A/N: The chapter title isn't unique, but it's self-explanatory. I didn't know what else to name it. Either way, I hope you enjoy this one!
Disclaimer: I do not own Mario or Sonic, and probably never will. I only take credit for my OCs and the plot.
Chapter 22: Rescued
Location: Mystic Ruins
Rocco flew over to the Mystic Ruins, just in front of the train station, as he carried the captive in his hand. He landed softly as he was getting tired of both flying and the fox's yelling.
"We should be far enough from that stupid rodent," he thought to himself.
"Let me go! I said to let me go!" Tails demanded, squirming within his right hand.
Rocco turned to the struggling kit. "Yeah, you've been repeating that for the past fifteen minutes. Shut the hell up, will 'ya?"
"I won't shut up unless you release me or until Sonic shows up to kick your butt!"
"Like that blue rat is strong enough to defeat me or my master. He's nothing but an annoying pest. You know, kind of like how you're acting right now."
"Well you haven't seen what he's capable of. He's going to debunk everything that you just said."
"And how is he going to prove that you aren't annoying?"
"…Screw you, jerk! You know what I'm talking about!"
To this point, the minion still didn't know that the fox handed the Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, who hastened behind to catch up to him. The hedgehog was completely silent, holding back witty remarks to taunt in case the robot caught him following them. At least his fast feet caught up to the two as they landed near the train station.
Sonic was at the apex of the hill where their house stood. He sped down and hid behind a giant boulder. He peeked from behind as he saw Rocco demanding the fox to hand him the emeralds. While watching, he thought about how he was going to take down this jackwad.
"Alright, little one. When I release you from my fist, you are going to give the Emeralds my master desires. If you decide to refuse, then I shall terminate you. If you choose to run away, I will shoot you. Either way, I will make you perish if you do not listen to my commands."
Tails responded by spitting in his mechanical face. However, he wasn't fazed by it. "Like I would do that, buttface."
"You wanna play that kind of game, huh? If that's how you're going to take the bull by the horns, then I'll rip you a new one."
"What the hell are you talking about? That doesn't make any sense."
"Sense? I'll knock the senses out of you! Now shut up and give me the Emeralds!"
"Pfft! I've heard better comebacks from Sonic. At least he knows how to make someone go on the brink of exploding their head off. He's done that to Eggman numerous times, and they never get old." Sonic managed to hear his buddy's comment, making him smirk.
"ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO ME OR NOT, YOU STUPID LITTLE TWIT?! NOW I REPEAT! SHUT UP AND GIVE ME THE EMERALDS!"
"No… And I thought you were going to tell me to 'Shut Up and Dance'," Tails replied sarcastically.
"Urgh! The only one who's going to be dancing is me over your pathetic grave I'm gonna stuff you in! Chaos, you're so annoying!"
Tails squeezed his eyes shut and struggled in Rocco's hand when the robot started to clutch him tighter against his fur. "AAAAHHHHH! STOP IT!"
"NOT UNLESS YOU DO AND SAY WHAT YOU'RE TOLD!"
"What is this, Impractical Jokers?" (1)
"I'm not joking about anything! But the only thing that's a joke is you right now! NOW GIVE ME THE EMERALDS!"
"Never, Rocco! AUGHHHH!"
Tails screamed loudly when Rocco threatened him again, clenching his hand even tighter, harming the yellow kitsune. Sonic's eyes narrowed at the sight of his best friend getting hurt. Not only that, but it's taken him so long to realize that he was still in hiding when he should be kicking the robot's butt. So he leaned back as he was getting ready to dash. In a quick second, he jumped from behind the staircase and transformed into his spin dash form. Acting as a ball, he shot himself towards the big red robot. His sharp quills managed to create some dents on his right arm.
"OWWW! What the hell?!"
Sonic landed flawlessly as he planted both feet on the ground with one hand stretched out to his side and the other barely touching the concrete sidewalk. He recomposed himself and stood tall with an angry expression.
"YOU! I told you to leave us alone!"
