"The Mega Stars have been around for as long as the Mushroom World itself. There are seven of them and there has been only one instance in history where they were utilize. No one knows what for, but prophecy says that once all seven are obtained, one can achieve the ultimate power. It is also stated that only the seven Star Children can wield this almighty power.", a rasp voice spoke, as four other individuals listened. "Bowser says he is one of the Star Children. If he knows that, then surely he knows who the others are!"
"Who are the others, Toadsworth?", Princess Peach asked the elderly man speaking. Toadsworth was a member of the species known as 'Toad'. Toads were short, with small round bodies, round feet, and small arms. They had oval black eyes with a mushroom-shaped head. Four circle spots were placed evenly on the sides of this head, as if the Toads wore it like a cap. Toadsworth was sixty years old, and his spots were brown. He wore circular glasses smaller than his eyes. He had a white mustache. He wore a purple torso with no sleeves, and yellow buttons lacing down the chest. His trousers were a grayish color, and his small shoes were brown as well. Over the torso was a similarly purple jacket without sleeves, yellow stripes outlining it's shape. He carried a jagged staff with a small red mushroom on it. This mushroom had white spots.
"All I know is that Mario is one as well. As for the others, I haven't the slightest idea.", Toadsworth responded. Mario and Luigi's jaw dropped, as well as Peach. Knuckles pondered this answer for second, before coming to a conclusion of his own. They had all been sitting in a throne room, which happened to belong to Princess Peach. They had made it to the Mushroom Kingdom by now.
"Wouldn't that make Luigi here one by default as well?", the echidna suggested. "He is Mario's brother.", he explained. Everyone looked at him, as if shocked. He began second guessing himself. He pointed to Mario and Luigi. "You guys are brothers, right?", he asked, with uncertainty.
Luigi offered a nod, and Toadsworth considered what Knuckles had said. "I suppose it would only make sense..", the elder Toad answered.
"Well, Knuckles?", Mario chimed in. "Does that-a sound familiar at all?"
"It does, actually. Sounds almost exactly like the Chaos Emeralds. The only difference is that the Chaos Emeralds are... well, emeralds!", Knuckles answered. "Actually, is there anything about another star that negates or balances the Mega Stars? Maybe a Master Star or something?", he questioned.
"No. Nothing of the sort. Just the Mega Stars, as far as I know. Why do you ask?", Toadsworth responded.
"I said I would help you guys, so I guess I'll explain what I know.", said Knuckles. "Where I come from, the seven Chaos Emeralds grant their user an incredible amount of power. Some aren't strong enough to utilize the seven Chaos Emeralds, though.", he began. "There's an emerald with greater power than that, though. The Master Emerald has the ability negate the seven Chaos Emeralds.", he finished.
Luigi found his jaw dropping in amazement. "Wait! Is the Master Emerald really that-a powerful!?", asked the green plumber.
Knuckles nodded his head, before starting a speech. "As far back as I can remember, I've been living there on that floating island. Always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that could harm it. I don't know why I was given this job, why it was my 'fate', destined to be on that island forever...", told the emerald guardian.
"Did you say floating island?", asked Toadsworth, in slight disbelief.
"Well, it's not floating right now.", Knuckles answered. "Angel Island harbors civilizations with mostly ancient structures. The forests are lush, the waters are clear, the mountains are piercing. It's beautiful.", he reminisced, a smile on his face. The smile faded. "The Master Emerald powers the island. When removed from the altar, that power is taken away. I learned long ago that being shattered falls under being removed from the altar.", the echidna followed up. "Anyways, I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald, and I'm the last of my people. It was split into multiple shards when someone tried using a machine to harness it's energy. I think the machine malfunctioned and it ended up making the portal that brought me here. I saw some shards of the Master Emerald go through the portal. I got sucked in not long after."
"And you ended up here, correct?", asked the elderly Toad. "It seems that you're fairly knowledgable about these Chaos Emeralds.", he continued. "You said your name was Knuckles, right? Would you mind assisting us in our journey to obtain the Mega Stars? In return, we could help you with finding your shards!"
