Disclaimer: All Sonic Team characters are owned by Sega. Deacon Sparks, Karen, Quote, Nyx, Verdes and Ash are owned by me, Jersey Devil.
Chapter 2: Old Rivals
Setting: Chemical Plant Zone, June 1
It was a sunny day in the Chemical Plant Zone. However, one could not tell as the supposedly blue sky was filled with gray smog from the pollution, which came from the chemical plants in the city. Warehouses, garbage dumps, factories and junkyards were scattered throughout the Chemical Plant Zone. There were some decent parts of the city, which featured tall office buildings and nice hotels in the downtown area, but those areas were mainly their for tourists or people who did business in the city. Basically, if you lived in the Chemical Plant Zone, you lived in the slums. But on this day, everyone in the Chemical Plant Zone was not worried about the living conditions. There was much excitement in the air for upcoming events in the next few days.
"WELCOME TO EX WORLD GRAND PRIX: II! LET'S HEAR IT, CHEMICAL PLANT ZONE!" shouted a voice over the intercom. There was a mob of people crowding outside of a hotel in the Chemical Plant Zone, awaiting the arrival of the contestants. Little did they know that the participants had been snuck in through the rear entrance and were now gathering in the hotel ball room to fill out registration forms and other things of the such. The Babylon Rogues were the first to arrive. Actually, Jet and Wave were first to arrive.
"Man, I haven't rode in an Extreme Gear race since the first World Gran Prix. You remember, the one with Eggman and Sonic," said Jet. Wave nodded and the two grabbed a seat at a nearby table with two stools on it and waited for Storm so they could check into the competition. After about fifteen minutes, a gray albatross approached them.
"Hey, Jet. I'm surprised you actually showed up. I thought you'd ditch me, like you did back in Metal City," said Storm. Jet sighed, got up and began to walk toward the registration table on the other side of the ballroom. Storm began to follow him, but Wave grabbed him by the arm and got in his face.
"Why are you being such an asshole to Jet!" said Wave angrily, "He's been taking your arrest hard over these past couple years. Can't you just let it go, Storm?" Storm brushed her aside and ignored her question. Wave glared at Storm angrily and continued to follow him. They arrived at the registration booth and the receptionist handed Jet a form. Each member of the Babylon Rogues signed their names on the form and listed their team name as: "The Babylon Rogues". The receptionist gave them a schedule of the races and each one a keycard to their hotel room.
"Well if it isn't Jet the Hawk," said a voice from behind him. Jet turned around and a grimace came on his face as he saw a black crow stand before him with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He was accompanied by a purple raven and a green rabbit.
"What the hell are you doing here, Nyx?" said Jet.
"Well, I'm here to win a competition," said the crow in an arrogant tone, "So, Jet, it's been a long time since I've seen you. It's been what, seven years?"
"I wouldn't have minded not seeing you for another seven years," said Jet, "I'm done with you, Nyx. I'm here to win, nothing else."
"Hell no, Jet. You and me; it isn't over. It's just been on a hiatus. But now I'm back and I'm winning this race," barked Nyx, "I've got a team that'll blow the competition away, including you. So you might just wanna pack up and leave, cause this championship is ours." Jet went over to Nyx and got right in his face.
"No way in hell you're beating us, Nyx," said Jet, under his breath.
"Oh really, Jet. I remember you saying something similar seven years ago, but we all know how that turned out," replied Nyx, "So you probably shouldn't go around talking shit, cause you don't have the skill to back it up." Nyx pushed Jet aside and went to registration table. Jet looked toward Wave and saw that Storm was long gone. It would be no use to pick a fight with Nyx's team. He just grudged over to Wave.
"What's the deal between you two?" asked Wave.
"Don't worry about it," replied Jet, "We're here to win a competition. Let's just keep our focus on that." Wave dropped the subject and the two decided to go up to their hotel room in order to get some rest.
Setting: Outside the Rear Entrance, Later That Day
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Blaze, Amy Rose and Cream had all met up outside the rear entrance.
