Story 53: The Pagoda Pandemonium
"Here it is Sonic." said Ruben the Water Panther, pointing at the top of a hilltop they had just come across "The Pagoda of Prosperity."
Sonic the Hedgehog and friends hopped over a bunch of stepping stones set in the lake for travellers to use to cross over. They looked up at the hilltop and stared in awe at what awaited them up there. The pagoda was just as glamorous as all pagodas with its multiple eaves and uniquely styled roof. Its colour scheme was white and gold and it had a large symbol above the door. The symbol was the symbol of peace with the symbol of yin-yang behind it all carved out of gold. The pagoda had two very large and beautifully sculpted vases outside the door with very colourful plants in them. Sonic was impressed. The pagoda certainly looked like the dwelling place of an emperor. Sonic whistled in an impressed tone.
"Wow. Very emperor-y looking." said Sonic "So this is the place Zira is looking for I guess."
"Good thing we found it first." said Cosmo "Now we can warn the emperor of Zira's return."
"What's this emperor like?" asked Cream "Is he as horrible as the emperors you read about in the history books?"
"Horrible?" blurted Ruben as if he'd never heard of the word "horrible" before "The emperor doesn't even know what the word "horrible" means! He's the kindest man in Chun-Nan and it's precisely his reign that makes Chun-Nan a wonderful place and brings a smile on everyone's face."
"In that case, he won't have any trouble listening to us." said Sonic "So let's go meet him."
The Mobians all ran up the small hilltop and towards the pagoda. The moment they were atop the hilltop, Ruben knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The door slid sideways to open up and there stood a reddish brown mongoose in an emperor's robe and fancy hat that all Chinese emperors wore. His robe was a mixture of red, gold and green and his hat was black with rep strips on the sides. He was twenty years past his prime but he still looked as fit as a fiddle and he had a very welcoming smile on his face. Beside him was a pretty looking twenty one year old female mongoose who wore a purple strapped dress decorated with Chinese symbols and plant like decals. Her hair was styled in a bun with hair sticks and she carried a hand fan which had a beautiful deco on it.
"Greetings young ones." said the emperor mongoose, bowing down respectively to his visitors. He had a deep baritone voice that indicated his age heavily "I was not expecting visitors at all but I'm glad I have some. It's getting a little lonesome up here."
Everybody bowed down to the mongoose.
"Nǐ hǎo emperor." said Ruben, bowing down to the mongoose "I am Ruben the Water Panther, last of the Hailàng Clan."
"Oh little Ruben, I know who you are child." said the mongoose with a slight chuckle "I knew much of the Hailàng Clan before Zira the Ruthless slaughtered the entire clan. I didn't know there was a survivor though. I thought Zira had wiped the entire clan out."
"Funny you should speak of Zira your highness." said Sonic, standing up "We came here to warn you about her. Zira's returned and she's plotting to ransack this place!"
The girl mongoose hid her face behind her fan but the emperor mongoose kept a straight face on. He did have a look of concern in his eyes though.
"This is unfortunate news." said the emperor mongoose slowly "I cannot believe it! Zira's returned? We banished her years ago and now she's back! I'll have to get the villagers to evacuate the village and get Master Shan, Master Bladefeather and Master Mushu to fend her off once again!"
"Shall we let these nice people come in?" asked the girl sweetly "I bet they're fascinating people and I bet they'd love to know all about us."
"Fascinating, you bet we are!" boasted Sonic "And I'm more then just fascinating. I'm…"
"Yeah, yeah we get it Sonic now come on before your head swells up!" grumbled Knuckles, sharply pushing Sonic towards the pagoda.
The Mobians all walked inside the pagoda and found themselves in a large room decorated with tapestries that had drawings of wildlife and ancient Chun-Nan on them. There were lots of soft silky or velvet cushions for the occupants to sit on and there was a table and chair on the other side of the room. The emperor mongoose invited Sonic and friends to sit on the cushions while he sat on one himself. Everybody sat down and the emperor mongoose called the girl mongoose to him.
"Prepare some tea for our guests Matilda." he said "That's the honouree thing to do when we have visitors."
"Yes father." said the girl mongoose who's name was apparently Matilda.
She ran off to make the tea.
"Allow me to introduce myself my guests." said the mongoose "I am Emperor Dalon Tai and the person making the tea is my daughter Princess Dalon Matilda."
"That's silly, why are both your names Dalon?" asked Tails.
"No child, in Chun-Nan, we introduce ourselves surnames first." explained Tai "Tai is my first name and Dalon is my surname."
"I see." said Tails.
"Matilda's an odd name to call a citizen of Chun-Nan isn't it?" asked Amy "It definitely doesn't fit in with the other names in Chun-Nan."
"I called my daughter Matilda because the name means "might" and "strength"." explained Tai "And I also picked the name because I thought it would make Matilda stand out a bit more form the rest of the Chun-Nan citizens. What are your names by the way?"
"I take it you've not heard of me eh emperor?" said Sonic.
"I know full well who you are young man." said Tai with a big grin on his face "You are the world famous Sonic the Hedgehog. You're the one who fights that invader Dr. Eggman and tries to bring peace back to Mobius. How could I have not have heard of you?"
"Well maybe because there's no Eggman invasion going on here?" suggested Sonic.
"Word travels fast around Chun-Nan and I'm always the one that gets it." said Tai "No news in this country or other countries goes around without me hearing about it."
"And yet you heard nothing about Zira's return." noted Amy.
"Her return is too recent for me to pick up right away." said Tai "It's usually the next day I hear news like that. Now, would the rest of you like to introduce yourselves please?"
"Yes emperor. My name's Miles Prower but everybody calls me Tails." Tails introduced.
"My name is Cream the Rabbit. How do you do?" introduced Cream sweetly.
"My name is Cosmo and I'm not from this planet." introduced Cosmo.
"I'm Knuckles, Guardian of Angel Island." said Knuckles.
"And I'm Amy Rose, Sonic's biggest fan and soon-to-be girlfriend." said Amy.
"Amy!" snapped Sonic "No go on the fan-girl behaviour please!"
Amy ignored him.
"I've heard much about you five." said Tai as Matilda came by everyone and passed them a cup "You're all Sonic's helpers in his missions if I'm correct."
"That's right." said Tails as Matilda poured him some tea from a teapot "I'm Sonic's best friend and sidekick. I'm also a mechanic and I invent things to help make things easier for Sonic and friends in their battles. I don't think I've made much progress though." he said sadly.
"It doesn't matter my child." said Tai kindly "You may not be making much progress now but that doesn't mean your progress will never increase over time. I'm sure your gadgets will bring peace back to Mobius once again."
Tails smiled with pleasure. That statement made him feel much better.
"As for you dear child." said Tai, pointing at Cosmo who was just taking a sip of tea from her cup that Matilda had just poured for her "I've heard fascinating tales about you. Weren't you the one that saved the Princess of Mobotropolis from certain death?"
"I was." said Cosmo, putting the cup down and looking sad "I saved her from getting killed by a demon from space named Marik. He's a Martian from Mars and he's the embodiment of sadism and destruction. He's always trying to kill me and my kind and his kind are at war with each other. I came here completely by accident while I was being evacuated but I like it here and I've made lots of new friends that are keeping my spirits up while I'm here. I hope one day to return to my Homeworld and find the Martians are gone for good and my people are standing victorious."
Tails didn't like the sound of that. If Cosmo left then his heart would shatter like glass and he would end up losing the one girl he loved more then anything.
