NOTE: This episode, formerly labeled as "S2 Preview Episode" has now been moved to its correct chronological position. Its content remains the same.

Whale Lagoon

Bright moonlight shines over the shimmering seaside race course. Paths of marble and earth intertwine around large pools of glittering water. Even at night, the waters are alive with the movements of aquatic creatures through the shallow reefs.

The silence is broken as a streak of green blows by, tearing through the air at blistering speed. The green-feathered bird of prey pulls up on one side of his hovering board, lowering his opposite hand to drag his fingers through the shallow beachside water, spraying an arc of mist into the air in his wake. He pulls up sharply on the front of the board as he hits a ramp of terrain, launching into the air, spinning his board in an opposite direction to himself in an impressive trick as he crashes through a thin waterfall. Water droplets spray over the finish line as he crosses, turning the board to the side as he skids to a stop.

A crowd erupts in cheers. He looks around with a smirk at the large wooden stands that have been set up for the packed crowd of spectators. An announcer declares over a loudspeaker, "And he's done it! It's a new course record! Jet the Hawk has done it again!" The crowd roars even louder.

A familiar female voice buzzes in his earpiece radio, "Having fun, Jet?"

Jet turns away from the crowd to take the communication. "Fun? You gotta be kidding me, Wave. This barely counted as a warm-up. At least when you're on the track, I can pretend like I have some competition."

Wave answers, "Well, some of us are too busy with our responsibilities to the team to go racing every night."

"You know the deal, Wave. I keep racing, and everyone's happy."

"Yeah, whatever. Once you're done showboating, we have some actual work to do. The job is on."

"You mean…?"

"We found it. We found the Babylcore."

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 2, Episode 2

Green Light Riders

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Emerald Canyon – The Rebellion Base

Tails marvels slowly, "Wow…I can't even imagine. All of that…really happened?"

Sonic closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm never trying anything like that again." He takes a breath out. "That was then. Today, I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground."

"Yeah…it's been a crazy couple of months."

"Any word on…?"

Tails gives a smile. "Doing fine. I can guarantee a full recovery."

"At least something good came out of all this."

"At least. So…what do we do now?"

"Same thing we've always done. We keep fighting. No shortcuts."

A loud beep suddenly sounds off.

Sonic looks around in confusion. "What was that?"

Tails pulls out his Handheld Pad. "Proximity alert. Something unidentified just entered the canyon."

Sonic immediately stands. "A robot? Are we under attack?" There's a strong gust of wind outside.

"No, definitely organic. Probably animoid." The device beeps again.

"Another one?"

"No… That was the same person…leaving through the other end of the canyon."

Sonic looks to the tent flap which still flutters gently in the dying breeze. "Well he was sure in a hurry. I wonder if he even noticed us going by at that speed."

The device beeps again. "Looks like he's coming around for another pass."

"Someone's trying to get our attention." Sonic moves for the exit, waving for Tails to come along with him.

Outside, the gust of wind blows by once again, accompanied by the green blur that moves to turn around as it blows right by them. Jet hops off his board, slowing the last few steps on foot as he kicks the board up into his arm. "Took you long enough, Hedgehog."

Sonic crosses his arms and puts on a scowl. "Jet."

"Gee, don't look too happy to see me."

Sonic's nostrils flare as he lets out a loud breath. But after a moment, he can't help but to smirk, and finally to chuckle. "Alright, fine. You caught me at a bad time, but…" He offers out a hand. "…I guess it's good to see you still alive."

Jet takes the hand and shakes. "When did you get so grim?"

"Oh, around the same time robots took over the planet. But what about you? How are you and the Rogues getting along in all this?"

"Oh, same old same old, really. Last year's Grand Prix just wasn't the same without you, though."

"If you came out here to invite us to the next one, I'm gonna have to refuse. We aren't exactly welcome in public right now."

"Shame. But that's not why I'm here."

"So…what are you here for?"

Jet suddenly sets the back side of his board on the ground, flipping a latch on the front that disconnects two halves right down the middle, splitting it into two separate boards. He holds the bottom board out to Sonic. "What else? I'm here for a race. You and me. Right here, right now. No crowds, no competition, no gimmicks."

Sonic stares at the board distrustingly for a moment. "No tricks?"

"On the contrary. I want to see all of your best tricks. I'm going to beat you, no holds barred."

Sonic hesitates for another moment. But finally, he takes the board.

"So you accept?"

"What's the rush?" Still looking at Jet, he holds the board out for Tails to take. "Let's go for a walk."

"A…walk?" He repeats the word as if it were in a foreign tongue.

"Why not? I think we both have some catching up to do. If you can, that is."

Jet crosses his arms as he thinks for a moment. "Well…I suppose it won't kill me." He hefts his board back under his shoulder. "So where are we walking to?"

Once Tails takes Sonic's board, Sonic turns away, waving for Jet to come along with him. "It's not the 'where' that matters."

"Ah, just don't get us lost."

As they walk off, Tails calls after them, "I'll get this Gear all checked out and tuned up, it'll be ready when you get back!"

—–—

Sonic and Jet have walked into the forested area of the canyon, partially shaded by the canopy of trees above.

"Controller, eh? Seems pretty crazy. Almost enough to make my life sound normal. And I'm a part-genie part-alien mercenary."

"Yeah. A lot's changed since last time we met."

"I'll say. You never struck me as the leader type, Hedgehog. But here you are, taking it like you were born to be."

"Is that what it looks like to you? It feels like I've made nothing but mistakes since the day this war started. I've managed to turn some of my own team against me."

"Leading's no easy job. Make too many decisions, and you're a strict, selfish jerk. Don't make enough, and you're lazy and irresponsible. The way I see it, it's best to just let them think whatever they want."

"And what happens when they stop respecting your leadership?"

"Mmm…" Jet thinks on that for a moment. "If you're any good as a leader, that's not gonna happen."

Sonic rolls his eyes. "Same old Jet."

Jet puts on a smirk. "So what's all this about, anyway? What're we walking for?"

Sonic gives a brief chuckle. "I figured if we're going to race, you should know who it is you're racing."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're Sonic the Hedgehog, self-proclaimed fastest thing alive, and my archrival."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. That's the person you came here to race. But things change. There's a lot of things that I care about, but being the fastest…it's not on the top of the list anymore."

"What!? You must be joking!"

