Sonic & Mario
Chapter 11
Facing One's Fears
The light from the torches lit up the sewer as Mario came sliding headfirst out of one of the green pipes in the ceiling and onto the cold hard floor. Uninjured from his ride, Mario quickly got up and went to the nearest green pipe in the ceiling and started to climb up the pipe. In a few seconds Mario was jumping out of the pipe and, without even taking a glimpse of his surroundings, climbed up into the next pipe that was hanging from the ceiling.
Despite going at a fast pace, Mario couldn't help but wonder if he was going his fastest. Yes, he was now in the sewer, but now he had to find the right pipe that would lead to Peach's castle. There were thousands of pipes in the sewer and only two of them would lead Mario to Peach's castle. The sooner Mario found one of those pipes, the sooner he would be able to find Eggman. And the sooner he found Eggman, the sooner he would be able to save Peach.
Peach.
Yes, that was why he was climbing as quickly as he could up those large green pipes: to save Peach and rid the Mushroom Kingdom from another villain. But yet, at the same time, Mario knew there was another reason; a reason that made his anger swell inside of his head.
While squeezing his way through the tight places inside of the pipe he was climbing out of, Mario saw a brighter light than the light that came from the torches below. Curiously, Mario quickly jumped out of his pipe and finally stopped. Though he was still in the sewer (the pipes made that obvious), the torches were replaced with big lanterns that hung along the ceiling above his head. It was a sign Mario welcomed: he was getting closer to the surface of the Mushroom Kingdom.
And closer to finding one of the pipes to Peach's castle.
Satisfied with his discovery, Mario quickly jumped into one of the pipes hanging above his head and started his climb to the surface.
Unknown to Mario's knowledge, Sonic slid out of his pipe and landed in a small puddle of water. Sonic quickly jumped out of the puddle and shook his feet dry. Even though he could face traveling across the ocean's floor and still keep his head, Sonic would rather avoid contact with any body of water, including a water puddle.
Sonic had finally dried his feet perfectly dry when he finally noticed that he was back in the sewer, just the place he wanted to be in. Unfortunately for Sonic, he had to get the worst part of the sewer system.
The pipe Sonic had come out of was the only pipe visible in his part of the sewer. The torches were starting to flicker by a small wind current that made Sonic's spines shiver. And the worse part of all was the roaring of a small waterfall that was right in front of him that emptied into a large pool of water below Sonic's feet.
"Look's like I have my share of unfortunate events," Sonic said surlily, and walked behind him, looking for any other pipes that were on Sonic's level of the sewer system.
While Sonic made his way thru the sewer, Metal Sonic plopped out of the pipe and landed in the same puddle Sonic had landed in before. Unlike his living counterpart, Metal was not scared of water; in fact it gave him a thought of even more power knowing that he was not scared of the same thing his opponent was afraid of. The thought of power alone sparked electricity inside of his metallic head.
Metal took one look around the sewer and smiled approvingly. This would do.
Metal Sonic took out his communicator and turned it on. After a slight fuzz on the screen, Dr. Eggman's face appeared on the screen.
"What is it, Metal?"
"I was capable of separating Sonic and Mario inside the cavern. Both of them are now in the sewer."
Dr. Eggman's face scowled at Metal's report.
"What are they doing in the sewer?"
"If I am not mistaken, they are trying to get back to the castle," replied Metal patiently.
Dr. Eggman took in the news silently, trying to think of his next move.
Metal Sonic waited patiently for Eggman to finish thinking, but when Eggman said nothing, Metal's patience wore off.
"What do you want me to do about them, Eggman," Metal asked hastily.
Dr. Eggman awoke out of his thoughts and stared angrily at Metal Sonic.
"That's DOCTOR Eggman for you Metal; don't forget who created you out of that scrap metal I found outside of my lab!"
Metal's face expression remained unchangeable, but he politely said, "Sorry, Dr. Eggman."
"That's better," said Dr. Eggman, "Now, I want you to make sure that Sonic does not make out of the sewer alive! Wash him down the drain, do you hear me!"
"Yes, Doctor," Metal said, "But what do you want me to do with Mario?"
"Do what you want with that wannabe hero. He is of no threat to my future plans."
Metal Sonic nodded his head and turned off the communicator. He had received his orders and that was enough; he had no wish to further continue his conversation with Eggman.
