A/N: I was on another time crunch, but I still wanted to be consistent with uploads for this story.
On another note, I will admit that I haven't made much progress on New Brotherhood over the past month. For those following that fanfiction, I'll try my best to finish Ch. 14 by the end of October. If not, I'll probably post it mid-November.
Lastly, Super Mario Odyssey releases this Friday! I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to get a chance to try it out though! I want to avoid any spoilers, so please don't say anything important or crazy about it that I probably don't know. I've heard tons of people were posting videos and spoilers on YouTube and Twitter. I had to pinch myself not to click on them or close my eyes so I wouldn't see the thumbnails. BUT THE HYPE IS REAL.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and my OCs.
Chapter 39: Chemical Imbalance
Location: Chemical Plant Zone
The industrial city landscape was not the most appealing attraction in this location. But it was the only thing that was worth admiring. The only disturbances were the smells of the toxic gas, and the rising pollution that's contaminating the air. The factory and the machinery itself still remained intact on West Side Island ever since Eggman first invaded the site. It brought back bad memories to him, Sonic, and Tails.
In Eggman's case, Sonic and Tails infiltrated the factory to defeat Water Eggman, where the doctor controlled a different floating vehicle to spew out sludge bombs. Since the inseparable duo was victorious, it added another defeat to Eggman's losing record. For the heroes, Sonic despised the water for obvious reasons. He'd had to fight the depths and the currents to avoid drowning. Tails would occasionally help out his buddy, but there were times he had trouble catching up to the hedgehog as he blazed through the course. That resulted him getting hurt by the machines. And when they had to face Eggman, they had to evade the falling platforms that led to an unsatisfying swim into some pink water.
Knuckles was fairly familiar with this area, but he didn't pay much attention to notice what it contained. (1) Nonetheless, he couldn't care less about the layout or the scenery. What he wanted was to get out of a confined cage with a fat villain and two average robot henchmen.
Speaking of which, Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot simply sat on the metal floor. The same went for the other four in the nearby cell. It's not like the prisoners had anything else to do. If you're held against your will, there weren't that many options but to escape. Take Princess Peach, for example. On several occasions, she'd be trapped in a cage next to Bowser's throne so she wouldn't sneak out of his castle. All she could do was pray that Mario would come to her rescue. But since escaping wasn't a choice, all they could was wait for help. No one had said a word for a while, until Cubot opened his mouth.
"So, how long has it been?"
"By now, probably a couple of hours. Not that it really matters," answered Orbot.
"Urgh. How I loathe being stuck in prison," Knuckles put his namesakes on his head, squishing the cheeks on his muzzle.
"You're telling me. How do you think I felt when G.U.N. mistook me for Shadow?" Sonic muttered.
"At least your ass didn't get stuck in jail for the past several days," Eggman growled.
Sonic stood up in anger. "Listen. I'm just saying that those people should've opened their eyes and realize how unintelligent they were when they thought I was some kind of criminal when I don't even look like him. He has black fur, damn it! I'm blue! It's just as stupid as those tree-like creatures mistaking Mario as a graffiti perpetrator when he looked nothing like his shadow counterpart." (2)
Mario recoiled from the hedgehog's rant, reminiscing how that summer vacation went awry. But he pushed himself to avoid saying anything. Although no one could see, his facial expression was anything but comfortable.
Suddenly, Yoshi whipped his head around. Usually, he would do this when he smelled food. But this was for a different reason. "Hey, guys? Do you hear something?"
Tails looked at the dinosaur who was sitting across from him. He twitched his ears after he popped the question. "Hmm… Other than bubbling toxic waste and the working machinery, not really."
"You mean don't hear some type of whirring sound?"
"Whirring?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, like the sound of a black hole sucking up particles in a galaxy."
For the first time in a while, Mario raised his head and looked around the zone. He remained quiet, not listening to the others speaking at the time. Then, something caught his attention. Over to his right, he noticed a strange abnormality in the sky.
"What the hell?" he whispered.
He stood up and gripped two bars as he tried to get a better view. Tails, Yoshi, and Sonic noticed his movements.
"What's up, Mario?" the fox asked.
