Chapter 15

Babylon Drive

Snively walked down the hall nervously, his fingers drumming on the datapad that had his proposal. Viktor knowing about a coup with the Order of Ixis was one thing, allowing him to help was another. The chance to finish off Sonic was the most insisting part but for what Regina wanted Snivley would have to convince Robotnick that he should be the one to lead the operation, something Viktor would doubt he could pull off.

He came to the room Phage marked Viktor was currently in, one he would have never expected to find a Robotnick before, the gym. The door opened and he found Viktor and Lilith across from each other in white gi and between them to the side was a modified drone. The two villains bowed to each other.

"Yoi," the drone said.

Viktor and Lilith then moved from a bow to a fighting stance.

"Hajime!"

At the drone's word the two began making punches and kicks at each other. Most were blocked or dodged but then Lilith saw a chance to grab Viktor's ankle and from there he was on the ground with her ready to deliver a blow to his face.

"Yame!"

Lilith let go allowing Viktor to stand.

"You're getting better," the scientist said. "That was the first round you won."

"Would you rather she let you win?" asked Snively. "That's what your predecessors would have me do."

"If you did that, I'd fire you, out of cannon if it was to suck up to me."

Snively gulped. "Noted."

"So, what brings you here?" Lilith asked.

Snively handed over the datapad. "I have an operation that requires your approval and halt on advancement to a small area in order to complete it. If successful it that would allow us to further the coup attempt within the Order of Ixis to our favor. I would also like to request to lead the operation."

Lilith read over the mission. "The area in question we can momentarily reallocate the forces in that area to support the main offensive in that zone and the equipment you have requested shouldn't affect our current operations, provided you select robots on standby with a resource allocation value below D."

"But D is what we give to non-essential drones and war machines scheduled for decommissioning, what could be lower than that?"

Viktor smirked. "You should know, you brought them onboard."

Snively began to feel his knees knock. "The Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad?"

"This seems to be a low stakes mission, a way to give the Order some money and thus a way we can make them think we still trust them. But I can tell the real reason, you're getting a little stir crazy staying on board this ship and you're hoping this will let you spend time with your girlfriend, so if it makes you feel better you can do this, we can find out if this supposed uprising against Specter is the real deal, but I can't allow you to risk actual military assets on this little day out."

"But Regina also said this could be our big chance to eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog, permanently! To that end I was hoping to borrow the Neo Metal Series."

"If the Hedgehog is involved, he'll suspect a trap as soon as he sees this," Viktor then flicked Snively's nose. "I can't pull the Metal Series from active combat on such short notice, just try to succeed on the primary objective. As for Sonic I will be spending that time testing a prototype that in combination with our forces should take care of him and any other annoyance. The S6 should provide enough of a distraction for the order to pull off whatever hocus pocus they plan."

"But Doctor…"

"My decision is final. I suggest you prepare yourself and the S6 for your mission, but I'm not expecting miracles."

Snively slumped his shoulders as he began to leave the gym. "Neither am I."

Once the henchman was out the door Lilith raised an eyebrow. "You still haven't picked a testing ground for the prototypes, if Sonic is going to be there why not use them there and see what they are really made of? Plus, he'll never see it coming if even Snively doesn't know."

Viktor gave a playful smirk. "Every day you remind me that you're nearly as smart as I am."

Lilith smirked back "Our last match would say it's more than nearly."

"Then how about another round to know for sure?"

The two Ai controlled super humans went back to the mat as the Drone resumed its task.

"Yoi, Hajime!"

The Sky Patrol had landed in the meadow being careful not to disturb the young trees that began sprouting in the area. For many it was a still a hard sight to bear, for most of their lives this place Knothole, was home, and after so many attempts by Robotnick it was finally wiped of the map by Eggman. Nature had begun to take the place back, the blasted crater was now covered in grass and saplings began to sprout, it felt right that no matter what their enemies threw at Knothole it would always grow back. But it still felt somber, in large part because of what they came here to do.

Sally was leading most of the team, plus Gold and Silver, to the edge of the clearing and they crossed into the woods just outside the limits of the old city. "It was about here…" She then noticed an old tree stump between two pine trees. "That's it, that's where we first met."

Rotor took out a familiar looking handheld computer with tears in his eyes. "I never thought when I made this as a backup for Nicole it would turn out to be her original handheld." He looked back at the device. "Are you sure you're ok with this Nikki? There's nothing else you want to do before you go?"

"It's been a wonderful month Dad," said Nikki who was now practically undistinguishable from Nicole back in the day. "Visiting Iceborough with Mom and meeting Grandma and Uncle Skeeter, going to that Forget-me-Knots concert, letting me fly the Sky Patrol here all by myself, it's been fun…but it had to end sometime."

"I know, but it doesn't make letting go any easier."

"Dad, I'm…still going to be here, just a little older, a little wiser…"

"And I can't let you know that. That's the real hard part, I knew it would necessary to lock your early memories away and you'd have to lose your body until you make it your own, but you can't know what is really going to happen you, that, you're going to become mortal like us. The temptation to change that would be strong, maybe too strong, and it might end up keeping you from helping us stop the gene bombs. I'm afraid those memories are never coming back, at least not until you're on the other side of them."

