A/N: Hi, guys! This would have been up sooner, but my computer was having issues. Anyway, here's chapter three!
Rayquaza reared and flung its head, crying out as hard stones fell on its body below. It fought against the ocean waves, trying to break free from the collapsing tunnel and reach the world above. When its head crashed through the roof, it roared in triumph, and then it saw the hedgehog.
Sonic jumped back in alarm, particularly when water shot up like a geyser. "First the giant mushroom, now this?" he complained.
With a roar that shook the hedges, Rayquaza thrashed and squirmed, knocking more rocks and clumps of earth from the path, and that's about all it could do. The monster used to be a challenge, but not anymore. It couldn't hurt a fly, or a hedgehog for that matter.
Sonic watched the poor thing struggle and felt a twinge of sympathy. "…Hey, buddy! Need some help?" he asked, masking his uncertainty.
The dragon snake cried out in mournful desperation and tried to tug free of the rocks and mud, until a red light surrounded its body. In a flash, the Pokémon vanished, leaving behind a crumbling sinkhole. Then, a red, white, and purple ball spun through the air and plopped in the muck.
"Huh?" Sonic sloshed through the mud and grabbed the Master Ball before it sank out of his reach. "Don't worry! I gotcha!" He ran his fingers along the letter 'M' on the ball's surface. "Huh… This only comes in Smash fights with items. What's it doing here?"
But, before he could question it further, the ground beneath him gave way, and he slipped into the mud!
"U-uh-oh!" Sonic squirmed and wriggled, cringing as the mud touched his skin. He tried to reach the hedges, but they were too far away. The cold mud pulled him down, covering his legs, his waist, his arms…
"Not good!" He frantically looked around for something he could use to pull himself out, when his gaze fell on a good-sized rock that was still intact with solid ground.
With a desperate burst of strength, he homing attacked. The rock cracked apart and the ground squelched as the current sped up, but instead of breaking free of the mud like he hoped, the current pulled him under.
The hedgehog shut his eyes tight against the muck that covered his face. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. He was beginning to think this was a sad way for it all to end when, little by little, the mud around him dissolved and the landslide stopped.
A cold wetness seeped into his body, and with a jolt, Sonic realized he was in water. His mouth opened in a muffled cry of terror and he paddled disparately to keep from going under, until his feet touched the ground and he found that the liquid only went up to his chest.
"Oh." Sighing in relief, he tried to gage his surroundings. His keen nearing picked up on the slosh of tiny waves rippling down the corridor. The scent of salt and mold hung in the air and Sonic wrinkled his nose in disgust. What kind of place is this? he thought.
He decided to follow the path of the ripples. At least this way he could see what the 'fun' was all about instead of running around bored for hours. But, he was still nervous about the amount of water involved in this plan.
Unbeknownst to him, he had bigger problems. Up ahead, a murky shape lurked in the deep, concealed by the darkness. The thing's gleaming eyes locked on Sonic and it swam closer, moving through the water as easily as a twenty-foot-long eel.
Suddenly, Sonic sensed a shift in the eerie blackness. With slight difficulty, he stepped back and spiked up his quills. "I don't think I'm alone," he teased, trying to muster his confidence. "Care to show your ugly face? Or am I fighting blind?"
The creature, both hearing and understanding Sonic's comment, shot forward and opened its mouth wide, snatching the hedgehog in its jaws.
"W-whoa!" Sonic flailed and kicked as the beast took off with him hanging from the side of his mouth. He punched the monster's upper lip, but the Leviathan pressed on.
"Let go of me you slithering excuse for a slug!" Sonic yelled, but the Leviathan hissed, and gripped him tighter. Sonic wondered if the thing would swallow him whole. It'd have to get past his spikes first…
"Leviathan. Stop."
At Cloud's command, the massive snake spat Sonic out, and he landed in the water with a splash.
"ACK!" Sonic coughed. He stood, put his hands on his hips, and glared up at the creature, "So... if you're not gonna eat me… then I guess that means you're able to think straight, right?" He pointed to his spikes. "These don't go down very easy." He then turned his attention from the monster to the one who had summoned it.
Cloud waved a hand to dismiss the Leviathan. He had only been exploring a little while when his Materia summon had returned. He hadn't expected to see it again, and he definitely wasn't expecting to find Sonic dangling from the monster's jaws. What was that about?
Its mission complete, the Leviathan hissed, then its body dissolved into shimmery green dust, taking most of the water with it.
"Whew! That's a relief!" Sonic said, noting the water only went up to his ankles now.
But Cloud had felt enough relief for one day. He glanced at Sonic, ensuring he'd be okay, then turned away and continued down the corridor.
The hedgehog stared at where the Leviathan had once been, then rushed after the soldier. "H-hey!" he caught up quickly and walked beside him, a little annoyed that no one was explaining anything. "Care to share your thoughts?" he teased, raising an eyebrow. "What on earth is going on here? Where are we? And weren't we all fighting a minute ago? Is that over? I think that's over. How about that illegal Assist Trophy, huh? Sure made things interesting…"
Cloud only scowled and looked to the corridor ahead of him.
Sonic wondered why Cloud hadn't answered, but then he narrowed his eyes and grinned mischievously. "Gee, if you really wanted to talk that badly you could have just called. The whole 'desperately trying to reach me through Leviathan pickup' was really obvious." he said, rolling his eyes.
"I didn't," Cloud said coldly.
"Then how do you explain the pet?" Sonic waggled his eyebrows at where the Leviathan once was.
