He would win if it killed him.

Mario pumped his legs harder, sweat beading around the collar of his shirt and the seams of his gloves. His road bike sliced through the warm summer air. He barely slowed down through another sharp curve, the bike precisely moved on his mental track. It seemed to be a part of him, now.

The Olympics had started strong, and he was determined to end it even stronger. This was the first time he'd competed with Team Sonic- after years of tension. Always being compared to Sonic. Hypothetically fighting Sonic.

When he'd met Sonic for a few brief moments, it had only increased his desire to win. The blue hedgehog was ten years younger, extremely cocky, and fast.

The only line he'd heard from Sonic during that brief meeting was "You're too slow."

"You're too skinny." Mario had shot back. As he thought back, Mario realized that it was a poor retort.

They had tied so far in medals, but Sonic had won with his remark.

Now was the time to end it.

He felt the sting in his legs as he pumped up a forested hill. The shadows played across the road and cooled him off. Spots of sunlight heated him up again. It was freeing.

He crested the hill. The wind blew in his face and whistled past his ears as he tensed his legs and leaned into the bike. His knuckled turned white on the rubber handles. He squeezed the brake just a little with two fingers. It was easy to go fast, especially down steep hills like this. He rounded another corner.

Another hill was ahead of him, twice as high as the last. A high sandstone wall spread itself to his right, and to the left was a small curb and a ditch. He rode down the yellow painted stripes on the road. The sun shone in his face, the brim of his hat only shaded his eyes. At the right moment, he pumped his legs again. The leaves on the trees clapped in the wind.

Oh no. The clicking sounds of another bike grated to his left, coming closer and closer.

"Hey, dude!" Sonic's voice chimed in the warm air. "Thought you left me behind a couple miles ago, right?"

Mario grit his teeth and didn't answer. He locked his eyes on the top of the hill ahead.

"Well, I'm back!"

Mario opened his mouth to speak, but didn't. He silently panted from exhaustion, and didn't want Sonic to hear it.

Sonic churned his legs and brought his bike slightly ahead of Mario's. "Too tired, buddy?" He grinned. "I'm not tired at all, I'm not even breathing hard!"

"Happy for you!" Mario shot back. He sucked in air. So what if Sonic heard him?

"They say that running so much give me superstrong legs!"

Sonic was excellent at dishing out insults. Mario blinked and desperately tried to find a comeback. The wind was bringing tears to his eyes. He vaguely remembered that he needed to pay attention or his bike would slip out from under him.

"They say I'm fast," Sonic continued, "in fact, I could go fifty times this fast if I was just running!"

Cracking a grin, Mario realized that Sonic was just egging him on, daring him to find a good insult. Fine. The top of the hill was coming up. He threw all of his willpower into going faster.

Sonic seemed to catch on. He silenced himself and began to pedal harder, still with a lead over Mario.

Mario crested the steep hill just after Sonic. He leaned as far as he could into the metal frame, barely registering the curve ahead. He had to go fast.

He'd show that over-sized mouse the meaning of speed.

Sonic used his brakes and immediately dropped back. So, Sonic was afraid of the curve? Mario smirked as he resisted the urge to use his brakes. He could get through the curve without them, surely! Then he could have the lead! He guided his bike to the edge of the road to begin the turn. Leafy branched whipped past his head. He pulled on the handle and started the turn.

The back tire slipped. The world spun and blurred as something crushed his foot and he flew into the ditch. He landed with a thud, pain exploded through his side. He rolled to a stop on his stomach, his arm pinned underneath.

His ears rang. He squeezed his eyes tight shut as he felt the cool dirt and leaves against his face, and the wind somewhere far above. He held his breath. The pain in his ribs dulled, as did his senses.

"Holy shoot!" Sonic's voice came from the road, muffled.

Mario inhaled through his nose. Fresh pain bit into his side. His foot seemed to be eating him alive. He tensed as a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Hey, Mario? Mario? You still with me?"

Even from so close, Sonic's voice seemed like it came from behind a door.

"Shoot, man, I'm gonna run for help. Hold on!"

A gust of wind blew, and in a moment, Mario realized that Sonic had run away.

He couldn't help but chew on his lip. What an idiot he was! Perhaps he could get up and leave before Sonic came back.

He couldn't get himself to move.

Time passed. He wasn't sure how much time, perhaps only a minute or two, perhaps an hour. Had he fallen asleep? His arm, still trapped under him, lost all feeling altogether.

Another gust of wind blew, Sonic had returned. "Hey, you still here?" He shook Mario's shoulder a little.

Mario found his weak voice. "Yeah."

