Chapter 4: Wario Vs. Shadow
Shadow was running all over Mobiüs in search of for Mario. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but other then Robotnik, no humans were known to live on Mobiüs, so he figured Mario would stick out like a sore thumb. Shadow was also on the lookout for a Chaos Emerald; he didn't care which one or how many, as long as he got one. In the meantime, he still knew how to defend himself, and he could still get pretty fast, especially since he made the term "rockets for shoes" literal. At the time, he was running over the ocean when he saw an island in the sky. He didn't stop to look at it; he would have fallen into the sea if he had, and he didn't know how to swim. He noted it, and kept on running until he reached a normal island, which had a huge mountain on top of it. He decided to try looking from up there to get a better view of things.
"What am I?" he asked himself aloud. "Why can't I remember anything before that turtle woke me up? What's a Chaos Emerald, and why do I feel like I need one? And why in the world was there a flying island?"
Shadow couldn't figure anything out,
but he did spot a cave. He decided that was as good of place as any to
look for Mario, so he decided to do so.
"I can't believe this!" Wario said as he was walking through the Mystic Cavern. "A huge mysterious cave, and not one piece of treasure in sight!"
"Don't worry about that!" Robotnik said over a radio he gave to Wario. "You'll have all the money you need after you take down Sonic!"
"I've already got all the money I need," Wario said. "I need you to give me all the money I want!"
"Fine, just get the job done! Wait,
I'm picking up something on the radar, and it's moving at over seven hundred
miles per hour!" Robotnik said. "And he's in the cave, it has to be him!
He's found me already. Strange, he usually only goes after me whenever
I attack Mobiüs. Nonetheless, finish him!"
"Well, I have no doubt that this is Mobiüs's most populated city," Luigi said. "I mean, just look at everyone that's here! This one city seems to have more people than all of the Mushroom Kingdom!"
"Has anyone else noticed that we're the only humans here, or is it just me?" Mario asked.
"No, I haven't seen any others either," Peach said. "I guess we're kind of like aliens here."
"That would explain why lots of people are giving us weird looks," Luigi said, "but we'd probably find Sonic a lot faster if we actually asked someone."
Mario walked up to a raccoon and asked about Sonic.
"Of course I've heard of him, I mean, who hasn't?" said the raccoon. "But I don't know where he is."
"Do you know anyone who might know?" Mario asked.
"Well, I don't really know them, but I've heard of this group of detectives, Team Chaotix, I think," the raccoon said. "They're in the city looking for business, I heard, and I've heard good things about them."
"Do you know where in the city they are?" Mario asked.
"I'm not certain, but they would probably be in the main market place," the raccoon explained. "If anyone's looking for business, or wants to give someone business, there's no better place in all of Megaopilis!"
"Could you give us some directions?" Peach asked. "We're not from around here."
"No offence, but it kind of shows," said the raccoon. "The name is Thomas."
"You don't mean Thomas as in Tom Nook, do you?" Luigi asked.
"No, just Tom the raccoon," Tom said.
"Come on, I'll show you where it is."
"So remind me why we're going to this filthy place," Amy said. "I hate oil!"
"First of all, we're not going; Knuckles, Tails, and I are," Sonic said. "And secondly, the reason is because Tails thinks he had a dream about it."
"Since when is Tails psychic?" Amy asked.
"He's not, but the thing is, he actually was flying, and I didn't see him sleeping at all last night," Sonic said. "Something must have happened there. I'm not sure if a giant sword really did fall from the sky, but something strange must be going on; Tails doesn't hallucinate."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Amy asked.
"I already told you, you're not coming!" Sonic sighed.
"Fine, I'll just follow a few feet behind you like always." Amy chuckled.
"You know, Sonic, she has a point," Knuckles said. "Just let the girl come with us for once."
"Yeah, she probably won't annoy you as much if you just let her come along!" Tails laughed as he flew up.
"Why did you fly up so quickly?" Knuckles asked.
"Because he knows what I'd do to him if he came down after that comment!" Amy said as she swung around her Piko Piko hammer.
