A firework display goes off in the COPE obstacle course as it was about ready to commence in front of the live crowd. The competitors in the race were making their way over and lined up at the starting line. All of them became busy stretching their limbs to get themselves flexible, eager for the event. The audience's stands had become packed with mobians of all ages, and everything was finally ready for the racers to give them a much better performance throughout this race.
Tails, however, became slightly distracted due to his recent encounter with his bullies, who were each on opposite sides that glared him down. He stayed behind where Sonic stood by the track, trying to collect himself for this moment. He remembered his speedy hero's words to him about how much it means to be somebody very talented, even if they've come out differently than most people.
When Sonic notices Tails' behavior, he pats his shoulder. "Yo, big guy, what's up with you?"
"O-Oh! Nothing, Sonic!" Tails shook his head, shrugging off Sonic's concern. "Just checking out the scenery for our race, that's all."
When Sonic's expression remained serious, Tails decided to concede himself to the speed hero. "Okay, okay, I get it! I know nobody said it'll be easy, and I'm a little afraid of what my friends will do during this event. I mean, you're the Blur Blur, and I'm just some weird fox with a mutation. I've been trying to make friends with them, but I'm always such an idiot-!"
"Tails, you little pipsqueak, who are these goons kidding when you can beat anything they have? I mean, look at them!" Sonic interrupted his foxy friend with a smirk, picking at his teeth to watch the bullies with their piloting vehicles. "Seriously, these guys are our competition? A couple of slow-mo pinheads with junky-jalopies? Of course, they seem a little better, but still, no contest against us and just wasting your time."
Sonic then smirked in a smug mood as he nudges Tails with his elbow. "I mean, come on, don't these bozos know who they're up against here?"
"Haha, me?" Tails nearly laughed at Sonic's enthusiasm, earning a smile from the speedy hedgehog.
"See? Then you got this, big guy! You got to get your head in the game if you want to do this thing. I know you got it in you, so stop worrying so much about impressing everyone around you. Just do you." Sonic replied, quickly drawing his attention firmly onto Spring Yard's obstacle course ahead of him.
Tails knew that there was nothing to worry about right now for his own sake. His tormentors were going to see how much he could become to mobians, and Sonic was in the race too. That left Tails to only think about winning this race for the hidden determination that he built up to this point. He could worry about his bullies later after he tries to win the race, which might be easy for someone like Sonic if he succeeds as well. The crowd cheered as Breezie appears outside while tugging on her white gloves.
Finally, ready to announce the commencing of the obstacle course, Breezie stands by the starting line as she speaks into the microphone. "Come one, come all, to Spring Yard's COPE obstacle race! Right now, we have these fine contestants here today. They're all competing for a ten thousand dollar cash prize, as well as the Chaos Emerald!"
All of the mobians began to cheer with delight as a golden trophy had gotten shown to the crowd.
She walks over to where Sonic stood, proud of himself as he made two peace signs with his hands. "In the corner right here is our mysterious newcomer: The Blue Blur!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as they made loud claps in response to Sonic's cocky yet heroic attitude. His expression still showed that confidence as he could hear fangirls in the crowd begging to get a picture and asking for an autograph sooner or later. While Sonic smiled back at the excited crowd, he soon notices Breezie coming over to introduce his twin-tailed friend.
"Well, well, well. Who is this? A little shy, are we? No matter! The next newcomer over here, a young, cute underdog with big hopes and dreams: Turbo Tails!"
Once the revelation had become done by Breezie, this made Tails' face turn into a deep scarlet and stuttered out as attention was on him. The audience seemed to get mixed between agreeing or disagreeing with the strange arrival of a young fox with two tails. Some of the crowded mobians then burst into shouts, questioning the twin-tailed boy's appearance until it made Tails try to ignore the people and their opinions on him.
Even Bearenger stared wordlessly at his pathetic punching bag alongside Falke and Carrotia. But surprising enough, Tails began to copy the way his speedy idol does and posed like some big shot superhero, which causes Sonic nearby to beam at him as a sign of respect. From that act, Breezie could see that the crowd began applauding much more powerfully this time. Her eyes widened, then a smile cracked on her face before continuing onward with the other contestants.
First, there was Falke, who giggled as he revved the engine of his yellow hoverbike that can toss mines and float in midair.
Next up, Carrotia was now piloting a small vehicle that resembles a carrot that can shoot crossfires of small carrot-shaped homing missiles, as well as exploding kiss-shaped blasts of pink energy by blowing a kiss.