"Of course I'm still proud of what I can do, but…dashing like a maniac isn't usually the answer to the kind of problems I'm facing these days. Sometimes you have to slow down." He opens his arms wide. "Take in the world around you. Instead of sticking in the past, instead of rushing towards the future, just live in the present. A friend of mine taught me that a while back. That's just one of the things that's changed about me."

"You've changed alright. No objections here."

"But what about you? Are you really telling me that nothing's changed at all?"

"I'm still racing, the Rogues are still roguing. Some things never change."

"Where are they now?"

"Oh, they're never happy unless I give them something to do. Watching from the sidelines while you and I race wasn't their idea of a good time, so they're keeping busy instead."

"When Eggman took over the planet, he put just about everyone I've ever met on the most wanted list. How'd you manage to keep away from all that?"

"Well, that's because I'm a respectable law-abiding citizen. As long as I keep bringing in the crowds, Eggman has no reason to come after me. In fact…he encourages it."

"Wait a minute." Sonic stops in place. "You're working for Eggman?"

Jet raises his hands defensively. "Hey, just relax, Sonic. It's not like that. I go racing, the people get some much-needed leisure, I get a huge cut of the profits…and the rest goes to the Empire. I'm doing a public service, and getting rich. What's so wrong about that?"

Sonic scowls at him for a few moments longer. He shakes his head slowly. "Amazing. You really haven't changed one bit. I didn't think it was possible."

"Should I be offended?"

"I guess that's up to you. But…what do you think? Now that we understand each other a little better…still think that I'm the one you want to race?"

"It has to be you. No doubt about it."

"Alright. Then we'll race."

—–—

A small crowd of Rebels have gathered outside the camp, generating a low chatter of general anticipation.

Tails is near the center of the group, sitting on a flat stone as he carefully examines the board that's already been given a blue and yellow paint job. He looks up as he sees that Sonic and Jet are approaching. He happily calls with a wave, "Sonic!" The group silences and turns as Tails gets up and runs over to meet them. "Your Gear's all tuned up and ready to race." He glances over at Jet for a moment. "And no sign of sabotage, either."

Jet rolls his eyes. "You have a guy sabotaged one time, and you never live it down…"

Tails offers the board out to Sonic, but Sonic immediately holds up a hand in refusal. "I appreciate it, Tails. But…I won't be needing it."

Tails looks down in disappointment. "Oh…you decided not to race after all?"

From nearby, Shadow interjects, "Good. It's just a waste of time." There's something very tense in the way his gaze meets Sonic's.

Jet seems just as surprised as Tails. "You haven't given up already, have ya?"

Sonic takes another moment before turning his attention back away from Shadow. "You said you wanted to see all my best tricks, didn't you? Here's the first. I'm racing on foot."

"You must be crazy! You might be the fastest thing on land, but even you can't keep up with an Extreme Gear."

Shadow lets out a loud scoff.

Sonic continues, "I said it once before. Things change. I don't need wings to fly. And I don't need Extreme Gear to race."

Jet looks him over for another moment. "Well…if you're that eager to lose…you can race however you want, Hedgehog. You can take a car, for all I care."

"Might have to take you up on that sometime. But I'm running this one on foot."

Shadow rolls his eyes, and starts to walk off.

Ignoring him, Sonic continues, "So…do you have a racetrack in mind?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask." Jet points off down the line of the canyon. "A straight shot. From here to Olympus."

Sonic raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Olympus?"

Tails steps in. "It's an ancient ruins structure built on top of a mountain a few miles east of here, just past the Aquatic Ruins. No one knows who built it. But you'll definitely know it when you see it."

"So, first one into the ruins?"

Jet nods. "Exactly. You in?"

Sonic thinks for a moment. "Actually…give me just a minute. I need to go grab something." He turns to run off towards his tent.

—–—

Sonic walks straight to the cabinet stowed in the back corner of his tent, and opens the center drawer. It appears to be full of miscellaneous belongings, many of them familiar. He starts to sift through them. "Let's see here…" Moving past an old car air freshener that depicts Sonic himself in a classic pose, he pulls out an old ragdoll apparently designed to resemble Tails. He stares at it in confusion for a moment. "How'd that get in there?" He shrugs and tosses it aside. Then he resumes his dig through the drawer.

"You're really going through with this?"

Sonic looks up from the drawer, but doesn't need to turn around. "Shadow. I didn't hear you come in." He goes back to his digging without answering the question.

"We're trying to fight a war. Why do you insist on playing these games?"

Sonic lets out a loud sigh. "Racing isn't just a game, Shadow. It's a way for people to come together. Take a look outside. Everyone's excited for this race. When's the last time most of them could say they were excited about anything? This is something we've all been needing. A little bit of sunshine to brighten up our day. You've raced with us before. I'd think you'd understand."

"I understand completely. You're making assumptions about what's best for everyone else, just like you always do."

"Last I checked, that was my job as leader. A job you recommended me for, might I remind you."

"Well maybe I was mistaken."

"If that's true, then why are you the only one allowed to make a mistake?" Shadow gives no answer, and they both go silent for some time. Finally, Sonic speaks again. "Shadow…I'm sorry. You have every right to be mad at me after what happened. But…I just want us to be friends again."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you gave that order." Shadow turns to leave without another word.

Sonic doesn't bother watching him go. "Found it." He pulls out his familiar green tinted racing visor, which he immediately puts on above his eyes. He closes the drawer and turns to leave. But then he stops halfway out, turning his attention back to the bottom drawer of the cabinet. Slowly, he steps back towards it, opens it up, and takes out the metal case inside. He carefully raises the lid on the case. The glowing light from inside reflects off of his face. "He did say he wanted to see…all of my tricks."

—–—

Jet appears to be telling a story to Charmy, Hero, and Omega. He regales, "So there I was, ready to take home the prize, when that robot started acting funny. Turns out, it was no ordinary robot. It was actually Metal Sonic in disguise."

Charmy marvels, "Wow, really?" Hero raises his eyebrows in surprise. Omega doesn't respond.

Jet continues, "That's right. He'd spent the entire tournament recording our racing data. Naturally, I wasn't going to stand for some copycat trying to steal my style, so I had to beat him in a race to prove that I'm still the best."

Omega suddenly declares, "Analysis indicates that you are telling a 'tall tale'."

Jet seems to take offense. "Tall tale!? That was all true!"

"You cannot possibly have encountered Metal Sonic at that point in time. You are lying."

