-Chapter 192-

Start Your Engines


Robotropolis

A few weeks had passed since the Emerl incident, and Robotnik found himself pouring over new schemes to either take down Sonic or take over the world. Sadly, he had hit a wall. Eggatha and Grimer entered the lab to find him banging his head on a desk covered with dozens of crumpled pieces of paper, punctuating each blow with a frustrated rant.

"Nothing!" he shouted. "No ideas! Useless! Empty! Brain!"

"Well, at least he finally admitted it." Orbot deadpanned.

"And all this time I thought I was alone," Cubot remarked. "Hug me, brother!"

Robotnik just punched him without looking up.

"Everything I come up with fails again and again!" he snarled. "And the Massacre Egg is still under repairs."

"I thought it was called the-" Decoe began.

"I know what I said!" Robotnik snapped.

"Dr. Robotnik, sir... it's come to my attention that Sonic always finds a way to beat us," Bocoe began. "Maybe he's just-"

"If you say anything along the lines of 'he's too good for us' or 'maybe it's time to resign,' Bocoe, it's the junkyard for you."

Bocoe fell silent.

"Maybe we should ask the Battle Birds for ideas," Eggatha offered. "After all, they did manage to catch Sonic when he didn't want to be caught."

Robotnik thought for a minute before nodding.

"Perhaps a fresh perspective might not be such a bad idea."


Some time later…

Robotnik sat in his throne room, speaking to Battle Kukku XV.

"When I first recruited you, you mentioned wanting the secrets of your ancestors, the Babylonians," he recalled. "I'd like to know more."

"Very well," the Battle Kukku replied. "The Babylonians' homeland was a floating island they called Babylon Garden, home to a band of thieves who called themselves the Babylon Rogues. The Armada once had a special squadron named after them. Unfortunately, the original Rogues incurred the wrath of Aurora because of their crimes, and the island was cast into the depths of Mobius, while the original Babylonians were scattered across the planet. To this day, however, the treasure of Babylon Garden still remains on the island, waiting to be discovered."

"And this treasure, what exactly is it?"

"The lost technology of the ancient Babylonians. What we of the Armada have sought for so long."

"And what exactly is this technology?"

"No one knows. Most records have been lost. But one thing is for certain; find Babylon Garden and its treasure, and the garden's secrets are ours to do with as we please."

Robotnik's eyes were gleaming.

"It feels so good to get that spark of evil back," he mused. "Any leads?"

"Actually, yes. Before we signed on with you, we were able to acquire the Key to Babylon Garden. When powered by the Chaos Emeralds, it will reveal the island. Sadly…" the Battle Kukku's expression soured, "the latest Babylon Rogues group decided to desert and took the Key with them, wanting to deny the Armada its destiny. I've kept tabs on them since then; after all, they're our best lead to finding the Garden."

"Well then, I believe it's time to make some new friends." Robotnik decided.


GUN HQ

Meanwhile, Team Dark all stood before Tower, explaining what had happened with Emerl.

"So the Gizoid chose to let Sonic destroy him rather than succumb to his original programming." Tower remarked.

"Yes," Shadow nodded.

"I see…"

"He's completely offline, and Sonic buried his shell," Hope added.

"Somewhere Robotnik can't reclaim it, I hope."

"None of us know where, except him and Cream," Rouge told him. "And Robotnik won't hurt the kid."

Shadow sighed. "I was so convinced that he was dangerous. A monster that needed to be put down. But in the end…"

"He really was Cream's friend," Hope finished.

"Cream the Rabbit still refuses to speak with Shadow," Omega tacked on.

"And I don't blame her," Shadow admitted.

"You were harsh to her," Rouge pointed out.

"Well, I'm headed to Knothole anyway to hang with the guys," Hope decided. "Maybe you can come, and we can try to mend fences between you and Cream."

Shadow shrugged. "I'm not holding my breath in that regard, but no shame in trying."


