A/N: Last time, we ended on a double cliffhanger.

Sword: I'm doubly worried!

Pen: No, you're doubly stupid.

Let's hurry up and get on with it.

Pen: Finally, something I can get behind.

Sword: Sonic and all related characters belong to Sega. The story, me, and Pen belong to the author. Please do not use without permission. Thank you and let's hit it!

Chapter 9- Dinner Invitation

Sonic flipped over and over and hit the trench with a big splash. The hood smashed in and a screen on his dashboard flashed RAFT DEPLOYING. The inflatable raft hissed and he popped above the water, bouncing up and down on the current. He turned forward and disappeared into the pipe before falling down into the river below. Sonic turned hard and forced himself toward the opposite hillside as he fell into the water. The engine powered through, sputtering water and propelling him to the bank.

Once on dry land, the raft folded back into the car. Sonic punched his nitrous oxide, using the last of it. The car roared and he zoomed up the hill and back onto the track. Shadow was far ahead and Jet had taken second place. Sonic stomped on the gas and chased them.

Meanwhile, Amy lowered her mallet and raised her hands. "That's a good girl," the gunman said. Her most recent victim groaned. "You alright there?" the gunman asked. His partner nodded, but stayed hunched on his knees.

"Now then," the man said, "you're coming with us, missy."

"Not a chance!" Out of the trees, Tails leaped into the middle of them and ignited his jetpack. The surrounding flames scared the attackers and he zipped into the one aiming at Amy. "Leave her alone!" He kicked the gun out of his hands and pushed him into a tree.

"Tails?!" Amy picked up her mallet and swung at someone who shot at Tails. "What are you—Look out!" She threw the mallet at another's knees. The shooter cried out, wailing that his leg was broken. She kicked his shin and picked up her mallet. Tails rounded up the guns and threw them in the river.

The two approached the gunman who threatened her and she aimed her mallet at him. "Get out of here," she said. "Now."

He rose and helped some of his men up. They scattered into the forest and Amy faced Tails. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "You were supposed to stay at home."

Before he answered, the gunmen who ran shouted and screamed. The trees rustled and gunfire erupted. Then silence. Amy and Tails looked at each other and dropped to their stomachs. In the distance, beady red eyes appeared in the thick foliage. They swept through the forest and found another downed gunman. One of the Robotnik robots stopped next to the man and held its clawed fist out. "No, please!" the man begged. The fist burst forth, retracted, and the robot moved on.

Amy and Tails crept backwards and to the edge of the forest, avoiding the slow extermination. They saw the flash of a robot's gun every now and then, but mostly heard their dull thudding feet.

The race was close to an end. Sonic was right behind Jet and took advantage of an opening. He shot forward and almost passed him.

However, Jet ran Sonic into the left wall, scratching the side, then pulled ahead, closing in on the finish line. Sonic quickly activated his left bumper. He bounced off the wall and knocked Jet out of the way, crossing the finish line just before him and behind Shadow.

The crowd cheered and Robotnik applauded with the rest. As the other racers finished, he adjusted his microphone. "What a race, ladies and gentlemen. What a race." Although the crowd was happy, Jet seemed ready to tear into Sonic. He opened his car, about to step out, but looked back, supposedly at his tracker. He sat down and stewed in anger.

Amy and Tails managed to make it to the finish line and rejoin the crowd. She kept him close to her and threw him sharp looks.

"Now, settle down everyone. I have an announcement to make." The chatter and enthusiasm died down for Robotnik. "This year, we've added a twist to the races. These are elimination races. Come in the bottom group and you're out for good." The racers in the last places pounded their cars and cursed his name. "That should really be a good incentive for these people to give you the best edge-of-your-seat action!

"But," he said, pulling out a remote, "in case that doesn't quite do it." He tapped a button on the remote and the six cars in last place exploded with their drivers inside. The blasts rocked the other racers. The drivers jumped up, some wanting to hop out of their vehicles. Sonic's jaw dropped and he stood in his seat. Amy covered Tails' eyes.