"Hey, I know that you're jealous because your team left you out of the tournament, but don't go taking it out on me!"

Shadow walks in from behind. "He's telling the truth, Omega."

Jet greets, "Hey, Shadow. You weren't such a bad racer yourself. Wouldn't mind a rematch with you sometime."

Turning on Shadow, Omega interrupts, "That is not possible. At the specified time, Metal Sonic was–"

Shadow cuts off, "I don't think you should be talking about that here."

Jet glances from Shadow to Omega for a moment in confusion at the exchange. But then he's struck by another thought. "Oh, hey, whatever happened to that other teammate of yours…Rouge, was it? Haven't seen her around."

Shadow suddenly turns away with a growl, storming off without another word. Omega wordlessly follows.

"Yeesh, someone's in a bad mood. Sorry I asked." He turns back to Hero and Charmy. "So, where was I?"

Sonic's voice declares from the entrance of his tent, "Ready to get this race started?"

"Finally!" Jet walks over to meet him in the middle. "You sure know how to keep a guy waiting."

Sonic adjusts the visor on his forehead as he meets Jet eye to eye. "Gotta do it right. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go already."

Sonic gestures towards the floor, at a sharp, straight border between lighter and darker patches of grass. "Starting line?"

Jet nods, taking a step behind it. "Good as any."

"Wait! Don't start yet!" Jet rolls his eyes with a groan as Tails runs up towards them.

Sonic questions, "What is it, Tails?"

As Tails makes it up to them, he presses down on a button on his Handheld with a smirk. "Something to show everyone." A faint whirring sound can be heard as two yellow orb-shaped drones fly out from Tails' tent, rising up to circle around Sonic and Jet. Tails turns the screen of his device around for everyone to see. It shows live footage of the two racers from one of the drones circling above. Tails excitedly explains, "Managed to get these together just in time. Now we'll all be able to watch the race from here!"

Sonic looks up in the air at the drones as he scratches his head. "You just…had these?"

"Well, I built them for reconnaissance, but…what better way to test them out?"

Jet interrupts, "Great, wonderful, that's nice, can we get to the race now? Believe it or not, I don't have all day."

Sonic looks to Tails. "You wanna call it?"
"Sure!" Tails takes a few steps back as he clears his throat. "On your marks…"

Sonic crouches down in a runner's stance, putting his fingertips right up to the starting line. Jet glances back over his shoulder, stepping backwards at a slow, deliberate pace.

"Get set…"

Jet reverses his direction, running forwards as he throws his board out in front of him. Sonic straightens his legs behind him, prepared to take off on his toes.

"Go!"

Jet hops onto his moving board just as it crosses the starting line, taking off right alongside Sonic. The wind rushes past them as they blast away, blowing through the canyon as the crowd cheers after them. The drone cameras follow in their direction, seeing all from above.

As the walls of the canyon rush by, the two racers lock eyes, dead even from the very start. Jet comments, "Looks like it wasn't all talk. You really are that fast."

Sonic jokes back, "Honestly, I thought you'd be in the dust by now. I guess Gear technology's gotten a lot faster since last time I raced."

"Technology? Ha! I've gotten faster, but technology has nothing to do with it. I've been training every single day, waiting for this moment. The chance to finally beat my rival, one-on-one."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Jet. I always race to win."

Another voice calls into Jet's ear, "Training? Really? And I suppose it was all this 'training' that improved the aerodynamics and engine efficiency of your Extreme Gear? Oh, wait, no, that was me."

Jet makes a shushing noise to silence Wave, which Sonic doesn't seem to pick up on as he makes a short hop over the flowing stream that runs through the center of the canyon. Jet, hovering through the air, isn't slowed down in the slightest as he travels right over the water. Sonic's jump has put him just a few inches behind.

Jet taunts, "Face it, Hedgehog. You put yourself at a disadvantage on the ground like that. Can't be one with the wind when your feet are stuck with the earth."

"If I were you, I'd be watching the track instead of my feet."

"Huh?" Jet looks back ahead of him, immediately needing to swerve out of the way to narrowly avoid crashing into the first tree in the path. The maneuver is enough to put Sonic in the lead. Jet lets out a growl as he tries to make up the ground. But as the density of trees quickly increases, Jet is forced to swerve back and forth constantly around them. Sonic, seeming to know the path better, manages to keep a much straighter course, strengthening his lead.

Sonic vaults over a large fallen log, keeping his speed all the way through. Seeing an opportunity, Jet makes a slight turn off to the side, aiming for the log at just the right angle to launch off of it as a ramp. Doing a spinning trick through the air, he sails right over Sonic's head, landing a fair distance in front of him. He looks back at Sonic for just long enough to throw a mocking salute before turning back to the path ahead, leaning in to keep as much speed as he can. The trees are beginning to thin out, revealing that the canyon walls have long since receded, leaving nothing but open hills in view all around.

Glancing back once again to ensure that Sonic is still a fair distance behind, Jet voices quietly, "How are we looking, Wave?"

Wave answers back in his radio, "We're nearly out of time, but you're doing fine. Just stay on track."

Jet reaches up to pull his goggles down over his eyes. "There's no turning back." He directs his arms out behind him, leaning even lower to increase his speed even further.

—–—

"Metal Sonic was defeated aboard the Egg Fleet approximately four years, five months ago, and was taken into GUN custody soon thereafter. He has remained inactive in this pod ever since." Omega directs his clawed hand to indicate the so-called 'package' that has been kept in the caves of the Emerald Canyon since the war's beginning. "No breaches were detected. Metal Sonic cannot have been at the World Grand Prix at the time indicated."

Shadow crosses his arms, staring at the opaque front of the pod for a while. Something seems to leave him unsettled. Still he answers, "It's just a robot. There was nothing stopping Eggman from making another after you took this one."

"Then the unit raced by Jet the Hawk was a Metal Sonic. But it was not Metal Sonic."

"What's the difference?"

"No two sentient units, mechanical or biological, can be identical. It is not possible. This Metal Sonic is an individual with a specificity of free will that cannot be duplicated."

"Why do you care so much?"

Omega takes a silent pause to process the question. "Inquiry not understood."

"You act like you're offended that Eggman would try to make another Metal Sonic, that anyone could possibly mistake it for this one. You're defending Metal Sonic. Why?"

Omega takes an even longer pause. "Attempting to process inquiry… Additional information required. Why has Jet the Hawk challenged Sonic the Hedgehog to a race?"