Metal Sonic quickly put the communicator away and dashed in the opposite direction Sonic had gone earlier. He was going to destroy his living counterpart with Sonic's worst fear.
Sonic continued walking through the sewer passage, looking for another pipe to go into to get out of his section of the sewer. Unfortunately, no matter how much distance Sonic had made there was still no sign of a pipe large enough to squeeze through. The torches were losing their brightness more and more as time passed, and it wouldn't be long before Sonic would be left in the dark once more. That was something Sonic did not want to experience all over again, so he quickened his walking pace, but did not bother to dash off yet. Sonic was more cautious this time; he had remembered what had happened to him and Mario in the cavern, and for what he knew, Metal Sonic could be following him this instant.
A sudden gust of strong wind suddenly hit Sonic in the back, sending his head quills standing straight up on his head. The torches quickly blew out, sending Sonic into another dark period into his unfortunate journey.
"Great," Sonic said grumpily as he put his head spikes back to their normal position, "A strong wind that messed up my spikes and now total darkness. What next?"
Sonic's sarcastic question was answered by a loud roar coming from behind his back. Sonic instinctively turned around and felt a wet spray of water hit his eyes. Sonic quickly rubbed his eyes to get the water out when he heard the roaring again, only this time, it sounded closer than it did before. This time, Sonic could recognize the roaring noise.
It was the sound of a lot of water rushing right towards him!
Not wasting a moment to spare, Sonic quickly dashed into the darkness, being followed by the loud roar of the approaching body of water that was coming after him.
And it was quickly covering ground.
Although Sonic could easily outrun any given obstacle chasing him, he couldn't do it in the dark when he couldn't see what was ahead of him, and it was proven when Sonic tripped over a small rock that was in his way. Sonic fell to the ground and tried to get up as quickly as he could, but it was too late. The rushing water quickly overcame him, swallowing Sonic inside its watery inside just as Sonic would swallow a grape.
Sonic struggled desperately to get his head above the rushing water, but the water was too powerful for Sonic to overpower and kept Sonic's head from reaching the surface of the water as it carried Sonic along the sewer passage. Unable to do anything else, Sonic held his breathe and waited patiently for the end to come swiftly.
Just as his air supply was about to finally run out, Sonic notice a small light ahead of him: the light of some torches that were still lit. The torches were on the other side of a large drop that was already being filled with the rushing water ahead of Sonic.
And hanging above the drop was a small rope.
As he drew closer to the drop and his possible death, Sonic noticed that, while the rushing water was going faster as it emptied into the drop, the water's surface was shrinking rapidly. No sooner had he noticed that when the water's surface dropped below his head, allowing him to finally breathe again.
Restored by the welcomed oxygen, Sonic steadied himself as he approached the drop. He would have to act fast if he was going to survive this drop, and that was what Sonic was preparing to do.
Just as Sonic reached the edge of the drop and the water was now only a couple inches deep, Sonic quickly jumped high off the edge and grabbed the rope that was hanging over the drop. Now hanging for dear life, Sonic grip tightened on the rope as he watched all the water empty itself into the drop, now turning it into a water pit.
A water pit that was increasing its depth and elevation.
Seeing the water quickly rising up after him, Sonic wasted no time in climbing up the piece of rope as he tried to escape the rising water. He was almost at the top when he heard the tearing sound of the rope he was hanging on. Sonic looked up and saw the cords ready to break loose from the rope.
Not taking any chances, Sonic swung himself over to the other side of the pit and grabbed on to the edge just as the cords finally gave away to his weight. Sonic quickly climbed up the edge of the pit and sat down on the cold stony ground, gasping for breath.
"That was too close," Sonic said as he tried to calm his shaking body down from the previous experience he had encountered.
Recovering his breath again, Sonic stood back up just when he heard the familiar roaring of water coming near him. Sonic quickly turned around and saw that the water had rose high enough to come rushing in the sewer passage.
And, once again, at Sonic himself.
"Not again!" Sonic grumbled and quickly dashed off into the passage, followed closely behind by the rushing water.
Fortunately for Sonic, the torches gave off enough light for him to see the path that was in front of him, allowing him to speed up his dash. The water rushed madly through the passage after the fleeing hedgehog, but this time, Sonic had the advantage, and he was pushing it as he speeded up through the passageway.
