The Bloodied Hands Arena/Link and Vane vs Phoenix and Alexander: Group Battle

==Spectating==
Sitting in the stands was a large, dark-brown, male hedgehog wearing a dark-red suit and black dress-pants beneath a red cape with white, furry trim. Beside him was a brown, female bird with long, light-brown hair wearing a simple white tank-top and light-blue shorts, along with a golden crown embedded with jewels atop her head.
"It's been a long time since we've been here. I'm excited to see how the kids do," the hedgehog said.
"I am too, but I can't believe I forgot how hot it is here!" the bird panted, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
The hedgehog let out a slight chuckle. "After all the years we've spent together, Melissa, I'm surprised you're not more resilient."
"Yeah, but at least the kids are," the avian replied.
Two figures were in the next row over, the both of them could easily be recognized as related to one of the contestants. "Oh, I hope they win," the female said, she was a lynx in a purple tank-top with a long denim dress.
"I'm just curious if their opponents have underestimated or overestimated," the male said, he was an orange furred mix between a fox and hedgehog.
"Hm?" the brown hedgehog asked, looking over to the hedgefox. "Oh, you must be the scrawny kid's parents," he said, to which his wife hit him on the back of his head.
"Sorry about that," Melissa said to the hybrid.
The lynx glared at the hedgehog in an intimidating manner, the hedgefox spoke "Nicole, calm down. I guess those two are yours?" He said, while motioning to the other pair.
"Mm-hm," the bird answered, "My name's Melissa, and this is my husband, Xavis."
"Well, I'm Flyby and this is Nicole."
"It's nice to meet you," Xavis said, gently rubbing the back of his head, "I hope you may forgive my impulsiveness; I often forget of the example I have to set."
"It's OK, besides! You might be surprised how tough our team is."
"Well, we've trained our kids ourselves," Melissa said, "So we could say the same."
Flyby pointed at the battlefield, "Well, looks like we're about to find out who's better. Whether my son wins or loses, I'm still proud of him. I'm betting you feel the same way."
"Definitely," Xavis and Melissa answered simultaneously.
----
"Oh, Alex..." Melissa said with worry as her son was knocked out. She looked to her husband. "Do you think Phoenix can handle this herself?"
"Hmmm..." Was Xavis' only response.
Flyby glanced over at the Birb and Hedgehog, grinning. "Looks like we'll have a winner soon."
----
"Uuummm..." Was all Flyby said, watching the fire subside.
"Hm, that went better than I expected," Xavis said, then looking to the Prowers. "Your kid did good out there. I'm honestly surprised he was able to talk her into control so quickly."
==The Bloodied Battle==
Two figures entered the battlefield. One was a red, female hedgehog wearing an unzipped white hoodie on top of an orange and yellow dress and black sweatpants, and the other was a slightly shorter, brown, male bird with dark-brown hair wearing a black T-shirt with a white "X" design and dark-red cargo shorts.
"Our first tournament-style fight- and in this heat? This should be fun," the hedgehog said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but it's also really bright..." her younger brother said, shielding his eyes from the sun.
Another pair entered the battlefield. The taller of the pair was a brown furred hedgehog hybrid wearing a red scarf, matching leather gloves and boots and a pair of goggles. The other was a pink chameleon in a black bodysuit with a brown scarf. Both had their scarves up on their faces.
On the outside, they seemed peaceful; but inside, they were prepared for anything. There was not room for over-confidence here.
"I feel terrible doing this, they are youths like us," The chameleon said. Her partner replied, "Yeah, but Chaos knows what they can do."
"Ooh, a giiirl~ I think she looks kinda cute. How 'bout you, Alex~?" the hedgehog said teasingly.
"Shut up, Phoenix..." the avian replied, his face reddening slightly as he crossed his arms.
"Nah," Phoenix said, lightly hitting the back of her brother's head, "C'mon." The two then began walking to the center of the arena.
"Ready for this?" The hedgehog-looking one said "Y-yeah...." Was what the chameleon said back, they approached the arena center.
She pulled her katannas out of their sheaths, narrowed her eyes and began focusing on forming a link from the spot in front of her to behind her opponent. The other one crouched into a running position; his back tensed, his spines ruffled and his tail made a whipping pattern through the air.