"I did say this was an elimination tournament," Robotnik said, chuckling. "If that's not incentive, I don't know what is." He cleared his throat. "We also have some unfortunate news. I'm afraid there are some cheaters among this fine group." He singled out the two racers with machine guns and rockets attached to their vehicles who the gunmen deliberately missed. "These two thought they would have their gang take out some of the competition. I cannot allow that kind of foul play."

"You're one to talk," Amy said through gritted teeth.

Robotnik raised his finger to the remote. One of the cheaters leapt out of his vehicle. The car blew up and caught him in it. The other one chewed his finger nails, looking at the flaming wrecks around him and the other racers. "Please, help me!" he cried. "Please!" He held his hands up to Robotnik. "I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"I know it won't," Robotnik said. "Because you'll make a good example." A second later, the explosion threw the car into the air and it crashed back down. Robotnik tucked the remote into his jacket and the skinny robots appeared. As they disabled the trackers, Robotnik pointed to the screens. One showed the tournament standings, with Sonic in second behind Shadow. The others replayed the final moments of Shadow's victory.

"That was a spectacular finish," Robotnik said. Shadow seemed to be asleep with his arms folded. "Clever thinking by Sonic the Hedgehog as well." The reel continued, showing Sonic rocketing off the wall and into Jet. "This is shaping up to be quite the thrilling tournament. I'm looking forward to the next race. How about you people?"

Some applauded, but many looked warily at one another, whispering and pointing at the destroyed vehicles. Amy and Tails rushed to Sonic as the robot disabled his tracker, but left it on. "Hey!" Sonic called after it. He hopped out of his car and pointed at the tracker. "Hey! You're supposed to take it off!" None of the other trackers were taken either. Sonic kicked his wheel and glared at the dying flames around him. Robots emerged from the audience and cleared the cars away.

Robotnik climbed down from his platform and disappeared. The audience started to disperse or collect their bet winnings. The racers examined their trackers, searching for ways to pry them off. "I wouldn't do that," Tails said to the limousine driver. She crawled out from underneath her car. "Tampering with it might set it off."

"Now this is a fine mess!" she said, her ears flattening. "I can't drive the miss around in a booby-trapped car. Wouldn't be much of a chauffeur, would I?" She clamped her mouth shut and hopped in her seat. "Of all the things to do to a gal's car."

Sonic muttered about his own tracker. "Can't believe this," he said to Amy.

"Maybe Tails can remove it back at the garage."

"Yeah, maybe." He sighed and watched the last destroyed car lifted up by a group of robots. "Wish I could've helped them," he said.

"You can help them by winning this and stopping Robotnik," she said. He nodded and they climbed into the car. Tails used his jetpack and flew with them to the garage.


Tails received a long, stern lecture from both Amy and Emerl that night about disobeying them and how he could've been hurt. "What if those men saw you before you dropped in?" Amy said. "They would've killed you."

"But they were about to kill you," he pointed out.

"You just as easily could've been captured by them. Then you would be dead, too."

"I told you the races aren't for you," Emerl said.

"They needed me," he said, turning to Emerl. He held his own pretty well against the verbal assault from both ends.

Sonic watched from the side. As they winded down their chastising, he weighed in. "You have to admit though that if he didn't show up, you wouldn't be here, Ames." She gave him an annoyed glance, but did concede that fact.

"Yes, thank you again, Tails. Just please listen to us in the future. We only want you to be safe."

"Okay," he said. "Sorry."

Since it was late, Sonic and Amy headed to bed while Emerl peered at the tracker. "I hesitate to tamper with it," he said.

"That's what I thought," Tails said, checking it with him. A red light blinked on the tracker, supposedly indicating that all was well with it. Tails shirked from the device when Emerl tapped or touched it to get a better look. One wrong move and they would end up on tomorrow's newspaper. 'Garage Blown to Smithereens', he thought.

Finally, Emerl concluded there was no safe way to disable the tracker and left it in the garage for the time being. "At least it is far enough from our rooms," he said. "I don't want to leave the car in the yard or on the street. Someone might steal it." Afterwards, he and Tails retired for the evening.


