Chapter 29: Tournament of Shenanigans

Danny vs. President Michael Kennedy

"Ladies and gentleman!" The announcer raised his fist in the air, the sunlight reflecting from his black sunglasses. "I hope you were entertained by the first match, but this tournament is just getting started!" The crowd roared in applause, waving banners, foam fingers, and half-consumed cans of Coors Light. "And this next one promises to be a doozy! I am proud to introduce the pr—"

"Uhh, sir?"

The announcer peered back at one of the tournament assistants. Grumbling under his breath, he put his palm over the microphone.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

"That kid's still here, sir…" The assistant pointed at Christopher Thorndyke rolling in the grass, throwing a tantrum over his previous defeat at the metallic hands of Helen and her mech.

"Oh, right…" With a sigh, the announcer slipped his microphone into his jacket pocket, hopped out of the fighting ring, and approached the child. "Ummm, Mr. Thorndyke?"

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm wallowing in my own shame?" Chris didn't stop flailing his arms and legs as tears poured down his face like a baby. His clothing was starting to stain from the grass.

"I'm sorry you lost, but we need to move on to the next round. Maybe you could recover in the rest area?"

"And face Helen after such a humiliating defeat? Ha!" Chris pulled himself off the ground, dusting off his attire before wiping the tears from his eyes. "Screw that! Screw this tournament, too!" The rich kid snapped his fingers, and within a few seconds, a helicopter descended from the sky, hovering over the ring. A muscular man in a suit opened the side door and extended his arm out.

"Now if you excuse me," Chris said as he struggled to pull himself back up into the ring, "I've got better things to do." Huffing loudly, the boy ran to the helicopter with his arms streaming behind him like a wannabe ninja before taking the suited man's hand, allowing him to pull him up. Before the door closed, Chris eyed the drone camera hovering several feet away providing a live feed for those watching from home. With a grin, he flipped off the camera with both hands as the door shut. The helicopter flew away moments later.

"Well, that was…something…" The announcer commented into his microphone, seemingly at a loss for words. The audience was speechless. "But at least we can get back to the tournament!" This made the crowd react with gusto.

"I am proud to announce that one of our next competitors is none other than the Commander-in-Chief, the leader of the free world, the head of the executive branch: President Michael Kennedy!" The crowd went wild as the leader entered the ring, his suit replaced with a white jersey, matching gym shorts, and red boxing gloves. He threw air punches, garnering an even larger applause.

"The President will be facing off against Danny, who just so happens to also be in the same class as Helen and Mr. Thorndyke! Boy, what are the odds!?" The crowd clapped as the young boy stepped into the ring, leaving behind a trail of crumbs from the pastries stuffed in his pockets.

The two challengers took their spots on each end of the arena.

"Aaaaaaand, begin!"

GONG!

"Nothin' personal, kid," Michael said as he slowly approached the boy, smashing one fist into his other glove, "but my years on the college boxing team won't go to waste! Do you give up?"

"Not a chance." Danny pulled some biscuits out of his pockets. "My parents are counting on me to win this tournament so Chris'll give me my job back." The boy entered a fighting stance, wielding both biscuits with legs bent. "Even if I have to fight the President, I'm willing to do whatever it takes!"

"I appreciate your gumption, kid," Michael replied, grinning through his teeth, "but it's gonna take a lot more than determination to defeat me." The president leapt forward, pulling his right arm back in preparation for a devastating blow. Instead of dodging, however, Danny slammed one of the biscuits directly into Michael's exposed mouth.

"Whumhghg!" The President was unable to speak.

"Here, have some seconds!" Danny proceeded to shove the other biscuit into Michael's mouth, causing him to fall back as his face started turning purple. Out of desperation, Kennedy jumped out of the ring and ran back into the fighter's lounge, pouring an entire bottle of water down his throat.

"And the winner is…Danny!" The announcer raised the kid's arm as the crowd cheered.

"God damnit!" Michael cursed as he threw the bottle on the floor. "How could I let that kid pull such a trick on me? Now I'm disqualified!"

"That's not all, Mr. President," said Jerome to his side, wiping the water from his chin with his tie before pulling out his smartphone, "your approval rating is also starting to tank!"

"What!?" Michael ripped the phone from Jerome's hands and gasped at the downward slope of the live approval rating chart. "This is an absolute nightmare!"

