Chapter 15 - 2BIT Vs. 8BIT

2BIT & GeneX at the Olympic Winter Games
Chapter 15 (Final Chapter!) - 2BIT Vs. 8BIT

Notes: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
Super Mario characters are (c) Nintendo. I'm sure you knew that, too.
GeneX, its related fancharacters, and other original characters in this story are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator).

The story thus far:
The team of heroes fought their way through Blizland, and soon found Jacklrankda and the leader of Conquer Corp, Zephor. They attempted to fight the evildoers, but even all of them together were no match for Jacklrankda. Luckily, 2BIT arrived and used a special power he could only use once to defeat them. With all 7 Chaos Emeralds and all 6 Orbs in their possession, the group met up with Mario, Sonic, and their friends. Suddenly, Bowser and Dr. Eggman drew Mario, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy into a showdown. Though the villains were defeated, it was still not over. 8BIT appeared with Dark Stars, Dark Emeralds, and Dark Orbs, and using the power of darkness, he reconstructed Bowser and Eggman's fortresses into a sinister combination of Bowser, Eggman, and Jacklrankda's fortresses: the Darkegg Castle of Power! Peach, Amy, and Melody were captured by their respective enemies, who were transformed by the dark treasures! 8BIT built a bridge to his castle and left the heroes with a challenge, "Come on in and try to stop us... if you dare!" So, the heroes must now meet this challenge...
Now, on to the next chapter!


There was no debate among the heroes. Led by Mario and Sonic, everyone crossed the bridge and entered the Darkegg Castle of Power, except for Gator, but no one cared if he stayed behind. The interior of the castle looked just as twisted and nightmarish as the exterior, the decor within a mix of Bowser and Eggman's sense of style. It was quite dark inside, but electric lights from Eggman's base flickered in several places, giving off a little bit of light. After passing the entrance hall, the heroes came to a large room which contained the entrance to the central tower. On each side of the door there was a statue, but the statues had been broken apart during the construction and reconstructed incorrectly, the statues were originally of Bowser and Eggman, but now they were jumbled into two even creepier statues. That wasn't the worst thing guarding the door, though. The door to the tower opened up, and Zephor led his Conquer Corp minions into the room. "Sorry, would-be heroes. This is as far as you go!" Zephor declared. Mario hung his head in confusion. "Huh?" he muttered. Sonic seemed to share his sentiment. "We've got you way outnumbered. You don't seriously expect to stop us?" he said. Zephor grinned as Lospecter came up from under the floor. "Ooooh, wait... THAT'S Mario? Are you kidding me? Oh, well, I've got the Lost Ones ready anyway." he said. Various Lost Ones emerged from the tower, and they weren't alone. Eggman's robots and Bowser's minions were led in by Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega. Bowser Jr, Kamek, King Boo, Metal Sonic, Char, and Alpha were also among them. That wasn't all, either. Spacey, Killer Kong, the Wrongo King, and Darking emerged from the tower as well. With the miscellaneous minions joining the more dangerous villains, the heroes were now quite outnumbered. 2BIT nodded. "I knew it. 8BIT takes every advantage he can get. There's no getting through this quickly..." he said. "Aw, I've seen worse... I think..." Copter said, though he really hadn't come close to seeing worse than this. Dr. Spizzy laughed manically at this development. "At LAST! We've got them COMPLETELY outmatched! ATTACK!! TAKE NO PRISONERS!! AH HA HA HA HA HA!!!" he screamed. Zephor, Lospecter, Eggman Nega, and Dry Bowser all rolled their eyes at him. "You can't boss us all around." Eggman Nega pointed out. "But in this case, I agree with him. ATTACK!!" Dry Bowser roared. However, the sound of people running in the entrance hall caused everyone to hesitate. Not just footsteps, but the clattering of hooves, the roar of hover boards, and other miscellaneous sounds could be heard as another group began to enter the room. The heroes already inside cleared the way as Gator galloped into the room riding on a green horse, wearing a pirate hat and hoisting a green sword in the air. "There's the fiends, men! CHAAAAAAARGE!!!" he yelled. Behind him, reinforcements were arriving. First were the Babylon Rogues: Jet, Wave, and Storm. Polar was there as well. "There they are! The ape and the alien gave me the slip earlier!" he said. Spiny was among them as well. "I don't care! I don't care if this is Sonic's side! I don't care about 8BIT! I just can't hang out with Alpha and Ray anymore!" he explained. In addition, Razor, Katie, Chet, Cream, Cheese, SPOT, Guard, Skul, Dogsworth, Lakitu, Omochao, Big, Birdo, Charmy, Espio, Cranky Kong, Kooky, Rouge, Omega, Marine, Toadette, Barrel-Man, and even Chaos arrived to assist in the battle. Not only that, but miscellaneous Chao, Toads, Shy Guys, and Piantas were at the back of the pack. Now, the fight was even, but 2BIT knew it would still take time they didn't have. "Mario! Sonic! Copter and Jimmy! Take our treasures and go on ahead!" he instructed. "Huh? What about you guys?" Jimmy asked. "Aw, they don't need our help now." Copter figured. Tails approached Copter before they could leave. "Take this, too, Copter! The other Tailband of Chaos!" he said. Copter accepted it and nodded. "One day, you'll get a turn using both of them, I promise." he said. Sonic was given the 7 Chaos Emeralds, Jimmy was given the 6 Orbs, and Mario was entrusted with the 12 Power Stars the group had accumulated. "Are you sure you'll all be all right here?" Sonic asked. 2BIT nodded. "Are you kidding? With this team, we can beat almost anything! Now get going!" he said. "Thus, Jimmy cowardly fled the battle to climb the tower with Mario and Sonic." the Narrator said. Jimmy ignored him for once, and joined Mario, Sonic and Copter as they charged past the enemies and entered the door to the tower. "Oh-kay! Here we go!" Mario cheered.

News Brief! > Gator's horse, Rolf, occasionally displays greater intelligence than his master, despite being unable to speak. He bites, so approach with caution.