"Is that why you treated me to so much?"

"It feels like… finding out your child has a terminal illness, and even without the becoming a physical being thing, after this…you won't be Nikki anymore."

"That's not true, even if I can't remember I'll always be your Nikki deep inside." Now it looked like it was Nikki's turn to cry. "Thank you all for seeing me off, you've been as much of family to me as Dad is. I understand why the future me didn't want to leave the Sky Patrol, but I still wish she was still here."

"She gave you some good advice when you said your goodbyes," said Sally. "And from what I remember about our time together you'll follow it."

Tails produced an orange gem from a bag. "Time stone's ready, all that's really left is to make the final changes to Nikki's program."

Sonic put a hand on Rotor's shoulder. "If it's too hard for you I could…"

Rotor shook his head. "No, I knew this had to happen from the beginning, it's got to be me." He turned back to the handheld. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Nikki said with a teary smile. Rotor pushed a few buttons and the image of Nikki wavered then disappeared, a second later a single line passed through the middle of the screen. "I'll see you all a few years in the past." Nikki said as the line moved to her vocalization.

"And we'll see you again in a few minutes," said Sally. "So, you have that to look forward to."

The time stone glowed in Tail's hand as he set it down on the stump. A flash of light later and the handheld vanished leaving the stone behind.

Rotor sank to his knees and softly sobbed, Sally put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You and Nicole should have a long talk about this, the trip back to Little Planet to return the time stone should be long enough."

"Thank you," the walrus said with a smile. After wiping his tears, the team made their way back to the Sky Patrol. "We can have it over lunch, Nikki always wondered what ice cream tasted like and Nicole loves it.

"Sounds good to me," said Silver. "Is Sonic making chili dogs or is Antoine going to whip up one of those fancy meals he likes?"

Sally suddenly looked determined. "Actually, I'll be cooking for everyone today."

Antione and Sonic moved in front of the princess. "In that case maybe we should all go with a healthy salad or cold cut sandwiches would be nice…"

Sally growled at Sonic. "I'm making clam chowder, that should be simple enough without slapping together whatever's in the fridge. I know what you're trying but I WILL make up for last night."

"Are we missing something?" asked Gold.

Bunnie sighed. "Sally Girl went to the Hedgehogs' place last night and made dinner for them after she asked Twan to give her cooking lessons. Neither…went very well."

"That was a fluke, I've done my part in the kitchen before," said Sally. "Miss Rosie made sure everyone in Knothole contributed in the day to day running of the place, including kitchen duty."

"What did she let you cook?" asked Silver.

Sally began to tick off a count on her fingers. "Scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly…"

"Uh, those are all meals kids can make," said Tails. "What did you try to make Sonic last night?"

"I was cooking a pot roast with potatoes and carrots. I admit the roast was burnt and the veggies came out a bit overdone, but it was an improvement over my first attempt."

"Which set my beautiful kitchen on fire," grumbled Antione. "Now we need a new stove."

"Well I say give her another chance," said Rotor as they came in sight of the Sky Patrol. "We'll be there to help her and after saying goodbye to Nikki, fighting a war against Robotnick and the Order of Ixis having two of these elemental beings they're after if the worst we have to deal with is bad cooking then…"

Suddenly the aircraft roared to life and began to rise.

"Why is Nicole leaving without us?!" yelled Silver.

"She wouldn't," said Sonic. "Which means somebody's jacking our ride!"

Sonic dashed ahead and got through the hatch just before it closed, the mobile base began moving too fast and too high for the rest of the team to catch up.

"No!" yelled Rotor. "Come back, Nikki!"

Sonic went straight to the bridge and peeked in. Nicole, Chip and Whip were all tied up next to the captain's chair and at the helm sat a Raven girl with yellow eyes and wearing a violet hooded jacket along with a many pouched belt as well as a headset she was talking into with a cockney accent.

"The plan worked like a charm. I should be getting to the rendezvous point any moment now."

Sonic moved at blinding speed, first untying Nicole and the gaias' bonds, using the same rope to tie up the raven then hitting a button causing the ship to slow down and hover in place.

"Oi! What's this?!" As she fell to the floor the earpiece came off and from under the jacket a gold medallion came lose that depicted an Arabian style lamp shaped like a bird spewing clouds.

"Corva?!" came a familiar voice on the earpiece. "What was that?! What's your status?!"

Sonic spoke into mic on the earpiece. "Her status is buttkicked, which is what you're going to be soon Jet."

On the bridge of his airship the green hawk laughed. "I guess Corva's stealth and Wave's planning weren't a match for your speed after all. But If you'll look through your viewport, you'll find you've gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire."

Sonic looked through the large window and saw the red and gold airship of the Babylon Rouges dead ahead.

"We have our weapons trained on you, so let our newest member go and we'll call it even. You better answer quickly, Storm is very… protective of our little raven. So, what do you say?"

The only answer they had was the Sky Patrol firing a large cannon followed by the ship shaking.

"The hard way it is then, Wave target their engines so we can bring them down without hurting Corva in the process…"

"I can't!" said Wave.

