Sonic X: Steven the Hedgehog

by fflyboyray

Steven's life began as a survivor in Sonic's World. Throughout the early years, Steven's heard stories about the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, who he wanted to be like despite his own flaws. But one day, Chaos Control happens and this caused Steven to meet Sonic, his friends along with new friends who will guide him to be one of the greatest heroes in the world.

22. Episode 21

Gotta Go Fast (Sonic X Theme) by NateWantsToBattle

Speed Match! Steven vs. Sam (Fast Friends)

At the Thorndyke Mansion, it was night time with crickets chirping off screen.

On the balcony of the Thorndyke Mansion, Sonic was sleeping on the fence while snoring.

At an unknown location, an engine was humming as it started up.

Back on the balcony of the Thorndyke Mansion, Sonic continues to snore on the fence

On the streets of Station Square, Sam was driving his new Rocket Car.

Inside Ella's room of the Thorndyke Mansion, Amy, Cream, Cheese and Ella were sleeping on Ella's bed.

Back outside the Thorndyke Mansion, Sam's Rocket Car drove into the property.

In Chris' room, there was a shake, causing Chris to wake up from his bed while sweat dropping. "Ah! What's that?" Chris asked.

In Steven's gym, the shake happened and Steven woke up from his mattress while sweat dropping. "Huh? What was that?" Steven asked before he gets up.

Back outside of the Thorndyke Mansion, Sam turned off his Rocket Car. Then suddenly, Ella and Mr. Tanaka burst out from the front doors with Ella holding a frying pan as they were charging. "Prepare yourself!" Ella says before she and Mr. Tanaka shout with Mr. Tanaka's glasses glowing as they were about to attack. Sam then blocked their attacks. "Back off! Relax, lighten up! It's me!" Sam says, "Huh?" Mr. Tanaka and Ella asked before Chuck was making his way outside. "Blast it, Sam! Or should I say "The Bullet of Dawn". Don't you have any idea what time it is?" Chuck asked, "Sure I do! It's morning. And that was my name until yesterday" Sam says, "It's 3:00 a.m.!" Chuck says, "So it's a little early. And I have new name. It's now Mach Storm" Sam says, "You're lucky, I held myself back. I was just about to batter you like a chicken cutlet" Ella says before she yawns and walks back inside. "I'm going back to bed" Mr. Tanaka says before he follows Ella back inside. "I hope you didn't wake the neighbors. Huh?" Chuck asked before he looks behind Sam to see a big crowd of people while Sam humphs and the crowd was chattering. "Nice, they're all up" Chuck says before a sound of helicopter propellers was heard. "Huh?" Chuck asked before he looks above him to see two choppers passing by.

Back on the balcony, Sonic wakes up and looks at the setting and Chris walks outside of the balcony looking drowsy. "What's going on?" Chris asked as he rubbed his eyes. "Huh?" Chris asked before he saw the crowd and a few police cars parked. "Where'd all those people come from?" Chris asked off screen. "I don't know. Looks like they're lined up for a parade" Sonic says off screen.

Back on the ground of the Thorndyke Mansion, Steven walked next to Chuck while yawning. "What's with all the noise, Chuck?" Steven asked before noticing the crowd. "And why are there so many people here?" Steven asked off screen, "That's what I'm about to figure out, Steven" Chuck says off screen before noticing Sam's Rocket Car. "Hey, Sam, isn't that a new car?" Chuck asked before pointing at the Rocket Car that had a new design, shape and upgrades. "I'm here to challenge Sonic to a road race!" Sam says.

Back on the balcony, Sonic and Chris heard Sam. "A race?" Sonic and Chris asked at the same time.

Back on the ground of the Thorndyke Mansion, Chuck was inspecting the engine on the Rocket Car. "Hold on! This is a rocket engine" Chuck says, "A Rocket engine? Whoa..." Steven asked as he saw the rocket engine too.

A clip shows engineers studying and testing the Rocket engine. "That's the SS3 Super Rocket Engine. It was designed by top engineers at the Office of Science and Technology. Over a billion dollars went into its development" Sam says off screen before the rocket engine started up.

Back to reality, Sam continues. "Sonic, I'm gonna prove once and for all I'm the fastest guy on the planet!" Sam says before pointing at Sonic.

Back on the balcony, Chris looked surprised while Sonic looked unamused before closing his eyes. "Sonic, are you gonna race against my Uncle Sam?" Chris asked before Sonic stands up from the fence. "No way!" Sonic says before he jumps away and Chris follows him.

Back on the ground of the Thorndyke Mansion, Steven, Sam and Chris watch Sonic and Chris leave. "I don't think he wants to race, Sam" Steven says, "Hey, wait! You know for a hedgehog..." Sam says before he, Chuck and Steven walk.

At the garage, Sam continues off screen. "...You sure are spineless!" Sam says off screen.

In Chuck's room of the garage, Sam opens the floor door with Chuck and Steven behind him. "Hey, Sonic, we have a race!" Sam says as Sonic was sitting on Chuck's chair with Chris standing next to him. This caused Tails to wake up from his bed. "Huh! Huh?" Tails asked while looking left and eight before facing the readers. "Morning already?" Tails asked in a drowsy tone. A few minutes later, Steven and Chuck explained to Tails. "And that's that" Steven says, "Sonic said he won't race. See?" Chuck asked, "Huh?" Tails asked in a drowsy tone while still tired. "He will race" Sam says while pointing his finger up.

In Sam's imagination, he pictures the race course in his head while telling the others with starting at the Thorndyke Mansion. "The starting line will be in front of this house..." Sam says off screen.

The picture changes to downtown with vehicles driving on the streets. "From here, we'll speed downtown, straight through the heart of Station Square..." Sam says off screen.

The picture changes again to the bridge. "After we blast across the border of the bridge out of the city..." Sam says off screen.

The picture changes again to the desert. "...The competition will really heat up as we zoom through the desert..." Sam says off screen.

The picture changes again to the canyon. "...And navigate the twists and turns of the canyon..." Sam says off screen.

The picture changes again with was a sign that said "Turning Point" with arrows pointing left at the canyon. "A hairpin turn will lead us back to the city. The winner..." Sam says off screen

The picture changes one last time to a Stadium with the crowd cheering off screen. "...Will be the one who reaches the stadium first" Sam says off screen before it shows the President holding the tape with a woman holding an umbrella next to him. "There will be thousands of fans to cheer us on, including the President waiting at the finish line" Sam says off screen.

Back to reality, Steven and Chris looked surprised. "The President?" Chris and Steven asked, "How did Sam get the President involved?" Steven asked himself in his head.

Back in Sam's imagination, Sam continues off screen as it shows the President shaking hands with the unknown winner with the media taking pictures. "He's gonna congratulate the winner on live TV" Sam says off screen before Jerome appears and faces the readers. "The coverage will increase his poll numbers. The President is sure to win reelection in a landslide" Jerome says.

