As for the disclaimer, see the first chapter.

At the racetrack deep in downtown Central City, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles walked up to the registration desk, helmets in hand. The woman behind the desk looked up.

"All right." She said. "You here for the bike tournament?"

"Yes we are!" said Sonic, enthusiastically.

"Names?" said the woman, taking out a form.

"Don't you know? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"My name's, uh, Miles Prower, but people call me Tails."

"I'm Knuckles, the Echidna."

The woman noted them all down. "Sonic… Tails… Knuckles… all right. Your classes?"

"Pardon?" said Tails.

The woman sighed. "Your racing class. There's three different kinds; Stunt, Air and Traction, for different kinds of bikes and racers. The names should explain what they are.

"OK, I think I got it." Said Sonic. "I think… I'm Stunt, Tails has gotta be Air, and Knuckles is Traction."

"That makes sense." Said Tails.

"Alright…" said the woman, jotting it all down. "Now, I need your health insurance details. Also, I have to tell you that the Mega Cycle racing organisation can not take any responsibility for any injuries or destruction of property that may happen during the races. There's a disclaimer here you have to sign before you can race."

The three looked at each other, nervously. "Uh… okay…" said Sonic.

After a lengthy process of signing forms, Sonic and his friends were walking their motorcycles down to the racetrack. "Guys, I'm not so sure about this anymore…" said Tails.

"Come on, Tails, we can't back out now!" said Sonic.

"Besides, we can handle this." Said Knuckles. "How dangerous can it be?"

Then as they came out of the tunnel next to the racetrack, they heard the sound of bike engines. "They must be holding the qualifying rounds." Said Sonic.

Then a black and green motorcycle sped by them, followed closely by a silver one. One the black bike was a black rider, who had red-tipped, bat-like wings and a black helmet covering his head. On the silver bike was a girl with long, white hair, gaining on him. "You're mine!" yelled the girl, whipping out a metal staff.

The black rider responded by drawing a small katana from a hilt built into the bike. Staff and sword clashed in a swordfight at terminal velocity. Sonic just stared.

Then a big red bike ridden by a large, musclebound man roared by, being hotly pursued by a huge, green motorcycle, with 3 huge wheels- one at the front, and the other two were in-line at the back. Two huge exhausts pumped out fumes from a massive engine, ridden by a single man whom Sonic recognised. "Is that… Bingo!"

Yep, riding the huge prototypical super-cycle was the disgruntled G.U.N. operative known as Agent Bingo, who rode up right next to the man on the red bike and delivered a few well-placed kicks, which knocked the man off his balance- Then Bingo rammed the massive bulk and weight of his triple-wheeler into the side of the red bike, knocking it over and sending the man and his bike flying into a pile of tyres.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were all speechless. "What the HELL!" said the hedgehog.

Then a male possum holding a clipboard walked over to them, and said "Yo! You guys must be the next team! C'mon, this race is nearly over, get to the line!"

"Uh," said Sonic, "But those guys… what were-"

"Oh yeah, you dudes mustn't a been told what the qualifying race is! Basically, it's two teams 'a three versin' each other, if at least two of ya team make it to the finish line in one piece by the time limit, you're in!"

Then they heard another pair of engines roar up. Riding side by side were a male youth riding another silver motorcycle, striking with a light-matter spiked staff at a blue-clad rider on a blue and white bike. The blue rider's head was covered by a helmet, but they could hear him yelling over the roaring engines; "You think that toy can hit me! Eat this, bitch!"

The blue rider dodged several strikes, then hit a panel on the left side of his bike, which jutted out to reveal an inbuilt holster for a blue and white, double-barrelled shotgun. The rider in blue pulled it out, whipped it over towards the silver rider and fired a blue energy blast which knocked the light-staff out of his hands. "Ha ha ha, not so tough now are ya!" yelled the blue gunner, who then fired the other barrel at the silver bike. The front wheel was blown out of alignment and the rider was thrown off just before the bike flipped into a barrier and exploded.

"Holy cow!" exclaimed Sonic. "They're allowed to do that!"

"Oh hell yeah!" said the possum, headbanging to music from his mp3 player.

The black ninja then shot past, having apparently rid himself of the girl. He was followed by Bingo and his roaring ride, and all three of the racers shot over the finish line and skidded to a halt. Sonic and his friends ran towards them.

The black ninja was riding a black racing bike with green trims. The rider himself, looked perhaps a bit like an echidna, though it was hard to tell with the helmet, and the wings… Then the ninja rode off.

The blue gunner was obviously human, though he was clad head-to-toe in racing armour, and wearing a helmet with a reflective blue visor. He saluted, pulled a wheelie and roared off behind his black-clad teammate.

Bingo, the brown-haired man in his late thirties wearing G.U.N. fatigues and round sunglasses, looked back at a dumbstruck Sonic. "Sonic the Hedgehog…" said Bingo. "Doesn't look like you know what you've got yourself into." Then he roared off as well.

Then Tails and Knuckles caught up with Sonic. Before they could say anything, a female ocelot ran up to them. "THERE you are!" she said, quickly. "Hurry up, your opponents are here, get to the grid! And good luck, you'll need it!"

"Well well, I should have expected for you to be here."

The heroes looked across to the other entrance. Standing in front of them was none other than a certain Shadow the Hedgehog, wearing a white jacket and holding a black helmet. Beside him, sitting on a crate, was one Rouge the Bat, in protective garb that still showed off her body and daintily holding a jewel-encrusted helmet. And on the other side stood Doctor Eggman.

"What are you doing here!" said Knuckles, shaking his fist. "Up to no good, I'll bet!"

"Oh, temper temper, handsome…" said Rouge. "Why, we're racing, just like you are."

"We've got just as much right to be here as you do!" said Eggman.

Then Tails said "But you guys are gonna cheat, like you always do!"

"Huh, as naïve as ever." Said Shadow. "I thought that last race would have made it clear."

"What?" said Sonic.

"Sonic the Hedgehog," announced Eggman. "I thought you would have known that in the Mega Cycle racing league, there is no cheating, because there are no rules!"

The motto of this fic. Review, ladies and gentlemen!