The first floor of the tower contained little more than the stairway to the second floor. Mario, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy wasted no time climbing those stairs, and passed through the door at the end of them. They found themselves in a large room taking up most of the second floor. Darkness seemed to cloud the air, and within that darkness, Dr. Eggman was waiting in his newest weapon. The Dark Chaos Emeralds had helped create it, and were now powering the device, which resembled a giant Egg Pawn with huge wings, a sword engulfed in dark energy, and a sinister black and red paint job. "Welcome, Sonic! Meet my latest creation, the Dark Egg Emperor!" Eggman shouted, his voice having been altered by the energy of the Dark Emeralds. He now sounded more crazed than usual. Sonic ran ahead of the others, ready to fight. "Are you Eggman or Eggman Nega? Never mind! I'm here to stop you, whoever you are!" he said. Eggman chuckled softly. "Eggman Nega? Don't be silly. I'm Dark Eggman! And I'm well prepared for you, Sonic!" he sneered. Suddenly, out of the darkness, several powered up Egg Pawns flew out and tackled Sonic, dragging him away from the Dark Emperor! Sonic broke free of their grip with a spin attack, but quickly found himself surrounded by these Dark Pawns. "I had some time to kill, so I prepped something to help me kill you! You're welcome to try and stop me if you can get past my Dark Egg Pawns!" Eggman shouted. Jimmy and Copter ran ahead to face Eggman next. Mario hesitated, holding on to his Power Stars and concentrating hard. "You don't just have Sonic to deal with! We'll take you on!" Jimmy said. Copter glanced around as though looking for something. "Hey, where's the pink hedgehog you captured before heading in here?" he asked. Eggman laughed manically and spun his Dark Emperor around, revealing Amy trapped in a cage attached to the robot's back! She reached her hand through the bars desperately. "Sonic!! Help me!!" she shouted. Sonic glanced at her briefly, but had to keep his focus on the Dark Pawns. The Dark Emperor spun around again and raised its dark sword. "Think you can save her? Come! Try it! I DARE you!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Eggman laughed. Copter and Jimmy charged at the Dark Emperor, aiming for a glowing red spot on its chest, a possible weakness. Jimmy slashed at it with his sword, and Copter struck it with his tails, but a blast of dark energy shot from the spot and repelled them! Then, the Dark Emperor swung its sword at them! It struck the ground between them, and then began discharging powerful bolts of dark energy! The energy knocked Copter and Jimmy far backward, into the swarm of Dark Pawns! "And then there was one..." Eggman sneered, glaring at Mario. The Dark Emperor stepped towards Mario, and he glanced up at it. Suddenly, the stars in his hands began to glow! They circled Mario and began filling him with new power! Mario began to glow a little, and out of nowhere, blocks with question marks on them appeared throughout the room! Eggman glanced around in confusion. "What is this?!" he wondered. Mario jumped up and struck a nearby block with his head. Out of the block popped an odd flower with eyes. A Fire Flower! Mario grabbed it, and his cap and overalls turned white. He was now Fire Mario! "Yahoo! Let'sa go!" Mario shouted. Eggman growled at him. "So you bleached your clothes. So what!? I'll just eliminate you first!" he yelled.

The Dark Egg Emperor charged at Mario and began swinging its sword at him. Mario jumped gracefully over the blade and tossed fireballs at the machine. The fireballs vanished upon impact, and it was unclear if they were actually causing any damage. Mario jumped back to gain some distance from the Dark Emperor, and then started running around the robot. The Dark Emperor turned to keep Mario in view. "You can't get away from me, you pathetic little plumber!" Eggman shouted. Mario tossed a couple more fireballs as he ran, but they did little to the Dark Emperor. Eggman responded by firing missiles from launchers concealed on the robot's back. The missiles locked on to Mario and began coming after him! Mario jumped up to another question mark block, releasing a brown leaf into the air. A missile was getting close to him, but Mario simply jumped on top of it and jumped off before it exploded, giving him some extra height to grab the leaf! His clothes changed back to normal, but now his hat sported raccoon ears, and he had a tail, too! He'd become Raccoon Mario! Spinning his tail really fast, Mario was somehow able to fly, and he flew in between the missiles as they came at him, causing them to change course and crash into each other! Eggman pounded his fist on his control panel. "That doesn't even remotely make sense! How can he fly with ONE little raccoon tail!? I'll just have to cut it off!" he shouted. The Dark Emperor swiped its sword at Mario as he flew by, but he dodged it with ease and landed on the cage on the robot's back. He started jumping on the cage, trying to break it off, but it wasn't working. "Get off my back, you flea-bitten raccoon!" Eggman yelled, firing more missiles to chase after Mario. The plumber returned to the air and flew after the next block, which he struck with his tail to open! A mushroom that appeared to be made out of stone popped out of the block, which Mario quickly grabbed while evading the missiles. He dropped out of the sky, his hat and overalls now appearing to be made of rocks, too. Now he was Rock Mario! As the missiles turned to chase him, Mario somehow rolled himself into a boulder, which took off at high speed in the direction of the Dark Egg Emperor! "What in the... PULL UP!!" Eggman shouted. The Dark Emperor rose out of the way as Mario rolled by, and turned around in midair to face Mario before landing back on the ground. "Nice try, plumber!" Eggman chuckled. However, the missiles were still chasing Mario, and crashed into the Dark Emperor's legs! Its legs were destroyed, but it could still hover in the air! Mario emerged from his boulder and jumped to hit another block while Eggman was flying towards him. "You're pesky transformations won't save you now!!" Eggman yelled. However, inside the block was a Starman. It resembled a Power Star, but was yellow rather than gold. The star jumped off the block and landed on Mario, filling him with incredible power! Mario began glowing in many different colors, and sparkled, too. As the Dark Emperor slashed its sword at him, Mario performed a rolling jump right into the red spot on its chest! The dark energy could no longer repel him, and Mario crashed through the machine, knocking Amy's cage away as he smashed through to the other side! Sparks flew wildly from the hole in the Dark Egg Emperor, and soon the machine exploded into a million pieces! The Dark Chaos Emeralds were flung away by the explosion, but as usual, Eggman's Egg Mobile was miraculously unharmed, though it did fall to the ground since its own thrusters were turned off while it was attached to the Dark Egg Emperor. Meanwhile, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy were just finishing off the Dark Egg Pawns. Eggman glanced around and soon found himself surrounded. "Ugh... I have a terrible headache... Let's... uh... settle this score another time!" Eggman said, his voice having returned to normal. Before anyone could stop him, Eggman flew his Egg Mobile up through a hole in the roof, which was promptly sealed shut once he was through! With the coast clear for now, Sonic freed Amy from her cage, and was met with an uncomfortably tight hug. "Sonic!! I knew you'd free me!" Amy cried, paying no attention to Mario. The plumber shrugged and hit the last question mark block. The power of the Starman had worn off, so Mario grabbed the Fire Flower within the block to become Fire Mario again, a power that would surely come in handy up ahead. Once Sonic was free from Amy's grip, he pointed out the door to the downstairs. "It's dangerous here, Amy. You'd better go with the others downstairs. It's dangerous there, too, but you'll be safer with so many others to help." he said. Amy had a look of concern. "But I wanna go with you!" she pleaded. Jimmy crossed his arms and shook his head. "This is way too dangerous for a GIRL..." he said. Amy pulled out her hammer and gave him a smack in the head. "I'M JUST AS TOUGH AS ANY BOY!" she yelled. Sonic grabbed the dazed Jimmy by the arm and dragged him towards the door to the next floor, followed by Mario and Copter. "Bye, Amy!" he shouted. Amy let out a sigh, knowing she'd never keep up with Sonic. "Be careful..." she said.