"Well, Mr. Rockhead, or whatever you go by. I'm not leaving without my best friend!"
"And I'm not going to be stopped by some ignorant rat!"
"Ugh… When will you idiots learn that I'm a FREAKING HEDGEHOG?!"
"Until the day I die. And speaking of dying, I might as well…" Rocco didn't bother finishing his statement as he fired a laser from his hand cannon. And Sonic, being the fast hedgehog he was, whipped to the side to avoid the incoming attack. He sidestepped again when the robot fired another laser and started running. As he evaded all the lasers, the Blue Blur zipped through the plains earning close calls and grunts from the enemy, which made him grin playfully.
"HA! YOU'RE TOO SLOW!" he taunted his catchphrase out loud.
Sonic switched to the offensive and dashed into his right arm again. When he made impact, he caught Rocco off-balance with him nearly tripping backwards. Sonic took advantage of this weakness and ran up to him again.
"I hope you like a serving of shoes to the face! I'm gonna bust a 'cap' in your ass, as well!" Sonic finished his horrible pun with a strong kick in Rocco's face.
"ARGGHHHH!" Rocco shouted as he fell to the ground. After the impact, he let go of Tails as he, too, fell onto the dirt. When he tumbled, the fox appeared to be unconscious. Not only that, but he was bruised and scratched from Rocco's retaliation.
Sonic ran up to his fallen friend and tried to wake him up. He kneeled down and rubbed the fox's back. "Tails. Tails, buddy."
Tails moaned a little before he opened his eyes. Still lying on his stomach, he turned around to see green orbs from his blue friend. "S-Sonic?"
The hedgehog smiled when he responded. "Phew. Thank goodness you're awake. You okay, pal?"
Tails didn't answer his question. Instead, he shifted his gaze behind Sonic and noticed Rocco getting back up. His eyes widened as he saw the robot charging his cannon.
"Sonic! Look out!"
He got up quickly from his position and pushed him out of the direction of the cannon's trajectory. And just in time, too. The laser shot right passed the two as it collided with another boulder. It crumbled into a bunch of smaller rocks.
"Damn it! How could I miss that?!"
"Whoa… You saved me, Tails."
"Thank me later. Let's focus on taking down this jerk!"
Sonic smirked. "You betcha!" He then turned to Rocco who was more furious than before.
"GRRR! That's it! You wanna play rough? I'll show you rough!"
He shot another laser which passed between the dynamic duo. They spread out with Sonic running to the right and Tails to the left. Sonic jumped up and executed a homing attack on Rocco's head, still avoiding the lasers he kept shooting. Sonic's hit did some damage and was followed up by Tails. Using his namesakes, he whipped his fluffy appendages to make the enemy trip again. When he fell, the two rejoined and were about to finish him off.
"Tails! You ready?" Sonic asked as he took out the Chaos Emeralds and handed him the yellow one.
Tails caught the gem and held it tightly in his hand. "Let's do it, Sonic!"
Yellow and green shined bright in their hands as they concentrated deeply. Thinking about positive things generated a strong aura between the two friends. By the time Rocco sat up, he realized the scene in front of him. And he spotted the Chaos Emeralds they held.
"Grr… Not on my watch…" he grumbled as he finally stood up. He was about to fly right into them. But as soon as he left his feet, the next thing he heard was a phrase he wished he didn't hear.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" yelled the blue hedgehog. Then, they extended their arms to send out a powerful shock wave at the robot. Using his Time Stop technique, the wave shot right at Rocco and his body was altered with negative colors and immobilization. (2) He wasn't able to move as he froze in place. He could neither talk, nor walk. And worst for him, he wasn't completely vulnerable. The two released one more burst of power from the Emeralds to obliterate the boss. In a second, the second shock wave blasted through Rocco's metal chest, causing him to spark and explode. Sonic and Tails ducked and got out of the explosive range as they witnessed the defeat of an enemy.
"Sigh, I'm glad that's over with," Tails exhaled in relief. He then felt a hand around his neck and placed on his right shoulder.
"You okay, buddy?" he asked giving the fox a side hug.
