Research! A test of powers in alternating environments!

With Caen's first swing, Volt jumped back, but the hedgehog was quick to adjust his stance to allow his attached to continue as planned. However, Caen's continuing sword swings stopped immediately as a sharp pain shot up his leg, sending him onto his knees.

Caen attempted to stand up, but screamed out as his muscles locked, refusing to let him move. When the cramp subsided, he looked up, to find a gun nearly pressed to his forehead. His eyes, narrowed, as he slowly reached into the sand, before grabbing a handful and throwing it towards Volt, quickly picking up his blades and attempting to dodge in the process.

Sadly, the sand that Caen had thrown wouldn't quite reach Volt's body. Mid throw, it seemed to disperse. Not quite blown away by the continuous gale around them, that roared and hissed in their ears like a mighty serpent, but instead vanishing and fading from existence itself. Each grain plucked away, faster and faster. Around them, this disease of negation continued. The sand that trudged and pulled at their feet lessened, the terrible storm around them was no longer buffering but instead lowered to a gentle sand-free breeze. The blazing heat above simmered down to a cool, refreshing glow. 

As the sand vanished and fell, what replaced it was an endless expanse of cobblestone path. The sky was no longer tainted a dirty orange, but instead a bright blue with the occasional white cloud to meander across the sun's sight. There was nothing in the distance, no mountains or buildings, and from their placement it looked like this stone expanse of land would continue forever, on this perfectly flat plane, until it reached the ends of the earth. There was nothing here. Nothing here but these two fighters.

And two small green cans, falling from the sky, landing with a gentle 'thud' next to them.

"Ah! Oh I uh-" a faint yet familiar voice was heard from the invisible speakers shortly followed by the ruffling of papers, "Oh good I-... I was worried I'd accidentally hit one of you on the head with those. My aim isn't the greatest. Bu uh- good! Good yeah..."

There was a small pause, followed by the tapping of a pen against paper, "Right, your'e uh- you're both doing great! Sorry if that one was a little much." Boa nervously laughed, "Like I- I like I said, I want to test how much I can push this technology, and push you guys. I know some of these environments might not be favourable for you but... well, I did say! That's... it'll test you! And like I said, uh, this is going really well!"

Another pause, a small breather, before the strange blue creature continued, "Those cans! That I just... threw at you... They're what I mentioned before I started this. They're alchemical drinks - called P.O.T.I.O.N. They'll instantly heal up any physical injuries your body has taken! Any cuts, any bruises, they'll go away in a few seconds! So yeah there's, uh, there's one each for you. Heal up!"

"I'll give you guys a few minutes to just... talk? And relax. Aaaand take a bit of a breather. I-if you want, that is! I'll give you a bit of warning before we go onto the next two environments, so use this opportunity to stretch and prepare yourselves!"

And with that, the mysterious voice in the sky stopped speaking to allow the two fighters to have a moment. Before them were the two small green cans. Like cola, all you needed to do was pop it off and drink! And as stated, it would restore all basic physical injuries.

Volt’s shots connected just like he wanted; Caen fell to his knees the moment the electric rounds made contact. Volt kept both pistols square on him, ready to unload if the stunned red hedgehog made any sudden moves. 

Check and mate. 

Volt gave a triumphant smirk underneath his bandana, confident that there was nothing Caen could do to recover now. Two exchanges won in a row—Volt couldn’t help but feel a little proud of himself. And Caen was no punk, either. He was definitely putting up a good, respectable fight, despite playing defensively for the entire sparring match. He was a fighter alright, and a resilient one at that—just as Volt suspected when he first laid eyes on him. 

And true to form, despite being practically pinned, Caen wasn’t backing down that easily. 

He abruptly dipped his hand into the sand, launching a handful in Volt’s direction in attempts to throw him off. A dirty move, sure, but Volt had to admit he would’ve also done the same Caen’s shoes. Thankfully, like before, Volt’s face protection would've shielded him from the sand—his bandana would’ve blocked most of it from his mouth and his goggles would’ve protected his eyes, the grains simply bouncing off of the lens—and the sandstorm gusts would likely have blown the majority of it in another direction. But Volt, on reflex, still jumped back, putting his cloak sleeve to his face to evade it. He began positioning himself to respond, securing his foot in the ground, extending one of his pistols at Caen, ready to fire again…

…when suddenly, the sands disappeared.

And not just the chunk of sand Caen threw, either. Every bit, every single grain in the desert terrain vanished: the debris buffeting them in the dry desert wind, the loose grains under their feet, the dunes in the distance, everything. In an instant, all of it was fizzled out into the same pixelated mess that brought Volt and Caen here in the first place. What followed was, again, that weird feeling—a strange, weightless feeling, the feeling of being in...nothing—that threw Volt completely off-guard. Within seconds, however, it went away, and lo and behold, everything around the two combatants changed once again. 

