Chapter 11:

"Ninja Slice!" Randy shouted as he leaped into the air, swinging his sword down toward the Sorceress. At the same time, sonic ran forward, rolling into a ball and barreling forward. Before either of the two heroes could make contact, the Sorceress disappeared in a puff of smoke. Randy's sword buried deep in the asphalt where she had been standing while Sonic unfolded and slid on his feet to a stop. Randy yanked his sword free and looked around for the Sorceress. He finally spotted her reappearing on a nearby roof.

"Why are you up there?" Sonic taunted, having also seen the Sorceress. "You were so gearing to fight us just a moment ago, don't tell me you've suddenly gotten cold feet."

"I just I should even the odds a little," the Sorceress smirked before she sent out a cloud of energy. It quickly went into the Game Hole and infected all the frightened teenagers that had been watching the fight. One by one, every infected teenager turned into a monstrous dog. The pack of monsters smashed through the windows of Game Hole and surrounded the heroes, growling menacingly.

"Aw come on," Randy complained as he watched the monster dogs circling them. "This not Bruce at all. How is this fair?"

"Since when have the bad guys ever cared about feeling fair," Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Point," Randy released tartly agreed as he got into a ready stance.

"I'll think I'll leave my pets to handle you will I'll get things set up," the Sorceress said, he hands lighting up with energy once more. "Don't take too long Sonic. It's rude to keep a girl waiting."

She disappeared once again and the monster dogs took that as their signal was to attack, leaping toward the heroes. Randy and Sonic both leaped into the air. Randy used his scarf to swing beyond the circle of dogs while Sonic jumped from dog to dog until he landed safely behind them. The dogs were tangled together in a group as they all tried to find their targets. A few finally managed to wriggle their way free and leaped once more toward the heroes.

Randy was forced to be on the defensive as there was no particular object to destank. This left him with very few options as he dodged claws and teeth, using his sword to knock the dog back. Soon more joined the one he was fighting and Randy was forced to retreat. He began running down the street with the dogs snapping at his heels. As he ran Randy spotted a dead end alley nearby and it gave him an idea. He turned to the alley and pulled a ball from his belt.

"I think you need to cool off," Randy joked as he jumped into the air and threw the ball. "Ninja Ice Ball!"

The ball hit the ground in front of the monster dogs, coating it with a thick layer of ice. The dogs slipped on the ice and their momentum carried them crashing into the alley. Using his explosive ninja balls, Randy caused part of the wall to collapse in front of the entrance, temporarily trapping the dogs within. Foes currently taken care of, Randy went to find Sonic.

Sonic kicked back another dog that was lunging his throat, knocking it into the one behind it and briefly stunning them both. Sonic then grabbed the third one by its tail and flung it into the other two dogs as they were just getting.

"This is getting nowhere," Sonic grumbled as he jumped over another dog. "Let's see if I can do something about it."

Sonic grabbed the next dog that tried to attack him and poured his energy into it. As he did, he could feel the negative energy of the spell fight back against him. But Sonic pressed forward with determination and eventually was able to free the teenager from the spell. Sonic felt a wave of exhaustion pass over him as the dog transformed into a girl with red hair. Picking her up, Sonic moved her to a safe area. He dodged another attacked and raced up the side of a building onto a roof.

"How did you do that's? Randy asked in awe as he landed next to Sonic, having seen him break the spell. "And do you think you could do it to the rest of them?"

"I used my own energy to break the Sorceress' spell," Sonic explained, leaning slightly against the wall as he caught his breath. "I am able to do the same for all of them, but I would be completely exhausted by the time we finished, leaving you to face the Sorceress alone."

"Probably not the best idea," Randy concluded, shuddering slightly at the thought. "But there doesn't really be anything to destank…"

"We have to take out the source," Sonic said, standing up straight. "We have to defeat the Sorceress, it's the only way."

"But that's exactly what she wants," Randy argued, pacing slightly. "She wants us to exhaust ourselves and fight her on her own terms. She obviously has a trap lying in wait wherever she is, should we really just walk into it."

"We have to if we want to save everyone," Sonic replied, gesturing down to some of the dogs still roaming around looking for them.

"I guess w have no choice," Randy sighed, steeling his nerves. "Let's do this… Wait, how are we going to find the Sorceress? She could be anywhere by now."

"But she wants to be found remember," Sonic replied, closing his eyes in concentration as his emeralds glowed slightly. "I can sense her energy and she's practically sending up a flair. She's at the school, waiting for us."

"Of course she's at the school," Randy rolled his eyes, waving his arms sarcastically. "Because everything always happens at the school so where else could she possibly be. Well, there's the point in standing around. Let's go."

"Race you!" Sonic joked, jumping down to the street and speeding off ahead with a blue streak forming behind him.

"No fair! You've got a head start!" Randy laughed as he began swinging after Sonic.