Muscular albatross towered the inventive swallow. "If you have to hurt Corva…!"

"No, I mean all our weapons have been knocked out!"

"In one shot!?" squawked Jet.

"Nope," Sonic said from the door. "That cannon just shot me over and I took out all your guns myself."

Jet pulled out a pair of fans made of green feathers. "Well played but now it's three on one AND I'm armed with my Bashōsen!"

Suddenly Sonic ran around them in a circle blindly fast and soon a sudden tornado threw the rouges against the ceiling before they fell back to the floor.

"It's over," said Sonic as he put his foot on Jet's fans. "Now here's my counteroffer, once Nicole brings Sally and the others back with the Sky Patrol, you're going to join your little blackbird as we explain why you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you."

Jet made an angry growl.

After picking up the rest to the Freedom Fighters they gathered in the sky Patrol's rec room with the Babylon Rouges being closely watched on the couch. Rotor and Nicole stopped a conversation they were having when Sally turned to the band of thieves.

"Trying to steal a military grade airship, I hope you realize just how much trouble you're in."

"We stole plenty of stuff," said Wave. "It was just something a bit bigger than usual this time."

"I'm talking about your current situation, allow me to jog your memory. During the Phantom Ruby War Infinite had subjugated and brainboxed the Battle Bird Armada, once that happened the Babylon Rouges were marked to be arrested on sight throughout Mobius. You turned to the Resistance to keep from getting brainboxed yourselves and had been part of several successful missions, including destroying Heavy Rider. When the war ended the Battle Bird Armada found itself surrounded by the Resistance air fleet and was forced to surrender, Great Battle Kukku the XV, his son Speedy and the scientist Dr. Fukurokov were arrested and are serving time in prison, the armada was disbanded permanently. For your aid you were given amnesty for past crimes like most legionnaires with the same caveat that this amnesty would be revoked if you committed another crime. Your little stunt means that you're going to be put on trial for every crime you ever committed and almost certainly be sentenced to a long prison term."

"I still think those terms were too restrictive," said Jet. "We couldn't do anything we were used to, since when was treasure hunting a crime?"

"What you, Rouge, Nicolette and Fiona call treasure hunting most nations call grave robbing."

"What about your pal Knuckles? He did his fare share of 'treasure hunting'."

"Only to retrieve echidna relics that as a Guardian was his duty to safeguard, so he's more of a treasure protector. Last I checked the Sky Patrol wasn't the ancient property of the Babylonians."

"We weren't going to keep this bucket," said Storm. "Just hide it from Sonic until the race was over."

Jet growled. "Sure, tell them all our plans!"

Sonic came towards Jet. "What race?"

The Rouges looked shocked. "You didn't even know?! We planned all of this for nothing?!"

Tails sighed. "What a waste, if this thing is an Extreme Gear race, you'd have probably won it if you played fair, instead you won't be able to compete in it or any other race for a long time."

"I still want to know what race you're talking about," said Sonic.

Wave turned to Sally. "Can we use your tv for a couple of minutes?"

After Sally nodded Wave was watched closely as she fiddled with the big screen opposite the couch. The tv shown a teal hedgehog woman with blue tipped quills at what looked like a set of ruins with a desert off in the distance. "Attention all Extreme Gear pros!" she said. "Breezie the Hedgehog here to remind you time's running out to register for Studiopolis TV's event of the year, the Babylonian Cup sponsored by Mammoth Enterprises! Taking place at the remains of an ancient civilization that until a recent massive sandstorm had been buried in Dune Valley Zone, the Babylonian Cup offers the most intense Extreme Gear challenge to date. How intense is it? I'm near the starting gate, the edge of a massive twenty-story tower that beforehand was completely buried by the sands. Racers have to handle a two-hundred-foot dive and that's just the beginning of the race!"

Bunnie fumed. "Finding an ancient ruin and instead of treating it with respect she's using it as a racecourse. Can she get any tackier?"

The advertisement then cut to Breezie inside of some sort of shrine as she posed in front of a trophy as it was being topped with an ancient looking brass lamp that looked like the symbol of the Babylon Rouges. "Whoever wins this race will walk away with the Babylonian Cup and one and a half million Mobiums in prize money!"

"Oui," said Antione. "By taking an ancient relic and sticking it on a chintzy trophy."

"Registration can be done over the Infonet, but space is running out and the deadline is midnight tonight! The green flag will be waved tomorrow at noon sharp so if you want to join you better hurry before this chance is gone with the wind!"

Sonic shook his head. "As much as I'd have liked to kick your tailfeathers in a race we're a little busy to…"

"Wait!" Whip suddenly shouted. "Can you replay the part where they showed that, trophy as you called it?"

Tails looked confused. "Yeah, but why…?"

"Please," Chip interrupted. "I felt the same thing she did, and if it is what I think it is we have to be sure."

Tails rewound the image and paused it on the trophy.

"Hmm," Whip said as she came closer to the screen. "It's faint since this is just a recording, but I feel a powerful essence coming from that object they put on top of it. At first I thought it might have been my essence but now I can tell it's something different yet also oddly familiar."

