Werewolf99: Anything more than a minor role still feels like cheapening them to me. Besides, I don't even HAVE any characters, so I couldn't really do it anyway. Making up my own characters based on a pre-existing setting never really appealed to me.
Now it's the second day after the Festival of the Sun – Sonic and co don't have long to save the world, but… Well, I'm sure they'll manage.
This is the longest chapter so far, because EVERYONE is here at once. Well, not quite everyone – A few characters are off somewhere else. But there's more here than anywhere else.
Chapter 16 (Radical Train, Shadow VS Silver)
Sonic, Mario, and Knuckles came out of a portal in the middle of Soleanna Castle Town, Sonic and Mario landing gracefully and Knuckles… Less so.
"Ugh… At least I didn't hit my head this time," Knuckles said as he picked himself up. "Hey… Uh… Where are Shadow, Rouge, Tails, and Luigi?"
"Luigi and Tails can take care of themselves," Mario said.
"So can the other two," Sonic added. "Wherever they are, they can handle it."
"I suppose you're right," Knuckles agreed.
"Yeah. They're fine, for sure," Mario said. "But we need to find out where Elise is, and whether or not it's tomorrow yet. Let's-a-go, and save the world!"
The three ran off to gather information about Elise's whereabouts.
Not two minutes after they were out of sight, Shadow and Omega emerged from another portal in the same location.
"YOUR SHADOW HAS FLED. I WILL ASSIST IN THE PURSUIT AND SUBSEQUENT ANHILLATION OF HIM."
"Yoshi help too! Need find Mario and Luigi anyway…"
"You're friends with those two?" Shadow asked.
"Yoshi Mario's best friend," Yoshi said proudly. "Help on adventures all time!"
"… Well, then I'll be honored to let you come along," Shadow said. "I have… Some amount of respect for Mario, even though I do not understand him."
"WE SHOULD FIND ROUGE," Omega said. "SHE WILL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHERE TO GO. SHE IS CURRENTLY IN THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT."
"Yoshi know where that is," Yoshi said, dashing off at top speed.
Shadow and Omega were able to keep up, though, Shadow by simple virtue of his supersonic hoverskates, and Omega by his thrusters. It took no time at all for them to reach the warehouse district, where Rouge was snooping around looking for a way inside a warehouse. She looked up from her snooping, noticing them.
"Hi there! Glad to see you're back. Shadow, Omega, and… Are you one of Mario's friends?"
Yoshi nodded. "Yoshi!"
"Well, then, Yoshi. Back to the matter at hand – Shadow, Dr. Eggman has been searching for you since we disappeared yesterday. But, since you haven't been here since then, I can't imagine why he's looking for you."
"They're probably searching for Mephiles," Shadow said. "He referred to Iblis as his 'other half' while I was in the future. Judging by Eggman's past schemes, he likely wishes to unleash the Iblis of the present. I believe, however, that I should ask the good doctor myself."
"WITH VIOLENCE?" Omega asked eagerly.
"If necessary. But you aren't coming. I want you to try and track down Mephiles. See what he's up to." And with that, Shadow dashed off.
"He finally comes back, and then he leaves without even saying hello," Rouge said.
"THAT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN USUAL."
"I know… Anyway, Yoshi, why were you with – Oh come on!" Yoshi had dashed off after Shadow, leaving Rouge and Omega in his dust.
Rouge raised her wrist communicator to her mouth. "Hello? GUN HQ? I need some information, on an item called the Scepter of Darkness, the same I retrieved recently."
Shadow did notice Yoshi following him, but he didn't really care. What the reptile did wasn't his concern. Now, he just had to figure out where Dr. Eggman was going. He was wondering how he'd do that, when he saw Sonic and Mario dashing off towards Soleanna's train station, while Knuckles fell back, panting.
Deciding that that was probably a good lead, Shadow followed after them, ignoring Knuckles' complaint of "Why do they – keep running – ahead – can't go five hundred…" Yoshi stopped and gave Knuckles a fruit to help him feel better, before rushing off after Shadow again.