Knothole

At Freedom HQ, the Brain Trust was working on an Extreme Gear board salvaged from Cocoa Island, Kat sitting off to the side. She was messing with Chuckles and a cat toy, occasionally glancing over at them.

"You know Hope's gonna be pissed you started without her," she remarked.

"She'll be here soon," Chris replied.

"Besides, shouldn't you be helping Knuckles fix the Master Emerald?" Keith questioned.

"Apparently it needs time to 'naturally heal'," Kat explained. "The blow was brutal. Knux is mostly just keeping an eye on the shards, and Chaos' buckets."

Keith blinked. "He's still splattered? It's been weeks."

"I mean, I'd be out of it too if someone super-punched my brain," Chris remarked.

"Fair enough," Keith conceded.

It was around that time Hope entered the lab, seeing the boys around the gear.

"Relax, Hope," Keith assured. "We're just looking at it."

"Good," said Hope. "I was about to say…"

She came over joining them as Shadow followed after her.

"Hey Shad," Kat greeted. "I have an extra cat toy if Umbra's tucked in those quills of yours."

"Thanks," Shadow replied. "Do you know where Cream is?"

"I think she's over by the Lake of Rings, last time we checked," Chris replied.

"Right," Keith nodded. "She was sitting with Cheese and Chocola."

Shadow nodded before heading out. He found the young rabbit sitting on the edge of the lake, her feet in the water as she played the Mystic Melody. It was softer than he remembered it being, and there seemed to be a somber lilt to it. Cheese and Chocola sat on both her shoulders, vocalizing to it. When it was finished, she turned, opening her eyes to see him there.

"Hello, Cream," Shadow greeted civilly.

"Hello, Mr. Shadow," Cream replied calmly.

"I know you probably have mixed feelings seeing me right now, but... I'm sorry. I never meant to be harsh with you. I was stressed, and said some things I didn't mean."

"I know. But it still hurt."

Shadow sighed. "I know we don't talk much, but you're still one of my friends. The last thing I want is for you to hate me."

"I don't hate you," Cream assured. "I'm just upset. But thanks for apologizing."

Shadow went over, sitting next to her.

"I was wrong about the Gizoid. About Emerl," he admitted. "There was good in him after all."

"There's good in everyone." Cream pointed out. "Even in scary things. Look at Chaos. Or you."

"Yeah…" Shadow conceded. "I realize that now."

Cream gave him a small hug. "I accept your apology."

Shadow gave a small smile, ruffling her ears before walking off.


Robotropolis

Back at Citadel Robotnik, Battle Kukku XV reentered, approaching Robotnik.

"You'll be happy to know we've tracked down the Rogues' airship," he reported. "It's currently passing over the east coast of Northamer."

"Excellent," Robotnik grinned. "Time to go have a chat with these Rogues."


Babylon Rogues' ship

On the Egg Mobile, he flew out, soon catching sight of a large blimp-based airship. Within the main control room sat a Mobian hawk with blue eyes, green feathers, and a gold beak, with red and black markings around his eyes and dark green fire-like markings on his forearms. He was dressed in a red bomber jacket and matching pants, with a pair of white gloves with red and black cuffs and gray bands around each wrist. He also wore red, black and white boots with gray soles, and goggles with yellow lenses, white frames and gray straps. He sat at a desk, looking over a light blue transparent cube when something pounded on the door.

"Hey, boss!" a deep voice shouted.

The hawk jumped out of his seat as in stormed a hulking Mobian albatross with grey feathers and white feathers covering his body, along with black flame markings on his forearms. He had blue eyes, a yellow beak, and wore a full-body brown-and-orange flight suit with tan gloves with black bands, small yellow goggles, a necklace with small gray pieces, and black, yellow, white and grey sneakers with sock-like cuffs. He thumped his hands on the table.

"We've got major trouble!" the albatross exclaimed.

