Chapter Eleven – World War
A year went by, Sukko and Shadow had gotten married, in a private family wedding, the teachings the Mobians left the locals, in the Mushroom Kingdom, became essentials as now they were able to hold their own against Bowser. Now there was relative peace, the King Koopa not as much of a threat as he used to be. He was still around, but since he became a father, with Bowser Jr., as he just turned up with a baby, from who knows where, everything had significantly settled.
But it got Mario thinking about a certain Blue Hedgehog. Well, both of them, in fact, and wondered how the twins were doing. Soon, it was agreed that it was time for the locals to visit Mobius, but try as the Toads might, they couldn't contact Tails, through the dimensions. It wasn't a case of the messages weren't getting through, the Fox just wasn't answering.
Intensely worried, the Toads, managed to generate a electronic portal to Mobius, and it was agreed that Mario and Luigi should go alone, and find out what was going on. The black portal opened and they went through, to the worst experience of their lives.
They landed in pitch darkness, to banging, crashing, screaming and explosions all around them. The portal closed behind them, before they could flee back through. Ahead of them was a city, but the place had been ransacked, destroyed by the biggest robots the brothers had seen in their lives. They squealed, having literally landed in a war zone. Now they understood why the Fox hadn't answered. As the skyscraper high mass-produced Death Egg Robot, went for them, Mario and Luigi had no choice but to run for their lives. They immediately regretted coming and that visiting Mobius when Eggman had completely taken over, having successfully pushed back the Resistance, to a few rag-tag band of warriors, wasn't a good idea.
But the brothers, and their friends from the Mushroom Kingdom didn't know this, when they arrived, looking for Sonic and company. But as they ran through City Heights, further robots came out of nowhere, attacking them, but Mario immediately dived for his pocket for a power-up and swallowed it, Luigi doing the same. They attacked the robot, punching it, but both their power-ups were immediately knocked out of them, as they broke their knuckles on the machine. It was that strong. It just looked at them, and fired his arm mounted cannon. They screamed, running from the machines, as further robots come out of nowhere. But as the brothers ran towards the locals for help, Mario and Luigi found themselves, having rocks and stones thrown at them, as people just outright panicked. They were Humans, looking very similar to Eggman. It caused hysteria.
But as further explosions, and more robots entered the city, Mario and Luigi just fled, in terror. Where were the powerhouse Mobians that ripped Bowser apart? Was anyone still alive? But as the brothers were forced to a halt, as they found themselves surrounded, they realised they were done for. They were going to die here, and no one in the Mushroom Kingdom was going to know. They screamed, but out of nowhere, an almighty ball of red quills came out of nowhere, as well as the bright cyan aura of a certain Psychic, as Silver and Knuckles landed on them, brutally fight the machines. They were tough but after about ten minutes, they were all smashed on the floor. Silver finally noticed the brothers. He gulped and hard.
"Whoa!" He stammered. Knuckles looked at him, until he finally saw Mario and Luigi for himself. He growled hard, rounding on them.
"What in the Chaos are you two doing here?" He blasted. But Mario gulped.
"We came looking for your guys. It's been a year since we saw you." He panted. But Silver growled.
"Yeah, we know, but Eggman has taken over. It's all out war." He panted. But Knuckles scowled.
"Well, we did tell you that there was war on here, but since we last saw you, but the Human has succeeded with his world domination plans, with his pet Jackal, Infinite and that Phantom Ruby of his. Sixty percent of the planet is now owned by the Human, and that increases by the day. It's been utter hell. G.U.N., the main military organisation had been disbanded, the Mobian Authorities are on the verge of collapse, and the Resistance has now just a handful of us left. We have a army of locals fighting for us, but they are somewhat limited on what they can do." He heaved. But Luigi blinked.
"But where's Sonic?" He stammered, but Silver almost cried.
"He's gone. Infinite defeated him, about three months ago, as Tails has just lost it. He's now missing." He sniffed, to the utter shock of the brothers. But Knuckles just rounded on him.
"Don't give up, you stupid Psychic. We'll see the Blue Blur again. He's not dead." He hissed. However, Mario frowned.
