Chapter 1: A new Evil Rising

In the land of Hyrule, a mysterious shadow leapt into the Temple of Time and stealthily snuck past anyone protecting it. Strangely, he looked at them before proceeding and licked his lips.

"Flesh..." He murmured, "But I have more important things to do."

The shadow quietly crept into the temple and leapt down from the ceiling. A guard there got a good look at him and ordered him to halt. The shadow simply swiped him and left five gashes across his face.

“Scum.” The figure said as it trudged off, licking the blood off his fingers with the injured guard unconscious behind him.

The Door of Time was in the way, but he had no problem handling this. He took out a small sphere and threw it down on the ground. A puff of black smoke and he vanished and reappeared behind the door. He strode up to the pedestal of time with the Master Sword in it and got to work.

"Maju, Maju, Maju." Murmured the figure while opening a bottle and sprinkling the contents on the Master sword.

"If my plan is to succeed," Said the shadow, "I'll need this blade."

The shadow slowly brought up the Master sword, which was covered with a black aura, and made a slash in the air with it. An unusual portal opened up and the shadow started cackling like a raven.

"Soon all will kneel," Said the figure, throwing off a cloak, "Before me, Lord Concolor!"

This “Concolor” appeared to be a man. But this “man” had reddish-silver hair like a cougar. His fingernails were long and pointed so that they looked like claws. His teeth were also slightly longer than yours or mine. Therefore, they looked like fangs. His eyes were yellow and his ears were pointed, making him even look like a cougar.

Suddenly the mysterious portal closed and the person called Concolor gave off a defeated "No!" as he put the now aura-less Master sword back into the pedestal. Concolor turned tail and stalked away. His plan had failed so he would try again later.

“Great! Now, chaos will begin.” Concolor cursed, stepping on the unconscious guard.

Miles away, Link woke with a start. He was gasping for breath and sweating like he emerged from a desert.

"It was just a nightmare," he thought to himself, "Just a nightmare."

That morning, he went to a tower to talk with Rauru.

"Hmm..." Said the Sage of Light, "Premonitions, you say? Exactly, what are the contents of your dreams?"

"Some cat-like guy, said his name was Concolor. The Master sword, only it was covered with a black aura. And a multi-colored portal." Link continued.

"Hmm..." Said Rauru, with closed eyes. "My best guess is that something terrible is about to happen to this mythic blade. As for reasons, I don't know."

Link turned to leave, but the Light Sage stopped him.

"I have something for you." Rauru said as rummaged through his pocket.

He handed Link an unusual object, it kind of looked like a protracter, but it had numbers and an unusual thing that looked like a hand from a clock. Link began to inspect it when Rauru spoke again.

"This is called a Dimensional Scale. It will tell you whenever someone or something is coming from a world other than Hyrule." Rauru explained in his usual wise tone.

"Alright," Link answered, pocketing the Scale, "I'll try to look out for anything strange."

Then he left the tower, not knowing what was to come.

 

Chapter 2: The Blue Wonder

A few weeks after Link had the dream, the Dimension Scale started to act up. The Scale pointed to Gerudo Fortress.

 

“Looks like we have our first visitor.” Link said as he ran off as fast as his legs would carry him.

 

When Link got there, a strange portal opened up and a mysterious blue figure came out. It apparently had been knocked out.

“What’s this?” Link asked.

 

The blue thing tried to get up, but fell back down, truly unconscious.

Link took the blue thing to his house, on the edge of the Kokiri Forest. This was something Link had never seen before in his life. It was about four feet tall, had spiky blue fur, and the only pieces of clothing were gloves and shoes. It had ears, but they were on top of his head, not on the sides like other people he'd seen, and it had a long, black nose. Link guessed it was some kind of animal, but it was unlike any animal he'd ever seen. He wondered if it was semi-intelligent or even… fully sentient.

Link began to nurse the thing back to normal. He was working on soup when he heard a groan, a gasp, and a "zoom" sound. Link turned around to see that the thing had vanished. Link looked out the window, and saw some tracks on the ground. He wondered where the creature had gone. His best guess: about waist-deep in trouble. He swore that he wouldn't rest until the weird animal was found.

He was on the Hyrule Field and did an old trick. By putting one of his ears to the ground, he heard something pounding the ground at a remarkable rate.

 

"He can't be heavier than 70lbs and with short legs… he's running at over 100 miles an hour. He should be around here right about…"

 

The unusual animal trampled Link, leaving him about two inches in the ground. Link got up with dirt on his face.

 

"Now. I hope my bones knit quickly." He finished.

Link looked over to see a blue streak, and it was already coming back at him.

"Freeze!" Commanded Link…before the creature bowled him over again.

 

The thing was coming back, this time Link pulled out his sword and commanded "Hold it!"

 

The thing instantly froze in place.

 

"Now…" Said Link, "I'm going to put away my sword, and when I do, I want you to sit down and tell me who you are! Understand?"

 

The thing nodded.

The creature sat down, then Link asked, "Who or what are you?"

"Well…" Said the thing, "You definitely know I'm not human, so for the "What" I'm a hedgehog."

"What's a hedgehog?" Asked Link.

"Never mind." Said the claimed hedgehog, "And as for the ‘Who’ I'm Sonic."

"Hmm." Said Link, "And what made you decide to try and make me start eating through a tube?"

"I didn't know where I was, so I accidentally trampled you." Sonic apologized.

"I could've used that information a little earlier." Said Link as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey," Sonic said in a “could be worse” tone, "I might've thought you were one of Eggman's useless lackeys."

"What's an Eggman?" Asked Link.

"Drop it." Said Sonic.

Just then, something dropped as if from nowhere. It had green, scaly skin and a tail like a whip. It was something like a Lizalfo, but it was a little more iguana-like. Strangely, and unlike a Lizalfo, it spoke.

 

“It is on Lord Concolor’s orders to kill this thing! Don’t interfere!” It hissed.

 

Sonic flinched as he said, “KILL ME?!”

 

The lizard charged at such high speed that Link didn’t even have time to move. It tried to grab Sonic, but the hedgehog simply seized the lizard’s neck and spun like a wheel. Sonic spun all the way from the lizard’s front all the way to his back, causing the reptile to fall forward. The lizard spun and actually caught Sonic with its tail.

 

“Oh, that was a cheap shot.” Sonic said as he got back up.

 

“DIE HEDGEHOG!” The lizard said as he leapt into the air for a flying kick.

 

The lizard barely landed when Link got in front of it and spun his sword at it. The lizard leapt backward, but he didn’t even land when Sonic was behind it and kicked it in the back. The lizard fell on its face and struggled back on its feet. Link raised the sword above his head and tried bringing it down on the lizard’s head. The lizard had already gotten up and dashed away before Link even swung.

 

“You’ll have to do better than that to hit me, upstart weakling.” The lizard hissed.

 

However, this taunt proved to be a mistake he would regret forever. The minute he stopped speaking, Link had crossed the distance and swung his sword. The lizard flipped away, but Link was already there to meet him and brought his sword in a vertical slash. The lizard tried ducking, but the sword still caught him in the shoulder, leaving a large gash. The lizard touched his wound and snarled in pure hatred. The lizard then made a fatal error, he leapt into the air and tried to drop kick Link. The minute it landed and tried getting up, Link put his sword through the creature’s abdomen. The lizard’s eyes widened and he gave his death rattle before slumping to the ground.

 

Sonic wiped the sweat off his forehead and sighed.

 

“Whew! What a hassle.” He said as he got a breather.

"Well, Sonic," Link suggested, "I think we should get you in the Hylian guest-book, for visitors only."

"WHAT!?" Sonic said with surprise, "You mean I'm stuck here forever!?"

"Well, seeing as you're not from this world, and I have no idea whatsoever where you come from, we'll have to get you adjusted to Hyrule." Link said, casually.

Sonic gave a sigh and said, "Might as well enjoy my stay here."

 

Chapter 3: The little red Plumber

A few days after Sonic came into Link's world, the Scale started to act-up. It pointed to Lake Hylia.

“Uhh… Link? What is that?” Sonic asked as he pointed at the Dimensional Scale.

“This? It’s the same thing I found you with. You didn’t come from Hyrule, but I think there are other places other than your world.” He answered.

“Well, if that’s the answer, I’m heading for this lake.” Sonic answered as he took something like a sprinter’s stance.

Without warning, Sonic took off like a rocket and Link was once again surprised at the hedgehog’s speed. He couldn’t catch Sonic even if he was on top of his mount, Epona.

When Link got to Lake Hylia, Sonic was waiting for him and tapping his foot.

“Well, it’s about time you got here. I guess many people here are a little…slow.” Sonic said.

“What is THAT supposed to mean?” Link asked, slightly ticked off.

“Well, it’s obvious that I’m faster than most things in this world. Oh well, I think I can live with it.” Sonic said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Link was about to go sulk off when the portal opened up and a strange, little man fell into the water with a SPLASH.

