Sonic was sitting there. He had kept a bit to himself lately. He had tried to be happy for Amy and Knuckles, he really had... But, he found that hard, since he wanted Amy for himself.
Trust me to want what I can't have, as usual...
Sonic stood up and walked towards the door. He opened it quietly and sneaked out. Just as the door closed, a sigh was heard. The sigh was that of Amy's, who was standing at the stairs. She had been watching him in his thoughts. She greatly feared that things between her and Sonic wouldn't ever go back to how they were. This troubled her slightly. She valued Sonic dearly as a friend and - once upon a time - valued him as more than that.
This ain't right, maybe I follow him... find out how he is feeling...
Amy was about to put on her boots and trek out in her pyjamas without a second thought when a familiar voice in her head stopped her.
"Now, Amy, was there a second meaning to them words?" She cringed, it was that damn Gold again.
"What do you want?" Amy said to her.
"I want nothing but to calm your emotional storm.. I know things are difficult, but - one way or another - you will have to figure out who you love more..." The silky voice droned.
"Well. Smart ass, was it not you who said that it was Knuckles I loved?" Amy snapped at her alter ego.
"Well... Amy, I was trying to prevent you from heartache. Which I knew was iminent if you continued to chase Sonic. But now there are two doors wide open for you. Go for it!" Gold said with enthusiasm.
"What are you on about?" Amy asked, she got no reply "Damn that Gold!" Amy said as she slipped her boots off "I'll leave it 'til another time.." She said as she travelled back up the stairs.
--
Eggman sat in his seat examining his computer screen. Which indicated seven blips. Each one was a different Chaos Emerald colour. One he had. One Sonic had. And five others that are currently on the loose. The doctor gave the screen a hard glance.
"I could probably gather them easily. But getting Sonic's one will be exceptionally difficult!" The doctor said with a sigh.
If only I could get them all together in one place...
The doctor then grinned malevolently, he had the perfect idea. The Emerald Race cup.
--
The Chaotix were in their office. But instead of paperwork, they were playing cards. Much to everyone's surprise. Charmy got a full house.
"Damn it! It's impossible for me to be beaten by a 6 tear old!" Vector said as he launched his cards at the bee. Who ducked, the cards hit the television set and turned it on. They all gasped at the image that appeared on screen.
"Okay, Doctor Eggman here! This message goes out to Sonic and all his friends... Listen up..." The engrossed Chaotix got back into their seats and watched the image "I am proposing a tournament..." Mighty was instantly hooked. He would enjoy a good fight "But, of the racing kind!"
Espio raised an eyebrow "Surely he must know Sonic would win that..." Vector nodded.
Something's not quite right about this, somehow...
"Here is the deal, I have located the Chaos Emeralds!" Vector's suspicion instantly disappeared when he heard the mention of them, dollar signs instantaneously appearing in his eyes "If you are in, meet me at Ruins!" As soon as that was said, the the image disappeared.
--
Knuckles was sitting upon a cliff edge, watching the city and of course the giant screen and the announcement which had brought the town to life. The recluse Echidna had a confused - yet slightly happy - look on his face. He was so tempted to enter that competition it hurt. He refrained from it because he was generally quite a shy person. But then again, any chance to make Sonic look bad was a good one. Knuckles thought intently for a moment.
"I am in!" He proudly proclaimed with a wide-set grin. He then jumped off the face of the cliff and glided off.
--
Amy had woke the rest of the house up and they were all talking about the fast upcoming competition.
"Wow, sounds like real fun!" Chris said excitedly.
Amy nodded "That is why I am competing!" She said proudly.
"You are?" Tails asked, dumbfounded "But, Amy, you are nowhere near fast enough!"
Amy growled "Yea, yea. You won't be saying that while you are eating my proverbial dust!"
Tails laughed "You wish, you are about as fast as a tortoise!" Amy shrugged.
"You never read the tortoise and the hare?" She laughed. Tails laughed in response.
"Yes, but I am too hyper to sleep!"
Amy shrugged "Enough arguing. There is already one clear winner!"
Tails laughed "Sure is, Amy!" He said as he laughed. She laughed back.
"Well, don't come ill-prepared, because in the morning, you will all fall to my speed!" She said as she exited the room with a grin plastered on her face.
--
The doctor sat there typing into his computer. He was busy plotting the most efficient route through the newly discovered ruins which - after close examination - appeared to be those of the ancient Echidna race. Eggman wondered just how they had come to be here, and why they weren't sill on Mobius. But decided he would find that out at another time. The doctor had installed a basic weapons system on his Egg-O-Matic and had also fitted some faster engines. He realised that this competition would be hard without a little speed. He grinned to himself.
