A/N: Howdy! This is my first one-shot on this site so reviews are appreciated! I hope you enjoy this and Team Sonic Racing as much as I have! It's a very fun game and I'm starting to think it's better than All Stars Racing Transformed. Anyways, enjoy!
~MW
"And they're coming to the turn!", an announcer whooped as the crowd of Chao cheered even more loudly than before, watching on the screens as the footage was being played of this moment.
Right now, a stylish blue car with red heels was toe-to-toe with an equally stylish royal-esque car of purple hue and golden trims. The two had a determined look on their faces, completely ignoring their teammates behind them. They were either completely worried at the two's antics, or all too hard-pressed to join them at the finish line.
Of course, we're talking about Sonic and Blaze here. Tails, being one of those worrisome individuals (especially since he was third place and witnessing their increasingly-dangerous duel firsthand), was thinking of everything he could to get them to stop. Having no wisps on hand, nor any way to speed up to them, he pressed one of the buttons to open up comms between them.
Meanwhile, Blaze and Sonic were drifting near the final turn in the area known as the "Doctor's Canyon". While normally Sonic would reminisce of the time Eggman was attempting to build an amusement park on this planet, Planet Wisp, he had no time for sentimental remembrance. He was too wound up in the heat of the race to even give a single hoot about the Doctor's efforts to industrialize this planet not only still around, but also being used as a race track of all things.
No, he wanted that first place to guarantee his team's victory. He wanted to win. It doesn't help that his adversary, Blaze, is just as if not more stubborn than he is. Thankfully, the communications automatically opened for Sonic with no response needed, a setting Tails modified into it in order to help the team to win more races. In other words, it was a way for Tails to nag at Knuckles and Sonic.
"Sonic, just concede already! Vector's way back and Knuckles is keeping Silver at bay!", Tails yelled over the rushing winds.
"No way buddy! I'm gonna win this for us if it's the last thing I do!"
"But if you keep up, this will be the last thing you do! You'll crash and burn!"
"This isn't my first rodeo, Tails! You of all people should know this! I got this, okay?!", he barked back, slamming the button to stop the comms as he slammed his shoe onto the gas pedal, just now overtaking Blaze in a tight curve.
"Sonic, no-", he was cut off by the transmission ending. "Darn it! I know I built the original Speed Star but…"
"It's alright, Tails. Sonic's got this in the bag. Just you wait.", Knuckles piped up on his end. To which Tails replied with a muttering of thanks and okays.
Meanwhile, farther up ahead, Blaze shook off some of the dust he kicked up from that hairpin curve move. "Maybe you should listen to Tails once in a while, Sonic! Icarus burned his wings flying too close to the sun!"
He replied with a cocky smile as he turned around to face her, noting how she was getting too close to his rear bumper. "Maybe I should. But I got some advice for you too!"
"Oh really?", she raised a brow. "And what's that?"
He didn't face her as he waggled his finger. "Keep your eye on the ball."
She only replied in a confused expression. What in Sol's name was he going on about? Her eyes were focused on nothing but the "ball"!. Unless...
"Tails, Knuckles, Ultimate time! Ready?!", he called out, getting positive replies on his comms from the other two. Her mouth dropped to the floor, and her pupils shrunk as she saw the Cube Wisp floating by Sonic.
So that was the "ball" he was referring to. Well, this just got worse than she thought it would be.
"See ya Blaze!", he called out as the wisp turned into a giant cube before Sonic blasted off with a sudden burst of speed, covered in a golden, fiery glow of the well known Team Ultimate. She crashed right into the cube, spinning out and noticing the other two whizzing by in the same golden fury.
"Blaze, I gotcha!", Vector rushed out, using all three of his Boost Wisps in a row, and knocked on the side of her car to stop her from spinning and stabilize it. The skim boost on her car activated as she jutted out in the lead with the other two in her team behind her, then crossing the finish line and taking the bittersweet fourth place.
