Mario, as well as Sonic, Luigi, Tails, Peach, Amy, and E. Gadd, looked at the computer monitor that displayed the findings of the Chaos Radar. On it was an aerial view of the entire Mushroom Kingdom divided into equal square quadrants, like a graph. In one of the squares, a small red dot was blinking furiously, accompanied by repetitive beeping noises. Since he knew the lay of the land better than almost anyone else, Mario quickly figured out where the chaos energy was coming from.

"Rogueport," was Mario's one-word answer.

"Rogueport?" Sonic repeated, "What's that?"

"It's the crime capital of the Mushroom Kingdom," Mario explained, "just about every known thief, burglar, and murderer got their start in Rogueport. Don Pianta even has his mafia headquarters set up there."

"Geez, sounds like one of Eggman's casino zones..."

"Right... Gadd, could you zoom in a bit?"

The professor complied, and soon the monitor displayed only the Rogueport region. From here, it was a lot easier to pinpoint exactly where the energy was coming from.

"Hmm... Yep, there it is!" Mario declared, pointing at the red dot on the screen, "The next Emerald Star must be in Petal Meadows, of all places!"

"That certainly doesn't sound very criminal-like..." Tails murmured.

"Well, it's only in the Rogueport region, not part of city itself. However, the only way to reach Petal Meadows is to go through Rogueport."

"Think you can handle it, bro?" Luigi asked, "I mean, what if it's guarded by that Koopa-eating dragon?"

"Heh heh... Don't worry! Hooktail's long dead!" Mario assured, "Besides, if she did somehow return, I still know her weakness."

The red-capped plumber pulled out a small, round, red badge with a musical note on it.

"I don't think this will be much of a hassle," Mario continued, "all we have to do is get there before Bowser or Eggman does! I think we'll be fine if just me and Sonic go."

"But I don't want my Sonikku to get hurt!" Amy protested, grabbing onto the hedgehog's arm, "What if some mean, nasty mugger tries to harm him! He needs someone to protect him!"

"I... I think I'll be fine, Amy..." Sonic mumbled, trying unsuccessfully to shake her hand off.

"I dunno if that's a good idea," Mario replied hesitatingly, "the last time Peach went there, things didn't turn out too well..."

"What happened?" Tails inquired.

Mario looked at Peach, who had a really pained look on her face.

"You don't wanna know..." was all he could say.

"Well... Right then, you heard Mario, Amy!" Sonic began, finally freeing his arm, "The two of us should just do this alone. So Gadd, what's the quickest way to Rogueport?"

"I suppose with you, running is always the fastest way," E. Gadd joked, "but for the rest of us, a ferry at Toad Town harbor charters passage to Rogueport, so I'd suggest that you and Mario should take that."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Mario complimented, "Well, we better get going, then! Bye, everyone! This shouldn't take more than a day or two!"

The duo was about to leave the room, but Tails stopped them.

"Wait! Here, Sonic, take this!"

Tails tossed one of the Emerald Stars they collected to Sonic, who promptly caught it.

"Why would we need that?" Mario asked, "Wouldn't it be safer to leave it here?"

"The Chaos Emeralds used to react to each other whenever they were close to one another," Tails explained, "I'd assume that the Emerald Stars do the same thing. If you take that, you can use it to help you find where the next Emerald Star is hidden!"

"Okay, thanks! Well, Sonic, let's-a go!"

The two heroes left the room, leaving Gadd, Luigi, Tails, Peach, and a rather upset Amy behind.

"Oh... Why does Sonikku have to do all that dangerous stuff?" Amy wondered, "I have to make sure he doesn't get hurt!"


"Whoa! Look out, Professor!"

Professor Frankly didn't have much time to look and see a huge collection of books dropping from a high shelf that were about to hit him on the head! Using the best reflexes his old, fragile body could give him, the goomba leaped out of the way... or, at least, tried to. Rather, he moved about two inches, fell flat on his face, and got buried under the books anyway. A couple of seconds later, someone quickly moved all the books out of the way and helped the professor up.

"Professor! Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Goombella," the old goomba assured, "oh dear... I do fear that this little office of mine is getting a bit too cluttered."

