Chapter 24 - The Heroes Converge
"Oh...GREAT!!" "This is the other reason I was hesitant to help, Anthony."
Anthony looked at the Master Emerald, or to be more precise at the swirling light in the middle
of it. Anthony figured it was the portal, but...
"Knuckles, if my assumption is correct and that's the portal entrance, how the HELL did it get
inside the Master Emerald?!?"
The rest of the group, now returned from the Wildcat, was also looking at the portal in the
emerald, just as confused as Anthony was. Knuckles explained...
"When the Floating Island was forming, the energy from the Master Emerald attracted the dormant
portal as well. Unfortunately, it eventually drew the portal INSIDE the emerald."
"Kind of like how I used my psionics to move the Earth/Gardenia and Mobius/Hylas portals..."
Anthony mused. "Any way we can get it out of there?"
"I'm not sure...I have the ability to use the emerald's energy, but I don't know if I can move
the portal with it."
"We may have to work together on this then. I'll move the portal while you manipulate the
energy of the Emerald to allow its movement."
"Understood. We'll both have to be in contact with the Emerald to do this, that way you don't
accidentally move the emerald with your powers and I can keep track to see if anything goes
wrong with the Emerald."
"Alright then...guys, make some room for the portal...Knux, you stop me the moment you sense
anything wrong with the Emerald."
The group spread out to create a space for the portal to be placed while Anthony and Knuckles
placed their hands on the emerald. They both began to concentrate, causing a green glow to
encompass them from the energy of the emerald. Within seconds, the swirl in the center of the
emerald moved towards the open area and positioned itself in the middle of it. Anthony then
took his hands off the Emerald and sent a wave of psi energy towards the swirl, turning it into
a blue colored portal. Knuckles then broke his concentration to view the portal that formed.
"Amazing..." Knuckles said. "So now that it's open, now what?"
"I'll go check to see if Mario and company are ready," Anthony said, walking towards the
portal. "Sonic, be ready to meet your 'rival' of sorts."
"Rival? What are you talking about, Anth?"
"Nintendo and Sega, the companies that created your games, were major rivals at one
point...that is, until Sega decided to stop making consoles. They're even making a Sonic game
for Nintendo's new Game Boy Advance!"
"Way past cool! Can't wait to meet him!"
Anthony stuck his head inside the portal, then immediately yanked it back out quickly with a
shocked look on his face. "SHIT! Please tell me this isn't happening..."
"What's wrong?" Link asked.
"The portal leads inside Koopa's palace!"
"Who's Koopa?" Sonic asked. "Sounds like a disease of some kind!"
"You're close...Bowser Koopa is the villain to Gardenia like Buttnik is to this world. Mario
has had several run ins with this yutz and beat him every time. Oh no..." A sudden
realization crept into Anthony's mind.
"Now what's wrong?" Megaman asked. "If Koopa's so easy to defeat, we should have no problem
keeping him at bay while you relocate the portal on that end!"
"Not if Mario and company are captured first! They're probably already here and are trying to
reach the portal! We've got to move...Mega, Sonic, Link, FX, T-Bone, come with me...Chaotix,
I'll need you to watch the portal on this end."
"Understood..." Vector said. "We'll also keep an eye on the kids here."
"I'm coming too..." Knuckles said.
Anthony's group looked towards Knuckles with a look of surprise, especially Sonic. "Huh? But
you usually stay out of..."
"Not this time Sonic, since you may need a strong arm to break through some doors. Besides...I
kinda owe you Freedom fighters for the way I treated you in the past..." He then looked
towards Sonic. "Sonic...can you forgive me?"
Sonic looked towards Anthony, realizing what Anthony must have done since he no longer had the
printout with him, and then went towards Knuckles and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Of course
I can..."
Knuckles looked down and smiled, grateful to hear that and allowing a small tear to fall from
his eye while whispering a thank you. The touching scene was broken by Anthony's voice...
"Uh, Knuckles, Sonic...we're WAITING!"