“Oh, there’s the newcomer.” Link said as he looked up.

Link instantly threw on the Zora tunic he had picked up from under the ground near his treehouse and was about to dive in when he noticed Sonic wasn’t coming with him.

“Sonic, are you coming?” Link asked.

“Nah. I may run fast, but I swim like a stone. I gotta sit this one out.” Sonic answered, somewhat sheepishly.

Link dove under the water, saw the little man, grabbed him by his overalls, and heaved him up out of the water. However, Sonic was still on land, not even going into the shallows.

"Sonic!" Link shouted as soon as he got out of the water "Why didn't you help me?!"

"Uh…" Said Sonic "It's because I don't like the water. Shallow or deep."

"WHAT!?!" Link shouted at the top of his voice.

Link and Sonic began to start pump the water out of the little man's lungs. Link began using his hands, but failed.

“Let me have a try at that.” Sonic said.

The blue hedgehog got on top of Mario and began to stomp very quickly. When they finished, the man burped.

"Well," The little man said in an Italian accent, "Better out than in."

"Who are you?" Link asked, the same quizzical look on his face from when he met Sonic.

"Who am I?" Asked the little man, "Why, It's-a me Mario!"

"Mario…" Said Link "No, doesn't ring a bell."

Mario fell face-flat on the ground and asked, “I suppose blue boy over here doesn’t know who I am either.”

“Nope.” Sonic answered.

Mario got up, looked around, and saw this place was unfamiliar to him. "Where they hey am I?" He asked, "And who's elf-boy?"

Link turned red with fury, but calmed down and simply replied, "I advise you not call me that."

"Why?" Mario asked.

Link rummaged around in his pockets and held out a pictograph he took in Termina.

Mario's face turned pale as Link told him, "This is what someone looked like when they got on my bad side."

Mario gulped so hard he probably would’ve swallowed a grapefruit.

Just then, something came out of a similar portal, but it wasn’t another character. It was a strange creature. It looked something like a humanoid cobra and emitted a loud hiss. It then spoke in a quiet voice that seemed similar to that very same hiss.

“If that lousy lizard failed to kill these trespassers, I’ll gladly fill in!”

The snake then drew a large dagger and leapt into the air with stunning speed. He flipped right over Link and Sonic and right at Mario. He raised the dagger into the air and thrust it at Mario. However, Mario leapt into the air and the dagger only hit thin air. The snake turned around and saw Link rushing at him, sword-drawn. He quickly parried the blade with his own and punched Link across the face. He then heard something rush at him and opened his mouth. A kind of yellow liquid came out of his fangs and shot something behind him.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!” Sonic cried.

The yellow stuff had hit him right in the eyes and Sonic fell to the ground, trying to get the stuff out. The yellow liquid was the venom of a Spitting Cobra and Sonic was beginning to get splitting headaches and his whole body felt tingly. That is until the cobra kicked him in the face. Sonic tumbled like a ball and lay on his back, unable to move. The venom was not fatal, but it was enough to keep his nervous system from functioning properly.

“You’re next.” The snake said as he glared at Mario.

The snake shot venom at Mario, aiming for his eyes, but Mario leapt into the air. The snake leapt into the air and caught him in midair with a flying kick. Mario fell on his back and rolled just in time for the serpent man to sink his venom fangs into the ground. Mario quickly got to his feet and punched the snake in the stomach.

“Why you filthy, little…” The snake cursed as he ran at the super plumber again.

The strange new creature struck at Mario like a rattlesnake again, but missed and Mario put his hand forward and shot a fireball at it. The snake leapt to the side, missing the fireball by inches, even feeling its heat near its constrictor-like tail. The snake struck again, but it proved a mistake. Mario had produced a large hammer and had heaved it over his head. The minute the snake struck, its head was just near the ground and Mario brought the hammer down with a CRUNCH. The snake’s body twitched uncontrollably for a few seconds, but then fell limp. Mario lifted the hammer and saw the snake’s skull was crushed flat. The creature was that.

Link got up from his tussle and looked at Sonic, who wasn’t moving, but he was indeed breathing. He checked the hedgehog’s pulse and then came to a conclusion.

“He’s been injected with cobra venom.” Link told Mario.

Link remembered a time in his childhood when his friend Saria got bit by a cobra. She was in exactly the same condition as Sonic. Link remembered just what to do. He pulled out a bottle full of a red, syrupy stuff and opened Sonic’s mouth. He poured the stuff in and Sonic let out a loud gasp of breath.

“I don’t know what kind of cobra that was, but I don’t wanna get bitten again!” Sonic said.

 He tried to sit up, but almost collapsed. Fortunately for him, Link was there and caught him. Sonic chuckled slightly.

“Okay, sudden movement: bad.” Sonic said as he put his arm around Link’s shoulder and allowed the hylian to carry him.

“Uh, where am I?” Mario asked, breaking everything up.

“You’re in for a bit of a story, buddy.” Link said.

Link told Mario everything from the strange dream he had to him coming into this world.

"Well," Said Mario "I guess I'll have to get used to Hyrule, instead of Mushroom Kingdom."

"True." Said Link, "Might as well get ya' signed up."

"I hope he doesn't get the kind of greeting I did." Said Sonic.

 

Chapter 4: Assault!

When Link was having Mario checked in, he felt some of the hair on the back of his neck stand-up, like something was watching him. He (temporarily) convinced himself, he was safe. He had no idea of the nightmare beast that stalked him, a creature that could already taste his flesh, and it found Link good to eat.

When Link, Mario, and Sonic had just left the castle, it was dusk and the dim light was beginning to become prominent. Just then, Mario heard a rustling in the bushes and his head almost turned a hundred and eighty degrees.

"Hey," Mario asked suspiciously, "What was that?"

"Nothin'. " Answered Sonic, trying to be assuring. "Probably just a squirrel."

“Oh, really?” Another voice asked.

Without warning, something leapt out of nowhere and attacked Link, but he ducked just in time. When the hylian hero got up, his attacker turned around, revealing a familiar cat-like face.

"Ah," It said, "Link. I expected someone of your skill to be a man instead of a mere brat."

"Who are you?" Link shouted

"I," Said the thing "am Lord Concolor!"

Something stirred in Link's memory. It was the dream he had a few days ago.

“But we can introduce ourselves later. Right now, I have business to take care of.” Concolor growled as he smiled, baring his fangs.

 

Concolor advanced on Link, but Mario and Sonic got in the way.

“Listen, Con-whatever-your-name-is, if you want Link, you’ll have to come through US.”

Concolor scowled at this, but it quickly turned into a toothy smile as he said, “Very well.”

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" Said Sonic, with a cocky grin on his face.

He started running in place--a sign that he was ready for a fight.

Mario took out a hammer from his pocket and threw it at the cat creature, but Concolor dodged it like it was in slow motion.

"You'll have to better than that, Plumber!" Concolor snapped as he planted a foot in Mario's face.

Sonic started spinning really quickly, but he got the same results as Mario's hammer. He also got grabbed by the leg and hurtled right into Mario.

"You missed, hedghog!" Concolor sneered.

Link threw a bomb, but Concolor grabbed it and threw it to parts unknown. Another bomb was tossed only to end up shredded by the two-inch claws. He then took those very claws and put five huge gashes across Link's chest. Link was knocked to the ground and Mario had just gotten Sonic off him. Mario threw a punch, but Concolor grabbed him by the hand.

"You're no lion! You're just a little kitty!" Mario said with frustration.

Concolor began to apply pressure to Mario's hand and Mario was beginning to kneel in pain. Mario felt like Concolor would break his hand if it kept up.

"If I'm no king of the jungle, why are you on your knees before me?" Concolor asked before he tossed Mario away yet again.

Link came again, this time with his sword and swung only to miss the catlike assailant like a fly he longed to swat. Concolor then seized Link by the throat and threw him to join Sonic and Mario on the ground.

"I knew it." Said the cat-like creature "You're not this ‘almighty hero’. It turns out you’re just a HARMLESS LITTLE boy!”

That made Link mad. When Sonic and Mario came to, they began fighting very differently. Sonic began spinning again, Link got his Gilded Sword, and Mario had fireballs in his hands.

Link gave Concolor a beginning slash. Concolor dodged, but when he landed, Sonic was there to meet him. Concolor had to jump again to evade Sonic's spin attack, but Mario caught him in midair with a kick to the stomach. He had the wind knocked out of him and fell to the ground without even attempting to catch himself. Then, Link and his friends caught up to him and attacked when he was getting up. Link's sword grazed Concolor's shoulder just when Mario virtually burned the cat. Before Concolor had time to react, something like a blue cannonball collided with his back. Concolor was knocked down and had a nasty gash, a bad burn, and a virtually snapped spine. He had no choice now, he knew they would have to meet again some other time. However, he wasn’t acting like a snarling animal like Ganondorf would usually do, he was somewhat calm like a good sport after losing.