Near the door stood a Mobian swallow with light purple and dark feathers that covered her body and head. Her hair was styled like a pair of long braids. She had a curved beak, cobalt blue eyes, and two tail feathers. For attire, she wore white gloves with golden bracelets and red lining, a white tube top, and white flare-designed trousers. On her arms near her wrists were light purple fire-like markings. She also wore red boots with white accents, a necklace with a red utility gem, and gold glasses.

"Storm!" she admonished. "At least learn to knock before entering a room."

As the hawk collected himself, Storm picked up the cube.

"So this is the key to Babylon Garden," he pondered. "I wonder... Could it be true? Could our ancestors have left behind hidden treasure that's just waiting to be discovered?"

The swallow approached, reaching for the cube, but Storm jerked it away.

"Uh-uh, Wave! If you get your greasy little hands on this, you'll probably use it in some crazy experiment of yours!"

"Oh, come on," Wave objected. "I only want to look at it."

"You always say you only want this or that!" Storm shot back.

As this went on, the hawk got progressively annoyed and impatient.

"Remember the teachings of our ancestors," Storm went on. "'Be careful what you ask for. Ultimately you'll only get three true wishes.'"

"Oh, be quiet!" the hawk snapped. "Why'd you burst in here, anyway?"

Storm snapped to attention.

"Oh, right. Boss, some guy wants to see you. His name's, let's see... Robinson? Roberts? Robotskis?"

Wave sighed. "Robotnik."

"That psycho doctor?" the hawk asked. "What could he want?" He then shrugged and waved a hand dismissively.. "Whatever. Let him in. Aurora knows he'll just bust in if I say no anyway."

Robotnik entered at that.

"Jet the Hawk, I presume?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Jet replied. "What do you want?"

"A little birdy, if you don't mind the pun, told me you have the key to Babylon Garden."

Jet was instantly on the defensive.

"Did that Battle Kukku windbag put you up to this?"

"He informed me, yes, but I can assure you that my desire for the Babylon Garden is purely selfish."

Jet motioned for him to go on, which the doctor did.

"I believe we're in a position to help one another. The Battle Kukku mentioned upon your defection that you took the key without knowing how to actually use it. But he told me how to do so."

"Right, and you're just gonna tell us out of the goodness of your heart," Jet deadpanned. "I wasn't hatched yesterday, Eggman."

Robotnik's eye twitched, but he remained calm.

"I merely seek access to Babylon Garden's weaponry, as does the Battle Kukku," he insisted. "If you help me, whatever treasure lies within is yours for the taking."

"Yeah, right," Jet scoffed. "You're gonna take it the second we turn our backs. I'm not an idiot, Eggman."

"So little trust in the world these days…" Robotnik then shrugged, holding his hands up. "Well, fine. If you don't want to find your destiny and infinite riches, I suppose I'll take my leave."

He turned to go, but Storm cut in.

"Wait. Say you do know how to make the key work. What do we gotta do?"

"Storm…" Jet called out with a clear warning in his tone.

"Hey, he knows how it works," Storm argued. "Besides, even if he does turn on us, we'll be ready for it. This is the moment we've been waiting for, boss!"

Jet considered it before nodding reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll bite. What do we need to do to get the key to work?"

"I knew you'd come around," Robotnik smirked, turning back to face Jet. "A set of seven Chaos Emeralds. When combined with the key, Babylon Garden will be revealed."

"Emeralds…" Jet let out, sighing slightly. "Of course, it always comes back to those, don't it?

"Then what are we waiting for?" Wave questioned, eager to get the job done.

"Fair warning," Robotnik chimed in. "I'm sure you know of Sonic the Hedgehog. He'll undoubtedly be an obstacle in your path."

Jet scoffed, rising to his feet.

"He can try. Sonic may be the fastest thing alive on the ground, but in the air, with me and my Extreme Gear, he's just a joke."


Knothole

At Freedom HQ, the gang was scattered about, bored. Amy was holding up a box, displaying several puppies on the cover.

