Chapter 2: Four Days Until Turmoil
Last time: Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails combined their powers to take down the devious masked fighter Klade. Klade had invited them to a battle via an annoymous note, and our heroes happily accepted. After failing to defeat Sonic and his friends, Klade admitted that his real purpose was to let Sonic know of a tournament being held in Dimenion 23. With Klade's master holding their friend Chris as a hostage, Sonic and friends had no choice but to join this tournament that calloborates the Dimensions' best to fight. With just four days until the Primo Battle Tournament, will our heroes be prepared for this tournament?
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails still remained in Emerald Coast after Klade had dissapeared back to Dimension 23. They now had to worry about beating some of the strongest warriors in all of the Dimensions. They didn't know a thing about these other fighters, so the best they could do was try to get stronger.
Knuckles had awoken several second after Klade had vanished, and Sonic told him all about the Primo Battle Tournament, and everything else he missed after he had got hit unconscience.
"So this Klade guy is part of some group competing in the Primo Battle Tournament, huh?" Knuckles was lying on his back, looking up at the sunny sky, with the sun's rays splashing on to his red fur.
"Yeah, but not only that, it seems his master controls the whole tournament. And for some strange reason, he wants Sonic to compete in it."
Sonic sneered, "If Zealous wants me to go to his dumb tournament and kick butt, I've got no problem doing that."
Unlike Sonic, Tails was worried about what they could encounter. "Like Klade said, we only have four days until one of their escorts comes to take us to Dimension 23. We need to prepare all we can. We don't know anything about this tournament."
Knuckles hadn't realized that they didn't really know much about other worlds, so he began to ponder the possibilties, creating monsters with huge corrputed teeth and sharp long horns. And to think, that he once thought other Dimensions were as much as a myth as Big Foot. "Listen Sonic, I don't think you and I will be enough to win this thing."
Sonic crossed his arms in front of him, "Why so pessimistic? We haven't even seen our competition and you're already worried."
"It's another Dimension," Knuckles reminded him, "we don't know what diabolical creatures lurk there."
Tails was furious, he couldn't believe Knuckles still didn't count him as part of the team. "May I remind you who it was that took Klade down!"
Sonic nodded, "Tails is just as important to our team as you are Knuckles, we can't count him out."
"Fine," Knuckles wanted to avoid arguing, "but he better be able to pull his own weight. I don't want him to have to have us save his hide in every match. He can't depend on us all the time."
"Hey! Knuckles, we're supposed to be a team. Tails should be helped if he needs it."
Knuckles turned so that his back was against them, "We don't know anything about this tournament. What if we have to fight one-on-one matches and Tails can't be helped? What happens when we lose because of him."
Sonic was on the verge of punching Knuckles directly in the face. He balled his fists at his side, and forced Knuckles to turn around. "What do you want us to do? Klade specifically told us that us three were supposed to show up! What happens when they see Tails isn't there?"
"What I'm trying to say Sonic, is that maybe we should get others to lend us a hand. We may have to resort to asking Shadow to help us."
"Forget that! Me and Shadow only worked as a team once, and we're still rivals. On top of that, we have no idea where he is. Us three should be more than enough to win this battle."
He gave in, Knuckles reluctantly agreed that only they would show up at the Primo Battle Tournament. He scowled at Sonic, and brought his fists to his face.
"Alright, we'll need to get to the top of our strengths in four days."
Sonic followed Knuckle's lead and jumped backwards. "Just like old times, huh Knuckles?"
Knuckles and Sonic both dashed toward one another, ready to collide fists. Ready to reach the peak of their powers. Ready to enter the Primo Battle Tournament.
So for four days, this went on daily. Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails explored all the possibilities of their powers. But where they ready for the Dimensions' best?
On day three, an escort of Dimension 23 appeared before Team Sonic, who were preparing for the tournament. Each one of them was battered when the escort found them on Emerald Coast.
"Hey look over there Sonic!" Knuckles was pointing to a man in a blue robe with a golden mask marked with a lion's head.
Tails groaned, "Not another masked fighter like Klade."
As the man came closer, they noticed he was riding a dragon too small for him. The dragon was dark green scaled with a purple under belly. The wings on the dragon were so miniscule, it was hard to believe it could carry itself, much less another being.
"Don't attack," he commanded, "I'm Brutis, your escort, escort number 42. Great Lord Zealous has asked me to teleport you to Dimension 23."
Tails shook his head, it couldn't have been today that they go to Dimension 23. According to his calculations, they still had more than a full day to train.
"What?" Sonic whined before anyone else.
"Yes, every team must compete in the preliminary rounds before entering the real Primo Battle Tournament. Now, join hands so I can teleport you. Wait a second, I'm forgetting something."
Brutis cocked his head upwards, trying to recall what he was missing. It took a moment for him to remember, "Ah, yes, I need your names and team name."