"I’ve underestimated you, Link. I look forward to the day we really fight. We'll meet again and when that happens, I will be victorious." Concolor said in a calm tone, before he lept into the sky and vanished completely.

Mario was deeply satisfied and Sonic was equally proud.

“Yeah! We showed that guy we mean business!” Sonic said, very pumped up.

"Yeah," Mario said, virtually puffing out his chest, "This is truly a victory."

"A 'Victory'?" Said Link "I think that this is only a taste of what's coming. I have a bad feeling…"

Chapter 5: Two in one

After that squabble with Concolor, Link spent a few calm days with his new buds. Until one day his Interdimensional Scale virtually went off the chart, somewhere near Death Mountain.
They ran off (Sonic got there first of course, but he went back for his friends) and they saw a portal spit something out.

The thing that fell out appeared to be humanoid, but there was definitely something different. He had a man's body, but had a bushy tail and a doglike head with pointed ears. Link ran up to him and saw that he wasn't unconscious. He was on his feet and looked like someone was after him.

"Hey, buddy. Welcome to Hyrule." Link called.

 

The creature simply stared at him and commanded, "Get out of here!"

 

Link was confused and asked, "Hey, what's your problem?"

"Something's come with me. Something bad." The thing answered.

 

It was obviously a male and had thoughts identical to man.

 

However, before Link could think it out he asked, "What?"

Link's answer came when a large portal came up and a giant thing came out. It was over two stories tall, forty feet long, and weighed between five and eight tons. It had two powerful back legs, but its forelimbs were feeble and had only two fingers. Its skull was deep and had heavy jaw muscles. The mouth was packed with sharp teeth, each one the size of a steak knife. Its tail was long and thick and its neck was also thick to support its large skull. It opened its mouth and let out a roar that could be heard all the way in Gerudo fortress.

"OH NO! A redeye!" The thing screamed in fear.

 

Link backed off slightly. This thing was bigger than any dodongo and probably would have eaten one for breakfast. Yet, the thing that came out of the portal didn't cower from it. Instead, he took out a staff and took a combat stance. Link thought this thing was crazy, he was going to fight this dinosaur with a little stick? However, before Link had time to react, the redeye charged.

The dinosaur took off on a run at well in excess of 25mph in an attempt to squash the creature. More amazingly, the foxlike thing got out of the way just before a massive foot stomped on the ground in which, seconds ago, he was standing. Unfortunately, this thing wasn't going for the fox, it was Link. It lowered its head and tried to snap at Link, but he quickly rolled away and struck it with his sword. The massive dinosaur grunted in surprise with a gash on his nose. It shook its head and went for Link again, but Link got out of the way again. Unfortunately, Mario happened to be behind him.

 

The thing grabbed Mario in its mouth and swallowed him whole just before Mario said, "Mama Mia!"

For one second, time froze and the Redeye saw Link standing there. He took him for a good prey item as it thundered after him. The redeye’s steps quaked the ground as it opened its mouth to swallow Link whole.

"Here I come!" A cocky voice called.

 

Link turned and saw something like a blue cannonball collide with the redeye's side. The dinosaur stumbled slightly, but didn't fall. He regained his balance and went for Link again, but the hylian ran to the side and stuck his sword in the redeye's toe. The massive animal growled in pain and stomped the ground a bit in an attempt to get the sword out of its foot. The redeye soon forgot about the pain and went for Link again. Link almost faced a bloody death, but the foxlike person tackled him to the ground in order for the Redeye’s teeth to miss.

 

“MOVE IT!” The thing ordered as the Redeye made a wide turn to come back on a full assault.

 

The fox used the stick he was wielding and sprayed some kind of mist at the ground. The ground got a sheet of ice that, when the redeye stepped on it, caused it to slip and lose its balance.

The t-rex landed on its side and Link saw it open and close its mouth in frustration. The idea struck him before he even thought about it. He grabbed a bomb from his sack and tossed it in the Redeye's mouth. The dinosaur swallowed it and let out a final roar of defeat before its stomach exploded. A few seconds later, Link saw Mario come out of the stomach, covered in guts and soot. Link saw that and chuckled slightly.

"Uh, hehehe. Oops." He said nervously.

 

Then he turned to the fox-thing. Link walked over to him and said, "Thanks. If it wasn't for you, that monster would have eaten me."

 

Link held out his hand and said, "I believe we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Link."

 

The thing took his hand and said, "Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox."

 

"What's a star fox?" Link asked.

 

“Oh, brother.” Fox said with a slight groan.

 

He was about to explain when Link shook his head.

 

"Talk later. We've got a kitty to track down." he added before Fox could answer.

 

Fox made a waving gesture with his hand and said, "Yeah. I don't know about you or who you’re after, but this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

 

Chapter 6: Going ape

After the little scuffle with the redeye, the group of four decided that it had been a long couple of days and that they needed a place to stay for a while.

"Any ideas?" Sonic asked with a shrug.

 

Link thought for a while, not even Mario making a little scuffle with Fox interrupted him. Then, after a minute or two, he snapped his fingers and said, "Why not the place I grew up? Kokiri Forest."

"Koka-whoodi-whati?" Mario sputtered.

 

Link smacked himself in the forehead and said in a slow tone as though Mario were stupid, "Ko-ki-ri Fo-rest! DO…YOU…UNDER-STAND?"

 

Mario blinked a few times and said, "Touchy."

A few minutes later, they found themselves at the forest. However, it was like a ghost town and so quiet you could hear an ant skitter.

"That's strange…" Link said in deep thought.

 

"What?" Fox asked with a cocked eyebrow.

 

Link turned and said, "Usually, you can see Kokiri running around and playing during the day. Now there’s no one out."

"Maybe they left?" Sonic suggested.

 

"Nah. It's not them to leave this place. There's most likely something on the loose." Link corrected.

 

Sonic snapped his fingers with a quick, "Darn!"

After the little investigation, Link talked his friends into checking in houses. He decided to go into the first one in mind: Saria's.

 

He was about to go through the door when he told Mario, "Stay outside and keep watch."

 

Mario stood there, muttered under his breath, and stood outside with his arms folded.

 

Mario’s muttering could only make out a few words, “…Get no respect, no respect at all.”

Link walked through the door with Fox and Sonic and Saria was there to greet him. Link had to get down on his knees in order to hug his best friend, seeing he was twice as tall as Saria now.

"Link! Where have you been in the last three days?" She asked.

 

Then, she eyed the blue hedgehog and the fox, giving them quizzical looks.

 

"Who are they?" She asked as she pointed to them.

 

“Is something wrong with my face?” Sonic asked Fox, who simply shook his head, “Whew. For a moment I thought I had a zit.”

 

Link chuckled, but then went back to Saria.

 

"It's a long story." Link told her and went to telling her.

I'm not going to bore you with this, so I'll tell you what happened OUTSIDE.

Mario was waiting outside for Link while whistling his theme song. Then, he heard a noise in the bush and turned to check it out. He felt something down his neck and slowly turned around. He came face-to-face with a six-foot, four hundred-pound gorilla staring right at him. Mario turned pale and didn't even have time to scream, because the ape grabbed him and slammed him on the ground to his left and right. The primate held Mario to the ground and began beating him up in a very wide variety of wrestling moves. The gorilla then began using Mario as a bouncy ball and even hit him with a chair it snatched. After he did everything he could think of, he hid and left Mario beat up and covered in dirt.

"Oh, I see. But where's the plumber?" Saria asked.

 

"Oh, he's outside keeping guard. By the way, why's everyone in their houses?" Link asked.

 

He had been waiting some time for an answer. When he did ask, Saria seemed somewhat frightened.

 

Saria gulped and said, "Link…There's a gorilla on the loose here. Mido went up to see it. The next day, he ended up in his house with bruises and a slight case of amnesia."

 

Link scoffed as he went outside and asked, "How bad could it be?"

 

They caught sight of Mario and Fox spoke up this time. "What happened to you? Did you step on a land mine?"

“What’s a land mi…” Link began.

Before Link could react, he felt a large hand grip his arm. A few seconds later, he was being lifted off the ground and saw Saria next to him in a similar hand. Link turned and saw that this must have been the gorilla Saria was talking about. A minute later, he and Saria were tossed like footballs into the Lost Woods. They landed in the Sacred Forest Meadow and Link ended up landing on Saria. Link got up, apologized to Saria, drew his sword, and charged his way through the woods.

Fox and Sonic were standing in front of the big ape and it was amazing how much it looked like King Kong. Fox quickly began dialing on the small device on his wrist and Sonic had already made his escape.

 

The gorilla said, "OOH! OOH OOH OOH! NECKTIE?!" because Fox had finished a translator.

 

"Necktie?" Fox asked.

 

The gorilla turned to Fox, grabbed him, and shouted, "WHERE IS IT?! Tell me or else!!!"

 

“Where’s WHAT?!” Fox asked impatiently.

 

“Don’t ‘Where’s what’ me! I’m not some dopey little fox!”

