Arms Race - Part 4

Arms Race
Part 4


Welcome Sonic Fest, Aclimação Park - São Paulo
12:00 PM (Sunday)

Half of the city's population was at the fair. The place had a whole lot of game tents and other cool stuff, such as snacks, prizes and lots of cool activities, such as soccer and other sports courts lying around.

Flavio's whole class was at the fair, teachers included, each group doing something different. For example, soccer aficionado Thaigo was playing at the soccer court against Luis, and was kicking the ball straight to the goal behind Luis.

"Alright, Luis!!!" said Thiago as he got nearer. "See if you can catch this one!!"

Luis thought of a way to defend the goal, until an idea came to mind. When Thiago kicked the ball into the goal, Luis made a quick dance spin and extended his hand exactly where the ball was going to, making a perfect defense. Thiago was impressed.

"It's all about the swing, eh?" asked Thiago.

Luis just grinned.

Meanwhile, Alex Adonis was right in front of a "Test your Might", slamming the hammer against the button and sending the bell straight to the top. He then proceeded into brag about his own strength.

"That's right, everyone!!" he said to the crowd cheering for him. "I'm the best, and you all know it!!!"

Xavier was also at the fair, doing an improvised stand-up with a whole audience around him.

"So I met this girl last year..." he said. "And I asked to go out on a date with her. Biggest mistake of my life! She's an ex, now... But anyway, I was bored one day, so I decided to call her to see if she was doing anything, and she told me 'you wanna do something? Then come on over, there is nobody home'! I went over, there was nobody home!"

The audience laughed out loud.

But of course, Flavio and Lucia were both at the fair as well, walking together hand to hand. Derek and Rouge's fan Miley Hudgens were also walking together in the same fashion, right besides their friends.

"So, when are they coming???" asked Miley.

"Soon, I hope..." said Lucia. "The mayor wants to talk to them, remember?"

"From what I know about Shadow, that doesn't mean anything special." said Derek. "He'll probably come if we say that the president wants to talk to him."

"Speaking of which, did you hear that the United Federation president just arrived at Brasilia yesterday??" asked Flavio.

"Something about a big visit or something..." said Miley. "But that's all I heard about it..."

They were passing by a "hit the balloons" tent, when Lucia suddenly saw something that literally made her squeal with joy: a life-sized Amy plush with perfect details.

"A life-sized Amy plush!!" she said. "The only one I need to complete my collection!!"

She grabbed Flavio by his shirt collar.

"GET ME THAT PLUSH!!" she commanded.

"O-okay!" said Flavio.

She released him and gave the tent's owner 5 reais, which in turn earned him 5 darts. Flavio threw the darts with perfect accuracy, earning him the highest prize, which was obviously the Amy plush. Flavio gave the plush to Lucia, who hugged it tightly.

"ThankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!!!" she said cheerfully, kissing Flavio on the cheek.

She twirled around with the plush until Flavio tapped on her shoulder and pointed to a sad image: a young homeless girl with a sad look on her face, apparently looking at the plush. Lucia immediately stopped dancing and looked at Flavio in sadness and pity, but he just nodded to her. Lucia walked towards the young girl and gave her the plushie.

"You'll need her more than I do..." said Lucia as she smiled warmly.

The young girl gleamed with joy and hugged the plushie.

"Thank you, miss!" she said before running back to her family.

Lucia looked at Flavio, who was also smiling warmly at her.

"You did the right thing, Lu..." said Flavio. "That's what I like about you..."

She hugged him tightly as he did the same thing.

"I learned it from the best..." she said.

Their faces slowly began to approach each other with their eyes closed and their lips longing for a kiss, until...

"Ladies and gentlemen, we request your presence at the stage." said an announcer.

Flavio and Lucia stopped what they were doing.

"AH, COME ON!!!!" complained Flavio.

Lucia giggled.

"Don't worry, handsome..." she said. "I'll keep waiting..."

He smiled at her as they walked towards the crowd in front of the stage, staying really close to the barricade separating the audience from the stage. They saw that Dr. von Neuron was there as well, waiting for them.

"Good, you're here!" he said. "The speech is about to begin!"

They all saw the city's mayor climbing up the stage. The mayor was wearing a tuxedo with a red tie, had short black hair and vivid green eyes. He went to the podium and turned on the mic.

"Good afternoon, citizens of São Paulo!" he said. "And welcome to our 'Welcome Sonic Fest' here in the Aclimação Park! We are proud to receive here in São Paulo, the greatest hero of all time and his friends! For the moment, I haven't seen him yet, but when he arrives, you'll all--"

A gust of wind passed behind the mayor, stopping right besides him.

"...know." he finished. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sonic the Hedgehog!!"

The audience cheered and applauded the hero as he greeted the mayor. Sonic saw Flavio, Lucia and Dr. von Neuron amongst the crowd and waved his hand. After they answered him, Sonic waked over to the podium and lowered the mic to his height.