As Sonic increased his speed, the sound of the roaring water lessened as it disappeared out of sight of the supersonic hedgehog. Noticing the difference in the noise, Sonic turned his head around to see that he was at least a hundred feet away from the water.
"Is that all?" Sonic remarked mockingly, "The water is way behind me and I am not even breaking a sweat!"
With his eyes paying attention to the disappearing water, Sonic's feet suddenly felt not the solid floor of the passage, but thin air instead. Sonic quickly looked down at his feet and saw that he had run off another ledge and was now floating above another pit of water.
Well, at least he was floating before he realized what had happened.
Sonic frantically turned around in midair and grabbed the ledge that he had run off of. As Sonic tried to pull himself up, he heard the roaring of the rushing water coming into view as it was less than a couple feet away.
Sonic looked behind him for another ledge to grab hold of, but to his horror, there was none in sight. The sound of the roaring water was closing in on him.
Desperately, Sonic looked around for another source of escape. His eyes caught hold of a large green pipe that was sticking in the middle of the ceiling above the water pit.
The spray of the water was stinging Sonic's face as the rushing water was closing its gap between its unfortunate victim. Sonic closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had no other options.
Just as the water approached the edge of the passage, Sonic's sneakers quickly kicked off the ledge and launched his body at the green pipe. One of Sonic's hands caught hold of the pipe's rim, leaving Sonic hanging over the water pit as it was quickly being filled up by the rushing water.
Sonic slowly opened his eyes when he felt a sudden coldness in his foot. Sonic looked down and saw the rising water already submerging his right foot inside it and creeping up his leg.
With no time to spare, Sonic quickly got his body up the pipe and started scrambling up it, trying to escape the rising water. The water gave pursuit after its victim and went up the pipe, its surface just inches away from the escaping hedgehog.
The light from the opening of the pipe marked the checkpoint Sonic needed. Sonic climbed faster, now being way ahead of his mindless pursuer. The opening was just about in Sonic's reach.
Then the light was blocked off by a dark metallic head. Surprised, Sonic stopped his climbing and looked up at the dark figure of Metal Sonic's head at the opening of the pipe. A smirk was on his face.
"Everyone has a fear, and yours, is going to engulf you for eternity," Metal Sonic said and with that, his face disappeared and was replaced by the lid of pipe. Sonic climbed up to the lid and tried to budge it, but nothing happened. It was only then that, as the water was coming up after him and the lid prevented him from escape, Sonic realized that something inside of him that he thought was extinct was now running throughout his shivering body: fear.
The lights of castle torches were finally visible to Mario's eyes as he quickly climbed out of the pipe and crawled out to the basement's floor. Not even stopping to catch his breath, Mario stood up and walked over to the basement's door and opened it, revealing a red carpeted stairway. Mario ran up the stairs and came to another door. Without even thinking about the consequences, Mario opened the door and walked into the castle hallway.
Right into the view of several guard robots.
"Halt! In the name of Dr. Eggman!" said one of the robots and pointed his gun at Mario. The other robots copied his move and pointed their guns at Mario also.
Mario crossed his arms and stared at the robots angrily.
"I don't take orders from a thing that has a chip for a brain," Mario grumbled at the robots.
The robots looked at each other, their chips running frequently over the information Mario gave them, before they looked back at Mario and charged up their guns.
"Annihilate the intruder!" said the head robot.
The robots all fired their guns at their intended target, but Mario was one jump ahead of them. Mario leaped before the lasers could hit him and landed behind the surprised robots. Before the robots could turn around and defend themselves, Mario jumped high into the air, formed a gigantic fireball in his hands, and with all of his strength, threw the giant fireball down to the ground. Like a grenade set by its throwers, the fireball exploded, sending the metallic parts of the robots flying in every direction while the fire devoured all that was left of the robotic guards. Feeding on the oil from the robots, Mario's fire spread throughout the castle hallway, devouring all that was in its path, metallic or nonmetallic. Soon the hallway was lit with the remaining fire and the burnt metal of all the robot guards that were guarding the hallway.
Mario landed on the floor and looked at the destruction he had created. Though he knew the importance of the art of the castle hallways, Mario didn't have a choice: it was either the hallway or the entire kingdom that would be destroyed.
A thousand hallways are worth sacrificing for the survival of the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach.
"Peach!"
The memory still hung in his head, and it was causing him to blame himself more and more for putting his trust in the villainous Dr. Eggman.