Knuckles was about ready to scream himself hoarse. All day he lied in bed, waited on by Tikal. Meanwhile, Robotnik slipped ever further from his grasp. Doing nothing didn't bring him any closer to Robotnik or help his shoulder. It still flared at any large movement. Therefore, that night, when Tikal brought his dinner, he settled on escaping. As much as he hated to upset her, he couldn't stay there another day. And his job? For all he cared, Tikal could go ahead and fire him.

He waited until she tended to the children and tucked them in bed. Then she took his empty bowl and cup. "Thanks," he said. "The soup was delicious."

"Glad you liked it." She pulled his blanket over him. "Get some sleep. Good night."

"Good night." He rolled over and waited until she shut the door. Then he climbed out of bed and slunk along to the door, pressing his ear to the wood. Twenty minutes later, Tikal's footsteps passed his room, entered her own, and her door closed. He allowed ten more minutes before he snuck out of the building.

Where to go? He had no idea. He allowed his feet to carry him where they may. In the middle of the night, he wound up at his apartment. The police had left yellow tape in front of his door. He ducked under it and rummaged through his belongings. He found a little money and a spray can. He coated his spikes again, as they had long lost their white paint job. Then he sat on his bed, staring into the darkness and wondering what to do next.

Robotnik's was out. He needed help to break in there. His thoughts drifted to Amy's offer, but her method wasn't fast enough. Maybe he could track down one of Robotnik's other operations and find some proof. A gambling den or weapons dealer. Something.

A heavy weight landed on his windowsill. Knuckles stood and watched the figure tap on his window. A pair of wings folded behind the person. Or a bat, he thought. He grumbled and opened the window. "What do you want?" he hissed.

"A 'Thank you' would be nice," Rouge said, pushing past him. She bumped into his shoulder and he winced, grabbing it. She tilted her head. "You alright?"

"Fine," he said, checking the bandage.

"Oh, sorry. Nothing too bad?"

"It's fine. What are you doing here?"

She sat on his bed. "I've been looking for you."

"Really?" he said, unconvinced. He narrowed his eyes and glanced out the window. "Why?"

"Relax. It's just me here. No one else." Rouge kicked one long leg over the other. "None of this is personal. I was doing my job."

"You told me that already," he said, crossing his arms. "What do you want with me?"

She tapped her lip and glanced to the side. "I need your help."

He almost burst out laughing. Her? Asking him for help? "And what on Earth makes you think I'll help you?"

"Because I can help you get an edge on Robotnik," she said. He didn't believe her, but the offer was enticing. He nodded for her to continue. "I don't know how much you heard, but Robotnik has three Chaos Emeralds."

"Right, smaller versions of the Master Emerald or something," Knuckles said.

"Essentially, yes. He promised one to me, but I know where he's keeping another one as well."

"Not at his estate?"

"No," Rouge said. "That's where he's keeping mine. He separates them. One is in a gambling racket he owns."

Knuckles tapped his foot. "So? What's that have to do with me?"

"These emeralds are connected. Somehow, the Master Emerald influences their power and vice versa."

"Their power? You mean those old legends? You believe that?"

She shrugged. "I've seen strange things in my time. Who can say? But Robotnik believes in it."

"And what is this supposed power?"

"That, I don't know. All I know is that it's 'great and terrible' according to the stories."

"You sure do know a lot about these things," he said.

Rouge grinned. "I do my homework."

"Again, I'm only interested in the Master Emerald. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to get the one at the racket. Wait," she said, holding up her hand as his mouth morphed into a sneer. "Wait a second. There's a reason." He bit back his refusal and listened. "Robotnik is planning to do something big with these emeralds. I'm not sure what, but it'll be catastrophic on a large scale for the city."

Knuckles' foot stopped and he scrutinized her. She seemed to be telling the truth, but he had fallen for that before. "Why do you care? Isn't this just a job to you?"

"I have other clients in the city," she said a little too quickly. "Bad for business if they're dead. Besides, if you do this, you'll be a hero."

"I just want my life back," he said.

"And you don't think a hero would get that? Besides, if this thing goes off, you won't have a life to come back to." She made a good point. He wasn't sure if he believed her, but busting up one of Robotnik's rackets and taking a valuable emerald from him would give Knuckles a bargaining chip. Maybe there he could find the kind of connection to Robotnik and the den for Espio and Vector to use.