Corva now compared the lamp to her medallion. "Wait, if those are the ruins of the city of Babylon and the Tower of Babel then could the legends be true? Did that woman really find the Lamp of Angelus?"

Sally stood between the tv and the Rouges. "Listen carefully because your freedom could very well depend on it. What is the Lamp of Angelus?"

"Nothin'," said Storm. "It's an old wives' tale, a story that old timers used to tell hatchlings to explain urges that are just…what did Wave call 'em? Oh yeah, holdovers from when our ancestors were mobini."

"I thought the Babylonians came from space," said Gold. "At least from what I read."

"The Babylonians did spend a long-time using Babylon Garden to travel the galaxy and grow their treasure hold," said Wave. "But they came from Mobius originally and were stranded when they returned home once the Cosmic Ark began to become unstable. The ancient Babylonians were just as Mobian as all of us."

"And if Babylon Garden and the Cosmic Ark were real," interrupted Corva. "Then the Lamp of Angelus ain't that much of a stretch."

"We fought Angelus before you joined," said Jet. "He was just a holographic defense system the ancient Babylonians left to protect the key to Babylon Garden."

"Or they based the hologram on the real Angelus!"

Sonic impatiently tapped his foot. "We're still waiting for an answer!"

Corva sighed. "Well, this is what me Gran told me when I was little. A long time ago, even before Babylon Garden, nearly all the Mobian birds had the gift of flight thanks to their wings. The other tribes were jealous of this gift and chased them away. In time the disparate bird species came together, they flew high into clouds in search of a land to call their own and it was in the skies they found Angelus.

"Angelus, also known as the Gatekeeper and the Guardian of Babylon, was a great spirit of the air, at times fierce as lightning but he could also be as gentle as a caressing breeze. He took pity on the birds and guided them to the middle of a great desert where there was a vast oasis filled with pure water, luscious fruit and plentiful game. 'This is your home now' he told them 'I give you the name of a great people long since passed, from this day forth this land shall be known as Babylon and you are the Babylonians'.

"The Babylonians worshiped Angelus as their patron deity, they built a city around the oasis and a temple that reached into the sky called the Tower of Babel. But Angelus wasn't the type to stay in one place for very long, he came and went from Babylon as he pleased and for a time it was a paradise. But one day while Angelus was away a stranger came to Babylon offering knowledge and powerful gifts, all the Babylonians had to do in return was take the wealth and weapons of the stranger's enemies. The Babylonians took the offer and began to steal from all but the stranger's allies, confident that even the greatest armies wouldn't be able to chase them through the desert they simply flew over. Greed and pride took hold in their hearts, but then Angelus returned.

"The sky god was as furious as the storm. 'I gave you clean water and bountiful food, yet you still want more, I gave you a home safe from your enemies and you use it to hoard the belongings of others! But you are my children, all will be forgiven if you return what you stole.' The Babylonians were unrepentant, confident that the stranger's gifts made them even mightier than their god. They used those gifts to seal Angelus away in a lamp they kept within the tower they once worshiped him in. But just before he was sealed Angelus placed a curse on Babylon and its people, within a day the oasis dried up, a week after that a fierce sandstorm had swallowed up the city burying even the mighty Tower of Babel. But worst of all as the Babylonians began wandering again their wings started to wither away, cutting them off from the sky forever.

"Angered at Angelus for taking the one thing that made them special the Babylonians again turned to the stranger's gifts and built new ways to take to the air without their wings so they could continue stealing. Ultimately, they made Babylon Garden and flew to the stars in search of more to steal, but it was never enough to replace what they lost. Their amassed treasures began to feel meaningless and so the Babylonians returned to Mobius and went their separate ways. Ever since their descendants took their place among the people of Mobius, each trying to find the answer to the question that drove the Babylonians ever since they lost their gift."

Corva took a longing gaze at both her medallion and the back of her arm. "What are we without the sky?"

"But we haven't lost the sky," said Wave. "Between Extreme Gear, airships and other tech we can fly just as well, if not better than if we did have wings, heck every generation has genetic throwbacks like Predator Hawk who CAN fly!"

"Did you ever see some of the dirty looks the rest of the grunts gave 'em?!" snapped Corva. "Most of 'em were jealous of what that creep could do!"

"She doesn't know what she's talking about," said Jet. "Corva only joined the Rouges nine months ago…"

"I know exactly what I'm talking about! The Armada, the Rouges, even the birds in places like Freedom City are living a lie! We were hatched for more!" The raven then began to cry.

The Freedom Fighters began to move in on Corva when Storm put a big hand on her shoulder. "Corva, what's wrong? You can tell me that, you can tell me anything."

Corva sniffed. "Remember when we were blasted by the gene bombs? I became as dumb as doorknobs but as a Mobini I had wings."

"Yeah, we all did."

"Whenever we weren't eatin' or sleepin' we flew, we were so happy just flitting through the air not a care in the world, then we were changed back. I'm glad I got me marbles back wouldn't wish otherwise, but I remember what it was like to fly under my own power. It just felt right, then it was ripped away, I never understood me what gran's stories meant until then. I can sneak in anywhere with no one knowing and pinch whatever I want, I could nick every jewel, coin and Mobium in the world and it still wouldn't be worth as much flying through the air with nothing but the wind beneath my wings. What are we without the sky? Absolutely nothin'."