"But what about..." He wondered as he about to asked after his brother, but Knuckles silenced him, slamming his hand over his mouth, desperately shaking his head. He gave the Plumber a fierce look.
"That's how I know he's alive." He whispered, indicating the Sorcerer. But Silver frowned.
"What?" He puzzled, but the Echidna just brushed him off, as he heaved, as further explosions happened all around them.
"Regardless, we can't stay here." He hissed, as they all began running through the city. He rounded on the brothers. "You guys being Human right now, isn't exactly great, such is the hatred and fear of Eggman. We need to get you guys out of sight. You'll cause outright panic with the locals." He hissed. Both the brothers looked at each other. Already done that. Mario that dived for his pocket for a power-up and found the Cat Bell. Luigi did likewise and got the Racoon Leave. Both of them wolfed them down, and immediately their were transformed in their respective animals, except for their faces. Silver stared as Knuckles raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" He frowned. "That's better. You are less lightly to be spotted now, but you do still look weird." He admitted. Suddenly, a Sargent from the local army, came running through, and beelined straight for Knuckles and Silver, completely ignoring Mario and Luigi. They heaved, with relief. It worked. He panted, hard, saluting the Echidna.
"Commander, the city had been successfully evacuated. We've gotten out everyone we can find. There no sightings of either Infinite or Eggman in Sunset Sights." He reported. Knuckles nodded.
"Very good." He hissed. "That's means they're not here. Now, let's get going, people." He blasted. Immediately, the Sargent disappeared into the city, as they ran for the outskirts of the city, dodging further robot attacks, and out. Mario panted, round on the Echidna.
"Your in charge?" He wondered. But Knuckles growled.
"Yeah, but not by choice." He admitted. "Since Sonic's defeat, the mantle of leader fell on me." He stammered. "I've never seen the Blue Blur beaten before like that, in battle, and seeing their hero, go down, it caused worldwide hysteria, and in that panic, Eggman took complete advantage of the situation and took over. Now it's a world war." He gulped. Suddenly, there were out of the city, as they ran through forests, and then out towards a rocky outlands, and deserted area. Regardless, they were far from Sunset Heights. Outside a non assuming cave, suddenly, they stopped, as Silver growled.
"We're here." He spat. But Knuckles nodded.
"You go on ahead. I need to debrief these two before heading inside." He ordered. Silver agreed, and then suddenly, he vanished. Immediately, Mario and Luigi pounced on the Echidna for an enormous hug, which he took. He heaved. "I'm alright." He admitted. Both the brothers were frightened, but Knuckles rounded on them, deeply whispering to them. "I know worried about the twins, but you can't, under any circumstances, mention Sukko to anyone. If the truth of his powers became known, the entire family would be slaughtered. They are illegal, and right now, Eggman had completely forgotten about him, and I'd like to keep it that way." He hissed, extremely careful with his words, so not to say 'Magic' or 'Sorcerer'. "Like I said, he was the one to told me that Sonic was alive. He's looking for him. His been secretly backing us up with his 'skills'. Incredible hacking abilities, giving us desperately needed intelligence against Eggman and Infinite. But classic King of Stealth, as to where he is, his base of operations, I have no idea. He contacts us, when he has something. Our 'anonymous' tipster. But no one knows this, just me and Shadow." He growled. But Luigi looked around.
"But where is Shadow?" He frowned, but Knuckles roared with temper and hard.
"Swapped side, apparently." He hissed. "People have seen him fighting for Eggman and Infinite." But Mario frowned.
"What?" He blinked. "I don't believe that for a second." He gasped. But Knuckles sighed.
"Neither do the twins. Sukko believes he is missing also, and that the others are imposters. He's looking for him too, but no luck yet. But right now, I just don't know. Truthfully, I have no idea how all this will end." He sighed, but then he rounded on the brothers. "Remember, traps shut." He hissed, as he lead the way into the cave, down a long tunnel, and into the Residence Headquarters. Mario and Luigi were lead to the main brown walled, computer room, where the console span one entire wall stood. It consisted of one enormous monitor and multiple keyboards, and access points. In the middle of room, was a large singular grey table, which contained another monitor, with black legs, no chairs, where strategies for the war were discussed.
