Chapter 26: Treasure Hunt

Outside of Stadium

Near the food courts, a puzzled look was shown on Makato, being confronted by another fan. Except he had blue hair and a scarf that drooped to his feet.

Looking at him, she was reminded of Miku.

"Ah, I saw you with Miku!" He smiled. "I've been looking for you!"

"You have?" Makato sweatdropped.

He grabbed her and went on one knee, pecking her hand. "You were a goddess on stage! The next Project Diva!"

Makato slipped her hand away from his grasp and blushed. Many eyes were staring at the two and she grew embarrassed at the situation.

"Sir, you must be confused. . ." Makato frowned. "I best be going-"

Attempting to make a walk, the man blocked her path, spreading his arms.

"My eyes don't deceive me." He smirked, shaking his finger. "My name is Kaito. Perhaps you heard of me from Miku-chan."

Makato shook her head.

"Whaaaa-?!" He teared up, dropping to his knees, but recovered instantly. "Well anyway, you have a nice voice, but it could use some more work. I was thinking the two of us should sing a duet together. Cantarella. Ah, yes." He nodded to himself. "I can see the vision. You and me on the stage- -the masquerade ball. The betrayal. Shall I give you a sample of the song for you to practice?"

"No thank you-"

"Leaving no footprints around the cracks in your defenses~"

"W-what?"

"Ah, don't be mistaken by my words! That's part of the chorus."

"Why would you start from there? It's all too weird."

"Hehehe. Well, we'll have to get familiar with the lyrics eventually." Kaito said. "Speaking of, my favorite part of the song is I'll catch you~!"

"The song is overall concerning. . ." Makato muttered.

"Lemme sing another song!" Kaito pulled out his phone, swiping the screen. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth, releasing the sound of autotune. "Segaaaaaaaah~! You, you love it how I move you, you love it how I touch you, my one~!"

'Ah, why can't he just shut up?!' An overwhelming spirit of anger built inside of her to the point it showed on her brows, as strings of her hair turned white. Before she knew it, her hand reached for his scarf, yanking it with all her might.

"Hagh!" Kaito gagged, panicking to loosen the scarf that wrapped his neck, only to squeeze tighter. The way he cried out for mercy brought a slight grin to her face.

"Finally. . . it's quiet. . ." Makato murmured, gripping the long part of the scarf.

"Haagh!"

"So there you are, Makato. . ." Marth approached the two with his eyes widened. Makato released his scarf, giving Kaito the air he needed.

'I'll pretend I didn't see Makato choking a stranger. . .! Wow, that's almost like a breath of fresh air!' Marth faked his smile. "We've been looking for you, Makato. . . Who's your friend with the blue scarf?"

Kaito touched his neck, checking for bruising, and sighed in relief. "I'm Kaito. A Vocaloid Idol."

"Ah, I see. My name is Marth. It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you related to Miku?"

Kaito nodded. "Yes, that's right. We're from the same industry. I came here to recruit your friend."

"Perhaps, another time." Marth stood by Makato, glancing at her dead gaze toward the blue-haired Vocaloid. "If you're looking for Miku, she's in the VIP area of the stadium. I'll have the staff show you to her."

"Thank you! We'll continue our talk later, Makato! Byeee~"

". . ."

"Eeek! I'm sorry for pestering you!" Kaito bowed five times in a row to avoid getting another glare. After that, Marth talked to the nearest staff and helped Kaito. Then there were two of them, standing a few feet from the cotton candy machine.

"If I'd known he was bothering you, I'd slap him." Marth frowned at the potion princess.

"It's alright," Makato said, staring straight ahead. "This kind of feeling was all new to me. . ."

Marth brushed his hair and took a step forward to the princess. "Now that I've thought of it, we rarely had time to talk. Finally, Ike and Roy won't have to cockblock me."

Makato faced her attention toward the blue prince. "You. . . wanted to talk to me?"

Marth nodded. "Yes." He gazed at the white blouse and short brown skirt she wore. "But first tell me, do you have a crush on anyone in the mansion? I promise I won't tell."

"Ah!" Her face burned to a crimson red as she shook her head like a soaked dog. "No, no, no!"

"I'm kidding. . ." He laughed. "You're very adorable when you're embarrassed."

Makato frowned, keeping her eyes on her boots. "Please, don't tease me."

Chattering from people in the Smash Park passed by, occupying their silence. As he continued to stare at her eyes, his hand reached for her cheek. Makato stiffened her body, widening her eyes in the process.