Tails smiled. "Yeah, thanks to you, Sonic."
"Heh, it was no problem!" He gave him a thumbs-up gesture with his free hand.
"Although, I do feel a little roughed up from him holding onto me for so long. I think he hurt my ribcage," he murmured as he raised his hand over his stomach.
"Hmm… I think I can fix that." Sonic still had the green Emerald and he held it in front of Tails. He thought deeply again as the object exhibited its healing powers. After a while, nothing happened, which was quite odd. Sonic reopened his eyes as he became confused with the process.
"What's wrong?"
"I was trying to heal your injuries with the Emerald. But I don't know why it's not working."
"Hmm… I don't feel the same kind of energy from the yellow one. I might have to do scrutinize the Emeralds to figure out this problem. Why don't we head back to the Mushroom Kingdom? Maybe E. Gadd can help us."
"I guess so, little bro. But I suggest we should go to the hospital first. At least get you bandaged up from all those cuts and bruises."
"They don't hurt as much as before. But I understand. At least we can take the train to get to Station Square."
"Train? I don't know about that. How about we have another race?"
Tails' face lit up from that. He put on a mischievous look. "A race, huh? Well, I'm not one to back down from that."
"Hehe! And this time, I'll make sure we both run at the same time and instead of me running ahead!" Sonic chuckled.
"At least you remembered," Tails giggled back.
"Alright then. You ready?" Tails nodded as they both got into racing position. "On your mark… Get set… GO!" And the two dashed through the Mystic Ruins and towards the city, laughing along the way during their friendly race.
Location: Vanilla Dome
The Mario Bros. searched through the north passageway of the room Luigi fought the Grouchy Possessor. However, they ran into a dead end and got ambushed by some pesky Buzzy Beetles. A couple of Ice Flowers and some jump attacks did the trick though. They returned to the arena and headed east. Again, the two had no luck finding the prisoners. But Luigi did get a jump scare when two Greenies screeched in front of him. One of whom took on a whack on Mario's right cheek when he tried to defend himself. And it was too late for Luigi to shoot a Shriek Shield so it ended up being wasted. Nonetheless, he managed to suck up the cheeky ghouls as they were now stuck with the Possessor inside the Poltergust. The only other path they could take was the western region. They've practically searched every nook and cranny inside the caverns. Yet again, they could only hope they were headed in the right direction. After ambling for a long time, Mario broke up the silence.
"My arms feel dead inside. After being tied up for so long, they hurt like hell. Even if I move them, they don't feel stable. Plus, that Greenie did a good punch on me," groaned Mario as he rubbed his bruised cheek.
"I'm sorry, Mario," apologized Luigi. He still felt guilty for letting his guard down and not paying attention to his brother prior to his capture.
Mario took out a Refreshing Herb and swallowed it. Feeling somewhat better, he turned back to his taller sibling. "It's not your fault, Weege. I ended up getting ahead of myself when I thought I heard a noise. That led to me getting kidnapped."
"I just can't believe Grouchy would pull such an act. He must have caused that strange signal we saw earlier. But he was probably invisible at the moment. Then, he managed to use you as bait to lure me in that chasm. He almost got away with it, too."
"Honestly, I freaked out when that Cheep Chomp devoured you. I didn't want to grieve assuming you were gone. So I had to help in some way."
"And I appreciate you for getting me out of there. Otherwise, I'd be fish food. And the 1-Ups would go to waste."
Mario checked his item inventory. "Hmm… we're gonna have to restock our items again. We'll do that after we return to E. Gadd, clean up the Dark Moon piece, and send those ghosts in a safe place."
"And rescue our friends, too."
"That's right. I just wish that-"
"Mario!" Luigi interrupted Mario with a barely audible gasp. They were about to turn a corner until he noticed what was ahead of the following passageway. He pulled his brother back, causing him to question what was wrong.
"What is it, Luigi?"
"Look…" he whispered as they leaned past the wall to take a glance.