"That is an interesting tale little one." said Tai quietly and he held out his cup for Matilda to pour some tea into "My advice on that is things may seem bleak and the fires may be burning, remember that no fire lasts forever and there's always hope in even the bleakest of situations. The conflict with your kind will end and there's always the chance it will be your kind that arises from the ashes of the war."
Cosmo was touched by that statement and her saddened face brightened up. Tai took a sip of tea and he looked at Amy.
"Nice touch you have, wearing a Chinese robe so you can fit in better with the locals Miss Rose." he said.
"Thank you Mr. Dalon sir." said Amy "What do you know about me other then my fondness for Sonic?"
"Guys, gals, I don't mean to sound rude or anything," interrupted Sonic "But can we discuss something more important like how are we gonna stop Zira from taking over Chun-Nan?"
"Patience hedgehog." said Tai firmly "We cannot rush into the roaring flames without a way of extinguishing it first."
"Whoever said anything about fires?" snapped Sonic.
"No silly boy, daddy means we must think first before we take on that horrible woman Zira." explained Matilda "Isn't that right daddy?"
"You are correct angel." said Tai "Now Sonic, in answer to your question, I do know how to stop Zira. Our three strongest kung-fu masters Master Shan the Monkey, Master Bladefeather the Falcon and Master Mushu the Iguana are a formidable force for her and all three of them together kicked her out of Chun-Nan the first time so those three will do it again. But we must get the villagers to safety first and then we call the masters to duty."
"And me and my pals will be happy to help them." said Sonic, pounding his fists together "I hate evil people and I wanna show Zira what happens when she messes with countries I really like!"
"Sonic, Zira is not a laughing matter." said Tai firmly "She is a relentless woman with insane kung-fu skills. Some of the best in Chun-Nan's history. I know of your super speed and combat skills but kung-fu is not a force to be reckoned with. It is a much more powerful skill then anything you've ever faced. But since you'll be fighting alongside the three kung-fu masters then I guess you'll be alright against her."
"You bet I will!" boasted Sonic "Zira won't know what's hit her when I've finished with her!"
Then suddenly there was a rather loud and sharp knock at the door that made everybody jump and almost spill their teas. Tai got to his feet and wondered over to open it and see who it was. The moment he began sliding the door open, something kicked the door and sent the emperor flying backwards and crashing into the wall. Matilda screamed, dropped the teapot on the floor by accident and ran over to help her dad. Sonic and Knuckles were the first to leap up. They ran outside to see what the attacker was only to get attacked themselves. They were hit by a rapid fast punch and they were sent flying into the wall beside Tai and Matilda. Amy, Cream and Cosmo got to their feet to help them where as Tails and Ruben stood defensively in front of the emperor and princess. The attacker did a flip into the room and he landed before Tai and Matilda. Matilda clutched her father's robe in fright and her ears drooped back as they stared up at the assailant. It was the silent but deadly kung-fu warrior Mushu the Iguana! He gritted his teeth and scowled at his victims before him. Tai was livid and he stood to his feet.
"Master Mushu, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Tai angrily "You know this is a place of honour and prosperity!"
Mushu ignored him and he prodded him sharply in the stomach. Tai wheezed and fell back against the wall.
"Daddy!" cried Matilda "Are you alright?"
Mushu snarled angrily at his victims and he bore down on them. Tails took flight and flew towards the iguana, ready to punch him in the face.
"You leave the emperor and princess alone!" yelled Tails.
"Know your place!" snarled another voice from nowhere.
The voice belonged to Bladefeather the Falcon. He had crushed his way in through the roof and he dive-bombed Tails into the floor. Ruben stood back, knowing it was suicide to go near the falcon and try to attack him. Bladefeather put his clawed foot on Tails' back and pinned him down. Tails turned his head around to look at his attacker.
"Wh-wh-who the h-h-heck are you?" asked Tails.
"Don't you dare talk to me in that disapproving tone you little brat!" snarled Bladefeather, raising his wings menacingly "I am Master Bladefeather, Master of the Thousand Daggers and I am going to educate that peevish mind of yours with some much needed manners!"
Then suddenly, a third assailant appeared from nowhere and stood by the door. She was accompanied with a gang of ninja cats and their leader Fong Zarr, who had recovered from Cosmo's wok throw earlier and he looked furious to see Sonic and friends there again. The cats all had their katanas at the ready. Bladefeather and Mushu turned around to see who it was, only to see it was their new leader.
"Mistress of perjured nature and turpitude." said Bladefeather respectively "We have secured the pagoda."
"Excellent work Bladefeather." said the voice of none other then Zira the Ruthless as she entered the glamorous pagoda and stood before the terrified emperor and his equally as terrified daughter "Now Emperor Dalon Tai, your reign comes to an end and my reign over Chun-Nan begins!"
"Stop putting up this feeble resistance Mobians!" yelled Dr. Eggman as Bostock's men continued to fire at Egg-Dog's tough armour "You cannot penetrate Egg-Dog's invincible hide!"
Bostock's troops and Egg-Dog had been keeping up this game of cat and mouse for a while and they were still shooting at each other. Eggman hadn't hit anybody so far but he came pretty close a lot of times.
As for Bostock, Mortimer, Wilson, Mandy and Vector, they had just made it to the communication tower which like Espio had said, was surrounded by twenty heavily armed robots. The robots were dome shaped and very heavily armoured. They armed with hammers, bazookas and shields. The Mobians looked a little worried. It was going to be hard to destroy something with a shield. The robots glared at the Mobians and they raised their hammers menacingly, threatening to squish them. Mandy raised her pistols and threatened to pull the trigger.
"Don't make me have to shoot you!" she warned "Now be nice little robots and step aside so we can help our friends will you?"
The robots just charged up to the mouse with their hammers raised above their heads. Mandy fumed over the fact her little threat didn't work so she shot at the robots. Despite the raw power of her twin-pistols, the laser blasts just bounced harmlessly off their armour! Mandy flinched and ran for it as the robots ran towards her. One tried to smash her with its hammer but it missed and Mandy leaped over it in a somersault.
"OK, you don't wanna step aside." said Mandy, standing on top of the attacking robot's head "You wanna do battle. Well your wish is granted."
She pointed her pistols at the robot's head which she stood upon and rapidly fired at it. But even the robot's head was heavily armoured and her shots didn't even singe its head. Another robot plodded up to the robot Mandy was standing on and it swung its hammer at her. Mandy leaped out of the way just seconds before the hammer hit. The robot's hammer completely destroyed the robot Mandy was attacking and it collapsed to the ground in a pile of robot parts.
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Mandy "Robots, the only thing they don't have is a brain!"
"Good one Mandy." said Bostock "If you keep doing that, all the robots will destroy each other."
"Let's see if our rust guns work on these guys." said Mortimer, pointing his pistol at a robot that charged towards them.
Mortimer fired at the robot but the robot raised its shield and the blast bounced off it. Bostock fired but the robot kept its shield raised to deflect the blast. The robot tried to smash them with its hammer but it missed and hit the ground, leaving a hammer sized crater where it hit. Bostock and Mortimer fired at the robot from the other side so it couldn't raise its shield in time but the blasts bounced harmlessly off its armour.
"Curses! Rust proof armour!" moaned Bostock "Our pistols are useless!"
"This just makes me wonder why aren't all of Eggman's robots rust proof." said Mortimer "That scientist is a senile fellow isn't he?"
"So if we can't blast these things to pieces then I'm willing to bet my spinning blade won't work on them." said Wilson, shaking a little "What do we do now?"
"I'll see if I can smash these guys to bits!" said Vector, cracking his knuckles.