"Anyone up for a round of Fuzzy Puppies?" she asked.

Kat raised an eyebrow. "You're into that goofy kiddy crap?"

Amy gave her an offended glare. "I'll have you know it's a very sophisticated battle game that requires strategy, cunning, and merciless aggression."

"Ooh!" Cream scampered over, clapping happily. "Fuzzy Puppies! I love that game!"

"Oh, yeah," Kat said sarcastically. "Sophisticated battle game."

"Who else wants to play?" Amy questioned. "Raise your hand."

Cosmo shrugged, walking over.

"And who wants to do anything but that?" Sonic asked.

Everyone else threw their hands up.

"Your loss," Amy said simply.

Just then, Tails' Miles Electric went off.

"Oh, thank Aurora. Saved by the bell," He picked it up, checking the screen. "Those Emerald Radar upgrades pay off. I'm getting an Emerald signal up in Metal City."

"Alright then," Sonic decided. "Tails, you and Knux are with me. We'll pop by, find the Emerald, maybe grab some snacks, and be back before Amy dies of boredom from her game."

The three stood up, heading out. Amy turned to the others.

"Well, the offer still stands if any of you want-"

She was speaking to an empty room. The others had taken off like a shot.

"Wow. Tough crowd."

"So how does one play?" Cosmo asked.

"I call the dalmatian!" Cream declared.

Amy sat down, beginning to explain the rules…


Metal City

Meanwhile, Team Sonic had arrived in Metal City, a futuristic metropolis populated by massive skyscrapers and fast cars in Northamer. Tails checked the Miles Electric, only to get static and the words "Jamming Wave" on the screen.

"Weird," he remarked. "Something's jamming the radar."

"Guess Eggman's got a few new toys," Knuckles said.

"No worries," Sonic shrugged. "We're just gonna have to do this the old fashioned way."

The sound of shattering glass resounded nearby. Sonic turned to the direction of the noise to see three figures cloaked within the night's shadows break through windows higher up on a nearby building, all riding Extreme Gear. Tails looked at the radar, getting a signal coming from them.

"Whoever those three are, they've got the Emerald!" he exclaimed.

"Recognize those boards?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "Extreme Gear. I think these guys are Battle Bird Armada."

"Those birds who tried to take over your vacation home?" Knuckles asked, getting a nod.

They took off, finding several police cars chasing the trio. Sonic sped in their way, prepared to block them, only for the one closest to merely swerve past him. Knuckles dropped down behind him and punched one of the others off his board, sending him spiraling through the air only for the last rider to catch him and continue riding without so much as pausing or breaking sequence. Tails looked at the board, seeing an insignia depicting a lamp, only for Sonic to snatch it up and take off running after them.

"Guess it's time to fight fire with fire!"

Sonic threw the board into the air before running forward and flipping onto it. He swayed a bit before gaining his balance and giving chase.

"Alright, let's see what these things can do!"

As he ran off, Knuckles went over to Tails.

"I think we just got blown off," he remarked.

"They're not Battle Bird Armada," Tails realized. "I think they're a rogue faction."

"How can you tell?"

"The Extreme Gear we salvaged had the Battle Birds' insignia," Tails explained. "A skull with a red arrowhead. That board's insignia looked like a genie's lamp. I know I've seen it before, but where...?"

-X-

Meanwhile, Sonic had chased the trio into a tunnel, rapidly catching up to the leader. They grappled for a bit before being shoved back. The leader gave a small smirk, impressed.

"Not bad for your first try, I'll give you that much," he said.

"I'm a fast learner," Sonic replied. "Now hand over the gem you stole. It's not yours."

"It is now."

With that, he unleashed a speed boost on his gear, a massive tailwind kicking up and sending Sonic flying off the board.

"So, you're supposed to be the fastest thing alive?" the leader taunted as he flew off.

Sonic landed heavily on his ass as the rider still hanging onto his companion's board scooped up the board left behind, the trio fleeing as Knuckles and Tails caught up. Sonic stood up, dusting himself off.