Knuckles shook his head no, earning disappointed looks from the group, but then he spoke. "The Master Emerald is my duty, and mine alone. I don't want you guys to be burdened with the task of bringing the pieces back together.", he explained. "I don't mind helping you with your Mega Star quest, though. Something tells me there's no getting home without them. Only some shards of the Master Emerald went through the portal.", he told the group.
"Well, what do these-a shards look like? We can-a keep an eye out, just in case!", Mario insisted. Knuckles couldn't help but smile at the gesture, and nodded. "How about we help with your shards after we-a get the Mega Stars, if you haven't found them all already?", he furthered.
The emerald guardian finally gave in with a sigh, and nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll accept that offer! Thank you, Mario.", he accepted, before looking to Peach. "I'm assuming you're the one in charge of these kind of operations, given that you're a princess and all. What would you like me to do, your highness?", offered the echidna, trying to display his respect.
"Oh-! I'm flattered, but there's no need for such formality, Knuckles! You helped us back there, so you can just call me Peach!", the blonde assured. Knuckles nodded, and stood up. His eyes darted around the room, a hint of curiosity decorating his gaze. Peach read the echidna's body language, before looking to Mario and Luigi. "Mario, Luigi, why don't you show Knuckles around the kingdom to help him get comfortable?", she suggested.
Mario hopped right up, gesturing Luigi to do the same. "Of course! We want our new friend to-a have a good time during his stay here!", he smiled, before fixating his eyes on Knuckles, who just offered an awkward smile. The echidna hadn't felt this welcome very often before. He had only ever felt so accepted with Sonic, and his friends. But he felt accepted here, too. It was unexpected for him, to say the least. "So, Knuckles, where would you-a like to go first? Would you like to-a settle down in a hotel? Make yourself at home while you're-a here?", the plumber offered.
"Oh! No need for that! We can prepare a room for Knuckles here in the castle!", insisted the royal princess.
"Thanks, your highness, but I'll take the hotel instead. I don't want to intrude anymore than I already am.", the emerald guardian assured.
"Alright! Then take this!", the princess responded. She pulled out a golden card and handed it to the echidna. Knuckles accepted it and flipped the card over to see red words engraved into the front. It had read 'Royal Pass'. "It will cover for anything you seek to use in the mushroom kingdom!", she nodded.
"Oh, awesome! Thank you! You're amazing! I'm actually pretty hungry!", the echidna expressed, a smile now on his face.
Peach gasped, wondering how she forgot to provide their new guest with food. "Oh-! I am so sorry! I will-", she started.
"Mario! We should-a take Knuckles to the cafe by the harbor and-a have him try their famous pasta!", Luigi interrupted the princess, causing Knuckles to flaunt a look of shock. Would he really so abruptly interrupt royalty? But it seemed Luigi soon realized what he had done, before stammering a bit. "S-Sorry princess. I got-a excited."
Peach smiled, and nodded. "It's okay, Luigi! You guys should go show him that pasta you two like so much!", the princess assured.
"Alright! Let's-a go!", Mario declared, before leading the way. Luigi and Knuckles followed, the echidna wondering what this pasta was, and if it's as good as Luigi just made out it to be. It was worth interrupting royalty, afterall.
Meanwhile, in the Eggman Empire, on Mobius...
The brilliant doctor with an IQ of 300 was operating on the pod that he had been using during his encounter with Knuckles earlier. He had wires connected to a compartment box, and he just finished adding a tune up of some sorts. A small, red and black robot, had a body which was consistent with a theme of orbs. His circle head had a red topping, and a black bottom, that revealed artifical, blue glowing teeth. His body was a small black circle, which extended in three different directions. He had cylindrical elbows, with black outlines and red decorating the top and bottom. He had red glove like hands and a stick extended down to a black semi-circle shape in his body. Next to him, was a similar robot. There were notable differences, though. This robot was cubic, and yellow, rather than orb-like.
