Episode 46

Previously on Sonic The Hedgehog - Chaos on Mobius...
While his teammates Jet and Wave were competing in the Semi-Finals of the World Grand Prix, Storm was sent to Robotropolis to find something good enough to take back to the Babylon Rogues. Fortunately, he found Eggman's latest diary entry, but he couldn't decipher it, so he copied the entry and escaped Robotropolis.
When Jet and Wave saw it, Eggman revealed that the treasure within Babylon Garden could possibly be technology too dangerous for Mobius.
While Jet seemed uninterested, Wave turned him around, saying that the technology Eggman's after could make them rich.
Now that Jet's focusing on his goal, will he beat Shadow, Knuckles, Elias and his rival Nicole in the World Grand Prix's Grand Final? Find out next on Sonic The Hedgehog - Chaos on Mobius!

Chapter Twenty Five: EX World Grand Prix's Final Round! (Part One)

The night before the EX World Grand Prix's Final Round, Sir Galahad and his apprentice Macho had set up camp at the bottom of Icecap, the highest point on Angel Island.
"W-w-w-why are we up here ag-g-gain, Galahad?" Macho asked while shivering.
"Because Gawain has been seen around this part of the island recently..." The armored silver hedgehog replied. "...and we have to find him."
"I'm t-t-too c-c-cold t-to do anything r-r-right now..." Said the shivering shih-tsu Knight in Training.
"Preceisly why the two of us have set up camp for the night. Try to stay as close to the fire as possible, all right?" Macho nodded after hearing that. Soon, Galahad heard the sound of metal clanging not too far away, and he started walking towards it.
"G-g-galahad? Where are you going?" Asked Macho, still shivering.
"Don't worry. I'll be back." He replied as he revealed his sword and walked further away from the camp to find the source of that sound.

Meanwhile, Shade was on another side of Icecap, revealing a Ring with her leader -Lord Ix- within it.
"Shade." He said, acknowledging her. "What is your latest report, Procurator?"
"Forgive me my lord, but I have failed to make it to the final round of the EX World Grand Prix..." She said whilst bowing before Ix. "...and I now have no means to aquire the Chaos Emeralds."
"Hmm... no matter. This is minor setback, for I have another way for you to take those Emeralds..." Ix replied.
"Oh. Good." Said Shade, not seeming interested.
"You seem distracted Shade. Is something wrong?" Ix asked her.
"N-no. Nothing, my lord." Shade replied, but she was thinking something else... "(TodStar...)"
"Good. Here's the plan..." Said Ix as Shade listened in...

At that moment, Galahad had arrived at a cliff on the edge of Icecap, when he saw a familiar Mobian on the side of the mountain...
"Gawain!" He said to himself as he saw the armored echidna climbing on the side of the mountain, using his twin swords to climb. Although he was suddenly stopped when a thin green aura surrounded him, which made him angry...
"Grr... Galahad, if that's you..." He warned.
"You're not much of a threat right now, Gawain." Galahad replied while emitting the same aura, but he was controlling it. "Besides, I just want to talk."
"Fine. You wanna talk?" Gawain asked before he swiped his swords in front of him, breaking free of Galahad's power. While this made him fall, he stuck his swords back into the side of the mountain. "Meet me at the top of the mountain."
"No! Gawain!" Yelled Galahad, but Gawain kept climbing up the mountain. "Grr... (It can never be simple with you, can it?)" Galahad then ran back the way he came to try and find another way to the top of the mountain...

Later that night, Rouge and Omega were with Shadow within the area where SOME of tomorrow's race was taking place...
"So these are the Sandopolis Ruins..." Shadow said as he looked around.
"Well, some of them." Rouge pointed out.
"THE MAJORITY OF THE SANDOPOLIS RUINS ARE UNDERGROUND." Added Omega.
"Can you remind me why you two are here?" Shadow asked them.
"To cheer for you. *chuckle* What else?"
"Rouge..."
"*groan* Okay, we're here to keep an eye on you."
"Hmph. GUN don't trust me yet?"
"Hey, you're gettin' off easy, big boy. I had a tacky-looking bomb attached to my wrist on MY first mission!"
"BESIDES, ROUGE AND MYSELF ARE ALSO ON AN INVESTIGATION."
"Investigation? Care to fill me in?"
"Eh, Commander Tower's worried about some group called the 'Nocturnus', or something. I don't see what the big deal is."
"Hmm... (I think I might...) I'd better get some rest before the race." Shadow said as he walked out of the ruins, while Rouge and Omega continued their investigation...

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were having a sleepover within Hidden Palace, along with Elias and Bunnie.
"Okay, now this I don't get..." Said TodStar as he leaned on the Master Emerald.
"...what don't you get?" Tails asked him.
"Whenever I'm close to a Chaos Emerald, I feel a pretty big amount of pain." TodStar replied. "...yet I'm leaning on the MASTER Emerald, and I don't feel a thing." After saying that, he shrugged.
"Maybe it's because of your bond with Tikal in the past..." Speculated Knuckles, but TodStar just looked at him, confused. "Well, since Tikal and Chaos merged with each other, they've sealed themselves within the Master Emerald some 4000 years ago. That could be why the Master Emerald doesn't cause you any pain..."
"I guess... but why do the Chaos Emeralds have that effect on me?" TodStar asked. "It doesn't make sense... (I should've asked Lara-Su before she left...)"

