Chapter 2 – Mauna Loa

"Come on, come on, where are my pancakes?"

"Patience, Draco," said Cynder as she took a bite out of her fish sandwich. "They will be here any minute now."

"Who ordered the pancakes?" called a waitress. Draco raised his paw. The waitress then set the plate of pancakes in front of him. The stack of four buttermilk pancakes smelled heavenly as it was coated in maple syrup and on the side was a wad of cream.

"Alright!" exclaimed Draco happily. "Just the sort of thing I like to have for breakfast!"

"Nothing like having a sweet tooth for breakfast, isn't it, Draco?" asked Lily as she had her own serving of pancakes as well.

Draco nodded in agreement. He could not speak as his mouth was full.

"We better pick up the speed, guys," said Blaze. "The tournament will begin pretty soon, and it's been rather late to have breakfast at this hour."

"Okay, no problem, Blaze," said the dragons, and they started to eat their food a bit quicker.

"Is there something on your mind, honey?" asked Tails. He could notice that Blaze was habitually looking up at the clock, as if she was anxious about something.

"Oh, no, not really," replied Blaze. "Just want to hurry and get the dragons booked for the tournament."

"Relax, Blaze, there's plenty of time," assured Tails. "No need to urge everyone to eat quickly when we only have like about an hour to go before the tournament begins."

"Actually, Tails, we have already finished our breakfast," said Charonus as he showed him his plate now completely cleaned.

"That certainly hits the spot!" exclaimed Bowser after he finished his plate of chicken wings before letting off a loud, resonant belch.

"Well, not bad at all," said Tails, feeling a bit grossed out. "I must say that you dragons sure have some appetite."

"Most of us, Tails," said Cynder. "While some were speed-eating like Draco and Bowser here, I'm one of the few who took my time."

"At least you have good table manners," said Tails as he got up from his seat, followed by Blaze. It was almost time for them to start moving.

"Right, let's be on our way," said Blaze. "Is everybody ready?"

"We sure are, Blaze!" replied the dragons.

"Good, very good," smiled Blaze. "Off to Mauna Loa we go!"


Maua Loa was the largest subaerial volcano in the world, with a peak that stretched up to thirty-seven metres lower than that of Mauna Kea. It was once an active volcano that let off a lot of eruptions in the past, which destroyed villages and cities. Now it was currently dormant, but it was still under careful study and investigation so that preparations would be made should another eruption occur in the future.

With the volcano dormant, Mauna Loa has become a place for tournaments, where every few years, fighters from all around the archipelago would come and participate in the hopes of becoming the Hawaiian Island Champion. The establishment, a temple which rested at the peak of Mauna Loa, had an oriental feel to it in architecture, though it incorporated some of Hawaii's native features, giving the building a very unique feel.

It took quite a while for Tails, Blaze and the dragons to reach the top of the volcano, but they made it in time, with only a few minutes to spare before the tournament registration could start. The group looked around feeling very impressed, especially Charonus.

"Here we are, the peak of Mauna Loa," said Blaze. "And it looks as if there are quite a significant number of people coming for the tournament."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Draco. "This place gives me a bit of the China Tournament vibe, but it sure looks pretty different from it as well."

"This place reminds me a lot of Mount Lanakila of my homeworld," said Charonus. "I must say, I find it pretty neat."

"Okay, Tails," said Blaze. "I'm going to leave it to you now, so please lead the dragons into the registration room. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Where are you going, Blaze?" asked Cynder.

"I think you should know already," said Blaze as she winked at the group, and quickly she hurried into the building.

"What is that all about?" asked Bowser.

Cynder finally knew what Blaze meant. "Oh, yes, it's just as plain as day," she said, smiling. "Blaze is going to enter the tournament as well, but for that, she'll be going in disguise rather than entering as herself."

"You mean she's going to go as the Mystic Flame again?" asked Draco.

"That's correct, Draco," said Tails. "I believe she wants to have the chance to fight any one of you."

"Now it all makes sense," said Percival. "We better be in top shape for that."

"Come on, guys," said Tails. "Let's get the six of you registered for the tournament."

"Tails, I want you to count me in," said Charonus. "I'm going to participate as well!"

"You can count me in too!" declared Bowser. "The tournament sounds a lot of fun, and I want to get the chance to fight the best of the best!"

"Alright, then," said Tails. "So that makes eight, plus Blaze."

Cynder could tell that with all of her teammates participating, including Bowser and Charonus, the tournament will prove to be a very entertaining and eventful one. Just then, she sensed a very familiar presence. Her expression turned sombre when she saw who it was. There stood her rival Ash who looked at her with a smirk on her face.

"So, we meet again, Cynder," she began. "I had a feeling that you would be here to participate in the tournament."

"I can't believe you're here," grumbled Cynder. "What kind of trouble are you after this time?"

"Trouble, you say?" laughed Ash. "Oh, please! I'm only here to register, and since you're here, I think this will make for quite an opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?" asked Cynder.

"The opportunity for us to fight each other," said Ash. "And we know who's going to win!"

"We shall see about that!" hissed Cynder. "I've grown stronger since our last encounter, so don't get cocky!"

"Dream on, my black friend," laughed Ash, and she walked away.

Cynder was angry. "I'll show her!" she fumed.

"Pay no attention to her," said Torden. "She's just trying to psych you out."

"Torden's right," agreed Tails. "Now hurry up before the tournament gets booked up!"