Goombella just rolled her eyes. Professor Frankly, her old archeology teacher at Goomba University, had decided to remain in Rogueport, despite the fact that he had already uncovered the "treasure" rumored to be hidden under the city. While there, he continued to research ancient treasures using the impressive (if not potentially hazardous, as was previously shown) amount of books he accumulated over the years. Goombella, on the other hand, had graduated Goom U, and was now spending her time assisting Frankly in retrieving the said treasures, as he was much too old to go get them himself. At the moment, the two of them were trying to look up information for their next expedition.

"So, Professor, what were you looking for, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just trying to find a few old newspaper articles I keep around..." Frankly responded, "I wanted to make sure that our next treasure trove hasn't already been 'excavated' by that Wario fellow..."

Suddenly, a small ringing sound resonated throughout the small house.

"Uh, oh! That was my Mailbox SP!" Goombella shouted, "I must have a new message! Now, where did I put it?..."

Goombella made her way through the piles of books lying around and eventually reached Frankly's desk. After about a minute of searching around the cluttered surface, she eventually found her Mailbox SP lying under a pile of maps.

"Ah, here we go! Let's see... Oh my gosh! It's an e-mail from Mario!"

"Mario, hmm? You mean the fellow who helped us open the Thousand-Year Door?"

"Duh! Now let me read this..."

Goombella quickly scanned the message over before suddenly grinning with excitement.

"Professor! Mario's coming back to Rogueport!"

"He is now? What for?"

"He said he's looking for something called an 'Emerald Star'!"

"An Emerald Star? Wasn't that the Crystal Star that you two found in the Great Boggly Tree?

"That's right... Either Mario's lost it, or something really strange and exciting is going on! Anyway, he also said he's going to be arriving by ferry and that a friend of his is coming along, too."

"Well then, you better hurry over to the docks to greet him, no?" Frankly suggested, "I should probably stay here and clean things up. Chances are he'll want to have a chat with me."

"Okay! You got it, professor!"

Goombella quickly ran out the front door and hurried over to the docks to meet Mario.

"Heh, heh... She's such a good kid. I knew she would aspire to something great the minute she entered my classroom..."

Professor Frankly turned back to his books and began to try to straighten things up, starting with the huge pile that had just fallen on his head. He had just about finished putting these books away when he heard someone entering the room.

"Back so soon, are we?" Frankly asked, not bothering to turn around.

"I guess you could say that... Buh huh!"

Frankly knew that laugh. Panicked, he whirled around to see a very familiar face.

"What the?... You again? But... But that's impossible!"


"We will be arriving at Rogueport shortly. Please gather all your personal belongings and prepare to disembark."

Sonic looked up from the magazine he was reading and glanced out the window. Sure enough, the dingy, grimy city of Rogueport was in sight. He turned to his left and nudged a sleeping Mario.

"Yo, Mario! Wake up! We're here!"

"Zzz... Hmph... Wha...?" Mario mumbled groggily as he slowly awoke, "We're at Rogueport already? Dang, I always fall asleep on boat rides..."

"When you're not throwing up, you mean?"

"HEY!" Mario shouted back, turning red with embarrassment, "I don't get seasick!"

"That's not what Gadd said..."

"Oh... Be quiet!"

The boat docked at Rogueport's harbor and the two heroes quickly began grabbing their things. For Mario, it was a small suitcase filled to the brim with various badges like the one he was holding earlier. For Sonic, it was pretty much just the Emerald Star and a doggie bag filled with chili dogs he had the castle's chefs make.

"I still don't get why you need those chili dogs..." Mario stated as he began to walk up onto the deck, "Can't you just get something at the Rogueport Inn?"

"Do they make chili dogs at the Rogueport Inn?" Sonic asked as he shoved one into his mouth whole.

"Um... I don't think so... They make them at Glitzville, but that's too far out of the way..."

"Well then, there you go!" Sonic replied, shrugging, "If they don't make chili dogs, I'll just have to bring my own! I don't see what's so complicated about that."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to... Oh, never mind..." Mario sighed, "Arguing with you is just a lesson in futility."

"Hey, at least I'm better than Knucklehead... So anyway, who is this that you said was going to meet us?"

"Goombella," Mario answered, "She's a goomba gal I met the first time I visited Rogueport. Since she majored in archeology at Goomba U, I figured she would want to help us find wherever this Emerald Star is."

"Makes sense... Although I think I could find the Emerald Star fine without the aid of an archeologist. I mean, hey, I've never needed one before."

"Well, you never know, right? Let's-a go."

