Sonic: The Tournament of Chaos
Chapter 8: The Echidna Guardian
The all out battle officially began as the two teams charged towards each other. Intent on sticking with their leader's strategy, Team Sonic split up to face their respective opponents in battle. The large stage provided enough space for both teams to engage in combat without interfering with the other. The crowd couldn't contain their excitement any longer, roaring with enough vocal strength to shatter the heavens themselves.
Knuckles was the first to meet his opponent on the bottle, coming face to face with the much larger panda. Pressing his namesakes together tightly, he prepared himself for a great battle.
"This isn't even gonna be close!" Tiny laughed with arrogance while shadow boxing, warming himself up for a great battle. Despite his large appearance, the panda moved surprisingly light on his feet. "I can beat you in two punches!"
Knuckles responded with a loud scoff. "We'll see about that!"
Intending to wipe the panda's smug grin off of his face, Knuckles charged forward with one hand stretched back, moving lightly on his feet to close the distance between them. He allowed Tiny to take a swing at him before making the first move. Knuckles slid under the panda's arm and with one determined roar, he landed a devastating blow into the panda's stomach. The force of this attack carried enough weight to shatter boulders.
Knuckles gawked in surprise as his attack left no effect. He slowly raised his head, meeting the grinning panda who looked down upon him. The boxer reared back his arm, his fist tightened to deliver a powerful uppercut. The echidna's eyes widened with horror. "Oh no."
He threw both arms up in a desperate attempt to cushion the blow. The panda's strike launched Knuckles through the air, forcing a cry of anguish to escape his mouth as he flew through the air. Fearing the force was enough to knock him out of the match so early, he swickly regained his confidence and repositioned himself midair, gliding forward with both fists outstretched.
Knuckles landed in front of the panda, slowly standing up while rubbing under his chin. "Lucky shot."
"Back for more?" Tiny chuckled. "Bring it on, pipsqueak!"
While the Guardian of the Master Emeralds fought against the heavyweight panda, the rest of his team continued their own battles. As predicted by Shadow, Tabitha the Owl took to the air, eager to use her ariela abilities against those who couldn't fly. Keeping with their strategy, Rouge took to the air and engaged her opponent, slamming her leg into the owl's chest. The force briefly knocked her back, but not enough to deter her confidence. The owl grinned and removed her hat and coat, casting them aside as she welcomed her opponent to challenge her.
"So, you're a bounty hunter?" Rouge questioned with curiosity.
"The very best," Tabitha declared. "No matter the danger, all of my targets fall before me. You're lucky we are under the tournament rules. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have to use my true strength."
Unfazed by her threats, Rouge gripped her hips and laughed. "Bounty hunter? You should take up a career in comedy."
Tabitha responded with a sarcastic chuckle. She twisted her neck around, the pressure forcing her joints to crackle loudly. "Show me what you can do then, treasure hunter…"
Sonic raced forward towards the lone wolf standing in the battlefield, greeting him with a small wave. "Hey there! I'm Sonic. Ready to get going?"
Chax shot him a glare while crossing his arms, seemingly disinterested in social talk. Struggling lightly, Sonic raced forward and launched forward. As the gap between them closed in rapid speed, the blue hedgehog's eyes widened with surprise as he failed to land a strike. He spun around, awestruck to see Chax now standing behind him without any trace of concern. "Did… Did he just move before I could hit him?"
Praying this was just a fluke, Sonic spun around and charged once more. Using the momentum of his super speed, he bounced forward and curled into his signature homing attack. Once more he failed to land his intended blow, only this time his opponent decided to counter. Chax outstretched one hand, catching Sonic and hurling him away. Fortunately, Sonic regained his footing before he was eliminated, the heels of his sneakers sliding sharply against the ground.
Clutching his fists tightly, Sonic maintained his smile to mask his growing concerns. "This guy means business. I don't know how he can move fast like that, but I need to be careful."
While one hedgehog stood his ground, his former rival faced off against the mysterious pangolin. His opponent waved both hands backwards, daring the Ultimate Lifeform to make his move. Grinning with anticipation, Shadow humoured the pangolin's challenge. He raised one hand and snapped his fingers, forming a spear-shaped energy construct. "Chaos Spear!"
He hurled the spear forward without concern for his opponent's well-being. Vath grinned before throwing both arms forward. The scales surrounding his back deflected the powerful beam of energy. Unharmed by the attack, Vath grinned and leapt forward, swiping his razor sharp claws towards Shadow.
