SONIC RIDERS: WORLD TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Sonic Characters © SEGA
OC's © Respective Author's
Chapter 21: Breaking Through
- Hotel -
Hope and Cannon had won their matches over Kiba and Cerberus. After the second round ended, everyone went back to their hotels to rest for the night, mainly the ones that were still in it, and others that weren't.
The scene shifts towards the main plaza of the hotel, where we could see some of the competitors that had been eliminated or not talking to each other. Whether it was about today's matches or something else that wasn't about the tournament.
Over here, we could see the Babylon Rogues discussing about the match that took place between Jet and Strike.
"I can't believe it!" Storm whined. "You lost, boss..."
"I know that already!" Jet said to him. He was starting to get irritated when people kept mentioning Jet's loss against Strike the Hedgehog. "I know I lost, but that doesn't mean that you have to keep spitting it around all the time."
"Oh, uh..." Storm rubbed his head nervously. "Sorry..."
"The main point now is that yellow hedgehog had more important intentions on his mind. What do you think they could be?" Wave wondered.
"You don't know?" Jet asked, looking at Wave. "You know that Kyla Vonstar person? The one who hurt that girl hedgehog in her first match? Well, she was that yellow hedgehog's friend and he's set out on revenge against her."
"So you went easy on Strike just to help him?" Wave questioned.
"No, I did not! I gave everything I had against him, but luck just wasn't on my side. That's all." Jet replied, trying to defend himself.
"Hmm..." Wave hummed to herself. "I guess so..."
"What do we do now, boss?" Storm asked. "Should we leave, since all of us are eliminated?"
Jet quickly shook his head. "No. Besides, I want to see if Sonic can go all the way or not."
"What for?" Wave asked.
"I know he's gotten good since the last time we raced, but I want to see just how good Sonic can really be in this tournament. That way, I'll know if I can point out a weak spot inside him once we race again." A grin appeared on his face. "And once I do, I'm going to beat him."
While Jet feels good about his plan, the leader of Team Rockers didn't feel the same. We see the three team members together as Yamkir sighed in depression. Ever since that huge loss he suffered at the hands of Metal Sonic, Yamkir almost felt like he had lost everything. Xion and Robin were concerned about him.
"What's wrong, dude?" Xion asked. "You don't look well."
"It's nothing...really." Yamkir replied slowly. "I'll be all right."
"Are ya sure, lad?" Robin wondered. "Ya look kinda depressed."
"Really guys, it's nothing to worry about." Yamkir said, trying to be reassuring. Deep down though, he still felt really humiliated. How could he have lost to Metal Sonic so easily? The red hedgehog did everything he could, but he still couldn't pull if off. Not even getting one point for himself didn't help. The more he thought about this, the more depressed he felt.
Xion wasn't liking what she was seeing. She was trying to figure out some way to cheer up her friend. Before could, Yamkir stopped.
"Guys, I'm going to be along for a while." Yamkir said, as he pulled up his shades and placed them over his head. He then slowly walked back to his room, which wasn't far from where Team Rockers were at. When he reached the door, he opened it and headed inside, closing the door behind him.
The two members of Team Rockers lowered their heads. They had never seen Yamkir like this before.
"I can't stand to see him like this." Xion said slowly.
"Me either, Xion." Robin sighed heavily. "The lad's been taking his loss very harshly. I wonder if he's ever going to be OK?"
After a moment of feeling depressed, Xion raised her head back up. "I'm going to see if I can talk to him."
Robin rasied an eyebrow. "By yourself?"
"Yeah." Xion nodded. "I think I can do it. Maybe."
With that, Xion made her way towards the door until she was in front of it. She knocked on the door a couple of times, trying ot get any kind of response.
"Hey dude, it's me." Xion's voice spoke. "Can I come in?"
There was no response. Xion slowly turned the knob and slowly opened the door. She peeked her head inside to see where Yamkir was at.
The red hedgehog relaxed on his bed as he began to string his red rock guitar with each flick of his gloved-finger, still having that depressed look on his face. Xion, determined to cheer her friend up, slowly made her way inside the room and closed the door behind her. When she did that, she turned her attention to Yamkir.
"Dude? Is there something you want talk about?" Xion asked.
Yamkir stopped flicking his guitar and set it aside. He then sighed. "It's just that match I had with that metal version of that blue hedgehog. I cant believe I got destroyed like that. He beat me so easily, like I was nothing compared to him."
Xion made her way over towards him and sat on the bed, next to Yamkir. "I know how you feel. And it sucks, too."
"Tell me about it. If it was someone else, then there would be no way they could beat me. But when that robot entered, he took me down. Just like that. I don't know, babe, but that huge loss against him really affects me." Yamkir stared up at the ceiling, looking even more depressed.
Xion lowered her head again. The Gothic female human was starting to get from concerned to worried in a minute. But she kept her cool, and kept talking. "Listen, I know losing sucks. You, I, and Robin know that we don't like losing. But we can't let one minor setback hold us down. Besides, me and Robin are still in the tournament. We can win it for you."