 

Fox was somewhat hit by this and angrily said, "At least I don't wear my tie backwards."

Link had made his way out of the forest and saw the gorilla had his back turned to him.

 

“That’s it. I’m gonna kill this ape for that.” He growled.

 

Link raised his sword in attack and the ape turned to him and said, "Hey, pal!" in a rather happy tone. Link was stunned. The gorilla smiled and painfully patted him on the back. Link hadn't felt like that since Darunia did that.

 

"What did you do to him?" Link asked in shock.

 

Fox smiled and said, "He just wanted his necktie. It was on backwards."

 

The big primate then took Link's hand and squeezed so hard, it almost broke Link's hand.

 

"YEOWCH!" Link screamed.

 

The ape smiled and said, "Nobody likes a weak handshake. Sorry for tossing you like that. It was all blind rage. By the way, the name's Donkey Kong: DK for short."

 

Link silently cursed himself for not noticing the Dimensional scale going off. He then playfully slugged DK's arm. Unfortunately, DK didn't know his own strength when he did it. He slugged Link so hard that he fell in the water. Strangely, something came out with Link on its back. It had long jaws, armor-like scales on its back, and razor-sharp teeth. Link hopped off just when it opened its large jaws and they almost slammed shut on his leg. Out came a large crocodile and it was HUGE: more than twenty feet long. It didn’t stop in the river, the minute Link landed on his stomach and the croc chased after him, sprawling on all fours like a lizard and exposing its leathery hide. It was about to snap him up for dinner when DK leapt into the air and put it in a headlock.

 

“DK, are you sure you know how to handle that?” Sonic asked, somewhat worried.

 

DK looked up from wrestling with the crocodile and answered Sonic while holding the jaws closed.

 

“Of course. I beat up crocodiles all the time.”

 

After a long tussle with DK, the crocodile gave a hiss that sounded like, “Fine, I’ll leave you alone” before lumbering off.

Link and friends would spend the night at Kokiri Forest. Now that the Kokiri had nothing to fear, they could go out when they could. Mario ended up in a bed next to Mido.

 

The Kokiri "Boss" turned and asked, "You too?"

 

"You wouldn't believe what he did to me." Mario answered.

 

“I’d like to thank that guy in the green, but I can’t remember his name.” Mido added.

 

“Oh, brother.” Mario groaned.

Chapter 7: Shocking

Link and friends now had a good bit of muscle with Donkey Kong on the team. Mario had recovered and didn't exactly trust the big primate. He did consider turning DK into a fur coat, but he said it out loud and the big ape happened to be in the room. They had to remain in Kokiri Forest for another day thanks to that.

An idea hit Link before he even thought of it and he blurted.

"Guys, I have a suggestion. How about I take you to meet someone?" Sonic looked rather confused.

"Well that depends. Who are we talkin' about?"

Link told everyone about the crown princess of Hyrule, Zelda. Fox grinned in agreement and Mario still had the look of confusion.

Link took notice of this and asked, "Something wrong, Mario?"

"Well, it's funny you should know a princess, because…"

Mario then told him of his girlfriend(?), Peach. Link simply blinked a few times and then scoffed.

"I see where this is going." Link said to himself.

A minute later, everyone had told each other of the adventures they had from Fox telling of exploring deep space to Sonic racing all over the world. After it was all said and done, they headed off for the castle.

They arrived at the castle and the guards took immediate notice of Fox, Sonic, Mario, and DK.

"Hey!" One of them shouted.

He lowered his spear at Mario, but DK got in the way and gave a formidable gorilla grunt. The guard backed down from either DK's huge size and strength or Link's explanation that they were friends. The guards still had their eye on the necktie-clad gorilla, but DK easily scared them away with the 'evil eye.'

Zelda was very happy to see Link (as usual) and gave him the usual embrace whenever he came to visit. However, she was curious about the others that were with him. Link was about to explain when the Interdimensional scale went off. Luckily for him, it was only a small portal. A portal opened up right in the castle and what came out surprised everyone.

It was small, yellow, and mouse-like in appearance. Its tail was shaped like a bolt of lightning and it had red cheeks. Its pointy ears were tipped with black and it had two brown stripes on its back. To Link, it looked like something from a fairytale told by the Great Deku Tree. As soon as it began to stir, it looked up at them with big, beetle-black eyes. Their look had full effect on Zelda and she melted.

"AWWW! It's so cute!" She squealed as she picked it up and hugged it.

Apparently, it didn't like that and its red cheeks began to glow electric blue. A minute later, electricity zapped Zelda the minute the creature let out a "PI-KA-CHUUUUUU!!!"

At first, Zelda just stood there with an annoyed animal in her arms, the next second, she was on the ground with wide eyes.

Fox typed in on the device on his wrist and asked the creature, "Now what was that all about?"

The rodent turned and responded, in plain English, "I don't know where I was or what happened. Got a problem with that?"

Everyone stared before Sonic said, "Whoa. And I thought Knuckles had a bad attitude."

"Who's Knuckles?" DK asked as he scratched his head.

"Never mind." Sonic apologized.

Link went over to the creature and asked calmly, "Excuse me, but what is your name?"

The thing blinked a few times and answered, "Pikachu."

Link then looked over at Zelda, who was sitting up, her hair standing out at odd angles.

Pikachu looked over and told him, "Oh, don't worry. I only used a little bit of electricity. Other than a bad hair day, she should be okay."

"Man, this took hours to comb down." Zelda moaned.

After everything was cleaned up, they ended up having dinner there. The only bad thing was that Donkey Kong was swinging on the chandelier like they were vines. He wouldn't get down even though Zelda ordered him to.

"Take it easy. He's an ape, you can't blame him." Fox stated.

After three whole minutes of yelling, the princess finally gave up. By the time Donkey Kong did come down, he ate virtually everything on his plate without even showing signs of being full.

After a good visit, everyone was out of the castle. Then, Fox's sharp eyes noticed that Link wasn't among them.

"Hey, blue blur, could you find Link for us?" The pilot asked.

"Oh, sure. I'll be right there." Sonic said in his usual cool guy response.

A minute later, he returned with Link and the hedgehog had a grin on his face.

"What was the holdup?" Pikachu asked with a great fleck of curiosity in his voice.

"Well I found him doing something." Sonic said casually.

Everyone gathered around him and asked in unison "What?"

Sonic smiled and said, "Sorry, my lips are zipped."

He then made the motion of zipping a zipper over his mouth and everyone let out a moan.

"Whew! That was a close one." Link thought to himself.

He thought for sure that his secret was out. However, it wouldn't be for long.

Chapter 8: Chaos arises

Somewhere in the Lost Woods, around the same time DK showed up, another portal had opened up. Out came three rather than two.

"There are now three things I don't understand here. One: What was that portal? Two: Where are we? And Three: Where's our house?!" This voice was deep and kinda scratchy/gravelly.

"Will you PLEASE stop freaking out and see if we can figure out what happened?" Another voice asked.

This one was also a male, but was much more serious-sounding and sounded a little younger.

"How are we supposed to do that?!" The scratchy voice asked in anger and frustration.

"Y'know, for a detective, you sure are clueless." The serious voice joked cruelly.

"GUYS! GUYS! We're on the worldwide web!" Yet another voice exclaimed. It was a kid's and it was high and energetic sounding.

Soon, the camera went around and saw a trio of people. One appeared to be crocodilian, the other looked like Sonic with the exception of a horn rather than a nose, and there was a small bumblebee thing buzzing around.

"Charmy, how can we be in this place and the worldwide web at the same time?" The crocodile asked.

"It's easy, Vector. Just look at the monitor." The bee answered.

Vector looked right at the camera and his mouth fell open.

"Wow! Espio, we gotta introduce ourselves if we're not to be confused!" Vector said, his eyes glimmering like water.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." was all the Sonic-thing said, "You go on, I'll do it later."

Vector stepped up to the camera, cleared his throat, and began his stuff.

"My name is Vector: Chief Detective extraordinaire. I may look big and tough, and in some ways, I am. But inside, I'm a big softie. I'm known for my sharp wit and-and…Ah, forget it. I ran out of stuff to say."

Vector then stormed away and the bee rushed in. He was about to introduce himself when the Sonic-thing pushed him out of the way.

"Save your breath, Charmy. My name is Espio, Espio the chameleon. I'm the stealth of this team. I'm swift, cunning, I'm also a ninja. You don't want to get me steamed or you get martial arts expert on you. I can also do this…"

He then turned invisible and visible again.

"Now you know who I am." He said as he moved away.

"Can I go on now?" The bee asked.

"Uhhh. Sorry, Charmy, the chapter ends in a few seconds." Vector answered.

Struck with tears, Charmy flew over to the camera and screamed at the top of his lungs, "WHAT?! NOOOOO!!!"
 

Chapter 9: Chaotic case

"Finally, we're back!" Charmy exclaimed.

He was about to take his turn when Vector grabbed him by the head.

