The car rapidly began to slow as it reached the end of the highway. "What the hell was that?" Vector whispered softly. "You just sped through three zones, going way over the speed limit- what the hell is wrong with you?!"
"We're here, are we not?" Espio asked as he turned on to the road into Casino Night Zone. "And at the start of day three, no less. Had I been slower, we wouldn't have gotten here until the start of day four."
"When I said 'hurry up,' I didn't mean violate every traffic law you can!"
"And yet you kept saying 'hurry up' approximately every two minutes for three miles as soon as we left city hall."
"I think I'm having a heart attack…" Charmy breathed.
"I really wish I could say we don't get paid enough for this job, but…" Bailey started.
"…No, we absolutely do," Tareq finished.
Espio rolled his eyes. "Grow up. We've arrived at our destination in a timely manner. Now we just have to figure out where the next Lieutenant is."
Vector held his head, feeling a migraine coming on. "Next time, I'm driving."
"You're far too big to handle the driver's seat in this vehicle."
"Ok, then next time Charmy's driving."
The bee poked his head through the middle and glared up at Vector. "Sorry, I think I'll wait until I'm better at parallel parking before driving with you in the car again."
The crocodile frowned. "Are you seriously doing this right now?"
"Doing what right now?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt the daily family shouting match," Espio interjected, "but I get the feeling we're close to our destination."
Charmy turned to face him, confused. "Wait, really? Why?"
The chameleon's eyes narrowed on something in the distance. "Call it a hunch."
The bee and crocodile looked out the front of the car. I'm the distance, there was a small warehouse with a sign that read "NOT A HIDEOUT" with a Mr. Beast logo right next to it. The two frowned.
"Well that's a trap," Vector said matter-of-factually.
"Yeah, even you can make that out," Charmy agreed.
"Exactly." The crocodile thought for a moment. "Hey, wait a minute!"
A cheeky grin crossed the bee's face. "Gotcha!"
"In spite of the obviously dubious nature of the structure," Espio said calmly, "it's also our only lead currently on the next lieutenant."
"I'm other words, go in there, but don't be dumb about it," Charmy stated. "Maybe we should leave the big guy outside, then. Who knows what kind of noise he'll make with that huge, clunky, hulking, out of shape frame?"
Without so much as an annoyed grunt or even a glance back at the bee, Vector silently put his hand on the bee's head and lightly pushed him into the backseat.
"ACK!" Charmy yelped, grabbing at his back. "Wings! The wings! I just slammed the sensitive part of my wings against this crummy pleather seat!" He reached desperately behind his back to rub a spot just out of reach. All the while, Vector kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, a soft smirk on his lips. Espio shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh, all while not taking his eyes off the road.
Soon enough, they pulled into a small parking spot on the side of the warehouse's building. The trio scouted out the area surrounding the warehouse while Tareq and Bailey recorded them. After around fifteen minutes, the group met back up in front of the building.
"Find anything?" Vector asked.
"There's a van nearby, presumably from the camera crew the next lieutenant brought with him," Espio reported.
"All the windows up there are completely blacked out," Charmy added. "Guess they didn't want the guy with super sensitive wings to peak in on what they were up to."
"Did you find anything of note?" the chameleon asked Vector.
"Not really," the croc shrugged. He pointed to the sidewalk. "There's a bra on the sidewalk over there, but I don't think that has anything to do with this challenge."
Charmy frowned. "Why would someone just leave a bra on the sidewalk in Casino Night Zone?"
Vector looked at him with a blank expression. "It's Casino Night Zone, kid. There's a reason they say what happens here stays here."
"Are we going inside or not?" Espio asked impatiently.
The crocodile shrugged. "As long as you take point, you're the best at detecting traps."
The group walked inside the warehouse, Espio taking the lead with the rest in tow. It was pitch black inside, even darker than when they entered the ruined Death Egg just days prior. "Does anyone have a light source?" Espio whispered.
"Sorry, I haven't been able to charge my phone since yesterday," Charmy whispered back.
"I think I left my phone back at the agency," Vector admitted in a hushed town.
"What about the cameras?" the chameleon inquired. "Are you filming with night vision right now?"
"Yeah, but for the sake of the video we're not really here," Tareq explained. "We can't exactly offer you any help when it comes to stuff like this."
Espio sighed. "Right, that makes perfect sense."
The group wandered a little more in the darkness for a bit, before Vector caught his foot on a cable. "Urk!" he yelled, loading balance and crashing into Espio. The chameleon gasped in surprise as the heavy crocodile fell on top of him, leading a loud thud on the ground and a yelp of pain from the chameleon. Almost immediately after that, there was a soft, distant snapping sound, followed by the lights turning on around them. Almost, instantly, their eyes were blinded by the light. Their ears, on the other hand, were suddenly filled with screaming and cheering. Vector got off Espio and helped him up as eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light. "You ok?" He asked.