Back to reality, Sam finishes while crossing his arms. "I guess Jerome wants to make sure the President wins the next reelection then" Steven says, "But why would the government let Uncle Sam use their rocket for a race with Sonic?" Chris asked, "The S3 was expensive, and they think the race will increase tax payer support for the project" Chuck says, "Yeah, you got it" Sam says, "Except we're not gonna race" Sonic says before Sam goes up to Sonic's face. "Oh? What's the matter, Sonic? Are you afraid that when our race is over, you'll be known as the second-fastest guy on the planet? I'm not gonna take no for an answer, Sonic, and I won't let up until you agree to race me!" Sam says while having a fire background behind him. "Why couldn't I have a normal family?" Chris asked as he facepalm and Steven shrugged his shoulders while laughing nervously. Chuck then crosses his arms "Look, Sam. You can't expect Station Square to shutdown just so you two can have a race" Chuck says, "Oh, yeah? You wanna bet?" Sam asked before the TV turns on and it shows Scarlet on the news chopper. "They're just about ready for the big race here at Station Square" Scarlet says from the TV.

The TV changes to the streets in Station Square with vehicles driving and pedestrians standing on the sidewalk. "The streets will be completely clear of traffic" Scarlet says from the TV off screen before the TV changes to a crowd holding a sign that said "Sonic" with a heart symbol and another one that said "Man" on it. "And an enormous crowd is gathering all along the course..." Scarlet says from the TV off screen before the TV changes to a lot of people standing on roofs. "...Waiting for the race to start" Scarlet says from the TV off screen.

Back in Chuck's room, Sonic, Steven and Tails looked surprised with Tails gasping. "Wow! They got everything ready in a short amount of time!" Steven says.

Back on TV, it changes to a crowd cheering for Lindsey and Nelson who were on a stand a few levels tall. There was also big writing from behind them that said "StarShip Software" on it. "They're cheering now for the sponsors of today's race from Starship Soft. The company that holds 70% of the computer market..." Scarlet says from the TV off screen before the camera zooms in to Lindsey and Nelson with Lindsey holding roses and Nelson waving. "... is the popular movie star, Lindsey Fair, and her handsome mogul husband, Nelson Thorndyke" Scarlet says from the TV off screen.

Back in Chuck's room, Chris looked embarrassed. "Oh boy..." Steven says, "This keeps getting worse..." Chris says, "I'll bet my nightcap that your uncle's the one who got them involved in this ridiculous race" Chuck says before Sam goes up to Sonic's face again. "Well, Sonic!? You're not gonna disappoint that crowd, are you!? They've been waiting for hours to see us go human to hedgehog!" Sam says, "Tough" Sonic says before Sam yells while putting his hands on his head. "Come on!" Sam says, "Why doesn't Sonic want to race Sam?"Steven asked in his head.

At the White House, it was still night time.

In Jerome's room, Jerome was sleeping and snoring on his bed. "Hello, Vivian, my dear" Jerome says before he makes kissing noises. Jerome then sits up and kisses the air as he thinks he's kissing someone named Vivian. "Vivian, I love you" Jerome says. Then suddenly, the phone rings, causing Jerome to scream and fall off the bed. Jerome grunts before answering the phone while holding his head. "Yeah? Who's this?" Jerome asked, "Sonic, won't race me! Do something! The President should order him to compete!" Sam says over the phone with a yellow speaker symbol, making Jerome wince from the loud tone. Jerome then recovers a bit. "Who is this?" Jerome asked before the dial tone was heard. Jerome puts the phone down and goes back to his bed. "Mach Storm gets flustered easily" Jerome says off screen before he made his way to his bed before yawning. "Sonic, won't race. That's too bad. But, if he won't race…" Jerome says before he goes back to sleep. After a few seconds, he wakes up and screams. "If Sonic doesn't race Sam Speed, my career is over" Jerome says while sweat dropping.

In Jerome's memory, it shows an angry mob of men were protesting while holding signs that said "Run the REAL RACE!" and "We want SONIC!" on them. "The President's lied about the race! So kick him out, in his face!" The crowd says while the President looked nervous. "The President will probably be impeached before the next election, and all because Sonic won't race" Jerome says off screen before the memory shatters like glass.

Back to reality, Jerome finishes his imagination. "We've got to do something! We'll call out the military..." Jerome says.

Back in Jerome's memory, it shows a few Army tanks driving. "The Army by land…!" Jerome says off screen before the picture changes to 3 Navy Ships sailing, "The Navy by sea…!" Jerome says off screen before the picture changes to a few fighter jets flying in the sky. "And the Air Force by air!" Jerome says and laughs off screen before the picture changes to Sonic looking behind at the Arm, Navy and Airforce with a red sky. "That should help convince Sonic to change his mind" Jerome says off screen.

Back to reality, Jerome changes his mind. "No. The Secretary of Defense will probably make a fuss about it and lose too much money" Jerome says before he gets another idea and pounds his fist. "I know! I'll go over his head" Jerome says.

In Space above Earth, a satellite beeped as it floated in zero gravity while shining.

The satellite's camera zooms in on Earth before it reaches at a ocean where the Eggfort II was.

Back on Earth, it was morning and the Eggfort II was floating above the ocean.

Inside the bridge of the Eggfort II, Dr. Eggman was playing chess with a robot named Kill Time. Kill Time then got a checkmate as he placed a Pawn down. "And that is checkmate!" Kill Time says off screen. This made Dr. Eggman angry "What? You cheater...!" Dr. Eggman says before Kill Time crosses it's arms and turns away from Dr. Eggman. "Loser!" Kill Time says as it's eye blinks when it speaks. "What!? I built you and I can unbuild you!" Dr. Eggman says before he grabs Kill Time and strangles Kill Time while knocking the chess game over. "I'll checkmate you! You pawn! I can change you any way I wish..." Dr. Eggman says before he stops. "I promise that I will let you win next time, Doctor!" Kill Time says while it's eye blinked. "There won't be a next time" Dr. Eggman says before an alarm blares. "Eh?" Dr. Eggman asked and growls as he turns around. The green wall next to him was receiving a FaceTime call before it shows Jerome in disguise in a brown jacket, hat and sun glasses. "Dr. Eggman, I have a proposition for you..." Jerome says, "Oh, yeah? Who are you?" Dr. Eggman asked, "I'm the aid of the Preside... No...You can just call me a myserteous man. Now you want to settle the score with Sonic?" Jerome asked, "Huh?" Kill Time asked, "Yes. Maybe" Dr. Eggman says, "What if I told you that Sonic had been challenged to race against a the fastest member in the Federal forces with an hightech rocket car designed by the government?" Jerome asked, "Really? Is that so?" Dr. Eggman asked, "In fact, Sonic, is so scared he'll be defeated that he turned us down!" Jerome says, "Oh!" Dr. Eggman says while he lets go of Kill Time. Kill Time yelps before hitting the ground. Dr. Eggman then puts his hands on his waist. "And so you need me to get Sonic in the race!? That's it...?" Dr. Eggman asked, "You convince Sonic to enter that race... and I'll give you lots of Cream Puffs!" Jerome says, "Are you nuts? Cream Puffs...?" Dr. Eggman asked before Decoe and Bocoe walk in. "I want to eat Cream Puffs!" Decoe and Bocoe said at the same time. "It's a good chance to get Sonic!" Decoe says, "Please, do it for us Dr. Eggman!" Bocoe says, "We will work day and night without complaining" Decoe says, "Not even behind your back like we usually do" Bocoe says before Dr. Eggman rubs his chin. "Hmm. All right..." Dr. Eggman says before he, Decoe and Bocoe look at Jerome while putting their hands on their waists. "But how do I know this isn't some kind of elaborate trick you're playing on me?" Dr. Eggman asked, "What?" Jerome asked before he takes his sun glasses off to reveal his sparkling eyes. "Look at my eyes and you'll see I'm sincere!" Jerome says before Dr. Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe gasped in disgust. "Such silky eyes... Well… then I'll do it" Dr. Eggman says before he, Decoe and Bocoe turn to the right. "I'll NEED a robot to stop Sonic" Dr. Eggman says, "Me?" Kill Time asked while Dr. Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe glare at it. "I'll rebuild this one into a model that forces Sonic to enter the race!" Dr. Eggman says, "No... NO! please, Doctor! Not me! NOOO!" Kill Time says as it begged.