"Alright," he said. "I'll do it."

"Good," she said, pecking his cheek and pressing her body against him. He turned his head, hiding his embarrassment and rosy cheeks. She slipped him a piece of paper. "Here's the address and the password to get in. Good luck."

She hopped out the window and he stared at the paper. He knew he was going to regret this at some point.


The next morning, Amy awoke to a knocking on the garage's shutter door. She sat up on the makeshift sofa bed and nudged Sonic on the floor with her foot. He mumbled in his sleep until she dug her toes into his spine. "Wake up. Someone's here." He snorted and blinked, squinting at her.

"What?" he said. The knocking was insistent and he yawned. Together, they answered the door, opening the shutters while Sonic grumbled, "Too early for this." One of the skinny robots from last night ducked underneath the opening and cut between them. "Oh, are you going to take the tracker off?" Sonic asked. Instead, the robot handed him a card.

Amy read the card aloud over his shoulder. "A dinner at Robotnik's house tonight?" The robot buzzed away. "For all the racers it looks like."

"What? Like some meet and greet?" Sonic turned the card around.

"I guess. And you can bring a couple of guests." A couple of guests and dinner in the heart of Robotnik's estate. That would mean—

"Looks like you'll get your chance to find that evidence," he said. "If you don't mind being my guest."

"Are you asking me to be your date?" she said, batting her eyes. He rubbed his neck and looked at the car. She smiled and took the card. "Sure, I'll come with you. It'll be nice to have a night out where we're not constantly worrying about high-speed death."

"Oh, you know like this stuff," he said, nudging her. She giggled and elbowed him back. "Maybe we can stop this tournament before any more," he searched for the right word, "eliminations."

She agreed whole-heartedly. The sudden explosions from last night still chilled her to the bone. Nobody expected it and Robotnik enjoyed it with glee. It sickened her.

That day, Amy and Sonic went shopping for a dress tuxedo. She already owned a number of dresses that she used to sneak into formal functions and gather stories. Sonic only possessed the shoes on his feet. Shopping for him proved difficult, as he hated modeling each and every tuxedo she picked out and visiting all the stores. "Let's just get one already," he said, whining at the third store.

"We would if you would pick one," she said.

"I said they're all fine," he said. She threw a couple of jackets into his arms and marched him to the dressing rooms.

"That doesn't help narrow it down." She shoved him behind the dressing room curtain and waited outside.

"It really doesn't matter. They're all the same."

"Yes, it does," she said. "Since you won't choose, I'll have to choose for you. If you want to make an impression, you have to dress right."

He stuck his head out. "Make an impression? We're trying to get him arrested, remember?" She pushed his face back in.

"Yes, and to do that, we need to search his house. He'll only allow us free reign if we don't look suspicious. You need to look good." Although, if she was honest with herself, she didn't mind watching him model some of the tuxedos. Some were rather handsome on him and made him look dashing.

Eventually, Sonic refused to set foot in another store and bought the most comfortable suit he had tried. Luckily, it was one of the few that Amy liked on him, so she allowed it. They had enough time to return to her place, grab a sparkling red evening gown of hers, and dress before the dinner.

They drove in silence to his estate. Amy was on pins and needles, hardly able to believe that she could finally enter Robotnik's house. It seemed unreal, a long-awaited dream within her grasp. "When we get in there, we'll need to stay together," she said. "But if we're pressed for time, we can split up and cover more ground."

"Got it," he said as they stopped at the gate. A robot stood guard and its eyes scanned them as they entered.

In all her anticipation, a thought hadn't occurred to Amy before now. But as the robot announced, "Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy Rose," she wondered if it was smart that she came. She had written scathing articles about Robotnik's criminal empire and it was no secret she would love to see him arrested. Sonic appeared to have the same notion, for he looked warily at her. She sat back and told herself everything would be fine. As long as they were careful, there was nothing to worry about.

They were one of the last to arrive. The foyer was as large as a living room. A robot servant greeted them and opened the door to the main hall. "Please, come in," it said.