"Mario?"
Mario's ears caught hold of the Italian voice that called his name. It was coming from the last door on the right in the inflamed hallway.
Not wasting anytime, Mario ran through the fiery hallway and opened the door, and gasped at the sight that he saw.
There, standing in the middle of the room was a large cage, and inside the cage were Luigi, Toad, and the Mushroom people.
Mario ran up to the cage and examined its occupants. Luigi and the others were all dirty from what appeared to be a long struggle, but none of them seemed to be seriously hurt.
"Luigi, what happened to you? How did you and Toad and everybody get locked up in this cage?"
Instead of answering him, Luigi pushed him away from the cage.
"Get out of here Mario!" Luigi cried in a loud voice.
Mario recovered from the push and came back to the cage.
"Not until I free you first," Mario said as he studied the details of the cage that was holding his brother and his friends. He noticed that the door to the cage was closed by a big lock that hung around the keyhole.
"Where is the key?" Mario asked Luigi.
Before Luigi could say anything, Toad jumped in front of him and waved his arms wildly in Mario's face.
"Go away! Before he comes to get you!"
"Not until I free you first," Mario said to Toad and then turned to Luigi, "Luigi, where is the key?"
"It is not here, but go away now!"
Mario stopped and stared at his younger brother. His blue eyes were filled with terror, a terror that Mario has never seen in Luigi before.
"What is wrong, Luigi?" asked Mario, "Why am I to go away and desert you?"
"Mario, listen to me!" Luigi said desperately, "A strange human has taken over Peach's castle!"
"I am aware of this human you are speaking of, and I am not afraid to face him."
"But Mario, you must get out of here now! This whole thing is a…"
"Trap," said a dark familiar voice.
Mario quickly looked behind him and into the hallway. Out of the rising flames came a tall dark shadow, followed by the glare of two red metallic eyes. His body was made of blue metal, and his head was decorated with some metallic spines that were sticking out of his head. The fire seemed to retreat from the dark figure as it finally entered the room and closed the door behind him. A loud click could be heard as the being locked the door with a golden key he had in his hand: a key, as Mario clearly recognized, that once belonged to Princess Peach.
The being looked upon Mario and held the golden key in front of Mario's face.
"It seems that your Princess has some value after all," said Metal Sonic and he put the key behind his metallic spines.
Mario glared angrily at Metal Sonic, not revealing any expression on his face. It was this creature who had killed his new friend, who had helped his master take control of the castle, who had tricked Mario all along into thinking that it was Sonic who was the real enemy.
And it was the creature that was prophesied in the painting in the bell tower: the one who was to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom.
Though he tried to not show, Mario's anger could be clearly seen boiling inside of him. Catching sight of this, Metal walked up to Mario and gave an evil smirk.
"It isn't everyday that I get to kidnap one's love, but I always take advantage of it."
Mario had to force himself to not send a fireball into the evil metallic face.
"Where is the princess?" Mario asked impatiently.
"You mean Peach?" asked Metal sarcastically.
"You know directly what I mean! Now where is she?"
Metal Sonic shook his shoulders.
"Why ask me?"
"Because it was you master that kidnapped her!" shouted Mario, now ready to blow off his temper.
Metal Sonic thought on the subject for a moment and came back with another smirk.
"If you want to know anything of your princess, I suggest you ask Dr. Eggman himself…unless…"
Metal stopped speaking and looked at Mario, the smirk still across his face.
When seeing that Metal wasn't going to say anything, Mario asked impatiently, "Unless what?"
"Unless," stated Metal, "You agree to hand over the Mushroom Kingdom to Dr. Eggman."
Mario's anger was at once ceased for the moment as a great confusion rushed into his head.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mario, "I do not rule the Mushroom Kingdom."
"According to Princess Peachy, you do!" said Mario, "She told us that you were the one who was now in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom."
Metal's statement brought a sudden flashback into Mario's head.
"I want you to promise that if anything should ever happen to me in the near future, you will be in charge of the kingdom till you find someone worthy to govern the land."
It was true! Princess Peach had given him full authority over the Mushroom Kingdom until he gives it to someone else.
Mario looked back at Metal and knew what person he had in mind to govern the Mushroom Kingdom.
"As long as I shall live, I will never surrender the Mushroom Kingdom to your master, who is not worthy to rule any land at all!"
