"They're off and already I can't believe my eyes! The Blitzkrieg Bombers have left the competition in the dust with their incredible take-off and the crowd is on their feet! Still, as impressive as their take-off was, will they be able to keep their lead?"
Resting his chin on his fist as he reclined in his office chair, Jin Phoebus watched the live feed of the race in Artemis City on his laptop. He paid particular attention to the Blitzkriegs' performance, noticing the instant the oldest Blitzkrieg used it. He had doubts that the broadcaster even noticed, but nothing escaped Jin's eyes.
Suddenly, light invaded his domain, a slim silhouette eclipsing the light of the corridor a second later. Jin's eye scanned the figure and beckoned it with his finger. It stepped out of the threshold and approached him. The light faded as the door closed and Jin smiled.
"My, this is certainly a surprise," he chuckled as he leaned forward and rolled his chair to his desk. Again, he placed his chin on his palm, propping his elbow on his desk. "How long has it been since I've seen your people?"
Letting down the hood from her cloak, the woman greeted Jin with the usual stonewalled expression he remembered her kind wearing long ago. "Jin-sama," she spoke, "it's an honor to meet you, face-to-face."
Extending his delicate hand towards her, his white smile shined brilliantly in the obscurity. "The pleasure is all mine. So tell me, what has happened since my absence?"
Sonic led his brothers as he navigated the sharp chicanes with relative ease. The maneuverability of Serge's board was put to the test though. Because of the Thunda-Bolt's elongated design, it couldn't manage tight turns. Serge found a way through its fatal flaws, nonetheless, going straight through the chicanes, leaping over off-track obstacles without difficulty.
He leaned his body and board to the left, finding his place beside Sonic back on the track. "It's awesome, isn't it?"
"What is?" he wondered.
"Heheheh, the scenery, ya know? Watching hundreds of city lights flash by you every second! Moving faster than time itself! It's a rush like no other!"
Sonic never truly took notice of his surroundings when in a race, did he? He allowed his eyes to linger from his course for a moment to take it all in. All of a sudden, a tremendous amount of pressure pushed his heart to the back of his rib cage.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. His heartbeat increased, his eyes widened, and the sensation he felt before the race froze his body. It was the adrenaline—no, this was something far more powerful than adrenaline.
"Bro, look out!"
Blitz's warning snapped him out of his reverie. The force released its grip on him and he held his board tight as he somersaulted over the railings. Twisting mid-air, he landed on the metal rails sideways and began grinding down the hill. Quick with reflexes, he spun to the next set of rails with ease, Blitz following close behind.
"This alternate route will take us around to the highway," Blitz told him as they navigated the sharp left turn on the rail.
"Serge went with the competition?" Maurice wondered, wiping the condensation from the front of his goggles.
Blitz nodded. "Yep. He's a big boy. He can handle it."
Sonic laughed as they jumped off the rails and sped up the hill towards the highway entrance. "Are these roads closed for the race?"
Blitz mirrored his grin, leaning forward and weaving through traffic cones in rhythm with Sonic. "Of course not."
"Heh, a challenge eh?"
Over the blaring of passing car horns, engines roared as they rushed over Sonic and Blitz's head. "An airship?" Blitz muttered.
The twin-machine gun armed airship whipped its red tail around and faced the two racers, its thrusters maintaining high speeds in reverse. They saw a slim silhouette operating the golden cockpit but couldn't depict it as man or woman.
Their suspicions were put to rest nevertheless, as a voice boomed over the loudspeaker, "Taking shortcuts?" it was a female. "I suppose I should expect that from you."
"Anything it takes to win, lady!" Blitz yelled, splitting his concentration between the airship and steering through the busy traffic. He jumped over a flying car, pushing himself off the roof with his free hand while upside-down. He twisted about in the air, taking Sonic's hand and launching him to the far right side where he landed on the rails. "You trying to tell us we're breaking the rules?"
Sonic watched Blitz ride the rails on the left side and laughed before looking up at the ship. "Like our moves?"
He performed a quick side-roll back onto a free lane and leaned forward as a rush of wind pushed him forward. "Let's go, Blitz!"
Boom
"Whoa!" The explosion caught him by surprise, but he managed to side-roll to the right, riding the metal rail through the billowing smoke. He covered his mouth until he emerged from the smolder, and then looked up at the ship stalking him. "What's your deal?" he exclaimed, lowering his hand from his mouth.
"You're coming with me!" the woman shouted over the loudspeaker, her ship's right arm loading another potent missile into its chamber. "I'd like to bring you back alive, so don't try anything stupid."
"Did I do something wrong?"
The woman inside—Faye Valentine—snorted, pulling the rods controlling her ship, the Red Tail, far back. "No point in playing innocent," she mocked as her ship elevated higher over the blaring traffic. The monitor in the center of her control panel displayed an electronic copy of the warrant for the suspect's arrest. "You may have changed your looks, but you're no doubt the one I've been looking for."
Sonic looked over his shoulder for Blitz, but he was nowhere in sight. He remembered Blitz was on the main highway, and Sonic was on the rails leading to a highway exit. 'He's still on the highway,' Sonic scowled, tightening his fists and jumping off the rails to speed down the hill. The Red Tail whipped itself around and began pursuit. Over the loud honks of oncoming traffic, Sonic heard the cocking of a machine gun. The ship was ready to fire!
"I really hate chases," Faye sighed, her left thumb applying a bit of pressure to the red button on the left rod.
Sonic made a sharp left at the four-way intersection off the highway exit, speeding through a narrow opening between two semi-trucks. Faye cursed under her breath, following her prey close as her ship's wings made quick adjustments to carry her to the left. The swell of her engines' propulsion, threw the semis and other cars far back. "Now I'm getting pissed, kid!" she roared as her ship launched high into the skies in the blink of an eye.
The Red Tail's speed was impressive. Sonic's board was designed to outrun other boards, not airships. He dared to say that he met his match with this woman, but when he checked his rear, he saw she was no longer pursuing him.
"Wow, that's it?" he asked himself.
Just as he wiped the sweat from his forehead…
"You aren't getting away from me!"
Her ship came from out of nowhere in front of him! The powerful squall from her ship's engines blew Sonic off his board. Landing on his feet, he slid to a stop in front of an overturned vehicle. "Man! You just don't give up!" he yelled over the howling of the Red Tail.
"With so much money on your head, I wouldn't think of it," Faye countered, smiling as she targeted her bounty with her machine guns. "Now, what will it be, Project Shadow?"
Sonic's eyes widened.
"What did you call me?"