Welcome to Knothole
Okay people it's the same as before, if you read this leave a review that constructively criticizes it. Alright let's get on with it!
Disclaimer: I don't own the character of Sonic or Naruto. They belong to the respective owners and suing me won't get you anything… I have nothing… Literally.
The trip back to Knothole was quiet but not without its quirks. Spyke had spent half the trip snoring so loudly the others quite literally started to breathe in sink with him. When Spyke stopped breathing so did everyone else in the aircraft. Sonic on several occasions had to hit Spyke in the arm to get him to breathe again so that the others could breathe.
After two and a half long hours, the small aircraft began its approach to the landing zone in good old Knothole.
Sonic spent the next two minutes trying to shake Spyke from his blissful slumber which really didn't help the young hero much. "Man, this guy can really sleep," Groaned Sonic at his many failed attempts at raising the older hedgehog.
"Huh? What's going on?" Spyke sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes as Sonic just tapped his foot on the ground.
"We're in Knothole already old man. Get up and take a look."
"Sonic! Behave yourself," Sally snipped while wagging her finger at the blue blur.
Spyke shakily got to his feet as he moved to a window to get a better look of this new place. "Wow, the trees are marvelous," Spyke said in awe of the great oak trees that made up the city as well as the surrounding areas. There were no artificial buildings that he could see but rather, the trees themselves had been made into buildings and houses. 'Amazing,' Spyke marveled.
"Would you like a quick tour Mr. Hedge?" King Max asked as he neared the door.
"A tour would be nice… but I'd like to get some other clothes." Indicating his current 'Barney' clothing, Spyke unconsciously blushed at the thought of wearing these clothes out in public for all to see.
"Ah, that reminds me," The purple walrus spoke up. "The human government gave us a box that was kept along side you suspension unit. I believe it has some of your effects." The walrus said handing a small black box to Spyke.
"Thanks, uh?"
"Rotor, call me Rotor."
"Thanks Rotor. I was hoping these would still be around when I got out." Spyke left the 'black bird' look alike while following the King and his daughter and Sonic to a small red hover car that was waiting for them outside the plane.
Spyke held the black box on his lap in the car and slowly opened it to peer inside the box quickly. 'Good, its still here.' Spyke closed the box and watch the crowds of Anthros go by. Spyke began to grow increasingly uncomfortable as he noticed the complete lack of any humans in this new city.
"Hey King Max, are there any humans in this little kingdom of yours?" Spyke asked rather indignantly but the king decided to answer it all the same.
"Only one, she is a refugee from a war we are waging on a foe. You needn't worry yourself over that matter though."
They came to a stop near a clothes store and Spyke was more than egger to get out of those Barney clothes. It didn't take him long o find some things he liked and he quickly put them on and the King graciously agreed to pay for the clothes. Spyke pulled a red shirt, blue pants, grey gloves pull straps to keep them on, brown boots with red pull straps, and a black leather jacket. He pulled the price tags off and gave them to the King so that he could pay for them. 'There is no way in hell that I'm getting back in those duds again!' Spyke mentally ranted as he watched King Max pay for the clothes.
After the clothes shop, the King, Sally and Sonic took Spyke for a run around the city for a quick tour before heading back to the castle. Sonic pointed out his Uncle's diner and Sally pointed out to him the Daycare/Orphanage that a Miss Rosie ran. Lastly, they came to the castle grounds. The lush green carpet of grass all over the lawn was amazing in itself but on the inside of the stony structure was a technological wonder to behold. Aside from the red carpet leading up to the steps of the throne there was little more than two tapestries and five statuettes in the room. At least that's what Spyke had thought until he moved closer to the throne. A large screen filled the view of the right area near the throne. It looked like a modified Movie theater backdrop but as he got closer he saw that it was indeed a large screen built into the stone walls of the castle.
Spyke marveled at the sheer size of the digital screen there in the palace's throne room. It was thirty-two feet in length and twenty-two feet in height. The Screen was massive; Spyke had never seen one so big in his entire life, but then again he still hadn't seen a whole lot in his short lifetime.