Shadow raises an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Information necessary to form accurate response."

Shadow closes his eyes, letting out a brief sigh. "Jet sees Sonic as his rival. They both want to prove that they're better than the other."

"Define: 'rival'."

Shadow seems more confused than ever. Still, he does his best to explain, "A rival is…someone you…" He shakes his head for a moment. "A rival is someone who's just like you, who wants or does the same things as you. But they're also different. Different in how, or why they do things, different enough that it proves a point which of them comes out on top. You see some of yourself in your rival, maybe something you want to have, maybe something you want to get rid of. That's what makes you want to be better than them, to prove that you are the best version of yourself. And it makes you feel like you should have the right to decide…what they should do. What they should be like." Shadow puts a hand up to his chin as he starts to think about what he's just said.

Omega makes no response at first. "Processing… Response generated." His head swivels slowly away from Shadow to face Metal Sonic's pod. "I…have a rival."

—–—

The race has pushed into the Aquatic Ruins. Flurries of green leaves fly through the air as Sonic dashes over the moss-covered stone landscape, leaving a clear wake of wind behind him. He looks up to his left, where Jet flies by on a higher platform, his board turned sideways to grind over a thin fallen pillar. At the end of the pillar, he leaps off, flipping through the air to land securely in an even higher area near the top of the leafy canopy, splashing over a thin layer water from which a waterfall flows.

The water cascades into a much deeper pool just ahead of Sonic. Undeterred, Sonic leaps from the edge of the water, onto the top of a wide marble pillar. He continues to nimbly leap from pillar to pillar, some of them crumbling beneath his feet, but still he makes it safely to the opposite side.

Up ahead, the path in front of Sonic loops up into a tall corkscrew that reaches all the way around the higher path that Jet travels. Putting a renewed effort into his speed, Sonic takes the spiral path, only to leap off from the peak, landing him right beside Jet on the higher path. The two lock eyes once again, only inches apart, each fighting to take the slightest lead. They both look ahead to see the same obstacle in their path, a large log, rotted hollow, that stretches over a wide gap. As Jet pulls up on his board to jump onto its top, Sonic curls into a ball to roll straight through. And Sonic comes out on the other side with a noticeable lead.

This time, it's Sonic's turn to throw back a mocking salute, before rolling once again, this time down a steep slope that grants him even more speed. Jet leans in with a growl, trying to make up the lost ground.

As the terrain levels out into relatively stable ground, the mountain up ahead, with some manner of stone temple visible at its peak plateau, quickly approaches. Sonic eyes the long, winding path that stretches up and wraps around the mountain, not seeming to like the look of it. But a glance back at the distance between himself and Jet behind him seems to convince him that he has the time. He runs for the mouth of the path, which quickly disappears into a narrow valley.

As Sonic runs through the valley, he takes a glance back once again. This time, Jet is nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he…?" He instead looks up, just in time to see Jet high above him, crossing from one side of the valley to the other. And somehow, a massive rockslide follows in his wake, tumbling down through the valley into Sonic's path. "What the–!?"

Wasting no time, Sonic springs up, skillfully leaping between the walls and even the falling boulders, quickly making his way up high enough to follow in Jet's path.

Jet looks back with a smirk. He shouts backwards, "Ready to give up yet, Hedgehog!?"

Sonic shouts back, "Ha! Not even close!"

Jet reaches for his wrist. "Well you're about to be." The path he moves in has no clear trail, ending abruptly in a mountainous wall a short distance ahead. But as he unfolds the cuff of his glove, he reveals underneath a concealed metallic wristband with a flat top, decorated by a single embedded green gemstone.

Even trying to catch up from afar, Sonic immediately recognizes the device. "It can't be!"

"You thought that I didn't bring any tricks of my own!? Big mistake!" Jet presses down with two fingers on the gemstone the moment that he is about to crash headlong into the wall, and instantly, the air around the device seems to condense in a rapidly spreading wave, producing an effect that almost seems to slow time to a stop as he starts to pull up on the angle of his board.

In an instant, everything bursts back outwards as Jet soars up the wall at an impossible angle, right through gravity. He shouts down, "Catch me if you can! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"

Sonic doesn't seem deterred as he continues to move straight towards the wall. "Alright then." He pulls out a glowing yellow Chaos Emerald. "Time to show you my trick."

Jet, glancing down, smirks immediately at the sight of the gem.

Sonic has closed his eyes. Time seems to slow all around him as he takes a deep breath. He thinks to himself, "Just like I was trained… Feel the Chaos Energy. Feel it running through me… Feel it running with me. I can use it however I will it…for as long as I need it." The Emerald in his hand begins to glow. Beneath him, the movement of his feet becomes an indiscernible blur. He hits the wall and keeps on running, straight up the side without losing any speed at all. Slight amounts of bright blue electricity spark through him as he runs.

"What!?" Jet sees that Sonic is not only following him, but gaining on him rapidly. With a growl, he turns his attention back to the edge of the plateau just above. At the peak of his vertical climb, he flies over the top, making a flipping trick through the air as regular gravity starts to pull him back down towards the plateau.

As Sonic reaches the top just a moment behind Jet, he grabs onto the edge and flips himself straight onto the normal ground, wasting no time in the air. Jet lands right beside him. Sonic, still channeling energy into his running, inches ahead of his opponent.

The entrance to the marble ruins, marking the finish line, lies just ahead. In front of it is an odd stone platform raised just slightly above the ground, covered in elegant carvings and markings in no understandable language.

Seeing his opponent taking the lead, Jet growls, "I'm not finished yet!" In each hand, he whips out one of his green-feathered Bashōsen fans, holding them out behind him to channel the current of wind around him. This move seems just enough to match his speed to Sonic's, perhaps even slightly faster.

With Sonic still just barely in the lead, the finish line is imminent. They both pass over the low stone platform. And then Jet sails ahead, right through the temple entrance.

—–—

On the screen of Tails' handheld pad, Jet's board crosses into the ruins once again. "That's it! Jet wins!"

An odd, slightly confused, vaguely congratulatory murmur spreads through the small crowd that stands huddled together, watching over his shoulders.

After a few moments, Amy questions, "Why hasn't Sonic crossed the finish line yet? Weren't they neck-and-neck?"

"Let me check." Tails presses a few buttons on the device to control the drone cameras. But, as they start to move, they suddenly cut to static. Tails puts a hand to his chin. "Well that's odd. Guess I still have a few bugs to work out."

