Objects in a colorful blur raced past the peripheral vision of a certain blue hedgehog as a timer counted down, blaring sirens filling cold steel hallways with the sound of impending doom.
Three Minutes To Detonation
Sonic was yet again escaping one of Dr. Eggman's lifeless deathtraps only he would call a base. Behind him, a tidal-wave of neon pink acid was flooding the path backwards, destroying everything in it's wake. In front of him; deadly lasers, nasty badniks, and even razor sharp axes swinging like pendulums from the roof.
"Huh, Eggman's gone all out to get me this time" Sonic thought amused, "this was almost difficult!" He chuckled to himself as he clenched the Purple Chaos Emerald he'd just stolen a little tighter, curling into a ball and leaping across a spike filled chasm. Bouncing off the walls and a few conveniently placed pipes he reached the other side with ease, but landed with only the tips of his shoes on the edge. Sonic flailed about about wildly for a second, practically tipping backwards into the pit before regaining his balance.
" -bizzt- Don't get too cocky out there Sonic!" Tails radioed in on his intercom. Sonic grinned sheepishly, glad his lil orange buddy hadn't just seen him nearly fall to his death. "You're still in first place, but Shadow and Knuckles are almost finished with their missions too."
"Yeah yeah," Sonic relayed back dismissively as he dashed off to find the exit again, "I'll be out of here with time for lunch before those jokers even get close to the finish line. You're still in position with the Tornado right?"
"A-heh... I will be in a few minutes Sonic, I've had to deal with a few of Eggman's rocket attacks interrupting my flight plan."
"Gah, I don't have a few minutes Tails!" Sonic yelled into his ear-piece angrily. As if on cue sirens wailed,
Two Minutes To Detonation
Sonic rolled his eyes as he approached a flight of stairs, leaping on the railing and speeding down, ocean of burning pink water hot on his trail.
"Well make time," Tails yelled back, he sounded distracted, as if he was currently preoccupied with his own aerial feats of avoiding Eggman's forces, "take the south exit, my schematics show that leads to the clearest opening."
"No can do," Sonic replied, taking a hard left and jumping through a open ventilation pipe, "the south is all submerged in Eggman's funky cherry soda. I'll have to take the west exit, now"
"Wha, but I'll never make there it in time?!"
"Then I'll improvise!" the hedgehog remarked back, cutting the feed before Tails could try to reason with him. Sonic spiraled down the metal shaft until he reached a suitable opening, a manufacturing plant with large machinery pumping out who knows what, probably some kind of weapon.
He landed on a conveyer belt suspended over burning hot wires, the fizzing rushing sound of acidic water right behind him. Running against the flow, Sonic ducked under buzzing saws and leaped over drills, carefully weaving between crushing slabs that turned piles of metal into flat discs.
One Minute To Detonation a voice chimed. And Sonic actually began to sweat a little as he looked for a clear way out. At the end of the tract was a truck-bucket loaded with pointy scrap metal ready for processing, Sonic leaped over the metal container and luckily found his exit, a loading bay door, looking out over the sheer 1,000 foot drop that the base was situated over.
Sonic grabbed a large plank of the discarded scrap material littered across the bay as he raced towards his escape. Leaping out of hanger doors right as a torrent of pink acid gushed out behind him, followed by a loud
KABOOM
as another of Eggman's bases started to explode into nothing.
The mountain-top base was destroying itself and Sonic was sliding down the slope cheering himself for another decisive victory. But he wasn't out of the danger zone yet, as burning chunks of metal shot out across the countryside and an avalanche of snow threatened to crush him if he slowed down.
Riding his scrap metal board he deftly maneuvered between pine trees and rocks, sailing down a bordering-on vertical decent. He re-enabled his intercom, immediately a loud " -krssh- -ONIC!!" blasted his ear, a panicked Tails called out. Sonic almost felt a little bad for scaring the fox, but he should have been used to his antics by now. "Haha, hey Tails, missed me?"
"Wha?... Sonic where are you!?" Tails shot back, clearly sounding relieved.
"I'm descending down the mountain right now since my flight was late"
"...sorry"
"No matter, I'm still well ahead of Shadow and Knux, right?"
"Uh huh, yeah, if you can make it back on time"
"Don't worry, I'll be faster on foot"
"Hrmph, we'll see. Knuckles is still dealing with Pumkin Hill Zone, but Shadow already has the Blue Chaos Emerald. It's going to be a tighter race than we thought."
"Not likely." Sonic replied, and with a smirk and a burst of speed fled down the mountain leaving a blue blur behind him.
~~~~~
A little while later Sonic was approaching the train station in Station Square, the finishing line his group had decided on earlier, and as Sonic suspected it appeared he was here first. Slowing down to a casual stroll, only a few more steps til he won the bet, Sonic wanted to savor this victory.
Until...
"Chaos Control!" There was a flash of light, and before him stood the red and black speedster himself, Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow just stood before the shocked blue hedgehog, his stoic expression hiding his feelings, his eyes only slightly revealing how pleased he was having apparently beaten his rival.
"I... what... no... That's cheating!!" Sonic decried, throwing his gem on the ground in protest, his cheeks going red with a mix of frustration and embarrassment.
"By any means necessary you said" Shadow replied coldly, catching the emerald in hand as it bounced across the pavement. "T-that's not what I meant you jerk!"
"Only because you didn't think of it. Fair's fair Sonic and I beat you."
Sonic was about to shout something vulgar, but he was interrupted by the sound of a bad plane landing, "...Argh, I hope Tail's didn't chip the Tornado's paint again..." said Sonic, his new foul mood making him more concerned about his plane's fate than Tails safety, not that he believe their was any real risk of hurt anyway.
The two hedgehogs rushed over to Emerald Coast to check out the damage, on the shore-line an orange two-tailed fox was crawling out of a smoking crash. "Augh, s-sorry Sonic. The engine started to fail" he defended meekly, pulling some pilot goggles off from his face as he scrambled up to the pair, a little dusty but okay.
"Some mechanic you turned out to be, can't even keep my plane in the air... and so slow, imagine if I'd left with you, Shadow might have legitimately beaten me." Sonic huffed, annoyed.
Tails pouted, and looked like he might tear up, "I couldn't help it! A-a screw was loose and we were low on gas and..."
"Don't mind Sonic," Shadow cut off, "he's just taking it out on you cause he's being a sore loser."
"...Oh, ah! So you won Shadow?" Tails said, a bit comforted by his words, "So I guess you'll get to decide where we'll eat tonight, do you have any plans?"
"As a matter of fact I -"
Shadow was cut off by a frustrated grunt that could come from nobody but their friend, the red echidna Knuckles. "Figure's you two would get the easier assignments."
"Quit your whining, at least I beat Sonic, that's all we cared about" Shadow replied, Sonic muttered something about him being a cheater and a faker but everyone ignored him.
"Oh?" Knuckle's said, perking up, "Good job Shad, I couldn't stand to spend another night at the chilli dog stand."
"Hold your horses, Knuckles, what if I want to go there too?"
"Bleh, what is it with you hedgehogs and terrible hot dogs? Do you even know what they're made of?!"
"Haha, don't worry, I had something else in mind..."
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