Eggman flipped a switch in his panel, and the wire began pulsing with green electricity. The energy began to visibly flow into the compartment box. It had finally stopped, and Eggman wiped his forehead in relief. "Hoo-!", he started. "Now that that's out of the way..", he continued, before looking to his large super computer.
"E-excuse me, sir...", the orb themed robot spoke up, timidly.
Eggman whipped his head around, to focus his gaze on the duo of robots. "What is it, Orbot!?", he demanded to know.
"Well- Cabot and I- we were wondering why you aren't putting the energy into Metal Sonic, like you said-", Orbit started, only to be interrupted by Cubot.
"Yeah!", Cubot, the cubic robot, started. "You said you would get some energy from the Master Emerald to power Metal Sonic!"
"Things went horribly wrong.", Eggman explained. "The Master Emerald was shattered by that wretched echidna!", be shouted. He took a deep breath to maintain composure, before continuing. "My radars picked up that it split into nineteen pieces. But it was never able to do that before. It could only detect Chaos Emeralds.", the doctor began. "It also picked up some rift energy. Similar to when I had that debacle with two Sonics.", he explained, recalling his failed attempt to control the Time-Eater to control his past self.
"So you're trying to track the pieces with the energy you got?", Orbot deduced, earning a nod from Eggman.
"Yes. With any luck, it will succeed. With a miracle, all nineteen shards will be in this dimension. Grab me this wire, Orbot!", he barked. The robot timidly complied, and awaited further order. "In the Eggpod, you'll see a radar with two plugs. You need to hold this firmly so that it props to the left plug. After that you will reconfigure the radar to scan the entire planet."
"How will I-"
"There's a button that's marked global above the radar. It's green. You can't miss it.", Eggman cut in. Nervously, Orbot floated to the Eggpod. He gently propped the end of the wire to the left plug. It began sparking a but, but Orbot ignored that. He pressed the green button, and it lit up with eleven dots. Orbot carefully counted, and spoke up. It also appeared that one was close to them.
"Doctor, it would appear that there are eleven shards still remaining on this mobius.", Orbot explained. "There's also-"
"What!?", Eggman screamed, furious. He stomped over to the Eggpod, and slammed his index finger onto an orange button. He shoved Orbot to the side, and grunted. "This is just great! Orbot, push the yellow button to bring the radar to the state that it was in before.", he demanded.
Orbot obeyed, and that's when he a dot slowly closing in on them. "Sir? It would seem that an energy source is approaching."
"What!?", Eggman shouted, even more furious now. That's when the alarm on his super computer went off. Intruders. He scowled at Orbot. "Why wouldn't you tell me about this! Your eyes were on the radar!"
"I tried but you-"
"No buts!", the doctor screamed.
"Haha! You got in trouble!", Cubot made fun, while pointing fingers. Cubot only squinted his eyes.
Eggman now looked to the alarm on the screen, and it flashed to one of his security cameras. In the distance, a red plane could be seen approaching. He furrowed his eyes, and looked to Orbot and Cubot. "Unleash the entire arsenal right now! I want that hedgehog dead!"
His quills flowing in the wind as he stood on the wing of the X-Tornado, Sonic the Hedgehog found himself grinning. The sirens had sounded off, and he shouted back to his furry friend. "Well, Tails! I think Eggman realized that we're here!", he started, pointing out to a fleet of robots coming out from within his base. The majority of these robots were known as Badniks. Some were more special, though.
"Yeah, looks like!", the kitsune responded, focusing his baby blue eyes on the threat that laid before them. His gloved hands gripped onto the yoke of the plane.
"How about I focus on getting inside while you distract Eggman's toys, yeah?", he suggested, earning a nod from Tails. "Cool. Give me the emerald, it's better off in my hands."
"But-", Tails started, wanting to interject, but Sonic cut him off anyways.
"It's not like we can use them anyways! We're here to find out why, anyways!", he assured his friend. "If the Chaos Emerald was working properly, I'd leave it with you, Tails. But there's no telling what kind of protocols Eggman shoved into his goons! I'd rather not risk the Tornado getting thrashed anymore than we already have to!"