Vector ran up to a robot and punched at it but the robot had its shield up so Vector punched the shield. Vector then grabbed the robot's shield and ripped it clean off its arm. The robot tried to hammer him but Vector hid behind the shield and let the shield take the punishment. The hammer it with a deafening clud and Vector ended up with a loud ringing in his ears. Vector shook it off and threw the shield at the robot like a Frisbee. The shield hit the robot directly in the forehead and knocked it over. Mandy then had an idea and she fired at the robot while it was lying on its back. The robot was destroyed in seconds after being shot at. Mandy's face brightened.
"The underside is their weak point!" she exclaimed "Now we know how to destroy these con-bots!"
"Well that's convenient." said Wilson "Now these guys will fall in a matter of moments and we can get Espio and Charmy out of here."
"I have a better idea." said Bostock "Vector, you throw that shield at that window up there."
He pointed to a window high up from where they were now. The com-tower was very tall after all and Espio and Charmy were in the top floor.
"Um…OK general." said Vector "I hope this plan isn't a stupid one."
Vector threw the shield at the communication tower's window. The shield crashed through the window with a terrific smash and Espio and Charmy jumped out of their skins.
"Hey! What's going on? Someone's attacking us!" screamed Charmy.
"No Charmy, I think someone's buying us an exit." said Espio, looking out of the window and seeing Vector waving up to him on the ground.
"So does that mean we can set these things to go bang and we can get outta here?" asked Charmy.
"Yes Charmy, we can get outta here." said Espio with a sly grin on his face "Set the bombs."
Charmy obeyed and he switched them on. The countdown on the bomb started and the numbers began to beep down from thirty seconds. Charmy held Espio by the hand and flew him out of the broken window and down to the ground. One of the armoured robots saw them and aimed it's shoulder mounted bazooka at them in an attempt to blast them out of the sky but Vector leaped up and socked it in the face, knocking it over onto it's back and leaving it vulnerable to Mandy, Bostock and Mortimer's laser pistols. The three Mobians shot at the downed robot and destroyed it. Charmy and Espio made it to the ground just as the countdown reached zero and the communications tower erupted into a ball of smoke and fire. This was a sign for everybody to run for it. The Mobians retreated from the battle as large chunks of debris began to shower down on the ground around the tower. The robots tried to run but they were much to large and heavy to run so they lumbered away. They were not fast enough to escape the falling tower and they were destroyed as the tower crashed down on the ground, making a terrific noise as it did so. Dr. Eggman saw the explosion out of the corner of his eye and he stopped firing at Bostock's troops.
"What's going on over there?" blasted Dr. Eggman.
"I think someone is causing trouble behind your headquarters sir." said Alonzo "Let's see what it is."
Dr. Eggman agreed and he steered Egg-Dog to the right. Egg-Dog hovered away from Bostock's troops and headed towards Eggman's marvellous headquarters. The Mobians down below stopped running and looked up at the giant dog machine coming towards them. Wilson whimpered.
"That machine's coming for us!" he whined "I think Eggman knows what we've just done!"
"Eggman's gonna blast us! We should run for our lives!" cried Charmy.
Egg-Dog was now directly above the watching Mobians and Eggman could see the carnage they had just caused right now. His communications tower was completely destroyed. It was lying in a miserable fragmented, smoking wreck on the ground. Dr. Eggman went wild with rage and he yanked on his moustache angrily.
"Curse those stupid Royal Fighters!" he bellowed "Now I can't make contact with any of my forces abroad! I'll need to make a new com-tower now!"
"Um Master, our scanners are picking up seven Mobians directly beneath us." said Alonzo, looking at a bleeping scanner that showed seven dots, representing the Mobians down below.
"Well in that case, let's bomb them!" roared Dr. Eggman "Bombs, deploy!"
He pulled a lever on the control pad and a hatch opened up. A huge bomb fell down out of the open hatch and soared to the ground. The Mobians screamed in terror and ran for it just as the bomb hit. Nobody got hit by the bomb but the force of the explosion sent everybody flying. Bostock and Mortimer landed rather painfully on a pile of destroyed robots, Wilson and Mandy landed near a building and Mandy hit her head on something hard and passed out and Team Chaotix landed on the roof of a flat-topped building. That was a very powerful bomb and the Mobians would not have survived had they been directly underneath it when it dropped. Dr. Eggman laughed like a maniac to himself.
"Now I've knocked those Mobians out, I think we can pick them off, one by one!" he cackled gleefully "Prepare the cannons!"
"Yes sir." said Alonzo, pulling a lever and pressing some buttons.
Egg-Dog aimed its four cannons at Team Chaotix and prepared to blast all three of them into slag…
"Zira!" growled Tai, getting back up to his feet and looking Zira in the eye "You and your goons are trespassing in sacred property! I am going to kindly ask you to leave before things get unpleasant."
Zira just laughed in the emperor's face.
"Dalon Tai, you're such a senile little fellow aren't you?" she cackled, wiping her eye "I've just spent weeks making my way back here and I finally find out where your palace is and you want me to leave? You must be insane if you think I spent all this time trying to get here just to leave!"
"Zira, get out!" yelled Tai, losing his patience "This is a holy place of peace and prosperity and I will not tolerate your assaults on it!"
"And I will not tolerate you imbeciles constantly denying me what is rightfully mine!" snarled Zira, baring her claws and holding them close to Tai's neck "I am the most powerful kung-fu master in the whole of Chun-Nan so therefore, I am the only one mighty enough to rule over it!"
"You're not the most powerful kung-fu master in Chun-Nan!" snapped Matilda "Master Shan is more powerful then you could ever be! He kicked you out before so he can do it again!"
"Master Shan you say?" said Zira innocently "Oh dearie me I almost forgot about that irritable oaf of a kung-fu master. Well about him…I killed him."
"You WHAT?" screamed Tai and Matilda both at once. They both felt faint and like they were about to die themselves.
"Me and my new army took him down and we interrogated him for the pagoda's whereabouts." explained Zira "He told us your home's location and to eliminate the only obstacle in my path from stopping me, I snapped his neck and now he's gone to join the elder kung-fu masters. No one can stand to me now!"
"Oh yeah?" challenged Sonic "I'll just spin-dash against you instead!"
Sonic leaped to his feet and spin-dashed Zira directly in the chest. The vicious kung-fu leopard was sent flying into a wall and she crashed straight through it, leaving a hole in it and she landed outside at the edge of the hilltop. Sonic leaped out of the hole and landed in front of Zira. Zira got back to her feet, growling a natural leopard growl as she did so.
"Hey there Zira!" said Sonic with his trademark grin on his face "I'm your new enemy Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius and resident from the west and I'll be very happy to kick your butt back to where you came from!"
"In that case, don't bother because I AM where I came from!" retorted Zira "And I will not have my flawless invasion marred by a peasant boy with an overbearing tone of fiduciary!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna take this moment to try and figure out what the heck "fiduciary" means and while I'm at it, I'll beat the snot outta ya." sneered Sonic, launching a punch at Zira.
Zira grabbed the punch with her clawed paw and sharply twisted Sonic's arm. Sonic yelped in pain but he tried to fight it. He tried to pull his arm out of Zira's grasp but the kung-fu master had a very strong grip. Not even the strongest of men could free himself from her grasp. Zira then socked Sonic directly in the nose and let go of his arm, causing him to fly backwards and roll down the hill. Sonic came to a stop at the bottom of the hill and he rubbed his nose in pain. Zira leaped down and landed in front of the hedgehog. Sonic looked up at Zira, still shaken from such an enormous punch and he tried to get back up. Zira bent down and looked Sonic in the eye.
