Chapter 6 already… We'll be up to the first match in two days.

This was around the time when I came back from vacation… And noticed the topic on the boards had received some additions while I was gone. My initial reaction was of a bit of anger… I had started this up with a definite storyline in mind, and I thought that these new additions that people had made would do nothing but mess me up.

However… I read them. And I liked them. And I realized… This wasn't something I could do myself.

So I immediately contacted BigCow, Furious J, and StopPokingMe, the three writers you saw fics from in the last three chapters. They agreed to a joint effort, and the writing team as we know it was born.

Later that day… I received an email from a reader. A Sonic fan, in fact… And that was notable to me, because having 4 Sonic characters in the project with none of the four established authors knowing about the Sonic team much was a problem. He offered his services as a writer… And I just took it on faith from his email (from grammar, stating, etc.) that he would work for the project.

He did not disappoint. This chapter is about the events of Day Twenty-Nine in the project's time, two days before the first match. Dan Bonez, the Sonic fan I spoke of, made his debut with this fic, and I contributed my first fic since my return… A story about events at Tom Nook's store.

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DAY TWENTY-NINE

A large gust of wind flew by, ruffling the leaves of a great big tree outside of the humongous stadium set to house the great character battle. Sitting under this tree was a familiar, yellow, two-failed fox. His name was Miles Prower, but he preferred to be called by his nickname, "Tails". Right now, Tails's big blue eyes were fixated on a stopwatch he held in his hand, as a blue streak flew by again, followed by another large gust of wind. "ONLY ONE MORE LAP TO GO SONIC!" Tails yelled. He had been doing this all day with Sonic… That is, timing to see how quickly he could run fifty laps around this massive stadium.

Only seconds after the words left his mouth, the gust of wind flew by once again and Sonic was standing in front of him. "What's my time, lil' buddy?" said Sonic, grinning confidently, adjusting his spines that had become ruffled during his run.

"Only 34.3 seconds this time, Sonic. You cut about ten seconds off compared to your last run," Tails reported astutely, pressing a button the stopwatch to clear the time.

"Yeah, this time I didn't trip on that little monkey in a ball!" Sonic interjected. He took a seat next to Tails and began fiddling with one of the bright golden buckles on his shoes.

"You want to go again Sonic?" Tails said, hopefully. They had taken turns helping each other get ready for their upcoming matches. Tails would time Sonic as he ran around the stadium, or a few times, they raced against each other, with Tails doing his best to keep up with Sonic. They even sparred a little bit. They never did anything too hard though; Sonic always said Tails was too young. Tails looked over at Sonic, who seemed preoccupied trying to remove a smudge of dirt from his shoe. "Sonic?" Tails asked, nudging him a little to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry. Nah, not today bud... I don't think this running laps is gonna help my chances much. I'm already the fastest guy here," Sonic said, confidently. "Maybe I should go work with Knuckles some more. I could use a little strength training."

Tails looked down at the ground and began playing with the grass, a little saddened. "Can I come this time?" He asked hopefully, but he already knew what Sonic's answer would be.

"You're a little too young to be sparring with me and Knuckles. And you know how Knuckles is when he's sparring. He takes that stuff way past serious." Tails had already heard this a million times in the past few weeks. It's always, you're too little, and he was getting a little frustrated. He wished he were strong like Knuckles, or super-fast like Sonic sometimes. He could fly, but that wasn't much of an advantage when you had to fight a guy with a big sword.

Sonic hopped up off the ground. "I'd better go catch Rad Red before he starts climbing up that stadium again. I hate waiting for him. He's too dang slow!" Tails stood up too and before Sonic could dash off, he stood in front of him.

"How am I supposed to win my match if I don't spar with you and Knuckles. I'll never be strong enough, you know," Tails said, crossing his arms over his chest and using his best "pouty" face.

Sonic scratched his head, and then looked down at Tails, his lips stretching into that familiar Sonic smirk. "Look, Tails... I don't know everything but... this tournament is not about who's the fastest, or strongest. It's about using your abilities the best you can. You don't have to be something you are not." Sonic's words were not reassuring; they just brought up more questions.

"But all I can do is fly! How am I supposed to win a fight by just flying around?" Tails complained, letting out a little of his frustration. Tails stared up at Sonic's big green eyes, hoping that Sonic would take him along. "Tails.." Sonic started, "That's not all you can do. I'd bet you're smarter than anyone here, especially when it comes to building things. You showed Robuttnik up a bunch of times with your inventions and all he DOES is build robots! So, use that!"

