Chapter 11: Headache
Two days after the Cyan Chaos Emerald was stolen, Sonny and his friends decided to get together at Amelia's house, because it was closer to the school, which had been fully repaired after it was invaded by Dr. Eggman's robots. It was quiet inside since Amelia's mom was conveniently out shopping, so the three made themselves comfortable in the living room. Then Amelia went into the kitchen and brought back some homemade chocolate-chip cookies with glasses of milk, which Sonny and Miles generously took.
"Hey, these are actually pretty good," Miles said after trying one cookie. "Did you make these yourself?"
"I sure did," Amelia replied. "What do you think, Sonny?"
Sonny took a small bite, and then shrugged. "It's okay."
Amelia glared at Sonny for a few moments, and then sat down on the couch opposite of Sonny and Miles who were sitting on the footstools. "So, what are we going to do about this mysterious thief who's after our Chaos Emeralds?"
"Well, the Chaos Emeralds technically aren't ours," Miles responded. "We're just trying to keep them out of Dr. Eggman's hands."
In response, Amelia sighed with irritation. "I know, Miles, but we can't just sit back and let this guy take these gemstones that could be dangerous if used by the wrong people."
"For once, I agree with Amelia," Sonny said. "That's why I should be the one to retrieve them. I'm the fastest guy in here, and I know exactly where they are."
"But look how well that turned out," Miles said as he took another bite out of the cookie. "The thief found the two Chaos Emeralds first and was able to set up traps before we even got there."
Sonny took a sip of the milk and said, "Then we'll have to get to the remaining Chaos Emeralds before he does."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Amelia asked. "We don't know who this guy is, or how he's able to find the Chaos Emeralds."
"Amelia's right," replied Miles. "Unless we know what we're dealing with, there's no way we can plan an effective countermeasure against this thief."
A sudden headache came over Sonny, causing him to rub his temples repeatedly.
"What's wrong, Sonny?" Miles asked.
"I don't know," Sonny replied. "This headache has been occurring on and off since we lost the Cyan Chaos Emerald."
"I think we have aspirin around here somewhere," Amelia said, and got up.
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After Sonny and Miles left Amelia's house, the sun had gotten lower on the horizon.
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Sonny asked abruptly.
Miles hesitated. "Um, I was going to do homework and continue working on a solution for communicating with our spirits more effectively. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the South Island School Boxing Challenge, which will be starting in the school gym soon."
"When did you suddenly get interested in boxing?" After a few moments, Miles' eyes widened. "Are you going to talk to Chuck?"
"Yep," Sonny answered. "I've been avoiding him for a while after he asked me about the Red Chaos Emerald, but I think he deserves to know the truth. Besides, if he's possessed by one of Sonic's friends, then maybe he can help us."
"I suppose," Miles said.
Then Sonny crossed the street and walked back towards the school with Miles following alongside him.
By the time they got to the school, the sun had set and there was a fairly long line leading up to the school gym. While most of the people were students, there were quite a few adults as well. Sonny and Miles then got in line, and waited several minutes before reaching the gym entrance. The man who was handing out tickets was none other than Mr. Chaplain, who looked surprised to see Sonny and Miles.
"Hi, Mr. Chaplain," Sonny said awkwardly,
"Well, Sonny," Mr. Chaplain said. "I never took you to be the type to see boxing matches."
"Actually, I'm here to support a friend who's competing in the challenge."
"Oh, I see."
Miles paid for the tickets with his allowance money, and together he and Sonny went inside. The bleachers were crowded, full of people who were yelling and cheering. A single overhead light shined on a boxing ring that had been placed in the middle of the gym, while a man in a white dress-shirt and black pants was announcing two boxers who walked into the ring. One was a big tall guy with medium light-blond hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a red cap and green scarf over a white T-Shirt. His boxer-shorts and gloves were cream-colored with giant red boots covering his feet. Meanwhile, the other boxer was a short guy wearing a red hoodie and matching gloves, black shorts, and red sneakers with white strap-on laces.