—–—

Sonic sprints with all of his might. But his feet only seem to slide across the ground, as if he were being pulled backwards by an incredible force. The force seems to come from the Emerald in his hand, which appears to be pulling his arm straight backwards as it glows intensely. Sonic struggles to pull the Emerald back, but he can barely even get it to budge. Finally, it's ripped free from his hand. The sudden release of force causes Sonic to go flying forwards onto his face, sliding across the ground to end up a few inches away from the temple entrance.

Jet's hand is offered down from the inside. "Need some help there?"

Sonic looks up with a scowl. Without taking the hand, he pushes himself back to his feet. "And here I thought you were finally ready to play fair." Without waiting for an answer, he turns his back on Jet, looking back to the direction the Emerald was pulled in. It's landed point-up, right in the center of the stone platform, continuing to glow.

"Hey, it wasn't me. Honestly, I didn't even know that was going to happen."

Sonic walks up to the Emerald, and kneels down to pick it up. "But you did know something was going to happen?" He pulls up on the Emerald. But it appears to be stuck in place.

"You could say that."

"This…" He grunts loudly as he makes another pull at the Emerald, to no avail. "…was never about a race at all then, was it? Trying to steal the Emerald, is that it? For Eggman, maybe?"

"Pfft. You can keep the Emerald, you have my word on that."

Sonic finally gives up on trying to move it, throwing a suspicious glance back at Jet. "Then what's this all about?"

Jet gestures into the temple entrance. "Come inside and see for yourself."

Sonic glances back for a moment at the Emerald on the ground.

"Does it look like it's going anywhere?"

Sonic lets out a sigh. "Fine. Show me." Jet waves him along, and they walk into the temple together.

The inside area is rather small and quite dark, but the walls on all sides are clearly marked with the same ancient script seen on the platform outside, lit by a torch in each corner that casts a hazy blue flame. On the front wall, the writing converges around a simple yet large drawing of a great winged structure. The bottom piece of the structure appears to be broken off and falling down. But beneath it, standing atop a high peak, two cartoonish animoid figures, one green and one blue, each have their hand around what could only be a Chaos Emerald, shining its painted light onto the falling piece above.

Sonic takes a long look around, stepping up to an odd-looking stone pedestal in the center of the room. "What's up with all this?"

Jet's eyes quickly scan over all the text on the walls. "I'll spare you the exact details. It tells a story from the ancient past, not long after Babylon Garden crashed on this planet. My ancestor discovered a component that had broken off during the crash. But, he wasn't the first to find it. Fearing the legendary tales of thievery that surrounded the Babylon Rogues, another individual, referred to as the 'Unifier of Chaos', attempted to seal the component away, so that Babylon Garden could never be repaired."

Sonic mutters in understanding, "The Controller…"

"The picture tells you the rest. My ancestor fought with the Unifier of Chaos over the Chaos Emerald that was used to seal the component. But it remained sealed."

Sonic finishes, "Until today. The part could only be unsealed by the same power used to seal it. You were just using me for your little treasure hunt."

"Believe me, Sonic. That race was no distraction. I put everything I had into it."

"Fine then. Two birds with one stone."

Jet glares down his beak at Sonic. "Watch your mouth."

"Oh, uhh…sorry." Sonic walks past the pedestal, up to the painting on the wall, taking a closer look at the two characters depicted. "Those two, meeting like that all those years ago…it's almost like you and I were destined to be rivals from the start, eh?"

Jet moves up to the pedestal that Sonic has left. On its surface, rows of square protrusions are arrayed almost like a keyboard, each one depicting a different indistinguishable character. "I don't much believe in destiny. I believe in doing whatever it takes to forge your own path."

Sonic's attention has moved on to the text surrounding the image. "How certain are you about the details of that story? I mean…I'm no expert…but these ancient Babylonian carvings aren't exactly known for being concise. There's just…something about it that seems…off, somehow."

Jet doesn't directly answer the question. "And you know the other thing about all these ancient Babylonian ruin sites?" He suddenly starts to press down on a specific sequence of keys on the stone panel. "They always have traps." As soon as he's pressed the last key, he turns to walk back towards the entrance.

Sonic, a bit distracted, turns away from the wall a moment later. "Huh?" The keys in the panel that have been pressed all begin to sink into the panel, showing a dim green light behind. Suddenly, something shoots out of the ceiling above. A cage-like wall smashes down into the floor, cutting Sonic off from the exit and from Jet, trapping him inside. Sonic runs up to the cage bars, shouting through them, "Jet! What're you doing!?"

Jet stops at the exit. Without turning back, he answers, "There's one part I didn't mention. The missing component is called the Babylcore. It was the Babylon Garden's weapon system. And Eggman asked me to get it for him."

"Eggman! You really are working for him!"

"It's nothing personal, Sonic. I did everything I could to keep you out of it. Once Eggman's retrieved the Babylcore, I'll come back to let you out." He moves to exit.

"Wait! Just think about this for a second!" Jet stops again to listen. "Something doesn't add up. Why would the Babylonians set traps here, when they are the ones trying to get in?" Jet doesn't answer immediately. "There's only one answer. Your ancestor wanted the Babylcore to remain sealed just as much as the Controller did. They put aside their differences, and sealed it together, so that only a Babylonian and a Controller working together could unseal it. Your ancestor wanted to keep this thing out of the hands of people like Eggman! And you're undoing all of that!"

Jet thinks for just another moment. "…The ancient Babylonian language…had no words for 'competition' or 'rival'. The closest they could use…is 'fight' and 'enemy'."

"Then I'm right. Those two weren't enemies. They were rivals. Just like us."

Jet turns away from Sonic, back towards the exit. "I wish that made a difference. But this is what we have to do to survive. Like I said, you're safe in there, and you can keep the Emerald." With that, he continues the rest of the way out.

"Jet! Come back here! Jet!" This time, Sonic gets no response, left completely alone. He grabs the cage bars and shakes them hard, but it's clear that they're firmly in place. Taking as many steps back as the cramped space allows, he rams into the bars with a spin, only to be knocked away. Rubbing at his head, he quickly gets back to his feet with a growl. Realizing something, he reaches for his communicator. "Tails, can you hear me? Come in!" He waits for a response. Nothing comes. "Shadow? Anyone!? I need help, anyone, come in!"