Lastly, Bearenger was conducting a small, light blue rocket with a shark's face painted on it and can fire tiny projectiles.
Robecca was also standing nearby, smiling as she held a blank starter pistol, explaining. "There are no rules in this race, except to stay on the marked course. On your marks…!"
On a large board, the screen countdown from ten as Sonic and Tails waited patiently so the race can start. Each racer began to prepare themselves the moment they step back at their positions, ready to race through Spring Yard's obstacle course. Sonic was already circulating his feet hastily while in a standstill, while Tails spun up his namesakes like a helicopter with enough speed like Sonic. When the large board reaches zero, that was the initiation.
"Get set...GO!" Robecca then finally fires the starter pistol into the air, signifying the starting time.
All the competitors surged forward, with Sonic taking the lead as he could feel all his worries and doubts fly away from him with the wind. But even though he was already quite ahead of everyone else, he slowed just the slightest bit to allow a few racers to pass. After all, what fun would a race be if there wasn't any challenge at all?
"And we're off! It's every mobian for themselves now!" Breezie's voice sounded off from the microphone.
"This…this is exhausting! How is he able to keep going at a maximum rate? Maybe if I…!" Tails pondered in thought before swinging his twin-tails faster this time and traveling alongside Sonic.
The duo was already the first to take the front while the hovercrafts are behind. Not to mention the Fly-Bots that were all secretly following the racers for video recording on a widescreen show, specifically Sonic and Tails. Speaking of the blue hedgehog, he couldn't help but grin at how much impressive speed the two-tailed fox had when propelling himself.
"Huh, this small-timer's keeping up with me pretty good. Nobody's been able to do that with me before. Well, as long as this kid sticks by me, he won't worry about those so-called friends of his. All he has to do is keep up in this race." Sonic deliberated as he looks a little surprised at how fast Tails was and can keep up with him.
Sonic soon came to rethink that thought as he and Tails almost got hit by one of Falke's mines. But the blue hedgehog swerved with the young fox beside him, causing it to collide into a wall nearby.
"Heh, don't get too pumped, you bunch of loonies! We're just cruising along here!" Sonic smirked at the deranged wolf, who giggled sinisterly at the duo.
"Oh, look, it's a hedgehog! Tee-hee, hedgehogs! I like hedgehogs! Hedgehogs are fun! YAY, FOR FUN! I LIKE FUN! Woohoo! Yeah! Are you a hedgehog? Cause you look like a hedgehog! Hedgehogs generally look like hedgehogs! YAY! I have to put you to sleep now! Yay for sleep! Yay, in general! YAY!" Falke rambled quickly, looking like he had eaten enough candies to cause a major sugar rush.
"Okay, this guy is scaring the heck out of me...!" Sonic continued to run away with Tails beside him.
"Aw, I'm not scary! I'm fluffing adorable! Don't you think so? CAUSE I DO! And so do so many people who I don't know! YAY! I LIKE SAYING YAY! Do you? Yay!" Falke proceeded to shoot mines at Sonic and Tails multiple times on his hoverbike.
The duo kept their pace as they struggled to evade the wolf's mines, and still in the lead with each tormentor hightailing after them. Both Sonic and Tails kept their pace next to each other, approaching a set of floating blocks moving over a deep gap. The racers will have to proceed carefully between these large blocks as the outer ones move oppositely to the middle ones. Sonic knew that it would be too easy to get caught just between the edges.
"Blue Blur and Turbo Tails are in the lead, and they're now approaching the first obstacle: the Crush Cubes! Timing is crucial here to avoid getting squashed like a pancake!" Breezie's voice boomed.
Soon, Sonic and Tails started leaping on top of the boxes, with Sonic slightly in the lead. All while Carrotia is clinging to one of the blocks in the very back, looking nauseous.
"Th-this isn't at all what I had in mind!" Carrotia complained.
"News flash, little miss schoolgirl! You snooze, you lose!" Sonic smirked at the white rabbit, who looked away for her goon friends to arrive.
Tails nearly giggled at Sonic's antics as they allowed themselves to slowly make their way down the long shaft by carefully stepping from one block to another. As for the bullies, though, they had a tough time fitting themselves through with those hovercrafts of theirs, leaving Bearenger to curse loudly at Sonic and Tails up ahead.
"AARRGH! I'LL CLOBBER YOU FOR THIS! I'LL MAKE YOU FAIL SO HARD YOU'LL DIE UNDER MY SHOE!" The grizzly bear screeched arrogantly, with his sharp teeth bared.
