Chapter 18: The Beast of Three Heads Against the Beast of Two Heads

Two howls came from Mad-Cackletackle as he rushed Spongy Snaps, one from himself, one from his living pelt. Both fighters avoided the fists of the other, and the point of contact, the first clash, was the pair of them headbutting each other. There was a moment of resistance, then the ground churned beneath them and they recoiled off each other. Spongy slid back in the soil leaving deep furrows and exposing many panicked insects. Mad had flipped up in the air from the attack, and now descended down as fast and deadly as a drop-bear infused with lightning!

With a roar, Spongy did not dodge. What need was there to dodge what he could receive? Claws met teeth in a clash of sparks, the ground did not hold, but Spongy did. He clamped his gauntlets down on the claws, intending to slam Mad into the ground, but the goadskull primed his legs for a deadly kick. Facing this, Spongy let go and raised his gauntlets over his body, as a boxer does his fists.

The feet met those beast heads and Spongy was sent flying, but he grabbed onto a branch that was ripped to shreds as he used it to swing around to attack Mad who had chased after him. Mad had not been expecting this! As Spongy’s hands reached out like hungry mouths, Mad’s attacking arm was in danger of ending in a sorry state.

-Hopeless- Mad’s beast-pelt finally spoke.

Mad could not move his arm in time, but the pelt itself moved his arm, and instead of Spongy’s hound-gauntlet meeting an arm, it met a claw. Another clash of metal, and this time both fighters were flung into trees. The trees, however were sturdy enough in this part of the forest that they were not broken.

They both quickly righted themselves and began to circle each other, looking for weakness, for an opening. Mad was hopping about on all fours, the arms of his beast-pelt floating above his back. Spongy was making crab-like movements while his two arms moved in circular motions. The gauntlets on his hands truly seemed like a pair of real heads, and his arms mere necks.

Mad sent forth a claw! Spongy was unmoved, it was but a feint.

-Don’t bother with that, just attack and attack and attack you thick lunatic, if you don’t keep pressuring him, his two heads will awaken, then we’ll have a real bad time of it- the beast-pelt growled in Mad’s mind.

“Shut it. My fight. Mine, Mine, Mine! Keep out of it and just fight!” Mad ranted.

While others might be perturbed by Mad’s outburst, Spongy was a simple soul, that and he knew that Mad was talking to his pelt. Which of course is why Spongy took that moment to attack. An attack with three points. A solid headbutt, both sides pincered by the hound and feline. It looked like the only way out was to retreat backwards. It was a trap. If Mad retreated backwards, Spongy would suddenly extend his arms and that would be the end of it.

Naturally, having the finely honed instincts of a bestial fighting madman, Mad could sense it would be a bad idea to retreat, so, instead, his legs crouched and he shot up into the air, twirling and coming down like a ballista bolt.

The gauntlets twitched, Spongy Snaps flung his arms upwards. A pair of howls as screaming metal, a tornado of sound. It was enough to throw Mad off, but the pelt slithered on his body and one arm of it gripping his arm, his reach was lengthened twofold. The claw of the beast struck true, and Spongy was wounded.

For a gingerbread man, they can be quite fragile even brittle, but even the most fragile can recover by simply eating enough sweets. Spongy was not fragile. He had been wounded, but the claw had only kind of pressed into him, as if someone had put a hand-mark on a sponge.

Still, the moment of victory is often the best time to attack someone, and Mad had left an opening after he attacked and when he noticed the wound. The feline was faster than the hound and tore at Mad.

While Spongy was not fragile, Mad Cackle-tackle was surprisingly so. He smashed into the ground, rolling and spinning, leaving his pelt far behind. Spongy quickly advanced, he had to press his advantage, a madman like mad wouldn’t be stopped by a single blow.

Indeed, Mad-Cackletackle climbed out of the trench he had made, and laughed wildly. He jumped, and did that most traditional of goadskull attacks. The stomp. Spongy Snaps was not worried or flustered. He could easily deal with this now, even with the crazy strength behind the stomp. He was stronger. The strongest!

“Huuuuuuuu!!!” Spongy yelled, gauntlets locking together, seeking to end the fight.

It was that moment that Spongy Snap’s instincts cried out, and he flung himself down on the ground. Claws raked his back, though not nearly as deeply as they would have if he had remained where he was.

“Hahahahehehehehahaha!” Mad laughed “Other clothes can’t move well on their own, but my Koalaga can!”

“Stop gloating and strike him, this is our chance!” Koalaga the living pelt shouted aloud.

They both closed in, but it was not to be.

Spongy stirred.

When he arose, it was as a beast with three heads. Hound for Mad-Cackletackle, Feline for Koalaga.

Several blows were traded and parried. At least ten sets. Yet, neither Mad or Koalaga could break past the three heads. Other rather, if they broke past one head, what waited was a headbutt. Both were feeling quite dizzy at this stage.

Abruptly Koalaga collapsed.

“I’m out of juice. We’re finished!” it cried.

With one less foe to face, Mad found himself suppressed by the three heads of the beast known as Spongy. It was even harder due to the fact that Mad didn’t have a weapon, since Koalaga was limply and insolently resting on the ground. Koalaga never pushed itself. Clothes are frequently extremely lazy existences.

So, Spongy wore him down, and finally ended it with a triple headbutt. Knocking Mad unconscious. Koalaga slithered over to Mad and lifted him up. Using the Goadskull’s body, he bowed stiffly.

“This is your win” Koalaga said.

“Woooh! Spongy strongest!”

Then Spongy fell over. Gheel dragged him away to feed him candies. There was only the last fight now.

It was Ulex McHeft’s turn. He had to fight either the veteran looking G Slayer or the gaudy looking Gemsparkle.

Well, one of those looked easier than the other.

It was at this point, two wins to each side…