This time though...well, there wasn’t anything. Just...a flat world of stone. And sky. And...more stone. 

Volt, keeping a pistol and a relative amount of attention on Caen, looked around this new area. He still wasn’t used to this landscape-changing technology, so it took him a second to register exactly happened. After a while, he whispered to himself:”...Dangit dude, I thought I asked ya to warn us before ya did that...”

Suddenly, there was a light metallic *thud* right close by. Volt took his eyes off Caen to see where it came from; a green can, seeming to come from out of nowhere, was rolling on the ground towards him. Volt jumped back a bit—in prior experiences, random green objects that rolled towards him tended to explode or emit gases* afterwards—but on closer inspection, it was just...soda.

Puzzled, Volt gave a quick look at the barren blue sky. That was...weird. Maybe it was part of the terrain? A sparring match in a field of raining soda?...That could be cool. 

His thoughts were broken by the sound of Boa’s voice over the PA system, who began explaining that, he did in fact change the terrain once again. However, this terrain was less for them to spar in, more for them to take a break. And the soda can—it was one of Boa’s P.O.T.I.O.N’s, something that’d heal both Volt and Caen completely and them for the rounds to come.

After Boa cut away, Volt eyed Caen once more, a pistol still locked on him. “...Heard that? We cool, right?” he asked, just for safe measure. Upon Caen's confirmation, Volt'd spin his pistols, and with a flick of his wrists toward his hips, re-holster them. 

He then bent down and picked up the can next to him. He looked it over for a second, quietly snickering at the fact that this innocent soda can startled him in the first place. After tapping on the side of the can to keep it from spraying everywhere, he pulled on the tab and cracked the seal. He turned his back to Caen (so he wouldn’t show his face to him), lifted his bandana and put the can to his lips—well, beak. Tilting his head back slightly, he downed the entire drink in practically a single gulp. 

Being in that desert was making him thirsty anyway, but...something about this drink in particular—which didn’t taste any different than a sweet, grape-flavored soda—was extraordinarily pretty refreshing...Actually, make that seriously refreshing. Moreso than any other drink Volt’s had in his life. It not only restored his energy, but after downing the entire can, he felt rather...bubbly inside, as if the drink was restoring every bit of him from the inside out. Which, in fact, it did. 

Within seconds, the few wounds Volt did suffer from the prior bouts were completely healed, making him feel as good as new. Heck, probably even better than when he first came to the arena. 

Volt pulled his bandana back over his face, then looked at the can in awe. He then turned back to Caen. “Dude...Shorty wasn’t kiddin’! This stuff is awesome!” he exclaimed. 

He then cupped his mouth in his hands again, shouting out to Boa, who hopefully'd hear him over the PA system: “Hey, dude! Ya seriously gotta hook me up wit’ a 12 pack o' this! You plan on sellin' these anywhere???”

Caen cursed at himself for not taking into account Volt's goggles and mask, and his heart nearly stopped as he watched each grain bounce off. Luckily, Volt had decided the best course of action was to flinch, anyway, giving Caen just enough time to stand. 

Volt was readying his gun, about to fire at Caen, and Caen was equally ready to dodge this time. He grunted, bracing himself for impact...

But, at once, the sand, and the desert, disappeared. The unbearably hot air was replaced with a cool breeze, and the sandy ground was replaced with stone. The sky turned a blue hue to match the cooler air. 

Caen looked around, trying to determine what was going on this time. His attention was grabbed by two clanks on the ground, causing him to raise his eyebrow "that's... Not a very realistic climate..." he muttered, jumping to a similar conclusion to Volt. 

Finally, the familiar voice of Boa explained what was going on, allowing Caen to breathe a sigh of relief, sheathing his blades. Volt waited for confirmation from the hedgehog, to which he replied "yes, we're cool, don't worry. Though this blood is going to be a bastard to wash out," he finished with a smile, before walking over to the cans, picking up one. He held it in his hand, looking over the steel beverage container. It looked very much like a typical soda can, with no real branding to speak of on it. 

Caen went to open it, but deciding to give it a few taps before cautiously pulling the tab. After all, it had just been thrown to the ground, right?

With it finally open without exploding in his face, Caen took a long drink from the can. The liquid was very sweet, and carbonated. The flavour was very much that of an artificial grape flavour. 

Caen, after letting out a long breath, felt a slight warm sensation on his chest, causing him to take the can away from his mouth, looking down at the slightly stained white fur. He reached up with his free hand, noticing that the cut had been instantly healed. His bruises and aches also appeared to have been healed. He was sure that a bruise he received over a week ago had just been healed, too!

"I'd take a crate of these, let alone a twelve-pack!" Caen said, agreeing with the cockatiel. "These would be useful to so many of the guild members! I wonder where he sourced them from..."