Back at the Thorndyke Mansion, Chris, Amy and Tails were checking out the Rocket Car. "It's cool!" Tails says, "It does look fast!" Amy says, "My Uncle Sam wouldn't drive it if it wasn't cool and fast..." Chris says before Bokkun laughs off screen. "Huh?" Chris asked while turning to the left a bit before Bokkun floated in front of him. Chris then turns away from Bokkun. "Oh, brother!" Chris says, "Where's Sonic? I have to see him now. I brought a message with me" Bokkun says.

Back on the balcony of the Thorndyke Mansion, Sonic was napping on the fence while Steven was standing next to him. "Why don't you want to race against Sam, Sonic?" Steven asked, "Because there's no point for me to race him, Steven" Sonic says, "Why do you say that?" Steven asked, "It would be an easy win even if Sam did give his car a new upgrade" Sonic says, "I guess it would be, but at the same time, don't you want to make everyone proud if you did race?" Steven asked, "Sorry, Steven, but this is the only time I can't make everyone happy. I'm not racing and that's that. End of the story" Sonic says before Steven sighs. "Then I guess that's it then. We'll have to either cancel the race or find someone else to replace you. But finding a replacement might be impossible, but let's think here. Who do we know that can participate in this race that can go at a good speed like you, Sonic? Hmm..." Steven says off screen, "I don't know, Steven. I don't know anybody that can run at a good speed like... me..." Sonic says before he realized something and opened his eyes. "Wait a minute..." Sonic says before Steven looks at him. "What is it?" Steven asked, "I know who can replace me and participate in this race" Sonic says, "Who?" Steven asked. Before Sonic was about to say something else, Bokkun lands on the balcony fence in-front of Sonic. "Hey! I have a message for you!" Bokkun says, "You again!" Steven says, "Huh? Oh!" Sonic says before he sweat drops, gets up and backs away a bit while Steven gets ready. Bokkun then looked offended. "Relax. I promise this one isn't gonna blow up in the end" Bokkun says, "All right, what is it?" Sonic asked, "You better enter that race, Sonic, or else you'll have to face THIS!" Bokkun says before he pulls out a robot that used to be Kill Time out of his bag, but now it was a kissing robot with big lips. "Hi, there!" the kissing robot says, "What the heck!?" Steven asked off screen before the kissing robot started smooching. "I'm gonna kiss you!" the kissing robot says. Sonic yelped before jumping down the fence and running away while the kissing robot runs after him while laughing. "Yikes! It's like a smooch machine!" Steven says before Sonic got cornered and stopped. "No! Huh?" Sonic asked as he looks behind to see the kissing robot was running towards him. "KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" the kissing robot says before it jumps in the air. Sonic yelps a bit as he saw the kissing robot. "KISS!" the kissing robot says before Sonic screams, shakes his arms and moves out the way just in time. The kissing robot smooched the pole of the balcony fence. Bokkun laughs on the balcony fence while Steven was looking around. Sonic then ran up to a chair of the table along with the kissing robot. Sonic looked nervous as he tried to go past the kissing robot, but the kissing robot blocks him and does more smooches. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the kissing robot says off screen, "Yuck! I don't wanna take any lip from that robot" Sonic says, "Of all the robots to design, why did Dr. Eggman design it to make it go mouth to mouth?" Steven asked in his head while Bokkun continues to laugh. "Kiss! Kiss!" Bokkun says while laughing.

Inside the Rocket Car, Sam pushed a pedal as he was starting up the engine a couple of times

Back on the balcony of the Thorndyke Mansion, Sonic heard the engine rev before turning around. "Huh?" Sonic asked, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss, kiss, kiss!" The kissing robot says off screen.

In Sonic's memory, Sonic remembers what Sam said last night. "I'm not gonna take no for an answer, Sonic, and I won't let up until you agree to race me!" Sam says.

Back in reality, the kissing robot was about to kiss Sonic while laughing. "Kiss!" the kissing robot says. Steven saw how distracted Sonic was and quickly taking action. "Sonic, look out!" Steven says before he pushed Sonic and himself off the balcony and to the ground. The kissing robot then kissed Bokkun, causing Bokkun to whine.

Back on the ground, Steven stands up before looking up. "Phew! That was close" Steven says before looking down at Sonic. "Are you okay, Sonic?" Steven asked as he helped Sonic up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for that, Steven. I thought I was about to get the lip from that robot" Sonic says, "No problem. While you got distracted, I reacted fast enough before something could happen. Like that" Steven says before he pointed up to Bokkun getting smooched by the kissing robot. Sonic laughed a bit as he saw that. "Yeah, you're right. Steven, if you're this fast to react now, do you wonder how fast you are on your feet?" Sonic says, "I'm not sure. Maybe when there's another emergency from Dr. Eggman, we'll wait and see until then" Steven says before Sonic remembered something. "You know what? Maybe we don't need to wait" Sonic says, "Huh? What do you mean, Sonic?" Steven asked, "We might just find out right now" Sonic says, "Why do you say that?" Steven asked before Sonic places his hand on Steven's shoulder. "Because you're going to race Sam, Steven" Sonic says. Steven gasped a bit when he heard this. "Huh!? Me!? Race against Sam!?" Steven asked, "That's right, Steven. You're gonna be my replacement for this race" Sonic says, "But Sonic, everyone is expecting you to race Sam. Not me. I don't know if I can keep up with Sam's new race car with the speed I have right now" Steven says, "Don't say something you don't know, Steven. Remember, you've improved a-lot ever since then, so who knows? You might be able to keep up with Sam and go at my speed" Sonic says, "I don't know..." Steven says while rubbing his arm. Sonic then puts his hand on Steven's shoulder again. "Hey, listen. Remember when you said you wanted to face any challenge in your life?" Sonic asked, "Yeah..." Steven says, "And that you would do anything on what the future has to offer, right?" Sonic asked, "Right" Steven says, "Then this is one of them. This is an opportunity for to show how fast you really are to everyone" Sonic says, "I... I guess so..." Steven says, "Also to add on to why I want you to do this. You've mostly been relying on your strength in battles besides your speed. Remember, speed is important as strength is. So I want you to make sure you also use your speed in battles. Can you do that?" Sonic asked, "I think so" Steven says, "Good. So, are you ready to prove to Sam that you're fast enough that you can beat his rocket car?" Sonic asked, "Well I don't know. Like I said, a lot of people are expecting you to race, Sonic" Steven says, "I know, but they'll be in a surprise once they see you race and cheer for you instead. You also want to make sure that everyone gets what they want, right?" Sonic asked, "You mean like give them a race while you don't race and watch?" Steven asked, "Exactly" Sonic says, "Hmm" Steven says while thinking. "Trust me, Steven. You don't want to turn this opportunity down. I know you can do this" Sonic says off screen. After a few seconds, Steven made his decision. "Okay then. I'll race against Sam, Sonic" Steven says, "Cool. Now let's give Sam the element of surprise" Sonic says.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam continues pushing the pedal to rev his engine.