The President sighed as he swiped a stale biscuit from the nearby table.

Cream vs. Topaz

The agent approached the young bunny in the center of the ring. The human dropped to a single knee and extended her arm.

"Good luck, Cream." With a smile, Topaz extended her arm, allowing the rabbit to shake her hand.

"Thank you, Ms. Topaz!" Cream replied. "Good luck to you as well!"

Taking their places on either side of the ring, they raised their arms as soon as the gong signified the start of the battle. Both had their legs bent and their arms extended outward, keeping their defenses secured and their eyes trained on each other.

I don't want to hurt the bunny, so I'll take it easy on her. I'll be sure to pull my punches.

With a grin, Topaz dove forward, rapidly approaching the Mobian.

Without her sidekick chao, she's at a great disadvantage. For her sake, I'm gonna end this now!

"Heeeeiiiiiyaaa—" Topaz's attack was swiftly dodged by Cream, who immediately retaliated with a sideways kick to the stomach, sending the human agent flying before touching the surface of the ring, rolling until she was feet away from falling out of bounds.

"O-owww, that's gonna leave a bruise…" She pulled herself up, clutching her belly after the surprisingly brutal attack.

"What an astonishing counterattack from Cream the Rabbit!" The announcer cried, the crowd cheering her name, making the young bunny blush.

"T-thank you!" Cream bowed at the crowd, whose cheering only intensified. "I hope you are all enjoying the tourname—" Cream was swiftly kicked in the back by Topaz, who was now fully recovered and ready to claim victory.

Like Topaz before, the rabbit rolled several yards before hopping off the ground, returning to a fighting stance.

"You're pretty good," Topaz complimented. "Better than most your age."

"I have Mr. Sonic to thank for that," Cream replied with a wink. "He taught me a lot about combat and how to get out of dangerous situations. I'll demonstrate!" With a rosy smile, the young bunny gripped the arena floor with her gloved fingers. "I'll show you one of Sonic's techniques."

"Brace yourself!" Cream yelled before spinning in place, entering her spherical form just like Sonic taught her.

"Nani!?" Topaz watched in amazement as her rotation speed continued to grow.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Cream launched herself in Topaz's direction.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Topaz dove out of the way a second before the spindash would've made impact. Unfortunately for her, however, the bunny quickly pulled a 180, still rolling toward her at ferocious speed. All the human agent could do was guard against the onslaught, but even her defensive position wasn't enough to keep the human on her feet; Cream made contact with Topaz's torso, sending her flying out of the ring and into the grass.

"The winner of the third round…" The announcer ran to the young bunny, bent his knees, and pulled her arm up. "…is Cream the Rabbit!" The crowd cheered. "Who would've thought such incredible power would come bundled in such a small, fluffy package?"

"Cream!" Amy hopped into the ring. "That was amazing! Your training with Sonic paid off!"

"Thanks, Ms. Amy!" Cream was blushing as the pink hedgehog gave her a long hug, only interrupted by the sounds of Topaz's grunts as she pulled herself off the ground.

"Topaz…" Cream watched as the human agent approached the bunny, a small smirk across her face. Cream smiled once more as Topaz offered her hand again, the two sharing a shake as they did before the fight.

"Next time, I won't underestimate you." With a wink, Topaz returned to the fighter's lounge, with Amy and Cream following close behind.

The Dark Knight vs. Amy Rose

The pink hedgehog leaned against her Piko Piko Hammer impatiently as the man clad in black armor stood stoically on the opposite side of the arena.

"I guess he's not the conversationalist type," Amy said to herself as she gently swung her hammer. The knight's stance remained unchanged.

"The fourth match between Amy Rose and The Dark Knight will begin…now!" The announcer cried into his microphone.

Gong!

Amy stood at the ready, her knees bent as she wielded her oversized weapon. Meanwhile, the knight slowly went for the sword in his hilt, his fingers lightly gripping its handle.

"If you won't make the first move," Amy declared as she launched herself at the knight, "then I will!" The pink hedgehog screamed as she jumped in the air, preparing a devastating swing above her head. Just as the head of her hammer was about to make contact with her challenger's helm, however, he swiftly blocked with his glistening sword.

Amy gritted his teeth as she used the force of the blocked sword to push herself away, performing a backflip and returning to her feet with practiced grace.