"That could've gone better," he remarked. "Looks like we've got some new competition."

"Yeah, tough ones too," Knuckles remarked.

"And if we're going to catch them, we're going to need some Extreme Gear of our own," Tails added.

"Luckily, we know just where to do that," Sonic noted.


The next day…

At Freedom HQ, the Freedom Fighters found themselves gathered around the TV set, Scarlet Garcia on screen.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, reporting live from the MeteorTech branch in Station Square," she said. "Rob Von Koiti, the reclusive CEO of the company, has made his first public appearance in, well, ever to make a very important announcement."

A man stepped out in front of a podium, brown hair slicked back with thick glasses over his eyes. He had a long, brown mustache that was meticulously combed and waxed. He was in a suit with a yellow button down and a red tie.

"Welcome, dear viewers," he said in a thick German accent. "I have a special announcement for all my loyal patrons. I hope you're all ready for a show; we've got an exciting event, just for you. Since you all seem so bored, I put together a little something extra to spice things up! I call it the EX World Grand Prix, a tournament to see who's the best of the best with Extreme Gear. Not just a race, but a special race, to see who's the fastest. No-holds-barred, all qualified contestants welcome; all you need to do is pay a simple entry fee of one Chaos Emerald and the winner takes it all! So, let's see who among you dares to meet this challenge!"

"No way…" Sonic let out. "Is this what they were after?"

"And there's more!" Von Koiti went on. "Before I forget, I'll present the current contestants. These players, they're hot; the best racers I could find!"

On the screen appeared a picture of the Babylon Rogues, along with their names. Sonic happened to be taking a swig of Chao Cola as this happened, and the minute he saw Jet, he gave a spit take.

"That's them!" he exclaimed. "The Emerald thieves from last night!"

"Whoa, they look pretty badass," Hope mused.

"I'll say," Kat agreed.

Sonic had a hand to his chin in thought. "EX World Grand Prix, huh?"

"Wait a sec," Sally cut in. "Something seems off about this. This is the first time Rob Von Koiti has made a public appearance, right?"

"So?" Amy asked. "Surely, some of his employees must've seen him."

"Actually, no," Chris cut in. "Dad's done some business with him before. Von Koiti runs MeteorTech by speaker-phone, memo, and e-mail. Nobody's seen his face until just now."

"Okay, that is kinda suspicious," Keith admitted.

"Oh yeah," Kat agreed. "The sus meter is way up on this guy."

"And think about this," Hope cut in. "All seven Chaos Emeralds as the first place prize. All qualified candidates welcome. I'll bet an all-you-can-eat buffet at Meh Burger Eggman's gonna be one of the racers."

"All the more reason for us to enter the race," Sonic remarked.

"Well, we're definitely entering," Chris said.

"Right," Hope nodded. "With the Extreme Gear finished, we could totally enter."

"Million Mobium question," Kat said. "Who drives?"

All of the kids were silent. Then without saying a word, they all began doing rock paper scissors.

"Um, guys, you realize the race is a relay," Tails pointed out. "You'll all be racing."

They stopped mid-game, then resumed to figure out the order.

"While they do that," Sonic turned to the others, "I figure me, Tails, and Knuckles will be enough for this one."

"While you do that, we'll look into MeteorTech and Von Koiti," Sally decided. "Something smells fishy about this whole thing."

"Sounds like something we can do," Shadow agreed. "The kids will need my Emerald to get in anyhow."

"Meantime, we gotta find an Emerald ourselves," said Sonic.

"I'll handle that," Knuckles assured. "You guys focus on getting some Extreme Gear for us."

"Right," Tails nodded.

Sonic smirked. "This is gonna be interesting."


Author's Note:

The Riders arc begins! Will Sonic and co. prevail?

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Von Koiti - Udo Kier (Dragonetti from Blade, Professor Pericles from Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated)

Please R&R. Until next time!