Sonic Legends: Dimensional Destruction.

Chapter XXI: Glutton for Punishment

"Grrr... my head," Knuckles grumbled as he woke up from being knocked out. "DK? You alright?" "Ugh... yeah," the gorilla yawned as he stretched his arms up. "I must've passed out after that fight. Did we win?" "I don't think so," the Echidna growled as he put his hands on the bars of the cage they were in. "We lost." "What?! That can't be!" Donkey Kong gasped as he looked around at the enclosure. "How did that happen?" "I'd like to know that, too..." he muttered, then noticed a short, stout human wearing a yellow shirt, purple overalls, and green shoes walking towards them with a small sack in his hand. "Wahahahahahaha! This bag o' gold coins is just the tip of the iceberg for what's to come," the man chortled as he shook the bag in his hands, making a clinking sound. "Once I hand you two furballs off to my employer, he's gonna make me RICH!" "Who are you?" Knuckles demanded, gripping the bars more firmly. "Did you lock us up?!" "Bah! Of course I did, you red mutt!" the portly human sneered. "I'm Wario, and I'm-a gonna be the richest man in the world!" "Not today, punk! We're getting out of here!" the Guardian scoffed as he attempted to pry the bars apart. "What the--?! Why can't I open this?!" "Hehehe... I ain't stupid. I know you have super strength," Wario laughed. "That cage is meant to sap your strength so you can't break out!" "Did King K. Rool hire you?" DK asked as he tried to get free as well. "Who's your boss?" "I don't know his name, but his money's good. It's solid gold," he replied, taking out a coin and biting down on it to certify its authenticity. "He gave me these coins as a gift and he said if I captured you two punks and brought you to him, he'd give me SO much more!"

"As if! Nobody locks me in a cage!" Knuckles growled again as he started punching the bars this time. "I WILL get us out of here!" "Go ahead and try all you want! It won't work," the human snickered. "Like I said; the cage saps your strength, so you can't break it!" "I'm not giving up so easily! I didn't come all this way just to die in a cage!" the Echidna shouted as he continued to punch away at the enclosure. "I swore to protect the Master Emerald from thieves and terrorists like you, and I won't fail now! RRRRRAAAGH!" With that final grunt of exertion, Knuckles was able to break the cage open, alarming Wario. "WHA?! That's impossible!" the fat man exclaimed. "That cage is meant to be indestructible!" "I'd get a refund on that if I were you," Donkey Kong laughed as he stretched his arms. "See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya!" Both mammals ran out of the broken cage, leaving Wario in the dust.

"Grrr! Nobody makes a fool out of me!" he growled. "I'm-a gonna kick your butts and haul you to my employer personally!" He whipped out his motorcycle and hopped on it, then pursued them at full speed. "Uh-oh. Here comes trouble," DK spoke as he glanced behind after hearing the engine rumble. "What? He has a motorbike?!" Knuckles exclaimed as the greedy glutton got closer and closer to them. "Grr... I'll stop him!" "How?" the gorilla asked. "Watch and learn," the Echidna chuckled as he turned around and raised his fist up. "Eat this, biker buffoon! Quake Punch!" He then drove his fist into the ground, causing a stony protrusion to jut out and strike the motorcycle, destroying it. This sent Wario flying at least 50 feet into the air! "WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the man hollered as he soared across the sky. "Wow... he's really flying," Donkey Kong remarked at the sight. "How did you do that?" "Not to brag, but I got some incredible strength in my whole body!" the red warrior smirked. "I could break a mountain in two if I wanted!" "Pft. That's nothing," the ape scoffed. "I once punched the moon out of orbit to crush the evil Tiki Tong!" "Pics or it didn't happen," Knuckles retorted.

The stout human crash-landed into the ground, creating a crater upon impact. He got up slowly and staggered a bit, groaning in confusion. "Grr... those punks are gonna be in big trouble when I get my hands on them," he muttered as he shook his head. "If I don't get them back in a cage, I won't get paid!" The tables were turned as Knuckles and Donkey Kong were now running towards Wario, both of them angry that he had imprisoned them earlier. "You're not getting away from us, you goblin!" the Echidna shouted as he leapt up and attempted to punch Wario's lights out. The human countered with his own punch colliding with the red mammal's fist. This sent out a mini shockwave that sent DK back a few feet, but neither Wario nor Knuckles were affected, which surprised both of them. "Wha? You're tougher than you look," the human remarked as their fists struggled against each other. "I could say the same about you," the Echidna smirked back, not letting up one bit. "But I'm not giving up, buddy!" This stalemate went on for a few more seconds before a wheeled object collided with them, knocking them over.

"Knuckles! You okay?" Donkey Kong exclaimed as he ran over to him and helped him back up. "Grr... yeah. I'm fine," Knuckles groaned in discomfort as he was hoisted back to his feet. "Where's the punk who blindsided me?" "Is that it?" he asked, pointing to the wheel-shaped robot. It looked like it had bug eyes on the side of its body. "A Motobug! So Eggman IS behind this!" the Guardian growled angrily as he got into a fighting stance. The enemy then charged at him again, only to be knocked out by the Echidna's fist. Knuckles, however, was surprised that the enemy didn't feel very metallic. "Maybe it's not a Motobug," he mused. "It looks... dizzy. Eggman's Badniks hardly get disoriented that easily. What is it?" Wario was also mad; mad that someone else was trying to steal his bounty. "Nobody gets in between me and my money!" he bellowed furiously as he grabbed the confused entity and shook it vigorously, then punted it like a football. "And don't come back!" "Gee, thanks... I think," the red mammal replied after seeing Wario's strength. "But don't think I'm letting you off the hook so easily; I still owe you an old-fashioned butt-kicking for locking me up in that cage!" "Bring it on, redhead!" the man taunted. "I'll make sure you stay down this time!"

Before they could do that, however, a bomb was thrown in front of them that blew up and sent them both flying backwards. They struggled to get back up, feeling more sluggish than before. "Urgh... again?!" Knuckles coughed as he staggered forward. "Did you plan this as well, Wario?!" "What are ya talking about, you mongrel?" the man groaned in confusion as he wobbled back and forth. "If I hired somebody to throw a bomb at you, I wouldn't be in the blast range! I'm-a greedy, but I ain't stupid!" He then fell flat on his face. "Well, at least we defeated him. C'mon, Knuckles. Let's get out of here," DK spoke up. The Echidna didn't respond, but instead, collapsed to the ground as well. "C'mon, buddy! Wake up!" The gorilla picked him up and carried him over the shoulder, but was hit in the face with a weak explosive that knocked him out. The Kong tipped over and dropped Knuckles, leaving all three out cold on the ground. Suddenly, a horde of squatty, bloblike creatures with arms and legs came running out and grabbed them. "We got 'em, boys!" one of them squeaked. "Now to take 'em to His Majesty!" They then waddled off, carrying Wario, Knuckles, and Donkey Kong to their master...