Sonic the hedgehog was flipping through his collection of 1960s garage rock records. It was a rainy day, complete with thunder and lightning. He found the record he was looking for: The Sonics- Here Are the Sonics. He put it on his turntable, and relaxed to the album's primitive rock sound, part of the pre-punk movement. Sonic poured himself a glass of fine Kentucky bourbon and listened to the gruff vocals of Gary Roslie.
Loud thunder sounded and Tails came into the room. He was dripping wet in his raincoat.
"Checked the mail?" Sonic asked. Tails looked miffed. He handed Sonic a soaked envelope sealed with wax.
"It's from France. I don't know what they want, but it must be important if it's from the government", Tails said. Sonic opened it.
The letter read as followed:
Congratulations! You have been chosen to compete in the annual Trans-France race due to your extraordinary abilities. You are one of thirty elite race car driver from all over the world being recruited to compete. You have 7 hours to run from Paris, France to the city of Monte Carlo in the principality of Monaco. The race is run over the course of 953.4 kilometers. You and your car Mad Manga have been selected to take part, along with your ride along mechanic Miles Prower. The race will be held on Saturday 23 May 2015. You have two weeks to get to Paris.
It was signed by the Prime Minister of France. Sonic looked at Tails. They were overjoyed. The Trans-France Race is so prestigious, the only way to get in is if you have an invitation.
"Tails, I'll start packing and book us a flight. Prep the Mad Manga for the race!" Sonic exclaimed.
. . .
It was a typical night in Paris, France. It was a while before the Trans-France Race. The drivers were given lots of time to run practice races on local tracks to get their cars set up. The 30 starting spots were going to be drawn at a big party at a luxury hotel in Paris. The atmosphere was eccentric, and practically reeked of money.
"Knuckles!" They found him. Knuckles turned and saw Tails and Sonic standing there, drink glasses in hand. He walked towards them.
"How have you been? We need to talk, and catch up. It's been a long time", he said. They walked over to the table of fine foods. Sonic looked over, and saw more drivers there.
"We have some tough competition in this race. Over there is Kim Jugger lll of Flathill Country. He drives the Black Tiger IV. Look over by the piano. That's Sanjay Khan, driver of Aeroflash. Up on the balcony is Zoomer Slick. He drives for the Alpha Team. Vert Wheeler is over there with those reporters, he drives Power Rage", Knuckles told them, pointing out various drivers they would be competing against in the race. Reporters began hounding them. The three of them tried to answer every question they were asked. It was hard to answer 5 questions simultaneously. Then, the reporters rushed to a staircase under the balcony. They saw a black and red hedgehog coming down the steps. He walked with a cane in one hand and a glass of Grey Goose vodka in the other. Taco's version of Puttin' on the Ritz was playing.
"Yes, yes. I know I'm a favorite to win. Darling, this one's for you", he was saying to various people. He handed his cane to a servant. He looked over at Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
"You three", he said, walking in their direction. He smiled in a sort of slime ball fashion. He looked Knuckles dead in the eye.
"Knux, baby. You look better than ever. Those dreads make you look super sexy", he told him.
"Shadow is here. Now, we have our work cut out for us", Tails said in response to the encounter. A man in a tuxedo and had a comb over stood up top on the balcony. He looked over the crowd and held up a bowl. He whistled loudly, and the festivities took a halt, and all eyes turned to the man.
"Good evening, everyone! My name is Evan Finnegan, and I'm the Racing Commissioner. We will now draw the starting positions", he announced. The drivers looked excited. A list was pulled out. It was all the drivers in the race. The Racing Commissioner shook the bowl, and called a driver up.
Francis Barnes was the driver called up. He drew 19th position. The next driver called up was Jasper Collins, who drew 22nd position. Knuckles then got called up. He celebrated because he got the pole position. Sanjay Khan drew 6th spot. Michael Giles drew 13th.
"James Robotnik, best known by his nickname Shadow, will be the sixth driver called up to draw his starting position", the Racing Commissioner announced. Shadow reached into the bowl. He pulled out a slip of paper.
"Second position", he said in a stone cold, emotionless voice. Weston Scott drew 28th position, followed by Harley Gordon who drew 10th position. Kim Jugger lll drew 15th.