"… I get the feeling something big is going down," Knuckles said, as he munched on the giant berry Yoshi had pulled out of… Wherever it was they kept things, Knuckles had never really thought about it much. It was actually helping a lot in making him feel more energized. "… Let's see if I can figure anything out while they're in the action."
On the way back from White Acropolis, Silver had managed to find an odd glowing blue jewel in the snow. He decided to keep it, for luck, and because it was somewhat pretty. He didn't bother telling Daisy about it.
Daisy had managed to recover from her battle last night quite easily, and now she and Silver were looking for clues as to where Sonic could have gone. Silver would've liked to do it sooner, but Daisy had insisted on practicing her new technique until she could master it. She hadn't been able to do much until Silver suggested she use the rings that were scattered everywhere, and she'd found that as long as she had some of them, she could use it endlessly, until she burned through all the rings' energy.
"You're sure that fighting him is the answer?" Daisy asked, as they walked through castle town.
"No," Silver admitted. "But if it's not, he probably has the answers. Now, if only we knew where…" Suddenly, Silver stopped, seeing a familiar face. "Mephiles!" He ran over to the black hedgehog with teal stripes.
"Silver," Mephiles greeted plainly. "The Iblis Trigger still lives."
"I know, I know," Silver said. "He had some strong allies, like this man wearing red that-"
Mephiles growled.
"Uh… Anyway… Just who is he? How does he end the world?"
"Does it even matter?" Mephiles asked. "What is one life, compared to billions? He can be found at the train station. Do not fail this time." He skated off, leaving Silver and Daisy alone.
"… Silver, I need to tell you something," Daisy said. "I don't think he can be trusted. A… Friend, I guess you could say, of mine, said he saw someone who looks like him come out of a dark artifact."
"Don't be silly," Silver said. "That sort of thing doesn't really happen. Come on, we've got a blue hedgehog to take care of." He ran off to look for the train station, and Daisy sighed before following.
Wario, I swear on the stars… If you're wrong about this kid…
"I should've known I couldn't get rid of you forever!" Dr. Eggman's voice shouted, seeming to be all over the canyon that the train rails were in and over. "But no matter. Why chase after me, when you could instead save that train full of innocent passengers barreling through the canyon straight towards a bomb? I think the choice is clear to you."
Sonic didn't even bother letting Eggman finish before he blasted through the sound barrier, taking off after the train. Mario took off as well, but not having Sonic's speed, he was forced to keep up by using his agility to make himself a shorter path. And, of course, they were slowed down by Eggman's robots on the way.
"This is a new low!" Mario yelled as he hopped, skipped, and jumped his way past obstacles. "I mean, putting innocents in danger? Is this something Eggman usually does?"
"Sometimes!" Sonic yelled back, as a row of robots was taken out by a seven hundred miles per hour sliding kick. "But never like this!"
Mario landed next to Sonic, grabbing his hand and dashing forwards towards the edge of a platform. He made a huge jump, closing a lot of the distance between them and the train.
"I only hope we manage to get ahead of it before the bomb gets there," Sonic said.
Shadow had also heard Eggman's message, but had chosen a different path. Instead of chasing the passenger train, as he was sure that would be Sonic's choice, he chased Eggman's train. The path he took was significantly less winding than Sonic's, though the train was also significantly faster. He and Yoshi were still able to catch up to the train, though.
"Shadow?!" Eggman asked in surprise. "And some green dino?"
"Dragon," a staticy, growly, voice corrected Eggman. "He's a dragon. Hurry up and get here! I've got a lock on another Emerald!"
Shadow and Yoshi attacked Eggman's train with Chaos Spears and Egg Rolls. "Gah! Stupid… Bowser, I've got some issues to deal with. I'll speak with you later." Suddenly, missile launchers came out of the side of the train and started shooting at the two chasers. Yoshi just ate them, and sent them right back as exploding eggs.
"Eggman!" Shadow yelled. "Why are you looking for Mephiles?"
"What's it to you?" was Eggman's reply. "It's not like you can do anything about it, anyway."
Shadow shot another Chaos Spear at the train, damaging it further.
"It's my business," Shadow said. "Now, tell me!"
"Ask all you want," Eggman said, not even concerned over the damage his train had taken. "It's not going to help you anyway."