"This guy's tougher than I thought," Amy admitted through labored breaths. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she peered at the window of the fighter's lounge, Sonic watching with arms crossed. She retrained her focus on the knight, gripping the handle of her hammer. "I won't let it get to me! I'll knock the sword right out of his hands for Sonic to see!" With a grin, the pink hedgehog leapt forward once more, except instead of taking a high jump, she dove to the knight's side.

"Aha, blind spot!" Amy swung her hammer, connecting a devastating blow to the knight's hip, sending him tumbling to the ground. As he struggled to return to his feet, the pink hedgehog attacked him with a blow to the chest. He flew back, nearly dangling off the side of the ring.

"And now for the finishing blow!" Amy dove forward, preparing for her final swing. With a swipe of her arms, she nearly made contact, but the knight reached for his sword and blocked.

"Wha—" Amy was caught off guard long enough for the knight to return to his feet and immediately lunge himself toward the pink hedgehog. She blocked the attack, but the knight's sword cut through the head of her hammer, his blade within centimeters of slashing her black nose. "Yeek!" Amy screeched as she jumped back, entering a fighting stance void of her weapon.

The swordsman, kicking the remnants of her destroyed weapon to the side, slowly approached the hedgehog.

With a grin, Amy placed one arm behind her back. "Come and get me, sir knight! I'm wide open and clearly defenseless!" As if accepting her invitation, the knight lunged at the hedgehog, his sword glistening in the afternoon sun as he swung it back, preparing for a devastating blow.

"Amy, no!" Sonic yelled, gripping the windowsill with his gloved hands.

Before the knight's attack could land, the pink hedgehog pulled another Piko Piko Hammer from her hammerspace, using it to block the knight's attack. The surprise deflection caused the knight to jump back, dropping his sword in the process. Learning from before, Amy didn't take any time to recuperate; lunging forward once more, Amy swung her hammer at the knight, landing a blow to his chest, causing him to fly back…

…and for his helm to come off as well.

Amy screamed as the knight fell to the ground, sparks flying from where the head should've been. The announcer, followed by a team of paramedics, ran to the contestant's aid.

The pink hedgehog's face turned blue as she watched in horror the consequences of her seemingly reckless actions.

"I…killed him…" She dropped her hammer and fell to her knees, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I killed him…" The pink hedgehog's crisis was interrupted as the sparks emanating from the knight's neck grew, shooting out like a firework. "W-wait a minute…" She approached the beheaded helm and carefully grabbed it, peering inside to find the insignia all too familiar to her kind.

"Eggman…" Gently placing the helm on the floor, Amy grabbed her hammer and hit it like a nail, crushing it like a tin can, earning a surprised yelp from the announcer and the medics. "Relax. The knight was nothing more than an Eggman robot."

"An Eggman robot?" The announcer massaged his chin in thought.

"Exactly!" Amy placed her hands on her hips. "Looks like Eggman wanted to try winning the Chaos Emerald, so he built this robot to get the job done." As the pink hedgehog finished her explanation, Sonic, Tails, and Chuck arrived on the scene. The two-tailed fox and the elder scientist studied the knight's suit closely.

"Yep, Amy is right guys," Tails said, addressing the others as he raised a finger to the air. "Looks like Eggman was up to no good again. To be frank…" Tails put a gloved hand to his chin. "…I'm surprised he was able to construct a unique robot like this in such little time."

"You've said before that Eggman has many robots at the ready that he's never deployed, right?" Chuck asked as he folded his arms. "I bet this was one he had in his back pocket, ready to use at the drop of a hat." The aging scientist nodded his head with eyes closed. "Yep, seems the most likely."

"Well folks," the announcer declared into his microphone, "it appears The Dark Knight was really just an Eggman robot in disguise! I would say this is grounds for disqualification, but Amy and her deadly hammer opted for a decapitation instead!" He approached the pink hedgehog and raised her arm. "The winner of the fourth round is Amy Rose!" The pink hedgehog blushed as the crowd cheered her name.

"Way to go, Ames!" Sonic gave her a thumbs up. "You really showed that Eggman robot who's boss!"

"Yeah," she replied with a smile. "I guess I did." As if on instinct, the two hedgehogs clasped each other's hands and strolled back to the fighter's lounge, followed behind by Chuck and Tails, who were both carrying the robot's body back with them.

"Once we remove the scrap metal from the arena," the announcer declared, "we'll get the fifth match underway!"