"Sorry, Charmy. You had your chance and you blew it." Vector told the ecstatic insect.

Charmy lowered his head and groaned. Espio turned visible in front of them and gave him results of when he was exploring.

"Well, guys. I now know that we're in some kind of forest and there doesn't appear to be any life anywhere." The lizard explained.

Vector scowled and shouted, "IT'S OBVIOUS WE'RE IN A FOREST!"

Espio felt like a strong wind was blowing against him, but he did nothing more than just stare at Vector.

"There's gotta be SOME people around here…" Vector said as he put a finger on his chin in thought.

He snapped his fingers and told Charmy to fly above them. Just when Charmy flew upward, Espio and Vector grabbed hold of him.

"HEY! You never told me you were hitching a ride!" Charmy yelled.

"Sorry, but I just HAVE to get outta here!" Vector apologized.

Charmy just growled and continued flying.

After about half an hour of straining, Charmy finally found the way out of the Lost Woods. They landed and Vector saw the little village. It looked a lot like something he saw from a fairytale.

"Wow. Did we just warp into Snow White and the Seven dwarves?" Vector asked.

Espio rolled his eyes and muttered something inaudible from under his breath.

"Vector, this isn't exactly the time to talk about classic movies." Espio reminded.

They soon came across Saria and decided they would ask her. These are the results.

Vector and friends rushed up to her and tapped her shoulder.

He then calmly asked, "Excuse me, miss, I was wondering if I could ask ya' something."

Saria was surprised by the walking, talking crocodile and briskly replied, "If it's lunch, no." before running away.

Vector blinked a few times, shrugged, and asked, "What's her problem?"

Espio shrugged back and simply replied, "You obviously scared her."

Vector shouted like last time except he said, "THAT PART WAS OBVIOUS!"

Just then, a portal opened up and Vector caught sight of it.

His eyes widened and jumped at it, saying, "FINALLY! A WAY OUT!!"

Unfortunately, something happened to come out when Vector was two feet away. WHUMP! Something landed in Vector's front and Espio saw it all.

The thing that squashed Vector looked similar to McCloud who came earlier. Except it was female and had blue fur. She was taller than Vector and had landed face-first with Vector's front in hers.

"It's not a very pretty sight, boys." Vector warned.

The fox lady began to stir and Vector noticed her movement.

"Uh, miss? Would you mind getting off me?"

The lady heard the voice and quickly got up with a squash-nosed croc staring upward.

He put his snout back into place and asked, "So, who ARE you?" as he sat up.

The woman just stared at Vector, who immediately spoke up.

"It's impolite to stare." He informed.

"Well…My name is Krystal. A few hours ago, a friend of mine disappeared. I was about to search the system for him, when this portal took me in. I guess I'm now here with you three."

Charmy had hearts in his eyes and his heart was thumping madly.

"She's pretty. Isn't she, Espio?" He slurred.

Espio saw Charmy doing this and smacked him across the face.

"Pay attention, Charmy. Krystal here has something for us to do."

“OOH! OOH! Does that mean we’re secret agents?!” Charmy asked excitedly.

“No.” Espio answered, “She only has something for us to do.”

Dollar signs showed up in Vector's eyes with a ka-ching and he said, "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll find this friend of yours if it kills me."

He then headed off to an opening and scared the life out of Mido. Vector then reappeared with a hand massaging his forehead. He ran into a wall in excitement.

" Ow. The exit's this way. C'mon, boys. We've got a friend to find!" He reminded. They were about to leave when Krystal stopped them.

"Wait, I think I should give you the description. He's a fox like I am, has orangish-yellow fur, around my age, and has a space suit on." She told them.

Vector gave the thumbs up and said, "Don't worry, lady. We'll find your friend.”

The three then exited the forest and looked for their new mission.
 

Chapter 10: The massive mix-up

Link and his friends decided to stay in Hyrule field and figure out what they could do. Donkey Kong stayed awake to act as guard. Although Mario got on DK's nerves and the big ape started chucking barrels. They sat back, not a care in the world and were almost asleep when the following happened.

Somewhere in the bushes, Vector, Espio, and Charmy had found them.

Vector scratched his chin and then said, "Charmy, I'm gonna need my glasses."

Charmy took two glasses of water and handed them to Vector. He put them to his eyes and water poured out. Vector saw that everyone was different. Mario and DK looked like something from their arcade game, Link looked like he was from the first Zelda game, Fox was all N64-ish, Pikachu looked like his gameboy version, and Sonic looked a little goofy.

Vector threw the glasses away, turned to Charmy, and quietly shouted, "Not those glasses! Just gimme the binoculars."

Vector got the right binoculars and put them to his eyes.

He grinned and said, "Well, there's the fox we're lookin' for and…Well, if it isn't our old friend Sonic. But who are those guys with 'em?" Vector said curiously.

Espio spoke before he thought and suggested, "Guards?"

Vector turned and said, "Isn't it obvious? Those guys kidnapped the fox and Sonic tried to bust the guy out. But those guys kidnapped him as well!"

Charmy blinked a few times and said, "They don't look big and tough to me."

Vector had the face you wear when you figured something out.

He then put his finger up and said, "That's because they're hiding behind that gorilla. If we get rid of him, we can get them."

Espio smiled confidently and said, "Leave the hostages to me."

In a rainbow of lights, Espio turned invisible.

Link was resting peacefully when all of a sudden, a barrel caught Mario and the little Italian was sent backwards on top of Link. This ticked the Hylian off and decided to save DK the trouble of pounding Mario. He put on the golden gauntlets and prepared to punch Mario straight in the face.

"You'll pay for disturbing the hero of time, plumber!" Link shouted frustrated.

He then launched the fist forward, Mario ducked, and the fist planted itself in an invisible thing.

Link was confused and Fox asked, "Something wrong?"

Link looked at the spot and replied, "I think I just hit someone."

The golden gauntlets had punched Espio clear over where he came from and he landed in a stone wall just behind his teammates, leaving an imprint in the rock. He turned visible with a big black eye and sprawled on the floor. "Ow" was all the lizard could say. Vector and Charmy had seen their comrade and rushed over to him.

"Whoa! I think we'll have to resort to some other plan." Vector said in amazement.

After five minutes of thinking, the plan was thought out.

"Alright, Charmy, still got that pepper gum I got ya for April Fools' Day?" Vector asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Sure." Charmy replied as he pulled out a packet of chewing gum with flaming red paper.

Vector's smile widened as the plan continued to unfold.

Espio and Vector took hold of Charmy, who lifted them into the air again. Pikachu was sound asleep by now and was sleeping with his mouth wide open. Vector took out the gum and gently dropped it into the electric mouse's mouth. Pikachu chewed for a while, but then his eyes opened at the same time and his eyes were watering.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT!!" He screamed.

He leapt into the air and landed on top of the first blue thing he could find: Sonic.

Sonic saw the apparently mad Poke'mon on his head and began to run in circles while shouting, "GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!"

The result of running in circles--bowling Fox off his feet and trampling Link. Vector and his team winked at each other, but then things went wrong.

After running in circles at the speed of sound, Pikachu released Sonic and was sent flying right…into…Donkey Kong. The rodent hit the big ape in the face and DK woke with a start, RAGING MAD. Thinking something hit him from the air, he picked up a large boulder and chucked it randomly into the air…right at Vector, Charmy, and Espio. the rock smashed into them and sent them hurtling to the ground right in front of everyone else.

Everyone stared at them and said, "Hey! Who're those guys?"

Realizing they were cornered, Espio took a ninja-like stance while Vector held up Charmy and revealed his stinger while threatening, "Stay back! I've got a stinger and I know how to use it!"

After that was a big awkward silence. DK had a look of anger like every other time he saw a Kremling. He then dove for Vector only for the croc to roll away.

He then shouted, "Espio! You get Sonic while I get the fox and let's get outta here!"

Espio grabbed Sonic by the arm and was beginning to lead him away while Vector had grabbed Fox and heaved him over his shoulder. Before they could leave, something slammed into Espio and the chameleon saw Pikachu on top of him.

"That hardly seems fair." The chameleon said as he rolled his eyes.

He then flipped Pikachu off and took his kung-fu stance again. At the same time, Link tackled Vector and said, "Where do you think YOU'RE going?"

Vector scowled and said, "You can't fool me, KIDNAPPER!"

Link had the confused look and shouted, "KIDNAPPER?! Why I oughta…"

The next thing you know, they were in a bit of a fistfight. Charmy was going to rush in, but Mario had grabbed him by the wings and they ended up fighting like little girls. Suddenly, a voice spoke and the fighting seemed to be in pause, all the while, staring at the speaker.

"STOP!" It commanded.

Link had Vector in a headlock, while Vector was trying to struggle free. Espio had Pikachu by the scruff of his neck with the electric mouse digging his teeth into the lizard's arm. Charmy and Mario stopped just in time for Charmy to stick the stinger in Mario's nose. It deflated like a balloon and Mario said as though he was holding his nose, "Ouch."