Outside of the Rocket Car, Chris and Chuck watched Sam start the engine. "Are you gonna play with that pedal all day...?" Sonic asked as he and Steven went up to Sam, Chris and Chuck. "Huh?" Sam, Chuck and Chris asked as they saw Sonic and Steven. "Or are you gonna have your race?" Sonic asked and Sam smirked. "Hmm. I knew you would pull through. So are you ready to eat my space dust?" Sam asked, "Well actually there's been change of plans" Sonic says, "What are you talking about? You agreed to race, so let's go!" Sam says, "No, I didn't say I was gonna race" Sonic says before Sam, Chris and Chuck gasped. "I asked if you were gonna have your race" Sonic says, "Of course I am, so come on! Let's go!" Sam says before he grunted. "I already told you I'm not gonna race" Sonic says and Sam started growing. "Why not!?" Sam asked, "Sonic, what's going on? Why aren't you gonna race my uncle Sam" Chris asked, "Because I have someone else who can do the race to replace me and that's more suited for it" Sonic says, "Who, Sonic?" Chuck asked before Sonic puts his hand on Steven's shoulder again. This caused Chris, Chuck and Sam to gasped again. "Steven" Sonic says and Steven chuckled a bit. "Yep. Me" Steven says, "What!? No way! I asked for you, Sonic! Not Steven!" Sam says, "Then it's your loss then" Sonic says, "Sonic, why are you letting Steven take part in this race instead of you?" Chuck asked, "Because Steven has improved a lot ever since then and we haven't really seen him running for a race or anything like that before. So I thought if letting him race Sam instead of me, it will will show us how fast he really is" Sonic says, "But, Sonic, everyone's expecting you to race. Won't the crowd be disappointed if you didn't race?" Chris asked, "They won't be disappointed as long as Steven enters the race" Sonic says, "Huh?" Chris asked, "Sonic's right, guys. You see. I've been mostly relying on my strength a lot more than my speed lately and never had the thought of wondering how fast I really am. So to do so, I'm gonna put my speed to this ultimate race test to see how well I can run fast" Steven says, "But Steven, we've seen you run with Sonic before" Chris says, "I know that, Chris, but you haven't seen me run like in a race and you're gonna see it if you guys agree to let me do this" Steven says before Chris thinks while Chuck puts his hand on his chin. "Trust me, guys. This is something Steven needs to do" Sonic says, "Well, I certainly don't have a problem with this, but at the same time let's hope that the crowd doesn't cause a riot about it" Chuck says, "Don't worry, they won't because Steven is Sam's true challenger. The crowd won't get mad at all" Sonic says, "What about you, Chris? Do you agree to let me do this?" Steven asked, "Well... I guess we really don't have much of a choice here then" Chris says, "So is that a yes?" Steven asked, "Okay, sure! I want to see you race!" Chris says, "Great!" Steven says, "Well, Sam? They agreed to let Steven race. What's it gonna be? Either have Steven race or have the whole race canceled" Sonic says and Sam thinks about it while mummering. "Trust me, Sam. This might make things a bit more interesting if you let me. You won't be disappointed. What's it gonna be then?" Steven asked. Sam thinks about it before making his decision while growling. "As much as I don't really find this idea bright, I guess I don't have no choice anymore" Sam says before the Chris and Chuck looked a bit surprised. "Alright! Fine! Steven! I challenge you to a race against my SS3 Super Rocket Car to prove to you I'm the number one fastest guy on the planet " Sam says and everyone smiled. "All right!" Sonic says, "We've waisted a lot time now! Let's hurry up and start!" Sam says, "Okay, but before we start the race, I have to change into proper running gear. I'll be right back" Steven says before he runs off.

At the starting line, fireworks were heard off screen while Steven and Sam were getting ready to race. Sam revs his engine in his Rocket Car while Steven did some stretches. Steven was wearing a running shirt, sweat shorts, running shoes, wristbands and an headband. While Steven was stretching, Sonic went up to Steven. "Are you ready for the race, Steven?" Sonic asked, "Almost. Just doing some stretches so I don't let any muscle pain get in the way" Steven says, "Good. Now listen, even if you don't win, it's fine. You did your best and that's all that matters, okay?" Sonic asked, "Alright then" Steven says, "Good. Now you may not notice, but I'm gonna spectate just to see how you're doing" Sonic says, "Okay, but please don't help me with anything. I'm not saying I don't need help at all, I'm saying that because I want to see if I can get out of a conflict by myself" Steven says, "Sure, but you know I'm always gonna lend you a hand just in case it gets dangerous" Sonic says, "I know, but still" Steven says, "Don't worry. I understand. Alright. Good luck! You'll do great!" Sonic says before he made his way out the area. The crowd was chatting and commenting about how Steven was doing the race instead of Sonic. Mr. Tanaka and Ella were on one side of the crowd while holding Cream and Cheese. Chris, Tails and Amy were watching from the other side. "I just don't get it. What made Sonic think to put Steven in the race instead of him!?" Amy asked before Tails turned to her. "I guess he wanted to see how fast Steven can run" Tails says, "Yeah. Maybe Steven has a chance against uncle Sam. Don't you guys agree?" Chris asked, "Maybe, but we'll see what happens when it starts. What about you, Amy? Do you think Steven has a chance?" Tails asked, "I'm not sure to be honest. I mean I've seen Steven get stronger, but I've never seen him go faster" Amy says, "Then just have faith that he can do this" Chris says, "Hmm. Maybe they're right, but I really haven't really seen Steven running for a race. I wonder what's gonna happen then...?" Amy says in her head while Steven continued stretching. "Steven does look like he wants to do this and if he does win, that will make him fast like Sonic... I hope you win this one, Steven" Amy says in her head. Steven then stopped stretching and looked forward. "Okay, Steven. You can do this. I should probably run at my 25% speed as a warm up before I go all out. I don't want to tire myself just yet. So we'll see happens from there" Steven says. Chuck was on the side with a green flag before position himself to wave it down. "On your Mark..." Chuck says before Sam starts up the engine. "Ready..." Chuck says off screen before Steven gets into a starting position like he was running for the Olympics. Steven and Sam wait for the perfect moment to go with determined looks on their faces. Chuck then waves the flag down. "START!" Chuck says. The Rocket Car engine went on full blast, causing smoke to fly everywhere. This made Steven yelp and get blown away while the Rocket Car started speeding on the streets. The smoke clears to see Steven coughing a bit while sitting down. Steven then recovered a bit before looking forward. "Whoah!" Steven says before he got on his feet and started running at 25%. The crowd then cheers. "Steven! Go for it!" Amy says.

Eyecatch Cards

ROCKET CAR

E-45 SUMO-MAN

In the skies, the news chopper was flying in the skies. "This is Scarlet Garcia reporting from News Chopper One!" Scarlet says off screen.

Back on TV, Scarlet was seen giving the report inside the chopper. "We now continue our live coverage of the road race of the century, but this time instead of Sonic the Hedgehog competing to race, it is now Steven the Hedgehog as he and Sam Speed take on each other..." Scarlet says before the TV changes to the camera spectating the Rocket Car while Steven following far behind. "After a delayed start and replacement changes... the racers left the Thorndyke Mansion and they're now speeding through downtown Station Square while Steven is trying to catch up to Sam Speed's pace!" Scarlet says off screen.