"The next driver to be called up is Alexander Telekinez, better known by his nickname Silver." Sonic looked at the silver hedgehog step up to the balcony. He'd never seen him before. Silver drew his position. He dejectedly announced he drew 30th and last position. Then, it was Sonic's turn. He walked up nervously to the balcony. He looked out over the crowd in the ballroom. He thrust his hand into the bowl. The slip of paper had XXIX written on it, the Roman numeral for 29. Sonic headed back down the stairs as Ryan Tybalt headed up them. He pulled the silver hedgehog aside to get to know him better.
. . .
While the festivities were going on at the luxury hotel, Beautḗ Pure, a plan to steal the Dutchman's Diamond, AKA the green Chaos Emerald, was going into effect.
"I want you two to remain as quiet as possible. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves", Doctor Eggman told his robotic assistants Orbot and Cubot.
"We got you, boss" Orbot responded. Cubot used an aerosol spray to reveal a grid of lasers protecting the emerald. If you make contact with one of the lasers, an alarm system will sound, alerting the guards around the museum where the emerald is kept to your presence. Eggman twirled his moustache, thinking about he would get through the complex system of lasers. Eggman looked at the laser grid, then at Orbot and Cubot.
"Try and get through the lasers the best you can. I'm to overweight to try" he told them. Orbot rolled up into a ball and rolled through the lower lasers, jumping through the higher ones. He reached the emerald, but had his work cut out for him in trying to transport it back. He rolled back up into a ball with the emerald and got back.
"Great work! Now let's get out of here!" Eggman exclaimed. They quickly got out, but crossed the line of sight of a guard patrolling the museum.
"Arrệter au nom de la loi!" he called out. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot hopped into their Morris Mini and raced off. They looked into the rearview and saw a police car chasing after them. They drove off into the garage area of a race track in the outskirts of town, the track where the drivers in the Trans-France Race are practicing. He parked the Mini and ran into the garages. He walked past the Bully Goat of Carl Lee and the '69 El Camino of Riley Askerlund. Then, he stumbled upon the Mad Manga. Knowing it belonged to Sonic, he hid the emerald in the gas tank. Then, he hopped back in the Mini and raced off.
. . .
Sonic awoke the next morning in his hotel room. He was blinded by the light coming through the window. He heard Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant playing from down the hall in Knuckles' room. Sonic remembered when they played in the ska punk band Take Warning. Good times, he thought. Tails was in the second bed, still sound asleep. Sonic walked into the bathroom to use the toilet. He was relieving himself when he heard a knock on the door. He answered it when he was done. There was a green crocodile with headphones and a gold neck chain at the door.
"Inspector Vector. What a pleasant surprise", Sonic said, half-asleep. The green croc pulled out a notepad and a pen.
"Last night, the Dutchman's Diamond was robbed during the party. We believe it was Doctor Eggman, which we got from a physical description given to us by a night guard at the museum. We're not sure, but I'm working with the police to solve this" Vector said to Sonic. Sonic shrugged.
"I know nothing, so I can't help you. This is news to me" he responded to Vector. Vector put away the pad and pen and walked off. Sonic looked behind him and noticed Tails was stirring. He was half awake, completely oblivious to the news.
"What happened?" Tails asked.
"Nothing" Sonic replied. "Just get ready and we'll head out to the track to keep practicing. The race is tomorrow, and we need all the practice we can get." They grabbed their driving suits and headed out to the practice track.
. . .
"2:17. Same as the last lap" Tails dejectedly said while looking at the stopwatch. All morning, the Mad Manga couldn't keep the pace. The top 5 on the leader board were the Torque Twister (driven by Knuckles), GT Hunter (driven by Marco Polo), Bully Goat (driven by Carl Lee), fourth fastest was the Loop Coop of Harley Gordon and fifth fastest was Shadow in the Side Draft. Tails looked next to him as Riley Askerlund was trying to rev up his '69 El Camino. Sonic turned another lap. 2 minutes 13 seconds, he passed Ray Mitchell Hunter to be 16th fastest. Sonic pulled the Mad Manga into the garage. Silver was sitting there with his mechanics, trying to figure out ways to make his car, Speed Blast, out of last spot.
