Sonic sat down his suitcase on the hard pavement at the airport. The members of his team crowded around him, as well as Cream and the other Chaotix members.
Amy breathed in the air for one of the last times. "I'll never forget how beautiful the sky looked today," she commented. Tails perked up as he saw some figures approaching them.
"Hey, Sonic, Team Mario's coming over here."
"Hm?" Sonic spun around and saw Mario along with his team walking up to them. Mario nodded at the hedgehog.
"Hi-a there."
"Hey."
Mario searched for the right words. "Well-a, this is it," he said. Sonic held his gaze.
"Yeah."
"Think we'll see-a each other again?"
Sonic smiled and gave the plumber a thumbs-up. "I'm sure of it," he replied. Mario smiled widely under his mustache.
"Good. I'd like-a the check up on you sometimes."
"Likewise."
Peach held out her hand to Amy. "It's been fun," she said. Amy winked.
"You too. Good luck with Mario."
Peach started blushing profusely. "Yeah, well, good luck with Sonic."
"Thanks!"
Eggman grinned evilly at Bowser. "I'll be sure to keep checking up on how evil you are," he warned. Bowser roared with laughter (literally).
"I'll be checking on you, too. Keep chasing Sonic."
"Keep breathing fire at Mario."
Tails rubbed the back of his head and put his hand out to Luigi. "Thanks for keeping me on edge!" he thanked. Luigi chuckled.
"You-a too. We sidekicks never get enough credit, do we?"
"Nah. Doesn't bother me too much, though. Good luck out there."
"Yeah. You too."
Sonic's eyes began to get a little bit misty. "Hey, Mario, keep on getting out there and doing your duty."
Mario smiled bravely at the hedgehog. "Likewise."
Finally, both teams crowded onto their respective planes. Sonic sat up front on his plane, as did Mario.
The two planes began to take off in two different directions. Sonic stared back at Mario and waved.
The plumber waved back.
As the flight began to steady out, Sonic glanced back at Shadow, who was sitting opposite him listening to loud metal music. "Hey, Shad, you never told me something."
"What was that, Faker?"
"Why you slowed down on the last event. You could've won. You could've gotten all the glory…but you didn't. Why?"
Shadow opened one eye and smirked slightly. "I told you that the Olympics were full of surprises. Guess I just showed you."
Sonic pondered the words for a moment before smiling slightly at his rival. "You're a good 'hog, Shadow."
"I know."
"Even if you are just a copy of me."
"HEY!"
"Heh heh…"
The End
