GeneX - Tails the Fox
Chapter 41 - Battle for the Master Emerald
Stages 21-22 - Chao Chambers
Boss 30 - Knuckles Vs Punchy

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and 
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?

Knuckles and Punchy came from opposite ends of the room, a large relaxation area for the Chao. Those Master Emerald pieces that the two echidnas hadn't already found were piled up to the side, and Rouge, who had gotten there first, was arguing with Rainbow, who had gotten there moments after she did. Apparently, Rouge had given Char the slip. "Hand over the rest of the shards!" she demanded of Rainbow, who replied, "No way, Batty! I'll never give up One's shard thingys!"

Punchy stepped between the two of them. "Hey, your fight's with me! Leave Rainbow alone!" Just then, Illusi reappeared at the sidelines. "Careful, Dark One! Beware your anger!" Knuckles now pushed past Rouge to face Punchy. "Hey, all of you, you may recall that that emerald's MINE! All of you, give back those shards!" Punchy grinned smugly at Knuckles. "Back again, eh, red? You know I found more shards than you! I'm already winning, so just save yourself the trouble and hand them over!"

Gemini, who had come in behind Knuckles, interrupted. "Excuse me, but has anyone seen the last page of my spell book?" "Forget your stupid page!" said Rouge, annoyed. Gemini looked a bit annoyed herself. "No way! I'm getting out of this stupid dragon form as soon as possible!" "Just to turn back into your ugly real form?!" Rouge shouted. "How would you know!?" Gemini shouted back. Finally, Illusi had enough. "Stop this foolishness! I found your page, Gemini! I stashed it somewhere for safekeeping!" Apparently, Illusi and Gemini knew each other. "You found it? That's great!" Gemini cheered.

"Page...?" Rainbow interrupted, confused. "What about the broken gem thing?" Illusi, taking it upon himself to act as referee, stepped in front of the pile of emerald pieces. "It belongs only to one of these two echidnas!" he said, gesturing to Knuckles and Punchy. "Now, they must fight for it!" "Hey, hold on!" Rouge protested. "What about me!?" "What about you!?" Rainbow replied. "You heard that shrewd shrew, it's not yours!" Rainbow and Rouge then began arguing again, appearing to be ready to fight themselves. Knuckles, who had been impatiently observing what had been going on, finally snapped. "ENOUGH!!!" Punchy mockingly scolded Knuckles. "Temper, temper, red."

"This is getting us nowhere!" Knuckles growled. "If you won't return the Master Emerald, then I'm just gonna have to get rough! I'll beat those shards out of you!" "Ha! Don't make me laugh, red!" Punchy replied confidently. "Fine, then let's see what you got!!!" Knuckles shouted in fury. The two echidnas immediately started punching each other, while everyone else ran out of their way. With all the tension in the air, everyone knew not to interfere. This was their fight.

Pounding each other with fists of fury, both echidnas got some good hits, but both endured the hits with the same ferocity. If Punchy was truly a clone, he was a perfect clone. They truly appeared equally matched. So, Punchy decided to use stronger tactics. "Chaos Avelanche!" Using the power of chaos, he lifted up chuncks of the floor and hurled them at Knuckles, but the red echidna wasn't slowed down a bit. He simply punched right through the debris, then ran after Punchy, who wasn't too surprised by that response. Knuckles and Punchy threw punches at the same time, hitting each other's fists. "YEOWCH!!" They both jumped backward, shaking their hands in pain. "They're each about as smart as the other." Rouge remarked.

Punchy, furious over that last hit, used Chaos Avelanche again, while Knuckles was still recovering. The red echidna, unable to get away, was buried by the chunks of the floor. However, he was still not finished! He burst out using his shovel claws and then tried punching Punchy again, with the claws still on his hand. Punchy, thinking fast, grabbed the claws and pulled them off Knuckles's hand, tossing them aside, but costing himself some time, giving Knuckles the opportunity to hit back. Punchy was knocked over, but as Knuckles tried to land another hit, Punchy retaliated with a swift kick to the chest, sending Knuckles flying away. The two quickly scrambled to their feet and resumed the battle.