"I don't know what we're doing wrong. Wesley Scott demolished us in that barge he calls a car, so I just don't know" he complained. The car was brandished with the number 6 and a paint scheme that made it look like it came right from Tron. The mechanics were well fit young men, able to quickly and accurately fix any problem. Silver held his hand up, and a blue water bottle began floating from the top of his bright red tool box into his hand. Sonic and Tails stared in shock.
"What? You didn't know I could do that?" Silver asked them. They looked at him with a shocked expression. A car went streaking by on the front stretch, and Knuckles watched in shock as Zoomer Slick in his Alpha Team roadster got the top spot.
"Unacceptable!" he exclaimed, hopping back into the Torque Twister and racing back out onto the track, almost taking out Henrik van der Graaf and his '88 Ford Mustang.
"Maniac!" the South African rally racer yelled after Knuckles. But, Knuckles was flooring it to try and get back the top spot, as Shadow got it at 1 minute 25 seconds, and followed by the Fast Fish of Miguel Hernandez at 1 minute 25.3367 seconds. All throughout the session, positions constantly swapped. It was about 9 in the morning when the sessions began, and 2 in the afternoon when they began leaving. The Mad Manga was able to pull 15th fastest, beating out Pierre Lemenche in the Bone Shaker, and falling to Boris Karishki in his 1994 Toyota Supra. Knuckles was second fastest, unable to top the 1 minute 19 seconds of Shadow. The small, 5 turn road course was going to be left behind, as tomorrow, the race they've been preparing for in Paris the last two weeks was going to begin.
"I hope the car is race ready. It's been slipping these past couple sessions" Sonic said to Tails as they headed to a nearby bakery for some snacks. The kitsune just shrugged.
"I don't know what's going on. I keep checking the car, and everything seems to be in good shape", he replied. It was going to be a long night.
. . .
Meanwhile, in a secret hotel room, a secret meeting between Shadow and Doctor Eggman was taking place. Eggman leaned back in his chair, as Shadow sat across from him on the foot of the bed.
"Now, I want you to take Sonic out of the race. Winning should be secondary" he told Shadow. Shadow leaned back, practically laying on the bed. He let out a sigh.
"What's in it for me?" he asked. Eggman twirled his moustache, looking pleased by the question from the black and red hedgehog with the 6 pack that the fangirls drooled over.
"5 million. 5 million smackers for you and your assistants" he replied. Shadow sat up. He looked puzzled, almost as if he had some questions.
"Assistants? What assistants?" he asked. Eggaman stood up and pointed to Nikki and his friend Little John. Shadow facepalmed. Not these buffoons, he thought. Eggman stood up, and looked at his puppet.
"They will be driving identically prepared cars, Bravo 17. They'll accompany you in the deadzones, the areas with no TV cameras. That's when you go from being Shadow to Bravo 17" Eggman elaborated. Nikki the nerd was trying to look evil along with his gluttonous pal, but you can tell they were in it for other reasons. Shadow looked menacingly at the awkward duo, scowling. Nikki looked sort of frightened.
"I'll do it. Tell me what car, and I'll do it." "Excellent..."
. . .
"10 minutes" an announcer boomed over a loudspeaker. A frenzy of fans, crews, and media were buzzing in the garage area. The race will begin at the Eiffel Tower. Sonic and Tails were hanging out by their car, trying to gather themselves one last time before the race began. They were trying to strike up an alliance with Michael Giles and Lyle Benet, but they weren't buying. Sonic began slipping on his bright red driving suit. On his left sleeve was the flag of Luxemburg, his home country. On his right sleeve was the logo for Gulf Oil. Tails was getting his white driving suit on. He had a big batch patch for Goodyear Tires and underneath that was a smaller patch for Purolator Oil Filters. He then began panicking.
"My tools, Sonic! What happened to my tools?" he asked and exclaimed in panic. Sonic spun him around to show he had his jacket on backwards. Tails blushed and put his jacket on the right way. Silver walked up, wanting to make an alliance.
"I'll see if I can help you guys. That barge Weston Scott calls a car can easily be blown by" Silver said walking up to them. He was with another man, whom he introduced as his ride along mechanic, Dmitri Gagarin. They both looked like they belonged in the movie Tron. They began discussing the deals of the alliance.