Any sound, even that of the cars, was drowned out by the sheer loudness of the roar of the crowd of Chao in the stands. Or so she perceived. Blaze couldn't seem to focus on anything as she slowed to halt next to her teammates. The constant questioning in her ear was reduced to mumbling as she blankly stared out in dumbfoundedness at Sonic's cunning move.
She let out a loud sigh, hunching over the wheel in a depressed manner, watching as that tanuki, Dodon Pa, was congratulating Team Sonic on another victory to their list so far after a small losing streak. She squeezed the wheel tightly and slammed her hand on it, activating the horn. This startled the nearby opposing racers, darting their vision over to her for a second before looking away in either pity or startlement.
"Hey, kid.", Vector sighed as the crocodile detective went up to her side. "You tried your best. It's not all in vain."
"Yea!", Silver nodded, standing next to Vector. "We got in at least second place thanks to you! That means we still got a chance to win in the next race!"
"But I could've gotten us in first place, Silver. I failed our team.", she dejectedly, and even a bit angrily, replied. "I forgot Sonic was a clever type after not seeing him for so long. I was too careless to see that he had another trick up his sleeve. And here I thought I had him where I wanted him."
"It's OK-"
"Vector! It is not ok! My foolishness cost us this victory!"
He simply stood stunned and blinked. "Y'know what? I see you're tense. I'll just uh...give ya some room.", he walked off, preferring not to make any more comments.
"Blaze...it's just a single race. There's much more than this. Right? This is only the beginning of our career!", unfortunately, Silver didn't quite get the memento that Vector got. And of course, this flared up her anger a bit at his oblivious optimism at the moment. The other-dimensional princess was about to let loose on Silver, but it seemed she didn't have the energy nor aspiration to. She was too bummed out about this loss to really do anything.
"Leave.", was all she said, not making any eye contact with Silver. Her pride had been damaged enough, in her mind. There were times where she just wanted to be left alone to her own devices, and this was definitely one of those times. She didn't know nor care to try and be nice about it to Silver.
"Alright. You got it.", Silver held his hands up as he walked backwards and turned around to join another group conversation amidst all the buzz.
Of course, unbeknownst to her, somebody else was watching her. The last person she would expect, the blue hedgehog frowned at the sight. No attention was paid to Dodon Pa or what he was saying at all. He let out a huff, his vision focused entirely on the feline before being redirected to the conversation at hand.
Later…
Even as the cars were being loaded up into Dodon Pa's spaceship for the next race, a mandatory action which came with a social conversation, Blaze yet again chose to isolate herself. Watching over the scenery of the Mother Wisp, surrounded by all the other Wisps, happily playing with their "mama", she still couldn't rid herself of today's events.
Her absence of the procedure of course meant that her car was not being loaded up. Maybe her teammates were supposed to fill in that duty, and if it was they sure weren't doing that. After all, her car was still relatively near her, and at the moment getting near her was like trying to avoid breaking a glass doll it seemed. One wrong step and it shatters into a million pieces.
Well, at least to her teammates. One figure, however, had the bravery to come up to her. And it literally could not have been any worse of a possibility. The blue hedgehog, also not loading up his car, started to head over to her. Little did everyone else know that in Sonic and Dodon Pa's one-on-one, he actually requested they stay behind for him and Blaze, noting her sad state.
And it was a good thing their suspicions about him had been cleared, otherwise this chance might've never come up if only because of everyone's paranoia. Unfortunately though, her teammates, Silver and Vector, took notice of this and shambled in front of Sonic, Vector putting his hand on his chest to make him stop.
The look on the hedgehog's face was a mix of befuddlement and also annoyance. "Uh, what are you guys doing?", he asked aloud and proud.
He was shushed by Vector. Silver whispered harshly to him. "Sonic, are you nuts?! I think you're the last person she wants to see!"
"Yea! It'll be your fault if she ends up in a worse mood!", Vector added in.
He sighed and rolled his eyes, tucking his lips into a "done with it" look. "Yea, and I've known her longer than you two. I also know what happened today. I think I know what I'm doing."
