Chapter 98: Babylon
Inside a stadium located in the middle of the desert, thousands of fans cheered as Team Heroes and Team Babylon flew around on their Extreme Gears.
"Now, our race has reached its final stage!" Omochao exclaimed to the thousands of cheering fans that were seated. "The remaining competitors are pacing, anxious for the race to begin!"
In the stands, Amelia and the rest of Team Rose were cheering Sonny's team on along with the members of Team Shadow.
"With only a few minutes left, I bet you're all wondering who will win this big event?" Omochao asked. "While Team Heroes have proven themselves to be formidable Extreme Gear Riders despite the very little experience they have, will that be enough for them to take on Team Babylon, the undefeated champions of the EX World Grand Prix five times over? Let's find out!"
As both teams slowed down and made their way to the starting-line, which was located in the archway that led out into the open desert, Amelia decided to run from her seat and halt in front of Sonny and the others.
"Amelia!" Sonny exclaimed. "What are doing down here?"
"I came to wish you good luck," Amelia answered coyly as she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be up in the stands cheering you on!"
After Sonny nodded, Amelia went back up to her seat. Then the big holographic screen in the middle of the stadium turned on and a familiar face appeared on it.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!" King Doc chuckled. "It is time for the final event, and in Sand Ruins of all places! Remember, anything goes in this race and whichever team crosses the finish-line first will win the cash and treasure prize that has been promised! So without further ado, let the final race of the World Grand Prix begin!"
The screen shut off as all the people in the stadium cheered loudly.
"Hah!" Jet said as he walked alongside Sonny. "You're lucky you got this far, because it certainly wasn't due to your skills!"
"Heh," replied Sonny. "I won't lose now!"
Jet gritted his teeth and went back to join his teammates Wade and Sky.
"What was that jerk trying to do? Intimidate you into forfeiting?" Chuck said irritably.
"Well, clearly it had no effect on Sonny's determination," Miles said. "I just hope that we've distracted them long enough for G. U. N. to find evidence of them being world-class thieves."
"Then let's give them a race they'll never forget!" Sonny said as he raced to the finish-line.
Once the teams were in place, Omochao said, "On your mark…get set…GO!"
Then with that command, the six Riders rode off like the wind. Team Babylon manage to ride past Team Heroes with ease and were blazing through the sand-dunes with clear familiarity. Undeterred, Sonny pressed the foot-peddle on the rear-end of his Gear as hard as he could and managed to catch up to Jet. Sky and Wade intervened by cornering Sonny from the side and back where they closed in on him which in turn forced Sonny to flip through the air backwards to avoid getting crushed.
"Wow, already we've seen one of Team Babylon's signature moves which is known as 'The Cornered Rat' !" Omochao exclaimed. "How it basically works is that Wade attacks the Rider from the side while Sky comes up from behind. This in turn forces the Rider to either retreat back or get pushed from both sides. Those unfortunate enough to fall for The Cornered Rat and not get out typically end up falling off their Gear. Fortunately, Sonny was able to leap out before the two closed in on him. But now, this puts him and his team at a disadvantage as Team Babylon is still in the lead. How will Team Heroes overcome this obstacle?"
Sonny then nodded to the others and together they attempted to pull off their signature move 'Triple Threat'. Miles and Chuck crossed in front of Wade and Sky as planned while Sonny attempted to flip over Jet to get in front of him. Unfortunately, Jet was prepared and spun midair to push Sonny backwards. Below Sonny, Miles and Chuck were getting jabbed from behind by Wade and Sky respectfully which caused them to retreat back as well.
"Oh no! Team Heroes' signature move 'Triple Threat' was completely foiled by Team Babylon!" Omochao said as Team Babylon reentered the stadium and crossed the finish-line. "And with that, Team Babylon wins the first lap!"
During the second lap, Team Heroes attempted to overtake Team Babylon once more. This time, Sonny used a different tactic by zigzagging past Wade and Sky all the way up to Jet who immediately reacted by pushing his Gear against Sonny's. Sonny retaliated by doing the same to Jet's while behind them Wade and Miles were having a midair confrontation while Sky and Chuck were trying push each other off with their Gears. Eventually, Sonny managed to spin his Gear hard enough to send Jet flying backwards. As a result, Wade and Sky faltered to help Jet recover while Sonny Chuck and Miles sped their way across the finish-line inside the stadium.