"I don't know what's made you come all the way over here just to stomp me into submission but when I'm through with you, you'll be wishing you had stayed where you were!" she hissed menacingly "Anybody who stands to my unfathomable might gets their neck broken! I slaughtered three whole clans, masses of villagers and my former master, Master Shan! So what hope do you have against me little boy?"
Sonic climbed back to his feet, staggering as he did so and he managed to get his eyes to fully open.
"Me and my friends didn't come here to defeat you." he corrected "We came here to spend our day off but after hearing about your evil, we couldn't resist the urge to stop you. You see, I hate evil as much as I love freedom and you are not taking over a country I happen to be very fond off!"
He punched Zira directly in the face and sent her falling onto her back. Before Zira could get back up, Sonic grabbed her by the tail and swung her around in a circle. He let go of Zira's tail and sent her flying into the top of the hill. Sonic ran up to the hill at his trademark speed just in time to tackle Zira in the side as she was getting back up. Zira got up on all fours and roared at Sonic. She charged at Sonic but Sonic dodged and dropkicked her. Then Sonic tried a spin-dash but Zira karate chopped him away and sent him crashing into the bottom of the hill again. Zira leaped down and landed directly on top of Sonic, literally knocking the wind out of him, scooped him up and punched him into the stream of stepping stones. Sonic landed in the stream with a splash and sent water flying everywhere. Sonic grumbled to himself and he picked himself up.
"I hate getting wet." he mumbled, shaking water out of his blue fur "Now you've just made this personal Zira!"
"It gets personal when I'm at my fiercest!" snarled Zira, walking slowly up to Sonic with a scowl on her face "Prepare for an onslaught of relentless pounding!"
She charged towards Sonic just a fraction too fast for the hedgehog to dodge and she clawed him directly across the cheek, leaving four bloody cuts. Sonic fell onto his side and rubbed his cheek, getting bloodstains on his glove. Sonic wiped his glove on his leg and spin-dash towards Zira. Zira was hit in the head and she fell into the stream. Zira got back to her feet but Sonic spin-dashed her again. Zira stood up but Sonic spin-dashed her again. Zira was getting tired of getting spin-dashed so she didn't get back up, instead she stood up on all fours and charged off like a running cheetah. Sonic spin-dashed at her but Zira leaped out of his way and kung-fu kicked him into the ground. Sonic hit the ground face first and rolled out of the way as Zira attempted to stomp on him. Sonic grabbed Zira's long ponytail and he pulled on it, causing Zira to bend to one side and give Sonic a clear punch to the face on her. Zira yanked her ponytail out of Sonic's grip and kicked him in the shoulder. Sonic staggered backwards only to get it in the face with both fists from Zira. Sonic fell onto his back but he wasn't down for long. He leaped up and homing attacked Zira. Zira defended herself with her arms and leaped backwards to prepare for another attack on Sonic. The two then charged at each other and punched each other in the face. Both opponents were sent sprawling on the ground and they both gasped heavily. Sonic and Zira got back to their feet and they stared daggers at each other.
"You really are a powerful warrior." said Sonic cockily, feeling his healing cuts which had stopped bleeding "You're definitely more challenging then Dr. Eggman."
"I'm a challenge to everyone peasant boy!" snapped Zira "I'm surprised a merchant like you is managing to hold himself against me so far but it won't last! You may have unusually fast speed but you need fast speed, fast moves and brute strength to back it up! No one ever got anywhere just being fast you know!"
"I do know." retorted Sonic calmly "I have strength and speed on my side which is why I always win in the long run. I've won all my conflicts before in I'm gonna win this one."
"You're so overbearing peasant boy." scoffed Zira "And that will be your downfall."
The two fighters charged at each other mono y mono style, leaped into the air and kicked at each other, hitting either one's legs in mid-air.
Back in the pagoda, Bladefeather, Mushu and Fong Zarr were standing by, waiting to attack as Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Cream and Ruben prepared to fight them. Tai stood to the side, waiting for the fight to begin.
"So Bladefeather and Mushu, why have you betrayed Chun-Nan?" asked Tai coldly.
"Let's just say that Zira has given us a meritorious amount of gold that she'll reward us with if we help her conquer Chun-Nan." said Bladefeather "The country may have clawed itself out of relapse but it'll soon fall back into it. Now why don't we propose an armistice to arbitrate the conditions of your surrender and our magnanimous conquest emperor? We don't want to hurt you."
"Who's "we"? snapped Fong Zarr "I want to hurt him!"
"I'll thank you for keeping your ignorance to your self Yīnyǐng scum." snapped Bladefeather.
"Bladefeather, I will not surrender this palace to Zira." said Tai slowly "If you want it you'll have to fight for it."
"So be it." said Bladefeather icily "Don't say I didn't warn you."
He swiped the air with his wing and sent ten sharp feather shaped daggers hurling towards the emperor. Amy jumped in front of Tai and shielded herself with her hammer. The daggers all embedded themselves into Amy's hammer head. She walloped the floor with her hammer and broke the daggers.
"You leave the emperor alone!" screeched Amy "Your fight is with us!"
"Must I have the privilege of wasting my time fighting peevish, repugnant little mendicants who don't even belong in this holy country?" sneered Bladefeather "Why not? I could do with the exercise."
"We're more then just exercise buddy!" screamed Knuckles.
He charged up to Bladefeather and lunged at him with his spiked fists. Bladefeather just stood to the side and left Knuckles to run past him. Knuckles screeched to a halt and he ran back at Bladefeather. Bladefeather spun around like a spinning top and sent feather-shaped daggers flying in all directions. Fong Zarr and his cat ninjas knew very well they had to hide outside the pagoda when Bladefeather was doing that dangerous move so they ran for cover as daggers embedded themselves into walls, the floor, the ceiling and even into the ground outside. Everybody ran for cover as Bladefeather's tornado of daggers threatened to impale them all. Knuckles leaped over Bladefeather and punched him on the top of his head, sending him falling onto the floor and dropping any daggers he was about to throw.
"How does he have so many daggers?" asked Tails "He's got thousands!"
"He's the Master of the Thousand Daggers." explained Ruben "It's a technique that lets you pull daggers from airspace and throw them in anyway you want. You have limitless amounts so old Bladefeather will never run out. It's precisely that technique that makes Bladefeather one of the most dangerous turncoats ever."
"He may have a limitless amount of daggers but I have a limitless amount of hammers!" yelled Amy "And my hammer is much stronger then a bunch of itty-bitty daggers! I'm gonna smash that traitor to his own country into mush!"
Amy ran up to Bladefeather, who was being pinned down to the ground by Knuckles but Mushu interfered by ramming her into the wall. Amy hit the wall and groaned in pain. Bladefeather punched Knuckles in the nose and threw the echidna off himself. He stood up and wondered over to Amy who stood with her back against the wall and her hammer in hand. Bladefeather bent down to Amy's height and he felt the robe she was wearing.
"I like the pretentious robe little girl." said Bladefeather sarcastically "Leaves people under the pretence you live here."
He then proceeded to rip the entire robe off of Amy, revealing her backless red dress underneath. Amy gasped in horror as Bladefeather tore the robe to pieces and threw the remains on the floor.
"Now you can't fool any flaccid minds into thinking you're from Chun-Nan you perfidious little mendicant." said Bladefeather in a nasty tone of voice
"Knock it off with the big words and fight me properly!" screamed Amy "And how dare you tear my robe to pieces! It was bought and paid for by myself personally!"
