Chapter 15: Rematch
X.x.x. At the same time as Chapter 14 .x.x.X
Sonic can only strain to listen as he faintly hears the sounds of battle from down the hall. Every fiber of his wants to bolt and help his teammates in their struggle, but he knows doing so means losing the chaos emerald.
(Sally, Antione, please be okay I'll be there as soon as...)
"Hope your buddies are as good as they appear, hero." Nimero casually tosses the bag holding the emerald to the safety of a waiting gargoyle statue's maw on the building across from them "I really need you to keep your focus on the fight in front of you, don't want you screwing up like you did last time".
"Getting full of yourself are we," Sonic spat back at Nimero more out of anger than bravado, "Your gonna really regret not keeping that armor from the last fight, that was the only thing that saved you from being dropped in seconds."
"Really, How many?"
Sonic stands confused by the idiotic response "How many what?"
"How many seconds do you need to "drop me"? Three, Five..."
Sonic stops and grins and puts up seven fingers "Seven seconds, that's all I need if you aren't wearing armor."
"Very well" Nimero stands with arms wide open, "Whenever you're ready."
"Are you serious?"
Nimero smiles "You said you can defeat me in seven seconds, me being the sporting type and you being the hero of the world, I have no choice but to say go right ahead." Nimero's smile the fades into a scowling blank glare "But once it's past seven seconds, I won't hold back."
A blur strikes him in the face with such force it caused his firmly planted feet to slide from the impact. Before Nimero can recover he is struck again and again with increased speed. In this high speed onslaught, time seems to slow down for the hedgehog as he pours his desperation and fury in to every hit. As the third second ticks by, he begins to enjoy the feeling of taking this smug prick down hit by hit and muses to himself. (Finally, I got you to shut up. He should be done any second now). Sonic strikes ten more times in a second only to feel something wrong. At first while he had been hitting the lion, he chalked up the feeling to moving so fast and ignored it. But now he as the idea crawls into his mind, horror begins to set in. This lion, while definitely flesh and bone, has an unnatural toughness to him like iron wrapped in skin. Thinking fast, he leaps from the flurry and grabs a metal pipe. He dashes and swings clean across Nimero's face. Sonic's eyes widen as the pipe is cleaved in two from the impact, but he looks completely unfazed. In the dilated time Sonic sees Nimero is wearing a smile with his fingers counting the seconds, he was at three and counting down.
(WHAT, HOW IS HE STILL STANDING?!) In a panic tries to push himself to be faster, but Nimero only sways like a reed to the glancing hits as his seconds count down. On the last time-slowed fraction of a second, Sonic slides back and charges up to dash at Nimreo.
"Really," Nimero calmly rears a readied punch, "We're trying this again, alright your call." Sonic finally dashes as Nimreo swings a full force haymaker. Sonic gives a smug grin and slides under his punch, leaping towards an antenna tower with such force it bends. Nimero is still in his complete swing as Sonic's mind can barely hold back the excitement of finally getting him in a vulnerable position. Sonic uses the antenna and dives at the distracted lion with vigor. The impact hits with enough force to send fractures racing across the helipad blacktop. Sonic stands triumphantly expecting to be standing on a crumpled form only to find Nimero, slightly slumped to hold Sonic's weight on his shoulders, but still standing. A tight grip on his leg is the only warning Sonic has before he is skipped across the helipad and is impacted into the wall. Nimero is left both laughing and shaking his head in disapproval "That was quite the effort, even got an extra second out of me. But I do believe your time is up''. Sonic can barely register his confusion before Nimero lunges forward. Sonic effortlessly dashes to the side only to see the beige bulk almost ricochet off the open air to deliver a backhand that flings Sonic into the wall again, rattling some windows on impact. The blue blur, staggered after the backhand and the wall, stands to see a silvery glimmer in the lions other hand, he soon realises it's a bizarre looking weapon that looks more like an extreme gear engine part than a gun. He also sees its twin in its holster on Nimero's side.
"So you brought weapons to a fist fight, I thought you were all about a fair fight and all that sporting crap?"
"Oh, these old things," Nimero pulls the other out of the holster, "These don't fire bullets, think of them as utility pieces." He jumps and points one at the ground and fires a burst of air that launches him back to the helipad edge. "These beauties are mechanically known as air-burst pistols, I call 'em my 'Aero Leones'. They fire burst of air that I mostly use to add some mobility to my game. Seeing as I am fighting the fastest thing alive, having these would be a no brainer".