At the end of trail was a red door. But there was someone coming out of it. It was none other than the shadow villain: Myster Edge. He exited his private headquarters and locked up the door. In his right hand was his powerful staff that held the Chaos Emeralds. The two looked at each other with big eyes at this revelation. Their prediction was right. The antagonist has five in his possession while Sonic has the other two. If only they could find a way to take them back. Unfortunately, Luigi couldn't come up with any plans. He was more afraid of the fact that if he approached him again, the worst he can probably suffer is another coma. Mario remained quiet, but he was irate on the inside. He narrowed his eyes just looking at Edge and how powerful he has become. As Edge turned around, the brothers scuffled away from the corner to avoid getting caught. But they could hear him hovering towards them.
"Shit… He's coming right at us," swore Mario.
"What do we do, Mario?" Luigi murmured, keeping his voice low.
"We either hope he's not coming down the path, or we have to make a run for it."
"But we can't go back! We searched every place in Vanilla Dome for our friends. If we run away, we'll be even more lost."
"Do you want Edge to find us and possibly hurt you again?!" Mario scowled quietly.
"No…" Luigi mumbled.
"Exactly. I don't want him to you harmed again."
"If only we could become invisible."
Suddenly, as if someone listened to Luigi's plead, the two felt something strange on their arms. Before they could get a word in edgewise, they disappeared into thin air. By that time, they remained silent when Edge rounded the corner. As they kept their mouths shut, they heard him talking to himself.
"By the time I get my hands on the Chaos Emeralds, I can finally construct the Oblivion. But I also need to do it at one of the most sacred places of this universe: Star Hill. And once the Oblivion appears, I'll lure that green loser to help me destroy everything and everyone. No one, and I mean no one, will be able to stop me. Not his so-called heroic brother, not his furry animal friends, not even him."
Myster Edge chuckled morbidly at his ongoing plan whereas Mario and Luigi were in shock as they looked at each other. That is, if they did see each other. They were still invisible. The two were quiet, nonetheless. By the time Edge left and was far away from the brothers, they reappeared.
"That Edge guy is not getting away with this," grumbled Mario.
"Mario, did you do something to turn us invisible?"
"No. Unless I had one of those galactic Boo Mushrooms, I had nothing to do with that."
Just then, they heard a familiar bark. Then, Colombo appeared right in between them!
"Bark! Bark!"
"Colombo! You're back!"
The Polterpup jumped into Luigi's arms and started licking his face. Both plumbers chuckled at that and Luigi eventually set him down.
"Wait a minute," Mario contemplated. "Colombo, did you turn us invisible?"
He nodded and wagged his tail to answer his question.
"So that's why it happened."
"By the way, what happened to those guards who were chasing you?" Luigi asked.
Before Colombo tried to respond, Mario reminded Luigi of their current quest. "That doesn't matter. Right now, let's search for the captives."
"I guess you're right. Come on, Colombo!"
"Bark!"
Now that the Polterpup has reunited with Luigi and Mario, they set off further into the caves. After a minute of walking, they heard some voices up ahead.
"How long has it been now?" said an innocent feminine voice.
"Does it look like I have a watch on me?" responded another female with a rhetorical tone.
"Did you hear that?" Luigi queried.
"Yeah. That sounded like Cream and Rouge. They must be nearby!" Mario responded.
Then they heard another voice, only this one was loud, masculine, and demanding.
"How many times do we have to tell you to SHUT UP?!"
"Tell us all you want. At least have the decency to let us talk with each other. You'd probably do that if you jerks were stuck in prison for days." That sassy remark came from Amy.
Mario and Luigi reached one last corridor and peeked inside. And there they saw two robots standing outside of a cell. And inside were Peach, Daisy, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Blaze, Rouge, and the Toads. Then, Mario whispered a plan to Luigi and Colombo. They nodded at him and began their ruse. Colombo turned invisible again while the guards and the prisoners continued arguing. Just like before, the Polterpup took a huge bite into one of the robots' legs, making him howl in pain.
"OWW! What was that?"
"What are you talking abo-" Colombo bit the other robot, and he yelled from the unexpected attack. "URRGH! DAMN IT!"