"Hey, Knuckles," yelled Sonic, "You ready to lose."
"You're the one going down, Sonic," replied Knuckles. Sonic playfully punched Knuckles in the arm.
"We'll see about that!" he said, "Me, Tails and Amy are gonna blow everyone else on the track away. Tail's has been designing us boards that are way past cool! Isn't that right, Tails."
"You bet, Sonic!" replied the young fox, "You see, I made these boards more aerodynamic, plus I added components which enable more air-use efficiency, while increasing the amount of air that can be stored. It's basically a super board."
"That's neat Tails," replied Cream, "Can I see it?" Tails nodded and handed her the board.
"This is super cool, Tails. You're so smart at this stuff," said Cream. Tails cheeks began to turn a deep shade of red. Everyone then entered through the back door and went into the ballroom where the registration was taking place. To their surprise, when they entered the room, they noticed a few familiar faces. Shadow, Rouge, Deak, Ash, Karen and Omega were in the room as well, registering for the competition. Deak, who was at the registration table, was the first to notice them and quickly made the first comment.
"What happening, Knuxie-Knux!" joked Deak, "You still tapping that pussy...cat?" Knuckles gritted his teeth.
"Don't talk about Blaze like that!" snarled Knuckles.
"Don't tell me what to do, bitch!" said Deak, "Last time I check, you ain't my mom." This was an explosive situation already, and Deak was just pouring gasoline on it. Knuckles stomped toward Deak with his fists clenched.
"You wanna say that to my face, Deak?" gritted Knuckles, as he poked Deak's chest with his finger.
"Yea, I do," replied Deak, "You – are – a -BITCH." Knuckles was about to punch Deak in the face, but for some reason he stopped.
"You know what? A punk like you isn't even worth it," said Knuckles. The echidna began to walk away, but Deak was extremely pissed off. When Knuckles was not looking, Deak swung his arm back and slammed his fist into the back of his head, knocking him to the ground hard into the carpet. Deak began to laugh at Knuckles.
"What's wrong? I though you enjoy eating carpet," said Deak. Sonic rushed over to Knuckles aid and glared at Deak.
"That was cheap, Deak. You didn't have to do that," said Sonic, "He was wal-"
"Shut up, faker!" interrupted Shadow, "I don't want to hear your little 'Sonic Says' teachings on life."
"Did I ask what you wanted, Shadow," barked back Sonic. It was now turn for Sonic and Shadow to get in each other's faces. Shadow shoved Sonic backwards and Sonic threw a punch in Shadow's direction, which connected with his face.
"You son of a bitch, Sonic!" said Shadow in pain. He noticed blood coming out of his lip. "I'll make you pay for this blood."
"We'll see about that, Shadow," replied Sonic. He went to charge Shadow, but was met with a metallic fist to the face. Sonic rolled around the ground, holding his face in pain. When he got up, he saw Omega standing above him.
"You will not harm Shadow," Omega said in monotonic voice. Its arm turned into a machine gun and Omega pointed it at the blue hedgehog, "Eliminate target: Sonic the Hedgehog." However, before it could fire any bullets, a shot from the back sent Omega flying into the sky. It was a Piko Piko Hammer attack, courtesy of Amy.
"Your not eliminating anyone," she said confidently. However, her stride was broken when Rouge gave her a spinning back kick to the face. This chain of events lead to a chaotic brawl that spread out all over the ballroom. There were fists flying, legs swinging and even a couple of biting incidents. The fighting took place for almost thirty minutes, until a SWAT team was brought in the break up the madness. SWAT members shot pass-out gas and a few even got into the heat of the brawl try and subdue the rioters. They successfully got everyone to calm down. Well, calming down isn't hard to do when your passed out. Everyone awoke from the their pass out about twenty minutes later, around the same time.
"Well that got out of hand in a hurry," said Deak, rubbing the back of his head painfully.