Feeling more confident in himself now, Tails nodded. He removed a hand from the yoke, and reached into his compartment box. He held it up to Sonic, who kneeled down to grab it. "Can I trust you to get in on your own, or do you want me to wait on you?"
Tails immediately replied to him. "Dont worry, Sonic." Tails began to think of all of his adventures. About how for so long at some point he always relied on Sonic for help, up until he saved Station Square from Doctor Eggman on his own. He thought he'd finally been independent, but then he thought Sonic was dead when Eggman used the Phantom Ruby, a story for another time. He broke when that had happened. He needed to prove his capability, not just to Sonic, but to himself. "I'll catch up."
Sonic only grinned, and shot a thumbs up. "Now that's what I like to hear!", he told his friend, earning a laugh from the two-tailed kitsune. He immediately curled down, and began to spin into a blue, spiky ball. He launched himself off of the plane, and crashed onto an enemy, making for a dramatic entrance. Every Badnik around him turned their attention to him, and he only grinned.
Buzz Bombers shot blasts. Motobugs, Egg Pawns, and Egg Fighters charged at him. Balkiries dove at him. Snail Blasters blasted at him. Egg Launchers launched missiles. Spinners dove at him, using the sharp blades at their sides to try and harm the hedgehog. Withim the blink of an eye, Sonic was running right into the danger. He flipped through the flurry of blasts, and stopped right in front of a fleet of Motobugs, before zipping out of the way for the missiles to blows them up. He ran towards an Egg Pawn, and jumped. He placed his palm onto the head of the Egg Pawn, and used his arm to launch himself into the air. He smiled when he saw a Balkiry right there, and kicked off of it with just enough force to turn himself into a ball. He zipped from Badnik to Badnik, destroying each one upon making contact, all while maintaining momentum.
Tails had landed in a safe area, and flew through the flurry of Badniks, looking for Sonic. A Balkiry charged at him, and used his agility to dodge it, before latching himself onto the back of it. He crouched down, and spun into an orange ball, with his two Tails sticking out and making white streaks around his body. As soon as he launched, the Balkiry exploded, and he slammed through multiple Badniks, causing them to explode as well. He remembered meeting Sonic, and teaching him the spindash. He was so surprised that the hedgehog caught on so easily. But through time, he would learn that Sonic was full of surprises. An Egg Pawn whirred up behind Tails, catching him off guard. It grabbed his arm, but the kitsune used one of his tails to grab said Egg Pawn by the arm, before spinning himself around to throw it into a group of Badniks, causing them to explode as well. He flipped over and turned to face another group of Badniks, but that's when a blue blur flashed across the scene. Sonic stopped right in front of Tails, and grabbed his hand.
"We don't have time for all these Badniks, buddy! We gotta get in right now!", Sonic told his friend, growing impatient. He started rushing through the fleet, dodging and flipping through Badniks, Tails propelling his tails to maintain some form of balance.
Another blue streak knocked them off balance, causing them both to fall. Tails used his tails to catch himself, and Sonic rebounded quickly on the ground. The two heroes looked ahead of them to meet the red, sinister pupils of black eyes. They looked to see a robot copy of Sonic. It was a navy blue, with silver metal claws and yellow metal padding as hands. His chest had a yellow circle with a smaller black circle in the center. He had two small yellow shoulder pads extending from either side. Where Sonic had colorful skin, this robot had silver metal. It had three, sharp quills, opposed to Sonic's six, natural ones. His arms were slim and silver colored, as well. His upper legs flaunted the same design, with the exception of the sharper blue lower legs. He had red feet that separated into the forefoot, and the heel.
"Well, well, well!", the blue hedgehog started. "If it isn't Metal Sonic! Eggman must really have something to hide if he's tossing all of this at us!", the blue blur quipped.
Tails wanted to help Sonic, but he also wanted to prove his independence. He looked to Metal Sonic, and then to Sonic. "Sonic!", he started. "I'm going to get ahead and make my way to Eggman!", he announced.