Daisy was, frankly, bored. And worried – Silver still wouldn't listen to reason, almost as if he had never doubted Mephiles. He thought what she said was ridiculous, despite coming from the future himself.
There really was nothing to do here – Smash some killer robots, defeat some of Bowser's minions, and let Silver move things around with his Psychokinesis so they could check absolutely everywhere. While he was doing this, Dasiy decided it was high time to ask him again.
"Look, Silver. Sonic – The Iblis Trigger, as you say – I've heard a bit about him, even though I've never met him. He's supposed to be a hero, he's saved the world a few times."
"But he caused the end of the world! It could've been a ruse!" Silver argued, as he moved a crane to reach another area.
"Or maybe the trigger is his failure, and we've got to make sure he doesn't die," Daisy said. "Did you even think of that?"
"Then why would Mephiles send us here?" Silver asked, though he was sounding a bit doubtful. "He's got to have a reason."
"I don't know," Daisy said. "But I don't think he's trustworthy."
Shadow continued to chase after Eggman's train, doing more and more damage. He'd almost managed to completely destroy the train, but Eggman wasn't bothered. He was just sitting in his Eggmobile at the front, Soleanna's princess held captive, and calmly waiting for something.
"What are you playing at, doctor?" Shadow asked. "What's your goal this time?"
"My goal is unchanged, Shadow. I am merely using another method. Now, if you'll excuse me, my stop is coming up." Eggman pushed a button on his Eggmobile's console, causing it to eject from the train and said train to blow up in Shadow's and Yoshi's faces. Coughing, Shadow looked up to see the Eggmobile floating down into another train on a track just too far for either him or Yoshi to jump to, which as soon as it landed took off with a boom and a shockwave that knocked Yoshi off his feet again.
Twenty feet. The train was twenty feet away from the bomb as they finally managed to pull in front of it. At the very last second, Mario managed to grab the bomb and throw it into the abyss below, as Sonic zoomed past, pulling him out of the train's path.
"Whew," Sonic said, wiping his brow. "That was a close one! I'm glad everyone is okay. Now, let's get to cracking the Egghead wide open. Where's he-"
On the other track that ran right next to the strip of land Sonic had tackled Mario onto, a train with Eggman's insignia zipped past – So fast that Mario could hardly see it, but Sonic could.
"Elise is probably on that train!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing Mario's wrist. "Hang on, Mario. This is gonna get really bumpy, and REALLY fast." Sonic took off, blasting through the sound barrier in a second. Mario was amazed at how fast they were going – He'd never gone this fast before, not even once. And, to his surprise, Sonic was still speeding up, catching up to the train. The ground blurred below them, and Mario couldn't make out anything nearby. All the sounds he could manage to make out sounded like they'd been put through a blender, they were so jumbled together.
Another couple of seconds, and Sonic was blasting through the canyon at his top speed – Easily three times as fast as Mario himself could run, his feet only touching the ground once every ten feet or so. Any obstacles in their way were obliterated as Sonic blasted through them, robots, boulders, and unused railway cars alike.
In about ten seconds, it was over – Sonic hit the train moving at Mach 2, blasting through all the cars and grabbing Elise on the way through.
Sonic skidded to a halt, stopping nearly a mile past where he'd blasted through the train, and let Mario and Elise down.
"You guys came for me!" Elise exclaimed. "I knew you would! Thank you."
"You're welcome," Mario said. "But it's Sonic you should be thanking right now – He's the one who caught up to that train. I couldn't have done that."
"Heh, yeah, but don't sell yourself short, Mario," Sonic said. "I can't jump like you can."
"Well, thanks, but-" Mario suddenly tackled Sonic to the ground, helping him avoid a blast of blue energy.
Silver was standing not twenty feet away from where they'd stopped, holding his hand out at them.
"You again!" Sonic exclaimed. "What's your deal, anyway?"
"The Iblis trigger must die!" Silver yelled. "This time, there will be no interruptions!" He grabbed Mario and Sonic in his psychic hold, lifting them up. "And I'm not making the mistake of underestimating you again!"
While Mario and Sonic were preoccupied, Eggman zoomed past in his Eggmobile and kidnapped Elise again.