The source of the voice was none other than Krystal. Time seemed to be in slow motion and Fox could even feel his temperature rising. They crossed the 'battleground' and embraced in a hug that seemed to last all eternity. However, before they could…Well, you know, a voice seemed to speak in the distance and appeared to get closer.

"al…ystal…KRYSTAL!" They stopped and saw a bruised Vector staring at them.

"If you're going to get all romantic, get a room!" They reluctantly broke up from their hug and stared at the chaos that the trio had caused.

Fox put his hands on his sides and commanded, "Alright, you guys, I want an explanation on what's going on."

Vector looked at Espio and then at Charmy. Fox then added, "OR I can arrange you guys to be DK's playmate."

This time, Team Chaotix explained everything. They told Fox how Krystal was looking for him and how they came here. Then, Fox explained how these other guys were his friends.

"Espio?" Vector asked, eyes wider than dinner plates.

"Yeah, Vector?" Espio asked, his eyes around the same size.

"I think we should've gotten around to things first." Vector said with great embarrassment.
 

Chapter 11: The apprentice

This is how it feels to be the person right now. You will experience how he feels and what is going on around you.

You're silently standing in the shadiness of a tree, your red eyes blankly staring forward. You begin to wonder about what happened to that blue hedgehog. He told you to wait for him at this tree. You then see a purple light that disappears as soon as it begins.

 

"Hmph, what was that all about?" You wonder.

 

You shake your head and decide it was nothing, but then you hear footsteps coming right at you. You hear them stop a few feet short of you and you speak without even moving your eyes.

"What do you want?"

 

Your voice is rather deep and somewhat cold, but the person coming doesn't seem to care.

 

"Did you see that?"

 

This voice is tough-sounding and has a "Watch what you say" tone in it.

 

"That purple light? I thought I was hallucinating." You ask with a cocked eyebrow.

 

You hear the voice then speaking in a more worried tone.

 

"That thing just took the guy that saved your life and you thought you were hallucinating?"

 

You turn around and meet this person. He has a doglike face with red dreadlocks running down the sides of his head. He has the 'lone wolf' eyes and spikes on his three-fingered gloves.

 

"Look at me, pal. I know that Sonic may be your rival, but if it wasn't for him, you'd be working with Black Doom or Eggman!" He shouts at your face.

 

You return his angry look with one of your own and you feel your temperature reaching boiling.

 

"I know your strong bond, Knuckles. But I have no idea of where your blue friend is." You say in an almost cold tone.

 

Knuckles raises a clenched fist and points it at you like an accusing finger. "You're very lucky we consider you a friend or I'd be grinding you to a pulp."

You open your mouth to speak, but you don't have time. Something is trying to suck you in and you have no idea what's going on. Strangely, Knuckles isn't being pulled in. You grip the ground with your fingers and grind your teeth so hard, you'd swear they'd break. Unfortunately, your hold on the ground is useless. After holding onto the grass that's already been uprooted, the suction pulls you skyward. You feel like you're in a roller coaster ride with the speed greatly turned up. The experience lasts briefly ten or twelve seconds and then you land face-first onto a hard floor of what appears to be an imperial palace. You slowly get to your feet and look around.

 

After you ask, "Who's there?" a voice answers in a deep snarl.

"Welcome to my humble abode."

 

You turn to see a strange, catlike person.

 

You scowl and ask, "Any reason you dragged me all the way here, kitty?"

 

The 'kitty' simply says, "I need troops if I want to defeat those troublesome pests. And I think you'll fit the spot perfectly."

 

Your eyebrows scrunch downward and you begin to feel energy pulsating from your body. Then, without warning, anger breaks free and your entire body glows as red as fire.

 

"YOU WANT TO USE ME! I WORK FOR NO ONE!!!!"

 

You then pull your arms backward and launch your hands forward after you shout, "CHAOS BLAST!!!!"

 

An enormous, red supernova blasts right where the cat was and there's a massive crater where he stood. Strangely, you feel the anger leave you and your body is normal again.

 

You smirk and say, "You never stood a chance against me."

 

Then you hear someone whisper, "On the contrary." just before five claws slash you across the face.

 

You then feel yourself drop to the ground and hit the ground with a thud. A second later, you realize that the catlike person is right over you. The cat smiles, showing off his large canines.

 

"If you don't help me destroy them and their blue friend…"

 

You then realize the blue friend part. Could it be who you’re after? Only one way to find out.

 

"Wait...Did you say 'blue friend'?" You ask.

 

The cat says, "Why, yes I did. If you kill them all, your reward will be handsome."

 

You slowly get to your feet and stand straight, looking at his yellow eyes with your own.

 

"I will do what you ask…master."

The cat's smile broadens and replies, "Welcome, my new apprentice. You will call me 'Master' or 'Concolor'. Should you disobey my orders once, I'll KILL you. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes, Concolor. On one condition: You will call me by MY name."

 

The cat scoffs and says, "Very well. What is it?"

 

Your eyes narrow and you reply in just four words. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog."

Chapter 12: Betrayal?

After everything got straightened out with Team Chaotix, everyone had decided to go back to Zelda again. An idea then struck Fox.

"Krystal, I'm leaving you with Zelda."

Krystal looked at Fox in surprise, here eyes wide with shock.

"Leave me? It's too dangerous. I'm going with you." She requested.

Fox just looked back and said, "No. With this Concolor guy on the loose, Zelda's going to need all the protection she can get. Besides, maybe you can get to know each other better."

Krystal looked at Zelda, who winked at her. Fox's eyebrows lifted. He reached behind his back and took out the staff.

"By the way, I think you'll be needing this."

Krystal took it, smiled ,and said, "Okay, Fox. I'll do it."

She then leaned over to Fox, acted on whim, and kissed him on the cheek. Fox turned red, but you couldn't see it under his fur. He saw Sonic raise his eyebrows and Link smirk.

"Krystal, not in front of these guys."

Krystal laughed and gave a mock salute.

"Zelda's safe with me. I won't let you down, Fox."

Vector whispered something to Espio, then Espio whispered to Mario.

"You don't-a say." Mario commented the chameleon.

Espio nodded and said, "I told ya."

That night, the group had set out into Hyrule field and set up camp. They were gathered around the campfire and they were roasting marshmallows Mario brought. Donkey Kong didn't want any, so he decided to roast a coconut. Big mistake, because the milk inside turned into steam and expanded. Result: the coconut exploded like a grenade and chunks of it hit almost everyone. Everyone stared at him and the big ape just chuckled and decided to try roasting a banana. That wasn’t working well either.

Vector was beginning to tell a ghost story when Link's sharp ears heard a noise.

Mario noticed this and asked, "What's up, Link?"

Link just looked toward a tree and saw a shadowy figure. It was short, had the spikes and gloves and almost exactly the same eyes.

Link smiled and said, "Nice try, trying to scare us, Sonic. Get out of the tree."

Sonic got in front of Link and said, "Uh, dude? How can that be me when I'm standing RIGHT HERE?"

Link got a good look at this figure and saw it looked a lot like Sonic. In the moonlight, he got a good glimpse that the hair was different and he had a white tuft of fur on his chest. Sonic squinted at it and his eyes widened.

"Hey, Shadow! You got here too." Sonic said, his cocky voice now changing to a little more cheerful one.

“Just as I thought.” Shadow said to himself, “Time to get down to business.”

The figure leapt down and revealed a black and red hedgehog. His face an expressionless mask. Team Chaotix got up and gathered around Shadow in greeting. Charmy zipped over to Shadow and held out his hand.

"Good to see ya, buddy." Charmy greeted, his eyes closed in cheer.

Shadow didn't answer, at least not in words. He answered by planting a fist into Charmy. Charmy was sent rocketing backwards with a black eye.

Vector saw that and shouted, "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Shadow again answered with violence and planted a steel boot in Vector's snout. Vector landed on his back and Espio was left.

"Shadow! What are you doing?!" Sonic asked in anger.

Shadow just glared at Sonic and continued to pound the others into a pulp. Pikachu and Mario charged Shadow from both sides, Mario balled up a fist while Pikachu charged up electricity.

They charged the black hedgehog, but at the last second, Shadow simply said, "Chaos control."

He vanished in a flash of light and Mario ended up punching Pikachu in the face and the electric mouse ended up shocking Mario. Donkey Kong tried body slamming Shadow, but Shadow repeatedly punched the big ape's gut. This hedgehog was obviously stronger than he looked and Shadow finished the combo by kicking Donkey Kong's jaw. It nearly cracked in two and the mighty ape fell. All that was left was Sonic, Espio, Link, and Fox.

Shadow simply said "Bring it on" in the coldest tone he ever spoke.

The four charged at once with their stuff ready, but Shadow was ready to defeat all of them. He was glowing bright red and shouted "CHAOS BLAST!"