Sonic looked back towards Anthony as he said that. "You were waiting to use that since Minoc,
weren't you?!?"
"Yes...now let's go!!"
The group then entered the portal, ready for battle.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony's group found themselves in what appeared to be the castle's basement. Part of it lead
into the dungeon area while the other corridors led to what appeared to be storage areas.
Anthony then heard something that confirmed his fears...namely Koopa's voice.
"So, Mario, you just think you and your dimwitted brother can sneak in without us knowing? I
must say you have guts, especially since you brought the princess as well."
Anthony was shocked when he heard that last part. "They brought Princess Toadstool?
Crap...it's worse than I thought! Guys, time to bust them out. Ready any fire weapons you
have if you've got them."
FX nodded and caused a fiery glow to appear over him. Megaman inserted some weapon chips into
his gun arm. Link took out what looked like the Rod of Fire from his backpack. After getting
ready, the group then ran into the area where they heard Koopa's voice, ready to take out
anybody in their way.
"Hey lizard lips!" Anthony said after the group entered. "I suggest you let go of my friends
before my other friends here give your Troopas a trouncing!"
Koopa looked shocked as he recognized Anthony's face. "You again! Looks like I'll get my
revenge after all. All Troopas, ATTACK!"
Koopa's forces advanced on Anthony's group. Anthony decided not to activate his armor because
of the lack of dangerous technology and just activated his lightsaber. Knuckles ran towards
the cell to release Mario's group.
"What the...?" Mario said as Knuckles ran up. "Who are you?"
"Knuckles. I hail from Mobius and am a friend of the Gamemaster." Knuckles said as he punched
the lock of the door of the cell and opened it.
"Alright!" Luigi said. "Come on, Princess, let's get you to safety."
"...and I'll go help Anthony," Mario said, running towards Anthony's group.
Luigi and Knuckles took the princess to a back area. Meanwhile, Anthony and company were doing
well against the Troopas. FX was launching fireball after fireball at any Troopas that got to
close. Megaman was firing what Anthony thought was Fireman's weapon towards the Troopas and
managed to down several Paratroopas that were flying down from above. Link was using the Fire
Rod like a flame-thrower and mowing down several Troopas at once. Sonic was keeping the
Magikoopas busy by running circles around them, causing them to fire their wands at each other
and take each other out. Anthony and T-Bone found themselves running out of targets because
the others' efforts.
"Anthony!" Mario said when he made it to the group. "Looks a like you got the other worlds
together. Whosa speedy over there?"
"Sonic is his name...and he's kinda your rival from Sega. Well...he WAS..."
"So that's the Sonic guy your soldiers told me about..." Mario said.
"Anth," T-Bone said, "you forgetting about me?"
"Oh...sorry, T-Bone. Mario, this is T-Bone, a soldier with my company's military altered by
genetic engineering and currently a Freedom Fighter."
"DEFINITELY honored to meet you Mario!" T-Bone said. "Especially since I'm a fan of your
games! Now...what say we find us a Troopa to trounce before the other guys get them all!"
Anthony and Mario nodded and headed towards the fray. Mario started firing fireballs towards
the Troopas, jumping high to find targets. Anthony started firing pyrokinetic blasts towards
the rest. T-Bone still managed to find a couple of Troopas to fire 9 mm shots at.
Suddenly, Bowser charged Anthony's group, heading towards the area where the princess, Luigi,
and Knuckles went. Anthony spotted this and headed him off.
"No way, Koopa! You're not going to get to the princess that easily!" Anthony said, pointing
his lightsaber at the overgrown lizard.
"I dealt with you before human. No way are you going to surprise me with that fireball again.
I've taken a potion to protect myself from fire."
"Fine...but what are you going to do about them?" Anthony said, pointing behind Bowser.
Bowser looked behind him to see the other heroes of Arcadia: Link, Megaman, Mario, and Sonic,
surrounding him. He also saw that his Troopas were completely decimated.
Bowser sighed and lowered his head, realizing the odds were stacked against him. "I
surrender..."