"Oooh, he's gone bad to the bone! Hee-hee-hee~!" Falke tittered, earning a smack on his head by Carrotia.
"Cool it, you two, we won't disappoint Wendy when she told us to enter the race and win the Emerald! Now that we have to correct our mistakes, that fox is so not crossing that finish line." Carrotia said as the two goons shut up.
Finally hopping down below, the duo made access to much narrower internal passages that feature several spiky traps and steep slopes on the entrances and exits. As Sonic and Tails hurried through a section, passing a couple of dangerous spiky objects, they stopped short at a squad of Buzz-Bombers appearing out of nowhere onto the track, each one with a spiked ball and chain attached to their abdomens.
"Well, look what we have here! A few of our fans have turned the tables on our little game!" Breezie's voice sounded once more, much to both Sonic and Tails' annoyance.
"Of course, Butt-Nik's gone and given these beeswax-droppers some new kicks!" Sonic frowned, suddenly getting his hands full by dodging spiky balls flung at him by the Buzz-Bombers.
The bee-based Badniks began rapidly swinging the spiky balls on Sonic, who dodged around left and right before he tucks into a ball and smashes several of the Buzz-Bombers. However, even more of these bee-based Badniks showed up, buzzing around to hold Sonic at one spot. Watching Sonic avoid any such harm from the bee-based Badniks, Tails couldn't help but wonder why the doctor's creations were attacking him and Sonic. Not to mention the fact when the speedy hero spun into a ball and destroyed one Buzz-Bomber, and saw a little critter escape from it.
"What the...? Why are there animals inside of the Badniks? Dr. Robotnik told me that they were programmed to help the world! What's going on here?!" Tails pondered loudly within his thoughts.
Nevertheless, some of the Buzz-Bombers gave their attention to Tails, who was still in his racing persona, causing him to back away a bit.
Tails dropped his persona and pleaded fearfully. "W-Wait, Badniks, stop fighting! It's me, Miles-!"
Suddenly, Bearenger piloted his rocket vehicle to strike Tails harshly down from behind, and the other contenders took their opportunity to leap ahead, unbothered by the Buzz-Bombers. Meanwhile, Sonic's eyes widened as he whirled around to see Tails' bullies emerge from the blocky trail behind him.
"HAHA! THAT'S RIGHT, EAT MY DUST, FREAK!" Bearenger snickered cruelly, with Falke tittering in acknowledgment.
"Aww, you look so sad! Some candy will cheer you up, freak-boy! It most certainly cheered me up! I like candy! CANDY IS SO GREAT!" Falke blew a raspberry at Tails, chucking some sweets harshly at his face.
"Bye-bye, cuties! It's every mobian for themselves!" Carrotia gloated as she blew a kiss at the duo.
"Hey, that's cheating! Get back here!" Sonic shouted at the eccentric goons, watching them laugh wickedly at their amusing ways to get ahead.
"It's anything-goes in Spring Yard! The other contestants are in the lead while Blue Blur and Turbo Tails are left to strive, but it's anyone's game now!" Breezie speaks into her microphone while Sonic struggled with the Buzz-Bombers' balls on chains.
"Okay! You're not helping, lady! That'll be enough of that!" Sonic then curls into a spiky ball and rams into several more Buzz-Bombers, destroying them as cute animals pop out of them.
"Tails?" Sonic shouted back over where Tails remains, raising an eyebrow credulously at how silent yet troubled he's acting right now. "TAILS! Get a hold of yourself! We gotta get going!"
"H-Huh, w-what? Oh, right! Sorry!" Tails questioned, snapping out of his anxiety while sounding a bit alarmed by this discovery.
Sonic watched as Tails makes his way over to follow the speedy hedgehog. But suddenly, on cue, a trapdoor opened up beneath Sonic's feet until he got dropped down a dark chute. Sonic screamed as he fell inside, alarming Tails when he tries to catch his idol's hand, only for the trapdoor to close shut before anything else happens.
"SONIC!" Tails shouted with a hint of fright in his voice, staring at where Sonic was getting taken to right now.
But much of that would have to wait for Tails as fewer Buzz-Bombers tried attacking him from behind, just in time for the young fox to jump out of the way. Stepping back for this moment, Tails quickly pulled back his hood and placed his goggles back onto his forehead until each Buzz-Bomber stopped altogether.
"Y-You know me, d-don't you?" Tails muttered.