He didn't directly answer his question. Instead, he responded with, "Oh no."
Sonic scratched his ear before asking him. "Mario, you're not telling us something. What's the matter?"
He walked over to stand by the plumber's side. Tails also stood up and joined on the hedgehog's right. They both noticed that Mario had a scowl on his face. Yoshi, on Mario's left, started to worry when he saw his friend.
"Buddy?"
"It's here," Mario finally spoke.
"What's here?" Sonic questioned.
Mario scrunched his face into an angrier expression. "The Oblivion."
The three looked straight to where Mario was looking. They all widened their eyes when they noticed a glitching hole of black and purple, rising high above the city.
"So that's what it looks like?" Yoshi turned to Mario.
He responded with a nod. "And it's strangely similar to the Void I once saw back in Flipside."
Knuckles was wondering what was going on since he couldn't hear their conversation. "What are you guys staring at?"
"I think we're witnessing a strange phenomenon that was successfully developed by the main adversary by using the power of negative sources," stated Tails.
"I may be a man with an enormous IQ, but how about you speak English, fox boy?" Eggman grunted.
Tails rolled his eyes and narrowed them when he faced the doctor. "Myster Edge has created the Oblivion using the Chaos Emeralds and the moon fragment copies known as the Dark Shards. The Oblivion is that dark hole floating in the sky. You know, the only thing that's out of place in this wasteland. That better for you?"
"Hmph. No need to be too specific over a simple question," he crossed his arms.
"Pfft. How the hell do you even have an IQ of 300 when you're as dumb and incompetent as a tree stump?" Sonic derided.
"Grrr… I've had enough of your insults, hedgehog!" he pointed a finger at him.
"Hmm, for once you know how to label me as one."
"You know, you could learn how to shut your annoying, little mouth."
"That's basically what I've fucking told you to do on the way here, Eggwad," Mario swore without turning around.
Eggman's temper got to him yet again as he shackled the floating prison. "Okay, plumber! You want to talk dirty as well?! If I could reach you from beyond these bars, I would tear you down, limb from limb, with my dirty hands!"
"Yo, Eggface! Stop shaking our cell, for Chaos' sake! You want us to fall to our doom?!" Knuckles pulled him back.
"How ironic. The hot-tempered guy has to calm someone else down. I remember when the others had to pull him back in the caves," Cubot commented.
Knuckles growled as he looked at the robots with a mean stare.
"He said it, not me," defended Orbot.
"You two always seem to be the ones who can't control yourselves," Sonic bitterly replied.
"You're such a damn hypocrite, Sonic. I've seen you bust out that inflated ego of yours. And that usually happens, whenever you show off your speed, try to act all cool, or get into a fight," Knuckles fired back.
"Ugh, is there ever a time when you guys don't bicker over the most trivial things?" Tails complained.
"Yeah. I'm already getting a headache just from all the negativity," Yoshi murmured.
"Like I care, you prehistoric reptile!" Eggman shouted.
Tails and Yoshi simply sighed to themselves. Everyone else was either irate, in a bad mood, or both. They were the only two who felt uncomfortable from all the reckless chatter since they aren't belligerent with words. Tensions were running high, and they weren't going down anytime soon.
Mario shut his eyes, crossed his arms, and lowered his head. He could only go back to thinking about Luigi.
Was he okay? What if he wasn't? Did he recover? What if he was hospitalized a second time? Does he even know where they were? Or is he running aimlessly trying to find them? And what if Edge hurts him again?
"Luigi, please help us. Soon."
Location: Emerald Hill Zone
Even though they were still in Sonic's world, they noticed another threatening black hole in the sky of West Side Island. To Peach and Luigi, it seemed very similar to the Void, how it appeared in different dimensions at the same time since its creation.
The gang traveled to their first stop, the Emerald Hill Zone, which was where Tails found the green Chaos Emerald before being kidnapped by Rocco. Speaking of him, Myster Edge learned earlier that he had been thwarted by Sonic, which made sense since they were the ones who kept the last two Emeralds the other robots were searching. Regardless, the villain couldn't care less about the loss of one of his assistants since he has full possession of all seven gems. That, and he separated the heroes and prisoners from his primary target, for the sole purpose of distracting them as time flies.