"Long story," Cloud said. But he wasn't in the mood for telling it now.
The hedgehog just smirked and folded his arms. "Hey, you know, you don't talk much. You should talk more. Unless fighting makes you lose your voice..." he teased. But, when Cloud didn't respond, Sonic became slightly annoyed. "Hey!" he shouted, briefly putting his jokes aside. "I don't like being ignored! Just tell me what's going on!"
Sonic wasn't normally so annoying. He was only trying, and failing, to get Cloud to speak up, but the soldier wasn't in the mood for his antics. "I… don't have time for this," Cloud said, and pushed past him. "You'll have to figure it out yourself…"
The hedgehog whistled, then zipped in front of him again. "You sure have a lousy way of saying 'hello'. Maybe you only speak through your sword." He glanced at the blade strapped to Cloud's back. "If that's true, you sure love to talk… Too bad Ganon had to interrupt you."
"Too bad you're interrupting me," Cloud retorted, his patience hanging by a thread. "Now move!"
Sonic leaned forward. "Um… no. I want an answer. If you have it, give it here." As if to make a point, he stretched out his hand. "I've got a pretty stubborn will. I can handle yours too."
Cloud placed a firm hand on Sonic's shoulder, his mouth tightened with irritation. He wanted to make absolutely sure the hedgehog got the message. "Not... my... problem," he clipped, He didn't have the answer Sonic was looking for, and he had enough to worry about without the hedgehog's constant distractions.
He pushed past Sonic and walked briskly down the corridor. Sonic, not knowing what else to do, followed.
They walked for a while in silence. Cloud's damp clothes clung to him, and Sonic shivered. The Leviathan and Rayquaza had done a number on them both. Sonic wanted nothing more than to dry out in the warm sun, and Cloud, well, he had been through worse, but that didn't make the experience any more pleasant.
The path sloped upward, and they eventually reached a dry section of the tunnel. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, as if they were nearing a dead end.
Sonic peered forward in the dark. "I… Have a feeling we're not far from something," he said. He zoomed ahead and followed the echoes. In about two seconds, he found himself at the mouth of a familiar, green tube.
Intrigued, he examined the pipe. "Well, whaddayaknow! Mario!" He shook his head in mock disgust. "Is his influence everywhere?"
A second later, Sonic dashed back to Cloud and grabbed his arm. "You might want to see this." Still smiling, he dragged the soldier through the tunnel.
Cloud pulled away. "What?" he asked, wondering how much longer he'd have to put up with the hedgehog.
Sonic gestured to the pipe, "I believe I've found a way out!" He snorted haughtily, "Guess you could use some help after all?"
"What's this doing here?" Cloud muttered, staring in perplexity at the green tube.
Sonic tilted his head. "Who knows?"
Cloud set one foot on the rim of the pipe, but Sonic got in front of him again. The hedgehog smirked, his eyes half-closed. "Seems we've gotten ourselves into similar problems getting out. So here's my suggestion. Let's tag team it a bit and head for wherever this pipe leads too. Once we find our way out, it's back to fighters. Deal? Or no deal?" He extended his hand, cocky as ever. "Come on! You know you could use my speed, and I, well, I could solo it to be frank, but what fun would that do? I clearly see you need the company, so why not?"
"You sure talk a lot," Cloud commented, but since there was no other path he could see, he followed Sonic into the warp pipe.
As they climbed, Sonic grinned mischievously. "Hey, you can't reposition that sword of yours in here, can you?" He peeked back, seeing the Fusion Blade was too large for Cloud to jab him with it. "Guess not." He smirked, knowing he could get away with anything he said now.
"I can move my fists…" Cloud muttered, but kept climbing.
A few minutes later, they had reached the pipe's exit. Sonic jumped out and looked around.
This place was vastly different from the dark underground cavern. Just beyond the pipe, a dirt road snaked through a far-reaching green valley dotted with trees. A castle stood proud and regal, silhouetted against the sky. Even from so far away, the red towers and stain-glass window depicting the monarch in the pink dress were recognizable in the sunlight.
Sonic whistled and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Head-up-in-the-Clouds, you should see this." he jabbed.
Cloud dropped from the pipe's rim and gazed at the landscape before him. "I know where we are…"
"Yep! And," Sonic pulled out the Master Ball containing Rayquaza and smirked. "I think I've got us a ride."
Maze Master watched as Cloud and Sonic's orbs reached a tiny, gold disk painted on the wall. The two spheres vanished, as if the disk had sucked them inside it. Then the gold circle filled with light, an image of Cloud and Sonic looking at the castle appeared inside.
"Oooohhh! So, they've made it to the Mushroom Kingdom. Some super, duper world that is! Hahaha! Such danger! Such pain to come! Such emotional disruption and-!"
"What are you even saying?"
The Maze Master turned around. A catlike Pokémon and a giant spiked turtle hovered at eye level, surrounded by a halo of white light that suspended them in the air.
The mage-like deity chuckled. "Mewtwo! Bowser! Go down there and cause some havoc! Ensure those two-" He pointed to the image of Sonic and Cloud- "never escape my mysterious maze! Never never never! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He shook and flopped around, almost like a rag-doll,
Mewtwo turned to Bowser and unfolded his arms. "I suppose our mission is had. Let's go…"
"Yes! Yes! Go go go!" Maze Master waved his hand. The two villains vanished, and two more orbs lit up in the maze. The hunt was on.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