The main hall was large and immaculate. The white marble floors reflected their faces and chandeliers hung from the roof, lining both sides of the hall. The furnished wooden walls were soft and bright. A large staircase cut the hall in half, forming two paths to either side with a couple of doors on each. To the further left opening, the racers milled around and chatted with one another. Amy nudged Sonic along to them.

In the dining room where the racers congregated, a line of appetizers was laid out to one side of the room, as well as fine wine and other drinks. A lengthy dining table took up the middle, clothed in white and already prepared with silver dishes and utensils. Two robotic servants manned the appetizers, both as close to human as any robots Amy had seen so far. One mixed up a drink for a guest while the other offered a plate of shrimp and dipping sauce to Amy and Sonic as they entered.

"Help yourselves," the robot said. Sonic and Amy plucked a piece off the plate. "Mr. Robotnik will be down shortly. Until then, feel free to mingle."

Amy studied the other guests. Some seemed to be missing, then she remembered yesterday. A general cloudiness hung over some of the racers and their guests. Many eyed the exits nervously, as if Robotnik planned to trap and kill them at any moment. Amy couldn't blame them. She had the same misgivings. This was too easy.

Some of the guests walked around through various rooms. Taking a glass of wine each, Amy and Sonic crossed the main hall into the far right door. It was a large living room, with a massive fireplace and comfortable chairs and sofas. A bookshelf was in the corner and a red carpet with swirling, flower patterns stretched from one end of the room to the other. On the wall hung strange artifacts and portraits, some of which portrayed Robotnik in different settings. One had him posing in his best suit.

"He looks like a fat penguin," Sonic whispered to Amy. She snorted in her glass.

"That's what she said." Jet appeared from behind them, Wave holding his arm and Storm backing them up. The two boys opted for plain black tuxedos while Wave chose a pale blue dress that didn't compare to Amy's. And by her dissatisfied examination of the pink hedgehog, Wave knew it, too.

"Hey, good race yesterday," Sonic said, then turned to Storm. "You okay?"

"He's fine," Jet said. "Not the first time he's taken a hard blow."

"No hard feelings then?"

Jet lips tightened. "Let's just say I'm glad you entered. It would've been boring with just Shadow."

"The guy who won first yesterday, right?" Sonic said. "Races for Robotnik. What's his story?"

"Don't know," Jet said. "But I'm sure your girlfriend here could find out more."

"Oh, she's, uh—we're not," Sonic stammered.

"What I'd like to know is why did Robotnik bring us here?" Amy cut in. "He doesn't let many people into his house."

"He does this every year," Wave said. "A social event to 'better the sportsmanship between everyone.' However, he uses it to scope out talent."

"Talent?"

"People to work for him." She leaned in closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Good driving is very handy if you're transporting things you don't want the cops to find."

"Weapons?" Amy asked.

"Among other things." Wave straightened and pretended to look at some of Robotnik's artifacts. Each had a small plaque beneath them, detailing where he had come across them. Some were valuable and historical pieces, such as the shrapnel from some war above Amy's head or the founding papers of Station Square further down the wall.

"Has he ever offered to recruit you?" Amy asked.

Jet nodded. "We're more interested in racing though."

A bell tinkled and one of the servants announced, "Mr. Robotnik has arrived. Please proceed to the dining room."

"There's our host," Sonic said. He guided Amy to the dining room and they took a seat near the Babylon Rogues. Amy noticed a couple of empty seats and realized a few people failed to show, such as that raccoon girl.

At the opposite end from the foyer, the servants opened a set of double doors and Robotnik strode in, attended by a few actual servants, one of whom was Vanilla. "Thank you all for coming," he said, seating himself. Several robots and servants brought out a variety of food from grilled rainbow trout to savory pasta. The scent was mouth-watering and the spices of some dishes were tantalizing to Amy's stomach. "Dinner is served. I hope you brought your appetite."

A/N: The first race is over! What do you people think?

Sword: Whew! All these cliffhangers are tiring me out. I don't think my arms can take it.

Pen: *smacks Sword* Idiot.

Sword: En garde!

Agh! Please, let us know your opinion! Stop fighting, you two!