The hostages were confused at this random occurrence until they saw the ghost dog appear. Everyone was surprised to see him as he distracted the guards. He ran towards the dead end of the hall to lure them away from the cell.
"Why you little…"
As the guards tried to catch the dog, Mario and Luigi discreetly tiptoed from behind. They were donned in light blue caps and shirts with overalls of their signature colors. Princess Peach noticed this and was about to say their names. All the others were excited to see them again, too. But Mario placed a finger in front of his mouth, signaling them to not give their appearances away. They listened to him and remained quiet, yet curious behind the bars.
Meanwhile, the guards were about to pounce on the Polterpup to catch him. But Colombo growled and vanished.
"What the? Where did he go?"
"I don't know! He was right-"
"HII-YAAAAH!" Mario and Luigi yelled as they kicked the robots from behind and slammed them into the rock wall.
"Hurry! Let's freeze them, Mario!"
They simultaneously threw ice balls in their powered-up form to contain the robots from getting back up. They hurled enough ice to freeze them in a giant ice block. Colombo reappeared at the brothers' side after they finished.
"Mario! Luigi!" Peach called from behind.
They turned around to see the grateful looks on their friends' faces. Mario unlocked the cell with the key and opened the door.
"Masters Mario and Luigi! We appreciate you gentlemen for coming here in the nick of time!" Toadsworth applauded. The brothers told the elderly Toad "you're welcome" before they each went to the princesses.
"Peach! Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Mario. And I feel much better now that you're here. Thanks for rescuing us."
Mario blushed at Peach's comment and received a kiss on the nose. He sighed and scratched the back of his head while the princess giggled.
"Luigi? Are you alright?" Daisy asked with concern.
"Never better, Princess," he answered with a smile.
Daisy took note of him wincing a bit. "Are you sure? What happened to your clothes? Did you get hurt from a fight or something?"
"Honestly, yes, I did fight someone. And I did get hurt. But don't worry! It's not that bad."
"Really? Did you and Mario take them easily?"
"Actually, Blaze, Luigi was the one who took him down. It was a Possessor Ghost," corrected Mario.
"What?! You mean one of those big white ghosts with the horns and the dark energy they get from the Dark Moon?" questioned Rouge.
"Yeah. Did someone explain that to you guys?"
"I did!" Toad remarked. "I already filled them on how you fought those ghosts back at Evershade so they have a good idea on how it went down."
"You must have been brave to fight that ghost. How badly did you get hurt?" the pink mushroom girl asked.
"Toadette, I'm fine, honest! I don't want you guys to think about me right now. Besides, Mario helped me out in the fight. Not only that, but we have a mission to stop Edge and his plans!"
"Indeed, I must agree with Master Luigi. But at this point, you two must be tired and worn out from finding us. You should at least get some rest for the night before you can move on to your expedition."
"I guess you're right, Toadsworth. It looks like it's getting late," said Mario as he peered outside the little hole in the wall. "Hey, if you guys are here, what happened to Yoshi, Knuckles, and the other guys?"
"They've taken them away from here," answered Daisy.
"So they were locked up with you guys beforehand?"
"Yes, but Edge's robots and the ghosts took them to other locations, including Dr. Eggman! We don't know where they are now," Peach mentioned.
"But why would he separate the rest of our friends?"
"That's what we were thinking, Mario. I can't help but worry about them."
"By the way, Mr. Mario and Mr. Luigi, have you guys seen Tails?" Cream asked worriedly.
"Yeah! And where's Sonic?!" Amy added.
"Well, about that…" Luigi then got interrupted by a familiar ring tone.
"Where's that coming from?" Blaze wondered.
"Sorry, that's from me." He pulled out his 3DS and looked at the top screen to see the caller.
"Hello? Is that you, Luigi?"
"Professor E. Gadd! Yeah, it's me. Why did you call me?"
"Ho ho! I was checking up on your progress. How's it going?"
"Well, we encountered Grouchy in the Vanilla Dome and we managed to get the Dark Moon piece back."