The king ascended his throne but did not sit there in. He instead turned back to Spyke while standing and began to speak to him. "You tell me that you were a soldier with the military in your past correct?" Spyke nodded and the king continued. "Then I would like to see your skills against some of our best people in a sparring match if you don't mind?"
Although taken aback by the king's request, which was more like a demand, Spyke just grinned and nodded once again. 'This could be interesting to see how they people of this era fight,' Spyke thought as the King led him and his entourage to a room with a ledge and an open tiled field below it. The room they were all now in was colored white through and through, there was barely any other color. A blue here and there and some red lights on a control panel on the ledge/observation box from which everything was controlled.
Spyke had to admit that this place looked pretty impressive but he had seen better in his past days. "I've summoned some of the best fighters here before we arrived. I wish you to defeat them all at once if you don't mind." Spyke looked at the king with a curious face.
'What does this old man think he's doing? If I were a normal person this would most likely be a slaughter. However, I'm no ordinary individual.' Spyke smirked and nodded to the king that he accepted the challenge.
Spyke walked down into the arena and stood dead center of the large square field. Through a door on the opposite side of where he had entered the arena, six individuals walked out onto the field. Spyke immediately recognized Sonic, but the next five were a mystery to him. One was a purple Chameleon with two wrist gauntlets on and black boots on and a very stand offish demeanor.
Next, a large green crocodile with headphones on and a gold chain with a dollar sign also in gold on said chain.
A female rabbit stood next to him but something odd was with this one. Her legs, waist, and left arm were all robotic. She wore a pink one piece suit with a brown leather jacket over that, fingerless gloves and a cowboy hat.
An Echidna came out next, his quills were crimson red, and he had massive fists with two knuckles on each hand protruding from them. On his chest he had a white ring which Spyke took to be a symbol of his clan.
Lastly, a young female hedgehog in a red dress and matching shoes. Her quills were a light pink and her eyes were green – no blue, oh whatever. She brandished a large mallet that just made Spyke chuckle.
Each of these fighters looked like they were good at fighting and that much was evident, but they had no idea what they were in for. "When the buzzer goes off you may begin." Ten seconds felt like an eternity. Spyke made no evidence of shifting his stance. He remained standing straight, somewhat relaxed in the center of the arena. The others circled around until they had him completely surrounded. The buzzer went off and the fighters all leapt forward at Spyke.
Spyke took no initial movements towards the other fighters because to him they appeared to be moving in slow motion. He noticed Sonic had stayed back as if to watch and learn his fighting strategy. The first to reach him was the crocodile. Spyke ducked his first punch but before the croc could deliver another punch, Spyke gave him an uppercut to his massive jaws followed by an elbow to the stomach which sent him flying across the stadium.
The robotic rabbit was next, she raised her robotic arm and struck out at him but once again, this opponent was too slow. She received a swift blow to the stomach which took her breath away before she even hit the floor.
Now the Echidna made for Spyke with his hands raised for an axe handle strike at Spyke's head. Spyke ducked down and sweep kicked his feet out from under him but before the red Echidna hit the floor, Spyke was able to kick him into the wall just under the ledge that the King and Princess were watching from with a sickening thud.
"Daddy this guy is good if he can best Knuckles head on," The princess warned as she watched the battle unfold before her. The king had not said anything but rather watched intently as Spyke once more dodged an attack.
The pink hedgehog girl and the chameleon had joined together in their attack on Spyke. The girl went high while the chameleon went low. As they neared, Spyke jumped over both of their attacks and landed a kick on the girl's face which sent her tumbling to the ground.
The purple chameleon simply smirked and faded from view. Spyke also smirked as he closed is eyes and focused on the area around him. In a flash Spyke lashed out at something and appeared as if he had something in his grasp. "I've got you!" He exclaimed as he slammed the invisible lizard into the ground effectively knocking him out and thus making him reappear.
All that was left in the arena with Spyke was Sonic. Sonic had taken a back seat to this fight because he wanted to see what this old fossil could do. He was impressed to say the least but that only went so far. Sonic was still the fastest thing alive and began to rev his feet in order to prove it. 'So, he does live up to his name after all. This'll be interesting,' Spyke thought as he watched Sonic with interest. Sonic was off like a flash of lightning, quickly he circled around Spyke and kicked him in the butt.