The Ultimate Lifeform dodged each strike with ease. Somewhat concerned with his Chaos abilities having no effect on the pangolin's durable scales, changing strategies was his only option. He waited patiently for the moment to strike, slapping Vath's hand away before driving his foot into his chest. Against all odds, Vath seized Shadow's ankle within his free hand, restraining the hedgehog in place. Unfazed by this counterattack, Shadow threw up his other foot, striking the side of his opponent's face. While the kick lacked any damaging effect against his opponent's powerful scales, it was enough to force Vath to release his hold.
The pangolin softly rubbed his scales, chuckling lightly with amusement. "It's not everyday you get to face the Ultimate Lifeform in battle."
"I don't know what I'm looking forward to more: knocking you out of the ring or wiping the smug look off your face," Shadow replied, his voice filled with confidence.
Vath rubbed his razor sharp claws together. "Is that so? Then what are you waiting for? Show me what you can do. Ultimate Lifeform."
Shadow grinned, racing forward to meet his opponent in battle once more. He avoided the smaller fighter's swipe, landing a low strike into his chest. The front area of his body lacked the armoured scales protecting him from harm. Despite this, his skin was incredibly durabile. Shadow's strike did little to deter him from fighting. Vath responded in kind by curling himself into a ball, his razor sharp scales appearing as rapid saw blades. Forced to move away for now, Shadow held a calm demeanour while using his skates to avoid the pangolin's deadly strikes.
Blaze prepared to engage her own opponent. The mysterious Queen Serenity continued to stare the princess down with determination. Refusing to be intimidated by her opponent, Blaze returned the glare with flames forming around her hands.
"You must be Princess Blaze of the Sol Empire," Serenity noted with interest. "I must say, it is truly an honour to meet you."
Blaze refused to respond, undecided if her opponent was genuine in her compelimients or simply mocking her. Without responding, Blaze twirled on her tiptoes and hurled a ball of fire towards the queen. Anticipating this attack, Serenity threw out her own hand. As expected, a single ice blast formed from her palm, hurling forward with frightening speed. Their attacks struck each other halfway, cancelling each other out, evaporating into thin air. This confirmed Blaze's theory: her opponent wielded ice manipulation.
"Impressive," Serenity noted. "The rumours are true: your heart is alight with flames. However, I can see in your eyes you are nowhere close to your true potential. Such a shame."
Refusing to hold her tongue, Blaze finally responded sharply. "What are you insinuating?"
"Is it not obvious?" Serenity questioned, truly surprised to see the princess' reaction to her comment. She shook her head disappointedly. "You are still so young. I want you to understand I take no personal satisfaction in your inevitable defeat."
Unable to contain her rage any longer, Blaze summoned her pyrokinetic powers, surrounding herself in an aura of burning flames. She charged forward like an enraged bull. Her fists swung forward, landing two hits into the queen's torso. The blows did nothing to deter Serenity's confidence. Scarcely reacting to the strikes, she restrained both of Blaze's wrists within her cold grip, extinguishing her flames with ease. Blaze roared and thrashed widely, desperately trying to pull herself free.
Serenity maintained a solid grip on the princess' wrists, leaning forward with a mocking grin. "You're going to have to do better than that."
Blaze narrowed her eyes towards the queen's jeering stare. "As you wish!"
Flames formed under Blaze's foot, granting her enough power to drive her knee directly into the queen's chin. The impact forced Serenity to release her hold, stumbling back lightly. Blaze shook her hands to drive away the cold sensation, taking up a combat stance.
Serenity rubber her chin softly, showing no signs of anger towards the painful strike. She formed her grin once more. "Much better. Shall we continue?"
Within the centre of the stage, Espio and Revon stood opposite of each other. Recognising the other as disciplined martial artists, the two cupped their hands and bowed respectfully towards the other.
Espio slid into his stance, eyes narrowed and feet positioned firmly into the ground. "Ninjutsu."
Revon followed suit, outstretching one harm while the other tucked closely against his chest. "Muay Thai."
Without saying another word, the martial artists met each other halfway in the ring as they engaged in battle. Their battle began swiftly as they used a combination of punches and kicks to try and gain an advantage over the other. So far, they were equally matched. None showed any interest in gaining the upper hand. Both warriors held stoic expressions, refusing to show any trace of emotion. This was a battle of honour, one where their personal feelings couldn't interfere with their match. For now they studied each other's abilities, searching for weaknesses in their respective styles.