The prince tilted his head, rubbing her cheek with her thumb. "Do you. . . want to know my crush?"

". . ." Makato made a glance at Marth and regretted it, only for her skin to burn up. This was in the public eye. Someone. . . at least a group of people were watching!

Marth leaned in toward her ear, smiling. "She's a princess. . . A kind-hearted princess. . ."

"I. . . I see. . . she must be." Makato's eyes wandered anywhere but Marth's captivated gaze.

"See, I fucking knew it! They were gone for so long!" Roy watched the two royals with Ike's binoculars outside of the stadium with Ike and Miru who followed along.

"It's only been five minutes. . ." Miru said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah? And? This narcissist doesn't need a minute to rizz up any girl!"

"What the hell does rizz mean?" Ike asked.

The three observed Marth, regardless of the people passing by that temporarily blocked their view. Another scene occurred when Marth handed a piece of paper and a pencil to Makato. Taking it, she wrote something and handed it back to Marth.

"Nooo! Don't tell me my soon-to-be wife gave Marth his phone number!" Roy crushed the binoculars.

"We don't carry phones in Smash," Ike said. "And what happened to girlfriend?"

"Wife and girlfriend are the same! Marth probably has a secret phone!"

Miru sighed. "We don't have cellular devices in our village, so the Princess can't carry a phone."

"I must stop this madness!" Roy made a bolt, reaching up to Marth and Makato within seconds. The two of the royals turned to the redhead with bewildered expressions.

"You can't just tell Makato to be your girlfriend!" Roy exclaimed, pointing. "Now fight me!"

"Girlfriend?" Makato questioned.

"Yeah- -wait, Makato? Why are you confused? Didn't Marth give you his number for a date spot?"

Ike and Miru caught up with Roy, also overhearing Roy's yelling to catch up on the conversation.

"That does sound like a good idea, but I wasn't thinking about that you baka." Marth grinned, waving the piece of paper. "Would you mind explaining, Makato?"

Makato nodded. "Marth wanted to make a dress for me, so he needed my measurements."

"Measurements?" Roy and Miru asked.

Ike nodded and side-eyed the prince's piece of paper. "Ah. . . okay. . . what kind of dress? Mind if I take a looksies-?"

A quick slap stung the mercenary's hand, forcing a quick redraw.

"The only person that should be saying 'looksies' is me. If I showed you this, you'd be having perverted imaginations." Marth stuffed the paper into his pocket.

Ike twitched a brow. "You don't know when to shut it, do you?"

"Now that's taken care of, let's head back," Marth said.

"I'll never trust you again in my life." Roy hurried over to Makato, holding her shoulders.

(oOoOoOo)

Stadium

6:30 P.M.

"BIRLS AND GOYS! GET IT?! BECAUSE I SWITCHED THE FIRST TWO LETTERS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS?!" Crazy Hand began.

"Damn bro, you got the whole squad laughing." The crowd said.

"ANYWAY BEFORE YOU ALL DECIDE TO LEAVE THE STADIUM DUE TO MY HORRIBLE PUN, IT'S TIME TO CONTINUE THE MARIO AND SONIC WAR!

"THE NEXT EVENT WILL BE A TREASURE HUNT! BEFORE THAT, WE WILL BE CHANGING OUR POINT SYSTEM BY INTERVALS OF 100! YEAH, LAST-MINUTE CHANGES SUCK LIKE CHANGING A WET DIAPER. HERE'S THE CURRENT UPDATE OF THE SCORE!"

Team Mario: 100 Points

Team Sonic: 200 Points

"WHOEVER WINS THE NEXT ROUND, THE TEAM WILL EARN 100 POINTS TO THEIR ADDED SCOREE~ ARIBAAA~!"

Master Hand went closer to the microphone. "THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE TREASURE HUNT EVENT IS TO FIND THE MISSING CHAOS EMERALDS THAT ARE SCATTERED IN THE CAVE. BOTH TEAMS MUST CHOOSE TWO MEMBERS OF THEIR CHOICE FOR THIS EVENT. YOU HAVE 2 MINUTES TO DECIDED YOUR TWO TEAMMATES."

The timer appeared on the board as both teams mingled amongst themselves.

Team Mario

"It's Yoshi's time to shine!" Peach smiled. "He has a very great sense of smell!"