The bee-based Badniks scanned the young fox's appearance for a few seconds and buzzed off someplace elsewhere, leaving Tails to glance at where the trapdoor remained.
"Don't worry, Sonic. I'll do something about this!" Tails pondered about the whole thing that had just happened, remembering that there was no time to be a crybaby. "I'm going to win this race! That's right! I can do this! Even without Sonic, I can keep calm all on my own!"
Tails had a look of determination to replace his fearful expression previously, knowing every detail of what he has to do now: win this race just like his idol said he would do. He had already made up his mind. Tails energetically winded his namesakes once again before blasting off at full speed down the racetrack, hoping to find Sonic once this is all over.
"You followed me and saw me change into my true identity, mobian! Now, you die!" Meta-Morphia intends to crush Bunnie, having turned her hand into a giant hammer.
Bunnie gritted her teeth as she flinched, using enough of her energy to bounce off to the side when Meta-Morphia pounded through the ground and caused a tiny tremor. Meta-Morphia scoffed and then raised her hands, two metallic blades morphing from her arms to prepare for battle.
"You're not gettin' away with that Chaos Emerald, you clodhopper!" Bunnie frowned.
"Oh, please," Meta-Morphia mocked. "I've been able to trick you and that stupid little princess an hour ago. What makes you think you have a chance against one of Dr. Robotnik's elite?"
"Because missy, I've already found you out soon after that creepy gig of yours earlier," Bunnie remarked, flexing her robotized arm with a fist. "I also busted a lot of bots all day here and there. So it's easy to assume that you're tryin' to be the bee's knees for some egg-shaped fat boy."
"NEVER INSULT DR. ROBOTNIK'S NAME, MOBIAN!" Meta-Morphia growled lowly. "You've all faced something like his power before, considering your robotized status as of now?"
With that comment, Bunnie's heart ached like mad as she nearly felt like a part of her had almost died, creating a scowl on her face as tears welled while Meta-Morphia giggled evilly.
"Struck a nerve, didn't I?" Meta-Morphia grinned wildly. "Well, why don't you use your robotized powers, thanks to your most wonderful ruler, and take the Emerald from me-?"
Bunnie became saved the trouble the moment when Sally's explosive arrow, who saw Meta-Morphia get blown off through a tree as she ran to her rescue.
"Bunnie, are you okay?" Sally asked worriedly as she then leaned in closer to inspect her best friend, who nodded quietly.
When Sally noticed Bunnie had tears wiped from her eyes, she looked at her softly yet firmly for an answer. "What did that thing do?"
But much had to be done once Meta-Morphia climbed out of her impact spot. She transformed into an orange-like monstrosity and tried to claw at the princess. Thankfully, Bunnie quickly glared over at Meta-Morphia, unleashing a spinning kick that struck the shape-shifting Badnik's left cheek.
"Good work, Bunnie." Sally admired.
"Shucks! Don't mention it, Sally-Girl." Bunnie rolled her eyes with a slight blush.
"Now, what did you hope to gain by posing as a random girl, whoever you are?" Sally was then giving Meta-Morphia a death glare as she held her bow and arrow.
"Dr. Robotnik sent me to disguise myself, gain each of your trust, and destroy you ONE BY ONE!" Meta-Morphia pointed at the princess before lunging after the two girls. "NOW IT LOOKS AS IF I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL AT ONCE!"
"Look out!" Bunnie warned. "She's chargin' again!"
Meta-Morphia had every intention of doing just that, and she raised her claw. But Sally was too quick and silently shot the shape-shifting Badnik with her arrows, completely pinning all of Meta-Morphia's limbs to a tree. Meta-Morphia's head shot up, and her eyes took on a wild look as if she was getting ambushed. Then, Sally begins to aim a bomb arrow directly at where Meta-Morphia endured.
"Give us back the Emerald you stole, NOW!" Sally's glare hardened as Meta-Morphia smiled nervously at the furious princess.
Hesitating, Meta-Morphia struggled herself out before reverting and made a run for it across Jungle Labyrinth. Each with a frown on their faces, the two girls pounced their way to chase after Meta-Morphia while she held the blue Chaos Emerald. Meta-Morphia moved onward at a fast pace, where Sally pretty much had enough and shot off an arrow straight after Meta-Morphia, who dodged it.
Meta-Morphia then jumped to seize after one of the trees, but Bunnie grabbed both Meta-Morphia's legs. That caused her to do a small roar and land on the ground. She looked up to see that Sally was getting closer, as Meta-Morphia then turned back at Bunnie and kicked her hands away to do a slide-kick to her feet, but Bunnie backflipped.