Mario, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy continued to climb higher up the tower. They passed a few floors with little resistance. However, halfway to the top of the tower they found one of the captives they were seeking to rescue: Princess Peach. She was trapped in a small cage. "Mario!" she called, having spotted her hero. Mario ran over to the cage, but everyone's attention was soon drawn to an explosion that caused part of the wall to crumble! Beyond the newly created hole was Dark Bowser, standing on a large outdoor balcony! Dark Bowser looked quite similar to his normal self, but the yellow and green parts of his body had changed to a dark blue color. His eyes now glowed red, and his hair, which had turned black, was now sticking straight up. "Gwa ha ha ha! There you are, Mario! So, you're looking to free Princess Peach, huh? Well, come on out here and get the key!" he snarled, holding up the gold key to Peach's cage. Mario slowly started to approach Bowser, when suddenly he was struck from behind by a Koopa shell! Mario fell on top of the shell and was carried to the balcony on top of it! "Yaaaaaaa!! Mama mia!" Mario shouted as the shell carried him towards Dark Bowser! The Koopa King was about to launch an attack on the helpless plumber, when suddenly, a blue ball sped onto the balcony and struck him in the face! Sonic landed in front of Bowser and dashed away, drawing the enraged Koopa's attention. The shell carrying Mario sped past Bowser and crashed among a group of Koopas who were standing by the edge of the balcony, ready to back Bowser up. These Koopas were merely shaken up, and as Mario dizzily climbed to his feet, he saw that these Koopas were sporting the same blue color as Bowser, and the same red eyes. They were Dark Koopas! Mario had no time to recover before the Dark Koopas started attacking him. The best he could do was jump to avoid taking the hits. "Hold on, chubby! I'm coming!" Copter shouted, rushing to help Mario. Meanwhile, Dark Bowser was trying to catch Sonic, but he simply couldn't match the hedgehog's speed. Frustrated, he stopped chasing Sonic and started shooting fireballs at him. Sonic reacted by changing direction. He ran straight for Dark Bowser, dodging the fireballs with ease until he reached the Koopa King and jumped into his face again! Bowser growled furiously as Sonic landed back on the ground. "You think you're sooo great just because you can outrun everybody! Well, outrun THIS!" Dark Bowser took a deep breath, and seemed to inhale some of the dark energy in the air around the castle. A bright light appeared in his mouth as he charged a special dark energy ball. In a moment, Dark Bowser unleashed his attack; the larger dark energy ball split into hundreds of smaller ones and flew out of his mouth, traveling across a wide area with incredible velocity! Sonic reacted by curling into a ball and dashing through the dark energy, rolling and jumping around to dodge the attack while gaining speed! Bowser stomped on the ground angrily as he saw Sonic avoiding this seemingly unavoidable attack, and started blowing black flames from his mouth as Sonic was getting close. Sonic ducked under those flames and smashed into Dark Bowser's chest, causing him to stumble backward and nearly fall on his shell. Bowser regained his balance in a moment and glared at Mario and Copter, who were busy fighting his minions. "Fine. Time for a new target..." he growled.

