(Hey guys, so I might need to slow down on the updates for this story, because like I said in the last chapter, I'm focusing more on my other account, so it'll be harder to focus on both of them at the same time. Not only that, but I have a big project coming up, Victory Through Blood, so it won't be easy to finish this all up. With that being said, I want to continue writing this, as it is a lot of fun. I just won't have as much time to work on it. Now then, onto the chapter.)
It is really hard to come up with something witty about that rock. Um… oh, I know! My jokes on that rock have been so dried up, they hit rock bottom! Wait, what? Am I going off-topic? Oh, um… *Take 2* Sonic and Shadow were standing on the rock they usually stood on, with the megaphone in Shadow's hand. "So you put it up to your mouth, and press that button, start yelling something, and then press the button again to turn in off," Sonic explained to Shadow. Shadow did what he was told, and yelled into the megaphone. "ALRIGHT IDIOTS! IT'S TIME FOR THE GAMESHOW CHALLENGE THING!" Shadow yelled, and pressed the button to turn it off. "Did it work?" Shadow asked, and Sonic nodded. "You could have worded it better, but you get the idea," Sonic answered. The nine tired contestants stormed out, really not looking forward to the next challenge, even though they should expect what to come by now. "Alright contestants, today's challenge is a sword fighting contest. One person on each team will come up to duel someone. If they win, they stay in. If they lose, they are disqualified. But before we begin, Rings, since you have one more person than the Emeralds, you must choose someone to stay out of the contest," Sonic said to them. "Wait, sword fighting? They aren't real swords right?" Tails asked. "Nope, they're plastic," Sonic answered, and Tails sighed of relief. After some brief discussion, it was decided that Cream should stay out of this challenge.
"Alright, so some ground rules before we begin. Number one, no using powers that you have," Sonic began. "Oh come on!" Silver and Blaze said in unison. "Number two, if you fall to the ground, you are eliminated. And finally, no cheating. Understood?" Sonic finished, and everyone nodded. "Good. Alright, first up, Tails vs Eggman!" Sonic said and threw a sword to each of them.
Tails raised his sword up to Robotnik. Robotnik doing the same. "You can always give up Eggman." "To you? Never. I've managed to beat Sonic, so I can definitely beat his sidekick," Robotnik teased, and Tails struck him, Robotnik blocking him. Robotnik swung to the right, but Tails blocked that too. Tails dashed to the right, and they swung a few times, the swords clashing against each other. Tails kept circling Robotnik, however, and Robotnik being old and slow, couldn't keep up. Tails hit him in the back, and he fell to his knees. Tails struck him one more time and Robotnik fell to the ground. "And Round 1, Tails wins!" Sonic cheered. "Next up, Silver vs Storm!"
Silver spun the sword around his hands, and Storm was shaking. "You can give up now you know?" Silver suggested. "No! If I give up, then we might lose! I won't back down!" Storm raised up his sword and hit Silver with all his force. Silver dodged to the right. He then struck Storm a few times, but it didn't much since he was much bigger than him. Storm kept hitting Silver with full force, and Silver kept blocking it, but it got harder and harder as his energy drained from the fight. 'I got to think of some way to disarm him,' Silver thought, blocking another attack. He then came up with an idea. He jumped into the air, and Storm tried to hit him again but missed. Silver landed behind him and hit him in the back. Then, before Storm could react, Silver ran up to his side and hit him in the had, dropping the sword from his grasp. "What?" Storm said in shock, as Silver dealt the final blow and Storm fell to the ground. "Silver will be proceeding to the next round," Sonic announced. "Next fight, Wave vs Blaze!"
Wave and Blaze both armed themselves and stepped in the ring. Both stared down the enemy, waiting for them to attack. Finally, Blaze swung first, but Wave deflected it. She dashed to the right and swung. It hit Blaze, but she stood her ground, and swung back, almost touching Wave.
They both swung at each other, the blades grinding against one another. Wave raised her sword in the sky and struck with all her might. Blaze tried to block it, but the force knocked the blade out of her hand and knocked her to the ground. "Wave has beaten Blaze, and thus will move on," Sonic said. "Next fight, Espio vs Vector,"
Vector knew he didn't stand a chance, because since he worked with Espio a lot, he knows what he is capable of. And he knows that the chances of winning are about the same as Sonic going onto a date with Amy. So basically, he can't win. As Espio picked up the sword, he started to quiver a little. "You know, Vector, you can give up now, and not have to deal with wasting your energy," Espio said while staring him down. "Like Storm said, I do not want to get voted out, so I'll try, even though I know what you can," Vector said as he raised his sword to him. "Very well then, let's get this over with," Espio said. Vector swung first, but Espio easily dodged and hit him in retaliation. It hit him in the stomach, but Vector still stood and attacked again. Espio also dodged that one. Vector took three more swings, with Espio blocking them all. Espio then swung back at Vector, hitting him again. He jumped behind him, and hit him in the back of his leg, having him fall to one knee, and he dropped his sword. He walked back in front of him and raised up the sword to swing. "Any last words?" Espio asked him, and Vector shook his head. Saying nothing else, he swung at him, and Vector fell. "Espio won the duel!" Sonic announced. "Our next battle is between Tails and Wave."