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Sonic dashes and bounces off several poles and antennae. He sees Nimeros back again and strikes, charging at him with reckless abandon. Nimero fires his guns and spins around on one leg to meet Sonic's attack with a kick that punts the hedgehog high into the air. Before Sonic can recover, a pair of arms wrap around his arms and chest as Nimeros smirk is gone leaving an unnerving blank stare.
"I warned you, now here is your reality check" a double burst of air propels them to the ground where Nimero suplexes sonic into the ground, causing pieces of black top to fall off the helipad to the streets below. The falling debris sends more people fleeing as cops scurry and act to make sure no one is hurt. Sonic feels the very air in his lungs leap out of his body like a frightened animal leaving his crumpled form struggling to even take a breath as Nimero then stands over him. Sonic is helpless and the lion grinds a stunned and bruised Sonic further into the ground with his foot barely allowing him to get enough air into his lung who are screaming for any air it can get "I am not that egg-shaped buffoon you toy with every now and again. I AM TRYING TO KILL YOU. I have dropped things larger than you, stronger than you and while you are the fastest thing I've ever fought, I have dealt with speedy marks before." He quickly breaks his frustration and stares down at the trapped hero "If you do not bring everything to these fights, you are going to die. Afterwards Dr. Eggman will have this world in days because to be frank," Nimero leans in close to him "I don't think your pals are up to the challenge of saving the world without you." He picks up the limp hedgehog and tosses him to the window of the building across from the helipad "I suggest you make your next move carefully, I' ll wait". Sonic crashes into an office space in a heap of dividers and cheap desk. While banged up, he is still able slowly stand up and see all the frightened workers staring at him. Confused and worried chatter snaps Sonic back to reality as he slowly stands, fighting through a throbbing pain all over. While he stops and catches his breath, Sonic's mind is in overdrive as it scrambles to find an answer to the single problem on his mind (How do I knock that smug prick down a peg). Sonic looks around the office and then an idea hits (This may work)...
X.x.x. Back at the helipad .x.x.X
"C'MON MAN, I DIDN'T HIT YOU THAT HARD." The passing seconds of silence cause Nimero to roll his eyes, "HERE'S A HINT, DON'T BE A DUMBASS AND..." Before he could finish, smoke poured out of the opening "Okay, lets see what you learned ". A mass burst out of an unbroken window only to be blasted by an overcharged air burst and explode in a thunderous boom. However before Nimero can gloat, he sees papers fall from the sky like snow as he realized he had just shot a file cabinet in his haste. He pulls out his second pistol and frantically scans the area for any sign of the hedgehog to only find silence. He lowers his guns just as he hears the sound of stone breaking below him. The lion is launched off the platform and slams into the other building as he breaks wall, glass, and a gargoyle as he nearly falls to the city streets below. Thinking fast, he slams his claws into the walls and can barely turn to see Sonic triumphantly land on the shattered remains of the helipad. A glint catches his eye as he sees the tattered bag holding the emerald hanging on some rebar sticking out of the wall.
As he reaches for the bag the stones under one of his feet give way leaving him clinging tighter to the remaining claw-made footholds.
"If I were you, I would stay put." Sonic yelled with the sting of mocking concern riding on every word "I don't like your odds of you trying to jump to safety. So be a good little psycho and stay put as you get a first class trip to the most secure prison I can find." Nimero remains silent and continues to dig his hands and one foot safe foot deeper into the wall as Sonic feels a second wind and continues his verbal jabs at the lion now hanging from well over 7 stories high. After a while, Sonic gets tired of the silence "Where did all that tough talk run off to? What do you gotta say now, smartass?"
"Nice to see you have time to chat, but my heart is still in the game, hero" the lion had fashioned rest out of the rebar and fired at Sonic with a free arm, forcing the hero to slide into cover. "And before you ever think you have me beat, learn this well hedgehog. For me, difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week." without warning Nimero leaps towards the bag holding the emerald and rips it from its precarious perch. Sonic can only watch as the lion plummets to the city streets below, all the while hyena-like laughing echoes along the way.