----

Business was booming at Nook's.

Most of the characters in the so called "North Division", which had nothing to do with location, but just consisted of 16 random characters from the tournament, were now stocking up on everything that they would need for the coming matches. In the coming week, they would have their first battles of the tournament... And for half of them, their last.

Tidus and Yuna were in the shop, as usual. The duo and Nook had grown to be very good friends, and it turned out that the two of them spent a lot of time in the shop just talking to Nook and the various people that were shopping. To the disdain of Auron, the red-clad warrior had barely been able to drag Tidus away from the shop and Yuna to train, as Tidus just didn't want to be separated from Yuna. Tidus knew that he could be gone forever from Yuna again, and banished to the Farplane, within only a month of seeing the love of his life again.

But Ganondorf, sneering at Tidus from the corner of Nook's store, did not care for the emotions of Tidus. He wanted to advance to the next round, and the idea of breaking Tidus's heart in two places, both Tidus's competitive spirit and his desire to be with Yuna, did not feel Ganondorf with evil... It filled him with glee.

Ganondorf was pure evil.

Ganondorf, still wearing his sneer, walked up to Tidus, who was chatting with Tom Nook about the swords and katanas at the store, and interrupted the blonde-haired man.

"Enjoying your last few days here, kid?"

Tidus's face started out in a shocked grimace, shocked that even Ganondorf would be this so malicious to him... But his face changed to his cocky smile quickly enough. He had trained himself to stay happy... And he would stay that way.

"Don't you think you're being a little hasty in your confidence of victory, man? My sword and magic is just as powerful as anything you've got."

"Yeah, right. Better say goodbye to all your friends before you leave, kid, cause your time in the stadium with me will be your last. You'll never see your precious girlfriend again, how do you lik..."

Tidus's face, gradually contorting with fury, turned into a visage that signaled of how he was likely about to go into complete rage... But he did not. Before Tidus and Ganondorf came to blows, someone slipped between them.

Someone with a scythe.

Magus, the last of ancient Zeal, faced Ganondorf with an iron gaze. He had watched the verbal fight between the Zanarkand boy and the enemy of Hyrule, and it had finally gone too far for his liking.

"What's wrong, Magus? Why aren't you fighting off the heroes like all villains should, and siding with me?" Said Ganondorf, that sneer still on the villain's face.

Magus said nothing to this at first. He just closed his eyes for a minute, and kept his face determined. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open... And they weren't their old color. They had gone jet black.

"Get. Out."

Magus's anger had never been more pronounced, in any other time people had seen him. Shocked at this sudden fury, Ganondorf backed away, the sneer suddenly gone.

"What's wrong, Magus? Feeling for the kid? Emotion's a weakness! Anyone who feels emotion in fighting is bound for failure!"

Magus was past words now. A tiny black hole was starting to grow in his hand, and as it started to grow bigger than Magus's hand, Ganondorf's eyes widened. He ran out the door as quickly as he possibly could, and even then, only just missed being sucked into the black hole that had been flung at him as he left. But as was his nature… He shot one look of pure malice at Magus as he fled the shop. It was clear that the warlock would not forget the events of this day.

In awe, Tidus, Yuna, Nook, as well as Luigi, Fox, and Pikachu, who had also been in the shop, stared at the blue haired wizard. It took a minute for the warlock to be fully calm again, and when it was, he turned to Tidus.

"I only helped you because I can identify with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Just beat him."

Magus left the store, in a flash of light. He had teleported off to the cliff... Where he could be calm. The ranting of a crazy villain, dead set on separating the boy from all he cared of… It wasn't nice to watch. And it was all too familiar.

Tidus was still glum, once Magus had left. The words of Ganondorf had brought things home for the blonde-haired man, and his cheerful attitude was gone.

"It's alright," whispered Yuna, peacefully. "Everything'll be alright... Don't worry. Don't let him get to you."

The tanuki at the counter, Tom Nook, nodded.

"Underestimating someone is what makes people lose the most, Tidus. If he keeps that mindset, you'll beat him, I know you will."

"It's-a going to be alright for you-a..." Luigi added, as the plumber left Tidus, who was calming down.

"I won't let him get to me. I'll just beat him," Tidus said, with his old confidence. "Maybe it's good that I hate him. It makes things easier."

Luigi returned to the magic enhancement aisle of Nook's store, where Fox and Pikachu were shopping. Well, Fox was shopping. Pikachu was just knocking random things off the store tables.