"Come on Old man, you're slower than slow you old fart!" Sonic continued to taunt Spyke as he continually raced around and picked on him before Spyke could even see him let alone counter any of his movements.
Spyke thought and thought of several ways of beating the young speedster taunting him. 'That's it! Kaosugan!' Spyke mentally commanded his hidden ability to come forth. The pupils of his eyes glowed green and small vein-like branches spread throughout his irises in the fraction of a second. "I see you…," Spyke stated as he predicted Sonic's movements and trip kicked the speedy rodent, sending him tumbling into the ground.
Sonic was down but he wasn't out, not by a long shot. He got up once more and made for another charge but Spyke was already on top of him poised for a kick to the head. Sonic jumped over the kick and gave his own kick to Spyke head. Spyke managed to dodge the kick but at what cost? Sonic had gotten to necessary room to pick up speed and was now back on the offensive again.
"Once bitten, twice as shy," Sonic taunted once more. This however, didn't phase Spyke one bit as he just stood there and took the insult to his speed without incident. Spyke had passed by the chameleon's unconscious body on the way over to Sonic and had picked up some equipment.
With one motion, Spyke loosed a flurry of shuriken at Sonic. Sonic gracefully avoided the flying projectiles but didn't see Spyke move to intercept him. With a swift punch to the gut and a round house kick to the head Sonic was out for the count. "Anything else you want to throw at me your highness?" Spyke inquired.
The king shook his head and informed Spyke to wait in the throne room. As the other came to, the king approached them. "So what have you all learned from his fighting style?"
"He is no normal soldier. His movements were quick, precise and took most of us out without event." The chameleon answered. "I'd expect those types of moves out of a ninja not a simple soldier."
"All ah know is, he went out ah his way to make sure he didn't hurt me too much. He did a lot worse to the guys than he did to meh an Amy." The rabbit spoke in a southern drawl.
"I have to agree with Espio over there, he took us all out with mechanical precision. His speed is great but I don't think he is anywhere near as fast as Sonic." The Echidna voiced his observation as he rubbed his stomach from where Spyke kicked him.
"Judging from how he fought, he could have done a lot more than what he was demonstrating in this sparring match. He seemed to take a special care not to cause too much injury to the ladies as you mentioned Bunnie. Knuckles is right though, he isn't as fast as me but he definitely makes up for his lack of speed with his intelligence. Also, I noticed his eyes were glowing green when he couldn't catch me. I think that allowed him to see me. I can't say for sure though. Did we get everything on film you highness?" Sonic was indeed deep in thought, which was a first, and wanted to know exactly how he had lost.
"Yes Sonic, we'll review it later. I think we need to get our guest settled for now. Let's go and see if we can't get him started." King Max added as he walked out of the room. His daughter Sally followed after him while Sonic just sat and mulled over what had just happened.
In the throne room, Spyke sat on the steps that lead up to the throne with his elbows on his knees and his palms supporting his head as he stared off into the distance. 'I'll never see them again… Kat, Angie, My son… They're all gone.' He thought as he sat there, unaware of the King and Princess' approach.
"So Mister Hedge, what exactly are you good at besides fighting?" The King had asked a valid question and Spyke had to think over it a while as he got up.
"I suppose teaching is my strongest suit. I'd like to teach young people." Spyke said as he stood to hid full height of four foot eight inches. He stood a full four inches taller than the king but that didn't matter.
"You'll have to be certified to teach Mister Hedge and I expect you'll need some money to last you until you get a job yes?"
"Well that would help me out a lot sir. But why are you being so generous? I don't deserve this kind of treatment."
"Let's just say I've taken a special interest in you m'boy. Now I'll help you out with some money to get you an apartment and even to get you some supplies but you need to work on getting that certification. I believe Ms. Rosie is able to certify you. Here is her address and tell her I sent you."
"Yes sir," Spyke said as he saluted out of sheer habit but he did so anyway and turned on heel and left.
"Was it wise to send him to any field he wanted Dad?" The princess asked.
"We'll see hun, we'll see…"
A/N: FINALLY! I've finished the next chapter after a semester of test and what not I'm able to finish this chapter. Well let me know what you think by reviewing it.