Sonic ran as fast as he could, avoiding several beams as they nearly missed him. He had to see if there was anybody he could help among the chaos. Somebody he could save. It was then that he spotted Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried. He too ran at maximum speed, but it cried out as it was just as rapidly running out of stamina.
"Gotcha!" exclaimed Sonic, quickly grabbing Pikachu. As much as he wanted to find someone else to save, continuing to avoid the rays while holding on to someone else was pushing even his luck. It was time to escape into one of the portals. "Let's get out of this mess!" - he declared, in an attempt to calm the Pokemon down. Together, they jumped towards the nearest exit.
The force sent Pikachu tumbling out of the hedgehog's grip. He rubbed his ears and started looking around their new surroundings.
"It... looks like a town" observed Sonic. "But it's really high-tech. I bet Eggman would really like this place. Let's take a look and see if we can find someone."
Pikachu didn't know that much about Sonic, but he did understand that thinking about this "Eggman" made him mad, so Pikachu went on the defensive. He made sure to explore every nook and cranny around the buildings before going into them.
After a bit of exploring, they ran into a small building with a neon sign that read "General store".
After entering, they were greeted by a tall and bulky man with a warm but strong "Welcome! How can I help you?"
"I'm just looking around" - answered Sonic, putting up his best casual demeanor. "Me and my friend here were visiting this lovely town of yours and, as it so happens, we forgot what exactly its name was and the best places to visit. Care to enlighten us?"
The shopkeeper gave them a weird expression, but quickly shrugged. "This place here is Port Town, famous for our F-Zero racing track, the Port Town Aero Dive!"
"The what now?" - responded immediately Sonic, perking up at the word 'racing'.
"The Port Town Aero Dive. If you go outside and look up, you may be able to spot the tracks. Those bad boys go up to over 1500 km/h regularly. It's incredible!"
Pikachu climbed onto the counter and started saying its name excitedly. Racing sounds fun, plus there was just something about F-Zero that seemed familiar. It touched the man on the nose. Boop.
The man, tickled by Pikachu's sudden pat, laughed heartily. "I like you two! You're clearly clueless about this place, so ask me anything you want and I'll answer to the best of my abilities!"
"Alright! How about you tell me more about this race?" - quickly asked Sonic.
"The F-Zero races are special competitions held every few weeks. They include the best and most ruthless challengers from around the galaxy, all vying for the grand prize."
"The twist is that on each lap, if you're too far behind, you get immediately disqualified! and you can use every trick to push others off the track!"
"That sounds amazing!" exclaimed Sonic, with his eyes lighting up. "What do you say, Pikachu? Shall we give it a look?"
Pikachu liked the idea of a race, because who wouldn't. Plus, Captain Falcon is from Port Town. Heck, Pikachu had even been there, so that gave him some familiar comfort in these uncertain times. "Pika! Pika!"
"So? When's the next race taking place?"
The vendor gave another exuberant chuckle, sharing in the teen's interest. "You're lucky! The next one is in two days! I, for one, don't intend to miss it!"
Needless to say, the prospect of the race had the hedgehog very excited. For more reason than just viewing the race itself. There's bound to be someone useful to talk to amongst the racers. Moving around randomly is not going to do us any good. Besides, getting a chance to participate in a race that is actually up to my speed is not something that I'd ever miss.
After thanking the good man for his help, Sonic exited the shop and walked a bit more through the town. After a few minutes, his excitement died down and he began to yawn. Only then he noticed how dark it'd gotten. "Let's go, Pikachu. It's getting late. We should find a place to crash"
The mouse Pokemon was already sleeping soundly in a nearby patch of grass.
Looking at him, Sonic smiled. He reminds me a bit of all those troublesome Chao back home. Too bad I can't leave him sleeping here, nor can I carry him. So, shaking the sleeping the Pokemon awake, they walked for a few more minutes, until they found a hotel that looked less sketchy than the others. The staff wasn't as jovial as the man they met before, but neither were they rude. Paying up with the card that the Hands had given him, they laid down to sleep.