"Yea, that escalated pretty quickly," replied Sonic, clutching his chest in pain.
"I'll say," said Shadow. Everyone then agreed to go on like nothing happened. They went to registartion to check and the receptionist handed each of them red, laminated card.
"What are these?" asked Rouge.
"There's kickoff party tomorrow night right here," replied the receptionist, "Those are your tickets to get in."
"Sweet," replied Ash, "I'm always down for a party. Isn't that right, Deak?"
"Hell yea!" replied Deak, "Always down for getting shitfaced!"
"Oh, there'll be no alcohol served at this party," replied the receptionist. Deak and Ash had faces of disbelief.
"Aww, that's too bad, Deak," said Karen in a sarcastic tone, "You can't get plastered and do dumb shit. How unfortunate." Deak rolled his eyes at Karen's sarcasm and everyone went up to their rooms to rest up.
Setting: The Next Night
The scene was set for the kickoff party to commence. There were decorations, banners and sound systems all over the ballroom. A sign that read "WELCOME EX WORLD GRAND PRIX CONTESTANTS!" was hung high in the sky. The party was filled with non-contestants who paid an entry fee in order to get in. However, one by one, each team made their way to the party. The first ones to arrive were Sonic, Tails, Cream, Knuckles, Blaze and Amy Rose.
"You wanna dance, Cream?" asked Tails.
"Sure, Tails," replied Cream. The two headed out to the dance floor, while the others took their seats at a nearby table. They began to talk for about twenty minutes until Knuckles got up.
"Come with me, Blaze," said Knuckles. Blaze went with and they went to an undisclosed area. This left Sonic alone with Amy.
"So...um...Amy, how's it going?" asked Sonic awkwardly.
"No bad," replied Amy in the same awkwardness as Sonic. Sonic then spotted Jet and Wave enter through the doors and a smirk appeared on his face.
"Yes, my ticket out of here," thought Sonic, "Plus I get to talk smack to an old rival." Sonic got up from his seat and began to approach Jet. The hawk crossed his arms and sighed at the sight of the hedgehog.
"So, Jet," said Sonic slyly, "You ready for another Grand Prix." Jet nodded up and down to give a yes answer.
"Good, cause you're going home empty handed. I'm the fastest thing alive, Jet, and you better recognize that," bragged Sonic.
"Whatever, Sonic," replied Jet half-heartedly and continued to walk on.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" thought Sonic to himself, "He's changed over the past few years. And where the hell is everyone else?"
Setting: Local Pub next to the hotel
Sonic's question could be answered by just going next door to the pub there. In there, Deak, Ash, Shadow, Rouge and Karen were having their own little party next door. Deak and Ash were drinking down shots of liquor one by one, with Karen standing by. Shadow and Rouge were in a booth making out. Shadow couldn't get drunk because he's the ultimate lifeform and Rouge didn't need to get drunk because Shadow was all she needed at the time. Back at the bar, Ash seemed to have trouble downing his shot.
"What's wrong Ash?" joked Deak, "You can't drink anymore cause you're on your period!" Ash would give a response, but he could feel puke rise up his throat and he rushed straight to the bathroom.
"Don't forget to change your tampons!" teased Deak. Karen rolled her eyes at Deak and took the seat next to Deak. She began to rub his shoulders and kiss him on his neck. Deak turned around and he pressed his lips against heres, but she soon pulled back quickly.
"Eww! You're breath smells like liquor. I don't wanna taste your nasty breath," said Karen. Deak chuckled to himself and turned back toward the bartender.
"Women," said a voice from beside him. He turned around and saw a gray albatross standing in front of him. The bird took his seat next to Deak. Deak laughed at his statement and he offered him his hand.
"My name's Deak, what's your's?" asked Deak. Storm shook Deak's hand.
"Storm," replied the albatross. Storm then ordered his drink from the bartender. They began talking and drinking with each other for about twenty minutes.