At the race, Steven saw how far behind he was from Sam. "Wow! His Rocket Car is faster than I originally thought!" Steven says while Sonic was running towards Steven. Sonic then ran next to Steven. "How you doing so far, Steven?" Sonic asked, "I'm trying to catch up, but at the same time, it's insane how fast Sam's Rocket Car is going right now" Steven says before Sonic took a closer look at Sam's Rocket Car a bit. "Hmm. I'll be right back, Steven" Sonic says before he speeds pass Steven/

Back inside Sam's Rocket Car, Sam continue looking at the road before Sonic runs next to the Rocket Car. "Hey, Captain..." Sonic says, "Yeah, what?" Sam asked before Sonic shrugs his shoulders. "I thought it was supposed to be a road race... but your Rocket Car doesn't even touch the asphalt! What's up?"

Back outside of the Rocket Car, it looked as if the Rocket Car was flying. "That thing doesn't even have wheels!" Sonic says off screen.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam heard Sonic. "Yeah!? Look close..." Sam says before Sonic looks down closer.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, there were small wheels running on the bottom.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam closes his eyes. "You see!? The wheels guide the glide!" Sam says before Sonic shrugs his shoulders again. "What if you get a flat?" Sonic asked, "I won't" Sam says, "Well can you at least go easy on Steven? This is his first road race after all. Let him catch up a bit" Sonic says, "Not a chance, Sonic! I've waited too long to have a race with you ever since this engine came into development, but since you didn't want to race me, I'm not taking any chances on holding back on someone else!" Sam says.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, the Rocket Car speeds pass while Sonic just gave an annoyed look. Sonic then slowed down and went back up to Steven. "What happened?" Steven asked, "It looks like things might get difficult for the way how this is gonna turn out, Steven" Sonic says, "Really? Okay, then. Then I'll have to get serious then" Steven says, "Huh? What do you mean?" Sonic asked, "I'm not using my full speed yet, Sonic. After what I saw what Sam can do, this race might actually get interesting after all" Steven says, "Wait, you're not using your full speed?" Sonic asked, "Nope. Not yet at least. I want to see how fast Sam can go at full speed so that way I'll push myself to full speed and see what will happen" Steven says, "Then how fast are you going right now?" Sonic asked, "I'm only using 25%. Now it looks like I'm gonna have to push it up to 50%!" Steven says, "50%?" Sonic asked, "That's right. Watch this!" Steven says before he started to run faster and went ahead of Sonic. This made Sonic look surprised. "Steven's going way faster then before! Maybe he does have the chance to beat Sam" Sonic says before thinking of something else. "Wait. If Steven's that fast at 50%, how fast is he when he's at full speed. Would that make Steven faster then... Me...?" Sonic asked in his head.

Back at the race, the Rocket Car continued speeding through downtown while Steven was catching up to the Rocket Car a lot more faster. "Our racers are about to enter the most dangerous part of the course as they steer through these..." Scarlet says off screen before it shows the narrow streets in downtown. "...Narrow streets surrounded by several buildings at super high speed!" Scarlet says off screen.

Back on TV, Scarlet continues. "But, is Manhen's rocket car maneuverable enough to make those hypervelocity turns?" Scarlet asked.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam smiles while having his eyes closed as he continues to be at the lead. "It'll be easy" Sam says before running footsteps were heard. "Huh?" Sam asked while opening his eyes. Sam looked behind a bit to see Steven was catching up. "What!? How is Steven catching up!? There's no way! Unless... No! I have to stay focused! It won't matter anyway because this will make no difference" Sam says.

Back outside the Rocket Car, Steven ran pass the Rocket Car. "Here we go! Room to test my drifts" Steven says before he went in and drift through the narrowed streets.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam was watching. "Great... Steven's gone way ahead... Commence project straightaway now!" Sam says.

At the police Station, the dispatcher heard Sam. "Roger!" the dispatcher says.

Back in Downtown Station Square, the doors of garages at the specific buildings began to open. After they were all opened, the Rocket Car speeds straight ahead.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam laughed "Sorry, Steven, but being chief of the S Team gives me the kind of clout that really opens the doors in this city..." Sam says before he continues to laugh.

Back with Steven, he continued drifting through the narrowed streets. "Alright! My drifts played perfectly. But where did Sam go? Did I go too fast to see him?" Steven asked.

Back at the race, the Rocket Car continued speeding through with dust behind. Steven made a turn to the direction the Rocket Car went. Steven gasped as he the Rocket Car ahead of him. "Huh? But I thought..." Steven says before a sound of closing was heard. "Huh?" Steven asked before he turns his head and gasped. Steven saw the garage doors from the specific buildings close. "Okay, now that's just playing dirty!" Steven says.

On the bridge, the Rocket Car was still in the lead while Steven was catching up a bit while at 50% of his full speed.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam smiled with his eyes closed before Steven got next to the Rocket Car. "Hey! That was cheating!" Steven says, "Tough luck" Sam says before Steven moans a bit.

Back outside of Sam's Car, Steven was sweating as he was out of breath a bit. "Oh no! I'm getting tired! Not good! I should've gotten something to eat and drink before doing this..."Steven says in his head.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam saw Steven getting tired. "He's getting tired. Maybe a nice break on the car can help him"Sam says in his head before he chuckled. "Hey, Steven! You ok?" Sam asked, "Yeah, I'm fine!" Steven says while he continued to pant. "You look a little tired. Why don't you take a break and hop on my car" Sam says, "No! I said I'm fine!" Steven says, "You look like you're gonna pass out, man! Hop on the car and rest!" Sam says, "Why are you willingly allowing me take a break on your car? Isn't that against the rules?" Steven asked, "Hey, I may be a hot head, but that doesn't mean I don't care about my opponent. I'll let this one slide in the race. I promise" Sam says, "You promise!?" Steven asked, "I promise!" Sam says before he smirks a bit.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, Steven thinks about it before making his decision. "Ugh! Fine then!" Steven says before he jumped on Sam's car, sat down and closes his eyes. "You feel better?" Sam asked, "A little bit..." Steven says, "Great, but can you do me one last favor before I let you take your break?" Sam asked, "What is it?" Steven asked while turning his head a bit.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam continues. "Can you please move to the back of my car a bit?" Sam asked.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, Steven opened his eyes. "Huh? Okay, sure" Steven says before he stands up a bit and started walking towards the back a bit. "Thank you" Sam says before Steven stops above the Rocket Car window with Sam looking. "Is this good here?" Steven asked, "Just a little more..." Sam says before Steven moved a bit more further and stops on a white circle while Sam continued to watch. "How about now?" Steven asked.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam heard Steven. "Yeah, thanks. Right there'll do just fine!" Sam says before he turns his head forward and chuckles. Sam then pressed a yellow button on his control area.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, while Steven was sitting down and catching his breath, he was flung away by a spring that popped out of the back of the Rocket Car with a yelp.

Back in the skies, Steven screamed as he went further in the air.

Back inside Sam's Rocket Car, Sam laughed. "Hahaha, that went better than I expected" Sam says.

Back on TV, Scarlet turned around and saw Steven screaming while flying in the air. "Strange. What's Steven doing? Why is he going the wrong way...?" Scarlet asked.

Back inside the Eggfort II, Dr. Eggman was watching the same news report with Scarlet turning her head to the camera on TV. "It certainly is an odd tactic" Scarlet says before Dr. Eggman laughs. "That rocket car is my kind of mean machine..." Dr. Eggman says before writing on a notepad. "Have to try that spring trick on Sonic myself one day" Dr. Eggman says he stopped writing. "Okay! Go, SumoMan!" Dr. Eggman says.