"No, but we should get going," Tails said as he stuck out his tongue at Amy.
"Real mature, you two," Sonic joked, "but you aren't coming, and that's final!"
"Why not?" Amy asked as she cried.
"Because you'll think that we're on a date!" Sonic said. "That's all you ever think about!"
"Well, I know Sonic's going to take up this offer, but I'm leaving now, so if any of you want to follow me, you'd better do it quick!" Tails said as he flew on ahead.
"You've got that right. Come on, Knuckles!" Sonic said as he ran off to follow Tails.
"Wait for us!" Amy said as she and Knuckles
ran off after them.
"Here we are, the largest trade center in all of Mobiüs!" Tom said. "Don't let the fact that we call this the 'Market Place' fool you, it's one of the most technologically advanced places on the planet as well! Although, if you were to see the Twilight Station, this place would seem primitive, I'll admit."
"Thank you very much," Mario said.
"No problem!" Tom said. "See you guys later!"
"Hey, I just realized something, we were just having somebody help us find somebody to help us find somebody!"
"You're right, I guess that was kind of odd," Peach said. "Now we just need to find this Team Chaotix."
"Hey, did you say you were looking for us?" asked a bee.
"Depends, who are you?" Luigi asked.
"Charmy Bee, at your service!" Charmy said. "I'm the mascot of Team Chaotix!"
"Perfect!" Mario said. "Could you show us where your office is?"
"That's quite a ways away," Charmy explained. "We're visiting here looking for people who might need our services. Things haven't been so good back home."
"If you can do the job for us, we can pay you quite a bit," Peach said.
"Well, Vector always says that our policy is to never turn down a job that pays, so follow me!" Charmy said as he led them to an out door booth.
Inside the booth was a purple chameleon, and a crocodile wearing a pair of headphones. Charmy smiled and held out his hand as he showed the three of them his team.
"The name is Vector! What do you three need?" the crocodile asked.
"We need you to find someone for us," Peach explained.
"We charge a hefty fee, but we'll get the job done," said the chameleon. "My name is Espio, and if you need a spy to get you information on this person, I'm your best bet."
"Hold your horses!" Vector said. "We're not even sure if they're willing to pay!"
Peach reached into her pocket and pulled out a large diamond about the size of an eyeball. Vector couldn't believe what she was offering.
"Okay! A few more of these and we're yours for life!" Vector laughed. "So who do you want us to find?"
"The famous hero, Sonic the Hedgehog," Mario said.
"I can't believe I'm turning down this much money, but we can't do that," Vector said. "We know Sonic, and we won't spy on him for you."
"We don't need a spy, we just need to find where he is so we can talk to him," Luigi explained. "We need his help."
"Lots of people need his help, and unless you can guarantee our pay regardless, we can't do it," Espio explained.
"As long as you find him," Peach agreed.
"Besides, I think he'll make an exception for Mario."
"Have you found Sonic yet?" Eggman asked. "The security systems are going beserk!"
"Hold on!" Wario said. "I here something nearby, I'll just wait for him."
"Now listen to me, you fool!" Robotnik shouted over the radio. "If you want to receive so much as a single cent from me, you will do exactly as I say, understand?"
"Fine, I'm going!" Wario sighed.
He advanced a bit further until he saw a shadowy figure.
"This is Fat Man to Egg Head!" Wario shouted. "I've found the infestation!"
"Did I tell you to use idiotic code names?" Robotnik asked. "Just take care of him!"
"Roger that, Egg Head!" Wario laughed as he went towards the hedgehog and said, "Say your prayers, rat boy!"
Shadow saw Wario and assumed it was Mario. He simply laughed and kicked at Wario. Wario ducked to avoid the attack, and then swung at Shadow with his fist. Shadow was too quick for the attack to hit him, as he quickly jumped up and kicked Wario in the face. Wario retaliated by grabbing Shadow's foot and throwing him into the ground.
"What's going on over there?" Eggman asked over the radio. "I haven't had time to install security cameras yet, so start telling me what you're doing!"