Rouge vs. Knuckles

"C'mon, Rouge!" Topaz cheered from the window of the fighter's waiting area. "Kick his ass! You can do it!"

"Don't you know it!" Rouge blew the agent a kiss before making her way to the arena. Knuckles was already there, sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. "Ah, I didn't know it was nap time, Knucky!"

"I'm not napping, jewel thief." Knuckles opened his eyes. "I am meditating, preparing my mind for the battle ahead."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're taking this too ser—"

"Yeah, yeah, spare me," Knuckles replied, remembering Sonic's tease from earlier. The red echidna pulled himself up. "So, you ready to throw hands?" He entered a fighting stance.

"For the Chaos Emerald? Of course!" Rouge took her place on the opposite side, bent her knees, and raised her fists.

"Get ready for the first fight between two Mobians: Rouge the Bat and Knuckles the Echidna! The match will begin…now!"

Gong!

"Heyaaa!" Rouge ran toward the echidna before jumping high, performing a flip, and aiming her kick for a direct assault before spinning her body like a drill. "Screw kick!" The Master Emerald guardian, though, deflected the attack with his gloved hands, Rouge's legs still spinning as she pushed Knuckles back. Finally, as the bat started losing momentum, the red echidna grabbed her ankles, spun her around a few cycles, and threw her across the arena. She was about to fall into the grass when she froze in the air thanks to the aid of her bat wings.

"Well played, Knucky," Rouge taunted as she returned to the ring, "but it's gonna take more than that to throw me out of bounds."

"Oh, I'm just getting started!" Knuckles called as he lunged at the bat while pulling his arm back. He threw a punch, but the bat dodged it, allowing her the opportunity to perform a spinning roundhouse kick. The counterattack connected, sending the echidna forward, his face eating the surface of the pavement. As Rouge prepared a sweeping follow-up kick, Knuckles rolled to the side, grabbing the bat's ankle once more and throwing her to the other side of the ring. This time, though, Rouge recovered quickly, landing swiftly back on her feet and lunging at the echidna once more. With another Screw Kick, the bat was, again, deflected by Knuckles' fists, but this time flipping back instead of letting the spin end on its own.

"Third time's the charm?" Rouge asked as she ran toward the echidna, this time swinging her arm back and preparing a punch.

All right…time to unveil a technique that will certainly throw that bat thief off guard.

The red echidna grabbed Rouge's wrist, preventing her fist from making impact, but instead of retaliating or diving away, Knuckles pulled the bat in, giving her a kiss on the lips.

It only lasted five seconds, but while Knuckles was lightly blushing, Rouge's muzzle was as bright as a Christmas tree, and her body swayed as if put under a spell.

"Yes, I knew it would work!" Knuckles declared as he grabbed the bat by the hips and threw her out of bounds.

"After a brutal fight," the announcer declared, "Knuckles has won the battle…albeit, through…unconventional means…"

Rouge was unresponsive, her head leaning against the side of the ring as a perpetual blush covered her muzzle, stars circling her head and her tongue sticking out.

"And the winner is…" The announcer grabbed the red echidna's arm. "…Knuckles!"

The crowd cheered his name, seemingly not judging the Master Emerald guardian for resorting to such a technique to defeat the bat.

"Now wait just a minute!"

The red echidna was met with the anger of Topaz, who was towering over him with hands on her hips.

"What the hell makes you think you can go about kissing my girlfriend on national television!?"

"I did what I had to do to defeat my foe," Knuckles replied, stepping around the irate human to return to the tournament lounge.

Topaz was fuming, grinding her teeth in anger as steam escaped her ears.

"Relax, sweetie." Having recovered from the attack, Rouge pulled herself back into the ring and grabbed her hand. "I should have been prepared for anything, especially for a favorite technique of mine."

"I guess…" Topaz gripped the bat's hand, and the two returned to the rest area as well.

"Wow, smooth move, Knucklehead!" Sonic teased. "Since when would you resort to such a cheap trick? You gonna ask Rouge out on a date now? You stud!"

"We were equally matched out there," Knuckles replied. "I knew that this was one of her biggest weaknesses, and while I'm not proud of what I did, it did get me the victory."

"That may be so," Tails replied, his namesakes fluttering from behind, "but you really got Topaz angry. She's a secret government agent, so making an enemy out of her was probably not the best idea."