It was as though a powder keg of energy blew up and all four of them were caught in the blast. Fox was knocked unconscious, Espio hung limply on a tree branch, and Link had hit his head on the tree trunk. Sonic was the only one conscious and he was struggling to get up, but he felt a sharp pain in his leg. His ankle was sprained. Shadow had produced a Chaos Spear and had it aimed right at Sonic's neck.

“Shadow…Please, no.” Sonic begged.
 

Chapter 13: Too close

Sonic was on the ground with a sprained ankle and Shadow pointing a chaos spear at his throat. Link and Fox were out cold as were his other colleagues. He was completely at Shadow's mercy.

Strangely, a figure came behind Shadow and said, "Good job, my apprentice."

It was none other than Concolor. His smile showed his massive canines and his eyes glowed in the moonlight.

"Kill him." Concolor barked.

Shadow glared at Concolor and then back at Sonic. Sonic's eyes widened and his eyes screamed betrayal. Strangely, Shadow winked at him.

"Prepare to die!" Shadow growled.

In a sudden move, he turned around and fired the Chaos Spear at Concolor. The spears buried themselves in Concolor's arm and the cat recoiled in surprise.

He recovered and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? TRAITOR!!!"

Shadow scowled and informed, "Traitor? I never worked for you in the first place. I knew that if I followed you, you would lead me right to Sonic."

Concolor leapt at Shadow, but the black hedgehog snapped his fingers and everything froze in place. Shadow caused Chaos Control and momentarily stopped time. Shadow then gathered everyone and went to the safety of Kokiri Forest before the cougar-man came to. On the way, Shadow spoke to Sonic in a rather calm voice even for him.

"Sorry I attacked you. I had to make Concolor buy it."

Sonic rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "No harm done."

Link's eyes fluttered in and out of focus and saw a heavily bandaged Sonic peering at him.

"Finally! You've been out all night." Sonic said with relief.

Link sat bolt upright and saw Sonic and Shadow looking at him. Without warning, Link's arm shot forward and his fingers wrapped around Shadow's neck. Shadow was caught completely off guard and was losing air. Link's teeth were gritted with rage and he continued to squeeze, but suddenly Sonic spoke up.

"Link! Stop! It's okay! Shadow's with us!"

Link looked at Sonic and said, "Yeah right. You saw him try to kill us!"

Sonic then added, "He was tricking Concolor. Trust me!"

Link looked at Sonic, his eyes still narrowed and reluctantly dropped Shadow. Unfortunately, Mario got up from his unconscious state.

He then began chasing the black hedgehog all over the place all the while screaming, "I'm going to kill you, Shadow! I'll bury you, then I'll dig you up and clone you, so I can KILL ALL YOUR CLONES!!"

Sonic got in the way and tripped Mario. Sonic proceeded telling the story and Mario's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Luckily, Sonic told everyone the whole thing when they came back to reality.

"So you decide to tell us AFTER you try to kill us?!" Vector shouted.

Shadow made motions for them to stay away from him and said, "I said I was sorry."

Espio got up and said, "Well, sorry doesn't exactly make me feel better. Hey, Donkey Kong, why don't you come over here? I'm sure Shadow's in the mood for a rematch."

The mighty ape got up and cracked his knuckles. Shadow's idea hit him before he even thought of it.

"Well, what if I said I knew what Concolor is up to?"

Everyone froze and Link asked, "You do?"

Shadow smiled a rather evil grin, and said, "If you do want to kill me, My knowledge dies with me and Hyrule is doomed."

Everyone sat back down and Pikachu simply egged, "What? WHAT? WHAT'S KITTY LITTER UP TO?!"

Shadow's story begins here.

"I came here and I learned that Concolor is actually a minion of a man named Ganondorf who claims to rule Hyrule. He's using a spell to try and bring him back from the void of the Sacred Realm. It includes a dimensional portal. Unfortunately, for someone of that power, he needs to bring people here until it's strong enough to bring the King of Evil here. When he has enough magic, he'll cast a spell on the Master Sword and reverse the portal. That means Ganondorf will be freed and he will try to kill Link and someone by the name of Zelda."

Everyone's eyes were wide open and they didn't blink during the whole story.

"We can't let this Ganondorf return. Let's get--" Fox began, but Link cut him off.

"Fox, my Interdimensional scale's acting up again!"

It had just gone up to a large amount just when a guard burst through the door. Link recognized him as the guard at the drawbridge.

"What happened?!" Link asked in a VERY worried tone.

The guard coughed and said, "Three…things attacking Hyrule Castle Town. They're after Zelda…"
 

Chapter 14: Kidnapped

Link wasted no further hesitation and ran outside. Fox quickly followed him since the others were still shaken by Shadow. Link then put his fingers into his mouth and gave a shrill whistle.

"Why are you…" Fox began, but the sound of hooves caught his attention.

He saw an auburn horse with a white mane come up to Link and gently nudge him with its nose.

"A horse. Cute." Fox answered himself.

He went up to pet the horse, but only spooked it. A minute later, Fox was in the mud, face first.

Link grabbed the horse by the muzzle and said, "Epona! No."

After that, Fox got up with a hoof-shaped bruise on his shoulder, though you couldn't see it under his jacket. He gave the hylian a glare and tapped his foot.

"Sorry about that, Fox. Epona gets a little nervous around other people." Link apologized as he scratched the back of his head.

Fox rolled his eyes and sarcastically remarked, "Oh, don't worry. No harm done."

Link got on Epona and Fox uneasily followed.

They arrived in the throne room of the castle to see three people aiming guns at Zelda and Krystal.

Fox took out one of his own and said, "Back off!"

The people who turned found themselves face-to-face with a blaster and a bow pointed right at them. Link thought he'd seen it all with talking creatures. These guys consisted of a tough-looking wolf with one mechanical eye, a sinister chameleon with slits for eyes, and a panther with a streak of white down his right eye.

Fox groaned and said, "Just great. Star Wolf is here too."

"It's good to see you again, Fox." The wolf taunted.

Link turned to Fox and asked, "You know these guys?"

Fox replied, "Unfortunately, yes. They're Wolf O'Donnell…" He pointed his thumb at the wolf, "Leon Powalski…" He pointed at the lizard, "And Panther Caroso." He gestured toward the cat.

"Now if you don't mind, we have a few ladies to take care of." Leon snapped.

Wolf was about to turn and get Zelda when Link whirled him around and seized his collar. Wolf was a good bit taller than Link, but he didn’t care.

“Listen, bub! You’re not even going to TOUCH Zelda. Do you understand?” Link asked, angrily.

Wolf didn’t answer, only angering Link further.

“ANSWER ME WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU!” Link growled.

Wolf then grabbed Link’s wrist and grinned.

“Nice grip,” Wolf said, “Let me show you mine.”

Wolf then began to squeeze Link’s hand and the pain was excruciating. Link felt Wolf peel his hand off his collar and then throw him back on the ground on his back. Leon couldn’t help but laugh and Panther merely clicked his tongue several times.

"Oh, a hero defending his girlfriend, how cute. Too bad you don’t possess as much of my good looks and you’re not nearly attractive. Isn't that right, Krystal?" Panther said, his eyes closed in vanity.

Krystal scowled in disgust. Link recoiled as though he was forced to smell a rotten egg.

"What's with blacky?" He asked.

Fox sighed again and said, "Panther thinks he's a ladies' man, but he's really not. It’s also very annoying."

"You talk too much. Panther! Leon! Let's get out of here. By the way…"

Wolf then pointed his gun at Link and fired. Link raised his shield, but the blast charred it and knocked the hero back.

“Your world has some lousy weapons.” Wolf finished as he walked away, kicking Link in the chest and punching Fox in the face while doing so.

Wolf heaved Zelda over his shoulder while Panther did the same with Krystal. The next thing they knew, Zelda and Krystal were kicking and screaming for their heroes.

Fox helped Link to his feet and the two gave chase to them.

On the way there, Link said, "I'M GONNA KILL 'EM FOR THIS!"

"Not if I get there first," Fox informed, "I'm gonna break every bone in their bodies. And THEN I'm gonna kill 'em!"
 

Chapter 15: The fifteenth chapter

Donkey Kong was fast asleep in a tree while sucking his thumb, Shadow was simply staring at the moon with the same look in his red eyes, and Pikachu was out to check out the forest and never returned because a few Kokiri stumbled upon him. Team Chaotix however, was in the mood for exploration.

"Mario, why don't you and Sonic look for Fox and Link? They've been gone since who-knows-when." Vector suggested.

Mario had the 'Oh come on!' look in him and said, "Can't you do it yourself?"

Vector simply opened his mouth, revealing his teeth with a raspy hiss and Mario's expression changed.

"Come on, ya' blue pincushion." He said as he walked off.

A rushing noise and Mario's hat was gone. Mario soon realized that Sonic had it. The hedgehog waved it around a bit before speaking again.

"I heard that." Sonic said.

“Gimme that!” Mario said, taking his hat back.