Soon, they reached a wide bridge with a cascading waterfall found on their left.
"Here we are, Emerald Hill," announced Amy. "Once we cross these hills, we'll reach the Chemical Plant Zone within the industrial city. Sonic has to be there."
"And Tails, too," Cream added.
"Alongside Mario and everyone else, as well," said Daisy.
Luigi continued to follow the girls as the pink hedgehog led the way. Rouge was walking in between Blaze and Peach, leaning towards the latter to whisper a question.
"Psst, what's up with Greenie? He hasn't said a word since we left Station Square," she pointed out.
"I don't know, to be honest," Peach responded back quietly. "But it probably had to do with the nightmares he described to us. And knowing how serious they seem to be, it must've been traumatizing for him whenever he has a dream that turns out to be awfully terrible."
"Do you think what Luigi mentioned could be true? Looking forward into the future, is that who Edge is planning to revive?" Blaze questioned.
"Well, he told me he's not sure himself. But there's no way of knowing unless Edge does become close to eradicating everything. And if he's involved in this resurrection…"
Peach stopped talking for a few seconds after they crossed the bridge and started walking down the grassy hill. She slightly looked behind to see the green man, whose eyes were focused on the Polterpup as he was playfully chasing butterflies. But just one good look, and the princess can sense the fear in his blue eyes.
"And if he's involved, what?" the bat pressed on.
"Oh, dear. I can't bear to think about it."
"Then, we might as well stop talking about it," concluded Blaze. "Let's refocus and make our way forward."
"How much further until we reach Chemical Plant?" Daisy asked Amy.
"It'll take some time. It's about a good five miles from here."
"Chao… Chao," Cheese complained, his voice sounded raspy.
"I know, Cheese. I wish we can stop to take a break. My feet are tired," Cream whimpered.
"Mine too, but we have no time to waste. We must carry on!" Amy stated with resilience.
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Remind me again why she's the team leader when she's more of a petty, pathetic cheerleader."
"Don't expect me to answer that," sassed Blaze.
After reaching the bottom of the hill, Peach stopped walking and looked at the younger Mario brother who was chomping on a Mushroom. "Luigi, are you alright?"
He shifted his eyes from Colombo who walked ahead of them and past the blonde princess. He swallowed the food and froze with silence as he didn't know how to answer her question.
At the same time, his mind was replaying his past nightmares yet again.
…
"You will be the one that will make my plan work. To destroy all worlds…"
…
She expressed her concern once more. "Luigi, please talk to me. I'm one of your closest friends, and I'd be willing to listen if there's something wrong."
…
"I just wanted you join my side for personal reasons. You're the best vessel for the resurrection I plan to perpetrate."
…
With depression evident on his face, Luigi sighed. "I'm sorry, Princess. There's just too much going through my head right now."
Peach furrowed her eyebrows. "Is this still about… him?"
…
"Ah, Luigi. It's good to see you again."
…
The man shuddered, but he nodded afterwards. He looked down at the ground.
"That, and to this day, I'm frightened about everything that's happened over the past week. And even though I want to avenge everyone for what Myster Edge has caused, I'm starting to doubt myself on what I said earlier. You know, about getting revenge."
…
"I have to go to desperate measures against this green fool. If he dares to stop me, I'll force him to face someone I know he wouldn't hurt. And that's where you come in."
…
Peach sauntered up to him and kneeled as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Luigi, I'm afraid as well. Not just about this whole destruction and world domination thing. I'm worried about you, too. I understand why you're scared, but deep down inside, somewhere in your heart, there's a glimmer of hope where you're strong and brave enough to overcome this. You're just like Mario, only a little more compassionate and less pugnacious. I know you're not one who likes to brawl. Nonetheless, you're a fighting man, Luigi. You just need to believe in yourself."
Luigi stared at the princess, observing her facial expressions. Based on her serious, yet concerned face, by no means did she say that stuff to make him feel better. She trusted him with all her might, the same way she had confidence in Mario. And the same way Mario had faith where he would never give up on him.
Going off-topic, he was still aware that he hadn't told Mario about what he dreamt that caused him to act schizophrenic at the castle yesterday.