Wario took the radio out, and Shadow kicked it as he got back up. The radio shattered as it fell on the floor. Wario ignored it and charged at Shadow with his elbow. Shadow was able to dodge the attack, and swung a punch at Wario. The punch hit Wario's stomach, but it just bounced off him.
"I've got abs of jello!" Wario laughed as he jumped over Shadow and ground pounded him.
Shadow was knocked aside, but he just smiled and laughed. Then he stopped laughing and said, "I have to admit, Mario, you're stronger then I expected. Looks like it's time for me to stop fooling around."
"Watch what you say, Sonic! You'll regret comparing me to that loser!" Wario said as he punched at Shadow. Shadow stopped the punch by grabbing Wario's hand.
"Hold on, who's Sonic?" Shadow asked. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, and if you're not Mario, then who are you?"
"I'm his greatest enemy, Wario!" Wario laughed. "And I'm trying to find a blue rat named Sonic, that way I can kill him and collect my pay."
"Well then, perhaps we can help each other." Shadow laughed. "We can search for our targets together, and then we'll take them out one at a time, deal?"
"Fine, I've been waiting to finish off Mario for the longest time anyway," Wario said. "Deal! We can fight them together!"
"Well then, that makes things easier
for the both of us. I'll see you later, Wario," Shadow said. "Until then,
good luck with your hunt."
Chapter 5: Target Acquired
When the four heroes of Mobiüs reached the oil ocean, they couldn't beleive what they saw: the whole ocean was on fire.
"That's impossible!" Tails said. "Who could have done this?"
"I don't know, and I don't care, we have to stop this," Knuckles said.
"You're right, no one should set a whole ocean ablaze and get away with it," Sonic said. "This horrific act won't go unpunished."
"Who would do such a thing?" Amy asked. "It's terrible!"
As they looked into the fire, they saw a large figure standing on top of the fire. Then they realized it wasn't a person at all, it was a giant sword that was destroying everything in sight.
"What is that thing?" Sonic asked.
"So I wasn't dreaming. But I've been seeing this for the past few months, why is it just now attacking?" Tails asked.
"I'm not sure," Sonic sighed, "but it isn't going to get away with this. Tails, can you get me in close enough to attack him?"
"I don't think so, I'll get the Cyclone over here as fast as I can," Tails said.
"Okay, we'll try to stop the flames from spreading until you get back," Knuckles said.
"What do I do?" Amy asked.
"Stay out of the way." Sonic sighed.
"Let's do this!"
Shadow had reached Megaopolis when he finally saw Mario. Shadow wasn't expecting to find anyone with Mario, and didn't know which of the two Mario Bros. was Mario.
"It doesn't matter," he said to himself. "Either way, I'd better notify Ludwig."
Shadow fixed the radio he had destroyed earlier and adjusted the frequency to a channel Ludwig had told him earlier.
"This is Shadow," Shadow said. "Target acquired, dead or alive?"
"As long as ze plumver is taken care of, I don't care," Ludwig said. "Just make sure he can't vozer Daddy King again!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't understand that last part, repeat that," Shadow asked.
"My fazer," Ludwig said. "Make sure Mario can't vozer my fazer ever again!"
"Understood. Time to have a little fun
with him," Shadow said as he ran towards the Mario Bros, Peach, and Team
Chaotix.
Eggman gave Wario a new radio. Instead of going for Sonic immediately, Robotnik suggested he steal the Chaos Emeralds. That meant one thing: he would have to go to Angel Island. Robotnik had explained to him that Angel Island was the place where the Master Emerald rested. The main problem wasn't that the Master Emerald was so big, but the fact that Angel Island floated in the sky. This also made it difficult to steal the Master Emerald, as whenever the Master Emerald was disturbed, the island would plummet into the ocean like a normal island. Robotnik had a plan, however, and this included rebuilding one of his favorite inventions, the EES Egg Carrier.
"As you know, we need to fly to reach Angel Island," Eggman said, "so I have taken the liberty of recreating and even improving on one of my greatest inventions ever! The Mystic Cave has a near endless supply of raw materials, probably even enough to rebuild the EES Death Egg! However, we don't have time for such a collossus, even if there is enough metal in this cavern."
