Chapter 3: The Fight is On!

After shaking hands on a good match ahead, Chris and Jake stare each other down, and the tension builds in the air. Both of them are determined to win the fight and ready to give it their all.

"I'm gonna win this! You're going down, Jake!" Chris says through some nerves. He puts on a serious look.

"N-no! It'll be lights out for you, Chris!" Jake answers back, a bit nervous himself. He returns Chris' determined expression with his own.

"Oh brother." Danny rolls his eyes at the two trying to sound tough.

Kyrogk and Knuckles chuckle at the attempted trash talk. They're ready to put them through some tough training to make sure they'll be in fighting shape. A lot to do in the three weeks!

"Okay. Save it for the ring! We need to make sure you guys are ready." Knuckles says.

Sonic, Amy, and Tails come walking over, carrying some leftover chili dogs they managed to keep Sonic from finishing. They're talking until they come to the unexpected scene: Knuckles standing to the side along with Kyrogk who they haven't seen since back in their world, Danny looking on, and Chris and some new kid glaring at each other.

"What's going on? Is that Kyrogk over there?" Sonic wonders aloud.

"And who's that with Chris? They don't look too happy. Come on!" Tails runs over.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Sonic agrees and follows.

"Hey! Someone please explain what this all abou!" Amy shouts as she follows after Sonic and Tails.

Knuckles and Kyrogk turn to see them coming over. Danny waves the trio over, and Chris and Jake finally stop their impromptu staring contest and notice the new arrivals.

"Hey guys! You missed a bit. Kyrogk's here." Knuckles fills them in.

"Hi there! Long time!" Kyrogk greets Sonic and the others.

"Big guy. It's been a while." Sonic nods at Kyrogk.

"Hi everyone! Um this is Kyrogk, who you already know, and this is Jake! He came here with Kyrogk! Jake, this is Sonic, Tails, and Amy!" Chris introduces everyone.

"Pleased to meet you!" Amy says.

"Hello!" Tails waves at them.

"Cool! So you're a friend of Chris?" Sonic asks Jake.

"Well. You see. We um…" Jake's not sure how to tell them he's going to be Chris' opponent in a fight soon.

"Me and Chris met him earlier. Invited him to come play our new game. He brought Kyrogk along too, who you guys know already. One thing led to another, and…" Danny says, catching the others up to date.

"And…?" Sonic asks, waiting for someone to go on.

"Knuckles is going to train me, and Kyrogk is going to train Jake." Chris finally answers.

"Oh. So you guys are learning some self defense? That's not a bad idea!" Amy comments.

"Yeah!" Tail agrees with Amy's ides.

"Kind of. But we're training so when can be ready. Me and Jake are gonna fight." Chris finally says.

"In a boxing match!" Jake adds.

"You're going to fight in a boxing match?! Like actual fighting?! No way!" Sonic is surprised and objects to the idea.

"I'm not so sure about this." Tails shakes his head.

"That sounds reckless! Did Knuckles talk you two into this?" Amy asks as she looks at Knuckles.

"Hey! We didn't force anyone!" Knuckles explains.

"Neither did I!" Kyrogk likewise states

"Well it's not happening! So just forget-" Amy starts to say.

But she's interrupted when Chris speaks up, wanting a moment to explain himself.

"Hold it! We weren't pushed to do anything! I want to fight Jake." Chris says after putting on a serious expression.

"You sure about this?" Sonic asks, concerned.

"Yeah. Listen, you guys are always saving me, and battling Eggman. And I don't have powers like you guys do. I want to stand on my own, and this is even a chance for where I can actually fight too! It's not like Jake is a big monster or some robot. He's a kid like me! And I can beat him!" Chris says with a confident smile he raises his fists and tosses a few punches in the air.

Chris' confidence is growing a bit. He's still nervous, but he's starting to believe he can do this! Not that it'll be easy, but still.

"If you say so. I'm not too thrilled at the idea of you duking it out with someone, but if that's what you want, then okay." Sonic says, and gives him a thumbs up.

"I'm not the biggest fan of it either. But! If you really are going to fight, I'll help train you. We'll make sure you're ready to rumble!" Amy sighs before smiling and offering to help Chris prepare.