"Uh. . ., Peach? Yoshi ain't no bitch." Daisy shook her head. "Just because he goes on all fours that doesn't mean-"

"But he has those big round nostrils!"

Yoshi sweatdropped from Peach and Daisy's comments.

"True. . ." Mario nodded. "Ok! Yoshi will be in the treasure hunt!"

"Yoshi, Yoshi?! Da fuck?!" Yoshi cried, shaking his head. "I'm scared of the dark! There could be monsters and tax collectors waiting for me on the other side!"

"Please, Yoshi?" Mario clasped his hands together as if praying "We'll put Waluigi on the team to help you."

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Like he can do shit! That's why he's an assistant! And forever will be!"

"What?!" Waluigi shot a glare at the green dino.

Team Mario made a biased agreement to put Yoshi and Waluigi in the Treasure Hunt.

Team Sonic

"I volunteer-"

"AW HELL NO!" Team Sonic caught off Dr. Eggman's request. Chaos Emeralds were being borrowed for the Treasure Hunt event. The last that should happen was for a canon event to take place.

"There's no way we let you in the treasure hunt," Charmi said.

"Yea! He's right!" Tail agreed.

"We can't trust you no bit!" Vector said.

Dr. Eggman growled a little bit in his mind. I mean. . . what was there to expect? His bad reputation for stealing the Chaos Emeralds was in every appearance he made on games and TV shows.

"Let's be real about this. . ." Dr. Eggman cleared his throat. "My hunting skills when it comes to finding treasure are immaculate! I just want to help win this round! I have my gadgets that would be easy peasy to find the emeralds. Give me one chance to prove my wrongdoings!"

"You literally went after Princess Makato the moment you touched grass here," Chris said, crossing his arms. "But. . . you have indeed helped in the past."

"I don't trust him." Amy shook her head. "That kind of thinking will doom us all!"

"Please, Knuckles! You and I are the best when it comes to hunting treasure!" Dr. Eggman begged the gullible echidna.

Knuckles sighed. "I guess I have no choice. After all, I am a treasure hunter. I rather have Eggman than Rouge in the treasure hunt."

Rouge scoffed, crossing her arms. "Rude!"

"Alright! Knuckles and Omelt are doing the treasure hunt!" Sonic said.

"Sonic, you're allowing Eggman to do the treasure hunt?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, let's see what happens if he keeps his word."

(oOoOoOo)

For Team Mario it was Yoshi and Waluigi against Knuckles and Dr. Eggman for the treasure hunt event.

"NOW THAT THE TWO TEAMS ARE OUT, HERE ARE THE RULES OF THE TREASURE HUNT." Master Hand announced. A large, man-made cave was teleported into the middle of the stadium right in front of the two teams. Looking through the entrance was nothing but pitch darkness and some faint lights. Small, hidden cameras were added all over the cave for the audience to watch from the projectors.

"Yoshiii. This place is cursed!" Yoshi trembled next to Waluigi.

Seconds later, the rules appeared on the projector.

Treasure Hunt Rules

1. Teams can search separately for the treasure.

2. Teams must leave the cave together.

3. Fighting and stealing treasure is allowed.

4. If a team is done finding treasure, press the red button on the wall of the caves. A 1-minute time will appear before the cave explodes.

"What?! The cave would explode?!" Waluigi exclaimed.

5. Not escaping after the 1-minute timer will deduct one's score of 100 points.

"Heh, a challenge is what they want, huh?" Knuckles smirked, pounding his fist together.

6. Finding fake treasure is a deduction of 50 points.

"Fake Chaos Emeralds are useless to my plans but still replicate the power of a real emerald." Dr. Eggman muttered.

8. You Can't be Pregnant, Sick, Old, Mental, and a Scared Ass Bitch to be in This Cave.

Yoshi gulped, knowing he could be one of those scared-ass bitches.

9. Both parties have 80 Minutes unless a Team presses the red button.

10. Only 7 Chaos Emeralds are Needed to be Found.

The rules stayed present on the screen while treasure-hunting equipment was given to both teams by Crazy Hand.

"ALRIGHT, TIME STARTS NOW!" Master Hand said.

The audience roared excitedly as both teams dashed into the cave.

"This stuff will be very useful," Waluigi said, turning on his flashlight.

"Yes, it will." Yoshi tried to calm his nerves. As Team Mario went in a different direction, Team Sonic did the same.

"Hey Knuckles, I think it's best if we split up and look for the Chaos Emeralds. Why have two, amazing treasure hunters in one place when we can increase our odds!" Dr Eggman widely grined, showing his teeth.