"When they arrive that Chaos Emerald is all mine!" The doctor looked at his computer "Looks like they are about to arrive.." He said as he sat there waiting.
--
Sonic skidded to a halt next to Eggman.
"So nice of you to join me..."
Sonic sighed "Really, the pleasure will all be mine after I take that emerald..." Eggman shook his head.
"Suit yourself, but we will see..." Just then they looked around as they heard a light thud. The sorta thud that sounded like two feet touching down. Looking around, they saw Knuckles the Echidna.
"Oh, Knuckles, what a pleasant surprise!" Eggman said warmly.
"Hiya there, Rad Red!" Sonic said as he regarded his rival with the silly nickname.
"How's it going, True Blue?" Knuckles greeted in return.
"Oh, did I tell you there were rules?" Dr. Eggman asked with a fake sincere voice.
"No." Knuckles replied, rather flatly.
"Well, you have to be in teams of four..."
Sonic grinned "Well, Knuckles, Amy and Tails are with me!" Knuckles slowly nodded in agreement.
"Well, I will introduce my team!" Eggman floated up "Team Egg!" Three robots come out of nowhere and stood there. Mecha Knuckles. An old-looking doll that resembled Tails, with a jewel on its head, aptly named 'Tails Doll.' An old and polished - yet very outdated - Eggrobo and - worst of all - Metal Sonic.
With tension thick enough to be cut with a knife, silence fell upon them as Sonic growled at his metallic copy. Who simply stared silently in return.
"So, you aren't even competing?" Sonic asked.
"Of course not! Why do dirty work, when I have dirty workers?" Eggman said with a laugh "And anyway, are your team coming?"
Sonic nodded "They sure are!" And on cue, Tails arrived with Amy through air "Hey there!" Sonic greeted, just then they were joined by the Chaotix.
"Hey Eggman!" Vector roared.
"You do know there is only four to a team..." Eggman asked rhetorically. Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Team?"
Sonic nodded "Yep, teams of four. I guess you are with us then..."
Amy sighed "What about Chris and Cream? They are going to be more than a little disappointed, aren't they?" They then heard someone clear their throat.
"No, actually, I could work with them!" They turned and saw Ray the Flying Squirrel.
"Thanks, Ray!" Amy said as she hugged him. The squirrel simply blushed.
"Hehe, it's nothing!" Amy released him from her glomp of death.
"Hey! Here they come now!" She pointed and saw Uncle Chuck, Ella, Helen, Chris, Cream, Cheese and Tanaka driving up in a car. Ella being the driver. Cream, Cheese and Chris then hopped out.
"Are you competing?" Eggman asked Chuck, Ella and Tanaka. They looked at each other before answering.
"Sure, why not?" Eggman nodded and hovered in front of the starting point as the team huddled together and as the car pulled up next to them.
"Ready? Set? GO!" He shouted as he floated above them.
--
Sonic grabbed Tails who grabbed Knuckles who grabbed Amy and the quartet sped off. Team Chaotix on the other hand were having a little trouble. Espio wasn't able to control the shifting weight of Vector, along with Charmy and Mighty.
"Vector, Mighty, I'll run as fast as I can, but you will have to steer us clear of danger," Vector and Mighty nodded simultaneously "Oh, and Charmy? You'll be able to fly us up if needed, won't you?" Charmy nodded.
"Yippidee-yappedy-doo! Sure will. Just say the word, Espio!" The bee added hyperly.
Team Thorndyke were doing surprisingly well. The combined strength of Ray, Cream and Cheese are able to carry Chris and so they had an advantage over most of the other teams. Eggman was flying through the air, when suddenly he felt some weight on his craft.
"Mind if we join in?" Rouge asked before pushing Eggman out of the way. Topaz did the same as she leapt down. Stuart just used his head as a stepping stone before touching down on ground. Nack done the same. Team Rogue had joined the fray.
Meanwhile, Team Ella were doing great. The car had powerful steering, even with corners as tight as this. Ella swerved another corner, almost throwing Chuck, Helen and Tanaka out of the car.
"Whoa! Ella, be careful!" Chuck shouted.
"If we are careful, they will be getting the upper hand!"
Chuck sighed "But we are all on the same side here..."
Helen shook her head "It isn't about the Chaos Emerald now, we have to win!" Ella nodded.
"That is right, sweetheart!" Helen grinned back at her.
Somewhere else in the ruins area, Team Egg were doing well travelling around at high speeds. Eggrobo eliminating any threats, Mecha Knuckles gliding over any water and Metal Sonic leading with speed, and the Tails Doll elevating them when needed. They were doing exceptionally well.
Back to Team Sonic, a bunch of badniks were on patrol. Sonic was a bit panicked. He wouldn't be able to steer out of the way. Amy boldly pulled out of Knuckles' grip and run forward. She swung her hammer and annihilated all the troublesome badniks. After that, she then linked back up with Knuckles and they run on.