"So this Jet guy leaves you behind to get arrested!" says Deak in anger. Storm nodded yes. "You should kick his ass? He needs a good ass kicking!" Ash then arrived out of the bathroom and sat down next to Karen. Deak introduced everybody to each other and they began talking for about five minutes, until a mug of beer was slammed down in front of them.
"From the fellas at the other end," said the bartender. He pointed over to the far end of the bar, where Deak spotted a few familiar faces.
"G'day mate," said a purple weasel. He was accompanied by a yellow polar bear, green duck, black crow, green rabbit and last of all, a purple raven.
"Quote?" Deak yelled across the bar, "I thought you died! I shot you!"
"Oh yea, Deak. You shot me," replied Quote, "You're not as good a shot as you think. I took a dive down and pretended to die. That's when I laid low and met Nyx over here. I joined his team of thieves, called the Midnight Marauders. That's why we're here. To win the EX World Grand Prix. Fang has a team here too." Deak glared at those who stood opposite from him. Shadow and Rouge quickly came to his side and they were prepared for a brawl. Karen looked a little nervous when she saw Fang eye her. She held Deak's arm tightly, but still tried to keep a strong face in order to hide her fear.
"Well, this has been quite fun, but we've gotta big race tomorrow," said Nyx. Everyone on the other side from Deak got up and left the pub.
"Bastards," said Shadow, "They get what's coming to them." Deak looked over to his arm and saw that Karen was shivering a bit.
"Don't be scared, Karen," said Deak, "They're gone now, and I'm not letting them hurt you." Karen was completely caught off guard. She had not noticed that Deak has seen her shiver.
"I wasn't afr-" began Karen, until she realized that covering up her fear was useless, "Thanks, Deak." Karen have Deak a warm hug, a kiss on his lips and nuzzled her head on his chest. They hung around for ten more minutes and then headed back to their rooms.
Setting: Chemical Plant Zone Starting Line, Dusk the next day
The sun was about to set on the Chemical Plant Zone, but the dawn of the second EX World Grand Prix was about commence. All of the competitors were around the starting line, ready to begin the race. All of a sudden, a brown dog appeared at the starting line, wearing a black visor and holding a microphone.
"All right, all right, who's ready to rock!" he said into the microphone. The crowd all around them began to cheer loudly. "Sounds like the Chemical Plant Zone is ready for some Extreme Gear action. But first, we gotta lay down the rules of the races and they are scored. The race will last three laps around the designated course. Each team member will complete one lap and when they are completed, the next member of the team will begin his or her lap. First team with all of its members to complete one lap wins. Each team that finishes in the top four will receive a certain amount of points, depending on where they place. First place is worth nine points, second place is worth six points, third place is worth three points and fourth place is worth one point. The competition will last ten races. Whoever has the highest point total after ten races will be declared the champion. The race will commence in just five minutes. Whoever's running the first lap, line up behind this white where I am currently standing. Those who are racing the second lap, line up the yellow line about five yards behind this white one. If you're racing the third lap, go over to the side and wait there. Each team now has five minutes to determine their order for the race. After that, we will be ready to roll!" The crowd was now going insane with excitement.
After five minutes, the dog yelled, "Alright! Time's up! Those first in order line up at the white line, those going second line up at the yellow line and those going last, stay off to the side!" Amy Rose, Cream, Omega, Tails Doll, Storm, Verdes, Karen and Bark lined up behind the white line because they would start off the race. Those who where going second; Tails, Wave, Blaze, Rouge, Ash, Bark, Quote and Metal Knuckles; lined up behind the yellow line. This meant Sonic, Shadow, Deak, Jet, Metal Sonic, Fang, Nyx and Knuckles would be doing the final lap.
The dog went over to the side and picked up his microphone,
"Alright, we are ready to go. After the three count, the race will begin...
3...
2...
1...
...LET'S ROCK!"
Alright, the race is ready to begin! Stay tuned to see what will happen in the first race. Until then peace out. Jersey Devil, singing out.