She swung her hammer at Bladefeather only for Bladefeather to catch it and grab her wrists. He then threw Amy directly into Tails, who was trying to help her. The two fighters landed on a cushion on the other side of the room. Tails and Amy tried to get back up but Mushu seized them by the scruff of their necks and hauled them off the floor. Bladefeather glared at them crossly.
"Children, such nasty stains on the face of the earth." he scoffed "Eviscerating you two bit by bit will be invigorating I can tell."
"You wouldn't be so cocky if Sonic was here feather head!" screeched Amy "Let us go you lumbering reptile!"
Mushu ignored her and remained holding her and Tails.
"Sonic? Sonic the Hedgehog?" questioned Bladefeather "I've heard all about that speedy boy. He's the one currently preventing Dr. Eggman from throwing Mobius into a pernicious state isn't he? In that case, you two must be his lap-dogs, his sidekicks who help him crawl out of the fires in his adventures."
"We're not lap-dogs!" snapped Tails "We're his friends and we help him defeat Dr. Eggman! We're gonna help him beat you and you'll regret underestimating us like that!"
"Such bravado from such a little one." sneered Bladefeather "Your death will be more honouree then most deaths I can tell. Mushu, kill those mendicants!" he ordered.
Mushu nodded in agreement and he put Amy down but pinned her to the floor with his foot to keep her from getting away. He held Tails by the neck and proceeded to do what Zira always did to her victims until suddenly Ruben squirted Mushu and Bladefeather with an enormous jet of water. The two kung-fu masters were sent hurtling into the table at the far side of the room, breaking it and knocking it over. Ruben helped Tails and Amy back to their feet.
"Are you two OK?" asked Ruben.
"Yes thanks to you." said Tails "You saved my life."
"Now let's kick those guy's butts together!" declared Amy, summoning her Piko-Piko hammer to her hand.
Bladefeather and Mushu picked themselves up and bent down in battle ready stances.
"So you have a water panther on your side do you?" said Bladefeather in an impressed tone "Very meritorious indeed. And am I right to believe that you hail from the deceased Hailàng Clan little one?"
"You're dead right Bladefeather." said Ruben "I am the last of my clan. And by the water I am blessed with and the heart and soul of my clan, I will defeat Zira and you! Zira will pay for slaying my clan as well as the other two clans in this country!"
"We'll see about that won't we Ruben?" purred Bladefeather.
Tails, Amy and Ruben all bent down in battle ready positions. But they weren't the only ones ready for battle. Knuckles had recovered from Bladefeather's earlier attack and he bent down in a battle ready position.
"These two are going down!" growled Knuckles "Amy, me and you will take on the falcon, he's the deadliest."
"No problem Knuckles!" said Amy with a disturbingly evil grin on her face.
"So I guess me and Ruben are against Mr. Quiet here." said Tails, pointing at Mushu.
"Yes." said Knuckles "Let's go for it Mobians! For Chun-Nan and for Mobius!"
The four Mobians and two kung-fu masters all ran up to each other and began fighting. Fists flew, feet kicked and punches were launched. Fong Zarr and his cat gang just stood by and watched the fight with interest.
"What should we do Lord Zarr?" asked a cat ninja.
"We have no orders so we don't do anything." said Fong Zarr "I'm quite content to stand idly by and watch these so-called heroes of the west get bludgeoned into nothing by our new allies. And once Zira, Bladefeather and Mushu stomp these heroes and take over Chun-Nan, we can execute Zira and take the throne for ourselves. The Yīnyǐng Mao clan will be supreme at long last and I shall be known as Emperor Zarr, rrrruler of Chun-Nan!"
He cackled quietly to himself as the fights between the Mobians, Zira and the two kung-fu masters raged on around them…
Egg-Dog fired its four enormous cannons at Team Chaotix but Charmy grabbed Espio by the hands and lifted him off the rooftop and Vector grabbed Espio's legs as Charmy flew off. Charmy carried both his team-mates off the rooftop just as Egg-Dog's cannons fired at the rooftop, destroying the building and sending debris and shrapnel hurling in every direction. Charmy touched down and the Chaotix ran for cover as Egg-Dog prepared to fire again. They ran past Bostock and Mortimer, who had just picked themselves up after their rather painful landing on a pile of robots and they followed the trio. They stopped beside Wilson, who was carrying an unconscious Mandy bridal style and running for cover behind a tower that was of no importance to them.
"Soldiers, keep Egg-Dog at bay while we think of a plan!" ordered Bostock in his loud, gravely voice.
The soldiers obeyed and decided to use a different weapon instead of their rust guns since they didn't work on Egg-Dog's rust-proof armour. Two soldiers pulled a bomb off their belts and they threw the bombs both at the same time at Egg-Dog's head. The bombs both hit Egg-Dog's window eyes and set off. These weren't the kind of bombs that blow things up though. These bombs contained a fast setting sticky, gooey purple substance that was hard to get off and would make anything stick to the ground if they got caught in it. Now Egg-Dog's windows were covered by the thick, purpley goo the bombs contained. Dr. Eggman got furious and he pounded the arms of his chair madly.
"Alonzo, remove that goo from the windows!" he barked at his servant bot.
"At once sir." said Alonzo "No pointing in firing at something if you can't see what you're firing at."
Alonzo grabbed an emergency jetpack that was behind his seat and he zipped off out of Egg-Dog's cockpit to clean the windows and give Eggman his vision back.
On the ground, Bostock, Mortimer, Wilson, Mandy and the Chaotix had all taken shelter behind a tower and they were racking their brains for a much needed plan on how to destroy Egg-Dog. Charmy stood watch so he could warn everyone if Egg-Dog was attacking again.
"We know our rust guns don't work on that thing." said Bostock "We need to try a different weapon."
"I wish me and Mandy had brought some bombs with us." said Wilson, gently setting the unconscious mouse on the ground "I bet we could blow that thing sky-high with a bomb or two."
"I doubt that bombs will work on that thing." said Mortimer "I wouldn't be too surprised if Egg-Dog's armour is resistant to explosives of any kind."
"Why don't we just flee for it while Eggman's distracted?" asked Wilson "Our mission is complete, we destroyed the com-tower, that's all we came here for."
"That is true my boy but I refuse to let that thing function and cause havoc anywhere else." said Bostock gruffly "That thing is too dangerous to stay intact, we must bring it down before Eggman uses it on a densely populated city or something! That thing could wipe out our entire service!"
"I see." said Wilson "So how are we gonna stop that dog machine then…?"
As for the Chaotix, Espio was looking up at Egg-Dog and his sharp, keen mind was whirring away like crazy. He stood as still as a statue with a finger to his lips and thinking hard. The chameleon was coming up with an idea, an idea he wasn't sure would work but in desperate situations like this, they had to try anything they could.
"Hey Espio, what's on your mind?" asked Charmy.
"I have an idea." said Espio quietly "If one of us could get up to that machine and break into it, we could sabotage the machine from the inside and bring it down to the ground."
"That sounds kinda risky Espio buddy." said Vector gruffly "But it's worth a shot. Charmy, you fly me and Espio up to Egg-Dog and we'll do the rest. Be on hand to fly us down when we've finished."
"OK." said Charmy "Up we go!"
The bee hoisted Espio off the ground and Vector held onto Espio's legs as Charmy flew off the ground so the whole Chaotix was flying up to Egg-Dog. The moment the Chaotix began ascending up into the sky, Mandy Mouse opened her eyes and woke up from being knocked out. Wilson beamed at the sight of his friend waking up. Mandy rubbed her still throbbing head and sat up straight.
"Oh my head kills!" moaned Mandy "What did I land on?"
"Mandy!" said Wilson, hugging the mouse "You're awake! And good timing too because Team Chaotix are attempting to bring Egg-Dog down."
