that sent him flying into a door and crashing into it. It was Knuckles! He and Tails recovered from their injuries and now they were up on their feet and ready for battle. Knuckles helped Sonic onto his feet and Sonic gave him a thumbs up.
"Thanks a million Knuckles!" said Sonic "Boy was I done for until you stepped in!"
"You're lucky we were here." said Knuckles, cracking his knuckles "Otherwise you would have been dead now."
Cutthroat Jim ran up to Sonic and Tails, snarling a bloodcurdling pirate snarl and his cutlass blazing and he prepared to slash them to pieces but Tails flew in behind him and kicked him in the back of the head, causing the pirate to fall onto his face and drop his weapon. Tails then reached into Cutthroat Jim's pocket and he pulled out the treasure map and flew over to Sonic and Knuckles before the pirate could recover.
"Sonic, I got the map!" puffed Tails, handing it to the blue hedgehog.
Sonic folded the map up and slipped it into his glove.
"Now Cutthroat Jim will never find the Chaos Emerald." said Sonic "But we still haven't retrieved the green Chaos Emerald Marik stole from us."
Then suddenly Marik leaped onto Tails, snarling like a lion and he pinned the fox down with his metal hand. Tails screamed in terror and he tried to get up but Marik wouldn't let him. Knuckles tried to help but Marik threw the twin-tailed fox straight into him and knocked him over. Sonic spin-dashed Marik in the head and knocked him over. Marik hit the deck with a thud and the Chaos Emerald rolled out of his pocket and came to a stop next to an unconscious pirate. Tails picked himself up and he grabbed the emerald quickly before anyone else could. Marik tried to zap Tails but he remembered his voltage compactor was broken so he couldn't. Instead he swiped his arms and tried to hit Tails with an energy wave but Tails dodged the wave and he flew off the ship and into the speedboat. Knuckles punched Marik in the back of the head and then he and Sonic jumped off the ship and into the speedboat.
"We've got the map and emerald now punch it Mandy!" cried Sonic.
"With pleasure blue dude!" said Mandy, giving him a thumbs up.
She started the engine and the speedboat's engine roared into life. Then the sleek silver boat rocketed off and shot through the ocean like a torpedo under the water. Marik watched helplessly as the speedboat zoomed away from the galleon and disappeared into the horizon. Marik punched the deck so hard he latterly cracked one of the floorboards and he cursed Sonic under his breath.
"Those wretched heathens have stolen my emerald!" he roared "Oh the indignity of it all!"
"That's not all matey." said Cutthroat Jim, picking himself up and putting his hat back on "The landlubbers have stolen me treasure map. We'll never find the treasure now."
Marik didn't care about that though, he only cared about the lost Chaos Emerald. Then Marik spotted something in the distance. It was only very faint and very small but he could see something the galleon was heading towards and it looked like an island.
"Hey Captain, can I borrow a telescope?" he asked.
"Sure matey." said Cutthroat Jim "Have ye found something?"
He handed Marik his telescope and Marik extended it to its full length. Marik put the telescope to his eye, pointed it at what he was looking at and he looked through it. Through the telescope he could see a tropical island full of palm trees and sandy beaches and he saw the speedboat Sonic was riding pulling up on the shore. This meant one thing: That Sonic and crew had stolen Cutthroat Jim's treasure map so they could find the treasure and he wouldn't and the island he had spotted was the one Cutthroat Jim was sailing to. But why would Sonic want to hunt pirate treasure? Sonic wasn't the kind that valued money was he?
"What do you see matey?" asked Cutthroat Jim.
"Sonic and his friends have pulled up to a tropical island." said Marik "Is this Coco Island, the island you're heading to?"
Cutthroat Jim took the telescope off Marik and he looked through it himself. Then he lowered the telescope and put it away.
"That be Coco Island alright." said Cutthroat Jim "Those scurvy landlubbers are going to find me treasure and steal it for themselves! Well I'll show them what happens to those who mess with Cutthroat Jim!"
"And indeed you shall Captain." said Marik, smirking "Since they have the map and they're looking for the treasure, they'll lead us to the treasure and then once they find it, we'll ambush them and take it for ourselves!"
"Ha Hargh! You are ye smart one matey!" said Cutthroat Jim, giving Marik a playful slap on the back "Those scurvy landlubbers won't know what hit them!"
The two villains laughed to each other as they pictured their ambush on Sonic and friends in their foul little minds. This was one heist they were certainly looking forward to…
Footnotes:
*See STH: Tales from Mobius Arc 1
Well shiver me timbers and fire on the poop deck! We have a Chaos Emerald hunt mixed in with pirates we do! Who will win ye treasure? The scurvy landlubbers known as Sonic and friends or Marik and the cut throat pirate gang? Join me next time as ye ol' sea tale continues... Read and Review you scurvy landlubbers!