Sonic and Tails headed for Emerald City, more accurately to the Kelly Heights neighborhood in the West End borough, where much of the city's industrial base was concentrated. This was where the Hedgehog Heavy Equipment Repair Facility was located. The employees of the facility did repairs and maintenance on all sorts of heavy equipment: tractor-trailer trucks, bulldozers and front-end loaders, to name a few. Sonic and Tails checked into the front office.

"Oh, hello, Sonic!" said the secretary, a lavender eagle. "How can I help you and your friend?"

"Yeah, I'm here to see Uncle Chuck. Is he in?"

"Yes, just hold on a second…"

The secretary picked up the phone and dialed the office of Sir Charles T. Hedgehog, better known to Sonic as "Uncle Chuck".

"Yes, Sir Charles?"

"…"

"Your nephew Sonic is here to see you."

"…"

"I'll let him know." The secretary hung up. "You can visit him now."

After grabbing a couple of light blue hard hats, Sonic and Tails made their way past the multitudes of machinery and up to Uncle Chuck's office. They knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Uncle Chuck.

Sonic and Tails entered.

"Hello there, Sonny!" said Uncle Chuck. "Hello there, Tails! What brings you two here today?"

"We wanted to take Rocky out for a bit, if that's cool with ya," replied Sonic.

"Oh, certainly! Do bring him back, though!"

Sonic chuckled. "Unc, have we ever NOT brought anything of yours back!?"

"You still haven't brought me back my jackhammer, Sonny!"

Sonic gave Uncle Chuck a blank look. "Oh."

"We promise we'll bring it back as soon as we're done with our earthmoving project, though!" said Tails.

"Just make sure you bring it back in one piece, OK?"

"OK!" said Sonic and Tails.

Sonic and Tails went to a special garage bay where Rocky was located. Rocky wasn't a person, but rather a thing: a Mack M123 tank transporter. After they hooked it up to a lowboy trailer, they drove down to Mullen's Auto Salvage & Sales in the Deacon Park neighborhood, also in the West End.

"So, why are we driving Rocky?" asked Tails.

"Simple," said Sonic. "I wanna take part in the auto polo event with ya."

"Auto polo? What's that?"

"It's like regular polo, but with cars, ya know?"

Tails averted his gaze. "I dunno, that sounds dangerous…"

"Well, there have been some injuries, but I don't remember readin' or hearin' about anybody gettin' killed because of this sport."

Tails sighed. "All right, I'll take part with you, but be careful with the car, OK?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "You got it!"

After parking Rocky, Sonic and Tails hopped out and proceeded to take a look around Mullen's. Like many junkyards, this was a place where old cars went to die, but not before extending the life of other cars. However, there were also running cars in varying condition and age for sale, and that was where Sonic and Tails went to look first. Almost immediately, Sonic's attention was drawn to a Champagne Gold 1970 Chevy Impala sedan, proudly advertised as being a one-owner car. Not seeing anyone present, they walked into the front office, where a dark blue bat sat behind a metal office desk, filing some paperwork.

"Hey, I know you!" said the bat. "You're Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Sonic gestured towards himself with his thumb. "That I am! My pal Tails and I are lookin' to buy one of your used cars here!"

The bat got out of his seat and approached Sonic and Tails. "OK. Which one would you like to buy?"

"I was lookin' at that gold Impala out there…that is, if Tails here is cool with it!"

Tails nodded. "I'm good."

"Sure!" said the bat. "Follow me!"

The bat led Sonic and Tails back outside to the Impala they were looking at.

"This one's a real keeper!" said the bat. "It's got air conditioning, power steering, power locks, AM/FM radio, rear window defroster, electric trunk release, and – as you probably already saw – it's a one-owner car, with only 97,236 miles on the clock!"

"How much?" asked Sonic.

"Only 15,922 Mobiums and it's yours!"

"Hold on a second…" said Tails.

Sonic nodded. Tails started off by pulling out Miles Electric and using a special program to photograph the VIN number and pull up a detailed vehicle history report. He also conducted a visual inspection of the vehicle.

"Your friend there's really smart, isn't he?" said the bat.

"Like ya wouldn't believe!" said Sonic. "He restored an airplane all by himself, ya know!"

"Really? I'm amazed!"

"Yeah, he gets that a lot!"

"So tell me, what drew you to this particular car?"

"Well, I've had quite the thing for Chevies ever since some friends of mine restored a Camaro for me! I'm just lookin' for somethin' a little more practical, ya know?"

"Yes, I understand."

By this time, Tails had completed his visual inspection of the car. He looked at Sonic and nodded, while Sonic turned to the bat and gave a thumbs up.

"OK, we'll take it!" said Sonic.

After putting the Impala on the lowboy trailer that Rocky was towing and putting a tarp over it, Sonic and Tails drove to their cabin, unloaded the car and drove it into the one empty spot in the garage.

"Tails, you get workin' on the car. I'll return Rocky. Get that tarp ready in case Shadow or anyone drops by, ya dig?"

Tails nodded. "Right."

Sonic drove away with Rocky, while Tails started working on the Impala. According to the International Rules of Auto Polo, cars being modified to take part in the sport had to be modified similarly to cars being used in demolition derbies: among other things, all windows and exterior lights were to be removed, the rear seat was to be removed, the gas tank and battery were to be relocated, and a roll cage + racing-style bucket seats were to be installed, the passenger's seat having a more flexible harness to permit hanging out of the window more easily. Thus far, Tails was making good progress. Then, he heard somebody knocking on the smaller door to the garage.

"Who is it?" said Tails.

"It's Shadow. Let me in."

"Hold on a sec!"

Tails covered the Impala with the tarp as quickly as he could before rushing to the door and answering it, finding Shadow the Hedgehog with his arms crossed.

"Hey Shadow, what's up?"

"Is he here?"

"Sonic? No, he went to visit his uncle in Emerald City. Why?"

"Rouge talked to me recently about an encounter she had with him today. She told me he proved more evasive than usual in regards to her questions."

"So?"

Shadow grabbed Tails by the collar. "Tails, I know Sonic is planning on competing in this year's Summer Olympics. Tell me what events he's competing in or I'll drop you."

Tails was shaking and sweating nervously. "P-please! I…I don't know anything! R-r-really! S-Sonic d-d-d-didn't say m-much ab-bout th-this!"

"I'm warning you, if you're lying to me, those WILL be your last words."

"I-I'm not l…lying! I…I swear!"

Shadow stared into Tails' innocent, fearful blue eyes. He had little regard for the fact that this kit still had much to live for. All he knew was that he wanted information about Sonic, and he was going to get it somehow. However, the lack of tingling from his Hedgehog Sense told him that the Two-Tailed Wonder was probably telling the truth.

"You know something?" said Shadow. "I'm going to let you live."

Shadow threw Tails to the ground like a crumpled-up piece of paper before closing the side door to the garage and walking away. After taking a few steps, the Ultimate Life Form hung his head and sighed.

(Why did I even bother?) thought Shadow. (It's not like me to be such an asshole anymore, and I'll probably never have a chance with Sonic…)

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.