"So long, Sonic!" Eggman yelled. "I'll leave you to him! But Elise is an integral part of my plans!"
"Elise!" Sonic yelled, but Silver tightened his hold on them.
"NO INTERRUPTIONS! It's time to end this!"
Before Silver got a chance, Shadow and Yoshi dropped in front of him, blocking Mario and Sonic from his view. Shadow's appearance surprised Silver – He actually believed him to be Mephiles at first.
"Mephiles! Why are you helping him?"
"I am not Mephiles," Shadow said. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I believe you have been led astray."
Yoshi pulled Mario onto his back, motioning for Sonic to follow them away while Silver was distracted.
"You too? First Daisy, and now some person I've never met? Does everyone want the world to end?!" Silver yelled. "I'll stop you too!"
Silver blasted Shadow with a psychic knife, which Shadow was able to dissipate by countering with Chaos Spear. Silver snapped his fingers, disappearing and reappearing behind Shadow. Shadow sensed him, though, and countered with a roundhouse kick to Silver's head.
Silver was flung backwards, but managed to catch himself in time before teleporting away again.
How is he doing that? Shadow asked himself. That's NOT Chaos Control. Ten seconds later, Silver reappeared, holding a gigantic ball of barrels, boulders, and assorted rubble above Shadow. Shadow reacted quickly, using Chaos Control to freeze time and move out of the way before the ball crushed him. While time was still frozen, he hopped on top of the ball and initiated a Homing Attack at Silver – He slammed the white hedgehog down into his own ball of trash just before time unfroze.
Silver groaned, but was still able to teleport away before Shadow could attack him again. Silver reappeared above Shadow, slamming to the ground with his Psycho Shock attack. Shadow was stunned by the attack, and Silver, instead of attacking again, decided it was high time for some answers. He grabbed Shadow in his psychic hold, and brought him into the air.
"Why are you aiding the Iblis Trigger!" Silver yelled.
"Why are you aiding Mephiles? He's the one who truly destroyed your world!" Shadow yelled back. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow teleported himself behind Silver, and kicked the hedgehog in the back of the head. "That was Chaos Control. So long as I have a Chaos Emerald, I can warp time and space to my will. There's no way you can break free. Now, are you going to come onto the right side, or not!"
"I AM ON THE RIGHT SIDE!" Silver yelled as he got up, his raised voice betraying a bit of doubt. He took out the blue Chaos Emerald, to Shadow's surprise.
Shadow rushed forward with his own emerald "Chaos-"
"Chaos-" Silver began.
"CONTROL!" both yelled, as they met each other. Just as before, a rift opened in between them. Shadow was stunned, though not quite so literally this time.
"… Just who are you?" Shadow asked. "You initiated Chaos Control."
"So did you!" Silver yelled back. "So what?!"
"Very few are capable of using those powers."
"I don't care! I'll change the past, and save the world from Sonic!"
"I told you, it's Mephiles we need to worry about," Shadow said. "Look. This all started ten years ago. If you need proof of what happened, follow me into the portal. We'll go see what really happened. Then, you can decide which side you're really on."
"… Fine," Silver said, snarling. "I'll go. But you're wrong, I know it!" Shadow and Silver jumped into the rift, which closed behind them.
One of the two figures hiding in the shadows spoke to the other.
"Told ya he was important," Wario said to Daisy. "And, thank you for your part."
"I didn't manage to succeed in changing his mind…" Daisy said.
"Nah, but he's stubborn. You made him doubt. I think that'll be enough," Wario said.
"It better be," Daisy said, grumpily. "What's your goal, anyway?"
"I'm saving the world," Wario said, holding up his red Chaos Emerald. "If there's no world, there will be no treasure to hunt."
"Of course. Well, Mr. 'I'm only in this for the money and I totally don't actually care about my rival's wellbeing', what do you want me to do next?"
"… Not sure. For now, though, meet up with DK and Diddy. Tell them I've got some bananas for their good work of clearing out that jungle. I'm going to try and get more information, and maybe some more help, if I can find Waluigi." Wario held up his Emerald. "CHAOS CONTROL!"