Storm tilted Corva's beak so she was looking at his eyes. "Not to me, if I got wings and you didn't, I'd give them up for you if I could."

Corva wiped her tears away. "I'm so glad I got soultouched with you, ya big lug."

"Storm has a girlfriend?" Sonic said surprised.

Wave grabbed Jet's hand with a giggle. "He's not the only one."

Jet blushed. "Let's wait to talk about that until after we find out what that lamp has to do with us staying out of jail."

Sally looked at the Freedom Fighters. "An imprisoned sky god with who can summon storms powerful enough to bury a city in the desert for thousands of years? Sounds like a prime candidate for the Essence of Air to me. Not only that the play the Society of the Great Illumination performed implies that it was Morgana Acorn who was the stranger in that story AND the company sponsoring the race is owned by Mammoth Mogul. If the Order of Ixis hasn't figured out this lamp has one of essences they're looking for yet, then they will soon."

Sonic smirked. "I get it, we're going to enter the race, win that lamp and keep it out of Masquerade's grubby hands!"

"That's plan B, for plan A I'd like to convince this Breezie woman to just let us have the lamp without letting her know what it really is, but I'm not getting my hopes up."

"What if her boss tells her to just give the lamp to the Order regardless of who wins the race?" asked Rotor.

Sally sighed. "Then we go to plan C."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "And what's plan C?"

Sally turned to the Babylon Rouges. "We help you do what you do best. I'm willing to ignore Corva's little joyride with the Sky Patrol, but on the condition that you help us secure the lamp. The more entrants we have in the race the more likely we'll be to win it, but if things go south, we may have to steal the lamp to keep it from Specter. Consider yourselves drafted into the Freedom Fighters."

Jet moved to over to Sally. "Alright you can have the trophy, at least I get a chance to beat Sonic in a race."

"Don't count on it," said the Blue Blur.

"I'm in but I disagree with this plan," said Corva. "You're missing the obvious solution, if that is the Lamp of Angelus then we have to set him free! Then maybe, he'll see our people have changed and he'll give us our wings back."

"That sounds like the worst idea," said Silver. "Whenever one of these hyper energy organisms has been released it usually means widescale destruction. Look what happened with Iblis, Chaos, Dark Gaia..." Silver turned to Whip. "No offence."

"None taken," said Whip as she crossed her arms in a huff. "But only because you all seem to have failed to spot the pattern with the three of us, a pattern which applies to Angelus too."

Tails answered first. "And that pattern is?"

Whip glared at everyone. "The annoying tendency of cells like you to treat gods like us with such flagrant disrespect! Eggman forced me to awaken before my time and instead of an orderly destruction that would aid creation I lashed out as if I was trapped in a nightmare! Echidna sought the Super Emeralds under Chaos' protection to use as a weapon and he destroyed their civilization! Iblis, a being I recognize as a nascent god, was unwittingly thrown together with a malevolent alien intelligence by ignorant human scientists when they tried to make a god as they envisioned it instead of letting Iblis form itself naturally! Angelus had offered mercy to the Babylonians and they sealed him away in their arrogance bringing his judgement down on their heads! You play with fire then wonder why you get burned, but then again it seems to be a lesson that takes longer to learn than your meager lifespans allow. But this girl has an inkling of the right idea, justice demands Angelus must be released."

"You have a point, he was treated unfairly," said Sally. "But freeing Angelus won't stop the Order of Ixis from trying to take his power for their own. If we free Angelus and they go after him another city could suffer the same fate as Babylon. Until we stop Specter and determine what freeing Angelus would do it would be safer to keep the lamp and the Black Emerald somewhere secure."

Whip growled. "You're trying to control who has control of a god, it's like you weren't listening at all!"

"Angelus helped the Babylonians once so he sounds like someone I can reason with," said Chip. "I'm sure I can get him to see their descendants have changed for the better, but he could be captured like Iblis or drained of his power like Whip and I were. I'm going to convince him that he must stay put until the danger has passed and hopefully, he'll forgive the Babylonians once he is released."

"Looks like we have a plan," said Sally. "Nicole get on the Infonet and try to register at least three spots in the race for our team, preferably four or five but as many as you can. Tails, once our new 'friends' get back on their ship and we drop off the time stone, get us to Dune Valley Zone as fast as the Sky Patrol can take us."

"We're already registered so the Babylon Rouges are good to go!" Jet beamed.

Wave raised her hand. "I could whip up some modifications for your Extreme Gear too, it might give us all an edge."

Sally nodded. "Only if they fit in with the rules of the race. Freedom Fighters need to keep a positive image, so we win fairly or not at all."

"And if you don't win the Rouges steal the lamp for you and you keep your squeaky-clean image," grumbled Storm.

"I'd rather not steal it, but the fate of the world is probably at stake. We can't take options off the table at this point."

Tails began to move out. "If we leave now should get to Dune Valley Zone by the end of the day. Then we can talk with Breezie before dinner and a good night's sleep."

"We better get back to our ship then," said Corva.