". . .Brilliant idea, Eggman." Knuckles' eyes lit up from his great idea. "Let's meet in the same spot once we've gathered all seven of the emeralds." After that, both Knuckles and Dr. Eggman went their separate ways in the cave.

Yoshi tried not to show his bitchness as he clung to Waluigi's leg. An upset look was placed on Waluigi, as this had been going on since they went deeper into the cave.

"Let go of me!" Waluig shook his leg wideout, hoping to fling the dino out. Yoshi gripped his leg tighter and tighter till he lost blood circulation to his leg.

"NOO! I think I heard something! No, I don't wanna build a snowman!"

"Shut up!" Waluigi rammed his leg to a wall, injuring Yoshi alongside, as he lost grip, finally releasing him. Waluigi sighed, swiping his hands, and noticed a green glow below Yoshi.

"Oh, we found something." Waluigi pushed Yoshi's corpse and picked up the green emerald. Bright like a lightbulb, he was captivated by its beauty.

"Hopefully it ain't a fake. . . Like your career. . . hehehe." Yoshi mumbled, as he slowly got up on his feet.

Waluigi rolled his eyes and walked ahead of Yoshi. Little did they know, a little robotic spider watched their every move.

(oOoOoOo)

V.I.P Section

"NARUTO, WHO DO YOU THINK IS GONNA WIN?" Master Hand asked. The VIP section had their microphones to speak their opinion for the audience.

"Hmm. . ." Naruto started slurping some instant ramen. "That Eggman is pretty suss, be he looks smart. That purple dude, Wawa? He's kinda carrying the team. Better believe it."

"ALRIGHT. WHAT ABOUT YOU, MIKU AND. . . WHO THE FUCK IS DAT GUY?"

"I think the green dog's gonna win," Miku said, eating cotton candy.

"Wise words from Miku-chan." Kaito grinned, nodding. "Even though I just got here, but believe the red dog will win for the team."

"ROSALINA?" Master Hand asked.

Rosalina smiled. "I support Team Mario all the way, as I am from their world."

"MAKATO?"

"Dr. Eggman is someone to be watched. . ." Makato commented. "Other than that, I think Team Sonic has the advantage. . ."

"AND SO YOU HEARD IT FROM OUR SPECIAL GUESTS! LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!"

(oOoOoOo)

Ike was sitting by Marth, still intrigued to see the. . . measurements of Makato. "Come on, just one look. It's not like a secret. . ."

Marth side-eyed Ike. "It is a secret to keep your perverted brain out of the gutter."

"Fucking hell. . . Who says I'm a pervert?"

Marth, Roy, and Miru simultaneously raised their hand.

". . ." Ike kept quiet for a bit, crossing his arms. "Don't see it. It's best I asked her myself since you're too stubborn to show me. Hell, I'll even bring her here."

"As if asking her would make any difference." Roy scoffed.

"Someone's confident," Miru muttered.

(oOoOoOo)

Man Cave

Knuckles smirked, finding a red Chaos Emerald. "Hmph. So far, so good. . ."

As Knuckles ventured down the dark cave, another little robotic spider spied on Knuckles from the walls of the cave.

Dr. Eggman, from another part of the cave, noticed the slight difference of a fake emerald. The smell of sugar. He picked up a blue "Chaos Emerald", taking a larger sniff.

"Hmph, they think they could fool me with these candy-shaped emeralds? But you gotta admit, the details are incredible. . ." Dr. Eggman widely grinned. "Hehehe. . . no biggy. Once my spiders find the rest of the emeralds of this miserable cave, I'll take them! Ohohohoh~!"

50 Minutes to Go. . .

As Knuckles wandered around the cave, he came across Team Mario: Waluigi and Yoshi holding two emeralds. A green and purple one. Knuckles smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"Well then, I don't mind doing a two-vs-one. If you guys would be so kind as to hand them over unless you wanna fight here and now."

Yoshi gulped his spit while Waluigi sweated like a pig on a hot summer. They knew Knuckles for a long time when it came to competing in the Mario and Sonic Olympics.

Yoshi whispered over Waluigi. "What are we going to do? Hashtag Knuckles is a power type!"

"Run. . .!" Waluigi dashed off, followed by Yoshi going the opposite direction.

"Hey! As if I'd let you get away! Come back here and fight, cowards!" Knuckles botled off into a run, chasing them.