"Five minutes. Drivers, to your cars and begin lining up" the announcer announced over the loudspeaker. The front row of Knuckles and Shadow lined up, followed by the second row of Ryan Tybalt and Vert Wheeler. The third row was Omar al-Ashadidi and Sanjay Khan. Sonic and Silver lined up in the last row. The announcer was saying something in French. The tension amongst the drivers was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The Racing Commissioner was punching keys on a keyboard in an office overlooking the race start. He looked at a clock on a wall, and picked up a phone to address the drivers.
"All drivers check safety harnesses. You have 3 minutes until the race begins" he announced privately over the radios. Lap belts deployed on all drivers. The announcer came over the loudspeaker and announced two minutes until the race began.
"Think we can win it? It's been 10 months since the last race we competed in, Jungle Run" Tails asked Sonic.
"Nonsense! We can win it." Sonic replied. One minute. The clock was ticking. A man stood up on a balcony on the Eiffel Tower.
"The race will begin when Manuel Valles, the prime minister of France, sounds the starter pistol" it was announced. The French leader, flanked on both sides by guards bearing G36 assault rifles and dressed to the teeth in combat gear, held up a revolver and fired the blank that began the race. They're off! The tight streets of Paris were gone quickly, and the 30 drivers were out on small country roads surrounded by nothing but rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. Knuckles quickly nabbed the lead, mainly due to the battle for second between Shadow and Vert Wheeler.
"You really think you can beat me? I beat Gelorum and saved the world. I got the Wheel of Power and won the World Race. And you think you can beat me?" the Californian surfer dude asked the black and red hedgehog.
"I can beat you with my eyes closed, skate punk" Shadow replied. They ran through a tunnel that ran under a hill, trading paint. They raced out, door to door. Knuckles was able to pull away. Vert rammed into Shadow in a tight curve, causing both drivers to spin off the road.
"Smooth move! You did that on purpose!" Shadow yelled angrily as the other racers zoomed by.
"Yeah, like I'm trying to come in last" Vert replied.
"You don't have try and do that" Shadow said as he whipped the Side Draft around and rejoined the race.
. . .
Sonic and Tails began snaking their way up through the field. The Mad Manga was flying, running at 300 kilometers an hour (186.4 miles per hour). Sonic had his head filled with thoughts. This was the first race run in the Mad Manga. It was previously owned by Jeremy Prower, the now deceased older brother of Tails. Sonic worked as a protégé under him. All Sonic could think about that day 7 years ago. He was 9 years old, Tails wasn't yet born. Jeremy was in a track race called the Uppingshire Race, and he was killed in a crash. He flipped the car and it caught fire. Jeremy was unable to escape and burned to death. His pal Antonio was going to drive the car, but he started racing Formula 1 for Alfa Romeo instead. The least they could do was change the car from its original American flag paint scheme and number (12 was the number they were running, 27 was the number Jeremy ran).
Sonics' head was filled with too many thoughts of Jeremy. He punched the dash board and growled. Sonic then turned on the stereo, blaring Good Golly Miss Molly by Credence Clearwater Revival.
"What's wrong, Sonic?" Tails asked. Sonic sighed and looked over at his friend.
"Nothing" he replied. The music helped clear his head, and he began moving up through the field, passing other drivers. Silver pulled over due to overheating, and was out temporarily. Sonic pulled past Zoomer Slick and began working to pass Lyle Benet and his '55 Chevy Nomad. Sonic felt something clanking in the car. He was about to pass Tyler Redden in Impavadio 1, but felt it needed to be addressed.
"There's something clanging around in the gas tank" said emotionlessly to Tails. Tails turned to Sonic with a shocked and disgusted look on his face, almost as if Sonic just offended his great ancestors.
"I checked the car out this morning. Everything seemed normal" he replied. Sonic looked at the GPS screen.
"There's a deadzone in 3 kilometers. I'll pull over when we're out of sight of the TV cameras" he said. They were making good time, though. Sonic decided not to stop and keep going, breezing by the Bone Shaker of Pierre Lemenche. There were plenty of deadzones on the Alps, which were coming up.