Dark Bowser turned to Mario and Copter, who were too busy fighting with the Dark Koopas to pay attention to him. He took another deep breath, charging another ball of dark energy. Sonic stopped running around for a moment to see what Bowser was doing. "Aw, shoot! Look out!" he shouted. However, he quickly realized that Mario and Copter wouldn't get out of the way in time. Bowser fired the dark energy ball, and this time it stayed in one piece, all of its power heading straight for Mario and Copter! Acting fast, Sonic dashed into the path of the ball, allowing it to hit him instead of his allies! The ball struck him hard, and Sonic went flying off the balcony! "No!!" shouted Jimmy, drawing Bowser's attention. "Seems like Sonic just wasn't good enough to beat me and my new dark power!" he grinned. Jimmy clenched his teeth and glared angrily at Bowser. "Because of his inaction, Jimmy now witnessed the end of Sonic the Hedgehog." the Narrator said. "Shut up, Florence! This isn't funny anymore!" Jimmy yelled. Bowser chuckled at him. "Aw, the little brat is mad at me! If you like, I can toss you over the cliff, too!" he teased. Jimmy held the Orb of Fire in his hand. "Hmmm..." He'd never used the Orbs before, but now the red Orb started to glow in his hand. The other five emerged from his pocket as well, and began circling him! "I've had enough, turtle-breath! It's time for you to see my true power!!" A bright light erupted from the Orbs and shot into the Windy Sword. A blue stone lodged in the hilt of the sword started to glow, the power of the sword was transferred to Jimmy, and his clothes started to glow a gold color! His hair changed to the same shade of blue as the stone in his sword. "Jimmy tapped into the power of the Stone of Power within his sword, amplifying it with the power of the Orbs of Light!" the Narrator explained. With the transformation complete, Jimmy pointed his sword at Bowser dramatically. "Be afraid, fatso! Now I'm Super Duper Jimmy!" he said. Dark Bowser laughed again. "Super Duper? Now that's lame." he teased. Jimmy smirked at him. "We'll see who's lame! Take this!" Jimmy dashed over to Dark Bowser and swung his sword at him! Bowser caught the sword in his claws and began struggling against it, with Jimmy struggling against him. Soon, Dark Bowser blew black fire at Super Jimmy, forcing him to back off. Jimmy next tried tapping into his sword's power. Wind circled his blade, and was charged by the energy of the Orbs, becoming a beam of light! The beam was shot from his sword and slammed into Dark Bowser, but the dark Koopa King stood his ground. He stomped towards Jimmy, slowed by the light being fired at him, but not stopping. "Grrrr.... I can't give up!" Jimmy growled. "Unfortunately, the power of the stone and the orbs were not as strong as that of the multitude of Dark Power Stars filling Dark Bowser with power. This was the end." the Narrator said. "It ain't over 'till it's over!" shouted a voice near the edge of the balcony. Jimmy and Bowser both stopped what they were doing and glanced back. Bright lights were circling a figure floating in the air! "S-sonic!?" Bowser gasped as the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds transformed the blue hedgehog. His blue fur now turned to gold. He had become Super Sonic! "Sorry to keep you waiting! Let's wrap this up, Jimmy!" Sonic said. Jimmy nodded. "Now you're REALLY toast! Take THIS!!" Super Duper Jimmy slashed his powered up sword at the distracted Dark Bowser. "Graaaaaah!!! T-too much light!!" he growled, stunned. While he was stunned, Super Sonic charged at him at incredible speed, smashing into the dark King Koopa with tremendous power! A bright light cut through the darkness on the balcony, blinding the Dark Koopas long enough for Mario and Copter to knock them into their shells and kick them over the edge of the balcony! As the light faded, the Dark Power Stars went flying away, leaving Bowser stumbling around the balcony in his normal form. "Ugh... What happened?" he muttered. Super Sonic and Super Duper Jimmy stood in front of him, and when he noticed them, Bowser jumped with a start. "Oh, uh... Sonic! What a pleasant surprise! Hey, have you met Princess Peach? Hold on and I'll introduce you!" he said quickly before running inside the tower. He ran past the princess' cage and stomped the ground, causing a trapdoor to open below him! Bowser fell into the floor as Mario, Sonic, Copter and Jimmy entered the tower. Then, he flew out of the trapdoor in his Koopa Clown Car. Another door opened up in the roof, providing Bowser with his escape route. "I'll stomp you next time, Mario!" he roared as he escaped. Copter groaned in frustration. "Now how will we open the cage?" he asked. Mario jumped and held up the gold key that had been in Bowser's possession. "Ah, he must have dropped it along with the stars..." Copter realized. In a moment, Peach was free from the cage. "Thank you, Mario!" she said with relief. Mario took off his cap and bowed politely. Peach responded to this by giving him a kiss on the forehead. Mario blushed a moment before jumping excitedly. "Wahoo!!" he cheered. Peach walked over to Jimmy next. "You were very brave, too! Thank you!" she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Jimmy wore an expression of shock, and his face turned redder than Mario's cap. "Uh... wow..." he muttered. Next, Peach walked over to Sonic. "I can't forget you..." she started saying. "Uh, sure you can! C'mon, guys, we gotta hurry!" Sonic said quickly before running for the stairs to the next floor, as though scared for his life. Mario and Jimmy followed, and Peach waved to them as they left. "Be careful Mario! I'll see you at the exit to the castle!" she said before heading for the stairs leading down. Copter watched her go somewhat disappointedly. "Hey... What about me? I'm not scared of girls...." he stammered before grudgingly following the other heroes up the tower.

The four heroes continued their climb up the tower. Soon, they were nearing the top. It was at a floor very near the top that the quartet were stopped once again. "Finally, Jimmy had once again found the evil Knight of Power, Jacklrankda!" the Narrator announced. Jacklrankda was standing in the middle of a room very similar to the one the Dark Egg Emperor was in, and as Jimmy drew his sword, Jack held his own sword in front of his captive, Melody. "Welcome, boy. You're just in time to watch your girlfriend die!" Jack growled. "W-we're just friends!" Melody protested. Jacklrankda raised his sword, about to strike. "Now that they're here, I don't need you!" he yelled. "Chaos Whirlwind!!" Before Jacklrankda could hurt Melody, Copter used his Chaos Whirlwind to blow her to the back of the room, well out of range of his sword. Jimmy turned around and shook a fist at him. "Don't attack my friend!!" he shouted. "Uh, I don't think he had a choice..." Sonic pointed out. Jacklrankda didn't bother to chase after Melody. "It matters not. She may go; she won't live much longer anyway. The world is ours now! The world belongs to darkness!" he declared. Jimmy scoffed at him. "You guys see what I have to put up with? What a blowhard." he said. Copter held the tailband Tails had given him earlier. "I guess we should just make this as quick as possible to shut him up." he said. Jack pointed his sword at him. "Enough! For daring to get in my way, I will tear you limb from limb!" he yelled. Copter grinned and slipped the tailband onto the tail that didn't have one already. "Let's see you try it!" he said. The two tailbands glowed brilliantly, and in a moment, Copter's black fur became silver. Now he was Super Copter! Fire Mario, Super Sonic, and Super Duper Jimmy stepped next to Copter and faced Jack. "You don't stand a chance against all four of us!" Jimmy said. Jacklrankda chuckled softly. "I have been saving the power of the Dark Orbs for this... Prepare to perish!" Dark energy quickly enveloped Jack, transforming him! He grew until he was almost twice his original size, and he began to take on demonic features. Giant horns pierced through his helmet. Huge, demonic wings emerged from his back. He now possessed a long, spiked tail, as well. Even his sword seemed to grow larger, and he swung it in front of him with great force! "DIE!!" he roared.