With Team Chaotix, Mighty looked concerned as Espio had began to sweat quite profusely.
"Espio, you are wearing yourself out.." He said, the chameleon shook his head.
"No, I... am plenty full of... energy..." Espio struggled to say as he gasped and hyperventilated madly, Mighty shook his head and headed to the front.
"I'll take lead, Espio, you recover!" Espio being far too tired to simply nodded at his friend. Vector, all the while, had been steering the team out of harm's way, due to Espio's inability to do so. "Time to turn up the heat!" Mighty said as they charged on.
Team Thorndyke were on their last legs as Ray and Cream were exhausted but - in a swift motion - they went from airborne to running on solid ground. Chris holding Cream and Ray, Cheese being able to sit on his shoulder. They were still in the game, but very far behind.
Team Rogue however were doing great, leaping from treetop to treetop at great speeds, taking out any and all threats swiftly.
"Well, this is far too easy!" Topaz said as she tore through a badnik. Rouge nodded as she floored several. Stuart also took out one and lost his balance. Topaz grabbed him and dragged him along, as Fang jumped into the air and smashed several badniks of his own.
"Come on!"
Stuart grinned "Thanks!" She just acknowledged his thanks with a smile as they leaped from treetop to treetop.
"Not bad there, Fang!" Rouge said with a wink, he just winked back as they went on.
Meanwhile, Team Ella were doing great. Starting to even out a bit with Team Sonic, the car was dented and the passengers felt a little sick, but they were still raring to go, even Helen.
"That Chaos Emerald is ours! I smell victory!" Ella said in a sing-song voice. The others nodded at her enthusiasm. She was indeed cheerful at the prospect of winning the race, but wherever Sonic was concerned, the chances of winning a race were scarce.
"Come on, guys, the Chaos Emerald is mere seconds away!" Eggman called to them all, the other teams bit dust when team Egg and Team Sonic accelerated to the max and sped off.
--
Sonic and Metal Sonic entered speeds that broke the sound barrier, much to the dismay of all around them.
"You won't win this!" Sonic said as he pulled ahead of Team Egg, with all his team in hand. Metal Sonic tutted while doing the no-no finger at him.
"Think you have a chance? Watch this!" Metal Sonic shot ahead with a burst of speed, and Sonic was helpless to stop them.
"We have lost!" He shouted angrily.
"Not so, True Blue!" Knuckles jumped from Sonic's hands and glided forward barely managing to reach Metal Sonic and - with all his might - swung his right fist forward and punctured Metal Sonic's second engine, before liberating his fist from the robot's now useless engine. Smoke poured from the robot and it slowly began to deaccelerate passing Team Sonic and then - just about - levelled with Team Ella. The blue hedgehog grinned as Knuckles rejoined them.
"That was great, Knuckles!" Sonic said, they glanced ahead intently scoping out the Chaos Emerald that wasn't far from them. They then start dodging as they started getting shot at by Team Egg.
"Oh, Damn it! Do they never learn?" Amy said, with a low growl in her throat. Tails shook his head.
"Apparently not!" As the shots became more rapid and more targeted. Tails flew them upwards away from the blasts that were getting closer and closer to hitting home, they then panicked as the shots were level with them again, they looked around and saw that Tails Doll was keeping Team Egg airborne, Tails used expert agility to avoid any damaging shots from the robotic Vulpine.
"Oh, come on. That is pretty pathetic!" Tails taunted his copy, Tails Doll's red jewel started to glow and loads of badniks appeared from nowhere and began attacking the small group.
"Now what?" Knuckles sighed, exasperated. Amy on the other hand grinned.
"This scenario will work to our advantage!" She leaned over and whispered something in Tails's ear. He nodded. All of a sudden, Tails grabbed Amy, swung her around and threw her towards Team Egg. She brought her knees close to her chest and as she neared Metal Sonic's head, extended them, kicking the robot backwards considerably and shooting herself back towards her own team, who caught her. Team Sonic then returned to ground and run for the Chaos Emerald, which was just up ahead. They run at full speed and went for a dive and Amy managed to grab it and the team collapsed to the ground.
"That... was pretty intense.." Sonic said with raspy breath, they then turned around and saw the other teams arrived, but they noticed Team Egg and Dr. Eggman were not there.
"Oh, great!" Rouge whispered loudly "That Chaos Emerald should have been mine!" They all looked round and grinned, just then Bokkun appeared.
"Hi guys! The good doctor said that he is waiting for you at Silky Heights!" He then got an angry face "GET A MOVE ON!" He then flew up and away into the distance, Sonic got up.
"Well, time to go!" They all nodded and dashed off.
TBC