Sonic pointed at the Rogues. "In that case I'll see you at the finish line."

Jet pointed back. "Yeah, when I get there first!"

Bunnie came up to Sally. "You don't think Sonic and Jet's rivalry will…"

"It can be a problem," said Sally. "But it could also push them into first place, so we'll let the boys have their fun for now."

Everyone had left except Chip and Whip. "You're only going to hurt yourself you know," said the sprite like dragon.

Chip turned back. "What do you mean?"

"This connection with those cells you made."

Chip turned to her frustrated. "They're people, not cells and this connection is called friendship."

"We are going to live as long this planet does, by comparison their lives are infinitesimal, a subatomic section of the great expanse of time. Now you're enjoying another romp with this Sonic but one day he will die while we'll still have billions of years before us, billions of years in which you'll miss him. Despite our different natures I don't want to see you hurt. We're not friends, we're not siblings, we're two halves of a greater whole, what you feel I can feel, and I don't want to feel you being sad for eons."

Chip sighed. "I might have lost my memory while you were in your nightmare, but once I got it back and I knew I had to leave Sonic still wanted to see the journey to the end. I realized a lot of things then, but one was that death isn't really the end for them. They leave a legacy, one that is taken up by those who will come next. Sonic made his mark on this world and he'll keep making his mark on those who come after him as will everyone else. Maybe a single life is fleeting but together it's like they never left at all."

"So, your friendship with Sonic is going to be your friendship with the living things of this planet as a whole?"

"Yeah you could say that."

Whip shrugged her shoulders. "Well if you want a pet, I suppose your options are limited."

Chip smiled. "Alright we're making progress, sort of."

That evening the Rouge's airship and the Sky Patrol had parked near the ruins in the desert. As the Freedom Fighters came into the ruins, they noticed several people were starting to settle down in tents for the night. While there were quite a few racing enthusiasts and they noticed just as many others, mostly Mobian birds, were displaying protest signs saying things like "Free Babylon" or "Our history is not your finish line".

Jet noticed a few angry glares. "Huh, I guess there were more people like Corva's grandmother than I thought."

Sonic looked around at the crumbling architecture, from seeing buildings with the only entries big enough to go in and out on elevated floors he could see it being occupied by a people who could fly. "If this really is Babylon, I'm surprised its discovery didn't make the news."

"There hasn't been enough conclusive evidence one way or the other," said Nicole. "I've read up the situation on the Infonet, archaeologists want to come in and examine the ruins more closely but can't because this whole zone is disputed territory between the GUN forces at Shamar and the Robotnick Ascendancy. I'm surprised this race was allowed at all; the way the frontlines shift around here these ruins could become a battlefield really easily."

"Well Mammoth Mogul has some really deep pockets," said Wave. "There had to bribes somewhere."

"The fighting around here is all the more reason I hope plan A works," said Sally. "If we can get Breezie to give the lamp then maybe we get her to call off this race and get all these civilians to evacuate."

Jet shook his head. "With all the money she already sunk into this race, fat chance."

"We won't know unless we try, where can we find her?"

"There's supposed to be a pre-race party starting soon that she's hosting," said Tails. "Racers and VIP spectators are supposed to be in attendance, it's off limits to everyone else."

"How many spots did we get?" asked Sonic.

"Four, we got the last spots," said Rotor. "The registration process was suspiciously easy, no proof for experience needed, no qualifying run, just a valid ID and a small entry fee. To give us the best chance You, Tails, Sally and Silver are our racers and with the Babylon Rouges our total team is at eight."

"How many are participating in total?" asked Sally.

"Normally an Extreme Gear race has about eight to ten participants but this one brought on three times the field at thirty."

"Which means all things being equal we have just over a one in four chance of winning, I was hoping for better odds than that."

"Actually, I looked up zhe odds from Casino Night Zone," said Antione. "Once Sonic signed up, he became zhe odds-on favorite to win at two to one with Jet coming close at two and a half to one, everyone seems to think it will be one of zhe two of you."

"Which means we got this in the bag," bragged Sonic. "We just have to make sure the Pick-a-Card club doesn't pull any funny business then once we hide the Wind and Water Essences all we have to worry about is finding what rock Masquerade is hiding under."

"That does make me feel better," said Sally. "What are my odds?"

Antione went through the listing. "Sadly, your near zhe bottom along with…" the coyote's eyes widened. "We have a new problem, Geoffrey and Lucian are in the race!"

Tails' namesakes began to twitch. "They're probably here on Specter's orders, which means he knows about Angelus."

"Zhat's not all, we have three more unwelcome participants. Scratch, Coconuts and Snively have entered as well."

Sonic felt his jaw drop. "So, have to deal the flunkies of Masquerade AND Mr. Perfect?!"

Sally gave a hard look at the tower. "Not if we can shut this race down, the racing team has a party to attend. Bunnie, Niccole, Antione, Rotor, Gold, since you guys aren't racing, I have two important jobs for you. Your top priority to try to find where the lamp is and make sure the Order and Robotnick don't take it, Chip and Whip seem to be able to sense it so take them along. The second job is actually an extension of the first, I wouldn't be surprised if either the Order or Robotnick's plan to get the lamp is to win it by cheating, you can't interfere in the race but if they try it interfere with them."