"I'll live," Espio muttered, taking Vector's hand As the croc pulled him to his feet.
The group took in their surroundings. There were two sets of bleachers set up on either side of the room, filled with a bunch of people wearing Mr. Beast merchandise. In the back of the room stood a giant prize wheel. In the dead center of the room, stood a dog in a flashy suit with an opera mask resting over his eyes. He held his hand in the air in a position that signaled he had just finished snapping his fingers. He smirked at the trio in front of him.
"Ladies and gentlemen…" the dog yelled. "It's time for… Wheel! Of! Terror!" The crowd cheered and applauded the dog, who stood there and basked in the glory. Once they quieted down, he continued. "Starring yours truly as the host, Dr. Beast's third lieutenant- Chris!" The cheers erupted once again, and Chris took a bow and waved at the crowd.
"Well, this is new," Charmy said. "Not Chris taking in all this attention, no, I mean more of the whole game show angle. Never seen that wheel either."
"So, in other words, we have no idea what we're up against," Espio replied grimly.
"Guess we'll have to hear out the rules this time," Vector shrugged.
"Here on Wheel of Terror, one contestant at a time challenges me, the host, to spin the titular Wheel of Terror," Chris explained. "We each take turns giving the wheel a spin. The wheel can land on either a prize or a punishment! Landing on the prize gets you a prize! …Obviously. If you land on a punishment, you'll randomly have to perform a task or sit through a punishment before continuing!"
"Well that sounds like a pain in the ass," Vector grumbled.
"Shut up, he's talking!" Charmy hushed.
Chris continued. "Each player spins the wheel until one of them refuses to do a punishment or all the prizes have been claimed. The player with the most prizes wins! Alternatively…" The dog pointed a tiny sliver on the wheel. "…If you land on this section of the wheel, you automatically win the game and every single prize, even if your opponent has already won one!" Chris turned to face the Chaotix trio once again. "Now, please welcome our first- and potentially only- contestant!"
Charmy pointed to the stage. "Go get 'em, Vector!" he yelled.
The crocodile blinked, then turned to look at the bee next to him. "What?" he asked.
"Indeed, I wish you luck," Espio said, patting the crocodile on the back.
Vector turned to face the chameleon on the other side of him. "Huh?" He looked back and forth between the two men beside him, before shrugging and walking out onto the main floor. Some music kicked in and the crowd applauded and cheered as Vector shook Chris' hand. The two of them walked over to the wheel.
Up close, Vector noticed it was hooked up to an electrical display, presumably one that would display what you landed on. "Welcome to Wheel of Terror!" Chris yelled as the crowd died down. "Tell us your name, contestant!"
"Vector," the crocodile said awkwardly.
"Awesome! Nice to meet you, Vector! What do you do for a living?"
"Uhhh… I run the Chaotix Detective Agency… and in my free time I make song remixes and upload them on Spotify under the name 'DJ Vex,' I guess…"
"Ah, quite the variety! So what brings you here to the show?"
Nervous sweat began to run down the crocodile's neck. "Uhhh… to… kick your ass… and get the next clue?"
A bunch of "ooo's" erupted from the audience followed by more cheering. Chris almost seemed impressed. Charmy rolled his eyes. "Alright, straight to the point!" the dog said. "Well, let's not wait any longer! I'll be a gentleman and let you go first. Go on, give the wheel a spin!"
Vector walked up to the wheel and placed one of his giant, clunky hands on it. "Like this?" he asked, looking to Chris for approval.
The dog nodded approvingly. "Yeah, just like that! Go on, give it a big spin!"
The crocodile looked back at the wheel and shrugged. "Alrighty, then!" He pushed up with his hand a little bit before pulling down as hard as he possibly could and letting go of the wheel.
The crowd let out a cheer as the wheel began to spin at an unnatural speed, threatening to come flying off the hinges. Even as the crowd began to die down, the wheel kept on spinning, refusing to show any sign of slowing down. It continued to spin at a consistent speed for a few more minutes. Vector put his hand to his chin and looked at the wheel with embarrassment. "I… might have overdone it a little," he muttered. The wheel kept on spinning like that for another five minutes straight. By now, half the audience was staring blankly at the wheel, bored out of their minds, while the other half had begun to talk amongst each other.
"How is it even still spinning like that?" Charmy asked, perplexed. Espio opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as the bee held up his hand. "Don't you dare explain it to me." The chameleon frowned and crossed his arms.
A few more minutes passed with the wheel still not showing signs of slowing down. Vector turned to Chris. "Should I just, like, stop it? Or…"
"No," Chris responded almost immediately. "That's against the rules. It has to stop on it's own. Stopping it yourself is cheating."
The crocodile blinked, a look that could only be described as a 'resting bitch face' firmly spread across his mug. "Ok," he replied flatly.