"Plus," Helen added as she scrolled through her Twitter feed, handing the echidna her smartphone, "fans are already making memes out of it." Knuckles looked in horror as he scrolled through various edits people were making of the kiss, adding romantic hues, hearts, and the #knuxouge hashtag to their Tweets.

"Disgusting!" He continued scrolling through the feed. "Absolutely gross. Why do people share this?" He continued scrolling some more. "I swear, the nerve of these humans." He scrolled some more. "The nerve of these people!" He scrolled some more. "Don't they have anything better to do!?" His muzzle slowly turned cherry red as he continued scrolling.

The echidna refused to give Helen back her device until the battery was depleted.

Chuck vs. Bokkun

"And now, for our first intergenerational fight: Chuck the retired scientist, vs. Bokkun, an Eggman robot who switched to the good side! Who will win?" The announcer waved his arm. "Find out, now!"

Gong!

The two combatants entered their fighting stances, bending their knees and raising their arms, carefully studying each other.

"I'll have you know," Chuck gloated, "that back in my day, I was the star player of my collegiate wrestling team!" The aging scientist stretched his back. "Yep, I rarely lost a match! My age hasn't caught up with me either! I'm still as deadly as I was all those decades ag—"

Crack.

"Owwwwwww, my back!"

Chuck fell to the ground, Bokkun watching confusedly. A team of paramedics arrived with a stretcher moments later.

"And the winner by default," the announcer declared, "is Bokkun!"

"Well, that was easy," the messenger robot said, a blush covering his face as he ran a hand over his head, chuckling nervously as the crowd cheered his name.

"Bokky, you did it!" Cream cheered as she lunged at Bokkun, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

It was Bokkun's turn to fall to the ground, his face a bright shade of red.

Sonic vs. Cheese

"And now, the one you've all been waiting for!" The announcer gestured his arm toward the blue hero. "Sonic the Hedgehog, the savior of Station Square!"

The crowd cheered the loudest they had that day, blue foam fingers swaying back and forth in the audience. Sonic gave the crowd a smirk and a thumbs up, somehow making them cheer even louder.

"Sonic's competitor is a little-known alien creature from Mobius: Cheese the Chao!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese waved their stubby arm at the crowd, whose cheering was replaced with a long, collective awwwwwwwe.

"Ready? Set. Fight!" The announcer declared.

Gong!

Cheese furrowed their brow and flew toward the blue hedgehog. Sonic caught them, however, the chao flailing their arms and legs, unable to escape his light grip.

"Having some trouble there?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "Here, want some help?"

"Chao?" Cheese stopped struggling and peered up at the blue hedgehog, tilting their head in confusion.

"You know the throw attack you and Cream like to use?"

"C-chao, chao!" Cheese's face lit up at the thought of fighting alongside their guardian.

"How about we try that together? It'll be fun!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese was now excited.

"All you need to do is wrap yourself up into a ball like you'd normally do." Sonic released the chao, who proceeded to do as instructed, forming into a sphere and returning to the blue hedgehog's palm. "There we go! Now I just need to get into position."

"Chao!" Cheese replied, waiting patiently as Sonic approached the edge of the arena.

"Whoops!" Sonic exclaimed as the chao slipped from his fingers, landing in the grass outside of the ring.

"Cheese is out of bounds! Sonic is the winner!" The announcer cried as the crowd cheered. Cheese peered up at the sky confusedly.

"Sorry 'bout that, pal." The blue hedgehog hopped out of the ring and to the chao's side, picking them up. "Without Cream here, it would've been a one-sided fight. I just didn't want you to get hurt is all."

"Chao, chao!" Cheese didn't care; they were simply having the time of their life being with a good friend.

Tanaka vs. Tails

"The last round before we enter the quarter-finals is about to commence!" The announcer declared, with roaring applause from the rambunctious audience. "To my left is the long-serving butler of the Thorndyke estate: Tanaka!" He bowed to the audience. "And to my right is Sonic's best friend and two-tailed prodigy: Tails the Fox!" The orange kitsune ran a gloved hand through his hair, a blush appearing across his face as the crowd cheered even louder for him.

"Let the match begin!"

Gong!

"I've trained for years in several forms of combat," Tanaka said as he approached the young fox, "so I'll make this quick and painless for you."