"Metal? You mean like bronze, silver, gold, and platinum?" Wario asked. "Anything in here that would sell?"
"Forget the money for a second and listen! The EES Egg Carrier was a large fortress I built capable of staying airborne for months at a time, and I had two of them. One was destroyed by Sonic, and the other by Chaos," Eggman stated, "but now that I've found that this place is so rich in metals, I was able to reinforce the already impressive armor of this flying battlestation! Behold, the EES Egg Carrier III!"
Eggman pressed a button on a remote, and the whole cave started to shake. The top of the cave opened up to reveal the sky, and the floor beneath them moved aside to reveal the Egg Carrier being raised from underneath them. It was almost a quarter of a mile in length, and its wings barely fit into the cave. It looked basically like the other two Egg Carriers, but this one had more guns.
"So, how much money will this thing get us?" Wario asked.
"You don't get it. When I rule the world, you'll get all the money you want!" Robotnik laughed. "Is that too much for your thick head to comprehend? Never mind, just get in. This will be a simple mission: you'll go on to Angel Island, get the Master Emerald, and come back here. In the meantime, I'll be working on the ultimate machine that will spell doom for Sonic once and for all!"
"The ultimate machine is an ATM machine!" Wario said.
"You idiot, you never say the word 'machine' after 'ATM'!" Robotnik shouted. "It's redundent!"
"How so?" Wario asked.
"ATM means automatic teller machine, so you just told me that, 'The ultimate machine is an automatic teller machine machine!'" Robotnik explained.
"You said machine twice," Wario said, "and I didn't say 'automatic teller machine', I said, 'ATM'."
Robotnik just sighed, trying to restrain himself from using Wario as target practice for the Egg Carrier.
"Just get in the EES Egg Carrier
III," Eggman sighed.
Tail got in his trusty biplane, the Tornado, and flew back over to the Oil Ocean as fast as he could. He kept it in biplane mode (because I can't remember the name of the other mode). He didn't even stop when he reached the ocean, he simply swooped low enough for the three of them to jump on.
"Amy!" Sonic shouted since he knew she would have a hard time hearing him over the engine's roar. "You're supposed to stay back there!"
"What? I couldn't understand you!" Amy laughed. "The Tornado is too loud! You'll just have to tell me after our adventure is over!"
Sonic just sighed and ignored her. He looked around for any platforms near the sword that everyone could jump to. They found one that wasn't yet weakened by the flames and jumped off. Amy and Knuckles soon followed. Tails couldn't find a surviving area large enought to land the Tornado, so he decided to just make passes with the Tornado, firing when he had a clear shot.
"Who are you fools?" asked the sword.
"You can talk?" Sonic asked with a suprised look. "You've got a lot of explaining to do! Who are you, and why are you burning the Oil Ocean?"
"My name is Exor, and why I'm doing this is no concern of yours." Exor laughed. "Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson!"
Exor shot a fireball out of his mouth that flew above Sonic and his friends. The fireball didn't go anywhere near them. Instead, it went behind the three of them and a ring of fire shot out, hitting all the support beams for the platform they were standing on. The platform instantly started to collapse as one of the beams melted and tww of the others were greatly weakened.
"Knuckles, take Amy and glide to a safe spot," Sonic said. "I'll catch the express."
Knuckles did as Sonic said and took Amy from platform to platform until they were back on the shore. Tails saw that Sonic was int trouble and swooped down again, and Sonic jumped back on.
"Should we make an attack run?" Tails asked.
"No, we need to come up with a better
plan. You saw how easily he destroyed that platform, and these platforms
were all designed to withstand extreme heat in case something like this
happened," Sonic explained. "We'll stop him later, we need a plan."
Shadow moved in on Mario. He was careful not to be seen. They were in the Spring Yards, a place that resembled a giant pinball machine. Everyone was jumping around, trying to reach the Oil Ocean.
"According to the latest news, there's a huge fire in the Oil Ocean," Vector explained. "Where there's trouble, Sonic's likely to try to stop it."