The blue blur fixed his emerald green eyes on the kitsune, and smirked. "You bet!", he approved, giving the kitsune more confidence in himself. He began to fly for the entrance, and that's when Metal Sonic charged at Tails. Sonic charged a spindash, and launched into Metal Sonic, knocking him to the ground. He landed in front of the robot as he made his rebound. "Ah, ah, ah!", he teased, as he wiggled his index finger at Metal Sonic. The robot made a whirring noise, as if to insult Sonic, and went to tackle him. Immediately, the two sped off in a blur, engaging in a high speed battle.
Tails took this as his cue, and used his tails to propel himself at his highest speed, and was zooming through Eggman's base. Guns on the security cameras shot at him, but he used his agility to outmaneuver them. He spun through a door way, and that's when another door closed behind him. He jumped, and looked around him. He dropped himself to the ground, noticing he was boxed in. He panicked when he realized what was happening. The walls began scraping across the floor, closing in on the kitsune. Guns came out of the walls, pointing at the kitsune. Immediately remembering his goal, he furrowed his brows, and looked to the top of the room. There was a small opening for escape, but it wouldn't be available in about thirty seconds. He charged a spindash, and starting going up the wall, his tails creating two white streaks around him. The kitsune landed himself ontop of a gun, and used one foot to launch himself into the air.
Twenty seconds.
Tails started propelling his two tails, and propped his feet to the wall, using his flight abilities to assist him in running up to the high ceiling. Guns started shooting. He leapt from one wall to the other, doing the same thing again. He was half way there. He landed on another gun and propelled into a quick spindash, before launching up to use his tails to get some speed while flying.
Ten seconds.
A gun latched a claw out of nowhere, and it gripped Tails' leg. He shouted in panic, before trying to pull away. The escape was right there! He stuck out his tongue, as if it would help, and starting spinning his tails. He used his other leg to kick the robot, and flip himself, causing his tails to destroy the claw.
Three seconds.
Just in the Nick of Time, he made it through the escape, and noticed he was in a ventilation system. With any luck, he would find Eggman. He panted a bit, and took a second to collect his composure. After realizing he successfully did that on his own, he smiled, and started crawling through the vents, hoping to find Doctor Eggman.
Meanwhile, outside of Eggman's base, Sonic was still battling against Metal Sonic. The robot was right behind him, and Sonic heard Metal Sonic charging a beam in his chest. Thinking quick, Sonic came to an immediately slow, charging a spindash, and turning around. He slammed into Metal Sonic, causing the robot to fly back a few feet, and launch the beam into the air. Sonic sped to the robot, and stood in front of him. "As per usual, you know how to put up a fight!", he taunted. The robot whirred, as if frustrated, and Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now if you don't mind, I have to catch up to my friend!", the hedgehog eagerly informed. The robot stood again, and Sonic sighed. "Alright, if you insist.", he accepted. The two sped off again, nothing more to everyone else than two blue blurs colliding with each other.
Dropping out through a vent in a hall full of Badniks, Tails announced his presence when he landed. He had looked hesitant, but determined. He knew what he was capable of. So Motobugs charged him, and he simply evaded them, as he flew through the hall. That's when it dawned upon him. Tails watched Sonic die. Or, he thought he did. Still, that had six months to sink into his brain. He sat aside while Sonic was pummeled. He focused his gaze on a door ahead of him, and started to furrow his brows. This wasn't doubt in himself because he was incapable. He was afraid of Sonic getting hurt like before. Or worse. He wasn't sure if he could witness that again.
But why was this only occurring now? They've had so many adventures since then. They took down Metal Sonic, stopped the Metal Virus, and even thwarted Doctor Starline once! He charged a spindash, and crashed through the door. He stood up to see Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot. Eggman jumped, and shouted.
"Would it kill you to knock!?", scolded the doctor.
Tails only walked towards the trio, a serious look on his face. "I don't know what game you're playing, but it stops here, Eggman!", the kitsune warned.