As the brothers entered, they were pounced on by Vector, Espio, Charmy and Amy, all of them equally stunned that the brothers were even there. Suddenly, the main computer console begin beeping, as Silver dived for it, desperately typing. He called back to Knuckles.
"Commander, it's your guy in the field, again. He'd pulled through. He managed to track down Infinite to Metropolis. It seems Eggman has a presence there." He heaved.
Knuckles quietly cheered.
"Yes." He praised, running up the monitor. "But that city is huge. Does he give any specifics?" He frowned. But Vector just gasped.
"There's no way he'll know that." He heaved, but Silver suddenly squealed, in pure delight.
"Yes, wow, this guy's good. Delta quadrant." He reported. But Vector blinked.
"How?" He wondered, but Knuckles grinned and hard.
"It doesn't matter. Come on, at least it's a place to start, and maybe catch that blasted Jackal off his guard." He hissed, as he suddenly, disappeared, ordering both Mario and Luigi to stay put. They all nodded. Sukko, and he was doing it again. Saving the world. Soon the Resistance was organised and was quickly ready to move out to Metropolis. As everyone went their separate ways, Mario and Luigi were left alone in the main console room. They didn't argue, at least here, they were safe, as they'd had the fright of their lives today.
Suddenly, a small beep, on the main monitor, caught the attention of the brothers, as small writing appeared in the bottom right hand corner. It was very sarcastic.
'Loving the outfits, by the way.' It said. Mario and Luigi looked at each other, but as they were about the say the Sorcerer's name, questioning to see if it was indeed him, he answered for them. Suddenly, the writing vanished to be instantly replaced with new.
'Don't say anything, the place is bugged, and the cameras can't see this corner of the screen. I can read your minds from here.'
It was indeed the Sorcerer.
Sukko was nowhere near the fighting. He was casting extremely powerful Magic from his Penthouse Suite, in Robotropolis, the other side of the planet to the majority of the action. But that didn't mean the war hadn't found it's way to his safe-haven. Manic constantly had his hands full destroying Eggman's robots, including skyscraper high mass-produced Death Egg Robots, either outside of the city gates, or in the Great Savannah that surrounded Robotropolis, around the clock, just to keep everyone safe.
Sukko could fight directly, but he had too much to loose, as a father and had gotten quickly outvoted by both his brothers and husband. He growled, he had do something, so taking long-term leave from the hospital, he had an idea, knowing it would be more useful then healing. In the centre of the lounge of the Penthouse, and using nothing but pure Magic, he built his 'guy in the chair' setup. An intricate and the most advanced computer console setup, ever. It was huge desk, curved in a semi-circle, with multiple keyboards and mice, looking up to more then a dozen monitors. Mounted to the desk were two stools on slides, so they could easily glide from one end of the setup to the other. It was designed for two people to use, but Sukko ran around it entirely on his own, insanely fast.
He quickly accessed the Resistance, and gained their trust, and then went on an all-out digital war against Eggman, hacking and attacking, anything and everything, perfectly covering his tracks, expanding his telepathy worldwide, so finding Mario and Luigi was easy, as he gave any and all intelligence he could find, on that horrid Human, to the Resistance. His impact was immediately felt, especially with Sonic gone. The Mario and Luigi hugged each other, quietly cheering, big grins all around. Suddenly, the writing changed again.
'Wow, I'm honoured your think so highly of me.' It said, rather humbling. 'I'm alright, just not directly fighting in this war. Sonikku's orders, but I'm still doing what I can.' It added, as further writing appeared.
