Chapter 3 – Dream Team

Inside his chamber, Doctor Eggman was waiting for the report from his robot troops. He was aware of the commotion that transpired, and he could only wonder who would be so foolish enough to infiltrate his hideout. Soon, Sharkinator entered the chamber to give Eggman the updates.

"Sir, it seems that we have some intruders," he began. "And I believe it's…"

"I know we had some intruders!" growled Eggman. "The one thing I want to know is, who was it?"

"I was just about to reveal that," replied Sharkinator. "The intruder was none other than the hedgehog himself and some of his accomplices."

"So, Sonic has finally figured out where I am," said Eggman. "Well, at least I know where those miserable dragons reside in, but something tells me that they're affiliated with some rebel organisation."

"We may not have captured the hedgehog," continued Sharkinator. "But we have managed to capture one of the collaborators involved."

"Excellent work," replied Eggman. "Perhaps whoever it is can give us a lead. Bring in the prisoner!"

Sharkinator clapped his hands and two Egg Knights arrived in the room, both holding Bowser by the arm. He was also chained so there was no way he could be able to escape. The two Egg Knights pushed the Koopa forward, and he was face to face with Eggman.

"You must be Bowser," said Eggman.

"This will get you nowhere, doc!" snarled Bowser as he eyed Eggman disdainfully. "You really are going to regret this once my friends come back!"

Eggman sneered at Bowser. "Oh, really?" he asked. "I have doubts that they will be able to help you since I have been alerted by their presence. As much as I know where their village is thanks to the information given by my Robot Masters, I am aware that they must be part of a bigger organisation, one dedicated to restoring peace and freedom to the world. Now tell me, where are they?"

"I refuse to say a word, Eggman!" growled Bowser.

"You're so brave, yet you're so foolish," said Eggman. "But seeing how strong and mighty you are, Bowser, I believe you'll make a great asset to my entourage, which of course means you're going to be roboticised. Robots! Throw him in the prison cell! I shall deal with him later."

Bowser gulped when he realised his fate. He could only look back helplessly as the Egg Knights hauled him off to the detention block.

Or maybe for the time being, I can use him as bait to lure his friends into a trap, thought Eggman. Yes, that would really do, and finally there will be no meddling fools to foil my evil plans for world domination!

"So Eggman has captured Bowser," said Sonic grimly.

The team attempted to go back inside Eggman's laboratory earlier on, but since they were discovered and were pursued by a troop of robots, they had no other choice but to flee from Alaska and return to the dragon village in Japan. Although everyone tried to figure out a plan to rescue Bowser, Draco was distraught over what had happened.

Cynder noticed this. "Cheer up, Draco," she said. "At least Bowser did it just so that we could be able to escape from Eggman's robot, and we'll try to find a way to rescue him."

"I can't believe they caught him," said Draco slowly. "Given what we have learned from Eggman, there's no telling what he could do to Bowser. What if they have converted him into a robot? I just can't bear the thought of losing him as he's the closest thing I have to a brother, right after Darky."

Lily stood by next to Draco, comforting him as she could see tears in his eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself, Draco," said Jakkin. "They said they'll get Bowser back, one way or another."

"At least you still have me, big brother," added Darky as he held on to the Charizard's arm.

"I'm really sorry for sneezing, you guys," said Percival. "I feel responsible for the failed mission back there."

"Don't feel bad, Percival," said Sonic. "It wasn't your fault. Anyone can succumb to such extreme weather conditions."

"Unfortunate things happen to all of us buddy," said Charonus. "Don't beat yourself up."

"Hey dudes!" called a familiar voice. "I see that all of you are in a glum mood."

The Nightriders were standing at the village entrance, and they have heard everything. Torden was delighted to see his favourite again. "Axl!" he exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise to see you here at this hour!"

"We thought of paying you guys a visit, and then we heard about your situation," said Axl as he shook Torden's hand. "I take it that someone close to you has been held captive by this Doctor Eggman guy, is that right?"

"Yes," said Draco. "We went to Alaska in an attempt to get the Chaos Emeralds from him, but an unfortunate incident occurred that blew our cover, and Bowser ended up getting caught when he distracted the robots from chasing after us."

"That was really brave and selfless of Bowser to make that move so that all of you would escape safely," said Lonnie. "Of course, the band and I got acquainted with him the day we first met you guys, and I could tell he is a cool guy."