The two looked at each other and then at Sonic, then back to each other and shrugged. "Fine. Your funeral.", Vector noted as the two walked away, heading towards the spaceship to get ready to land back on their home planet for the next race.
Sonic, now this time uninterrupted, continued onwards. Blaze was completely oblivious to him, even with his audible footsteps. She found herself too busy trying to drown herself in the happy scenery before her to notice Sonic taking a seat next to her on the cliffside. Well, actually, a short distance from the cliffside. Her fear of heights certainly wouldn't allow her to dangle her feet off of it.
"Hey."
She flinched hard and recoiled, making a high-pitched yelp and nearly getting down on the floor, before shifting to a mean sneer as she got up, redirecting herself towards the Mother Wisp. "The least you could have done is announce your presence, hedgehog.", she bluntly put it, her nose tilting upward.
"I just did.", he retorted, cocky grin peeled back in full. She huffed in reply and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms tightly.
"You're the last person I want to see today, Sonic."
"So I've heard."
"Then why are you here?"
Sonic leaned back, placing his palms on the ground below and behind him. "To talk. I thought we were friends, Blaze."
"And I thought we were in a competition, Sonic.", she replied rather snootily. "Someone like you would've noticed by now, since that's all you can think about."
"I'm a competitive spirit, Blaze.", he turned to her. "Y'know I don't mean any of that stuff. Why, I even helped Silver pick up a little trash-talking!"
"Honestly, you get your head too far deep into these games, you know that?", Blaze let out, hands clenching her white tights. "To you it seems life is nothing but one big game, isn't it?"
"Hey, you battle an egg-shaped "genius" you keep beating for years, it becomes one.", he made air quotes as he chuckled. Blaze gave no reaction, just plain silence and staring. This of course made Sonic let out a frustrated sigh.
"Look, Blaze...I'm sorry. I know what I did today must've really hurt you.", he admitted and apologized, which made Blaze blink and her ears perk up. "Y'know, I'm as in it to win it as you are. And after my team's losing streak, I really let loose."
That's right...he did keep losing races for a bit after some really tight wins. , she noted inwardly, slowly turning to face him as he continued speaking to her.
"I was in your spot too, y'know. I felt like I was failing my team. But it's the failures that pushed me to keep going and try again, to do it better next time. You feel me?", he sat straighter up than he was earlier in his relaxed position. "That's why I pulled that plan off. To get you in the ropes and strike you when I gotcha."
"I…", Blaze muttered in astonishment before being interrupted by Sonic holding up a hand, indicating he had a bit more to say.
"Blaze, we've been friends for a while. I know you still struggle with some stuff, but there's one thing I know you don't."
"What?", she tilted her head.
He flashed a toothy grin and pointed at her, using his finger to poke her arm at every word. "You don't quit."
He retracted his hand. "Not as easily as this. I'm sure you'll find a way to beat me like I did to you. That's how you are, right? Just like I am."
She blinked and stared at him in silence. For someone who she always thought was a bit of an arrogant motormouth, especially back before she really grew to knew him, she had to admit he was right. That was one quality she admired about both herself and him: their perseverance in the face of adversity. Even when her dimension was about to literally collapse into his, she not once ever thought about the doom and gloom of the situation. Only that she had to get the Sol Emeralds back and fix it.
She found herself donning a smile almost unconsciously as she relaxed and snickered. "I never took you as one to get so sappy and motivational.", she teased back at him, his trademark smile never failing. "But...you are right, Sonic. I am not acting like my usual self."
"Atta girl.", he mockingly cooed as he shook her shoulder, a coy grin on her face as she playfully slapped his hand away.
"Sonic...thank you.", she gave a grateful smile coupled with a light pink blush on her face. "Back then, when I was in your world...being honest, I never understood why people liked you. Yet after we fought...and you still somehow had compassion for me...after that, I understood completely."
Now it was Sonic's turn to be stunned at nice words about him. She continued, "I'm really glad we're friends, Sonic. And that I got to meet everyone here because of you. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't met you. In fact...you might be one of the best things that happened to me."