'My brother is doing ok, as far as I can tell. He's alive, and if I strain my abilities, we can just about feel him. He's frightened, locked in a cell, getting tortured but unfortunately, he has no idea where he is, and I can't locate him either. There is an almighty block between us, both physically and on the Psychic Link, which I'm working, day and night, to get around. When I find him, the Resistance will be the first to know.' He explained, as the writing vanished. Sukko was also desperately looking for his husband as well, but didn't tell them that. All of the 'Shadows' on the field had no telepathic signature. They weren't real, and try as Sukko might, he just couldn't find the real Ultimate Lifeform's unique organic bright red signal. But the Sorcerer didn't give up. The hybrid was ruthlessly and famously intensely difficult to take down, Sukko was sure he'd be back.
But Mario and Luigi looked at each other, utterly disheartened. Suddenly, the writing was back, heaving hard, as Sukko read their mind's again, seeing their concerns.
'I have no idea when you guys can go home. Or at least, not without Eggman knowing. Creating any inter-dimensional portal will generate a huge amount of energy, something of which the Human would immediately notice, and right now, the Resistance needs to stay under the radar.' He explained. Then Sukko lifted up both the brothers heart's.
'I'd suggest you stay low, keep your heads down, and you'll be fine. Stay in and around the Resistance Headquarters, for now, helping out where you can. It's safe there, as I monitor all traffic in and out of it. But I give you my word, we'll see each other again.' He added, and then with one final sentence the Sorcerer made both the brothers giggle.
'Remember, whoo, I don't exist.' He added, pretending to be ghost, and soon the writing was gone as fast as it arrived, as Rouge came in, looking for them.
For the next three months, Mario and Luigi helped where they could around the Headquarters. Mario get at job as an assistant, to the Doctor, in the sickbay and Luigi worked wondered in the kitchens. The brothers specifically choose those jobs as they could hide the fact that they were Human, by wearing uniforms, hats and facemasks. The power-up didn't last forever, and they only had limited supply. So they decided when they turned back to normal, to save them only for emergencies. But suddenly, one day, as the brothers having lunch together, on a break, as excitement exploded right across the bunker.
The Blue Blur had been found.
The look on Knuckles's face, of pure delight, just said it all. The war had been utterly horrendous of late, with Eggman pushing back the Resistance so hard, that he now controlled nearly ninety percent of Mobius. They desperately needed a miracle and Sukko delivered. The Sorcerer had done it. He found the hero, his brother, and now a rescue mission was underway, as Sonic was being held off-planet. The Death Egg. Mario gulped.
"Off-planet?" He repeated, looking at the Echidna. "Well, that explains why you couldn't find him." He stammered, as Knuckles nodded, and immediately left.
Sonic The Hedgehog was coming home.
But before that happened, disaster struck. There was utter chaos, as Eggman stumbled into the area, close to the entrance to the bunker. The Resistance Headquarters wasn't found, but it was horrendously close, as the robots came out of nowhere, both Mario and Luigi, whom were outside foraging for the kitchen, were captured.
Sukko swore, seeing it happen, from his apartment. With the Residence entirely preoccupied with his brother's rescue, Mario and Luigi was now sitting ducks, if the Sorcerer didn't do anything. If Eggman found them, he'd kill them. But right now, the Human was unaware the brothers had been captured. Everything in his empire was automatic. He didn't monitor every robot battalion around the world. It was physically impossible, so only back at the detection centre itself, would the Human realise. Sukko had to intervene before then.
But how? He couldn't enter the war, as himself, it was too dangerous, and he couldn't masquerade as someone else, still behind bars. Suddenly, he felt it. The Psychic Link. The connection was getting stronger, until finally, the Sorcerer's eyes lit up bright blue, as he heard his brother's voice down the powerful telepathic connection, as finally it came into range, as they heard each other, inside their minds, for the first time in months. Sonic squealed.
{Sukko!} He bounced. The Sorcerer's heart just leapt.
{Sonikku.} He beamed. {I take it the Resistance have got you?} He asked. Sonic nodded, sounding exhausted.
{Yeah, we're currently on a space ship, coming home. I was on the Death Egg. I had no idea.} He breathed. Suddenly, he cried. {Oh Sukko, it's so good to hear your voice again. The last six months have been utter hell. The torture I could handle, but having the Psychic Link get so strained that I lost you. Yeah, that was tough.} He admitted. Sukko nodded, honoured. But Sonic growled. {So how is everyone?} He asked. The Sorcerer smiled.