"You're gonna have to catch me first!" Tails jumped in the air, using his rotary namesakes to fly above the butler's head.

"Get down here and fight me with honor!" Tanaka cried as he jumped up, unable to reach the fox's sneakers.

"If that's what you want!" With a smirk, Tails took a nosedive before entering into a spindash. Tanaka peered up in shock at the orange kitsune's surprise attack, and while he attempted to deflect the blow at the last second, the impact caused him to lose his footing, falling to the arena floor.

"Quite impressive, fox boy," Tanaka pulled himself up, entering a combative stance once more, "but not enough to defeat me!" The butler lunged toward the fox, swinging his arm back in preparation for a punch, but just as his fist was about to make impact, Tails' namesake wrapped itself around his wrist.

"Hey, let me go!"

"Not a chance!" Tails' other namesake wrapped around the butler's other wrist, and with a flick, the fox hurled him over his head, sending him careening into the pavement like a ragdoll.

"Give up yet?" Tails asked, tightening his namesakes' grip on the human's wrists.

"N-never…"

"Very well then! I'll just, in your words, make this quick." The fox bent his knees and rapidly spun his tails. Tanaka screamed as he was taken along for the ride, caught in the rotating appendages until the fox showed mercy, loosening his grip and allowing the human to fly off, landing in the bleachers.

"Oops, guess I got a little too carried away," Tails said with a nervous chuckle, running his hand through his hair once more.

"Tanaka has been tossed out of the ring!" The announcer cried, pulling the fox's arm up. "The winner is Tails the Fox!"

The crowd cheered the furry kitsune's name, causing him to blush once more.

"Ohh, my head's…spinning…" Tanaka pulled his face out of a wide bowl of popcorn. He tried pulling himself up, but the butler slipped on a can of Coors Light, falling back over several rows of seats before slipping over the guardrail back into the grass.

He was seeing stars, his vision blurred as he rested his back in the grass. Moments later, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket.

"H-hello, this is T-Tanaka…" The butler was met with a ferocious outburst on the other end.

"You fool! You idiot! You baka! You absolutely insolent, shit for brains dumbass! You failure, you ingrate, you useless hunk of junk! You…you…youuuuuuu!"

"Mr. Thorndyke, I can explain!" The butler pulled himself up from the grass and prepared an explanation before his master would blow a gasket. "It was that fox! I've never been trained to handle close quarters combat with an alien, especially one with such versatile appendages."

"I don't care about your pitiful excuses!" Chris cried as he sat in his hot tub, sipping a bottle of Mountain Dew Baja Blast while tuning in on a large television. "You were my back-up, and you failed! Now we're gonna have to steal the Chaos Emerald a different way."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Thorndyke." Tanaka bowed repeatedly as he was on the phone. "I promise this transgression will not be repeated."

"That's right," Chris replied after feeding himself a large spoonful of a cotton candy-flavored Dairy Queen Blizzard, "because if you fuck up again, your ass will be fired!"

"Understood." Tanaka nodded just as the spoiled brat hung up, throwing his phone to the side as he took a bite of cheesy pizza with anchovies.

"I swear, money can't buy decent service these days…" After eating his slice, the boy sunk deeper into the hot tub, trying to calm down after his butler's humiliating defeat.

With a sigh, Tanaka returned his cell phone to his pocket, brushed off the grass from his suit, and headed for the exit.

"Ummmm, excuse me?"

Tanaka turned to find the orange fox.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, I just wanted to shake your hand for a good fight." Tails nervously extended his arm out. The butler stared at his open palm for several seconds.

Shaking hands with the enemy? Master Thorndyke wouldn't like it, but…

Tanaka shrugged his shoulders.

…he's not here.

With a smile, the butler accepted the Mobian's handshake. "Good match. You've helped me discover the shortcomings in my training, and I now know where I need to improve. Thank you."

"No problem at all, Mr. Tanaka!" Tails replied with a thumbs up. "Say, you want to watch the rest of the tournament with my friends? You're more than welcome to hang out with us!"

Tanaka thought about this proposition, raising a finger to his chin in thought. He balanced the desire to please his master with the desire to spend time with quality folk for a change.

"You know what? I think I will. Master Thorndyke doesn't need to be babied 24 hours a day!" With a nod, the butler followed the orange kitsune back to the fighter's lounge.

Tune in next time for the quarter finals of the Chaos Emerald Tournament!