A little cheer came up from Toad and his fellow servants, but was stopped when Metal looked at them with his evil eyes. Once he quieted them down, he turned back to Mario.
Mario was unstirred by Metal's evil glare. He felt as if he had just scored the first victory in the upcoming battle ahead.
"Metal Sonic, as the new ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, I banish you and Dr. Eggman from the kingdom for all the crimes you had done!"
Metal's reply was the crossing of his arms and the growing evil in his glare.
"Very big talk for one who doesn't have anyone to side with him," noted Metal, "I apologize that I cannot do your order, your majesty!"
And with that Metal gave Mario a clumsy bow, enough to show that he was mocking Mario's sovereignty.
"And why is that?" asked Mario.
Metal did not get up from his position.
"Because I am afraid that I have orders from my master to either take the Mushroom Kingdom from you by peace or by force," Metal said as he stood back up, "And unfortunately for you, you will never see your princess again for now I will slay you in her castle! Prepare to die, Mario!"
And with saying that, a large bolt of electricity came out of Metal's hand and shot right into Mario's body, sending Mario flying into one of the castle walls. Mario fell down to the ground, but quickly got back up just in time to see another bolt of electricity coming at him. Mario rolled away from the electric bolt and got up into a defensive position, now ready for anymore of Metal's attacks.
Metal Sonic looked interestly at Mario's defense position and gave Mario anther one of his evil smirks.
"You are going to have to be more prepared than that if you want to save your Peachy!"
Mario's hand suddenly turned into a fireball as he finally let his anger out.
"Stop calling her that!" yelled Mario and he threw the fireball directly at Metal's head.
Just as the fireball came into harm's distance, Metal Sonic held up his hand and caught the fireball in his metallic hand. Mario watched as Metal smothered the fireball with his hand until it was gone completely.
"What are you going to do about it?" Metal asked mockingly as he turned back to Mario and slowly walked towards him.
Instead of going back to his defensive position, Mario's hands lit up with fire.
"As much as I alone can do to you!" yelled Mario and he walked towards Metal as well, his hands now flaring up with a large flame. All the things that Metal Sonic had done to him were going to be resolved here in the room, in front of Luigi and the servants.
Inside the cage, Toad closed his eyes in fear as Luigi stood at the bars and watched what was going to be one of the biggest duels ever fought in the Mushroom Kingdom.
The rising water was already at Sonic's neck. Sonic again pounded on the lid to try and break it, but the metal was too strong to be broken by even Sonic's powerful punches. Sonic climbed up even closer to the pipe, now rising out of the water, and tried to roll up into a ball, but thanks to the thickness of the pipe he was in, Sonic was unable to move his body sideways, and instead of rolling into a ball as he originally planned, Sonic only managed to get his body stuck even worse in the pipe. Now he was really trapped, and he couldn't do anything about it!
Unable to move, Sonic watched as the rising water caught back up to him as it was submerging his feet into its predatory grasp. The coldness of the water made his body shiver even more not of the coldness, as Sonic suddenly noticed, but by his fear which was now exploding throughout his whole body. Never had he felt so much fear inside of him than he did in that pipe right now at that hour.
And it was all thanks to Metal Sonic.
"Metal!"
The fear inside of Sonic's body suddenly sparked off the flame of hatred in his heart for his metallic counterpart, and unlike the other times Sonic would try to hold his anger in, the anger was starting to take over his body.
And Sonic could feel it.
As the water finally submerged Sonic's head underwater, Sonic's body started to change. His usual blue color was turning darker, into a dark blue color that almost resembled black. Sonic's friendly green eyes turned into a pair of dark green eyes that were filled with both fear and anger. Sonic's whole body shook even more as his anger was rushing throughout his whole body, empowering his limbs with more strength than he ever thought he had before. Sonic was no longer holding his breath under the water's surface; instead, he wasn't breathing at all. His anger had finally taken control over his entire body.
With a quick flash of motion, Sonic's dark gloved hand punched the metal lid with more force than he did before. The pipe's lid immediately broke open, spewing water from the over flooded pipe everywhere. Sonic, if that was who he was anymore, immediately jumped out of the pipe and landed on the cold wet ground of another sewer passage. Not even trying to catch his breath, Sonic dashed away from the water filled pipe and further into the sewer passage.