The southern belle slid underneath, grabbing Meta-Morphia's arms and pulling her under until crashing on her back. Meta-Morphia growled at Bunnie before her face dropped in shock to see the smug rabbit holding out the blue Chaos Emerald in success. The shape-shifting Badnik then turns into an amorphous mass of orange goo, surprising Bunnie to her core.
"Oh, my stars!" Bunnie exclaimed as she stood back a bit.
"I can quickly take any shape, you outlaws! How well can you fight in sticky goo?" Meta-Morphia smiled as if nothing weird is going on, wrapping her clinging tendrils onto the muffled Bunnie to release the Chaos Emerald.
"Well, I'm sure I can stir things up a bit!" Sally quickly took her bow and shot Meta-Morphia with two bomb arrows.
Each small explosion caused Meta-Morphia to cry out and let go of Bunnie on the ground, who eventually gasped for a breath of air. As she begins to recuperate herself, the southern belle snatched a nearby vine that was long enough for Sally to grab the other side. The two of them then started sprinting around Meta-Morphia, wrapping the vine all around her to prevent her from escaping while she protested.
"Sorry to give you the ol' runaround..." Bunnie smirked when she finished sprinting. "...but you've gotta face the fact that you just got outnumbered!"
And with that, Bunnie used all her might to pull the vine and cause Meta-Morphia to twirl extremely fast until she collapsed, dizzily.
"C-Curse you, Freedom Fighters! But I'm still lucky enough to have the Chaos Emerald!" Meta-Morphia murmured, getting herself back up with the gemstone in hand.
Shaking off the daze with a slight groan, Meta-Morphia reverted again before retreating to climb up a giant waterfall up ahead by jumping from platform to platform. Sally and Bunnie quickly pursued Meta-Morphia where Jungle Labyrinth's enormous waterfall took place, having Bunnie hoist Sally alongside as she hopped onward. Increasing with enough energy from her robotized abilities, Bunnie carried Sally along the trip up the platforms left to right.
"Bunnie," Sally told her best friend, reloading an arrow to her bow. "I need you to throw me up onto one of the stages so I can catch up to the Badnik!"
"Gotcha, Sally-Girl!" Bunnie replied before letting out a loud shout. "YEE-HAW!"
After Sally's direct order, the southern belle used her robotized arm to spin like a tornado and shot her leader beyond ahead to soar after Meta-Morphia. The shape-shifting Badnik clenched her teeth in a frightful rage as Sally shoots an arrow through one of the platforms underneath Meta-Morphia's next step, causing her to slip off with a shriek.
By the time Sally landed on a platform where Meta-Morphia was beneath her, the shape-shifting Badnik morphed her arm into a grappling hook to seize one of the rocky stagings. And with a snarl, Meta-Morphia bounced straight up until she uppercuts the princess in the chin, sending her flying to the very top of the waterfall.
Grunting, Sally soon picked herself up from the ground and ran over to check if Meta-Morphia was coming up next. The princess kept an arrow on the bow as it points directly towards the same stepping spot, fully ready to take on Meta-Morphia when the chance comes. However, surprisingly enough, Bunnie's organic hand seized onto the waterfall's peak and gasped for a turn to puff some air in her lungs.
"A-A l-little...help, Sally?" Bunnie wheezes as Sally descends her bow and arrow to grasp both her best friend's hands.
"Bunnie, are you okay?! I thought you were still down below when you threw me! Where did that Badnik go?" Sally exclaimed, using enough of her strength to pull Bunnie up onto the surface.
"S-She nearly tripped me, though, I got here as fast as I could! I thought I saw Meta-Morphia change form from a rocket into a thistle! It's over the edge of the waterfall!" Bunnie interpreted as best as she could, though Sally was still a bit dubious of how quick her best friend got here.
"Okay, I'd better take a look then!" Sally said with a glare, stepping a bit close enough for her to find no sight of anything below the waterfall. "There's no sign of a thistle, Bunnie...or should I say...!"
Before Sally could say anything more, the copy's robotized arm became morphed into a scythe blade and lunged after. "TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, PRINCESS!"
Thankfully, Sally's other hand caught the morphed robotized arm as the fake counterpart reverted into Meta-Morphia. As the shape-shifting Badnik had pinned down Sally and was about to stab the chipmunk girl through the eye, she kept the scythe blade away to prevent any harm.