Excited at the opportunity to face someone with similar abilities to his own, Silver approached the mysterious jackal. "Hi there! Ready to get going?"
Ozor grinned in response before throwing out his arm to the side. His arm surrounded itself with a blazing blue aura, forming his inner telekinetic energy into a piercing energy blade around his hand.
"Whoa!" Silver said with amusement, admiring the jackal's weapon while oblivious to its nature. "That's pretty cool."
Without warning, Ozar swiped the blade directly towards Silver's head. Whelping with surprise, the future hedgehog narrowly avoided the strike by instinctively ducking with both arms covering his head. Ozor swiped a second time, now throwing the weapon down vertically. Silver launched himself backwards, creating distance between them. His opponent was a close up fighter, and a dangerous one at that.
"Are you crazy?" Silver exclaimed. "You could have taken my head off!"
"Relax," Ozor said nonchalantly. "It's more blunt than it looks. It won't cut through your head, but it will give you a nasty headache by the time we're done, boy!"
The jackal bounced forward, tucking the energy blade against his chest. The distance between them shortened as Ozor readied his weapon, swiping once more. Now prepared to make a stance, Silver threw out his hands and formed a Shield of Light. Their respective psychic abilities collided, fragments of energy sparking loudly upon impact. Ozor dispersed his energy blade, now forming large energetic fists around his arms. He struck against the hedgehog's shield, creating sickening roars with every strike.
Unable to break through the shield, Ozor stepped back with one hand outstretched. Silver's eyes widened as energetic chains formed from the stage, wrapping tightly around his torso. Ozor directed the chains to launch the defensive hedgehog across the stage, cackling with joy as he raced forward to continue the battle.
Knuckles lunged at Tiny with an extended closed fist, but the panda caught the punch in his giant gloves. What amazed Knuckles was that Tiny didn't even have to use any of his effort; this would be tougher than he thought considering how powerful Tiny was.
Swiftly, Knuckles aimed his other fist low at Tiny's chest, just managing to land the hit into the panda's gut. Tiny finally doubled over and couldn't avoid Knuckles bringing both fists down on his head, sending him smashing into the ground, landing with a large thud.
Keeping his guard up, Knuckles resided himself for the panda to recover. Before he could react, he did not expect Tiny's fist to suddenly connect against his side, forcing him across the battlefield once more. As Tiny charged to where Knuckles was going to land, Knuckles spun around and threw himself onto the ground, stopping short of colliding with the boxer's fist.
"You're gonna need more than that to bring me down!" Knuckles said as he stood proud and glared at the powerful fighter.
Tiny lowered his fist with a chuckle. "What's wrong? Do you need a minute?"
Knuckles growled but refused to give in to his anger. For once in the echidna's life, Knuckles forced himself to keep a clear head. The more frustrated he grew with his lack of progress, the more chance his opponent had to beat him. He scanned the area with caution, eyes widened and senses on high alert. Against the likes of Tiny, he couldn't afford to let his guard down for a second.
He struggled to adapt to Tiny's more practical boxing techniques. Knuckles couldn't risk going head to head with the giant panda. Keeping static in this fight left him open to attack. His opponent was not only larger and just as strong, but actually very well trained and experienced. The only chance Knuckles had to win was to keep his movements unpredictable and wear the panda down with endless persistence.
Suddenly, he snapped his head upwards as Tiny charged forward. Even as he prepared to counter, Tiny's fist collided with his face. He mocked Knuckles as he blocked the echidna's next attack, landing a powerful right hook into Knuckle's face. The echidna responded by jabbing his opponent in the face before dodging Tiny's next punch, using the opportunity to circle behind him.
Knuckles punched Tiny down into the ground and bounced forward, attempting to deliver a crippling blow. Somehow using his surprisingly flexible speed, Tiny turned around and smirked as he pointed a single fist towards the approaching Knuckles. Moving his body to try his best to avoid the blow, Knuckles was unable to make the attack miss his body. It struck against his hip, forcing him to land on the ground while clutching his injury.
He silently cursed himself, knowing that the previous attack could have shattered his bones with enough force. Fighting through the pain with the help of his adrenaline, the two charged at each other, their fists colliding. The combined attack knocked both fighters backwards, but Knuckles suffered the worst as he rubbed his fist while Tiny merely stumbled.
"You're outmatched!" Tiny taunted, his voice filled with hostility. "Give it up before I really have to get serious!"