"Oh...GREAT!!" "This is the other reason I was hesitant to help, Anthony."
Anthony looked at the Master Emerald, or to be more precise at the swirling light in the middle
of it. Anthony figured it was the portal, but...
"Knuckles, if my assumption is correct and that's the portal entrance, how the HELL did it get
inside the Master Emerald?!?"
The rest of the group, now returned from the Wildcat, was also looking at the portal in the
emerald, just as confused as Anthony was. Knuckles explained...
"When the Floating Island was forming, the energy from the Master Emerald attracted the dormant
portal as well. Unfortunately, it eventually drew the portal INSIDE the emerald."
"Kind of like how I used my psionics to move the Earth/Gardenia and Mobius/Hylas portals..."
Anthony mused. "Any way we can get it out of there?"
"I'm not sure...I have the ability to use the emerald's energy, but I don't know if I can move
the portal with it."
"We may have to work together on this then. I'll move the portal while you manipulate the
energy of the Emerald to allow its movement."
"Understood. We'll both have to be in contact with the Emerald to do this, that way you don't
accidentally move the emerald with your powers and I can keep track to see if anything goes
wrong with the Emerald."
"Alright then...guys, make some room for the portal...Knux, you stop me the moment you sense
anything wrong with the Emerald."
The group spread out to create a space for the portal to be placed while Anthony and Knuckles
placed their hands on the emerald. They both began to concentrate, causing a green glow to
encompass them from the energy of the emerald. Within seconds, the swirl in the center of the
emerald moved towards the open area and positioned itself in the middle of it. Anthony then
took his hands off the Emerald and sent a wave of psi energy towards the swirl, turning it into
a blue colored portal. Knuckles then broke his concentration to view the portal that formed.
"Amazing..." Knuckles said. "So now that it's open, now what?"
"I'll go check to see if Mario and company are ready," Anthony said, walking towards the
portal. "Sonic, be ready to meet your 'rival' of sorts."
"Rival? What are you talking about, Anth?"
"Nintendo and Sega, the companies that created your games, were major rivals at one
point...that is, until Sega decided to stop making consoles. They're even making a Sonic game
for Nintendo's new Game Boy Advance!"
"Way past cool! Can't wait to meet him!"
Anthony stuck his head inside the portal, then immediately yanked it back out quickly with a
shocked look on his face. "SHIT! Please tell me this isn't happening..."
"What's wrong?" Link asked.
"The portal leads inside Koopa's palace!"
"Who's Koopa?" Sonic asked. "Sounds like a disease of some kind!"
"You're close...Bowser Koopa is the villain to Gardenia like Buttnik is to this world. Mario
has had several run ins with this yutz and beat him every time. Oh no..." A sudden
realization crept into Anthony's mind.
"Now what's wrong?" Megaman asked. "If Koopa's so easy to defeat, we should have no problem
keeping him at bay while you relocate the portal on that end!"
"Not if Mario and company are captured first! They're probably already here and are trying to
reach the portal! We've got to move...Mega, Sonic, Link, FX, T-Bone, come with me...Chaotix,
I'll need you to watch the portal on this end."
"Understood..." Vector said. "We'll also keep an eye on the kids here."
"I'm coming too..." Knuckles said.
Anthony's group looked towards Knuckles with a look of surprise, especially Sonic. "Huh? But
you usually stay out of..."
"Not this time Sonic, since you may need a strong arm to break through some doors. Besides...I
kinda owe you Freedom fighters for the way I treated you in the past..." He then looked
towards Sonic. "Sonic...can you forgive me?"
Sonic looked towards Anthony, realizing what Anthony must have done since he no longer had the
printout with him, and then went towards Knuckles and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Of course
I can..."
Knuckles looked down and smiled, grateful to hear that and allowing a small tear to fall from
his eye while whispering a thank you. The touching scene was broken by Anthony's voice...
"Uh, Knuckles, Sonic...we're WAITING!"