Tails and Wave both held their swords towards the enemy. Tails had struck first, but Wave blocked it. Wave attacked back, but Tails, being quicker than her, moved out of the way before she could hit him. Tails tried to hit her a couple of times, but Wave kept blocking, and Tails moved too fast for Wave to hit him. Finally, though, Wave used all her strength and hit Tails with full force sending him flying a couple of feet, and fell to the ground. "Wave wins the fight! Next up, Silver vs Wave!"
Silver, having watched Wave dueling everyone, was getting nervous that he might not be able to defeat Wave. But, like Storm and Vector before him, he would rather try than be a coward. He picked up his sword, and Wave stepped forward. Wave had the first attack and struck Silver's sword. Silver pushed away Wave's blade and sliced at Wave, which Wave blocked the incoming attack. They clashed and slashed, but Wave proved to be stronger. Using the force she had been using in her fights, she knocked away Silver's blade. Since Silver couldn't use his telekinesis, he was basically defeated. And with one slash, he was on the ground, defeated. "Wave has defeated another person! Now it is down to the final two, Wave vs Espio!"
Espio and Wave both stood in front of each other, locking eyes with each other. "To be honest, Wave, I have never met such a worthy fighter before. Your skills prove that you not only stand a chance against me but can match me. And let me say this; I admit that I don't know that even I could defeat you. But yet here I stand, my blade in hand, and I will fight you to the end," Espio gave his speech, and pulled out his sword. "I know about your combat experience, and all I can say is that I'm ready for whatever you bring at me," was all Wave replied. Wave gave the first hit, but Espio dashed backward, dodging the slash. Espio was much faster than Wave, and even Tails, providing quick jabs and swings. Still, Wave blocked them all. Wave then attacked back, and they clashed against each other. Espio prepared to hit with all his might, and Wave did the same. They both swung, the blades hitting against each other, and hitting the enemy. They were both hits with full force but stood there for a while. Finally, Espio fell to his knees. "Guess I couldn't defeat you this time, huh?" Espio said and fell to the ground. "And the Emeralds win!" Sonic cheered, as the Rings rushed to Espio to check up on him. Meanwhile, Wave was very upset with the Emeralds. "You guys are so useless, I am the only reason we won," Wave said angerly, and sat beside them. "Hey, I fought Espio! How could I defeat him?!" Vector asked Wave, and they got into an argument. "Rings, I will see you at the campfire tonight."
The camera cuts to the campfire, as Tails, Blaze, Silver, Cream, and Espio sit in their seats, waiting for the ceremony to begin. "Rings, you guys lost the challenge. Now one of you must be eliminated. You all know how the voting works. Now audience, we'll be back after this commercial break," Sonic said to the camera, as it cuts to an empty jar. "Air. Sweet, sweet air," A voice readout, as it listed the price for the air as $2,000. It cuts back to the campfire, where the ceremony begins. "Alright, now that we are done, let's begin the ceremony. Today's prizes are oatmeal raisin cookies," Sonic said, pulling out four oatmeal raisin cookies. Tails had a disgusted look on his face. "Really, oatmeal raisin?" Tails asked. "Hey, Oatmeal raisin is the best cookie. At least I give you something. Now then, the first person safe is Tails, with zero votes," Sonic said and tossed him the cookie, and he caught it. "Next person safe is Espio, also with zero votes," Sonic continued, and threw Espio the cookie, which he caught. "The final person with zero votes is Silver," Sonic said, and Silver levitated the cookie to him. "Wait, that means…" Tails and Silver said in unison, as Sonic interrupted them. "Cream and Blaze, both of you have received votes. Now, with a vote of 3-2, the last person safe is…" Sonic said, as Tails looked nervously at Cream, not wanting her to get eliminated again. Silver also didn't want Blaze to go. Either way, one of them was going home. "Cream," Sonic said finally, tossing her the cookie. "Thank goodness," Cream sighed in relief, as Blaze stood there, sad that it was her time to go. "Blaze, go to the boat where Shadow awaits you," Sonic ordered.
As Shadow awaited for Blaze to get on the boat, she dragged herself to the boat. "Blaze?" A familiar voice was heard behind Blaze. She spun around to see Silver standing there. "Before you go, I always needed to tell you something. But… I don't want you to go…" Silver explained, as Blaze looked into his eyes. "It's just that… I always… I…," Silver tried to say, and then Blaze pecked him on the cheek. "I love you too," she said and boarded the boat. He stood there, frozen. The boat's engine roared to life and left the island. Finally, Silver could move but stood in sadness as Blaze left the island. "Blaze…"