"I appreciate you helping me, Xion. But I don't know if it will be enough to win." Yamkir thought.
"Even if it isn't, we're still the best team ever. No stupid loss isn't gonna hold us back." Xion turned at him with a small smirk. "Am I right?"
Yamkir looked at Xion's green eyes for a moment. Then his cocky smirk returned to his face. "Your right, babe. So what if I lost? We're still the greatest Extreme Gear team in the world, and no one is going to take that from us!"
"Now that's the dude I know and love." Xion said as she leaned forwards and pressed a kiss on Yamkir's head, causing the red hedgehog blush a little. "Now what do you say we go crash a restaurant and dig in? Just you, me, and Robin."
'Your talking to me, babe. That's what I like." Yamkir said as he pulled down his shades and headed towards the door, with Xion following him.
Meanwhile, in another part of the plaza, we see Strike and Aqua, along with our other heroes of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Kera, Marisa, and Louise Harmon sitting together on a bench that was near the food court. Some stuffed their faces like Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Marisa. Others like Louise, Knuckles, and Kera just watched while eating in silence.
Strike turned to Aqua to talk to her. "Are you feeling any better, Aqua?"
The light blue hedgehog nodded. "The nurse said that I was feeling much better today and said that I could leave the emergency room."
"It's good to see you feeling better." Kera said with a nod. "What about your stomach? No more pains?"
"It's every now and then, but very less often." Aqua said as she rubbed her stomach.
"Well, it looks like everyone's feeling better!" Amy smiled. "What about you, Louise? How's your nose holding up?"
"It's all right." Louise replied. A couple of bandages were still attached on her nose ever since that punch was delivered to her by Kyla. "I should be able to take it off in a couple of days."
"Good to hear." Knuckles said as he took a bite out of a steak sandwich before gulping it down. "Just be careful not to press Kyla again, like you did last time, all right?"
"I hear ya." Louise nodded. "Speaking of which, I'm going to find her right now."
"What, now?" Marisa asked, a little surprised to hear this.
"I was going to hold it off until a little later, but I can't wait any longer. I need to find her before she does any more damage in this tournament." With that, Louise got up from her seat and began to head the other way.
"Do you want some help?" Sonic asked.
"No." Louise stopped and shook her head. "I need to do this alone. I need to finish what I started." She then continued to walk. Her mission was to find Kyla Vonstar and talk to her again.
Marisa had a worried look on her face. "I wonder if Mom's going to be all right."
"Don't worry about her." Sonic said, reassuringly. "I'm sure she'll be just fine."
Marisa wanted to believe that, but she just felt that something bad was going to happen if it doesn't go well.
Louise was heading her way towards a hallway, which was the one Strike took when he went off to find Kyla and get his revenge on her, but was quickly stopped thanks to Sonic, Knuckles, and Kayden. But luckily for her, she didn't have to go far.
Up ahead of her, she saw Kyla Vonstar sitting down on a bench as she stared at the outside of the hotel from a window. She could see her reflection again and the anger was still there. She could see her metal arm in the reflection, and it only grew worse. She slammed her arm down on the bench with a loud bang.
Louise could tell that something was wrong with Kyla, but she was determined to find out what this whole problem was. She slowly walked towards her again, hoping to get something out of her.
Kyla heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked up, only to see Louise Harmon approaching her. Her eyes narrowed. "You again? I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"Kyla, I know your angry, and I'm sorry if I pressed you like what that last time. It was completely my fault." Louise said honestly.
"Then why are you still here? Are you still trying to bother me?" Kyla asked with a hint of anger in her voice.
"No, no. Not at all." Louise replied quickly. "It's just, you look so angry all the time, and no one knows the reason why. Have you ever talked to anyone about it?"
Kyla turned her attention back towards her reflection. "No. And I'm not going to, either."
"Is this because of that person you hang out with? Zed Goodwin?" Louise asked.
Kyla narrowed her eyes again. "Leave him out of this! In fact, don't try and help me. I don't need it and I don't want it!"
"Kyla, listen to me..." Louise said, trying to get a grip of this situation.
"No, you listen!" Kyla stood up. "I told you not to bother me, but you still are! Why won't you leave me alone?!"
"Because, I want to help you." Louise replied firmly, but gently at the same time. "You say you don't want it, but Kyla, getting angry at me and hurting others is not the answer to anything. It only brings more pain and sadness towards others, and I don't want to see any more of that happening. And I know you don't want that, either." Louise started to grow teary eyed, but was able to calm down and take a deep breath. "Kyla, if there's something your afraid to talk about, you can tell me about it. I want to help you, if you give me a chance."
Kyla still had her angry face. From the looks of it, she was just about ready to strike her again and take her out.
"I found you, witch!" A voice called out.
Kyla, along with Louise, turned to see where the voice came from. It was Eve the Cat, and she had her scythe gripped in her hands.
"I've been looking forward to this all day." Eve said darkly. "And now Kyla, I'm going to kill you with my own hands!"