"Are they?" asked Mandy "Well let's keep our fingers crossed that they succeed."
The dog and mouse looked up at Egg-Dog to see Team Chaotix flying up to it. Alonzo was frantically trying to clean all the purple goo off Egg-Dog's cockpit "eye" windows. He was using the jetpack to hover in front of the windows and he had a brushing tool that looked like a garden hoe and Alonzo moved the tool up and down to scrap the thick purple goo off Egg-Dog's windows. He was doing a very good job so far, most of the goo had already been removed, he just had a few splodges around the edges and the centre to wipe away and Eggman would be able to see again. Charmy put Espio and Vector down on Egg-Dog and remained airborne while the chameleon and crocodile went into action. Espio immediately targeted Egg-Dog's four back mounted cannons by throwing shuriken at them. The shuriken embedded themselves into Egg-Dog's four cannons and exploded like they were bombs. The cannons were completely destroyed by the explosions of so many shuriken going off at once. The explosion rocked Egg-Dog and Eggman almost fell out of his chair. Alonzo slipped off Egg-Dog's nose as he was finishing scraping the goo off but his jet back saved him from falling to the ground and he flew back inside Egg-Dog quickly. Charmy sensed that now would be a good time to get Espio and Vector to safety since the damage done to Egg-Dog's cannons may have damaged the vessel itself in someway or another. The bee flew down and grabbed Espio by the hands and Vector grabbed Espio by the ankles. The whole of Team Chaotix began to descend down to the ground as the explosions finally finished tearing through Egg-Dog's tough armour after destroying the cannons. Egg-Dog rocked about wildly as if it was about to come crashing down to the ground. Dr. Eggman frantically pulled some stabilizer levers on the control pad to stabilize Egg-Dog and keep it airborne. Egg-Dog stopped rocking about and the machine regained balance much to Bostock's despair. Team Chaotix landed on the ground and let go of each other.
"So, did we do it?" asked Charmy.
"Eggman's regained balance." said Bostock "I think you need to get back up there and do some more damage to that machine."
"Damn!" cursed Espio "I knew I should have thrown more shuriken!"
"Enough chit-chat boys!" cried Mandy, leaping up to her feet "Eggman's doing something else now!"
Everybody looked back up at Egg-Dog only to see that the dog machine was opening up its large jaws. A laser cannon extended out from inside Egg-Dog's mouth and it whirred into life. Eggman's voice boomed out from Egg-Dog's head.
"That's quite enough Mobians!" said Dr. Eggman crossly "I warned you this would happen and now you're forcing me to use drastic measures!"
Alonzo had removed all the goo of Egg-Dog's windows so unfortunately for the Mobians, Eggman could see what he was aiming at. Egg-Dog's mouth mounted laser cannon began to glow bright yellow from the inside and energy began to build up inside the deadly weapon. Bostock sensed this was bad and he ordered everybody to move. Bostock, Mortimer, Wilson, Mandy and the Chaotix ran one way, Bostock's men ran the other way just as Egg-Dog's mouth cannon fired at them. A sizzling, colossal blast of energy roared out of Egg-Dog's cannon and blasted the ground it aimed at which was absent of any targets. The stricken area erupted into stone, earth and bits of metal and it rained everywhere, narrowly missing the Mobians who had all bent down to brace for impact. Eggman roared with laughter at how powerful his weapon was and was pleased to see its effects. A large crater had been formed by the insanely powerful laser cannon.
"What a weapon!" he cried "Pity I missed the Mobians but I won't miss the next time! Charge it up for another blast Alonzo!"
Alonzo obeyed and began tuning some knobs on the control pad. The control pad hummed loudly and ominously as the recharge of the cannon commenced.
Back on the ground, Wilson got to his feet and looked up at Egg-Dog to see what it was doing. The dog machine was still hovering but its cannon, which was still deployed wasn't glowing with energy.
"Hey guys, I think Egg-Dog's standing by for its next attack." said Wilson quietly.
"Well we'd best attack it before it fires again." said Mandy, surveying the damage done by the first blast "Has anyone got a missile launcher or a grenade or something?"
"I have one." said one of Bostock's soldiers who was a Tasmanian Devil in combat fatigues and a tin hat. He had an Australian accent and a deep voice.
He reached behind his back and un-strapped something. It was a missile launcher with two launchers that he had brought with him to use on the mission. He handed the weapon to Mandy. The mouse took it off the soldier, slightly surprised at the soldier instantly offering her the weapon instead of Bostock or Mortimer.
"I brought it along for a special occasion." explained the soldier "I didn't think we'd need it until now but it's obvious we do. I'm granting you the honour of using it Mandy because according to you, you have a score to settle with Eggman so now's your chance."
"Thank you." said Mandy "I've always wanted to use a missile launcher."
The purple mouse primed the huge weapon and she aimed it up at Egg-Dog. She peered through the target locker and made sure she was aiming at the cannon in Egg-Dog's mouth. She had a strong feeling that shooting the cannon would destroy it and bring Egg-Dog crashing down to the ground. Mandy locked on target and pulled the trigger. The missile screamed into life and blasted out of the launcher, blowing Mandy away and roaring towards its target. Egg-Dog's cannon had just finished charging up and Dr. Eggman was ready to fire. Unfortunately for him, Mandy's missile went straight into Egg-Dog's exposed cannon and exploded. The missile combined with the building up energy in Egg-Dog's cannon was not a good mix and the explosion that ensued from this deadly combination was horrendous. The explosion tore through Egg-Dog's entire body. The machine rocked about as its body was being torn up from the inside and its head exploded into smithereens. Dr. Eggman and Alonzo had ejected themselves from Egg-Dog as it was exploding and they parachuted down to the ground. The mighty dog machine came crashing down to the ground in a blazing, smoking wreck of searing hot flames and thick, suffocating black smoke. What was once a giant machine had now been reduced to a smouldering wreck of flaming metal and smoking interiors. Dr. Eggman and Alonzo landed on the ground a few feet away from Egg-Dog and Eggman looked despairingly at his incredible machine now reduced to nothing more then a flaming wreck. Eggman yanked on his moustache angrily.
"Curse those Mobians!" he whined "That was one of the greatest machines I've ever made! How did they possibly defeat it?"
Something tapped Eggman on the shoulder and interrupted his ranting. Eggman turned around and to his surprise, saw Mandy Mouse standing there with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed into a death glare. Eggman immediately grew nervous. He smiled weakly and began sweating.
"Um…hi Mandy?" he said nervously "I take it you're still mad about me kidnapping you and making an Automaton out of you? What can I say other then I'm just an evil old man aren't I?"
Mandy put a hand on Eggman's shoulder and looked Eggman in the eye. If Eggman wasn't wearing glasses, you would probably see tiny irises of fear in his eyes.
"This is for lying about my well-being and deceiving my friends with that Automaton." said Mandy coldly.
She drew her arm back and in the blink of an eye, punched Dr. Eggman straight in the face! Everybody stared in surprise at the mouse and Wilson gasped. The punch was so hard that Dr. Eggman passed out and fainted. Alonzo screamed like a girl and Mandy smiled triumphantly, pleased to have finally gotten her own back on Dr. Eggman for what he had done to her.
"Oh my gosh!" he cried "Eggman's knocked out! I'd best get him out of here before something else happens!"
Alonzo grabbed Dr. Eggman by the uniform and dragged him away. Due to Eggman's weight though, Alonzo had a tough time dragging him away. Mandy stood there with her arms folded and just watched Alonzo get away with Dr. Eggman.