Dark Jacklrankda charged at the four heroes and began slashing his powerful dark blade at them. They scattered to avoid the attack, but Jimmy was quick to fight back. He struck Jack's sword with his own, and Jack pushed him back and thrusted his sword at him. Jimmy parried the attack, and their swords struck each other a few more times before Jack grew tired of it. He flapped his massive wings and whipped up a wind that blew Jimmy away from him! "Urgh! Wind! But that's MY thing!" Jimmy complained. Before Jacklrankda could pursue him, Mario got his attention with a few fireballs. The fire did nothing against Jacklrankda's armor, but it did get his attention. "You are the most pathetic worm I've seen, and I've tangled with that loser boy before. Stay out of my way!" Jack yelled, heaving his sword at Mario! The plumber jumped over the blade and continued shooting fireballs at him, to no avail. Jacklrankda tried to strike Mario with his sword again, but this time Mario jumped high into the air and stomped Jack on the head! After Mario jumped off, Jacklrankda shook his head a bit and turned to him again. "Impressive. I almost felt that! Now take THIS!" Dark Jacklrankda charged dark energy in his blade and swung it across the air, sending a blast of dark energy at Mario! It knocked him away, but Copter went on the attack next! "Eat super tails, punk!" he shouted, slamming his tails against Jack's back. Dark Jacklrankda responded by swinging his spiked tail at Copter, but he simply avoided it and flew around the villain, striking him with his tails repeatedly. "Annoying insect! Begone!" Jack shouted. As Copter flew around, Jacklrankda shot dark energy from his body all around himself, knocking Copter away! Once he stopped using this attack, Sonic dashed around him, drawing his attention. "Hey, big guy! Think you can catch me?" he teased. Dark Jacklrankda growled angrily at him. "The four of you are naught but annoying! Take this!!" he said, swinging his sword around and shooting blasts of dark energy from it! Sonic was too fast to be hit by this, and took a moment to attack Jacklrankda between dodges. Soon, Jack grew sick of this and used the same attack he'd used on Copter, knocking Sonic away this time. "Fools! I have been filled with the power of darkness! Nothing can stop me now! I am SUPREME! I am INVINCILBE! I am the mighty JACKLRANKDA!!!" he roared. Sonic flew over to Mario, Copter, and Jimmy and pointed his thumb at Dark Jacklrankda. "I think he's had enough fun now, don't you?" he asked. "Yeah!" Mario replied. "Let's finish this goon already!" Copter added. "What are you worms babbling about!?" Jacklrankda shouted. Jimmy chuckled at him. "Sorry, Jackie, but you never stood a chance! Say bye bye!" With that, all four supercharged heroes charged at Dark Jacklrankda! Though Jack tried to hit them with more dark energy, their powers combined overwhelmed him! Mario leapt onto his head hard! Sonic smashed into him at incredible speed! Copter pounded him with his powerful tails! At the same time, Jimmy slashed Jacklrankda's armor with his sword! The combined attacks cut through Jacklrankda's dark power and caused a tremendous explosion! The Dark Orbs were sent flying away from Jacklrankda, and he was returned to his original form. However, he refused to quit. "NOOOO!!! Even without the Dark Orbs, I will not be defeated! I will crush your bones! I will smash your skulls! I will paint the land in your blood! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" he roared. Sonic, Mario, and Copter all glanced at Jimmy with new respect. "OK, kid, you REALLY got a grade-A nut job to deal with." Copter said. Jimmy snickered at Jacklrankda's threats. "Too bad, Jack. You shoulda ran away like Bowser and Eggman. The whole reason I came to this place was to put you back where you belong!" he said. Jacklrankda swiped his sword through the air angrily. "You bluff! A loser such as you can do NOTHING to me!" he yelled. Jimmy grinned and held up an odd object in the shape of a ring. It had a symbol on it that resembled Jacklrankda's helmet. "How quickly you forget. See, 8BIT forgot to confiscate this when he freed you..." he said. Jacklrankda finally began to look worried. "No! Not that!! The Seal of Power!! B-but surely you don't have the lock!" he shouted. Jimmy held up an ancient object made of stone that resembled a combination lock. "Oh, you mean this Power Lock? Hey, give my regards to the Wrongos in the VOID, OK, Jack? Now it's time for me to lock and seal your fate!" With that, Jimmy slipped the ringlike seal onto the lock and clicked the lock shut! A portal quickly emerged above Jacklrankda's head, and he began screaming furiously as it began sucking him in! "NO!! The VOID!! Mark my words, boy! One day, I will escape again!! I will be free! I will conquer all of Zronia, and kill you or your descendants!! I WILL HAVE REVEEEEEEEEEENGE!!!" Jacklrankda's body seemed to break into millions of particles as he passed through the portal, and in a moment, the portal shut behind him, leaving him trapped in the mysterious VOID. "And so, Jimmy's quest was finally completed! Against impossible odds, this young loser once again defeated Jacklrankda!" the Narrator announced. "The end! Now be quiet for a while, Florence!" Jimmy said. "You did it! Way to go!" shouted Melody, who'd been watching the battle from the back of the room the whole time. The reunion was soon interrupted by a much larger reunion. "Hey! There they are! Can I get some pie now?" said Gator as he and Rainbow entered the room. Rainbow looked back down the steps. "Hurry up, everyone! We've caught up!" she shouted. Within moments, all the heroes that had been fighting the villains below arrived, crowding the room! After everyone greeted each other and were brought up to speed on the activities of Bowser, Eggman, and Jacklrankda, the heroes in super forms headed for the stairs leading further up the tower. "All right, guys! What do you say we finish this once and for all?" Sonic asked. "Let'sa go!" Mario added. The heroes cheered enthusiastically, but 2BIT seemed somewhat concerned. "8BIT won't be easy to take down. Now that we've got him backed into a corner, we'd better be ready for anything..." he said. "Aw, how bad could he be?" Jimmy said. "Yeah, we've got an army!" Copter added. 2BIT shrugged and joined the four super heroes in leading the "army" higher up the tower...

