Sonic was overlooking the course for the race. It was going to happen tomorrow. He sat atop the balcony in his hotel room, looking over it with a pair of camouflage binoculars. Tails walked up next to him.

"So, where are we racing tomorrow?" he asked. Sonic pointed out into an open field.

"That's where we'll start. From there, we will snake our way through the jungle (hence why it's called the Jungle Run), then up the incredibly dangerous and ironically named Mt. Safety, then once we reach the peak we race down the side of the mountain down into the Toxic Caves, then once we exit the Toxic Caves we race down the seafront into the city of Yennan" Sonic replied. Tails stared out over the landscape. He had never seen anything like it, so beautiful yet so terrifying. Tails was ready to ride along with his best friend the next day. The two of them walked down into the hotel lobby to meet with Knuckles and Tommy.

"We're going to go for a hike in the woods. Want to join us?" Knuckles asked them. Sonic and Tails looked at each other.

"Sure, we'd love to" Sonic answered. The four of them were heading out of the lobby and into the woods. They were walking along, and talking about the race.

"Look, if we draw good starting spots on the grid tonight in the ballroom, we can get out to a fast start. That gives at least one of us a chance at winning" Tommy was saying on the trail. Knuckles shook his head.

"No,no. Listen, man. If we can get a good start at any spot we can have a shot" he retorted back. Tommy shrugged. Sonic seconded Knuckles' remark.

"I just want a high spot" the wild eyed raccoon said.

"Suit yourself" Sonic scoffed. Tails had a feeling someone was there, someone other than them.

"I think someone is watching us" he piped up. The three others looked at him with odd looks. Tails was still unsettled by this. Knuckles then put his arms out.

"Footprints. Crossing our path" he said. "I think Tails is right." There was a rustling in the bushes. Knuckles stepped back a bit.

"Who's there?" Tommy asked. No answer.

"Show yourself" he demanded. Still no answer. Now, they were concerned. More rustling. Tommy got freaked out and ran off.

"Tommy! Tommy, come back!" Tails was shouting after him. But, Tommy was gone and it was too late.

"Good riddance" Sonic muttered. They began walking ahead with caution, trying to see who was following them. They caught a glimpse of something moving.

"There's someone there, alright" Tails said.

"We're not leaving until we find them" Sonic said, a certain determination in his voice. They heard more rustling in the bushes. Knuckles walked over to see what it was.

"Alright, that does it. I'm coming over there!" he exclaimed. He walked over to the bushes, when something popped out. He let out a scream and fell backwards, picking himself up and stumbled back.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" she snapped. Standing before them was a badger huntress. She wore a skirt and tube top with a pair of boots. She had orange and brown fur.

"Who are you?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm Sticks" the badger replied.

"Nice to meet you, Sticks. I'm Knuckles" the muscular echidna replied. Sticks looked the three up and down, obviously skeptical. It seemed she was in isolation in Opetopia for a long time. Tails walked up to her.

"H...hi. I'm Tails" he said, introducing himself. Sticks looked him up and down.

"I'll go easy on you since you're a kid" she said. Sonic motioned in the direction of the hotel they were staying at.

"Do you want to come back to the hotel with us?" Sonic asked. Sticks hissed at that, causing all three of them to shrink back. Sticks pointed over to a burrow.

"That's mine" she said.

"That's nice" Knuckles said to her. He then looked in the general direction of the hotel.

"Tell you what. I'll bring my car out later for you to look at. I need a ride along mechanic for the race" he said to Sticks. She perked up at this.

"Explain" she inquired. Knuckles smirked.

"I'll come back later to explain everything" he said. Sticks was clearly annoyed by this, but begrudgingly accepted. The three began heading back to the hotel.

"I think we can be friends" Knuckles said. Sonic looked at him like he was crazy.

"With a crazy jungle badger huntress?" he asked. Knuckles shrugged.

"Probably" he replied.

. . .

Later that night, the drivers were gathered in the hotel ballroom to select where they were starting. The Racing Commissioner, an elderly human man named Albert I. Russell, stood on a stage overlooking everyone. Sonic stood next to Knuckles and Tommy. Ride along mechanics weren't allowed, so Tails had to stay in the room. The first driver called up was Graham Callahan, who drew 9th. There were a total of 60 drivers in this race, and the Jungle Run is a big deal.

"Did you get jungle badger to join you?" Sonic asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did" Knuckles replied. The next driver called up was Uwe Breinstrecher, who drew the 42nd position. He had a look of disappointment on his face as he returned to his spot on the ballroom floor. They cycled around to Knuckles, who drew the 15th spot. Tommy was called up and he drew the 60th and final starting spot.

"This sucks" he muttered under his breath as he walked off the stage. Sonic took a deep breath as another driver was called up. Then, he was called up and drew 22nd. Sonic excused himself from the event and went back to his room on the 7th floor. He knocked on the door to the room and Tails opened it.

"Where do we start?" he asked.

"We're starting 22nd. Middle of the pack" he replied. Tails wasn't that disappointed in the pick, but he knew all of them had their work cut out for them tomorrow.