"Woah! I know we're here to fight and all, but we could at least introduce ourselves first," Alex exclaimed, putting his hands up defensively.
"Yeah, this is a civilized event, and that's just being rude," Phoenix added, casually putting her hands in her pockets.
The chameleon stuck her blades into the ground, "Apologies, I thought we were going straight to the part where we try to kill each other. I am Vane the Chameleon." Her comrade continued, "I'm Link."
"Thank you, and it's nice to meet you," the female hedgehog said with a slight bow, "My name's Phoenix, and this is my brother, Alexander."
The bird beside her nodded, then asked, "Say, could we maybe not take this to the death? I-I know we'll be revived, but... I don't think it's something any of us want to go through..."
Their opponents exchanged glances "I see no problem with that." Vane replied "I suppose we knock each other out?"
"Yeah, that would be preferable. So..." Alex replied, stretching out his arms. A dark-purple aura began surrounding him, and his golden irises changed to a similar color. Meanwhile his sister just casually stood there, looking completely unprepared for combat. "Shall we begin?" the avian asked.
Link was the first to speak this time. "Fine by me." he crouched while Vane retrieved her blades from the ground. Almost in response, a sky-blue glow surrounded Link; a tell that he was about to use his speed.
Alex got into a fighting stance, his shadowy aura gently flourishing; while Phoenix let out a yawn and continued doing nothing. The battlefield seemed to get slightly darker, and the temperature seemed to rise a bit...
Vane finished connecting the two points when she noticed what she thought was Phoenix's action, she stepped forward and appeared behind them. Alex noticed this, and immediately went to preform a reverse roundhouse kick against the chameleon. The kick landed hard, throwing Vane several feet away. Link made a move in a moment of uncharacteristic brilliance; rushing Alex with his back turned, a fist swinging at him.
It was at this time Phoenix decided to literally step in, attempting to grab Link by the arm and turn him around.
Link was surprised at first, but then went with Phoenix's move; he started moving faster and faster, kicking up dust and running in a circle. Vane stood back up, shaken by Alex's kick.
Phoenix let go of Link after a few rotations, staggering around dizzily and falling onto her rear. All the dust and sand in the air made it hard for her to see or breath, so she stuck her leg out to try and trip the hybrid.
Alex felt bad for kicking Vane like that, but knew now wasn't the time for apologies. He brought his hands together, concentrating the darkness around him into them; when he pulled them apart, a staff made out of a near-black crystalline material was formed. He spun the staff around, getting into a defensive pose.
Link didn't notice Phoenix's move and went flying through the air, but unlike Vane, he pulled a sort of backflip move and landed on his feet facing away from her.
Vane watched her opponent form the staff, "If I must, I must." She knew her normal katanas had no chance against. She put her katanas back into their sheaths, then pulled a silver handle out of her glove; she focused and a glowing blade appeared out the end, she hated using this weapon, though.
Phoenix carefully stood up after a moment, making sure she had regained her balance. She then turned to face Link and entered an offensive stance.
Meanwhile Alex kept to his defensive stance, waiting for Vane to make the first move. 
Vane ran forward, pulling a blocking move with her new sword. The blade cut through the staff like butter, the crystalline construct dissolving into black mist.
'Darn it, I wasn't expecting that,' the avian thought, jumping back before Vane could strike, 'I'll have to improvise.' He concentrated for a moment, the immediate area around him becoming darker, as if a cloud was suspended above him. Vane was slightly surprised by the sudden darkness, taking her eyes off Alex.
Link spun around, taking a fighting pose. At that point however, Phoenix had already ran up to the hybrid and was taking a swing at him. He bent backwards, barely dodging Phoenix's attack; he next grabbed her wrist again, attempting a upward spinning move.
Alex concentrated the darkness into his hands again, but this time he swung his right hand outward, a broadsword forming in his palm. It was thicker and sturdier than the staff, and would hopefully survive against his opponent's illuminated blade. Taking the moment of opportunity, Alex lept forward and swung at the chameleon. His unexpected attack knocked Vane's LC blade from her hand which landed behind him. She looked at Alex before swiping her normal blades back out and swinging at him.
Link would find that Phoenix's wrist was very quickly becoming very hot, and would have to let go soon if he didn't want his hands to suffer third-degree burns. He released his grip, jumping out of arms reach this time. "So, you're a firestarter, huh?"
