Sonic flew back when contact was made between the figure's fist and Sonic's own face. The force of the blow sent the hedgehog flying towards the wall of the atrium, the stonework cracking slightly when his body slammed against it.

The hedgehog gasped in pain, slowly looking up towards the shadow of the figure, their fist crackling with red energies, his face quickly transformed to a scowl and he lunged forward with all the speed he could muster, delivering 3 blows, a wicked kick that sent the figure stumbling back, a punch that collided with the figure's jaw and another hammering fist to the chest.

However…it wasn't enough to bring them down, when the hedgehog attempted to send yet another hammering punch towards the their face, yet they swerved back and deliver a quick kick to Sonic's knee, breaking his balance and leaving him open for another powerful blow that forced Sonic to his knees with it's strength.

The hedgehog then dodged a devastating haymaker made by the figure that would have surely taken his head off had it made contact with his face. Thankfully for both Miles and Sonic that was opposite of what happened.

Another three blows came racing towards Sonic from the figure, swift, lighting fast jabs with the monstrously sized spiked fists of whoever it was attacking them. Each blow leaving a crackling streak of red energy in it's trail, the hedgehog parried the fourth via a swift knee to the figure's side, that thankfully stopped the swing at the hedgehog from even being made in the first place.

Miles could only watch in awe as the two clashed throughout the vast atrium, each blow and dodge would leave traces of blue and red energy that crackled like flame…However as the brawl continued on and on…Miles could notice something that had previously seemed impossible…The world famous Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius was losing, so whoever was under that robe must be a serious force to be reckoned with by anyone.

Miles couldn't believe what was happening, how could Sonic be losing though? He was the fastest thing alive! The greatest hero that the people of Mobius had ever seen! And yet he was being man-handled by some mystery man underneath a mere robe…

The confusion within Miles swiftly turned into primal and raw panic as the figure sent his red crackling fist slamming into Sonic's chest, sending the hero flying backwards into the wall of the large atrium…He didn't look good, Sonic was visibly shattered, bruises, welts and cuts dotted the great hero's body and his breaths were coming out in short ragged gasps. The figure however didn't even seem to be scathed, all the figure did was slowly walk towards the felled hero…His fists glowing a malevolent crimson, prepared to deal the final blow to the greatest protector Knothole and Mobius as a whole had ever seen…

However, Miles wouldn't let his older brother fall to this figure…Not yet, and so with a running leap and a loud attempt at a war-cry, Miles flung himself onto the back of the figure, kicking and scratching at his veiled face.

Now, the figure who had previously shown indifference to the attacks of Sonic, seemed genuinely shocked at the little fox's sudden spout of courage, even yelping slightly as one of Miles's claws raked across his face.

However that would prove to be a very severe mistake, with one great hand the figure yanked down hard on one of Miles's fluffy appendages, causing the fox to howl in agony as he was flung from the back of the figure and slammed against the hard ground, a short kick sending the spindly small frame of the boy skidding across the atrium…

However Miles still had fight in his soul…Although agony flared throughout his body like a flash bang…He limped over to Sonic and stood before him, standing between the injured hedgehog and their masked assailant…

The figure gazed down upon the fox, his fists still crackling with arcane energy…Seemingly expecting Miles to swiftly lose his courage and flee for his life…yet he never did…Miles stood there, still as a statue…Not willing to let him touch his friend…

To the injured fox's surprise…The figure chuckled and spoke in a deep voice that had the tone of an old, seasoned warrior

"Your loyalty is admirable little one, but I'm afraid it would be wiser to stand aside…You cannot stop me, don't even try to resist."

Miles listened intently and though it shamed him, he felt the urge to run…To take off into the jungle and never look back…But the memories returned…Memories of his first home…His father…His failure…He couldn't let that happen again…He couldn't flee…He needed to take a stand…Even if it meant laying down his own life. If it bought Sonic another hour, another minute or even another second he would stand there and not budge an inch…He would deny this figure his victory.

Wanting to display his defiance, Miles spat blood at the figure's feet. The red ichor splattering against the floor tiles of the atrium.

The figure chuckled once more, however…This time there seemed to be a more…Malevolent tone in his voice as he spoke once again.

"Heh heh…Going to stand and fight eh? I respect you child, but I am afraid this is not the course of action you wish to take…Allow me to show you why."

With blinding speed the figure sent a punch into the stomach of the fox, sending him flying backwards into the wall once again…The pain it gave Miles was even greater and for a second it even seemed as if he could see blood specks behind his eyes…But it wouldn't stop him as he just rose to his feet…Again…And again…No matter what the figure did and the blows that were thrown at Miles, he just rose to his feet and stood between the two…

Sonic only watched Miles, with horror and awe in his eyes…Seeing the utter resilience of the fox…all of this punishment and pain, just to stop him from being hurt further by their attacker…It was both brave and stupid of the fox…And even the figure was beginning to see that…The hedgehog grinned with cracked, bloody teeth as the figure grew more and more frustrated, with his blows becoming more and more forceful each time, even though it pained him to see the fox in pain…

However that relishment of the figure's frustration ended swiftly when the mysterious man roared with a blood-curdling rage and violently threw a charged punch into Miles's already badly wounded torso…However this time, he didn't wait for the fox to get up…He sent a barrage of violent, rage fuelled kicks and punches into Miles, each one landing with a sickening thud…Sometimes the wet crunch of breaking cartilage and bones sounding out across the atrium…

Sonic wouldn't have it, with pained gasps he climbed to his feet and slowly, pitifully limped towards Miles's assailant, pure rage and brotherly instinct fuelling his weak frame into fighting back…

However, his gamble failed…Although he was able to land a weak blow to the back of the figures head, the next blow made by the figure was aimed directly at him, and without the ability to get away…He felt the full force of the assailant's fist colliding with his face…This was too much even for the great Sonic the Hedgehog to handle…And so…He collapsed…The last sight that the hero saw before the world turned dark…Was the scowling face of a crimson furred echidna, with amethyst coloured eyes that barrelled into his own.

…

Knuckles watched as the hedgehog collapsed to the ground like a sack of bricks, he was a worthy adversary, yet oddly enough…He felt a lot more impressed with the performance of the little fox…It took great courage to stand in the face of overwhelming force and not break and flee…It was certainly unheard of for a child of all people to show such a quality too.

In all his years as a mercenary, he had never encountered a child like that before…It was a shame that he was being paid to effectively deliver them both to the doorstep of G.U.N in exchange for them allowing the survival of his tribe…They had already been forcibly removed from their homeland, the very jungle that he stood in at this moment …He just hoped that he hadn't damaged his…cargo too badly…after all, it was bad for business to damage the property of his employers…