News Brief! > This is the final News Brief. I hope you enjoyed these little bits of trivia, and I hope they improved your understanding of the story. Last bit of trivia: Sonic's design was somewhat based on that of Mickey Mouse, and he beat out several characters for the chance to be Sega's mascot, including the character who became Dr. Eggman. Mario, on the other hand, was designed as he was out of necessity: there were only a handful of pixels to work with for him in his first game, and his colorful, capped and mustached appearance made it easy to identify his features despite the technical limitations at the time.

It didn't take much longer to reach the top of the tower. The roof of the tower was built wider than the tower itself, and could, in fact, easily hold the entire group of heroes. 8BIT was waiting directly across from the staircase the heroes came from. He was sitting by the wall at the edge of the roof, glaring hatefully as each of the heroes arrived. "It's over, 8BIT! You've got nothing left!" Copter shouted. "Save us some trouble and surrender now!" Jimmy added. 8BIT slowly rose to his feet. "So, you're the one behind all this? I thought you'd be taller..." Sonic said. Mario just stared in silence, anxiously waiting for something he could feel was coming. With all of the heroes present, 8BIT pointed behind them. "Behold..." The heroes looked, and saw all of the villains they left behind on the lower floors coming up from the staircase! In a moment, the rooftop was truly crowded, with all the villains having arrived. Bowser and Eggman flew up from outside the tower as well, riding the Koopa Clown Car and the Egg Mobile, respectively. "Well, it looks like it's all over!" Eggman said. "Right! All villains, attack!!" Bowser ordered. However, most of the villains didn't budge. "Huh? What's going on? Even I know they should be attacking now..." Gator said. Zephor shook his head. "I've had enough fighting. Clearly we don't stand a chance, anyway, since they made it up here." he said. Dr. Spizzy and Lospecter seemed to disagree. "They don't got room to run now..." Lospecter pointed out. "We can do anything we want!! CHARGE!!" Spizzy shouted. Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega shook their heads, too. "I've taken enough of a pounding for today..." Nega said. "My bones hurt..." Dry Bowser added. 8BIT nodded. "Yes, I knew it. From the beginning of time, it has been the destiny of villains to fall to the deceptively powerful forces of good. Armies of darkness can get one far, but only so much so. Darkness has always been... incomplete. It lacked the power to overcome the light. But now, darkness can finally be completed. At last, evil shall win. I took the power of light, the strength of good, and carved away its weaknesses, transforming it into a glorious, all consuming darkness! A darkness with the power of three worlds! Watch, and tremble!" Suddenly, the dark treasures came to him. Flying up the tower and out through the staircase to the roof came the Dark Orbs. Then came the Dark Power Stars, and last came the Dark Chaos Emeralds. They all soared to 8BIT and circled him. "HA HA HA HA HA!! NOW we've got you, HEROES!!" shouted Dr. Spizzy as 8BIT began to be filled with darkness. The dark treasures were soon absorbed into 8BIT's body, and he began glowing with the dark energy. His body turned completely black, and his eyes glowed red. A red aura surrounded him, and he levitated away from the tower, looking down on everyone in his new, evil-consumed form. "I am not merely superior... No, I am much more powerful. I am SUPREME 8BIT!!" he yelled. "Brace yourselves... We may be doomed..." 2BIT muttered. "Yes, 8BIT!! YES! Now, DESTROY these PESTS so that we may all RULE THE WORLD!!" Spizzy yelled. The heroes readied themselves for battle, but 8BIT wasn't interested in giving them a chance. His eyes narrowed, and without even moving, 8BIT unleashed his power on the roof of the tower. A huge, shockwave-like beam tore through the entire group. Not just the heroes, but the villains were all tossed up into the air as the beam smashed through the wall surrounding the roof of the tower, destroying it! Even Bowser and Eggman were hit as a second wave was fired especially for them! "Hey!! How dare you!" Eggman shouted as his Egg Mobile stabilized itself. "We're on your side!!" Bowser added. The heroes and villains who'd been tossed into the air fell to the ground, and none were left standing. However, Mario, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy were still in their super forms, and were able to withstand the blast. As everyone who was knocked over began to sit up, Dr. Spizzy shook his fist at 8BIT angrily. "YOU DIRTY DOUBLE-CROSSER!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!!" he shouted. 8BIT glared at the battered group. "You just don't get it. The world is mine now! I make the rules, and I decide who lives and who dies!" he said. The super heroes stepped closer to 8BIT. "Not if we have anything to say about it!" Sonic said. "This ends now!" Copter added. "Your fate's sealed!" Jimmy said. Meanwhile, Mario released his 12 power stars, and they hovered in the air over his head, glowing. As if in response to the call of these twelve stars, countless more stars flew over to Mario, and began filling him with their power! "It's the stars that had gone missing! They've come to help!" Rosalina said. When the light around Mario faded, his hat and overalls were glowing golden like the stars. "I'm-a Super Mario!" he said. 8BIT remained unmoved by this display. Super Mario, Super Sonic, Super Copter, and Super Duper Jimmy jumped into the air and flew at 8BIT. "You're finished!!" they shouted. However, 8BIT simply smiled. "Is this the very best you can do?" he snickered. Supreme 8BIT raised his hands and clapped them together, firing an incredible beam of darkest black at the four super heroes. The heroes tried to stand up to it, but the unstoppable force of the blast sent each of them flying back onto the tower! They landed on their feet, but quickly fell to their knees as their powers vanished and they returned to normal. The Chaos Emeralds, Power Stars, Orbs of Light, and even the Tailbands on Chaos fell from their wielders, and all but the tailbands fell over the edge of the tower! 8BIT dropped down and stood between Sonic and Mario. "These are our world's greatest heroes?" he said, grabbing them by the throats and holding them up for all to see. "If this is the best, then the power of light is just an illusion. A figment of the imaginations of fools!" he shouted, dropping Mario and Sonic back on their knees. "Now, watch as I slay your greatest heroes before your eyes!" he said unpleasantly. "Enough!" someone shouted, startling 8BIT. "Who dares speak to me!?" 8BIT snarled. It was none other than 2BIT! He approached 8BIT without fear and pointed defiantly at him. "You have gone far enough. Stop it right now!" he yelled. 8BIT looked at 2BIT like a child who'd outgrown his parent, and was being told what to do by that same parent again in his own house. "Ah, 2BIT. I'd almost forgot you existed. Still think you can control me? Your own dark side? You think you are in control, but actually, YOU are simply my weaker side. A side it is time for me to cast away!" he said, holding up a red orb similar to 2BIT's Power, "Prepare to face my real power!" 2BIT shook his head. "No, 8BIT. It's time for you to see just what I can do!" he declared.