Back with Sonic, he was still running before looking up. Sonic saw Steven still flying in the air. "What's Steven doing?" Sonic asked before Steven landed back on the ground and went back to running. Sonic then ran up to Steven. "Hey, what happened?" Sonic asked, "Sam pulled a spring trap on me" Steven says, "A spring trap? I knew he wasn't gonna play fair in this race" Sonic says, "I know, and as much as I don't want to do this early, it looks like I don't have a choice now. I'm gonna have to increase my speed up to 75% now" Steven says, "75%?" Sonic asked, "Yeah, Sonic. It's the only way I'll be able to catch up with Sam at this rate" Steven says, "But you'll be out of breath a lot faster than before" Sonic says, "I know it's gonna kill me, but I have to try!" Steven says before he started going at 75% at his speed which caused him to go even faster and speed past Sonic. "Steven, wait!" Sonic says as he watched Steven continue running. "This will not end well. I gotta get Steven some food and a drink" Sonic says before he stops and runs the other way.

At the desert, the Rocket Car was speeding through the desert while Steven was catching up from far behind at his 75% speed. Sam then turn his head on the right to see a glimpse of Steven.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam was shocked. "That can't be Steven! There's no way he's that fast!" Sam says before he looks forward and gasped.

Back at the race, a sand burst happened, causing sand dust to fly around. The sand dust clears to reveal robot named E-45 Sumo-Man. "You may not pass! Turn back!" E-45 Sumo-Man says while using it's hands to block the way.

Back with Steven, he was shocked to see E-45 Sumo-Man. "A robot? That's not suppose to be part of the race track" Steven says.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam looked annoyed. "Hey!" Sam says before he pressed the D button on his control area.

Back outside of the Rocket Car, the wings become emergency breaks. "Turn back or be destroyed! Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush!" E-45 Sumo-Man says before it was about to smash the Rocket Car with it's hand, but the Rocket Car went underneath the sand while E-45 Sumo-Man pushed upwards, causing sand to fly around. "Yeah. Take that! I'll push..." E-45 Sumo-Man says. The Rocket Car then pops out of the sand and continues driving.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam looked behind him. "Sucker!" Sam says.

Back at the race, the Rocket Car continues to speed through the desert. E-45 Sumo-Man turned to where Sam went. "Huh?" E-45 Sumo-Man says before turning forward and blocking the way. "Stop now!" E-45 Sumo-Man. Steven then continued running. "As much as I like to stop and stop you, I've got a race to win right now!" Steven says, "I order you to halt and reverse your course now! Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush!" E-45 Sumo-Man says as it was about to smash Steven. "Ugh!" E-45 Sumo-Man says before it smashed it's hand at the sand, but Steven ran passed it and continued running in the desert with dust flying around. E-45 Sumo-Man looked to where Steven ran off. "How could I have missed Steven?" E-45 Sumo-Man says before looking worried. "Dr. Eggman will punish me" E-45 Sumo-Man says before pounding it's fist. "I had better punish myself first!" E-45 Sumo-Man before it attacked itself. "Ugh!" E-45 Sumo-Man before it was sent flying the air with a twinkle in the end.

Back inside the Eggfort II, Bokkun had tears in his eyes before he started crying. "That robot kissed me...!" Bokkun says while Decoe and Bocoe were between him with happy looks on their faces. Decoe was rubbing Bokkun's back. "Bokkun, it might have been a lot worse, you know...? You could have been accidentally kissed by Dr. Eggman!" Decoe says, "What a revolting thought" Bocoe says. Dr. Eggman was sitting on his chair with the kissing robot behind him. "We blew it..." Dr. Eggman says before the kissing robot turns to Dr. Eggman. "Well, don't blame me. I did my job" the kissing robot says before Dr. Eggman turns towards the kissing robot a bit. "Kiss off, you clown!" Dr. Eggman says.

Back outside of the Eggfort II, a twinkle was in the sky. The twinkle disappeared and E-45 Sumo-Man came crashing towards the Eggfort II while screaming. E-45 Sumo-Man then crashed into the Eggfort II with an explosion. The Eggfort II then crashes into the water with smoke coming from where E-45 Sumo-Man crashed in.

On the Eggfort II, everyone was knocked out from E-45 Sumo-Man's crash except for the kiss robot. "Are you alright? Let me kiss and make it better" the kissing robot says off screen before it smooched Dr. Eggman. "Ahh... No... Don't... Stop it..." Dr. Eggman says, "Kiss. Kiss. Kiss..." the kiss robot says while Dr. Eggman growls.

Back at the race, the Rocket Car continued driving on the road.

Back inside thee Rocket Car, Sam checked his watch. "Wow! It's already lunchtime" Sam says before a cabinet opens to reveal a burger and a drink on a tray.

Back with Steven, he managed to catch up to Sam's rocket car at 75% speed. "Huh?" Steven asked as he saw something.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam take a bite on his burger with Steven watching. Sam then noticed Steven looking at him. "Hey, you want a bite?" Sam asked before he looks back at the sand road. "No thank you" Steven says before Sam takes another bite.

Back at the race, while Steven was speeding up, he was sweating and out of breath again while rubbing his stomach. "Not again! Now I am really hungry and thirsty this time. Thanks for asking, Sam! What am I gonna do now..." Steven asked, "Steven!" Sonic and Chris said at the same time off screen, getting Steven's attention. Steven turns around to see Sonic on the X-Tornado and Tails and Chris inside the X-Tornado. Chris also had a lunch box in his hand as he held it towards Steven. The lunch box opened to reveal an energy bar, an apple, a yogurt, crackers, a granola bar, a peanut butter sandwich, a fruit smoothie and a sports drink. "Ella packed a variety of healthy snacks and drinks for you!" Chris says, "Eat and drink up, Steven!" Sonic says before Steven was speeding towards Chris with a hungry look on his face. "Oh wow! Perfect timing! That all looks delicious. Thanks you, guys! Tell Ella that I said thank.." Steven says before the Rocket Car speeds pass Steven and the X-Tornado and it caused a lot of sand to fly all over them. The sand clears up to reveal Sonic, Chris, Steven, the lunchbox with the healthy snacks and drinks covered in sand. "...You" Steven says, "Oh" Sonic and Chris said at the same time.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam had a smirk on his face while having his eyes closed. "My bad, heh!" Sam says.

Back with Steven, Sonic glared towards the Rocket Car "That sneaky little...!" Sonic says before Steven dusted the sand off himself. "Okay, now I've just have had enough!" Steven says before he finished dusting himself off. "Sorry, Steven, see you at the finish line" Chris says, "Hang in there, Steven" Sonic says before the X-Tornado started to ascend in the air. "For sure!" Steven says while he struggled to speed up.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam looked serious.

Back with Steven, he also looked serious while grunting and struggling to keep the pace up.

Back inside the News Chopper, Scarlet continues to watch the race. "This road race is still up for grabs. As our racers prepare to speed through the canyon!" Scarlet says.

At the Canyon, Steven eventually caught up to the Rocket Car and they both make a big leap from an edge. Steven lands on the ground and runs down a steep hill with the Rocket Car keeping up with Steven. Steven and Sam then got to the Turning Point of the race and drifted. Steven and the Rocket Car then start to make their way back up the steep hill. After they got back up, they continued racing and driving.