(oOoOoOo)

Less than five minutes were left on the clock and six of the real Chaos Emeralds had been found.

"Whoa! This is getting interesting!" Naruto gleamed, eating his 23rd bowl of instant ramen.

"If you don't mind me asking, Naruto, isn't it unhealthy to eat that much ramen?" Rosalina asked.

"At least give me some ramen~." Miku whined.

"Ramen is what gives me energy!" Naruto spat.

"Eating ramen everything can lead to consuming high takes of sodium. Your health will drop significantly." Rosalina explained, taking away his 23rd bowl of ramen.

"Hey! Give it back!" Naruto growled.

"It's for your own sake, Naruto."

"What are you, my mom?!"

"Why not have some leak," Miku showed him a long leak.

"Fuck your leak!" Naruto smacked the leak from the Vocaloid's hands.

"My leak! No one rejects the leak!"

"Nobody rejects Miku's leak!" Kaito joined.

"Give me back my ramen!" Naruto growled as a sudden fiery range surrounded his body. "Kurama! Give me some chakra!"

"Idiot boy!"

Makato paid no mind to Naruto's rage and watched the Treasure Hunt. "It seems that Dr. Eggman found another emerald."

Her comment made the other VIPs stop and turn to the big projector.

"Well, I'd be damn!" Naruto grinned.

Dr. Eggman smirked at the white emerald he picked up. "Now this is real! My little spider robots have now spotted all the real emeralds. It's time to win this pathetic treasure hunt!" The mad doctor slammed his hand on the red button, causing the man cave to shake like an earthquake.

Knuckles caught up with Dr Eggman, holding his share of the emeralds. "Hmph, you seemed rather confident to go and press it. Good." He smirked. "I managed to get the real emeralds from Team Mario."

"Looks like we might win this!" Tails cheered.

"I know!" Amy smiled.

"Hohoho! Well, done Knuckles! For doing half of the work!" Dr. Eggman wasn't done pressing buttons as he pulled out another small remote of his own. The moment he pressed it, a bunch of robotic spiders shot their webs at Knuckles, paralyzing his moments.

"H-hey! Eggman! What are you doing?!" Knuckles' body froze from the paralysis, making it easy for Dr. Eggman to swipe his bag, taking five of the real emeralds.

"This isn't good. . ." Sonic shot up from his seat, eyeing the screen.

"It was stupid for us to trust him! He has all of the emeralds now!" Chris said.

Even as the cave was collapsing, Dr. Eggman didn't care. The Seven Chaos Emeralds he gathered all glowed like a blinding light, causing the whole stadium to rumble.

Everyone began to panic, the audience, the Smashers, everyone that was in the stadium.

"Great, another canon event that has nothing to do with us. . ." Ike groaned, crossing his arms regardless of the massive earthquake.

"What's happening?!" Roy tried to keep a hold on Marth's waist.

"Princess! Ugh. . . This earthquake is crazy." Miru attempted to keep his balance.

"This isn't good!" Marth furrowed his eyes at the screen. "Those emeralds he has must be the problem. . ."

"EVERYONE STAY CALM!" Master Hand announced. His words didn't help; more screams and cries only made the situation worse.

"WE CAN'T BE LIABLE IF PEOPLE DIE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO STOP THAT DOCTOR!" Crazy Hand said.

"NOW EVERYONE! BOW DOWN BEFORE ME! HOHOHOHOHO!" Dr. Eggman left the cave unscathed with his spider robots. The spider robots from the power of the seven emeralds became ten times stronger and bigger like giants. Knuckles, Yoshi, and Waluigi barely made it out alive from the cave as it collapsed.

"Sonic! What should we do?" Tails panicked, looking at Sonic.

Sonic sweatdropped for a bit but looked up at the sky, seeing orange. Many orange ninjas with a light blue ball in their hands. "I think we good, buddy. Someone else got it covered."

"Huh?! What do you mean, Sonic?" Tails followed Sonic's gaze and looked up as well.

"SAGE ART: MASSIVE MEGA RASENGAN BARRAGE!" Naruto and his fifty-plus clones with frog eyes aimed their Rasengan at Dr. Eggman and his robots during the earthquake.

Dr. Eggman's mustache shivered up. He thought Sonic would fight him, but not Naruto, a ninja not from their world.

Seconds later, the stadium was caught in the major blast of Naruto's attack and the power of the Chao Emerlads, creating a mushroom cloud from the distance.