Chapter 16 "Opponent"

It was years later on Sonic's planet, Spike and Power were maturing.

Spike had tried to unlock the secrets of the chaos emeralds, but there was little he could gather, the two of them traveled from place to place, searching for more of them.

Each day Spike and Power grew stronger and started a brother-to-brother relationship, it was subtle and only obvious to both of them, but very strong.

While they weren't living and learning, the two of them trained and fought each other for sport, pretty soon the two of them were training themselves in the art of combat, Power especially.

Every time Spike used the chaos emerald he found it gave him a huge amount of adrenalin and speed.

Power couldn't use a sword to save his life, even though Spike tried to teach him; so the two of them made up their own techniques for fighting.

Spike figured the day would come when all of the elites found him again, and he wanted to be sure both of them could defend themselves.

They grew stronger, mentally, physically, with their skills, and with the trust they had in each other.

Still Spike remained distant to him a lot of the time, afraid of attachment…from what had happened to him in the past.

But he was becoming a young man, and though he carried the scarred mind, he was eager to prove himself.

"Say Power? You want a slice of my apple?" said Spike.

"Sure Master." Power said with a smile.

Spike cut the apple quickly with his hand and tossed it at him, Power caught it barely.

"You know, you don't have to call me that, you can just call me Spike." Spike said.

"I was taught to address the ones in authority with titles; Master, Sir, Commander; I just like the way 'Master' sounds. Maybe if I'd met somebody at my level I'd address them with their first name, but if you're ok with it, I'd like to give you respect." Power said.

"As you wish, I suppose you have already gotten used to it." Spike said.

Each of them, were lying on their backs against the warm grass as the wind moved leaves and other such things out of their way.

Spike had his hands behind his head almost dreaming.

Power was enjoying his apple and tilted his head in Spike's direction.

"Master, we've been training for a long while now, when are we going to make our first move? We know for a fact that our emerald will glow when we get close to an emerald." said Power, leaning on his arm. "And we already heard rumors of one in Green Hill Zone.'

"I don't know Power…it's a drastic step for me…we may have to use force, the rumors of this 'Sonic the Hedgehog' and 'Tails' and 'Knuckles' or whoever these guys are, are strong fighters supposedly." said Spike.

"You did say you wanted dominance, getting the emeralds is the easiest way there, besides I think we could take them, they're near our age anyway, how tough can they be?" said Power.

"Not knowing is the problem…we're self-taught fighters, what if they're better then us." said Spike.

"Never heard you talk like that before Master, you're usually so confident." Power said.

Spike sat up and turned his back to him.

Power was silent for a moment. "There's…more to it isn't there?"

"…" Spike was still, but his fist was shaking on the ground. "My mother wouldn't have approved of it…"

"Your mother? Master, you and I were both abandoned, how are we going to make anything of ourselves if nobody but us, realizes we have more to us? Sure it's drastic…but I think no cost is too great for our goal." said Power.

"I suppose you're right Power, the thing is, my father…" Spike said. "I'm not this piece of emotional baggage, but, this is serious, if I strike…it will seem like I'm doing the same as my father did, I want to be my own man…I want to be set apart from him."

"Only you and I are left that know about your past, and I will swear to you Master, I will not breathe a word of It." said Power. "How can anybody blame you for what happened? There was nothing you could do; you were at your father's mercy."

"..Yeah…You're right, I know, if it's necessary; then it's necessary…" said Spike. "Ok then, since we're both prepared, today will be the day we make it out to Green Hill Zone."

Spike got up on his feet, ready for anything, and Power chased loyally behind him.

The days went by smoothly as they began their journey, drawing nearer and nearer to their destination.

though something made both of them very uneasy, they didn't know weather or not it was the seriousness of their intentions or that somebody might be tailing them, but it made sleep harder to grasp.

When it rained they found shelter and waited it out and when it was dry they slept or continued, long quiet days that seemed almost like a dream.

Spike was getting more and more silent and Power wasn't sure of it, Spike was a very dedicated person and a very serious one too, it was seldom Power heard him laugh or cry or really, show any sort of emotion at all.

Still he gave off this way about him, a feeling of security and safety that you could just feel.

As they drew closer they started getting less confident, Green Hill Zone was such a quiet place…even with the chaos emerald, if a battle were to suddenly spring, they'd almost certainly be caught off guard.

"Master? Are we there presently?" Power asked.

Spike ignored the question, but Power understood he needed to keep his mind on what he was doing, so he just guessed that they weren't.

The area they were at was grassy as far as the eye could see; rocks and boulders upon the hills in their eye line, along with trees in unusual places.

It was peaceful though, a comforting place.

But then…suddenly…they saw somebody approaching from the hill in front of them.

"Is it the hedgehog Master? Did he know we were coming for the emerald?!" Power said, stepping beside Spike very alert.

"…" Spike was silent, listening to the sound, they couldn't see who it was, it was too far away and blurred by the eye.

But there was this sound…this teary sound as if the one coming was either crying or…or that it wasn't a person at all.

"Power, whoever this person is, might be a threat, be on your guard." Spike finally spoke.

"You can count on me." Power said rushing in front.

The person was on top of the hill and Power decided to take an offensive way of attacking, the person's speed was alarming to both of them.

He put his fist out and waited on the base of the hill till whoever it was would be in view.

Then…Power did not hesitate and laid a stinging punch into the opponent, making sure if it wasn't a threat to them the person would still be alive, but enough to stun them if the person tried attacking him.

Since each had met on different sides of the hill, he couldn't realize who it was till after his punch.

End chapter