“Sheesh. Never thought a guy would kill another guy for taking a simple hat.” Sonic said as he walked off.

Vector and his gang were wandering around and soon came across a ranch that we all know. Espio had never seen an enclosed place with so much room. He had spent most of his time in a cramped apartment with his colleagues and never got to see a very big place like this.

"Wow. This is a nice place." He thought aloud.

Charmy gave a teasing smile and said, "Wow. Espio likes something other than ninja skills."

Espio gave Charmy the 'EVIL EYE' and Charmy shut his trap with a quick, "Sorry, Espio."

Vector then came across a chestnut horse with a flowing, chocolate-brown mane and inspected it.

"Ooh! Ooh! It's one of those kiddy rides at the supermarket!" Charmy exclaimed excitedly.

Espio looked it over and noticed something.

"Uhh, guys? Where's the coin slot?" He asked, nervously.

Vector took off his shoe and shook a quarter out of it.

He then smiled and said, "It's right here, silly."

The crocodile then stuck the quarter into the horse's (part of the horse withheld). With the sound of clanking metal and a disturbed whinny, Vector was sent flying into the gate with a hoof-shaped black eye.

"Okay...It's alive." Vector said weakly as he slid down the wall with the noise of rubbing skin on glass.

"Hello? Is someone here?" Someone called.

All three of their eyes widened at the fear of being caught. Vector zipped up a tree, Charmy flew on top of a house and landed on the roof, and Espio turned invisible. Vector peeked through the leaves of the tree and saw a very pretty girl with flowing, red hair. She was carrying a bucket of milk and looking around. Vector didn't notice that the branch he was on was slowly bending under his weight.

“Hello! Is anyone the…”

The redhead was about to enter the corral when something bumped into her. The surprise caused some milk to splash and land on something invisible. This girl obviously knew that milk didn’t just stop in midair and then saw something like an invisible eyelid open up and reveal an invisible eye.

"EEEEEEEEEEK!!! A GHOST!" She screamed.

The thing was actually Espio and he immediately said, "WHERE?!"

However, he didn't have time and a bucket of milk landed on top of him. His head and shoulders were trapped inside it and he fell over. After that, he turned visible. The young lady just stared at it. What is THIS thing?

Just then, Vector looked at his branch and saw it bending out of control. There was a sudden “CRACK” and Vector noticed that the ground was slowly getting closer.

"Uh-oh…" He said weakly.

Vector didn't have time to react and fell out of the tree with a crash and a loud "OW!" The girl whirled around and saw the crocodile on the ground, dazed. A minute later, a tile slipped underneath Charmy and he slipped onto the floor as many other tiles landed on his head and smashed into pieces.

“OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!” Charmy said as the tiles repeatedly hit him in the head.

Charmy spun around dizzily and fell to the ground, out could. He even had the little swirls in his eyes.

They were out for what felt like hours, but was actually five minutes. When they woke up, they found themselves in a warm house and the girl had Charmy in her arms. Espio got up and noticed that this young lady had obviously helped them.

"Uhh…Sorry about what happened back there." Espio apologized.

The girl gave him a grin and said, "No harm done."

Vector woke up with an ice pack on his black eye and asked, "What's wrong with you? We're just exploring. We're new around these parts."

It was then that Charmy came to and found himself looking at her.

His eyes turned into hearts and said, "Can you give me a hug?"

Malon giggled and hugged Charmy like a teddy bear. Charmy's heart eyes enlarged greatly and Espio noticed it.

"Um, Charmy? Have you had enough?" Charmy wasn't listening.

Vector shoved Espio aside, causing Espio to crash into nearby furniture and spoke up again.

"How rude of us. I believe we haven't introduced ourselves." Vector said after clearing his throat.

Malon stopped hugging Charmy and just realized Vector was talking to her.

"My name is Vector." The croc introduced in a sense of false politeness.

"Espio here." The chameleon said coolly, "And I see you like Charmy." He added as he pointed at the bumblebee.

Malon took their hands in a handshake and said, "I'm Malon. It's a pleasure."

A door opened and the grouch we all know and hate came in. His eyes widened at the sight of the three.

"Who are these guys?" Ingo asked in a tone similar to Squidward.

Malon noticed that Ingo had the usual, suspicious look in his eyes. Espio looked at Ingo with his sharp eyes and just sat back.

"Who's THIS idiot?" Vector asked with a shrug.

"That's Ingo, the usual grouch. He works on this ranch, but he thinks that most people are idiots." Malon said a she rolled her eyes.

Ingo eyed them suspiciously and asked, “Who are these guys?”

The Chaotix crew’s eyes moved up, down, and sideways to look at each other. Suddenly, Malon stood up.

“These are newcomers. They just need a place to stay that’s all.” She answered, somewhat annoyed.

Vector nodded and said, “Yeah! We just need a humble abode. Now could you get out and be boring somewhere else.”

Unbeknownst to Ingo, Vector was giving an unknown gesture behind his back. Espio got the idea and immediately vanished in a flash of rainbow-colored lights.

Ingo folded his arms and said, "Nice try, leather-head. I know thieves when my sharp eyes see 'em. When I’m through with you, you’ll make a nice pair of boots and I can finally get the money I deserve."

"Well, then your eyes are about as sharp as a potato's. A three-year-old could tell we’re not thieves." Espio countered.

Ingo turned to the spot where Espio was, but he was gone. Ingo picked up his pitchfork and was going to spear Vector with it, but something invisible hit him full force in the stomach.

"WHAT THE?!" Ingo exclaimed.

Espio had turned invisible and began a series of kung-fu moves on Ingo. A few seconds later, Ingo was hovering in the air and began slamming into the ground a few times.

Charmy took notice and excitedly said, "He's beating up Ingo!"

You could’ve sworn that Malon was cheering along with Charmy. As suddenly as the fight began, it ended when Espio grabbed Ingo by his pants and booted him out the door. Espio turned visible and took a ninja stance.

“Take that, curmudgeon.” Espio said, his eyes closed like the usual cool guy.

After the show, Malon made them cookies. Espio had a few, but no more than four or five. Vector on the other hand, was shoving the cookies into his mouth and gobbling them up. Charmy was almost eating as much as Vector, but he stopped after a while.

"Keep 'em comin', Malon!" Vector commanded.

Malon laughed and saw that Vector had crumbs and chocolate all over his face.

"You sure have a big appetite." She teased.

Vector stared at her and said, "Hey, I'm a growing boy…"

"Vector, you're twenty years old." Espio corrected.

Vector shoved another cookie in his mouth and said, "Oh."

Eventually, Vector ended up leaning on his chair with a stomach as big as a basketball. Espio had to work with Charmy and Malon in order to heave him onto a nice warm bed. Vector was asleep before he even got on.
 

 

Chapter 16: Delusional thinking with Vector

It was barely six thirty in the morning when the cuccos outside crowed. Vector's eyes snapped open, revealing deep, red cracks.

"Good mooooorning..." Malon said in her singsong voice.

She then got a good look at Vector. He had baggy pouches under his eyes and he was slouching over like a zombie.

"Whoa. You don't get up this early, do you?" She asked in amazement.

"You haven't seen the worst of it. One time, I didn't get up all day." Vector said groggily.

Malon then noticed that Espio hadn't gotten up.

"Uhh...Vector?"

She pointed at Espio, who was in a meditative stance with his eyes closed. Vector saw it and sighed.

"Get me a pepper mill."

A few seconds later, Vector was milling the pepper near the chameleon's face. The lizard stifled and then let out a sneeze.

Vector and Malon couldn't help but laugh when Espio got up with a rather disturbed, "Can't you buy an alarm clock?"

Team Chaotix spent most of the day helping Malon with chores. Espio rounded up the cuccos, but some of them tackled him while trying to get some food and Espio scrambled away.

“Whew. For a moment, I thought I was going to be bird food.” Espio sighed, leaving the chickenfeed on the ground and having the cuccos help themselves.

Charmy helped with the horses, but then he came across the exact same horse that Vector thought was a kiddy ride and it kicked him in the face. Charmy landed on the door and eventually peeled off.

“Still holding a grudge, I see…” Charmy said, weakly.

Vector heaved food into the cows' feeders and let out a sigh as he got the last trough filled. After ten minutes of hard work, they all took a well-deserved break.

Vector wiped sweat off his forehead and said, "Whew! I wonder if Link works this hard."

Malon responded to the mention of 'Link' and asked, "You know Link?" in an excited voice.

Vector raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course I know him. Although, we met in a rather tight situation..."

Vector continued telling the story of how they got to Hyrule and how they met Link and his new friends, not to mention Zelda. Malon sat with wide eyes at the thought of him wandering with two foxes, a pair of hedgehogs, an electric mouse, a plumber, and a giant ape.

"Well, that just about covers it. Oh, and here comes Charmy." Vector said as he pointed at the energetic bee racing at her like a bullet.

Luckily, Espio caught him across the w