About ten minutes passed before someone in the audience piped up, "Hey, look! It's slowing down!" Everyone looked at the wheel. Sure enough, it had slowed down dramatically. Everyone began paying attention to it again. The people in the bleachers sat on the edge of their seats. The anticipation was killing everyone. Finally, the wheel began to slow down to the point it could stop at any moment. Chris' eyes widened as he saw the direction the wheel was heading. "No," he gasped. Finally, the wheel stopped.
Loud, triumphant music blared out of a sound system nearby. The display screen read, "YOU WIN!" The needle rested firmly on the smallest sliver of the wheel. Vector had just won every single prize on round one, before Chris had even gotten a turn, and successfully won the game. The crocodile blinked. "Huh?" was all that escaped his lips. The crowd went crazy. Chris stood there, slack jawed and bug eyed, at a loss for words.
Charmy grabbed the sides of his head, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. "WHAT?!" he screamed.
Espio raised his arms in shock, the look on his face not much different from the other two. "What the f-" he started, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Inner peace," he mumbled. "Inner peace… inner peace…"
Chris rubbed his face to bring himself back to reality. "Alright, well…" he said with a defeated sigh, "just bring out the whole prize table, I guess." Soon enough, some staff rolled out a table with a bunch of items on top of it. The crowd applauded as Vector picked through the items. A whole box of Feastables brand chocolate bars. A case of a thousand dollars. A case of five thousand dollars. A golden card with the Mr. Beast Burger logo on it.
Vector held the card, confused. "What's this supposed to be?" he asked.
"Oh, that's the, as of now, one-of-a-kind Mr. Beast Burger Gold card," Chris explained. "If you want Mr. Beast Burger, just call us up and it's automatically paid for you."
"Does it expire?"
"No."
The croc grinned as he eagerly put the card in his wallet. "I like the sound of that!"
Charmy rolled his eyes. "Cheap bastard…" he muttered.
Vector continued to look through his prize pool. Some Mr. Beast merchandise. A voucher for a ten thousand dollar donation to a charity of your choice in your name. A vintage set of wispons from the resistance that formed during the time Eggman controlled the world. Lastly, there was a plush of none other than Tails on the very end. He looked just like how he did when he was younger. The crocodile smiled as he picked up the plush. "Hey, I know this guy!" he said with a laugh. "What's he doing here? Seems a little out of place in this line up."
"Oh, that's a vintage one that came out nine years ago to celebrate Eggman's sentencing," Chris explained. "If you squeeze it, he talks!"
"Really?" Vector squeezed the Tails plush.
"Everyone calls me Tails!" the plush said in the voice of the kitsune, albeit quite younger. "You're probably wondering why!"
"He hasn't sounded like that in ages!" the crocodile laughed. He squeezed the plush again.
"You're going down, Eggman!" Squeeze. "The world is safe, all thanks to Team Sonic!" Squeeze. "Let's go for a ride in the Tornado!" Squeeze. "Hold on everyone, I'm gonna do an aileron roll!" Squeeze. "Personally, I prefer the air!"
"You're waaaaay too easily entertained by that stuffed toy for children, old man!" Charmy yelled.
Vector smirked. "Jealous?" he asked. "You can have it if you want…" His eyes narrowed. "…Kiddo."
The bee shook his fist angrily at the crocodile.
"There's no way we'll be able to take all of this stuff in the car," Espio noted. "Can you send these to the agency?"
"Sure thing!" Chris replied, giving a thumbs up.
"Ok, but I'm taking these with us," Vector said as he picked up the suitcases. "And this thing, as well." He held out the Tails plushie.
Charmy groaned. "Just tell us the riddle so we can leave already, will ya, Chris?"
"Oh, yeah!" Chris yelled, smacking his head. "Ok, ok…" He cleared his throat. "Your journey has taken you far and wide, but the doctor knows just how to hide. To put an end to his wild mayhem, you must return to where it all began."
Vector frowned. "We have to go all the way back to that stupid loop in Green Hill again, don't we?" he asked.
"I'm gonna put my money on 'yes,'" Charmy replied.
"We could get there by the middle of the night if we're in a rush," Espio said, eyeing Vector. "Or we could drive until we get tired and stop at a motel for the night. We've only been here just over an hour and we still have two days left."
The crocodile smiled at the chameleon. "Espio, buddy, amigo, tomodachi. Please, for the love of Chaos, take your time."
Author's note: This one was a bit of a struggle for me, hence why it's a little late. Hope you guys are excited for more Tails and Amy, the next chapter is a big one I've wanted to write for a good long while. The next Chaotix chapter will either be the last one and it will be a big one, or it will be on the smaller side and part five will be the last one. Either way, I've got a good idea how the rest of this story is going to go. I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far, it means a lot. Oh, and to that Guest review- there will be an epilogue chapter. No spoilers, but stay tuned for that. Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a review. See you all later.