"Oh, good! I ran back and got some help, it's gonna take them awhile to get here, though. We got so far ahead!"

Mario inwardly groaned. He couldn't allow himself to be in such a weak state. He summoned the strength to roll onto his side. His foot burst into what felt like flames and needles.

Sonic appeared right in front of him, a hand on Mario's shoulder. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Getting up." Mario tried to swat Sonic's hand away.

Sonic didn't budge. "That's probably not the best idea."

"Says who?"

"Says me, that's who." Sonic folded his arms. "You're gonna puncture a lung or somethin' if your ribs are really broken. You can't go shifting them around like that."

Mario knew that Sonic was right. His ribs ached and shifted uncomfortably under his skin when he moved. His foot throbbed. He'd probably crushed it between the pedal and the curb, I knew I should have worn boots instead of those tennis shoes...

"Stay with me, man."

Mario's eyes snapped open again. He was now flat on his back in the ditch, The sun seemed to have sunk lower in the sky, and Sonic was now sitting next to him instead of kneeling. "Wh... did I fall asleep?"

Sonic looked anxious as he scratched his quills. "You passed out. Not the greatest of signs, in my opinion." He held up a long syringe and cracked a smile. "I ran back and got a shot thingy to maybe dull some of the pain for ya."

Mario held his breath when he saw it. His lungs and ribs ached. It was tempting...

"What's the matter?"

"I am not on the best of terms with needles... what's taking the ambulance so long?"

The Blue Blur sighed and shook his head. "They're coming from quite a few miles away. They also insist on going at a safe speed, which is a code word for slow. Too slow for me!" Sonic looked down at Mario and gave him a pitying smile. "It feels like a long time to you because you hurt so bad." He held up the needle. "Care to remedy that?"

Mario's stomach twisted into a knot as he stared at it. "Do you even know how to handle that?"

"Would I be suggesting it if I didn't?"

Mario didn't really know the answer to that question. He merely squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his arm. "Do it."

He felt Sonic's gloved hands rolling up his sleeve. "Awesome. For the record, this hurts you more than it does me."

Mario grinned at the joke and then yelped as he felt the needle pierce a vein.

Sonic's hand was firmly around his wrist. "Don't move, sir. If this kills you, you'll die a man."

"Oh, thanks."

Not another word was said for quite a few minutes. Sonic had removed the needle and Mario now began to breathe easier as the pain in his chest dulled significantly.

Eventually, though, he spoke up again. "I was wrong about you, Sonic."

"Hmm?" Sonic lazily put his hands behind his head. "What makes you say that? I'm faster than you thought?"

"No... I was told that you were arrogant."

"Well, that's probably true."

"I didn't think that you, of all people, would help me out." Heat flushed to Mario's cheeks as he began to admit that he was wrong. "I judged a book by its cover, and I shouldn't do that. I'm sorry."

Sonic grinned, staring at the ground. "Aw, it's not a huge deal." He suddenly perked up and stuck out a hand for Mario to shake. "I've never properly met you. I'm Sonic."

Mario grasped Sonic's hand, though he couldn't really shake. "I'm Mario."

"Turns out we have more in common than I was told."

Mario tilted his head. "Like what?"

"For starters, that wicked amount of speed you were doing right before you crashed!" Sonic laughed, "I was told you weren't even worth racing!"

Mario chuckled, careful not to hurt his ribs. "Yeah, that sure got me far, didn't it?"

"Hey, if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have really met you, so be grateful." Sonic's ears perked up as a siren blared in the distance. "Speaking of which..."

Mario listened to the wailing siren as a dead weight settled on his mood.

Sonic noticed. "You all right?"

"That was the end of my Olympics. It's over."

"Oh..." Sonic stared at the ground.

The weight spread through Mario's chest as the sirens screeched their way up the road. "What will I tell my team?"

"Well..." said Sonic, "I can't fix everything. But honestly, you won't have to tell them much. Let's dispense of this rivalry garbage, huh? Why can't we just have fun at these Olympics? After all, they're called Olympic Games!"

Mario grinned. "Well, I do appreciate that, though you'll have fun while I watch."

Sonic stood up and waved to the ambulance coming up the road. "We-ell, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I think there's a nice big bobsled called the S.S. Mario calling your name... and it's pulled by none other than the fastest hedgehog around! We'll introduce the world to the best new form of transportation: Hog-Sledding!"

Mario laughed at the utter ridiculousness of the picture. "You'd do that for me?"

As the shouts of paramedics filled the air, Sonic's only response was the bright twinkle in his eye.

From that day forward, the Olympic torch continued to burn. But it didn't symbolize the fire of rivalry anymore.

Now, it was the beacon of friendship.