"Let's keep going. It's probably nothing " Sonic told Tails. They began elevating into the mountains. Plenty of spots with no TV cameras. The Alps proved challenging, with winding twists and turns. A couple driver crashed in the mountains, but thankfully they didn't die. Sonic found a spot to pull over. He pulled the Mad Manga to the side, letting the seven remaining drivers to speed past. According to the onboard computer, they were in position 13/30, last remaining driver in the field. He and Tails hopped out of the car.
"I'm telling you, there is something in the gas tank" Sonic said to Tails.
"I'm telling you, there's nothing in the gas tank. I checked the car out this morning. Do you trust me as your mechanic or not?" Tails responded. Sonic rolled up the sleeves on his red racing jacket and reached into the gas tank.
"I will prove there is something in here" he said. Then, Sonic pulled out a green diamond-shaped jewel. A Chaos Emerald; the Dutchman's Diamond.
"See? There was a Chaos Emerald in here this whole time...wait... A Chaos Emerald!" They turned their heads at the sound of engines. Two cars in the colors of Eggman's clothes came down the mountain. The drivers got out. One was a nerdy-looking powder blue hedgehog with glasses and his friend was a fat, brown hedgehog.
"Gentlemen, you've made our job easier" the nerdy one said, pulling a 357 Magnum revolver out of his back pocket.
"What are we gonna do, Sonic?" Tails asked nervously.
"Fight them" Sonic replied. He ran up to the nerd, kicking the gun out of his hands. The fat one began charging, but tripped over his own feet. The nerd swung a punch, but sonic lifted up and slammed him back on the ground. Sonic began fighting the fat one while the nerd began scrounging on the ground looking for his glasses. He kicked him in the stomach. The nerd reached for the gun, but Sonic used his homing attack to knock it off the side of the mountain. The fat one ran back to his car, out of breath due to his poor physical condition. He revved the engine on his car and drove off. The nerd put his hands up.
"I surrender. Just don't hurt me" he said. Sonic looked at him. He was panting, with a cut on his forehead and a few tears on his driving jacket.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Sonic asked. The nerd relaxed.
"My name is Nikki. The overweight hedgehog who drove off was my friend Little John. We were employed by Eggman to kill you and your friend." he explained. Sonic laughed, and Nikki and Tails looked confused.
"You two? Paid assassins? I don't believe it!" Sonic exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's true. We don't actually want you dead, we just wanted the money. Eggman promised us 5 million dollars for your murder and the Chaos Emerald" Nikki further elaborated. Tails looked at the green jewel.
"Eggman robbed this from the museum, right?" he asked. Nikki shrugged.
"I honestly can't tell you" he answered. Sonic turned to Tails.
"Nikki, I'll catch you and Little John later. Right now, we have a race to run" he said. Sonic and Tails hopped back into the Mad Manga and raced off. Sonic started blaring one of his albums: Kick Out the Jams by MC5. Then, Sonic noticed something. They were in position 12, not 13. It said Shadow was out and Silver was back in. Sonic and Tails smiled.
"Let's hit the turbo and go!" Sonic exclaimed.
. . .
High on the peaks, a blackout Side Draft was there. Looking through a pair of binoculars at the other racers was a mysterious agent called Bravo 17.
"The agents have failed. I will take them out personally" the mysterious masked racer said.
"Understood. Now, I want that blue hedgehog destroyed!" an angry voice exclaimed on the other end of the radio line. The Mad Manga, his target, was heading up the road now.
"You know, Tails. I think we can catch up at the rate we're going" Sonic said to Tails. Tails laughed.
"As long as Eggman doesn't send anymore henchmen after us" he said. The masked racer waited. He checked his onboard computer. They reached the deadzone, which came shortly after the 14th checkpoint. He hopped into the blackout Side Draft and raced down the mountain to block the Mad Manga.
"Speak of the devil, here's another one" Sonic angrily said through clenched teeth. The blackout Side Draft opened up, and the driver hopped out. He was wearing blackout everything. His eyes were nonexistent behind the many layers of tint on the visor. Sonic got out and took his purple racing helmet off. Sonic still kept his orange goggles on. The helmet said "TEKU" on the back. He faced his adversary.
"Don't tell me you work for Eggman" he said. The blackout racer looked dead at Sonic.
"Give me the Chaos Emerald and you won't get hurt" he said.