Placing his hand on a bar, Sonic closes his eyes with a long sigh. "It's…still out there… The Emerald, I can feel it from here. If I could just…" Momentarily, Sonic seems to think back to the very first time that everything depended on such an unattempted feat. "But…can I do this?"

Outside, an impressively large red and orange Eggman airship has arrived above the ruins, a large claw device reaching down from its bottom. A small team of Egg Pawns stand around the stone platform, guiding the claw into place. The platform itself has somehow opened up from the middle, revealing a deep cavity underneath. The Emerald still lies stuck to what used to be the center.

Jet stands with his arms crossed, tapping a finger against one of his elbows. "How long is this gonna take, anyways?" He doesn't get any answer. His eyes move to the Emerald, which seems to be glowing quite a bit brighter than usual. "Well that's strange." With a loud sparking sound, the light suddenly grows to blinding intensity, forcing Jet to shield his eyes.

Out of the light, Sonic suddenly appears, delivering a hard kick to the nearest Egg Pawn, and landing on the ground in a crouch. "Whew. I wasn't sure if I could pull that one off." A sudden gust of wind knocks him off his feet, sending him flying across the ground towards the edge of the plateau.

Before he has the chance to get back up, Jet's razor-edged Bashōsen fan, the source of the gust, is held up to his throat. "Just stay down, Hedgehog. That's all you have to do." Without lifting the weapon, Jet looks back to the remaining robots. "And don't any of you stop working!"

Sonic looks up to Jet from the ground, pleading, "Think about what you're doing, Jet. The engine of Babylon Garden nearly destroyed this planet. If that's what Babylonian propulsion technology could do, just imagine how much damage Eggman could do with its weapons, designed for destruction. You could be dooming our entire planet!"

Jet leans in just a bit closer. "You think I don't know that? This planet's charms ran out the day Eggman took over. We're going to get Babylon Garden running again." He brandishes the metallic wristband around his opposite arm. "Wave already managed to recreate an Ark of the Cosmos. With the money Eggman's paying us, we'll soon have a new, safer engine unit. Then we're finally getting off this useless rock ball."

"And leaving everyone else to suffer in the dust? You don't care about that at all?"

"If I were a real genie, I'd snap my fingers and make this world a perfect place. But that's not an option. I have to look out for myself and my team. That's how it was when my ancestors crashed on this planet. And that's how it is today."

"It's not enough to wish that things were different. Even for a real genie, and trust me, I've met one. But that doesn't mean you can't change them. You can change the world with your actions. But your actions today are making everything worse. Don't you see that?"

Jet lets out a growl. "You're not going to change my mind about this."

"You don't want to fight me over this, Jet. Just get out of my way, and let me put a stop to it."

"You know I can't do that."

Sonic closes his eyes. "Then I wish I could say I was sorry." He suddenly kicks up at Jet's hand, knocking the weapon high into the air. Before Jet can react, Sonic leaps up into a spin that knocks him to the ground.

From the pit beneath the platform, the claw slowly lifts up a sleek, elegantly-designed, thick cylindrical metallic device that looks nothing like any kind of recognizable weapon. Sonic spins straight through another one of the Pawns managing the lift, leaving only a few remaining. But before Sonic can do anything else, he glances back and suddenly ducks down, narrowly avoiding the thrown Bashōsen that slices through the air above his head. The weapon keeps going, partially cutting through the cable that holds up the Babylcore. Taking note of this, Sonic doesn't notice as Jet races towards him from behind. "Hah! Too slow!" Jet's board slams into Sonic, knocking him up into the air. Not relenting, Jet activates his Ark of the Cosmos, flying up after him, grabbing the side of his board and hopping off to deliver a hard kick that sends Sonic straight back into the ground. Jet skillfully remounts and flies straight back downwards.

One by one, the remaining twines in claw's cable begin to snap under the weight of the device. The Babylcore plummets back down into the pit, hitting the bottom with a loud crash. Sonic and Jet both stop what they're doing to look over at the sound. They both voice at once, "Uh oh."

The working Egg Pawns lean over the edge of the pit, looking down to see a faint purple glow at the bottom. The air all around seems to grow strangely dim. Then a massive pulse bursts out from the hole, knocking Sonic and Jet back a step. The dust and debris thrown up by the shockwave seems to hover almost weightlessly in the air for a moment, before being slowly drawn in a circular motion around the pit. Sonic looks around the display in confusion. "Wh-what the…?" He and Jet both begin to cautiously step backwards.

Suddenly, Sonic's communicator begins to buzz through some static. "S-nic? D- you read me?"

"Tails, I hear you! What's going on?"

"There was some sort of electromagnetic interference blocking any signal from getting through your area. I'm still working on getting the cameras back online. Tell me what's happening!"

From the very center of the pit, a straight line of pitch blackness seems to shoot straight upwards, rapidly expanding into the shape of a circling vortex. "Nothing good."

The Egg Pawns on the edge of the pit turn to run for cover. But their feet are pulled out from underneath them as they're lifted into the air, thrown into the cycle of the vortex. As they are pulled closer to the center, their forms are crushed down inch by inch, until there's nothing visible left of them.

Sonic and Jet brace themselves on the walls of the temple against the pulling force of the vortex. "Jet, what is this?"

"How the heck should I know!? This was supposed to be Eggman's problem!"

Up in the air, the airship has fired all thrusters, seemingly caught in the pull of the vortex as well. But ever so slowly, it is being dragged downwards.

"It'll be everyone's problem if we don't find a way to turn it off."

Tails' voice comes back in over the communicator. "No way…"

"What is it, Tails?"

"The drones are back online, and I'm analyzing the data now. It's something completely impossible by any laws of physics that I know of. Using some of the same principles from their engine technology, the Babylonians somehow made a way to create something with all the same properties as a black hole, projected in a single direction!"

Jet comments, pointing up at the airship above, "The perfect spacefaring weapon." They watch as the back of the airship begins to crunch and twist, losing out to the force of the vortex. "No kind of shields, no amount of armor, could possibly protect another ship from getting swallowed up by a black hole. While the wielder of the weapon remains perfectly safe."

"I don't think the word 'safe' quite applies here. I wonder if this weapon could be what caused the overload in their engines that forced them to crash here…"

"If that weapon doesn't get shut down, this Black Vortex is going to keep getting bigger. It may not be pointed in the right direction to destroy the planet, but it sure can suck up our atmosphere."

"Jet?"