"That felt good." she said to herself "But it's only too much to hope that that punch will teach him a lesson or two."
"Mandy!" cried Wilson, running up to the mouse "That was really unexpected of you! Of all the people to physically attack Dr. Eggman like that, I never thought it would be you!"
"Well Eggman had it coming for a long time." said Mandy casually "And I needed some stress relief for what he's done to me the past day or two so I let him have it."
"I must say that was pretty cool Mandy." said Vector with admiration.
"You should punch him again!" laughed Charmy "That was funny!"
Mandy didn't know what to feel right now with all the boys commenting on her assault on Eggman but she knew that Eggman deserved it and if he didn't learn his lesson then she'd be happy to punch him again.
"Now our mission is complete, we can leave this metal hell hole." said Mortimer "Come on men, our work here is done."
The soldiers obeyed and followed the chipmunk out of Robotropolis. Bostock, Wilson, Mandy and the Chaotix followed them. Mandy looked over her shoulder to see the damages they had done to Robotropolis. They had destroyed a com-tower and Egg-Dog and many of Eggman's robots. Some of Robotropolis had been damaged by Egg-Dog firing at them and missing so Eggman had a lot of cleaning up to do at the end of the day. What a comeback to the battlefield this was for Mandy! She'd held her own well in battle, destroyed Egg-Dog and punched Eggman directly in the face in revenge for what he had done to her. This had been a very good day for the Royal Fighters Service. As everybody walked out of Robotropolis, another though crossed Mandy's mind.
I wonder how the blue dude's doing now... she wondered in her head.
Things were looking very grim for the Mobians right now. Sonic's fight with Zira had been mostly in Zira's favour the past minute or so. Despite Sonic's super speed, Zira had fast reflexes and was an acute dodger, meaning Sonic missed every time he spin-dashed at her. Zira knew kung-fu and Sonic only knew standard fighting skills as well as his super speed moves so Zira's attacks hurt Sonic more then Sonic's attacks hurt Zira. Sonic punched at Zira but the kung-fu mistress blocked it with her paws and she punched Sonic in the cheek. Sonic staggered backwards and Zira slugged him in the stomach. Sonic doubled over in pain and wheezed loudly. Zira karate chopped him on the back, causing him to fall flat on the ground and then she kicked him onto his back. She tried to stomp on Sonic but Sonic rolled out of her way, leaving Zira to stomp at the ground. Sonic then kicked Zira in the butt, knocking her onto her face. Sonic then spin-dashed Zira before the kung-fu mistress could get back up. Then Sonic decided to use his most powerful move on Zira. The Sonic Tornado. He ran around Zira in a circle at super-sonic speed and became nothing more then a blur around her. Zira got back to her feet and sensed this was not a good thing that was happening right now so she jumped out of Sonic's path just as the Sonic Tornado was beginning to build up. Sonic still ran around at top speed and the blue blur made a blue tornado of wind that was doing no harm to anybody because nobody was in the tornado. Sonic eventually stopped running around and he came to a halt, the tornado died down and Sonic began panting and gasping. He doesn't usually get tired but running around while having had a beating for the past minute does wonders on your energy. Sonic looked at Zira tiredly and was not pleased to see his Sonic Tornado move didn't work. Zira lunged at him and kneed him directly in the gut. Then she elbowed the hedgehog on his head and punched him in the face with both fists.
"For someone who's the Hero of Mobius your fighting is very abysmal." taunted Zira as she punched Sonic in the chest and sent him falling onto his back "I've never seen such appalling fighting in all my life. You should learn more battle skills and rely less on your super powers. Just because you're fast it doesn't mean you're strong, you need strength to match that speed if you wish to be all powerful peasant boy!"
She stomped on Sonic's stomach and the hedgehog wheezed loudly. Sonic coughed and spluttered and he sat up. Zira grabbed the hedgehog by the neck and hoisted him up to her height.
"Now you die peasant boy." said Zira with a cruel smile "It's been fun beating you up but now I must execute you and get back to taking over the Pagoda of Prosperity now. Bye, bye!"
She then proceeded to snap Sonic's neck but the hedgehog saved himself by moving his legs rapidly as if he was running. He kicked Zira as he did so and the leopard dropped him. Sonic back flipped and landed on his feet and charged like a bull at Zira. Zira was too slow to react and she got it full force in the stomach from Sonic's super fast charge. Zira flew backwards and landed on her back. Sonic then spin-dashed her before she could get back up. Zira snarled a natural leopard snarl and she ran out of the way before Sonic could spin-dash her again. Sonic and Zira then charged at each other with their fists bared. They lunged at each other and punched each other in the face at the same time. They both skidded backwards after that onslaught and they charged at each other again.
Back in the pagoda, things were going no better. The combined might of Amy and Knuckles didn't seem to be enough against Bladefeather's kung-fu might and Tails and Ruben didn't seem able to land much of a hit on Mushu. Knuckles punched Bladefeather in the back with his spiked fists and ducked just as Bladefeather swiped at him with his wing. Knuckles gave Bladefeather an uppercut and Amy walloped him with her hammer. Despite those attacks, Bladefeather didn't show much signs of fatigue or indeed any signs that he was hurt. Amy tried to hammer Bladefeather again but Bladefeather kicked the hammer was it was coming down on him and broke it into pieces! Amy gibbered like an idiot in shock and Bladefeather smacked her in the face with one swipe of his wing. Knuckles landed a blow on the back of Bladefeather's head but even that didn't affect the falcon much. Kung-fu masters are made of strong stuff and it can be very hard to hurt one after all. Bladefeather swiped at Knuckles but he missed and Knuckles slugged him in the stomach. Bladefeather got made and he swiped his wing at Knuckles. Six sharp daggers hurtled towards the echidna but Knuckles deflected them all with his fast hitting. But the daggers were just a distraction. Knuckles deflected the last dagger and then got a punch to the face from Bladefeather. Knuckles hurtled backwards and crashed into the wall, leaving cracks in it. Amy summoned a new hammer to her hand and tried to attack Bladefeather but Bladefeather smacked her with his wing and sent her crashing into the floor. He then summoned two daggers to his hands and threw them at Amy. The daggers caught her on the sides of her boots and embedded themselves into the floor. Amy was stuck now. She pulled on her legs but the daggers firmly fixed the sides of her boots to the floor so she couldn't move. She sat up straight and tried to pull the daggers out but they had embedded themselves too deeply for her to remove and she simply wasn't strong enough. Seeing one of his foes out of action, Bladefeather set his sights on Knuckles, the only one who was actually holding his own against him. Knuckles recovered from Bladefeather's earlier attack and he walloped Bladefeather in the beak with his fists. Bladefeather fell onto his back and Knuckles tried to attack again but Bladefeather blocked his attack with his talons. He was equally as good with his feet as he was with his wings and his feet were very good substitutes for hands. Bladefeather pushed Knuckles away and leaped back to his feet. Then the two linked hands and began to grapple with each other.
"I must say for a gamin you sure know how to fight." complimented Bladefeather "No mendicant has ever fought me and managed to hold their own against me."
"Well I am a guardian after all!" grunted Knuckles "And guardians are very skilled at fighting!"
"I can see that." said Bladefeather "Pity you guardians are the embodiment of debility and fatuity."
Knuckles had no idea what those words meant but he had a feeling it was an insult so he got mad. He pushed Bladefeather back and began launching punches rapidly at him. Surprisingly, Bladefeather managed to dodge every single punch with his wings. Bladefeather kicked Knuckles away and the two began rapidly launching punches at each other whilst blocking the other's blows.