2BIT picked up the Tailbands of Chaos and slipped them both onto his single tail. Next, he held up 2BIT's Power. He'd used up all its energy earlier, but with the tailbands in his possession, the orb began to recharge! The orb glowed brightly, and as though it had called out for them, the treasures that had fallen off the ledge floated back up! The Chaos Emeralds, Power Stars, and the Orbs of Light circled 2BIT in much the same way that their dark counterparts had for 8BIT, and soon began filling him with light energy! 2BIT glowed brightly, and in a flash, the transformation was complete! His body had become pure white, and he was surrounded by a blue aura. His eyes glowed yellow as well. He now looked like the exact opposite of Supreme 8BIT. "My true power has been awakened! Now I'm Master 2BIT!" he said. The crowd on the roof of the tower rose back to their feet and cheered. "Perfect! You should be powerful enough to beat him, now!" Sonic said. Mario jumped up and down excitedly, urging 2BIT to give it his all. "I usually like to stay out of these things, but I think these heroes have done enough today. Besides, I'm not gonna let you hurt them! Not even the villains! You're going down, 8BIT!" 2BIT shouted. 8BIT floated away from the tower, out where everyone on the roof could see him, and 2BIT followed. "You're absurd, 'Master 2BIT!' I copied the very power you hope to use against me, and made it stronger! It is useless to oppose me!" 8BIT warned. Master 2BIT raised his fists. "We shall see..." he said. Supreme 8BIT fired his shockwave beam at 2BIT, who responded by erecting and equally powerful energy shield around himself. The two colliding energies cancelled each other out, leaving them both unaffected. 8BIT then clapped his hands together, firing his black beam at 2BIT. 2BIT held up his hands and "caught" the beam, pushing it back until 8BIT stopped shooting it. Their powers seemed equal. "No more games. I'm going to beat the light out of you!" 8BIT shouted. "Just try it!" 2BIT replied. Supreme 8BIT lunged at Master 2BIT and began hurling powerful punches at him. 2BIT fought back in much the same manner. They punched, kicked, and even tail whipped each other several times, but neither seemed to grow any weaker. 8BIT slapped his hand through the air, and seemingly blew an intense storm of darkness at 2BIT. 2BIT fought back with just as much light energy. The opposing forces colliding caused a massive explosion, but 2BIT and 8BIT remained unscathed. Finally, 8BIT held up his red orb, 8BIT's Power. "It is no use, 2BIT. The power of darkness gets its strength from hatred. The more you anger me, the more hate flows through me, and the more powerful I become. But what, pray tell, powers your precious light? Think about that while I crush you with all my power!" 2BIT held up his blue orb, 2BIT's Power, in preparation for fighting back. "In the darkness, light conquers all! Take your best shot, 8BIT!" So, 2BIT and 8BIT unleashed their full power on each other, a huge red beam from 8BIT's Power, and an equally huge blue beam from 2BIT's Power! The beams struck at the exact center of the distance between them, and they locked together, each beam pushing against the other, determined to hit its target. 2BIT and 8BIT continued to fire, giving this attack everything they had, but neither gave the other an inch. The heroes and villains watched from below helplessly, not knowing what, if anything, they could do. "Isn't 2BIT strong enough?" Rainbow wondered. "8BIT's just as strong!" Zeppo pointed out. "Well, one of them's got to beat the other eventually!" Wario figured. "But which one will win?" Tails said worriedly. Dog looked up at the battle and realized something. "Neither can win. 8BIT may draw tons of power from the darkness, but 2BIT will call on an equal amount of power to oppose him. They are one and the same, two sides of the same person. Neither can exist without the other, so alone, neither of them can defeat the other!" he said. "Oh, then we can just go home. After all, if neither can defeat the other, they'll be there forever." Spizzy said. "Their battle might destroy the whole world before it destroys them. We have to do something!" Gemini argued. "But what can we do?" Knuckles wondered. "Hmm... Even I'm stumped..." Cranky Kong admitted. Everyone looked around uneasily, hoping someone would come up with something. Gator, however, seemed to ignore the group's conversation, and was fixated on 2BIT and 8BIT's battle. "C'mon, 2BIT... I believe in you. I believe in Santa Claus, too. But he's not here, so you'll have to handle it!" he said with childlike honesty. Suddenly, a faint beam of light shot out from Gator's heart, and collided with 2BIT's. In that instant, the blue beam seemed to grow slightly stronger, but it still wasn't nearly strong enough. Everyone saw this happen and glanced at Gator. The beam was faint, but it was still there, connecting him to 2BIT. "What? What're you all looking at? Can't I be less panicky than you guys for once?" Gator asked. "How are you doing that?" Copter asked. Gator looked puzzled. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just telling 2BIT I believe he can do it." he said. Suddenly, it dawned on Jimmy. "Faith... That's it! That's what powers light!" he shouted. "Faith... Yeah! Kindness, faith, friendship, they all give light power!" Sonic realized. Mario nodded in agreement. "All right, 2BIT! Then I know you can do it, too! Because I'm here for ya!" Copter said, looking up at 2BIT and smiling. A faint light came from him and gave 2BIT more power. "By choosing me as a hero despite me being a 'loser,' you believed in me. Now I'll return the favor, and we'll win together!" Jimmy said, adding his power to 2BIT's as well. Other heroes joined in, including Sonic and Mario. However, no light came from Mario, Sonic, or anyone else 2BIT didn't claim to have created. "Looks like we can't lend him our power..." Sonic realized. "Yes we can. We can believe too. It won't give him super strength, but it may give him inner strength!" Mario said. Sonic nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Zephor, Ray, Sable, and White knelt down as though praying. "Conquer Corp is behind 2BIT. He will win." Zephor said. Dr. Spizzy refused to kneel. "I'm NOT doing it! I HATE that creep! He always makes me lose!" he shouted. Lospecter smacked Spizzy in the head. "Do it or we might never get to lose again!" he ordered. Spizzy glanced up at 2BIT and 8BIT and sighed. "Oh, all right... But I only believe in him because 8BIT STINKS!" he said. Now, even the villains 8BIT claimed to have created were adding their power to 2BIT's as well. One by one, each of 2BIT and 8BIT's creations knelt down in a prayer of faith and trust, connecting themselves to 2BIT both in magic and in spirit. Master 2BIT's beam attack grew stronger and stronger, and began to overwhelm Supreme 8BIT's! "Th-this is impossible!! THIS CANNOT BE!! My power is ABSOLUTE!! You cannot... stop me!" 8BIT snarled. 2BIT nodded. "You're right... I can't. But all of us together CAN!" Master 2BIT's power began to overtake Supreme 8BIT, and the villain let out a defiant scream! "NOOOOOOO!!!! YOU... WILL ALL... PAY FOR THIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!" In an incredible flash of blue light, 8BIT's darkness was defeated! As the light faded, 8BIT hung in the air. The dark treasures fell from his body, and then seemingly dissolved away, erased from existence. 2BIT and 8BIT hovered back to the top of the tower, each landing on their feet. 2BIT returned to his normal form, and the treasures of light seemed to scatter into the distance, returning to their own worlds where they belong.