"For the first round of the South Island School Boxing Challenge," the announcer said loud and clear into a handheld microphone. "We have Barker 'Polar Bear' Bernstein from Aurora High School facing off against Michael 'Mighty' Armadillo from East Middle School. One is a human tank who uses brute strength to the fullest, while the other is a feisty little guy who can throw a mean punch or two! Will the tiny beat the mighty, or will the mighty triumph? Let's find out!"
A bell rang and the announcer got out of the ring. Barker moved first and charged forward, but Michael stayed and positioned his fist. Then just before Barker hit him, Michael jumped into the air and made an uppercut punch that was so powerful that it knocked Barker to the ground. While the boxing referee counted, Michael braced himself.
When it seemed like Barker wasn't getting up, the announcer stepped back into the ring and exclaimed, "I don't believe it! One punch from Mighty and Polar Bear was knocked out cold! Therefore, the winner of this round is…Mighty Armadillo!"
As the announcer raised Michael's hand, the crowd cheered wildly.
From there on, the matches were more exciting than the next. In one match, a competitor with green hair and a red neckerchief was nearly pummeled when he suddenly pulled out a flash bomb and threw it at his opponent. The opponent was subsequently disoriented, and the green-haired teen was disqualified from the tournament. Then the last match had Chuck facing off against a tall skinny guy with short ash-blond hair, wearing a purple sleeveless shirt, matching purple gloves, and tan boxer-shorts and boots.
The announcer cleared his throat and then shouted, "In the West corner we have Shanazar High's Nack 'Fang' Wesley, who's quick on his toes with a deadly accuracy to his punches! Then in the East corner we have South Island Middle School's very own Chuck 'Knuckles' Kidman, a powerhouse fighter and last year's winner! Will Chuck take the title of Champion once again or will Nack steal the crown? Let's find out!"
Once the bell rang, Nack went for a series of rapid punches in Chuck's direction. But to everyone's surprise, Chuck blocked every single one of them. Then before Nack could dodge, Chuck punched him in the face so hard that he staggered back into the ropes that surrounded the ring. As the crowd cheered wildly, Nack got his bearings and charged at Chuck with the same volley of rapid punches. Chuck in turn responded by dodging them, and went for an uppercut punch that caused Nack to fall onto the matt. While the referee counted, Nack slowly rose and then he went for a lower-kick towards Chuck's feet. Fortunately, Chuck noticed and jumped back to avoid the kick, which the referee noticed and called a foul on Nack's part.
In the next round, Nack attempted to make a comeback by pacing around Chuck so fast that he barely had time to dodge Nack's punches. He got to his knees, but Chuck refused to give up and as he readied himself, a faint red aura emanated from him. Miles noticed it immediately, while Sonny felt another headache coming on. Then just before Nack landed another punch, Chuck punched back with enough force to cause Nack to fall to the ground and lose the round. The last round was the same as the previous one, only the aura around Chuck was more visible and Sonny's headache grew worse.
"Sonny, I think we should leave," Miles said, helping Sonny out of his seat.
"No," Sonny said weakly. "I want to speak to Chuck."
"We'll talk to Chuck some other time, but right now you need help."
As Miles dragged Sonny out of the gym, Chuck made a final blow that sent Nack flying into the ropes and then he fell face-down on the matt. The referee counted to ten, and when Nack didn't get up, he declared Chuck to be the winner. Meanwhile from the rafters, Espen watched Sonny and Miles leave and then he pressed a button on a walkie-talkie he held in his hand.
"Victor, Sonny Hedge and Miles Prower are leaving the school gym."
"Is Amelia Rosen with them?" Victor responded.
"Negative. Should I pursue?"
"Affirmative, but make sure they don't see you."
"I can do that." Then Espen put away the walkie-talkie and jumped down from the rafters as the crowd cheered for Chuck. Because of the crowd noise, no one heard Espen land on his feet and Mr. Chaplain didn't see him leave either as Espen had literally turned himself invisible.
To be continued…