"I don't believe it!" Omochao said excitedly. "Team Heroes actually managed to outmaneuver Team Babylon! In case you missed it, Sonny broke his tie with Jet by pushing against Jet's Gear in a counterclockwise direction which caused Jet to fall back causing Wade and Sky to help him and allow Team Heroes to cross the finish-line for the second lap! If they manage to get this third lap, Team Heroes might just win the EX World Grand Prix!"
However, as soon as Team Heroes left the stadium Team Babylon was on their tails. So Chuck and Miles tried to block them but Wade managed to fly higher than Miles and Sky pushed Chuck far enough away to allow Jet to speed past and reach Sonny. The two engaged each other once more, but Sonny managed to avoid Jet's attempts at pushing against his Gear. Then while Jet was distracted by Sonny, Miles and Chuck came up behind Jet and pushed him back with a combined shove by their respective Gears.
"Nice shot!" Omochao said. "Another brand-new technique has just been invented by Team Heroes and so far the favorite name is…'Pinball Flip' after the flippers that push the ball back in a pinball game. So with Team Heroes in the lead again, it looks like Team Babylon, our unbeatable champions of the air, are going to get beat after all!"
"No!" Jet cried as he flew to catch up to Sonny. "Wade, activate the you-know-what!"
"With pleasure!" Wade said as she pressed a small red button on a pepper-spray shaped device.
Sonny momentarily heard beeping as he entered the stadium and then his Gear suddenly exploded causing him to fall off. Miles and Chuck immediately flew to Sonny as he hit the stone pavement while Jet and his teammates crossed the finish-line ahead of them. The crowd cheered loudly and started throwing confetti while Sonny was helped up by his friends.
"The dirt suits you well, slow-poke!" Jet yelled at Sonny.
"Congratulations, Team Babylon!" Omochao said as flew up to Jet. "You've won the EX World Grand Prix for the fifth year in a row and now you can have the mountainous cash-prize and treasure-trove as well!"
"I don't need any of those things," Jet said.
The whole stadium gasped in response.
"Then what is it that you want?" Omochao asked nervously. "A winning-streak of this magnitude requires some kind of reward."
"What I want is…" Jet looked back at his companions who nodded eagerly. "…the Chaos Emeralds."
Omochao gulped nervously. "As you wish."
###
A few minutes later, all seven Chaos Emeralds were assembled on a blue clothed table which stood at the top of a series of stairs on a balcony that overlooked the wide expansive desert outside. Jet gazed upon them greedily and then he took something out of a pocket in his shorts. It was a small cube-shaped device that was crystal-clear and had a slight glow to it. He held device over the Chaos Emeralds, which seemed to glow as well. Then to everyone's amazement including Sonny and his friends the Emeralds levitated in the air and surrounded Jet as the cube-shaped device became brighter. Seven beams of light then shot from the Emeralds into the cube-shaped device which produced its own beam of light after a brief energy-wave. The beam pointed to somewhere far off in the desert when a distant rumbling suddenly followed.
A huge wave of sand suddenly blew toward the stadium causing everyone to get down from the top stands and huddle into the middle as dust and dirt blew over the stadium sides and in through the stadium entrances. While this was going on, a large structure was rising out of the sand in the distance. Jet and his companions watched in awe as the structure became airborne and hovered over the sand-dunes below. What it turned out to be was a floating island with several ancient buildings on its surface with a large stone ring around it that contained smaller islands and towers.
"That is…Babylon Garden," Jet murmured. "Our true home."
Behind Jet and his companions, the center of the stadium was coming apart to reveal a hidden underground passage. From it flew Metal Sonic which took Sonny and the others by surprise as it snatched the cube from Jet's hands and hovered several feet from the stadium. Following behind Metal Sonic was a small round hovercraft with a black circular glass roof which had robotic arms attached to its sides. Immediately, Amelia ran towards the floating craft and jumped up toward its underside. She managed to latch onto the craft's landing gear and held on for dear life as the hovercraft flew toward the floating island that was apparently Babylon Garden with Metal Sonic flying alongside it.
"Eggman!" Jet exclaimed then he got on his Gear and flew after Metal Sonic and the flying hovercraft. "You traitor!"
Wade and Sky followed Jet's example and flew after the hovercraft on their Gears as well.
To be continued…