Chapter 29: Chaos in Mushroom Kingdom
Vector landed his ship in the Mushroom Kingdom and departed quickly. He ran as fast as he could and Espio and Charmy had to go as fast as they could to catch up with him.
"C'MON, GUYS! WE GOT A HEDGEHOG AND A HYLIAN TO FIND!" Vector shouted as he ran off.
"I think…Vector…is starting…to get smarter…for once." Espio panted.
"You…said it…Espio." Charmy also panted.
Vector and his crew ran so fast, they would've made Sonic proud and Vector trampled a Koopa Troopa while he was running. However, he paid no attention to him as he came across a shanty-looking place with a wooden sign that read "Welcome to Rogueport".
"Well, this isn't my idea of a vacation. Let's check the place out, boys." Vector said, as though he was a military general.
"You only said that because you've already checked everywhere." Espio commented.
"I don't care. We gotta find Link and Sonic before those lousy lizards get their grubby little hands on the last two key items." Vector quipped, grabbing Espio and Charmy by the arm and dragging them in.
Rogueport wasn't exactly the best place to be, but what choice did they have? Vector then got the crazy idea to open doors and ask if Link or Sonic was in there. Vector checked a market; no luck. Espio and Charmy opened the door to a room in an inn.
"Hey, Link! You in here?" Charmy called.
"Ah, this room's empty too." Espio said, closing the door.
Outside, Vector came across a burly Koopa Troopa and a fat, Mario-esque character with a yellow shirt and hat and purple trousers. He went up to these guys, wondering about how they'd respond.
"Pardon me, guys, but have any of you seen a green-clad elf thing and a blue hedgehog?" Vector asked.
The Koopa opened his mouth, but Wario beat him to Vector and said, "Why, no. I haven't."
"HEY! He was talking to ME!" The Koopa yelled.
"NO, he was talking to ME!" Wario said, turning on him.
They then began to box like Rock'em Sock'em Robots until Wario delivered an uppercut. The Koopa's neck elongated and the bell sounded for victory just like in those toy games.
"Wow. Rock'em Sock'em Turtles. I never thought I'd see the day…" Vector said as he backed away slowly.
After searching the whole town, Vector went up to one last person. It was none other than Bowser, but since he had never been here, he didn't know this guy was pure B-A-D.
"Excuse me, sir? We're looking for two people. Can you give us a hand?" Vector asked.
Bowser turned and said, "Sure. Why don't we talk it out at that bar over there?"
All three members of the Chaotix crew's eyes moved left and right uneasily until they all reached a decision.
"Uh…sure." They all said in unison.
The bar wasn't too bad, just a few tables and a Bob-omb serving the drinks. Bowser went up, ordered something, and a minute later, Bowser was holding a mug of some bubbling red liquid. It looked somewhat…toxic and Vector tried to guess what had barfed in there to make the drink.
"Koopa Beer: nectar of the turtles. Guaranteed to make you feel warm-blooded." Bowser said, offering it to Vector.
Vector's eyes shifted for a while. Then he gave a whistle and Espio and Charmy were there to meet him.
"Hey, guys, why don't you try this stuff?" Vector said, offering the red stuff to them.
"Sure." Charmy said, taking the stuff and chugging down half of it.
"Whatever, Vector." Espio said, gulping down the rest of it.
Nothing appeared to happen and Vector decided that it was safe to drink. He then began to pound the table in frustration.
"Hey, bartender! Where's mine?!" Vector shouted.
In just a few seconds, the bartender gave Vector some Koopa Beer and Vector chugged the whole thing down. For a while, nothing happened and Vector scratched his chin. Then he froze. After a few minutes, he put his hands on the sides of his face as his pupils widened, making him look like he was using a "puppy dog face". Then, all three members of the Chaotix crew were in the same position as Vector and they began to speak in higher versions of their own voices.
"The eensy-weensy spiduh went up the watuh thpout!" Vector sang in a very childish voice.
"Down came the wain and washed the spiduh out!" Espio continued.
"Up came the thun and dwied up all the wain!" Charmy finished.
The Chaotix crew then started to run around in circles really quickly, their eyes about as multicolored as the rainbow before they clunked heads and fell to the floor. Luckily, they were out of the Koopa Beer side effects. Vector's orange eyes locked onto Bowser and he only said three words.
"I hate you." Vector said, enviously.
Just then, Mario and Luigi burst in and saw the Chaotix on the ground with Bowser laughing his lungs out. They stormed in and helped the three to their feet before Mario slapped Bowser across the face.
"Bowser, don't tell me you were giving people Koopa Beer again." Mario scolded.
"I'm sorry…hahaha…It's just TOO FUN! HAHAHAHA!" Bowser said between laughs.
Mario and Luigi then proceeded to drag them out of the bar and helped them to their feet. Luigi stared in confusion, but Mario recognized them instantly.
"Vector? Espio? Charmy? What the heck are you doing here?" Mario asked, confused.
"You know these guys?" Luigi asked.
"Of course he does, greenie! We met when he went to another dimension with us." Vector filled him in.
"I gotta admit this place has some cool kiddie rides!" Charmy said, on top of something.
"Charmy, that's not a ride!" Espio said.
Charmy was riding on a Yoshi like a horse. Then, the green dinosaur got tired of the bee on him and turned to face him.
"Will you get off me?!" The Yoshi asked impatiently.
Charmy hopped off, looking a little bummed. Espio simply decided that the time to find Link and Sonic was now.
"By the way, Mario, have you seen Sonic or Link anywhere?" He asked.
"Oh, you mean those two guys we ran into at the castle courtyard. They just left after killing something called a Dragonoid." Luigi answered.
"THE DRAGONOIDS WERE HERE, TOO?!" Vector asked in surprise.
"Yes. We even killed it and took pictures, too." Mario answered, holding up a picture of the dead White Amphis.
"YOU KILLED A GENERAL?!" Espio asked, holding the picture up to his face.
"Yeah. Until a big black one took away the Crystal Stars. He said it was our 'key item' or something like that." Mario added.
Vector stood there, his mouth agape and his eyes as wide as dinner plates. For a few awkward moments, Vector just stood there until he broke the silence very suddenly.
"SORRY! GOTTA GO NOW!" Vector said, taking Espio and Charmy by the arms and racing back to their ship.
Along the way, they ran across Princess Peach and Vector stopped. He then spoke for the first and last time during this sprint.
"Nice outfit." Vector said before racing off.
Peach just stood there, wanting to punch that crocodile thing. However, she hadn't even moved when Vector already disappeared.
Next world, we find out what these creatures are REALLY up to! Stay tuned!