Alex blocked Vane's blades with his own, however this left an opening to his side. She spun sideways, holding one blade against his Alex's sword but attempting to exploit the opening.
"Well, yeah," the female hedgehog answered, "I mean, I'm red, my name is Phoenix, and I'm the daughter of one of the strongest pyrokinetics in the world. Granted, you might not have known that last part, but the first two should've made it pretty clear from the start." She put her hands in her pockets and stared at Link, waiting for his next move.
"My dad used to know a red hedgehog who's name was Solar, he couldn't control fire except when he merged with his brother. Your appearance doesn't mean much to me." He dashed forward, both fists drawn this time.
Vane was successful, cutting into Alex's side. The avian screamed in pain, dropping to his knees and grasping at the bleeding wound with both hands. His weapon and the darkness around him vanished as he now concentrated his power around the laceration in an attempt to heal himself.
"Eh, I'll give you tha- Alex!" Phoenix suddenly exclaimed upon her brother's scream, quickly running over and attempting to tackle Vane.
Vane opened another portal, moving herself out of Phoenix's path.
Link, having thrown his weight into his punch, tumbled into a heap after his rival's exit.
The crimson hedgehog faceplanted into the sand as her target disappeared, but quickly got back on her feet. "Alex... You alright?" she said between breaths, kneeling beside her brother with a hand on his shoulder.
"Y... yeah. I'm fine," the avian replied with a pained voice, pushing her hand away and standing upright on shaky legs. He still held his side tightly with both arms and a thin, shadowy mist around the wound, but the bleeding appeared to have stopped, at least.
"If you say so," Phoenix said, turning back to their opponents.
Link, having gotten off the ground, was right in front of her and attempting his spiralling move again.
Vane ran in a seemingly random direction, trying to retrieve her third blade.
Phoenix was quick in blocking Link's attack, and attempted to punch him in the gut.
Link took the full force of Phoenix's punch and doubled over.
Vane gripped the silver handle, tossing it high into the air and leaping towards it.
"Ooh, sorry. Didn't mean to be that hard..." Phoenix said to Link with a bit of guilt in her voice.
"Uh, Phoe?" Alex said concerningly, trying to draw his sister's attention to Vane.
"You didn't hit that hard.." Link said, then ran straight.. through her? drawing back a fist, now that he was behind Phoenix. The way it felt for her was indescribable, and left her dazed for a moment. Link threw the punch in her moment of weakness, hitting her square in the back and knocking her to the ground.
"Woah!" Alex exclaimed, falling backwards in surprise of Link's ability. Vane, having recovered her third blade decided to capitalize on Alex's surprise; rushing him with her normal katana. The bird noticed this and quickly scrambled over to Phoenix, reaching out and grabbing the hedgehog's hand before Vane could strike. The two disappeared into a dark-purple mist that very quickly moved to the edge of the battlefield, where they reappeared against the arena wall.
Alex rolled onto his back, breathing heavily. He was completely monochrome for a moment, though his color was quick to return. He soon got himself upright. "We're gonna have to step up our game. And you're gonna have to start trying for once."
Phoenix was face-down, but quickly propped herself up with her arms. "Alex, no, I-"
"You were gifted with Dad's power," her little brother interrupted, "You need to stop holding back and use it."
"You know it's too dangerous-"
"If you don't, it's more likely that we're going to lose. And I know how much you hate loosing, even if you're a lazy butt that never puts in the effort to win!"
The area started to heat up. "Fine," Phoenix said in a clearly agitated tone, standing up. Her glaring eyes changed from their normal yellow to a bright blue, and her spines were beginning to flare up. She walked forward, the sand beneath her feet turning to glass with each step. Alex walked beside her, the sky becoming just a bit darker as his shadowy aura returning around himself.
"OK, Looks like Firefly's stopped pulling her punches." Link said before running to the far side of the arena to get some distance from Phoenix.
"Hmm, why don't we switch opponents? You're weak against light, anyway," Phoenix suggested, her pace quickening slightly as she eyed down Vane.
"I wouldn't mind the change of pace, but she has swords!" Alex commented.