Sonic looked back towards Anthony as he said that. "You were waiting to use that since Minoc,
weren't you?!?"
"Yes...now let's go!!"
The group then entered the portal, ready for battle.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony's group found themselves in what appeared to be the castle's basement. Part of it lead
into the dungeon area while the other corridors led to what appeared to be storage areas.
Anthony then heard something that confirmed his fears...namely Koopa's voice.
"So, Mario, you just think you and your dimwitted brother can sneak in without us knowing? I
must say you have guts, especially since you brought the princess as well."
Anthony was shocked when he heard that last part. "They brought Princess Toadstool?
Crap...it's worse than I thought! Guys, time to bust them out. Ready any fire weapons you
have if you've got them."
FX nodded and caused a fiery glow to appear over him. Megaman inserted some weapon chips into
his gun arm. Link took out what looked like the Rod of Fire from his backpack. After getting
ready, the group then ran into the area where they heard Koopa's voice, ready to take out
anybody in their way.
"Hey lizard lips!" Anthony said after the group entered. "I suggest you let go of my friends
before my other friends here give your Troopas a trouncing!"
Koopa looked shocked as he recognized Anthony's face. "You again! Looks like I'll get my
revenge after all. All Troopas, ATTACK!"
Koopa's forces advanced on Anthony's group. Anthony decided not to activate his armor because
of the lack of dangerous technology and just activated his lightsaber. Knuckles ran towards
the cell to release Mario's group.
"What the...?" Mario said as Knuckles ran up. "Who are you?"
"Knuckles. I hail from Mobius and am a friend of the Gamemaster." Knuckles said as he punched
the lock of the door of the cell and opened it.
"Alright!" Luigi said. "Come on, Princess, let's get you to safety."
"...and I'll go help Anthony," Mario said, running towards Anthony's group.
Luigi and Knuckles took the princess to a back area. Meanwhile, Anthony and company were doing
well against the Troopas. FX was launching fireball after fireball at any Troopas that got to
close. Megaman was firing what Anthony thought was Fireman's weapon towards the Troopas and
managed to down several Paratroopas that were flying down from above. Link was using the Fire
Rod like a flame-thrower and mowing down several Troopas at once. Sonic was keeping the
Magikoopas busy by running circles around them, causing them to fire their wands at each other
and take each other out. Anthony and T-Bone found themselves running out of targets because
the others' efforts.
"Anthony!" Mario said when he made it to the group. "Looks a like you got the other worlds
together. Whosa speedy over there?"
"Sonic is his name...and he's kinda your rival from Sega. Well...he WAS..."
"So that's the Sonic guy your soldiers told me about..." Mario said.
"Anth," T-Bone said, "you forgetting about me?"
"Oh...sorry, T-Bone. Mario, this is T-Bone, a soldier with my company's military altered by
genetic engineering and currently a Freedom Fighter."
"DEFINITELY honored to meet you Mario!" T-Bone said. "Especially since I'm a fan of your
games! Now...what say we find us a Troopa to trounce before the other guys get them all!"
Anthony and Mario nodded and headed towards the fray. Mario started firing fireballs towards
the Troopas, jumping high to find targets. Anthony started firing pyrokinetic blasts towards
the rest. T-Bone still managed to find a couple of Troopas to fire 9 mm shots at.
Suddenly, Bowser charged Anthony's group, heading towards the area where the princess, Luigi,
and Knuckles went. Anthony spotted this and headed him off.
"No way, Koopa! You're not going to get to the princess that easily!" Anthony said, pointing
his lightsaber at the overgrown lizard.
"I dealt with you before human. No way are you going to surprise me with that fireball again.
I've taken a potion to protect myself from fire."
"Fine...but what are you going to do about them?" Anthony said, pointing behind Bowser.
Bowser looked behind him to see the other heroes of Arcadia: Link, Megaman, Mario, and Sonic,
surrounding him. He also saw that his Troopas were completely decimated.
Bowser sighed and lowered his head, realizing the odds were stacked against him. "I
surrender..."