"Stop!" Louise shouted as she got in front of Kyla and raised her arms to the side. "What do you think your doing?!"
"That bitch humiliated me in my match, and now, she must die for her actions!" Eve replied angrily.
Louise was determined not let this happen. "I'm not going to let you do that. I won't let you hurt Kyla!"
Kyla eyes began to startle a little. Louise was protecting her?
"Why do you care? She hurt you and she hurt me! So why are you trying to protect someone who doesn't have a heart?" Eve asked frantically.
"Your wrong." Louise shook her head. "Kyla may be angry, but that doesn't mean she's heartless, unlike you."
Eve's eyes narrowed in anger. "What was that?"
"Kyla isn't heartless. Deep down, I know that Kyla has a heart. The one who's really heartless is you, Eve!" Louise narrowed her eyes at the cat. "Regardless of what you think, I'm not going to let you harm Kyla!"
Kyla was already beginning to feel shocked by these events that were taking place. She told Louise to back off, but the sage didn't. And now, the older woman was protecting her. Even after Kyla attacked her, she still wanted to help her and she even stated that she had a heart. The light-blue haired female human wasn't sure what to make of all this.
Eve was already starting to lose patience. "Fine. Then I'll just have to kill you, too."
With that said, Eve gripped her scythe and charged after Louise. Ready to slice her open. The long brown-haired female human stayed in her position, as she created a ball of fire in her hands casted it towards Eve. The white cat stopped where she was as the ball of fire blasted in front of her, sending her flying backwards a couple of feet. Eve crashed on her back as Louise got into stance.
Eve slowly got back to her feet. "You bitch. Your going to pay for that..."
"That's too bad. Because it's not going to happen." Louise slammed her palms together as a stray of wind started to form a tornado from her arms. She then released her palms, as a large gust of wind blew Eve backwards towards a wall. Eve crashed back-first against a wall before sliding towards the ground in pain.
"Leave now. And don't ever try to harm Kyla, or anyone else again." Louise said with a serious voice.
Eve slowly got back to her feet again and glared at Louise, who just stared at her back. "I'm not finished. I'll be back."
With that, Eve slowly walked the other way until she was completely out of sight.
When she was gone, Louise turned her attention to Kyla. She laid her hands on Kyla's shoulders. The light-blue haired female human was startled again.
"Are you all right, Kyla?" Louise asked before smiling. "It's okay. I'm here for you when you need me."
Kyla started to hesitate as she took a step backwards. "I-I got to go." She then quickly turned around and ran off.
Louise looked on as Kyla ran off. She wasn't sure whether or not she got into Kyla's heart, but maybe she made a dent in that armor and perhaps was getting closer to her heart. But that all depended on whether or not it worked.
"Mom!" A voice called out.
Louise looked to see Marisa, Kera, Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic heading towards her.
"Marisa? What are you doing here?" Louise asked.
"We noticed that you were gone a long time and you never came back." Tails replied.
"I know that you said you wanted to talk to Kyla alone, but I had bad feeling, and I couldn't wait for you any longer." Marisa said with a slight of of sadness in her voice. "Your OK, right?"
"I'm fine, Marisa." Louise smiled as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about me."
"How did it go?" Knuckles questioned.
"What do you mean?" Louise wondered, confused at what Knuckles meant.
"Kyla. did you manage to get into her?" Knuckles asked again.
"I'm not sure." Louise replied. "She didn't talk to me about anything she might be hiding."
"So in other words, it didn't work." Knuckles replied with his arms crossed.
"No, she did listen to what I had to say. Maybe she'll talk then, when she's ready." Louise thought.
"So your just going to wait?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes." Louise nodded. "Is that a problem?"
Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. If you think talking to her words, then I support you."
"Me too." Kera nodded.
"Thanks, everyone." Louise smiled.
"Well..." Sonic yawned lazily. "I'm going to get me some more chili dogs. Anyone in?"
"I'm in." Tails raised his hand.
"Sure." Kera joined in.
"I could go for one more." Marisa added with a smile.
"OK then. Last one there eats the dust!" Sonic smirked as he dashed towards the food court.
"Wait up, Sonic!" Tails shouted, as he ran after his friend.
Knuckles and Kera soon followed, along with Louise and Marisa.
While they were walking, Louise was in thought about Kyla again. She might not have gotten anything out of Kyla herself, but maybe protecting her from Eve might have helped out a little, and hopefully she could see a little bit of the light. But there was something else that still bothered her. It was Zed Goodwin. She still couldn't figure out why Kyla was hanging out with this person. If it was possible, then maybe he had something to do with this as well. But she just couldn't quite put her finger on it. The question still remained.
Why is Kyla Vonstar hanging out with Zed Goodwin?
More strange events occur as Louise manages to save Kyla from an angry Eve from death. Has Kyla Vonstar seen a little bit of the truth of what she's doing? Is Zed Goodwin really a part of all of this? And how will this all play out in Round Three? Find out on the next Sonic Riders: World Tennis Tournament!
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