"Oh please," Phoenix replied, looking back at her little brother, "I'll melt them down long before they hit me." She turned back to her new target, her pupils glowing a burning yellow as her arms ignited with a blue flame. "I'll teach her for hurting my little brother," she muttered through clenched teeth.
"I fear you may be overestimating yourself and are probably taking this a bit too far, but I know I'm not gonna be able to stop you, so... okay," Alex said before turning his attention to Link.
"So, I'm fighting you?" Link shouted to Alex.
"I guess!" Alex shouted back before taking a deep breath and disappearing into a shadowy mist like he did to escape, only this time heading towards Link and attempting to kick him in the head once he reappeared. The blow connected, causing Link to do a complete flip, threatening to kick Alex back. The avian wasn't fast enough to react and took the hit, knocking him onto his back.
Link got to his feet, prepped for another attack. Alex quickly got up, rubbing his face where he had been kicked.
"Alright, kid, sorry for this." Link said, then charged his SoulBlast attack.
Alex formed another staff like he did earlier, and entered a defensive stance.
The attack jetted forward, a blue missile headed straight for Alex. The avian quickly formed a dark-purple shield in front of himself, which was able to absorb a majority of the attack before shattering.
Link hovered in the air for a moment, then tried the move again.
"Which means that I'm fighting her." She concentrated on shifting her vision to her heat based reptilian senses. Vane was shocked when she opened her eyes again to see that Phoenix had what looked like a sun surrounding her.
Phoenix wasted no time and threw her arms back, sending a jet of fire behind her that rocketed her forward towards her target. Once enough distance was elapsed she prepared to punch Vane. Hard.
Vane managed to jump over the flaming, ballistic female. She did throw her swords to the side, knowing they would melt and hoping her clothes held up.
Phoenix wound up punching the ground, creating a glassy crater upon impact. She quickly turned around to face the chameleon, spewing her blue fire from her arms as she did so to try and hit the other female.
Her opponent opened a portal in front of her, trying to send the blast back at Phoenix and hoping the fire wouldn't molecularly separate in between the points.
Vane was successful, knocking the hedgehog back with her own attack.
She waited until Phoenix had stopped spurting before jumping into her portal, coming out full-speed and attempting to punch her. The punch landed, knocking Phoenix back a bit further, but the Pyrochaotic countered with a fire-engulfed punch of her own.
The punch threw Vane back, lighting her sheaths on fire, which she threw once she landed.
Phoenix jumped toward the chameleon, aiming to hit her with an uppercut.
Vane gripped her wrist, then threw her over her head, realizing how to fight this girl.
Alex noticed how easily Vane was able to counter his sister. "Phoe you gotta vary your style! You're becoming predictable!" What he didn't notice was Link's second attempt at attacking, leading to him getting hit and being thrown a couple meters back. He was able to stand, though shakily, as the Soulblast had taken quite a bit out of him. Link charged another, hoping to end this quickly for Alex's sake.
Phoenix landed on her stomach. "Unf, right." She jumped to her feet, but instead of rushing towards Vane once again, she jumped back and fired a volley of light-blue, flaming Chaos Spears at her. The chameleon opened a portal, letting the spears fly out of view. She jumped into the wormhole, trying a basic punch. Phoenix was hit and staggered back, but then attempted to retaliate with a jab-uppercut combo with flaming fists.
Vane was hit and thrust upwards. She hit the ground, and after regaining focus, started rolling to put herself out. This left her wide open to attack. 
Alex didn't have the time or focus to react, and was once again thrown by Link's attack. He landed on his back and raised his head weakly, but the attack having taken everything out of him, he fell unconscious. 
Phoenix on the other hand noticed the opening available to her, but decided against rushing in, instead raising her arm. A jet of fire would soon erupt beneath the chameleon with enough force to launch her. Vane was thrown again.
Link landed on his feet, falling from the Arial attack he'd used on Alex. "Sleep tight, kid." He said to him. The speedster turned to see his companion under attack: he ran at Phoenix, trying to divert her fire away from Vane. The hedgehog noticed and threw her other arm out towards Link, sending a jetstream of flames his way. Her fire was starting to become unstable, however, randomly jumping out slightly in other directions.