"Hold on, something's wrong," Espio said. "Call me paranoid, but I think we're being watched."
"You worry too much," Charmy said.
"No, he's probably right," Luigi argued. "Then again, I know I'm paranoid."
"At least you admit it," Mario laughed.
"Who in the world would be watching us?" Peach asked. "It's not like Bowser knows we're here."
"You guys go on ahead," Espio said. "Someone is here."
"And let you have all the fun?" Mario asked. "Don't let the plumbing fool you, I'm a hero!"
"Which one of you is Mario?" asked Shadow, who was hiding behind a bumber.
"I am," Mario said. "Who do you think you are?"
"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow said, "and I have orders to terminate you."
"It's six against one," Luigi said. "Even I'm not afraid to face you with those odds!"
"Shadow?" Vector said. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon!"
"Again? I don't know what you're talking about," Shadow said. "Do I know you?"
"You can't remember?" Espio asked. "You were with Rouge and that robot."
"Omega," Charmy said. "The robot was named Omega."
"We helped Sonic stop that evil robotic dragon thing," Vector said, "and you did too!"
"Doesn't ring a bell," Shadow said, "and it doesn't change a thing. Mario, prepare to fall!"
Shadow went straight for Mario, ignoring everyone else.
"What did Mario ever do to you?" Peach asked.
Shadow ignored her and kicked at Mario. Mario ducked to dodge the attack and gave a sweeping kick to counter. Shadow jumped to dodge the attack, and punched at Mario on his way down. Mario was hit, but it was a light blow. Espio threw a ninja star at Shadow, grazing the hedgehog's shoulder.
"So it's official," Espio said. "You are now our client's adversary."
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" Charmy said as he swooped down to sting Shadow.
Shadow was now aware that focusing solely on Mario wasn't going to work, so he dodged the attack and kicked Charmy to the ground. Charmy was stuck in the dirt by his stinger. Peach took out her frying pan and swung at Shadow, giving him a headache.
They're right, I can't win when I'm outnumbered like this, Shadow thought to himself. I'll have to pick them off one by one.
With that, Shadow went over to Charmy, kicked the helpless bee a few times, and ran off.
"Charmy, are you okay?" Espio asked.
"I want the chocolate one, Mommy..." Charmy said.
"Snap out of it, little guy!" Vector said as he pulled Charmy out of the ground, then started shaking him as he shouted, "We've got a job to do!"
"Woah! Hey, stop that!" Charmy shouted. "I'm okay! Vector! I said I'm fine!"
Vector kept shaking him until Luigi tapped him on shoulder.
"What is it?" Vector asked, still shaking Charmy.
Luigi just pointed to Charmy. Vector looked at Charmy, saw that he was okay, and stopped shaking him.
"Heh heh, yeah..." Vector laughed nervously. "Sorry about that, Charmy!"
"I'll accept your apology when everything
stops spinning," Charmy said.
"Okay," Robotnik started, "you have plenty of time to get the Master Emerald, it's getting off of the island that will be difficult. First, before you do anything, you need to connect ten cables to the edges of the island. They won't hold the island long, but they'll do the job. After they're connected, go ahead and take the Master Emerald. After you take it, that's when you have to start worrying. The cables will only last about five minutes. You have to get the Emerald back here within that time, and climb back onboard. If you're still in the temple that holds the Emerald after that, the cables will break and the island will fall into the sea, flooding the temple and the caves, drowning you if you're in them.
"Now, get the Master Emerald! Then, we shall commence operation Master Plan!"
"What a lousy name," Wario said. "How about, operation Mega Money Master?"
"Call it whatever you want, just get me that Emerald!"
"Now you're talking!" Wario said as he didn't hesitate for even a second before going off in search of the legendary jewel.
After attaching the cables, Wario rushed into the Sky Temple, home of the Master Emerald. The place was magnificent, with strange hyroglyphics on the wall.
"Maybe this will lead me to treasure!" Wario said as he pulled out his copy of Ancient Koopaharian for Dummies.