{At home, here? Yeah, we're all fine, but the war has come to our gates, but it's not anything Manic can't handle.} He informed. Sonic nodded, utterly relieved, but then he raised an eyebrow.
{And the Resistance? I know you and the fact you've been helping them. I also know your tell-tale intelligence when I see it.} He smirked. Sukko nodded, and then gave a extremely detailed briefing of everything that happened during the war, in the last six months, since the Blue Blur's capture. The intelligence was superb as Sonic expected nothing less, from his own twin brother, but as the Blue Blur made it back to the Resistance Headquarters. They had no idea the Blue Blur was telepathically talking to his twin brother. In fact, he'd been doing it for years, and none of his friends ever knew. He deeply frowned.
{Wait, what? Mario and Luigi are here? As in, on Mobius?} He gasped. Sukko nodded.
{Yeah, they landed here looking for you, having no idea of the situation.} He reported, but he rounded on his twin. {But Sonikku, listen, I had them working at the Resistance Headquarters, to keep them safe. But the nearby grounds surrounding it, was invaded by robots, and the brothers have been captured, as they were working outside. Thankfully, the Resistance Headquarters themselves weren't found.} He stammered.
Sonic swore and hard. He didn't blame the brothers, they were only helping, and people had to occasionally leave the safe-haven, to find food, water and supplies. He growled.
{Sukko, does Eggman know he's got them, because if he finds them, he'll kill them.} He asked. Sukko dived for his computer and ran around it fast. He shook his head.
{No. At the moment, Eggman's troops are going crazy because you've been rescued. They are battering down the hatches, so to speak, ready for you.} He reported, but Sonic swore, but then he frowned.
{I've just been listening to guys here and they've been giving me the low down of what's going on, and none of them have mentioned Mario and Luigi. It seems like they've been forgotten.} He hissed, unimpressed. But Sukko smirked.
{Actually, Sonikku, under the circumstances, it's not that surprising, considering the Resistance have been prioritising finding you. We can use this to our advantage, and move the brothers.} He smiled. But Sonic frowned.
{What, to the Penthouse?} He asked, as Sukko nodded, but then he growled. {Ok, fine, but how are we going to get them out? I'm can't, at the moment. The Resistance are all over me.} He panted, but the Sorcerer just smirked.
{I can get them.} He hissed, but Sonic growled hard.
{No.} He spat, getting extremely defensive. {There has to be another way.} He growled, but Sukko just shrugged.
{Well, we don't have long, Sonikku, they'll be at the detection centre by nightfall.}
But as Sonic began strategising, the alarms went off at the Resistance, as Shadow was seen on the field, still fighting for Infinite. As the Blue Blur was forced to investigate it himself, he found a fake as the real Shadow intervened, destroying his own imposter. Both the Hedgehogs gulped as the in-laws just looked each other. Six months of being individually captured had permanently changed the dynamics between the two speedsters. All rivalries, arguments, and grievances they had, were immediately set side, and as soon as they alone, they just hugged it out. The Sorcerer squealed in delight.
{Stripes?} He panted, finally feeling the Ultimate Lifeform's unique telepathic signature. Sonic nodded.
{Yeah, I've got him. He's alright. It turns out he was captured by Infinite. Six months trapped in Virtual Reality, and somehow he managed to escape.} He heaved, as Sonic grabbed Shadow, placed his forehead in his own, and secretly allowed Sukko to cast through himself, down the Psychic Link, which he could, as Sonic's eyes glowed hard. The Sorcerer then directly telepathically connect with the Ultimate Lifeform. The resulting explosion of pure joy, as the married lovers found each other again, was incredible, as Shadow and Sukko just psychically hugged one another. The Black Hedgehog just closed his eyes.
That felt amazing. Six months trapped in Virtual Reality had been grossly unpleasant, but soon the speedsters realised, as they broke apart, there was still work to do. Shadow nodded to the Blue Blur.