Link tried speeding up to outrun the blazing trail while Vane struggled to get to her feet. Phoenix tried to keep up with the hybrid, but her fire trailed just behind him. (Assuming he's going in a circle around her) as he passed by Vane, Phoenix noticed how the chameleon was struggling, and decided it best not to have to fight two people at once. She ceased her attack towards Link and dashed towards the ninja, becoming a very fast, snake-like stream of fire and planning on kicking the other girl in the face, hoping to take her out. Vane blocked with her arms, but weakened, the attack still hit. Phoenix continued to try and knock Vane out with a barrage of punches. The Chameleon slumped to the ground after the punches, unconscious and out of the fight.
Link tries to hit Phoenix from the side in a shoulder ramming attack. She was hit and knocked over, but quickly righted herself. Fire enveloped her arms, but looked unstable, her eyes flickered between blue and yellow, and she was breathing hard.
Phoenix let out a battle cry and rushed towards Link, attempting to punch him with a flame-coated fist. The Speedster ran forward, then dropped into a sliding position, moving under the flaming fist. Once he gets closer, Link tries to grab further up on Phoenix's arm and toss her behind him. The fire erupted up her arm as she was grabbed, threatening to burn Link. However, he was still successful in throwing her, and she landed on her back. Link waved his arm in a circle, putting out any fire that had touched him. He then tried a SoulBlast on Phoenix to see if it'd have the same effect it did on Alex.
Phoenix quickly rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet. She then erupted another stream of fire from her arms towards Link, again. However, she was visibly shaking as she started having difficulty controlling the bright-blue flames. The balled up form of Link was thrown back by the blast and he landed a few dozen meters back. He sprinted at her, trying to kick Phoenix upwards. If he succeeded, he'd then jump and try to kick her back down. However, she turned into her snake-like form and moved behind Link, reappearing and sending a jetstream of flames towards his back. Link was thrown forward, his back charred into a darker hue. He waited for a lessening in the flame to jump up and aim another SoulBlast at her. His attack hit, knocking Phoenix back, however he'd find the bright-blue fire surrounding and nearly engulfing the two. Looking from above, it quickly spread across the arena floor and even threatened to reach the spectators.
Phoenix looked like she was about to start crying. "I-I'm sorry... I can't--I can't control--AAHH!!!" She screamed, the flames erupting in all directions. If Link managed to not get burnt to a crisp, this might be his last chance...
Link grimaced, dodging and jumping over the larger fire blasts while running... towards Phoenix? Big chunks of fur burst into flame, at which point Link would tumble to put it out; By the time he'd reach Phoenix, most of his form would be a charred black. She just stood there, trembling, her hands on her head and eyes closed tight as her uncontrollable fire spread. The Speedster quickly ran his hands through his hair. "What am I doing?" He rolled his eyes at himself and walked next to her, ignoring the constant wave of pain emerging from her. "Phoenix, right?"
She opened her teary eyes and looked at him. "Y-yeah?"
He sighed. "You're..." He said, finding the words. "This is your dad's power? If I heard right."
She nodded. "Pretty... much..."
"This is gonna sound like I pulled it straight from a book... But your power is putting all of us at risk, I'm willing to bet you can control this inferno with motivation. So I'm not asking you to save me, I'm just a thick-skinned stranger: do it for your brother, I have a brother, I know what it's like. You stop this inferno and we can finish this fight." Link said, giving a weak smile.
A look of horror filled the girl's face. "OH MY GOD ALEX!!!" she screamed, the fire beginning to subside as she ran to where her brother laid. Once she reached the bird she got onto her knees and propped him up, checking him for injuries. His eyes barely opened, then closed again. He was still unconscious and had suffered some light burns, but was otherwise fine. Phoenix let out a sigh of relief.
Link took this opportunity to check on Vane. She had a pulse, but didn't react to him poking her.
Phoenix picked up her brother, then turned to Link. "Le... let's call it a draw, okay? Or I forfeit, I don't care..." Her voice was sad. Her eyes had long since returned to their normal yellow color, and tears ran down her cheeks. "I just... I can't fight anymore, not after losing control and putting everyone in danger like that... especially him."
"Hey, I'm half-dead, I'm calling you the winner." Link said, motioning to the burnt fur all over him. The brown now matched the black markings on various parts of his body and the only section untouched were his gloves and boots. "Good game." He added, smiling.
"Thanks, and you too," Phoenix replied with a sad smile, then walking away with Alex in her arms.
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