Chapter 13: Wild Valley

"Ahh, what a night!" Naruto sighed as he stretched on the sofa in the living quarters. It was dawn now and the Great Hurricane was heading for another destination. An hissing sound was heard, Naruto turned his head and found Raye walking in. "Oh, hey Raye-chan!"

"Um... hello," Raye blinked and nodded. Her mind was still trying to figure out the strange aura. "So, you about to watch TV?"

Naruto stiffened a little at her wary gaze, bit didn't show it. Back home, a lot of people were wary of him. When he was a kid, people made fun of him and called him names. The teachers were the worst though. For some reason, the way she was looking at him didn't making him feel so good. "Oh, yeah. Thought I'd see this Space Channel 5 Yayoi told me about. She really seemed to like it."

"Hey, can I watch too?"

"Sure," he shrugged. Raye sat down beside him and the both watched the Swingin' Report Show. Raye still kept an eye on him now and then, however. From what she had seen so far, Naruto was a juvenile kid who was like any 13 year old his age. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious about him so far.

But still...

Panhandle, Texas...

"Texas, one of the most famous states in the United States!" Kikki cheered as the Mercenaries got out of the Great Hurricane.

"Also, There's a Burger King here and like every state, it serves the Angry Whopper." Amy pointed out to a Burger King serving Angry Whoppers. They walked up to it and entered. They order their food.

"Why do they call it the Angry Whopper?" Raspberyl asked and she takes a bite out of it and her mouth became hot again. "IT'S HOOOT!!!" She ran back to the Great Hurricane to get some water once again.

"That's why it's called the Angry Whopper." Knuckles smiled.

"Ya know? We're kinda like the 108 Stars of Destiny from the Suidoken game series and Storm Hawks combined!" Miyabi pointed out.

"Yeah. You're right." Tsukune agreed.

Later, the Mercenaries decided to split up and explore the town. Laharl and Mao got into a fist fight with tough men. Yayoi was admiring the sites Texas has to offer, Kurumu was trying to hit on Tsukune again. Yukari accidently spilled her drink after she bought it. Zoey was thinking of getting a gift for Elliot, Makie was feeding some chickens with the wrong food and Ayaka scolded her for that, Lina was eating at an all you can eat restaurant, Naruto was practicing his Jutsu techniques, Akiwo was arm wrestling an tough guy, Billy and friends played with some kids, Hikaru and Umi were listening to music and Sonic and Amy were admiring the scenes at the park.

Sooner of later, the Mercenaries regrouped.

"So far, we enjoyed the sights, but we need to find out what to do next." Cream reminded everyone.

A person overhears them and walks up to them. "Excuse me. I couldn't help but listen to your conversation. Perhaps I can help. Maybe something in Wild Valley can help you?" He suggested.

"Wha'ch you tellen' them kids that?" another man grunted as he walked over. "Wild Valley is way to dangerous. Them buzzards will pick them dry by the end of the third day."

"Well, we only need one. What says you, Sonic?" Astro asked him.

"Sure, why not. Let's head on to Wild Valley!" Sonic told everyone.

After 2 hours of walking, the Mercenaries reached their destination. It looked like a western valley with tumble weeds and the horizon was beyond wide.

"Wow, this place is peaceful," Silver stated.

"Still, you can't be too careful." Negi added.

"Mana! Keep your eye for traps!" Asuna shouted.

"You got it!" Mana nodded with a thumbs up.

"Hey, look who's on the job. It's Mana Mana." Zazie said as she juggled some balls.

"Do doo dododo." Mini Moon blurted it out of nowhere. There was silence in the air as a tumbleweed passed through them.

"Well… Let's get moving." Sonic rubbed his nose

The Mercenaries begin their trek through Wild Valley, on the way, they encountered…

"E-Series robots?!" Amy gawked as she saw three Egg Launchers appear in front of them. "How did Nita and Saia get here?!" Ayaka frowned. "Sensors indicated there is no Chaos Emerald here." KOS-MOS stated. "We can't let this slide. Sonic Wind!" Sonic yelled as he thursted his attack at the Egg Launchers, destroying them in the process.

The Mercenaries pressed on through the valley, collecting some useful trash as they went. When they got to a canyon, boulders came after them, Sonic and Silver used Chaos Control to get their friends to safety. Next, the group have to deal with Egg Gunners in the valley, but Pierre took them out with her powers. Next thing, they have to jump on rock pillars to get to the next area. Then they have to get past broken gates. They were in the middle of the valley till Zoey spotted something. "Hey! I see an old western town over there!" Then 10 Egg Wizards appeared started casting spells at them. "I've had enough of this! Backlash Wave!" Inuyasha yelled his powerful attack to blow them away. The Mercenaries got to the ghost town.

The Mercenaries looked around. "Looks deserted." Corina stated. "Yeah. But looks can be deceiving." Himeno added as she and the others spotted two figures near an old house. They immediately recognized them. It was Nita and Saia!

The Robotnik Twins turned to see the Mercenaries staring at them. "Looks like we have a Mexican standoff… But we have no Mexicans." Saia blinked.

"Uh…" Celonius 28 sweat dropped.

"What are you two doing here?" Corina asked, "There's no Chaos Emerald here."

"Says you!" Nita said as she placed her hands on her hips. "This here old bar really has something that we need. It's not a treasure, but just as valuable."

"And this time our new toy is going to clobber you!" Saia said as she got out another game controller. Suddenly, an huge robotic humming bird appeared. It was the Egg Humming Bird.

"I beaten your daddy's inventions before and I'll do it again! Let's roll, team!" Sonic challenged.

EGG HUMMING BIRD (Theme: Eggman boss battle from Sonic Unleashed.)

"Get em, Egg Humming Bird!" Nita cheered as Saia pressed the fire button and the Egg Humming Bird fired lasers from its eyes. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he summoned 10 clones of himself and they rushed towards the Egg Humming Bird and gave it 20 kicks and punches, giving it moderate damage. "Wahh! Keep it together, Egg Humming Bird!" Saia yelled as she rapidly pressed the fire button, the Egg Humming Bird launch missiles at Chachamaru and Evangeline. "Heh! You have to do better than that!" She snapped her fingers and Chachamaru launched missiles and it gave the Egg Humming Bird massive damage. "Stone Fist!" "Rainbow Dream Tornado!" Lily and Knuckles combined their attacks to give the Egg Humming Bird massive amounts of hurt. "Spell Ray!" Shion launched her attack combined with Ziggy's Cyber Kick for combo damage. The Egg Humming Bird was sparking electricity. "Oh no! it's about to explode!" Saia panicked. The Egg Humming Bird charged at the Mercenaries in a last ditch effort. "Here it comes! Rose Bell, full power!" Zoey yelled as she used her attack and it destroyed the Egg Humming Bird.

"Oh noooo! Not again!" Saia cried.

Nita stomped her feet angrily. "Fine! You can have the treasure! We'll get you next time!" Nita yelled as she pressed the button on her gauntlet, the Egg-O-Matic appeared again and Nita and Saia got on it and flew off.

30 seconds later, the Mercenaries entered the bar and looked around. Suddenly, Satomi noticed an safe. "Guys, look what I found!" the Mercenaries got near the safe. T-elos ripped open the safe door and they saw an Indian Feather. "It's only… a feather…" Etna raised an eyebrow. "Not just a feather, it's a key to something important. I believe we should take it with us." Pluto suggested, Sonic nodded and gave it to Shion who put it in her sack.

"Let's head on back to the Great Hurricane. I'm getting sweaty over here." Sakura H. stated.

What secrets does the Indian Feather key hold?

TBC

Next time: Brothers