Bunnie winked. "Like Uncle Beau says, 'cheaters never prosper, but they always get a bionic boot up the backside'!"

Sally gave a confident smile. "Good. Alright racers, let's go meet out hostess."

The four entered the base of the tower which was a shrine that was decked out to host a small gala. While there were many people dressed in formal outfits there were also many dressed in their whatever was their preferred racing attire was. Once the Freedom Fighters and Babylon Rouges came in a several cameras turned in their direction either snapping photos or recording their every move.

They spotted the trophy they saw on tv and Breezie was standing next to it waving to them. "And the favorites are here at last! I was afraid you wouldn't even sign up Sonic."

"Freedom Fighters are always willing to go that extra mile for a good cause," Sally said. "We're partnering up with the Babylon Rouges and all prize money both teams win in this race will be donated to the Julayla Memorial War Orphans fund."

"Sonic the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk!" Breeize said to the cameras. "Two rivals in speed putting aside their differences for good of the children!"

The crowd erupted in applause.

"We agreed you could keep the lamp!" Jet angrily whispered to Sally. "You never said anything about giving up the money!"

"Just giving plan A the best chance of succeeding," Sally whispered back to him. "You'll get a reasonable compensation once the mission's over, considering you could go to jail instead." Sally then turned back to Breezie. "Sadly, as much I want to make the lives of those orphans easier my first responsibility to ensure the safety of the people. When I signed up I didn't know that the region was in dispute and continuing this race would endanger the lives of the participants and spectators, I have to ask to cancel it before Robotnick's forces can launch an attack."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Snivley said as he, Scratch and Coconuts came forward from the other party goers. In addition to his usual green jacket he was also wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap with googles and a long orange scarf. "They wouldn't attack while we were here."

Sonic stood right up to the diminutive overlander. "Nice to see you Needlenose, your prison cell's been lonely without you."

Sally turned back to Breezie. "Ms. Hedgehog, I insist that these three be disqualified and this…war criminal be arrested!"

"Try it," said Snively. "We're being watched and if it looks like I am in danger all it would take would be for my allies to call a Code Cyrano and a squadron of Neo Swats will be here in seconds to secure me, putting those civilians you care about in the line of fire."

"He and my former employees have agreed to be on their best behavior," said Breezie. "No one's in danger, pending another sandstorm the race is still on."

"In other words, I'm untouchable," Snively waved a filled glass under Sally's nose. "Champagne?"

Sally grabbed the glass and splashed its contents all over Snively's face before turning back to Breezie "Very well, but I noticed you are using a Babylonian relic as part of the trophy…"

"Let me guess, either the protestors want it or 'it belongs in a museum'. Tell you what, you can donate that lamp to whoever you want, if you win it of course, if not take it up with whoever does."

"I don't need it," said Snively as he wiped his face. "But I think I'll keep it just so you won't have it."

Sonic pointed at Snively. "I don't know what your game is, but now that I'm here it's over."

"Now, now," Geoffrey said as he and Lucian came up. "Save it for the race, we're all here just to have some good clean fun, aren't we?"

"Yes," Snively turned as he, Scratch and Coconuts began to leave. "Good clean fun."

"Fun?" said Sonic. "I thought you'd be spreading the good news of Ixis or whatever you call it."

"That too," said Lucian. "But as busy as we're going to be soon Geoffrey and I thought we'd give this race a try, besides one and a half million Mobiums is a heck of a college fund."

"Going to be busy? College fund?" asked Tails.

"Might as well tell you the good news now," said Geoffrey. He then clapped Lucian on the shoulder as they gave each other a very prideful smile. "Our wives are both pregnant, you're looking at a pair of proud soon to be papas."

Sonic was wide-eyed. "You and Amy just got married and she's already having a baby?! I can't believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but aren't you going too fast?!"

"Ixis has blessed us," said Lucian. "If he wills that it is time that we have a child who are we to argue?"

"Well congratulations, I guess," said Sally. "I wish we were on better terms with each other, but after Amy, Hershey and Fiona left us in Nerberhood just as Naugus made his move with the Font of Gaia I think it's clear that you're all working for Specter now. Tell your master this, we'll do everything in our power to make sure you never get the Lamp of Angelus."

Geoffrey shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The lamp on the trophy," said Corva. "He's inside it."

She pointed to a painting on the wall depicting a purple genie-like creature with a feathered vest over his powerful looking chest, gold bands on the wrists of his muscular arms, what looked like feathers on his head and a tornado like tail that went from the waist down.

"Not very friendly looking," said Silver.

"Not very friendly looking," said Lucian.

Sonic looked annoyed. "Uh, Silver just said that,"

"Who?" asked Geoffrey. "Never mind, believe what you want let's just have a good clean race tomorrow."

"We will, as long as you don't forget."