It was then that Sonic's brain started to take control of Sonic's body again. Sonic stopped running and fell to the ground. He was unable to move as his body was trying to fight off the anger inside of him.
"It's not right!" Sonic's conscious told him. "Hatred will never create anything, but it will destroy everything that you love!"
Sonic's shivering body started to calm down. Sonic's original blue color was starting to reappear again, and the hatred in his eyes had disappeared. His body was had fought off the anger inside of him. Sonic's character was back again.
Now capable of thinking clearly again, Sonic stood up and looked around for an exit to the sewer. He was rewarded when he saw another large pipe sticking in the ceiling just above his head. Sonic jumped into the pipe and climbed up it until he saw the light coming from its opening. The light was brighter than it was before, so Sonic quickened his pace and poked his head out of the pipe. No longer was he in the sewer. Instead of seeing the usual torches that lit the sewer, the room he was in was lit by a beam of sunlight coming from a large window in the ceiling of the room. From the details of the room he was in, Sonic knew where he was: Princess Peach's castle.
"Finally," said Sonic as he climbed out of the cold sewer pipe.
Just as Sonic got out of the pipe, he was almost knocked to his feet by a large quake that shook the whole castle. The next minute, though, the shaking stopped.
"What was that?"
Interested in finding what caused the small quake, Sonic dashed off into the castle hallway in search for an answer for his question.
Another electric bolt sent Mario sprawling on the ground, but he quickly got up again to face his adversary.
Metal Sonic made no sudden movements as he walked slowly towards Mario. Their duel, as Metal Sonic knew from the beginning, was a one sided victory, for although Mario was all filthy and bruised from the duel so far, Metal Sonic did not receive even a single scratch from Mario's attacks.
And Metal looking forward to not receiving any at all.
Seeing Metal approaching him, Mario threw some fireballs at Metal Sonic in hope of slowing him down, but the fireballs just glanced off of Metal Sonic's metallic skin. It was enough of a distraction, however, for Mario to start his attack again.
Mario rushed up to Metal Sonic, striking at him with a number of several swift punches and powerful kicks. But although his attack was indeed impressive, it did not help Mario at all in this duel. Metal Sonic just dodged each of Mario's punches and jumped up to avoid his power kick. Seeing him in the air and at a bad position, Mario jumped in the air and tried to ram him into the wall. Just as he came into contact with Metal, however, Metal Sonic quickly dashed down to the grounded, leaving Mario crashing into the wall at full force. The castle shook at the impact Mario took into the wall, and he fell down to the ground, gasping for his breath.
Metal Sonic approached him again and gave another smirk at Mario.
"You may have potential in this world, but in the real world, your attacks are slow and pathetic. I can't even bear to tell you how much dishonor I am getting for fighting a wimp like you!"
No sooner had Metal said this when Mario suddenly jumped high in the air and, having formed a giant fireball in his hands, threw the fireball at the unsuspecting enemy. The fireball created a huge explosion throughout the room, setting everything on fire except the cage that held the prisoners in.
Mario landed on the ground and looked into the fiery mess he had created.
"How is that for a wimp?" asked Mario.
A small cheer went up from Luigi and the other prisoners, but it was interrupted by a dark voice.
"Not bad, not bad," said Metal Sonic as he walked out of the burning rubble and into Mario's view, "Your attacks could possibly be good on my counterpart, but they are useless on me. I do not fear fire just as I do not fear anything else."
Seeing Metal Sonic still unharmed, Mario rushed up to Metal and tried to punch his metallic face. At the last minute, Metal's hand grabbed Mario's fist and squeezed it with his own strength. Mario yelled in agony as he felt his hand being squeezed by a hand stronger than his own, and tried to hit Metal with his other fist. Metal caught that fist too with his other hand and squeezed that hand as well. Mario's yelling grew along with the pain in his hands.
Suddenly, Metal lifted Mario in the air and, with a great amount of strength; he threw Mario into the wall. Mario's injured body fell to the floor and laid there, too injured to be moved.
Metal Sonic walked up to the injured plumber and put his foot on Mario's stomach. Mario tried to get up, but the pain in his body made him too weak to take Metal's foot off his stomach.
Metal Sonic looked at Mario's weak struggle and laughed.
"Still trying to fight, are you?" jeered Metal, "Can't you see that you have already been defeated? You have been defeated at the very beginning when I entered into your life. You might have been able to stop Eggman if you had teamed up with Sonic earlier, but now it is too late! Sonic is dead, and you will be too!"