"Any mechanisms to turn it on or off would be part of the Babylon Garden. With the Babylcore detached, there's nothing we can do."

"Could we seal it back up?"

"Sure we could. If we wanted the Vortex to swallow up the mountain."

"Tails, we need another way. How do you turn off a black hole?"

"Well…theoretically…this vortex should behave like any other rotating body. Enough force counter to its direction of rotation should be able to counteract it."

"What do I have to do?"

"Run around it. Fast. Really fast."

"I can do that." Sonic glances over to Jet. "Guess you'd better get moving if you want to get off this planet while you still have the chance."

"And let you hog all the glory for saving the planet? No chance."

Sonic puts on a smirk. "Alright then. Let's call it a race."

Jet tosses his board out, and hops on, carefully keeping his balance against the pulling force from this distance. "I'll run circles around you."

"That's the idea." Sonic sprints for the edge of the vortex, Jet close behind him. Both gaining to top speed quickly, the green and blue streaks circle around the vortex almost faster than the eye can see.

The world around him rushing by in a rotating blur, Sonic reaches for his communicator. ""I'm not seeing any difference. Tell me it's working, Tails."

"The growth rate of the vortex is slowing, but you're going to need a lot more speed to close it up."

A voice buzzes in Jet's radio as well. "Jet? What did you do!?"

"Wave! Get Storm off his lazy butt, and both of you get over here, now! We need more speed!"

"Whatever you say…"

Sonic adds, "Shadow, we could use your help, too. Get here as fast as you can."

—–—

Numbers fly over Tails' screen as he uses it to assist his calculations. He looks up to see the growing vortex on the distant horizon. From this distance, the way the vortex causes the gloomy clouds in the sky to circle around it is far more visible. "The five of them…won't be enough. They need just a little bit more."

Amy comments behind him, "You and I aren't so slow. What if we ran with them?"

"No! Anything even a little bit slower than the top speed of an Extreme Gear will get sucked right in." Realizing something, Tails suddenly looks over to the canyon wall, where the spare Gear intended for Sonic still sits unused. He immediately gets to his feet, handing his Handheld off to Amy. "Here, take this!"

Amy takes it somewhat hesitantly. "Where are you going?"

Tails runs for the Gear, picking it up and continuing to head out along the canyon, answering back, "To save the world!' He throws the board out in front of him, hopping on and taking off even faster.

Amy watches him go, still a bit confused.

"His calculations are flawed."

Amy looks back with surprise at Omega. "Huh?"

"His addition will not suffice. An additional source of speed is required." Omega turns to walk away without another word.

Amy looks more confused than ever.

—–—

Five streaks now circle around the outside of the vortex, all at slightly different speeds.

Storm the Albatross grumbles, "I don't think we're getting anywhere with this, boss!"

Jet snaps back, "Shut up and keep racing! Everything depends on us!"

Wave the Swallow adds, "The kid's plan checks out! We just have to keep moving!"

Sonic shakes his head. "I don't think that's enough! We need more!"

Jet mocks, "Don't look at us, Hedgehog! You're the one not pulling your own weight here! You need three to race with a team."

Tails' voice declares, "I've got that covered!" He swerves into the ring, joining the other five in their efforts without hesitation.

Sonic shouts, "Tails!?"

Wave comments, "Well, look who it is. Long time no see, shorty."

Tails glances away bashfully. "Oh, h-hi, Wave."

Jet complains, "Hey, that Gear was made for Sonic!"

Sonic counters, "Don't think that's what we should be worrying about right now, Jet." He looks back to Tails. "Glad to have you on board. Will this be enough?"

Tails clenches his eyes shut for a moment. "I…I'm not sure. It should be enough to stop it from growing, but…we can't just hold it like this forever."

Sonic looks to the Rogues. "And you guys don't have any other spares lying around we can borrow?"

Wave snaps, "You can't exactly buy them at the supermarket, you know! It was hard enough custom-building one for you!"

Jet complains, "Your Rebellion has some of the best racers in the league! You're telling me that not a single one of you held on to your Extreme Gear?"

Sonic shakes his head. "Racing gear didn't exactly seem like a priority when we were preparing for war! We'll just have to keep pushing faster! We can do this!"

Shadow has remained silent all this time, putting all of his focus into running ahead. Tails pulls up beside him. "Everything alright, Shadow?"

Shadow glances at him from the side for a moment. Then a slight smirk appears on his face.

Tails comments smugly, "You're having fun, aren't you?"

Sonic adds from behind, "Admit it, Shadow! There's no better feeling than to be here with your friends, racing together!"

"Hmph."

Jet shouts, "Enough chatter! Just race!"

After only a moment or two, the communicators of Sonic, Shadow, and Tails all buzz. Amy's voice warns hesitantly, "Guys…you aren't going to believe this…"

"What is it, Amy!?"

"Something just left the camp…"

"What do you mean by that!?"

Sonic doesn't have to wait for an answer. Everything in perception seems to freeze to a single moment. Sonic turns his head as if in slow motion to meet the eyes of a second blue streak that appears right beside him. The piercing red robotic eyes of Metal Sonic stare back at him.

Metal Sonic blasts past all of them, circling the Black Vortex faster than anyone else seems able to go. The shape of the vortex rapidly begins to close, thinning out to a single line before disappearing completely.

The six racers stare up at Metal Sonic with varying expressions of shock. But Metal Sonic looks only at Sonic. "We meet again, my loathsome copy… I am not yet ready. But I'll let you know." Metal Sonic turns away, jetting through the air with instant speed.

Sonic takes chase, reaching after him. "Metal Sonic! Come back here! Metal Sonic!" Sonic only stops as he hits the absolute edge of the plateau, forced to watch as Metal Sonic disappears into the distance.

Jet flies up to Sonic's side a moment later. "Did Metal Sonic just talk?"

Tails is a moment behind. "Did Metal Sonic just save us?"

Sonic suddenly drops to his knees. "I…I couldn't catch him. I couldn't keep up with him…"

Jet pats him on the back a bit forcefully. "Come on, what's the big deal? He just caught us by surprise is all. Trust me, even Storm could outrace that bucket of bolts."

Storm chuckles in agreement. "Heheh. Thanks, boss. Hey…"

Sonic closes his eyes. "You're right." He gets back to his feet, shaking it off. "It's nothing, of course you're right."

Jet holds something out to him. "And I believe that this belongs to you?"

Sonic takes the Chaos Emerald with a smile. Still, he keeps looking out to the horizon.