Eggman let out one of his classical laughs. "Oh ho ho ho ho! I know that the sidekick isn't trying to challenge me!", he mocked, as he got into his Eggpod. Weapons came our from the sides of it, pointing at Tails, but he stood his ground.
"Let me show you what a sidekick can do.", he challenged, before spinning into the Eggpod, knocking it up a bit. He landed on the wall, and jumped towards the doctor again. Eggman just barely moved the Eggpod out of the way, before launching multiple missiles. Tails ran towards the compartment box, and turned around to face the missiles.
"Wait, no-! You idiot if you do that you'll-", Eggman started screaming. Tails leapt out of the way, and the missiles hit the compartment box. A large green explosion shot out of the building's side.
This caught the attention of both Sonic and his robot counterpart. "Tails!", the blue blur cried out, as the robot whirred in sync. Both started speeding for the whole in the tall building in sync. He started dashing up the side of the building as Metal Sonic simply flew.
Smoke filled the room, and there was coughing echoing through the room. Luckily, not much of Eggman's operating room was destroyed. Just the wall, with scorch marks to serve as a reminder. Tails was a bit bruised up, and smoke had started clearing up. "What was-", he started, only to be interrupted.
"That was a compartment box that was being used to contain energy from the Master Emerald. Your little trick cost me a wall!", scolded the doctor, as he struggled to lift his Eggpod off of him. It seemed he had flipped it over to shield himself from the explosion. Once he finally got it off of him, he stood up, brushing his lab coat off.
"So you do have something to do with Angel Island falling!", Tails deduced. "You better start-"
"Tails!", a worried voice interrupted. The kitsune turned to see Sonic, and Metal Sonic flew in after him, to examine Eggman. "You sure know how to put on a show, you know that?", he quipped with a smirk.
Tails only laughed, and nodded. "Thanks, Sonic." It was then that he remembered what Eggman had said just seconds ago. "Sonic! Eggman had a machine that was containing Master Emerald energy! That was what the explosion was!"
Metal Sonic was still examining his master as Orbot and Cubot came out from hiding, miraculously okay. "Sir, it would appear that Sonic has infiltrated the base."
"I'm not blind, you dolt!", Eggman insulted.
"I am!", Cubot chimed in, covering his eyes. Cubot simply smacked him in the back of the head.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Baldy McNosehair!", Sonic pointed. "What were you doing with energy from the Master Emerald? And where's Knuckles? Why are the Chaos Emeralds glitching out?", interrogated the blue blur.
Metal Sonic had finished checking the doctor up, and turned to face Sonic. It began to charge up, ready for another fight, and Sonic readied himself. But something Sonic said caught the doctor's attention. Eggman reached his arm out in front of the robot. "Stand down, Metal Sonic!", he commanded. With obvious reluctance, and frustration, the robot complied. "What do you mean the Chaos Emeralds are glitches out?"
Sonic scoffed, pulling out the red emerald they had obtained earlier that day. "This! Look at it!" It had seemed dimmed and dulled, but it had begun flickering with it's usual glow. "Uh..", he started.
Tails hesitantly inched closer, questioning what was going on. "Uh... what is happening?", he asked, afraid to find out.
"It looks like the imbalance is setting the Emeralds off.", Eggman observed.
"Imbalance?", questioned the kitsune.
"I was trying to steal energy from the Master Emerald to power up Metal Sonic, but your friend wasn't having it.", he started, referring to Knuckles. "He ripped my machine, and it malfunctioned. The Master Emerald shattered, and my radar picked on up rift energy."
"Like, a portal to another dimension!?", Tails asked in shock. "Are you saying some of the Master Emerald is in another dimension!?", he continued, now even more shocked.
Eggman simply nodded, and the blue blur slammed the Chaos Emerald into his hand. "You haven't answered my question, doc.", he started. "Where is Knuckles?"
The room fell with an eerie silence, Tails, Orbot, and even Cubot, feeling the tension in the room growing. Eggman held the red emerald in his hand and frowned. "I don't know. My best guess is that he was sucked into that dimension."