"Pikachu, you can't beat me if you can't use those items," said the smiling Fox, as he saw Pikachu's hopeless antics.

However, the little electric rodent was not so sure. Welling up energy in his cheeks, he unleashed thunder upon Fox, as well as blowing a small hole in Nook's roof.

Mr. Resetti popped up from the floor as if on command as Pikachu finished his attack on Fox, and he saw the little Pokemon's grin. It didn't take long for the mole to put two and two together, and figure out the cause of the destruction.

"Out! Out! Vandal!"

All the customers of the store laughed as Pikachu was chased out of the shop by the pickaxe-wielding mole, with Luigi's high pitched laugh sticking out.

But their eyes were still on the prize. For Nook, he wanted his shop to be a success. For Luigi, he wanted to prove something to his brother. For Pikachu, it didn't know what it wanted to do. For Tidus and Yuna, they just wanted to stay together as long as they could.

But Magus, Ganondorf, Fox, and a few others were here for only one reason. To win. And their trials would begin within the week.

----

Sonic sped by across the stadium grounds, causing a few people to turn their heads at the blue streak and the sudden gust of wind, wondering what it was. He had accidentally stepped on some squirrel's tail on the way. "Who just touched my ***?" The foul-mouthed squirrel blurted out quickly, but Sonic was already too far away to hear the response, and he could care less. He was busy looking around for Knuckles. He'd dash a few yards, stop, and yell out for him, and waiting a little for a response. After about ten minutes of that, he stopped, put his gloved-hands on his hips, and tapped his foot on the ground. "Where the heck is Knuckles?"

"Who ya lookin' for?" The voice from behind startled Sonic slightly. Sonic turned on his heel and saw a human walking towards him, finely dressed with dark, slicked back hair.

"I'm looking for a red echidna called Knuckles. Seen him?" Sonic asked, raising a blue brow.

"What the hell is an echidna?" The man asked in return, genuinely perplexed.

"I guess you haven't seen him then."

"Maybe I'll run into him. Knuckles, you say his name was? Sounds like a tough guy to me. My kinda guy." The man said, nodding his head.

"Tough guy? Rad Red? Ha! He wishes." Sonic scoffed, still looking around to see if he could catch sight of his friendly nemesis. The man just chuckled at Sonic's response. Suddenly, a little commotion was heard off in the distance behind a few bushes. Sonic dashed over there, reaching the bushes in a split second. "Caught ya Red!" But, it wasn't Knuckles who emerged from the bush. It was that strange monkey in a ball that Sonic had run into earlier. He looked like he was running from someone; or, rolling from someone. Only a few seconds later, the ninja clad in yellow and black came chasing after the monkey-ball. Sonic tried to remember his name... Scorpion, was it?

"GET OVER HERE! You crazy monkey!" Scorpion shouted, chasing off after the monkey, shooting a hook and rope out of his forearm. The man with the greased hair came up running behind Sonic, huffing and puffing. "You know...-huff-... you're pretty fast for a porcupine."

Sonic glared over at the man, slightly offended that he couldn't even get Sonic's species right. "And you're pretty slow for a human. I ain't no porcupine pal. I'm a Hedgehog. And the name's Sonic."

"Porcupine, hedgehog, same difference to me man. I'm Tommy. Tommy Vercetti. Like I was saying, you're pretty damn fast." Tommy said, looking almost giddy, as he stared down at the blue hedgehog.

"Yeah, so? I'm fast. I know that. If you'll excuse me, I have to go find my big-knuckled bud-" Sonic was interrupted as Vercetti held up his hands in protest. "Wait wait wait, my little spiney friend. When I see a good opportunity, I go after it. And this looks like a good opportunity." Vercetti was still grinning like a Cheshire cat, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Sonic just ran a hand through his spines, looking a little confused.

"Opportunity?" Sonic asked.

"Let me explain a little bit. Ya see, everyone in this little tournament dealy has an advantage. You know, guns, strength, speed, hocus-pocus, all that crap. Me? I'm a thief... but, there's really nothing I can easily lift here, you know what I'm sayin'? Cars? Ain't here. Weapons? Guns-a-plenty, but all held by people I don't wanna get into it with. Cash? The only guy with cash is that crazy raccoon Nook, and he's in his store twenty four-seven."

Sonic nodded, now understanding what Vercetti was so excited about. "Ooooohh. So you want me.. To use my super speed and go steal some stuff for you?" Sonic said this with a hint of skeptism and sarcasm. He wasn't a petty thief.