8BIT hung his head ashamedly. "I... I sicken me..." he said, turning around to leave. "8BIT..." 2BIT said, "There is a certain balance that exists. I can't exist without you, any more than you can exist without me. It may not seem like it, but this is a good thing." 8BIT scoffed at him. "Yeah, yeah. So I'll be back. Everyone will be back. The world stays interesting. But I will find a way to defeat you. Next time, you will fall." he said before flying off into the distance. 2BIT turned to the group on the roof of the Darkegg Castle of Power, and saw that the villains were sneaking off. "And just where are all of YOU going?" he asked. "Uhhh... I thought I'd try the Olympic Winter Games honestly for once!" Eggman said. "Errr, yeah... Me, too. But when they're over, Mario, you're toast and Peach is mine!" Bowser added. Bowser and Eggman's minions joined them in leaving, but 2BIT still looked at his own villains questioningly. "I have to go walk my space-dog..." Spacey muttered. Killer Kong just scratched his head and walked off. Zephor glanced back at his Conquer Corp minions and sighed. "We'll be returning home. We have new plans to conquer our world to try. Come on, all of you!" he said. Dr. Spizzy pointed dramatically at Jimmy before leaving. "This ain't over, LOSER!! Soon you'll be beaten by the MIGHT of DR. SPIZZY!!" he screamed. "Bye bye, Spizzy!" Gator said, waving in a friendly manner. "Bye." Spizzy replied casually. Bucky and Team GeneX also started to leave. "We'd better go before Guard and that police officer tries to arrest us. Take care, Copter! Nice meeting you, Mario!" Bucky said before heading down the stairs. Guard and Razor didn't follow them. "Like we have the energy left?" Razor groaned. All of the villains soon left, and some of the heroes as well, but others hesitated. "Thanks, 2BIT. We owe you one." Sonic said. Mario nodded in agreement. 2BIT shook his head. "You owe me nothing. You guys have always been there for me, whether you knew it or not." he said. Tails and Knuckles walked over to Sonic. "We'll meet you back at Blizland." Knuckles said. "The Olympic Winter Games aren't quite over, so we're gonna try to enjoy the rest of it!" Tails explained. “Hold up! I need to return these to you!” 2BIT said, handing one of the tailbands to Tails and the other to Copter. Luigi and Peach walked over to Mario next. "I can't stay in this creepy place any longer, bro..." Luigi stammered. "We'll stay for the remainder of the Olympic Winter Games, though." Peach added. With that, Mario and Sonic's friends headed down the steps. Jimmy, Copter, Dog, and 2BIT's other creations who were still there gathered around him. "Thanks for saving us, man!" Jimmy said. "Too bad 8BIT escaped..." Copter added. "No, you all saved me. Though I created all of you, I need you just as much as you need me. Perhaps even more so... And don't worry about 8BIT. Wherever he shows up, I will always be there." he said. Gator smiled. "We'll always be there to help you, too!" he said. Dog nodded in agreement. "Yeah, always! But for now... I just want to go home to my own world." he said. 2BIT nodded. "Yes, I think we all should head home." he decided, leading his creations towards the steps leading out of the tower. He stopped and turned to Mario and Sonic, who waved to him. "See you again sometime!" Sonic said. "Thank you so much for everything!" Mario added. 2BIT smiled warmly. "Good bye for now. I'll be watching... Watching over all of you!" With that, 2BIT rose into the air using his jetpack, and flew off into the sky. As everyone began to descend the stairs, the Narrator gave his conclusion. "There are many sides to every story. They are written not simply by a creator, but by all the players involved. These stories create bonds of friendship that transcend time, space, and even reality. They may battle, compete, and strive for glory, but those who win friends are the true winners. Our heroes leave with this in their hearts. It is the true spirit of the Olympic Games, and of life." Mario, Sonic, Copter, and Jimmy glanced upward and smiled. "Well, said..." they all agreed.

The End.

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