"What!?", Sonic asked in disbelief. "Well you'd better figure it out before I crack you like an egg!", warned the hedgehog, causing Eggman to stumble back a bit. Metal Sonic whirred up in frustration at Sonic's threat, ready to defend his master at any cost.
Tails grabbed Sonic's arm. "Sonic, getting upset isn't going to help anything. I don't like this anymore than you do but if we're going to find Knuckles or the missing pieces of the Master Emerald then we're probably going to have to help Eggman."
Sonic stood for a moment, contemplating their new situation. He took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yeah. You're right.", he admitted. He pulled the Master Emerald shard he had out, and held it out to Eggman. "Well, Egghead? What do you say that we call a truce for now?"
Eggman furrowed his eyes, contemplating the situation for himself. He could use this as an opportunity to manipulate and finally defeat Sonic. But did he have the room to? If this was as dangerous as he suspected, then the fabric of their universe, as well as the one that these missing shards traveled to, could be at stake. He decided he would wait until everything was safe. He wanted a world to rule, after all. That wouldn't be possible if it were destroyed. He took the Master Emerald shard and nodded. "Fair enough. I'll see what I can do with this.", he accepted.
Everyone noted that the red emerald stopped flickering. "Why do you think that happened?", questioned Sonic.
"My guess is that the excess Master Emerald energy was trying to find a catalyst to maintain itself in. But since the emerald still has it's power, there wasn't much room.", explained Tails.
"If it has power in it, then why is it wacking out?", questioned Sonic, as he crossed his arms and began tapping his foot to the floor.
Eggman walked over to his super computer, and opened up a smaller compartment box, putting the shard into it. "Look at it like this.", he started, pressing a button to call off his forces. "The Chaos Emerald is like a television that is plugged into the wall. But it can't operate without the remote to send it signals."
"I guess that makes sense. So.. where do we start?", said Sonic.
"Well..", Eggman began, before pulling up a world map, with pinpoints of coordinates, one of them being near their location. "I managed to trace the shards that are still here on mobius. Including the one you two recovered, there are eleven on the planet."
"Do you know by any chance how many shards there were to start with?", Tails popped in.
"Nineteen."
"So the other eight must be where Knuckles is!", Tails exclaimed.
"With any luck, yes. As for where to start, I think it is best to collect all eleven shards, and the seven Chaos Emeralds."
"Smart thinking!", Sonic popped in. "Then I can whip up some good old Chaos Control and go grab Knuckles and the other shards!", he smirked.
"No, you won't.", Eggman scowled.
"What!? Why not!? We used the Chaos Emeralds in the past and stuff! What's different this time?"
"In case you didn't know, we never used the Chaos Emeralds when the Master Emerald was split across dimensions. There's no telling what the emeralds would do to you if you tried to use them with something like this going on.", the doctor explained. "I'd love to watch you writhe in pain, but right now, the Master Emerald being split in the way that it is brings potential threat to the fabric of our dimension and whichever dimension or dimensions the other shards ended up in. Using the Chaos Emeralds might also just make that worse. That being said, no one should utilize the Chaos Emeralds at any cost."
"Why do you get to be in charge?", Sonic complained, before earning a glare from the maniacal genius.
"I'm the one who has the most information!", he screamed. Sonic simply shrugged and rolled his eyes.
"Well, the fastest way to go about this is splitting up, right?", Tails asked.
"I would assume so.", Eggman answered, before walking to his now balanced Eggpod. He opened a glove box, and grabbed two earpieces. He walked over to Sonic and Tails, handing the earpieces to them. "Press these to communicate with me when we're out and about. I'll take Metal Sonic, Orbot, and Cubot to find Emeralds or shards. "
Sonic and Tails put the earpieces into their ears, and it was barely noticeable! "Why would you make earpieces if you don't have friends?", Sonic insulted.
"Why you little-!", Eggman started, before taking a deep breath. "I like to be prepared."