As for Tails and Ruben, Mushu was proving to be one tough iguana. Mushu was more skilled in the speed department and he showed that by moving at a very quick pace. Ruben kept squirting water at Mushu but Mushu dodged every blow with no difficulty. He was even too fast for little Tails to hit. Tails kicked at Mushu but Mushu swiped his arm up at Tails and hit his foot, causing Tails to cartwheel backwards in midair. Mushu then kick-slammed Tails into the floor. Ruben spun around in mid-air and kick-slammed Mushu on his head. Then Ruben grabbed Mushu by the throat and tossed him onto the floor front first. Mushu got back to his feet, opened his mouth and punched Ruben with his tongue. His tongue couldn't stretch as far as a frog's could but it packed quite a punch. Ruben rubbed his muzzle and blocked a blow from Mushu. Tails flew behind Mushu and kicked him. Mushu tail-whipped Tails and pushed Ruben away. Tails tail-whipped Mushu back but his tails weren't as hard as Mushu's tail so his tail whip didn't hurt Mushu much. Mushu roundhouse kicked Tails in the head and sent the poor little fox crashing into the floor. Ruben smacked Mushu in the jaw with a ninja style chop but Mushu retaliated with a kung-fu style chop. Ruben maybe strong but Mushu was stronger. Ruben was only novice at best whereas Mushu was a master so Mushu would win this fight, no matter how good a fight Ruben put up. Mushu tried to attack the water panther again but Ruben let him have it with two jets of water and Mushu was sent hurtling backwards.
"I may not be a master at kung-fu but I have water powers." said Ruben "That will be my one advantage over any kung-fu master."
Mushu climbed back to his feet and he tried to attack again but Ruben squirted him with some more water. However, Mushu was ready for him and he ploughed through the water as if it was nothing. Mushu let Ruben have it in the stomach with both fists and the water panther crashed into the wall. Tails tried to attack Mushu but Mushu gave the fox an uppercut that sent him hurtling backwards. Tails landed, luckily, on a cushion and he groaned in pain. Mushu advanced menacingly on Tails and he grabbed him by the neck. But before he could do anything, Dalon Tai prodded him rather sharply in the back and Mushu's nerves seemed to freeze up all at once. The iguana then fainted. Tails looked at Mushu in wonder and he prodded him. The iguana didn't move. He didn't even twitch. Nor did he even bat an eyelid.
"What did you do to him emperor?" asked Tails.
"I'm no kung-fu warrior but I learnt a special paralyzing move that causes the victim to freeze up for a long time." explained Tai "Only I know this move and I use it for defence rather then assault."
Bladefeather pushed Knuckles away and saw that Mushu had been subdued so he ran over to help the iguana. Tai stood in his way and prodded him sharply in the stomach. Bladefeather's nerves all froze up and he fainted too. Bladefeather was paralyzed just as Mushu was. Knuckles pulled the daggers that were pinning Amy to the floor out of the floor so Amy could stand back up and he wondered what had happened to the dagger-wielding falcon.
"Hey Tai, what happened to falcon boy there?" asked Knuckles.
"I paralyzed him." said Tai "He and Mushu won't be moving for a long time. Unless of course, Zira knows how to free them from this paralyzing prison I've put them in but we won't have to worry about them anymore."
Then suddenly, Sonic the Hedgehog crashed through the wall and rolled about on the floor before coming to a stop. Everybody gasped in horror at what just happened. Sonic groaned loudly and he tried to get back to his feet but he couldn't. Zira then leaped into the pagoda and stood over Sonic in triumph.
"As you can see scrubs from the west, I've just stomped your precious Sonic into submission." she taunted "Now you lot can surrender and let me conquer Chun-Nan or I'll kill Sonic."
"Forget it Zira!" screeched Tails "We will not let you conquer Chun-Nan! And look what's happened to your cronies by the way!"
He pointed at the paralyzed Bladefeather and Mushu. Zira looked at them and almost did a wild double-take.
"Wh-wh-what?" he spluttered "H-h-how did you d-d-do th-th-that?"
"I know a move that only I know and no one else does." said Tai, stepping forward "It's a nerve freezing move that paralyzes the victim for a while. If you do not leave this pagoda then I will be forced to paralyze you too Zira."
Zira was well and truly scared. That paralyzing move Tai knew was the only thing she feared and she did not want that to happen to her. She knew when she was beaten. It annoyed her though that she had done so well and yet she hadn't won yet. She grabbed Bladefeather and Mushu by their collars and hauled them onto her shoulders. She didn't seem to have much trouble carrying the two kung-fu masters.
"Fine! Have it your way!" she snarled "But I warn you, I will be back tomorrow afternoon! And this time, your nerve freezing move won't work on us because we'll be ready for it!"
She then ran off like a lightening bolt. Fong Zarr and the Yīnyǐng ninjas knew that this was retreat time to they fled along with Zira. Now the villains were gone, the Mobians could rest themselves and prepare for Zira's return. Amy ran to Sonic's aid and she helped the battered hedgehog get back to his feet.
"Sonic, are you OK?" she asked worriedly.
"Well getting beaten to a pulp by a kung-fu leopard does not suggest I'm OK." said Sonic in a snarky tone "But I'll live at least. Man that woman's tougher then I thought!"
"I'll go and get something to make you feel better." said Matilda, running out of the room as quick as she could.
Amy helped Sonic to walk over to the cushions and gently helped him sit down, being careful not to hurt him. Cream and Cosmo, who had been on the sidelines this whole fight, stared at Sonic's injuries and they were well and truly scared at what Zira did to Sonic.
"That Zira woman is too tough for Mr. Sonic to take on!" squealed Cream.
"If Sonic can't defeat Zira then all hope for Chun-Nan is lost." said Cosmo despairingly "This is the end of Chun-Nan. Nobody can defeat Zira."
"Not true child." said Tai sitting down on his cushion "There is one hope we still have."
"What's that then?" grunted Sonic, rubbing his arm.
"Zira slew all the clans in Chun-Nan." explained Tai "But shortly after her exile, a new clan formulated in the outskirts of Chun-Nan."
"A new clan?" asked Ruben "How come I don't know anything about this?"
"You left before the new clan formed child." said Tai "So you're not bound to know anything going on in Chun-Nan."
"Oh yeah." said Ruben "And what luck that is. A whole new clan! The prophecy states that Zira will be defeated by a member of a clan and someone else and maybe this new clan can take Zira out! After all, only a kung-fu master or a ninja master has a chance against her!"
"So where is this new clan and how do we get to it?" asked Sonic desperately.
"It's in the outskirts of Chun-Nan." explained Tai "An area not often visited by many so few know about the new clan. Getting to it will not be an easy job." he said in a despairing tone "The way to the clan is full of traps and challenges. You will have to rest up before you can go to it."
"OK emperor." said Sonic "So once we're all rested up, we can go and meet this new clan and get them to join us in our battle against Zira!"
"It will not be that easy my boy." said Tai "This clan may not be so willing to fight someone as deadly as Zira the Ruthless so when you meet this clan, you'll have to make their demands and respect their wishes. Do not rile them, an angry clan is greater then a pride of lions and you don't want to feel their full force."
"I understand emperor." said Sonic "Tomorrow's going to be hectic I can tell. I just hope this new clan is willing to help us save Chun-Nan or I'm going all the way over to the outskirts for nothing."
Sonic knew that tomorrow was going to be a very big day for him indeed…
A new ninja clan eh? Well this looks interesting. Join me next time as Sonic and Ruben go on an epic journey to find this so-called new clan and hopefully get them to help defeat Zira once and for all. Reviews are welcome.