The duo went up on deck and walked down the gangplank to the dock. From there, they climbed a few stairs and entered the town square. Like Mario had said, Goombella was waiting for them nearby.

"Hey! Goombella!" Mario called out, "Over here!"

"Mario! Long time no see!" Goombella called back, running over to them, "I got your message and came over here as fast as I could!"

"Yeah, well, ol' Mario here wrote that before he dozed off on the ship," Sonic explained, "so I'm guessing you've been waiting here for... Maybe two hours?"

"What the... HEY!" Mario yelled, "... Um... Oh yeah, this is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. He's the friend I was telling you about, although he can be a little rude at times..."

"Nice to meet ya, Sonic!" Goombella greeted, "I've heard a lot about you, actually."

"Huh?" Sonic muttered, "What, does news travel fast around here?"

"No, silly," came a voice from behind Sonic, "it's because I was talking with her!"

Sonic suddenly froze. Nervously, praying it wasn't who he thought it was, he slowly turned around, only to be hugged by an all too familiar pink hedgehog.

"WHAT THE... AMY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Sonic hollered, "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT THE CASTLE! AND HOW DID YOU EVEN GET HERE BEFORE US, ANYWAY?"

"I couldn't let my precious Sonikku get hurt," Amy replied, not loosening her grip at all, "so I persuaded Gadd to let me use his Warp Pipe invention so I could get here before you did!"

"Ugh... And I'm guessing by 'persuading' you mean you threatened him with your hammer?... Gag... Hey!... Let go!... I can't breathe!..."

While Amy continued to nearly crush Sonic's rib cage, Mario turned back to Goombella, who looked a little confused.

"She's a bit of a weirdo, isn't she?" Goombella asked

"Only around Sonic. Otherwise, she's fine."

"Gottcha... Sounds like Goom Goom, if you ask me."

"Right... Now, if you'll excuse me, I better go break up the reunion before something breaks in Sonic's body..."

Fortunately, Mario didn't have to do anything, as Sonic finally managed to free himself from Amy's embrace.

"Geez, Amy..." Sonic moaned rubbing his side, "Have you been working out again? That really hurt!"

"Sorry..." Amy replied sheepishly, "I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes..."

"Heh, heh... Don't worry about it. At least that means those Eggman drones won't stand a chance against you!"

"Eggman?" Goombella repeated, "What kind of name is 'Eggman'? That's sooooo lame."

"It's a long story," Mario responded, "So, does Professor Frankly still live here? I want to talk with him."

"You know, he said you were going to want to see him!" Goombella giggled, "Well, I guess we better head on over. He still lives in that same sad excuse for a house as last time. Come on!"

The plumber, goomba, and two hedgehogs made their way over to Professor Frankly's house. However, once the small home came into view, Goombella quickly realized something was wrong.

"Wait a second... What's up with the Professor's door? Is it... It's kicked in! Uh oh..."

Goombella quickly ran ahead and into the house. Once inside, she let out a loud scream.

"Oh my gosh! Mario! Get in here now! This whole place has been trashed!"

Mario, Sonic, and Amy quickly ran in after Goombella and saw the scene. There was no doubt that someone had broken in. All the bookshelves were empty and their contents were spilled all over the floor. Maps were pulled off the wall and even the desk had been overturned. Even worse, there seemed to be no sign of Professor Frankly.

"Professor? Professor?" Goombella called out helplessly, "Please, Professor, where are you?"

If he was there, he certainly wasn't responding. After a bit of searching, Amy stumbled on a piece of paper that was pinned on the kicked-down door.

"Hey guys!" Amy shouted, "I think I found something! Get a look at this!"

Amy took the note off the door and handed it to Mario, who read it aloud:

Dear Heroes,

Ha ha ha! We have the Professor! If you want to see him again... in the flesh, that is... you better bring all the Emerald Stars to Hooktail's Castle! You can not trace us. You can not find us. You will never figure out who we are! NEVER!

Sincerely,

Scratch and Grounder

Sonic snatched the note out of Mario's hands, crumbled it up, and tossed it into the nearby yellow trash can.

"Taking an old man hostage? Talk about low!" Sonic sneered, "Of course, since this is those two dumb-bots we're talking about, he could probably escape all by himself..."

"Okay, could someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?" Goombella demanded, "All I know is that you guys are looking for these 'Emerald Stars' and the Professor apparently got kidnapped over them!"