Tails questions, "So…what now?"

Jet answers, "Good question." He looks back to his own team. "Storm! Go seal up the platform."

"Yes, boss!"

Wave complains, "Seal it!? If we aren't giving the Babylcore to Eggman, don't you think we should at least take it for ourselves?"

Tails shouts with surprise, "Eggman!?"

Sonic holds out a hand to calm him down. "It's alright, Tails." He looks to Jet to explain.

Jet closes his eyes and shakes his head. "No one should be allowed to have a weapon this dangerous. Not unless the fate of the world depends on it. I think that's what my ancestor had in mind."

Sonic nods in agreement. "So it stays here."

Wave crosses her arms. "Well that's just great. So what do you suppose we tell Eggman when he comes asking for it?"

Jet looks up into the air, thinking for a moment. "Well, it was a big shame really, how Sonic and his friends had to destroy the weapon to save the world. There was really nothing we could do. As far as Eggman's concerned, it doesn't exist anymore. And anyways, we only promised to open it up for him, so he still has to pay us."

Storm comes running up behind him. "All finished, boss."

"Good work, Storm." Jet looks to Sonic. "So, I suppose you still think our race isn't settled?" He holds up his board. "I'm certainly ready to get out of here. How about a rematch?"

Sonic glances to the side for a moment. "I…had something else in mind."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Team race. Three-on-three. You guys up for it?"

Wave steps up beside Jet. "Always."

Storm agrees, "Yeah!"

Sonic and Tails both look to Shadow. "Shadow?"

Shadow, much like Sonic, has been looking off towards the horizon. He looks back to them with a smirk. "Fine." He turns to walk towards Sonic. "Just don't expect me to carry you when you fall behind."

"I knew you'd come around. And I don't think you'll have to worry about that." He takes a last look around. "Alright then. Everyone ready?"

"Ready!"

"Then let's go!"

Ahead of them, the light from the setting sun almost seems to flash in a bright green light.

—–—

Night has fallen on the Emerald Canyon, and the race appears to be long over.

Wave comments to Tails, "You handled yourself like a real pro on that board, kid. I think you should hang on to it. Never know when it might come in handy."

"Wow, you really think so?" Tails looks downwards, blushing slightly. "Thanks so much."
Sonic crosses his arms, staring Jet in the eye. "So that's it? After all this, you're just going right back to Eggman?"

"What I said before is still true. I've got to watch out for my team, just like you've got to watch out for yours. But…I don't think we're ready to leave this planet just yet. Maybe it's true that one person can't just wish the world into a better place. But if there's one thing that was proven to me today…it's that for a team working together, just about anything is possible."

"Took you long enough to figure that one out. If you join our team, I'll bet we can do even more."

"And throw away our only escape route if things go wrong? Not happening. Besides…might not be such a bad idea for you to know someone on Eggman's good side."

"You'd really do that for us?"

"Not on the record, I wouldn't. But, I don't think Eggman would notice if I…did a favor for a friend, once in a while."

"Does that make us friends?"

Jet pauses for a moment. But then he puts on a smirk, offering out a hand. "Absolutely."

Sonic takes the hand, and they shake. "Then I guess this is goodbye?"

"Just don't think that us being friends means I'll be going any easier on you. Next time we meet, I'm still going to beat you in a fair race."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jet turns and waves his teammates along. "Come on, Rogues! Time to head home."

Storm complains, "But I never got to race against Knuckles!"

"Oh, give it a rest already." Jet tosses his board out in front of him, and hops on. The other two do the same. "We'll be seeing them again, soon enough." As the three take off at full speed down the canyon, Jet holds a hand up behind his head in farewell.

Sonic nods as he sees them off. "See ya, Jet."

Shadow steps up beside Sonic. "We need to talk."

—–—

Omega stares silently at the open pod that used to contain Metal Sonic. Sonic's approaching footsteps can be heard for quite a while before he finally stops there. At first he seems to wait for Omega to say something. But Omega remains silent.

"Shadow told me everything. After we beat Metal Overlord, you picked him up. And you kept him. Like some kind of pet. That's what you were so intent on retrieving from the GUN base. That's what you've been keeping hidden at our camp all this time. Tell me he was telling some kind of sick joke, Omega. Tell me that you had nothing to do with this."

Omega's silence is the only confirmation that Sonic needs.

"…Metal Sonic? You were hiding Metal Sonic, in our camp, for the last year, and you didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me!? And don't even get me started on the fact that you woke him up and let him out into the world without consulting anyone! What were you thinking!?"

Omega continues to stare silently at the pod.

"Answer me! That's an order!"

Omega's head slowly turns to look at Sonic. "The world is saved."

"That's the best you could come up with? That's your justification!? How the heck would you know that Metal Sonic would do anything but make it worse!?"

"He cannot conquer a world that does not exist."

"Right, so let's just let out the guy who wants to conquer the world!"

"You are behaving irrationally."

"Irrationally!? This wasn't your decision to make, Omega! Now, because of you, someone who thinks he's me is running around out there, destroying who-knows-what! And everything he does, everything he ruins, that's on me!"

"You wish to control the actions of your rival. But you possess no inherent claim to that right. It was not your decision more so than it was my own. I made the decision with the highest probability of success."

"Is that what this about? All of a sudden, you think Metal Sonic is your rival?" Sonic shakes his head with a growl. "That's not what this is about. I am your leader, and you let out a monster that you'd been hiding from me for way too long."

"You stated that the contents of the package did not matter."

"Well I didn't know it was this!"

"That statement contains emotional implications that you continue to deny."

Sonic takes a long breath. "You know what? You want to be Metal Sonic's rival? Fine. From here on out, you are going to spend every hour of every day tracking him down, and you are not going to stop until he isn't a threat anymore. Is that clear?"

"Affirmative."

"Good." Sonic turns to leave. "Then get started."

"Analysis indicates that you are hiding something."

Sonic stops in place. "Hiding what?"

"…Inconclusive."

"Then it's not your concern."

—–—

Metal Sonic staggers into a dark cave, sparks flying from his joints as he shudders towards the nearest wall. His metallic claws dig into the soft earth of the cave, carving jagged lines through. He stares at the back of the robotic hand for a long time. Sonic's words from long ago ring through his head. "Anytime you want a rematch…just let me know."

"Soon, Sonic… Soon, I will show you why I am the one true Sonic."

To be continued…