Illusi was now overcome by a feeling of dread. As he watched the battle, he knew that Punchy was getting progressively angrier. Though he knew those echidnas had to face each other, he suddenly feared the worst might happen. He felt he had to do something. "But what could, or should, I do?" he thought, watching the fight nervously.

Punchy tackled Knuckles, driving him to the floor. Knuckles pushed himself back up and smacked Punchy across the face. It was clear they were both getting frustrated. However, Punchy was suddenly overcome by a surge of determination. "I'll.... show them who's fake! I'll win this battle and take back MY emerald!" he muttered. Knuckles heard, and responded. "You're demented! Someone must've played a nasty trick on you!" "I'm not gullible like you! I'M NOT YOU!!!" Punchy shouted, enraged. "Then you don't get the Master Emerald!" Knuckles replied, filled with a determination of his own. "Take this!!" Knuckles lifted one of the chunks of the floor left by Punchy's previous attacks and hurled it back at the green echidna. It hit its mark, but Punchy busted through it by sheer force of will, only getting angrier.

"Enough! Dark One, calm yourself!" Illusi called out, now in panic. Punchy turned to him, eyes burning with anger. "Shut your trap! You're the one who pushed for this fight in the first place! I'll do as I please!" Seizing the opportunity, Knuckles attacked Punchy while he was distracted. Punchy was knocked clear across the room, but landed on his feet. He ran right back after Knuckles, who simply stepped aside and let Punchy run past him. "Temper, temper, green!" Knuckles said, mocking him. "Chill out, One!" Rainbow shouted. "You're doin' fine! You'll win this!" Punchy turned around and chuckled manically. "Of course I will! Is there any doubt? Just one thing. I AM NOT ONE!!!!!" He now looked angrier than ever, but Knuckles was getting angry himself. "You leave them alone, Punchy! They've been trying to help you and you're just pushing them away! You're a cowardly thief who can't seem to remember his past, so your just trying to steal someone else's! Either you stop this madness, or I will!!"

"I'm stealing nothing!! I can't remember much of my past, but I do remember that emerald! It must be mine! I don't remember you at all! You stole it from me! So I'm taking it back! And there's not a thing you or anyone else is going to do to stop me!!!" Punchy's rage was reaching critical mass. He slammed Knuckles in the gut, but he resisted and was only hurt a little, and was knocked backward a few steps. Suddenly, he had a brainstorm. "Hold it! I don't remember you either.... But I remember something.... A few weeks before you first appeared..."

"That's right, Knuckles! That's when it all started!" Illusi shouted. Knuckles continued. "A few weeks before you showed up, another strange character was hanging around my island. He was watching me, so I went over there and gave him a piece of my mind. But then.... it gets a little hazy after that... I think he tricked me. First thing I remember after that, I noticed he had clipped some of my hairs... It was a strange rat in a white coat..." "It's not true!" Punchy insisted. "Why would I lie!?" Knuckles shouted. "I'm not even sure it has anything to do with you! The rat... I remember... His name.... was Bucky the Rat!"

"That's right!" Illusi said. "That is the person who created Punchy!" Everyone else looked a bit confused. "What are you all talking about?" Rouge wondered aloud. "Binky? Who's Binky?" Rainbow said, mispronouncing his name. "Bucky!" Gemini corrected her.

"SHUT UP, all of you!!! It can't be true!" Punchy screamed, covering his ears in an attempt to ignore them. "Dark One, stop it! There's no reason to get so angry!" Illusi insisted, but it was too late. "It.... It's not..." Punchy muttered. "It is true! My hair looked silly for a while because of it!" Knuckles insisted. Punchy shut his eyes and fell to his knees. "Dark One! Calm down!! Please!" Illusi shouted, panicked again.

At that moment... All went dark.... Rage hung in the air.... And Punchy the echidna submit to his anger....

To be continued...