"I'm Sonic. This guy is Tails, and my other friend is Knuckles. You can call us Team Sonic."
"Ok, now it's time to go to Dimension 23, join hands."
All four grabbed hands, forming a small circle. Brutis began to call his teleportation powers to effect, and all four of them started glowing a bright yellow.
Knuckles squinted, "Are you guys ready?"
"I guess I should tell you guys you need to defeat two people to enter the competition, so only two of you will fight. Choose wisely guys, I'll be your guide through out the tournament."
Sonic grinned, "Looks like it's me and you Sonic. We're up first."
"Sorry to but in guys, but my powers are ready to teleport us. Here we go, hold on TIGHT!"
All three of them disinigrated from Earth, but more slow than Klade had. Team Sonic let out a shriek of insecurity. And within minutes, they were gone, and traveling through the Dimension rift.
"SONIC! My head is spinning! I can't see a thing."
Brutis warned, "Don't let go or you'll be lost in the time rift. This only lasts a few seconds."
Not too long after Brutis finished talking, they entered Dimension 23. Dimension 23 was not what either of them anticipated. It seemed similar to Earth, the sky was blue with white clouds and not some abnormal mixture of colors. The grass they stood on was a blend of various greens.
Knuckles stirred his head around, trying to relax his head once again. "Is this Dimension 23?"
Brutis was behind him, "Yes, this is my homeland."
"Where on Dimension 23 are we?" Sonic asked with deep curiosity.
"We're just a couple of steps from the arena where the preliminary battles are about to begin. Let's go!"
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails all followed Brutis and his dragon up a steep hill with well trimmed grass. At the top they found an arena made up of several layers of flagstone. Surrounding the arena were creatures from other dimensions, categorized in threes.
Tails gasped, "Look! Knuckles, Sonic! There are the other teams."
Sonic turned his head to gaze upon the other warrior in the tournament. He was excited, and anticipation filled inside of him.
All around them were creatures who expectedly different, but weren't the bizzare images they had picture in their minds. It seemed like they were variations of things they had seen in their home, but with slight alterations, such as boars walking on their hind legs.
Brutis interrupted their observations, "I'll do you guys a favor and try to score you guys a shot at round 1! I'll go talk to the leader of the preliminary, you better decide who fights first."
"How about I go in first, Sonic," Knuckles volunteered.
"I'm not sure, we don't know anything about any of the other competitors. How about I go in for a little test run? And if I lose, you can go in Knuckles and try to claim victory."
"Sonic," Tails broke in, "remember, if two of us lose we're out of the preliminary rounds."
Knuckles snickered, "He's right. How pathetic it would be for us to not even be able to win the preliminary rounds. Like I said Sonic, let me in first. I've been waiting to crush some skulls ever since Klade."
"Fine, fine, Knuckles, it seems you're not going to give in, you can go in first."
Knuckles smiled with pleasure, "Alright, thanks Sonic." He remembered that he agreed to let Tails be part of the team, "Hey, Tails, is this alright with you?"
Tails took all his fingers except his index and middle finger down, he poked them out so his hand appeared like two bunny ears. "No problem Knuckles. Good luck."
Brutis was returning from meeting with the leaders of the preliminary rounds. He came back with a joyous expression, which lead Team Sonic to believe he had granted them access to round 1. "Good news guys, every team fights at once, so I didn't need to bribe."
Knuckles clashed his fists together, and snarled, "Awesome, so when does this start?"
"In a matter of seconds. Looks like in this division it's Team Cuff, Team Coral, Team Harmony, and Team Pain. That makes six teams including you guys."
"That means there will only be three teams in the tournament. Why such a small number?" Tails asked.
"No, no, this is only your preliminary division, Tails. In the real tournament, there will be 32 teams," Brutis informed them.
A human with blonde hair came sprinting up the hill, sporting a black and white striped shirt and black sun glasses. He held a microphone in his hand and looked guilty.
"Hello ladies and gents!" He yelled into the phone, "Today we have the preliminary rounds of the Primo Battle Tournament! Are you all excited? You should be! ROUND 1 is about to begin! Teams, pick your first fighter to step into the fray."
Without hesitation, Knuckles flipped on to the arena, and began hopping on his feet, standing with his fists in front of his face.
The second fighter to enter the ring was a primate with an average human's body built, named Macario. Except he arrayed with dark sunglasses. He took his eye on Knukles, and smiled at him.
Knuckles stared back at the face covered by light tan hair, and kept focus. He had found his target, and Macario had his target.
Other fighters entered the large gray bed of stone Knuckles and Macario were ready to duel on. Knuckles paid no attention to the other fighters, and just kept his concentration on his target.
The announcer took a step into the middle of the ring, and holding the microphone near his mouth shouted, "Looks like al teams chose their first fighters. Remember two losses and you're out of the preliminary rounds! For Team Cuff: Clash, for Team Sonic: Knuckles, for Team Coral: Glory, Team Pain: Terror, Team Harmony: Macario! Get ready, this battle royal is about to BEGIN! GO!"