Lily noticed that there was only Iggy, Lonnie and Rolf accompanying Axl. "Hey, where are the rest of your bandmates?" she asked.

"They're currently at Kyoto taking care of some dealings with the Anthro League," replied Iggy. "You guys can come with us and meet up with them later."

"Oh, boy, I'd love that!" said Lily.

"Well, anyway," said Torden. "The team and I are now trying to figure out a plan to save him, because for all we know, Eggman's got him and it's only a matter of time until he roboticises him. Draco's really worried about that."

"Tell you what," said Axl. "Maybe the band and I can help out. We may be musicians, but we're also heroes striving for peace and freedom."

"You can help us?" asked Draco.

"Indeed we can, Draco," said Rolf. "Iggy, Lonnie, Axl and I go around fighting crime and evil aside from hosting our concerts, so whenever we see anyone in distress, we feel that drive to do whatever it takes to help them."

Torden was delighted. "That will make it the perfect opportunity for you guys to hang out with us for a while!" he said. "So come on! Let's go rescue Bowser!"

"Hold on a second, Torden," said Sonic. "We can't be able to fit all the Nightriders in Tails' Tornado. It would be better if two of them were to accompany us on the rescue mission."

"I think I'm going to skip out on this," said Blaze. "After that failed mission, I feel that I could do with a rest, especially since I'm still not in the right condition to fight Eggman and his robot army."

"Me too," said Cynder. "As much as I love the cold weather, I need to rest my wings from all that flying."

"I'm going to stay here too," said Percival. "I don't want to accidentally make another repeat of the failed mission. Alaska's just freezing cold."

"You know, I've made up my mind on who will go," said Torden. "I'm only going to take one of my dragon group members, and since Draco is very close to Bowser, I'll be choosing him."

Draco was stunned. "Really, you mean that?"

"Of course, I do, buddy," smiled Torden. "You'll at least have my back should things get very dodgy over there."

"Thanks, Torden," said Draco, feeling somewhat happier. "I'm glad we're in this together."

"Sounds good enough to me," said Jakkin. "I really can't go anyway since I have my own work to do in my hut."

"Same with me," said Lily. "Fighting's not really my kind of thing, but love and laughter is."

"That settles the dragons," said Sonic. "Now we need to see which of you Nightriders will be going."

"Well, I'll be going with you, so all that's left is seeing who I will pick," said Axl. He looked at his band members and considered his decision carefully. Let's see, he thought to himself. Maybe not Rolf cause he's way too serious and critical, and as for Iggy, he goofs off a lot like Brutus, which often gets him into trouble. I guess that leaves me with… "Lonnie!" he spoke all of a sudden.

"Me?" asked Lonnie in bewilderment.

"Yes, you," said Axl. "You're just the right guy for the task we have at hand. What do you say to that?"

Lonnie thought deeply about it before finally smiling. "Okay then!" he beamed.

"Perfect," smiled Axl. "Now we're ready."

"Okay then," said Sonic. "I think we should all now put each other in two separate teams so we can have one that will rescue Bowser and another to distract the robots. Tails, Draco, and Lonnie, I think you guys should be right working with each other, so we'll make you Team B, and I'll form a small team with Torden and Axl, and we'll be Team A."

"I'm coming with you too," said Charonus. "And I'll be joining Team A."

"Alright, that sounds fine," said Tails. "So we'll be having two Charizards with us."

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Draco happily. "I'm going to be with Lonnie and Tails! This is just like being in a dream team!"

"I had a feeling you'll be happy about working alongside with me, Draco," laughed Lonnie. "You sure had taken quite a liking to me since we met."

"Yes, Lonnie," smiled Draco. "You seem like a fun, nice, humorous, and cool member of the Nightriders, which makes you somebody whose presence I'd like to be around when it comes to going on adventures and stuff."

"Oh, my," giggled Lonnie as he blushed.

"Right then," said Sonic. "Time we do this! Team A and Team B, let's go kick some Eggman butt!"

Everyone cheered for the six heroes as they readied themselves to return to Alaska and save Bowser from Doctor Eggman.

Author's Note: Now Torden, Draco, Charonus, Axl, Lonnie, Sonic and Tails are set for a rescue mission? Will they succeed in rescuing Bowser from his predicament? Let's hope so!