His taunts lacked conviction as Knuckles pressed himself to his feet, shakely bringing up his namesakes. Tiny growled with frustration as he charged forward, unleashed a flurry of combos onto the guardian; each punch was more powerful than the last. Knuckles did his best to block all of them, but Tiny was relentless in his onslaught. With no escape, Knuckles held on, forcing himself to sidestep to avoid reaching the end of the stage.
From the spectator's perspective, Tails and Amy could only watch in horror as their friend was beaten mercilessly by the giant panda. The sight was a horrifying experience yet they could not take their eyes from the battle.
"He's getting killed out there!" Amy exclaimed, her voice filled with concern. She jumped to her feet, cupping both hands against her mouth. "Knuckles! Back away! He's too strong!"
The crowd's cheers drowned out her pleas. Knuckles knew there was no one coming to help him. His teammates were occupied with their own battles ahead. He was infuriated, cursing himself for this poor performance. He was the Guardian of the Master Emeralds, a proud warrior who stared death in the face more times than he could count. Angel Island, the ARK, Metal Overlord, the Nocturnus Clan, Infinite. He overcame those odds with pure determination.
Today would be no different.
In a fashion that only one in a million could have pulled off at such speed, Knuckles brought his fist back, sending it smashing into Tiny's eye. Tiny roared in anguish as he backed off, clutching one hand over his injury. Distracted with his wound, Knuckles charged and did not hesitate to fight back, striking hard and swift into the giant panda, aiming specifically for the most vulnerable areas. Still nursing his injured eye, Tiny endured each strike, groaning with anguish with every punch. Summoning one final strike, Knuckles landed a direct blow to the side of Tiny's chest, feeling the ribs break upon impact.
Tumbling over with a loud roar, Tiny held one arm of his chest to prevent further injury while shoving the guardian away with his other hand. Knuckles stumbled backwards, but took this as an opportunity to briefly rest. Without so much as blinking, he watched as Tiny raised his head, revealing the true extent of damage that had been done. His left eye was now deeply bruised, partially blinding him.
Knuckles felt a surge of confidence grow within himself as he watched Tiny's expression drop. The panda no longer wore his arrogant grin. His face now filled with concern, realising he had deeply underestimated the echidna's strength. Using this opportunity to move onto the offensive, Knuckles sped forward and swung his arms forward, striking for his opponent's weaker areas.
Tiny fought off the rapidly shot attacks but was so engrossed in the moment that he failed to see Knuckles hurling towards him, headbutting him before he could react. Dazed, Tiny was unable to properly protect himself from Knuckle's fist, and then a haymaker that sent him onto the ground. He sprung to his feet while continuing to hold pressure against his damaged ribs. He briefly glanced towards the large monitor hanging above the stage, noting one of the cameras was focused on capturing his impending defeat.
Seeing the doubt captured over his face, this awakened the panda's inner fury. He smashed himself on the head, forcing adrenaline to course through his veins. He didn't work his way up to become heavyweight champion of the world to lose to a weaker opponent. He took up his southpaw stance and attacked, launching his arms forward.
Anticipating this attack, Knuckles blocked his first swipe before striking into the panda's bicep. Tiny threw his second arm forward, only for Knuckles to repeat a similar attack. He continued repeating this counterattack as if it were a choreographed routine, repeatedly attacking the panda's greatest weapon: his arms. With every strike, Tiny felt his arms lock up and retreated. He shook his arms, desperately trying to retain the feeling. The echidna's precise attacks left his arms crippled, unable to raise them properly.
Intending to finish this battle now, Knuckles advanced forward, landing a devastating blow to his leg before stomping both his namesakes firmly against his torso. Tiny wheezed while the breath was knocked out of him, further tightened as Knuckles grasped him around the throat and forced him to stumble backwards. Tiny barely recovered, coughing with heavy breaths as he tried to gather his bearings. From this moment forward, he knew the tide had been turned against him.
The devastating punches on Tiny's arms had left him vulnerable. He threw up his arms to cushion the next attack, but Knuckle's persistence allowed him to push past the defence. He struck one fist directly into Tiny's ear, leaving the boxer disoriented. Grasping the panda within his arms, Knuckles roared and hurled the much larger opponent over his back. Tiny slammed against the ground with a devastating thud. He stood over the panda and repeatedly jabbed towards his face. Desperately trying to sustain the force, Tiny threw up his arms to block. Deep down, he knew this fighter was over.
