In this next story-arc, I'm going to be mixing elements from both Sonic Riders and Sonic Free Riders because while I personally like the latter game better due to it feeling more like a racing game story-wise than its predecessors, the former game properly introduces the Babylon Rogues and establishes their relationship to Sonic and his friends. Now the reason I'm skipping over Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is because to me it felt like an unnecessary sequel with a plot that was even more ridiculous than the first game. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy the next few chapters!
Chapter 93: Competition
After an uninteresting fall and spring semester following the events of summer break before senior year, Sonny had finally graduated high-school. He didn't get as good grades as Miles who passed all his finals with A's, but his parents were still proud of him. They came to his graduation ceremony and spent the day with him before heading back to their overseas jobs. Now towards the end of his summer after graduating, he, Miles, and Chuck decided to pay a visit to the newly rebuilt Station Square which had been renamed Metal City.
"Whoa," Sonny said looking at all the holographic billboards, hover-cars, and metallic skyscrapers that shined brightly even at night. "This place has changed a lot since I was last here."
"Well, it was all made possible by the new mayor King Doc," Miles said. "He financed all of Station Square's reconstruction, though no one's sure where he got the money for it."
"King Doc? What kind of a name is that?" Chuck said with a bemused smirk.
"Apparently, he's from the kingdom of Toreggmania which was established shortly after Eggmanland was destroyed."
"That seems odd," Sonny said. "How can a kingdom be established that quickly?"
"Beats me," Miles replied.
From the top floor of a skyscraper down the street, the sound of breaking glass was heard. Sonny and the others looked up and saw three humanoid figures riding skateboard-like devices through the air away from the building. A faint glimmer from one of the figure's hands caught Sonny's attention as he ran in pursuit. Using his unnatural speed, he eventually caught up to the three figures and stood in their way. Unfazed, the first figure who wore yellow-tinted goggles and had green spiky hair flew right past him and Sonny watched the spiky-haired guy go while Chuck pummeled the third figure off his skateboard-like device with one punch. Fortunately the third figure, who had slicked back gray hair and wore blue-tinted goggles, was saved another figure, a female with long purple hair wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses, before he hit the ground. The three figures then flew off into the sky while a hovering police-car pursued them.
"Thanks, Chuck," Sonny said.
"No problem," Chuck replied. "But watch your back next time."
"Hey, guys," Miles said, picking up the skateboard-like device that was dropped when the gray-haired guy fell off. "Take a look at this."
Sonny and Chuck walked over to see what Miles was looking at. The board itself was yellow with a black inner padding and two foot-presses on each end. On the back of the board was a golden insignia that depicted the outline of a bird-shaped lamp with clouds swirling around it.
"What is it?" Sonny asked.
"It's an Extreme Gear," Miles said. "I've seen these on TV lately. They're basically skateboards that hover off the ground and are only manufactured in this city."
"Okay, but what's so special about this particular board?" Sonny said.
Miles then pointed to the insignia on back of the board. "This insignia been appearing at the scene of various robberies that have been occurring all over the world in the past few years. I think those guys we encountered just now were the thieves that are responsible."
"Aw, man, and we let them get away," Chuck whined. "What kinds of things do they steal?"
"Treasures from various archeological sites which they sell for money," Miles said bitterly.
"That sounds awful," Chuck said. "But what could they have taken from that building that was so valuable?"
"A Chaos Emerald," Sonny said, causing Miles and Chuck to look at him. "Right before the green-haired guy flew past me, I saw the Green Chaos Emerald in one of his hands."
"If that's the case, we should let G. U. N. know about this," Miles said, and started dialing the Commander's phone-number.
###
After the Commander confirmed that he would be sending agents to Metal City as soon as possible, Sonny and the others decided to spend the night in a hotel near the city's outskirts since it was late. The next morning, a news broadcast about the robbery that was committed the previous night was suddenly interrupted by a large man with a blond moustache, fake blond hair, and wearing regal robes that were red in color along with a golden crown outlined in velvet red. His eyes were covered by a pair of black-tinted glasses and he was chuckling loudly.
"Good morning, citizens of Metal City!" the large man bellowed. "This is King Doc speaking, and I have a special announcement I wish to make!"
"Who's this clown?" Chuck asked as he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Shush!" Miles said, sitting with Sonny on the couch in front of the TV. "Let's hear what he has to say."
"In the next few days, we will be holding a special tournament called the EX World Grand Prix!" King Doc announced boldly. "It's a worldwide competition where teams of three race against one another on a series of pre-determined tracks and the winning team is rewarded with a disgustingly large cash prize and a mountain of treasures beyond your wildest dreams! Now in order to compete in this tournament, you must not only sign up in teams of three but also bring your own Extreme Gear which can be purchased at your city's local Extreme Gear shop. But this year, you will also need something else: one of these seven large gemstones that are known as Chaos Emeralds."
As King Doc spoke, a diagram showing images of all seven Chaos Emeralds appeared below him.
"Bring these things, and you have a shot at beating our current champions!" King Doc said, and images of three young-adults riding hovering skateboards appeared as he recited their names. "Sky Albatross, the Storm Bringer, Wade Swallow, the Wave Breaker, and Jet Hawkins, the Wind Demon. Together, they are known as Team Babylon and are considered by many to be the best Extreme Gear riders on the planet!"
"Wait a second," Sonny said. "Don't they look like the guys we ran into last night?"
"Yeah, you're right," Chuck said. "The guy I punched had the same gray hair as Sky does."
"Wade has the same glasses as the girl who carried the big guy away," Miles noted. "And her hair is the same shade of purple."
"The guy who flew past me was definitely Jet," Sonny said, glaring at Jet's profile. "Not only does he have the same green hair but that grin of his was the same look he gave me last night."
"Then let's call G. U. N. and tell them we found the thieves who stole the Chaos Emerald and those archeological treasures," Chuck said to Miles.
"We can't do that," Miles replied. "We'll need more proof if we're going to convict Team Babylon."
"But what about the board we took?" Chuck asked, looking at the hotel closet where the yellow board was hidden. "Doesn't that count as evidence?"
"It could, but Team Babylon will mostly likely accuse us of theft and turn our accusations against us."
"Then let's enter the EX World Grand Prix," Sonny suggested. "If we compete alongside them, we're bound to find some evidence that'll pin down Team Babylon."
"And it'll give us the opportunity to make them pay for what they did," Chuck said enthusiastically.
"Then we'd better start looking for a Chaos Emerald if we want to enter," Miles said getting off the couch. "And we'll need to buy an Extreme Gear for each of us."
To be continued…