At that statement, Metal's hand flared up with electricity, ready to send Mario to his grave.
"Farewell, Mario!" shouted Metal Sonic.
Not wanting to see the end, Mario closed his eyes. He had failed Peach, Sonic, Luigi, and the whole kingdom. And now he had failed himself.
Just as Metal Sonic was ready to give Mario the death blow, a large blue ball appeared out of nowhere and struck Metal Sonic in the chest, throwing him off of Mario's stomach. Feeling the weight off of his stomach, Mario opened his eyes and, to his amazement, saw Metal Sonic lying on the ground not too far from him. A figure was standing between Mario and Metal Sonic; a figure with blue quills and friendly green eyes.
Mario recognized him immediately, but couldn't believe it.
"Sonic!"
"Hey, Mario!" replied Sonic and gave Mario a small wave, "I saw you were in a jam, so I came to help you out."
Feeling the strength coming back to his body, Mario quickly got up and went over to Sonic. At the same time, Metal Sonic recovered from Sonic's attack and looked at Sonic in astonishment.
"Sonic!" said Metal, "How did you survive?"
"You should know me better than that, Metal," said Sonic as he rubbed his nose, "You can never manage to get rid of me."
Metal Sonic got up and glared at Sonic, his eyes producing more evil than he had done with Mario.
"Doesn't mean I can't try to!" said Metal Sonic, and he formed into a tight blue ball and headed straight for Sonic.
Sonic quickly formed into his own ball and spindashed at Metal Sonic's ball, causing both of them to collide and fall back, but they both quickly recovered and went at it again. The whole room was filled with the noise of the two rushing hedgehogs dashing at each other with fists, kicks, spindashes, and other attacks to determine who the true Sonic was.
Mario and the prisoners watched in amazement as the two duelists, almost equally even in speed, agility, and strength, dash quickly across the room, each trying to get the better of each other, each of them trying to settle the oldest dispute they had in years.
While it was truly amazing to watch them fight evenly, Mario couldn't stand it any longer. Mario went over to the cage where Luigi and the other prisoners were being kept.
"Luigi, where is the key?"
Luigi pointed to Metal Sonic.
"He was the one who locked us up, so I am sure he has it."
Mario nodded, understanding that there was no way to gain the key from Metal Sonic. Mario studied the lock for a while, and then grabbed it in his hands.
"What are you doing?" asked Luigi.
"Trying to set you free, of course," Mario answered as he pulled on the lock, trying to break it free from the cage door.
Metal Sonic noticed Mario's actions and canceled his attack from Sonic.
"Get away from there!" Metal yelled at Mario and dashed right at him.
Before Metal got to Mario, though, Sonic appeared in front of Metal and shoved him into the wall, causing them to both go through the wall. Mario sighed at the incident that just happened and continued working on the lock.
Metal Sonic laid on the ground, a little injured from the duel he had with Sonic. Sonic stood over him, waiting for Metal to start his attack again. Instead, Metal decided he had enough fighting for one day and flew into the air above Sonic's head.
"Another time, Sonic, when I feel ready to face you!"
"I'll be ready then!" Sonic said and nodded his head.
Metal replied with a nod of his own and flew past Sonic and came to Mario.
"And I'll settle my score with you as well, Mario!" Metal said in a low voice and he quickly flew out the window and into the setting sun.
Sonic climbed out of the stone rumble and went over to Mario, who was pulling very hard on the lock that held the cage door closed.
"Do you need help?" asked Sonic.
"Nope,"
"You sure?"
"Yes, I am sure," replied Mario, forgetting how annoying Sonic could get at times.
"Fine then."
Mario was too busy to notice Sonic's reply. He could feel the lock giving away to his strength. He almost had it.
Then a sudden electrical shock came from the lock and sent Mario rolling on the floor. Sonic just looked at Mario and smiled.
"You sure you don't need my help?" he asked again.
Mario got up from the ground and motioned Sonic to the lock.
"Be my guest and amaze me some more today," Mario said grumpily.
Sonic shook his shoulders and took out a key from his quills and went over to the lock. He fit the key into the lock and turned it. The lock fell to the floor and the cage door flew wide open.
Mario stared at Sonic in amusement.
"How did you get that key?"
"Metal Sonic dropped it when I was fighting him," replied Sonic, "I kind of figured it belonged to this cage."