At the stadium where the finish line was, everyone including Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Chris, Chuck, Ella and Mr. Tanaka were watching live TV as the live TV shows Steven and Sam continue racing. "Our racers have reached the halfway point and are now speeding back towards Station Square. Steven and Sam Speed are still running neck and neck" Scarlet says from the TV off screen while crowd was smiling along with Cream and Cheese. Mr. Tanaka, Ella, Chuck, Chris, Tails and Amy were getting nervous and Sonic was waiting in anxiety. "Come on, Steven. You can do it..." Sonic says in his head. While the crowd continued to cheer, the camera crew, the paparazzi and the Media were getting everything set up for the photo finish with Jerome watching them. Jerome then looks at his watch. "What's taking the President so long? The race is going to finish soon" Jerome says. Then Jerome's phone rings and he answers it. "Hello? What? But can't the President hold his emergency security meeting later? All right. If it can't be changed…" Jerome says before he hangs up. "I'll fill in..." Jerome says.

Back in Jerome's imagination, Jerome imagines himself shaking hands with the winner with the media taking pictures."It's just as well! I'm more photogenic than the President, anyway!" Jerome says off screen before it shows Jerome waving at the readers with people holding up signs for him from behind. "In fact, I'm more lovable than my boring boss, too!" Jerome says off screen before it shows the White House. "I can use this race to launch my own campaign. Then the world..." Jerome says off screen before it changes to the President's Office with the light faded. "...Will call me "Mr. President."!" Jerome says off screen before it shows him turning the office chair and shows him sitting down before laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Amy asked off screen.

Back to reality, Jerome heard Amy. "Huh? Huh? Jerome asked before looking at Amy. "Oh, nothing" Jerome says before he laughs again while Amy shrugs her arms and looks at the readers.

Back at the race, Steven and the Rocket Car just left the bridge.

Back inside the News Chopper, Scarlet saw this. "Now Steven and Manhen have crossed the bridge and are racing into the city..." Scarlet says.

Back at Downtown, Steven and the Rocket Car continued to race as they continue to make their way to the stadium. "and pulling out all the stops as they speed toward the Stadium!" Scarlet says off screen.

Back at the Stadium, the crowd cheers as they held up signs that represent Sonic and Steven

Back at Downtown, Steven and the Rocket Car continue racing with dust behind them. "Okay! It's time to go all out with 100% full speed!" Steven says before he started to run at 100% full speed.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam gasped as he saw Steven running so fast

Back at the Stadium, Chuck, Amy, Chris and Tails sweat nervously while Sonic continued waiting anxiously.

Back at Downtown, Steven continued running at 100% full speed with the Rocket Car following from behind as they were close to the Stadium.

Back at the Stadium, Mr. Tanaka, Ella, Cream and Cheese also sweat drop nervously.

Back at the race, Steven grunted as he tried to go a little faster with the Rocket Car almost catching up with Steven. "Almost there..." Steven says in his head while sweat was flying all over and him panting a lot.

Back at the Stadium, Sonic was starting to sweat drop a bit. "Just a little more, Steven" Sonic says, "Come on, Steven..." Amy says.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam has had enough with Steven being in the front. "All right... That's it! No more mister nice guy! It's rocket time!" Sam says before he turns a lever.

Back outside of the Rocket Boost, the Rocket Car blasts off like an actually Rocket. This caused the Rocket Car to drive pass Steven with a power boost. "Huh!?" Steven asked in shock before he started slowing down a bit.

Back at the News Chopper, Scarlet saw this in shock. "Look out! Manhen is pulling away!" Scarlet says.

Back at Downtown, Steven slowly stopped while he continued to watch the Rocket Car blast at Rocket speed while panting. "Wow... That's some speed... I was not expecting Sam to pull off a speed up like that... " Steven says before he puts his hands on his knees. Steven's sweat drops on the ground by a lot. "I... I thought I would have stood a chance against him... But I guess I just wasn't ready to go up against something like that..." Steven says before he rubs his stomach and throat. Steven's throat then got dry. "Crazy... I haven't eaten or drank anything all day... My throat is dry... My blood sugar is low... I... I... I... I just don't I have the energy to move anymore..." Steven says before he falls on his knees. "I... I guess this is what I get for putting my training and... And exercise to the ultimate test without preparing myself for what... For whatever was gonna happen to me... Now it looks like... I'll have to train even... Harder if I'm ever... Gonna keep up with that... That kind of speed..." Steven says before he uses his hand to hold himself up a bit. "Way to go, Sam... You're officially the fastest guy... On the planet next to Sonic... Who hoo..." Steven says before he collapsed on the floor with his eyes closed.

In Steven's head, there were images of people commenting about Steven losing and Sam winning with different feelings about, everybody except Sonic gave sympathy Steven, Dr. Eggman's laughter was heard and Sonic and Knuckles' telling Steven to not give up in different words. All this kept repeating in Steven's head until Steven grunted a bit.

Back in reality, Steven opened his eyes and they were yellow for a little bit following a growl. After a few seconds, Steven's eyes went back to normal. Steven then grunted as he tried to move. "Come on body...!" Steven says before he slowly got on his knees. "I've got to... to get... back... up!" Steven says before he opened his eyes again. Steven's eyes flashed yellow for a bit. Steven growled a bit before his quills raised up a bit. After a few seconds, Steven's eyes went back to normal and his quills went back naturally. Steven then got back up on his feet. Steven then started taking a few steps forward. As he did, he started jogging. Then after jogging, Steven started running and as he ran, he started to run faster every second he ran. Steven's running started leaving a huge dust path behind him with a burning trail on the ground.

Back with the Rocket Car, it continued driving super fast.

Back inside the Rocket Car, Sam grunted.

Back at the race, a bit far from the Rocket Car, Steven was also grunting as he kept running. The Rocket Car was the first to enter the Stadium before Steven was next to enter the Stadium too.

Back at the Stadium, Everybody gasped as they see the Rocket Car was about to go pass the finish line. Then suddenly, Steven appeared and lets out a shout before giving himself a big jump boost. As Steven did a jump boost, it gave him a boost close to the finish line. A black and white pause happened and it looked like that both Sam and Steven touched the finish line at the same time, but Steven touched the finish line inches closer. The black and white pause ended and the colors went back to normal. The Rocket Car and Steven ran pass the finish line with a huge smoke trail behind them. The crowd then cheered while continuing holding signs that represent Sonic and Steven. "Totally awesome!" a lady says in the crowd.

Back at the News Chopper, Scarlet also saw the whole thing. "Well, it looks like we have a tie! That was close!" Scarlet says.

Back at the Stadium, Steven collapsed on the ground again while the Rocket Car pulled over a bit and the windshield window opens. "The judges will examine photos to see if they can determine a winner" Scarlet says off screen before the Rocket Car opened the windshield window and Steven opens his eyes a bit. "Huh?" Steven asked before he looks at the big screen. "The result will be posted on the stadium monitor" Scarlet says off screen before the Stadium Monitor plays.

The Stadium Monitor showed the camera shots of the Rocket Car about to touch the finish line, but then another few shots showed Steven pop out of nowhere and do a jump boost. The camera shots then zoomed in to see who touched the finish line first. After a few shots, the shots revealed that Steven touched the finish line in just a minimum inch ahead of the Rocket Car.