"Well, it's kinda hard to begin..." he said, scratching his head. "I think I should introduce my friends, first... Come on up, guys!!"

Tails, Knuckles and Amy climbed up the stage and greeted the mayor before waving to the crowd. But before any of them could say a word, they all heard a woman scream amongst the crowd.

"HE'S COMING!!! HE'S COMING!!!!" she shouted.

They all looked to where she was pointing to: upwards. They all gasped when they saw the infamous Dr. Eggman and his henchmen approach the stage in his Egg Mobile.

"Good afternoon, citizens!!" he said arrogantly. "I just came over to say that I'm really disappointed with you, mayor! Having a fair dedicated to Sonic and forgetting to invite me!"

"I didn't forget it, Eggman!! I did it on purpose!!" the mayor said back. "You have no right to come to this fair!! All of the atrocities you committed can never be forgotten by these people!!!"

"I would answer in the same level if I wasn't being the target of some lies, lately!!" said the doctor. "There is someone in this city trying to frame me!! I mean, didn't you notice anything unusual with those last attacks??"

The crowd began mumbling a few words. Indeed, he had a point. Flavio and his friends just sighed.

"Well, they were a bit out of character... With all the destruction and nothing gained from it..." said the mayor. "But nevertheless, you're not staying!!"

"You can have your fair!!" said the doctor. "My business is with this little hedgehog and his friends!!"

Sonic and the rest took offensive stances.

"You see, Sonic, I'm currently taking part in a bet." explained Eggman.

"Whoever destroys you will be the biggest genius of all time!!!" shouted Bokkun cheerfully.

"And I'm the one to earn that title!!!" completed the doctor.

"Heh! Biggest genius??" said Sonic. "I bet I can tell who is the other candidate!!"

"But you won't!!" said Eggman. "Because I've got a surprise for you!!"

"Amy, get the mayor outta here!" said Knuckles.

Amy nodded and guided the mayor out of the stage as the crowd began screaming and running away, fearful of whatever was about to come. Flavio looked at Dr. von Neuron, who already had a plan in mind.

"Well..." said Johnathan, gaining Eggman's attention and distracting him from the rising podium. "I've got one for you, too!"

Johnathan used his telekinesis to throw the podium at Eggman's Egg Mobile, making it spin in the air. When it stopped, the doctor held himself on the panel while Decoe and Bocoe's heads literally stopped spinning.

"You stupid excuse for a scientist!!!!!" said Eggman. "Once I'm done with Sonic, you're next!!"

A loud screeching sound was heard from the skies, startling the people on the fair even more. They all looked up for a surprise.

"Talk about déjà vu..." said Sonic astonished.

Coming down from the skies was a very familiar robot: the Egg Wyvern. But something seemed different. It now had piercing red eyes, a longer neck and sharp claws at the end of its legs.

The Egg Mobile quickly flew over to the giant robot flying up high and attached itself to the Wyvern's head.

"BEHOLD!!" shouted Eggman. "The Egg Wyvern 2.0!!!"

Johnathan noticed that a battle was about to begin and called Sonic.

"Sonic, me and the kids will evacuate the fair!" he said. "Take Eggman away from here!!"

Sonic nodded and looked at the Wyvern.

"Hey, Egghead!!" taunted Sonic. "Come and get me!!!!"

Sonic ran towards the nearest buildings. Eggman flew after him in pursuit.

"Let's help them!" said Knuckles.

"Agreed!" said Tails.

The Wyvern was flying over the streets, with Sonic right on its aim.

"Don's miss him!!" said Eggman to his henchmen. "I want him to be gone!!!"

Orbot prepared a missile.

"Fire one!!!" he shouted.

The first missile fired at Sonic, who dodged it as it hit the ground, creating a big blast. People, thankfully, were out of the missile's blast reach at the time, so no one innocent was hurt. The Wyvern 2.0 kept firing missile after missile at Sonic, almost hurting a few more people.

"If I don't get out of the streets, all these people will get hurt for no reason!" said Sonic.

He then saw a large building, possibly 30-stories tall. He used his speed to literally run up the building's outside, all the way up to the rooftop. But Eggman wasn't making it easy for him.

"Cubot, fire the lasers!!!" shouted the doctor.

Cubot pressed a button on the Mobile's panel, firing the lasers. Sonic dodged them with perfect accuracy, as the lasers only hit the building he was running on.

Sonic eventually reached the rooftop, where he had a good view of the city. But soon, the Egg Wyvern 2.0 flew over to his location, circling the roof.

"So, this was your intention!!!" said Eggman. "Come all the way up to make the fight better for you!! Well, now I have the advantage!! You've got no space to run, and this robot works better in these heights!!"