"Grr, Bunnie is never that helpless! What did you do to her?" Sally struggled against Meta-Morphia's powerful grip.
"Bad luck for your half-cyborg friend! And now, it's all over for you, princess! Dr. Robotnik's plans will come to fruition by the time you and your little Freedom Fighters are right in the palm of his hand." Meta-Morphia scowled at her while the blue Chaos Emerald was in her other hand.
"S-Shut up! We will always be able to stop him, just like Sonic will too! I already trust him just as much as he trusts me to put an end to Robotnik's plans and his contraptions like you!" Sally countered back at the shape-shifting Badnik, who just so happens to giggle at such absurdity.
"Do you believe that you can trust that miserable hedgehog? Robotnik should've known that he was nothing more than a deceitful punk, especially for the poor life he had spent in once was Mobotropolis!"
"W-What are you talking about?" Sally asked through gritted teeth, yet somewhere in her mind was wondering what the shape-shifting Badnik implied.
"The hedgehog had lied to you, princess. Robotnik's plans for Mobotropolis were going to be perfect! Until that annoying klutz showed up and ruined everything, filled him with such EVIL! Robotnik will get payback at the hedgehog for doing this to him! Mobius all shall feel pain as my master feels NOW!"
Sally's expression stayed firm, yet it started to crack a bit when hearing Meta-Morphia speak about Sonic like that. She didn't know what to believe right now. Meta-Morphia mentioned that Sonic lived in Mobotropolis with Charles. The speedy hero had lied to her and Bunnie somehow.
Sally could tell from Sonic's actions when he told them about his story, whether personally or in terms of his family of related inferences. Before Sally could ponder a bit more, her eyes sneakily took a glance down to see Bunnie's stretched robotic arm wrapped around Meta-Morphia's ankle.
"Well, then go ahead and tell your master how Mobius feels about his plans!" Sally shouted, knowing that she needed to get away from the shape-shifting Badnik.
Perplexed, Meta-Morphia didn't quite catch Sally's words until Bunnie flung her to the air above them. Using enough time to step herself back up, Sally aimed and shot an arrow to strike the Chaos Emerald out of Meta-Morphia's claws. Having Bunnie's stretched robot arm come forth and catch the gemstone naturally, the duo moved away as Meta-Morphia impacted onto her feet to cause a tiny tremor.
The shape-shifting Badnik turned around to snarl, "WHY YOU! GIVE ME THE EMERALD-!"
An immediate crack came from beneath Meta-Morphia's feet and started to break off as she suddenly begins to slip away from the waterfall's peak. Her eyes could only widen in confusion and fear before shrieking and falling off the enormous waterfall down below the bottom of the river.
"I WLL GET YOOOOU...!" Meta-Morphia manages to yell out before disappearing.
Sally and Bunnie panted after watching the shape-shifting Badnik trip and fell from their viewpoint. They both step over to the edge of the waterfall again and then glance at each other, embracing with relief that they are okay.
"You good, Sally-Girl?" Bunnie asked shakily.
"Yes, of course," Sally answered, yet everything that had transpired now had stressed her deeply as she tries to hide it. "Bunnie, we got the Chaos Emerald, right?"
"That's right, Sally," Bunnie held out the Chaos Emerald that had an azure glow in her robotized hand, in which Sally quickly checks the gemstone.
"Good...that's good." Sally nodded, seeming a bit downcast to Bunnie's attention.
"You sure you're okay, Sally? We got the Emerald back, and we only need to find one of them chunky Super Badniks too." Bunnie asked as she puts a hand on her shoulder, receiving a single nod from her best friend.
"I know, I know, I'm just a bit...overwhelmed, but I'm fine for now. Thank you, Bunnie. We'll have to keep moving until we find the Super Badnik. Come on, Bunnie, let's get down there." Sally stated, earning a concerned nod from the southern belle.
"Anytime, Sally-Girl."
With Sally and Bunnie making their way to where the ancient ruins are, they soon found the entrance, which merely was a square-shaped gaping cave on the peak of the waterfall. It was also a gateway to the deadly danger-filled cryptic maze shrouded in mystery and surrounded by drowning waters. As Sally and Bunnie gave a passing glance, they soon moved onward and sprinted inside this abandoned complexity.
"...wwWHOA-! OOF!"
Sooner or later, Sonic landed straight into a small circular pit on his face, his spines blown back into their usual position. He then slowly stands back up to his feet in a daze but starts to shake it off when he looked up to where the trapdoor became settled above.