"Fair enough.", Sonic replied, before looking through the hole in the wall. The sun had been almost fully set now, and most of the sky had been a dark dark blue, stars decorating it along with the moon. Sonic remembered using Chaos Control to restore it when he and Shadow stopped Space Colony ARK from hitting the planet.
Eggman began explaining what they would do once they returned. "When we return I will begin building a machine that will sustain the energy just long enough to build up an explosion. This will create a reaction similar to what happened on Angel Island-"
"And create a portal!", the kistune finished, excitedly.
"Precisely.", Eggman confirmed.
"How do we know that the portal will lead to the dimension with Knuckles in it?", Tails asked.
"Seeing as the Chaos Emeralds are out of balance, I would assume that the Master Emerald shards are drawing towards one another. Given that they're going to power the machine alongside the emeralds, it would only make sense.", explained the genius.
"Fair enough.", Tails answered. He walked over to Eggman's super computer, pulling out his Miles Electric, also known as the PAD. It was a handheld multi-purpose device that could track things, set coordinates, utilize video communication, detect hostile targets, and interface with the X-Tornado! It was yellow with a green screen, buttons on the right side, and a handle on the left side. "Eggman, can I copy these coordinates to my PAD? It'd help me."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever.", the doctor accepted, hopping into his Eggpod. "I'll take the emerald. You guys take the shard.", he instructed.
"Actually!", Sonic interrupted. "We'll take the emerald. You take the shard.", he nagged.
Eggman scowled, and his mustache drooped a bit. Did he really have to be so petty? "Fine."
Tails plugged his PAD into the super computer, and quickly finished the data transfer. He unplugged it, and smiled. "Okay! I think we're set!", he announced.
Sonic shot a thumbs up. "Sweet!", he complimented. "Well, I think we should get going. The longer we wait, the more that we might be putting our universe in danger!", he explained. Metal Sonic simply stared at his organic counterpart, whirring a bit. He shot a cocky grin. "Well, Eggman. I'm sure you have some machine that you can use to travel safely or whatever! Tails and I are heading out. We'll meet you when we found everything we need!", declared the speed demon.
He looked to Tails, who shot him a confident nod. "You ready to rock, Sonic?", asked the kitsune.
"Ready to roll, Tails!", Sonic responded, as he grabbed his friend's hand, and sped out through the hole in the wall, running down the building side, and towards the X-Tornado.
Orbot and Cubot assumed positions in a circular and cubic seat in the Eggpod. They were right under Eggman's operation panel. "Sir! Might I suggest using the Egg Echelon for this journey?", Orbot spoke. The Egg Echelon was a means of transportation that Eggman planned on using. It was going to be an upgrade. It was shaped like a pointed ship with a second seat in the back, and a mount on far behind for Metal Sonic. Right in front of the mount, and behind the seat, was another seat designed specifically for Metal Sonic, should he be incapacitated.
"For once, you have a good idea, Orbot. Prepare it on the ground level!", he demanded. "Metal Sonic! We have to team up with the rodent and his lest of a sidekick, but I promise it won't last long. Follow me!", he ordered, before exiting the room. Metal Sonic acknowledged this command with a mechanical whir, and began walking behind the Doctor's floating Eggpod.
Neither Sonic or Eggman liked teaming up with the other, but circumstances were forced upon them. They had no idea what the other would do after this was over. Sonic hadn't known if Eggman would betray them or not.. Eggman hadn't known if Sonic would sabotage or foil his plans by sneaking around. But they both knew one thing for sure.
And that thing was that neither of them had any idea what was in store for them.
A/N
Wow! This was a longer chapter, and I really enjoyed writing it! How will Knuckles settle into the Mushroom World? Will Eggman's machine work? Are the two different dimensions really falling apart? Or is it just a hypothesis from Doctor Eggman? It's a valid one, nonetheless! When Mario and the gang start their search for the Mega Stars? Where will they start? How will they start? Stay tuned and find out next time on
Mario & Sonic: Between Worlds!