"Really? That's excellent! I knew I called the right man for the job!"
"You said I was the only ghost hunter you know."
"Either way, I'm proud of you, Luigi. You're one step closer to restoring the Dark Moon again."
"Thanks, Professor. We also managed to find our friends, too. But apparently, Edge took the others to another location. We don't know where they are."
"Hmm… That is another dilemma to deal with. But I'm sure you guys can handle it. Now you guys are probably thinking about getting out of here, right?"
"Yeah. Looks like we have to retrace our steps again."
E. Gadd laughed at his statement. "Ho ho! Don't worry about that, Luigi! I've installed a Pixelator on your 3DS to warp you back to my lab! However, it can only pixelate up to three individuals at a time."
"Oh no… Not the Pixelator again!"
Rouge raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is the Pixelator?"
"You'll see. Believe me, I hate this mode of transportation."
"Get ready, sonny boy! Choose your first three and I'll take them to my bunker!"
Luigi sighed heavily at this as he was not a fan of being transformed into multiple pixels and traveling through subspace only to fall awkwardly at the end of the trip. But since it was the faster way to get back, he agreed with the Professor. As Luigi ended the call, E. Gadd used his technological advances to send a Pixelator Screen from the 3DS to help their friends travel. (3) First, Toad, Toadette, and Toadsworth were pixelated. The next three were Amy, Cream, and Cheese. Followed by Rouge and Blaze. Then Peach and Daisy. Mario, Luigi, and Colombo were the last ones to travel. As they were transported, the screen disappeared from inside the cell.
Moments later, Myster Edge returned to the deepest region of Vanilla Dome to check on the prisoners. Beforehand, he found out that the Grouchy Possessor was nowhere to be found. He concluded that he was caught by the green clad ghost catcher, putting him in a bad mood. When he reached the prison area, the first thing he noticed was an open cell door. Then, he saw his guards frozen in ice.
Edge growled furiously. "Those damn plumbers helped them escape?! Grr… I knew I should've upgraded my defensive squad. Hmm… they may have rescued those people, but they'll have to find the others as well. And for that green guy, if I catch him trying to retrieve those Dark Moon pieces or the Chaos Emeralds, I'll teach the little wimp a lesson. In due time, Luigi, you will be vital to my plan. And you won't have the guts to stop me."
Unbeknownst to Edge, there was an individual who heard the villain talking to himself. And he listened to every single word.
"So that green guy is named Luigi, huh? Well regardless, I've failed to reach him. I have to pinpoint his next location to find him, or else…"
END OF CHAPTER
Sonic has rescued Tails and will be on their way back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi have rescued their friends in Vanilla Dome, but they don't know where the others are. By the time they return to E. Gadd's lab, they must determine where they will set out next to find the next Dark Moon piece. Yoshi, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, the Chaotix, Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot are out there in Mario's world, but where? And what about Bowser and Jr.? They've been absent since Ch. 11 when they were unconscious under Edge's attack. So many questions on the missing people, and there's still more to come on Hidden Bravery…
Thanks for reading this chapter! As always, please follow/favorite the story to catch up on updates and leave a review to let me know how I did! I'll see you guys for Ch. 23! This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): I'm referencing one of my favorite TV shows which follows four best friends who do stupid pranks and challenges to embarrass each other in front of the unsuspecting public. Most of the stuff they do is 'doing and saying what they're told'. If you haven't heard of them, you should check them out!
(2): Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tails is not capable of Chaos Control, so I only had Sonic yell out the term. Nonetheless, the fox does know how to use the Emeralds' powers to either find other ones, or even use them in battle. I just wanted the two to take an opportunity to participate in a fight, even though this wasn't as epic as Luigi's ghost encounter in the previous chapter.
(3): I'm referring to the large Pixelator Screen that appears whenever you finish a mission in Luigi's quest. In Dark Moon, it shows your results, and it would send Luigi back to the bunker. For this story, E. Gadd would help send everyone to the lab with this technique so they wouldn't have to walk all the way back.