"No. I'm telling Detector Vector everything and I'm going to win the race, whoever you are!" Sonic cried. The masked hedgehog charged Sonic, knocking him off the mountain. Sonic grabbed the edge, swinging back up and kicking the masked man in the back of the head. The helmet flew off, and he fell to the ground in a heap. The unmasked racer stood slowly.
"Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed in shock.
"Give me the emerald!" Shadow yelled. Sonic shook his head no. Shadow charged Sonic again. Sonic dashed around a bit, leaving Shadow disoriented. He then used his homing attack to knock Shadow off the side of the mountain. Then, he hopped back into the Mad Manga and raced off.
"Call Detector Vector right now Tails. He needs to know" Sonic sternly told Tails as they raced out of the Alps back to flat ground. Sonic pressed the red button on the dash that activated the NOS tank. They tried to reach the other drivers before the race ended in Monte Carlo. According to the map, Sanjay Khan and his Aeroflash were out due to electrical failure. Gained a spot.
"I see the other drivers up ahead!" Tails exclaimed. Quickly, they worked their way up through the pack. They waved to Kim Jugger lll before streaking by him to take fifth spot. Vert Wheeler proved easy to pass for fourth. Zoomer Slick was putting up a fight for third. They spun him out, and his red car crashed into a tree. Boris Karishki was in second in his 1994 Toyota Supra. He pulled to the side, out of gas and everyone blew by him. Then, came the challenge.
"Knuckles has lead this race from the start. He won't be willing to give the lead up" Tails said. Knuckles looked in his rearview to see the Mad Manga, a Japanese-style bosozoku car, gaining on him.
"No way I'm letting him have the lead!" he exclaimed to himself. He moved the red and white muscle car to block. Sonic floored it, shifting into seventh gear on the synchbox. Knuckles blocked another advance by Sonic.
They raced into the winding streets of Monte Carlo. The whole city is a big playground for the rich. Private yacht parties to watch the finish from the harbor were in full swing. They ran through the streets of the city, also home to the most prestigious Formula 1 race. They ran towards the famous tunnel.
"If I don't catch him in the tunnel, it's over. And I didn't come back from a 10 month hiatus just to place second" Sonic said to Tails. He shifted the Mad Manga to the left of Knuckles. Sonic attempted to squeeze the car through the hole between the wall and the Torque Twister. The car ran into the Torque Twister, knocking Knuckles loose.
Out of the tunnel, they raced to the finish line at the harbor. The Torque Twister tried to regain the lead, but the Mad Manga shut him off. The checkered flag dropped, and Sonic won!
He and Tails stood atop the podium. Knuckles was steaming mad in second, and Vert Wheeler placed third. They were hounded by photographers and reporters, trying to answer every question asked. Then, Sonic noticed someone.
She was a girl hedgehog, cute and pink in a red sundress. Sonic went over and tried to strike up a conversation.
. . .
According to Detector Vector, Eggman was locked up and Orbot and Cubot were deactivated and dismantled. The Dutchman's Diamond, or green Chaos Emerald, was put back into the museum. Sonic and his date, Amy Rose, were back in Paris on a lookout over the city. A familiar pulled up, and a familiar looking nerd hopped out with his girlfriend.
"Nikki! How've you been?" Sonic directed at the nerdy powder blue hedgehog.
"I'm doing great. Congratulations on winning" Nikki said. Nikki introduced Sonic to his girlfriend Emma.
"Little John is probably at a WacArnold's somewhere, stuffing his face" he said. The four hedgehogs relaxed at the lookout, leisurely chatting about life and the next possible adventure. Tails went back home to begin work on his new anti-gravity plane.
And that is the story. The end.
EPILOUGE
"He's good. A threat to our mission" Shadow said to Rouge the buxom bat. She leaned back in her chair.
"Tell me, Bravo 17. Did you even put up a fight?" she asked.
"I tried. He's too fast on his feet, and these new Air Jordans aren't working for me. Plus, I want to be called Shadow, not by my codename" he replied. Rouge looked Shadow dead in the eye.
"He is to be brought to me, alive, next time. You hear me? I want him to be eliminated from existence!" she said.
"That's kind of hypocritical. You say you want him alive, yet you want him dead" Shadow said to Rouge. She looked at him with angry eyes.
"You know what I mean" she responded. With that, she got up and walked out the door, ending the meeting between the two.