"Maybe I should tell him before something bad really happens."
But then he remembered part of his most recent incubus.
"But should I tell him about that, too?"
His indecisiveness put him at an impasse. Then, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard some voices.
"Peach! Luigi! Hurry up!" Daisy called.
"Arf! Arf!" Colombo barked as well.
"Come on, we should catch up to them. But, I appreciate the thought, Princess."
She smiled. "You're welcome, Luigi. And don't worry. We'll be with you on this journey the whole way through. We will save Mario and the others."
The green plumber nodded and adjusted his hat. They quickly followed their friends as they tread past the rushing waterfalls.
Luigi, Colombo, and the girls finally reached the entrance to the Chemical Plant Zone. Another black hole could be seen from a far distance. This was the third place the group has seen the Oblivion in Sonic's dimension.
Peach and Daisy had to pinch their noses since they were uncomfortable from the noxious stench coming from the depths of the manufacture site. The others have gotten used to the landscape, except for Luigi and Colombo, but they did their best to ignore it.
Unlike the last two locations, Luigi has not encountered a single Evershade ghost in his travels. Mostly because this was a foreign world to the ghouls and they never stepped foot in, or rather entered, Mobius. Except one of them, which he knew he had to face later…
What he did come across, however, were some henchmen of Edge's army. Two identical robots floated down from above to impede the group in their tracks. The dark blue one of the left was named Proto; the one on the right was gray and known as Scythe. (3)
"Halt! Who dares to approach us in our hideout?" said Proto.
"First of all, this isn't 'your hideout' at all," Amy did an air quote with her fingers.
"That's where you're wrong, toots. This is our property now," Scythe spoke.
"Toots?! What are you robots trying to put up?" She pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer.
"We were chosen to defend the Chemical Plant Zone in the case someone tries to infiltrate the factory. By the looks of it, there are eight more than we expected."
Luigi didn't say a word as he knew from Scythe that he was the one expected to arrive.
"Let us through, or we'll have to do this the hard way!" Cream shouted.
"Chao!" Cheese narrowed his eyes.
"Aww, is the little bunny rabbit trying to act tough?" jeered Proto. "Heh, as if! All you girls have no chance to defeat us. Let alone, you probably can't defend yourselves!"
"Except I'm not a girl, neither is Colombo, and you assholes don't know anything about my friends," Luigi rolled his eyes. He knew how tough Amy, Blaze, and Rouge can be in combat. Cream and Cheese usually were on the sidelines, but this time they were determined to help out. Daisy can stand her own ground since she's not one who likes to give up. Peach has battled before many times when she's not a damsel in distress. And Polterpup can be a helping hand like his contribution in the fight against Overset.
"Hmph, I like to debunk that statement so badly," Daisy huffed as she dug out two Fire Flowers. "We are more than capable taking on a couple of idiotic robots like you." She tossed one over to Peach.
"I sure hope you won't mind if we heat things up a bit," warned the Mushroom Princess.
"And I can add myself onto the list of incinerating foes that get in our way," threatened Blaze as she summoned a flaming orb in her palm.
"This is gonna be good," Scythe snickered.
"Yeah, good for us when we kick your butts," Rouge teased.
"That's what you think," Proto sneered. "Shadelings, assemble!"
Moments later, the team found themselves surrounded by more of Edge's underlings as they flew in from the outskirts of Chemical Plant. There were sixteen more encircling them, which gives them double the number of members compared to the heroes' side.
"Hey! How is this even fair?!" Daisy complained.
"Who says that fights have to be fair?"
"Well, if you're gonna play like that, we'll make sure to take you all down!" Peach proclaimed.
She and Daisy took in the Fire Flower's powers as they turned into Fire Peach and Fire Daisy. Peach's dress turned white while the panniers became red. (4) Daisy's dress also transformed into white, only she had orange accessories. Luigi grabbed an Ice Flower from his pocket and converted into Ice Luigi. He was saving the Poltergust for later. But if necessary, he'll activate Shriek Shields to himself and his partners.
With the party getting into fighting position, they waited for a Shadeling to flinch and try to attack them.
