Chapter 4: Chaos Control

It was quite a surprise to see Sonic and Shadow, seeing as they had appeared from nowhere. However, Sonic was simply grinning like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"How did you…" Link began, but Sonic cut him off.

"A little thing called 'Chaos Control'. With it, Shadow and I can travel dimensions without even lifting a finger." Sonic explained. "Isn't that right, Shadow?"

Shadow didn't answer. His eyes were stuck on Zelda and so wide, Sonic could have sworn they would have dried out. Zelda was a lot bigger than Shadow last remembered her. Sonic knew what his black counterpart was thinking about and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Shadow. But for them, time went on quicker than we imagined." Sonic apologized, but Shadow simply brushed Sonic's hand off and skulked off.

Link tried to go after him, but Sonic stopped him.

"Let him go. He just needs to recollect himself." Sonic said in a much wiser tone than he normally used.

"So, what did you come here for?" Link asked.

"Well," Sonic said, "As I was looking through a telescope, I saw a comet streaking through the sky. I noticed it was going the exact same direction you and Fox came from, so I took it was going to Hyrule. What was weird about the comet was that it was…alive."

"You mean that 'comet' that turned into something called a Dragonoid?" Fox asked, coming into the picture.

"WHAT?!" Sonic asked in confusion, "The comet hit here and turned into WHAT?"

"After that comet struck here, it turned out to be a living creature that referred to itself as a 'Dragonoid'. Does that ring a bell?" Fox said, obviously wanting information.

"No." Sonic answered, "But what happened when it arrived here?"

Zelda walked into the conversation and answered, apparently still in shock.

"First, it revealed itself as a black dragon by the name of Ryu. Then, he released Ganon and asked him to give him the triforce." Zelda told him.

"Ganon? You mean that guy Concolor planned to release?" Sonic asked.

Zelda nodded and continued.

"When Ganon refused, Ryu fought him and walked out without a scratch. After he took Ganon's piece of the Triforce, he took mine as well as Link's. Strangely, he didn't even bother using its power to grant its owner a wish. He just took it and flew off."

Sonic dipped his head in thought and a solemn look crossed his normally cocky face.

"I've never heard of this guy. But given his choice, I'd say he's not exactly friendly if he simply took your triforce without question. We must stop him!" Sonic said, his fist held in front of him.

"I suppose we have to go now, huh?" Link asked, changing the subject.

Sonic nodded and gathered the emeralds; a sign that it was time for another adventure through the dimensions. Link was prepared, but now wasn't exactly the time he wanted to go. He had a family, but he decided that a safe universe for his family to live in was more important than staying home.

They hadn't gone two steps when a deep red portal opened up and a strange dragon creature came out. It was tall enough to look Fox in the eye and the Star Fox leader fell back at the sight. The dragon was humanoid like Ryu, but nowhere near as big…or ugly for that matter. The creature had what appeared to be a small rhino horn on its nose and a pair of fangs jutted from his upper jaw like a saber-tooth cat. It let out a loud, grating noise, a screech that sounded worse than nails on a chalkboard. It was, as far as Fox could see, a kind of scout or soldier.

"WHAT THE?!" Falco yelled in surprise.

The creature flipped into the air, producing a large sword in the process and went into a spin like a saw blade. Falco practically tackled Link to the ground trying to dodge the attack. The dragon tried again, but Sonic's red boot found its way to the creature's jaw in a flying kick. The dragon snarled, wrapped its claws around Sonic's head, and threw him a good six feet away. It then opened its mouth and let loose, not a screech, but a jet of fire. Zelda didn't have time to get away, because she tripped and she awaited her fiery death. Shadow heard the whole thing and quickly teleported to Zelda, grabbed her, and teleported to safety.

He then put her somewhere safe and said, "Stay here."

The dragon tried a hacking slash at Slippy, but the frog jumped and the blade scraped the soles of his shoes. The dragon forgot about the frog and took a good look at Krystal before emitting its fire breath. Shadow raced in front of the blue fox and put his hands forward, his palms facing up. The fire splashed harmlessly off, allowing Shadow to grab Krystal and teleported her to where Zelda was.

The dragon flew spun through the air like a dancer and planted a kick into Falco's side. However, the minute he landed, Fox was there to meet him with a flying kick. The dragon fell on his back, but then got up and performed a sweep with its tail. Fox fell to the ground and the creature towered over him. He then spoke for the first and last time.

"Now, no one will stop Lord Ryu!" It growled as it raised its blade.

Suddenly, all the air went out of the dragon's lungs and it fell backward with a hole in its stomach. Fox looked to see Shadow with a glowing energy spear in his hand. He then dispelled it and put his hand down.

"I'm NOT going to let you die, Fox." Shadow said.

The black hedgehog then went off and helped Sonic back to his feet. Sonic grinned and then pointed something out.

"Hey, Shadow. You saved Zelda." He said, with a positive attitude.

"That's enough. You and Link have to go." Shadow said as he looked Sonic in the eye.

Sonic, confused, asked, "Shadow, aren't you coming?"

Shadow simply said, "I'll stay here and keep Zelda safe."

Zelda was touched by these words and actually placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"Thank you, Shadow." She said, in a quiet voice.

Shadow closed his eyes like you would when you have a painful memory. He then opened his eyes to see the rest of the Star Fox team with him.

"We'll stay here with Zelda in case more of those creatures show up." Fox said in a very determined tone.

"Besides, someone needs to be here when the babies arrive." Peppy said, having a point.

Link shook the tears out of his eyes and turned to Sonic.

"Ready for Chaos Control?" He asked.

Sonic nodded.

"Sure. I'll be ready in a minute or two. Just get what you need." Sonic said as he slowly began to charge energy.

Link thought and then went to his house for a few supplies. He got his bow and one thing he thought would come in handy: the Light Arrow. Then, he got an idea. If the Light Arrow wasn't enough, then he'd need something he used in his last adventure. He took out the green crystal that held the magic of Farore's Wind and clenched it in his fist. In less than a second, he was right behind the door of Time, the blade of Evil's Bane buried deep in the pedestal. He took it in both hands and took it out with a grunt. There was a small flash of blue light and then a flash of green and Link had finally vanished.

Link returned to Hyrule Field and Sonic took a good look at him. He then noticed that his sword was no longer the Gilded Sword he used to wield.

"Hey, Link, what's with your new blade?" Sonic asked, scratching his head.

"This sword will come in handy later. It might give us an edge in fighting the Dragonoids." Link filled in.

"Sounds reasonable. Now, let's get going." Sonic said as a yellow energy began to surround him.

Sonic closed his eyes as he took in the power of the Chaos Emeralds and turned to his Super form. He then grabbed Link's hand and focused hard.

"Chaos…CONTROL!" He said.

In a flash of rainbow lights, the hylian and the hedgehog were gone.

"Link…be careful." Zelda said as a single, silvery tear flowed down her cheek.