"No no no, not just stuff, SPANK."

"Uhh... SPANK?" Sonic said inquisitively.

"Money, cash, dinero? You know, SPANK. Everyone's been in Nook's store and I bet he's got thousands of dollars just laying around. He's rolling in it!" Sonic could almost see dollar signs in Tommy's eyes.

"Yeah, whatever you say buddy. That is so not way past cool, and you are just cramping my style. Catch ya later, ga-" Vercetti interrupted his exit again, shouting something quickly before Sonic was about to dash off.

"I can make it worth your while!"

Sonic stopped, skidding on the ground a little, and looked back at Vercetti, intrigued. "How ya going to do that?"

"Well, word around the grapevine is that you lost that that space-chick all decked out in the armor last year at this thing. Must be tough, losing to a girl and all... "

Sonic reflected back on that match last year. He had beaten all of the previous opponents solely with his speed, catching them off-guard with some quick blows and his trademark Sonic Spin. He couldn't do that to Samus, however... mainly because of her armor and that tricky ice beam-thingy that froze Sonic in his tracks. He was hoping he would get a chance to face her again this year...

"I figured, you help me get some money, I can help you take her out of this tournament, Tanya Harding-style. A hammer busting up her suit could take care of her real quick."

Sonic grinned. He couldn't believe this guy... but, suddenly, he had an idea. Mischievous as he was, he couldn't resist doing it. "Tanya WHO!?" He blurted out, still grinning ear to ear.

"Nevermind that. So, whattya say? In or out?"

"In." Vercetti barely even got to hear what Sonic said before the blue blur sped off towards Nook's shop. Vercetti looked around, confused, but only moments later Sonic returned with a handful of cash.

"This what you had in mind?" Sonic said, grinning proudly, holding the stack of cash between his hands as if it were a trophy.

"Holy **** that was fast! Can you get more?" Vercetti reached at the money but Sonic moved back a little.

" I could, but I ain't going to." Vercetti ran a hand through his greased hair and looked down at the hedgehog, looking a little ticked off.

"Why the hell not?" Vercetti demanded, still trying to grab at the money, but Sonic kept moving out of his reach.

"Because... you're... a... CHUMP!" Sonic dashed off and began to run circles around Vercetti, creating a slight tornado of wind that hand enough force to lift Vercetti a few feet off the ground, and when Sonic stopped he landed straight on his butt. Sonic then jumped on Vercetti's chest and dangled the money in front of his face.

"Hey Tommy, did everyone ever tell you that you're ugly and you dress funny?" Tommy just shook his head "no", the expression on his face a cross of extreme rage and complete shock.

"Well, let me be the first... you're ugly and you dress funny!" Sonic flashed him a quick grin, and when Tommy tried to grab him the blue blur was gone with a gust of wind trailing behind him. He muttered a few curses under his breath and got up off the ground, wiping the dirt off his clothes, hoping no one else saw that embarrassing episode.

----

The long red spines belonging to Knuckles the Echidna shuddered as the wind blew by, leaving a chill down his neck. He sat down on at the edge of the stadium roof, looking down upon all the action on the grounds. Knuckles had been doing this all day, clinging to the wall using his knuckled fists, climbing up to this spot and watching over everything. Gliding from one side to the other, watching over everyone, studying them. Much like he had done as guardian of Angel Island, he let nothing escape his view.

Knuckles had been watching Sonic looking for him as well. He figured what Sonic wanted, more sparring, but Knuckles had no need for it. He was also a little tired of hearing Sonic's smack talk during their sparring sessions. What it really came down to was that Knuckles felt ready. More ready than he felt last year, when he lost, almost embarrassingly, to Solid Snake in the second round. It was mainly because he had failed to study Snake, but also because no one could ever find him. Knuckles grinned thinking that Snake could play a killer game of hide and seek.

As for this year, another unknown opponent, but he had studied her a little bit. He couldn't recall her name, but she did little training. She spent most of her time hanging around with that blonde haired guy with the funny yellow clothes. He looked down at the grounds again. He could still see Sonic, this time running around a man that Knuckles had met earlier, Tommy Vercetti. Knuckles thought little of him, and smirked a little bit at the embarrassment that Sonic had just dealt him. Knuckles thought that Sonic may have been a little out of control and annoying sometimes, but in the end Sonic always did the right thing.