"Who said I can't run in here??" asked Sonic.

After taking a little impulse, Sonic ran and jumped from the building, hit the Wyvern's head and landed on another building across the street.

"You insipid little creature!!" shouted the doctor. "I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!! BOKKUN!!!!"

The messenger flew over the cockpit with one of his TVs on his hands.

"Here's a message for you!!!"  he said.

He threw the TV at Sonic, who knew exactly what was going to happen. He dodged it as it hit the roof, blowing up.

"I'll pass!" said Sonic.

He took another bit of impulse and jumped back to the other building, again hitting the Wyvern's head. Eggman grunted in anger.

"That's it!! Time to end you once and for all!!!" shouted Eggman. "Initiate wing attack!!!"

The Wyvern's wings began to glow all of a sudden, as the robot flew even higher into the sky. Sonic looked around, waiting for an incoming impact, until it suddenly came from behind him, trying to make a soaring attack. Sonic jumped out of the way in the last minute, but Eggman's robot crashed into the building, taking out the roof. The doctor looked behind him to see that Sonic was gone.

"Did... Did I hit him???" he said. "SUCCESS!!!! I'M THE BIGGEST GENIUS WHO EVER LIVED!!! IN YOUR FACE, RYAN WEEVER!!!!"

"Don't count on it, Eggy!!"

Eggman looked up to see Sonic standing right above the Wyvern's head.

"Thanks for the fun, Egghead!" said Sonic. "And by the way, before I forget..."

Sonic jumped into the air and curled into a ball, performing a homing attack that tore through the Wyvern's armor. As Sonic landed safely on the ground, Eggman quickly detached from the robot's head so he wouldn't fall as well.

"I hate that hedgehog..." he uttered.

Eggman quickly flew away as the Wyvern exploded in the air, scattering parts of it around the city as they fell onto the streets. Sonic looked up and sighed.

"So that bet talk was true..." he said. "I better warn the others..."

He ran back to the fair.


===At the fair==================================================================

Sonic reached the fair to see that everyone was safe. The mayor was the first one to come out, surrounded by security.

"Did you get him??" he asked.

"He's gone for now, Mr. Mayor..." said Sonic. "Sorry 'bout the fair..."

The mayor shook his head with a smile.

"Don't feel bad, hedgehog..." he said. "We saw that coming. Believe me, I know your game series, so I had a hunch that Eggman would show up."

"So why did you set up the fair, anyway??" asked the hedgehog.

"I knew Eggman would show up, but I didn't know the time." claimed the mayor.

Sonic nodded. He had a point.

"Anyway, I'll go back to the city hall and send some money to pay the damage." said the mayor as he extended his hand. "You're always welcome here, Sonic. You and your friends!"

Sonic shook his hand.

"Thanks, mayor!" he said.

The man walked away with his guards next to him. The crowd slowly began to get out of their hideout as Sonic's friends reunited with him. Flavio and his classroom walked over to them.

"Nicely done, Sonic!" said Flavio.

"Yeah!" said Derek. "You sure showed the doc--"

"YOU!!!"

As every teacher was present at the fair, Juliana Dantorship and her son Sergio, and his friend Rebecca, were there as well. Juliana wasted no time in blaming Sonic.

"Guilty!!! Again!!!!" she said angrily. "Everywhere you show up, something must go wrong!! It's all because of you, you pests!!"

"Errr, mom..." Sergio tried to say. "I don't think it was intentional..."

"Shut up, Sergio!" said Rebecca. "Let the coolest ones talk!"

Sergio frowned.

"As I was saying, this isn't the end!" continued Juliana. "You'll all pay for this!! Someday, we won't need you anymore!!!"

"That's enough!" said Dr. von Neuron as he approached the group. "Mrs. Dantorship, you better leave right now if you don't want your hair tied to a tree's branch!!"

"Mom, please do what he says!!" pleaded Sergio.

"Wimp!!" said Rebecca.

"No, he's right." said Mrs. Dantorship. "Let's leave this sorry excuse for a fair! We're wasting our time!"

The trio walked away, Sergio being dragged by his mother all the way. Sonic looked at the group.

"We have a problem, guys!" he said. "Eggman and Ryan are at each other again! And it seems they made a bet about who can destroy me first!"

Johnathan fixed his glasses.

"It's worser than I thought..." he said. "We gotta make a new plan, and stay aware from now on... If these two are fighting each other, then we better be three steps ahead!"

They all nodded. But without them knowing, a robot with a camera attached to its head was witnessing the scene.


===Meanwhile=====================================================================

Ryan was watching the action from his laboratory, seeing it all on his screen.

"Round one is finally over!" he said. "And round two is about to begin! But let us forget Sonic for now... Instead, I know who my target is!"

"Shadow, perhaps?" asked Timothy.

Ryan smiled evilly.

"Precisely..." he said.