"Jeez, was that it? Guess I may have been a little bit hasty this time." Sonic said before letting out a snort as he shook his head. "Then again, if any one of these jokers is trying to get a lucky shot at me out of the race, they better think again when I'm going to be everyone's favorite blue hedgehog."
As soon as Sonic said most of that, he felt the ground suddenly begin to sink. "I don't think I'm going to like this-!"
Before Sonic could do more than speak further, the floor then shot up as it propelled him into the air with great force.
"WHOA!" Sonic let out a yell as he got thrown around everywhere, looking down to find several star-adorned red bumpers and flippers.
Of course, he had gotten dropped into a giant pinball table. Using much of his instincts, Sonic soon tucked himself into a ball of destruction, bouncing off the bumpers like a ricocheting bullet.
"Okay, I can't take much more of this!" Sonic grunted.
After bouncing around for a while, the speedy hero sprang off the flippers to land safely onto the ground.
"Well, what do you know! I made it out of that hectic flurry! Man, this place looks pretty old and boring for my standards." Sonic muttered, spotting a few cobwebs with a slight cough, clearing them away, and walked around on a walkway composed of brown blocks. "It'll be over soon once I find a way out of this crummy bin."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that! Cause your troubles are just-a starting, hedge-a-hog!"
Hearing that strange voice, Sonic whirled himself around and saw the Marxio Brothers just standing there like they have been waiting for him. The speedy hedgehog blinked in a blank surprise at these parody-looking humans, observing them up and down.
"I mean, is this a throw of the dice or what, boys?" Grouchio smirked at his two siblings, snickering like some swindler.
"Uh..." Sonic began, looking unamused. "...who the heck are you showtime-rejects supposed to be?"
"I'm-a Grouchio and this is Chicio and Harpio! And we're the-a Marxio Brothers!" Grouchio declared, grinning like it's no big deal.
As Harpio tooted his horn once for effect, Sonic rolled his eyes before ignoring the siblings towards another exit. "Yeah, sorry, but I don't like clowns as much, so I got a race and a Chaos Emerald to win. You know a way out of here, or should I find one myself-?"
Out of nowhere, an enormous, metallic claw-like pincher slammed down in front of Sonic as it startled him back a few feet. His eyes reached up to where he spotted a massive Crab-Meat scuttled nearby the Marxio Brothers, towering over Sonic.
"Holy...crap...!" Sonic mumbled with another step back, just as the monstrous Crab-Meat glowers down towards the speedy hero.
"We're-a getting paid a pretty penny that's worth a king's ransom by Dr. Robotnik to fix-a this place up for Breezie the Hedgehog!" Chicio told Sonic, crossing his arms proudly. "And that also includes-a taking you out as well, hedge-a-hog!"
"Uh, say what now?!" Sonic shouted, glowering at the siblings with his arms crossed. "Seriously, how many times do I have to teach that fat dude a lesson, and here you bunch of bad apples are helping him through a mondo beating?!"
"Please! It's only business, kiddo," Grouchio replied with a wave of a hand calmly. "It's nothing personal against the likes of you unless you're getting in our way of making a profit. So, let's see how you handle our big boy!"
"Yeah, with pleasure," Sonic beamed a challenging look at the Crab-Meat as it placed its gaze on the speedy hero, firing two balls of energy from inside its pincers.
Sonic quickly zipped to the side, coming around to dodge each point from where the Crab-Meat's energy balls plowed through the ground. Just then, homing missiles had gotten launched from the Super Badnik, destroying the place around as it missed Sonic each time.
"Who'd have thought that we'd be the ones to polish off the famous Blue Blur!" Chicio gloated.
"With my brains, how could we lose?" Grouchio puts his hands on his hips.
"What-a you mean?" Chicio looked confused. "This-a trap, she was my idea!"
"Oh, trying to take all the credit for yourself, eh?" Grouchio glared as he pointed his cigar at his sibling, who recoiled. "We'll discuss this later after this hedge-a-hog meets his demise, Chicio!"
After a few moments of Sonic evading each attack, the Super Badnik fired one more homing missile as it eventually caught the blue hedgehog in his shoulder, knocking him against a wall.
"You clowns aren't going to beat me any worse than Dr. Robotnik tried to last time!" Sonic shouted, hissing in pain with a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, you can't blame us for trying, spikey!" Grouchio crosses his arms with a smirk.
"Besides, we don't-a know what that Chaos Emerald is, but it seemed pretty important for us than letting you have it all-a to yourself," Chicio added.