"I see you are watching him too." A dark, raspy voice from behind Knuckles uttered. Knuckles recognized the voice to be that of Shadow. Shadow walked up next to him, his red eyes staring right at Knuckles. His red and black spines swayed in the wind.

"Shadow... how'd you get up here?" Knuckles inquired, genuinely surprised to see Shadow atop the massive stadium.

"You should know by now Knuckles, the power of my Chaos Control..." Shadow answered, looking back down at Sonic's antics. Knuckles had forgotten about Shadow's mysterious ability to teleport. For the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles surprisingly little about the source of Shadow's power.

Shadow began to speak again, his deep voice giving his words a presence that Knuckles couldn't begin to describe. "Look at him, fooling around down there. He lacks focus... a weakness that will be the downfall of him."

Knuckles just shook his head. "I stopped worrying about Sonic's actions a long time ago. It's best you focus on your own business and quit messing around in Sonic's." Sound words of advice, however strange it was for Knuckles to be offering them to Shadow.

"I plan on using this tournament to prove that I am the ultimate being. To prove that Sonic is nothing compared to me. So, how could I not "mess" in his business, as you put it?" Shadow looked down at Knuckles, who still had his legs dangling over the edge, watching the many participants mingling and training down below. He looked a little distracted as Scorpion continued to chase that monkey in a ball across the field.

"I guess if that's what you want to do, go for it, bub. Odds are unlikely that you and Sonic won't be meeting in the tournament at all, especially if I have anything to say about it." Knuckles stood up and was staring intently at Shadow. Shadow just laughed. "Strong words from a weak being who understands nothing of the powers of chaos," Shadow added, grinning. Knuckles sneered his gloved hands, sporting two large extruding knuckles, began to ball up into fists.

"Weak, am I? Well why don't I just show you how "weak" I am?" Knuckles gloated, but before he could make a move both he and Shadow were suddenly covered in ice from the neck down and could not move. Knuckles turned his head to wear the blast originated from and could see the metallic form of Samus Aran walking towards them, blaster arm raised... the other carrying her helmet.

"Boys, boys, boys. Wasn't last year enough fighting for you two? Honestly, Sonic do you have to-" Samus looked at Shadow. Knuckles figured she had mistaken Shadow for Sonic, which was quite easy to do. "Oh, you're not Sonic."

"A mistake you would do best to not make again. Now, release me from this ice." Shadow demanded, glaring over at Samus. Samus looked over at Knuckles, in disbelief.

"It's only temporary. It should wear off soon." And sure enough, right after she said it, movement returned to both of them. "I suggest, Knuckles that you are your friend here..."

"Shadow, and I'm no friend of his." Shadow interrupted.

"Okay.. Shadow. I suggest you save your confrontations for your tournament opponents. Mr. Vercetti almost got into a brawl with that squirrel with the potty mouth and both were almost suspended from the tournament." Samus told them, wisely.

"If that's the case... then we shall save this for another time, Knuckles." Shadow warned.

"You can count on it." Knuckles responded in kind, continuing to stare down the black hedgehog. Before anything else was said though, Shadow yelled out "CHAOS CONTROL" and in a brilliant flash of light he was gone. "What a jerk that guy is."

Knuckles sat down again and Samus sat down next to him. Knuckles looked over at here. "So, what brings you to my part of the roof?"

"I was actually looking for Sonic. My visor spotted you and Shadow up here, but I mistook him for Sonic. I wanted to wish him good luck, in case we happen to face each other again."

"It was a good match you two had last year. Too bad Sonic didn't bother to study any of his opponents."

Samus looked a little surprised. "He didn't have any knowledge of any of his opponents last year?"

Knuckles just shook his head. "He spent the whole time leading up to the tournament goofing around with Tails. He's taking it a little more seriously this year, however. I think the fact that he got beat by a girl hurt his massive ego. No offense."

Samus thought this was rather funny. "None taken." And then, there was a silence. As both of them continued to stare down at all of the contestants down below. Training, talking, playing... and Knuckles wondered if all the training was worth it? Last year he worked his body to the limit and still could not beat Snake. He wondered if there was something else involved in this competition... something... maybe he was missing? He looked over at Samus. She had done well last year, very well in fact. And Knuckles wondered if she had "it" the missing ingredient... the one thing that had lead those that had it to victory, and those that lacked it to defeat? Without word, without warning, he leapt off the roof and extended his hands, and began to glide above the grounds... off to study more of his opponents. In doing this, he hoped he could find that something about himself that he lacked. But with only days until the tournament... would there be enough time?