Author's Note:
Okay, here we are on our second chapter! Thanks to all who have read this far!
Sorry it took so long, to be honest I forgot about it for a bit...
Then when I was writing it, the internet quit on me and I lost my progress!
Writing is a pain sometimes...
Also, since I'm not really sure what kind of power source Mario could have
I had to make up my own thing called the Sacred Stars. They work sort of like
Chaos Emeralds, I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or Mario as well as their allies. (I am not worthy!)
Location: Star Castle
Mario's Universe
"Welcome, folks, to the fantastic Star Castle!" An announcer Koopa stood outside the giant palace, greeting the incoming tourists and passing out fliers. "Said to be built by the ancient wizards who once ruled this land!"
The tourists gazed in awe at the giant castle. It towered over any other in the kingdom, with a royal, majestic design. It was pure white all over, with gold and red symbols painted across in a strange ancient language. Above the main entrance hung a shield bearing seven stars in a circle surrounding a sword in a stone.
"This mysterious ancient castle," The Koopa continued, "Is said to be the resting place of the Sacred Stars, which grant invincibility to anyone who possesses them!"
The crowd paid no mind to the Koopa at the gates and instead continued to admire the majesty of the ancient relic.
"Wow, look at the size of this thing!" Luigi said in wonder as he and his brother walked into the Star Castle. "How did they build castles this huge that long ago?"
Mario, the legendary plumber of few words, shrugged his shoulders in response, and pointed to the flier the had received from the greeting Koopa.
"'The castle was supposedly built by the Power of the Stars long ago,'" Luigi read aloud. "Those ancients sure liked stars, didn't they?"
The brothers continued to admire the architecture and exhibits showcased throughout, but eventually began to lose interest.
"I think we've seen everything," Luigi said, checking the map. "Huh? That's weird..."
He pointed to a poorly concealed door with two Koopas standing guard.
"What're they up to?"
Mario shook his head and kept moving on.
Behind the closed door, a mob of Goombas scrambled about, carrying various objects on their heads.
The dark dungeon was filled with the scrambling minions, lit only by the torches lining the walls. In the heart of this gloomy pit sat the King Koopa himself, Bowser.
"Hurry up!" He rumbled at the little brown blobs, "We don't have all day, y'know!"
The Goombas were busy using bringing supplies to a swarm Koopas, who, armed with drills and shovels, were busy digging through the floor.
"Lord Bowser," One called to the spiky-shelled king, "We've almost penetrated the first floor!"
"Bwahahaha! Good, keep digging!"
"Um, Lord Bowser," Another Koopa said, "When we break through the floor, won't we fall too?"
"Huh?" Bowser thought about this for a moment, then was interrupted by another Koopa running in.
"Lord Bowser, Lord Bowser!"
"This had better be good," Bowser mumbled.
"It is, Lord Bowser! You see, we've just received word that Mario is here!"
Upon the mention of his name, Bowser instantly jumped out of his seat, landing on the floor with a loud thud.
"Mario!" He roared, causing the dungeon to shudder. "What is HE doing here!"
"I think he might know what we're up to," The Koopa said, flinching away in case the Koopa King decided to flame somebody.
"But how could he possibly know that we're trying to unlock the Sacred Stars so I can become invincible!"
"The way you're yelling it, I'm surprised he doesn't know already..." One muttered.
At the Bowser stomped the floor furiously, causing it to shudder and shake, and finally, collapse beneath them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Location: Vice Ship
Atmosphere Zone
Sonic's Universe
The Master Emerald sat in the center of hundreds mechanical devices, all flashing and blinking, and shooting out sparks every now and then.
The soldiers kept guard on it from afar, careful not to get too close to the giant crystal, lest it turn them into a pile of smoking cinders.
The gold-clad Captain stated at it for a moment, seemingly admiring it, before nodding in satisfaction.
"Is it ready?" He asked the nearest soldier.
"Yes, sir. Everything is going exactly as planned," a glasses-wearing minion replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" The Captain said almost happily. "Activate it."
With a series of pulling levers and pushing buttons, the devices surrounding the Master Emerald began to gain momentum and power. The Emerald began to release a blinding light which engulfed the ship within moments.
The golden Captain spread his arms, basking in the Emerald's power.
"Now..." he whispered to himself, "I will find my destiny."
The ship began to shudder and shake, the light consuming it faster and faster, until a great flash of light took it altogether.
Emerald Beach
City Zone
A certain red echidna had recently washed upon the shore, silently sampling the sand where he lay. His sand-tasting was interrupted, however, by the prodding of a familiar red shoe, belonging to a familiar blue hedgehog.
"Hey, you okay?"
The familiar voice roused the sleeping guardian, and he quickly spat out the accumulated beach in his mouth. He looked up to find himself in the shadow a familiar figure...
Sonic the Hedgehog stood before him, a pair of sunglasses lifted up just enough to see the fallen warrior, a drink in his left hand, and a look that told Knuckles that the blue blur had just been roused himself. Out of the corner of his eye, Knuckles could see a hammock and umbrella where he assumed the hedgehog had just been napping.
"S-Sonic..." Knuckles began, pulling himself up and wringing the sand out of his spikes. "Where am I...?"
"Emerald Beach, of course," Sonic replied, jerking a thumb towards. "I think the real question is why are you here?"
He calmly took a sip of his drink and examined his battered ally.