Scythe revealed two curved, sharp blades, one on each of his knuckles. He was the first to make a move. Amy retaliated his action and swung her hammer horizontally. "HI-YAAAH!" She crashed the robot into two others, causing a three-way dogpile.
Proto was infuriated. "You dare attempt to take down my brother?! Then so be it. I won't show mercy whatsoever. Shadelings, attack!" He and the remaining rivals who were standing charged at them. They started firing lasers to and fro. Proto spewed out charged up particles known as Proton Orbs that left a trail of plus signs flying behind.
While trying their best to dodge, Blaze, Peach, and Daisy burned a couple by pelting fireballs. Luigi froze two enemies, leading to Rouge kicking one away from the ring while Cream swung her ears to hurt the other. Those Shadelings were bumped into the pink water. They became electrocuted from the liquid seeping in their circuits.
Cheese and Colombo teamed up to distract and stall two more mechs from getting in the way of the others. The Polterpup chomped on the legs and Cheese threw himself to thump them, causing their heads to malfunction and crackle with electricity. They fell backwards and became disabled as their mechanical bodies fell apart.
Amy smashed the robots that the girls scorched. Peach and Daisy used their parasols to whack them into the river. However, Scythe and the two Shadelings Amy hit at the beginning recovered and ran up to them by surprise.
"Oh no! Look out!" Daisy pointed at them. Peach and Amy let out screams of their own.
Luigi noticed this and sent three shields to defend the hedgehog and the princesses. And thankfully enough, the robots punched the barriers causing the girls to fly, yet they landed safely without getting hurt. Unfortunately for Scythe, both weapons got bent from the collision. They fell apart on the ground.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
As he was distracted, Blaze used her pyrokinesis and Luigi shot more ice balls to stun the foes.
Amy swiped some sweat off her bangs. "Phew… Thanks, Luigi."
He nodded back before he performed a stellar triple jump and crushed their noggins with a threefold chain jump. Scythe remained intact, but the Shadelings weren't so lucky as their bodies deteriorated.
After some more offensive tactics by the heroes, the enemy side was cut down to six. The twin bosses were still alive, but started to get weaker with every hit they received.
"Scythe! Shoot lasers at them!" commanded Proto as he released proton orbs at Rouge and Cream, who evaded them as they were fighting a different android.
"I wasn't programmed with lasers, you twit! Why do you think the boss named me 'Scythe'?! I only have blades for weapons, and that green dude caused damage to both of them! I have to wait for more to regenerate!"
"Well how long does it take?"
"Every five minutes. It's been about four right now." Scythe ducked from a pair of fireballs shot at him.
"Seriously? Why did the master make a decision like that?"
"I don't know! He thought it'd be okay, but it's stupid if you ask me."
"Ugh, just fight with your fists then. With or without blades!"
The gray mech witnessed another robot down from the bat and rabbit duo while the Chao and Polterpup destroyed another, leaving just four. As they teamed up to fight Proto, Scythe saw Peach, Daisy, Amy, Blaze, and Luigi going after the last two subordinates. He heard a dinging sound and two more blades popped out of his hands. He thought to himself, and if he had the face to express a smile, he'd do it with a wicked look.
Regardless, he planned a daring move.
As Luigi's group eviscerated the last two robots, none of them expected what happened next. With the sharp tool at the ready, he aimed his right knife at the man in green. With his back facing him, he didn't notice it until Peach cried out one second too late.
With panicked eyes, she gasped, "Luigi! Behind you!"
The mustachioed man rotated his body, only to be slashed on his left side. The sleeve got cut, his clothes reverted to their former colors, and the blade cut the surface of his skin.
"AAAHHH!" he yelped and grabbed his injured arm.
"Luigi!" Daisy cried.
He opened his eyes and quickly reacted to use a Shriek Shield for himself before Scythe could harm him a second time. However, pain was running through his veins as some blood stained the clothing and dripped from the wound. He fell backwards as Scythe gashed the barrier. It didn't cause it to burst or go away, keeping Luigi temporarily invincible as he flinched with soreness.
"This is for hurting him!" Blaze shouted with fury. She hurled another large fireball at Scythe, Peach and Daisy added more damage with their fireballs, and Amy jumped high in the air to slam the mallet on top of his head.