Before Mario could say anything else to Sonic, Luigi and the other prisoners jumped out of the cage and surrounded Mario.
"Are you alright, Mario?" asked Luigi.
"Yes," Mario said, "And what of the pipe that I left you to fix?"
"I was able to fix it before I was captured by that creature," Luigi reassured Mario.
"Mario, what do we do now?" asked Toad.
Mario looked at the Toad and the servants. He could tell that there were some missing.
"Where are the rest of the servants?" asked Mario.
"They have been taken to one called Dr. Eggman," said Toad.
"But not all of them," replied another of the Mushroom servants, "I heard the fat man say that he was holding them prisoners in different locations across the meadow outside the castle."
Sonic, listening in interest, spoke for the first time.
"Do have any idea of what Eggman is going to do with your people?"
The Mushroom people seemed to notice Sonic for the first time, and when they saw him, they backed away in fear of the resemblance he had with their previous capturer.
"It's okay," Mario reassured them, "This is Sonic the Hedgehog. He is my friend."
Being reassured by Mario, the Mushroom people went back up to Sonic and answered his question.
"No, he never said what he was going to do with them."
"I have a feeling I know what he is going to use them for," said Sonic.
Mario looked at Sonic in interest.
"For what?"
Sonic closed his eyes and turned to the Mushroom people.
"In my world, Dr. Eggman would at times kidnap animals and put them into powerful robots to make them stronger and smarter than before. I have a feeling he will use your friends for the same purpose."
The sudden news brought an outcry amongst the Mushroom people.
"We can't allow Eggman to do this," said Toad, "I say we go to the meadow and free our companions before he uses them to kill us all."
"Yes," replied the Mushroom People and before Mario could object to their ruling, the Mushroom people and Toad rushed out the room and into the castle hallway.
Luigi looked at Mario.
"What do you want me to do?"
"You better follow them and make sure they do not get themselves into trouble," commanded Mario.
"Okeydockey!" replied Luigi and he ran out the room and went after Toad and the other Mushroom people, leaving Mario alone with Sonic.
"Now what do I do," Mario asked Sonic.
Sonic shrugged his shoulders.
"Why ask me?"
"Because the foe we are fighting against happens to be your enemy," Mario said, "I believe you know what his plan is."
"All that I know is that Egghead has this powerful weapon called the…"
Before Sonic could finish his statement, a loud noise was heard outside the castle. Sonic and Mario both went to the balcony and saw a large robotic fortress settle itself a couple miles away from Peach's castle. The Eggman symbol was addressed everywhere on the fortress.
"Not very decorative is he?" asked Mario.
"Not really," replied Sonic.
At that moment a large hologram of Eggman appeared in front of Sonic and Mario.
"Good evening Sonic," said Eggman, "I noticed that Metal has failed to kill you, but that doesn't mean you are capable of stopping my plans to build the Eggman Empire."
Mario looked at Sonic.
"The Eggman Empire?"
"That is correct, my little friend," said Eggman to Mario, "And you have the pleasure of being part of it. I have been informed by your lovely princess that you are now in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom, and that it is your decision to give it to me. Surrender the Mushroom Kingdom to the Eggman Empire, or I will destroy your castle with my ultimate weapon."
"I will never surrender the Mushroom Kingdom to you!" Mario said, not even thinking about what Eggman said about the ultimate weapon.
'Very well," said Eggman, "Be prepared to be blown away!"
The hologram disappeared, and a large door opened up, revealing a large gun like weapon that was aiming at the castle.
Sonic recognized the weapon immediately.
"The Egg Dentastrater!"
"The what?" asked Mario.
Sonic ignored Mario's question. How was it possible for Eggman to use the Egg Dentastrater without the use of all seven chaos emeralds? It was impossible! Unless…
The gun barrel of the Egg Dentastrater was filled with pure energy and was ready to fire on its target. Sonic grabbed Mario and jumped off the balcony just as the Egg Dentastrater fired. The pure energy blasted at the castle and exploded, sending pieces of stone rubble everywhere. Sonic suddenly felt a large rock hit his head as he collapse on the ground and fell unconscious. Mario landed beside him, but before he could do anything, a large boulder fell on top of both Sonic and Mario, pinning them to the ground. Soon, Mario fell into unconsciousness and laid beside Sonic's still form.