"Same here. But I can at least offer my analysis. Maybe I can put something together to help you train!" Tails nods his support, already thinking of inventions that could be of assistance.

"Thanks guys!" Chris shouts with a confident smile. He can do this!

While Chris is talking to Sonic and the others, Danny decides to tell their friends Frances and Helen. He quickly sends off them some texts, and gets very different messages back from both of them.

"Hey Chris! I texted Helen and Frances too! Helen says be careful, and Frances said to kick his- er she says you can do it!" Danny gives Chris a thumbs up after filling in their friends.

"Um, thanks, Danny!" Chris gives an unsure encouragement at Danny spreading the word.

Knuckles clears his throat to get everyone's attention. They need to get things moving along to stay on schedule.

"Hey! We need to start making some plans here. Training, where the ring will go, other stuff!" Knuckles tells them.

"So what are we gonna wear in the fight? Like headgear, padding and whatever?" Chris asks.

"M-maybe we don't need any headgear or padding." Jake suggests, a nervous tone in his voice.

"What?!" Chris asks, surprised at the suggestion.

"Y-yeah! How about we go all out! Full contact and everything! No headgear or any padding! Like pro style! And we can fight until last one standing too! No holds barred!" Jake says, caught up in the challenge, despite his usual somewhat timid demeanor.

Jake's words hang in the air, his idea making the fight a lot tougher than Chris thought it would be. But Chris accepted the challenge and he's not about to back down now! Chris swallows his nerves and nods his head.

"R-right! You're on Jake! A fight to the finish!" Chris exclaims.

"Looks like this just got taken up a level. You guys go through with this it'll mean extra training." Knuckles tells them.

"Let's do it!" Chris confirms.

"Bring it on!" Jake shouts back at Chris.

"All right then! I know just what to do!" Kyrogk says, having a look of some over the top training in store for Jake.

"Oh boy…" Jake gulps.

"Hope you two don't regret that." Danny remarks.

"This could get rough." Amy sighs.

"Yeah, but we said we're behind him. We'll just have to make sure Chris is ready to fight." Sonic replies to Amy.

"Um what exactly do we wear for the fight then? Boxing gloves obviously, shorts, sneakers, and a t-shirt or tank top I guess?" Chris asks.

"Could go with some custom t-shirts. Get some printed, maybe? Like faces or some logos." Jake suggests, lost in thought at the options to consider.

"If you two are fighting a pro style match already, why not just fight without any on?" Danny recommends.

"Right. We could do that, too." Chris nods a bit bashful at the idea.

"Yeah. Okay." Jake blushes a bit, but agrees.

As Chris and Jake are talking, Tails was taking measurements of the yard, using a scanner built into his wristwatch.

"Hm. I think the boxing ring could go over here. And the dimensions… How's that for a ring" Tails puts in some data, and a life size hologram of a ring appears in the space before him.

"Nice going, Tails!" Sonic complements the two-tailed genius.

"That's good. Can get the materials and have it up in no time!" Knuckles muses.

"Can borrow material from our gym if you need any!" Kyrogk offers to help.

"Thanks. We got plenty of time to get it set up!" Tails thanks him for the help.

"Right! Time for you guys to start training! Chris! Meet me in the gym!" Knuckles says as he heads toward the mansion.

"Oh boy. Wish me luck, guys!" Chris runs after Knuckles.

"Wait up! I can help too!" Danny joins them.

"I'd better make sure that Knuckles doesn't overdo it." Amy follows, ready to keep the training tough but within reason. Chris doesn't exactly have super strength like Knowles does.

"Hm. Got some ideas too. Later!" Sonic runs off, having some plans of his own.

Kyrogk turns to Jake, an eager look in his eye. He's ready to put Jake through the paces and get him ready to rumble!

"You know the drill! Run back to the gym! Double time! Let's go!" Kyrogk runs ahead and waits for Jake to catch up.

"Here we go again." Jake sighs and runs after his coach.

The fight is set and it's time for training! Will Chris and Jake be ready to duke it out?

To be continued…