Back at the Stadium, Steven saw all of it with shocked looks on their faces. "Amazing!" Scarlet says from the TV off screen while Steven was slowly getting up. "Steven not only caught..." Scarlet says from the TV off screen.

Back at the Rocket Car, Sam looked shocked. "...Up to Sam Speed, but he crossed the finish line first in just a short minimum inch" Scarlet says from the TV off screen.

The crowd then cheers with confetti flying around. "Steven is the winner!" Scarlet says from the TV off screen. The crowd cheered while continuing to hold up the signs that represent Sonic and Steven. Steven then looks around a bit while balancing himself. "Sonic...! Sonic...! Sonic...!" Steven says, "Steven!" Sonic says off screen. Steven turns around to see Sonic running up to him. "Sonic!" Steven says before Sonic ran up to him and put an arm around him. "You did it, buddy! You really did it" Sonic says, "Really?" Steven asked, "That's right, buddy! You did! I knew you would have won. Don't you think so too?" Sonic asked, "Too be honest, no... I didn't think I would pull it off... Because after I saw the Rocket Car blast off... I thought I wasn't gonna win and passed out... But after I remembered encouraging words from everyone... It caused me to get back up on my feet and kept going... After all that... I somehow did it..." Steven says, "Well I'm glad you kept all that in mind. Wasn't I right that you would win?" Sonic asked and Steven chuckled a bit. "Yeah... You were right, Sonic..." Steven says, "I'm really glad you won, Steven. Now you officially proved to everyone that you're one of the fastest people on the planet!" Sonic says before he patted Steven's back and Steven laughed a bit. "Wow... Thanks, Sonic... but I always say this... I couldn't have done it without you and everyone else's support..." Steven says, "I'm glad we did" Sonic says before he and Steven did a fist bump. "Congratulations, Steven! Oh!" Amy says before she gave Steven a neck hug. "Whoa!" Steven says as he was caught by surprise while Sonic chuckled a bit. "Uh, thanks, Amy..." Steven says, "I'm really glad you won the race so that's why I gave you a hug" Amy says and Steven chuckles a bit. "Oh. Okay, then. Thanks again, Amy" Steven says, "Oh, Steven" Lindsey says off screen. "Oh!" Sonic, Amy and Steven said at the same time as they turn around. Sonic, Steven and Amy see Nelson and Lindsey in front of them while Nelson clapped. "Well done!" Lindsey says before she gave the flowers to Steven and Steven accepted them. "Thank you, Mrs. Thorndyke, and it's nice to meet you too, Mr. Thorndyke" Steven says, "The pleasure is all mine, Steven" Nelson says before he knelt down. "I'm glad to officially meet you here" Nelson says before he and Steven shake hands. "Yeah, me too" Steven says before he turns to the right. Sam gives Steven a thumbs up and a wink before Steven gives one back. "Steven!" Jerome says off screen before he went up to Steven. "Huh?" Steven asked before looking up at Jerome. Jerome had his eyes closed while offering a hand shake to Steven. "That was just great!" Jerome says, "Oh. Thanks, Jerome. I'm glad you enjoyed the race too" Steven says before he and Jerome shook hands. As Steven and Jerome shook hands, Steven, Sonic and everybody else noticed a few flashes. "Uh..." Sonic says as he, Steven, Sam, Amy, Lindsey, Nelson, Chris and Chuck saw the media taking pictures of Jerome and Steven. Jerome then went up to Steven's ear. "Steven, keep shaking my hand so they can get good shots of us shaking hands!" Jerome says in whisper. "Uh... Okay, then..." Steven says in confusion while Sonic grunts towards Jerome. Jerome's cell phone then rings again. "Oh! Hold on, Steven" Jerome says before he answers his cell phone. "Hello? Oh, hi there, Vivian..." Jerome says before he sweat drips nervously. "What...? I'm fired for negotiating with Dr. Eggman!?" Jerome asked before the media were taking pictures of Jerome while chattering. Jerome then whines. "Oh! There's no way I'll be president now! VIVIAN!" Jerome says before he cries. Sonic then goes in front with an annoyed look on his face before shrugging his shoulders. "Who's Vivian?" Sonic asked in his head. "Hey, Steven!" Sam says before he went up to Sonic and Steven. "Hey, Sam. It was great racing with you" Steven says before he and Sam shook hands. "Thanks, Steven" Sam says, "No hard feelings for the both of us, right?" Steven asked, "Don't worry, Steven. It's all under the bridge. I just wanted to say congrats and apologize" Sam says, "Apologize for what?" Steven asked, "I shouldn't have judge you by saying you're not fast like Sonic as well as pull those sneak attacks on you. I was wrong, Steven. You're not just fast, your amazing" Sam says, "I am?" Steven asked, "Yeah. After this new engine came into development, my first thoughts were to race Sonic. But I didn't get to, but after you took Sonic's place, I thought it wasn't gonna be that great, but it turned out whole lot better than I originally thought!" Sam says, "Well I'm glad I could help" Steven says before he chuckled. "Cool. But hey, tell you what. The next time I get a new upgrade for my car, I want to challenge BOTH you and Sonic to race me at the same time. How does that sound?" Sam asked, "Sure, Sam. I'm up for it. What about you, Sonic?" Steven asked, "We'll see if it ever does happens" Sonic says, "Oh it will happen, Sonic. You both better give those feet and shoes a good work out because when it does happen, I'm not taking any chances waiting on both of you! Good luck!" Sam says before walking away. Steven then turns to Sonic. "Like I said before, he's one interesting guy" Steven says, "He sure is, Steven. He sure is" Sonic says before he and Steven laugh. "So Jerome negotiated with Dr. Eggman? When did that happen?" Steven asked, "I think when Eggman sent that kissing robot to force me to race. That could be it" Sonic says, "Well I hope Jerome finds another job then because I feel a little bad for him now" Steven says, "Don't worry too much about it right now, Steven. He made the choice to work for Eggman. It's not your fault" Sonic says, "I know, but still..." Steven says before Sonic puts a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Hey, listen. You've been through a lot today. You don't need to worry about anything else right now. Besides, who knows? He could get a job sooner than expected. So just relax and let's enjoy your victory for today" Sonic says, "...Alright, Sonic" Steven says, "Cool" Sonic says, "So do you think we have a chance against Sam next time?" Steven asked, "What kind of question is that? Of course we do! We're too fast for anything else" Sonic says, "Okay, if you say so" Steven says before he and Sonic let out another laugh as today will end with another huge victory for Steven.

Shining Road (光る道, Hikaru michi)

Clips were playing from the next Chapter/Episode. "Hey! It's me, Steven the Hedgehog! It's Summer Time and me, Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Chris, Helen, Danny and Frances are gonna enjoy this time by going to Mr. Tanaka's Home Town in Japan to have a summer camp. But as we were enjoying, Cheese went missing and it was up to us to go and find them! We went into two groups before we were greeted by something unexpected. A Chao Garden/Colony! While me and everyone else were playing with the Chaos', Dr. Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe were trying to enjoy their Summer Vacation, but they kept running into small problems. This caused Dr. Eggman to release another giant E-Series robot to stop us, but the Robot suddenly got into a slippery accident and it caused a big problem to happen in a river! We have to hurry and stop this before it is too late! Next time on Sonic X: Steven the Hedgehog! "Summer Vacation, a Chao Observation Diary" ("Little Chao Lost"). Samātaimuadobenchā ga hajimarimasu!" Steven says off screen as the current Chapter/Episode ends.