A soft chime echoed through speakers set up in the converted shrine as Breezie rang a fork against a glass. "Attention all racers, it's finally time to reveal the full course for tomorrow's race!" everyone gathered as she motioned to a monitor. "As mentioned in our most recent advertisement immediately after the starting gate you'll drop down a two-hundred-foot incline to the base of this very tower but keep sharp because soon after that you'll need to make the first major turn. The next section will take you through the old market, it'll be tricky to navigate the series of pillars here while maintaining momentum. After the second major turn racers will go through the winding streets of the city to the third turn, in the middle of this section is a dry lakebed where you'll have nothing to worry about, except that is your fellow competitors. Once you pass the third turn, you'll go up and down a series of sand dunes before making the fourth turn back towards the tower, where you'll take a spiral path around the tower to a final hairpin turn leading to a straight away at the top. Once the last racer finishes their second lap the last straight away will extend moving the finish line from one edge to the other so the first racer to get to the top of the tower on lap three will be the winner of the Babylonian Cup and one and half million Mobiums!"

The party erupted into applause as cheers came from outside, as the crowd heard the broadcast.

"Now let's go over the rules one last time, all Extreme Gear must follow standard racing specifications, we're trying to see who's the best racer, not who has the best gear. Rescue drones will be on standby at all sections but to reduce the chances of severe injury directly or indirectly attacking your opponents is strictly prohibited and grounds for immediate disqualification. If you fall off your gear or leave the course, you have twenty seconds to rejoin the race before being disqualified. Finally, racers must be in the starting area one minute before the gate opens or they'll be disqualified so rest up and be ready. The weather report is giving us clear skies for the race, so I expect to see you all at the top of the tower to give Studiopolis TV's audience the race of a lifetime!"

Applause broke out again as Breezie left the shrine taking the trophy with her. The Babylon Rouges and Freedom Fighters came together outside with the rest of the team. "Look's we'll have to fall back on plan B after all," said Storm.

Sally looked to her feet. "It was always a long shot, but I had to try."

"The race is our best bet anyway," said Jet. "But since Robotnick's tin cans aren't going to attack can we keep the prize money?"

"Not if you want to keep our cover and stay a free bird. Besides I wouldn't trust Snively as far as I could throw the Death Egg. We'll all have to stay alert for anything that can happen."

"By the way Silver what was up with the Skunk and the Sonic lookalike?" asked Wave. "It's like you didn't even exist to them."

"Something similar happened to the rest of the Society of the Great Illumination," said Silver. "We think our interloper is involved and is trying to keep them from changing the future we're trying to stop, the one where Sonic died long before he's supposed to."

"I tried to read their minds," said Gold. "But nothing was clear, whatever happened they've been protected from psychic influence."

"Well our senses are still working," said Chip. "No doubt about it, that lamp has a powerful essence inside."

"Then we better be ready to win it," said Sonic. "Let's get some grub and shuteye, modifying our Extreme Gear shouldn't take long so we'll do it first thing in the morning."

"Before dinner I want to make a call to everyone back home," said Tails. "Let them know the situation and what we're up to. That includes Dr. Quack, something about Geoff and Lucian's story of Hershey and Amy being pregnant struck me as odd, I have to check something with him."

"Don't take too long," said Sally. "I'm going to make everyone curry tonight!"

Sonic turned slightly green. "Can't wait…"

Snively, Scratch and Coconuts went into the aircraft Viktor gave him for this mission, inside Crabmeat and Grounder were waiting for them. "The Freedom Fighters are here, just as Regina said they'd be," Snivley sneered. "Alright S6 we'll try to win race, but our top priority is the elimination of Sonic. Scratch, Coconuts have some weapons ready to deal with him as a backup, Grounder, Crabmeat upgrade the armaments you're going to use for operation 'Slight Edge' so that when the Freedom Fighters have their 'accident' it will be fatal."

Crabmeat jumped for joy. "Oh boy, a chance to prove my usefulness to Robotnick!"

"Just be sure no one interferes with your attack, there can be no mistakes this time! Any questions?"

"Yeah," said Grounder. "If you get in trouble and we have to call for help, we're supposed to say Code Cereal, right?"

Snively could have sworn he just had a heart attack.

Lucian and Geoffrey entered a trailer marked "Private" inside Breezie was admiring her reflection in the trophy as Mammoth Mogul watched the door.

"Excellent, now we can discuss the mission," said Mammoth. "Do you remember Lord Specter's plan?"

"Of course, Master Mogul," said Lucian. "We stay competitive in the race, finish in a top position but not actually win, just be good enough to be at the awards ceremony."

Breezie gave her reflection a smile. "During which I'll insist the champion give the lamp a nice victory rub releasing Angelus in front of a worldwide audience."

"If Angelus isn't enraged upon his release, I'll make sure he attacks the crowd or make it appear like he did," said Mammoth. "Then you use the sealing spell Lord Specter gave you to return Angelus to the lamp on live television. We'll gain not only the Essence of Air, but you'll be big enough heroes that you'll attract many more followers to your society, followers who will become more Ixis Wizards."

"And Witches," said Breezie. "I assume when this plan works, I'll be one of them?"

Mammoth gave Breezie a satisfied look. "If it were up to me you would be one already, but yes this should prove yourself in Lord Specter's eyes."

Breezie went to her vanity mirror. "Then I better call it an early night and make sure I look good for the race; it will turn out to be quite the show."