"I'll explain on the way," Mario answered, already heading out the door, "but for now, we've got to get over to Petal Meadows, and fast!"


"You know, I thought that sidekicks didn't get any dumber than Lord Crump." Professor Frankly growled at his captors, "Did Grodus build you two out of leftover parts from the Magnus Von Grapple?"

"Hey! I resent that!" Scratch snapped, "We are not the two dumbest sidekicks that Sir Grodus built!"

"Yeah!" Grounder agreed, "We're the two dumbest sidekicks that Dr. Robotnik built!"

"And what do you mean that you thought I was the dumbest?" Lord Crump shouted, "I am not dumb! You think that someone who's dumb would be able to operate the Magnus Von Grapple? Or rig the entire Great Boggly Tree with explosives? Huh? Do you?"

"I stand corrected, then," Frankly apologized sarcastically, "you're not dumb, just incompetent."

"Grr... Well, we'll see who's the incompetent one in a moment, won't we?"

Professor Frankly simply resorted to scowling at his kidnappers: Lord Crump, Scratch, and Grounder. At the moment, they were in the highest chamber of Hooktail's Castle, where the mighty dragon herself once dwelled. However, Mario had defeated the monster during his Thousand-Year Door adventure, and her corpse was still lying in this high room. Because of the dragon's tough, scaly exterior, the decaying rate had been rather slow. In fact, Hooktail hardly looked any different than when she was alive.

"So, why are we here, anyway?" Frankly grumbled.

"Ha ha ha!" Scratch laughed, "What kind of question is that? It's obvious why we're here! We're here because... Why are we here, again?"

"I dunno..." Grounder replied, "I thought you knew..."

"Oh, for the love of..." Crump groaned, "How did I get stuck with you two idiots? First, you screwed up the ransom note, and now you can't remember why we're here in the first place?"

"Um... No..."

"Sigh... We're here because we're gonna use Hooktail to bring those meddling heroes right to us!"

"Well that's nice," Frankly grumbled, "but I think you forgot something... HOOKTAIL'S DEAD!"

"She is?" Scratch asked, "I thought she was just sleeping..."

At this point, even Crump was starting to get sick of the two robots. Regardless, the X-Naut second-in-command pulled a small jar of syrup out of his vest.

"Oh! Syrup!" Grounder cheered, "Are we having pancakes? I want blueberry!"

"Um... No..." Crump responded, beginning to lose his patience, "This is no ordinary syrup! This is Nitro Honey Syrup!"

"Oh! Nitro Honey Syrup! Are we having Nitro Honey Pancakes?"

"NO! WE ARE NOT HAVING PANCAKES!" Crump yelled, jumping up and down in place, "STOP ASKING ME ABOUT PANCAKES!... Look, according to the salesperson I stole this from, this syrup is capable of raising the dead. So, without further ado..."

Lord Crump walked over to the dead Hooktail's mouth. Struggling under the weight, he finally managed to pry it open, only to quickly shut it again.

"UGH! Dead dragon breath! Talk about disgusting! Hey, you two! Make yourself useful for once and get over here! I need you to pour the syrup down her throat!"

"What? Why do we have to do all the stinky jobs?" Scratch complained.

"Because you don't have smell receptors, that's why! Now hurry up!"

Grumbling all the while, Scratch and Grounder complied to Crump's request. Retracting his hand and making a car jack appear in its place, Grounder was able to lift up Hooktail's upper jaw with little trouble. Scratch, meanwhile, screwed off the lid of the Nitro Syrup jar and emptied its contents into the dragon's throat. However, nothing happened at first.

"Wow, Crump, that's really something," Frankly mumbled.

"Just give it a moment..." Crump announced in anticipation.

A minute or so passed, but nothing happened.

"Wow, Crump, that's really something..."

Suddenly, something began to make a low, gargling noise. Then, the room began to shake as the biggest object in the chamber, Hooktail's body, started to rumble. This quickly removed the sarcastic grumpiness in Frankly's voice.

"No..." the old goomba gasped, "Impossible..."

Despite Frankly's disbelief, it didn't change what was happening. After the rumbling stopped, Hooktail's eye opened. There was a moment of silence, then the dragon shot her head up and let out a mighty roar. The Nitro Honey Syrup had done its job. Hooktail was alive.