The referee quickly jumped out of the way to let the fighters brawl it out.
Sonic jumped into the air, full of excitement, "Let's go Knuckles!"
Tails joined in the cheering, "Knuckles, you can do it!"
Knuckles' target was only a couple of feet away. He noticed Macario was reaching into his skin, and pulled out three small black balls.
Macario grinned, "Get ready for this!"
The primate began to chuck a barrage of tiny black balls at Knuckles. Out of instinct, Knuckles began punching the dangerous spheres. The impact caused them to explode directly where Knuckles was standing. He fell backwards, losing his guard, and choking from the smoke they had released. He felt his back slam on to another fighter, and then a large fist sent him flying across the arena.
He heard Macario some where behind him after his motion ceased. "Foolish idiot, what kind of person tries to punch bombs?"
Knuckles slowly go to his feet and brushed the debris off his fur, "If I had known they were bombs, I wouldn't have punched them. One thing's for sure, you're definetly not a bomb."
He launched forward at full speed, preparing himself for an attack. Macario too launched toward Knuckles, only he was using his head instead of his fists.
Knuckles smiled, "Let's see if your head is as strong as my fist!"
Both of them collided, and Knuckles was the one to lose. The pain slipped all through his right hand up to his right shoulder. He stumbled backwards and landed on his back.
Macario was standing over him, towering Knuckles, "So you punch metal too, eh? What else do you do? Try to breathe under water?"
Knuckles brought his leg up and smashed it on to Macario's face. He quickly got to his feet, and dashed at Macario, when he was in range, he drove his fist into his stomach and ran past him.
Knuckles smiled, "Dare to taunt me now?"
Some where in the mix of other combatants, he could hear Sonic and Tails supporting him.
"Alright Knuckles! Keep doing that and you'll win in no time!" Sonic was shouting.
Knuckles turned his focus back on Macario, and to his surprise he was still not on the ground. At least he was in pain, Knuckles thought. Knuckles lept into the air, and before gravity could bring him down, a hand grabbed his ankle and slammed him on to the ground.
After the fall, Knuckles heard Tails cry his name out in the distance. He shook the pain off and slowly got to his feet. "Damnit! How could I have forgotten about the other competitors!" He scolded himself. He glanced over to see who had slammed him.
It was a hedgehog with spiky hair covering most of his face. It was the one from Team Cuff named Clash. He wore a red bandana over his mouth, and stood staring at the opponent he had hammered to the floor.
"I've eliminated that imbecile Macario for you and Glory. It's just you, me, and Terror left. You're my next target."
Knuckles clutched his fist, "In your wildest dreams, maybe."
Knuckles quickly got to his feet and slammed his fist into Clash's jaw and caused him to wallow a couple of steps back. Before he could regain balance, Knuckles landed another successful punch.
"Take that for winning it Clash!"
"Knuckles," Sonic called, "watch out behind you!"
If Sonic would have warned him a second later, Knuckles wouldn't have had enough time to roll out of Terror's large fist.
Knuckles spotted the cyborg made of purple robotic pieces. His skin was dark, and his dark hair was sloppy.
"Almost," he exlcaimed.
He launched forward another fist at Knuckles, but he again dodged it. Then another, and Knuckles dodged this one also.
"You're quick," Terror praised.
Knuckles was flattered, but it was going to take more than speed to knock the large cyborg off his feet.
"Thanks for the complement, but I must use this in order to beat you!"
Knuckles took a few steps backwards, and gathered up energy. He hesitated for a few moments, then jumped forward with his fist set on fire. He drew closer to Terror, but as the distance grew short, Terror prepared for the attack and placed his arms in front of his face.
Knuckles' attack contacted, but it was not a direct hit at Terror's face. And it was not enough damage to take him down. Knuckles landed and was met with Terror's large fist, which smashed Knuckles into the air. Then, a quick jab sent him soaring across the arena's edge.
Worry fluttered into Team Sonic, because if Knuckles was to fall off the edge, Team Sonic would have lost one match.
"KNUCKLES! Make sure you don't fall off the edge!"
Knuckles got on one knee and heard Sonic's warning. Then noticed how close the edge was to him, and rolled forward, straight on to Terror's upper-cut. The attack landed, and Knuckles was sent up into the air, and away the arena.
Sonic felt as if the whole arena was spinning and nearly fell, "This can't be happening! We're not about to lose, are we?"
"Sonic! I'm scared, what if Knuckles loses?"
"I don't know Tails. I just don't know."
Next time: With only mere seconds left until Knuckles lands out side of the arena and Team Sonic takes a loss, how can Knuckles prevent this? Will Sonic or Tails have to defeat two other consecutive fighters in order to gain Team Sonic a pass to the Primo Battle Tournament? Find out in the next action packed chapter!