"Let's see, this says:
To those of you of higher virtue,
We warn and beg you pay heed to,
This warning which we now give,
So that all worlds may live.
The son of the mother must fall,
Or else he shall be the doom of
us all,
If ever he comes, two warriors we
need,
To make sure the evil will never
succeed!
Signed,
T--al --d G-n-
"Oh great, I can't make out the last line!" Wario sighed. "Oh well, didn't sound like it was leading me to treasure anyways... 'son of the mother', what whacko wrote that moronic poem?"
Wario sighed again, and decided to go deeper into the temple. Along the way, he saw a dusty mosaic. The picture showed a a warrior wearing gold armor fighting off a great evil. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the warrior was Sonic, and the evil was the EES Death Egg that Eggman had described.
"This place gets weirder by the second," Wario said. "There's no way a mosiac that old could be a picture of that!"
Wario looked around, and saw the shrine of the Master Emerald. He got behind it, then ran towards it and grabbed the Master Emerald, not stopping as he ran. Right when he removed the Master Emerald, there was a minor earthquake as the cables instantly took the weight of the island. Wario didn't let that bother him though; he ignored it, and wasn't even slowed by the tremor. Wario saw the exit to the cave, when all of a sudden, an evil voice laughed.
"Quite a simple plan Eggman has come up with this time," the voice said. "Usually, his ideas are much more elaborate."
"Who's there?" Wario asked.
"The one who's been following you since you first set foot into this world," the voice explained, "and I can offer you much more then one mere jewel."
Wario still couldn't see who was talking to him, but he did see a hand holding out a Chaos Emerald being handed to him.
"Ooh, shiney!" Wario said as he put his hand out to take it.
The mysterious figure snatched his hand away and said, "Not so fast, first you must agree to do what I say, starting with using this jewel to destroy Robotnik."
"Whatever you say, new boss!" Wario said as he took the Chaos Emerald.
The earthquakes started to become violent.
"What are you doing down there, you fool?" Robotnik asked over the radio. "The cables are going to give any second! Get back here now!"
"I'm coming!" Wario said over the radio. "And quit your griping!"
"You'll need greater speed if you wish to make it out of here alive," the mysterious figure said, "so simply use the Emerald's power of CHAOS CONTROL!"
With that, the figure dissappeared. Wario did as the figure had said, and used Chaos Control to slow down time long enough for him to get back to the Egg Carrier. He noticed that as he stepped outside, he could see a cable breaking as he went towards the Egg Carrier. The strong wires that the cable consisted of seemed to be slowly untwisting. He decided not to check to see if the effect was going to wear off any time soon, so he immediately climbed up one of the cables that was still solid.
"I'm here!" Wario said as he deactivated the Chaos Emerald, "and I brought you a message!"
"Give me the Master Emerald, you fool!" Robotnik said. "You sure took your sweet time getting here!"
"He doesn't work for you anymore," Metal Sonic said as he used another Chaos Emerald to teleport into the room. "Now, tell me, Professor Eggman, how exactly does this magnificent battlestation work? Oh, wait, I forgot, I could easily build one a thousand times larger, and did so before!"
“What do you want from me?” Robotnik asked in a panicy voice. “You forget that I created you? I could easily undo the process should you prove to be a mistake.”
“If so, then why haven’t you done it already?” Metal Sonic laughed. “But I’m not here to destroy you. Rather, I’d like to make an alliance with my former master.”
“I thought you wanted me to kill him!” Wario said.
“You’ll get plenty of shining stones, don’t worry about it!” Metal Sonic said. “But I’d rather have a slave then an enemy.”
“A slave? That doesn’t sound like much of an alliance!” Robotnik said.
“It’s either that, or I crush this!” Metal Sonic said as he held up the IDMET.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Robotnik said in a frenzied panic. “You fool! Do you not know what would happen?”
“I know quite well, and this time, Smithy and I aren’t planning on letting another one merge with it.” Metal Sonic laughed. “What do you say, oh humble servant of mine?”
Robotnik grumbled a bit and then said, “Whatever you wish for me to say.”
“Very good, and you’ll start by explaining the every function of this machine!”