I don't own Sonic or Sega.
Author's Note: The first part of this chapter was inspired by the death of champion Australian and New Zealand race horse, Phar Lap. Many, including myself because of the physical evidence, believe he was posioned in 1932. His death came when he was a healthy 5 year old and his 'illness' started without warning and he died shortly after. To read more about Phar Lap, go to his wikipedia article.
11. The Acorn Stakes
"Hey, Sadie. I gotta go see Sonic in the back and wish him luck, you wanna come with?"
"Ryko, give any girl the opportunity to see Sonic the Hedgehog and see what they say every time. Yes, I would like to come with you."
"Cool. Let's go."
When they got to his room, a doctor was standing in front of his door.
"No visitors at this time."
"Why? What happened?" asked Sadie.
"He's throwing up every five seconds."
"Can we see him? We're personal friends-"
"No, you-"
"Let 'em in, doc." Said the weak voice inside.
The doctor was right. He was throwing up a lot.
"What happened?"
"That… drink…took a sip…set it down…hour ago… musta been something…"
Sadie smelled the water.
"I can't smell anything."
"Arsenic."
"How do you know?" Ryko shrugged.
"Cyanide smells like almonds and Chloral Hydrate smells terrible. You can't smell Arsenic."
"What does that mean?"
"Sonic the Hedgehog." began Ryko.
"You've been poisoned."
In the stands, 2:40 PM
Laoch and Shade were sitting in their seats when the princess herself ran up to them. Laoch bowed.
"Princess Sally."
"Yea, whatever. You know Sonic, right? I need to know what's going on."
"My friend Ryko just saw him, call him up." Laoch Dialed the number for her.
Sonic's Room, 2:43 PM
Ryko's phone rang.
"Hello… Princess Sally?"
The princess is calling Ryko? Thought Sadie. For some reason jealousy boiled up inside her.
"Oh yea, he was poisoned… Arsenic…. No, unfortunately not. You don't? Weird… yea, I don't care, I just want him ready for the race. Ares is in… ARES!" Ryko hung up the phone.
"Sonic, did you see a blue Echidna anywhere around here?"
"yea…he was the… water person…"
"Apollo is here, eh? We got our poisoner."
Princess Sally rushed in. Sadie and the doctor both bowed.
"It is our honor, princess."
Ryko still stood. The princess raised her eyebrows.
"I didn't come all this way to give you the royal treatment, Sally." Sally smiled.
"I like the way you stand your ground. Now tell me about this."
"One of Ares' agents, Apollo the Echidna, gave him water. Sonic only took one sip, so it isn't that bad. I think Ares wanted him dead." Sally nodded.
"Sounds reasonable. Anything else?"
"Besides don't drink the water? Not really. We need that antidote so he can race." Sally looked appalled.
"You want him to race?"
"Hell yea! He's got the best chance at the triple crown I've ever seen! He's the only one who can beat Ares, too!" The doctor spoke up.
"I'm sorry, did you say Arsenic? I've got an antidote… was he poisoned?"
"Yes. Give me the antidote." said Sally.
Sally gave the antidote to Sonic, who was more than happy to see her.
"Alright. Now I gotta find Apollo."
Hallways of Acorn Stadium, 3:00 PM
He didn't have to find Apollo; Apollo found him. He jumped out from nowhere and began the assault. Ryko, a much more experienced assassin, quickly knocked him out with a vicious spinning kick. He was going to bring him to the princess, but then he had another Idea. He smiled.
Ares' room, 3:30 PM
Ares was smiling. That foolish hedgehog was out of the way. He was going to win...
He stopped dead. Apollo was on the floor, obviously unconscious. A note was on his body.
If you want something done, do it yourself.
Ryko
Ares was fuming. He calmed. He could still win the race.
The track, 5:00
"Wwwweeeeelllcccooommmeee, to the Aaacccoorrrnnn STTTAAKKEEESS!" boomed the announcer.
Ryko and Sadie got back to their seats.
"Little CSI goin' on, I heard." Ryko chuckled.
"Yea."
"Hi, Sadie." Said Shade in an extremely friendly voice.
"Sup."
"Here are the contestants and their odds!
Sonic the Hedgehog: 3-1
Scourge the Hedgehog: 3-1
Osiris the Hedgehog: 50-1
Poseidon the Hedgehog: 42-1
Secretariat the Hedgehog: 3-1
Affirmed the Hedgehog: 50-1
Citation the Hedgehog: 30-1
Bodemeister the Hedgehog: 6-1
Ares the Hedgehog: 4-1
There you have it! And our newcomer, Bodemeister, is supposed to be really fast! We'll see how this plays out! Are we ready, folks?"
"DING!"
"Around the first turn now, A-Ares in the lead, Secretariat in close second and Sonic in the back, Osiris in second to last, the group seems to be moving along very well! We are coming around the second turn, Secretariat trips and gets pommeled by the oncoming hedgehogs, the medical team should see to that, A-Ares still in firs, Sonic still in the back, the third turn and we're coming down to the final stretch, it seems as if A-Ares… What? Look at Sonic! Look at Sonic!"
It would have been normal, Sonic turning on the jets and running down the backstretch. What made it amazing was he was running backwards. When he was about to pass Ares, Ares' mouth was gaping, as he was still running backwards. As he was passing him, Sonic created what would probably become the most controversial event in Mobian sports history; as he was passing him he flipped him off. Ares' face burned with anger; he tried to speed up but he couldn't. Sonic passed the finish line still flipping off Ares and winning the second jewel of the Triple Crown. The crowed was going insane.
"That was the best, yet controversial, ending to a race I've ever seen!"
Ares was about to attack but Hades opened his portal and dragged him through it, eliminating the threat. Sonic rushed over to Secretariat. He was just regaining consciousness.
"Did… Did you win? Did you beat Ares?" Sonic smiled.
"Watch the replay." He did. He burst out laughing when he saw what Sonic did.
"You alright?"
"Yea. You may have won today, but in three weeks at the Freedom Stakes, you may not be so lucky. I'll be training."
"I look forward to it."
The hallways, 5:30 PM
Sonic was walking down the hallways when the group greeted him.
"That was awesome!" shouted Ryko, giving him a friendly hug.
Sadie couldn't find the words to come out of her mouth.
"You better win the Triple Crown, buddy." said Laoch.
"Sonic!" shouted the princess, running up and giving him a hug.
"That was awesome! And we couldn't have done it without your help, Ryko. She gave him a hug too.
Sadie didn't like that. The look must have shown on her face.
"Go drool over Sonic." mouthed Ryko, smiling.
"Thanks for everything, guys." said Sonic.
"Hey, no problem…" began Ryko.
"But you owe me and Sadie front row seats for the Freedom Stakes."