"You don't look too good. What happened?"
"I..." Knuckles tried to gather his thoughts. "I don't remember..."
He knocked himself on the head a few times, as if it would somehow restore his memories.
"I think..." He muttered, as it started coming back to him. "It was..."
However, a cry from Sonic's constant companion broke his thoughts.
"Sonic!" Tails cried, dashing towards the two as fast as he could, carrying a large tablet-like device under his arm.
"What's up Tails?" Sonic asked, forgetting Knuckles for a moment.
"Bad news!" The twin-tailed fox said upon reaching them. "It's- Oh, Knuckles, you're alright! I was pretty worried, considering what happened and all."
"Huh?" Both responded simultaneously.
Tails held up the device he was carrying, a handheld computer, to show the crumbling Angel Island falling from the sky.
"What in the-!" As Sonic stared at the monitor in disbelief, the memories suddenly jolted back to Knuckles like a sudden shock.
"The Emerald!" He cried, suddenly realizing the severity of the situation. "They took it! It's gone!"
Sonic quickly turned to his red companion with a look of seriousness in his eyes.
"Knuckles, what happened! Who took the Master Emerald?"
"They came in a battleship..." He said, as a glazed look came over his eyes, like a war veteran recalling a battle. "A flying battleship... Then the soldiers came... and the footsteps... the man in gold... I tried to stop them..."
The image of the Golden Captain's piercing eye returned to him, and a chill ran through his entire being.
"I couldn't stop them..." He murmured, falling to his knees. "No one can stop them..."
"Knuckles!" Sonic shook his friend, the slightest hint of desperation slipping into his normally laid-back tone. "Come on, snap out of it!"
Tails began to quickly tap away at his computer, trying to find any record of a flying battleship or a golden man.
"He was too strong," Knuckles continued, seemingly having slipped into a trance. "I hit him with all my might... and he just tossed me aside like a rag-doll..."
As Sonic tried in vain to revive his injured ally, and Tails looked through the files on his computer, a sudden pulse of energy surged through the air. The sudden burst of power shocked Knuckles out of his trance, and all eyes were fixated upon a great light in the air.
This feeling... Knuckles remembered the similar sensation he had felt as the battleship had first appeared.
"Tails, what is that!" Sonic demanded, turning to his friend, who was busily fiddling with his device.
"I-I'm not sure, but the energy signature seems to be that of dimensional travel..." Tails responded.
"Dimensional...?" Sonic stared at the blinding light, wondering what was about to happen. Just in case, he dug his feet into the ground and clenched his fists tightly.
"This is..." Knuckles said, glaring at the light as if it were his hated enemy, "This is the same thing that happened just before the battleship appeared... Only ten times stronger..."
"So, this 'golden man' is coming to face us, then," Sonic said, cracking his knuckles.
"Actually, Sonic," Tails said, his eyes still on the computer, "The dimensional energy is leaving. Whatever is making that energy is going into a different dimension entirely!"
"How are they doing this?" Sonic asked, still staring down the dimensional light, which had not yet begun to fade.
"The Master Emerald," Knuckles muttered, "They must have used it... That's why they took it, isn't it?"
"I'd say that's a very likely possibility," Tails replied. "The Master Emerald could be used to create a dimensional hole in order to transport into a different dimension."
"Then what are we standing around here for!" Sonic said, turning away from the light. "Let's get going!"
"Going?" Tails asked. "Where?"
"Where else?" The blue hedgehog jerked a thumb at the glowing light. "If we hurry, we can follow them, and get back the Master Emerald, right?"
"Oh, yeah!" Tails said. "I'll go prep the Tornado!"
"No..." Knuckles shook his head. "It's no use."
"What are you saying, Knuckles?" Sonic asked. "You're the Emerald's guardian!"
"No..." Knuckles repeated. "I failed... I... I'm not strong enough..."
"Stop saying that!" Sonic shook his red friend again. "Come on, we don't know how much longer that portal's going to be open for! We've got to move if we want to get the Master Emerald back!"
"You get it," Knuckles said, shoving away his friend. "You're the hero."
"S-Sonic, not to interrupt, but..." Tails said meekly, "According to my calculations, we've only got about ten minutes before that portal closes."
Sonic clenched his teeth. "Knuckles..."
But seeing that his friend had already started to walk away, Sonic turned and began to walk away.
"Knuckles," He said without looking back, "If you want to stay here, and wallow in your own self-pity, that's your choice. I don't know who will be on that ship, the other side of that portal, or even where it leads, but I do know one thing: we're going to save the Emerald, with or without you."
Knuckles just kept on walking.
"So!" Sonic said, with a final glance towards his red comrade, the fallen guardian, "Just be ready for when we get back!"
Knuckles paused for a moment, then continued to walk off into the distance.
"Sonic..." Tails said, "The Tornado is ready..."
Sonic nodded and followed his twin-tailed friend to their trusty aircraft.
Whoever stole the Master Emerald, and hurt Knuckles... Sonic thought, his eyes blazing with determination.
I'll make them regret ever coming to this universe!
And, that's Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed it, I'll try to get more to Mario's story later.
This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it to make the story flow better. The next chapter will focus on Sonic's
inner demons, and what he will have to face during this story. I plan on bringing in some inner turmoil to Mario too, so that the two will have
to work together not only to overcome the enemy, but to overcome their own darkness.
Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review and tell me how I can improve!