"Ah shucks, not you too. There's only room for one sappy speech here, Blaze!", he laughed, cheeks colored a faint pink because of her praise about him. "Now, c'mon! I got a surprise for you!", he urged her to stand up by shooting up and suddenly grabbing her hand with his and pulling her up.
"W-what?!", she squeaked, noticing she was being dragged to her car.
"I got us a special race. Just you and me. No Wisps, no Ultimates, just pure racing!", he replied excitingly as he hopped into his own car and turned it on, revving the engine. "Now c'mon! Meet you at the starting line!", he skidded the car in a U shape and sped off towards the designated place.
She shook her head lightly while smiling, jumping into hers and speeding off, laughing while on the way.
She whooped in victory as she had beaten the hedgehog again, making the four races they had now tied for points. She couldn't help but grin and giggle at how much fun she was having this time, now slowing the car to a stop. Sonic did so too, equally having as much fun as she was.
"See what I mean? You do better when you're having fun and not getting so super serious about it like before!", he told her, pointing at her.
She smiled brightly and let out an exhale of contentment. "Yea. You're right. But you know...you shouldn't give out trade secrets like that.", she gave a very cocky grin. "People might beat you."
"Oh please, I got so much more you don't know about.", he returned the game talk. "I can still beat you anyday."
"How about another race to test that and settle the score?", she tilted her head in a perky manner as she drove up and stopped parallel to the hedgehog.
"Sure thing, Fire Woman.", he snickered as he backed up to behind the finish line, the cat following him. They revved their engines, ready for yet another round. But then...he got a little idea.
"Hey, Blaze!", he called out to her, grin wide with bared fangs.
"What?", she asked, genuinely curious only to notice Sonic hopping out of his car. Now the only thoughts in her mind were asking just what that hedgehog was up to. It didn't help that he had this weird look on his face.
He didn't care if this wasn't the most perfect time for this, he had a drive to do it and by Chaos, he was gonna do it!
He leaned over the side of the car, face getting closer to Blaze's. It was then the two of them noticed the blush on their cheeks, with Blaze's being a far deeper shade than his.
"U-um...S-Sonic?", she asked in a low breath. "You're um...r-rather close."
"Yea. Is that a problem?", he asked in a low voice, putting on a soft smile.
"Oh! W-w-well...um...uh...I mean...n-not really but um…", her stuttering and clear shyness about the situation was just too darn adorable to the blue hedgehog. It was one of the many reasons that Sonic realized he liked her so much.
"Hey."
"W-what?!"
Next thing she knew, she felt a soft hand lightly guiding her into a kiss that the hedgehog initiated. What initially ran through her was pure shock, was then soon replaced by pure bliss as she closed her eyes and tried to savor the moment. There were no words, but this was all she needed to confirm feelings were at least returned. This of course, was cut short by Sonic parting it, running back to his car and hopping in.
She was spaced out, totally dazed, cheeks still red from the event, and she would've remained so had Sonic's loud revs not snap her out of it. She turned to see Sonic grin, blush still on his face, before throwing a peace sign and speeding off.
"H-hey! You cheater!", she slammed on the gas pedal and chased after him, as he laughed loudly. "Get back here! You better not be playing games with me, Sonic!"
"Trust me, I'm not!", he continued his hearty laugh as the two continued their little race, constantly yelling things at each other, but not in an argumentative sense. No, this was nothing but friendly- if not lovey dovey- banter.
"Knuckles, where in the world is Sonic? He was supposed to be here a while ago! And his car too!", she cornered him, asking him upfront with hands on his hips.
"Oh him, he's out with Blaze rac- ah, darn it, Knuckles!", he muttered to himself turning away quickly as he speed-walked away. Amy, however, was not having it. Tails, watching it, facepalmed pretty heavily.
"He's doing what with Blaze?!", she pinned him, continually trying to keep up with his pace as it got quicker and quicker.
"Nothing, I swear!"
"It didn't sound like nothing, Knuckles!"
The two tailed fox let out a sigh. "Oh brother…", he muttered, getting up from his seat and going after the two. This is gonna be a long day...