Epic ending. R&R!

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Tales of Soleanna

Chapter 11: Sonic's Gamble

It was another pleasant day in Soleanna and Sonic and co. had agreed to spend a day out. They were enjoying themselves until sometime at a restaurant. Several things occurred there.

When they sat down, Sonic found himself squeezed in between Amy and Elise. Thankfully, no one noticed him sweating nervously. Next to Amy was Cream then Tails. Opposite to Tails was Rouge who was next to Shadow then Silver and Blaze. Knuckles sat at the end of the table on Tails' side while Omega sat opposite. Omega was the only one who wasn't eating. He'd plugged himself into a nearby socket and was draining electricity. Lots of other people in the restaurant were wandering why the lights kept flicking on and off. Sonic had ordered chilli dogs and was surprised that Elise had ordered the same. "I didn't know you liked chilli dogs" he said. "Oh yeah. I've loved them since I was little" Elise replied, before taking another mouthful of her dog. Pretty soon, Sonic and Elise had wound up feeding each other, attracting several looks from the rest of the table. "Sheesh, Sonic. Stop acting like she needs to be fed" Knuckles said. "I think it makes them look like they're on a date" Cream said. Everyone on the table laughed, except for Sonic and Elise who began to stop feeding each other. Sonic still didn't know if Elise was in love with him and Elise was still trying to hide the fact she was in love with him. She didn't even admit it to herself.

On a nearby table, a figure was watching Sonic and Elise. He was also with two women who kept touching him. The way they were dressed would make you think they came from the Playboy mansion. They weren't wearing bunny ears though. One of them, having overheard the conversation, whispered "Hedgehog and a human? That's sick!" Rouge, with her acute hearing, had heard the woman and turned sharply. "Rouge, what is it?" asked Shadow. "I thought I heard something" she responded. "Must be going deaf, bat!" the second girl yelled. Rouge stood up, "Do you want to say that to my face!" Shadow stood up as well to make sure Rouge didn't do something stupid. "Rouge, don't respond. Just ignore them" he said. "You should listen to your boyfriend! Besides, you wouldn't dare touch us with our boyfriend around" the first one said. Shadow was the one to turn around now. "I'm not her boyfriend! And how did you even manage to get one between you? Couldn't afford two?"

Sonic decided to end the feud there and then. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We just came here to eat. So, if we just sit down and not argue, maybe we can enjoy ourselves". "Running away again, hedgehog? Just like at the race" the figure mocked. Sonic turned to face him and was shocked by who it was. It was none other than Sam Nic!

"Long time, no see!" Nic sneered. "I see you've moved in on my property along with your freaks for friends!" This got Sonic riled up. He knew what Nic meant. "Elise isn't your property! She doesn't belong to anyone!" he snarled. Nic stood up and went up to Sonic. "Well, we'll see about that won't we?" Nic said. "I challenge you to a race around the city. No chickening out" he smirked. "I never give up!" declared Sonic.

Later, Sonic and Nic had agreed to start outside the restaurant, go all round the city and make it to the plaza. Silver held the chequered flag. Before they took their places, Sonic said "What makes you think you'll win? All you have are some roller-skates and two cheerleaders. I could've easily won last time". "Well, there's a slight change here". Nic smiled an evil grin as he pulled out the light-blue Chaos Emerald. "I've learned how to harness its powers and with this, I'll thrash you!"

Sonic stared at the emerald in awe. "Nic. Let's mix things up shall we? If I win, I get your emerald" Sonic dared. Nic shrugged. "Alright. But what if I win?" he sneered. "Name your price". The worst three words Sonic could've said. "If I win, I get Elise and your Chaos Emeralds!" Elise gasped and Sonic stood there speechless. Was he really going to let his friend be used as a trophy? "No deal, Nic!" he said. Nic snarled. "Fine. Have it your way" and with a snap of his fingers, the emerald began to glow. Suddenly, Elise found herself trapped in a block of ice. She couldn't move. Sonic ran up to her. He started banging on the ice, trying to break it. Knuckles ran up and began punching the ice, but it did nothing. "Nic, let her go!" Sonic yelled. "Fine. On one condition. You agree to my terms" he smirked. Sonic snarled. He had no choice.

The two speedsters took their places at the start. Silver raised the flag. "On your marks, get set, GO!" And with that, Sonic and Nic sped off. The others made their way to the plaza. Knuckles carried Elise. "Do you think Sonic'll win?" Tails asked nervously. "Of course he'll win" Amy said matter-of-facterly. But one look at Elise made her say "I hope".

Sonic was getting confident. Nic was trailing behind. He had trouble going around corners, while Sonic sped round them with no problem. Nic began to get frustrated. Pulling the emerald out, he smirked as it began to glow. Suddenly, he began to speed up. Sonic looked behind and realised what he was doing. Soon Nic and Sonic were neck and neck. "You're pretty good" Sonic said, casually, "But it won't be enough to beat me!" "Really?" Nic asked, before slamming into Sonic into a nearby building. By the time Sonic got his senses back, Nic was further ahead. Sonic began running as fast as he could.

In the plaza, the others were waiting. "Where could they be?" Blaze asked. "Hey, Tails. Do you see anything up there?" asked Shadow. Tails was flying in the air, trying to see if he could find Sonic. He then noticed a familiar trail of blue. "Sonic's coming!" he cried with happiness until he noticed Nic was further ahead. "Oh no! Nic's further ahead! Sonic won't be able to catch up!" Hearing this, the others looked grim. If Sonic lost, they'd lose all of their emeralds and Elise would become Nic's.

Sonic had approached the final sprint but Nic was still ahead. "You lose!" Nic mocked as he looked behind. Sonic tried picking up speed but it was no good. Nic was going to win. "I'm sorry, Elise. I let you down" he said to himself. Suddenly, he swore he could hear Elise. "Sonic, don't give up. I believe in you". Those words caused Sonic to pick up speed. He began to run so fast, the wind started to pick up. That's when he performed a Sonic Boom! He zoomed straight past Nic, knocking him off his feet and crossed the finish line that was being held up by Amy and Rouge.

"Sonic, you did it!" Amy cried, pulling Sonic into one of her backbreaking hugs. She let go when Nic arrived. "I win, Nic. Release Elise (rhyme) and hand that emerald over!" Sonic demanded. Nic wasn't going down without a fight but his mind was changed when he noticed that Omega was hulking over him.

Later, Elise was lying in bed. She'd just woken up and Sonic was talking to her. "Glad to see you're awake" he said. "Thanks, Sonic. I knew you wouldn't let me down" she replied. "What happened with Nic?" "Oh, you won't have to worry about him anymore. His lady-friends ratted him out for illegal trades so Shadow slapped the cuffs on him". Elise sighed with relief. "So, we've got 5 emeralds now?" she asked, changing the subject. "Yep. One more is out there and then we can get Eggman's" he explained.

Little did he or Elise know that the last emerald was just outside but in the hand of an unknown figure. He was watching Sonic through the window. "Oh, one more is out here, Sonic. But soon, your emeralds will be out here with me, Metal Sonic!"

Next time: Metal Sonic strikes and prepares to kill Sonic once and for all. But in the process, unintentionally awakens true darkness!