"Enough babbling, Chicio! Crab-Bot, attack him!" Grouchio dictated.
As the Crab-Meat scuttled towards Sonic, he winced before tucking into a ball of destruction once more so he could charge and ram into its front. After that, Sonic bounced himself off until he commenced a rapid barrage of spin attacks, each force shredding through the Crab-Meat's eyeballs as it fell to the ground heavily.
"T-This idea of yours was dumb, Chicio!" Grouchio grumbled in defeat as he hurried away with his siblings.
"Oh, so it is-a my idea again, is it?" Chicio rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Using enough of his speed and agility, Sonic bounded straight up into the air from the Crab-Meat's head and then curled up to drop at high velocity. The Marxio Brothers shielded themselves from debris when Sonic struck through the Crab-Meat's head as it began to burst into pieces and exploded. Sonic then landed on his feet as he took a moment to catch his breath and then stopped, noticing a shadowy figure emerging out of the wreckage with tiny critters escaping their prison.
Revealing itself to be a male walrus, looking considerably chubbier and taller than most Freedom Fighters, he had violet fur with darker toes and fingers, peach skin on his chest and muzzle, large tusks, green eyes, and a light purple tail.
He wore a yellow baseball cap, a brown bomber jacket, a teal bandolier-like toolbelt stuffed with gizmos across his shoulder, form-fitting black and grey shoes, and yellow finger-less gloves. The walrus looked like he sports a healthy appetite for science and various technicalities, serving as the team mechanic, inventing reliable gadgets for his team.
"Ugh, I'm going to feel that one in the morning...!" The walrus groaned, rubbing his head to try and alleviate the migraine.
"You cool, dude?" Sonic called out, catching the walrus' attention.
He came over as he wiped some debris off himself. "Y-Yeah, nearly felt like I was napping for too long, I guess. Thanks for the save, buddy! My name is Joe Sushi, but you can call me Rotor, by the way. Who are you-?"
But before the walrus could say anything more to Sonic, they both saw the Marxio Brothers crowding around them, all three siblings wielding random objects like staffs, pipes, and wrenches ready to beat the living life out of Sonic and Rotor.
"Of course, you realize this means war, you blue runt!" Grouchio frowned alongside two of his brothers.
"Well, er..." Rotor tried to say, unsure of his words.
"Listen up, mustache-chops," Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes as he reminded Grouchio. "I just took down another one of Butt-Nik's lame Super Badniks by myself, and all three of you bozos are just human electricians with useless pieces of sticks and other stuff. I mean, what do you expect is going to happen next if you wanna' throw down on me and my pal, Rotor here?"
With that said from Sonic, the Marxio Brothers glanced at one another and back at the blue hedgehog in a sweat as they soon lost their bravado. They immediately dropped their weapons and ran away as far as they could from Sonic, who smirked in response while Rotor seemed intrigued by Sonic's actions.
"Ha! Thought so!" Sonic said with a snicker.
"Whoa, that was close!" Rotor smiled in relief. "I almost thought those guys had us for sure, man."
"It's no problem, Rote. Sonic the Hedgehog's my name, and speed's my game." Sonic walks past Rotor, waving a hand for him to follow. "Now, come on, we better find a way out of gloom-burg here so I can get back with my friend in the race!"
"Wait a sec, Sonic!" Rotor grabbed the speedy hero to halt for a second, taking out a small device from his tool belt. "I've heard that most of the games and slot machines here became rigged, so I've made this disruptor. I designed it to re-program the master computer somewhere around here. So that way, the gaming machines will payout to those who have gotten duped out of their money. Make this a surprise for iron-lips."
Before Sonic could say something else, he soon settled to try and think this through. That mobian dog from earlier got cheated out of his money and house, and he needs to stop all of this hypnotizing gambling nonsense. Not only that, Tails might probably be all alone in this race for the Chaos Emerald, but this still could be a chance for the kid to win against his bullies on his own.
As much as Sonic's ego was all about being the fastest thing alive right now at this race, Mobius' lives must always come first before anything else. Sooner or later, he will get that Chaos Emerald when the people here are safe and sound.
With nothing more to think about the race, Sonic then nods. "Good backup call, Rotor! Let's do your plan and waste that main computer of Butt-Nik's!"
Rotor nodded in acknowledgment, walking over to hop on Sonic's back as the speedy hero charges up and rushes away to find Spring Yard's main computer.
TO BE CONTINUED...