"How about we change the subject?" Suggested Amy. "Who do you guys think'll win the race tomorrow?"
"Nicole." Said Sally, Bunnie, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Ray and Mighty in unison, making the Gizoid blush.
"Heh. No offence to my brother, the King, or Master Shadow, but I too reckon Nicole's got it in the bag." TodStar pointed out while chuckling.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Jet's..." Said Tails. "...but after seeing Nicole for the past few weeks, I think she's got it too!"
"Oh. Um... thank you, everyone." Said Nicole.
"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna give it my all, though." Elias pointed out.
"Same here. I'm not pullin' ANY punches out there tomorrow!" Added Knuckles.

As the lot of them were talking and laughing with each other, Locke was meditating when he sensed something...
"*gasp* A great evil is returning to this world..." He gasped. "I can feel it." He then walked over to the opening of the hallway, where he saw his two sons laughing. "I only hope you can protect us all... Son of Chaos."

The next day, a large crowd had gathered within the Sandopolis Ruins, where the contestants were standing at the starting line, ready for the race to start!
"And now, it's time for the final event!" Eggman announced via loudspeaker as the crowd continued cheering. "And it's set here, in the Sandopolis Ruins. The rules are still the same. Anything goes in this extreme race! Although it needs no further explanation, the first one to reach the goal will win this race. Just remember to keep one eye on the prize, and the other focused on the race!" Suddenly, two Egg Flappers were seen air-lifting a plank to the top of the ruins. On top of the plank was the seven Chaos Emeralds.
"Y'know, you can still back out if you wanna." Jet said to Nicole as he cracked his knuckles.
"Funny. I was about say to say the same thing to you." Nicole replied while smirking at the green hawk.
"*bzz* Remember Agent Shadow, once you win this race, bring the Chaos Emeralds directly to GUN HQ. *bzz*" Commander Tower told the Ultimate Lifeform.
"Hmm. Yes, sir." Shadow replied, not moving an inch, unlike everyone else.
"So, what're you gonna do with the Emeralds, Knuckles?" Asked Elias.
"Well, I would take them back to Hidden Palace, but Dad seems to think that they'll cause a disturbance of some sort." Knuckles replied. "So I'll probably give 'em to the Kingdom of Knothole." This made Elias stop to look at Knuckles with gratitude.
"I will not forget your generosity, Guardian." He told the echidna. Knuckles just gave Elias the thumbs-up.
"Oooh hohohoho! Get ready, it's time for the final race to begin!" Said Eggman as Orbot and Cubot fought over their microphone once again. "*groan* Just start the countdown."

"5..." Nicole's facial expression: Determined "(This is it...)"
"4..." Jet's facial expression: Confident and cheeky "(My big chance!)"
"3..." Shadow's facial expression: Determined "(To prove that I...)"
"2..." Knuckles' facial expression: Determined "(...am the greatest rider...)"
"1..." Elias' facial expression: Determined "(...of all time.)"
"GO!"

All five racers darted away from the starting line and out of the ruins, making their way out into the desert. Keeping a eye on all five of them were five Egg-Cameras, not only so Eggman could see them, but also for the audience to see, aswell.
Knuckles took a swing at Elias, but it was blocked by his sword. Jet tried to attack Nicole with his Feather Fans, but she activated her Black Shield (which she had copied from Metal Sonic), blocking Jet's attack. At this point, the four of them realized that Shadow had taken the lead!
"Oh-ho! It seems that Shadow has taken an early lead!" Eggman announced. "But can he hold it?" The five racers soon came to a ramp. Between the ramp and the landing point was a rather large chasm. Shadow made the jump without any problem. Jet didn't either, but he also performed tricks. And because Nicole was scanning Jet as he jumped, she pulled off exactly the same stunts!
"Stop copying me!" He yelled back at the near-Mobian.
"Only once it stops working in my favor!" Nicole replied, making Jet angry. Knuckles and Elias didn't pull off any tricks, either. They were just happy they could make it to the other side.

The next part of the course had sand falling from above, and into the chasm below. Fortunately, there were some fallen pillars withstanding the large amounts of sand rushing past them. Because he had skates on, Shadow started to have trouble navigating the current of the sand, so he clung to a pillar, and didn't look too keen to let go! Jet and Nicole then past Shadow with ease.
"Dammit." He cursed as he held onto the pillar as tight as he could. When Knuckles and Elias zoomed past that same pillar, Shadow was gone!

"(All right, time to go on the offensive...)" Nicole thought before she Spin Dashed towards Jet, but he was ready for her, as he used his Feather Fan to bat her back to third place, allowing Shadow to take second! "Shadow? I thought we lost you at the sandfalls..."
"Hmph. You underestimate me, Nicole..." Shadow replied as a Chaos Spear appeared in his right hand, and he got closer to Jet.
"Well, things are starting to heat up, now!" Said Eggman. "And they haven't even completed their first lap yet!"

Jet looked back at Shadow with a smirk on his face before they all zoomed underground, back into the ruins. Shadow, still armed with the Chaos Spear, was closing in on Jet. Nicole wasn't all that far behind Shadow, but she wanted to keep her distance. As for Knuckles and Elias, they were both pretty far back, as they had just re-entered the ruins.
At that time, Jet, Shadow and Nicole had jumped on what looked like giant crossbows, that launched all three of them back to the starting line, allowing them to complete their first lap.

END OF CHAPTER