"Thank you." He breathed, as they sped off back to the Headquarters, but then Sonic rounded on his twin, as the Resistance went crazy, as the sun went down. He quickly realised he didn't have much of a choice. Unfortunately, needs must. He sighed. {Sukko, the guys desperately need us back at base. Get Mario and Luigi out, and take them back to the Penthouse. But this is a stealth mission, masquerade as me if you have too, but make sure no one sees you.} He ordered.
As night fell, Sukko immediately nodded, and grabbing a few things, he vanished in a cloud of bright white orbs. On the field, unfortunately, things were getting desperate. People were struggling to tell the difference between what was real, and Infinite's virtual reality, and it was causing panic. But the Sorcerer could see straight through Infinite's virtual reality.
Mario and Luigi, however, weren't lackeys. With their power-ups, and enough lateral thinking, they could hold their own, and had managed to break out of their transport truck, dismantling their robot captors and were now stood on top of it, in the middle of Empire City. Not a good idea, if you know the place. But as more robots went for the brothers, they jumped from car to a truck, and again, until Mario and Luigi ended up on the top of a massive lorry on the motorway, a high walled freeway, that ran through the centre of the city. Sukko seeing all this, through his telepathy, growled. Everyone in the Resistance knew, that going there, against Eggman, was suicide.
He'd just flood the place with Badniks, from every side, trapping you and killing you. Soon Mario and Luigi were getting surrounded by robots, on the speeding motorway. They screamed. If they fell off the lorry, they'd be killed, if they were caught, they were done for. Sukko swore. There was only one way to get to the brothers in time. To fly for them. Teleporting was just too risky. He'd been seen, but the roar of speed he create while flying, especially low and fast, could potentially have him mistaken for someone else. Sonic. Sukko heaved, realising that he'd have to go for that. Racing through the sky at unbelievable speeds, the Sorcerer went straight for the motorway, from above, and towards Mario and Luigi. But Sukko wasn't built for speed, as he pushed his Super-Flight as he went for the brothers. Suddenly, Eggman's robots fired at them, and the truck began to explode.
Out of nowhere, there was a roar of sound, as, to the shock of the brothers, someone dived in, from above, and grabbed Mario and Luigi by the scuffs of their necks, and flew off with them. They scream, but as Sukko tries to get out of there, he's trapped, as robots completely surround them. He can't go up, he'll be seen, so he goes to ground, diving his Super-flight sharply downwards, below the freeway, into the shadowy depths underneath. He landed, still with Mario and Luigi under his arms, and diving for gruesome underpass, the Sorcerer dragged the brothers into the darkness, a hand over each of their mouths, just as the pursuing robots followed.
But Sukko stood firm, as Mario and Luigi both shook with fright, but didn't fight back. Finally, they both look at their rescuer, they frowned, not recognising him. He was wearing a black beanie hat, which covered his ears, and most of his head. His long black coat, was completely buttoned up, brown boots, and his blue quills, which were normally short and sharp, were now long, soft and smooth.
It took a lot of time and effort to get them, and keep them that way. In Hedgehogs, quills in males and females grow differently. In females, they are naturally soft, but in males, they are very hard. The girls tended to grow their quills out long and the guys kept them short. Perfect for cutting, grinding and digging, especially when spinning, but Sukko wasn't his brother, and even though he could somersault, he couldn't Spin-dash. As a Sorcerer, he sometimes didn't need his quills to be hard, so his subtly used his Magic to gently soften them, as they grew, until now where he could tie them back in a low ponytail, at the back of his head.
But now, all his long, blue quills were now completely hidden in his coat, and the rest, under his hat, and the net result was that there was very little tell-tale blue fur coat colouration showing. In fact, in the blackness, he could be barely seen, but as the robots got closer, desperately searching for them. Suddenly, Mario looked down, and realised he could see, through his own hands. His eyes widened.
Invisibility?
He then rounded on his saviour, the bright blue glowing, stunning green eyes of a certain Sorcerer, finally, giving him away. He signalled to a terrified Luigi, who finally calm down, delighted.
Sukko had rescued them.