Knuckles continued pounding on the panda's face until his arms slipped down. Tiny's eyes closed, his head slumped sideways and slipping off into an unconscious state. Caught in the moment, Knuckles slowly stepped backwards as the tournament's staff raced onto the stage to check on the panda's well-being. He was unresponsive to their commands, but a soft breathing confirmed he was still alive. In spite of the resentment he held against Tiny for his endless mockery, Knuckles held his strength back during the final moments, refusing to leave permanent damage. He was a warrior, not a monster.
"Tiny the Panda has been eliminated!"
Exhaling with relief, Knuckles dropped to his knees as Tiny was carried away by the tournament's officials. The adrenalina slowed down, the injuries he sustained now beginning to take effect. He slowly raised his head towards the audience, spotting Tails who cheered for his victory. Knuckles weakly raised one fist in response, relieved to see his friend's hadn't lost fate in his success.
At that moment, Rouge's voice bellowed his name. "Knuckles, look out!"
The echidna turned at the final second, throwing his arms out at the final second. Powerful energy pushed him into the air, the maniacal laughing of a familiar jackal ringed through the air. Ozor held one hand towards Knuckles, pushing the guardian further into the air, all the while he held Silver back. The hedgehog had his wrists restrained in energetic chains connected from the stage, struggling to break free from the jackal's hold over him.
The battle against the boxer left the echidna drained off any reserved energy. He weakly swung both of his namesakes forward, but they lacked the previous weight to do any effects. The energy beam carried the echidna out of the stage. Even as the beam of energy stopped, Knuckles lacked the stamina to glide to safety. He dropped towards the water, smacking against the deep water with a devastating impact.
"And contestant Knuckles has been eliminated as well!"
The tournament's staff were on standby, swiftly leaping into the water. They carried Knuckles to safety, gently setting him to one side while attending to his injuries. Despite extensive bruising, he was otherwise unharmed. The tournament staff cleared him as safe, allowing Knuckles to return to the arena with one of the mobile platforms. He joined Amy and Tails within the bleachers.
"You did great, Knuckles," Tails praised, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. A sharp growl emitted from the guardian as Tails inadvertently touched one of the several injuries covering his body. "Oops, sorry."
Without another word, Knuckles sat in silence with both arms crossed. While disappointed in himself for being the first one of their team to be eliminated, he felt comfort with the knowledge he had been able to take out one of the opposing team's members, a strong one at that. From this moment forward, it was up to the rest of Team Sonic.
Rouge watched the events transpire from her aerial position. She had tried desperately to warn Knuckles of the approaching attack. This momentary distraction had allowed Tabitha to sneak behind her, restraining Rouge within a full nelson. They continued to battle at a high altitude away from the other fighters.
"Aww, was he your boyfriend?" Tabitha teased.
"Boyfriend? I would rather kiss a frog!" Rouge exclaimed defensively. She swung her head backwards, striking the owl's beam. The impact loosened her hold, allowing the bat to spin around and slam her foot against Tabitha's face. Despite her previous declaration, she cared for Knuckle's well-being. The two were at odds many times in the past, but whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were friends who stuck by each other against all odds.
Meanwhile, Ozor roared with laughter as he eliminated the guardian from the tournament. "Too easy! I could have done that with my eyes closed!"
Silver, unable to save Knuckles from the jackal's cheap attack, growled with anger. His kind demeanour vanished, now replaced with the fiery rage of his true self. This sparked his psychokinesis powers, surrounding the hedgehog in a large aura of energy. The raw energy granted him the strength to break free from his bonds. He roared, shattering the energy chains to pieces. This caught Ozor's attention, slowly turning around to meet the future hedgehog's burning gaze.
"Take this!" Silver roared.
He swiped his hand to the side, creating a Psychic Knife within his grasp. He threw the Psychic Knife forward with a swing of his hand, striking the jackal backwards. The wide cyan wave carried him across the stage. Ozor broke free of the attack, cackling widely with blue energy surrounding his arms.
"Not bad, kid!" Ozor praised, his tone filled with sarcasm and approval. "Let's see what else you can do!"
With the elimination of two fighters, the teams continued to hold the same number of contestants against each other. Despite Knuckle's victory, Team Sonic knew there was caution to follow. Their opponents had proven to be far deadlier than they anticipated. Each member of Team Etastie wielded incredible abilities that rivalled, if not surpassed, Team Sonic's strengths. From this moment forward, it was an all out battle.