Chapter 38: Fever Break
Flare dodges a kick from an incoming clone and counters with a right hook. She backs up only to get grabbed from the rear. As she struggles to break free, two clones run up to her and punch her hard in the stomach knocking the wind out of her. Flare stops struggling and gasps for air. THUD! THUMP!THUMP!THUMP!
"OOF! OOF!" cries Flare as she gets repeatedly pounded in the center of her stomach. She can feel her consciousness and strength leave her as the assault continues.
"I have to thank you since you're losing this match. I will only have 2 more wins 'til the red rank," said Sheena, "Maybe you'll pass out long before I can use the Nova Destroyer?"
"C'mon kid! You're just gonna give up like that!?" shouts Cammy. Flare tries to regain her strength but loses it with each hit that connect. Flare glances around, she can sense large amount of energy amounting somewhere but can't see where. The clones then decide to jump with Flare and spins around with her in the air then pile drives her into the ground kicking up debris. THUD! Flare' body flops to the ground, she coughs while catching her breath.
"Man, this ain't good!" cries Sonic. He gets an idea. "Coach, didn't you say green ranks can receive defensive support from one teammate?"
"That's right! I was so focused on the match that I forgot about that."
"Leave it to me." said Red as he approaches the arena side. He raises his hand up and a rain cloud appears and rain falls gently on Flare. The light red hedgehog grunts in pain and steam rises form her.
"Red…" Flare moans. "My weakness…"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Look around you." Flare barely manages to open one eye then it became clear to her. Though she still sees the clones, she can spot their heat signature. The ones surrounds her are closing in but don't have much heat in them while there is someone on the far opposite of the arena just standing with their hands in the air. Flare looks up and sees and oversized heat signature is given off. The rain over her body stops.
"I understand now… Attacking these clones are a waste of time since the real one is not among them. If I take out all these clones she'll just generate more. Still, while they all hit like they're the real thing, they're still just clones." After she catches her breath, she stands up to wipe the blood from her head then glances up to see if she can spot what she saw through the heat; nothing is there. "Also when he put that water on me, the feverish feeling I had was broken for a moment. If this technique creates fever-like symptoms then that would explain why I started feeling so weak when I fought the clones. Alright, let's try this again. I'll take you all on at once!"
"Heh heh, let's see!" says all the Sheena clones at once and rush to her at the same time.
"Haaa!" WIZZ! Flare jumps and spins hard, slashing all the clones and taking them out at once. Once she lands, she keeps her momentum going and rolls at the spots where she remembered the real Sheena was standing. She leaps at the spot and pounds something against the barrier and water flushes all over it.
"UUUUUGGGGH!" For an instant, Flare can see Sheena's image but then it disappears.
"I don't understand… it feels like I got rid of the fever with that hit but I still can't see her. How is she invisible?" She looks around quickly but still sees no sign of her opponent. THUD! She gets knocked across the face and sent falling onto her rear. On the floor she sees dripping water heading in her direction and then feels another knock on her face which sends her sliding. This time, she flips to her feet and looks towards the ground again. "A familiar feeling in me is telling me that invisible opponents usually get careless with their attacking and repeat their methods often. Let's see if the third time's a charm." The water spot approaches again but this time she retaliates with a roundhouse kick, however, her leg gets caught. Flare grunts and quickly flings her body and kicks with her free leg. Her foot barely nicks something and she falls to the ground. She feels a hand grasp her neck and she gets picked up.
"Explosive Palm!" Flare quickly uses every ounce of strength she has to kick Sheena away with both feet before the attack is unleashed. "Ugh! Grr. Multiple Exploding Palms! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Flare can see multiple small explosions moving in a left-right pattern as they head towards her.
"Ha! She's getting tired and desperate! She must be just as tired as I am." Flare wearily hops around the arena, dodging the multiple explosions. Suddenly, she sidesteps sharply.
"Dark Blade!" She throws the attack near the explosions. SLISH! Blood gushes out from the spot she hits and gushes around. "GOT HER! Once more! HEAT BURN!" She aims the lava shots at the area where there is blood but they only end up fizzing out on the other side of the arena.
"WIND SPHERE!" A gray sphere of wind forms and thrusts itself at Flare. Flare tries to move but notices the small tornado that surrounds her feet, keeping her grounded.
"Damn!" In a desperate attempt to defend herself, Flare punches the attack as soon as it neared with all her might. BOOM! The attack explodes, kicking up dust that obscures the view.
"Hm? That's the same attack Silver uses." Red comments.
"This is it!" growls Cammy. Both teams watch intensely.
"C'mon, Flare!" Sonic cheers.
"Man, this stuff is intense!" exclaims CK while doing push-ups. The smoke clears and both contestants; Sheena who is now visible, are standing and Flare has her fist planted in Sheena's face. The ground under the two has become a crater. Sheena falls back and lands on the ground with a hard thud. Flare smirks but then she also falls flat on her back. The announcer begins to count.
"Damn it, I rushed straight into it!" Sheena thinks to herself. "If I can get up, I'll win! But I can't feel anything! I can't even speak! If she hadn't hit me in the face, I'd be able to open my eyes and win. Damn!"
"This match is declared a DRAW!" shouts the announcer. The crowd cheers. As Flare approaches the dugout, Shadow approaches her.
"Observing the other team is also part of a strategy." he tells her. "There is a chameleon on that team."
"What do you mean?" Flare asks.
"I see where he's going with this." Red intervenes. "The Heat Illusion technique doesn't make its user disappear like that. She used that technique to distract you while she hid and charged up her attack. That chameleon was transferring her ability to the fox somehow. What I don't understand is, if you're anything like my brother, why she would think a Nova Destroyer attack would finish you off. It would've weakened you greatly at most. The Wind Sphere is more effective since it's your element weakness." Flare looks at Red with understanding.
"Speaking of your brother, there are some things I want to know to know. It will help me greatly im the future and I'm sure you're the person who can tell me."
"Hm?" Red looks at Flare curiously.
(At the Grand Dome)
Mayor Jackson puts out his cigar as he finished watching the match on his flat screen TV.
"That girl… She's one of the ones sent here by the Eggman, correct?" he asks a nearby aide.
"Yes." the aide replies.
"Hrm. Not too shabby. Ya know, things became interesting around here when they added these fight arenas. That's why I love being the mayor here. It makes me feel young. It's like I can feed off the energy from the fighters here. I might just join in a match myself!"
"I wouldn't advise it, sir."
"Why? Is it because I'm old?"
"I didn't say that."
"But that's your reason!"
"Not at all, I-"
"Well let me tell you something! The more older, the more experienced we are! I might trampled these young naïve fighters in a few seconds than anyone their age can do in a lifetime!"
"…"
"Fetch me some coffee!"
"Yes, sir." The aide hurries out nervously.
"Thinks I'm too old, humph!" The mayor watches the TV as the next fight begins. "All the energy given off by these fighters will prove useful for Zarula's awakening. I'll have to see if there's a way I can get them all to channel it at once." N is near the mayor's partially opened door and was listening to him talk to himself. To avoid suspicion, she knocks on the door. "Oh! Yes?"
"May I clean in here too?" N asks.
"No, that won't be necessary at the moment, thank you. Please shut the door on your way out. N does as told and continues sweeping the halls.
"I wonder what he was going on about…?"