"OWW!" he face planted onto the floor.
"You so rightfully deserve this!" Amy grunted.
The princesses took out their parasols again to whack the gray robot into the river. Proto, who got wrecked by Rouge, Cream, Cheese, and Colombo, was heavily wheezing on the ground as he saw the defeat of his twin.
"Scythe! How dare you-" He didn't have a chance to finish as Rouge kicked the blue minion in the face so hard that he was sent flying into the water as well.
At long last, the team successfully took down the Shadeling guards. However, it wasn't a time to celebrate. Everyone huddled around Luigi. With his Shriek Shield gone, he remained on the floor as he covered the hole of his sleeve. More red liquid stained his right glove. Peach and Daisy's dresses returned to their original presence.
"Mr. Luigi! Are you okay?!" Cream covered her mouth in terror.
Luigi breathed heavily, but he tried his best to not make her or anyone else panic. "I'll be… fine. I've already been in worse conditions before."
Colombo whimpered at the sight of his owner in anguish again. Peach and Daisy were the most worried. To see him hurt like this ached their hearts. The pink princess kneeled near him and started to take off her gloves.
"Peach, what are you doing?" Amy curiously asked.
"Here, Luigi. I'll wrap these around your arm."
"What? No way," he shook his head. "Those are yours."
Peach refused. "I won't take 'no' for an answer. I don't want to risk you passing out from a big loss. Besides, the gloves aren't that big of a deal to me."
Luigi reluctantly let her nurse him as she tied them over the bloody spot.
"Feeling better, Greenie?" Rouge raised an eyebrow.
"Better, but not much."
"You going to be alright, though?" wondered Blaze.
"I'll deal with it. Like I said, I've handle worse before."
Peach and Daisy could tell he was referring to his comatose state after the night of his birthday. Wondering if something like that happened to him again would be traumatic.
"Well, if you need any help, or if you want take a break, don't hesitate to stop us. We don't want to rush things if it means to leave you behind," Amy sympathized.
Luigi got on his feet with the help of the princesses pulling him up. "I appreciate it, Amy. But that's the least of my problems. We have to find Mario, Sonic, and everyone else before the Oblivion grows, or whatever it does, that would mark the end of all worlds."
"You do have a point. Nonetheless, we just want you to be safe," said Daisy.
"I understand. Now, let's head on in."
"Chao! Chao!"
"Bark!"
As they entered the industrial zone, Luigi followed everyone like before, but stopped for a second. He turned around to see what was behind him. Nothing but the broken body parts of the Shadelings he, Colombo, and the girls took down.
However, he thought he heard something.
He had another suspicion that someone was spying on him. Eventually, he ran to catch up with the rest of the party. Although he doubted himself at first, he didn't know that he was initially right. There was an entity prying on the green clad hero. He cackled to himself. His taunting laugh created an echo that sent shivers down Luigi's spine.
END OF CHAPTER
I know this chapter is filler, but I decided to add a little action at the end to make it somewhat interesting. The boss fight of Chemical Plant Zone will begin soon though. The catch is, who will Luigi face? (Yes, it's the Shrewd Possessor, but what exactly will he possess?) And can he withstand the battle with an injury?
Stay alert for the next update, and thanks for reading! Leave a review if you want, follow/favorite, and I'll see you guys later! This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): Believe it or not, Knuckles is playable in Sonic Mania, so technically he has been through CPZ. However, he was not part of the original adventure when Sonic and Tails ventured through it back in Sonic 2.
(2): One of my biggest pet peeves from SMS was the introduction to this game, when the Piantas accused Mario of polluting Isle Delfino with the goop, even though he arrived after the crime occurred. That, and he isn't a blue shadow figure holding a graffiti paintbrush. (Stupidity at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.)
(3): Scythe and Proto are two more of Edge's top henchmen. For this scene, Scythe's biggest trait were his sharp-cutting blades, and Proto utilizes Proton Orbs, a weaker electrical attack compared to Edge's lightning strikes. But like Rocco, they were unsuccessful with their task.
(4): Fire Peach's design is based off her appearance in Super Mario 3D World.